
The Beatle Bandit
A Serial Bank Robber's Deadly Heist, a Cross-Country Manhunt, and the Insanity Plea that Shook the Nation
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David Marantz
-
By:
-
Nate Hendley
About this listen
The sensational true story of how a bank robber killed a man in a wild shootout, sparking a national debate around gun control and the death penalty.
On July 24, 1964, 24-year-old Matthew Kerry Smith disguised himself with a mask and a Beatle wig, hoisted a semi-automatic rifle, then held up a bank in North York, Ontario.
The intelligent but troubled son of a businessman and mentally ill mother, Smith was a navy veteran with a young Indigenous wife and a hazy plan for violent revolution.
Outside the bank, Smith was confronted by Jack Blanc, a former member of the Canadian and Israeli armies, who brandished a revolver. During a wild shootout, Blanc was killed, and Smith escaped - only to become the object of the largest manhunt in the history of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force.
Dubbed "The Beatle Bandit," Smith was eventually captured, tried, and sentenced to hang. His murderous rampage had tragic consequences for multiple families and fueled a national debate about the death penalty, gun control, and the insanity defense.
©2021 Nate Hendley (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Art Thief
- A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
- By: Michael Finkel
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Michael Finkel
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.
-
-
A book that's steals your attention!
- By samy on 07-23-23
By: Michael Finkel
-
I Will Find You
- Solving Killer Cases from My Life Fighting Crime
- By: Detective Lieutenant Joe Kenda
- Narrated by: Detective Lieutenant Joe Kenda
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Kenda investigated 387 murder cases during his 23 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department and solved almost all of them. And he is ready to detail the cases that are too gruesome to air on television, cases that still haunt him, and the few cases where the killer got away. These cases are horrifyingly real, and the detail is so mesmerizing you won't be able to turn it off.
-
-
LT KENDA IS FANTASTIC
- By Kindle Customer on 10-04-17
-
Zodiac
- The Shocking True Story of the Nation's Most Bizarre Mass Murderer
- By: Robert Graysmith
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Jack the Ripper and before Son of Sam there was only one name their equal in terror: the deadly, elusive, and mysterious Zodiac. Beginning in 1968 the hooded mass murderer terrified the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a string of brutal killings. A sexual sadist, his pleasure was torture and murder.
-
-
Interesting
- By Z on 05-19-06
By: Robert Graysmith
-
Killer Clown
- The John Wayne Gacy Murders
- By: Terry Sullivan, Peter T. Maiken
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was a model citizen. A hospital volunteer. And one of the most sadistic serial killers of all time. But few people could see the cruel monster beneath the colorful clown makeup that John Gacy wore to entertain children in his Chicago suburb. Few could imagine what lay buried beneath his house of horrors—until a teenage boy disappeared before Christmas in 1978, leading prosecutor Terry Sullivan on the greatest manhunt of his career.
-
-
SCARRIEST BOOK I HAVE EVER LISTENED TO!
- By Steve on 12-21-17
By: Terry Sullivan, and others
-
Go Down Together
- The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde
- By: Jeff Guinn
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With dramatic flair, Jeff Guinn delivers the definitive portrait of Bonnie and Clyde. These media-savvy outlaws appealed to America's Depression-era hunger for swashbuckling characters. Glowing radio and newspaper reports transformed these "public enemies" into celebrities - much like the cinema gangsters of the time.
-
-
Bravo!
- By Tim on 09-09-09
By: Jeff Guinn
-
American Heiress
- The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst
- By: Jeffrey Toobin
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. The already sensational story took the first of many incredible twists on April 3, when the group released a tape of Patty saying she had joined the SLA and had adopted the nom de guerre “Tania.”
-
-
Privilege calling privilege privileged
- By Kelley on 08-05-16
By: Jeffrey Toobin
-
The Art Thief
- A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
- By: Michael Finkel
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Michael Finkel
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.
-
-
A book that's steals your attention!
- By samy on 07-23-23
By: Michael Finkel
-
I Will Find You
- Solving Killer Cases from My Life Fighting Crime
- By: Detective Lieutenant Joe Kenda
- Narrated by: Detective Lieutenant Joe Kenda
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Kenda investigated 387 murder cases during his 23 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department and solved almost all of them. And he is ready to detail the cases that are too gruesome to air on television, cases that still haunt him, and the few cases where the killer got away. These cases are horrifyingly real, and the detail is so mesmerizing you won't be able to turn it off.
