Last Podcast On The Left
Last Podcast On The Left
"Bob Burdella, aka the Kansas City butcher, was an art school dropout serial killer who captured, tortured, and murdered at least six young men in Kansas City, Missouri between 1984 and 1987." — Ben Kissel
"But Bob Burdella is kind of a big fucking doorway into that world. But these are the guys that are too weird to be really in the mainstream sphere of knowledge. You know, it's guys like Bob Burdella, P.E. Gaskins, Haddon Clark, Joseph Callinger. These stories are just too fucking strange and most of the time just too gross to really cover." — Henry Zebrowski
"He's like American fatso instead of American psycho." — Marcus Parks
This episode begins with a brief comedic opening touching on the hosts' Christmas spirit before diving into the disturbing subject of Bob Burdella. The hosts introduce Burdella as an art school dropout and serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least six young men in Kansas City between 1984 and 1987. They draw parallels between Burdella and other notorious killers like John Wayne Gacy, noting Burdella's tendency to select victims from society's fringes, often those involved in sex work or struggling with addiction. Unlike some killers who operate in secret, Burdella was an outwardly flamboyant character who ran a curiosity shop. His method involved prolonged torture, with victims held for weeks.
The narrative then traces Burdella's early life, including a childhood that, while not overtly abusive, had its challenges. His father's occasional violent outbursts and later his mother's remarriage to a man he disliked, along with a traumatic sexual assault by a coworker, are presented as potential formative experiences. Burdella's interest in art, collecting, and writing to pen pals are explored as early signs of his detachment and desire for control. A significant turning point cited is his viewing of the film "The Collector," which he claimed profoundly impacted him, although the hosts largely dismiss this as a common, albeit facile, explanation for criminal behavior, instead emphasizing the impact of his father's death and the subsequent assault.
The episode details Burdella's time in art school, where he was described as pretentious and unlikeable, yet also a savvy drug dealer. His artistic endeavors at school, including performance art pieces involving obscenities and a disturbing maze that led participants to witness a chicken's death, are highlighted. These acts, intended to be challenging, alienated his peers and instructors. The narrative progresses to Burdella's purchase of a house at 4315 Charlotte Street, which would become the scene of his crimes, and his work as a restaurant manager and then an antiques dealer, specializing in macabre items. The episode concludes by detailing his first murder, Jerry Howell, and the horrific methods of torture and dismemberment employed by Burdella, underscoring the extreme cruelty and meticulousness of his actions.