Town file
New Port Richey, Florida
New Port Richey, Florida (Pasco County, Florida) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 372, "Natural Porn Killers" (18 March 2023).
- Town
- New Port Richey
- County
- Pasco County
- State
- Florida
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 372
- Approximate location
- 28.247, -82.718
Episode 372 / 18 March 2023 / 68 min / express
Natural Porn Killers
"We're going to Newport Richie, Florida" about 0:04:14
The case: Murder of Dennis 'Scooter' Abrahamson (May 2010). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 16,348
- Median home value
- $318,800
History, in brief
- In the 1920s the town hoped to become the winter home for big Hollywood stars and courted them to buy vacation houses so it would become a tourist destination. about 0:05:19
- Silent-film actor Thomas Meagan built a huge home on the river in 1928, spent the winters there and wanted to make films in the town as an East Coast Hollywood. about 0:05:52
- A big golfer of the time also built a home there. about 0:06:03
- Songwriter Irving Berlin was got to put down payments on properties, but nobody ended up building homes. about 0:06:10
- Then the Depression hit and people were left owning swamp land. about 0:06:20
- Florida in the 1920s was a real estate scheme where swamp land was sold to people who could not build on it; prices dived and then the Depression came. about 0:06:25
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Wonderful people in my store caring about who comes and goes, always ready to help you in and out of the store; signed thanks, Lynn Shanley."about 0:06:47
4 stars
"A hip and modern up and coming area: a new park and playground with a splash pad, a hipster coffee shop with the best chai latte, an artisan grilled cheese shop, a family ice cream parlour and about fifteen bars including a wine bar and a rooftop bar."about 0:07:15
3 stars
"Melissa has lived there 30 years; she loves the water and the restaurants on it, but the water is not the cleanest, youths are ruining the area with drugs, drinking and bullying, and she no longer walks there at night with her family."about 0:08:57
2 stars
"A resident since 1981 recalls it being called New Port Rickety, a pristine community of senior citizens and wealthy retired people, and says it has deteriorated into a high-crime town with lots of drugs, falling home values, transients and northerners."about 0:09:56
1 star
"A terrible place to live with a very corrupt local government, getting worse every day; avoid it like the plague."about 0:11:07
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Plant City, Florida40 miles
- Sarasota, Florida64 miles
- Fruitville, Florida65 miles
- Alturas, Florida69 miles
- McIntosh, Florida88 miles
- Chuluota, Florida101 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.