302. The Gitchie Manitou Murders

Thank you Katie for requesting this case!

On the evening of November 17th, 1973,  five teenage friends decided to head to the Gitchie Manitou State Preserve located in the far northwestern corner of Iowa.Most of the parents of those teenagers knew where the kids were going that night and didn’t think much about it. It was a pretty standard hang-out spot. 

As the kids were sitting around a campfire enjoying the cold evening, three figures came out of the darkness and opened fire.

Five teenagers went into the reserve on that fateful night. Only one came out alive.

Join Jen and Cam as they discuss The Gitchie Manitou Murders

Thank you to our team:
Written and researched by Lauretta Allen
Listener Discretion by Edward October from Octoberpod AM
Executive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky Pawprint

In this episode, Jen discusses the book "Gitchie Girl: The Survivor's Inside Story of the Mass Murders that Shocked the Heartland" by Phil Hamman & Sandy Hamman 

Sources:
https://www.newspapers.com/image/33479397/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Gitchie_Manitou_murders
https://www.newspapers.com/image/238916630/?match=1&clipping_id=167274037
https://www.newspapers.com/image/351566342/?match=1&clipping_id=new
https://www.newspapers.com/image/239140778/?match=1&clipping_id=167275118
https://www.newspapers.com/image/351577134/?match=1&terms=Manitou%20murder
https://www.newspapers.com/image/238916994/?match=1&clipping_id=new (arrest)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/238916649/?match=1&clipping_id=167275988
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44867920/roger_norman-essem
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime/1/01/01/sole-survivor-of-brutal-1973-slayings-finds-strength-to-tell-her-story/3726397/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/345756026/?match=1&clipping_id=167279012
https://www.newspapers.com/image/887070515/?match=1&terms=Gitchie%20Manitou%20murder
https://www.newspapers.com/image/338754858/?match=1&terms=Gitchie%20Manitou%20murder
https://www.newspapers.com/image/239045447/?match=1&terms=Gitchie%20Manitou%20murder
https://play.max.com/video/watch/5bbc1c12-54db-498f-8604-a48d6ff671d4
https://www.newspapers.com/image/239044008/?match=1&terms=Gitchie%20Manitou%20murder
https://www.newspapers.com/image/351573016/?match=1&terms=Gitchie%20Manitou%20murder
https://www.newspapers.com/image/239092497/?match=1&terms=Gitchie%20Manitou%20murder
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2021/11/16/gitchie-manitou-murders-1973-survivor-sandra-cheskey-fryer-brothers-south-dakota-iowa/8637229002/
Killer Siblings Season 2 Episode 2