On today's episode, Karen and Georgia cover the Chocolate Box murders of 1898 and the murder of Dominick Ciscone during the 1977 New York City blackout.
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This is us minutes away hours away from going on vacation. Yet has that's what this is we are taking.
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So I have a historical murder case for you today from eighteen. Ninety, eight, it's the chocolate box, murders, great marin, point,
to me that when the sources from this story is an article written by a journalist, name, katy Dowd and she writes
Were the website, s f gates that I believe, if I could
mistaken, but I'm pretty sure as Hell gate is what these savages
equally turned into after printed media died. Anna, it's a great website. It's my dad's favorite
website to send me a true crime are
those from and
and pointed out. We cited katie's reporting in the ivy kroger case that I just did recently and then the demon of the belfry case that I did a while ago, so how we just one
give a shot out to katy dowd for writing such excellent, true crime stories for the us have gate that are so great and then so one
forces that we use today is the twenty. Sixteen us have gate article by katy, dowd, entitled murder by male there's, also, a twenty twenty two murder by gaslight article
and it's also titled murder by mail and murder by gaslight. I've mentioned on the show a ton of times. I am because a lot of the historical cases that we talk about are highlighted also on that website that websites written by author,
Robert wilhelm, and if
you're looking to read some historical. True crime he's got
I've books on amazon holy, I just ordered the bloody sunday
and wicked victorian boston. Oh my god, these two people, like they should fear best friends. These two authors for real, well,
well wilhelm kind of is my best friend because I have used so many of his articles of bright, big shout
to chew crime. Journalists we'd be nowhere without you try and please
you're interested in historical, true crime, you can buy those books on amazon and there's a bunch of choices and support for crime journalists in all the different things they do, there's also with a third
source that I'm an invention is a mental floss article by Jake, rosson, titled, strange
with candy delawares chocolate box, murders of eighteen. Ninety,
ok. This sounds fan yes, so we begin on august
ninth eighteen, ninety eight in dover, delaware, it is,
tuesday evening at the mansion of mister and missus John, be pennington, so the pen
and live with their adult daughters, mary elizabeth dunning and aided dean and their daughters, respect a family is so obviously big house,
they can hold. It can hold of its people its ancient there and the whole gangs getting ready to host a dinner that night with some friends, idas, cooking fish and corn fritters, because it summertime
who doesn't want their mansion to smell like a fish and oil and fried oil fritters.
No, I see visits eighteen of an open a window, so this fish donor is lovely
whose off without a hitch when it's when their done eating so
I guess, move out into the veranda it's a clear evening.
cool, breeze, breaking up the summertime heat
blowing the smell of fish every which way you know. I love to add to these sentences that I feel like when you walk downstairs after cooking the night before fish and it still fucking, reeks of fish
my god, I just don't know how people do it. I don't know how people do it it's the twenty first century. Can we please figure out a way to make fish, not smile and at the very least
it's the twenty first century. Can you please
never migratory fish in your workplace. If you're, lucky
to have a workplace. You actually go into do not ever think.
They re heat some salmon, and now I get away with it now, maybe on your last day, just together
I thought you yeah. If you leave in bitter than sure that's a different, that's a different story
so they're out on the veranda and mary elizabeth takes this opportunity to bring out a lovely box of chocolates that shit,
seized in the mail earlier that day, all the way from San Francisco, where she and her husband, John dunning, used to live johns, not at the dinner that night. So san francisco at that
time had become famous for gourmet, chocolates gear delhi. Of course,
guitars had been operating in seventy go for decades, so the boxes beautiful had as gold swirling
ripped that spells out bond bonds on the lid, its wrapped in a silky pink bow. The price tag
still on the box on the flax right, their re it. So it's like he am break out the good stuff who want some here but
What mary elizabeth doesn't know is exactly who sent them, there's no urge return and dress. It. Just has the smeared postmark that says San francisco bay
It does have a note attached and the note says quote with love to yourself and baby MRS see
so when they were living in the bay area. Mary Elizabeth made a close friend, nay, mrs corporally, so she assumes mrs cordially centre these chocolates, but a really good
anybody that knows Mary Elizabeth, because she is a legendary sweet tooth. It's like what people know about her. They know that's the perfect gift, so Mary Elizabeth, basically tugs on the pink bow opens. The lead helps herself to three pieces of chocolate. I did
it's too, and then the four other dinner guests each take one
and basically, they just kind of enjoy themselves on the veranda, with a nice little bit of desert the evening
actually dies down. The guests go home every one in the pennington mansion goes to bed, but
a few hours after turning in Mary Elizabeth starts to feel nauseated, then the nausea big
it was unbearable and then
just down the hallway ida starts becoming incredibly sacking.
And before long, a doctor's called both sisters are
rough shape. When the doktor examines Mary Elizabeth, he says she quote: complained of a been and tingling.
sensation in her legs and feet and burn
and boiling sensation in her stomach. End quote: her pulse is so weak that the doctor can't find
it actually, on her rest, dear her eyes and fair
are swollen she's clammy, her breathing a shallow and inconsistent both
fears are given remedies to treat the effects of food poisoning, but its seems much worse than food poisoning, always thereby giving cocaine anyways and its citizens
hope that our heroine hope is. This is a remedy this
It's kind of its like a speed, balikh, cocaine and heroin mixed together to clear your food poisoning right annual also come up with a restaurant concept so over the net
they are, so the four other dinner guests also get very sick with a strange sudden illness, but they eventually
cover? The pennington sisters, though suffer
two days, and then they both die agonizing deaths.
