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There is an urban legend about Halloween, a local neighborhood had a decorating contest and the scariest house went all out, spiderwebs, rotting pumpkins, even a fake corpse hanging from the tree that the week after Halloween, the winning house didn't take their decorations down, nor the week after or the week after that when they called the cops, they revealed a sickening truth.

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The corpse wasn't a decoration. The homeowner had hung himself.

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The legend speaks to the idea that Halloween, for all its horror, provides a sense of safety because everything is scary. Nothing is scary. So when a crime does occur on Halloween, that makes it all the worse because we aren't expecting it. Today, we're covering the top 10 Halloween murders, the true crimes and real horror in the sea of fake blood and candy gore.

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Hailu Weirdo's, welcome to the podcast Original Crime Countdown. I'm Ash and I'm Emelina. Every week will highlight 10 fascinating stories of history's most engaging and unsettling crimes, all picked by the power cast research gods.

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This week, we're counting down the top 10 Halloween murders. OK, first things first. What's your favorite Halloween costume like?

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What is first and get down to business. I was a dead bride for like three years when I was younger.

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I kind of wonder what that says about me now. I guess we'll find out. What's your. Well, when I was younger, like before you were born, when I was younger, I was a mad scientist a lot, which like is pretty on brand.

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It's just what you are now. But my favorite costume was a Jack the Ripper victim and John was Jack the Ripper.

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It's how I knew he was the one. I remember you getting ready for that. Would that like latex stuff on your face? And I was like, what is she doing?

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Oh, yeah. I went hard with the spirit. You would fall for it.

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I love it. I never really got into, like, any Halloween mischief other than just trick or treating. But I did trick or treat until my sophomore year of high school.

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Yes, you did. I remember that.

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I was like, you're not going to get anything. And then you'd return with, like a pillowcase full. But a lot of people sophomore year, we're like, you're far too old for this. Yeah.

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They were like, so, you know, I'm not I mean, the only real mischief I got into was one year we stole some pumpkins, carved them and then replaced them. I love what a wholesome crime, but it's very, very wholesome of you.

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Let me let me help you with that. Let me help you decorate. Well, what's not so wholesome is what we're covering today. Elaina has five Halloween murders and so do I, but we don't know who will tap out first.

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Let's start the countdown. Ten. I'll get us started with number 10 on the countdown, the cold case of James Adamski on Halloween night 1980 to Adamski went out drinking at a local bar. He left the bar with a lady friend, but they split up on the walk home. Two months later, hunters in the local woods found James's body buried in a shallow grave. I've never heard of this one. Like what? An escalation. Yeah. Wowsers.

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Adamski was only 18 years old, which when I first read that, I was like, this is a grown man.

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And now I'm like, you're 80. I know. And I took a turn. He was a high school senior. Wants to put that in perspective. Nineteen eighty two is two years before President Reagan raised the drinking age so he could he could drink legally.

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I know if anybody's like what you're doing at a bar. So I was confused. But he was fake IDs. You know, his costume was what he called the American Gigolo look. And it was probably inspired by Richard Gangers character in the 1980 film American Gigolo.

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There you have it. Get it. I love that. That's him. So smooth. I love it. He had gone to the five and twenty three bar in his hometown of Dipu, New York near Niagara Falls. And the girl who left with him was the one last seen with him. But she was quickly ruled out as a suspect. OK, well, at least she didn't have anything to do with it because I was going to say she I was like, where's that girl?

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We got to track her down to find her. But I found her. Luckily, they did their job. Detective work check. Detectives, you better find that girl. His body was found on December 26.

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Nineteen eighty two. Oh, that's horrible. Yeah.

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A little ways after that there's cause of death was blunt force trauma and investigators sent his clothes for a DNA test, but they came up with nothing, which is always crazy to me when somebody can leave. Nothing I know, especially blunt force trauma. You don't leave anything. Usually you leave a party, you you take a part of them and how it goes. And the current D.A., John Flynn said the two strongest theories that occurred here are one, something happened in that bar.

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And two, a random hitchhiker or person driving a car picked them. I feel like something happened in the bar.

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I do, too. That's what I felt, because usually that's the case. I felt it in my bones. Like you pissed off some dude or something. Man, it doesn't seem like he was too far away from where he was walking. He was like in a local woods.

