Blood on the Tinsel: More Christmas Murders You Never Heard About (Part II)

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Strange History Podcast, where we deck

0:03 Speaker 1: the halls with darkness and seasonal despair. If you thought

0:07 Speaker 1: part one was rough, well, merry Christmas, because tonight we're

0:13 Speaker 1: diving into five more devastating Christmas season crimes. Cases so

0:18 Speaker 1: grim they make holiday fruitcake look downright comforting. These aren't

0:22 Speaker 1: quirky burglaries or Santa related shenanigans. These are true tragedies, familicides, bombings,

0:29 Speaker 1: spree killings, and horrors that unfolded beneath twinkling lights and

0:33 Speaker 1: innocent expectation. So grab your emotional support, gingerbread Man, because

0:41 Speaker 1: we are going deep again, straight into the shadowy December

0:46 Speaker 1: nights where Peace on Earth failed spectacularly. But first, a

0:51 Speaker 1: word from a holiday sponsor who asked us not to

0:53 Speaker 1: judge their business model.

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1:25 Speaker 3: The Hughes family Christmas murders December twenty fifth, nineteen eighty seven, Dallas, Texas.

1:34 Speaker 1: On Christmas morning in nineteen eighty seven, police were called

1:37 Speaker 1: to the Hughes family home in Dallas after neighbors noticed

1:41 Speaker 1: the house was eerily silent. Inside, officers found a horrifying site.

1:47 Speaker 1: Ronald Gene Simmons, a former military man with a history

1:51 Speaker 1: of controlling behavior, had murdered his estranged daughter, her husband,

1:56 Speaker 1: and their child. What made the case even darker was

2:00 Speaker 1: that Simmons had already killed multiple family members days earlier

2:04 Speaker 1: at his rural Arkansas home. Those murders had gone undiscovered,

2:09 Speaker 1: allowing him to calmly drive to Dallas and continue the

2:12 Speaker 1: slaughter on Christmas morning.

2:15 Speaker 3: Background trial and sentencing.

2:18 Speaker 1: Simmons background reads like a slow building nightmare. He was authoritarian, paranoid,

2:25 Speaker 1: and increasingly unstable. After leaving the Air Force after accusations

2:29 Speaker 1: of abuse, he withdrew from society and began creating a

2:34 Speaker 1: fantasy of absolute control over his family, a fantasy he

2:39 Speaker 1: enforced with bullets. After his Christmas Day murders, Simmons returned

2:44 Speaker 1: to Arkansas, and killed more people during a workplace shooting spree.

2:48 Speaker 1: He ultimately murdered sixteen people, making him one of the

2:52 Speaker 1: deadliest mass murderers in US history. His trial was swift.

2:57 Speaker 1: Simmons refused all appeals, stating he won on it to die.

3:01 Speaker 1: He was executed by lethal injection in nineteen ninety. His

3:05 Speaker 1: execution was so non controversial that not a single relative protested.

3:10 Speaker 1: Some even attended.

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3:37 Speaker 3: The Leonard Lake and Charles Ung Christmas kidnappings December nineteen

3:42 Speaker 3: eighty three, California.

3:45 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty three, serial killers Leonard Lake and Charles

3:49 Speaker 1: eng abducted the Dubbs family, Harvey, Deborah, and their baby

3:52 Speaker 1: son Sean shortly before Christmas. The family vanished without a

3:57 Speaker 1: trace until investigators later uncovered Lake Cabin compound, a doomsday

4:02 Speaker 1: bunker filled with restraints, videotapes, and the remains of numerous victims.

4:08 Speaker 1: Lake and Ung believed in a twisted survivalist ideology, fantasizing

4:12 Speaker 1: about the collapse of civilization and their right to own women.

4:17 Speaker 1: The Dubbs family, simply delivering a baby gift to a

4:20 Speaker 1: friend crossed their path at the worst possible moment.

4:25 Speaker 3: Background trial and sentencing.

4:28 Speaker 1: Leonard Lake, a former marine with apocalyptic fantasies, killed himself

4:33 Speaker 1: upon arrest by swallowing a cyanide pill he hid in

4:37 Speaker 1: his clothing. Charles Ung fled the country to Canada, sparking

4:41 Speaker 1: the longest and most expensive extradition battle in North American history.

4:46 Speaker 1: The trial lasted seven years and cost California over twenty

4:50 Speaker 1: million dollars. Prosecutors presented videotapes showing the men assaulting victims,

4:56 Speaker 1: along with journals detailing their deranged fantasies. Ung was convicted

5:01 Speaker 1: of eleven murders, including those committed around Christmas nineteen eighty three,

5:06 Speaker 1: and was sentenced to death. He remains on death row,

5:09 Speaker 1: one of California's most notorious serial offenders.

5:13 Speaker 2: Missus Claus's anger management workshops. Feeling ragy this holiday season,

5:18 Speaker 2: want to scream into a stocking try missus Claw's anger

5:22 Speaker 2: management workshops, where she teaches deep breaths, not deep cuts,

5:27 Speaker 2: punching pillows not people, and her famous mantra, if Santa

5:31 Speaker 2: can handle elves, you can handle your in laws.

5:34 Speaker 3: The Mixtday Christmas Disappearance December two thousand and nine, Fallbrook, California.

