Hard Times and True Crimes Podcast

In 1949, deep in the Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee, a savage double murder shattered the stillness of a quiet Appalachian community.

Charlie Perry—a former Knoxville bootlegger turned tourist camp owner—and his longtime housekeeper, Josie Law, were brutally killed in their home at Perry’s Camp, a rustic riverside lodge in Flat Branch Hollow. Charlie had been tortured—his body bearing the marks of cruelty before the final blow was delivered. Josie was slain trying to defend him.

Three local men—Claude Robertson, Hermie Lee Jones, and Basil Jones—were arrested and charged with the murders.

Why would they do such a thing? What went wrong in those hills that  led to such bloodshed?

This episode of Hard Times and True Crimes takes you beyond the headlines and into the heart of the Smokies—through moonshine, hidden sins, local legends, and the astonishing redemption story of one of the killers.

🎧 MUSIC CREDIT:

🎼 Southern Gothic by Kevin MacLeod

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4385-southern-gothic

Music promoted by https://filmmusic.io

🔍 SOURCE CITATION:

Sources

Most of the story is drawn from R.S. Allen’s “The Perry’s Camp Murders”, a detailed account of the crime, the community, and the confessions that followed.� The Perry’s Camp Murders by R.S. Allen .  

Available on Amazon Kindle and in print editions.

newspapers.com

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🎧 New Episode: The Perry’s Camp Murders

Moonshine. Murder. Redemption.

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In June 1961, JD and Utha Welch packed up their car, their four young sons, and headed west from Oklahoma to visit family in California.

It was supposed to be a simple road trip — a summer memory in the making.

But one quiet night near Seligman, Arizona, while the boys slept in a canvas pup tent, JD and Utha were gunned down in cold blood as they rested in their car.

The boys woke up as orphans.

In this tragic episode, we explore the mysterious murders that shattered a family on the side of Route 66 — and the long road to identifying James Abner Bentley, a violent drifter with a chilling trail of crimes behind him.

We unravel the investigation, the break in the case, and why — despite compelling evidence — Bentley was never tried for the Welch murders.

Featuring quotes from those who knew the case best, courtroom drama, and the shocking behavior of Bentley during his sanity trial, this episode dives deep into a brutal killing that’s been overshadowed by time — and the four boys who survived it.

Narrator: Curtis Hildreth

Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth

Sources:

Information in the Intro about Route 66 was taken directly from placards inside the Route 66 Museum in Kingman, AZ, and is not my original work.

 https://www.newspapers.com/image/603594952/?terms=Utha%20Welch

https://www.newspapers.com/image/702476639/?match=1&terms=James%20Abner%20Bentley

https://www.newspapers.com/image/702470937/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/702462431/?match=1&terms=James%20Abner%20Bentley

https://www.newspapers.com/image/702276335/?match=1&clipping_id=new

https://www.newspapers.com/image/702411115/?match=1&terms=James%20Abner%20Bentley

https://www.newspapers.com/image/702374977/?match=1&terms=James%20Abner%20Bentley

https://www.dannydutch.com/post/tragedy-on-route-66-the-horrific-story-of-the-welch-family-murders-that-orphaned-four-boys

https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/people-v-bentley-cr-885321173

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Show Notes:

In 1986, Tina and Karen Bowen were just teenage girls when their mother passed away from cancer. Not long after, strange things started happening in their home.

Knocking from inside the walls.

Furniture moved.

Objects disappeared.

Messages scrawled in red across the bedroom walls:

💬 “I’m in your room. Come and find me.”

The girls thought maybe—just maybe—it was their mother trying to reach them from beyond. But what they were dealing with wasn’t a ghost. It was a monster.

Daniel LaPlante was living in their walls. Watching them. Listening. Plotting.

It’s one of the most bizarre and horrifying stories we’ve ever told. And it’ll have you double-checking your attic tonight.

🕳 Featured Crime: The Bowen Family Home Invasion

🔪 Also Covered: The 1987 murders of Priscilla Gustafson and her children, Abigail and William

🧠 Topics: Juvenile crime, mental illness, justice ,  evil and theology

🕯 Sources & Further Reading:

• Court Records: Commonwealth v. Daniel LaPlante, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
• “Daniel LaPlante: The Boy Who Hid in the Walls” — All That’s Interesting
• Boston Globe Archives, 1987–1990
• “Boy in the Walls” coverage — The Lineup
• WCVB Boston News: Interviews from initial arrest and trial
• Parole hearings & psychological evaluations, 2017 & 2019 – public record
• Discovery+ Very Scary People Season 2, Episode 5: “Daniel LaPlante”

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In this chilling episode of Hard Times and True Crimes, we dive deep into the twisted tale of Charles Schmid, the manipulative and charismatic serial killer who terrorized the young women of Tucson, Arizona, during the 1960s. Known as the Pied Piper of Tucson, Schmid lured teenage girls with his Elvis-like charm, eerie makeup, and bizarre swagger - only to reveal a monstrous dark side. 

We unravel the disappearances and murders of Alleen Rowe, Gretchen Fritz, and Wendy Fritz, and the disturbing silence of the friends and followers who knew his secrets. 

Narrator: Curtis Hildreth

Intro and Outro Music: Isaiah Hildreth

Sources Consulted:

https://time.com/archive/6628536/crime-secrets-in-the-sand/

https://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Schmid,%20Charles%20_spring,%202007_.pdf

https://www.myazbar.org/AZAttorney/PDF_Articles/0908Murder.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20080308015308/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,834699,00.html

https://tucson.com/morguetales/tales-from-the-morgue-the-pied-piper-of-tucson-conclusion/article_5b1bf5ec-ef94-11df-8f4c-001cc4c03286.html

https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/supreme-court/1973/1720-0.html

https://soundcloud.com/jonderosa/jon-derosa-ladies-in-love (Murder Ballad)

https://melmagazine.com/

https://www.azfamily.com/2025/02/27/ex-wife-pied-piper-tucson-reveals-all-first-interview/

True Crime Arizona Podcast: Widow of Tucson's first serial killer reveals all

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📍 Episode Summary:

In 1958, 30-year-old nurse Olga Duncan vanished from her Santa Barbara apartment. She was newly married, seven months pregnant, and full of hope for the future. But what no one could’ve imagined was that the person behind her disappearance wasn’t a stranger… it was someone much closer to home.

This week on Hard Times & True Crimes, we tell the heartbreaking story of Olga Duncan — and the chilling, manipulative woman who plotted her murder: her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Ann Duncan.

You’ll hear:

• How Elizabeth’s obsession with her son Frank spiraled into deadly control

• The disturbing fake annulment scheme that almost worked

• How two hired men carried out the murder — and what they revealed

• Why Frank Duncan stood by his mother, even after the truth came out

• And how Elizabeth became the last woman executed in California’s gas chamber

This case will stay with you long after the episode ends.

🔎 Topics Covered:

• True Crime | California | Historical Cases

• Santa Barbara History

• Mother-in-law obsession

• Pregnant murder victims

• Gas chamber executions in California

• Psychology of manipulation and codependency

🗂️ Sources & References:

• A Lovely Girl by Deborah Holt Larkin

• California Court Records and Archives

• News reports from Santa Barbara and Ventura County (1958–1962)

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