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Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast

Fayetteville: The Fire Mystery of the Sodder Family

Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast

Shane L. Waters, Wendy Cee, Gemma Hoskins

Society & Culture, True Crime, History

4.5 β€’ 992 Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 15 December 2021

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For almost 40 years there stood a huge billboard on route 19 near Fayatteville, West Virginia.

It showed the images of 5 children and the following inscription
'On Christmas Eve 1945 our home was set afire and five of our children, ages five through fourteen kidnapped. The officials blamed defective wiring although lights were still burning after the fire started.

The official report stated that the children died in the fire however no bones were found in the residue and there was no smell of burning flesh during or after the fire.

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Hosted by Shane Waters. You can find his history podcast Hometown History here.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

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0:07.0

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0:14.0

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0:21.0

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0:28.0

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0:51.0

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0:57.0

For almost 40 years, there stood a huge billboard on Route 9 near Fayetteville, West Virginia.

1:05.0

It showed the images of five children and the following inscription.

1:09.0

On Christmas Eve, 1945, our home was set afire and five of our children, ages 5 through 14, kidnapped.

1:19.0

The officials blamed defective wiring, although lights were still burning after the fire started.

1:26.0

The official report stated that the children died in the fire, however no bones were found in the residue,

1:33.0

and there was no smell of burning flesh during or after the fire.

1:38.0

What was the motive of the law officers involved?

1:41.0

What did they have to gain by making us suffer all these years of injustice?

1:46.0

Why did they lie and force us to accept those lies?

1:50.0

In this episode, we will be talking about the disappearance of the Soda Children.

1:59.0

This story takes us back to November 24, 1985, in the tiny municipality of Tula, on the small island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea,

2:10.0

to the west of Italy and to the north of Tunisia.

2:15.0

It was on this day that Giovanni and Maria Sodoru welcomed their son, Georgio, into the world.

2:23.0

Sitting at the foot of large hills, the area was picturesque, surrounded by beautiful countryside, with many of the 1500 residents working on their land.

2:33.0

But that wasn't enough for Georgio. He wanted adventure. He wanted to see the world.

2:40.0

He just wanted more. And so, at the age of 16, Georgio packed his meager belongings and headed to the port of Genoa in Italy,

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