130: The Morgan City Murders: Mary Rodermund, Bertha Gould, and the Teens Who Never Came Home

About this episode

This episode examines the disappearances and murders of several young women in Morgan City, Louisiana, in 1978, and the investigation that followed.

In 1978, a series of disappearances and murders terrified Morgan City, Louisiana. Sixteen-year-old Mary Rodermund vanished after leaving home to run a simple errand. Hours later, her parents received a phone call—it was her kidnapper. He forced Mary onto the phone, where she told her parents she was okay. It would be the last time anyone ever heard from her. Weeks later, nineteen-year-old Bridget Cantrell Sons disappeared from the grocery store where she worked. When police arrived, her cigarette was still burning. Seventeen-year-old Gordon Canella Jr., who had been with her, was also missing. Then, in May, fourteen-year-old Bertha Gould and fifteen-year-old Judy Ann Adams left a school fair together. A witness saw the girls get into a car with a man. Authorities eventually connected the cases to Robert Carl Hohenberger, a former California sheriff’s deputy living in Louisiana under an alias and with a history of violent assaults. Investigators believe he used his position and perceived authority to gain the trust of his victims. In this episode, we examine the disappearances of Mary Rodermund and Bertha Gould, the murders of Judy Adams, Bridget Cantrell Sons and Gordon Canella…

People in this episode

Host: Aimee Baker

Topics covered

• disappearances
• murders
• true crime
• investigation
• missing persons
• Louisiana

Keywords

• Mary Rodermund
• Bertha Gould
• Bridget Cantrell Sons
• Gordon Canella Jr.
• Judy Ann Adams
• Robert Carl Hohenberger
• Morgan City
• missing women
• true crime

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Morgan City, Louisiana

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