Morbid - Episode 573: The Kidnapping & Murder of Marion Parker (Part 1)

Episode Date: June 13, 2024

On the afternoon of December 15, 1927, twelve-year-old Marion Parker was checked out of her Los Angeles junior high school by a man claiming to be an employee of her father, Perry Parker, an employee at a bank in the city. The man claimed Parker had been in an accident and he was to bring the girl to see her father, but this was just a ruse to abduct the girl. The following day, Marion’s parents received several cryptic ransom letters demanding $1,500 in gold in exchange for the safe return of their daughter. On December 17, Perry Parker delivered the money to the kidnapper, who took the money, then dumped Marion’s dead, mutilated body out of the car before speeding away.ReferencesAssociated Press. 1928. "Hickman to have new judge." Fresno Bee, January 25: 1.—. 1927. "Confession stuns mother." Los Angeles Times, December 23: 4.Berger, Jackson. 1927. "Kidnapper tries to dash out brains in frenzy." Los Angeles Times, December 25: 1.Los Angeles Record. 1927. "Hunt kidnappers of girl." Los Angeles Record, December 16: 1.Los Angeles Times. 1927. "'Fox' ponders 'crazy' plea." Los Angeles Times, December 24: 1.—. 1927. "Fugitive caught in breakneck race with Oregon officers." Los Angeles Times, December 23: 1.—. 1927. "Hickman believed in Seattle." Los Angeles Times, December 22: 1.—. 1927. "Hickman pronounced sane." Los Angeles Times, December 24: 1.—. 1927. "Hickman's finger-prints found in apartment." Los Angeles Times, December 21: 1.—. 1927. "'I liked her' declares youth while he sobs." Los Angeles Times, December 23: 1.—. 1927. "Kidnapper grows sullen when 'pal' proves alibi." Los Angeles Times, December 24: 1.—. 1928. "New crimes confessed by Hickman." Los Angeles Times, October 14: 3.—. 1928. "New horror in Hickman case." Los Angeles Times, February 2: 1.—. 1928. "Slayer makes self-analysis." Los Angeles Times, February 2: 2.Neibaur, James. 2016. Butterfly in the Rain: The 1927 Abduction and Murder of Marion Parker. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.New York Times. 1928. "Hickman sentenced to hang April 27." New York Times, February 15: 25.—. 1928. "Hickman's father goes to his aid." New York Times, February 1: 13.—. 1927. "Youth arrested in child slaying at Los Angeles." New York Times, December 19: 1.Overton, Gerald. 1928. "Hickman goes to death on gibbet." Fresno Bee, October 19: 1.Rasmussen, Cecilia. 2001. "Girl's grisly killing had city residents up in arms." Los Angeles Times, February 4.San Francisco Examiner. 1927. "Kidnapped girl's body tossed omn lawn." San Francisco Examiner, December 18: 1.State of California v William Edward Hickman. 1928. 204 Cal. 470 (Supreme Court of California, July 5).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Download Coho on Google or App Store today or at www.coho.ca for more details. Get a $75 e-gift card for NBAstore.ca when you sign up with the promo code I'm Ash. And this is Morbid. Hey, what's up? Hey! I like that. Hey, what's up? Hey, I like that. Thanks. You're welcome.

Thank you. How are you? I'm feeling good. It kind of sounded like I'm going to bring the mood down a little bit in a little bit. Yeah, always. Yeah. Not always that you bring the mood down, but always that like a sad case will. It's true. It's not always that you bring the mood down, but always that a sad case will. It's true.

It's true. You know, I brought my mood down this morning. What? Found my first fucking gray hair. Oh, Lord, everybody settle in. Can, do you? I mean, I started going gray at like 18. Yeah, that's horrible.

It's horrible. It's just so sad. Aging, you know? Fuck horrible. It's just so sad. Aging, you know? Fuck that. It's a beautiful thing. It's also just, I decided to stop dyeing my hair, and then my hair said, oh, no, no, baby, continue.

It said, no, start up again. Start up again. Yeah. Just days before her 28th year. I'm saying. That's funny. I mean, you're lucky you went that far. I know, honestly. It's a question of our family history.

Yeah, we all have gray hair. Did you go gray before your sisters though? I don't know. Your other sisters? Your other sisters? Other sisters that aren't me. Probably. Yeah, it kind of seems like you did.

Yeah. You know, I'm just an old soul. That's just me. You kind of are. I get that. I like that. I liked your TikTok that you made this morning. That you guys helped me make. Yeah. That was a full pod lab collaboration. Me and Mikey

were the creative directors. It's true you were. We're like faint on this couch. Hold the book like this. Drop the book like that. Yeah, we did a TikTok. I'm trying to figure out creative ways to get you all excited about the butcher game. To market the book since you're the marketing genius. Yeah, I'm trying to get more creative with it. And actually it's kind of fun. So when I heard the sound, which go check out my Instagram or TikTok to see the video, but when I heard that sound, I love that sound.

It's the one that's like, these are my ladies. Big Mouth is such a funny show. And it's such a fucking funny sound that I was like, I need something to do to this end. And I'm like, wait a second. It's perfect. Wait a second. All the different languages. I got these international book covers. Whoa. Boss bitch thing to say I got these international book covers. Wow. Wow. Just pretty cool. Just doing boss bitch things. It's a pretty cool thing, but it was fun. And yeah, you guys got a little sneaky peek at the pod lab a little bit. Yeah, a little bit. You should shout out your handles probably.

On both. I'm Alaina to the max. Alaina to the Misity Misity Max. Pretty sure. Let's double check that just to make sure it's absolutely correct. The truth. Yep. Alaina, A-L-A-I-N-A to the max on TikTok.

I'm not good at shouting out my things, my handles. That's what Zillennials are here for. Yeah. I think on Instagram I'm the same. Same thing. Look at that. I try to keep it very simple for myself and for others. Oh my God.

I love the cover photo. This is great. All right. Tonight. I said tonight, it is the day. Today's case, it's going to be a two-pata. A two-pata. One, because it's long, there's a lot of information in it. So I don't want to like try to condense it too much and miss some information.

