She Asked One Question: The Murder of Beverly Riley

She Asked One Question: The Murder of Beverly Riley

A leather satchel washed ashore with Beverly Riley's handwriting and seven waxed core samples intact - yet Beverly had been buried for two days and the satchel's interior was perfectly dry. How could cores recorded at 412-508 grams be both in the depot on April 1 and mysteriously tied to a death on April 3?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from Beverly Riley's fieldwork at Dennard Bench through the depot receipts, the assay office sign-in, and the discovery of the satchel that reopened the case. Who altered the evidence between April 1 and April 3, and what did one question reveal about motive and manipulation?

Person: Beverly Riley
Date: April 3, 1893
Location: Orvid River / Gantry Reach
Occupation: Geologist / Nevada Territorial Survey
Event: Recovery of satchel April 9, 1893

- Beverly Riley was 28 years old at the time of her death.
- Beverly drilled and numbered seven cores at Dennard Bench and packed them into her leather satchel.
- Depot log on April 1 recorded each core weight between 412 g and 508 g.
- Curtis Fitzgerald, age 36, signed the samples into the Gantry Reach assay office on April 2 with a note: "Delivered by courier, geologist absent - field obligations."
- Beverly's body was recovered April 4; the satchel was found dry on April 9 and sat on Deputy Frank Chu's desk for three days before Survey staff examined it.

Tired of ads? Listen to this podcast and 200+ more ad-free on OBOMEDIA.
Try it free for 7 days, cancel anytime: obomedia.com/en/gratis?ref=desc-7194310

© 2026 Created by an independent creator of the OBOMEDIA Network. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the property of their respective creator, who is solely responsible for them, and are distributed by the OBOMEDIA Network on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without the creator's prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.