Horrorwood: True Crime in Tinseltown
**2025 Ambie Award Nominee: Best Indie Podcast Hosts** Kate and Kevin met way back when they worked together at a (likely haunted) theatre and the two became fast friends. Skip ahead a few years to present day, where they mostly sit around and talk about true crime. From horrific homicides to unsolved mysteries, spooky haunts to behind-the-scenes secrets, these two are here to bring you all the drama - and trauma - of Tinseltown. Settle in, Misfits.
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Episodes
Monday Apr 10, 2023
Monday Apr 10, 2023
To say the Viper Room was vibing would be an understatement. The Viper Room WAS the vibe. It’s where bands played to try out new music. It’s where celebrities went to hang out away from the flashes of cameras. It’s where Johnny Depp threw parties for his famous friends. But it also played host to a slew of tragic events, most notably the death of Academy Award nominee River Phoenix. The building itself is packed with history dating back more than a hundred years, when Sunset Blvd. was just a dirt road. This episode has a little bit of everything: mobsters, ghosts, even Johnny Cash. Kate takes us on a journey through the venue’s history, as well as a dive into one of the biggest unsolved mysteries surrounding the club: the disappearance of co-owner Anthony Fox. Let’s get wild, Misfits.
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Episode Sources:
“The History (and Future) of the Sunset Strip’s Viper Room” by Chris Epting
“The Viper Room: Hollywood Murder Mystery” - Death by Misadventure
“The debauched 30-year history of iconic LA hotspot The Viper Room” by Lillian Gissen
“Messed Up Things that Happened at the Viper Room” - Grunge
“The Hollywood Ghosts of the Legendary Viper Room” - BuzzFeed Unsolved
“Her House of Cards” by Molly Bloom - Vanity Fair
“The Viper Room Curse” by Nick Harding
The Charley Project: Anthony Vivien Fox
“Amber Heard hired private investigator to dig up dirt on Johnny Depp” by Pritha Paul
“Johnny Cash: the unplugged album that saved a country legend’s life” by Johnny Black
“The Viper Room Turns 21” by Alison Martino - Los Angeles Magazine, August 11, 2014
“Excavating the Viper Room - Early History of One of the Sunset Strip’s Oldest Buildings” by Jon Ponder
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Creeptastic theme music by:
Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast
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Monday Mar 27, 2023
Monday Mar 27, 2023
Christina Grimmie was a YouTube sensation whose down-to-earth personality and huge vocals earned her quite a following. At just 16 years old she was on tour opening for Selena Gomez, and as a contestant on "The Voice" she got all 4 judges to turn their chairs. Her career was just taking off and she was poised to dominate the music industry, but tragically in the summer of 2016 an obsessed man took everything away from her.
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Episode Sources:
Christina's YouTube channel
"The Tragic Murder of Christina Grimmie" by Brandon Gates
"Christina Grimmie’s killer was obsessed with her, police say" by Eliott C. McLaughlin
Supplemental Investigative Report
Monday Mar 20, 2023
Monday Mar 20, 2023
In 1939 an actress named Connie Kent vanished without a trace. Over the course of the next several years her home was searched multiple times for clues regarding her disappearance, but nothing turned up. Then ten years after she went missing a whole-ass skeleton was found in her bedroom! Could this be the missing Connie? Or someone else altogether? And when did the skeleton start taking up residence in Connie's cottage?
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Episode Sources:
Radio 4 - Punt PI
"Essex and Suffolk Surnames - The Fingringhoe Skeleton" by Helen Barrell
"The Skeleton I Saw You With" by Marc Hoover
"Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in and Around Colchester" by Patrick Denney
"The Unexplained Mystery of Ada Constance Kent"
"History Mystery: Ada Constance Kent" - Crimelines True Crime
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Monday Mar 13, 2023
Monday Mar 13, 2023
Ronni Chasen was a behind-the-scenes badass. When it came to Awards season in Hollywood you could bet Ronni was working every red carpet event - even hosting some herself - to guarantee that her clients were front and center. When she was gunned down in 2010 while driving home from a premiere, her murder sent shockwaves through the industry. Was this a case of road rage? An attempted robbery? Or a hired hit? Police nabbed their suspect pretty quickly and the case was closed, but should it have been? Did they even get the right guy?
Hi Misfits, Kate here. In this episode I mention how the second niece only received $10 but I couldn't find why. Well guess what? I found it! Jill (the niece) apparently didn't visit Ronni's mother (Jill's grandmother) in the hospital when she was dying of cancer. Rude. Ronni begged Jill to visit but she never did. Thus, Jill was the recipient of a mere $10. On the other hand, Melissa (the favorite niece), visited twice a week and received millions.