And two, man oh man. You're so brutal lately. I know. I apologize everybody. What's going on in your psyche? This one's it's from the 20s. From the 20s. The 20s.

Speaking of ghosts. It'll always happen. Who's excited for that movie? Who's excited? I am. Alaina's excited. But yeah, this is from the 20s. It's taking place in December of 1927. It is the murder, the kidnapping and murder of Marion Parker. Oh no. Marion

Parker was a 12 year old girl. Oh no. So just know that ahead of time, this crime is shocking. Just be forewarned, it is very brutal. It is very shocking. And it's just like the whole story is just at the end of it, you're just going to go, what the fuck? That's all you're going to be able to say, I think. Nicole Soule. Okay. Yeah. Um, so let's begin. Shall we? Let's now Francis Marion Parker and her twin sister Marjorie were born on October 11th, 1915 in Los Angeles, California.

Their parents were Perry and Geraldine Parker. And although they were almost always together, like stuck to each other at the hip, and they definitely preferred each other's company over the company of anyone else, the girls were actually really different in disposition and in personality, which I think is a lot of times the case in twins. Yeah. And I think just like sisters in general sometimes. Yeah.

Now, according to author James Nyborg, quote, Marjorie was very much a girl who liked girly things, but Marion had a slightly rougher edge, not afraid to get dirty or get hurt. Marion was what would be considered a tomboy now. That sounds like your twins. Yeah, it really does. Now, although she had many girlfriends, Marion preferred to spend her time outside of school playing with, you know, what we would now, like what society would deem to be traditionally like more boy oriented toys, like trucks and especially in the twenties, it was very societal, like these are boy toys, these are girl toys, like, you know, trucks, trains,

playing football with the boys in the neighborhood, like she did, she was definitely a tomboy. Yeah. But despite her rough and tumble approach to play, she was also very sensitive. She was shy. She was a little reserved. She didn't like to be away from home or be away from her parents for very long, which is very heart wrenching when you consider the fact that she is the one who will be kidnapped and murdered. Oh no.

She had a very close bond with her father, Perry. She would actually often spend afternoons by his side at the First National Trust and Savings Bank where he worked as an assistant cashier. So she would just like hang out with him there. That's so sweet. The girls also had a very close relationship with their brother. They like adored him Perry Jr. He was several years older than Marion and Marjorie, but he always made time for them.

Like it was just a really good family. In many ways, Marion Parker was like most girls of her generation and age. She loved movies. She loved radio plays, which is just like very 20s. She loved to dance to the music on her parents' phonograph. She loved to make her siblings and parents laugh with jokes and impressions. She was just a typical 12 year old cool chick. Yeah. Just, you know, they just sound like a very like, like for lack of a better way of saying it, like all American family. Yeah, very wholesome, very just like very tight bonds. Yeah. Seem to all love each

other and take care of each other. No, unfortunately, because it was the 20s and she's only 12 years old, these are really the only things that we know about her life. We don't have a whole lot of details other than that. I think it gives a good picture of her family life, her relationships inside of the house, outside of the house, what kind of gal she was. It sounds like that pretty much mostly would cover it for a 12 year old. I think you got a of, what kind of gal she was. It sounds like that pretty much like mostly would cover it for a 12 year old. Like I think you got a good amount of information of who she was. Why thank you.

And thank you, Dave. Yeah. So the week of December 15th, 1927 was a hectic one at Mount Vernon junior high. You know, the Christmas season is in full swing. The students are all excited about the holiday and the holiday break. The school's Christmas party was just a few days away. And to make matters worse, the school principal Cora Freeman was actually out on the 15th. So this left one of the teachers, Mary Holt, in charge of the students coming and going

for the day. Oh, that's a lot of responsibility, especially if you're not used to it, you know, like you're not trained. And it happens to be on a holiday week where it's chaos. Like it's already chaos. According to Nyborg, quote, Mrs. Holt was quite strict about student deportment and even more careful about strangers visiting the building. But she was very overwhelmed by the dual responsibility she had that day. She was still acting as a teacher and acting as like guarding who was coming and going. So she let her guard down a little bit unintentionally. Of course,

you know, there's a lot going on. That probably haunted her for the rest of her life. Yes. Now that afternoon, a young man entered the school's front office and walked up to Mrs. Holt at the reception desk and said, he would like to see the Parker girl. Now, the man was small, average looking. He said his name was Mr. Cooper and he said that he worked with Perry Parker at the bank. He said, Mr. Parker has been in an accident and is calling for his daughter. Just one.

There you go. So slightly confused, Mrs. Holt said the Parkers have two daughters and the man said he wants the younger one. They're twins. In hindsight, that should have been the red flag. And to be honest, I'm a little confused here why she didn't catch on to that. She lived with the guilt for the rest of her life. Of course. This was negligent. Big time. And I would be fucking furious at this.

Oh my God. Well, this one, obviously this is way before the days of like, who are the three people allowed to pick them up? Exactly. Let me check their sheet, that kind of thing, but oh my God. And this is why it needs to be, if you, to your kids, if you, I will never send someone that you don't know to come get you.

Never, ever, ever. Never, it will never happen. No. Again, this should have been a pretty big red flag because the man seemed not only ignorant to the fact that the Parkers had two daughters, but also that they were twins. And there wasn't an apparent, obviously there's always a quote unquote younger one in twins, but like, let's be real. He's not being like the one that's three minutes younger.

Right. So Mrs. Holt said, do you mean Marion? Why you giving him that information? Yeah, why? Like what you're, of course he's going to be like, yeah. What do you think he's going to be like, oh no, I don't know who Marion is. He's gonna be like, yeah, of course. Yeah, Marion. And he said, yes, yes, ma'am. And he said, that's that's her name.