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Yeah. So if it was a hitchhiker, I feel like they would have brought him somewhere. Maybe that girl was like a set up or something.

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Oh, you never know. Look, you just just place some things out there, you know, with no evidence to back it up.

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I love it. That's healthy. I love it. In 2017, Flynn in the city of Lancaster, put up an eleven thousand dollar reward for any information leading to an arrest. Only two leads were even brought forward. They went nowhere and the case is still cold. So we'll add it to our list of cases to solve. We're going to solve that, guys. We're on it.

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Nine number nine is the 2011 murder of Taylor Van DCED, another teenager who just wanted to have fun on Halloween. Taylor dressed up as a zombie and went out to meet a friend. Her family reported her missing when she stopped answering her texts. An hour later, they found her dead body. That's so sad. Isn't that crazy?

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So far, so she just leaves for Halloween night. So the last text that she sent out said, quote, I'm being creeped out. Which what? That makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

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And also, like, who among us has not sent a text similar to that? Like when you feel like someone's following you or something like someone's being grippy.

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Oh, I send that text all the time, like I'm at Target and I'm like, I'm being I'm being creeped out. It's like such a normal text to send. Yeah.

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And I'm always on alert. Yeah. I have a head on a swivel. Well people presumed obviously that she was stalked as she walked along train tracks in her hometown of Armstrong, British Columbia. There was evidence that she tried to fight off her killer, but the neighbors assumed that the screams were just Halloween related and they ignored them.

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Never assume never. Don't do it. You know what it does?

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Taylor's body was found in bushes near the train tracks and her zombie makeup had blended into her bludgeoned wounds.

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That's horrific. Isn't that so horrible? That's not. Yeah, I have no words. The killer, Matthew Forester, was tracked down after police matched DNA on Taylor's body to records from when he sexually assaulted an escort in 2007.

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Oh, so he was just like a terrible human being all around. A real bad guy from the jump. Now, listen to this. His own dad helped cover the crime up.

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He quit his job, bought Matthew a fake driver's license, a Social Security card and a bank card, moved Matthew's stuff and lied to the police. That is terrible parenting. OK, thank you. I was like, that's bad parenting. That's real bad parenting. Like, stand down your kid. I get it. Yes, it's your kid. No matter what my kid does, I'm going to be on their side. But you make your kid take responsibility.

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Your kid murdered someone. Yeah, that's a learning period. Yeah. You can still love them. It's your kid. I understand.

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But like and obviously this is a habit, like, it's only going to get worse. That's a problem. You need to take care of it.

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Well, luckily, his efforts failed and Matthew was arrested and convicted of first degree murder in twenty fourteen. Good. A retrial did take place in twenty eighteen where he was convicted of second degree murder instead. Crown Prosecutor Christopher McPherson said lack of parole is extremely rare for a case like this.

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Did a woman?

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Lack of parole is extremely rare for murderers. That's awful.

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Eight. Number eight on our list of Halloween murders is the 1998 slaying of Carl Jackson. Halloween is known for harmless pranks, but some pranks can turn fatal after Carl Jackson confronted a teenage boy who'd egged his car. He figured the night was over and he drove off. But the angry teen wasn't done. He chased Carl down and shot him in the head.

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Oh, my God. Like what? Like you should expect a little prank on Halloween. Well, it's like, what do you do when you act his car?

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So these kind of reactions to little pranks and people being angry about little pranks is not very uncommon. Weirdly enough, really, since 1980, for at least twenty four people have been seriously wounded or killed in violence sparked by egg throwing. Wow. Yeah, egging cars is vandalism.

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So it's a crime in and of itself.

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I think eggs can really mess with the paint on your car, too.

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So I guess that makes people real mad, like throwing an egg at someone because it is like it doesn't hurt, but it's like it's got that sound it makes.

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And if it's loopy enough, I feel like get one and it's gloopy, it causes gross. Like it's just a nasty thing to do. You know what I'm picturing. Don't you never been kissed. Yeah. Course when she gets egged in the face and he calls her loser the worst scene in any movie, it gives me that lump in my throat. Does it. Makes me want to cry.

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Go watch it. It's really terrible. It'll ruin your life. In all twenty four cases of this, a group of boys threw the eggs in the target, confronted them, and then violence ensued. This is just like Carl Jackson. That's crazy. Twenty four cases. Just all the same. Like, yeah, it's crazy. He was just twenty one years old and he saw Halloween as dangerous. So he was not super into Halloween but he had agreed to go out with his girlfriend to pick up her nine year old from a party in the Bronx.

