Morbid - Crime Countdown Presents: Halloween Special

Episode Date: October 27, 2020

Guys!! It’s a special Halloween 🎃 episode of Crime Countdown! If you haven’t checked out our other podcast with Parcast, give this one a listen. We think your will love it, especially when digging out that extra nightlight tonight. Enjoy! -Alaina & Ash See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Hey weirdos, I'm Alena, I'm Ash, and this is a full on creep fest of an episode of Crime Countdown, a Spotify original from Parkast. If you haven't listened already, you'll want to hear this one. We're ranking the scariest Halloween murders, including poison candy, prank scone sour, and unsolved cases.

So nightmares are real, without further ado, the top 10 Halloween murders. There is an urban legend about Halloween. A local neighborhood had a decorating contest, and the scariest house went all out. Spider webs, rotting pumpkins, even a fake corpse hanging from their tree. Did the week after Halloween? The winning house didn't take their decorations in. Nor the week after? Or the week after Halloween, the winning house didn't take their decorations down. Nor the week after, or the week after that. When the HOA called the cops, they revealed a sickening truth.

The corpse wasn't a decoration, the homeowner had hung himself. 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. Hey all you weirdos, welcome to the Parkast original Crime Countdown. I'm Ash, and I'm Alaina.

Every week we'll highlight ten fascinating stories of histories most engaging and unsettling crimes All picked by the park-hast research gods. This week we're counting down the top 10 Halloween murders. Okay, first things first. What's your favorite Halloween costume? Like what is first? Get down to business. Um, I was a dead bride for like three years and a world when I was younger. You were. I kind of wonder what that says about me now. I guess we'll find out. I don't know what's yours.

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 unbranded. It's just what you are now. But my favorite costume was a Jack the Ripper victim. And John was Jack the Ripper. It's how I knew he was the one. I remember you getting ready for that was a Jack the Ripper victim and John was Jack the Ripper. It's how I knew he was the one.

I remember you getting ready for that with that like latex stuff on your face and I was like, what is she doing? Oh yeah, I went hard with the spirit gum. You did. I went full for it. 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. Yes, you did, I remember that. I was like, you're not gonna get anything, and then you'd return with a pillowcase full. But a lot of people's sophomore year were like, you're far too old for this. Yes, there were things like, you cannot.

No, 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 that is. It's very wholesome. It's very wholesome of you. Mimic should.

Like, let me help you with that. Let me help you decorate. Well, what's not so wholesome is what we're covering today. Elena has five Halloween murders and so do I. But we don't know who will tap out first. Let's start the countdown. 10. I'll get us started with number 10 on the countdown, the cold case of James Adomsky. On Halloween night, 1982, Adomsky 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' body buried in a shallow grave. Ooh, I've never heard of this one. Like, what an escalation. Yeah. Wow, sirs. Adamsky was only 18 years old, which when I first read that I was like, this is a grown man, and now I'm like, you're 18.

I know, that took a turn. He was a high school senior. Like to put that perspective. 1982 was two years before President Reagan raised the drinking age. So he could, he could drink legally. So just, I know I was in anybody's like, what you're doing out of bars.

I was confused, but he was fun. Fake ideas, you know. His costume was what he called the American Jigalow look and it was probably inspired by Richard Garr's character in the 1980 film American Jiglo There you have it get it. I love that for him. So smooth. I love it He had gone to the five and 23 bar in his hometown of Depeu, New York near Niagara Falls And the girl who left with him was the one last scene with him But she was quickly ruled out as a suspect. Okay, well at least she didn't have anything to do with it.

Because I was gonna say, she was like, where's that girl? We got a track herd out of Binder, but they found her. Luckily, they did their job. Detective work check. And like detectives, you better find that girl. His body was found on December 26, 1982. Oh, that's horrible.

Yeah, a little ways after that. His 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. Yeah, usually you leave a part of you,

you take a part of them, it's how it goes. Yeah. Current DA John Flynn said, the two strongest theories that occurred here are one, something happened in that bar, and two, a random hitchhiker or person driving a car picked them I feel like something happened in the bar. 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 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 Ooh, you never know. Look at you just just place some things out there. I know with no evidence to back it up I love it. That's healthy. I love it In 2017 Flynn and the city of Lancaster put up an $11,000 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 gonna solve it, guys. We're on it. 9 Number 9 is the 2011 murder of Taylor Van Deast 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 and Hour later they found her dead body. That's so sad. Isn't that crazy? That is so fast, too. She just leaves for Halloween night. So the last text that she sent out said, quote, I'm being creeped, which what?

That makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. But also like, who among us has not sent a text similar to that? Like, when you feel like someone's following you or something, you're like, someone's being creepy. Oh, I send that text all the time. Like, I'm at Target and I'm like, I'm being creeped. I'm being creeped. It's like such a normal text to send.

Yeah. And I'm always on alert. Yeah. I have my head on a swivel. Well, people presumed obviously that she was stocked 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. Never assume. Never. Don't do it. You know what it does. Taylor's body was found in bushes near the train tracks, and her zombie makeup had blended into her bludgeon wounds. That's horrific. Is not so horrible. That's not even... 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. Oh, so he was just like a terrible human being all around. A real bad guy. Just from the jump. Now listen to this, his own dad helped cover the crime up. 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. Okay, thank you. I was like, that's bad parenting. That's real bad parenting. Like, stand by your kid, I get it. Yes, it's your kid. No matter what my kid does, I'm gonna be on their side. But you make your kid take responsibility,

your kid murdered someone. Yeah, that's a learning period. Yeah, you can still love them, it's your kid, I understand. But like, and obviously this is a habit, like it's only gonna get worse. Your kid has a problem, you need to take care of it. Well, luckily his efforts failed, and Matthew was arrested and convicted

of first degree murder in 2014. Good. A retrial did take place in 2018, where he was convicted of second degree murder in 2014. Good. A retrial did take place in 2018, 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. You murdered a woman. Yeah.

Lack of parole is extremely rare for murderers. That's awful. Hate that. 8. That's awful. Hate that. Number 8 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. Oh my god. Like what? You should expect a little prank on Halloween. Well, it's like, what are you doing? You egged his car. So these kind of reactions to little pranks and people being angry about little pranks is not very uncommon, weirdly enough.

Really? Since 1984, at least 24 people have been seriously wounded or killed in violence sparked by eggs throwing. Wow. Yeah, egging cars is vandalism, so it's a crime in and of itself. I think eggs can really mess with the paint on your car too, so I guess that makes people real mad. It's 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 and it's so far enough. If it's gloopy enough, I feel like it won.

And it's gloopy. It causes gross, like, it's just a nasty thing to do. You know, not picturing, don't you? Never been kissed. Yes. Of course. When she gets egged in the face and he calls her a loser. The worst scene in any movie. It gives me that lump in my throat. It does. It makes me want to cry. Go watch it. It's really terrible. It'll ruin your life. In all 24 cases of this, a group of boys through the eggs and the target confronted them. And then violence ensued.

This is just like Carl Jackson. That's crazy. 24 cases just all the same like that. Yeah, it's crazy. He was just 21 years old, and he saw Halloween as dangerous. So he was not super into Halloween, but he'd agreed to go out with his girlfriend to pick up her nine-year-old from a party in the Bronx.

So he was just doing his girlfriend a solid. I know. Like, that's terrible. It took his family two years to even discuss this incident. They couldn't even talk about it. Well, yeah, They were devastated. 17-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. Feel like 20 years is not even enough. Yeah, that's not murder. Or shooting someone in the head, all right, like that's crazy. Over a prank.

Well, every Halloween, Carl'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. What a lady. Seven. Up next, the controversial shooting of Yoshi Hitori. Shortly before Halloween 1992, 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. Web paymaker was friends with Yoshi and wanted to bring the Japanese exchange student to a Halloween party.

And Yoshi 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. Oh, that makes me so sad. I know. Everyone that knew Yoshi considered him like a free spirit, a good time. He dressed up like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever.

Yes. Incredible. I almost just said Saturday Night Live. Saturday Night Live, you know? You know John Travolta. Yeah. And Webb dressed as an accident victim. Ooh.

I know. We imagine when people ask you what you are and you're like, I'm an accident victim. Well, then a really bad accident happens. Weird. Don't like that. Weird choice. Rodney Pierce aimed his gun at Yoshi who thought it was just a Halloween you what you are and you're like, I'm an accident victim. Well, then a really bad accident happens. It's weird. Don't like that. Rodney Pierce aimed his gun at Yoshi 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 like you're standing or ground because they knocked on your door accidentally doesn't make any sense to me. Not cool. Obviously much controversy ensued. The Hattories visited the US to promote gun control legislation.

Handguns are actually illegal in Japan. So this was obviously like earth shattering to that. I didn't know that. I didn't know that either until this. President Clinton signed the Breedy Handgun Violence Prevention Act a few weeks later. Hmm. So at least something good came out of it. Something came out of it. Still so sad.

