Podcast
Forgotten Felonies
Hosted by Forgotten Felonies Podcast · EN
Forgotten Felonies revisits historical crimes that were forgotten—or remembered incorrectly. It’s tempting, looking backward, to fill in the gaps with conclusions that feel obvious now. But that isn’t how history works. Through original newspaper reporting, period advertisements from the years the crimes occurred, and a blend of forensic psychology and genealogical research, each episode restores context to cases history left behind—asking not only what happened, but why.
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28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Iverson Children Tragedy (1903) - A Fun-Sized Felony
Mar 2200:10:24Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!On a quiet Sunday in October of 1903, ten-year-old Hoga Iverson noticed something wasn’t right.His sister had gone inside… and never came back out.What followed was a chain of events that no child should ever have to carry: a train ride alone to find his father, a doctor turned away at the door, and a journey in the dark that would end in a discovery too devastating to comprehend.Inside a small cottage in Pacific Grove, three children lay still—while their mother insisted nothing was wrong.When the truth finally emerged, it came with a chilling explanation: a claim of supernatural forces… and a tragedy that would shake an entire community.In this Fun-Sized Felony, Monica tells the story of the Iverson children—a case of family, faith, and a night that ended in unimaginable loss.
Transcribe →Edmund Creffield: The Rise of the Army of Holiness in Corvallis, Oregon
Mar 1501:19:03Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!In the early 1900s, a young German preacher arrived in Corvallis, Oregon with a message he believed came directly from God.Within weeks, he had gathered a devoted circle of followers who called themselves God’s Anointed. Others had a different name for them: The Holy Rollers.Their intense prayer meetings, strange teachings, and bizarre behavior quickly made them the talk of the town—and not in a good way. What began as a small religious movement would soon spiral into scandal, insanity, murder, and one of the strangest chapters in Oregon history.In this Forgotten Felony, we begin the story of Edmund Creffield and the rise of the Army of Holiness.This is the first episode covering the wild tale of what later became known as the Bride of Christ Cult.
Transcribe →Agostino Izzo: The Day the Music Stopped — A Fun-Sized Felony
Mar 600:16:46Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!In the Izzo household, music filled every corner of the home. Agostino Izzo had once played in the Seneca Falls Italian Band and worked as a music teacher, passing his love of music on to his children. Several would go on to perform in orchestras of their own, carrying the family’s musical legacy far beyond their home in Syracuse, New York.But on July 13, 1926, the harmony ended in the cellar.Three days later, haunted by guilt and unable to rest, he walked into police headquarters and told officers exactly where to dig.This Fun-Sized Felony explores jealousy, family legacy, and the haunting moment when a home once filled with music fell silent.Musical pieces included:La Traviata by Guido Gialdini, 1911Quintette in E Flat Major by Ossip Gabrilowitsch, 1926Sound effects from Pixabay.
Transcribe →What Jane Saw: An Intergenerational Family Tragedy in Pennsylvania (1909–1938) - A Fun-Sized Felony
Feb 2700:13:24Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!On July 17, 1938, ten people were living in two small rooms above the Broadway Inn in Leechburg, Pennsylvania. By sunrise, three were dead and seven children were orphaned.In 1909, a young girl watched her father terrorize a Pennsylvania town with a shotgun. Nearly three decades later, that same girl would die in the doorway of the room where her children slept.In this Fun-Sized Felony, we examine a double-murder suicide — and the unsettling possibility of intergenerational echoes.
Transcribe →James H Coyner (Alonzo Robinson): Two names, one rope.
Feb 2201:18:27Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!On January 12, 1935, Amelia Earhart landed safely in Oakland, California after her historic solo flight across the Pacific. The nation celebrated progress, courage, and modern aviation.That same day, in a Mississippi post office, a man was arrested with a piece of human flesh in his pocket.This episode traces the story of Alonzo Robinson — known for decades as James H. Coyner— from a mysterious trunk filled with skulls in Michigan to a double murder in Cleveland, Mississippi that stunned the country. Along the way, we uncover what really happened in 1927, why later retellings labeled him a suspected serial killer, and how 600 National Guardsmen were deployed to prevent mob violence at his trial and execution.The case is remembered—but not always accurately.
Transcribe →Gone in a Moment: The Disappearance of Winifred Byrne — A Fun-Sized Felony
Feb 1300:11:01Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!In November of 1913, three-year-old Winifred Byrne vanished from outside her family’s home on West 38th Street in New York City. Her father had looked away for just a moment—and that was all it took.What happened during the four days Winifred was missing was never fully explained.In this Fun-Sized Felony, we revisit the brief headlines, the unanswered questions, and the mystery that remains.
Transcribe →Emily Antone and the Calls That Went Unanswered — A Fun-Sized Felony
Feb 600:16:00Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!In July of 1912, Emily Antone—a 38-year-old Indigenous woman—arrived at a house in Middleport, Ontario, carrying a trunk and plans to start over. She never left alive.This Fun-Sized Felony examines the murder of Emily Antone, the failures that surrounded it, and the way her story quietly disappeared from print. Using contemporary newspaper accounts, we trace what was recorded, what was ignored, and what was never followed up on at all.Because some crimes aren’t remembered for what happened—but for how easily they were allowed to vanish.
Transcribe →John Heslop and the Case That Never Closed
Feb 101:18:08Tap to summarizeSend a message to Monica and Olivia!In the early hours of January 27, 1891, John Heslop was murdered inside his home near Ancaster, Ontario. He was a respected township clerk, a longtime pioneer in the area, and a man whose death sent shockwaves through the surrounding countryside.What followed was an investigation shaped by footprints in the snow, conflicting testimony, and mounting public pressure. Detectives were brought in from outside the region. Suspects were named, arrests were made, a trial was held—and yet, certainty never arrived.This episode traces the crime as it was experienced by the women inside the house, the evidence uncovered in the cold morning light, and the legal process that promised answers—but ultimately failed to deliver them.One hundred and thirty-five years later, the case of John Heslop remains unresolved. The questions raised in 1891 are still with us, waiting for a conclusion that never came.And then there's the burning question that remained on the lips of Hamilton residents for years, "Were you at Katie White's funeral?" We would love to know what you think! Are John Bartram, John Lottridge, Samuel Goosey, and George Douglas guilty? What really happened that night?
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