History Dweebs - A look at True Crime, Murders, Serial Killers and the Darkside of History

The Hartford circus fire was one of the worst fire disasters in the U.S. history. The fire occurred during an afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus that was attended by 6,000 to 8,000 people. More than 168 people died and more than 700 were injured.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Carl Switzer was better known as the beloved "Alfalfa" from the "Our Gang" series.  In 1959, Switzer was brutually murdered during a dispute over $50.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Charles "Pretty Boy Floyd" was an American Bank Robber and Folk Hero who met his fate when Police gunned him down in 1934.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Audie Murphy  was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II, receiving every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army. After the war, he went on to have a remarkable career on the big screen.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Charles Whitman was an intelligent, mild -mannered former Marine who killed 16 people at the University of Texas in 1966.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On February 3, 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with the pilot, Roger Peterson. The event became known as "The day the music died"  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Thomas "Boston" Corbett was a Union Army soldier who shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. A colorful character,  Corbett served as a POW in Andersonville, was court martialed twice (once sentenced to be shot), castrated himself and escaped an insane asylum only to die in the Great Hinkley Fire.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Zona Heaster was only 24 years old when she died in 1897. Initially, it was determined she died of natural causes. That was before Zona's ghost showed up to testify and help convict the man who murdered her.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Belle Starr, was a notorious American outlaw. She associated with the James-Younger gang and other outlaws. Belle was convicted of horse theft in 1883. She was fatally shot in 1889 in a case that is still officially unsolved. Her story was popularized by novelist Richard Fox, and she later became a popular character in television and movies.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nathan Leopold, Jr. and Richard Loeb , commonly known as "Leopold and Loeb", were two wealthy students at the University of Chicago who kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in Chicago, in 1924, in what was widely described as "the crime of the century".  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

George Remus was a Cincinnati pharmacist, businessman and attorney. During prohibition, he was known as "The King of Bootleggers". Remus became the inspiration for the title character in The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It has been reported that Remus made more than 40 million dollars the first three years of prohibition and then....he met a woman.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Richard Benjamin Speck was an American mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped, and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital on July 14, 1966.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was a member of Charles Manson's "Family," who was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1933, Retired Marine Corp Major General Smedley Butler was approached by agents of wealthy businessmen.  They wanted Bulter to help them overthrow the government and install a Facist regime in the United States.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does a Gangster, a Porn Star, Liberace's lover and four dead bodies have in common?  They all are featured in our story today about "The Wonderland Murders".  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.