343. Dardeen Family Massacre

Our True Crime Podcast

Flanderson Media, LLC

Society & Culture, Personal Journals, True Crime

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the quiet, unassuming town of Ina, Illinois—where life moved slowly and danger felt distant—Keith and Elaine Dardeen were building a modest, faith-centered future with their young son, Peter, and a baby on the way. Their trailer sat tucked into the woods near the highway, close enough to hear passing traffic yet isolated enough to disappear into the darkness. When Keith failed to report for his night shift on November 18, 1987, concern quickly turned to dread as calls to the home went unanswered. What investigators would soon discover was beyond comprehension: the entire family had been brutally massacred. Join Jen and Cam on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled ‘Dardeen Family Massacre.’ Listener discretion is by @octoberpodVHS Music by our EP @theinkypawprint Sources: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/141094349/ https://books.google.com/books?id=PEDSSsFlDOcC&pg=PA46 http://www.nwherald.com/2014/04/12/unsolved-1987-slaying-of-illinois-family-haunting/auj00b/ http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/pat-gauen/gauen-gruesome-illinois-mystery-appears-to-end-with-texas-execution/article_b5a3da6c-c649-5725-8a7e-23f96873f514.html http://www.14news.com/story/7372700/unsolved-murder-still-haunts-tri-state-family-two-decades-later https://thesouthern.com/news/article_51b2456d-80ff-5def-9511-6292e669c94e.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/03/13/13-year-vigil-of-fear-eases-in-illinois-town/ https://www.firstalert4.com/2022/01/21/gruesome-murder-an-illinois-family-remains-unsolved-main-suspect-is-executed/ https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrimeDiscussion/comments/1fzq8zj/on_the_evening_of_november_18_1987_police_went_to/ https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/11/05/heartland-unsolved-never-forget/ https://www.10minutemurder.com/blog/keith-and-elaine-dardeen-a-family-trying-to-escape-death/ https://medium.com/@tonyakpan45/the-dardeen-family-massacre-de3b9fdb5bb6 https://people.com/dardeen-murders-unsolved-who-killed-illinois-family-8649561 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:48.3	Hello, I'm Edward October. Over the years, I've narrated more ghost stories, horror shows, and creepypastas
0:55.2	than I can count. And yet, the crimes discussed on our true crime podcast managed to scare the
1:01.8	sh** out of me. This program is not suitable for children or the faint of heart. If you are such a
1:07.6	person, go ahead and switch off this podcast. Listen to something else.
1:12.9	Are you still with us?
1:15.1	Well, we've warned you.
1:38.3	We're going to... Hey, Jen. Hey, Kim. How are you doing? I'm pretty okay. How about yourself? I'm doing fine. Fine and dame. Got the heater on,
1:43.6	get nice and toasty in my little recording room.
1:46.4	My recording studio. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Which is a junk pile room, I think.
1:52.9	Well, is it, though? It's for the noise. Yeah. It's for the noise. See, everything has,
1:58.3	everything has a purpose. You know what I'm saying? Yep. Hey, what you got for us today? I got, it's a case, it's not too far away from us. I'm sure you've heard of it. It's perplexing. I'll tell you that. And I think it's a good one that you and I can kind of chit-chat at the end and maybe ask some of our listeners to drop us a line and see what they think
2:17.7	about it.
2:18.4	Awesome.
	...

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