1906
The American Historical Association said in a 1906 report that there is probably no state in the union with less material for writing its history than Delaware.
about 0:09:15Spoilers are covered until your reading preferences load.
FILE 110 / 14 March 2019 / 141 MIN / full
We're going on a trip all the way to Delaware, all the way to Bridgeville, Delaware; this is in Sussex County, Delaware. about 0:05:33
The American Historical Association said in a 1906 report that there is probably no state in the union with less material for writing its history than Delaware.
about 0:09:15Bridgeville is the oldest community in the western part of Sussex County.
about 0:09:58Land records go back to the early 1700s, and the area was already a farming community by then.
about 0:10:05A small group of houses was built along what is now Main Street by the beginning of the 1800s.
about 0:11:26The American Historical Association said in a 1906 report that there is probably no state in the union with less material for writing its history than Delaware.
about 0:09:15Bridgeville is the oldest community in the western part of Sussex County.
about 0:09:58Land records go back to the early 1700s, and the area was already a farming community by then.
about 0:10:05A small group of houses was built along what is now Main Street by the beginning of the 1800s.
about 0:11:26The settlement was first known as Bridge Branch, after a stream with a bridge over it as early as 1730.
about 0:11:40A post office was established in 1804.
about 0:12:10The village was formally recognised as Bridgeville in 1810.
about 0:12:18In the 1800s the town had a water-powered mill, a charcoal furnace and a fruit-drying business.
about 0:12:28The Delaware Railroad arrived in 1856 and the town's growth shot up.
about 0:13:59The town was laid out by William Cannon and named Bridgeville for the bridge there, rather than Bridge Branch.
about 0:14:16Nearby towns were named Murderkill and Horekill, mangled versions of Dutch names.
about 0:14:30about 38%
Biggest faith: Catholic, 15%
about 0:23:35White 56% · Black 26% · Asian 0.3% · Hispanic about 15%
Ethnicity can overlap race.Property crime
▲ about 20% high
Violent crime
▲ almost double
Three-bedroom, two-bath house, 1,512 square feet
about 0:27:23Three-bedroom, two-bath house, 2,268 square feet
about 0:27:35"about 20% high"
Direction: above.
As told in 2019 about 0:32:24
"almost double"
Direction: above.
As told in 2019 about 0:32:31
"2,480"
Comparison: "up 73% since 1990". Direction: above.
As told in 2019 about 0:17:30
"60.7"
Comparison: "national average 37.8". No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:18:58
"28%"
Comparison: "normally about 8%". No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:21:44
"about 62%"
Comparison: "normally 50%". No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:21:50
"65%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:22:14
"56%"
Comparison: "normally about 62%". No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:22:14
"26%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:22:14
"0.3%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:22:43
"about 15%"
Comparison: "about average". Direction: about the same.
As told in 2019 about 0:23:27
"about 4%"
Comparison: "about normal with the rest of the country". Direction: about the same.
As told in 2019 about 0:25:07
"$51,000"
Comparison: "national about $57,000". No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:25:15
"37%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:24:24
"59%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:24:24
"about 38%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:23:35
"15%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:24:11
"0.0%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:24:11
"0.0%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:24:11
"103"
Comparison: "100 is the normal average". Direction: about the same.
As told in 2019 about 0:25:56
"101"
Comparison: "normal average". No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:25:56
"$188,000"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:25:56
"about $810"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:26:36
"$54,900"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:27:00
"$159,990"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:27:23
"$349,900"
No direction stated.
As told in 2019 about 0:27:35
No rated reviews
No reviews recorded.
In 1973 her first husband was killed in a car accident, leaving her in her mid-twenties with two children and a tenth-grade education. Within a year she met John Charbonneau, a divorced man about ten years older than her with no children. John had a heart condition and drew a disability cheque, which kept the family afloat while he drifted through temporary work.
After about a year and a half she left him and moved back in with John; Billy was still her husband and John was his uncle.
About a week and a half later she packed her belongings and moved back in with Billy Sprouts, and while he was helping her carry boxes into the attic he found blood soaking the bottom of one of them. The police treated him as a crank.
On 17 October 2001 Billy went hunting with his brother and vanished. His relatives did not report him missing until November, partly because they wondered whether he had been involved in John's disappearance. Around the same time John's Bridgeville house was stripped to the frame: cabinets, sinks, carpets, linoleum, wiring and sewage pipes were all removed.
On 30 November 2001 police finally visited John's house. About a hundred yards from it they found a patch of disturbed ground under a neatly piled stack of tyres. Three inches down they found carpet, and beneath it the body of Billy Sprouts. He had been stabbed repeatedly, beaten and buried alive.
A search of a Dodge van and a Chevrolet Lumina at the Magnolia address found John Charbonneau's blood in the van and ATM receipts from his PNC account in the car. John's driving licence and Social Security card were in a nappy bag in the kitchen.
John Charbonneau is buried at Holy Family Cemetery in Essex Junction, Vermont; Billy Sprouts at Galena Cemetery in Galena, Maryland.
September and October 2001 / Bridgeville and Magnolia, Delaware
As told in the episode, on 14 March 2019.
Accused
Accused
Accused
Public places are marked on the map.
crime scene
about 1:11:19crime scene
about 1:25:54body found
about 1:16:38body found
about 1:31:12business
about 1:20:20business
about 1:19:58other
about 1:14:25other
about 2:07:28other
about 2:07:42police
about 1:08:32