-
-
LT KENDA IS FANTASTIC
- By Kindle Customer on 10-04-17
-
Zodiac
- The Shocking True Story of the Nation's Most Bizarre Mass Murderer
- By: Robert Graysmith
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Jack the Ripper and before Son of Sam there was only one name their equal in terror: the deadly, elusive, and mysterious Zodiac. Beginning in 1968 the hooded mass murderer terrified the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a string of brutal killings. A sexual sadist, his pleasure was torture and murder.
-
-
Interesting
- By Z on 05-19-06
By: Robert Graysmith
-
Killer Clown
- The John Wayne Gacy Murders
- By: Terry Sullivan, Peter T. Maiken
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was a model citizen. A hospital volunteer. And one of the most sadistic serial killers of all time. But few people could see the cruel monster beneath the colorful clown makeup that John Gacy wore to entertain children in his Chicago suburb. Few could imagine what lay buried beneath his house of horrors—until a teenage boy disappeared before Christmas in 1978, leading prosecutor Terry Sullivan on the greatest manhunt of his career.
-
-
SCARRIEST BOOK I HAVE EVER LISTENED TO!
- By Steve on 12-21-17
By: Terry Sullivan, and others
-
Go Down Together
- The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde
- By: Jeff Guinn
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With dramatic flair, Jeff Guinn delivers the definitive portrait of Bonnie and Clyde. These media-savvy outlaws appealed to America's Depression-era hunger for swashbuckling characters. Glowing radio and newspaper reports transformed these "public enemies" into celebrities - much like the cinema gangsters of the time.
-
-
Bravo!
- By Tim on 09-09-09
By: Jeff Guinn
-
American Heiress
- The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst
- By: Jeffrey Toobin
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. The already sensational story took the first of many incredible twists on April 3, when the group released a tape of Patty saying she had joined the SLA and had adopted the nom de guerre “Tania.”
-
-
Privilege calling privilege privileged
- By Kelley on 08-05-16
By: Jeffrey Toobin
-
The Texas 7
- A True Story of Murder and a Daring Escape
- By: Gary C. King
- Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"You haven't heard the last of us yet..." These were chilling words on a note left behind by seven armed and dangerous inmates who escaped from the John Connally prison in South Texas on December 13, 2000. Their promise has apparently been fulfilled. The inmates, now known as the Connally Seven, are suspected of having first robbed a Radio Shack in Houston, and then, days later, on Christmas Eve, of having fatally shot and run over a young police officer during an assault on a Dallas sporting goods store. For six frantic weeks, a massive manhunt with a significant reward had only turned up dead ends - until a tip came in from someone who had seen the gang on Fox TVs, America's Most Wanted. Authorities arrested four of the seven prisoners, including suspected ringleader George Rivas, in Woodland Park, Colorado, and a fifth inmate shot himself during police negotiations.
-
-
Interesting true crime story
- By Rabid Reader on 09-12-17
By: Gary C. King
-
Reclaiming History
- The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
- By: Vincent Bugliosi
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Polls reveal that 85 percent of Americans believe there was a conspiracy behind Lee Harvey Oswald. Some even believe Oswald was entirely innocent. In this encyclopedic, absorbing audiobook, Vincent Bugliosi shows how the public has come to believe such lies about the day that changed the course of history. Bugliosi has devoted almost 20 years of his life to this project, and is determined to show that, despite the overwhelming popular perception, Oswald killed Kennedy and acted alone.
-
-
Exceptional Detailed Account
- By Lindsay on 06-20-07
By: Vincent Bugliosi
-
Murder, New England
- A Historical Collection of Killer True-Crime Tales
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
True tales of murder in New England, from the colonial period to today, chronicled by a true-crime master, New York Times best-selling author, and star of Investigation Discovery’s new television show Dark Minds.
-
-
Variety is the spice!
- By Lady PNW on 01-06-15
-
Killing the Dream
- James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- By: Gerald Posner
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the three decades since April 4, 1968, when Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot to death in Memphis, scores of books and articles have questioned whether James Earl Ray, King's killer, acted alone or was part of a larger conspiracy. Now, based on explosive new interviews, confidential files, and previously undisclosed evidence, best-selling author Gerald Posner finally resolves the simple truth of the last great political murder mystery of the 1960s, definitively proving that Ray acted alone.
-
-
Enlightening
- By Thornton Mellon on 05-19-19
By: Gerald Posner
-
Sarge!: Cases of a Chicago Police Detective Sergeant in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s
- By: John A. DiMaggio
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sarge! is a fascinating memoir by the late Chicago Police Detective Sergeant John A. DiMaggio, one of the most decorated officers on the force during a career that spanned the years 1957 to 1991. Told in a conversational, “regular guy” voice in episodic fashion, Sarge! reveals to the listener what it was really like to be a cop.
