EPISODE · May 26, 2026 · 14 MIN
The Alexandria Assassin: The Strange Descent of Charles Severance
from 10 Minute Murder | Bingeable True Crime Stories · host Joe
The Alexandria Assassin: The Strange Descent of Charles SeveranceIn December 2003, Nancy Dunning, wife of Alexandria, Virginia Sheriff James Dunning, was shot and killed after answering a knock at her front door, launching a cold case homicide investigation that would remain unsolved for over a decade. Ballistics, eyewitness testimony, and forensic evidence eventually linked the murder to Charles Stanard Severance, a Virginia mechanical engineer and failed political candidate who was also convicted of murdering transportation planner Ronald Kirby in November 2013 and music teacher Ruthanne Lodato in February 2014, earning multiple capital murder convictions and consecutive life sentences.Charles Severance was a Navy Admiral's son with a University of Virginia engineering degree who somewhere between a custody ruling and a decade of solitary drift rewrote his entire reality and started knocking on doors with a .22. He had a list, a manifesto, and a philosophy he called wisdom. Three people in one of America's most outwardly stable cities answered their doors on ordinary afternoons and never walked away from them. This is that story, and it is stranger than you are expecting it to be.🔔 Subscribe for True Crime Cases multiple times a weekNever miss a story. Subscribe to 10 Minute Murder for bite-sized true crime episodes delivered fresh every week.Get a weekly email from me about the upcoming cases and more: 10minutemurder.com/newsletter📱 Follow for Behind-the-Scenes Content Get exclusive case updates, research photos, and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes:Instagram: @10minutemurder on IGFacebook: 10 Minute Murder on FBTikTok: 10 Minute Murder on TikTok💬 Have a Case Suggestion? Know a fascinating case that deserves coverage? I love listener suggestions and feature the best ones in upcoming episodes. Email: [email protected] Website: 10minutemurder.com ⭐ Help Grow the True Crime CommunityRate & Review: Leave a 5-star review to help other true crime fans discover the showShare: Send this episode to fellow true crime enthusiastsJoin the Discussion: Tag us in your episode reactions on social media🎧 Want Even More True Crime? Check out True Crime Blueprint, also created and hosted by Joe.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43zuDpH01HtdIrH0ShCAid?si=86b2281063334139 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-blueprint/id1877878404 iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/323307878Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b7d5eaae-9d27-40f9-8efb-6864c2af8055Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/show/1002664071Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/true-crime-blueprint/6785639Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/true-crime-blueprint-6381660Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-blueprint--6879387Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/1113943Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/true-crime-blueprint/PC:1001113943Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/10-minute-murder-bingeable-true-crime-stories--4603604/support.
What this episode covers
The Alexandria Assassin: The Strange Descent of Charles SeveranceIn December 2003, Nancy Dunning, wife of Alexandria, Virginia Sheriff James Dunning, was shot and killed after answering a knock at her front door, launching a cold case homicide investigation that would remain unsolved for over a decade. Ballistics, eyewitness testimony, and forensic evidence eventually linked the murder to Charles Stanard Severance, a Virginia mechanical engineer and failed political candidate who was also convicted of murdering transportation planner Ronald Kirby in November 2013 and music teacher Ruthanne Lodato in February 2014, earning multiple capital murder convictions and consecutive life sentences.Charles Severance was a Navy Admiral's son with a University of Virginia engineering degree who somewhere between a custody ruling and a decade of solitary drift rewrote his entire reality and started knocking on doors with a .22. He had a list, a manifesto, and a philosophy he called wisdom. Three people in one of America's most outwardly stable cities answered their doors on ordinary afternoons and never walked away from them. This is that story, and it is stranger than you are expecting it to be.🔔 Subscribe for True Crime Cases multiple times a weekNever miss a story. Subscribe to 10 Minute Murder for bite-sized true crime episodes delivered fresh every week.Get a weekly email from me about the upcoming cases and more: 10minutemurder.com/newsletter📱 Follow for Behind-the-Scenes Content Get exclusive case updates, research photos, and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes:Instagram: @10minutemurder on IGFacebook: 10 Minute Murder on FBTikTok: 10 Minute Murder on TikTok💬 Have a Case Suggestion? Know a fascinating case that deserves coverage? I love listener suggestions and feature the best ones in upcoming episodes. Email: [email protected] Website: 10minutemurder.com ⭐ Help Grow the True Crime CommunityRate & Review: Leave a 5-star review to help other true crime fans discover the showShare: Send this episode to fellow true crime enthusiastsJoin the Discussion: Tag us in your episode reactions on social media🎧 Want Even More True Crime? Check out True Crime Blueprint, also created and hosted by Joe.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43zuDpH01HtdIrH0ShCAid?si=86b2281063334139 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-blueprint/id1877878404 iHeartRadio: <a...
NOW PLAYING
The Alexandria Assassin: The Strange Descent of Charles Severance
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Apr 22, 2026 ·87m
Apr 14, 2026 ·104m
Mar 17, 2026 ·83m
Mar 10, 2026 ·88m