Qualla: John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son https://qualla.com/john-dillinger en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:15 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/4/d/john-dillinger-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son https://qualla.com/john-dillinger John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son: Introduction https://qualla.com/john-dillinger/ Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, Public domain. The gravestone at Crown Hill Cemetery keeps getting replaced. Visitors chip away pieces as souvenirs, and the cemetery installs a new marker, and the cycle begins again. John Herbert Dillinger has been dead since 1934, but Indianapolis cannot quite shake its most infamous native son. Born at 2053 Cooper Street on June 22, 1903, Dillinger grew up to rob twenty-four banks and four police stations, escape from prison twice, and force J. Edgar Hoover to transform the Bureau of Investigation into the modern FBI. He lived thirty-one years. His criminal career lasted barely fourteen months. In that time, he became the most wanted man in America.

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]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/4/d/john-dillinger-wp/dp4d-john-dillinger-indianapoliss-most-wanted-son-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son: A Grocer's Son Goes Wrong https://qualla.com/john-dillinger/ Photo credit Indiana State Penitentiary, Public domain. Dillinger's father was a grocer, reportedly harsh, and his mother died when he was young. As a teenager he was in constant trouble for fighting and petty theft. He joined the Navy, deserted when his ship docked in Boston, and was dishonorably discharged. He married in April 1924....

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Image: Indiana State Penitentiary | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/4/d/john-dillinger-wp/dp4d-john-dillinger-indianapoliss-most-wanted-son-a-grocers-son-goes-wrong.mp3 0:06 2 full John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son: Fourteen Months of Mayhem https://qualla.com/john-dillinger/ Photo credit Associated Press, Public domain. Paroled on May 10, 1933, Dillinger wasted no time. Within three months he robbed a bank in Bluffton, Ohio. By early 1934, his gang included Baby Face Nelson, Homer Van Meter, and Tommy Carroll. They tore through the Midwest: a bank in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; the First National...

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Image: Associated Press | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/4/d/john-dillinger-wp/dp4d-john-dillinger-indianapoliss-most-wanted-son-fourteen-months-of-mayhem.mp3 0:06 3 full John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son: The Escape That Made the Legend https://qualla.com/john-dillinger/ Photo credit Marine 69-71, CC BY-SA 4.0. On January 25, 1934, Dillinger was captured in Tucson, Arizona, and extradited to Indiana. He was jailed at the Lake County jail in Crown Point on murder charges. Local police boasted to newspapers that the jail was escape-proof. On March 3, Dillinger proved them spectacularly wr...

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Image: Marine 69-71 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/4/d/john-dillinger-wp/dp4d-john-dillinger-indianapoliss-most-wanted-son-the-escape-that-made-the-legend.mp3 0:06 4 full John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son: The Lady in Orange https://qualla.com/john-dillinger/ Photo credit Associated Press-auction carries full AP wire story which came with the photo., Public domain. By July 1934, Dillinger was hiding in Chicago under the alias Jimmy Lawrence, working as a clerk. He had undergone crude plastic surgery to alter his appearance and had his fingerprints burned with acid. It was not enough. Ana Cumpanas, a Romanian-born brothel owner facing deport...

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Image: Associated Press-auction carries full AP wire story which came with the photo. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/4/d/john-dillinger-wp/dp4d-john-dillinger-indianapoliss-most-wanted-son-the-lady-in-orange.mp3 0:06 5 full John Dillinger: Indianapolis's Most Wanted Son: An Estimated 15,000 Mourners https://qualla.com/john-dillinger/ Photo credit Jewelr07, CC BY-SA 3.0. Dillinger's body was displayed at the Cook County morgue. An estimated 15,000 people filed past the corpse over a day and a half. Four death masks were made from the original mold. He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, where his grave has become one of the city's ...

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Image: Jewelr07 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/4/d/john-dillinger-wp/dp4d-john-dillinger-indianapoliss-most-wanted-son-an-estimated-15-000-mourners.mp3 0:06 6 full