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So he was just doing his girlfriend a solid. I know that's terrible.

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It took his family two years to even discuss this incident. They couldn't even talk about it more. Yeah, they were devastated. Seventeen year old Curtis Sterling was charged with second degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon and was convicted and served 20 years for the crime for like twenty years is not even enough.

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Yeah, that's a murder shooting someone in the head. Right. Like, that's crazy over a prank. Well, every Halloween, Karlie's mother, the victim's mother, sends Curtis a Halloween card reading. I'm glad you're still here. Oh, my God. What a woman.

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What a lady. Seven. Up next, the controversial shooting of Yoshie Hatori shortly before Halloween. Nineteen ninety two, two teens accidentally knocked on the door of the wrong house for a party. The simple misunderstanding escalated when the homeowner pulled out his gun and shot one of them. That is not a proportionate response. Not at all.

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Webb Hamaker was friends with Yoshie and wanted to bring the Japanese exchange student to a Halloween party. And Yoshie was living as an exchange student, like I said, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for two months now. And he was like super excited to go to this party. All that makes me so sad. I know everyone that knew Yoshie considered him like a free spirit, a good time. He dressed up like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. Yes.

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Incredible. I almost just said Saturday Night Live. Saturday Night Live.

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You know, John Travolta and Webb dressed as an accident victim who I know. We imagine when people ask you what you are and you're like, I'm an accident victim more than a really bad accident. I feel weird. Don't like that choice.

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Rodney Pures aimed his gun at Yoshie, who thought it was just a Halloween prop and ran toward the house. But it was too late. He'd already been shot in court. Rodney used the castle doctrine, essentially the Stand Your Ground law. Yes. And he was found not guilty. But they weren't, like, threatening him, were they? Sounds like they just knocked on the door. You're standing your ground because they knocked on your door accidentally.

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Doesn't make any sense to me, Nicole. Obviously, much controversy ensued. The hatcheries visited the US to promote gun control legislation. Handguns are actually illegal in Japan. So this was obviously like earth shattering to know. I didn't know that.

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I didn't know that either until this President Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act a few weeks later.

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So at least something good came out of that. Came out of it. Still so sad. Yeah.

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Six. Also on our list at number six, the 2012 murder of twenty four year old Rebecca Gay early Halloween morning, Rebecca was asleep in her home when her neighbor broke in and killed her. Even worse, this neighbor was both her church's pastor and her mother's fiance. I'm going to need to know a lot more. You sure? And you know what? I wonder if they picked this for me for a reason. The killer's name was John White Star, which is my husband's legit name, stressing me out a little bit, John.

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He previously served time for assault and manslaughter, but then he became a pastor in Michigan and everybody was like, you know what? We want to see you turn your life around. And it sounds like he did for like maybe a minute, maybe like a hot minute, not a second hot second.

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The congregation was aware of White's criminal past when he joined and he delivered Sunday sermons for three years and then he got engaged to the victim's mother. OK. He had fantasized about this crime for at least two full weeks while watching ready necrophilia porn. If he drank four beers broken and he had a mallet and zip ties a mallet, I shouldn't be surprised that that is the thing like necrophilia porn. But here I am not supposed to discuss. Hello. My name is surprised.

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Yeah. Yeah. White dress to this part I like. OK, what. This made me transcend one other place. White dressed Rebecca's three year old son in his Halloween costume and dropped the boy off with his dad. What his dad wasn't surprised by this because White had often babysat? Well, because it was like his step grandpa. I hate every single thing about that. So he murdered his mother and then dressed him in a little three year old's like a little chubby.

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If you took away his mom and then got him ready for Halloween in a Halloween costume like some adorable three year old Halloween costume and then just brings him to his dad. So that adds a level of horror.

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Yeah, that shook me a little bit. So the sheriff didn't sense any remorse from what he said.

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He basically just regretted that his congregation was going to find out. So he was embarrassed than anything his girlfriend didn't care. How about the fact that you just murdered somebody? No, he was like, I'm a pastor. I'm really embarrassed about this.

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Yikes.

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Well, luckily, he was given a life sentence, but he died by suicide after hanging himself in his cell in 2013.

