On August 17th, 1849, London police officers made a grisly discovery at the home of George and Maria (born Marie de Roux) Manning. Her former beau, Patrick O'Connor, had been buried under the floor. A nationwide hunt for the couple would follow, and after that a trial and executions. The murder case would grip London so fervently that Madame Tussaud would later add wax versions of the couple to her infamous Chamber of Horrors.  My guest today is Gavin Whitehead, creator, writer and narrator of The Art of Crime podcast, which is currently in its third season.  More about The Art of Crime here:  https://www.artofcrimepodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gille de Rais is a complicated historical figure. On one hand he was a French military hero - a man who fought side by side with Joan of Arc - and revered for his service to church and state. On the other he was an accused heretic, an occultist, and the self-confessed serial killer of hundreds of children.  My guest is Margot K. Juby, author of "The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais". She believes that there is not enough evidence to prove that de Rais committed the monstrous crimes he has been accused of, and argues her case on this latest episode of Most Notorious.  A short animated film about the author and her book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBYgr7L-NSk The author's blog: http://www.gillesderaiswasinnocent.co.uk/ The author's Twitter/X handle: https://twitter.com/MorbidMorag Buy her book on US Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Martyrdom-Gilles-Rais-Margot-Juby/dp/1729561357 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a well-to-do couple named Charles and Lois Hitchcock are discovered hacked to death on their fruit farm in Garden Grove, California in January of 1888, suspicions quickly turn to an itinerant German, who has been looking to buy a property in the area.   This is a special "this day in true crime history" episode of Most Notorious, narrated by Erik Rivenes.  References:   Los Angeles Evening Express, 1/27/1888, p. 5. Los Angeles Times, 1/27/1888 p. 4.  Los Angeles Evening Express, 1/28/1888 p. 5 Los Angeles Times, 1/28/1888 p. 4 Los Angeles Herald, 2/1/1888 p. 2, 4. Los Angeles Evening Express, 2/18/1888 p. 5 Los Angeles Herald, 2/19/1888 p. 2 Los Angeles Herald 3/16/88 p. 4 Los Angeles Evening Express, 10/22/1888 p. 8 Los Angeles Evening Express, 11/2/1888 p. 1 Los Angeles Evening Express, 11/15/1888 p. 1  Los Angeles Herald 11/15/1888 p. 1 Orange County history: http://www.ocalmanac.com/History/hi01d.htm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Creek War is one of the most tragic episodes in American history, leading to the greatest loss of Native American life on what is now U.S. soil. What began as a vicious internal conflict among the Creek Indians metastasized like a cancer. The ensuing Creek War of 1813-1814 shattered Native American control of the Deep South and led to the infamous Trail of Tears, in which the government forcibly removed the southeastern Indians from their homeland. The war also gave Andrew Jackson his first combat leadership role, and his newfound popularity after defeating the Creeks would set him on the path to the White House. My guest is international award-winning author Peter Cozzens. His book "A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South" is the third in his trilogy about America's westward expansion. Visit the author's website here: https://www.petercozzens.net/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prolific Australian crime writer Roy Maloy is my guest this week. He gives us the scoop on the complex and violent legacy of Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor. Highlights include Squizzy's marriage to notorious madam Dolly Gray, the infamous 1919 Fitzroy Vendetta, and his own bloody death at the hands of his rivals.  His book is called "Squizzy - The Biography: The Forensics - The Man - The Vendetta."  The author's Linktree page: https://linktr.ee/RoyMaloy The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/roymaloy The author's TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@roymaloy4 Readers in the United States can buy the book through Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Squizzy-Biography-Forensics-Man-Vendetta/dp/1716377986/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four-time guest and author Kimberly Tilley joins me once again, this time to talk about two unsolved historical mysteries. First, she tells the story of nineteen-year-old Lillian Hawkins, who was harassed by a murderous stalker in turn-of-the-twentieth century Ohio. Then we're off to 1920 Los Angeles, where a bit-part Hollywood actress named Ruby Reed was brutally slain in her home.  More about Lillian Hawkins' wild story here: https://oldspirituals.com/2023/06/29/mysterious-persecution-1/ More about Ruby Reed's murder and investigation here:   https://oldspirituals.com/2023/08/13/ruby-murder-1/ "Love's Old Sweet Song" by Irene Pavloska: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIvz5zEaRBw&t=17s This episode is sponsored by HelloFresh. Go to https://www.hellofresh.com/notoriousfree to get free breakfast for life! (One breakfast item per box while subscription is active.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Most Notorious holiday re-release, we revisit an interview that got a lot of attention when it first aired. This is my interview with Lise Pearlman about the fascinating research she did in the infamous 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping, and her jaw-dropping conclusions about who was really behind it all. More information on Lise and her books can be found at her website here: www.lisepearlman.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most colorful criminals in 19th-century California history was a man that you may not have ever heard of - Charley Flynn, aka Charles Mortimer. Flynn was a charmer and a ne'er-do-well whose life was something right out of a movie - a seemingly non-stop series of dramatic robberies and daring escapes. Flynn's activities turned terribly violent, however, after partnering with fellow criminal Carrie Jones, and culminated in two horrific murders and his eventual execution. My guest is author and editor of the Wild West History Association Journal, Matthew Bernstein. He joins me to talk about his book "Hanging Charley Flynn: The Short and Violent Life of the Boldest Criminal in Frontier California". More about the author and his work here: https://www.unmpress.com/9780826365040/hanging-charley-flinn/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a chilly December night in 1956 when young Barbara and Patricia Grimes, dedicated fans of Elvis Presley, set out to watch "Love Me Tender" for the eleventh time. Their disappearance sparked a desperate search, fueled by countless sightings and reports. Yet, despite the intense media frenzy and police efforts, the case was riddled by confusion, misinformation, and potential corruption that have obscured the truth for decades. In this episode, we discuss the web of possible suspects, including the enigmatic figure of Benny Bedwell, the rumors of sex trafficking rings, and the disturbing confessions that only added layers to this mystery. Author and historian Troy Taylor is my guest, and he offers his insights from his book "The Two Lost Girls: The Mystery of the Grimes Sisters". The author's website: https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, February 13, 1905, eight- year-old Kenneth Beasley walked to the back of his school’s playground and into the melting snow of the woods beyond. He never returned. A massive search was undertaken for the North Carolina state senator’s son, and a reward was offered. Despite clues, rumors and even a ransom note, he was never found. A year and a half later, a political rival hurriedly was charged. Accused of the most bizarre and twisted of plots, he faced a courtroom overflowing with jurors, star lawyers, spectators and newspaper reporters. The eventual verdict and stunning aftermath would rip apart two families and shock a state ... yet leave a mystery unsolved. My guest is former criminal defense attorney Charles Oldham, author of "THE SENATORS SON: The Shocking Disappearance, The Celebrated Trial, and The Mystery That Remains A Century Later."  More about the author and his work here:  https://beachglassbooks.com/books/the-senators-son This episode is sponsored by HelloFresh. Go to https://www.hellofresh.com/notoriousfree to get free breakfast for life! (One breakfast item per box while subscription is active.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few American criminals have captured the imagination of Hollywood like Charles Starkweather, a red-haired James Dean wannabe who murdered eleven people in 1957 and 58.  With him during most of his killing spree was his girlfriend (and possible accomplice) Caril Ann Fugate. Among the victims were Caril's own mother, step-father and little sister. My guest, Edgar award winner and bestselling author Harry N. MacLean, knew the Starkweather family as a boy in Lincoln, Nebraska. One of his main goals in writing his book, "Starkweather: The Untold Story of the Killing Spree that Changed America", was to examine more closely whether 14-year-old Caril was complicit in the murders, or instead coerced by Starkweather to participate. The author's website:   https://www.harrymaclean.com/ This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Brighten the season and go to https://www.betterhelp.com/notorious to get 10% off of your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In my final interview of this Ripper series, I chat with Sarah Bax Horton, author of a recently published book called "One-Armed Jack: Uncovering the Real Jack the Ripper". Her prime suspect is Hyam Hyams, whose distinctive physical characteristics (including a stiff arm) match period eye-witness descriptions of the killer. She also has a personal connection to the story - her great-great grandfather was a police sergeant in Whitechapel during the Ripper murders. The U.S. Amazon link to the author's book:  https://www.amazon.com/One-Armed-Jack-Uncovering-Real-Ripper/dp/178929536X More about the author and her book here:  https://www.mombooks.com/book/one-armed-jack/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was the real identity of Jack the Ripper a Whitechapel horse slaughterer named James Hardiman? And if so, could he have committed the Thames Torso Murders as well?  My guest is Dr. Drew Gray, who along with Andrew Wise wrote the book "Jack and the Thames Torso Murders: A New Ripper?" He makes the case for Hardiman as our Jack the Ripper limited series continues.  Drew Gray's blog: https://thepolicemagistrate.blog/ Amazon link to his Jack the Ripper book: https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Thames-Torso-Murders-Ripper/dp/1445687763/ Amazon link to his book "Murder Maps": https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Maps-Revisited-Phrenology-Fingerprint/dp/0500252459/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Kosminski is one of the more well known suspects in the Whitechapel murders. Some of the major police officials of the era, in fact, were seriously concerned about his potential involvement in the brutal Autumn of Terror slayings. My guest, Robert House, has studied Aaron Kosminski for years, and shares details of his investigation with us. He is the author of "Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect". The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100051505763425 You can purchase the book here:  https://www.amazon.com/Ripper-Scotland-Yards-Prime-Suspect/dp/0470938994 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prolific author M.J. Trow returns to Most Notorious to kick off a series of interviews about the Jack the Ripper. In his 2009 book "Jack the Ripper: Quest for a Killer", he argues that a mortuary attendant named Robert Mann stalked Whitechapel during the Autumn of Terror, and presents his case that Mann had motive, means and opportunity to murder.  M.J. Trow's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/M.-J.-Trow/author/B001H9U1B6 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is my favorite John Dillinger expert, Ellen Poulsen. She returns to regale us with a colorful account of the Dillinger Gang's ill-fated Tucson, Arizona vacation in January of 1934. Ellen is the author of "Chasing Dillinger", "Don't Call Us Molls" and "The Case Against Lucky Luciano", and is back for her fourth visit to Most Notorious.  More about Ellen and her books here: https://www.ellenpoulsen.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 16, 1900, a bitter feud between a former Kentucky congressman and colonel named David Grant Colson and a fellow officer, Ethelbert Dudley Scott, reached its bloody climax as they fought it out with pistols in a crowded hotel lobby in Frankfort. Both believed their honor had been besmirched by the other, and that the death of one of them was the inevitable outcome. My guest is Thomas E. Stephens, who has a personal connection to this story, and wrote about it in the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society in 2000. More about the author and his work at his Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thomas-E.-Stephens/author/B003D8MHKW The author's article: Stephens, Thomas E.  Congressman David Grant Colson and the Tragedy of the Fourth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Vol. 98, No. 1 (Winter 2000), pp. 43-102 This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://www.betterhelp.com/notorious to get 10% off your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a lot of buzz about Taylor Sheridan's newest television series Lawmen: Bass Reeves, and this week's guest, Old West author and historian Art T. Burton, is here to separate fact from fiction. He tells us about the exploits of this legendary Deputy U.S. Marshal, not only one of the first African-American marshals in United States history, but arguably the greatest lawman of his era.  Art Burton's book is called "Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves".  More about the author and his book can be found at his website here: https://www.artburton.com/ The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004081261210 This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and get 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mackinac Island, Michigan is a special place. Summers there are always bustling with tourists, who come in droves to enjoy its history, beauty and charm. However on July 24, 1960 a horrific event shook the residents of the peaceful island. A 49-year-old widow named Francis Lacey was viciously raped and murdered at the end of a morning walk. Law enforcement officers from across Michigan joined the hunt to find her killer, but the case still remains unsolved today.  My guest is Rod Sadler, author and retired police officer. He shares details about the case and discusses some of the many suspects that kept police very busy that summer. His book is called "GRIM PARADISE: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer".  The author's website: https://www.rodsadler.com/ His Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RodSadlerAuthor/ His Twitter/X handle: https://twitter.com/RMSauthor His Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/therodsadler/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Step into the world of the unknown and unravel the dark history, and infamous legends of the American South. Southern Gothic journeys into the heart of this rich and fascinating region, uncovering its ghostly stories, haunted places, and eeriest tales through captivating storytelling, in-depth historical research, and an immersive audio soundscape. From the Bell Witch of Tennessee to the haunted Waverly Hills Sanatorium, the ghostly tales of the Myrtles Plantation, the Curse of Lake Lanier and beyond, get ready for an unforgettable experience that brings history to life and uncovers the truth behind classic tales of the paranormal. Listen now: https://podfollow.com/southern-gothic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the 1930s to the 1950s, Irish altar-boy turned gangster Eddie McGrath ruled New York City's West Side waterfront. Not only did he provide union muscle for the International Longshoreman's Association, but he was also involved in dozens of gangland shootings and murders. My guest, Neil G. Clark, is the author of "Dock Boss: Eddie McGrath and the West Side Waterfront". He tells the story of McGrath's violent rise to power as the leader of New York City's Irish Mob and some of the terrible acts he committed to keep it. The author's website: https://www.neilgclark.com/ This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and get 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When two General Motors executives drove into Crater Lake National Park in July 1952, no one could predict they would be dead within an hour—not even their killers. It was a crime of opportunity, a botched robbery during the middle of summer in a crowded national park. When Albert Jones and Charles Culhane were found shot to death two days later, the story became a national obsession. The FBI used every resource and available agent but, as time wore on, the investigation ran out of steam. A lack of evidence worked to the killer’s advantage. He had committed a perfect crime. My guest is Monty Orrick, author of "The Crater Lake Murders: The story of the 1952 murders of two General Motors executives and the search for a killer hiding in plain sight." He not only shares details about the crime and its aftermath, but also offers his own theory on who he believes murdered Albert Jones and Charles Culhane on that fateful summer day.  