The Murder of Teresita Basa

On the evening of February 21, 1977, Chicago firefighters responded to a call at the Pine Grove apartment complex. Once they’d extinguished the fire, they discovered the nude body of forty-eight-year-old Teresita Basa with a kitchen knife protruding from her chest. The apartment looked as though it had been ransacked during the commission of what they assumed was a sexual assault or robbery gone wrong. With little evidence or leads to work from, Teresita’s murder investigation quickly went cold.

But then five months later, it seemed like it was Teresita herself who led investigators to discover the man who murdered her. What followed was a truly sensational investigation and trial where not only murder, but belief was up for debate.

References

Boston Globe. 1978. "Did Voice of the Dead Name Murderer?" Boston Globe, March 6: 2.

Decatur Herald. 1979. "Man Pleads Guilty; Named by 'Voice From the Grave'." Decatur Herald, February 23: 9.

O'Brien , John, and Edward Baumann. 1978. "Accused of Murder By a Voice From The Grave." Ebony, June 01: 56-63.

O'Brien, John. 1979. "'Voice From Grave' Case a Mistrial." Chicago Tribune, Janaury 27: 3.

O'Brien, John, and Edward Baumann. 1992. Teresita: The Voice from the Grave. Los Angeles, CA: Bonus Books.

Toledo Blade. 1978. "'Voice From Grave' Suspect Ordered to Trial for Murder." Toledo Blade, September 7: 38.

Warden, Rob. 1978. "'Voice From the Grave' Evokes a Murder Trial." Washington Post, September 17.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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