Sword and Scale Nightmares - The Final House

Episode Date: April 20, 2023

In fall of 1974, a father and son bond over multiple armed robberies, sexual assaults, and brutal murders.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5863198/advertisement

Breaking news corporate tax is here. Starting from June 1st, there are three things every business even free zone companies must do to comply with the UAE's new corporate tax law. Get taxready at taxready.a.a an initiative by virtue zone. Upstairs in the bedroom. 39-year-old Mary Rudolph has already been ordered to remove all of her clothing. The man holding her hostage flipped the mattress off the bed and used electrical cords to secure her hands and feet to four spring coils. Then he forced her to perform oral sex. After he was finished, he looked

down at her and said, let the boy do whatever he wants. He opened the bedroom door, shouted for the boy, and left helpless Mary tied to her bed springs. A few chilling moments passed as carpeted footsteps got closer and closer, until a young teenager stood in the doorway. Mary's eyes had been covered in tape, but all her other senses were on fire, as the effeminate young man removed his clothing, approaching her with thoughts of lust and no one there to stop him. Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares, True Crime for Bedtime, where Nightmare begins now. The First House It's a winchery November after noon in Lyndon Wald, New Jersey, 1974. A 21-year-old mother has just finished putting her two kids to sleep when she hears a knock at the door. When she answers, there's a young boy standing there, saying that he's selling cufflinks and

tie-clasps. The woman politely declines, but 15 minutes later, the boy is back, asking if she can break a $10 bill. Again, she turns the boy down. 20 minutes later, there is a third round of knocking. Only this time, it's a man standing there. She opens the door correctly assuming it's the boy's father, but not fully understanding either of their intentions. Not fully understanding either of their intentions. In a flash, the man has thrown all of his body weight into her, knocking the young woman down and then removing a large knife from a brown bag. She begs for her children's lives, and the man assures her, they'll be fine, as long as she cooperates and doesn't make a sound.

The man instructs his young son to search the home for valuables. Then leads the woman into her bedroom, where he strips her naked, ties her up and forces her to perform what is described in the police report as a perverted sex act and just as quickly as they arrive The man and his son are out the front door several hundreds of dollars richer The second house It's now December 3rd in an upper middle-class neighborhood near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A middle-aged woman has just returned home from a half hour of running errands, when

she's pulled inside by the two intruders who broke in while she was gone. She struggles to get free while the man ties her arms behind her back and barely notices when the man reaches over and cuts her chest with his knife. Just as they did before, the young boy searches the house while his father ties the naked woman up to the bed. The doorbell rings. The lady of the house is expecting guests.

Three guests to be exact. Neighborhood friends coming over for lunch and a friendly game of cards. And one by one, the guests begin arriving. Each one surprised by the set of house keys, still jingling in the front door, when they are suddenly greeted by a boy in a ski cap and a man pointing a gun at their face. Each guest hands their purse to the boy and the man leads each of them upstairs into separate

rooms, removing their jewellery and threatening them as he ties them up in places pillowcases over their heads. $20,000 richer. The man and the boy are out the front door. Back before the crime spree started, the man seemed to be completely at odds with all six of his children. The year was 1972 and the man had been arrested after branding his daughter's thigh with a hot iron after she tried to run away. She told police of regular beatings, threats with a knife, and on one occasion, getting stripped below the waist and whipped in front of her family. Two of her other siblings recalled being tied to a radiator and beaten with leather strips

and hammer handles. In the lead up to the child abuse trial, the man was being held at a maximum security hospital to be evaluated for potential mental illness. Doctors concluded that he suffered from a form of paranoid schizophrenia, recommending that he be committed to a hospital. At court, he was found guilty on all charges, but ultimately sentenced to just 11 months, only serving seven of them before he raised enough money to pay his bail. Strangely, all three siblings later recanted their statements, saying their stories of abuse were made up. Police figured the kids were being coerced somehow, but it was never proven. All of the charges were dropped, as if the horrifying incidents had never happened.

The third house is located in a truly lush and beautiful neighborhood outside of Baltimore. It's only been a week since the father's son duo busted up a game of bridge. And now, one stayed over, an attractive 28-year-old woman's spots a man and a boy, as she walks to the local post office holding her four-month-old daughter. They're gone by the time she returns, and with a baby dosing off in her arms, she doesn't even think about locking the front door on her way inside. It's a mistake that she regrets when she hears a loud knock followed by the front door creaking open and footsteps bounding up the stairs.

bounding up the stairs. The man from earlier is now holding a revolver, and the boy is there too, brandishing a knife. Despite threats to the baby and another perverted sex act forced upon the young mother, it seems the man and his boy are only interested in the thousands of dollars they'll steal as they go sprinting out the front door. The fourth house invasion begins the way the others have, and also the way today's story began. Another young mother is defiled as a lanky teenage boy rifles through drawers and cabinets, filling his pockets with cash and other expensive goods. But this time, the young boy is called into the bedroom, given permission by his father to do whatever he wants to their hostage.