The author's page at Genius Books: https://geniusbookpublishing.com/products/the-crater-lake-murders?variant=46302290870551 The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093321581643 This episode is also sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp and get 10% off your first month! https://www.betterhelp.com/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born in Texas to immigrant parents in 1855, Charles Siringo lived a fascinating life from the very start. At the age of twelve Charlie went on his first cattle drive, and then spent decades working as a cowboy. Along the way crossed paths with legendary Old West figures like Bat Masterson, Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. He was in Chicago during the Haymarket Riot, protected famed attorney Clarence Darrow from a lynch mob, and as a Pinkerton detective pursued Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch for years. And he was also an author, writing multiple books about his many adventures. In the last years of his life he went to Hollywood, where he acted as as advisor to filmmakers churning out early 1920s westerns. My guest is Nathan Ward, who has written the definitive biography of Charlie Siringo, called "Son of the Old West: The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier." More about the author here: https://www.nathanwardwriter.com/ This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and get 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notorious This episode is also sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp and get 10% off your first month! https://www.betterhelp.com/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On August 4, 1933, Eleanor Jarman, her boyfriend George Dale and another accomplice attempted to rob a Chicago clothing store owner, Gustav Hoeh. Hoeh fought back and was murdered by Dale. Eleanor still received a 199 year prison sentence for her part in the crime, but after serving just seven years she escaped with a fellow inmate. From that point on she became a fugitive (never caught) and likely holds the distinction of being the longest-running female fugitive in American history. My guest, Silvia Pettem, is a Colorado author who specializes in cold cases. She not only walks us through Eleanor's interesting life, but also shares with us where she believes Eleanor (nicknamed "the Blonde Tigress by the Chicago Press) eventually ended up. Her book is called "In Search of the Blonde Tigress: The Untold Story of Eleanor Jarman". More about the author and her work here:  http://www.silviapettem.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 14, 1858, Felice Orsini and his fellow Italian revolutionaries tossed his newly designed bombs at the carriage of Emperor Napoleon III, outside of the Paris Opera House. This frightening new form of terrorism would have global ramifications, inspiring nihilists, anarchists, nationalists and others, angry about a wide range of injustices both real and perceived, to create chaos around the world. My guest is Dr. James Crossland, author of "The Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism". He walks us through the evolution of terrorism in the second half of the nineteenth century and talks about some of the events historically associated with terrorism in this period, including the assassinations of President William McKinley and Tsar Alexander II and Chicago's Haymarket Riot. More about the author here: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-arts-professional-and-social-studies/humanities-and-social-science/james-crossland You can purchase the book through Amazon here:  https://www.amazon.com/rise-devils-origins-modern-terrorism/dp/1526160676/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1959, Albert Lepard brutally murdered his seventy-four-year-old great-aunt Mary Young and was tried, convicted and given a life sentence at Mississippi's Parchman Penitentiary. Lepard would escape six times over fourteen years. In 1968, my guest Lovejoy Boteler, then eighteen years old, was kidnapped by Lepard during his fifth escape. He shares details about the research he has done over the years on the notorious Lepard, and tells the story of his own abduction. Lovejoy Boteler is the author of "Crooked Snake: The Life and Crimes of Albert Lepard." The book is available through Amazon here. You can listen to the audio version on Audible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Most Notorious, we examine one of the most infamous true crime cases in North Carolina history. On a cold autumn evening in 1901 a young woman named Nell Cropsey stepped out of her house with her spurned suitor, Jim Wilcox. She was never seen alive again. Wilcox later told police that he had broken up with her, leaving her crying on her porch, and then gone home. Over a month later her body (in pristine condition according to the coroner) was pulled out of the Pasquotank River. My guest, Dr. William Dunstan, grew up in Elizabeth City where Nell's murder took place, and has been interested in this case since he was a boy. He believes that Jim Wilcox was innocent and has his own theory on what might have happened to her - and it includes a fascinating family connection. He is the author of "Nell Cropsey and Jim Wilcox: The Chill of Destiny." Purchase Dr. Dunstan's book through Amazon here. This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and support the show with 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Built in 1927, the German ocean liner SS Cap Arcona was the greatest ship since the RMS Titanic and one of the most celebrated luxury liners in the world. When the Nazis seized control in Germany, she was stripped down for use as a floating barracks and troop transport. Later, during the war, Hitler's minister, Joseph Goebbels, cast her as the "star" in his epic propaganda film about the sinking of the legendary Titanic. Following the film's enormous failure, the German navy used the Cap Arcona to transport German soldiers and civilians across the Baltic, away from the Red Army's advance. In the Third Reich's final days, the ill-fated ship was packed with thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Without adequate water, food, or sanitary facilities, the prisoners suffered as they waited for the end of the war. Just days before Germany surrendered, the Cap Arcona was mistakenly bombed by the British Royal Air Force, and nearly all of the prisoners were killed in the last major tragedy of the Holocaust and one of history's worst maritime disasters. Prolific author Robert Watson returns as my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious. He is the author of "The Nazi Titanic: The Incredible Untold Story of a Doomed Ship in World War II".  More about the author and his work at his website: http://robertwatson.net/ This episode is sponsored by ZocDoc. Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early morning of January 21st, 1935 two employees of the Capital Transit Company in Chevy Chase, Maryland were cold-bloodedly gunned down. One of the men murdered was my guest's great-great uncle Emory Smith. As the police investigated the list of compelling suspects grew, but a powerful cover-up appeared to be in play, ultimately preventing the perpetrators from facing justice.  Former forensic detective Karen Smith joins me today to talk about her extensive personal investigation into this 88-year-old cold case, and she shares some of the shocking evidence she uncovered during her research. Karen is the host of the popular podcast "Shattered Souls", available wherever podcasts are heard.  Shattered Souls at Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shattered-souls/id679462887 Shattered Souls at Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ny3a6GvvVkMGPz0TTZRpP This episode is sponsored by ZocDoc. Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning author and historian Robert Watson is my guest this week. He talks about the Confederacy's notorious Libby Prison, located in Richmond, Virginia during the Civil War. Resourceful Union officers, held captive under extraordinarily brutal conditions, managed to pull off a daring prison break in February of 1864. The manhunt that followed would be one of the largest in American history.  His book is called "Escape!: The Story of the Confederacy's Infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War's Largest Jail Break".  More about the author and his work at his website: http://robertwatson.net/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Bill Cassara, author of "Nobody's Stooge: Ted Healy". First he walks us through vaudeville performer Ted Healy's rise to Hollywood stardom, including his creation of the Three Stooges, up to his untimely death in 1937. Then he addresses the longstanding rumors that Healy was murdered - either by the mob or by a fellow actor. Note: please listen to the very end - I do a follow up call with Bill to ask a few more questions. Here is a link to the author's books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bill+cassara&ref=nb_sb_noss The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BillCassaraBooks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 7th, 1872, "Jubilee Jim" Fisk was murdered on a staircase in New York City's Grand Central Hotel. His killer (the lover of Fisk's former girlfriend Josie Mansfield) was furious at being targeted by the financier as the two parties battled in the courts. My guest this week is bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H.W. Brands, author of "The Murder of Jim Fisk for the Love of Josie Mansfield". He not only talks about Fisk's sensational murder, but he also explains some of the outrageous financial schemes Fisk and his partner Jay Gould were involved in, including attempts to take control of the Erie Railroad and to corner the gold market. More about the author and his book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/209467/the-murder-of-jim-fisk-for-the-love-of-josie-mansfield-by-hw-brands/ H.W. Brands' Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/hwbrands Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David "Stringbean" Akeman was a singer, clawhammer banjo player and an early Grand Ole Opry star, known for his lanky build and comedic personality. And as a cast member of the nationwide television show Hee-Haw, he was at the height of his popularity when he and his wife Estelle were murdered in their rural Tennessee home in November of 1973. My guest this week is Professor Taylor Hagood, author of "Stringbean: The Life and Murder of a Country Music Legend". He walks us through the fascinating life of this unique musician, the murders that left the nation reeling, and the investigation that led police to the killers. The author's website: https://www.taylorhagood.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dick Turpin is one Britain's most famous criminals, a murderous highwayman whose nefarious deeds became romanticized decades after his execution. My guest is James Sharpe, who shares Turpin's story and dispels some of the myths that have grown around the outlaw over the years. His book is called "Dick Turpin: The Myth of the English Highwayman". More about the author here: https://www.york.ac.uk/history/people/honorary/sharpe Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Independence Day to all of my American listeners, as we finally reach episode 300! A slight deviation this week from the typical true crime tragedy and disaster content - my guest is best-selling historian Eric Jay Dolin, author of "Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution". America's new government, in an effort to stand up against Britain's formidable navy, issued letters of marque to privately owned ships, allowing them to seize British merchant vessels and men of war. Eric Jay Dolin explains the importance of privateering to the American cause and shares stories of some of the men who served on these privateers, including Captain Jonathan Haradan, whose heroic exploits helped shape the war's outcome, and free-born African-American sailor James Forten, who would become a British prisoner of war and later in life a wealthy businessman and abolitionist. The author's website: https://www.ericjaydolin.com/ Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this first ever episode re-release, Erik revisits his 2016 interview with New York Times Bestselling author Steve Hodel, author of "The Black Dahlia Avenger". Hodel explains why he believes that the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, was committed by his father, physician George Hodel. More about Steve Hodel and his work here: https://stevehodel.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is bestselling author Anthony M. Amore, director of security and chief investigator at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. He shares the story of Rose Dugdale, an Oxford educated former debutante who rejected her wealthy and privileged life and joined the ranks of the Irish Republican Army in the early 1970s. Included in her notorious exploits was the attempted aerial bombing of a police station and the biggest art theft of her era. Anthony Amore's book is called "The Woman Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist." More the author and his work can be found at his website: http://www.anthonyamore.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a chilly January night in 1932, a wealthy industrialist named Howard Woolverton was snatched from his car by kidnappers. When he was released unharmed the next day, his apparent lack of concern for the capture of his abductors led many to believe he was attempting to halt the investigation. J. Edgar Hoover would later name George Kelly Barnes, aka "Machine Gun Kelly" and his wife Kathryn as participants in his abduction, but evidence suggests other notorious gangsters were also involved, and the case itself has never officially been solved. My guest Kevin Meredith collaborated with Woolverton's grandson David W. Hendry to write “Under Penalty of Death: The Untold Story of Machine Gun Kelly's First Kidnapping.” In this interview he theorizes about why Hoover might have ignored other possible suspects, including Verne Miller and Frank "Jelly" Nash, and explains how this little-known kidnapping, along with the Lindbergh kidnapping that followed closely on its heels, helped usher in the 1932 Federal Kidnapping Act. The author's publisher page: https://iupress.org/9781684351992/under-penalty-of-death/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At about 11 pm on July 18, 1959, Dr. Bernard Finch and his girlfriend Carole Ann Tregoff arrived at the Finch home in West Covina, California with a plan to murder his wife Barbara and make her death look like an accident. Things did not go as planned, however, and after a struggle Finch ended up shooting her dead. From there he fled, ultimately leading police on a high speed chase through the city. And he escaped - at least temporarily. My guest is Steve Kosareff, author of "Satin Pumps: The Moonlit Murder That Mesmerized The Nation", and he has a personal connection to Dr. Finch. He explains the connection, along with other interesting details of this sordid and sensational case. The author's Twitter handle: @SatinPumps A YouTube video posted by the author with photographs of the case. Satin Pumps available on Amazon. Information about the book from the publisher. The author's website. Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the years following the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, a wave of terror rocked the city. Over twenty black women were brutally murdered, often in a fashion that mimicked the infamous Jack the Ripper murders twenty years earlier. My guest is Dr. Jeffery Wells, author of "The Atlanta Ripper: The Unsolved Case of the Gate City's Most Infamous Murders". He talks about the racially-charged atmosphere of Atlanta in the 1910s, the likelihood that the rash of murders were committed by multiple people and the connection between the Atlanta Ripper killings and the sensational Mary Phagan murder case. More about the author and his book here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9781609493813/The-Atlanta-Ripper-The-Unsolved-Case-of-the-Gate-Citys-Most-Infamous-Murders Dr. Wells' Georgia history blog: http://georgiamysteries.blogspot.com/ For a list of victims attributed to the Atlanta Murderer or Murderers, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1906. When a young white woman is assaulted in a dark cemetery, the town erupts. Despite questionable evidence and a flawed trial, a black man named Ed Johnson is convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. Before he can be executed, the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes. Despite their order, a bloodthirsty mob attacks the county jail, and lynches Johnson. The infuriated high court is determined Ed Johnson's murder will not go unpunished, and they charge Joseph Shipp, the county sheriff, with contempt. Desperate to save his political career and fearful of the reckoning he faces, the ambitious sheriff deteriorates under the strain of the case against him. After failing to solve another shocking crime, Shipp does the unthinkable. He gambles on the ability of Dave Edwards, a notoriously violent inmate in his jail, to solve the high-profile cold case. Despite a pending trial for first-degree murder, the sheriff releases Edwards. It's not long until Dave's madness manifests itself, with dreadful consequences. My guest is Kimberly Tilley, back for the fourth time to Most Notorious, this time to talk about her fascinating new book called "Grievous Deeds: The True Story of Four Years of Fury in Chattanooga, Tennessee". More about Kimberly's historical research and writing here: https://oldspirituals.com/ Kimberly is also a co-founder of Pivot Discovery Career Services. If you're thinking about making changes to your work life, connect with Kimberly here: https://pivotdisc.com/ Our "The Poisoned Glass" interview from 9/5/19. Our "Cold Heart" interview from 12/9/20. Our "Has It Come to This?" interview from 4/3/22. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is award-winning writer David Grann, whose new book, "The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder", is currently number one on the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Sellers list. It's the tale of HMS Wager, a British warship that gets separated from the rest of its squadron while in pursuit of a treasure-filled Spanish galleon. The ship wrecks off the coast of Chile and the surviving crew members face off against each other amidst disease, cold and starvation - with deadly results. The author's website: https://www.davidgrann.com/ Our previous interview about his book "Killers of the Flower Moon": https://www.mostnotorious.com/2022/04/14/mono-classics-oklahomas-osage-murders-w-david-grann/ Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1870s and 80s the nation was embroiled in a sensational scandal. Corrupt politicians, post office officials and others conspired to defraud the United States Post Office out of millions of dollars. It was only under the watchful eye of newly elected President James Garfield that an in-depth investigation began. My guest is Shawn Francis Peters, author of "When Bad Men Combine: The Star Route Scandal and the Twilight of Gilded Age Politics." He not only explains the graft and its consequences, but also shares his thoughts about the theory that Garfield's assassination was in fact connected to the scandal. More about the book here: https://lsupress.org/books/detail/when-bad-men-combine/ If you haven't done so already, listen to my prior conversation with Shawn about Gilded-Age murderer Harry Hayward at Minnesota's Most Notorious: Where Blood Runs Cold. Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Philip Van Cise faced a double threat when he became Denver's district attorney in 1921. He quickly discovered that a massive bunco ring was operating unimpeded in downtown Denver, fleecing unsuspecting rubes out of enormous amounts of money. In addition, the Ku Klux Klan was gaining popularity across the state - winning key elections as it encouraged vigilantism and threatened many Denver citizens. My guest, Alan Prendergast, tells Van Cise's story in his new book, "Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and the Klan". The author's website: https://alanprendergast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades following the horrific 1918 execution of the Romanov family, many hoped against hope that one or more of the children had escaped the bullets and bayonets of the Bolsheviks. And when a young woman came forward with an incredible story - that she was the real Grand Duchess Anastasia and had in fact survived the massacre - it sent shock waves around the world.My returning guests are Penny Wilson and Greg King, co-authors of "The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery". They present to us the evidence that proves that Anna Anderson was one of history's greatest imposters.Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kingandwilsonFollow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AtlantisMagazinMore about their book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Romanovs-Anastasia-Anderson-Greatest/dp/0470444983This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4698315/advertisement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 25, 1876, in the valley of the Little Big Horn, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and the warriors who were inspired to follow them, fought the last stand of the Sioux, a fierce and proud nation that had ruled the Great Plains for decades. It was their greatest victory, but it was also the beginning of the end for their treasured and sacred way of life. And in the years to come, both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, defiant to the end, would meet violent—and eerily similar—fates. Award-winning historian and author Mark Lee Gardner joins me once again, and it's been a while! He is the author of "The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation", which True West Magazine declared the best non-fiction book of 2022. It is both a dual biography of two iconic Lakota leaders and also a detailed account of arguably the most famous battle in the history of the American West. Mark's website: https://songofthewest.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1483 Edward and Richard, sons of the deceased King Edward IV, disappeared from the Tower of London, where they were being held by the recently crowned Richard III. There are countless theories about their fate. Some believe that were secretly whisked away and survived into adulthood. Some are convinced that Richard III had them murdered, a theory perpetuated by Sir Thomas More and William Shakespeare. But other suspects linger in the background as well. My guest, M.J. Trow, believes he knows who killed the Princes in the Tower, and he shares his thoughts on this week's episode of Most Notorious. His book is called "The Killer of the Princes in the Tower: A New Suspect Revealed". For more on M.J. Trow's books, visit his Amazon page here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From World War I through the 1920s a midwife known as Auntie Suzy readily supplied arsenic to women in a small Hungarian village. The women, who would become known as "the Angel Makers", used the poison to murder their husbands and other relatives. As the years passed and no punishment followed the killers became more emboldened, leaving hundreds of victims in their wake before they were finally caught and their crimes brought to light in 1929. My guest is award-winning journalist Patti McCracken, author of "The Angel Makers: Arsenic, a Midwife, and Modern History's Most Astonishing Murder Ring." The author's website: https://www.pattimccracken.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1912, four-year-old Bobby Dunbar went missing in the Louisiana swamps. After an eight-month search that electrified the country and destroyed Bobby’s parents, the boy was found, filthy and hardly recogniz­able. A wandering piano tuner was arrested and charged with kidnapping— a crime then punishable by death. But when a destitute single mother came forward from North Carolina to claim the boy as her son, not the lost Bobby Dunbar, the case became a high-pitched battle over custody—and identity—that divided the South. My guest, Tal McThenia,first introduced listeners of NPR's This American Life to this case in 2008. A few years later he co-wrote, along with Margaret Dunbar Cutright (the granddaughter of Bobby Dunbar) the definitive book about this historical whodunnit, called "A Case for Solomon: Bobby Dunbar and the Kidnapping That Haunted a Nation". The author's website: https://www.talmcthenia.com/ Listen to This American Life's "The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar" here: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/352/transcript The author's recent Audubon article: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fall-2021/the-strange-true-story-john-williams-and-charles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the third season of the acclaimed HBO series Deadwood, one of the most villainous characters in a show full of villains was introduced. Ruthless mining magnate George Hearst arrived, eager to seize control of the richest mine in town - no matter what the cost. But was he really as rotten as the show suggested he was? My guest is Matthew Bernstein, author of "George Hearst: Silver King of the Gilded Age". He talks about the rise and fall and rise again of a man who made millions sniffing out gold, silver and copper mines across the country, and who fathered one of the most controversial characters of his era, newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. More about the author and his book here: https://www.oupress.com/author/matthew-bernstein/ Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1913, the wooden-hulled brigantine Karluk departed Canada for the Arctic Ocean. At the helm was Captain Bob Bartlett, considered the world’s greatest living ice navigator. The expedition’s visionary leader was a flamboyant impresario named Vilhjalmur Stefansson hungry for fame. Just six weeks after the Karluk departed, giant ice floes closed in around her. As the ship became icebound, Stefansson disembarked with five companions and struck out on what he claimed was a 10-day caribou hunting trip. Most on board would never see him again. Twenty-two men and an Inuit woman with two small daughters now stood on a mile-square ice floe, their ship and their original leader gone. Under Bartlett’s leadership they built make-shift shelters, surviving the freezing darkness of Polar night. Captain Bartlett now made a difficult and courageous decision. He would take one of the young Inuit hunters and attempt a 1000-mile journey to save the shipwrecked survivors. It was their only hope. My guest, is Buddy Levy, the award-winning bestselling author of "Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk". He joins me to talk about this remarkable story of disaster, death and survival in a frigid and desolate polar landscape. Buddy's website: https://buddylevy.com/ Go here to download the Zocdoc app for free to find a top-rated doctor (and support the show) https://www.zocdoc.com/most Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the afternoon of March 21st, 1924 a horrific crime shook the city of Chicago (and the entire country). Bobbie Franks, on his way home from school, was kidnapped and murdered by two teenage boy geniuses named Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. It has long been believed that Loeb was the mastermind behind the plan, while Leopold, in love with him, followed his orders. But my guests believe otherwise. Greg King and Penny Wilson, authors of "Nothing but the Night: Leopold & Loeb and the Truth Behind the Murder That Rocked 1920s America" reveal some of the fascinating information they uncovered while researching this case, including details of other murders Leopold and Loeb might have committed before they killed Bobby. Their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kingandwilson Follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AtlantisMagazin More about the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-but-Night-Leopold-America/dp/1250272661 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I've combined two of my shorter interviews into one episode this week. First up, Kelly Sullivan, author of "Murder at Rocky Point Park: Tragedy in Rhode Island's Summer Paradise" joins me to talk about the 1893 murder of little Maggie Sheffield by her father at a Rhode Island amusement park. Then, Paul Kahan returns to give a rousing summary of the notorious Homestead Strike. In July of 1892 Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick hired Pinkerton agents to occupy the Homestead steel mill near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but striking workers rushed to prevent their arrival and a violent battle ensued. His book is called "The Homestead Strike: Labor, Violence, and American Industry." More about Kelly Sullivan here: https://authorkellysullivan.weebly.com/ More about Paul Kahan here: https://www.paulkahan.com/ Interested in seeing how many historical true crimes, disasters or tragedies have been covered by your state or country on Most Notorious? Check it out here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Edgar Allan Poe is, of course, one of America's most iconic writers. Many credit him with inventing or popularizing multiple literary genres, including mystery, horror and detective fiction. But the real Poe has become distorted over the years - transformed by fans into a dark and tortured soul obsessed with alcohol and death. My guest is author Mark Dawidziak, and his new book is called "A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe". He not only shares with us what Poe was really like, but also walks us through some of the many theories surrounding Poe's agonizing death in a Baltimore hospital in October of 1849. He also talks about possible explanations for Poe's mysterious three missing days - just before he was discovered, delirious and in another man's clothes, at a Baltimore polling-place. More about the author's prolific work at his website, here: https://www.markdawidziak.com/ Connect with the author through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.dawidziak Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early 1922, Hollywood was in damage control. The recent "Fatty" Arbuckle manslaughter and rape case had brought unwanted scandal to the motion picture industry, so when Paramount Pictures director William Desmond Taylor was found murdered in his home on February 1st, the studio tried its best to cover it up. Despite this, the murder case became a national sensation with attention falling on multiple suspects, including a valet who had been blackmailing Taylor, comedy star Mabel Normand and film ingenue Mary Miles Minter. My guest is William J. Mann, New York Times bestselling author of Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood". He shares details from the book that won the 2015 Edgar Award and offers his own theory on who murdered the famous director. The author's website: http://williamjmann.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a cold winter night in January of 1833, a teenage farmhand named Abraham Prescott crept into the bedroom of his employers, Chauncey and Sally Cochran, and smashed their heads with an ax. Their neighbors in the town of Pembroke, New Hampshire was astonished when the boy explained that he had been sleepwalking and hadn't purposely attacked them. They were even more shocked when the Cochrans, who had both miraculously recovered, allowed him to continue to work for them. A few months later however, that decision would come back to haunt the family. After inviting Sally Cochran out to pick strawberries with him in a secluded area behind their farm, Prescott murdered her with a fence post. Again, he told Chauncey that only done it after he'd fallen asleep. Soon he would face trial and his attorneys would attempt to defend him both with a sleepwalking claim and an insanity plea. My guest is Leslie Lambert Rounds, executive director of the Dyer Library and the Saco Museum in Saco, Maine and author of "I Have Struck Mrs. Cochran with a Stake: Sleepwalking, Insanity, and the Trial of Abraham Prescott". She not only walks us through the story of the murder and its aftermath, but also explains the difficulties authorities in 1830s New Hampshire faced when dealing with criminals who suffered from mental illness. More about the author at Kent State University Press. If you'd like to reach out to her directly, you can do so here: lrounds@dyer.lib.me.us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe is considered one of the greatest playwrights of the Elizabethan era, but was also known as a hothead, a scoundrel and a member of the secretive School of Night. When he was stabbed through the eye at the age of twenty-nine in 1593, those who had it in for him were no doubt relieved to hear of his death. He had worked as an agent under Queen Elizabeth's legendary spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham and had very likely taken some reputation-destroying secrets to his grave. Many, however, believed that he was murdered, and theories swirl around his demise to this day. Did the man who stabbed Marlowe do it in self-defense, or was it really to get rid of him? Or did Marlowe actually fake his own death and go on to ghost write for William Shakespeare? My guest is M.J. Trow, and his book is called "Who Killed Kit Marlowe?: A Contract to Murder in Elizabethan England". He shares the story of this complex figure and offers his own theory on who he believes was behind Marlowe's unfortunate end. Amazon's M. J. Trow page is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The July 1926 murder of the editor of the Canton, Ohio, Daily News, Don R. Mellett, was one of the most publicized crimes in the 1920s. For less than a year, Mellett was the editor of the Daily News, owned by former Ohio governor and Democrat presidential candidate James Cox. Having promised Cox he would turn the unprofitable News into a success, Mellett combined personal conviction with marketing savvy and in 1925 embarked on an antivice, anticorruption editorial campaign. The following year, the Daily News and Mellett, posthumously, received the Pulitzer Prize for his columns. His editorials were often aimed at the Canton police chief, S. A. Lengel, making the News law and order crusade personal. An unholy alliance of bootleggers and corrupt police, angered at Mellett’s interference with business as usual, hired an ex-con from Pennsylvania, Patrick McDermott, to attack and scare the editor. When the intended assault spiraled out of control and Mellett was murdered, the national press became outraged and saw this situation as an attack on the First Amendment, demanding justice in editorials appearing on the front pages of newspapers throughout the country. My guest is Thomas Crowl, author of "Murder of a Journalist: The True Story of the Death of Donald Ring Mellett". He shares this largely forgotten but very important case with us on this latest episode of Most Notorious. More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/author/crowlt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January 1953, a New York City musician named Christopher “ Manny” Balestrero was wrongly arrested for armed robbery, misidentified by eye witnesses. What followed was a nightmarish ordeal that completely devastated him and his family. Alfred Hitchcock was so moved by the miscarriage of justice that he made the case the focus of his underrated, classic 1956 film "The Wrong Man". My guest is Jason Isralowitz, author of "Nothing To Fear: Alfred Hitchcock And The Wrong Men". He shares details of the true crime case that revealed some concerning flaws in the American criminal justice system. The author's website: https://www.nothingtofearbook.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 19th century, inventors were rushing to perfect and patent motion picture devices, and leading the race was a Frenchman named Louis Le Prince. In September of 1890 Le Prince said farewell to his brother in Dijon and boarded a train bound for Paris. His final destination would be the United States, where he planned to unveil his movie camera and projector to the world. Unfortunately he was never seen again. There are many theories regarding Le Prince's disappearance. Did he run away with a mistress, or was he murdered? If murdered, then by who? Was it his brother, who he shared an inheritance with? Was it a stranger in a dark Paris alley? Or was Thomas Edison behind it, the famed American inventor who announced the creation of his own motion picture camera just months after Le Prince disappeared? My guest is Paul Fischer, author of "The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies". He tells the story of Louis Le Prince, his quest to invent and patent the first movie camera and projector, and the tragedy that followed. More about the author and his work can be found at his website: https://www.paulfischerauthor.com/ The Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 24th, 1961, one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in Massachusetts history began when housewife and mother Joan Risch vanished from her home. Investigators were perplexed by a kitchen floor smeared with blood, a telephone receiver ripped from the wall and placed gently on the edge of a trash basket, and a bloodhound who traced her scent to the middle of her driveway. Later, drivers would report seeing someone resembling Joan stumbling along local highways, apparently dazed and injured. My guest, Stephen Ahern, is author of "A Kitchen Painted in Blood: The Unsolved Disappearance of Joan Risch". He teamed up with a retired FBI profiler and a cold case detective to try and piece together a possible explanation of what happened to Joan that fateful day. More about the author and his book here: https://expositbooks.com/product/a-kitchen-painted-in-blood/ Buy it through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Painted-Blood-Unsolved-Disappearance/dp/1476681848/ Become a Most Notorious Patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Visit the Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of May 27, 1896, the peaceful township of Campbell awoke to shocking news. Six people were brutally murdered at the home of Colonel Richard P. McGlincy, one of the town’s most respected citizens. The suspect, James Dunham—the colonel’s son-in-law—fled the scene and disappeared into the hills of Mount Hamilton overlooking Santa Clara County. This heinous crime triggered a massive, nationwide manhunt while investigators pieced together the details. My guest is Tobin Gilman, author of "The McGlincy Killings in Campbell, California: An 1896 Unsolved Mystery". He not only summarizes the case for us, but offers his theory on what might have happened to Dunham once he fled the bloody crime scene. For more information on books by Tobin Gilman, visit https://www.facebook.com/19thCenturySanJoseInABottle To order a signed copy by author, email tobingilman@hotmail.com Visit the Most Notorious website at https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On December 30th, 1903, over two thousand people were packed into Chicago's brand new Iroquois Theater for a matinee performance of Mr. Bluebeard, starring comedian Eddie Foy. Little did theatergoers know, however, that the owners of the theater cut corners in fire safety measures in an effort to open as quickly as possible. Despite billing itself as "absolutely fireproof" there were no sprinklers or fire alarms installed, the fire escapes weren't finished and some of the exit doors had been locked during the performance. When fire struck on stage in the second act, the interior of the theater became a hellish death trap, killing close to six hundred people. My guest is Troy Taylor, author of the book, "One Afternoon at the Iroquois: America's Deadliest Theater Fire". He is a podcaster, historian, tour operator and an expert on the paranormal. Troy's website: http://americanhauntings.net A link to his podcast page (the American Hauntings Podcast): http://americanhauntingspodcast.com Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For almost sixty years, the Kennedy assassination has occupied the hearts and minds of Americans. Hundreds of books have been written about the fateful day at Dealey Plaza in November of 1963, often offering elaborate and convoluted conspiracy theories about government plots, the Mafia, Cuba and the KGB. My guest is investigative journalist and bestselling author Gerald Posner. He believes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in murdering President Kennedy. His critically acclaimed book, "Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK" was a 1994 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for History. Gerald Posner's website: https://www.posner.