In December 1901, two young women vanished from a Lexington boarding house. Days later, two wooden trunks arrived in Cincinnati — leaking blood.
Inside were the dismembered remains of Lillian Rodin and Minnie Everly… and the calling card of a man named Claude O’Brien.

He was charming, well-dressed, and deadly — a salesman who turned seduction into slaughter.
His arrest and public hanging shocked Kentucky, giving birth to forensic science in the Bluegrass and inspiring one of America’s earliest urban legends: O’Brien’s boxes.

This episode of Deadly Truths: Kentucky Bloodlines dives into the real story behind the “Cutting-Box Murders,” the public spectacle of O’Brien’s trial, and how Victorian morality turned two murdered women into footnotes while turning their killer into folklore.

Kentucky true crime, Lexington murders, 1901 trunk murders, Claude O’Brien, Lillian Rodin, Minnie Everly, Kentucky history, historical crime podcast, Deadly Truths, American serial killers, female victims, cutting box murders, public execution history, forensic origins, haunted Kentucky, Bluegrass crimes, Becca Clark podcast

This episode contains historical accounts of extreme violence, including murder, dismemberment, and execution. Listener discretion is advised. All events are presented using verified archival sources and historical documentation.

• The Lexington Herald (Dec 12–20, 1901)

• The Cincinnati Enquirer (Dec 13, 1901 – Apr 11, 1902)

• Fayette County Court Records: Commonwealth v. O’Brien (1902)

• University of Kentucky Special Collections, “Lexington Murder Files, 1900–1905”

• Kentucky Historical Society: Hanged in the Bluegrass: Executions 1865–1930

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