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

Turn Back the Page: The Christmas Mystery

December 24, 2025·1 hr 3 min·3 clips

12:30 AM Christmas morning—a woman calls asking for someone who doesn't live there. In background: laughter, glasses clinking. A party call? Or checking if they're home?

Kate Winkler Dawson presents Paul Holes with a 1945 Christmas fire case involving George Sadu, an Italian immigrant who came to America at age 13 and established a trucking company in Fayetteville, West Virginia. George and his wife Jenny had ten children, with five trapped in their home during a suspicious Christmas Eve fire. George was vocally anti-Mussolini in a community with pro-Mussolini Italian-Americans, creating political tensions that preceded the tragedy. In fall 1945, a stranger seeking work commented that George's fuse boxes "will cause a fire someday" despite recent inspection showing them in good condition. An insurance salesman later threatened George explicitly, saying "your goddamn house is going to go up in smoke and your children are going to be destroyed" as punishment for anti-Mussolini remarks. Children reported a man watching them from a parked car near their home shortly before Christmas. At 12:30 AM on Christmas Day, Jenny received a wrong-number call from a woman at what sounded like a party, then noticed lights on, curtains open, and the front door unlocked despite the house being secured earlier. Jenny heard a bang on the roof and something rolling around 12:50 AM, consistent with a Molotov cocktail or incendiary device. Twenty minutes later, smoke filled the bedroom and the house was ablaze. George Sr., Jenny, and three children (Marion age 17, John age 23, George Jr. age 16) plus toddler Sylvia escaped, but five children aged 5-15 remained trapped upstairs. The rescue ladder normally propped against the house was found 75 feet away. Both of George's work trucks were sabotaged and wouldn't start. Telephone wires were cut, preventing Marion from calling for help. Fire Chief F.J. Morris claimed he couldn't drive the fire truck himself and initiated a phone tree system, resulting in a seven-hour delay with firefighters arriving at 8 AM. The house burned completely to the ground in just 45 minutes, suggesting accelerant use, possibly from George's 55-gallon gasoline drum stored in the basement. A witness reported seeing an unidentified man on site during the fire carrying a block and tackle device that could remove car engines. The convergence of sabotaged equipment, cut communications, moved ladder, and delayed fire response points to coordinated arson. Paul Holes notes the rapid destruction and inability to rescue suggests accelerant distribution inside the house, possibly with the basement gasoline drum exploited as fuel source. The case combines elements of political conspiracy, targeted violence against children, and potential collusion or negligence by emergency responders. The conversation style is analytical and measured, with Paul providing forensic context while Kate presents historical details systematically. This episode suits listeners interested in unsolved historical mysteries, arson investigation techniques, World War II-era immigrant community tensions, and cases involving potential conspiracy and official misconduct.

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