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4698315/advertisement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the years following World War II, serial killer John George Haigh committed five perfect murders, using sulphuric acid to dissolve his victims into soup. His sixth murder, however, was hastily done, and led to his arrest, a trial and eventual execution. The case captivated the United Kingdom, especially when Haigh claimed he had drunk a glass of each victim's blood before disposing of their bodies. My guest is Gordon Lowe, author of "The Acid Bath Murders: The Trials and Liquidations of John George Haigh". He walks us through Lowe's murderous life and eventual death at the hands of one of Britain's most famous executioners. More about the author can be discovered at his website: http://www.gordonloweauthor.co.uk/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 30, 1899, history was made when Pearl Hart, disguised as a man, held up a stagecoach in Arizona and robbed the passengers at gunpoint. A manhunt ensued as word of her heist spread, and Pearl Hart went on to become a media sensation and the most notorious female outlaw on the Western frontier. Hailed by many as “The Bandit Queen,” her epic life of crime and legacy as a female trailblazer provide a crucial lens into the lives of the rare women who made their mark in the American West. My guest, New York Times bestselling author and Old West historian John Boessenecker shares incredible stories from the life of Lily Davy (aka Pearl Hart) and her equally fascinating sister Katy Davy. His book is called "Wildcat: The Untold Story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's Most Notorious Woman Bandit". More information can be found on John Boessenecker's author's page: https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/john-boessenecker-202012295846868 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1934 South Australian policeman Bill McKinnon is sent to investigate a murder and make arrests in the so-called "dead heart" of the country. After some of his Aboriginal prisoners escape, he tracks one of the unarmed men to a sacred rock formation called Uluru, traps him in a cave, and shoots and kills him. My guest is University of Sydney history professor Mark McKenna, author of "Return to Uluru: The Hidden History of a Murder in Outback Australia". He discusses not only the specifics of the case, but the history of colonization of the Australian outback, and the impact it has had on this eighty-five-year-old tragedy. More about the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/678067/return-to-uluru-by-mark-mckenna/ This episode is sponsored by Wondery's new podcast SUSPECT: Vanished in the Snow. Download the app in the Amazon Music App today. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1931 a young woman named Helen Spence, part of a houseboat community along Arkansas' White River, shocked everyone when she stood up in a local courtroom and shot to death the man on trial for murdering her father and step-mother. What followed for Helen would be a nightmare journey of incarceration, torture and more murder. My guest, Denise White Parkinson, has made it her mission to tell Helen Spence's story, and she shares details of it this week on Most Notorious. Her book is called "Daughter of the White River: Depression-Era Treachery and Vengeance in the Arkansas Delta". The author's website here: http://dwparkinson.com/ Her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelenSpenceofArkansas The audio book version of her story here: https://tinyurl.com/Riversisters The teaser trailer for her documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90R312WmghA This episode is sponsored by the Generation Why Podcast. Go to Amazon Music or listen early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus on Apple Podcasts, or the Wondery app. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the winter of 1974 Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was in the midst of a bitter feud with her neighbor, Alan Stanford. The feud ended in brutal fashion on January 23rd when she was murdered in broad daylight on the front doorstep of her St. Augustine, Florida mansion with a machete. Suspects included both Stanford and her husband, James "Jinx" Lindsley. Elizabeth Randall, author of the book "Murder in St. Augustine: The Mysterious Death of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley" is my guest this week. She walks us through the evidence against Stanford and theorizes on why the case has never been resolved. More information about the author and her work can be found here: https://www.elizabethrandallauthor.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Nov. 28, 1969, Betsy Aardsma, a 22-year-old Penn State graduate student, was stabbed to death in the stacks of Pattee Library. The case remains officially unsolved, but my guest David DeKok thinks that he knows who murdered Betsy. He believes it was a troubled and hot-tempered fellow grad student named Richard Haefner, and lays out the evidence to make his argument. His book is called "Murder in the Stacks: Penn State, Betsy Aardsma, and the Killer Who Got Away". More information on the author and the book can be found at his website: https://daviddekok.com/ More from the publisher: http://www.globepequot.com/books/9781493013890 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November of 1958 a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her suburban California apartment. Police quickly suspected Olga's mother in-law Elizabeth Duncan, a domineering and manipulative woman who was incensed that her son Frank had married Olga without her approval. When Olga's badly beaten body was found buried in a shallow grave, Elizabeth was arrested, along with two hired hitmen, for murder. My guest Deborah Holt Larkin is the author of "A Lovely Girl: The Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California's Most Notorious Killers". She has a personal connection to the case - her father was a court reporter who covered Elizabeth Duncan's trial - and she followed the case closely as a girl as it all unfolded. The author's website: https://deborahholtlarkin.com/ Buy the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Lovely-Girl-Tragedy-Californias-Notorious/dp/1639362444 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A. Brad Schwartz, who entertained us with Eliot Ness stories in back-to-back episodes earlier this year, returns to talk about the notorious October 30, 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Wells. The young and up-and-coming Orson Wells shocked and frightened listeners who tuned in late to his radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' science fiction novel, which tells the story of an invasion of Earth by tentacled aliens. The broadcast was delivered in a news story style so realistic that those who weren't aware it was a Mercury Theater production panicked. The extent and nature of the panic, however, is disputed, and my guest sets the record straight (as best as primary sources allow) about what really happened. His book is called "Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News", and more information about his work can be found here: https://abradschwartz.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1944 a battalion of African-American soldiers were tasked with the horrific job of building a road through the heart of the Indo-Burmese jungle during World War II. One of the men, a private named Herman Perry, had been having an especially difficult time of it. He’d suffered abuse while serving a stint in the local military prison, and eventually turned to opium and marijuana to escape from reality. On one fateful day, in the midst of an emotional collapse, Perry murdered an unarmed white lieutenant trying to apprehend him for dereliction of duty. Perry then fled into the jungle, where he became a fugitive in an intense manhunt. My guest is Brendan Koerner, author of “Now the Hell Will Start: One Soldier’s Flight from the Greatest Manhunt of World War II”. He talks about the poor conditions faced by black soldiers in a segregated army and shares details of Herman Perry’s wild escape into the wilderness, where he assimilated into a local tribe to avoid capture. Connect with the author via Twitter here: https://twitter.com/brendankoerner Purchase the book through the publisher's website here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/300974/now-the-hell-will-start-by-brendan-i-koerner/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were found beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy. The murder of Hall, a prominent clergyman whose wife, Frances Hall, was a proud heiress with illustrious ancestors and ties to the Johnson & Johnson dynasty, would have made headlines on its own. But when authorities identified Eleanor Mills as a choir singer from his church married to the church sexton, the story shocked locals and sent the scandal ricocheting around the country, fueling the nascent tabloid industry. This provincial double murder on a lonely lover’s lane would soon become one of the most famous killings in American history—a veritable crime of the century. My guest is Joe Pompeo, author of "Blood & Ink: The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime". He walks us through this titillating murder case, including a clumsy police investigation that produced a number of suspects but ultimately no convictions. Buy the book through the publisher's website here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/blood-ink-joe-pompeo?variant=40161327480866 The author's website: https://bloodand.ink The author's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/joepompeo Get bonus content and updates from the author by subscribing here: https://joepompeo.substack.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paris, 1889: Margeurite Steinheil is a woman with ambition. But having been born into a middle-class family and trapped in a marriage to a failed artist twenty years her senior, she knows her options are limited. Determined to fashion herself into a new woman, Meg orchestrates a scandalous plan with her most powerful resource: her body. Amid the dazzling glamor, art, and romance of bourgeois Paris, she takes elite men as her lovers, charming her way into the good graces of the rich and powerful. Her ambitions, though, go far beyond becoming the most desirable woman in Paris; at her core, she is a woman determined to conquer French high society. But the game she plays is a perilous one: navigating misogynistic double-standards, public scrutiny, and political intrigue, she is soon vaulted into infamy in the most dangerous way possible. A real-life femme fatale, Meg influences government positions and resorts to blackmail―and maybe even poisoning―to get her way. Leaving a trail of death and disaster in her wake, she earns the name the "Red Widow" for mysteriously surviving a home invasion that leaves both her husband and mother dead. With the police baffled and the public enraged, Meg breaks every rule in the bourgeois handbook and becomes the most notorious woman in Paris. My guest is Sarah E. Horowitz, professor of history at Washington and Lee University. Her book is called: "The Red Widow: The Scandal that Shook Paris and the Woman Behind it All". More about the author and her work here: https://sarahehorowitz.com/ "The Red Widow" can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Widow-Scandal-Shook-Behind/dp/1728226325 The wedding video mentioned in the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsAmtvGVeXs Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Ray Hamilton, great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, was a successful man in the late 1880s. Powered by family money and fame, he spent his time developing real estate and serving in the New York State Assembly. But his life came crashing down on him in 1889 when his wife Eva (whom he'd met at a brothel) was arrested for stabbing their baby's nursemaid in a violent argument. Soon famed New York City police detective Thomas Byrnes would dig up tawdry details on Eva's plot to con her husband out of his fortune. My guest is Bill Shaffer, author of "The Scandalous Hamiltons: A Gilded Age Grifter, a Founding Father's Disgraced Descendant, and a Trial at the Dawn of Tabloid Journalism". He shares some of the twists and turns in this truly unbelievable Gilded Age tale of baby farms and fraudsters. More information about the author and his work can be found at his website here: https://www.billshafferbooks.com/ Purchase the book here: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9780806542256/the-scandalous-hamiltons/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of September 6th, 1949, a twenty-eight-year-old WWII veteran and loner named Howard Unruh stepped out of his East Camden, New Jersey apartment and shot and killed thirteen people in less than twelve minutes. It was a story that absolutely shocked America, which hadn't seen a spree killing like this in its history before. My guest is Ellen J. Green, author of "Murder in the Neighborhood: The true story of America’s first recorded mass shooting". She walks us through Unruh's murderous rampage and reveals possible reasons why he did what he did that terrible day. More information can be found at the author's website here: https://ellenjgreen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of July 16, 1936, the crumpled body of nineteen-year-old college student Helen Clevenger was found by her uncle in her room at Asheville, North Carolina’s Battery Park Hotel. She’d been shot in the chest and her face had been cut. A black bell hop named Martin Moore would ultimately confess after the murder weapon was found under his porch, but eyewitnesses reported seeing a white man flee the scene of the crime, and questions of police coercion linger to this day. My guest is Anne Chesky Smith, author of “Murder at Asheville’s Battery Park Hotel: The Search for Helen Clevenger’s Killer”. She walks us through the details of the case, clouded by politics in the era of Jim Crow. Photos and more about the story can be found at the Western North Carolina Historical Association’s website: https://www.wnchistory.org/wnc-history-story-behind-the-accused-murderer-in-1936-battery-park-hotel-homicide/ The book is available to purchase here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467145602 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Texas Rangers in the late 1880s were a tough and colorful lot, especially the members of Company F. And while they made their livings hunting down outlaws, none proved more cunning than Willis Conner and his sons, a fugitive family accused of murdering two neighbors in a business dispute over pigs. My guest is Joe Pappalardo, author of "Red Sky Morning: The Epic True Story of Texas Ranger Company F". He not only shares details of the events leading to the showdown between the Rangers and the Conners, but talks about one of the most vaunted members of Company F, James Brooks, and a fatal gunfight that got him indicted for murder. More about the book and the author can be discovered here: https://www.joe-pappalardo.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between July 1st and 12th, 1916, a sensational series of shark attacks terrorized seaside resorts and communities along the Jersey Shore. Four people would ultimately die before the shark thought responsible was found and killed. My guest, Dr. Richard Fernicola, is the world's foremost expert on the subject. He not only tells the story of how the attacks unfolded, but explains why they might have happened. His book is called "Twelve Days of Terror: Inside the Shocking 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks". His book can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4D157M Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4698315/advertisement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In September of 1916 a mysterious fire consumed a cottage nestled on Ossipee Lake in New Hampshire, and when local law enforcement searched the wreckage they made a horrifying discovery. The smoldering body of Florence Small was pulled out of the basement, partially preserved by rainwater. The immediate suspect was her husband, Frederick Small, who was known to have abused Florence on a number of occasions. He seemed to have a rock solid alibi, however. He'd been in Boston, selling insurance, when the fire had started. My guest is author Janice S. C. Petrie. She has a personal connection to the story, which has driven her research into the case for decades. Her book is called "Perfection To A Fault: A Small Murder in Ossipee, New Hampshire, 1916". More information about the author and her work can be found at her website: https://janicepetrie.com/ To purchase her book through Amazon, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Perfection-Fault-Murder-Ossipee-Hampshire-ebook/dp/B002A9K4DW Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August of 1892, one of the most famous double murders in American history was committed in brutal fashion. Andrew and Abby Borden were hacked to death in their Fall River house, and their daughter Lizzie, home at the time, became the number one suspect. What followed was a spectacular trial, fought by brilliant attorneys, in a courtroom packed with fascinated spectators and reporters. My guest is Cara Robertson, author of "The Trial of Lizzie Borden: A True Story". She summarizes this sensational Gilded Age true crime story with a unique legal perspective. More about the author and her work can be found here: https://www.carawrobertson.