Yeah maryland
it is only thirty five. An idea is forty four, oh I'm I'm calling them the
two sisters: that's their maiden name stage have married names, so the pennington family, of course, is devil,
stated and stunned as they search for answers. The physicians who treated the sisters stick to their theory that it was just a horrible case of food poisoning, but their father, John Pennington. The patriarch of the family, does not accept this diagnosis,
because they all eight the same dinner that night, but only six people got sick.
and then John realises he had
many of the chocolates and neither had his wife, the only people who
m are the ones who got sick
well. John raises his suspicions to the police and he hands over the left box of chocolates and there's still a future
is of candy inside in three distinct shapes
to seem very well crafted they look commercially made. One of them is soft. One of them is hard, but there is a third type of chocolate in the box that looks out of place. The police chief describes it, as quote soft, with every appearance of being homemade, which is
after kind of thing. I think you would pick up on if you had a box of like a sordid chocolate, sagoths anti, you don't think so will like
it seems, like I was just trying to imagine it if it was like one locally
a carmelites one, look like a toffee here and then a third one. Looked like a rolled up ball of something rights re, it looks intentional. I mean fighter now got it I'm just saying I would absolutely be susceptible to chocolate, poisoning, goods
so the delaware state chemist is brought in to examine these chocolates. He performs a careful analysis of the three types of her in the box and he comes to a shocking conclusion
the oddly shaped homemade looking chocolate is filled with lethal amounts of arsenic. So that's what arsenic poisoning does here. That's all
really horrible waited. I definitely arsenic is tasteless.
Odorless resemble sugar and has
ITALY, been very clumsily mixed in into the candy. The chemist tells us-
ownership jury quote I found pieces of arson,
as large as peace. The sender
package, had not even taken the precaution to pulverized poison but left it in lumps horrible. So this is clearly a case
premeditated murder. Now the very next person the police want to speak.
two is mary, Elizabeth Syria.
Cheating gambling
our drinking husband, John dunning, not John John. So
the time of mary elizabeth death Sheena.
been john dunning had been married for seven years on paper. They seem like the perfect couple. She comes from a rich,
politically connected family, her father actually
served as a: u s congressmen. Meanwhile, her husband
Esteemed rapporteur, with the associated press he spent time
the stories in south america, in europe and in the south pacific any particularly respected for road
waiting on military conflict, so he's he's real.
He made an aim for himself and their basic
kind of like in it couple
The two of them are very different people, she's, deeply religious and, like many,
torreon, women, modest and conservative. Whereas John is the exact opposite. He is like a classic quota, cope reporter type. He gambles he drinks to excess.
Each she's on Mary, Elizabeth, so constantly any so bad at hiding it that she basically
knows about it and it's
Unhappy marriage but Mary
but has very little recourse because, of course it's the turn of the sun
three divorce, is not an option for her, so she just basically
has to try and make it work and live with it.
Eighteen, ninety one when John gets a job running the apc west coast office, Mary Elizabeth,
and her daughter leave delaware and moved to san francisco with him. Basically hoping that this,
New location is gonna somehow,
or mend the relationship which it does not.
It. Never never does I just repurposed our theme song, so
mary Elizabeth is now far from her family and her support network
John meanwhile, continues gambling drinking cheating. You know I'll just kind of ink,
it gets worse and then
ninety five. While writing his bicycle through golden gate park, which is such a funny like it
the same setting is like
the nineties, when I lived there said the bicycle, has one
giant wheel and the frightened one, but I feel in the soil and there's a little kid.
playing hoop next to him as he does. He writes by just slightly different idea of it. It's one of those banks so funny,
people fucking right. Those then said
on as it as
falling out on that by a can through golden gate park. He sees it.
and sitting on a park bench and he's immediately transfixed
because he is a true, legitimate horn dog. He hops off his bag. He said
adding with this woman. She responds immediately, is very open to it and they basically just begin flirting with each other. This type of public exchange is very unusual and deeply scandalous in victorian society, but these two they don't care about the rules. They are so duty ass. They don't.
Give a fuck there immediately, deity of which has its own magic, sure but kind of sucks. When you have a wife and baby at home right, so they may
plans to rendezvous later that day and
this woman's name is cordelia bodkin, she's forty one years old. So
ten years older than John, and she is not your typical victorian woman. She is bold. She's dramatic she's, very flirtatious, which are all very
boo behaviors in this era. Women are expected, of course,
the demeanor and chased, and they don't get it
those gigantic icicles legs together. Ladies always bullshit, it is both
Cornelius husband, is a rich business. Man named welcome bodkin
now he had courtiers
and welcome, welcome and it turns out
oh come doesn't seem to mind. He actually listen, Stockton, which is like what would you say an hour and a half year south of san francisco, which, on giant tyre bicycle time is,
is for using. It would take for father never end just in time to write your butt
you drink out of that canal and then you don't make it to stop the right. Sell these sorry, it's saturday in that central valley, raincoat ethics. I don't know
I think it is anyway. No one cares what I care so basically welcome:
see cordelia that often and that the nature of their relationship is kind of unclear. Some sources say their estranged or separated, but welcome still bankrolls cordelia kind of
for the top lifestyle regularly gives her money. So she just was a woman that was like
born too early for what?
They truly rad kind of sugar, daddy's lifestyle toto. It's like your old,
rich? You go, live and start in all moved to the city.
fucking, hang out and golden gate park and pick up man and a and everything's cool, but it's actually
not so it's only a matter of time before Mary Elizabeth.
realises her husband once again has a mistress and this time
the final straw for her. So in eighteen, ninety six, Mary Elizabeth.
Else John, that she's leaving san francisco she's taking their daughter and going back to dover and
after she leaves John sinks deeper into his alcoholism. He spends more time and more money at the race track and
He eventually has to move in with cordelia into her apartment they drink and gamble together and when John runs out of money to place. That's at the trial
cordelia uses her husband's cash to spot him, so
they're kind of balling out.
there really living it up. Then things blow up,
long after Mary Elizabeth leaves him
John is caught embezzling at four thousand dollars from the associated press, which is a hunter
forty five thousand dollars in today's money. Don't do it like its believed,
stole to pay off. Gambling debts is like he's really gotten
self, into out as serious alcohol. I pick up here from outlay alcoholic tickle. Hey sounds delicious
the ape he doesn't press charges against him, but they do fire him from their his alcoholism becomes. Why did I put the
accent on the evidence from there is
alcohol. Lily is its becomes all concerning. He can't keep a day job. He gets other jobs at other newspapers and places.
