Our Morbid Obsession: 5 True Crime Trials that Captivated the Nation

By: Katie Saucer, Research Historian

Between 2010 and 2020, there seemed to be a noticeable shift in America’s interest in true crime. It didn’t happen overnight but slowly trickled into our pop culture consciousness. We were listening to podcasts about cold cases while commuting to work, and watching YouTube stars’ film make-up tutorials while talking about serial killers. New true crime documentaries were dropped weekly on streaming services, available for subscribers to view one after another. So why, suddenly, did it seem like true crime was on everybody’s mind?

Historic Infatuation

The simple answer: the obsession wasn’t new. In fact, America’s obsession with true crime, scandalous trials, and justice predate the founding of the country (think of the Salem witch trials of the 1690s). What changed was our ability to create and share content with billions of people across the globe in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, for every new podcast episode about a serial killer, there was a new cold case documentary. For every new blog post on mysterious disappearances, there was a social media account delving into true crime conspiracies. We now had the ability to learn what we wanted, when we wanted (even if the information was sometimes sensationalized and not always accurate).

So, what did America’s true crime obsession look like before we could curate our interests so entirely? Below are five examples of some of the biggest true crime trials which dominated the media of their respective times.

1. Lizzie Borden: 1800’s Obsession

You’ve probably heard the saying: “Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother 40 whacks…” This school yard rhyme (quite exaggerated in the number of “whacks” dealt to Borden’s stepmother and father) is perhaps the only aspect of the Lizzie Borden trial that continues to live in the American subconsciousness. At the time, though, it captivated much of the nation’s newspaper readers and journalists.

On the morning of August 4, 1892, Lizzie Borden found her father, Andrew Borden, and her stepmother, Abbie Borden, brutally murdered in their home in the textile mill town of Fall River, Massachusetts.¹ Lizzie was arrested a week later due to her inconsistent answers regarding the morning of the killings. The Lizzie Borden trial turned into a national sensation that intrigued hundreds of thousands of newspaper readers.² Borden’s gender, age and marriage status (single at 32), the wealth of her father, and the tension between immigrant communities in Fall River captivated readers.

Newspaper clipping from The Boston Globe on June 21, 1893. Lizzie Borden. New Bedford, Massachusetts

Many Americans were outraged at her arrest, and groups like the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and suffragists rallied to support her innocence.³ On June 20, 1893, a jury found Borden not guilty to the applause of the courtroom.⁴ Over the years, the story of the Borden murders has inspired plays, operas, movies, and books. The home where the Bordens were murdered was turned into a popular bed and breakfast with the apt name: The Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast.⁵

2. Midwest Murderers

It is no wonder the trial of Leopold and Loeb captivated newspaper readers across the country in the mid- 1920s. A story of affluent, remorseless teenagers who boosted a renowned lawyer on their defense team; the sensational trial had the country in its clutches for the latter half of 1924.

Newspaper clipping from The Vincennes Sun Commercial on July 23, 1924. Leopold and Loeb. Chicago, Illinois

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were two University of Chicago students from “old money” families.⁶ Although the pair grew up alongside each other, they didn’t become friends until college when they began to commit crimes together. What began as arson and vandalism quickly escalated to murder as the two planned to commit the “perfect” crime.

On May 21, 1924, Leopold and Loeb murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks.⁷ After dropping the victim’s body at a construction site in Indiana, the pair then proceeded to send a ransom note to the Franks family. However, Nathan Leopold made a grave mistake that would derail the pair’s plan for their “perfect” crime. He lost his unique pair of glasses at the crime scene, and police were able to quickly trace the crime back to him and his friend.

The Leopold and Loeb trial began in July 1924, just at the time psychiatry and psychoanalysis was beginning to become popular in the U.S.⁸ For one of the first times, people around the country were reading expert testimonies (from both sides) on the mental health status of murder suspects. The pair’s reluctance to show remorse, along with their expensive and renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow, quickly turned the trial into a media sensation.⁹ Darrow, in his famous closing speech delivered over 12 hours, argued that though the pair was guilty of murder, they did not deserve the death penalty.

On September 10, 1924, thousands of people gathered outside the Chicago Criminal Court Building to await the decision in the sentencing of Leopold and Loeb.¹⁰ Much to the surprise of many Americans, the pair avoided the death penalty and instead were sentenced to life in prison. The story of Leopold and Loeb has lived on in our cultural subconscious. It inspired the British play Rope, which was later adapted into the 1948 Alfred Hitchcock film.¹¹ Many podcasts and true crime documentaries have also covered the case, often hailing it as the first national true crime story of the 20^th century.

3. Media Madness

The story and trials of Sam Sheppard are well studied by law students to this day. Often thought of as a landmark case in criminal procedure, the case was avidly reported on television, radio, and in newspapers when it broke in the mid-1950s. It brought up important questions around media influence and fair jury selection for high profile trials.

