Poverty, drugs, neglect and abuse made up the four walls of a literal house of horrors for Vera Jo Reigle and in 2011, her disturbing death reverberated in a community which prides itself on being caring and compassionate and led to a discussion about what could be done to better identify and assist those who may be unwilling or unable to ask for help.
Morbidology
Burned Alive – The Slow Death of Robbie Middleton
Robbie Middleton was just 8-years-old when he was tied to a tree and set on fire in Splendora, Texas. Twelve years later, he succumbed to his injuries but not before naming his attacker as a 13-year-old boy who had sexually assaulted him two weeks prior.
Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938-1940 and the Panic at Penn State
As the Great Depression hit, Penn State College was cash-strapped and dilapidated. In 1937, underfunded state police fighting a losing battle against striking miners and steel workers in Johnstown called in the National Guard. There were not enough police to cover the state, and it showed. Then someone started killing young women in the area.
The Disappearance of Sandy Davidson
It was a pleasant spring morning on the 23rd of April, 1976, when 3-year-old Sandy Davidson was playing in his grandmother’s garden on St Kilda Street, Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. He followed his dog out of the front gate and vanished, never to be seen again.
The First Civil Rights Martyrs – Harry & Harriette Moore
Harry & Harreitte Moore were pioneer activists & leaders of the early civil rights movement in the United States. On Christmas night of 1961, they would become the first martyrs of the movement, followed by Harry T. Moore and Martin Luther King Jr.
Morbidology the Podcast – 24: The Ewell Family
Just as families across the world were settling down to celebrate Easter Sunday with their loved ones, a brutal crime scene was being discovered in Fresno, California. East Park Circle Drive was affluent neighborhood in Southern California.
Morbidology the Podcast – 22: Jim Attfield & Nahid Almanea
In 2014, the small town of Colchster was rocked by two extremely brutal murders and the investigation to catch the killer was one of the biggest carried out by Essex Police. The town was held on edge as the spectre of a serial killer loomed over. Sales of stab proof vests rocketed while people refused to go anywhere alone out of fear they would become the next target.
Morbidology the Podcast – 22: Garrett Phillips
Tunnel vision can set in when a horrific crime takes place and there is tremendous public pressure to find the killer. People can often be hard-wired to find support for their conclusions even when this support does not exist and ignore information that challenges their conclusion. The presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of justice and when tunnel vision takes over, the wheels of justice move even slower.
Killed By My Brother – Johnathon Madden
Kevin Madden, 16, was a troubled teenager from Toronto, Canada. Nevertheless, his 12-year-old brother, Johnathon Madden, always idolized him. Unbeknownst to Johnathon, however, his older brother had always begrudged him.
The Disappearance of Cherrie Mahan
On 22 February, 1985, 8-year-old Cherrie Mahan hopped off her school bus in Winfield Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania. She never made it home. A distinctive van had been following the school bus and it was theorized whoever was in this van, abducted Cherrie.