The helpless woman has all four limbs bound tight as the teenager prepares to mount his prey. But after a few awkward seconds of trying to rape her, the young boy gives up, frustrated he can't maintain an erection. He returns downstairs to his father, who has him load up several suitcases with expensive home appliances before hitting the road once more. How they continue to get away with these crimes, while staying completely anonymous is anybody's guess. And by some miracle, every one of these victims managed to endure their terrifying encounters and escape with their lives. But all of that is about to change. Because the

fifth house will also be the diabolical duos, final house. And by the time the dust has settled, multiple murders will be revealed. The Final House Leonia, New Jersey January 8th, 1975 Just over a week into the new year and it's time for another father-son bonding experience. They notice a woman cleaning up around the house and she spots them outside through the window. The man knocks on her door and when she answers, he says he's a salesman with John Hancock. The woman declines but he's already through the door. The woman's four-year-old son clings to his mother's leg, and the man points his gun directly at the small child,

informing them both that this is a robbery. He leads them to the bedroom, makes both mother and child strip naked, and then ties them up. The man asks the mother if anyone else is home, and she informs him that her ailing 90-year-old grandmother is upstairs. He sends his son upstairs to check and make sure she is as immobile as the woman is claiming. When they're satisfied she's not getting up from her chair, the two begin overturning the house, taking jewelry, cash, and whatever else they can find.

That's when the doorbell rings. The two have experienced interruptions before, so they don't hesitate to grab the new arrival at the door and force her into the house at gunpoint. It's their initial hostages sister. She tells him there's a box of cash nearby and he sends his son to go get it. Pulling out his knife, the man asks the new arrival, if any more people are coming. Yes, she informs him. Lots of people. To pull back for a moment, the house at 124 Glenwood belonged to Edwina Romaine. It was Edwina's 90-year-old mother that was upstairs, and it was two of her daughters and a grandson now being held hostage.

Edwina was visiting a relative at the hospital earlier that day, joined by her third daughter and her daughter's boyfriend. When the three returned home, they were understandably shocked as they were forced into the house by a large man and young teenager wearing a ski parka and a pom-pom ski cap. Inside the house, it's starting to get crowded. a teenager wearing a ski parka and a pom-pom ski cap. Inside the house, it's starting to get crowded. There are now nine people here, including the two burglars.

The teenager is holding the gun pointing it at the newly arrived boyfriends head while his dad ties his hands behind his back with his own belt. Because he is the only male hostage, the boyfriend has led downstairs to the basement, and his pants and underwear are forced to the floor. The man then shows the boyfriend his knife, lowering it to his penis, saying, if you move, this goes. That's the end. That's it, that's the end of the story. That's the end. That's it, that's the end of the story.

That's your nightmare right there. Just kidding. The doorbell rings again, but this time it's a 21 year old nurse named Maria Fashing. She lives a couple blocks away and was just checking in on Edwina and her family on her way to the hospital. But unlike the other captives, Maria Fashing will not do as she's told when the man puts a gun in her face. She fights hard, not to be tied up, and when she's brought down to the basement and ordered to strip and perform filet show, she refuses that, too.

Aggravated, the man reveals the only male hostage who passed out after having his manhood threatened with a knife. The man tells Maria that he wants her to bite off the hostage's penis. But of course, she won't do that either. This seems to be the final straw. The man slashes with his knife and makes three deep cuts across Maria's throat. She screams out, help me, he's hurting me. I'm drowning. The man then brings the blade down hard, plunging it into the young nurse's back, gurgling and shouts of no are heard upstairs as the man stabs the nurse multiple times in the chest, piercing her heart and sending her crumbling to the ground. What happens next happens quickly.

Fearing that her daughter will be next, Aduina's maternal instinct kick in and she manages to get to her feet and go running out the front door, hysterically shouting for anyone to call police and help. Inside the boy cries out to his father, somebody's loose, at which point the man comes bounding up from the basement. Seeing the front door is wide open, the two duck out the back door, leaving most of their bounty behind, along with the bloody corpse of Maria Fashing. It wasn't long until another neighbor unaware of the crimes that had just transpired, called police.