-
-
A story of policing that is relevant 30 years later.
- By Anonymous User on 09-03-21
By: John A. DiMaggio
-
Bonnie and Clyde
- By: Karen Blumenthal
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bonnie and Clyde - we've been on a first name basis with them for almost a hundred years. Immortalized in movies, songs, and pop culture references, they are remembered mostly for their storied romance and tragic deaths. But what was life really like for Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker in the early 1930s? How did two dirt-poor teens from West Texas morph from vicious outlaws to legendary couple? And why? Award-winning author Karen Blumenthal devoted months to tracing the footsteps of Bonnie and Clyde, unearthing new information and debunking many persistent myths.
-
-
No new info
- By RueRue on 08-16-18
By: Karen Blumenthal
-
Masters of True Crime
- Chilling Stories of Murder and the Macabre
- By: R. Barri Flowers - editor
- Narrated by: Tara Ochs, James Edward Thomas
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning murder cases from the beginning of the 20th century to today, this is a must-hear for fans of true crime and will also be compelling to mystery and thriller listeners. The contributors include Harold Schechter, Katherine Ramsland, Carol Anne Davis, Burl Barer, and other leading writers in this genre. Each of the 17 contributors draws on his or her own strengths, backgrounds, interests, and research skills to describe, in a vivid narrative, not only the facts of each notorious case but also the terrible emotions and macabre circumstances surrounding the crimes.
-
-
Garbage, poorly written and narrated
- By Rachael A. Upton on 04-21-16
-
Ten Vintage True Crime Stories Rescued from Obscurity
- Famous Crimes the World Forgot, Book 1
- By: Jason Lucky Morrow
- Narrated by: Charles Huddleston
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook uncovers 10 amazing true crimes that exploded into the national news, shocking Americans from coast to coast - crimes that were eventually forgotten - until now. Many of these incredible cases went unexplored for decades.
-
-
The Narrator Makes It Great
- By Laurie on 03-09-19
-
Boston Mob
- The Rise and Fall of the New England Mob and Its Most Notorious Killer
- By: Marc Songini
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New England Mafia was a hugely powerful organization that survived by using violence to ruthlessly crush anyone that threatened it, or its lucrative gambling, loansharking, bootlegging, and other enterprises. From information based on newly declassified documents and the use of underworld sources, Boston Mob spans the gutters and alleyways of East Boston, Providence, and Charlestown to the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., and Boston's Beacon Hill. Its players include governors and mayors, and the Mafia Commission of New York City.
-
-
Entertaining
- By joeyg1963 on 12-07-19
By: Marc Songini
-
The Phantom Killer
- Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town in Terror
- By: James Presley
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The salacious and scandalous murders of a series of couples on Texarkana's "lovers' lanes" created a media maelstrom and cast a pall of fear over an entire region. What is even more surprising is that the case has remained cold for decades. Combining archival research and investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize-nominated historian James Presley reveals evidence that provides crucial keys to unlocking this decades-old puzzle.
-
-
The most thorough and accurate account of this case ever compiled
- By Ginger Patterson on 12-14-20
By: James Presley
-
Undisclosed Files of the Police
- Cases from the Archives of the NYPD from 1831 to the Present
- By: Bernard Whalen, Philip Messing, Robert Mladinich
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than 175 years of true crimes culled from the city's police blotter, told through an insightful text by two NYPD officers and a NYC crime reporter. From atrocities that occurred before the establishment of New York's police force in 1845 through the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 to the present day, this audio is an insider's look at more than 80 real-life crimes that shocked the nation, from arson to gangland murders, robberies, serial killers, bombings, and kidnappings.
-
-
Good History of Crime in NYC
- By Bob Shinders on 03-10-17
By: Bernard Whalen, and others
-
Whitey
- The Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss
- By: Dick Lehr, Gerard O'Neill
- Narrated by: John Rubinstein
- Length: 17 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on a trove of sealed files and previously classified material, Whitey digs deep into the mind of James J. "Whitey" Bulger, the crime boss and killer who brought the FBI to its knees. He is an American original - a psychopath who fostered a following with a frightening mix of terror, deadly intimidation, and the deft touch of a politician who often helped a family in need meet their monthly rent. But the history shows that despite the early false myths portraying him as a Robin Hood figure, Whitey was a supreme narcissist, and everything was always about him.
-
-
NOT Osama bin-Laden
- By Paul on 03-04-13
By: Dick Lehr, and others