103: The Bluebeard Killer: Harry Powers and the ‘Lonely Hearts’ Murder House

Before modern dating apps, there were “lonely hearts” ads, and one man used them to lure women to their deaths. Harry Powers, often called the Bluebeard Killer, was one of America’s first known serial killers. In the early 1930s, he targeted widows and vulnerable women through personal ads, promising marriage, stability, and a new life. Instead, he brought them to his property in Quiet Dell, West Virginia,a place that would later become known as a murder house.In this episode, we break down the full story of Harry Powers, the Bluebeard serial killer, from his early life and manipulation tactics to the discovery of his victims, his chilling confession, and the trial that captivated the nation.https://news.lib.wvu.edu/2014/10/28/the-harry-powers-murders-crimes-that-inspired-west-virginia-authors/https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entries/1852https://wchstv.com/news/local/letters-to-death-the-true-story-behind-west-virginias-first-serial-killerhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139544207/luella_b-powershttps://lareviewofbooks.org/article/jayne-anne-phillips/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-raleigh-register-bluebeard-harry-p/13176298/https://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Powers,%20Harry.pdfhttps://www.wvencyclopedia.org/entries/1852https://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/powers-harry.htmhttps://web.archive.org/web/20120328083539/http://www.skcentral.com/news.php?readmore=2258https://web.archive.org/web/20120324101310/http://www.wvgazette.com/mediafiles/document/2009/03/17/Bluebeard_I090317193022.pdf