Yeah. Also on our list at number 6, the 2012 murder of 24-year-old Rebecca Gay. Early Halloween morning, Rebecca was asleep in her home when her neighbor broke in and killed her. What? Even worse, this neighbor was both her church's pastor and her mother's fiance. I'm gonna need to know a lot more. You sure are. And you know what? I wonder if they picked this for me

for a reason. The killer's name was John White. Stop! Which is my husband's legit name. Stressing me out a little bit, John. He previously served time for assault and manslaughter. But then he became a pastor in Michigan, and everybody was like, you know what,

we wanna see you turn your life around. And it sounds like he did for like maybe a minute, maybe like a a minute, maybe like a hot minute, hot seconds, a hot second. 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.

Okay. He had fantasized about this crime for at least two full weeks while watching, ready? No. Necrophilia porn. Ew. He would drink 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. No surprise. Disgusting. Hello, my name is surprised. Ew. Yeah. White dress Rebecca, this part I like, okay, what? This may be transcendent to another place. Yeah. 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-grampa, I hate every single thing about that. So he murdered his mother and then dressed him in a little three-year-olds. Like a little chubby three-year-old. Like you took away his mom and then got him ready for Halloween. You dressed him up in a Halloween costume, like some adorable three-year-old Halloween costume, and then just brings him to his dad's house.

That adds a level of horror. Yeah, that shook me a little bit. So the sheriff didn't sense any remorse from White. He just said he basically just regretted that his congregation was gonna find out, so he was embarrassed about anything. How about his girlfriend? No, didn't care.

Or how about the fact that you just murdered somebody? No, he was like, I'm a pastor, I'm really embarrassed about this. Yikes. Well luckily he was given a life sentence, but he died by suicide after hanging himself in his cell in 2013. 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. That was a terrible one all around. I know. Like like really hate that. Are you expecting anything on the list that you haven't seen yet? There's definitely one. Yes, there's a huge one that I'm waiting for.

Yup, same here. But we'll see if it comes. I think I have it. I think you do, because I don't. I hope you have it. 5. Alright, let's jump back in with number 5 on our list of Halloween murders. Number 5 would be the triple homicide of the Lysky family.

In 2010, 16-year-old Devon Griffin came home from church to find his mother, brother, and stepfather, all still in bed, covered in blood. At first, it seemed like a prank, but then Devon realized it was all too real. His step-brother had murdered their family. My goodness. So Devon's brother was bludgeoned with a hammer, his step-dad shot in the head,

and his mother was shot and also sexually assaulted. Oh my god. And it's like a terrible buffet of murder methods and weapons and everything. And he just came on from a church like that's so sad. Devon called his aunt who then called 911 and the search was on for the missing stepbrother. 24-year-old BJ Liske. Devon last saw BJ earlier that morning when he stopped by. Devin spent the weekend with his dad, but he wanted to stop home to change for church.

And as he changed the head out, Devin didn't realize that his entire family was already dead. So he was there? Yes. It took only a few hours, luckily, for police to arrest BJ. He was found hiding out at the family cabin. Cool. It took only a few hours, luckily, for police to arrest BJ. He was found hiding out at the family cabin. Cool. Like really, I mean, I'm glad that you were dumb enough to go there, but of all the way getaway places.

Yeah, come on. BJ actually had a history of violence and mental health conditions. He had previously attacked and attempted to sexually assault his stepmom, who was Devon's mom. BJ had been drinking with his dad, who was Devon's mom. BJ had been drinking with his dad who was Devon's stepdad the night before. And maybe the alcohol aggravated his poor mental health. People think,

it's possible. In court, BJ 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. He didn't, though. It's like, no, that's very Halloween of you, but no, I just did it.

PJ committed suicide while serving three life sentences with no chance of parole. Stop giving us cases where these jerks get to do it before they have to pay for what they did. They get out of the equation prematurely and it makes it exciting. It's not fair. Four. and it makes it exciting. It makes it exciting. It makes it exciting. It makes it exciting. It makes it exciting. It makes it exciting.

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Yeah, it's like a massive one because it also, it has to do with RFK's nephews, Tom and Michael Skakel, who were the main suspects. Oh, mm-hmm. And these two guys could afford the top lawyers. Obviously, of course, we love a Kennedy scandal, especially in Massachusetts. It's a New England vibe. It is. This is in Massachusetts, but we love it here. 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, and the theory that everyone goes with

is 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. So the golf club was a murder weapon, and it belonged to the Skakele family. Okay.

