All The Damn Crime

Death at Disney: The Story that Shatters the Illusion

John and Joel Season 2 Episode 67

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0:00 | 38:58

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Disneyland is known as "The Happiest Place on Earth," but in 1981, it became the scene of its first homicide. Eighteen-year-old Mel C. Yorba was fatally stabbed during a private event after a confrontation with another guest. What happened afterward sparked decades of speculation. Instead of calling paramedics to the scene, Disney employees transported Yorba to a nearby hospital in an unmarked company van, a decision that led to a wrongful death lawsuit and helped fuel the enduring myth that "no one dies at Disneyland." In this episode, we separate fact from fiction as we examine the murder, the investigation, the courtroom battle, and the urban legend that refuses to die. 


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