1 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. When you think of 5 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: movie stars, there are way too many to pick from 6 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: these days, and each year it seems those names and 7 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: faces get swapped out for a brand new crowd. But 8 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: a century ago, the list was a lot smaller, and 9 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,480 Speaker 1: sitting right at the top of it all was Rudolph Valentino. 10 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: He was the original pop culture icon. Born in Italy, 11 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: he came to New York in nineteen twelve, where he 12 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: worked odd jobs bussing tables and gardening. It wasn't until 13 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: he was hired as a dancer when his luck started 14 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: to change. He found work in a traveling musical that 15 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: took him from New York all the way to California, 16 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: where he went on to pursue a stage career, although 17 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: he'd only ever performed in front of life audiences up 18 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: to that point, another actor took one look at Valentino 19 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: and suggested he try his hand at films. With his 20 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: striking good looks and his knack for wooing the ladies. 21 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: Rudolf Valentino became known around Hollywood as the Latin Lover, 22 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: and eventually only by his last name Valentino. He came 23 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: up in the era of silent movies, of which he 24 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: performed in almost forty Unfortunately, like other notable film legends 25 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: such as James Dean and Bruce Lee, Valentino's career was 26 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: cut short. He died at the young age of just 27 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: thirty one. Over one hundred thousand people line New York 28 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: streets to pay their respects to him. There were reports 29 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: of suicidence by mourning fans, as well as a public riot. However, 30 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: as strange and unexpected as his passing us, the circumstances 31 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: surrounding it were even stranger. In fact, Valentino's death may 32 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: have been the first of several linked to one common culprit. 33 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: A ring. That's right, a tiny piece of jewelry he 34 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: wore on his pinkie. He bought it in San Francisco 35 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: from a shopkeeper with a dire warning. The ring, a 36 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: silver band with the stone in the middle, was cursed. 37 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: Valentino didn't want to hear it. He was a success 38 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 1: now and he wanted something to show how far he'd come. 39 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: He purchased the ring despite the owner's cautionary tale, and 40 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: it quickly became his signature. He wore it in publicity 41 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: photos and even in his motion pictures, most notably Two 42 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: is the Young Rajah. It was a commercial and critical flop, 43 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: the first of several for the young actor. His next 44 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 1: three films were all box office disappointments. Despite Valentino's immense 45 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: talents and dashing good looks. It seemed like the shopkeeper 46 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: had been right. The actor's signature ring had been holding 47 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: him back. Unfortunately for Valentino, it was too late to 48 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: do anything about it. While on tour to promote his 49 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: last film, The Son of the Chic, Valentino came down 50 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: with a case of bleeding ulcers and required surgery. At first, 51 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: everything seemed to be okay, but doctors discovered he developed 52 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: an infection known as peritonitis, an inflammation of lung tissue 53 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: leading to fluid build up inside the lungs. Nothing could 54 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: be done, His condition got worse, and by the end 55 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: of August of NIX he was gone. The ring, however, 56 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: did not go with him. Instead, it was passed down 57 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: to his lover, another actor Poland Negri, but she immediately 58 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: fell ill after taking possession of it, and her career suffered. 59 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: She managed to survive, but passed the ring onto singer 60 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 1: and actor Russ Colombo. Colombo had been described as a 61 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: doppelganger of sorts to Valentino, and it turned out to 62 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: be true in more ways than one. Days after he 63 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: accepted Negri's gift, Colombo died after a bizarre shooting accident 64 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: involving a friend. The ring then bounced to another of 65 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: Columbo's acquaintances, a man named Joe Casino, who was so 66 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: afraid of the curse he locked the ring away and 67 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: refused to take it out for anyone. But the allure 68 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 1: proved to be too great, and even Joe succumbed to 69 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: its call. He'd only been wearing the ring a week 70 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: when he was struck and killed by a truck. Casino's brother, 71 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: Del was the next to claim the ring and decided 72 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 1: to lend it to a Rudolph Valentino memorabilia collector. Perhaps 73 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: he hoped that the curse hadn't been a curse at all, 74 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:42,919 Speaker 1: Maybe the ring had just been an innocent part of 75 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: a bunch of odd coincidences. Well, you might think that 76 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: if the ring's journey ended there, but it didn't. One night, 77 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: Dell came home to find his house had been robbed. 78 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: Guess what had been taken. That's right, Valentino's ring. The 79 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: thief was quickly caught by police, though, but didn't go quietly. 80 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: An officer fired a warning shot that ended up killing 81 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: him instead. Several years later, figure skater Jack Dunn slipped 82 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: the ring onto his finger for a screen test the film, 83 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,559 Speaker 1: a biopic about the late Valentino. Ten days later, Done 84 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: passed away from a rare blood disease. After that, the 85 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: ring was locked away, never to be seen or worn again. Today, 86 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: no one knows where it is, and Valentino's spirit is 87 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: said to haunt many locations around Los Angeles searching for it. 88 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: That bus boy from Italy certainly made a name for 89 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: himself in his short time on Earth. While his career 90 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: had not been as prolific as some of his peers, 91 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: he still remembered and watched to this day, and the 92 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,599 Speaker 1: name Valentino has become synonymous with the notion of the 93 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: Hollywood heartthrob. After all, it does have a nice ring 94 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: to it, doesn't it. We're taught from a very young 95 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: age that lightning never strikes in the same place twice. 