Author: Twistedphilly

Episode 33 – Originally Published 2017

When it opened in 1839, Laurel Hill Cemetery was one of only two rural cemeteries in the country.  It solved a significant problem in Philadelphia: overcrowded cemeteries in within the city, some so overcrowded it was nearly impossible to find the final resting places of loved ones.  Laurel Hill is one of the most tranquil, picturesque and historical landmarks in the city, and it’s on the National Historic Registry.  Whether you’re visiting for a paranormal investigation, a black tie gala fund raiser, or just sitting under the shade of a tree, reading a book, there’s so much to learn about this magnificent landmark. 

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly to see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 32 – Originally Published 2017

This week I have the pleasure of speaking with retired Supervisory Special Agent, Criminal Profiler and Forensic Linguist, James Fitzgerald.  Perhaps I should start calling him Jim, or Fitz, as he mentioned I could. Jim was so gracious when we met and he offered to be a guest on TwistedPhilly podcast, because as you may have heard me mention before, Jim is a Philly guy, and well, we Philly kids stick together.

Jim and I talked about growing up in Philadelphia, his early career in law enforcement at the Bensalem Police Department, his transition to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and his career as a linguistic expert which lead to his participation in the identification and ultimate capture of the Unabomber.  Jim’s work on that case is the subject of an upcoming Discover Original Series “Manhunt: Unabomber,” premiering on August 1, 2017.

Throughout his career Jim has been involved in numerous high-profile cases, yet he’s never lost his Philly roots. I am so very grateful for the time we spent together, and I know you’ll enjoy learning more about Jim Fitzgerald’s career and the original series premiering on Discovery.  Jim is also a published author; you can find his book, Journey to the Center of the Mind, Volumes I-III, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  You can follow Jim on Twitter @JFitzJourney and on Facebook at James R. Fitzgerald.

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly to see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 31 – Originally Published 2017

Trigger warning – discussions about racism, police brutality, and death, including death of children

This episode is part two of They Let it Burn, the story of an activist organization called  MOVE, lead by a man named John Africa who wanted to live by what he considered  natural  law.  In part one we talked about Vincent Leapart, a man growing up in  Philadelphia, looking for a way to make sense of what he thought was wrong in the world.  We talked about his transition to become john Africa, and the movement he started in west Philadelphia, which ended in a standoff between the m embers of MOVE and the Philadelphia police, one officer dead and eleven members of move convicted of his murder. 

In this episode, Part 2, dig into the next 7 tumultuous years between MOVE and the city of Philadelphia.  MOVE members relocated to a new neighborhood, a house at 6221 Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia.  For two years they battled their neighbors, the police and the city administration until May 13, 1985, when the city decided to take action.  That action resulted in six adults and five children dying in a 6 alarm fire that took out entire city blocks, destroying 61 properties and leaving 250 people homeless.  Within days the mayor appointed a special investigative commission to determine what happened, what could cause the city of Philadelphia to drop a bomb on it’s own people. 

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly to see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 30 – Originally Published 2017

Trigger warning – discussions about racism, police brutality, and death, including death of children

Philadelphia has a moment that defined us. It was a window of opportunity where the city made a choice, and that choice was viewed on television screens across the country.  It was the moment the city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb on a residential street.  Most of the houses on that street were empty – the police contacted residents and evacuated the neighborhood, but one house had thirteen people living there, that house wasn’t evacuated. It was 6221 Osage Avenue, in the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia.  There were seven adults and 6 children in the house on the morning of May 13, 1985, and before the sun came up the next day, all but two were dead.

The city of Philadelphia dropped a bomb – specifically a satchel bomb, on a row house in Philadelphia.  The satchel bomb dropped from a helicopter flying low overhead. People watched as a bag fell out of the helicopter  and landed on the roof of 6221 Osage Ave.  Reporters covering every moment from the street felt the ground shake, they saw the explosion and they took cover as the building soon became engulfed in flames.  What was it that compelled our city to drop a bomb on a residential neighborhood?  What was it about the residents on Osage  Ave – what did they do that warranted this destruction?  And who were they?  Their story starts long before May 13, 1985, when all but Ramona and Birdie Africa died in a blaze that defined our city. This is the story of MOVE.  Part 1 covers the evolution of MOVE, founded by John Africa in 1972, and the days Philadelphia ran a 10 month siege against the members of MOVE.  We talk about the siege that became a two month blockade when the city tried to starve MOVE out of their house.  This episode is the history, and the transformation of MOVE, before they took over the residence at 6221 Osage Ave in 1983.

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly to see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 29 – Originally Published 2017

Trigger warning – discussions about murder

No one expected one of the most ruthless and notorious crime gangs in America was amassing amid the fields and rows of corn swaying in a summer breeze.  And when it came time to take this gang down, no one expected that Pennsylvania would show up as the example of what it means to be in law enforcement, what it means to be transparent, share what you know and work together instead of worrying about which jurisdiction or branch of law enforcement would get credit for the collar. 

