We Would Be Dead

True Crime TLDR: Gay Nazis (Ernst Röhm and the Eldorado Cabaret)

Happy Pride Fiends! Alright we know it's July, but we had one more pride episode on the books so we're giving it to you anyway. This one is for the musical theater fans! Before The stonewall there was the Edorado Cabaret, a german, multi locational, enlightened, anything goes wonderland where liberation was was abundant. We have learned that you cannot talk about LGBTQ+ history without mentioning Weimar Republic era Berlin. There, for a time, life really was beautiful. This is the story of the real  Kit Kat Club and the glittery, tragic history that inspired the musical Cabaret. This episode had us riveted, and if you like it as much as we did, be sure to watch the Netflix documentary Eldorado: Everything the Nazi's Hate, link below. 
 
Click To Learn More
https://about.netflix.com/en/news/eldorado-everything-the-nazis-hate
https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/celebrating-queer-joy-in-1920s-berlin/
https://adventuresintimeandgender.org/stories/the-club-history/
https://perspectives.ushmm.org/item/photo-of-the-eldorado-club
 
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Be Gay Do Crime (The Stonewall Uprising)

Happy Pride Fiends! WWBD whole heartedly supports the LGBTQ+ community and so, we decided that it was time we covered the event that launched what we know today as Pride, The Stonewall Uprising. As we all know, Pride was first and foremost a protest, but the events that lead up to that protest might just surprise you. 
Click To Learn More
https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps
https://blog.smu.edu/ot8317/2016/05/11/leviticus-1822/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/lgbt-activists-remember-stonewall-riots-50-years-fighting/story?id=63083481
https://www.history.com/news/stonewall-riots-timeline
 
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Halfoween 4! (An Attack on Leslie)

Happy Halfoween fiends! It's time once again to brin you stories that explore our deepest, darkest, squirmiest fears!  Join Holly, Leslie and fiend favorite John Rattacasa as they bring you a smorgasbord of scary stories.
 
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Case File TLDR (Amber Hagerman, AMBER alert)

WEEKLY CONTENT IS BACK!
Ever wish you knew more about the cases the rest of the world has analyzed without you? Often, when cases are fully developed and researched, there's just too much information to take in at once. It can be overwhelming! Don't worry, you've come to the right place.
Welcome to Case File TLDR! Every other week we'll provide and quick and comprehensive catch up on cases that should be in your mental library but aren't, strange stories that made a huge but quick impact, or frequently used true crime terms and tropes you meant to look up but never got around to. You'll never have to nod along again.
Have you ever wondered why it's called an AMBER alert? Have you just been pretending to know because it seems like everyone else already does? We got you. This is everything you need to know about the tragic disappearance turned unsolved murder of 9 year old Amber Hagerman, the little girl who inspired a huge change. 
 
Click to learn more
https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2021/still-searching-for-ambers-killer
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/remembering-amber-hagerman-27-years-later/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/amber-hagerman
https://amberalert.ojp.gov/
 
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A Family Affair (Steven and Katie Pladl)

On April 12, 2018, 43 year old Steven Walter Pladl, murdered his father in law Tony, His infant son Bennet and his 20 year old wife Katie, then called her mother, told her to notify the police, and turned the gun on himself. Days prior to this horrific event  Stephen's wife Katie had ended their brief marriage by way of a phone call and Stephen, it seemed had become so distraught he did the unthinkable. We've seen this sort
of nightmarish scenario before, haven't we? "If I can't have you, no one can". This case however, is a bit different. Just a short time before their tele-breakup, Stephen and his wife stood trial in a court of law, and were ordered apart by a judge. You see, 20 year old Katie wasn't just Stephen's his wife, she was also his daughter. 
 
murdered his biological daughter, 20-year-old Katie Rose Fusco Pladl, with whom he had been engaged in an incestuous relationship, and her adoptive father, 56-year-old Anthony Charles Fusco, in New Milford, Connecticut. He later committed suicide in Dover, New York. He had murdered his and Katie's seven-month-old child, Bennett Kieron Pladl, the day prior in Knightdale.
Click to learn more
 
https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/mountpleasant/obituaries/incest-case-arrangements-announced-for-three-murdered-family-members/735725/
 
https://nypost.com/2018/05/01/mom-of-incest-murder-suicide-victim-describes-fathers-abuse/
 
https://www.mamamia.com.au/genetic-sexual-attraction-personal-story/
 
https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2018/04/23/biological-mother-katie-pladl-fusco-steven-pladl-incest-deaths/541402002/
 
 
 
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Cover Girl Interrupted (The Ivory Soap Murders)

