He Kidnapped His Own Attorney: The Story of Putt

Putnam Richardson's kidnapping of attorney Mel Shelander is one of the most ironic true crime cases we've covered. At 79 years old, Richardson abducted his own former defense lawyer—the man who represented him on kidnapping charges 40 years earlier—and held him chained in a shed for 55 hours demanding $1 million ransom.Built from 65 pages of federal court documents including the factual basis, plea agreement, and sentencing memorandum, this episode traces Richardson's 61-year criminal career from teenage car parts thief to repeat kidnapper.The FBI rescued Shelander unharmed. Richardson was sentenced to 294 months. Court documents are sent exclusively to subscribers when episodes drop—subscribe now at https://truecrimeunheard.com/subscribe so you don't miss future case files.