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp and their wives united in Tombstone, Arizona in 1879 with the intent to make their fortunes, but along the way crossed paths with a gang of lawless cowboys that included Ike Clanton, Curly Bill Brocius and Johnny Ringo. In October of 1881, tensions between the Earps and their adversaries climaxed with a shootout in a Tombstone alley, forever known as the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", which left three cowboys dead. But the animosity didn't end there. The cowboys would get their revenge on the Earp family, and Wyatt and Doc Holliday in turn would seek vengeance on remaining members of the gang. My guest is New York Times Bestselling author Tom Clavin. He returns to the show to talk about his epic book "Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell". More about the author, including his books about Dodge City and Wild Bill Hickok can be found here: https://www.tomclavin.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tranquility of Ohio's Pleasant Valley was forever scarred in June of 1896 when tragedy struck the Rose family. Twenty-three-year-old Ceely Rose was infatuated with neighbor boy Guy Berry. When he did not reciprocate her feelings, her family ordered her to stop following him, and she in turn used rat poison to murder them. A trial would follow, with much of the focus on her sanity and mental capacity. My guest is Mark Sebastian Jordan, author of "The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm". He's been fascinated with this story since childhood, and not only shares details of his decades long research into the murders, but also explains how the case has reached folkloric status over the years. The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mark.jordan.794 The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467146180 Buy it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094XCCD8 The author's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/MarkSebastianJordan Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1932, with the Cubs in the thick of the pennant race, Billy Jurges broke off his relationship with Violet Popovich to focus on baseball. The famously beautiful showgirl took it poorly, marching into his hotel room with a revolver in her purse. Both were wounded in the ensuing struggle, but Jurges refused to press charges. Even without their star shortstop, Chicago made it to the World Series, only to be on the wrong end of Babe Ruth's legendary Called Shot. My guest is Jack Bales, author of "The Chicago Cub Shot For Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series". He shares details from his book, just in time for the 70th anniversary of this infamous intersection of baseball and true crime (which happened on July 6th, 1932). The author's website: http://WrigleyIvy.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467148481 You can also buy the book on Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094X2TFYQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early morning hours of October 17, 1953, a frightened, battered woman named Diane Wells told a horrific tale to police. She said intruders had broken into the top-floor penthouse apartment she shared with her husband Cecil, murdered him, beat her, and then made their escape. It was an especially sensational story because 31-year-old "blonde bombshell" Diane Wells was nicknamed "the most beautiful woman in Alaska", and Cecil (twenty years her senior) was a wealthy and well-known Fairbanks businessman. There were suspicions, however, that Diane was lying. It was soon learned that she was having an affair with a local musician and also being comforted by a dance instructor who worked downstairs. My guest is James T. Bartlett, author of "The Alaskan Blonde: Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America". He shares details from his research into the almost 70 year old cold case, including an account of Diane's own tragic end. More information about the author can be found at these links: https://www.thealaskanblonde.com https://www.facebook.com/thealaskanblonde https://www.instagram.com/thealaskanblonde https://www.twitter.com/alaskanblonde53 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1835 Marcus and Narcissa Whitman arrived to the Pacific Northwest, building a mission on Cayuse land near the present day Washington/Oregon border with hopes of converting members of the Cayuse tribe to Christianity. However when a deadly measles outbreak devastated the area, it disproportionally killed Cayuse over whites, leading tribal leaders to believe Dr. Whitman was purposely poisoning them. This (along with other reasons) drove tensions so high that on November 29th, 1847, the Cayuse murdered the Whitmans and eleven others living at the mission. My guest is New York Times bestselling author Blaine Harden, and his book is called "Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West". He explains the volatile situation that led to the massacre, and how the murders created a ripple effect that led to an explosion of white migration into the Pacific Northwest. He also dismantles a lie created by the Reverend Henry Spaulding that recast fellow missionary Marcus Whitman as the hero who "saved Oregon". More can be found at the author's website here: https://blaineharden.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1896 the decapitated corpse of a young woman, who would later be identified as Pearl Bryan, was discovered in the woods of Northern Kentucky. Evidence would lead investigators to two dental students in Cincinnati, Ohio named Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling. My guest is Robert Wilhelm, creator of Murder by Gaslight, an online compendium of notable 19th century American murders. He is the author of "So Far From Home: The Pearl Bryan Murder", and joins me to discuss the case in detail. More information about the murder can be found at his website, Murder By Gaslight: http://www.murderbygaslight.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this third and final part of my interview with Dr. Edgar Epperly, the "little minister" Lyn George Jacklin Kelly is examined as a primary suspect in the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders. Although Kelly spoke obsessively about the case and even confessed to the murders, many believed that the confession was the result of mental illness and police coercion. Dr. Epperly also offers his thoughts on whether the murders might be the work of a serial killer named Paul Mueller (aka The Man From the Train). Dr. Epperly's book, the result of almost seventy years of research, is called "Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912". Listener discretion is advised on this episode, as it contains adult themes and language. Dr. Epperly's website: https://villiscabook.com/ More about the documentary "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" here: https://www.villiscamovie.com/ Dr. Epperly's Villisca Axe Murders Blog: https://docublogger.typepad.com/villiscamystery/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frank Fernando (F.F.) Jones seemed to be one of the most obvious suspects in the aftermath of the horrific 1912 Villisca Axe murders. He had a contentious business rivalry with the patriarch of the slain Moore family, Josiah (Joe) Moore, intensified further because Moore was having an affair with his daughter-in-law. However there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime. Enter James Wilkerson, a pugnacious and cunning private detective who made it his mission to connect Jones to the murders, even if it meant manufacturing evidence. In this second part of my three part interview with Dr. Edgar Epperly, author of " Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912", we delve into Wilkerson's trumped-up charges against Jones and bitter obsession with pinning the murders on him. Dr. Epperly's website: https://villiscabook.com/ More about the documentary "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" here: https://www.villiscamovie.com/ Dr. Epperly's Villisca Axe Murders Blog: https://docublogger.typepad.com/villiscamystery/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 9th (or) 10th marks the 110th anniversary of one of the most notorious crimes in American history - the brutal axe murders of Josiah and Sarah Moore, their four children (Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul) and Ina and Lena Stillinger, two neighbor girls who had the terrible misfortune of sleeping over that night. It's a case steeped in mystery, with a gruesome crime scene, puzzling evidence, twists and turns and compelling suspects. My guest - Dr. Edgar Epperly - has spent almost seventy years interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures and pouring over historical records related to the crime. He is considered the foremost authority on the case. The culmination of his decades of work is a comprehensive book on the subject published at the end of 2021, called "Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912". This is an absolute must read for anyone interested in the case. Our interview went so long that it was divided into three parts. Part one is about the scene of the crime and the evidence that left investigators scratching their heads. Part two, out next week, is about F.F. Jones, whose adversarial relationship with Mr. Moore made him an early suspect. The third part of the interview, which will be released during the week of the 110th anniversary, is about the very peculiar Reverend Lyn George Jacklin Kelly, who would ultimately be tried for the murders. Also in part three, Dr. Epperly gives his opinion on the likelihood that a recent popular suspect, Paul Mueller, known as "The Man From the Train", might have committed these homicides as a serial murderer. Listener discretion is advised on this episode, as it contains adult themes and language. Dr. Epperly's website: https://villiscabook.com/ More about the documentary "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" here: https://www.villiscamovie.com/ Dr. Epperly's Villisca Axe Murders Blog: https://docublogger.typepad.com/villiscamystery/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ocean Monarch, captained by James Murdock, was a disciplined and safety-conscious passenger ship that should have smoothly sailed from England to the United States in 1848. Not long after its departure, however, a devastating fire broke out on board, turning the boat into a living hell on water. Close to two hundred people would die in the ensuing chaos - despite amazing acts of heroism by both passengers and crew members. My guest, author Gill Hoffs, returns for a second time to Most Notorious to talk about her book "The Lost Story of the Ocean Monarch: Fire, Family, & Fidelity". More about her book can be found at her publisher's website here: https://penandswordbooks.com/the-lost-story-of-the-ocean-monarch.html#.YoRgfpPMKsg Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the afternoon of December 2nd, 1945, a fourteen-year-old student named Thora Chamberlain walked with friends to a high school football game in Campbell, California. A man wearing a U.S. Navy uniform pulled up beside them in his sedan and told them he needed a babysitter - and would compensate generously for the help. Thora accepted, got into his car, and was never seen alive again. Police, with the assistance of the F.B.I. (and famed G-man E.J. Connelley) soon arrested a ne'er-do-well named Thomas McMonigle, who confessed (sort of) to Thora's murder. An extensive search for her body at a nearby ocean cliff followed, although it would ultimately prove to be unsuccessful. My guest is Rod Kackley, author of "The Murder of Thora Chamberlain: A Shocking True Crime Story". He tells the story of Thora's kidnapping, the investigation, McMonigle's murder trial - and theorizes on the tragic and horrifying scenario that likely played out that fateful day for Thora Chamberlain. More information about the author can be found at his website: https://www.rodkackley.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October of 1905, the schooner Harry A. Berwind was intercepted off the coast of North Carolina. On board were four Black sailors, three of them alive and one dead. The survivors told conflicting stories - blaming each other for the murder of the ship's four White officers, who had been shot and thrown into the sea. The men would be arrested and tried for murder in Wilmington (which had suffered deadly racial violence only a few years before) and an intense legal drama would follow, ultimately involving the Supreme Court and President Theodore Roosevelt. In the end, so many participants - from jurors to lawyers to participants - acted against type that justice had a fighting chance. My guest is Charles Oldham, author of "Ship of Blood: Mutiny and Slaughter Aboard the Harry A. Berwind, and the Quest for Justice". He shares details of this sensational yet largely forgotten story in American history. More about the author's work can be discovered here: https://charlesoldhamauthor.com/ The Audible version of his book can be purchased here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Ship-of-Blood-Mutiny-and-Slaughter-aboard-the-Harry-A-Berwind-and-the-Quest-for-Justice-Audiobook/B09TG7S41S Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Ann Cotton is considered by many to be England's first female serial killer, with allegations that she used arsenic to poison over twenty people, including her children, mother and husbands in the 1850s, 60s and 70s. But was she really a heartless killer who preyed upon those in her care for money to buy the expensive dresses she loved so much? My guest, Martin Connolly, is author of "Mary Ann Cotton: Dark Angel: Britains First Female Serial Killer." He says the answer isn't as cut and dry as many have come to believe it is, and shares his thoughts with us on this latest episode of Most Notorious. Buy the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Ann-Cotton-Britain-Female-ebook/dp/B01M0LDR8G The author's publisher page here: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mary-Ann-Cotton-Dark-Angel-Paperback/p/12432 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arnie Bernstein was one my first guests on Most Notorious, way back on episode #26, and talked about the horrifying 1927 Bath Consolidated School massacre. Since the initial publication of his book "Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing" in 2009, he's conducted more first-hand survivor accounts, which he has included in the updated and expanded edition of the book released earlier this year. He joins me to share some of the new information he's gathered, and to remind us that violent attacks on school children are tragically not just a recent phenomenon in the United States. The author's website: https://www.arniebernstein.com/ The book can be published online, including directly through the publisher: https://www.press.umich.edu/12277500/bath_massacre_new_edition Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mildred Gillars, known to American GIs as "Axis Sally", was one of Nazi Germany's most notorious radio propagandists. Hired by German State Radio because of her American accent and seductive voice, she finally achieved her own version of stardom after years of pursuing a failed acting career in the United States. My guest is Richard Lucas, author of "Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany". In his book he tells the story of the rise and fall of Mildred Gillars, including her capture and trial for treason. Casemate Publishers: https://www.casematepublishers.com/axis-sally.html Audio clips are from the National Archives and Records Administration. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Christmas Eve, 1900, 44-year-old dry goods store owner Frank Richardson was shot to death in his Savannah, Missouri home. Suspects included his wife Addie, his teenage lover Goldie Whitehead, and the man whom he suspected his wife of having an affair with, Stewart Fife. Kimberly Tilley makes her third visit to the podcast. Her book "Has it Come to This? The Mysterious Unsolved Murder of Frank Richardson" explores this largely forgotten murder mystery in titillating detail. More information here at the author's website: https://oldspirituals.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My conversation about the life of Eliot Ness continues with A. Brad Schwartz. After years battling The Outfit in Chicago, Ness was hired as Director of Public Safety in Cleveland, Ohio. Tasked with ridding the city of crime and corruption, he found himself confronted by a serial killer nicknamed "The Mad Butcher", aka "The Cleveland Torso Murderer," who would ultimately dismember and decapitate at least twelve people. A. Brad Schwartz, along with co-author Max Allan Collins, wrote "Eliot Ness and the Mad Butcher: Hunting a Serial Killer at the Dawn of Modern Criminology". More information about the authors can be found here: https://abradschwartz.com/ and http://maxallancollins.com/blog/ Information on the Eliot Ness festival in Coudersport, PA can be found here: https://eliotnessfest.