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I always hate that. I'm like, no, you need to, like, hang out for your sentence. Like John White needed to rot. And it's really weird for me to say that that is weird.

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That was a terrible one all around, I know, like, really hate that. Are you expecting anything on the list that you haven't seen yet? There's definitely one.

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Yes, there's a huge one that I'm waiting for. Yeah, same here. Well, we'll see if it comes. I think I have it. I think you do.

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Because I don't have it. Hi, listeners, Kate here from Sparkasse Network with a special announcement, our newest Spotify original from podcast is exploring all things superstitions, the origin, stories of Bad Omens, The Hidden Lessons Inside, Good Luck Charms, the old wives, tales you really don't want to ignore.

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Every episode of Superstitions presents a new drama that unpacks a different belief. Can holding your breath while passing a cemetery save your life while carrying a rabbit's foot bring you luck? Why should you never stay on the 13th floor of a hotel? They may seem mystical or eerie or completely illogical, but if every culture has them and so many of us believe in them, there has to be something to them. Right?

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Superstitions airs every Wednesday free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts to hear more podcasts shows search Sparkasse network in the Spotify search bar and find a growing slate of thrilling new series to enjoy. Five. All right, let's jump back in with number five on our list of Halloween murders. Number five would be the triple homicide of the Lipski family. In 2010, 16 year old Devin Griffin came home from church to find his mother, brother and stepfather, all still in bed, covered in blood.

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At first, it seemed like a prank, but then Devin realized it was all too real. His stepbrother had murdered their family. My goodness. So Devon's brother was bludgeoned with a hammer. His stepdad shot in the head and his mother was shot and also sexually assaulted. Oh, my God.

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It's like a terrible buffet of murder methods and weapons and everything. And he just came home from church. Like, that's so sad. Devon called his aunt, who then called nine one one, and the search was on for the missing stepbrother. Twenty four year old BJ Litsky Devon last saw B.J. earlier that morning when he stopped by. Devon spent the weekend with his dad, but he wanted to stop home to change for church. And as he changed to head out, Devon didn't realize that his entire family was already dead.

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Oh, so he was there? Yes, it took only a few hours.

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Luckily for police to arrest B.J., he was found hiding out at the family cabin. Cool, like really evil. I mean, the family cabin. But you were dumb enough to go there, but eventually got away places.

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Come on.

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B.J. actually had a history of violence and mental health conditions. He had previously attacked and attempted to sexually assault his step mom, who was Devon's mom. B.J. had been drinking with his dad, who was Devon stepdad the night before, and maybe the alcohol aggravated his poor mental health. People think it's possible in court. B.J. could not explain why he murdered his family. He claimed he loved his father. And when pressed, basically, he said, the devil made me do it.

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He didn't, though. It's like, no, that's very Halloween of you. But no, you just did it.

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PJ committed suicide while serving three life sentences with no chance of parole.

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Stop giving us cases where these jerks get to do it before or they have to pay for what they did, get out of the equation prematurely. And it makes it's not fair.

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For landing at number four this week is the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley.

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She went out to Greenwich Local Mischief Night, which is an evening of teenage revelry before Halloween.

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But she never came home. On Halloween morning, her body was found beaten with a golf club. Oh, God, that's gruesome. But you know what?

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Another New England murder. Oh, yeah. New England. We're not proud. We're horrible. No. So this tragic case really turned controversial because first, it was the first murder in Greenwich in 30 years. Yeah. So that's a long time to go without a murder. Yeah. And then to have this one be the first in 30 years. Yeah. It's like a massive one because it also it has to do with RFQs nephews, Tom and Michael Skakel, who are the main suspects.

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Oh.

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And these two guys could afford the top lawyers, obviously, because we love a Kennedy scandal, especially in Massachusetts. It's a New England. It is. This is a Massachusetts. But we love it here.

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They were allegedly rivals for Martha's affection. And there was like all these tales about like she liked this one. She didn't like this one. Martha was last seen kissing Tommy.

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And the theory that everyone goes with this, that Michael killed her out of pure jealousy. That's ridiculous. Just find a different girlfriend. Exactly. I'm like, that's a bad idea. No one wins there.

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So the golf club was a murder weapon and it belonged to the Skakel family.

