PODCAST

Episode 43 – Originally Published 2017

Content warning: This episode contains adult subject matter, including the story of missing persons and descriptions of murder, which may be upsetting to some listeners.  Listener discretion is advised.

On July 11, 1972, 17 year old Dolores DellaPenna disappeared from her Tacony, Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood.  It was midnight, and she was mere feet from her home. Dolores was a recent high school graduate who just returned from a trip to Disneyworld with her family, after spending a few weeks in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, after graduation.  Dolores planned to become an x-ray technician and was excited about spending the summer with high school friends before beginning her studies at Nazareth Hospital in the fall.

Eleven days after Dolores disappeared, her remains were found in a desolate section in the New Jersey Pine Barrens in Tom’s River, New Jersey. Philadelphia police worked around the clock to solve Dolores murder yet it took over 20 years to identify multiple suspects.  Today, 45 years after Dolores DellaPenna’s murder, no one was ever charged.

Thank you to Margo D, co-host of Book vs. Movie podcast, What a Creep and Dorking Out podcasts, and Jeremy Collins, host of Podcasts We Listen To, for their voice over work n this episode.

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. 

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Episode 42 – Originally Published 2017

Content warning: This episode contains adult subject matter, including violence, prisoner abuse and death, which may be upsetting to some listeners.  Listener discretion is advised.

Holmesburg Prison in Northeast Philadelphia closed in 1995 after operating for almost 100 years, leaving behind a legacy of pain, torture and despair. In 1938 Holmesburg was the site of the Bake Oven Murders.  23 inmates were locked in an isolation cell block known as the Klondike for four days.  On the morning of the fourth day, four men were dead after being baked alive.

A little over 30 years later, Holmesburg Prison made headlines for another prisoner abuse scandal, except this one lasted for 20 years while inmates were subjected to medical, chemical, and scientific testing, with no idea what was put on or in their bodies. In part one we discuss Holmesburg’s origins in North Philly when it opened in 1896, the first hint of abuse in 1922 and the Bake Oven Murders of 1938.  Part two tells the story of experiments conducted at Holmesburg from 1951 till 1974, and the men who still suffer to this day. 

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. 

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Episode 41 – Originally Published 2017

Content warning: This episode contains adult subject matter, including violence, prisoner abuse and death, which may be upsetting to some listeners.  Listener discretion is advised.

Holmesburg Prison in Northeast Philadelphia closed in 1995 after operating for almost 100 years, leaving behind a legacy of pain, torture and despair. In 1938 Holmesburg was the site of the Bake Oven Murders.  23 inmates were locked in an isolation cell block known as the Klondike for four days.  On the morning of the fourth day, four men were dead after being baked alive.

A little over 30 years later, Holmesburg Prison made headlines for another prisoner abuse scandal, except this one lasted for 20 years while inmates were subjected to medical, chemical, and scientific testing, with no idea what was put on or in their bodies. In part one we discuss Holmesburg’s origins in North Philly when it opened in 1896, the first hint of abuse in 1922 and the Bake Oven Murders of 1938.  Part two tells the story of experiments conducted at Holmesburg from 1951 till 1974, and the men who still suffer to this day. 

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. 

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Episode 40 – Originally Published 2017

In the late 1700s, the Philadelphia Prison Society had dreams of creating the gold standard for prisons based on the philosophy that a truly penitent man could gain redemption of his soul, and rehabilitation, through thoughtful isolation.  Thus began a 40 year journey among the prison society,  corrections inspectors, and Pennsylvania legislature to create a unique, model prison system – Eastern State Penitentiary.

Most prisons in the 19th century were modeled after Eastern State, and for all it’s glory and grandeur, the Pennsylvania System – a system of penitent isolation – was doomed.  By 1966 the prison was in a complete state of disrepair.  Over 20 years later the city was ready to tear it down for redevelopment until a task force stepped in, preserving the history, the legacy that is Eastern State Penitentiary.

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. 

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Episode 39 – Originally Published 2017

Trigger warning – discussions about sexual abuse of minors

This episode about one of the biggest scandals in the city of Philadelphia in the last 50 years.  It’s the story of Fast Eddie, also known as Uncle Eddie, Uncle Ed, and Eddie Savitz – valedictorian of West Philadelphia High School class of 1960, voted most likely to succeed, one of the most well-regarded actuaries in the city of Philadelphia.

In 1978, Eddie Savitz was arrested for indecent assault.  He was enrolled in an accelerated rehabilitation program and in 6 months his record was expunged. Eddie resumed his secret endeavors, soliciting underage boys around the city for a myriad of personal items.

