Bates House had to go. It was beautiful and famous, but it had faded. There were modern amenities that it couldn’t offer, not to mention the fact that it just wasn’t big enough to accommodate the growing number of people that were coming into the city. The owner, Edward Claypool, knew that. When he […]
Fire, Murder, and Spirits: The Last Days of the Claypool Hotel Read More »
In 1954, two maids found a horrible odor coming from a dresser in one of the rooms at the Claypool Hotel. When the dresser was searched, hotel staff found the badly decomposed body of a woman in the bottom drawer. Her name was Dorothy Poore, an 18-year-old trying to build a future in Indianapolis. What
Episode 109: The Murder of Dorothy Poore: The Girl in the Drawer Read More »
Dorothy Poore was nervous. She knew that there were more opportunities for a good-paying job in Indianapolis, but now that she was here, Dorothy had already run into problems. First there had been the man at the bus stop. He was a little older than her, around his mid-twenties, with dark hair and a
The Murder of Dorothy Poore: The Girl in the Drawer Read More »
Lillian McNamara wondered how many times she had checked these rooms. It was part of her job as a housekeeper to make sure that the guest rooms were clean, presentable, and didn’t need any repairs. The Claypool Hotel was the go-to event venue in Indianapolis, and the people who stayed there expected a fresh
The Murder of Maoma Ridings Read More »
Maoma Ridings had joined the United States Army during World War II to aid the war effort. A professional nurse turned physiotherapist; she was a young woman who enjoyed a good time. On August 30, 1943, she was found murdered in an Indianapolis hotel room. Who had ended the life of the well-liked nurse from
Episode 108: The Murder of Maoma Ridings Read More »