Oh, no. Later, Mary Holt would tell investigators that the man seemed to know Marion and could describe her. And he seemed so confident that it never occurred to her that he could be lying. Why wouldn't you just call like, again, we know, I'm sure she lived with the guilt forever, but you gotta call the parents to say, hey, was somebody else supposed to pick Marion up today? And why, the whole situation, like, I'm like,

why didn't that rub you as strange that he's asking for one of his daughters when he's been in an accident? Well, and that's part of the thing too. And it's also like, I know we're supposed to be looking at this and being like, I know she lived with the guilt for the rest of her life. I'm going to say right now, fuck that shit. This was negligent and it was stupid.

And somebody, a whole family paid the biggest price you can imagine for it. I think it's fucked up. I think it's fucked up that Mary Holt just handed over this child to this stranger. I think it's fucked up. I think it's fucked up that Mary Holt just handed over this child to this stranger. I think it's fucked up. I do too. I'd love to be nicer about it, but no, I wouldn't actually. Well, I'm sure the family would have loved to... Yeah.

I'm sure the family felt the same way. It's a mistake, but it's a mistake you can't make. And that's just the way it is. And it sounds like it's a mistake that cost somebody's life. It absolutely was. Now also what she wasn't realizing is that during their exchange, she was actually feeding him pieces of information by giving Marion's name away, by saying the Parkers have two daughters. You're just handing this stranger more personal information about this family

and these children. And just the fact that you have to say the Parkers have two daughters. Obviously you're dealing with somebody who's not supposed to be here to pick one of them up. Exactly. And by giving him these little details and these little pieces, you are allowing this man to come off as more familiar than he actually is. And also the man said he worked with Perry Parker and knew details about Mr. Parker's

employment, which of course gave him a little more credibility. But still, Mary Holt never bothered to ask even the most basic questions, like what type of accident happened? Why was he only asking for one of his two daughters? Or why a coworker was sent to get the little girl instead of a police officer

or any other member of the family. Instead, she just sent for Marion and handed her over to this man. Fuck that. That's fucked up. Honestly. Because why wouldn't her older brother be there? Why wouldn't an aunt or an uncle be there? Like here's the, Mary Holt felt the repercussions from this mistake for the rest of her life. I'm not taking that away.

But that's fucked up. I mean, that's fucked up. When I read this, I could not believe that this little girl was handed over to a complete fucking stranger who didn't even do the basic shit to get this little girl. This woman just fed him the information. That's the responsibility that you take on.

It is. That's the thing. Like if you weren't prepared, like obviously it's hectic. Yeah. Sure, but this isn't like you're a server and it's a hectic time at the restaurant. Exactly. You give somebody the wrong dish. Like this is... You're giving the wrong kid to someone.

This is big. Like you're handing out someone's baby to someone else. That's a big deal. Right. Oh, it made me so angry reading this. Like I was feeling... I'm so stressed out right now because who the fuck is this man? It's going to get really bad and I need you... I'm not going to go into... We don't know details about like what happened during her captivity. Okay.

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Visit EmbarkVet.com and use promo code morbid to save $50 today. Puppies everywhere. If you're on the lookout for true crime stories told from a fresh perspective with nuance, depth, and detail, I have a new show for you. Check out Murder, True Crime Stories, a CrimeHouse original podcast. From the shocking Chandra Levy case and infamous Tylenol murders to the tragic deaths of the Clutter family, each episode focuses on a famous solved or unsolved murder case. We love true crime, obviously. We're morbid here and we are so excited for

this new show from Crime House. Listen in every Tuesday as the show dives into the darkest corners of true crime, unraveling chilling narratives, examining compelling clues, and most importantly, seeking the truth. There's a story behind every murder, but is there an ending? New episodes of Murder, True Crime Stories release every Tuesday. Just search for Murder, True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Now, when Marion appeared in the front office, the man told her the story. Your father's been in an accident. He sent me, I work with him at the bank and you know, he asked to see you. So Marion, probably more concerned about her father than her own safety at that moment

because remember she has a deep, deep bond with her father. She just left with him willingly. She's 12. So as James Nyborg points out, this was the 1920s also, a time when children trusted adults and authority figures with a certain blind faith. Yeah. I mean, we weren't allowed to question adult authority back then. So that's what makes it even more up to the adults in charge to make sure that that child's blind faith is not placed in the wrong adult. So it didn't occur to her that her teacher

would hand her off to a stranger without completely verifying this story. She just took it as, okay, this must be true. My teacher would never hand me to this man. Or she would never even think that an adult would lie to her about something so serious, like her father being her. Why would you think that back then? Especially having it be set for nefarious purposes. She's 12. Yeah.

In fact, if someone had asked one or two clarifying questions that day, even just one or two questions just to get a little more information from this guy or taken the time to even call the bank and say, Hey, did an accident happen with Perry Parker? Was someone from your bank sent to pick up one of his children from school? The story would have a totally different outcome. Absolutely. And I just don't understand not trying to one call home or to call the bank. And that's why I don't have sympathy for the other side of this equation. I just don't.

Yeah. Now, having not sensed anything strange about the incident, neither Mrs. Holt nor Mrs. Freeman thought to say anything about it to Marjorie. Mrs. Freeman was another worker at the school. Marjorie waited a long time outside the school for her sister once the day had ended because they always went home together. Oh no. And the girls, you know, they walked home together.

And so when the school was finally locked up for the day, Marjorie ended up heading home without her sister after waiting for her for a long time because no one told her. What? Yeah, this is all just like a lot of negligence. Strange information. Because I'm also like, I'm sorry Mrs. Holt and Mrs. Freeman. So a man came in and said Perry Parker was in an accident and asked for one of his children. Barring all the stupidity that happened there that you just allowed one of the children to go with a stranger. You didn't think to tell her twin sister, your father's been in an accident.

Yeah. And maybe try to call her mother or something and see like, do you want her to come home? Is somebody else picking her up? You just let her sit outside of school and wait for her sister and not have any fucking clue what happened. Oh man. What's picking her up? You just let her sit outside of school and wait for her sister and not have any fucking clue what happened. Oh man. This is why I'm like, yeah, you earned that guilt.

