Episode 107: Gary Heidnik and the Pit
In 1987, a 911 call from a Philadelphia payphone led police to a row house on North Marshall Street—and to horrors they could barely comprehend. Women chained in a basement. Human remains in the freezer. A pot boiling on the stove. At the center of it all was Gary Heidnik, a preacher and self-styled investor whose neighbors thought he was eccentric but harmless. In this episode, we unravel Heidnik’s disturbing childhood, his twisted church, the pit in his basement, and the crimes that made him one of the most notorious killers in American history.
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In 1987, a 911 call from a Philadelphia payphone led police to a row house on North Marshall Street—and to horrors they could barely comprehend. Women chained in a basement. Human remains in the freezer. A pot boiling on the stove. At the center of it all was Gary Heidnik, a preacher and self-styled investor whose neighbors thought he was eccentric but harmless. In this episode, we unravel Heidnik’s disturbing childhood, his twisted church, the pit in his basement, and the crimes that made him o...