After Theora Hix was murdered, her paramour Dr. James Snook was quickly identified as the suspect. The ensuing trial became famous for its salacious details, with Theora's personal life put under the microscope. But no matter what Dr. Snook did to try and distract the jury, nothing could stop them from learning the truth. Murder: True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original. For more, follow us on TikTok and Instagram @crimehouse. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
This is Crime House. When it comes to murder trials, the investigation can be long and winding, even when the case seems open and shut. There can be no room for doubt. The stakes are just too high. One slip up and a killer could go free. That means investigators have to put together a detailed timeline, find a possible motive and gather ironclad evidence.
Chapter 2: How was Theora Hicks's murder investigated in 1929?
Even with things like GPS tracking and phone logs, it's hard to do today. Now imagine how difficult it was nearly a hundred years ago in 1929. After 24-year-old Theora Hicks was found dead, the older professor she'd been having a years-long affair with, Dr. James Snook, became the primary suspect. And although detectives had a mountain of evidence against him, the case wasn't clear-cut.
Chapter 3: What strategies did James Snook use during his trial?
During his trial, James Snook turned the tables. Without Theora there to defend herself, he dragged her name through the mud and tried to convince the court she deserved what happened to her. And it was up to the jury to decide which version of the truth they believed. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on.
Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House Original. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. And for more true crime stories that all happened this week in history, check out Crime House, the show.
Each episode covers multiple cases unified by the same theme. So every week you get something a little different. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters.
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This is the second and final episode on the murder of Theora Hicks, a promising medical student whose burgeoning career was cut short at only 24 years old when she was murdered by her much older professor and lover. Last time, I told you about Theora's childhood, her academic career, and her tumultuous affair with Professor James Snook. For several years, that affair seemed like a true romance.
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Chapter 4: What evidence linked James Snook to Theora Hicks's murder?
Until it ended in tragedy. Today, I'll follow the quest to bring Theora's killer to justice. As detectives piece together the facts, they became convinced James Schnook was Theora's killer. But the question remained, could they prove it? All that and more, coming up. On June 14th, 1929, the body of 24 year old medical student Theora Hicks was discovered at a rifle range in Columbus, Ohio.
The story of her shocking murder made front page news as people wondered who could have wanted Theora dead and why. Thankfully, there were plenty of leads for the police to chase down. After seeing Theora's photo in the newspaper, a local landlady named Margaret Smalley came forward. She said she recognized the murder victim, but she knew her as Theora Howard, not Hicks.
According to Mrs. Smalley, Theora and her husband James had rented a room at her boarding house. Strangely enough, he'd given up the room the same day Theor was found dead. It seemed like too much of a coincidence. Detectives looked into James Howard and quickly realized he was actually 49-year-old James Snook.
He was an Olympian and professor of veterinary medicine at The Ohio State University, where Theor was studying. It was enough for detectives to bring James in for questioning on June 15, 1929, the day after Theora's body was discovered. During his initial interrogation, James insisted he had nothing to do with Theora's murder. In fact, he said he barely knew her.
But after Mrs. Smalley correctly identified him as the man she saw with Theora, James couldn't deny it any longer. He admitted he did know Theora rather well. He had been having an affair with her for around three years. The revelation was enough for detectives to hold James at the station without an arrest warrant. At the time, this was legal.
It was also legal back then for authorities to deny James access to an attorney during questioning. Miranda Rights, which guarantees suspects the right to counsel, didn't exist until 1966. And they were going to use that time to take him for a little ride. Once the interrogation was over, detectives brought James along as they retraced his steps the day of Theora's murder.
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Chapter 5: How did James Snook confess to the murder?
First, they led him to the rifle range where Theora's body was found. They tried asking James more questions about what happened that day, but he refused to answer. From there, they went to the Scioto Country Club. James claimed to have been there on the afternoon of Thursday, June 13th, hours before the murder. This time, he gave detectives a bit more information.
