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Oct 2024
50m 41s

Episode 611: Preston Murr and the Boise ...

Morbid Network | Wondery
About this episode

In the early hours of June 30, 1987, Boise resident Clinton Sparks was awoken by someone pounding frantically on his storm door. A moment later, Sparks heard a loud scream in the distance, and he went inside to call 911.

Although he didn’t know it at the time, what Clinton Sparks heard was the last desperate cry of twenty-one-year-old Preston Murr, Two of Murr’s associates, Daniel Rodgers and Daron Cox, were arrested and tried and convicted for the murder.

The trial and conviction should have been where the story ended, but for the house on Linden Street where the murder occurred, it was only the beginning. Since Murr’s tragic death more than thirty-five years ago, the house has become a source of local legends, with claims ranging from the appearance of ghostly apparitions to blood inexplicably dripping down the walls. As a result, Boise’s “Murder Mansion” has become known as one of the most haunted houses in America.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!!

References

Ensunsa, David. 1987. "Boisean held on drug charges has prison record." Idaho Statesman , July 2: 1.

—. 1987. "Murder suspect cared for foster teens." Idaho Statesman, July 8: 1.

—. 1987. "Sister says Rodgers, slaying victim fought over drugs, money." Idaho Statesman, July 8: 1.

Fiorentino, Alyssa. 2022. The True Story of the Boise Murder House Is Straight Out of a Horror Movie.September 7. Accessed September 7, 2024. https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/a41059891/boise-murder-house/.

Heart, Michelle. 2021. 7 chillding and real stories from Boise's infamous murder house. September 15. Accessed September 06, 2024. https://liteonline.com/7-chilling-and-real-stories-from-boises-infamous-murder-house/.

—. 2024. Dare to enter? Boise's fascinating Murder House will open for public tours soon. May 23. Accessed September 7, 2024. https://liteonline.com/murder-house-tours/.

—. 2017. Nightmare on my street: Boise's Murder House. October 5. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://liteonline.com/nightmare-on-my-street-boises-murder-house-video-2/.

Idaho Statesman. 1988. "Fingerprints tied to murder victim." Idaho Statesman, March 10: 7.

KBOI News. 2012. The Murder House: Is site of decades-old murder haunted? June 27. Accessed September 6, 2024. https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/nation-world/the-murder-house-is-site-of-decades-old-murder-haunted-11-17-2015.

Lamay, Colleen. 1988. "Court told gun bore Rodgers' prints." Idaho Statesman, March 15: 10.

McFarland, Kelsey. 2016. Murder house: Is site of decades old crime scene haunted. October 27. Accessed September 6, 2024. https://idahonews.com/news/local/murder-house-is-site-of-decades-old-crime-scene-haunted.

Peterson, Anne, and Julie Stutts. 1987. "Police discover blood on street in southeast Boise." Idaho Statesman, July 1: 26.

Pewitt, Jana. 1988. "Deal frees Cox of murder charge." Idaho Statesman, March 22: 13.

—. 1988. "Nampa man says he found body parts." Idaho Statesman, March 11: 19.

—. 1987. "Police: disposal of body recounted." Idaho Statesman, September 5: 15.

—. 1988. "Rodgers' lawyer asks for mistrial." Idaho Statesman, March 8: 7.

—. 1988. "Rodgers says blood sickens him." Idaho Statesman, March 18: 21.

—. 1987. "Screams prompted call to police." Idaho Statesman, September 4: 9.

—. 1988. "Crime lab expert testifies bullet in skull belonged to Rodgers' gun." Idahome Statesman, March 17: 19.

Romine, Dannye. 1989. "She led two lives." Parade Magazine, June 25: 4-6.

State of Idaho v. Daniel Rodgers. 1990. 17785 (Court of Appeals of Idaho, November 13).

Stutts, Julie. 1987. "Ada to suspend 2 dispatchers over call." Idaho Statesman, July 16: 1.

Stutts, Julie, and Jana Pewitt. 1988. "Verdict: Rodgers guilty of murder, dismemberment ." Idaho Statesman, March 19: 1.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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