The Big Story

More Tragic than Murder

English · True Crime

In this episode of The Big Story, reporter Virgil Hill recounts the case of Myrtle Lattimer, a Kansas woman who concealed her mother’s death for more than two years. Neighbors were told that her mother was too ill for visitors or away with relatives, while her body was hidden in a backyard shed.

The story’s title points to the unusual circumstances: according to the account, Myrtle’s mother had likely died peacefully, and Myrtle hid the death to keep receiving her mother’s Civil War widow’s pension. The case drew national attention. Myrtle received a short prison term, was paroled, and was later imprisoned again after failing to deliver goods she had sold door to door.

Hill encountered the story while reporting for the Hiawatha Daily World. His account brings together a startling crime, the financial motive behind it, and the consequences that followed, in the documentary crime-reporting style of The Big Story.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.