Monsters on the Loose: The True Story of Three Unsolved Murders in Prohibition Era San Diego

Written by Richard L. Carrico

Narrated by Patrick Lawlor

In 1931, San Diego's idyllic image as a beach town with peaceful suburbs concealed a harrowing reality: a series of unsolved crimes targeting women, fueling fear and vulnerability. Monsters on the Loose tells the tragic and true stories of three women murdered early that year: Virginia Brooks, Louise Teuber, and Hazel Bradshaw.

Local law enforcement, out-of-town criminologists, and investigators from what would become the FBI pursued hundreds of leads. Yet, the killer(s) were never identified and brought to justice.

In Monsters on the Loose, award-winning author and historian Richard L. Carrico pieces fragments of evidence together for three cold cases, shedding light on a dark chapter in San Diego's history.

More than ninety years after the murders, Carrico emerges as an advocate for the victims, meticulously reconstructing their stories. Immersed in dusty files, long-forgotten oral histories, and investigation records, his primary objective remains unwavering: to seek justice for the three young women. With no witnesses to the crimes, the significance of circumstantial evidence and speculation became paramount.

And he may have even solved one of the murders.

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Dec 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798855507249

Richard L. Carrico

Author and Ramona resident Richard L. Carrico is an award-winning historian, archaeologist, university professor, and writer. With more than 35 years of experience in interpretation and preservation of archaeological and historical resources, Carrico is particularly proud of sharing the story of Ramona and its people. He is on the advisory board of the Ramona Pioneer Historical Society, whose extensive photographic archives from the Guy B. Woodward Museum form the basis of this book. This photographic journey through more than 10,000 years of history is the collaborative effort of Carrico and the Woodward Museum.