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OK, so there's the smoking golf club. I mean, let's just go with it. There was another main suspect and it was Scargill's new in town live in tutor Kenneth Littleton, new in town to test the new guy.

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He's here to teach us stuff and maybe, maybe murder people.

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Tom Skakel and Kenneth Littleton, they had the same alibi. They said they were at home watching the French Connection on TV. OK, I looked it up. They didn't know it's a movie and it stars Gene Hackman. And it was directed by William Friedkin, who directed The Exorcist.

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Oh, little facts. That's cool, because I was going to ask you what that was all about. See, we're bringing horror back into this because this is horror all around.

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Michael was charged as a juvenile in 2000 and he was convicted in 2002, released in 2013. And then his conviction was vacated in 2013. And now there's a new trial pending.

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Well, that was a whirlwind and a half. This case is insane. It was like first, but wait.

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And there's more and this and that. But don't sit down because there's more. Well, this is my favorite part. Michael Skakel changed his story. He was not learning French. You know, first he said he was watching TV with a friend, and then he was like, oh, no, no, no, no.

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I remember now I was actually just masturbating in a tree outside Martha's window, watching her undress. But I don't see how that's relevant, even if that's what you were doing. Like you don't think that implicates you then further, bro, you he's just like, oh my bad.

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I was jacking it in a tree, you know. Wow. That was gruesome in so many different levels. Hate that.

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Number three on our list of Halloween murders, the nineteen fifty seven trick or treat murder, Peter Fabiano answered his doorbell on Halloween night thinking it was just a trick or treat. Instead, he was shot in the chest on orders of his wife's ex lover, ex lover. I did this for a live show. You did? I knew it was familiar. Familiar. So Peter and his wife Betty had just reunited and their Sun Valley, California, home after a trial separation.

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During the separation, Betty lived with Joan Rebell and the two allegedly became lovers lovers. They loved each other. They did. So Peter and Betty reunited on one condition that Betty would cut Joan out of her life. Well, that left Joan scorned, and so she plotted revenge with her friend Goldfine Paiser. That's the only thing to do. They're scorned. Joan and Golden were both closeted divorces. Her was when a closeted divorce. I think they were like closeted lesbian divorced.

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OK, I was like, you were closeted about being divorced. Like I was like, that's why they kept very hush hush about the divorce.

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Well, provice Joan Seduce Godyn Godyn claimed her murder motive was to quote, Please, Joan.

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That's always the mode. I was going to say that's always what they do.

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You're always trying to please Joan. I was scared of Joan and so I love her and so I did. It must please her. What Joan did is convince Godyn to shoot Peter as she drove the borrowed getaway car. Godyn carried the gun concealed in a brown paper bag of all things, just like up to the door, like hello.

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OK, which groceries? I mean I guess that in nineteen fifty seven maybe that's what you trick or treat it with. That's what you do. I don't know.

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I think it is. Peter died from his wounds in the ambulance on the way to the hospital Peter and he had just reunited with his wife.

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Maybe afterwards the woman burned their clothes and they split up. Joan told Gauldin Forget you ever knew me. Wow. Which is so dramatic. Fade to black like done. I would be like I just killed someone for you. And now I'm supposed to just forget about just forget you have a new it's going to cost a lot in therapy bills.

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Certainly is. Well, Golden confessed and both women were sentenced to five years to life in prison and they were eventually released. It's really unclear what happened to Betty and Joan after the murder.

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That's kind of sketchy. It is pretty sketchy. I love that girl. After she was like, forget you ever knew me. She was like, oh, OK, I'm going to go tell now.

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She was like, OK. She was like, I'm not going to forget idea.

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So far, this is awesome. I didn't know a couple of these Halloween murders, I was excited to do the trick or treat one again. Yeah, look at that.

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Because I when I saw that, I was like, oh, live show. Yes, my next one is horrific in every way. And I totally forgot it existed. And now I know it. And now you're all going to need to know it. Wow.

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So get ready. OK, let's do it.

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And. To. Next on the list of Halloween murders at number two is the death of 16 year old Shirley Ledford, the fifth victim of Lawrence Betka and Roy Norris. Shirley Ledford was one of their most infamous killings.

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On Halloween 1979, the serial killer duo plotted her murder specifically to make newspaper headlines. I know this this is by far the worst thing you will ever hear in your whole life. Yep, pretty much. So these two were known as the tool box killers. Baedeker Norris used creative AK realistic methods to torture and kill their victims. They often use tools like pliers and hammers like wire and didn't find any lockbox, shoved things in people's ears.

