Town file
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania (Delaware County, Pennsylvania) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 601, "Angriest Serial Killer Around" (5 June 2025). Chester, Pennsylvania, is the oldest city in the state, founded in 1644 by Swedish settlers and renamed by William Penn in 1682 after a city in England.
- Town
- Chester
- County
- Delaware County
- State
- Pennsylvania
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 601
- Approximate location
- 39.846, -75.372
Episode 601 / 5 June 2025 / 179 min / full
Angriest Serial Killer Around
"James says this is Chester, Pennsylvania, about 25 minutes outside of Philly, in southeastern Pennsylvania, and that it is in Delaware County" about 0:04:57
The case: Murder of Amy Willard (June 19-20, 1996); Murder of Maria Cabuenos (March 1997); Murder of Larry Carrier (July 25, 1978). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 32,819
- Median age
- 32.5
- Median household income
- $35,751
- Median home value
- $92,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $1,120 a month
- Cost of living
- $106,000
- Property crime
- ▲ slightly above average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about three and a half times
History, in brief
- Chester is the oldest city in Pennsylvania, founded in 1644 by Swedish settlers. about 0:06:14
- The town motto is 'What Chester makes, makes Chester'. about 0:05:53
- In 1681 William Penn acquired the colonial settlement as a safe haven for Quakers. about 0:06:38
- A year later Penn landed on the ship Welcome and renamed the settlement Chester after a city in England. about 0:07:13
- As of 2022 the town of Chester declared bankruptcy. about 0:07:26
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Chester is an interesting place with its seedy sides, but the majority of residents are decent working people."about 0:07:50
3 stars
"The reviewer was almost attacked by a street gang at night by the Lamokin Project on Central Avenue and her ex-vet boyfriend handled the situation. She also describes visiting a coworker on Third Street whose old row house had no roof, and the tearing down of the old Sun Hotel and Indian burial grounds."about 0:08:23
1 star
"Chester is a terrible, dangerous wasteland, at least on the west side: trash-strewn streets, dilapidated abandoned houses, a god-awful stench and constant gunshots. The one positive is that the immediate neighbours are exceptionally nice."about 0:09:42
1 star
"Chester is extremely violent; the reviewer only goes there for college and would not recommend the area to anyone."about 0:10:19
1 star
"It is next to Penn and has alcohol, the only two reasons to enter; it is not worth the trip if you do not live nearby, it is expensive and dark inside and the pitchers are watered down. The owner replied that they are next to Penn, have alcohol, that nobody gets to call them Smokes, and asked where the reviewer comes from if they think the place is expensive."about 0:32:02
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Claymont, Delaware5.5 miles
- Wilmington, Delaware11 miles
- Pitman, New Jersey15 miles
- New Castle, Delaware16 miles
- Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania17 miles
- Hockessin, Delaware17 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.