Cause it's like, I don't know what to tell you. That's fucked up. So she went home and when she got home, Marjorie explained that Marion hadn't met her outside of school and she didn't know where she'd gone. And at first the Parkers weren't like super concerned because there had been times when it's the 1920s, when she'd gone home with a school friend or stayed late to help a teacher

at school. But it was out of character for her to stay out by herself without telling anyone. That was the thing that bothered them. So Perry called the school, Perry Parker, who has not been in that sense. And Perry thought it was a little unusual because Mary Holt answered. And Perry thought it was a little unusual because Mary Holt said, Oh, Mr. Parker, how are you feeling? And he was like, I'm feeling okay. But like it didn't raise any alarm.

He was just like, I'm okay. How are you? But when he asked whether Marion was still at school and Mary Holt explained that she'd gone home with the man you sent to pick her up. Oh my God. He dropped that pleasant demeanor. He was pissed. Yeah, of course.

And alarmed, like he was freaking out. He was exactly how anybody would be. He was like, what the fuck do you mean you sent her home with a man? And he said, there has not been an accident. I have not been an accident. No one has been sent to pick up my child. Oh my God.

You can just like, you can barely even imagine the panic running through that man's entire body. I'm angry and upset for him. I can't even imagine. But angry and upset, he's feeling that, but also fucking panic. The panic. And he said, in fact, and this is even worse, he said he had been home all day with his wife because it was his wife's 40th birthday.

Oh my God. And that's like, why didn't you just call home? Just call home. And it literally was said, we didn't send anyone to center. And you deal with the situation that call the police. This could have ended. Oh my God. Now, it's their birthday. Yeah. Or their mother's birthday. Oh no. Now, throughout the early decades of the 20th century, kidnapping for ransom was pretty common. Yeah. Like it was actually a pretty common feature in the press.

And it was not unheard of for this kind of thing to happen. Like not this exact thing, but like for children to go missing and to turn up dead with little or no explanation, it was kind of a thing. Jesus. Because a lot of people were trying to get money and extort people. And just a few years earlier in Chicago was Leopold and Loeb. Oh God.

They kidnapped and murdered 14 year old Bobby Franks just for the thrill of it. None of this was lost on Perry and Geraldine Parker. I'm sure. And they wasted no time calling the police. But before Perry could even finish dialing the number, the doorbell rang. So he answers the door and it was a Western Union messenger with a telegram. And it was addressed to Perry from a sender in Pasadena. The telegram said, do positively nothing till you receive special delivery letter.

And so they were terrified. Of course. Terrified for Marion's safety. So they did as instructed and they waited. Yeah. Oh my God. Now, the second telegram came a short time later, this time from Alhambra, I hope I said that right, about 10 miles outside Los Angeles.

And it said, Marion secure, use good judgment, interference with my plans dangerous. And it was signed George Fox. Okay. No one in the family recognized that name. Nobody knew who that was. But Marjorie told her parents that a day or two earlier, there had been a man driving a gray car

alongside the street car she and Marion had been riding in. He had been gesturing for the girls to get off the car and come talk to him. But they didn't like to be around strangers. So Marion was like, fuck no. This story only further supported the Parker's belief that their daughter had been kidnapped and was obviously being held for ransom. Now not wanting to piss off the kidnapper, Perry and Geraldine didn't call the police that night and waited for further instructions. They were worried somebody was watching the house that- I can't imagine that predicament because you're fighting internally, I'm sure with yourself. Everything tells you to call.

Is somebody watching me? If I call the police, are they going to kill her? But then every instinct inside of you is probably saying call the fucking police. Yeah, I just want help. Like I need help. Somebody needs to help. Like that's the massive amount of just helplessness and frustration and sadness that would, ugh. And what ends up happening, and we'll obviously get to it, is things go so awry.

And they go so awry through no fault of Perry's and Geraldine's, and Marion pays for it. And it's like, and they did everything that they were, they did everything they thought they were supposed to. And actually like the police kind of fucked this up and the press fucked it up. And these two were doing everything that they could to get their child home safely. Now they did, they waited for their instructions, but then the morning came and they were able to get the child home safely. Now they waited for their instructions, but then the morning came and they still hadn't received a third telegram.

So they finally called and reported the kidnapping because they were like, we can't keep waiting around. And that morning as detectives were sitting with the Parkers in their home to take their statements, that third telegram came. And it was addressed to PM Parker with a lot more details and instructions in this one. It said, use good judgment.

You are the loser. Do this. Secure $75, $20 gold certificates. US currency, $1,500 at once. Keep them on your person. Go about your daily business as usual. Leave out police and detectives. Make no public notice.

Keep this affair private. Make no public notice. Keep this affair private. Make no search. Fulfilling these terms with the transfer of currency will secure the return of the girl. Failure to comply with these requests means no one will ever see the girl again except the angels in heaven. Oh God. The affair must end one way or another within three days, 72 hours. You will receive further notice, but the terms remain

the same." It's like literally making my stomach hurt. Yeah. Now, unlike the previous telegrams, which had only, which had included what appeared to be a man's name, this one just was signed fate. Oh God, what the fuck? The telegram was accompanied by a note, like another note with it. And this one, and this is heartbreaking. Oh,, was from her handwritten by Marion. I'm not going to read the whole thing.

You can look it up online. It's gut wrenching. It's literally like addressed to like daddy and mother. She wrote, I wish I could come home. Yeah, of course. And she said, I think I'll die if I have to be like this much longer. Won't someone tell me why this has happened to me? Daddy, please do what this man tells you or he'll kill me if you don't.

And it was just signed, Mary and Parker. Oh my God. Yeah. Now upon reading the telegram, the detectives were immediately struck by the small amount of money being demanded by the kidnappers. It didn't sound like a lot. Yeah. And the unusual way that they were really insisting it be delivered to them. Adjusted for inflation, now their demands would be like little over $27,000, which it's not a small amount of money, obviously, but not really a ransom demand for a whole ass

child, I would say. No. But either way, investigators agreed to work quietly on the case and allowed Perry to gather the funds and make the exchange with everyone agreeing not to alert the press or do anything else to jeopardize Marion's safe return. So everybody was like, shut the fuck up. We're all going to work on this quietly. We'll do what we got to do.