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It's no good. The first four victims received kind of little press, which is insane in this aggravated Betka since childhood. He'd admired outlaws, bad guys so good, he said he aimed to be, quote, bigger than Manson. I feel like a lot of people say that when they, like, set out for a life of crime, which is weird. Fleck's since Manson isn't a serial killer, but OK. Yeah, he's not a serial killer.

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Weird. Fleck's just say it is. The pair believed cops wouldn't catch them and they just wanted press coverage. So they grew reckless, which is what most of them do. You know how like BTK got caught that way, like they all just start getting super themselves and they just get sloppy. So they started hunting. And Whitakers neighborhood in San Fernando Valley, California.

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That idea I was going to say, that's just stupid. They were driving around a big white man that they nicknamed Murder Mac. That's dumb. They had outfitted and renovated this thing with everything they needed to kill and detain women like it was totally outfitted just for that. And they picked up a hitchhiking team. This teen was a waitress named Shirley. Now, Baedeker actually recognized her from a restaurant where she worked. They had literally interacted several times. Shirley got in this van because she knew him, right?

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She was like, oh, like this guy. So they had talked. They had been friendly. And then what happens is beyond. So they both violently sexually assaulted and raped Shirley. Oh, no. Baedeker smashed a hammer into Shirley's elbow twenty five times, pulverizing her bones while making her say humiliating things. And they both were screaming at her to, like, scream louder. Oh, my God, this is horrific. Oh. And it gets even worse.

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They used a hanger and pliers to horrifically torture and strangle Shirley finally. Oh, my God. Her last words were, do it. Just kill me. Oh, my God.

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After she was dead, they dumped her battered body in a random front yard with, like, her arms outstretched, like a front yard, like naked with her arms outstretched in a front yard. Now, North had tape recorded all of this. That's so messed up. There's a transcript and I do not recommend reading it. But like, have you read it now? You will, yes.

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Why do you always read the transom? You know what? I'm sorry for that, because a lot of you are going to go read it and it's going to ruin your life. It's like the toybox killer. Yep, sure is. But later it was played as evidence and some people fled to the courtroom in tears. Obviously, I can't imagine hearing it. Not a whole new level. No way. The FBI has the tape and they use it to desensitize their agents.

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I feel like that just creates how bad that is, though. Yeah, like they play that because it's so bad that it can desensitize FBI agents. I feel like that would desensitize you. Like beyond repair, though. Well, you're going to come across bad things. You need to be able to handle it.

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So hearing the worst of the means, there's nothing worse than this. There really isn't. Oh, man. So the press swarmed the quiet neighborhood and the killers got the PR that they wanted and they were finally arrested late that November.

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At least they were put to a stop. One. And finally, number one on our list of frightening Halloween murders, the poisoning of eight year old Timothy O'Brien. This is the one I was waiting for. I know I New York before this one. It's horrible. Timothy was the victim of every parent's Halloween nightmare, poisoned Candy.

[00:30:56]

But here's the kicker. Timothy's own father poisoned the candy that killed him. I hate this case so much. It's this case is so horrible.

[00:31:04]

So while trick or treating in Pasadena, Texas, in 1974, Timothy's dad, Ronald O'Brien, just vanished. And then all of a sudden he reappeared again and presented his two kids and their three friends with giant pixie sticks, Timothy eight his and complained that it tasted bitter. And then he began convulsing and vomiting. He had died within an hour before they were able to even reach the hospital.

[00:31:30]

Oh, eight years old. Oh, that's so awful. His autopsy revealed that the candy was laced with potassium cyanide. None of the other children ate. There's but tests revealed that the candy contained cyanide as well. So he would have murdered five kids, five kids, and three of them weren't even his own. I mean, either way, it's messed up, you know?

[00:31:50]

I mean, my God, the pixie sticks were stapled. So it was clear someone had tampered with them. Ronald claimed they were from a house that hadn't answered the door.

[00:31:59]

At first. I was like, like, why would you let your kids eat staples like you're claiming? Like, yeah, it was stapled weird, you know, so weird. No, no. You would never let your kids eat that. No, I don't even let my kids eat candy we got from Halloween. I just buy other candy. That's true. I saw you do that defeats the purpose. But you're married.

