On December 26, 1908, the nude body of a woman was found in Lampblack Swamp along the Passaic River in Harrison, NJ. Police determined she was murdered on Christmas night. For eight days she remained in the morgue unidentified, until police tracked down a piece of clothing found near the body and her sister identified her as Lena Whitmore, even though just a day earlier Lena's husband, the last person known to see her, claimed it wasn't his wife.

Hear the full story of the murder of Lena Whitmore, and her husband's two murder trails, on this episode of Crimes We Forgot.

www.crimesweforgot.com

REDRUM True Crime is a podcast focusing on the true victims of crime. Each episode focuses on a new story. Real life, real victims, real crime. This is REDRUM. Written and presented by Grace Cordell.

⁠Spotify link⁠

⁠Apple link⁠

Or search REDRUM True Crime, wherever you get your podcasts.

In the dark, early morning of May 29th 1928, a man entered a room shared by three sisters, when he left he held 7-year-old Dorothy Selangowski tightly in his arms, his hand over her mouth. A search soon started, with police and neighbors looking, then a grisly discovery was made only doors away, on the porch of the child’s grandfather. Suspects would emerge, including one of the girl’s brothers, but the evidence pointed to someone else, another family member who had at one time lived with Dorothy and her family.

Hear the full story of the taking of Dorothy Selangowski and how police and a female reporter were able to track down the one who abducted and murdered her on the latest episode Crimes We Forgot.

REDRUM True Crime is a podcast focusing on the true victims of crime. Each episode focuses on a new story. Real life, real victims, real crime. This is REDRUM. Written and presented by Grace Cordell.

Spotify link

Apple link

Or search REDRUM True Crime, wherever you get your podcasts.

Sources:

Lancaster New Era – May 29, 1928 – Stolen from Her Home, Strangled Beaten to Death

The Cincinnati Post – May 29, 1918 – Kidnaped Girl Found Slain Near Home

Petaluma Daily Morning Courier – May 30, 1928 – Girl, 7, Victim of Fiend

The Daily Times – May 30, 1928 – Police Hold 3 Relatives of Dead Girl

The Herald Press – May 30, 1928 – City Aroused Over Kidnaping, Slaying of Girl

Sapulpa Herald – May 31, 1928 – Chauffeur Admit He Slew Girl

The Belleville News Democrat – May 31, 1928 – Trap Fiend Who Kidnaped, Killed Girl

The Daily Advocate – June 1, 1928 – Young Victim of Kidnaper Buried Today

The Daily Times – June 1, 1928 – Fear Slayer May End Life

The New Messenger – June 1, 1928 – Insanity Plea to be Used by Child Slayer

Wichita Falls Times – June 3, 1928 – Accused Denies Guilt as Slayer of Child

The Gailon Inquirer – June 7, 1928 – Attorneys Threatened

The Brownsville Herald – June 8, 1928 – Kidnaping Case is Solved by Quick Work of Girl Reporter

Marysville Journal Tribune – July 5, 1928 – Hoppe Trial is Delayed

The Daily Advocate – July 6, 1928 – Charles Hoppe Admits Series of Brutal Clubbings

The Piqua Daily Call – July 7, 1928 – Defense Will Strive to Prove Confessed Club Killed Insane

Lancaster Eagle Gazette – July 16, 1928 – Confesses to Killing Lily Croy

The Portsmouth Times – July 16, 1928 – Charles Hoppe Is Found To Be Sane

The Dayton Herald – July 17, 1928 – Killer Breaks Down in Prison; Weeps in Night

The Evening Review – October 20, 1928 – Toledo Girl’s Killer Given Lease of Life

Troy Daily News – November 9, 1928 – Clemency is Refuse Slayer of Ohio Child

Troy Daily News – November 16, 1928 – Child Slayer Doomed to Die November 30

The Piqua Daily Call – November 30, 1928 – Chair to Kill Two Ohio Men

Sidney Daily News – December 1, 1928 – Rucker and Hoppe Pay the Penalty

The Plain Dealer – November 4, 1929 – Toledo Girl Is Missing

In January 1928, 18-year-old Wash Smith walked into a small country store in Banks County, Georgia. By the time he walked out, the store’s owner was dead, and Wash was being hunted down by a posse. It is a story of an interrupted love affair and the vicious retribution by both sides that followed, while bootlegging, hidden witnesses, and recanted testimony point to something almost sinister.

Sound Engineering by Dave Harris

Theme music courtesy of:
Cinematic Epic Emotional | EGLAIR by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US
Copyright © 2024 Crimes We Forgot - All Rights Reserved.

The Atlanta Constitution – January 4, 1928 – Posse Is Seeking Farmer’s Slayer

The Atlanta Constitution – March 22, 1928 – State Demands Death for Smith

The Macon Telegraph – March 23, 1928 – Smith To Die

The Atlanta Constitution – December 16, 1928 – Supreme Court Grants Retrial to Wash Smith

The Atlanta Journal – February 26, 1930 - State High Court Denies New Trial for Wash Smith

The Atlanta Journal – March 28, 1930 – Prof. Wells Urges Death Penalty for Slayer of Brother

The Macon Telegraph – March 29, 1930 – Youthful Slayer Seeks Clemency

The Atlanta Constitution – March 29, 1930 – Youth Under Death Sentence Says Girl Witness Kidnaped

The Valdosta Daily Times – April 1, 1930 – Wash Smith Gets His Life Saved

The Macon Telegraph – April 1, 1930 – Fate of Youthful Slayer Undecided

The Atlanta Constitution – November 8, 1930 – Doomed Prisoner Makes Escape Try

The Atlanta Journal – November 9, 1930 – Wash Smith Pleads for Commutation

The Atlanta Journal – November 12, 1930 – Conscience-Stricken Man’s Confession Despite Threat of Return to Pen Revealed

The Atlanta Constitution – November 14, 1930 – Prison Board Refuses Plea for Mercy for Wash Smith

The Atlanta Journal – November 14, 1930 – Governor Plans Mind Test for Wash Smith

The Atlanta Journal – November 22, 1930 – Wash Smith Dies in Electric Chair for Wells Slaying

The Macon News – November 22, 1930 – Youth Directs Own Death in Chair

The Atlanta Constitution – October 12, 1939 – Two Die, One Hurt in Baldwin Crash