report, he gets fired at every single one of them and pretty soon cordelia, and
money, become his lifeline, but
into John cordelia also becomes increasingly possessive. He says quote: she is
ally company, but has raised Mary held several times. She wants me to herself and gets Joe
if I look at another woman, yeah yeah did that's what we that's what
that's kind of how it is when you
dollar money hang out right, drink sleep together, yeah soldier
Life becomes more chaotic. He starts, of course, to miss Mary Elizabeth.
good old. Why? Oh now yeah, of course, because she
Doesn't the problem. You were the broad, that's right, settle
Now he values the stability and security that key
and in their marriage, and so he starts writing letters to her and basically she writes back.
nay rekindle their relationship from afar. What a cat! So
in eighteen. Ninety eight john heads, absolute rock bottom and I think he must have been
Obviously he was a really really good reporter, but he must have still had some friends at the associated press because he ends up getting a job and so, after all that
and very motivation is unclear, might have been his colleagues trying to help him. It could have been just he was such a
reporter. No one else could do the job, and maybe somebody stepped in and was like look. What are you doing? Get your shit together and go. Do this job so either way they want.
To go to the caribbean to cover developments in what,
eventually turn out to be the spanish american war and john seize this opportunity as a fresh start that he very desperately needs. So here
I'm getting out of san francisco being able to clean up its act proved to everyone, specifically his wife that he's a
yeah man so he's like. I will take this job, so John accepts the ape he's offer he passes stuff at cordelia up
meant any ends. There are now almost three year relationship
So it's more than an affair at this point and said true, bummer he's there for the good times so
He tells cordelia. He won't be coming back to california once he finishes his
in the caribbean, he's gonna go back to the east coast and patch things up with his wife. Cordelia is, of course,
The stated by this information- and she quote- web
bitterly when they parted so
She wasn't just like. Sounds good, live your life like it wasn't casual for cordelia,
johns away. Mary Elizabeth receive regular letters about his journalism about what he's doing here reassure sir he's left all his bad habits behind in san francisco. He promises
they will be a better husband and a better father from here on out and mary Elizabeth who, basically just has no other options, is
to give him yet another chance, so as the weeks pass
or letters are exchanged. The
seemed genuinely excited to reunite once Johnny
finishes, assignment.
But then, in July, Marian
the best begins receiving additional letters in the mail, but these ones are not from John but they're about him. So
none of them were signed, but they mentioned very personal details about him, and one says quote: your husband is constantly with this:
interesting and pretty woman. She is now
forcing from her husband all
to the marked intimacy with MR dunning end quote dear yeah, this gets very clear. This
it's almost clear from the beginning, raise the some basic instinct gone on. Yes did you ought to that?
news the new version. Now it's get Joshua jack.
And the girl from party down. What's your name, lizzie kaplan, yes, Howie kaplan,
That's why I came out of nowhere. I watched the first episode less I it was really good yucca. I like that. It's a series and setting out a movie it's got way. Is that fatal attraction? Yes, what did I say? I said basic instinct
leave us alone in that
we did
vacation horrors did Lamar out of its legal already. My apologies,
little attraction is the series that crimes
japan over her face against it. Does the sharon stone movie? Ok, guys
I get it together, hurry. I say to myself: ok over the next
weeks more letters from this anonymous anonymous centre
arrive and some of the messages read like threats, including
on that explicitly warns Mary Elizabeth against reconciling with her husband and, of course,
elizabeth is rattled by all of these letters. She tells her family and she saves all of them so fast forward to august ninth, which
a month is now passed since the first anonymous letter has arrived at the pennington mansion, which brings us back to the night of the fish dinner. So basically, John is informed about the poor,
listening death of his wife and his sister in law and he's dead
stated. He immediately boards a ship and comes back to delaware and as soon as he sets foot on the east coast is swarmed by reporters who ask who poisoned your wife, police of
asked John the same question. He claims to have no idea that
Please show John the box of chocolates and the note that came with it and how and the postmark that says San Francisco. The investigators also add that before her death, Mary Elizabeth had been
receiving threatening letters from an anonymous sender. Her father John Pennington thinks the handwriting in those letters is a perfect match for the note on the box of chocolates and then it all clicks.
Dunning gives the police a name cordelia bodkin. He admits
officers that he had an affair with her any thinks it's possible that cordelia picked up on the fact Mary Elizabeth had a soft spot for sweets.
And could have sent the poison candy as a deliberate act of revenge for being dumped, move, yeah, it's lake,
How would she have known that cause? You fucking said oh yeah. How could she have known anything because you you shut up with this
and then MIKE and then we're like well by him and go get my life together and she's an innocent victims life. She has nothing to do with her. She's been fucked over the wife and you're gonna fuckin breton, her right
it's it's. I thought for a second, I thought you meant cordelia and I'm just like. Oh, oh, I have great. I have news.
for you not turning ya know that she is such an innocent
damn and like the eggs, it's so sinister,
you like for some are threatened with some letters from non those letters and then I'm in a trick you into eating candy, and he also thinks that the mrs see sidney
sure was used by cordelia, because cordelier
john talk about mrs cordially over the years. Dear so again, he's
and enough quality time with this woman that heat spilled the beans be highly and enable
to do this, so the dover police immediately reach out to the
san francisco, telling them cordelia bodkin, must be arrested right now before she has a chance to flee so
the police track her down to her husband
combined cans house in Stockton and accordingly,
Katie Dowd, the writer for SF gate when police,
and her the arrest warrant. Cordelia is quote preparing for
second or third outfit change of the day and quoth. She reportedly looks the
sworn over and then quote sinks into the sofa with a moan of anguish. So before the officers take cordelia into custody, they say that she can go pack some closed
take with her to jail and she wines up stuffing a trunk was so many of hearst outfits that it takes two officers to carry the trunk to the police car. I don't think that's all
prison works. I don't either. Here's also how prison
definitely doesn't work. Cordelia is reportedly escorted from the home on the arm of the police. Chief, ok, sexy, rich people and here's the thing prosecuting cordially
How can it will prove to be messy cause? For starters, there's confusion about
the charter should be filed, it could be in
a foreigner where the crime was planned and executed or in delaware, where the victims were actually killed. So after some
legal back and forth between prosecutors in both states. Its decided that a trial will take place in California, so this means several witnesses.
