Today is Thursday, July 16th, 2020.

On this day in 1951, the Catcher in the Rye was published.

J.D. Salinger's Coming of Age Classic would be embraced by generations of teenagers.

However, the book had another much darker legacy.

It would go on to be linked with a series of gruesome murders. Welcome to today and True Crime, a parcast original.

Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised. Extreme caution is advised

for listeners under 13. Today we're covering a strange trend, the recurrence of celebrity assassinations carried out by men who read

J.D. Salinger's classic, The Catcher in the Rye. Let's go back to July 16,

1951, the day the infamous book was published. Upon its release, the Catcher in the Rye wasn't an instant hit.

It didn't shoot to the top of any bestseller lists,

and hardly anyone reading it could have guessed

it would become an iconic coming of age literary work.

But that's exactly what happened.

In the years since its publication, the story of misunderstood teenager Holden Caulfield resonated

with readers worldwide.

The book sold millions of copies.

In the mid-1980s, one of those copies was purchased by Robert John Bardo.

Like the main character in the Catcher in the Rye, Robert John Bardo had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital for emotional issues.

Even after his release, one of his teachers described the Arizona teenager as a time bomb,

waiting to explode.

The descriptor seemed apt.

Robert was angry.

...