True Crime New England · True Crime New England

Episode 218: The Suspicious Death of Eduardo Tirella

March 26, 2026·1 hr 15 min·5 clips

Doris Duke allegedly moved into the driver’s seat and accelerated toward Eduardo Torella as he opened the gates.

1. True Crime New England examines the suspicious death of Eduardo Torella at Doris Duke’s Rough Point mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. 2. Liz Corey and Katie King host the episode and use reporting by Peter Lance, whose investigation and book Homicide at Rough Point shape much of the case discussion. 3. The episode asks how Doris Duke’s wealth, influence, and relationship with Torella affected the investigation into the vehicle incident at Rough Point. 4. Eduardo Torella was born in June 1924 to Italian immigrants in Dover, New Jersey, as the couple’s twelfth child. 5. Torella performed in New Jersey nightclubs and became friends with Frank Sinatra, whom he brought home for Italian family dinners. 6. During World War II, Torella served in Germany and received a Bronze Star Medal connected to the Battle of the Bulge. 7. After the war, Torella designed hats at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills for celebrities including Hedda Hopper and Luella Parsons. 8. Torella later worked as an interior decorator, landscaper, art adviser, and film professional on projects involving Elizabeth Taylor’s beach house and The Sandpiper. 9. Torella was openly gay, lived with sculptor Edmund Cara, and hosted elaborate parties attended by figures including Alan Ladd, David Niven, and James Coburn. 10. Doris Duke inherited most of James Duke’s fortune after his 1925 death and later became associated with the Newport Restoration Foundation and Rough Point. 11. Duke’s properties, art interests, philanthropy, and treatment of employees create contrasting portraits in the episode’s sources. 12. Torella worked for Duke for about a decade, had living quarters at her properties, and advised her on art purchases. 13. Peter Lance says Newport’s lasting legend was that Doris Duke got away with murder, prompting him to investigate Torella’s death decades later. 14. The episode describes Duke’s alleged penny-pinching toward service workers alongside her extensive charitable giving and art-related projects. 15. Torella considered leaving Duke after finishing work on the Tony Curtis film Don’t Make Waves, despite friends’ concerns about Duke’s anger and influence. 16. On October 7, Torella and Duke reportedly drove toward an antique dealer after an argument and a final piece of art advice. 17. The vehicle incident involved a 1966 Dodge Polara, Rough Point’s iron gates, a tree, and Torella’s body beneath the car’s rear axle. 18. Officers Edward Angel and Norman Mather described scene details that included blood and skin in the street, tire marks, and questions about the investigation’s handling. 19. The episode uses a conversational, source-driven true-crime narrative with frequent reactions between Corey and King. 20. Listeners interested in Newport wealth, suspicious deaths, and investigative journalism will find the case relevant.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from True Crime New England