Due to the nature of this case, listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of substance use, gun violence, and murder.

Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen.

Lee Morgan was a jazz trumpeter,

a prodigy who rocketed into the scene as a 15-year-old kid from

Philadelphia and proved he had staying power. His music and legacy endure to this

day.

If you were to draw out the shape of Lee's career,

it would look like two soaring peaks separated by a valley,

a valley that for Lee was marked by addiction.

Like many other musicians of his time,

opioid use upended his life

until heroin took precedence over everything he held most dear, including music.

But Lee was one of the lucky ones.

He found a way out.

His life took a turn for the better the moment he met Helen, the woman who loved him, nursed him back to

health, helped revive his career, and then ended his life. I'm Vanessa Richardson and this is Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast.

You can find us here every Monday.

Be sure to check us out on Instagram

at Serial Killers Podcast.

We'd love to hear from you.

If you're listening on the Spotify app,

...