About this episode
The episode explores the murder of a gang leader in San Francisco's Chinatown and the subsequent investigation involving a man named Chol Soo Lee.
After a gang leader was murdered in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the only witnesses who would talk with the police were tourists. They looked through so-called “mug books” filled with photographs of Asian men - and pointed out a man named Chol Soo Lee. Years later, a journalist decided to investigate his case, and described it as an “unreal, Alice-in-Chinatown murder case." Today’s episode comes from the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast. Julie Ha's documentary is Free Chol Soo Lee. Join our newsletter by 2/28/26 to be entered to win a free year of Criminal Plus: thisiscriminal.com/newsletter. (Additional rules apply.) Say hello on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts. Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, invitations to virtual events, special merch deals, and more. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Topics covered
- true crime
- murder investigation
- witness testimony
- journalism
- Asian American history
Keywords
- Chol Soo Lee
- San Francisco
- Chinatown
- murder case
- journalism
- witnesses
- Asian men
- mug books
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Smithsonian, Vox Media Podcast Network
Books & works: Free Chol Soo Lee
Places: San Francisco, Chinatown
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