96 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: But lightning is unpredictable and controllable, and it lacks an agenda. 97 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: You might say that lightning is definitely not a serial killer. 98 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: Because serial killers do have an agenda. They can and 99 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: do hunt the same areas for new victims. They often 100 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: have a particular victim type or compulsion for what they 101 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: do or who they do it too. That was the 102 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: case in Birmingham, England. Her name was Mary Ashford and 103 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: she had plans to go dancing with her friend Hannah Cox. 104 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: One Monday evening. She walked from her home in Langley 105 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 1: Heath to Hannah's house and dropped off her party dress 106 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: for that night. After work, she came by to change, 107 00:06:57,720 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 1: and then the two of them headed out to the 108 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: party together. Mary and Hannah had danced with several men 109 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: throughout the night, but two had entirely captured their attentions, 110 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: Benjamin Carter and Abraham Thornton. The two couples departed the 111 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: dance around midnight, but after walking Hannah to her door, 112 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: Benjamin headed back to the dance. Mr. Thornton and Mary, however, 113 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: had other plans They walked the route to Mary's grandfather's house, 114 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: talking until about four in the morning, when Mary went 115 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: back to Hannah's to pick up her work clothes from 116 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: the night before. That was the last time anyone saw 117 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: her alive. Early the next morning, a man walking through 118 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: pipe Hayes Park came across a pile of women's clothing 119 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: next to a large pit filled with water. He told 120 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: the locals what he'd found, and, filled with a growing 121 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: sense of dread, they knew what had to be done. 122 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: They dredged the pit and came up with the body 123 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: a woman who, according to the police, had been drowned. 124 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: She had bruises up and down her arms, clear signs 125 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: of a struggle just before her murder. Beside the pit, 126 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,679 Speaker 1: authorities also found two sets of footprints in the mud. 127 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 1: One had been Mary Ashford's, another set belonged to Abraham Thornton. 128 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: He admitted to spending the evening with the late miss Ashford, 129 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: but swore up and down that he didn't kill her. 130 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: The police didn't see it that way, and despite having 131 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: no evidence beyond his muddy footprints, Thornton went on trial 132 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 1: for her murder. He was their only suspect and his 133 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:35,439 Speaker 1: odds of beating the rap were slim. Everyone, especially the public, 134 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: thought that he was guilty, but public opinion was not 135 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,760 Speaker 1: enough to build a case upon the police just didn't 136 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: have the evidence to convict him, and Thornton was acquitted 137 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: of the charges. Even after numerous petitions for retrials by 138 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: Mary's family, it could never be proven that he killed her. 139 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: When one of Mary's brothers attempted to ask the judge 140 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 1: for a retrial, Thornton defended himself by dredging up a 141 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: piece of medieval law that allowed him to challenge Mary's 142 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: brother to a trial by battle. If he won, he 143 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: would be acquitted. If he lost, then he would be hanged. 144 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 1: Mary's brother refused the challenge and Abraham Thornton was once 145 00:09:15,559 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: again a freeman. Then another body turned up. She was 146 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: found in the same place, pipe Hayes Park, under the 147 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: same circumstances. Her name was Barbara Forrest and she worked 148 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: as a nurse at a children's hospital. She too had 149 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: been assaulted and strangled after a night of dancing and 150 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: guess where the police began their questioning. That's right, with 151 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: a man named Thornton. As it turned out, he'd been 152 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: her co worker at the children's home, and there was 153 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:50,959 Speaker 1: blood on his pants. Unfortunately, DNA testing still had years 154 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: to go before it would be used in police investigations. 155 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: It just wasn't enough evidence to convict him, and Thornton 156 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,920 Speaker 1: walked away without ever seeing the inside of a cell. 157 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: People close to the victims remember both women feeling uneasy 158 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: about their lives just before they were taken. Mary had 159 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: told Hannah's mother she had bad feelings about the week 160 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: to come. Barbara Forrest had told a coworker a little 161 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: over a week before her murder, this is going to 162 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:24,720 Speaker 1: be my unlucky month. I just know it. Both murders 163 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 1: had been committed in the same place, using the same method, 164 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: under similar circumstances, all by a man named Thornton. But 165 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: it wasn't the work of a serial killer. And we 166 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 1: know that to be true. Why because Mary Ashford was 167 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: murdered in eighteen seventeen, while Barbara forrest death occurred much later, 168 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: one fifty seven years later, to be precise. I hope 169 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,479 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. 170 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about 171 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show 172 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how 173 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, 174 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: which is a podcast, book series, and television show and 175 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: you can learn all about it over at the World 176 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.