Crimes of the Times

On today’s episode, we discuss one of the pivotal events of the 1960s: the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a promising presidential candidate at the time of his murder. Though the gunman was caught at the scene, confessed at trial, and even bragged about the shooting, his motives have largely been forgotten. In that collective amnesia, conspiracy theories have flourished.

Orange County’s most prolific mass shooter admits his guilt, but a series of explosive hearings uncovers a longstanding jailhouse snitch operation that taints many other cases. Jailers plead the 5th, the judge makes a startling ruling, and a victim’s husband forms an unlikely friendship with the killer’s crusading defense attorney.

In 2012, the judge presiding over Orange County’s worst mass-shooter case gave a seemingly simple order. He told the Sheriff’s Department to reveal information about a mysterious jailhouse informant. When defense attorney Scott Sanders probed deeper, he announced that he had discovered a wide-ranging and illegal cell-block informant operation—and a conspiracy to cover it up.

In the final episode of this four part series, we’ll talk to historian William J. Mann about his new book on the Dahlia case, which points to the same long-forgotten suspect whose name has been linked to a Zodiac cipher.

Were the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders the work of the same man? A new theory argues a disturbed World War II veteran was responsible. In this episode, a former FBI profiler explores the psychology behind both cases, examining where they overlap and where they diverge.