Silent Nights, Violent Crimes: The Darkest Christmas Murders in History (Part I)
Tonight's Episode
Dive into the chilling true stories of five devastating Christmas-season crimes, each echoing the brutality of the Covina Christmas Eve Massacre. From familicides to extremist-driven killings and unsolved civil rights bombings, this episode explores the darkest nights hidden beneath holiday lights. Blending detailed historical analysis with Strange History’s signature storytelling and dark humor, this is the Christmas episode you won’t forget.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-strange-history-podcast--5773362/support.
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Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Strange History Podcast, the only show
Speaker 1: where we say 'tis the season for peace and goodwill,
Speaker 1: and then immediately ruin that by telling you about history's
Speaker 1: darkest holiday crimes, because nothing pairs better with Coco than
Speaker 1: existential dread. Every December, we prepare for joy, twinkling lights,
Speaker 1: cinnamon scented chaos, and that one relative who insists on
Speaker 1: bringing a salad to Christmas Dinner like they're trying to
Speaker 1: sabotage morale. But sometimes the darkness doesn't stay outside the window.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it kicks the door down. Tonight we're exploring five
Speaker 1: of the most chilling Christmas season crimes in American history,
Speaker 1: crimes that echo the brutality of the covena Christmas Eve massacre.
Speaker 1: These weren't petty holiday mishaps or Santa related drunken incidents.
Speaker 1: These were tragedies that wiped out entire families, shook communities,
Speaker 1: and turned the glow of Christmas lights into forensic lighting.
Speaker 1: But before we dive into the darkness, yes, a quick
Speaker 1: message from the man who believes aggressive diplomacy is the
Speaker 1: true meaning of Christmas.
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Speaker 2: thousand and nine? Is Grandma sharpening the carving knife with intent?
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Speaker 3: The Goldmark Family murders Christmas Eve nineteen eighty five.
Speaker 1: On Christmas Eve in Seattle, the Goldmark family, Charles, Annie
Speaker 1: and their two young sons were preparing for a peaceful
Speaker 1: night of gifts and family warmth. They were respected members
Speaker 1: of their community, kind intellectual, the kind of people whose
Speaker 1: holiday plans involved cocoa and stocking, not fear. But they
Speaker 1: had been targeted by David Lewis Rice, a man whose
Speaker 1: mind had been hijacked by extremist conspiracy groups. Rice had
Speaker 1: soaked up propaganda from far right militias who insisted that
Speaker 1: Jewish communist leaders secretly controlled America. In his delusion, he
Speaker 1: decided that Charles Goldmark, a civil liberties attorney who had
Speaker 1: never been involved in politics of that sort, was one
Speaker 1: of these imaginary enemies. Rice approached their home pretending to
Speaker 1: deliver holiday materials. When the door opened, he attacked, binding
Speaker 1: the family with duct tape, attempting to knock them out
Speaker 1: with chloroform, and brutally stabbing and beating them. Charles and
Speaker 1: Nanni died. Their two sons clung to life for days
Speaker 1: before succumbing. Seattle was devastated.
Speaker 3: Background trial and sentencing.
Speaker 1: Rice's notebooks were filled with militia propaganda, diagrams of the
Speaker 1: Goldmark home and rambling manifests. Stows. Prosecutors argued he wasn't insane,
Speaker 1: he was radicalized. He had carefully planned the attack, purchased
Speaker 1: supplies days in advance, and stalked the family. The defense
Speaker 1: attempted a diminished capacity plea, but psychiatrists concluded Rice fully
Speaker 1: understood his actions. He confessed, detailing his motives with chilling clarity.
Speaker 1: Rice was found guilty on four counts of aggravated first
Speaker 1: degree murder and sentenced to death. Decades later, when Washington
Speaker 1: abolished the death penalty, his sentence was converted to life
Speaker 1: without parole. His appeals failed. The judge called the crime
Speaker 1: an execution fueled by hate and fantasy.
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Speaker 3: The Lawson Family massacre Christmas Day nineteen twenty nine.
Speaker 1: On Christmas Day nineteen twenty nine, the Lawson family gathered
Speaker 1: in new clothes for a professional photograph, an unusual luxury
Speaker 1: for a rural depression era family. Hours later, father Charles
Speaker 1: Davis Lawson murdered his wife and six of his seven children.
Speaker 1: He killed two daughters in the yard, then entered the
Speaker 1: house to shoot his wife and four more children. He
Speaker 1: arranged their bodies with eerie care arms, crossed pillows beneath
Speaker 1: their heads, before retreating to the woods and killing himself.
Speaker 3: Background and investigative aftermath.
Speaker 1: Charles had suffered a severe head injury months before, after
Speaker 1: which his behavior became increased erratic. Some neighbors suspected neurological deterioration.
Speaker 1: Others whispered about vague and unproven family scandals, the expensive photograph,
Speaker 1: the new clothes, the sudden extravagance. Many saw these as
Speaker 1: ritualistic prelude. Because the killer was dead, there was no trial,
Speaker 1: but there was spectacle. Newspapers sensationalized the case. Tourists descended
Speaker 1: on the farm. A song was written about the murders,
Speaker 1: one of America's earliest viral true crime narratives. The inquest
Speaker 1: produced one of the shortest findings in North Carolina history.
Speaker 1: Murder suicide motives unknown.
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Speaker 3: The Dayton Christmas Murders December twenty four to twenty six,
Speaker 3: nineteen ninety two.