So at first it seemed like everyone was doing what they need to do. After giving his statement, Perry went to work and just acted like nothing was wrong because that's what he was told to do. Oh my God. So this man had to go to work and just deal with people all day knowing his child is in the clutches of people who are, are going to kill her. And like just, oh my, oh my God. Yeah. And after withdrawing the amount of money needed from his account, he went about his day, just as he had been instructed to do, but he did remember to write down the serial numbers for the bills

so that they could be tracked later. Because he said, hopefully we can catch them this way. Smart. Meanwhile, detectives spent the day interviewing Marian's friends and the staff at school in the hopes that someone would remember seeing anything out of the ordinary that day. With Mary Holt, obviously being the most important witness. Now obviously I know I'm going hard at Mary, which I stand by, but she was fucking devastated.

Of course. I mean, it's not like this woman, bad mistake. There was no intention of ill will or anything wrong here. But there was no intention for something like this to happen. She never thought in a million years this was going to happen. And she had a hard time remembering anything because she was just in a state. She said the man was young. She said, but otherwise he was kind of unremarkable.

Like there was, which I understand sometimes it's hard to pick out anything. You're like, I don't know, I have brown hair. I mean, she's probably seen how many adults come pick up their kids like throughout the whole day. She did say he was about, he appeared to be about 25 to 30 years of age. She could say like five foot eight inches in height,

around 150 pounds, having a slender build and thin features. He was smooth shaven, medium complexion, dark wavy brown hair, which I'm like, actually that's pretty good. That's a lot. He also looks like a lot of guys. I know, especially at the time. And they weren't really able to get a lot much more out of her other than that description because she was so overwhelmed by guilt, guilt that she actually needed to be sedated.

Oh, wow. So when I say she, she felt, she felt the weight of it. She felt the weight of it. It doesn't help and it doesn't change it, but she felt the weight of it. She's not a bad person. Absolutely not. Bad mistake. I would never forgive her, but that's me.

And I can understand why this family probably wouldn't either. We've all been there, turning to the internet to self-diagnose our inexplicable pains, debilitating body aches, sudden fevers, and strange rashes. Though our minds tend to spiral to worst-case scenarios, it's usually nothing, but for an unlucky few, these unsuspecting symptoms can start the clock ticking on a terrifying medical mystery. Like the unexplainable death of a retired firefighter, whose body was found at home by his son, except it looked like he had been cremated.

Or the time when an entire town started jumping from buildings and seeing tigers on their ceilings. Hey, listeners, it's Mr. Ballin here, and I'm here to tell you about my podcast. It's called Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries. Each terrifying true story will be sure to keep you up at night. Follow Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. Prime members can listen early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Scammers are best known for living the high life until they're forced to trade it all in for handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit once they're finally caught.

I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Haggye. And we're the host of Scamfluencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of some of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims and what's left once a facade falls away. We've covered stories like a Shark Tank certified entrepreneur who left the show with an investment, but soon faced mounting bills, an active lawsuit filed by Larry King, and no real product to push. He then began to prey on vulnerable women instead, selling the idea of a future together

while stealing from them behind their backs. To the infamous scams of Real Housewives stars like Teresa Giudice, what should have proven to be a major downfall only seemed to solidify her place in the Real Housewives Hall of Fame. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad- right now on OneDri Plus. But when Perry returned from work that afternoon, he was surprised to find that the kidnapper still hadn't called. But a few hours later, the phone finally rang. And in a calm, even voice, the man on the other end confirmed that Perry, he said, you

got the money, and Perry said yes. Perry, he said, you got the money and Perry said yes. And then he said he would call back with instructions in five minutes. Okay. But nearly a half hour pass before he called back again. So he's just playing games. The kidnapper instructed Perry to get in his car and travel alone a few blocks away, then park on Gramercy where the exchange would be made.

Okay. blocks away, then park on Gramercy where the exchange would be made. Not wanting to risk anything, Perry did exactly as he was told. He did not alert authorities. When he got to the location, there didn't appear to be anyone. So he waited and he waited and he waited. Hours went by and this man is waiting for his baby. For his child. By 1145 PM, No one had come.

So he realized the decision to leave. That's the thing. So he's like something went wrong. So he went back home and that's where he learned that the police had been following him from the moment he left the house. So he said, Oh, no. What if the kidnappers saw them? And he didn't alert them. Right. He did what he was told and they fucked it up. Like, let him go. Like I'm sorry. Especially you already have the serial number about it. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like it

sounds like they were in marked cars. It sounds like they were pretty like they were following. It was pretty obvious. Things got worse the following morning when Perry learned that the previous day the press had been alerted. Who the fuck alerted the press? I don't know, but now it was on all the fucking front pages. Exactly what they told them not to do. All of Los Angeles. All of them.

The Los Angeles record said, hunt kidnappers of girl. Others focused on the fact that Marion had been taken from school without any resistance from the staff. Which I'm like, you can talk about that later when she's safe. But despite his best efforts to do literally exactly as he had been told by the kidnappers, it seemed like everything had gone fucking wrong. And the Parkers were like, the worst is going to happen. And we didn't do it.

Now that afternoon, another telegram came to the house. And this one said, when I asked you over the phone to give me your word of honor as a Christian and honest businessman, you didn't answer. Why? Because those two closed cars carefully followed your car north on Wilton to 10th and stopped shortly off Wilton and proceeded to circle the block on Gramercy." Had they not done that? It sounds like they would have passed the money and gotten the girl.

It's horrifying. And it was exactly as he had feared. They spotted the police car and they had blown the opportunity to get Marion back. And what's even worse is what they wrote next in the telegram. They said, she was so eager to know that it would only be a short while before she would be free from my terrible torture. And when you then you mess the whole damn affair. How do you live like the rest of your life?

Yeah. And they said they'll give him one more chance saying, pray to God for forgiveness for your mistake last night. And it was signed fate Fox. It had another note in Marian's handwriting, imploring her father to do as the kidnappers demanded, which is even worse because he did. Yeah.

