Ohio & Washington: Justice Buried for a Century

This episode of Foul Play examines two historical tragedies from the American Gilded Age—Ohio's 1876 Pacific Express train disaster and the 1887 Chinese Massacre at Hell's Canyon—both marked by the suppression of evidence and institutional silence. In Ohio, engineer Charles Collins warned repeatedly that the Astrobula River Bridge was dangerously flawed, but his concerns were ignored. After testifying before a legislative committee, he was found dead with a gunshot wound ruled suicide—despite two independent autopsies in 1878 concluding homicide. The truth was buried for over a century, with the railroad and state authorities choosing convenience over justice. Decades later, in the Pacific Northwest, 31 to 34 Chinese gold miners were ambushed and murdered by a white gang in Hell's Canyon, Oregon, during a brutal two-day massacre. Despite a confession, indictments, and a trial, an all-white jury acquitted the perpetrators. The evidence—confessions, grand jury records, and trial documents—was hidden in a county safe for over 100 years. Both cases reveal a recurring pattern: when the victims are marginalized—whether by profession or race—the system protects the powerful. The episode challenges the myth of equal justice, showing that truth and evidence were present in both cases, but the institutions chose not to act.