Have to travel to the west coast from delaware to testify. According to one report quote
allegation of lawyers, doctors and bereaved family members arrived by train from delaware, just as the trial began, looking
wilderness by what they obviously regarded as the wild west in turn.
Cosmopolitan san franciscans saw the eastern visitors
as provincial and slightly out o brained dislike, it feels a bit leg, classes, stir something classes and also like it feels like that. Obviously it I think it's a second
cisco reporter that's little defensive work like they thought we were there, but they're the ones that look like that. Where it's like excuse me, you don't know what these people are thinking and they just like the beverly hillbillies coming on in the family, exactly it's like. If they live in a mansion in delaware, I don't think that they were provincial right, that they weren't. When will this east coast
was caused rivalry.
eighty. Ninety, eight okay, so this trial starts on september. Sixth, it's an absolute media circus. The public is obsessed, of course,
the salacious story of murder by chocolate and like a soap opera.
that's playing out in real life. People follow testimonies closely and they rally behind their favorite witnesses and, for his part, John
It does not seem to have really
fans at all. Journalists betsy cope, who was reporting at the time, notes that
an testifying John comes across, as quote the whiny sort. End quote,
inserted a moment of drama into the proceedings when he acknowledged that he had been into
with many women during his stay in san francisco, but couldn't room
for all of their names. Oh dear you're going turn an eighteen, something courtroom against you with that young people are just
fainting away in the seats, so went. Cordelia takes the sand.
She doubles down on her plea of innocence, but how
explanations and her elaborations basically are lost on this courtroom. Instead, they focus.
The more colorful, an incidental things that she has to say she kind of upstage herself at one point she said quote
I admit I have led a gay life. I have lived for the pleasure of
world, letting none absolutely none of its pleasures pass me by. I would stop at nothing to gratify my desires, its core dick cordelia, that no don't you got sunset boulevard vibes, which I gonna dig
I mean you didn't, I dont like hers is a murderer, but she is she really.
She's, not self aware enough to even be light
it seems like me, manipulate ever try to act like she's this innocent. He write anything. She gets up there and does little show
whether john dunning counts, as one of those desires is unclear because she cordelia
describes him in court, as quote a poor little fellow and quote the most pitiful object. I ever saw ouch yeah
so initially, the case against cordelia doesnt seem very strong. The prosecution puts a handwriting
expert on the stand, who ties the anonymous letters and the chocolate box? No to her
In addition, her alibi, cordelia alibi, turns out to be unverifiable. That's pretty much. All the prosecutors have
then about a week into the trial they get a break police have finally trace the chocolates back to a specific
andy store, pause and sons,
section three age, a s and a clerk, their claims were sold. Candy too
on that look like cordelia, and this
Its action was memorable to the clerk, because the woman asked for only half a box to be filled,
with chocolate set yeah. So then the prosecutors
the drugstore cashier named David green on the stand and green testifies. He sold cordelia arsenic back in june,
and he remembered the sale clearly, because one
He asked cordelia why she needed the arsenic cornelius
that she was using it to bleach straw for a hat and green
thought. That was a strange answer, because there were much safer chemicals that she could use for bleaching like fleet likely. If so, then, the prosecutor
put forward their most damning evidence. Yet because at cordelia is san francisco apartment they find string and a seal for the candy box from has and sons. So she opened it.
pulled off, the string pulled off the sea on put the candies in ship them away, which is like
got rid of the trash eyes. She then she put those up on a thing and said-
look at the gay life I'm leading keeping evidence in my apartment. So none of this obviously looks good for cordelia, but it is all circumstantial of it.
there's no smoking gun linking heard of the murders, but she and her lawyers struggle to put forward a compelling defence. So, on December thirtieth eighteen
the eight the jury deliberates and the entire city of san Francisco is waiting on pins and needles to see what the verdicts gonna be. And finally, its announced cordelia
can is guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. There's historians to point out that there was not enough evidence to convict her of a life sentence, basically that the evidence that they had wasn't
it wasn't enough to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. You know a lot of circumstantial evidence adds up to proof. You know what I mean right, but when it's a life sentence,
rights, like you kind of, want all of its indisputable got. It so
cordelia immediately appeals the verdict and then based
We in jail, she's just starts furnishing herself and she starts
for ways to make basically to make
incarceration fun accordingly
Eighty doubts article quote: she entertain freak
guests in jail and spent her solid
three hours finding diversion in the vanities of womankind, which we
only assume means she was just cycling through outfits from her big from looking. You know, whatever giving herself manicurist prisonment those prison massacres in a prison manicure did they have black sheep
depends back than now. So
this would be very unusual and would also suggest a certain level of friendliness with prison guards, but you also have to
Oh, you know ad in the fact that this is a classic like jazz
AL's story. She is an adulterous, she is a murderer. She is like this kind of gossip is just gonna can
new on the story. She's never going to be like no one's ever in a second
ok wait, maybe we're taking this a little.
You far, it's like the fallen woman whose ruined a family and all that some cordelia certainly seems to be getting preferential treatment
in fact in may nineteen hundred, while her case is still in the
this process. The judge who preside
over her trial spots, her out in public.
When they wind up on the same street car together
The judge doesnt can
and her directly keyed, but he does go report it to local officials, and so articles start
running in various newspapers, prison officials, of course, earned
sent the judge was mistaken and cordelia herself spins. These rumours to her advantage saying there
be a look alike in san francisco and that that person
I have been the one that the witnesses saw, buying, chocolates and arsenic. That's gotta, be it yeah, eventually, cordelia
he'll is granted and she does get a new trial, but the outcome as the same she's found guilty.
and she received a life sentence, then
nineteen o six, which is the year of the horrifying earthquake. Basically, every built
sam just go is pretty much levelled or burned to the ground, so she is transferred across the bay to san Quentin.