She was walking her dog when she saw the father and son running through the park, holding hands, stopping at a nearby basketball court where the father removed his shirt and tie and appeared to be washing his hands in a nearby puddle. She watched as they ran away and approached the area, curious about what she just witnessed. Sure enough, the man had left behind a tie and white button up shirt. They were clearly stained with blood. As news of the fatal home invasion began circulating through the city,

police received an important tip from a local bus driver who perfectly recalled a young boy and his shirtless father boarding the bus in a hurry. Along with other witnesses and counters, detectives were able to piece together the approximate route of their escape. A close calming of the streets revealed

the pair had ditched evidence in various shrubs and bushes, including distinct jewelry taken from Adwina Romaine's home and a fully loaded 32-calibur revolver, and the knife used to murder Maria Fashing. But the most important break in the case came after following up on the Bloodstained Dress shirt that was abandoned in the park. The inside of the shirt collar contained a small tag with what appeared to be a last name printed on it. The name Spelldow was Callinger, K-A-L-I-N-G-E-R. An odd name for sure, but after it was shared with intelligence units all throughout the

Northeastern United States, no matches came up. In the meantime, investigators determined that the dress shirt had been made for a specific store in Philadelphia. Two extremely persistent detectives then spent a week talking to laundromats and dry cleaning stores all throughout the neighborhood, eventually ending up at a place called Bright Sun Cleaners. The owner at Bright Sun immediately recognized the small tag stitched to the dress shirt. He explained that he marked all of his customers clothing with the tags, but that the machine

he used could only fit a maximum of eight letters on each tag. That particular customer had a nine letter name, Callinger, with two L's. The owner dropped the second L when he printed the tag. That's Joe Callinger, the owner told him. Adding that Joe runs the shoe repair place right down the block. Police entered the cramped and filthy unit above the Callinger shoe shop. Both of Joe's sons were there. Both had sandy blonde hair and were of similar build and age. By now authorities

had a match with fingerprints lifted from when Joe and one of his sons robbed four people at a bridge game in Philadelphia months earlier, but which son was it? Joe and both of the kids in question were arrested on charges of burglary, robbery, and kidnapping. But within 48 hours, the younger son was released. In the end, only one of the boys had been missing from school on the day of the crime. Joe's son, Michael. At the police station, Joe was officially charged with the murder of nurse Maria Fashing. And as 13-year-old Michael passed him on the way to the interrogation room,

Joe said, if you tell them anything, I'll kill you. Michael was as loyal as ever, Michael was as loyal as ever and never said anything to incriminate himself or his father. Joe, on the other hand, was descending further into madness. Now incarcerated, he began babbling on about his divine mission from God, which included a command to destroy the human race, beginning with nurse Maria Fashing. But unbeknownst to everyone except his own son Michael, God had also ordered Joe to do something even more perverted and disgusting. Something involving small boys.

And Daddy's little helper was happy to assist. Joseph Lee Brennan III was born in December of 1935. He spent a few years in foster care and was eventually adopted by Austrian immigrants Stephen and Anna Callinger in 1939. They were severely abusive, forcing Joseph to rest his bare knees on sandpaper for hours, burning him and beating him with hammer so viciously it caused a hernia before his 10th birthday. When he was brought home from the hospital his adopted parents lied and told him the doctors performed the surgery that would keep his bird or penis from growing and prevent it from working properly. After his father died years later, Joseph took over the family shoe making business, as well as the family tradition of terrorizing his own young children.

Following his 1972 child abuse trial, you'll recall that Joseph only had to serve seven months in prison before his kids recanted their claims, and the matter just went away, which also meant Joseph stopped seeing his court-recommended psychologist. In the months following his prison sentence, Joseph was having regular hallucinations, mostly of a disembodied head named Charlie that antagonized him and forced his actions. He was also in daily communication with God, whose divine orders included the command to murder young boys and sever their genitals. He confided this very important mission to his teenage son, Michael, asking for his help. Michael, known to his friends as Little Wolf, allegedly replied with an enthusiastic,

glad to do it, dad. The first two kills. It's early summer, 1974. Little Wolf should be out causing mischief with his friends, light vandalism among his favorite pastimes, but instead, Michael is out helping his dad with his sacred plan, hunting the streets of Philadelphia under orders from the Lord himself. The neighborhood of Kensington is a low-income area, now that many of the industries from the past decade have moved out.