So there's the smoking golf club. I mean, let's just go with it. There was another main suspect, and it was Skakel's new-in-town live-in tutor, Kenneth Liddleton. We just thought, new-in-town live-in-tutor. You got to test. He's a new guy. He's here to teach us stuff.

And maybe, maybe murder people. Tom Skakel and Kenneth Liddleton, they had the same alibi. They said they were at home watching the French connection on TV. Okay. I looked it up, so didn't know. It's a movie and it stars Gene Hackman.

And it was directed by William Friedkin, who directed the exorcist. Oh! Find the little facts. That's cool, because I was gonna ask you what that was all about. See, we're bringing horror back into this, because this is horror all around.

Michael was charged as a juvenile in 2000, and he was convicted in 2002, released in 2013 and then his conviction was vacated in 2018 and now there's a new trial pending. Whoa, that was a whirlwind in a half. This case is in six. It was like first, but wait and there's more in this and that. But don't sit down because there's more. Whoa, well this is my favorite part. Michael, Skakel, changed his story. He was not learning French. No, first he said he was watching TV with a friend

and then he was like, oh no, no, no, no, I remember now. I was actually just masturbating in a tree outside Martha's window while watching her undressed, 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 can just like, oh, my bad. I was jacking at Nutri. You. Wow. That was gruesome. Like, wow, so many different levels. Hate that. Three. 3. 3.

Number 3 on our list of Halloween murders, the 1957 Trick or Treat murder. Peter Fabiano answered his doorbell on Halloween night, thinking it was just a trick or treater. 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 in their Sun Valley, California home after a trial separation. During the separation, Betty lived with Joan Rebell, and the two allegedly became lovers. Love us. 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 Goldine Pizer. That's the only thing to do when you're scorned. Joan and Goldine were both closeted divorces. I always want to closeted divorces. I think they were like closeted lesbian divorces. Oh, okay. I was like, wait, you were closeted about being divorced? I was like, that's weird. They kept it very harsh about the divorce.

Well, pervice, Joan seduced Goldine. Goldine claimed her murder motive was to quote, please Joan. That's always the motive. I was gonna say that's always what they do. 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 Goldine to shoot Peter as she drove the borrowed getaway car. Ooh. Goldine carried the gun concealed in a brown paper bag. The little things just popped up to the door like, hello. Okay.

I mean, I guess that in 1957, maybe that's what you trick or treated with. That's what you do. I don't know. I think it is. Peter died from his wounds in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Oh, Peter.

And he had just reunited with his wife. Peter. Betty. Afterwards, the woman burned their clothes and they split up. Joan told Goldine, 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 you. Just forget you have a new one. That's gonna cost a lot in therapy bills, actually. It certainly is. Well, Goldine 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. That's kind of sketchy. It is pretty sketch. I love that Goldine after she was like Fogetiavonumi. She was like, oh, okay.

I'm gonna go tell now. I know. She was like, okay, she was like, I'm not gonna forget this. That idea. 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. Because when I saw that, I was like, ooh, live show. My next one is horrific in every way. And I totally forgot it existed and now I know it and now you're all gonna need to know it too. Wow, so get ready. Okay, let's do it. Next on the list of Halloween murders at number two is the death of 16-year-old Shirley Ledford. The fifth victim of Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris, Shirley Ledford was one of their most infamous killings.

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. Yep, in your whole life. Yep, pretty much. So these two were known as the toolbox killers. Bittaker and Norris used creative, aka real sick, methods to torture and kill their victims. They often use tools like pliers, hammers, like wire, and like, did they like, they like shoved things in people's ears? Yeah, it's no good.

The first four victims received kind of little press, which is insane, in this aggravated bitter. Since childhood, he admired outlaws and bad guys. Oh, 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 flex since Manson is in a serial killer,

but, okay, yeah, he's not a serial killer. Weird flex. I'm just saying. 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 messy and they just get sloppy. So

they started hunting in Bittaker's neighborhood in San Fernando Valley, California. That idea. I was gonna say that's just stupid. They were driving around a big white van 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 teen. This teen was a waitress named Shirley.

Now Bittaker 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. She was like, oh, like this guy's fine. They had talked. They had been friendly. Oh, and then what happens is beyond. So they both violently sexually assaulted and raped Shirley. Oh, no. Biddaker smashed a hammer into Shirley's elbow 25 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! 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! After she was dead, they dumped her battered body in a random front yard with like her arms outstretched in a front yard, like naked with her arms outstretched in a front yard. Now, Norse 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. Why? I mean, you always read the transcripts. And you know what, I'm sorry for that because a lot but like, have you read it? Now you will, yes. Why? And you always read the transcripts. And you know what, I'm sorry for that because a lot of you are gonna go read it and it's gonna ruin your lives.

