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June 16, 2021 2 mins

During the 1981 Fourth of July weekend, four people were found dead inside a massive farmhouse that belonged to a wealthy Ohio family. Desperate to find answers, surviving family members reached out to M. William Phelps for help. After a years-long investigation, new developments help track the movements of a new suspect and uncover a series of mysterious deaths that could expose what really happened that terrible night 40 years ago.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Bethel was a great little town, just a small town
deep in America's heartland, and it tucked away rural Ohio
town and alarm went out in the middle of the night.
It was the weekend of jo and the massive farmhouse
of a wealthy family was on fire and burning to

(00:24):
the ground. The flames are everywhere, I mean they're everywhere.
All four residents inside were dead, and not a single
person died in the flames or smoke. So the question
becomes what killed them, and more importantly, who for something

(00:45):
like this to happen in the town where everybody leaves
their doors, you know, unlocked, where everybody kind of knows
each other. People are still they still talk about it.
I'm m William Phelps, an investigative journalist in New York
Times best selling true crime author. This season, I'm not
chasing them missing person's flyer. I'm chasing a wanted poster.

(01:08):
Numerous homicides I've investigating. I've probably spoken to three cycle paths,
and he's one of them. You'll hear conversations with those
closest to the victims. My brother says, Carol, something's up.
There is too much blood. Interviews with investigators and suspects
just can't be sloppy like he was. He was a

(01:30):
likable guy too. I don't know why he just couldn't
behave him so. In decades old audio from unearthed law
enforcement tapes, no one has ever heard that. Joe thinks
you ever hard, that you do well, she said, I
to family, This investigation took me to places I never

(01:53):
saw coming. I mean she was shooting, pulled on you
and just shoot you. She did not even need to
think about it. How the mob works say, don't believe anybody.
They're gonna set an example. You owe us money, You're
done coming soon, Season two of Paper Ghosts burned. Get

(02:17):
it on the I Heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows
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Host

M. William Phelps

M. William Phelps

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