168. Christmas Mystery: The Sodder Family Disappearance

This week, the docs deviate from a classic forensic psych topic in order to bring you a sinister and tragic holiday mystery: The disappearance of four of the ten Sodder Family children in 1945 during a horrific and destructive house fire on Christmas Eve. To this day, the trail of the missing children remains cold with theories that range from kidnapping to murder. One thing is certain: the 45 minute blaze that destroyed their family home could not have incinerated their remains. The docs discuss the complex grief that emerges from the loss of children and siblings and its impact on the family dynamic.

RESOURCES

• Abbott, Karen. “The Children Who Went up in Smoke.” Smithsonian, Smithsonian.com, 25 Dec. 2012, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-children-who-went-up-in-smoke-172429802/.

• Families, Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Children and Their, et al. BEREAVEMENT EXPERIENCES after the DEATH of a CHILD. Www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, National Academies Press (US), 2003, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220798/#:~:text=Extreme%20feelings%20of%20vulnerability%2C%20anxiety.

• Floyd, Taylor. “10 Christmas Crimes You Probably Haven’t Heard Of.” We Got This Covered, 27 Nov. 2023, wegotthiscovered.com/true-crime/10-christmas-crimes-you-probably-havent-heard-of/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2023.