And this is when everything starts- to get at turn into
we'll bummer for her. First of all, san Quentin is a couple.
the different situation than like a city jail right. So it's really tough intense place on top of which she starts,
about one personal tragedy after another. First, her ex husband cars are welcome. Bodkin divorced her during
proceedings. Then
finds out that he's passed away. Then she hears that
Her son has passed away and then
in nineteen o eight john dunning, whose only in his
mid forties. He died
in philadelphia, he's totally destitute and like shamed and basically he's
died alone and which is the horrible
I would imagine. Alcohol was probably part of that
in some way?
years later, a nineteen ten
cordelia s. Own health takes a turn for the worse prison staff. Note
no longer her energetic over the top self. Instead,
past few years, have left her deeply depressed, of course, and in march
that year she dies of what they call quote, softening of the brain due to melancholia whoa, just like basically, she clinical depression and yeah. You know when she dies she's, just fifty six years old wow what a waste I know. The whole thing is like
that's what I said the good times get christian parable of leg. What the bad life will lead you to cairo, their horrible so much
people dead, yeah, it's just awful sonia the case of
www bodkin and the murders of Mary Elizabeth and her sister ida are talking
of course. For years, Katie dowd points
in her article quote: a jilted lover poisoning a common gesture of love. A box of chocolates was too sorted to ignore end quote, but it's also historic,
causes katy, dowd points out quote it's likely the first time and
american history, that someone had used the postal service to commit murder.
oh that's interesting right, and that is the story
if the poisoning dust of mary elizabeth dunning, an idle dean,
and their murderer. Cordelia, balkan wow good job here I never heard that before one thank you
cut from the turn of the century
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Glenn, Christine Barnett, think they're adopting a little girl named natalia grace, but they soon begin
suspect intaglio may actually be an adult their story
the community plot, but in their case, reality is much more shocking than fiction. The joy that the bar nets felt around the adoption was quickly replaced by fear, as Michael claim,
Natalia repeatedly tried to harm members of their family. The nightmare grows when their neighbors begin to have their own run ends after us
accusations, officials travel to ukraine to find natalia birth, mother and answer that
questions who
natalia and how old is she really, but they find leads to jawdropping trial that you have to see the valise buckle up here now.
true crime of session and be prepared. Nothing is what it seems. The curious case, a battalion grace the can't miss three night event starts monday. May twenty? Ninth at nine on I d go back
Well, I'm gonna do historic story as well pangs that mine takes place in the historic decade of the nineteen. Seventeen is a little different
still pretty old so pretty far away, and this is a momentous occasion that I'm going to tell you about its one, singular day in new york city that still remembered as one of the most significant events in the cities history. This is the story
nineteen, seventy seven black out in new york city and the one murder that took place at night dude
again, I know probably what would it amount to three sentences about the that
out in its from a tv show that I can you remember what the tv show was, but, like I'm so excited to hear about this work, I will have to tell you and everyone there is a pbs american experience called black out. That is fucking, incredible, oh, go and watch it immediately. It's like this is just barely touches the surface of this story because are so much going on at this time. There's racial turmoil. There is dislike level of these rich. You now assholes and dislike poverty. This ignored class of people
yet how much going on boiling you now so watch blackout mp for pbs. This is also that era where they used to take a lot of bee role. Shots in sir
in neighborhoods, where there would just be like a crumbled. Building that was burning on the inside and just like super devastated, yeah devastating parts of a lot of fires happening at the time, because a lot of the building owners would just burn the place down for the insurance money rather than keep them up. So there actually were a lot of burnt out buildings at the time because of that
it's just a horrible time. Horrible. The source of these today are a medium article by jenna vasquez. As a new post article by brad hamilton, an episode of the shoes leather podcast by rachel
ellie and clare Murray and a time article by jennifer latin
shoe leather, I've never heard of their pod kai. Now curate, I'm gonna write that down read the description
also shoe leather is an investigative podcast that goes behind the scenes of forgotten stories that shaped new york city, a nice, I'm totally gonna. Listen to that! That's great everyone, download shoe leather, okay and the rest of the sources can be found in our show notes. Alright, here we are it's july of nineteen. Seventy seven and it's a terrible time to be in new york city.
not the disneyland that we all know and tolerate of new york. Now that was completely different city, as I'm sure you seed and photos
but also the one thing that stress its inside
time in new york city, fitzhugh, med
human away. People from California don't understand now, so not only is it extremely hot in july in new york, everyone knows that. But it is
The beginning of one of the longest and worst heat waves in the cities
three not year, so instant, it's hot, inhuman! Everything smells when it's hot in new york. It is a different monster. The humidity and grossness in new york has everything's like ass ball and pavement. There's no trees,
There's this garbage everywhere, there's just so many human beings that lived there area, idiotic concentration of lake,
city life that you can't help, but have you have the most amount of god,
you have the most a man like waste or whatever yeah, oh man, so the temperature rise to over a hundred degrees,
on a regular basis. The humidity makes a damp heavy heats and around this time, new york is also experiencing a wave of crime that is so profound and terrifying to citizens that they have taken to calling new york quote. Fear city. Well, that's nickname. According to one article from nineteen sixty seven to nineteen, seventy,
even murder and assault rates in the city have more than doubled and burglaries. Burglaries burg, vernacular, burglaries, fergus
is yet you than it there have tripled. This is also nineteen. Seventy seven, when son of sam is active. Oh yes, that is more. He gets caught said David Berkowitz, one of the cities,
It's notorious serial killers for the past year has been running around on his fucking. Killing spree has not been identified or caught. Everyone is so on edge in that city, to say the least. So there's a lot going on watch the n, their son of sam documentary. It captures that part of it really well, it's so good. So on top of all this there's a very deep class
divide in the city. The rich are very rich and the poor are very poor. We've heard of that before, haven't we yeah, it sounds familiar. Unemployment and poverty rates are at record highs, and the city has been slashing social services for years to save money, which is a really big deal. If you think about all the social services that are needed to run a metropolis city like new
to make sure everyone gets their fair in our share? The roads mechanism are doing
you had four fucking ever do is like, but my mom used rant about at the dinner table being a psychiatric nurse and watching the private to see
the
industry watching
she'll services get cut as if you're saying over just knock it to fill in potholes. It's like you know we're not going to support the most vulnerable and exposed people in our community and we're going to act like that
just fine, which it so is now and then like when we slash afterschool service.
