Welcome to Tomb Talkers
Our podcast features cold case murders in historic locations. We have two cases to share soon: both were women found brutally murdered where they were staying, alone, in downtown Indianapolis. In 1943, Maoma Ridings was found with horrific injuries in her room at the Claypool Hotel. In 1911, Dr. Helene Knabe was found with her throat slashed in her Delaware Flats apartment. Despite intriguing clues and colorful suspects, their murders remain unsolved.
At first, Maoma was quiet and well-behaved, but later, Corporal Hawkins reported, she began to drink…
Case 1: Maoma L Ridings
06 April 1910 - 28 August 1943
Claypool Hotel Room 729
Maoma was born to a prominent family in Warm Springs, GA. After becoming a physiotherapist, she once treated FDR at Warm Springs when he was the governor of New York. While not a popular choice for women of her status at the time, Maoma joined the WAAC in 1942 and was part of the first contingent of women to arrive at Camp Atterbury on 06 Mar 1943.
Five months later, she would be found in Room 729, torso slashed, jugular severed, and wrists cut postmortem.
In the end, the Claypool hotel removed the number 729 and 29 from all hotel room numbers.