[00:32:17]

At nine a.m. the next morning, Ronald called about a life insurance policy payout. He had taken out ten thousand dollars per child that previous January. Not weird at all. Like ten thousand dollars on your children. And why makes sense that the money was the motive? Because he was over a hundred thousand dollars in debt.

[00:32:38]

There's other ways. Just get a job or do anything, anything, literally. Anything else. A search of O'Brien's house found scissors with pixie stick. Do a low proof. Hello. Ronald had poisoned the candy. Another suspicious thing is that Ronald wrote a song about Timothy joining Jesus in Heaven and he grew agitated when his family wouldn't watch him perform on TV. I hate that. Like what? I don't want to watch you sing about that. I hate that so much.

[00:33:07]

He was found guilty of one murder and four attempted murders. He was given the death penalty and executed ten years later in March of nineteen eighty four.

[00:33:16]

Honestly, I stand like totally in the gray area of the death penalty, but I would have wanted to administer the injection on this dude personally. One hundred percent given that like he's evil. Yeah.

[00:33:27]

That's somebody that does feel like you were willing to not just kill your own kids, which is bad enough, kill other people's kids and brutally kill your kids like potassium cyanide poisoning. You heard it. He was convulsing and vomiting like that's horrific. And supposedly you were doing it for money. But it's like, why were you I mean, I guess he was doing it to the other kids. I was like as a cover. I like to make it like the old poison.

[00:33:50]

Right. That is messed up. I think that number one was number one. Yeah, definitely. I mean, definitely my number two, the toolbox burner's, that's a doozy.

[00:34:11]

I feel like it's another thing where, like, they could have been tied for number one. But I think the number one was the number one because it had to do with Halloween candy and it was like trick or treating in the Shirley Ledford one was just like happened to be on Halloween.

[00:34:23]

It really didn't have to do with Halloween. So it makes sense. Yeah, yeah, I definitely think so. But it's really awful. Did you feel like there was anything missing? So there's one thing I knew you were going to find. I don't know. I don't know if we can count this, but I'm going to say it anyways. So we covered a case on morbid. It was the Chelsea Bruck case. Oh, yeah.

[00:34:41]

It wasn't technically on Halloween, but she was abducted from a Michigan Halloween party, and it was October 26, 2014, Big Mike. And she was found the following April, brutally murdered. And it turns out it was this human turd named Daniel Clay who murdered her after the Halloween party.

[00:34:59]

But it's a really crazy case, like lots of twists and turns.

[00:35:02]

But it was like a big Halloween party in a field that was like every year and 700 people show up to it.

[00:35:07]

It's like it's big party. Yeah, it's a big thing. Big Mike Salween Party.

[00:35:12]

It's interesting, but it's Halloween related, I guess. Understand it's not left off, but just adding to it. Hey, thanks for listening. We'll be back next week with another great episode. Remember to follow KREM Countdown on Spotify to get a brand new episode delivered each week. You can bind all episodes of Crime Countdown and all other podcast originals for free on Spotify. Spotify has all of your favorite music and podcasts all in one place. They're making it easier to listen to whatever you want to hear for free on your phone, computer or smart speaker.

[00:35:44]

If you can't get enough of creepy crimes, check out our After Crime Countdown podcast playlist on Spotify, where we've handpicked even more episodes about this week's stories that we think you'll enjoy.

[00:35:56]

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[00:36:02]

And if you like us, which I hope you do, because you made it this far.

[00:36:06]

Follow us on our other podcast, morbid podcast. You can find us on Instagram at Morbid Podcast and on Twitter at a morbid podcast. And you can listen to us wherever, even on Spotify. We hope you keep it weird until next Monday.

[00:36:19]

Do it by by crime Countdown was created by Max Cutler. And as a podcast studio's original, it is executive produced by Max Cutler, Sound Design by Kevin MacAlpine, produced by Jon Cohen, Jonathan Rateliff, Maggie Admire and Kristen Acevedo. Crime Countdown starts Ashkali and Elena aka.

[00:36:45]

Don't forget to follow superstitions, where we take you into stories that unveil humanity's most peculiar beliefs from black cats and broken mirrors to rabbits, feet and horse shoes, learn the back stories and hidden lessons.

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Inside are most questionable fortune tellers.

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