Buried Bones - a historical true crime podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes · Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

The Beadle Family Murders

April 8, 2026·1 hr 3 min·5 clips

In 1782, four children were found bludgeoned and with their throats slit in a blood-soaked bed.

This episode of Buried Bones examines the 1782 murders of the Beadle family in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Hosts Kate Winkler Dawson, a true crime journalist, and Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator, apply modern forensic analysis to this historical mystery. The case involves patriarch William Beadle, his wife Lydia, their four children aged 6 to 11, and an unnamed teenage housemaid. On December 11, Dr. Joseph Farnsworth and Stephen Mitchell conducted a welfare check after receiving a cryptic note from William. They discovered the four children brutally killed; the three girls were bludgeoned with an axe, had their throats slit, and were placed side-by-side on the floor under a blanket. William was found seated near the fireplace with two .52-caliber pistols and apparent gunshot wounds to both temples, alongside the murder weapons. The hosts discuss the unusual crime scene details, including the covered faces of the female victims and the bowl placed to catch Lydia's blood. Paul Holes analyzes the behavioral significance of the offender moving and covering the girls' bodies, suggesting a possible interpersonal motive. The episode details William's documented financial ruin and bitterness following the American Revolutionary War, explored through his discovered diary and will. A theory from researcher David Thompson proposes William may have sedated his family with opiates during a large party the night before the murders. Holes questions the feasibility of a suicide involving simultaneous shots to both temples, while also considering the classic family annihilator profile. The conversation is analytical and educational, blending historical narrative with modern investigative perspectives. Listeners interested in early American crime, forensic psychology, and unsolved historical mysteries will find this episode compelling. Those seeking a resolved case with clear answers may find the historical ambiguity frustrating.

As heard by us

Covered faces complicate a simple robbery theory.

Kate Winkler-Dawson and Paul Holes shape the household around a problem of motive. William comes through as a notably fair general-store owner and a devoted family man, while the home itself showed signs of comfort: silver plates, a good watch, horses, fowl, and pigs.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a historical true crime mystery where covered faces matter more than the valuables left in plain sight.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Buried Bones - a historical true crime podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes