American Monsters: Theodore Durrant

San Francisco, CA. - 1895: Blanche Lamont, a member of the First Emanuel Baptist Church mysteriously disappears. Then, before the the mystery of Blanche's disapperance can be solved, horrified parishoners find the mutilated body of Blanche's best friend, Minnie Williams. Blanche died first, but was discovered second, Her body had been horribly disfigured and shoved up inside First Emanuel Baptist's church steeple, where it was eventually found. Both Minnie and Blanche had been sexually assaulted. These horrible killings were dubbed, "The Steeple Murders," and suspicion quicky centered on a young medical student, and ardent church-goer, named Theodore Durrant. But Durrant was handsome, charming, pious, and well-liked, from a good family, with no hint of violence or criminal activity either in his past, or in his social circle. He seemed an unlikely choice for, "The Demon of the Belfry," San Francisco's own Jack Ripper...But was he? Find out on this episode of Kinda Murdery!Sources: https://archive.org/details/true-detective-feb-1929https://www.historicalcrimedetective.com/killer-theodore-durrant/https://the-line-up.com/theo-durrant-the-demon-of-belfryhttps://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Theodore-Durrant-Demon-of-the-Belfry-SF-murders-10418597.phpBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/kinda-murdery-true-crime-murder-stories--5496890/support.Zevon Odelberg is a true crime podcast host and disability advocate.  Zevon has cerebral palsy and he wants Kinda Murdery to be welcoming community for people with disabilities and for people living with challenges of any kind.  Life can be hard, but being together makes it better.