Only Murders on the Harbor

Between 1905 and 1910, Aberdeen, Washington’s harbor became a place where men vanished and bodies surfaced with unsettling regularity. Newspapers called them “floaters.” Locals whispered darker explanations.

In this season finale of Only Murders on the Harbor, we examine the rise and reckoning of William “Billy” Gohl — union leader, labor advocate, and alleged architect of violence along Grays Harbor. As sailors and timber workers disappeared, patterns emerged: disputes over union dues, moonshine debts, and quiet confrontations that ended in silence.

This episode focuses on the murder of Charles Hedberg, whose battered body surfaced in 1910, and the disappearanc...

Step into the fog of early-1900s Aberdeen, Washington—a boomtown of mills, muddy streets, and a harbor crowded with sailors from every corner of the world. In this episode of Only Murders on the Harbor, we explore the rise of William “Billy” Gohl, the Sailors’ Union agent whose power on the waterfront shaped both labor politics and local legend.

Part 1 traces Gohl’s early activity in the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific, beginning with his participation in the State Federation of Labor conference in Spokane in January 1904, where he represented the needs and grievances of deep-sea workers. By...

We follow the case from the night of the murders through multiple trials, appeals, insanity hearings, political battles, and a series of last-minute legal maneuvers that stretched across nearly four decades.

Witness testimony, forensic details, and court transcripts reveal a chilling crime scene: ten shots fired from a Savage automatic pistol, brutal stabbings, and survivors who barely escaped with their lives. Prosecutor A. E. Graham painted Grassi as an “arch criminal,” claiming ties to violence in Italy, Chicago, and Tacoma, while Grassi maintained his innocence and insisted he did not remember the murders.

Despite a deat...

In this episode, Kaydee investigates a chilling case from Grays Harbor County, Washington, in November 1923. A string of brutal murders left a predominantly Italian immigrant community in terror. Central to the chaos was Guido Grassi, a laborer whose reputation for violence earned him the nickname the Cat-Man.

The night unfolded with shocking attacks: Joe Tollomi was found shot and slashed in his boarding house, while witnesses were injured, and John Ricci was murdered in a nearby shack. Amid dense fog and eerily silent streets, police scrambled to track the assailant. Survivors described him moving with catlike stealth...

On the night of November 18, 2008, Marlon Lee, a 41-year-old resident of Aberdeen, Washington, was brutally beaten and set on fire after leaving the Quinault Beach Resort & Casino in Ocean Shores. This episode of Only Murders on the Harbor examines the chilling events of that night, the investigation that followed, and the broader questions raised by the suspect’s extensive criminal history.

Roderick T. Reed, 31 at the time, was identified as the last person seen with Marlon. While in custody, Reed’s erratic behavior included a 2010 attack on a deputy prosecutor during court proceedings, highlighting both his violent tend...

This episode of Only Murders on the Harbor examines the death of 20-year-old Jimmy Smith-Kramer, a Quinault tribal member whose life was tragically cut short in a racially charged attack near Donkey Creek, Washington. In 2017, James Walker deliberately ran over Jimmy and another young man after shouting racial slurs. Though the attack was violent and intentional, the legal system failed to treat it as a hate crime—leaving the Quinault Nation and Jimmy’s family deeply frustrated.

The Quinault Nation immediately called for the crime to be recognized as racially motivated, emphasizing how it reflected broader patterns of d...

In this episode of Only Murders on the Harbor, Kaydee unravels the tragic story of Curtis Engeland, a 74-year-old retired professor from Mercer Island, Washington. Known for his generosity, love of hiking, and passion for teaching, Curtis was rebuilding his life after the loss of his partner of 41 years.

But when he turned to online dating in 2024, Curtis met Philip Brewer, 32, on the app Scruff. What began as a simple coffee date quickly spiraled into theft, fraud, and ultimately, murder. With the help of his partner, Christina Hardy, 47, Brewer drained Curtis’s finances, impersonated him through sloppy te...

On April 8, 2000, sixteen-year-old Daryn C. Tolle left a Friday night “Rock & Bowl” dance in Aberdeen, Washington. A harmless tradition among friends turned tragic when he walked home alone and was found brutally stabbed under the Chehalis River bridge. Known as an “all-American” student with a quick sense of humor and no known enemies, Daryn’s death shocked a town that hadn’t seen a teen homicide in over 15 years.

Within days, police arrested two men. Dionicio J. Russell confessed to the stabbing—claiming he didn’t know why he did it—while his friend, Matthew Christian, admitted to helping afterward...

In this episode, we take a deep dive into a dark night in Aberdeen, Washington—October 17, 1953—that forever changed the lives of its residents. We recount the tragic murder of Albert Hakkarainen, a 26-year-old Korean War veteran, and the complex web of events that led to his death alongside Violet Nyland.

From the timber-town rhythms of 1950s Aberdeen to the emotional turmoil of returning veterans, this episode paints a vivid picture of a community under strain. We reconstruct the fateful evening, explore witness accounts, police response, and the ensuing trial of Jerome Nyland, who was ultimately convicted of t...

In this episode of Only Murders on the Harbor, host Kaydee explores the 1923 murder of William McKay, a dedicated Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organizer in Aberdeen, Washington. Known as the Wobblies, McKay and his fellow labor activists stood at the center of a fierce struggle between timber workers and powerful mill owners on the Grays Harbor coast. Through firsthand accounts, historical documents, and contemporary reporting, we delve into the brutal tactics used by company-backed vigilantes, the rise of the Citizens’ Committees, and the violent repression that culminated in McKay’s assassination. Join us as we unpack the lega...