And she was being told that he didn't. Didn't know that he had done everything he was being told that he didn't. Didn't know that he had done everything he was supposed to do and that it was the police and the press that had fucked it up. And so she wrote, please don't bring anyone with you today. And Perry Parker later said he does believe those notes were written by his daughter or at the very least that even if they weren't composed by her, she was saying it and somebody was transcribing it.

Yeah. Now the Parkers waited all afternoon becoming increasingly frantic as the hours are passing by and no call is coming. And they did, however, receive two additional telegrams during that time. The first one said, Please recover your senses rather than to kill your child. But so far you have given me no other alternative. Of course you want your child, but you'll never get her by notifying the police and causing all this publicity. I feel, however, that you started the search before you received my warning,

so I'm not blaming you for the bad beginning. Be sensible and use good judgment. You can't deal with a mastermind like a common crook or kidnapper. Fox. Fate." This person is sadistic. Now the second telegram arrived a short time later and seemed to just reiterate the points made by the first one. But a little more dramatic flair was in this one. It said Fox is my name, very sly, you know, set no traps. I'll watch for them.

Get this straight. Remember that life hangs by a thread. I have a Gillette ready and am able to handle the situation." Oh my God. And it was signed fate. This is, I'm like, oh, this is awful. Yeah. I'm having such a visceral reaction to this right now.

Yeah, it really, it's a cautionary tale in about a hundred different ways. Now the call finally came later that evening and Perry was given instructions to travel alone to Manhattan Place and wait in his car. If he failed to do that, Marion would die. And so he did as he was instructed, he packed up the money, he drove to the destination. And a little after 8pm, he saw headlights of another car coming towards him. And at first he worried it might be the police and this whole thing was going to be fucked up again.

But then when it pulled up next to him, he saw the driver wearing a hat with a bandana covering the lower part of his face. And he rolled down his window and raised a sawed-off shotgun pointed right at Perry. And he said, give it to me. And Perry insisted to see his daughter first. So the driver was annoyed and then just gestured to the seat next to him. And he looked and he said he could see Marion wrapped in a blanket of some sort. Her head was nearly covered by the material. And later Perry said that he thought Marion was in some sort of daze or maybe she had been drugged.

The driver said she was sleeping, but Perry was like, her eyes are open. And so he was like, she was gazing forward on blinking, like she looked out of it. But he said she looked alive. She had color in her cheeks. She like she didn't look dead. Yeah. Now very eager to get his daughter back. He Perry reached out the window to pass the money to the kidnapper. The kidnapper grabbed it from him and told him to wait as he checked the contents of the envelope. Once he was satisfied, he put the vehicle in drive and rolled forward slightly and then came to a stop again. And now that he was in the darkness, like out of any kind of light, he opened the passenger

door and something large fell from the car and landed on the curb. Then the car just sped off. So when the car was out of sight, Perry ran out of his car and ran to the bundle. He could see his daughter's face peering from the bundled blanket and he immediately reached down to pull her into his arms. And then he realized the bundle was surprisingly light. And so, he laid his daughter on the ground and frantically untied the cord on the blanket. And that's when he discovered that Marion's legs were missing and her arms had been severed

just below the elbow. She was dead. Perry's screams were loud enough to be heard by shopkeepers at nearby businesses. I feel like I'm like gonna cry right now. This has honestly made me cry. They ran out into the street to find out what was happening. Some of them tried to comfort him. The others went back to call the police.

It was chaos. Like this man was literally like inconsolable, obviously. Like you don't recover from that. How the fuck do you do that to somebody? Yeah. George Contreras, the lead detective in the case, arrived a short time later with other investigators and patrol officers.

They started cordoning off the scene and they initiated one of the largest manhunts in the state of California's history. Now Detective Contreras approached the body and in addition to the horrifying details that I've already given you, he noticed some other things that were highly disturbing. Marion's eyes were open. Like you said, she looked into days. When they looked closer, they saw that the killer had used a needle and thread to sew

them open to make it appear that she was alive. Oh my God. Sewed her eyes open. They had also applied makeup to her cheeks to give her that complexion that made her look alive. Oh my God. Do we find out who did this? We do.

Luckily, don't worry. Now Marion's remains reached the morgue a little after 9 p.m. and the coroner, Dr. A.F. Wagner, began the autopsy right away. He was a very experienced pathologist, very experienced coroner, but this one was really hard for him because he had lived next door to the Parkers

for the previous four years and knew this family very well. Now Wagner noted that the remains, at least you know that this doctor is going to be like, most coroners and pathologists are very gentle and loving with a body, but like this, he knows this girl. So you know, at least there was somebody who cares about her and knows her doing this. I also think he's been the coroner in other cases that we've... It sounds very familiar. Wagner, definitely.

Right, it does. Now he noted that the remains were incomplete and included only the head, the trunk, quote, down to an inch above the navel and the upper arms down to the elbow joints. There was a two inch cut along the left shoulder and the cause of death was determined to be strangulation. I guess luckily there's no other signs of pre-mortem trauma to the body. So the idea that she was tortured or anything like that doesn't seem to be true. Okay.

I think they were just saying that. Exactly, like physically tortured. Also Marion's internal organs all appeared to be intact and healthy. She had not been beaten. She had not been hurt in any way physically until what happened. And these cuts were made post-mortem.

There was however a towel with the Bellevue Arms Apartments emblem on it and a piece of a man's shirt stuffed into her abdominal cavity. Interesting. The following day, a man out for a walk in Elysian Park found two bundles of newspaper lying beside the road. And when he opened them, he found what would later be confirmed to be Marion's arms, her

lower arms. The other pieces of her body were discovered a few hours later in a gully nearby. Now Wagner couldn't say exactly when Marion had died, but later in court it was established that she had been killed shortly after the first botched exchange on the night of December 17th. So him saying, I'll give you one more chance was just all bullshit. Yeah. No matter what had happened, they wouldn't have given her back. And it was that she was killed after that botched exchange. So she might've been given back to them alive.