Newspaper clipping from The Herald Sun on October 20, 1954. Dr. Sam Sheppard. Cleveland, Ohio

Early on the morning of July 4, 1954, Cleveland, Ohio was shocked by the murder of Marilyn Shepard, the wife of prominent osteopathic surgeon Dr. Sam Sheppard.¹² Marilyn, who was four months pregnant, was found brutally beaten and dead in her bed. As soon as officers arrived on scene, so did the press.¹³

Despite having no hard evidence, the police arrested Dr. Sheppard that same day. Some accounts say Dr. Sheppard was out on a walk while an intruder broke in and murdered his wife. Others say he was asleep in the living room and fought the intruder before he was knocked unconscious. Some claim police uncovered an affair between him and a lab technician at the hospital at which he was employed.¹⁴

The weeks leading up to the trial were a media frenzy. Newspapers printed daily stories proclaiming Sheppard’s guilt.¹⁵ On July 22, a three day inquest was staged at a local school gymnasium and hundreds of civilians, reporters, and live television and radio crews attended.¹⁶ On December 21, 2024, Sheppard was convicted on 2^nd degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, 10 years later, Sheppard’s conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court.¹⁷

The Supreme Court stated the trial had been a “carnival”, and the judge had allowed the courtroom atmosphere to become bias.¹⁸ The jurors had not been sequestered and were exposed to stories and gossip about the case each day. Sheppard was acquitted of his charges and released from prison that same year.¹⁹ In 1998, blood evidence at the crime scene was ruled to not contain Dr. Sheppard’s DNA and instead pointed to a different man as the killer of Marilyn Sheppard.

The Sam Sheppard story inspired many films and movies. It inspired the popular 1960s television show, The Fugitive (as well as the 1993 movie of the same name). In 1975 the television film Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Case premiered.²⁰ The case also changed the juror selection process, along with adding stipulations in place which order jurors to not consume media about the cases they are part of.²¹

4. The “All-American Guy”

The 1970s saw their fair share of serial killer and murder trials: The Manson Family, Jim Jones, John Wayne Gacy, the list goes on and on. All highly publicized and followed by millions of Americans, it is difficult to choose just one trial to delve into. Ted Bundy’s, though, is one of the most bizarre. Bundy’s multiple escapes from police custody, and his decision to defend himself in court, made the media sensation around his trial one of the largest in the late 1970s.

In the mid-1970s, Ted Bundy was a law student at University of Utah who volunteered at a suicide prevention hotline in his free time.²² He was also a killer who murdered over 30 women in four years across western America and Florida. In 1975, he was arrested in Utah for attempted kidnapping and was sentenced to 15 years in prison a year later.²³

While imprisoned, police tied him to a murder in Colorado and transferred him to Aspen to stand trial. He escaped from police custody and was caught a week later. Then, he escaped his jail cell in Glenwood Springs, Colorado and headed to Florida. It was there he committed his final three murders, two of whom were sorority sisters at Florida State University. Bundy was arrested for the final time on February 15, 1978.²⁴

Newspaper clipping from The Tampa Tribune on June 29, 1979. Ted Bundy. Miami, Florida

In June 1979, the spectacle of his first trial began. Bundy made headlines when it was reported he would represent himself in court.²⁵ Many Americans saw him as an “all-american guy” and had a difficult time believing he was capable of committing such atrocities.²⁶ In fact, Bundy received fan mail regularly, including marriage proposals. To add to the case’s popularity, Bundy’s trial was the first aired murder trial in the United States.²⁷ For the first time, Americans could turn on their televisions to see footage of the trial and Bundy himself.

Bundy was sentenced to death in 1979 and was convicted of another murder in a separate trial the following year.²⁸ In 1989, he was executed at Florida State Prison. His death, however, did not stop the public interest that surrounds him to this day. Countless documentaries, television series, podcasts, and movies have been created about Bundy or inspired by his crimes. In 2019, actor Zack Efron took on the role of Bundy in the popular movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. He remains one of America’s most notorious serial killers.

5. Celebrity Murder Mania

OJ Simpson’s trial was one of the defining moments of the 1990s. The glove, the white Bronco, the verdict: these moments are burned into pop culture to this day. From January-October of 1995, televisions across the country (and world) were tuned in to watch Simpson, his defense team, and the evidence brought against him.²⁹ The case brought up questions related the race and celebrity in legal processes.

