On this episode of They Walk Among America… Huntington Hartford rubbed shoulders with some of the elites during his “playboy” years throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In photographs, he posed alongside Salvador Dalí and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. In the wake of his father’s death in 1922, he had become one of the heirs to the estate of his grandfather, George Huntington Hartford, who headed the great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. At just 12 years old, Hartford inherited $90 million, equivalent to around $1.25 billion today. In 1942, he purchased a 160-acre estate in the picturesque Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles and named it The Pines. On the morning of July 20th, 1959, Henry Brugger and Salvador Senjas were beginning their caretaking shift at the lavish estate. As they worked outside under the sultry summer sun, a man scrambled up Sullivan Canyon, which fronted The Pines. He looked extremely dishevelled as he muttered something about an accident at the cliff ledge…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… A common fear that TV anchors and reporters share is the spectre of a viewer becoming infatuated with them. They dominate our televisions morning, afternoon and night. However, on rare occasions, this infatuation can sometimes turn deadly…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… It was a quiet morning in Deerfield, Illinois, on October 4th, 2007. Deerfield is about 26 miles from Chicago, making it the ideal commuter village for people searching for somewhere safe to raise their families. Located just a stone’s throw from the centre of Deerfield lies Elm Street, a leafy neighborhood consisting of well-kept homes and condominiums. The tranquillity was shattered shortly before 8 AM, when a deafening scream echoed throughout Elm Street, followed by a loud banging sound…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… There is nothing more terrifying for a parent than watching your child become critically unwell and knowing there is nothing you can do to help them. We hand our children over to doctors and trust that they know how to treat whatever is making the child sick. It’s important that doctors report any suspected abuse to the authorities, but what if their judgement is based on inaccuracies? To lose a child is an unthinkable tragedy, and to be accused of causing their death is another…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… The rest of the neighbourhood were preparing for the day ahead, much like the Post family were. Many were eating breakfast, while others were reading the daily newspaper or sitting down to watch some television. As they carried on with their daily routine, a thunderous explosion erupted in the neighbourhood, smashing windows and sending objects crashing to the floor…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Bountiful is among the top 20 most populous cities in Utah. It’s a desirable area for families, and boasts of having one of the best school systems in the state. The city is ranked 23rd of the safest cities in the entire state, and it’s only a short drive away from Salt Lake City. The short commute makes Bountiful the perfect commuter city for those who want to be close to the hustle and bustle but still far away enough for a peaceful and quiet life. Among the residents of Bountiful in 1984 was 40-year-old Patricia York…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Betty strained to hear the conversation down the hall from their bedroom. She heard someone emphatically reply, “no,” but she thought the person sounded like a man impersonating a woman. The supposed trick-or-treater had their hand inside a paper bag, which they raised and pointed at Peter. A single gunshot echoed through the house, and by the time Betty got to the front door, her husband was lying on his back with his hands clutched to a wound that was bleeding profusely on his chest…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… In late August 1989, a crime hotline in Nebraska received a call from a man who claimed to have information about shocking crimes committed on a farm near Mooresville, Missouri. The owners were already being investigated for conspiracy and fraud charges, but the tip changed the course of the investigation entirely. Once the owners were arrested and charged with conspiracy to steal cattle with bad checks from an employee's account, a search of their 40-acre property began…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Earlville is a small city of around 800 residents located in Eastern Iowa, Delaware County. The city is surrounded by farmland, and the bustling farming industry is how many of the residents earn a living. The size of the city gives Earlville a real small-town-like feel. It’s the kind of place where people raise their children, and then their children go on to raise their own children there. It was just after 12 noon on November 10th, 2019, when police in Earlville received a frantic 911 call from a local man named Todd Mullis…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Manassas, Virginia, is an independent city in the north of the state. Manassas was an evolving city, 30 miles from Washington, DC, with historical links to the American Civil War that drew enthusiasts to the site of the Battle of Bull Run. With a population of just under 30,000 people in 1993, Manassas was thrown into the spotlight, and the city would forever be linked to one of the most sensational cases of our time…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… On any given day, Gainesville is teeming with students, many of whom flock to the sunshine state from states far and wide. The summer holiday was coming to an end in August of 1990, and students from the University of Florida began to prepare for the new school year. It’s a time of much anticipation, a time for fresh starts, new friendships, unfamiliar faces, and different classes. But the air of excitement in the university city isn’t to last. It quickly transforms into fear, as a sadistic serial killer begins to target unsuspecting students in the sanctity of their very own homes…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Chowchilla was a rural town in Madera County, California. In 1976 the population of the farming community was around 5,000, spread across sprawling acres of land. Most of those living in Chowchilla had been born and raised there, in the Central Valley. The isolated countryside didn’t provide much for kids to do during the summer months, so many enrolled in summer school. Dairyland Elementary had been assigned as the location for classes in the summer of 76 and over 125 children signed up to attend. 26 of those pupils would become victims of one of the most notorious mass kidnappings in US history…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Betty Jean Gooch was just beginning her shift as the Special Collections Librarian at the Transylvania University Library in Lexington, Kentucky, on the 7th of December, 2004. The Transylvania University Library is known as the scholarly heart of Transylvania’s campus, and at any given day of the week, it’s teeming with people…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… A single block located between 5th and 6th avenue on 47th Street in New York is known as the Diamond District. The bustling epicentre of New York's diamond and jewellery sales industry sprang up on 47th Street in the 1920s and continues to be one of the most popular locations for jewellery shoppers today. The Diamond District expanded during WWII when thousands fled Nazi-occupied Europe and set up shop in New York City. The Diamond Dealers Club, which was founded in the 1930s as a place for dealers and brokers to store their diamonds, has described the arrival of new traders as follows: “Their influx into America, together with the unprecedented economic boom that took place in the country in the post-war period, shifted the balance of the diamond trade from Western Europe to New York. Indeed, immigration has long been a decisive factor in the growth of the U.S. diamond sector, and the DDC, both then and today, traditionally has served as a melting pot for a diverse group of nationalities and cultures”. Many store owners and workers in the Diamond District were Orthodox or Hasidic Jews. A small place that contained such valuable products was always bound to attract undesirables, but in 1977 the disappearance of two diamond cutters proved that pressure was only good for diamonds…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Mary Lyons was beginning her shift at the Bank of America branch office in Maple Croft Plaza, in Cheshire, Connecticut. It was the 23rd of July, 2007, a Monday, so Mary knew that it was going to be a busy day. By 9:30AM, there was already a line of customers, ready to go about their financial transactions after the weekend. A middle-aged woman approached the counter. Mary noticed immediately that she had a terrified look in her eyes. Her face was ashen. The woman quietly told Mary that her name was Jennifer Petit, and that she and her family were being held hostage at their home by two men. She needed to withdraw $15,000 to bring to the men, one of whom was in her car in the parking lot waiting for her to return. Jennifer told Mary that if police were contacted, her children and husband would be killed...