5:43 Speaker 1: Just before Christmas two thousand and nine, the McStay family,

5:47 Speaker 1: Joseph Summer, and their two young sons, vanished from their

5:50 Speaker 1: southern California home. The scene inside was unsettling. Bowls of

5:56 Speaker 1: popcorn left out, diapers untouched, clothing abandoned. It looked like

6:01 Speaker 1: they had simply stepped out. For years, their disappearance remained

6:06 Speaker 1: one of America's most haunting holiday mysteries. Their car was

6:11 Speaker 1: found abandoned at the Mexican border, leading to speculation of

6:14 Speaker 1: voluntary flight, but the truth was far darker. In twenty thirteen,

6:20 Speaker 1: the entire family's remains were discovered buried in the desert.

6:24 Speaker 1: They had been beaten to death.

6:26 Speaker 3: Background trial and sentencing.

6:30 Speaker 1: Suspicion soon turned to Charles Chase Merrit, Joseph's business partner,

6:34 Speaker 1: who owed him money and had a history of fraud.

6:37 Speaker 1: Prosecutors revealed Merritt had forged checks from Joseph's account on

6:41 Speaker 1: the very day the family disappeared, classic financial motive. His

6:45 Speaker 1: trial stretched on for years. Merritt gave rambling courtroom speeches,

6:50 Speaker 1: firing lawyers, re hiring them, and insisting he was framed.

6:55 Speaker 1: Forensic evidence, however, tied him directly to the murders. He

6:59 Speaker 1: was convicted on four counts of first degree murder and

7:03 Speaker 1: sentenced to death in twenty twenty. The judge called the

7:06 Speaker 1: killings wicked and vile.

7:10 Speaker 2: Seasonal exorcists now offering elf removal is something possessing your

7:15 Speaker 2: holiday spirit? Do you hear jingling when no one is around?

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7:23 Speaker 2: elves with equal enthusiasm. We accept all insurances except gift cards.

7:29 Speaker 3: The Covena copycat plot. December twenty eleven, Los Angeles County.

7:36 Speaker 1: Three years after the Covena Christmas Eve massacre, authorities uncovered

7:41 Speaker 1: a terrifying copycat plot. A man named Stephen Agilar had

7:45 Speaker 1: stockpiled weapons, ammunition, and a detailed plan to murder his

7:49 Speaker 1: estranged family on Christmas Day, using almost the exact blueprint

7:53 Speaker 1: of the two thousand and eight covena killer. His ex

7:56 Speaker 1: girlfriend discovered the plans, including diagrams of the fan family home,

8:01 Speaker 1: a schedule of Christmas activities, and purchase receipts for fuel

8:04 Speaker 1: components meant to build a homemade flame thrower. Her call

8:08 Speaker 1: to police likely prevented one of the deadliest Christmas crimes

8:12 Speaker 1: in California history.

8:14 Speaker 3: Background trial and sentencing.

8:18 Speaker 1: Agilar's background revealed escalating domestic violence, restraining orders, and threats.

8:24 Speaker 1: He had fantasized about going out big, referencing Covina in

8:28 Speaker 1: disturbing journal entries. During his trial, prosecutors revealed recorded conversations

8:34 Speaker 1: where Agilar asked acquaintances whether they knew how Santa shotguns

8:38 Speaker 1: could be disguised. He was convicted of multiple felony counts,

8:43 Speaker 1: including attempted murder, weapons charges, and terroristic threats. He received

8:48 Speaker 1: a sixty five year sentence, with the judge calling him

8:51 Speaker 1: a massacre waiting to happen.

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9:10 Speaker 3: The Walmart Christmas Eve shooting December twenty fourth, twenty twelve, Texas.

9:18 Speaker 1: On Christmas Eve twenty twelve, in a small Texas town,

9:21 Speaker 1: a bitter child custody dispute spiraled into deadly violence. Rashan

9:26 Speaker 1: Reid ambushed his ex wife and her new partner in

9:29 Speaker 1: a Walmart parking lot, opening fire in broad daylight as

9:33 Speaker 1: families hustled to finish last minute Christmas shopping. The scene

9:37 Speaker 1: was chaos. Shoppers dove behind cars, parents shielded children, and

9:42 Speaker 1: Christmas bags scattered across the concrete.

9:45 Speaker 3: Background trial and sentencing.

9:49 Speaker 1: Reid had a history of domestic violence and had openly

9:52 Speaker 1: threatened his ex, telling friends he would ruin Christmas forever.

9:57 Speaker 1: He stalked the couple for days before attack. During the trial,

10:01 Speaker 1: prosecutors introduced text messages, witness statements, and evidence of premeditation.

10:07 Speaker 1: Reid showed little remorse, claiming he lost control, but surveillance

10:12 Speaker 1: footage contradicted this. It captured him waiting in ambush for

10:16 Speaker 1: nearly twenty minutes. He was convicted of first degree murder

10:20 Speaker 1: and attempted murder, receiving life without parole. The judge addressed

10:24 Speaker 1: him directly you turned Christmas Eve into a scene of terror.

10:28 Speaker 1: This community will never forget what you did. And that

10:31 Speaker 1: concludes Part two of our Darkest Holiday series.

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11:06 Speaker 1: More Christmas horrors, more shattered families, More reminders that December

11:10 Speaker 1: doesn't shield us from the brutality of human nature. We

11:14 Speaker 1: don't tell these stories to break the season, but to

11:17 Speaker 1: honor the lives affected, to learn the patterns, and to

11:20 Speaker 1: understand why the world feels so different when tragedy strikes

11:24 Speaker 1: during a time meant for peace. So hold your loved

11:28 Speaker 1: ones a little closer, lock your doors, and above all,

11:32 Speaker 1: stay warm, stay safe, stay strange.