Had the police not followed. Had been fucked up. Wow. Yeah. Now, while Wagner performed the autopsy, investigators wasted no time beginning their search for the killer. And this is the part that they do right. I mean, they really fucked up that beginning, but they go hard. They quickly located the man's car in a parking lot on Ninth and Grand Street, several miles

from the scene. According to the parking lot attendant, the driver was a young, dark haired man who said he would be back for the Chrysler coupe the following day. Detectives would be staked out of the scene throughout the night and into the next day, but no one returned to that vehicle. And he was in fact much farther away than anyone would have imagined at this point. The following morning, December 18th, the story of Marion Parker's murder was on the front page of every single newspaper. All across California, each one, we're in the 20s, the 20s, each one was providing grizzly details of how, quote, her lifeless body, horribly mutilated, was left on a Manhattan

street lawn for her father to discover after handing back the ransom. The coverage of the crime was honestly shocking by the standards of any era. And the press printed large portions of the kidnapper's telegrams, gave detailed descriptions of the moments when Perry Parker discovered his daughter's dead body, including graphic descriptions of the mutilation and horror contained within that bundle of little blankets. They even, one article wrote falsely, quote, death apparently came from chloroform or loss of blood after a terrific lashing. Jesus, wow.

With things like this, it's like, it's already fucking horrible. It's literally the worst it could possibly be. You don't have to do anything else. Why are you embellishing? But sell your papers. With fake shit. They're gonna sell anyway.

And it's like, that's fake shit. You're just making stuff up. Yeah. Where's your fucking integrity? They wrote the horrible torture to which the little one must have been subjected. And also this was all printed with no verifiable details about the murder and they had not confirmed anything with investigators. They just made shit up and printed it for that family to read false shit, but conjure up more horrible

images of their child's last moments. It's crazy like what the press was able to get. I mean, it's crazy what press can get away with even now. But way back when it was so much worse. Now although residents of California had become kind of accustomed to reading stories about kidnappings at this point, This came as a big shock. This was a different sort of thing. This is on another level.

Yeah, this was horrifying. So parents across the state were freaking the fuck out. Many decided to stay home rather than go out anywhere. The next week school attendance fell dramatically. No one was sending them to school because what the fuck's going to happen? You just going to give them to a murderer? I don't know how you would be

able to send your kids to school. I don't even know what I would do. I don't know. ["The Little Mermaid"] She was a romance mystery writer. They glommed on the fact that she writes stories like this. There are murders in all of the books. From Wondery, the makers of Ghost Story and Feta, this is a story about a murder that

rocked my little community. Binge all episodes of Happily Never After ad-free right now on Wondery+. But what's most, what's like also a very surprising like outcome of this was that the government of Mexico closed the border between the states to prevent the Fox from escaping into Mexico. Wow. This was huge. That doesn't happen often. No.

And those who didn't react with fear responded to the case, you know, the only other way they knew how. Vigilante justice. Yeah. As soon as Mary Holt's description was published in the papers, men who resembled the killer were targeted for harassment and violence. And like we said, not great because a lot of guys look like this guy. Yeah.

And it got really bad. And you can't just go out like trying to assault any Tom, Dick, or Harry that resembles this man. Like you don't know. No. And also it gets really bad. According to journalist, Cecilia Rasmussen, quote, one man who resembled the killer was arrested seven times within eight hours. Jesus. He finally asked to just stay in jail. Another lookalike was severely beaten by a mob and for safekeeping the police took him to jail

where he ended up hanging himself. Oh my God. Yeah. So it's like, this got really bad. What? Yeah. Now, while the press and public panicked and freaked the fuck out, Detective Contreras and the other investigators on the case continued to pursue every single lead and every piece

of evidence they had. In a search of the area around the Parker's home, police found another note that had been inexplicably left in a fire alarm box on the street near the house. Addressed to PM Parker and apparently left after the first attempted exchange got botched. The note said, for all the trouble you have caused, Marjorie Parker will be the next victim. Nothing can stop the Fox and they who will try will know the penalty. If you warn anyone of this second success, it will mean you next. Try and get me. I am the Fox. You will never know the rest of my success. You will miss her at 12 o'clock. Now my god. Now upon further review of this letter at the LAPD crime lab, a handwriting analyst determined that the letter did not match the handwriting in the previous

letters and they deemed it a hoax. Who the fuck would do that? We say it all the time. People are always people and they always have been peopleing. There's always been pieces of absolute shit. Wow. Like this is- But I'm never not shocked. No. As you shouldn't be. What the fuck?

Yeah. Like- This family is, I mean, the way this man found his fucking daughter. Yeah. And then you're going to threaten his other daughter because you're fucking bored with your jank ass life. These are the people who if they were born in this era would be on the internet telling people they're ugly and you know, telling them to kill themselves.

Yeah, exactly. And social media forums. 100%. These are they are the exact same person. You're on the same level. Like you're just a shithead. So while LAPD officers fanned out across the city in search of this killer, others were sent to the Bellevue Arms Apartments because of the evidence found within the body. Officers went room by room looking for anything

that could be traced back to the killer, but they really didn't find anything. Meanwhile, police in Las Vegas arrested a man they thought might be the killer, and they turned him into the Los Angeles investigators. The suspect was 25 year old, which is right in the adrienne, Louis Wyatt, who was the son of a Los Angeles doctor and had a history of harassing and assaulting girls. According to the initial reports from the press, a spokesperson for the LAPD described Wyatt as being in a position to know intimate details of the Parker family life, and said he was keen-minded, well-educated, and egotistical, particularly in believing that he has a master

criminal mind. Huh. Now, unfortunately, Wyatt's fingerprints didn't match those found on the ransom demands, nor did the serial numbers on his $20 notes match those withdrawn by Parker. So they had to release him. Yeah. Now the first real clue finally came a few days later, after technicians finished processing the car that the killer had abandoned in the lot on the night of the murder.

It was obvious that he had gone to great lengths not to leave any evidence behind, but he forgot to wipe the steering wheel. Wow. Yep. And so- The fact that this motherfucker went to, I mean, I'm happy, went to great lengths and didn't think to wipe the fucking steering wheel. He at least didn't wipe it clean because he left fingerprints behind.