Newspaper clipping from The Flint Journal on October 4th, 1995. OJ Simpson. Los Angeles, California

Orenthal James (better known as “OJ”) Simpson was a former NFL player turned sometimes actor. In July 1994, he was interviewed by police when his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, were murdered in Los Angeles.³⁰ Though not immediately apprehended, Simpson and his friend led Los Angeles police on a low speed chase in the infamous Ford Bronco on June 17, 1994.³¹ The entire incident was broadcast live across the country, interrupting the 1994 NBA finals and reaching about 95 million viewers.³² Simpson eventually surrendered and was arrested.

In January 1995, Simpson’s trial began. His defense team claimed Simpson had been falsely accused of murders, despite droves of evidence connecting him to the double homicide.³³ Evidence included blood from the victims on Simpson’s sock and in his car, a bloody footprint in Simpson’s shoe size, and Simpson’s suspicious behavior. Yet, Simpson’s defense team argued of a conspiracy against Simpson, stating authorities planted evidence against Simpson because he was a famous black man.³⁴ On June 15, 1995, Simpson famously tried on a glove found at the scene of the crime, which did not appear to properly fit his hand. The image of Simpson and the glove appeared in magazines, newspapers, and on television everywhere.

Americans were sharply divided on the opinion of Simpson’s guilt. On October 3, 1995, Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges.³⁵ Two years later, Simpson was found liable for the wrongful death of Brown and Goldman.³⁶ The reason for this finding in the second trial is highly debated upon, due to factors such as there being no cameras inside the courtroom unlike the first trial.

Since the 1990s, many television series, documentaries, podcasts, and movies have been made about the trial and the media frenzy surrounding it. Notably, the 2016 miniseries The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story won 8 Primetime Emmy awards. Phrases like “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” (uttered by Simpson’s defense attorney regarding the glove) are well known. The media’s attention was back to Simpson in 2007, when he was arrested for armed robbery.³⁷ This again brought to light questions around Simpson’s trial related to jury make up, racial inequality, and forensic evidence.

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Works Cited:

1. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-lizzie-borden-got-away-with-murder-180972707/
2. 1893 06 01 The Borden Murder Trial (The Akron Beacon Journal)
3. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-lizzie-borden-got-away-with-murder-180972707/
4. https://home.heinonline.org/blog/2023/09/heinous-histories-the-arrest-and-trial-of-lizzie-borden/
5. https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/lizzie-borden-trial-1892
6. https://courses2.cit.cornell.edu/sociallaw/student_projects/LeopoldandLoeb.html
7. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/monkeytrial-leopold-and-loeb-trial/
8. https://courses2.cit.cornell.edu/sociallaw/student_projects/LeopoldandLoeb.html
9. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240131-leopold-and-loeb-the-grisly-crime-of-the-century-that-fascinated-hitchcock-and-others
10. 1924 09 10 Chicago was up Early Today (The Herald Statesman)
11. https://www.wttw.com/chicago-stories/deadly-alliance-leopold-loeb/a-crime-story-that-reads-like-a-melodrama
12. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/sam-sheppard
13. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/chronology.html
14. https://case.edu/ech/articles/s/sheppard-murder-case
15. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-21/a-sensationalized-murder-trial-inspires-the-fugitive
16. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/chronology2.html
17. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-21/a-sensationalized-murder-trial-inspires-the-fugitive
18. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/chronology5.html
19. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/sam-sheppard
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21. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/december-21/a-sensationalized-mu
22. https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/%E2%80%9C-very-definition-heartless-evil%E2%80%9D-ted-bundy-colorado
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25. https://johndrogerslaw.com/ted-bundys-criminal-trials-a-detailed-examination/
26. 1978 12 10 Ted Bundy: A Trial of 26 Murders? (The Palm Beach Post)
27. Winker, Abigail I. (2024) How the Media Turns Serial Killers into Celebrities. University of Albany Scholars ArchiveLibrary. https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/all_honors/37/
28. https://abcnews.go.com/US/notorious-serial-killer-ted-bundy-escape-custody/story?id=61032623
29. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/oj-simpson-murder-case
30. https://abcnews.go.com/US/key-moments-oj-simpsons-life/story?id=48724637
31. https://www.vice.com/en/article/on-this-day-in-1994-o-j-simpson-made-television-history-with-his-infamous-bronco-chase/
32. https://www.vice.com/en/article/on-this-day-in-1994-o-j-simpson-made-television-history-with-his-infamous-bronco-chase/
33. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/oj-simpson-murder-case
34. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/oj/themes/prosecution.html
35. https://abcnews.go.com/US/key-moments-oj-simpsons-life/story?id=48724637
36. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/oj-simpson-murder-case
37. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/oj-simpson-murder-case
38. https://www.edisonresearch.com/true-crime-podcast-listeners-triple-in-five-years

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Cover Image: Sam Sheppard and attorney walk in the courtroom as the media takes pictures, 1954. Photo by William Ashbolt. The Cleveland Press Collection, Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University Library.