Crime House Daily: True Crime This Week – Unsolved Murders
Episode Date: September 7, 2025
Host: Vanessa Richardson

Overview

This installment of True Crime This Week spotlights two perplexing unsolved murders separated by four decades, connected by mystery, chilling circumstance, and lingering suspicion. Vanessa Richardson revisits:

• The brutal 1980 double murder of Roger Atkisson and Rose Burkert at the Amana Holiday Inn in Williamsburg, Iowa.
• The 1943 stabbing death of rising Hollywood star David Bacon, whose promising career ended in bloodshed and secrecy.

Throughout, Richardson explores suspects, theories, and why, despite tantalizing clues, both cases remain unsolved.

Case 1: The 1980 Amana Holiday Inn Double Murder

Segment Start: 03:45

Discovery of the Crime Scene

• On September 13, 1980, staff at the Amana Holiday Inn found Roger Atkisson (32, St. Joseph, Missouri) and Rose Burkert (22, nurse, single mother) brutally murdered in room 260.
• The room was awash in blood. Both lay face down on the bed; Roger (in underwear), Rose (fully dressed).
• The television was left on, and there were no signs of sexual assault, robbery, or forced entry.
• Cause of death: Blunt-force trauma, possibly by axe or hatchet; Roger's fingers were severed, hinting at a defensive struggle.

“When she poked her head inside, she saw a scene straight out of a horror movie. Roger and Rose were lying face down on the bed, murdered. There was blood soaking the sheets, splattered across the walls and the headboard. Even the ceiling wasn't spared.” —Vanessa Richardson (03:59)

The Victims' Secret

• Roger was married to Marcy Atkisson. She had no idea of his affair with Rose.
• Roger, a telephone installer and church community member, was said to be a model citizen but wanted a divorce; Marcy refused.
• Rose, a young nurse and mother, met Roger in 1979 when he installed her phone; their affair began in June 1980.

“Everyone the police spoke to said Roger was a polite, trustworthy, upstanding citizen. But Roger's friends knew things weren’t as perfect as they seemed, especially at home.” —Vanessa Richardson (06:26)

Timeline Leading Up to the Murder

• The couple traveled under aliases (signing as “Mr. and Mrs. Roger Burkert”) to avoid suspicion.
• After time in Cahoka, Missouri, they went to Williamsburg, Iowa, staying in room 260, thanks to a last-minute cancellation.
• The night before the murder:
  • Rose phoned her babysitter, but the babysitter’s return call went unanswered.
  • A mysterious, untraceable second call came to their room—details never discovered (11:32).

Crime Scene Oddities

• No evidence of forcible entry—indicating a known perpetrator or someone they allowed in.
• Furniture was rearranged: two chairs repositioned beside the bed, one facing the TV.
• Fragments of soap beneath a chair; “this” written in soap on the bathroom door.
• Blood and toothpaste scattered in the bathroom—a pattern connected to other, similar unsolved murders.

“Someone had used a bar of soap, maybe the same one, to write a message on the back of the bathroom door. By the time detectives were looking, most of the words had been smeared away, except for one reading, quote, ‘this.’” —Vanessa Richardson (10:37)

The Suspect Pool

1. The Bartender

• Rose argued with the hotel bartender on September 12; the next day, he quit abruptly, abandoned his truck, and fled to Germany. Cleared by polygraph (15:16).

2. Rose’s Ex-Fiancé, Danny Burton

• Rose warned police that if anything happened to her, investigate Danny. He had stalked her, was violent (even killed her dog), but his work timecard provided an airtight alibi (16:10).

3. Serial Killers

• Roger’s wife’s uncle, Charles Hatcher, was a known violent offender and escaped mental patient. However, he was proven absent from the area at the time (17:23).
• Other unsolved murders with similar MOs:
  • William Kyle (Illinois, June 1980): Killed in hotel with hatchet, face-down with toothpaste left near body.
  • Jack McDonald (Mississippi, 1970): Bludgeoned in hotel; toothpaste found in toilet.
• Pattern: Traveling victims, hotel murders, peculiar scene markers (toothpaste, forced positions, no robbery).
• “Whether their killer was an angry ex, a disgruntled bartender, or a mysterious serial killer with an inexplicable fixation on toothpaste, they could very well be dead by now.” —Vanessa Richardson (20:18)

Aftermath

• Roger’s wife eventually remarried; Rose’s daughter, Rachel, grew up without her mother.
• Iowa County Sheriff’s Department periodically revisits the case, utilizing DNA but with no breakthroughs.