On this episode of They Walk Among America… Sabre Springs is a planned high-end community in San Diego, California. It’s a typical residential community where many people go to raise their families within close proximity to employment and good schools. Around 9,000 people were living in Sabre Springs in February 2002 when something destroyed the community's perceived serenity. Before then, parents had no issues with letting their children play in the neighborhood, or leaving a window unlocked in the two-storey tract homes. Children went to school and came home to play with friends, cycling their bikes past neighbor's houses, never aware of the danger lurking behind closed doors until it was too late…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… A desire for fame and fortune can sometimes make people do dangerous and even fatal things in an effort for clicks. In 2017, a young couple had ambitions to make it big on the internet. By June of that year, their ambitions to become household names would materialise, but it was at a catastrophically high price…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… There is an old Irish proverb that says, “A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest”. The unmistakable bond between a mother and son is hard to break, even when one is accused of an incomprehensible crime…

You may be wondering why there has been a delay in the release of the next episode of They Walk Among America. Fear not. The team will be back soon, with some exciting changes. The same They Walk Among America team is working behind the scenes to bring you the podcast, but there has been a change in front of the microphone. We are lucky enough to welcome Nina Innsted from Already Gone. She will be hosting the podcast from the next episode…

On this episode of They Walk Among America… For the majority, it begins with a positive test. That clear line that lets you know your life is going to change forever. The excitement and anticipation builds over what feels like an eternity until expectant parents get to hold their new baby in their arms. However, for many, the journey to become parents is long and difficult. Instead of a joyous moment, people who struggle with fertility issues face numerous doctor appointments, medical procedures, hormonal treatments, invasive interventions, and often insurmountable loss…