He explained he went to the club that day to retrieve his shooting glasses, which he'd accidentally left behind. He wasn't giving detectives much to work with, but they weren't done with him yet. After the country club, the group visited the room James had rented from Mrs. Smalley. The landlady told detectives James returned his keys at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 14th, the day after Theora's murder.
James had told her he was being transferred to another location for work, so he and Theora didn't need the room anymore. Before leaving the building, James had gathered their things, but in his rush to get out of there, he forgot a stained brown hat. Detectives discovered the hat during their tour of the property. It was later confirmed to belong to Theora.
It was suspicious, but all circumstantial. James admitted he was using the room to carry out his affair with Theora, but that fact alone didn't amount to murder. Luckily for the authorities, the rented room was just the tip of the iceberg. After bringing James back to the station, detectives hunted down more evidence.
At James's house, officers uncovered a stained shirt and hat, a knife with an unidentified smudge on it, and two freshly dry clean suits. The search of his car yielded even more incriminating information. Inside, detectives found dried blood, a man's hat and women's gloves, both also blood-stained. Then there was an umbrella, hairpins, and locks of hair that were the same color as Theora's.
And that wasn't all. The authorities also located a hammer and a pocket knife. The knife and hammer had been rinsed off, but not thoroughly cleaned. Once the lab results came in, the answer was definitive. These were the murder weapons used to kill Theora Hicks. Despite James' attempts to throw detectives off the scent, it seemed undeniable he was the aura's killer.
And the detectives were going to get James to admit it. After a grueling interrogation that lasted anywhere from 19 to 24 hours straight, James cracked. He told prosecutor Jack Chester Jr. that he had killed Theora in self-defense. According to James, on the night of her death, he picked Theora up in his car on the corner of 12th and High Streets near the OSU campus.
They drove west towards the Scioto Country Club, where they planned to have sex in James Ford Coupe. But once they arrived, Theora wanted to go somewhere more private. According to him, she said, I would like to go someplace further where I can scream. So James drove until they crossed the bridge to the rifle range.
After a few failed attempts at intimacy in the tiny car, James told Theora he had to go home. He was taking his wife and daughter to his mother's house for the weekend. James said that when Theora heard that, she flew off the handle. According to him, she threatened to kill his wife and young daughter. After that, James claimed Theora forcibly performed oral sex on him.
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Chapter 6: Did James Snook retract his confession?
By then, Theora was clinging to life. The many blows to her head had already fractured her skull. If James was to be believed, he knew the wound was fatal. In order to, quote, relieve her suffering, he sliced her jugular vein with his pocket knife. And then James watched as Theora bled to death. Despite James's confession, he didn't seem to grasp the severity of the situation.
After Chester wrapped up the interrogation, he said James casually asked him for a ride downtown. When Chester informed him that wasn't possible since he was a suspect in a homicide investigation, James's attitude changed. Suddenly, he wanted to take back everything he'd said. By then, it was too late, though. James could try to retract his confession, but he couldn't hide the truth.
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After confessing to the murder of 24-year-old Theora Hicks, 49-year-old James Snook tried to backtrack. He insisted the confession was coerced. According to James, prosecutor Jack Chester Jr. and other police officers physically assaulted him to get him to break. Again, this was 1929. It wasn't unusual for the authorities to rough up their suspects, especially murder suspects.
So James's accusation was certainly possible. If he was telling the truth and the police did force him to confess, it would be a serious miscarriage of justice. But given the level of detail James had provided, it was difficult to believe he hadn't killed Theora, and the authorities weren't about to let him walk away scot-free. They just had to prove it in court.
Jury selection for James' murder trial began on July 24th, 1929, a little over a month after Theora was killed. As word got out about the scandalous affair that ended in murder, Theora's story made waves beyond Columbus. National papers like the New York Times reported on her death and the lurid details of Theora and James' relationship.
By the time the trial began early that month, the public was raring to get a look at Theora's suspected killer. Spectators started lining up outside the courthouse as early as 3 a.m., clamoring for seats like they were at a movie premiere. During the two weeks of proceedings, there were an average of 150 to 200 people seated in the courtroom per day.
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