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A People's History of Kansas City

The strange case of Mr. Swope and Dr. Hyde

By Mackenzie Martin,
Suzanne Hogan
Published October 25, 2023 at 3:00 AM CDT
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Images courtesy of the Jackson County Historical Society
/
Crysta Henthorne, KCUR 89.3

For more than a century, Kansas City has been haunted by the mysterious death of philanthropist Thomas Swope. Suspect number one is his nephew-in-law, Dr. Bennett Hyde, who stood to inherit a sizable portion of the Swope family fortune. But did Hyde really murder Thomas Swope, or was the physician actually the victim of a longstanding family grudge?

This question was at the center of one of the most publicized murder trials of the early 20th century. Producer Mackenzie Martin walks host Suzanne Hogan through the evidence of this still-unsolved mystery.

Read more about Kansas City's great unsolved murder mystery from KCUR's Mackenzie Martin.

A People's History of Kansas City is hosted by Suzanne Hogan. This episode was reported, produced and mixed by Mackenzie Martin with editing by Gabe Rosenberg.

A People's History of Kansas City
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Mackenzie Martin
Mackenzie Martin is a senior podcast producer at KCUR Studios and host of the podcast, A People's History of Kansas City. Contact her at mackenzie@kcur.org.
See stories by Mackenzie Martin
Suzanne Hogan
Every part of the present has been shaped by actions that took place in the past, but too often that context is left out. As a podcast producer for KCUR Studios and host of the podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, I aim to provide context, clarity, empathy and deeper, nuanced perspectives on how the events and people in the past have shaped our community today. In that role, and as an occasional announcer and reporter, I want to entertain, inform, make you think, expose something new and cultivate a deeper shared human connection about how the passage of time affects us all. Reach me at hogansm@kcur.org.
See stories by Suzanne Hogan
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