Why Did the Fire Chief Bury a Beef Liver? #crimejunkies #truecrimeinvestigation #truecrimepodcast
- Sep 11, 2026
- 1:44
- Short
Nearly two years after the December 25, 1945, fire at the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, George Sodder and Jennie Sodder heard that the local fire chief had reportedly found a human heart in the ashes.
The fire chief claimed he had buried the evidence on the Sodder property, but when the family’s private investigator recovered a box from the ground, a funeral home owner determined that the tissue was actually beef liver. According to his examination, it had not been exposed to fire and appeared too fresh to have been buried for approximately a year and a half.
Why was beef liver buried at the site where Maurice Sodder, Martha Sodder, Louis Sodder, Jennie Sodder, and Betty Sodder were believed to have disappeared—and why was it described as human evidence?
Watch the full episode on @CrimeJunkie and tagged below to learn more about the disappearance of the five Sodder children. -------- Follow Crime Junkie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimejunkiepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrimeJunkiePodcast/ Crime Junkie is created and hosted by Ashley Flowers.
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Brief Summary
The Sodder case features a buried beef liver mistaken for a human heart, raising questions about the fire chief's actions and motives.
Key points
- The Strange Evidence. A rumor surfaces about a human heart found in the ashes of the Sodder fire.
- The Fire Chief's Confession. The fire chief claims he buried a heart, but there's no stake to mark it.
- The Funeral Home Revelation. A tissue sample is revealed to be a beef liver, not a human heart.
Episode highlights
- The Fire Chief's ConfessionThe fire chief claims he buried a heart, but there's no stake to mark it.“I thought I told you, but maybe I didn't.”0:18Sep 11, 2026
- The Funeral Home RevelationA tissue sample is revealed to be a beef liver, not a human heart.“This isn't a human heart, it's a beef liver.”1:06Sep 11, 2026
