The Hi-Fi Shop Murders

Around 10:40 pm on the Monday evening of April 22, 1974, the staff in the emergency room of St. Benedict’s hospital were alerted that an ambulance was on its way. It was carrying two people with gunshots to the head. They had dealt with gunshots before, but what waited for them in the ambulance was like nothing they had ever seen.

As the first stretcher was removed by EMT, a petite woman in a red dress was carried into the hospital. Following right behind her on the second stretcher was a young man. The teen was struggling to breathe, almost gulping for air and his hair was covered in blood and vomit. Most of his skin was blue except for around his mouth and trailing down away down his cheeks and chin. That skin was showed scarring of an unusually bright red color. The woman in the red dress was barely breathing. Her lungs expanded only occasionally in an attempt to get a shallow breath of air. Emergency doctors cut the clothes off the young man and frenzied to determine the extent of his injuries. He had an obvious bullet wound to the right rear of his head. His pupils were dilated and didn’t respond to light. His heart rate was erratic, his lungs barely expanded and there was a gurgling sound coming from his chest. But what really stupefied the doctors was this strange, very strong odor emanating from his mouth. As they shined a light into his mouth, they noticed that his throat was completely swollen, and a bloody pink froth was oozing from it. This young man had clearly been forced to drink something so extremely caustic that it caused pulmonary edema and made his throat swell almost shut.

The two victims had been picked up from the Hi-Fi Shop and as police investigated the crime, they uncovered a truly shocking tale of cruelty and depravity. Listen to Crimes and Consequences Episode: The Hi-Fi Murders to learn more about this case.

The Hi-Fi Shop Murders

Listen to "The Hi-Fi Shop Murders"