INFAMOUS: The Bricca Family
When the Bricca family is found murdered in their home, rumors and speculation follow every turn of the investigation. Although a suspect seems clear from the start, a lack of evidence and closure leaves Cincinnati residents on edge through the mid-late 60s.
For even more detail on this case, check out JT Townsend’s book, Summer’s Almost Gone: The Haunting Case of the Bricca Family!
For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode.
Listened to this episode? Let us know what you think here.
The Bricca family home today.
Photo screenshotted from Zillow.
We’d love to speak with you and see how we can support.
If you’re a law enforcement agency or family member of one of the people we mentioned in this episode, or if you’re looking for more coverage on a case, please reach out. You can email us at:
Episode Source Material
- Townsend, J. T. (2018). Summer’s Almost Gone. True Crime Detective Press.
- Cincinnati Magazine (Cincinnati, OH): Death on a Quiet Street, by Jack Heffron. Published April 1, 2008. Accessed August 8, 2024.
- The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH): Bridgetown couple and child knifed to death in home. Published September 28, 1966. Accessed August 8, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH): Family of three knifed to death; rape is suspected. Published September 28, 1966. Accessed August 9, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH): 30 items to be tested in triple slaying. Published September 29, 1966. Accessed August 9, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- Sidney Daily News (Sidney, OH): Hair specimen does not match victims, by UPI. Published October 7, 1966. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati enquirer (Cincinnati, OH): Strange fingerprints found by FBI on Bricca property. Published October 16, 1966. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH): Bricca slayer believed white man, Published October 22, 1966. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH): Bricca Probe narrowed to one suspect. Published November 3, 1966. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH): Briccas’ neighbor cleared by police, by Robert Elkins. Published November 15, 1966. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH): Bricca case probe stymied, by Bob Elkins. Published March 28, 1967. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH): Sheriff snubbed killings tips – police, by George Hahn. Published March 3, 1977. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH): Retired Cincinnati detective back to try to crack toughest murders, by Associated Press. Published October 12, 1987. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH): ‘The crime that stunned the city’, by Janice Morse. Published March 30, 2013. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- WCPO (Cincinnati, OH): Coroner sending evidence from Bricca murder scene to FBI for DNA testing, by Suzanne Murray. Published April 30, 2013. Updated May 1, 2013. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Internet Archive.
- WCPO (Cincinnati, OH): Horrific Bricca family murders still unsolved 50 years later, by Greg Noble. Published September 27, 2016. Updated September 28, 2016. Accessed August 12, 2024.
- WCPO (Cincinnati, OH): From The Vault: Who killed Bricca family? Fifty years later, one name stands out, by Greg Noble. Published September 29, 2016. Updated January 25, 2020. Accessed August 12, 2024.
- WCPO (Cincinnati, OH): Who killed the Bricca family? Local historian explores cold case in new book, by Evan Millward. Published December 13, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2024.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH): Mystery endures 52 years after Bricca slayings, by Amber Hunt. Published December 16,2018. Accessed August 12, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- WLWT (Cincinnati, OH): Bricca murders: A new push to solve Cincinnati’s infamous cold case, by Sheree Paolello. Published February 19, 2020. Accessed August 12, 2024.
- 700WLW (Cincinnati, OH): Bill Cunningham talks Bricca Murders 2/20/20. Aired February 2, 2020. Accessed August 12, 2024 via ListenNotes.
- FOX 19 (Cincinnati, OH): Detectives continue investigating brutal Bricca family murders five decades later, by Jessica Schmidt. Published May 16, 2022. Accessed August 13, 2024.
Suggested Episodes
INFAMOUS: The Horsch House of Horrors
It started with a parked car near Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and a woman’s voice from inside: “You’re going to hurt me.” Within hours, investigators were at the door of a boarded-up rowhouse in the city’s Olney neighborhood. What they found inside raised more questions than answers, and months later, they’re still trying to separate what’s real from what was staged. So our team started digging into the house, the men who lived there, and the women whose trails lead back to it.
INFAMOUS: Mr. Cruel
In the 1980s and early 1990s, a serial predator targeted young girls in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. He wore a mask and left little evidence behind. Investigators described him as calm and calculating, earning him the nickname, “Mr. Cruel.” More than three decades later, he has never been caught. But continued reporting by crime journalists and renewed hope from crime junkies have kept the case in the spotlight, fueling hope that his identity may one day be revealed.
INFAMOUS: The Paul Fronczak Story
Jack Rosenthal spent his life believing he was Paul Fronczak, a little boy kidnapped from a Chicago hospital in 1964 when he was just one day old. But a single DNA test in 2012 revealed that not only is he not the kidnapped baby, he has a twin sister, Jill, whose fate remains unknown.
Share The Good With Us
You can learn more about The Good segment and even submit a story of your own by visiting The Good page on our website!
