logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
47m 12s

17: How to get away with murder - histor...

KATY BELLOTTE
About this episode

Did the heiress murder her friend? And, did the butler murder her?!

The historically wealthiest families in the United States may sound familiar to you. Consider the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, the Waltons, the Hearsts... But, you probably don’t immediately consider the Duke family, who pioneered the Tobacco industry. James Duke’s only daughter Doris Duke was a woman wrought with scandal throughout her life, and today on Found Objects, we will tackle all that AND the mysterious death of Doris’ long-time friend and employee, Eduardo Tirella. This was either the biggest murder cover up of the 1960s, or the most unfortunate case of the wrong place at the wrong time…

Follow us on Instagram:

instagram.com/foundobjectspodcast


Sources:

“6 Most Frequently Asked Questions about Doris Duke.” Newport Restoration Foundation, 24 Jan. 2024, www.newportrestoration.org/6-most-frequently-asked-questions-about-doris-duke/.

Amore, Samson. “How America’s Most Famous Heiress Got Away with Killing Her Gay Confidant.” Advocate.Com, Advocate.com, 24 Jan. 2024, www.advocate.com/crime/doris-duke-eduardo-tirella#toggle-gdpr.

Colacello, Bob. “Doris Duke’s Final Mystery: Vanity Fair.” Vanity Fair | The Complete Archive, Vanity Fair, 1 Mar. 1994, archive.vanityfair.com/article/1994/3/doris-dukes-final-mystery.

“Doris Duke - Facts, Death & Mansion.” Biography.Com, 2024, www.biography.com/celebrities/doris-duke.

“Duke University’s Endowment and the Duke Endowment.” Giving To Duke, Duke University, 12 Nov. 2020, giving.duke.edu/endowment/duke-universitys-endowment-and-the-duke-endowment/.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “James Buchanan Duke.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 2024, www.britannica.com/money/James-Buchanan-Duke.

Lance, Peter. “The Doris Duke Cold Case Reopens: The Only Known Eyewitness Speaks.” Vanity Fair, 5 Aug. 2021, www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/08/the-doris-duke-cold-case-reopens-eyewitness-speaks. 




Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Up next
Sep 2024
27: The first lady with 3,000 pairs of shoes - history of Imelda Marcos & Marie Antoinette
“Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Well, that is the embodiment of Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines, and Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. You probably know these women’s stories, so you may not see it at first, ... Show More
35m 45s
Sep 2024
26: Were the moon landings fake? - history of the Apollo Moon landings
To this day, 5% of Americans believe that the Apollo Moon landings were faked - that’s more than 16 million people. How did this theory start? And why, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, do some still believe it? This & the Flat Earth conspiracy theory will be discussed t ... Show More
38m 20s
Sep 2024
25: The smartest man who ever lived - history of William James Sidis
Meet William James Sydis, the “smartest man who lived.” Sydis’ IQ score is estimated by some, to be somewhere between 50 and 100 points greater than that of Albert Einstein. By the time he was just 18 months old, Sydis was able to read The New York Times. At age 2, he taught hims ... Show More
42m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
35. Women Who Dare
Lucy Worsley, historian Professor Rosalind Crone and author and journalist Helen Lewis, explore the lives of four notorious Lady Swindlers. They’ll be discussing underworld boss Tilly Devine, fake heiress Violet Charlesworth, queen of shoplifting Alice Diamond and fake Princess M ... Show More
28m 31s
Oct 2024
34. Violet Charlesworth - Fake Heiress
In this episode of Lady Swindlers, Lucy Worsley meets Violet Charlesworth, an heiress with a taste for the high life. From her family home in North Wales, Violet drives the length and breadth of the country in her expensive motorcars, accompanied by pedigree pooches and dripping ... Show More
27m 46s
Jul 2024
Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt Among the Royals (with History On Trial's Mira Hayward)
In the 1930s, America was captivated by a scandalous courtroom drama - a custody battle of little 10-year-old Gloria Vanderbilt (mother of Anderson Cooper). Gloria's mother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, was accused of improperly managing her daughter's trust and galivating around Eu ... Show More
28 m
Oct 2024
33. Tilly Devine - Underworld Queen
Lucy Worsley investigates the career of one of Sydney’s most notorious gangsters, Tilly Devine. Draped in furs and encrusted in jewels, she’s the madam of one of the most lucrative brothel networks the city’s ever seen. What brings Tilly from south London to Sydney? How does she ... Show More
28m 38s
Nov 2024
President Warren G. Harding: Scandals, Affairs & Cabinet Selections
Despite dying as one of the most popular presidents in history, the 28th Commander-in-Chief has been consistently ranked one of the worst of the American Presidents. What caused this fall from grace? From the Teapot Dome Scandal to the Veterans Bureau Scandal, to the several extr ... Show More
43m 19s
Nov 2024
Lord Lucan: the vanishing earl
On 7 November, 1974, nanny Sandra Rivett was found murdered in the affluent London neighbourhood of Belgravia. The prime suspect? The father of her young charges, Lord Lucan. But before the aristocrat could be questioned, he vanished, sparking one of the greatest cause célèbres o ... Show More
36m 35s
Oct 2024
Marianne Woods and Jane Pirie (with Indigo Dunphy-Smith)
Today's special guest is the researcher and museum worker Indigo Dunphy-Smith, who is bringing her expertise to the case of Marianne Woods and Jane Pirie, two Edinburghian school teachers who found themselves embroiled in a sex scandal and court case in the early years of the 19t ... Show More
1h 7m
Aug 2024
Episode 590: The Murder of Albert Snyder
On the morning of March 20, 1927, nine-year-old Lorraine Snyder was awakened by the sound of gentle knocking at her bedroom door and when she opened it, she found her mother bound and gagged on the floor. According to the girl’s mother, Ruth Snyder, someone had broken into the ho ... Show More
1h 14m
Jul 2024
Kansas Moms Killed by Grandma & God’s Misfits: The Case of Veronica Butler & Jilian Kelley
Veronica Butler was in a long-standing custody battle for her children with her mother-in-law, Tiffany Adams, for several years, but in March of 2024, it all came to an end when Tiffany orchestrated and carried out her murder. Veronica had been granted supervised visitation with ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 2024
Bonus Episode: The Murder of Lita McClinton - A Conversation with Author Deb Miller Landau
A Devil Went Down to Georgia: Race, Power, Privilege, and the Murder of Lita McClinton, written by Deb Miller Landau, is the story of the murder-for-hire of Lita McClinton Sullivan in 1987.     Lita was a beautiful, accomplished woman from a respected Atlanta family. Her interrac ... Show More
46m 40s