51 - Murder Swamp and the Bodies in the Boxcars

From the 1920s until the 1940s, parts of western Pennsylvania were plagued by reports of beheaded and dissected bodies.  Police believed they might have been the work of a notorious American serial killer...

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Opening music from https://filmmusic.io. "Dark Child" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Closing music by Soma.

SOURCES

“Another victim of mad butcher.” Uniontown Morning Herald, November 4, 1940.

“Car inspector locates head this morning.” New Castle News, October 19, 1939.

“Cleveland torso slayer suspected in Pittsburgh case.” Kane Republican, May 3, 1940.

“Coroner's jury probes murder.” New Castle News, July 20, 1921.

“Detective finds missing head this afternoon.” New Castle News, October 8, 1925.

“Detectives check railroad route of 3 death cars.” Kane Republican, May 4, 1940.

“Headless bodies found in swamp.” Warren Tribune, October 19, 1925.

“Headless bodies of three men found in R.R. yard in Pittsburgh.” York Gazette and Daily, May 4, 1940.

“Headless body of girl found at New Castle.” Shamokin News-Dispatch, October 14, 1939.

“Headless body of slain girl found in Murder Swamp.” Danville Morning News, October 14, 1939.

“Mad butcher victim found at New Castle.” Franklin News-Herald, November 5, 1940.

“Manhunt for mad butcher.” Warren Times-Mirror, May 4, 1940.

“Murderer of Mrs. Emma Jackson near Ellwood still at large.” New Castle News, March 18, 1921.

“Mystery of headless body baffles authorities.” New Castle News, October 7, 1925.

“New Castle Junction car reveals mystery.” New Castle News, July 2, 1936.

“No solution to headless body mystery as yet,” New Castle News, October 16, 1939.

“Organize search for new victims of head-chopper.” Harrisburg Telegraph, October 19, 1925.

“Reported identification of one of marsh victims investigated by sheriff.” New Castle News, October 21, 1925.

“Second skull found.” New Castle News, October 19, 1925.

“Seek method of identifying man in murder case.” New Castle News, October 20, 1939.

“Seeks fiend hiding in swamp.” Buffalo (NY) Courier, October 18, 1925.

“Shred of burnt shirt 'headless murder' clue.” Harrisburg Telegraph, October 21, 1939.

“Swamp reveals new mystery as body is found.” New Castle News, October 16, 1934.

Badal, James Jessen. In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2001.

—. Hell's Wasteland: The Pennsylvania Torso Murders. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2013.

Catalog of Copyright Entries: Part 3, Musical Compositions. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1941.

Hazen, Aaron L. 20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County. Chicago: Richmond-Arnold Publishing, 1908.