As for those in need, then, when you know crime rises, because there are so many people are running around after school. You're gonna blame it on them. Instead of the fact that you ve taken away any access to
any kind of you now after school activities in and ways to grow rather than you know. I mean yeah cutting services
hmm you're criminalizing poverty, yup yup, I can't speak to this the way I've listened to a lot of other people speak to it, but I just recently listened to some podcasts where they were just talking about this
words. Essentially you cut off services like that, and then the people that are in need have nothing and then what are they supposed to do because they are still there? They still have families
still are alive. So now,
They have to steal diapers and baby formula, and then it's like
how dare you you're in danger? As I know you
endanger. The people that cut services are the ones endangering everybody else. That's right! That's exactly right and the city itself has even considered filing for bankruptcy. Remember that hall era yep the rest of the nation, including then president,
ford has turned their back on new york, denying the city any financial support to relieve their troubles. It's fair to say that the summer new yorkers are desperate, angry and scared and hot as far
Yeah I mean boiling yeah yeah, so on a severe thunderstorm
rolls over the city on July, thirteenth, nineteen, seventy seven it gives new yorkers a welcome excuse to go inside and to try to cool off those people. Have air conditioning units, fuckin, crank those babies and then people with fans crank those sit directly in front of them. So everyone's got their appliances they're indoors because of a storm and they got their appliances running yeah. So when lightning strikes a power station at eight thirty, seven pm everything that can go wrong,
wrong. The lightning strike trips to circa breakers at the power station, but you then causes a chain reaction. One by one circuits around the already tripped up circuit breakers begins,
overload causing a domino effect. Basically, it's a very dangerous problem when a circuit overloads it either trips, meaning it shuts off power, the entire circuit. I'm an electrician, now pretend act like I'm up, much more dynamic electric doctor or at overheats and starts him
EL, the, which is a huge fire hazard amis, the seventy servants old yankee. You know everything's a little like shag, coffee, Zack. Everything is
a kind of green when more lightning strikes?
another power station now, five minutes after the first a high, because members have taken storm.
ruin even more circuits. Our chips and more transformers are impacted, which causes even more overloading and remember. Everyone's already met
sing out their perry usage to say cool on this hot evening, and so for a third and fourth
No time lightning strikes yet
neither vital power station within just a few minutes. I know what a lot of lightning it's very suspicious suspicion
can a start at a leave it to shew leather, to talk about what the whys and wherefores, but does not only the beginning of a bad man movie where it's like yeah. Some villain is on those break, your exact just horrifying here that god is just like. Let's fuck with everyone
You guys, I hear you guys are having a hard time. Let's see what else you can endure. Third lightning strike,
and in addition to these, there are
simple instances of backup generator sailing and other ran in the chemical failures, so should just goes completely wrong by nine p m. The entire complex system, that is the new york city power grid, starts to fail witnesses report being able to see this effect unfold in
his time at street level. So you know you're standing on a street in new york. You can just see all the way downtown. Basically, it's because there's three parallel streets, one witness described standing on columbus avenue facing downtown and watching the lights go
not all at once, but darkness rolling, uptown block five law like
wave- ah ha that really very scary air, so nine thirty, six p m, just fifty nine minutes after the first lightning speed
The lights go out in new york city and more than eight minute,
people are left in total frickin darkness that scary than escape.
there is no one story of what happened in new york, that night, for some losing power is just a minor blip because other broke
new channels those power and are off the air, there is little way of knowing what's happening in other parts of the city that by an obviously
No phones, everyone remember that yeah so for people in their sounds, but there's no cell
I found there all on a wall somewhere in other categories, so for people safely in their apartments with no need to leave. This may have just been a power outage right. You grab some candles.
I settle in have a nice little cozy bonfire night right. Let me don't have a bonfire in your apartment. That would be stupid, not a bonfire during the summer. Don't do it! Oh right. I forgot to time so no big deal right for others.
I've, been a fine or novel inconvenience on the hundred and seventh floor of the world today
centre in the windows of the world. Restaurant more ip young diners are given free,
champagne and continue to eat their meals by candlelight above the darkened city. So it's to cite a fun time for them.
If I was in the windows of the world- and I want
the entire city of
hat and essentially but I'll. It's like an island and you just see it go. Dark yeah echoes, dark, ideal,
Hey I'm spending the night here, yeah, both the elevators. When work right. I guess right in the documentary blackout. It shows like footage from there and
what did people take stairs down? I don't remember that's! No! This
the floors fuck, that shit
no way I've you like more champagne, please I'm stay ire. This is free now yeah so, but for many
workers? The lights going out leads to a frantic energy and mania that mounts throughout the night. There's almost no moon visible that night. So it's completely pitch black totally. I know
What are the odds of all over there now so people, sick, together and working groups down the street
keep in and around their neighborhoods, like it's kind of a fun, exciting thing for a lot of people right where it's like what is happening. This is crazy. This is cool like let's go, have an adventure, I think
the people, I guess, if you are in your hot apartment and everything turned off, including the sea, and then you see a bunch people starting to go.
side like world. That would be fun here.
as long as you're. The vibe was right right. It's a novel at school. Let's see what happened! It's like the other couple weeks ago, we like at night everyone her
A car accident happened down the street from our house to like, then you go get to know your neighbors cause everyone's like a looky loo like what the fuck is going on. You know, young writer is fine by the way good good cooking, so the subway isn't working now, obviously because of
the lock out. So wherever you are, where the lights go out, you have to basically stay there unless you want to walk home or have access to a car, but driving is really impossible because the lights are working yeah and then on that note, thousands of people are trapped in the subway o re it can you fucking it man, I would just start screaming. I would be upset fresh area and they are to be rescued in the dark tunnels by emergency responders, unlike shuffled out proof, at least they got out there.
instead the ice, but then you're stuck where you are like what, if your homes in new jersey, you're, just like you have nowhere to go, hid the pavement baby, it have it. Ok, all the street lights and traffic lights are ouch.
