The Dry Shoe on the Bridge: How a Photographer Framed a Murder

The Dry Shoe on the Bridge: How a Photographer Framed a Murder A dry cream calfskin Oxford balanced on a bridge railing at 6:17 AM on July 14, 1922 - while the wooden planks around it were soaked from overnight rain. That single impossible shoe, found by 41-year-old schoolteacher Marcia Duncan, pointed to a timeline that contradicted the coroner’s findings and raised the central question: who placed the shoe there, and why would someone stage such a detail before the rain began? In this episode, we tell the story through the objects, the ledger entries, and the sworn memories of a small town: the dry shoe on the railing, Jean Fitzgerald’s body in Crow Creek, and the traveling photographer whose presence threaded through both. How did a portrait wagon, a payment for developing chemicals, and three handwritten pages change the verdict on one woman’s death? Person: Jean Fitzgerald Date: July 13-14, 1922 Location: Crow Creek / bridge near Tillman Falls Person: Jeffrey Hoffman Event: Ledger entry - payment for developing chemicals, $11.40 - At 6:17 AM on July 14, 1922, Marcia Duncan recorded the time she found a dry cream calfskin Oxford on the second rung of a bridge railing. - The coroner placed Jean Fitzgerald’s time of death between 9:00 PM and midnight on July 13, 1922. - Jeffrey Hoffman had conducted approximately 40 portrait sessions in the three weeks he was in Tillman Falls before Jean’s body was found. - A ledger entry dated July 12 lists a payment from “Hoffmann and Sons Photographic Supply Company, Cedar Bluff” for $11.40 for developing chemicals. - In 1936 Jeffrey Hoffman sent a three-page handwritten letter to the Sutter County sheriff’s office describing actions he had taken. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].