In 1937 Pin up party girl Veronica Gedeon was a fixture in the pages of many true crime magazines. Her blond hair, bright eyes and slender figure were sure to sell more copies of whatever pulp periodical cover she graced on any given week that all of its competitors combined. So, when Veronica was discovered nude and strangled to death on the bed of her New York apartment that Easter evening, the whole city began to buzz with speculation. The killer had not only killed Veronica, they also brutally murdered her mother and their young border, but things were not exactly as they seemed.
This week we take a closer look at this rollercoaster ride, crime of the century case that time has forgotten. Sometimes called "the case of the Mad Potter" or "The Beekman Hill Maniac Murders", the crimes of a strange young man named Robert George Irwin are hard to explain and even harder to forget. This week's case is the stuff of film noir dreams and beautiful young girl's nightmares. 
Click to learn more
https://tampabay.newspapers.com/article/cumberland-evening-times/136771383/?locale=en-US
 
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bridgeport-telegram-veronica-gedeon/3747708/
 
https://casetext.com/case/people-v-irwin-22
 
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/who-killed-this-pretty-east-side-model-in-1937/
 
 
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Pick A Crime (St. Patrick's Day Live Campfire 2024)

Welcome to our live game of Irish True Crime Roulette! This year's St. Patrick's Day livestream featured 3 classic Irish true crime stories from the book Foster's Book of Irish Murder. All three were picked at random, live, with the help of our fiends, and as usual feature some lively color commentary. We are happy to bring you "One Sock" read by Leslie, "The Cake of Death" read by fiend favorite John Rattacasa, and "The Axe Woman of Fedamore" read by Holly. Enjoy fiends, Toast!
Click to learn more
Foster's Book of Irish Murder
 
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The Short Straw (The Horrible Fate of the Francis Spaight)

It's our Irish episode fiends, and boy did we find an eerie tale this year!
Just before Christmas in 1835 the British merchant ship, The Angerona, was on it's way from Newfoundland to Teignmouth when the captain spotted something strange. Off in the distance he saw a large vessel, ravaged by a storm, with no masts. Normally this would have signified a total loss of life, but as they got closer the captain saw something that would be burned into his brain for the rest of his life. There were men on the deck of this ruined ship, and they were jumping up and down, waving dismembered human arms and legs. The ship was called The Francis Spaight, it was an Irish transport ship from Limerick. The men aboard had been stranded for 20 days without food or water in freezing tempretures. Of the 18 original crew members, just 11 had survived... and 4 had fallen victim to an ancient tradition called: The Custom of the Sea.
Click to learn more
http://www.irelandoldnews.com/Clare/1836/JAN.html
https://www.rte.ie/radio/doconone/1314029-the-custom-of-the-sea
https://www.rte.ie/culture/2022/0812/1315357-irish-cannibals-on-the-high-seas-documentary-on-one/
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/71608919
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Spaight-24
 
 
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The Big Sleepover (The Suspicious Death of Tamla Horsford)

On November 3rd 2018, 40 year old Tamla Horsford of Cumming Georgia,  attended a birthday party with nine fellow football moms. The party took place at Jeanne Meyers' Spacious 6 bedroom home in a well to do local subdivision called Quail Hollow. Since there would be alcohol at the party, everyone was invited to stay the night, everyone meaning nine white women and Tamla. 
The next morning the Forsyth County Sherrif’s office would respond to a 911 call from Jeanne Meyers at her home. She awoke that morning to find Tamla lying dead in the grass below the second floor balcony in her back yard. 
No lifesaving measures were taken, no ambulance was sent, and no immediate investigation of the scene occurred. According to the the Forsyth County Sheriff's office, a horrible accident occurred and that was that. When faced with any good evidence that this was the truth, Tamla's family, on the other hand, was not so sure.  This case is filled with conflicting information, corrupt officials, and a stunning lack of competence all of which has left us and many others wondering: Would any of this have happened if Tamla had been white?
Click to learn more
 
TamlaHorsford.net
^ Michelle's Graves's Website. She has done a ton of comprehensive work but please proceed with caution, there are unobstructed sensitive photos on this page.
Rolling Stone 1
Rolling Stone 2
Local News Article
Letter from the Horsford's Attorney
Justice For Tamla Facebook page
Sign the petition!
 
 
 
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Forever Young Love (Patricia Mann & Jesse McBane)

On February 12th 1971, young lovers Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane attended a Valentines day dance, they left at approximately 11:30 PM to go parking and never returned. The next morning's Jesse's car was discovered but there was no sign of him or Patricia anywhere. After two weeks of searching their bodies were found 3.9 miles away from their car. They had been tortured, murdered and left in a wooded area. 53 years later we're still left wondering, what happened to Patricia and Jesse and who was responsible for their deaths? 
Click to learn more
The Long Dance Podcast
https://www.newsoforange.com/news/article_b9e5fb30-377c-11e8-89de-2f9c73bd334f.html
https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/couples-abduction-torture-murder-remains-a-valentines-day-mystery-in-durham-almost-4-decades-later/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesville-record-and-landmark-valentin/19678272/
 
 
 
 
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