It's like the toy box killer. Yep, sure is. But later, it was played as evidence and some people fled the court remanteres. Obviously. I can't imagine hearing it. No, it's a whole new level. No way.

The FBI has the tape and they use it to desensitize their agents. I feel like that just creates that. That's how bad that is, though. Yeah. They play that because it's so bad that it can desensitize FBI agents. I feel like that would desensitize you beyond repair, though. Well, you're going to come across really bad things.

Obviously. You need to be able to handle it. So hearing the worst of the worst. I mean, there's nothing worse than this. There really isn't. Oh, thanks. You need to be able to handle it. So hearing the worst of the worst. I mean, there's nothing worse than this. The realism. Oh, man. So the press warmed the quiet neighborhood and the killers got the PR that they wanted.

And they were finally arrested late that November. At least they were like put to a stop. Ugh. 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 knew you were waiting for this. It's horrible. Timothy was the victim of every parent Halloween nightmare, poison candy.

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. 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 ate 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. Eight years old. That's so awful. His autopsy revealed that the candy was laced with potassium cyanide.

None of the other children ate theirs, but tests revealed that the candy contains cyanide as well. So he would have murdered five kids. Five kids and three of them weren't even his own. She is. Either way, it's messed up, or you're not even. Yeah, I'm not an alien. The pixie sticks were stapled,

so it was clear if someone had tampered with them. Ronald's claims they were from a house that had an answer to the door at first. Why would you let your kids eat staples? Can't, like, you're claiming like, yeah, it was stapled, weird. Yeah, so weird, huh? No, you would never let your kids eat that.

No, I don't even let my kids eat candy we get from Halloween. I just buy other candy. That's true. I saw you do that. No, I don't even let my kids eat candy we get from Halloween. I just buy other candy. That's true, I saw you do that. I'm like defeats the purpose, but you are weird. At 9 a.m., the next morning, Ronald called about a life insurance policy payout. He had taken out $10,000 per child

to that previous January. Not weird at all. Like $10,000 on your children? And why? Make sense that the money was the motive because he was over $100,000 in debt. There's other ways. Just get a job or do anything.

Do anything literally. Do anything. Do anything else. A search of a Brian's house found scissors with Pixie Stick residue. Hello, proof. Hello. Ronald had poison the candy.

Another suspicious thing is that Ronald wrote a song about Timothy joining Jesus in heaven, and he grew agitated when his family like wouldn't watch him perform on TV. I hate that. Like, what? I don't wanna watch you sing about that. I hate that so much.

He was found guilty of one murder and four attempted murders. He was given guilty of one murder and four attempted murders. He was given the death penalty and executed 10 years later in March of 1984. Honestly, I stand like totally in the gray area of the death penalty, but I would have wanted to administer the injection on the stewed personally. 100%. Given the chance. Like he's evil. Yeah, that's somebody that I just 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, poison, you heard it. He was convulsing and vomiting. Like that's horrific. And like 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 as like, as a cover, I think. Like, just to make it like,

all day, all poison. Right, that is messed up. I think that number one was number one. Yeah, definitely. I mean, definitely my number two, the like toolbox barters, that's a doozy. 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 and the surely lead for one was just like, happen to be on Halloween. Right, and if you really didn't have to do with Halloween. So it makes sense. 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 gonna find the. I don't know. I don't know if we can count this But I'm gonna say it anyways. So we covered a case on morbid. It was the Chelsea Brock case. Oh, yeah It wasn't technically on Halloween, but she was abducted from a Michigan Halloween party Mm-hmm, and it was October 26th 2014 big mic and she was found the following April brutally murdered and it was October 26th 2014. Big Mike. And she was found the following April brutally murdered. And it turns out it was this human turn named Daniel Clay, who murdered her after the Halloween party. But it's a really crazy case, like,

lots of twists and turns. But it was like a big Halloween party in a field. So that was like every year and 700 people show up to it. It's like, it's big, like Halloween party. Yeah, it's a big thing. Big Mike's Halloween party. It's interesting, but it's Halloween related. I guess. Yeah, I'm not wrong. It's not left off, but just adding to it. There you go. Yeah. Thanks for listening. We'll be back next week with another great episode. Remember

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Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen ad-free with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. What makes a person a murderer? Are they born to kill? Or are they made to kill? I'm Candace DeLong, and on my podcast, Killer Psychie Daily, which you can find exclusively on Amazon Music, I share a quick 10-minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the criminal

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