This podcast details true crime cases.

It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

It is not intended for children.

Listener discretion is advised. Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

I'm beginning a new series for the month Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

I'm beginning a new series for the month of July that I've titled Final Curtain Call.

In each episode this month, a film or theater actor is connected with a sensational crime.

First up in 1973, a horror film titled The Exorcist was released in theaters.

Movie goers around the world were shocked and fascinated by the graphic depiction of a little girl possessed by a woman. The film's

around the world were shocked and fascinated by the graphic depiction of a little girl possessed by a demon.

The film's director, William Friedkin, spared no expense to create realistic depictions of satanic possession, exorcisms, and graphic violence.

But behind the scenes, one of the film's extras would confess to a real life murder and

be suspected of several more.

This is the first chapter in the series final curtain call,

Paul Bateson and The Exorcist. In December 1973, the film The Exorcist was released.

The supernatural horror movie told the story of the demonic possession of Reagan, a 12-year-old girl, and two

Catholic priests attempts to release her from Satan's grasp through exorcism.

Some scenes were so disturbing and graphic in nature for that era that moviegoers reported vomiting and fainting in theaters.

In one scene, Reagan's mother, played by Ellen Burston, desperate to find a reason for the bizarre behavior exhibited by her child, allows her to undergo a medical procedure called cerebral angiography.

Director William Friedkin wanted the medical scenes in the film

to appear as realistic as possible.

So while conducting research for the film,

...