In this haunting and powerful episode, host Kaydee takes listeners to October 16, 1903, when the booming timber town of Aberdeen, Washington, was nearly reduced to ashes by one of the most devastating urban fires in state history.

Aberdeen, a coastal city built almost entirely from wood, was thriving at the turn of the century — its economy driven by logging, sawmills, and maritime trade. But that prosperity came with risk. Buildings, sidewalks, even streets were made of timber and layered with sawdust — a virtual tinderbox waiting for a spark.

That spark came from a mysterious source — possibly a ciga...

In November 1901, a routine civil warrant in the Pacific Northwest turned deadly. In the boomtown of Cosmopolis, Washington—where timber mills ran nonstop and the law walked on shaky ground—Town Marshal Silas W. Smith, age 57, was gunned down while attempting to disarm a local man during a property dispute.

The shooter claimed he was within his rights to be armed as a U.S. mail carrier, sparking a legal debate that would result in a conviction, not for murder, but manslaughter. He was sentenced to ten years... and paroled in less than six.

But who...

On the night of February 2, 1963, three individuals — Reinhart Nelson, John Patrick Jr., and Alberta “Dolly” Burns — drove through a rainy Grays Harbor night with one goal: to rob Dan Damitio, a quiet grocer and Army veteran believed to carry large amounts of cash.

But their plan unraveled quickly. Shots were fired, and Dan Damitio lay dead in his home. What followed was more than just a murder case — it became a legal battle that would make its way to the Washington State Supreme Court and redefine due process in the state.

In this episode, we examine th...

In this episode, host Kaydee continues the story of Brian Bassett, who at age 16 committed the tragic murders of his parents, Michael and Wendy Bassett, and his 5-year-old brother Austin in McCleary, Washington in 1995.

Part 2 focuses on the legal aftermath, including key Supreme Court rulings like Miller v. Alabama that banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles. We follow Brian’s multiple resentencing hearings, the impact of Washington State’s Miller-Fix Law, and the emotional courtroom moments involving family testimony and arguments from the defense and prosecution.

The episode also covers Brian’s release in January 2024 under...

On August 10, 1995, 16-year-old Brian Bassett murdered his parents and younger brother in McCleary, Washington. This episode covers the events leading up to the crime, the trial, and how this case sparked a decades-long legal journey that would impact juvenile sentencing in the state.

👉 Part 2 coming soon: We’ll cover Bassett’s resentencing, legal appeals, and his eventual release.

⚠️ Content Warning

This episode includes a discussion of familicide and juvenile incarceration. Listener discretion is advised.

📚 Sources

In this episode, we explore two haunting cold cases from the Pacific Northwest—one still unsolved, and another finally closed after nearly 50 years through the power of forensic genealogy.

Case 1: Elma 1988 Jane Doe On October 24, 1988, skeletal remains were found off a remote logging road near Elma, WA. The woman had been killed by a gunshot to the head, likely between 1982 and 1988. She was about 28 years old, 5 feet tall, and possibly of Native American or Southeast Asian descent. Her jaw had been broken near the time of death.

She was fully clothed in a men’s blue...

Case 1: Grays Harbor County John Doe (1997)

In April 1997, the partial remains of an unidentified white male were found washed ashore near Grayland, Washington. Estimated to be between his late teens and early 20s, about 5'11", and 170 pounds, the man had extensive dental work, including four stainless steel crowns and a missing or gapped front tooth. Due to advanced decomposition, the cause of death and other physical features like hair and eye color remain unknown. The case remains open with few leads, and authorities encourage tips via the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Department, NamUs, or the Doe Project...

In this gripping final chapter of Only Murders on the Harbor, Kaydee and James trace the complex and haunting aftermath of Laura Law’s murder—a case that refused to fade quietly into history. From failed federal investigations and unsealed tax court revelations, to political conspiracies and Cold War hysteria, this episode dives deep into how Laura’s death became a pawn in local and national power struggles.

Listeners will hear how key figures like County Commissioner Richard Ultican and union leader Dick Law became entangled in allegations of corruption, cover-ups, and Communist paranoia. We follow the trail...

In Part 2 of our deep dive into the Laura Law murder case, we return to Grays Harbor to unravel the explosive political fallout that followed Laura’s tragic death. What began as a brutal homicide quickly transformed into a fierce ideological battle—one that exposed deep divisions between labor unions and local power structures.

This episode traces the efforts of the Grays Harbor Civil Rights Committee to defend Laura’s husband, Dick Law, as they allege corruption, conspiracy, and cover-ups tied to powerful business interests. We explore the national attention the case drew, the push for Department of Jus...

Season 1, Episode 1 of Only Murders on the Harbor sets the stage with an eerie, atmospheric tone, highlighting the fog-shrouded coastal town of Grays Harbor County, Washington. Hosted by Kaydee and her fiancé James, the podcast introduces the murder of Laura Law against a backdrop of labor unrest, political divisions, and anti-communist sentiment in 1930s Aberdeen. The episode explores Laura’s background as a Finnish immigrant and her role as a key organizer in the union movement alongside her husband, Dick Law—a prominent, controversial figure accused of communist affiliations. Tensions escalate with historical events like the Red Hall raid, clash...

This is the first trailer for Only Murders on the Harbor, a show that explores real crimes and mysteries in Grays Harbor County, Washington.