ep 31: Military Murder

What drives military members to murder? Maybe it’s the violent nature of the work; or some childhood trauma; or a psychological disorder; or maybe they’re just bad people. Maybe it’s all of these things or a combination or none of them. The truth is we often don’t know what compels someone to kill. If you’re looking for answers, you’re not going to get them here. What you’re going to get are six stories of military murder that will leave you shaking your head: The Infidelity Solution Murder; The Hi-Fi Murders; The ‘How Far Can I Get’ Murder; The Proposition Murder; The Coward Contractor Murder; and The Canadian Panty Thief Murders. And although it’s not a murder story, we chat about the Air Force’s ‘Master Solution’ to a missing finger mystery and how it backfired.

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The Digression Podcast Guys would like to give special thanks to Jody’s wife, Cindy, for sharing her recollections of two of the murders discussed in this episode: The Infidelity Solution Murder and The ‘How Far Can I Get’ Murder. The daughter of an Airman, Cindy has served in the military her entire life, and as the wife of an Airman, she was in Germany in 1993 when these killings occurred just months apart. A natural storyteller, her insight provided some interesting detail that wasn’t in any of the written reports.

Notes:

The Infidelity Solution Murder

Two Gruesome Murders Shock Army Unit Heading Home from Fulda Gap
https://apnews.com/afebb5da8ffe147f9ed26b8ee1c0434a

Sergeant convicted in beheading murder
https://journaltimes.com/news/national/sergeant-convicted-in-beheading-murder/article_c8b22ce9-8bab-5f42-8d67-5815e44e7485.html

The Hi-Fi Murders

The Ogden, Utah, Hi-Fi Murders: April 22, 1974
https://utahcommhistory.com/2010/05/05/the-ogden-utah-hi-fi-murders-april-22-1974/

The ‘How Far Can I Get’ Murder

DNA Samples Catch American Killer of Toddler in Germany
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/01/01/dna-samples-catch-american-killer-of-toddler-in-germany/d39a7404-38cd-401d-92d1-862eb6fd688d/

The Proposition Murder

Southern Fried Murder Podcast: Episode 65, Double Murder on Robins Air Force Base
https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/65-double-murder-on-robins-air-force-base#

Airman Sentenced to Death
https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/133085/airman-sentenced-to-death/

Double Murder on Robins AFB
https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/65-double-murder-on-robins-air-force-base

The Coward Contractor Murder

Skull Solves Mystery of 4-Year-Olds Whereabouts
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1998-03-26-9803260432-story.html

The Canadian Panty Thief Murders

Russell Williams
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/russell-williams-case#:~:text=Colonel%20David%20Russell%20Williams%20was,numerous%20other%20sexually%20related%20crimes

Chris and Jody are Air Force vets who enjoy military history and folklore. They have a podcast. They tell stories. They digress. A lot.

1 thought on “ep 31: Military Murder

  1. Really enjoy listening to you guys. The Murder episode was rather gruesome, but interesting. We enjoyed Cindy”s recollections of the two murders. She is a good storyteller and I’m glad she shared her story with us.
    I will have to say, the cut off head for infidelity, is not something most normal men or women would think about doing. Did he use the insanity defense at his trial?

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