What is the episode about?
In this episode of Morbid: A True Crime Podcast hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley tackle one of the most cynical cases in Maryland's history: the murders of Millie Horn and her eight-year-old son, Trevor Horn. The episode, titled 'The Hitman Murders', outlines the events leading up to the fateful night of March 3, 1993, when an unknown assailant broke into the family's home. Through a detailed review of the police investigation, the hosts shed light on how a tragic death in a family was transformed into a cold business plan driven by greed.
The case behind the episode
The case of Millie Horn started as an apparently brutal burglary, but the police in Maryland quickly became suspicious of the unusual circumstances. Trevor Horn, who was severely disabled due to a medical error during surgery, had received a substantial multi-million dollar settlement. The investigation revealed that his father, Lawrence Horn, who lived in Los Angeles, had hired a hitman named James Perry to eliminate his ex-wife, their son, and the son's nurse, Janice Saunders. The aim was to inherit the remaining funds from the son's settlement trust. The case became nationally known when it emerged that the hitman had used a manual titled 'Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors' to plan the precise details of the murders.
About the podcast
Morbid: A True Crime Podcast is known for its blend of in-depth research and informal dialogue between the two hosts. Alaina Urquhart, who has a background as an autopsy technician, often brings a technical and scientific angle to the cases, while Ash Kelley contributes the narrative perspective. In this fourth episode of their first season, they specifically focus on the psychological aspects of Lawrence Horn's betrayal and the legal aftermath that followed the three murders in Silver Spring, Maryland.