This is the story of decades of abuse.  Young men in Philadelphia knew if they wanted to make a fast buck, they went to Fast Eddie.  Eddie Savitz didn’t confine his desires to his fetishes.  Eddie pushed the boundaries with these boys. While some of them may have considered Savitz a “weird old freak,” he was a pedophile.

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. 

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Episode 38 – Originally Published in 2017

Over the summer I had the opportunity to attend an opera preview of We Shall Not Be Moved, an Opera Philadelphia production featured in this season’s Opera with a Twist.  A friend sent me information about this event and he said “it’s an opera about MOVE.”  As in the organization that was under siege from the city of Philadelphia back in 1978 and then bombed by the city in 1985.  We Shall Not Be Moved is the story of five north Philadelphia teens who form the bond of family and take shelter in a condemned house in West Philadelphia.  Whether by coincidence or chance, the house is the former location of the MOVE headquarters on Osage Avenue. The evolution of this story – from the bombing on Osage on May 13, 1985, to the remarkable concept of bringing such an explosive topic to the stage through opera,  – begins with the desire to celebrate and support the children of Philadelphia through the arts.

Recently I sat down with Michael Bolton, Vice President of Community Initiatives for Opera Philadelphia, and Val Gay, Executive Director for Art Sanctuary.  Michael and I met at the preview event in July and he was kind enough to say yes when I asked if I could interview him for Twisted Philly and share the story of We Shall Not Be Moved with our listeners.

In this episode, Michael and Val share the story behind the partnership between Opera Philadelphia and Art Sanctuary, we talk about their incredible programs bringing music back to Philly schools, and how three creative powerhouses – Daniel Bernard Roumain, Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Bill T Jones – took children’s letters and creative expression and turned them into an opera about two of our cities defining tragic moments: the bombing of the MOVE headquarters, and the 2013 Philadelphia School District budget crisis and the closure of 24 schools around the city.

Opera Philadlphia – www.operaphila.org

We Shall Not Be Moved – https://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/on-stage-2017-2018/we-shall-not-be-moved/

Art Sanctuary – www.artsanctuary.org

Composer Daniel Roumain – https://www.sozoartists.com/dbr

Librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph – http://www.bamuthi.com/

Choreographer, Director Bill T Jones – http://newyorklivearts.org/btj-az-company/about-thecompany/bill-t-jones/

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. 

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Episode 37 – Originally Published in 2017

Trigger warning – discussions about missing persons and suspected murder

Barbara Miller disappeared in June, 1989, after attending a friend’s wedding in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania.  There are allegations and theories about what happened in this 30 year old cold case but by 2017 there are still no answers. Investigators feel they’re close to making an arrest, close to uncovering evidence that could provide answers about what happened to Barbara Miller.

If you have any information about Barbara Miller’s disappearance please contact Sunbury Police at 570-286-4587.

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. 

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Episode 36 – Originally Published 2018

Trigger warning – discussion about murder and domestic violence

In July, 2018, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court released an updated ruling on the case of Jordan Anthony Brown, who in 2009 at 11 years old was tried as an adult for the alleged murder of his father’s girlfriend. With this ruling, Jordan’s life changes again, as do the lives of his family and the family of Kenzie Marie Houk, murdered in February 2009 when she was 8 months pregnant.

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. 

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Episode 35 – Originally Published in 2017

New Castle, Pennsylvania, sits in Lawrence County about an hour north of Pittsburgh.  The city is almost 220 years old.  Over 10 years ago New Castle found itself thrust into the public eye when an eleven year old boy named Jordan Anthony Brown allegedly shot his dad’s fiancé’, Kenzie Marie Houk in February 2009.  Kenzie was over 8 months pregnant at the time of her murder, and Jordan was one of the youngest suspects in the country charged with homicide.

Why would a little boy shoot his soon to be stepmother while she slept?  A young woman who everyone said was sweet, caring and went out of her way to make Jordan comfortable. Where would he get a gun? And what’s happened in the years since this tragedy? That’s what we’re going to talk about in today’s episode, and there’s a myriad of courtroom drama and appeals that lasted for years as the state tried to determine how to prosecute Jordan, as a juvenile or as an adult. 

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. 

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Episode 34 – Originally Published 2017 with Special Guest Cohost Jeremy Collins from Podcasts We Listen To

In this episode I’m joined by Jeremy Collins, host of the Podcasts We Listen To podcast and founder of the Facebook group Podcasts We Listen To.

Jeremy and I are both fans of ghost stories.  Jeremy is from New Orleans, one of the most haunted cities in the country.  I knew he’d have some great ghost stories to share.  We each share two stories; two haunted taverns and two haunted hospitals and we have a terrific time doing it. There is a lot of history, a lot of hauntings and a whole lot of laughs in this great big spooky episode.

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. 

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