Case 2: The 1943 Hollywood Murder of David Bacon

Segment Start: 23:28

The Crime

• On September 12, 1943, actor David Bacon crashed his car in Venice, LA, stabbed fatally in the back. Witnesses saw him, shirtless and covered in blood, stagger from his car and collapse (23:43).
• Bacon was set to debut in The Masked Marvel serial, and was on the cusp of fame.

“He was tall, handsome, shirtless, and covered in blood. He screamed for help, then collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.” —Vanessa Richardson (24:08)

David Bacon’s Life

• Born into Boston wealth, he drifted west to chase his acting dream, aided by Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. Howard Hughes signed him, but insisted he change his name from Gaspar Bacon Jr.
• Privately, Bacon was gay, but kept it secret, as was common in 1940s Hollywood.
• Married to fellow performer Greta Keller—also gay—mainly for social appearances. The two cared for each other deeply.

The Final Day

• September 12 was supposed to be a beach day. Greta (very pregnant) stayed home; Bacon left and never returned.

The Investigation

• The car was awash in blood but untouched outside; he appeared to have been stabbed inside, then donned a bathrobe before the accident.
• Police found: a too-small navy crewneck sweater (with blond hairs, seagull feathers), a mysterious key, and cash still in Bacon’s wallet—ruling out robbery.
• Multiple witness accounts: some saw a man in the car with Bacon; another saw a man and a woman; police speculated about a hitchhiker or secret liaison, but no struggle was evident, and only Bacon’s fingerprints were found (28:37).

The Secret Apartment

• The key led police to an apartment Bacon rented "for the gardener," but was likely used for discreet affairs.
• Dr. Hendricks (the landlord) saw an unknown, “slight, foreign looking, red-faced” man there shortly before the murder—never identified.

Suspects

1. Glenn Irwin Shmiel

• Navy deserter who could fit the found sweater and had applied for the supposed gardener position. Had an alibi confirmed by several witnesses (37:03).

2. The Mystery Man

• The unknown man seen at the apartment may have quarreled with Bacon; possibly a secret lover or acquaintance with a motive lost to time.

3. The Media Circus

• Others fabricated stories for attention, notably Blakely Patterson, who claimed blackmail was the motive but had never met Bacon (38:59).

Outcome and Legacy

• The murder weapon was never found. Every promising lead fizzled.
• Two weeks after Bacon’s death, Greta delivered a stillborn child—the double tragedy devastated her; she never remarried but continued her singing career.
• The Masked Marvel debut was bittersweet, cementing Bacon’s death as a Hollywood tragedy rather than a career breakthrough.
• LAPD lists the case as open but, as of 2019, provides no comment.

“Looking back at this week in crime history, we can see that time is the real villain... The people who killed Roger Atkinson, Rose Burkert, and D. David Bacon... were just lucky enough to escape.” —Vanessa Richardson (44:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There was blood soaking the sheets, splattered across the walls and the headboard. Even the ceiling wasn’t spared.” —Vanessa Richardson (04:02)
• “Evidence is fragile and memories are fleeting—as weeks turned into months and months turned to years, the trail went cold and these killers went free.” —Vanessa Richardson (44:30)
• “Time is the real villain.” —Vanessa Richardson (44:29)

Key Segment Timestamps

• 03:45: The discovery of the Amana Holiday Inn murders and victim backgrounds
• 10:37: Oddities of the crime scene (“this” smeared in soap; toothpaste)
• 15:16: The bartender’s sudden exit and elimination as a suspect
• 16:10: Rose’s ex-fiancé, Danny Burton, ruled out
• 17:23: Serial killer connections, recurring MO, and dead ends
• 23:28: Introduction of David Bacon’s case
• 24:08: Graphic account of Bacon’s final moments
• 28:37: Discovery of odd clues (sweater, key, scene specifics)
• 37:03: Suspect Glenn Shmiel; apartment investigation
• 38:59: False confessions and the press’s role
• 44:29: Closing reflections on the unresolved nature of both crimes

Conclusion

Vanessa Richardson closes with a sobering meditation on the passage of time and the fragility of evidence. Both stories serve as haunting reminders that, sometimes, killers escape not because they were brilliant—but simply because the world moved on, leaving only questions behind.

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