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Episode Sources:
Ronnie's autopsy report
Laramie's lawsuit
Jefferson Airplane's 'White Rabbit'
"What Really Happened the Night Hollywood Power Publicist Ronni Chasen Was Killed?" by Gary Baum
"The Missing Guest at Oscar’s Party" by Leah Rozen
"Killing Reveals Truths of Life at Limelight’s Edge" by Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes
"Ronni Chasen’s Friends Skeptical That Her Murder Is Solved" by THR Staff
"Ronni Chasen Laid to Rest at Emotional Service" by Bill Higgins
"It’s Past Time to Reopen the Ronni Chasen Murder Investigation" by Gary Baum
"The Murder of Ronni Chasen" - The True Crime Edition
"UPDATE: Police Have 'Fairly Good Idea' Who Ordered Ronni Chasen's Hollywood Hit" by Nikki Finke
"Hollywood Publicist Ronni Chasen Killed in Beverly Hills" - Television Academy
"New details emerge in slaying of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen" by Ruben Vives
"Police: A Hollywood Murder Was Tragically Ordinary" by Claire Martin
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Creeptastic theme music by:
Nicholas Davio - nicholasdavio.com, @mr.nick.davio, @huron_coast
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Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
“Something weird is going to happen in this trial. I can feel it.”
Kassi is back in the Pod Suite today as Kate takes us through the aftermath of Dominique's murder and the trial of John Thomas Sweeney. We've got a scheduling mix-up at the church, a violent court outburst, a midday mugging and a Tom Cruise wanna be of a judge. Oh, and confetti.
Learn more about Justice for Homicide Victims and donate here
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
Receive confidential support by visiting the National Domestic Violence Hotline above, calling their number at 1-800-799-7233, or texting START to 88788.
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Episode Sources:
"Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of His Daughter's Killer" by Dominick Dunne
Actress Dominique Dunne dies of injuries
"Strangled Actress : Did Slayer’s Penalty Fit His Crime?" by Roxane Arnold
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Monday Feb 20, 2023
Monday Feb 20, 2023
"There was something creepy about this guy...but women liked him."
Dominique Dunne was a beautiful young actress whose star was quickly on the rise. Barely out of college, she landed the role of Dana Freeling in the Spielberg-produced hit Poltergeist. Shortly after that she met one of the most prominent chefs in town, John Thomas Sweeney. John seemed to have a lot going for him and the two immediately hit it off, but John was hiding a dark side that would reveal itself in the worst possible way.
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
Receive confidential support by visiting the National Domestic Violence Hotline above, calling their number at 1-800-799-7233, or texting START to 88788.
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Episode Sources:
The Terrifying Case of Dominique Dunne - YouTube
E! True Hollywood Story: Dominique Dunne - YouTube
"Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of His Daughter's Killer" by Dominick Dunne
"The Brilliant, Bitter History of L.A.’s Fabled Ma Maison" by Gary Baum
"The Epic Rise and Fall of Ma Maison, The Restaurant That Made Wolfgang Puck Famous" by Crystal Coser
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Monday Feb 13, 2023
Monday Feb 13, 2023
It's another haunted theatre, misfits! Let's face it, ALL theatres are haunted, and the Princess Theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia is no exception. Melbourne was boomin' in the 1880s. Thanks to the Victorian gold rush people had more money than they knew what to do with, and what better way to spend it than on a fancy night at the theatre? Frederick Federici was a fixture on the Princess stage - as part of the company there he acted in numerous shows. But it was his performance in "Faust" that would be his most memorable, though not for the reasons anyone could have imagined...
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Episode Sources:
"In Black & White" podcast, hosted by Jen Kelly
"The Ghost of the Princess Theatre" - Youtube video
Newspaper article announcing Federici's death
Only Melbourne
Federici's Ghost - State Library Victoria
Princess Theatre website
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Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Jacqueline Avant was a FORCE in Hollywood. As a philanthropist and champion of the arts she devoted her life to serving those less fortunate. When it came to Black Hollywood she and her husband Clarence, a titan in the music biz, were at the center of it all, connecting the worlds of entertainment, sports and politics. Whether it was fundraising for Barack Obama or entertaining Quincy Jones, Jackie and Clarence were a powerful couple. But tragically, in the early morning hours of December 1, 2021, a monster broke into the Avants' home and shot Jackie during an attempted robbery.
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Episode Sources:
"Remembering Jacqueline Avant: 'Her Advocacy Was Profound'” by Evan Nicole Brown
"Man pleads guilty to murder in death of Jacqueline Avant" by James Queally, Richard Winton, Matthew Ormseth
"Jackie Avant Killing Suspect Switches Plea To Guilty On Murder Charge – Update" by Greg Evans
"Jacqueline Avant’s killer shot her in the back, laughed and bragged about it, records show" by Richard Winton
"Jacqueline Avant, wife of music executive Clarence Avant, fatally shot in Beverly Hills home" by Richard Winton, Hayley Smith, Kevin Rector, Nathan Solis
"Jacqueline Avant was more than just the ‘Black Godfather’s’ wife" by Matthew Allen
The People Magazine article Kate mentioned by Marissa Charles
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