Siblings in Crime

The Buddhist Temple Massacre- The Tucson 4

Ally Rossell and Blake Murphy Season 1 Episode 15

Welcome to another episode of SIC!


In 1991, seven Buddhist monks and two lay worshipers were brutally murdered inside a serene temple in the Arizona desert. The crime shocked the nation, and under immense pressure to solve the case, investigators zeroed in on four young men from Tucson. What followed was a series of relentless interrogations that led to coerced confessions, a wrongful arrest scandal, and a shocking twist that turned the entire case upside down.


In this episode, we unravel the unnerving details of the massacre, the flawed investigation that put innocent men behind bars, and the real killers who nearly got away with it. From the moment the bodies were discovered to the intense police interrogations and the trial that shattered lives, we break down one of the most disturbing miscarriages of justice in modern history.


How did the wrong men end up confessing to a crime they didn’t commit? What interrogation tactics led to their downfall? And how was the truth finally uncovered? Join us as we expose the dark side of criminal investigations and the high cost of getting it wrong.


Sources 

1.Los Angeles Times - Arizona Murder Probes Put Wrong Men Behind Bars

2.Wikipedia - Waddell Buddhist Temple Shooting

3.Google Books - Innocent Until Interrogated by Gary L. Stuart

4.UPI - Judges Drop Charges Against Four in Buddhist Slayings

5.JSTOR - The True Story of the Buddhist Temple Massacre and the Tucson Four

6.Arizona Attorney - Murder in the Temple: Coercion in the Constabulary

7.Phoenix New Times - Taken for a Ride: The Confessions of Mike McGraw

8.Reuters - Arizona Man Convicted of Murder in Nine Buddhist Temple Deaths

9.AZPM - New Book Details Role of Coerced Confessions in ’91 Buddhist Temple Massacre

10.Phoenix New Times - The Sheriff’s Suspects

11.Justia Law - Jonathan Doody v. Charles Ryan, et al (9th Circuit Court Opinion)

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