Some brain residents taken on themselves to direct traffic with flashlights, but there are still a ton of car accidents. Of course, yeah some streets turn into black parties. People are drinking
in the street and partying and darkened apartments, which sounds kind of fun and sounds great actually, but many areas of the city become unsafe, electronic locks and buzzer systems an apartment buildings stop working, oh right, so some people take it
damage and hide out and stairwells or hallways to ambush and mug unsuspecting residence. That's fucked up! That's so fucked up many people are mugged in the street. Almost immediately after the lights go out, the looting begins. Oh yeah.
Today some people allegedly shout cloud it's christmas time, while they break locks, windows, insecurity, fences to steal, merchandise, yeah, one source reports that one thousand.
Six hundred and sixteen stores are looted and many cases taking absolutely everything inside yeah. You know why cause you cut their fuckin services so that such a get em police officers that night are ordered to go to their nearest precincts. So basically, there like called at home and said,
You know, don't go to your precinct downtown wherever the fuck you live. If you live in queens, that's where your preet, that's, where you're policing that night, you know what I mean: oh okay, which
means that, because now the cops live near where they were this creates.
really imbalance police response, in only mean yes, I in fact many cops live outside the city and computer.
Neighborhoods in new jersey or long island. So in certain neighborhoods there is almost no police presence.
Nobody lives, there is a police officer, and so many people, especially those have been suffering and poverty with little or no help from the city they take.
Damage at this situation. It's mayhem in the streets and the looting continues through the night.
Sarah made a really interesting note here, saying: there's the story: it's disputed, but it's an urban legend that that this black out was in part responsible for
crazy rise and hip hop in the
these, because so much dj equipment was looted. That night, which enabled more people
to make music. Yes grades so some
we d j stand by the story. What most considerate quote a lot of bullshit either way it's part of the mythology of the black up its now I held. I love this spirit of it, except for that there is also a racist element to the spirit.
Yeah and then you have to think about the store owners who lost so much fucking money because everything was looted, and then you
stop thinking about them because their all insured, that's true, true, might ultimately cycle.
That's what I'm saying. Where do you think I got this guitar that your hearing today from the riots? Yes, I just quoted sublime. Ok, I'm from orange county anyways,
I thought you said simple minds and I was like. Oh that's a vulcan deep cut, know why I do
maybe sir. I can take the girl out of elsie
So, in addition to the looting, people are also setting fires. In the same way, the blackout
a window for personal financial gain through that. It also creates an outlet for collective rage through destruction of property, yet more than
One thousand fires are started across the city and many buildings are irreparably damaged or burnt down entirely. It's almost like a sports team, one than
the championships rights like the same thing. Words like that is all
energy. That has to get expelled somehow it's ok, when it's your baseball team that women's rights
others, are there a lot, a baseball riots? I don't think so. I think it's yeah, it's a baseball.
When the world series comes along- probably I dunno, maybe or is it hockey? Okay, blame the canadians yeah that was wild canadian. Despite the arson and innumerable thefts during the nineteen seventy seven blackout, there is a surprising absence of violent crime. There's only one recorded death related to the blackout, the unsolved murder of Dominic, scone, hmm, so Dominic is a
in senior oh, do in nineteen. Seventy seven he's ta with brown, curly hair photos of him show a quintessential nineteen seventies teenager with that. You know that new york, swagger he's got a
him running. A calm drew his hair, lookin all swathes of smoking with a drink in his hand. Just like a typical ne er teenager he's a little rough around the edges. Apparently he loves to start fist fights which had area like was a normal thing in the seventies right hell yeah. That he's also remember as a total sweetheart by a siblings and his parents. He lives in carol gardens in brooklyn. It has a very distinct italian influence back then now I think it's gotta be buried
think hipster influence shariah through pretty neighbourhood, it's a close community. Everyone does everyone and their very sceptical of outsiders. There's a well now my presence in the community as well, but I think that's just like comes at the territory.
Is generally regarded, though, as an extremely safe place and Dominic knows very well, so the knight of the black out on July thirteen
he's standing outside a local bar on the corner of court and nelson streets with his brother Andrew. It's not easy now pitch black out, so their standing around garbage can fire with some friends, so they can see each other while they hang out the segment such an ex. Like exciting experience for a teenager. Yes right got your beers and mister young andrew
Ex brother remembers that they were having a great time they were singing and talking and just take.
And the crazy energy of the city that night and then suddenly
out of nowhere, Dominic turns his brother and says quote: I think I've been shot and
doesn't believe him at first. He thinks his brother is either joking or confused. People have been setting off fireworks, so Andrew thinks Dominic may have just been grazed by like a bottle rocket or whatever, but when dominant collapses andrew
their friends realise that Dominic has indeed been shot in the back o,
guide from a light
a car headlight from flashlights and fire dumpsters andrew sees the shooter.
running down the block and andrew goes and sprints after him. Meanwhile, Dominic is being tended to by witnesses and friends, he's loaded into a car and driven to the hospital. But of course most hospitals don't have power at this time. Oh no, so some emergency procedures are being done outside lit by floodlights powered by car batteries. Chaos right yeah at the hospital I know,
So why yeah? But it's too late for Dominic the bullet has ricocheted inside his body and ripped through his vital organs and he dies on the weight of hospital. So
howdy. Seventeen Andrew later
scribes the shooter as a quote well dressed man, and because it so dark andrew, had quickly lost track of the dude, and so that's
really the only detail is able to provide and because this murder occurred during one of europe's most chaotic nights, the murder of dominant stone never gets the attention they deserve.