It took a village to bring down a village sized crime gang, operating in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, and a village is what showed up – the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police, Chester County Police and Detectives department,  Delaware State Police, Maryland State Police, the Chester County district attorney and the US attorney general.  It took all that and more to bring down the Johnston gang.  This is the story of Bruce Johnston Sr., his son, brothers, cousins, friends and countless other men.  It’s the story of over a decade of robbery and murder, and the attempted murder of a son by his father.

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly To see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 28 – Originally Published in 2017

Trigger warning – discussion about substance abuse, mental health issues, suicide, domestic violence and murder

Suburban Philadelphia native Nancy Spungen was a daughter, a sister, a genius, a rebel and a desperately tortured soul from the time of her birth almost every day until the day she died.  Nancy predicted her own death; she struggled with suicidal ideation throughout much of her short life.  She obsessed over music, moved to New York and landed the ultimate bad boy.  That’s just the surface; Nancy’s life was so much more, so much harder not only on her but her family, her parents, her siblings and especially her mother.  This is Nancy’s story, and much of this story includes her life in the Philadelphia suburbs, and her mother Deborah Spungen, and one of the most notorious musicians from the UK punk scene – Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols.

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly To see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 27 – Originally Published in 2017

Trigger warning – discussion about substance abuse, mental health issues, suicide, domestic violence and murder

Suburban Philadelphia native Nancy Spungen was a daughter, a sister, a genius, a rebel and a desperately tortured soul from the time of her birth almost every day until the day she died.  Nancy predicted her own death; she struggled with suicidal ideation throughout much of her short life.  She obsessed over music, moved to New York and landed the ultimate bad boy.  That’s just the surface; Nancy’s life was so much more, so much harder not only on her but her family, her parents, her siblings and especially her mother.  This is Nancy’s story, and much of this story includes her life in the Philadelphia suburbs, and her mother Deborah Spungen, and one of the most notorious musicians from the UK punk scene – Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols.

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly To see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 26 – Originally Published 2017

This week I had the opportunity to meet a delightful man who owns Philadelphia’s oldest continuous operating ale house in the city – McGillin’s Olde Ale House.  If you’re not familiar with McGillin’s , it’s on Drury Lane between Juniper and 13^th Streets. There’s an enormous old fashioned neon sign on the front of the building and it  looks very much the way it did almost 160 years ago.  Owner Chris Mullen and I talked about the history of McGillin’s, the impact the ale house has on the country’s perspective of Philly as a beer town, the great food and drink you can get there, and the ghosts of Ma and Pa McGillin.  Yes, McGillin’s is haunted!  Check out McGillin’s on their website – www.mcgillins.com, and be sure to visit for their very own McGillin’s craft beers, mile high meatloaf, an Eagle-tini and some fish and chips.  Plus you can keep an eye out for Ma McGillin’s ghost on the second floor between the bar and the TV.  Apparently she prefers conversation to the animated box. 

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly To see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 25 – Originally Published 2017

Trigger warning – discussions about domestic violence and murder

The first “earth week” was held in Philadelphia in 1970. A group of students and professors from University of Pennsylvania Design School first conceptualized the idea of earth week: activities dedicated to focusing on our planet and how we can improve and preserve the earth.  One of the stand outs from that first earth week was a broadcast on CBS news. People all over the country could see the massive outpouring of support at teach in’s and events at Fairmount Park and Independence hall.  A local man stood out during that special; not an honored speaker but someone who grabbed the microphone for a few minutes.  That broadcast began Ira Einhorn’s self-professed claim to fame as an earth week organizer.  He became better known as the Unicorn Killer.  

Einhorn was a local activist around the Penn campus and Philadelphia.  He ran in circles with some of the biggest names in social and political activism. Businesses and corporations in Philly took care of Ira Einhorn.  They paid his living expenses and gave him money for food in exchange for his unique and unconventional consulting services.  Einhorn didn’t visit visiting them in their board rooms – he set up shop almost like a mafia don at a desirable table in a Philly restaurant called  La Terasse in University City  And that’s where he met Holly Maddox, a recent graduate from Bryn Mawr College who moved here from  Tyler, TX.  His politics aligned with hers, his activism was exciting, being in his presence was an experience and Holly Maddux was completely taken with him.  Their relationship born of peace and love became one of violence and turmoil.  After 5 years Holly found the courage to end her relationship with Ira Einhorn.  On September 9, 1979, Holly Maddux disappeared after a visit to the apartment she once shared with Einhorn.  Eighteen months later Holly’s mummified remains were found inside a trunk in a locked closet in Einhorn’s Philadelphia apartment.  What followed was a 23-year man hunt that spanned an ocean in an attempt to bring Einhorn back to the states to face justice. 

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly To see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 24 – Originally Published 2017

Not far from the Pennsylvania/Maryland border, south of York, is a house with a dark history – the Hex House. It was once owned by Nelson Rehmeyer, a Pennsylvania Dutch medicine man who was savagely beaten and murdered by local townsmen in 1928. In an attempt to hide their crimes, these men attempted to set the house on fire, but it wouldn’t burn.

Nelson Rehmeyer was considered a witch by some, and the fact his house wouldn’t burn was considered proof of that status. Take a trip out to central Pennsylvania to Rehmeyer’s Hollow, filled with ghost stories and legends from the past 100 years.

TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS