A Shoe Standing Upright: The Murder of Todd Barrett

A Shoe Standing Upright: The Murder of Todd Barrett A single brown leather shoe, men's size nine, sat tied and upright on a coal pile in the Crestline Hotel basement on January 11, 1923 - no second shoe, no coat, no voice. The shoe led to a four-foot excavation that revealed thirty-two-year-old Todd Barrett buried under bituminous coal; how did a punctual Omaha broker vanish from his room into a hotel coal pile? In this episode, we present the known facts of Barrett's disappearance and the discovery in the Crestline Hotel coal room, following the timeline from his arrival to the moment Detective Terry Armstrong called for shovels; could routine hotel procedures and a scheduled coal delivery have enabled a calculated killing? Person: Todd Barrett Date: January 11, 1923 Location: Crestline Hotel basement, Grainger Alley entrance Detective: Terry Armstrong Delivery Worker: Pete Hollis - The shoe was a brown leather men's dress shoe, size nine, with the lace still tied in a neat bow and standing upright on the coal surface. - Todd Barrett checked into the Crestline Hotel on January 8, 1923, paid three nights in advance for room nine on the third floor for $5.25. - Barrett worked as a grain futures broker in Omaha and was expected in Council Bluffs on January 10 by Iris Nolan; letters were later found in his leather bag. - Hotel staff relet room nine midmorning on January 10; chambermaid Vera Showalter moved Barrett's bag to lost-and-found with the receipt folded into the pocket. - Four tons of bituminous coal were delivered through the Grainger Alley chute on January 8 while bookkeeper Paula Vickers asked driver Pete Hollis about the coal depth; Barrett was found under roughly four feet of that coal. 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].