Many homes are abandoned in favor of the suburbs, as immigrant families looking for the American dream begin to move in. Joseph and Michael cross paths with seven-year-old Jose Coyazo, a Puerto Rican boy from the neighborhood who they just happened to meet on the corner. Perhaps not knowing any better Jose makes the terrible mistake of talking to strangers, and he's lured into an abandoned rug factory. Once trapped inside, the young boy is stripped naked, tortured, and suffocated to death. His penis is also cut off, and his nude, mutilated body is discovered shortly thereafter. Around this time, July 1974, Joseph takes out a $74,000 life insurance policy for one

of his less agreeable children. 14-year-old Joseph Jr. referred to as Joey, has just been released from the reform school he was sent to for having homosexual relationships with older men, spending time with his father and brother proves to be incredibly dangerous. Joey is almost forced off a cliff during a family photo, and later almost trapped into a fiery inferno after his dad takes him on an intentionally bungled arson run. Joseph takes a more direct approach on July 28th,

leading Joey to the basement of an abandoned building, not far from their home. Michael is there too, allegedly egging his father on to tie his older brother Joey to a ladder. As he undoubtedly struggles for his life, Joey and the ladder are placed face down in a puddle of water until he drowns to death. Joseph contacts police to report his son missing, and two weeks later, when the boy's body is found, Joseph reaches out to collect on his insurance. Unfortunately, though, there's a catch. Sometime during the last couple of weeks, the abandoned building that had recently become a crime scene has been demolished. Grewsomely, Joey's corpse is found partially crushed by machinery,

making it impossible for authorities to determine the official cause of his death. Though the medical examiner does note the circumstances are suspicious. The insurance company denies Joseph the money he thinks he's owed. But luckily, for Joseph, no actual evidence ties him to his son Joey's murder, and the investigation seems to cool down as fall approaches. Just four months later, November 1974, Joseph and his son Michael go on a demented five-house crime spree, stealing tens of thousands of dollars in cash and goods,

culminating in the murder of Nurse Maria Fashing. In 1976, Joseph Calinger Joseph Callinger was found guilty of Maria's murder and sentenced to life in prison. This time, it would run consecutively with the 30 to 80 years he was sentenced to in a separate trial involving armed robbery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The judge referred to Joseph as, quote, an evil man, utterly vile and depraved. But incredibly, at this point in the story, nobody knew about the first two murders we just described. These shocking revelations didn't come to light until nearly a decade later, when an author became interested in Joseph and Michael's terrifying string of crimes.

Over the course of six years, Joseph met with the author and told her about his visions of blood, his warped relationship with his son, and ultimately, the absolutely brutal details of two never-revealed murders. Seven-year-old Jose Coyazo and Joseph's own flesh and blood, 14-year-old Joey Jr. Titled The Shoemaker, The Anatomy of a Psychotic, the book was released in 1983, and with its publication, a whole new round of legal proceedings followed. Regarding the two newly revealed murders, Joseph underwent another week-long trial and was found guilty of both counts of first-degree murder. Additionally, both Joseph and the book's author were successfully sued by a victim's family member under a son of Sam Law that prevents killers from profiting off their crimes.

This family was ultimately awarded all of Joseph's royalties, plus the earnings from the author and publisher. Finally, in March of 1996, Joseph was observed having seizure-like symptoms in his cell and began choking on his own vomit. He was transferred to the infirmary where he suffered a heart attack and died. Twenty years earlier, back in 1976, it was determined that Joseph's son, Michael Callinger, was under his father's control during their deadly five-home crime spree. Though his father had encouraged his son's participation throughout, a judge ruled that

Michael was salvageable and accepted a guilty plea of two counts of robbery. Michael was then placed on probation until his 25th birthday. For a time, he lived with foster parents, and eventually he changed his name and moved out of state. All of this happened before Joseph confessed to the slangs of Jose Coyazo and Joseph Calinger Jr. While being interviewed for the controversial true crime book, the shoemaker, Joseph once again implicated his son Michael as an enthusiastic accomplice. Even going as far as to say that if Michael hadn't encouraged him, he'd have never gone through with his depraved impulses.

In 2023, Michael would be in his early 60s, wherever he is. Hopefully he has gone on to lead a productive life and has raised a family with love and affection. It's entirely possible he has contributed greatly to his community. But we don't know that, for sure. We don't know where he is, or what he's done since. The one thing we know for sure that the Fables told us when we were children was that little wolves have a way of hiding and sheep's clothing. If you enjoyed the show, please consider joining plus at swordandscale.com slash plus. But if you can't, consider leaving us a positive review on your preferred listening platform, sweet dreams and good night.