And the fingerprints were a match for those left on the telegram sent to the Parkers. And within a few days, they had been matched to a set of prints contained within a juvenile court record for a forgery case a few years earlier. Those prints belong to 19 year old William Edward Hickman. 19? Who was also a recent resident of the Bellevue Arms Apartments. So they already searched his place at that point? Well, for some, he ended up, he wasn't living there at the time.

So for someone so young, William Hickman had a fairly significant criminal record that began in his mid teens. He had been a star high school athlete in Kansas City, but he turned to crime in his mid teens when he met fellow student, Welby Hunt, and they started shoplifting, committing forgery, all that stuff. Going down a bad path. And it quickly escalated into armed robbery.

Once they'd completed high school in 1926, Hickman and Hunt left Kansas City for Los Angeles, where Hickman found a job as a messenger at the first national bank, where Perry Parker worked as a teller. So he worked at the same place. Now while employed there, Hickman forged roughly $400 worth of checks before being arrested. He was given six months probation for that. When his probation ended, he tried to get his job back, but was

unsuccessful obviously. That led investigators to theorize that this man had a grudge against the bank and he just decided to take it out on Perry. Just randomly. Perry's a cashier, like he's a teller. Yeah. Like he doesn't own the bank. Right. But he took it out on him. He's not in charge of this man's job. He had kids. What the fuck? Now, 19 years old. Yeah.

Having discovered the killer's identity at address now, detectives returned to the Bellevue Arms Apartments and they learned that William Hickman had been living under the name Donald Evans, and he had vacated the premises a few days earlier. That's why they didn't find him at first. I see. Neighbors confirmed that Donald Evans matched the description provided by Mary Holt and fingerprints taken from inside the apartment

were a match for Hickman. Investigators also discovered in the apartment several razor blades, copies of newspapers reporting the kidnapping and a burned memo that appeared to be a draft of one of the ransom demands. Despite this evidence, Captain James Bean of the Homicide Squad told reporters, there's nothing to indicate that Hickman took the Parker girl there. I would disagree, and I would say there is everything to indicate that.

Where do you think he took her? No, when she was shown a photograph of the teenager, Mary Holt confirmed that it was Hickman who had come into school that day and left with Mary and Parker. She thought he was between 25 and 30. 19. Perry Parker also remembered who William Hickman was. Really? And he told detectives, quote, the eerie familiarity of the kidnapper's speaking voice now makes

sense because he had talked to him on the phone. Oh my God. Yeah. And Parker also remembered the incident that led to Hickman being fired. And he remembered that Hickman was denied his job after finishing probation, but he couldn't think of any reason why Hickman would have targeted him or his family.

Right. He's like, I didn't have anything to do with it. And he said, I cannot call to mind any words of madness or revenge that passed while I was talking with Hickman. While the motive might have eluded them at the time, Hickman's familiarity with Parker could explain the relatively small ransom demand. He knew he didn't have the money. Right.

That's why, because they were baffled by that. He just wanted some money. And I think this was all just to hurt someone. I don't even think the money was the biggest part of it. I think money was obviously part of it. So do you think they were always going to kill her or no? I don't know. I started to question it with his identity being revealed now.

But that's what makes sense about that number now because he knew Parker's position at the bank. He wasn't like running the bank. So he knew the family didn't have that much money to speak of and he would only be able to deliver that much. Now the first real clue to where Hickman was finally came on December 21st. This is going quick at least. But just think of like, normally this family

would be getting ready to spend Christmas together. We're coming up on Christmas. And now they're just trying to find the man who murdered their daughter. And burying their child. Now police in Redlands, California, a town about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, investigated in an auto accident. And in that accident, the driver, who was a man matching Hickman's description, fled

the scene. The following day, investigators picked up his trail in Seattle when one of the $20 gold certificates withdrawn by Perry Parker was used at a clothing store in the city. And the shop owner identified Hickman as the customer after being shown a photograph. Just buying fucking clothes after sawing this child up. A few hours later, Hickman was spotted again, this time in Portland, Oregon, where a gas station attendant saw him filling his tank. By that point, Hickman's photograph was unavoidable.

It was everywhere. And as soon as the attendant recognized the driver as Hickman, he reported the sighting to authorities and said the man was headed in the direction of the Columbia River Gorge. That's where we're going to end for part one. You motherfucker. It has an ending that at least has justice being served in some way, shape or form, but we're going to stop there so that you can take that in, what just happened. Because the rest is going to be very interesting.

My, oh my, what a tragic, tragic case. I knew you said right at the top, like it was a murder, kidnapping and a murder, but I still held out hope that entire time that somehow the outcome was going to change. And there's no way to describe this one. Like, you're like, it's bad. And I don't know how else to describe it. It's brutal, it's bad, it's awful, it's heart wrenching. And this poor family, you just want to give Perry a hug, man. I just want to give him a hug and be like,

he didn't do anything wrong. You just want to like, you want to set time back and tell that lady, maybe don't release this girl to a fucking 19 year old, stranger who knows nothing about this family. My God. Call someone. Like this 19 year old was able to trick you

into giving him a child for ransom. I'd be infuriated I don't know how you get past that. Oh, man. All right. Well, we hope you keep listening See you for part two. Yeah, and we hope you keep it weird Yeah, I don't think I got to tell you Yeah. So If you like morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. Nancy's love story could have been ripped right out of the pages of one of her own novels.

She was a romance mystery writer who happens to be married to a chef. But this story didn't end with a happily ever after. When I stepped into the kitchen, I could see that Chef Brophy was on the ground and I heard somebody say, call 911. As writers, we'd written our share of murder mysteries. So when suspicion turned to Dan's wife, Nancy, we weren't that surprised. The first person they look at would be the spouse.

We understand that's usually the way they do it. But we began to wonder, had Nancy gotten so wrapped up in her own novels There are murders in all of the books. that she was playing them out in real life? Follow Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Happily Never After,

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