Speaker 1: Over three days from Christmas Eve to December twenty sixth, Dayton, Ohio,
Speaker 1: became a battleground. Four young adults later dubbed the Downtown Posse,
Speaker 1: embarked on a killing spree that left six people dead
Speaker 1: and two wounded. Their victims included acquaintances strangers, a teenage girl,
Speaker 1: a good samaritan, and a mother and daughter. It was
Speaker 1: violence for thrill, money and dominance, random, brutal, senseless.
Speaker 3: Background trials and sentencing.
Speaker 1: Each member had a troubled history marked by instability, neglect,
Speaker 1: and minor offenses, but their spree went far beyond petty crime.
Speaker 1: Their trials were separated. Laura Taylor, aged sixteen, was portrayed
Speaker 1: as a disturbingly cold ring leader. She received life life
Speaker 1: without parole. DeMarcus Smith also received life without parole. Marlon
Speaker 1: Lucky Sharon received a long but lesser sentence for reduced involvement.
Speaker 1: Heather Matthews, who testified against the others, received a significantly
Speaker 1: reduced sentence. The courtroom atmosphere was tense. Jurors later said
Speaker 1: what disturbed the most wasn't the crime scene evidence, it
Speaker 1: was the lack of remorse. The judge called the spree
Speaker 1: acts of pure cruelty.
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Speaker 2: questionable act under the influence of eggnog? Did an ELF
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Speaker 3: The Carnation Christmas Eve murders December twenty fourth, two thousand
Speaker 3: and seven.
Speaker 1: Carnation, Washington population peaceful until Christmas Eve two thousand and seven,
Speaker 1: when Michelle Anderson and her boyfriend Joseph McEnroe murdered six
Speaker 1: members of Michelle's family. Michelle believed her family had treated
Speaker 1: her unfairly. She stewed in resentment until it curdled into violence.
Speaker 1: She persuaded McEnroe, soft spoken, fearful of losing her to help.
Speaker 1: They killed Michelle's parents first, then when her brother, sister
Speaker 1: in law, and their two young children arrived unexpectedly, the
Speaker 1: killings continued.
Speaker 3: Background trials and sentencing.
Speaker 1: The initial police visit missed the bodies entirely. Michelle and
Speaker 1: Joseph calmly lied to officers, telling them the family wasn't home.
Speaker 1: Days later the truth emerged. Their trials were lengthy. Joseph
Speaker 1: McEnroe went first. Prosecutors pursued the death penalty, arguing he
Speaker 1: executed the children to eliminate witnesses. His calm, chilling confession
Speaker 1: videos destroyed any defense narrative. He was sentenced to life
Speaker 1: without parole. Michelle Anderson attempted to plead guilty, but the
Speaker 1: court required a full trial. Her flat effect, lack of remorse,
Speaker 1: and testimonies about long standing grudges shaped the jury's decision.
Speaker 1: She too, received life without parole. A Washington prosecutor described
Speaker 1: the case as an annihilation of a family line.
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Speaker 2: haunting you? Do you feel the presence of your bad
Speaker 2: decisions lingering in the air? Call Spirit of Christmas Pest Control.
Speaker 2: We banish ghosts, regrets, and exes who show up just
Speaker 2: to talk.
Speaker 3: The murder of Harry and Harriet Moore Christmas Day, nineteen
Speaker 3: fifty one.
Speaker 1: On Christmas Night in Mims, Florida, civil rights pioneers Harry
Speaker 1: and Harry More celebrated their twenty fifth anniversary. As they slept,
Speaker 1: klansmen detonated a bomb beneath their bedroom floor. Harriet died instantly,
Speaker 1: Harry the next day.
Speaker 3: Background investigation and failed prosecutions.
Speaker 1: Harry Moore had dedicated his life to fighting lynching, registering
Speaker 1: black voters, and challenging segregation. The ku Klux Klan despised
Speaker 1: him for it. The first investigation was botched. Local authorities
Speaker 1: had little interest in prosecuting klansmen, evidence was mishandled leads ignored.
Speaker 1: The FBI launched four separate investigations over fifty years. Each
Speaker 1: time four primary suspects emerged, all high ranking clansmen with
Speaker 1: histories of racial violence. Each time the case stalled due
Speaker 1: to fear, corruption, or lack of cooperation. By the time
Speaker 1: Floridas Attorney General reopened the case in the two thousands,
Speaker 1: all four suspects were dead. The final report concluded they
Speaker 1: were almost certainly responsible, but no trial has ever taken place.
Speaker 1: The Moors are now recognized as the first martyrs of
Speaker 1: the modern civil rights movement.
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Speaker 1: And There you have it. The first five Christmas tragedies
Speaker 1: darker than a power outage on Christmas Eve. We say
Speaker 1: first because as usual, there is a part two in
Speaker 1: the next episode. These stories weren't meant to ruin the holidays,
Speaker 1: but to remind us December doesn't pause the world's dangers.
Speaker 1: It only makes them easier to overlook beneath twinkling lights.
Speaker 1: We honor the victims by remembering their stories, even the
Speaker 1: ones wrapped in darkness. Stay safe, stay aware, and above all,
Speaker 1: stay strange and subscribe. We promise to keep it interesting
Speaker 1: and sometimes a little dark. Even our Legos episode is dark. Seriously,
Speaker 1: check it out.
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