And given that Dominic was so well known and loved in his community. Many believe his murder is due to a case of mistaken identity, Dominic just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's also possible that his murder was a crime of opportunity. You know someone might have taken advantage of the darkness to commit a random murder, maybe they're a copycat of the son of sam or something like that. Oh yeah, I remember yeah, but it also seems possible that Dominic just had some enemies. He had served some time at rikers island jail for getting into fistfights. His sister Mildred remembers that he still had bruises on his face at the funeral from one of the fights he had gotten into. So his family wonders if
his penchant for picking fights, got him and a bigger trouble with powerful people that he realized. Oh yeah yeah, so this case quickly does called with no really is cause detective, have their hands full with other crimes, but in ninety ninety, seven, twenty years after the blackout, a local newspaper runs a story that dominates murder and the police, get to anonymous phone calls from people who say they know what happened: Patrick Talbot who's. The detective
worked on this case said quote: the persons were very scared and they said they would get back to me and quote, but the sources never call back or provide any evidence to prove their claim and cases still unsolved to this day. Well, so, after the pitch black night of chaos and destruction and revelry
sun starts to rise over new york city with increasing daylight, some of the looting and arson slows down, but actually not by much hm police response is still and coordinated, and so it's up to business owners,
protect, what's left of their amatory and assets. There's a lot of footage and photos from this fascinating
but by seven, a m on July. Fourteenth queens starts to get power back slowly over the course of the day and in
evening. The lights come back on in new york, but even this has to be done so
the and carefully electrical engineers are nervous that people world will over load the power grid. Again, sir residents are encouraged to turn off and unflagging their appliances and tell everything slowly back on
the twenty five hours after the blackout starts at ten thirty, nine on July, fourteenth nineteen. Seventy seven power is finally restored to every borough. The impact of the nineteen seventy seven black out is wider region
and complicated. There are enormous financial costs, the common,
and of looting, mugging and arson and crossing over three
hundred million and damage is well in today's money is an entire yeah. One point two seven bill
in dollars, salient nay, unless it is almost bankrupt already.
There's also enormous costs of people's livelihoods. In addition to the murder of Dominic Cisco, four thousand people are arrested and jailed as a result of crimes committed during the blackout. It's the largest mass arrests in the cities history, so the blackout throws new york city and all of its problems into the national spot.
The cities, leaders as well as the power companies are put under a microscope and people start pointing fingers at each other. The power company says the blackout was a quote act of god, I egg. I agree the mayor calls. It quote: gross negligence on the part of the power company,
HU. The mayor is blamed for not intervening effectively during the mayhem and, ultimately, new york city. Politics begins shifting towards
a more line order platform, sorry
did do you know who the mayor is at this point? Well, not at that point, but Ed koch is elected mayor the year after the blackout. Okay, he's elected in part because of the blackout as well
goes on to serve the city from nineteen. Seventy eight to nineteen, eighty nine becoming a well known figure at nationwide. His platform is heavily based on issues around public safety which of course resonates deeply with new yorkers who lived through the summer of nineteen. Seventy seven
and, oh, my gosh everyone sending your parents home towns of the black out, please oh monk, it that would be incredibly begun. So, in the context of all of this is important to note that there was another new york city, black out, almost identical to this one in nineteenth
Five, oh right so like over ten years before this one that black out is actually even larger and scope.
Going to new york city loose power on november nineteen nineteen sixty five, but a huge part of ten states in the northeast go dark. The blackout last for thirteen hours, but there are only five instances of alluding in new york city that night, since the difference between nineteen sixty five new york city and nineteen, seventy seven new york city
you now yeah. If you had stuff in your house and a reason to stay home, you right have stayed home, but it's also november re, so it's cold or outside shrill. That's a good fire author and political analysts, David from reports that most
new yorkers just state in their homes and enjoyed the experience as if it was a big, cosy, snow storm
in his words quote, the deepening of the lights did not unravel the fabric of civilization, but the black out of nineteen. Seventy seven did unravelled the fact.
Of civilization, at least for a few hours executive producer mark samples of peat, pbs document of even talking about blackout, says quite
the nineteen. Seventy seven black out reminds us of how easily we take things for granted. We expect the lights to turn on the garbage to be picked up and the trains to run all these
since keep our daily lives going, but when a city is plagued by crime, unemployment, reduce services and run
anger. An event like a black out can be a spark of ignites of fire. The thin crest of
innovation is suddenly gone and we discover that urban life isn't much more fragile than we thought end quote, and that is the story of the nineteen seventy seven new york city, black out and the murder of Dominic Cisco on. That's me, first of all its
the tragic, but it's incredible that only one person died in that absolutely with everything else that was going on, and also
the idea that, like hospitals were having two days
Put together, like mash units area trio outside totally thank god
there weren't more shootings and more you know, stabbings
yeah, like yeah and almost sounds like people were like partying in a positive way rather yeah like in it. Even the looting, like you, see the pictures and ever and smiling unexcited like it's christmas.
Doubts yeah, especially if it's been they haven't, had any thing for a while or the idiot then like so hardens is like yeah. Well,
we're going to even it up a little bit yeah like those photos that you see of liked the l, a riots and stuff where people are like looting and stealing diapers. You know what I mean and formula there's something wrong with society when that's the case yeah, but I mean yes so yeah
Well, that's great! Thank you, the pbs, its american experience. American experience is itself
a good show I'll watch anything I'll, even with a baseball documentary. If its american express
yet this then I don't give a shit about it. It's just such a good show. My dad used to
force us watch pbs all the time growing up because he was so like he was such a kind of heavy anti tv person and as an adult. Now I am so grateful for it because you you couldn't go wrong with like an american experience or no or any of those.
You would learn so much shit. It's made so well protegee. They can also
on antics roadshow, when you just want a badge out which is like the best thing in the world and jump
afraid to watch a poirot every once in a while. I meant it. That's all! I'm in a deal on my vacation is well. He be ass. Just a bunch
pbs and stare out. The window will grow job at something really nice send off. For I, too
definitely thanks for listening, guys, we
initiate you appreciate in giving us this time to set our brains back to proper
suddenly shape factory setting reset
so we're gonna clear, our cards were in a reset.
We'll see you very soon,
and until then stay sexy and don't get murder
but hey Elvis. Do you want a cookie
yeah
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Transcript generated on 2023-05-21.