Case 192
The Sodder Children
*** Content Warning: child victims ***
On Christmas Eve of 1945, while most citizens of Fayetteville, West Virginia celebrated the end of World War Two, Italian immigrants George and Jennie Sodder watched their house go up in flames.
Initial investigations showed that five of their ten children had died in the inferno, which was deemed accidental, but George and Jennie refused to accept this finding. There were too many inconsistencies, and theories involving kidnapping, murder and arson soon arose. The Sodder’s came to believe their five children survived the fire and were taken somewhere by persons unknown. The question was, why?
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
PREMIUM
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RESOURCES
WEBSITES
NEWS ARTICLES
The children who went up in smoke – Smithsonian Magazine
What happened to the five Sodder children? – news.com.au
Mystery of missing children haunts W.Va town – npr.org
Wreaths placed on fire victims’ graves – Beckley Post-Herald
Mysterious fate of five children pondered – The Raleigh Register
Sodder case is dropped by Charleston Detective – Beckley Post Herald
Bones fail to convince father of children’s death, pathologist to report following laboratory tests in Washington – The Raleigh Register
Search for Sodder children renewed; billboard erected at scene of fire – Beckley Post-Herald
Fayetteville fire tragedy remains a mystery after fifteen years – Beckley Post-Herald
What really happened to children? – Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail
The Sodder Family: a Christmas inferno – medium.com