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throughout the 1920s Chicago was a cesspool of corruption and violence, due in large part to the obscene amounts of money being made through the illegal manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol. Much of the business was being done by The Outfit, led by the charming and publicity hungry Al Capone, who viciously knocked off his competitors at the slightest provocation. To combat The Outfit, the federal government chose Eliot Ness, a reserved but ambitious twenty-seven-year-old Prohibition agent to lead his "Untouchables" against Al Capone's criminal empire. Together they gathered important evidence to cripple Capone's lucrative booze business. My guest is A. Brad Schwartz, who along with co-author Max Allan Collins wrote the critically acclaimed "Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago". He talks about how Eliot Ness and Al Capone climbed the ranks of their respective professions, their Chicago careers ultimately culminating with the trial and imprisonment of Capone. He also breaks some long-standing myths about Eliot Ness and his true role in Capone's demise as a gangland boss. More information about the authors can be found here: https://abradschwartz.com/ and http://maxallancollins.com/blog/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June of 1970, the body of 24-year-old Nancy Morgan was found inside a government-owned car in Madison County, North Carolina. It had been four days since anyone had heard from the bubbly, hard-working brunette who had moved to the Appalachian community less than a year prior as an organizer for Volunteers in Service to America. At the time of her death, her tenure in the Tar Heel State was just weeks from ending, her intentions set on New York and nursing school and a new life that she would never see. The initial investigation was thwarted by inept police work, jurisdictional confusion, and the influence of local corruption. Fourteen years would pass before an arrest in the case would be made, but even then, a pall would be cast over the veracity of the evidence. My guest, Mark Pinsky, is the author of "Met Her on the Mountain: The Murder of Nancy Morgan". He tells the story of his decades old quest to solve the mystery of Nancy's brutal murder. The author's website: https://markpinsky.com/ The publisher's website: https://www.kentuckypress.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 25th, 1973, Suzie Jaeger was abducted from her tent while camping with her family in Montana. The FBI was baffled by the mystery, until two agents began using new profiling techniques to narrow in on a local oddball named David Meirhofer. Assisting them was Suzie's brave mother, Marietta Jaeger, who over a series of phone calls with the killer was able to provide invaluable clues that helped lead to Meirhofer's arrest and confession. And he would confess not only to Suzie's murder, but the murder of three other people as well. My guest is bestselling author Ron Franscell. His new book is called "ShadowMan: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of FBI Profiling". More information about the author and his work can be found here: https://ronfranscell.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Wayne Hoffman had been long intrigued by a family story, vague on details, about the murder of his great-grandmother Sarah Feinstein at the hands of a sniper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Encouraged by his mother, he decided to search for the truth behind the tale, but his research journey became more difficult when his mother's health began to suffer due to Alzheimer's. In his book, "The End of Her: Racing Against Alzheimer's to Solve a Murder" my guest shares what he learned in his investigation into the unsolved murder of his great-grandmother, and how his research into this family tragedy intertwined with another more immediate tragedy, the damaging effects of Alzheimer's disease on his mother. Wayne Hoffman's website: http://waynehoffmanwriter.com/ His publisher's website: https://heliotropebooks.com/books/the-end-of-her-racing-against-alzheimers-to-solve-a-murder/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October of 1946, a chiropractor and rancher named Willis "W.D." Broadhurst was beaten with a wrench and finished off with a shotgun on a lonely eastern Oregon road. Investigators would soon accuse his wife Gladys of plotting the doctor's murder with the help of his young cowhand and her lover, Alvin Williams. Stunning details of her deception would be revealed during the trial, including accusations that she was a bigamist who had left multiple husbands in her wake. My guest is Patrick Gallagher, whose family connection to this story led him on a personal journey to learn more about this compelling and mostly forgotten case. His book, titled " 'TIL DEATH DO US...': A True Crime Story of Bigamy and Murder" is available for purchase here: https://www.amazon.com/TIL-DEATH-DO-US-Bigamy/dp/1952225167/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this second half of my interview with Steve Oney, he shares details of the dramatic events that unfolded after the trial of Leo Frank for the murder of thirteen-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan. Steve Oney is author of "And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank". He has spent forty years researching and investigating this electrifying case. His book can be purchased both at local bookstores and here: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Shall-Rise-Murder-Lynching/dp/0679764232/ref Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1913, thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan was found brutally murdered in the basement of the Atlanta pencil factory where she worked. The factory manager, a college-educated Jew named Leo Frank, was arrested, tried and convicted in a trial that seized national headlines. When the governor commuted his death sentence, Frank was kidnapped and lynched by a group of prominent local citizens. In part one of my two hour interview with Steve Oney, author of "And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank", he tells the story of little Mary's murder, the investigation that followed, and highlights of Frank's sensational trial. The book can be purchased both at your local bookstore and here: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Shall-Rise-Murder-Lynching/dp/0679764232/ref Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the heels of Lizzie Borden's infamous double murder, another woman named Lizzie was arrested for a series of killings, this time in New York's Catskill Mountains. Lizzie Halliday was arrested in September of 1893 for not only her husband Paul's murder (found buried under the kitchen floorboards of their home) but also for the murder of two women discovered decomposing in a crawl space under the barn. My guest is Kevin Owen, author of "Killing Time in the Catskills: The Twisted Tale of the Catskill Ripper Elizabeth "Lizzie" McNally Halliday". He separates fact from fiction in this horrific story and paints a chilling portrait of one of the most cold-blooded criminals in Upstate New York history. The author's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/killingtimecatskills/ Autograph copies available through publisher at: https://moonlightpressbooks.myportfolio.com/killingtimecatskills The author's contact information: killingtimecatskills@gmail.com Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pennsylvania’s Eastern State Penitentiary has a rich and fascinating history. Built in the 1820s as a place to reform criminals, it saw an increase in violence over the decades before finally closing in 1971 as a working prison. It now operates as a history museum. Among the more notorious inmates was Willie Sutton, who was involved in the most famous escape in the prison's history, and Al Capone. My guest is historian Paul Kahan, author of "Eastern State Penitentiary: A History". He talks about the prison's history and explains the current museum's more nuanced approach towards the topic of incarceration. More information about him and his work can be found here: https://www.paulkahan.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elizabeth Bigley - better known as Cassie Chadwick - might be the most successful confidence artist in American history that you've never heard of. She swindled her way across the eastern United States during the height of the Gilded Age, committing fraud at every opportunity. In her greatest con, she posed as the illegitimate daughter of robber baron and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, bilking banks for millions of dollars in the process. My guest is Thomas Crowl, and in his book "Queen of the Con: From a Spiritualist to the Carnegie Imposter" he tells the fascinating story of the sensational rise and fall of the incorrigible Cassie Chadwick. More information about the book can be found here: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2021/queen-of-the-con/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In July of 1908, the bludgeoned body of a young woman named Hazel Drew was found floating in a pond in Sand Lake, New York. In the following weeks investigators would be flummoxed by the mystery of not only who Hazel's killer was, but why she had decided to travel to the rural location fashionably dressed and alone. This is the real-life crime that Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost stated was the inspiration for the television murder of Laura Palmer. My guests Mark T. Givens and David Bushman used that as a starting off point in their quest to learn more about this sensational unsolved case. Their book is called "Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks". More about the book at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Teals-Pond-Mystery-Inspired-ebook/dp/B08Z7HLLYM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1641357877&sr=8-1 Mark's Deer Meadow Twin Peaks podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deer-meadow-radio-a-twin-peaks-podcast/id1076219034 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April of 1830, Joseph White, an aged, wealthy and despised resident of Salem, Massachusetts was discovered murdered in his bedroom by servants. The city - still suffering from the stigma of the Salem Witch trials 140 years earlier - brought in famed orator and lawyer Daniel Webster to prosecute the men who were suspected of conspiring to kill White. The case was so famous in its day that Nathanial Hawthorne, a contemporary of the accused murderers, would use details from it to pen his literary masterpiece: "The Scarlet Letter". My guest is Edward Renehen Jr, and his book is called "Deliberate Evil: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Daniel Webster, and the 1830 Murder of a Salem Slave Trader." Mr. Renehen's website: https://edwardrenehan.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Holidays everyone! In late November of 1912, a schooner named the Rouse Simmons, heavily laden with Christmas trees, made its way across Lake Michigan with Chicago as its final destination. Once there, Captain Herman Schuenemann and his family planned, as they had in years past, to decorate the ship with festive lights and sell their trees to eager Chicagoans. Unfortunately the ship never arrived. It met with a violent winter storm and sunk to the bottom of the lake, along with its captain and crew. My guests are Joan Forsberg and Cris Kohl, maritime historians who specialize in Great Lakes shipwrecks. They share details from their book, "The Christmas Tree Ship", which has recently been released in audiobook format. More information about the authors' work here: https://www.seawolfcommunications.com/books The Christmas Tree Ship audiobook: https://www.amazon.com/The-Christmas-Tree-Ship/dp/B08QDRCDXC/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1639683708&sr=1-1 Charles Huddleston's Narrator Page: https://narrator.page/n/charles_huddleston Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November of 1971 a man who would come to be known as D.B. Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305, ultimately parachuting out of the Boeing 727 in spectacular fashion, along with $200,000 in ransom money, presumably somewhere in Washington State. Who he was and what happened to him after he jumped is one of the most enduring true crime mysteries in American history. My guests are Darren Schaefer, creator and host of "The Cooper Vortex" podcast, and George McKeon, author of "The Mystery of D.B. Cooper: A True Crime Adult Coloring Book". They tell the story of the hijacking, discuss some of the tantalizing clues left behind, and ruminate about possible suspects. Subscribe to The Cooper Vortex on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cooper-vortex/id1439712498 and Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5YRiVfMZX7hfVDSezq1aNo George McKeon's book can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-D-B-Cooper-Crime-Coloring/dp/1737712709 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On November 2nd, 1892 a ten-year-old boy named Anton Woode led a hunter to a secluded area of woods a few miles north of Denver, Colorado and shot him dead. Local papers would nickname him "The Boy Murderer". My guest is Dick Kreck, author of "Anton Woode: Boy Murderer". His book can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Anton-Woode-Murderer-Dick-Kreck/dp/1555915787 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky lived a fascinating and turbulent life. He served a sentence in a Siberian prison camp and suffered from depression and a gambling addiction that kept him destitute for years. But through these challenges he wrote some of the greatest fiction of the 19th century, including his masterpiece "Crime and Punishment". Dostoevsky drew inspiration for the novel from a series of murders committed in Paris by Pierre Lacenaire, a failed poet and aspiring master criminal in 1834. My guest, New York Times bestselling author Kevin Birmingham, is the author of "The Sinner and the Saint: Dostoevsky and the Gentleman Murderer Who Inspired a Masterpiece". He talks about the tortured, brilliant soul who penned the literary classic, despite the difficult odds against him. Kevin Birmingham's website: http://www.kevinbirmingham.net/ His publisher's author page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/238375/kevin-birmingham/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January of 1923, a 20-year-old dancer named Fritzie Mann left home to meet a mysterious man for what she told her mother was a house party. When she was discovered dead on a remote beach a few miles north of San Diego, police were puzzled by the clues. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? The fact that she was pregnant deepened the mystery even further. Soon two men - a Hollywood actor and a doctor - became the primary suspects in the case, and one would eventually be put on trial for murder. My guest is James Stewart, author of "Mystery at the Blue Sea Cottage: A True Story of Murder in San Diego's Jazz Age". He shares details about strange death of Fritzie Mann, considered by some to be San Diego's very own Black Dahlia, and offers intriguing theories on what might really have happened to her. More information can be found at the author's website here: https://www.jamesstewartauthor.com/ and at his publisher's author page: https://wildbluepress.com/mystery-at-the-blue-sea-cottage-james-stewart-true-crime/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most powerful secret societies in 1880s Chicago was the mysterious Clan na Gael, run by Irish-American kingpin Alexander Sullivan. When Dr. Patrick Cronin questioned Sullivan's management of the organization, embrace of the controversial "dynamite policy", and disappearance of society funds, he was targeted and eventually murdered. My guest is Gillian O'Brien, author of "Blood Runs Green: The Murder That Transfixed Gilded Age Chicago". She talks about Clan na Gael's once powerful influence, the deadly rivalry between Sullivan and Cronin, and the unintended consequences of their hatred towards each other - the crippling of a late 19th century movement towards Irish independence. Gillian O'Brien's blog: https://gillianmobrien.wordpress.com/category/blood-runs-green/ More about the book: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/B/bo19966410.html Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York City in the mid to late 19th century was host to some of the most colorful criminals in American history - and equally colorful policemen who battled them. Police Chief Thomas Byrnes was considered one of the best sleuths in the world, yet there were always plenty of sensational cases to solve and elusive crooks to catch. My guest John Oller is author of "Rogues' Gallery: The Birth of Modern Policing & Organized Crime In Gilded Age New York". He shares stories of some of his favorite period characters - including crime boss Marm Mandelbaum, bank robber extraordinaire George Leonidas Leslie, and Danny Driscoll, leader of the notorious Whyos Gang. More information can be found here: http://www.johnollernyc.com/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2168025/john-oller/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special Halloween-themed episode of Most Notorious, my guests - professors Lester Friedman and Allison Kavey - talk about Mary Shelley's early 19th-century literary classic, Frankenstein. They explore Shelley's creation of her timeless gothic novel and how her background and circumstances likely influenced her writing, offer some fascinating interpretations of the book's themes, and explain how the story has evolved into the one we're familiar with today. Their book is called "Monstrous Progeny: A History of the Frankenstein Narratives". https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/monstrous-progeny/9780813564258 https://www.hiram.edu/archives/lester-friedman-bio/ https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/allison-kavey Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Western author and historian G.R. Williamson, appeared on Most Notorious a couple of years ago to talk about gunfighters Ben Thompson and King Fisher. He joins me again, this time to tell tales from his book "Notorious Gamblers of the Old West", which includes accounts of colorful card-playing characters like Charles Cora, Lottie Deno and Poker Alice. He also explains how the popular game Faro is played, what a period saloon really looked like, and offers a glimpse into the rough and occasionally rewarding life of a professional gambler in the Old West. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

October 8th, 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the legendary disaster that destroyed a third of Chicago and made 90,000 residents homeless. While Mrs. O'Leary and her cow are usually portrayed as the culprits behind the catastrophic blaze, my guest, Carl Smith, doesn't believe history has treated her fairly. Professor Smith is the author of "Chicago’s Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City", and he shares on this episode of Most Notorious the fascinating details of the fire, including how it might have begun, how mistakes prevented the fire department from getting to it sooner, the devastation it left in its wake, and how the city ultimately overcame the fire's destruction to build anew. More about the author and his work: https://groveatlantic.com/book/chicagos-great-fire-2/ https://carlsmith.northwestern.edu/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back again to the Hundred Years War in this episode of Most Notorious - this time in England. Sir William Cantilupe, a battle-hardened knight who had recently been acquitted of murdering his brother Nicholas, was discovered dead in a lonely field in May of 1375, in what appeared to be a staged crime scene. And it was his wife Maude and their household staff whom authorities would soon accuse of committing the horrific deed. My guest is Melissa Julian-Jones, author of "Murder During the Hundred Year War: The Curious Case of William Cantilupe". She talks about the dark and dramatic family tale, and offers some theories on why William Cantilupe might have been targeted for murder. Her blog: https://melissajulianjones.wordpress.com/ Her book https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Murder-During-the-Hundred-Years-War-Hardback/p/18027 Her class: Romancing the Gothic: https://romancingthegothic.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On November 1st, 1843, a dejected servant named Amelia Norman followed her former beau Henry Ballard to the steps of the Astor House Hotel in New York City. There she stabbed him with a folding knife, barely missing his heart. The city's newspapers and moral reformers quickly embraced Miss Norman's cause, seeing it as an opportunity to change seduction laws and expand workers' rights. My guest, Julie Miller, is author of "Cry of Murder on Broadway: A Woman's Ruin and Revenge in Old New York". She offers insight into this sensational crime and its impact on the early days of the women's movement in the United States. More information about her book can be found here: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501751486/cry-of-murder-on-broadway/ https://www.amazon.com/Cry-Murder-Broadway-Womans-Revenge/dp/B08K1PXBDX/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631880970&sr=8-2 https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501751486/cry-of-murder-on-broadway/#bookTabs=1 George Washington's papers: https://www.loc.gov/collections/george-washington-papers/about-this-collection/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November of 1407, Louis I, The Duke of Orleans and brother of France's "Mad" King Charles VI, is murdered on a street near his home in Medieval Paris. A police investigation ensues, surprisingly as thorough and detailed as any modern day crime investigation. My guest, Eric Jager, is the author of "Blood Royal: A True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris". Not only does he share details from his book, but he also talks about the upcoming film "The Last Duel", starring Matt Damon and Adam Driver, based on his book "The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat". If the title sounds familiar, it might be because he joined me to talk about the story a couple of years ago. Listen once more to Most Notorious's The Last Duel episode with Eric Jager: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-last-duel-w-eric-jager-a-true-crime-history-podcast/id1055044256?i=1000437735258&l=sv Watch "The Last Duel" Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgygUwPJvYk More about Eric Jager here: https://english.ucla.edu/people-faculty/jager-eric/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 24th, 1891, a Bowery prostitute named Carrie Brown (known locally as "Old Shakespeare") was found murdered and mutilated in the seedy East River Hotel. With the Jack the Ripper murders unsolved and still news, many believed that the notorious killer had traveled across the Atlantic to continue his bloody work in the United States - and this was his first victim. My guest is George R. Dekle Sr., former Florida prosecutor and author of the new book "The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare". He talks about this sensational case, including the arrest and trial of the enigmatic Ameer Ben Ali, better known as "Frenchy", and offers his thoughts on who really murdered Carrie Brown. More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.bobdeklebooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 25, 1935, little George Weyerhaueser, heir to one of the biggest fortunes in America, was kidnapped on his way home from school in Tacoma, Washington. His abductors would keep him manacled in a pit in the middle of the forest as they negotiated a $200,000 ransom with his frantic family. What soon followed would be the largest manhunt in the history of the Pacific Northwest. My guest is Bryant Johnston, author of "Deep in the Woods: The 1935 Kidnapping of Nine-Year-Old George Weyerhaeuser, Heir to America's Mightiest Timber Dynasty." More information can be found on his website: https://www.bryanrjohnston.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spring of 1853 the ill-fated William and Mary, an American sailing ship captained by the incompetent Timothy Stinson, departed from England carrying over 200 Dutch, Scotch, Irish and English emigrants, all bound for New Orleans. The voyage was an absolute disaster, replete with illness, bad weather, starvation, a shipwreck, and ultimately the captain's betrayal - in the form of an attempted mass murder. My guest, Gill Hoffs is an expert on Victorian-era shipwrecks, and she shares details from her book, "The Lost Story of the William and Mary: The Cowardice of Captain Stinson". She can be found on Twitter @GillHoffs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you have a criminal from your family's past that you've always wanted to learn more about, but don't know where to start? On this special episode of Most Notorious, prolific British author Stephen Wade offers helpful tips on how to maneuver through what can be both a daunting and thrilling experience - digging up sordid details of long-lost villainous ancestors. His book is called "Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians", and more information about him and his work can be found here: https://stephen-wade.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of all of the Jack the Ripper suspects, Montague Druitt is the most maligned in modern times, my guests argue, despite the fact that many of his contemporaries believed him to be the murderer of the Canonical Five before drowning himself in the Thames. Jonathan Hainsworth and Christine Ward-Agius are the authors of "The Escape of Jack the Ripper: The Full Truth About the Cover-up and His Flight from Justice", and they make their case, on this week's episode of Most Notorious, that Montague Druitt was indeed Jack the Ripper. More information about their book can be found here: https://hainsworthwardagius.com/buy/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois was built to be one of the safest in the United States. However on November 13th, 1909, it caught fire, killing 259 boys and men who were trapped inside, hundreds of feet below ground. A few miners eventually escaped - and later told the tale of their experiences battling darkness, thirst, fire and the ominous "Black Damp". My guest, bestselling author Karen Tintori, whose grandfather who escaped death that day, shares details of this heartbreaking tragedy. Her book is called "Trapped: The Story of the Cherry Mine Disaster". Additional information about Karen and all of her books can be found at her website, here: https://karentintori.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roanoke Island is host every year to the famous "Lost Colony" outdoor drama. It was during the 1967 production that a young makeup artist named Brenda Joyce Holland went missing - her body eventually discovered floating in Albemarle Sound. A murder investigation ensued, with important evidence being mishandled and a slew of suspects to sort through, including her boyfriend and an abusive dentist. My guest on this episode of Most Notorious is investigative reporter John Railey, who has followed the case since the beginning. His book is called "The Lost Colony Murder on the Outer Banks: Seeking Justice for Brenda Joyce Holland". More information about his book can be found here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467147392 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the evening of December 23rd 1881, three teenagers, alone in a farmhouse in Ashland Kentucky, were savagely murdered and the house set afire to cover the crime. What followed would be an investigation, trials, a lynching, and a massacre of Ashland citizens by state militia, in this fascinating and tragic series of events. My guest is Joe Castle, author of "The Ashland Tragedy: Murder, a Mob & a Militia in Kentucky". More information about his book can be found here: https://theashlandtragedy.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the tail end of World War Two, a serial killer named James Waybern "Red" Hall, stalked the roads of Arkansas, Kansas and other middle American states, remorselessly murdering kind people who made the unfortunate decision to offer him a ride. My guest, Janie Nesbitt Jones, is the author of “The Arkansas Hitchhike Killer: James Waybern ‘Red’ Hall." She talks about Hall's murders, how investigators eventually caught up to him, and theorizes on why he did what he did. More information about Janie Nesbitt Jones and her book can be found here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467148177 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When sheriff's deputies arrived at David and Allene Lamson's Palo Alto home on Memorial Day, 1933, they found David frantic over what he said was a terrible accident in their bathroom. Allene, he explained, had slipped when getting out of the bathtub and bashed her head on the sink, resulting in her death. Investigators, however, believed something far more sinister had taken place. My guest is Tom Zaniello, and he shares details from his book "California's Lamson Murder Mystery: The Depression Era Case that Divided Santa Clara County". More information can be found here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467136532 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November of 1912, a young woman named Ella Barham journeyed home, on her horse, to her family farm in Boone County, Arkansas, but never arrived. After her body was discovered, murdered and dismembered, suspicions quickly centered on a neighbor, Odus Davidson, who was rumored to have been in love with Ella, a love never returned. My guest, Nita Gould, has a very personal connection to Ella, one that led to her write the book she joins us to discuss today, called "Remembering Ella: A 1912 Murder and Mystery in the Arkansas Ozarks." More information can be found on her website, here: https://www.rememberingella.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imprisoned in a Turkish war camp during WW1, two British officers pull off an unbelievable con against their captors involving a Ouija board, an angry ghost and feigned madness - leading to a truly astonishing escape. My guest is bestselling author Margalit Fox, author of "Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History." More information about Margalit Fox and her work can be found at: http://margalitfox.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Albert Johnson is famous in Canadian crime history for leading Mounties on a sensational and deadly chase through the Yukon and Northwest Territories during the winter of 1931-32. How he managed to elude police over hundreds of kilometers in subzero temperatures through a mountainous wilderness is as much a mystery as his real identity. To this day, very little is known about the man nicknamed "The Mad Trapper". My guest, Helena Katz, Canadian historian and author, joins me to talk about her book, "The Mad Trapper: The Incredible Tale of a Famous Canadian Manhunt". More information can be found at her website at http://www.katzcommunications.ca/ . Happy Victoria Day to all of my northern friends and listeners! Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us are familiar with the critically acclaimed film called Catch Me If You Can, based on the autobiography of legendary confidence man Frank Abagnale. It's the story of a brazen teenage imposter who through charm and intellect was able to pass as an attorney, a doctor, a pilot and a university professor in the late 1960s and early 1970s. My guest, Alan C. Logan, has done extensive research into Frank Abagnale's well-known and near-mythical narrative, found it riddled with holes, and lays out some of what he has discovered for us on this week's episode of Most Notorious. Alan Logan's book is called "The Greatest Hoax on Earth: Catching Truth, While We Can", and can be ordered in bookstores, online retailers, and through his website at: http://www.greatesthoax.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1897 a Belgian named Adrien de Gerlache, in command of a ship called the Belgica, sailed to Antarctica with the intent to be the first to reach the south magnetic pole. On the expedition was Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who would later become one of the world's most famous explorers, and Doctor Frederick Cook, who would become one of America's greatest charlatans. My guest, Julian Sancton, shares the story of the ill-fated ship, which found itself entombed in ice and forced to face a dark polar winter, its crew suffering from scurvy, madness and death. His book is called "Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night." More information about the book can be found at: https://sites.prh.com/juliansancton Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

J. Frank Norris rose to fame as the controversial fundamentalist pastor of America's first megachurch, the First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He used his pulpit, his newspaper and his radio station to battle his enemies in unscrupulous ways, and when one angry local businessman named Dexter Chipps marched into his office in July of 1926 to confront him about his tactics, Norris pulled out a gun and shot him dead. My guest, David R. Stokes, is an ordained minister, broadcaster and author, and he talks in detail about Norris's rise to religious stardom, his use of sensationalist sermons to attract membership, his sordid association with the Ku Klux Klan, and the dramatic courtroom spectacle that followed this infamous Texas slaying. His book is called "Apparent Danger: The Pastor of America's First Megachurch and the Texas Murder Trial of the Decade in the 1920s". Moore information can be found at his website: https://davidstokeslive.wordpress.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the more enduring mysteries in true crime history involves Vincenzo Capone, Al Capone's eldest brother, who abruptly left his struggling family in New York City one day, eventually resurfacing as a lawman with a new identity: Richard Hart. His rise to fame - becoming one of the most famous Prohibition agents of the 1920s - coincided with his brothers' rise to power in the violent streets of Chicago. My guest, Jeff McArthur, has extensively interviewed members of both the Hart and the Capone family over the last few years to produce his book, "Two Gun Hart: Law Man, Cowboy, and Long-Lost Brother to Al Capone". He shares how Hart separated from the family, created his own legacy, especially in Nebraska, and how he eventually reunited with his brothers in his later years. More information about Jeff and his book can be found at http://www.bandwagononline.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost a decade before Bonnie and Clyde blasted their way into our collective public consciousness, Richard and Margaret Whittemore, aka "The Candy Kid" and "Tiger Girl" made national news, not only for their participation in deadly robberies in 1920s New York, but also for their romantic love story, played out through newspaper articles and photographs across America. My guest is prolific author Glenn Stout, author of "Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America's Original Gangster Couple". He spent fifteen years researching and writing this epic tale about the most infamous gangster duo you've likely never heard of. More information can be found at his website: https://glennstout.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The late 1960s and early 1970s were witness to some of the worst serial killers in American history. Ranking at the top was Gerard John Schaefer, a cop who used his charisma to lure unsuspecting females into his car before torturing and murdering them in brutal fashion. My guest is Patrick Kendrick, who has spent the past 35 years gathering information on Schaefer, and for a time was even the focus of Schaefer's wrath. He is the author of "American Ripper: The Enigma of America's Serial Killer Cop", and his website is: https://www.talesofpatrickkendrick.com Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holmes County, Ohio is one of the largest Amish communities in America. It was here, in the summer of 1957, that an Amish man named Paul Coblentz was murdered by two ex-cons in his family's rural farmhouse. My guests are David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker, authors of the book "A Murder in Amish Ohio: The Martyrdom of Paul Coblentz". They not only share details of the case, but also offer insight into the Amish's unique beliefs regarding justice and forgiveness. For more information on the authors' books, visit their website at: https://www.explodingstove.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sophie Lyons was arguably the most successful (and colorful) female criminal of 19th-century America. She was a trained by her abusive parents at an early age in the art of thievery and scam artistry, and by the end of her life had accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars through her ill-gotten means. And in her wake, she had left a trail of four husbands, estranged children, and spent untold amounts of time in courtrooms and jails across the country. My guest is Shayne Davidson, who shares stories from her book, "Queen of the Burglars: The Scandalous Life of Sophie Lyons". More can be found about the author at: https://capturedandexposed.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the great historical Hollywood mysteries, still unsolved, revolves around the death of silver screen comedienne Thelma Todd. She was found dead in her car on December 16th, 1935, killed by carbon monoxide poisoning according to the Los Angeles coroner. But rumors have circulated for decades that she was murdered, with suspects that have included her live-in boyfriend Roland West, ex-husband Pat DiCicco, and even New York mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano. My guest today is Pat Jenning, who along with co-author Marshall Croddy authored the book, "Testimony of a Death: Thelma Todd: Mystery, Media and Myth in 1935 Los Angeles". He's here to present the facts of the case, and help separate fact from fiction. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Russell Shorto, has a unique connection to the subject of his latest book, "Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob". He is the namesake of his grandfather, a gangster who ran an Italian-American outfit in the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania in the 1940s and 50s. The organization would eventually crumble after the murder of a local bookie in 1960 exposed its underbelly to unwanted attention. He joins us today not only to share details about his grandfather and his business, but also about his own journey as he researched this very personal story. More information about his work can be found at: https://www.russellshorto.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Murder, Inc. was arguably the most ruthless and successful hit squad in American history, killing hundreds of people throughout the 1930s. It was led by a brutal Brooklyn gangster named Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, who under orders from mob bosses like Lucky Luciano, Lepke Buchalter and Albert Anastasia, dispatched his hitmen across the country to kill anyone who threatened the interests of "The Commission", a national federation of Italian-American and Jewish mobsters. Eventually Reles would turn government witness, but before he could testify against the upper echelons of his organization, he would die from a fall from a hotel room. Which leads to an enduring historical mystery: Was it suicide? An accident? Or murder? My guest, Michael Cannell, author of "A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc.", shares details about the deadly organization and the colorful Kid Twist, and offers some theories about what really happened to him in Suite 623 of the Half Moon Hotel on November 12, 1941. More information can be found here: http://www.michaelcannell.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Ben Montgomery, tells the story of George Dinning, a former slave who was visited one night in 1897 by a mob, hellbent on driving him and his family off of their Kentucky farm. In an exchange of gunfire, Dinning killed a wealthy white man. Dinning then had to elude lynchers while fighting for his life in court. Unlikely allies would come forward, including a former Confederate officer who believed that Dinning was in the right due to the castle doctrine, and agreed to represent him in a federal case against members of the mob that had terrorized he and his family. Ben Montgomery's book is called "A Shot in the Moonlight: How a Freed Slave and a Confederate Soldier Fought for Justice in the Jim Crow South", and more information about him can be found at: https://www.benmontgomerywrites.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the autumn of 1920, two couples pulled into a campsite in Central Park, Montana, but only one left alive. Seth and Iva Danner would eventually turn on each other with their own versions of how John and Florence Sprouse were murdered, but only Seth would be tried, convicted, and put to death. And questions still linger - about whether justice was truly served. My guest, Kelly Suzanne Hartman, author of "Murder Along the Yellowstone Trail: The Execution of Seth Danner" chats with me about the case. More information about her and her book can be discovered at: https://www.mountainstudio308.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somehow Jane Toppan managed to skirt through the first half of her life murdering people at will, before finally being caught and committed to an insane asylum in 1901. Her nursing background made her an expert with drugs, and she used that expertise to kill over thirty people, often torturing them by purposely prolonging their suffering. My guest is Mary Kay McBrayer, and she shares some stories about Jane's nefarious activities from her book: "America's First Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster." You can find more information about Mary Kay, her book, and the podcast she hosts, called "Everything Trying to Kill You", at https://www.marykaymcbrayer.com . Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late August of 1876, an eighty-two-year-old Methodist minister, William England, his wife Selena, and two of their children were slaughtered on their North Texas farm. Selena, on her deathbed, insisted that one of the murderers was their neighbor, Ben Krebs, with whom they had suffered some ongoing troubles. But was he the actual killer, or did someone else, with another motive, murder the England family that hot summer night? My guest is Glen Sample Ely, and in his book, "Murder in Montague: Frontier Justice & Retribution in Texas", he lays out evidence to suggest that Ben Krebs and his friends were wrongly convicted in the slayings. More about the author here: https://www.oupress.com/author/glen-sample-ely/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late 1960s a serial murder stalked the city of London, Ontario, killing at will and baffling police. My guest is author, bookstore owner and historian Vanessa Brown. She has spent countless hours researching these horrific murders and looking for the killer, and joins us to share details and theories from her book, "The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice." Her bookstore's website is: https://brownanddickson.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Francis Tumblety was one America's greatest 19th century charlatans. A medical quack who became rich peddling cure-all herbal remedies, his larger-than-life character and questionable morals put him into some sticky situations - including being arrested as a suspect in the Lincoln assassination. But his most notorious claim to fame was as a Scotland Yard suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders. My guest, Michael L. Hawley, author of "Jack the Ripper SUSPECT Dr. Francis Tumblety" presents evidence that suggests that Tumblety should be taken far more seriously as a suspect than he has been in the past. More information about Michael Hawley can be found at his website: www.michaellhawley.com He is also a co-host of the podcast, House of Mystery Radio: https://shows.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio/about Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first few months of 1931, Francis "Two Gun" Crowley, an illiterate, psychopathic nineteen-year-old kid, went on a violent New York crime spree, which included murdering a Nassau county cop named Fred Hirsch. Things culminated in an intense gun-battle against between Crowley and over two hundred police officers, who had surrounded his Manhattan apartment building. My guest is Jerry Aylward, a retired New York detective of thirty two years, who has written the definitive book on the subject, entitled "Francis 'Two Gun' Crowley's Killings in New York City & Long Island". More information can be found about him and his book at his website: jerryaylward.com. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1903, wealthy businessman Ed Burdick was beaten to death in the den of his Buffalo, New York mansion. Investigators were faced with a strange crime scene and a multitude of suspects. Among them was his own wife Alice and her lover, a close family friend named Arthur Pennell. My guest, Kimberly Tilley, author of "Cold Heart: The Great Unsolved Mystery of Turn of the Century Buffalo," comes on Most Notorious to share the salacious details of a scandal and murder that rocked the city to its core. More information about Kimberly Tilley's book can be found at her website: https://oldspirituals.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, historian and author Tui Snider shares the wild story of the ill-fated Helms-Ratliff gang, who held up the First National Bank in Cisco, Texas on December 23rd, 1927. Eager to collect a $5000 "Dead Bank Robber Reward", townspeople converged on the bank, and during an intense gun battle the police chief, his deputy and one of the gang members were slain. Eventually Marshall Ratliff, who famously wore a Santa Claus suit to the botched robbery, would be lynched after murdering a jailer as he awaited execution. Tui Snider's book is called "Santa Claus Bank Robbery: A True Crime Saga in Texas", her website is https://tuisnider.com/ and she can be found on YouTube under the name "Tui Snider Exploring Historic Cemeteries". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March of 1950, a young woman named JoAnn Dewey, trying to get home, was beaten and kidnapped on a Vancouver, Washington street corner, in full view of witnesses. None lifted a finger to help. A week later her body would turn up in a river a few miles away. My guest is Pat Jollota, author of "The Murder of JoAnn Dewey in Vancouver, Washington". She joins me to share the tragic story of JoAnn's murder, and how investigators finally found her killers. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1840s America produced some colorful characters, and none more so than James Jesse Strang. After declaring himself a Mormon prophet, Strang moved his small congregation to Michigan's Beaver Island, proclaimed himself king, and created a criminal enterprise, before finally meeting his death at the hands of his own followers. My guest, bestselling author Miles Harvey, shares some astonishing stories about one of America's very first confidence men. His book is called "The King of Confidence: A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch". More information on the author and his book can be found at his website: https://www.milesharvey.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of June 10, 1937, New York heiress Alice Parsons disappeared off the face of the earth. Investigators almost immediately suspected that Anna Kupryanova, the Russian housekeeper, and Alice's husband, William Parsons, knew more than they were letting on. My guest is former NYPD detective and Hot Zone Attribution specialist Steven C. Drielak, and his book is called "Long Island’s Vanished Heiress: The Unsolved Alice Parsons Kidnapping". He shares his research and personal theories about one of New York's greatest unsolved mysteries. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On February 10, 1918, the Power family, holed up in their cabin in Arizona's isolated Galiuro Mountains, suddenly found themselves surrounded by a small posse. Lawmen were there to arrest two of the Power sons for draft evasion. After a few minutes of confusion, a shootout ensued, tragically ending with four casualties. Adding to the drama, the only daughter of the family had died under mysterious circumstances two months earlier. My guest is Heidi Osselaer, retired professor and author. Her book is called "Arizona's Deadliest Gunfight: Draft Resistance & Tragedy at the Power Cabin, 1918". She was also a consultant on the award-winning documentary, Powers War. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on this episode has a very personal connection to the subject of his many decades of research. His great-grandfather was a member of one of the Peaky Blinders gangs that terrorized the city of Birmingham in the late 1800s. British historian Carl Chinn, author of "Peaky Blinders: The Real Story" and its sequel, "Peaky Blinders: The Legacy", joins me not only to share some of the history of the many gangs that battled each other in turn of the twentieth century England, but also to dispel many of the historical inaccuracies from the popular Peaky Blinders television series. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bruno Richard Hauptmann was tried, convicted and executed for the kidnapping and murder of Charlie Lindbergh, son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne. However my guest, Lise Pearlman, author of "The Lindbergh Kidnapping Suspect No. 1: The Man Who Got Away" believes that not only was Hauptmann innocent, but something far more sinister likely happened to the little boy, at the hands of someone inside the Lindbergh's New Jersey farmhouse on that fateful night of March 1st, 1932. More information on Lise and her books can be found at her website here: www.lisepearlman.com Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October of 1943, socialite and heiress Patricia Burton Lonergan was brutally beaten with a candelabra by her estranged husband Wayne Lonergan in her New York City apartment. The case exploded onto the front pages of New York papers, in large part because of rumors that Wayne Lonergan was secretly homosexual, living a lifestyle considered highly taboo in the 1940s. My guest is author Allan Levine, and he shares fascinating details from his newly published book, "Details Are Unprintable: Wayne Lonergan and the Sensational Cafe Society Murder." More information about the case and his other books can be found at his website: http://allanlevinebooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 1960s, a serial killer terrorized the city of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Once John Norman Collins lured young women into his car or onto the back of his motorcycle, they would never be seen alive again. My guest, Gregory A. Fournier, has a personal connection to this case. Collins tried to abduct his girlfriend, right in front of him, over fifty years ago. He shares the tragic stories of the seven women brutally murdered by Collins, and how the killer was finally caught. His book is called "Terror In Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked", and his website is https://gregoryafournier.com/ . Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arguably the most corrupt politician in American history, William "Boss" Tweed bilked New York City for millions of dollars in the 1860s, before finally suffering a spectacular downfall. Attorney and historian Kenneth D. Ackerman, author of "BOSS TWEED: The Corrupt Pol who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York" talk about this notorious and often misunderstood giant in American political history. Kenneth Ackerman's website is https://kennethackerman.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the southeastern corner of 1901 Wyoming, cattle ranchers were furious that sheep were destroying valuable range land. When Willie Nickell, the son of a local sheep rancher was found murdered near his home, legendary gunman Tom Horn was one of the first men suspected of the lowdown crime. My guest is John W. Davis - retired Wyoming attorney, historian and author, who joins me to share stories about the arrest, trial and execution of one of the Old West's most fascinating and dangerous characters. His book is called "The Trial of Tom Horn". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Through most of the 1920s the Bernstein Brothers, known more colorfully as the Purple Gang, ran Detroit's underworld with an iron fist. Partnering with Chicago's Al Capone, they were responsible for much of the liquor that came into the United States from Canada. They were involved in other shady rackets as well, and didn't hesitate to murder any rivals who stepped on their toes. Gregory Fournier, author of "The Elusive Purple Gang: Detroit's Kosher Nostra", joins me to talk about this notorious Jewish gang, and shares some of the stories that have become legendary in Michigan true crime history lore. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Oh the humanity!" were the famous words spoken by news reporter Herb Morrison when on May 6, 1937, the Nazi-funded airship Hindenburg burst into flames and crashed into a New Jersey airfield. My guest is best-selling author Michael McCarthy, and his new book is called "The Hidden Hindenburg: The Untold Story of the Tragedy, the Nazi Secrets, and the Quest to Rule the Skies." He tells the fascinating story of the development of Germany's zeppelin program, headed by the colorful Hugo Eckener, shares details of the terrible disaster, and reveals the truth about what really caused the Hindenburg to catch on fire. Here is his website: https://hiddenhindenburg.com/the-author/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No historical true crime case is more hotly debated around the world than the one involving the near-mythical serial killer "Jack the Ripper". My guest, Edward Stow, believes the killer was a man named Charles Lechmere, a local East End resident who murdered in the early morning hours while on his way to his work. Stow, creator and host of the YouTube series "The House of Lechmere", shares evidence that he believes implicates Lechmere in not only the murders of the Canonical Five, but of other women in 1880s London as well. Edward Stow's House of Lechmere YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrXgAUoOgcqTAvQzyJNNL7w Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Gary Sosniecki, shares the story of the horrific murder of his great-grandmother, Cecilia, at the hands of her husband Albin Ludwig in Mishawaka, Indiana in September of 1906. After beating her head with a potato masher, he put her body in their bedroom closet and then lit it on fire. At least that is what prosecutors believed happened - Albin had a very different version. His book is called "The Potato Masher Murder: Death at the Hands of a Jealous Husband". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By June of 1978, the once massively popular television star Bob Crane (of Hogan's Heroes fame) was relegated to doing dinner theater in Scottsdale, Arizona. In between shows, he and hanger-on John Carpenter spent much of their time trying to pick up women, and Bob would use the latest video technology to film his sexual exploits. When Bob was discovered bludgeoned to death in his apartment on the morning of June 29th, Carpenter almost immediately became the police's primary murder suspect. My guest, John Hook, is an investigative reporter and award-winning Phoenix news anchor who in 2016 began a quest to have the cold case's remaining blood evidence tested for DNA. He writes about his investigation in his book "Who Killed Bob Crane? The Final Close-Up", and shares some of the details with me on this episode of Most Notorious. The Who Killed Bob Crane website: https://www.whokilledbobcrane.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hurricane season is now upon us, and with it potential dangers to the coastal populations of the United States. But the continent has survived centuries of devastation and death, the result of some truly ferocious hurricanes. My guest, bestselling author Eric Jay Dolin, is very familiar with both the history of America's hurricanes and the science behind them. His new book is entitled "A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes", and he joins me to share some fascinating historical stories involving these horrific natural disasters. More from the author here: https://www.ericjaydolin.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1763 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the last surviving members of the Conestoga Indian nation, numbering less than two dozen (mostly seniors and children), were housed in the town's workhouse and under protection of local authorities. Just days after their arrival a group of Scots-Irish vigilante frontiersmen known as the "Paxton Rangers" rode into Lancaster, found them and slaughtered them all, meeting no resistance from the Indians' supposed protectors. My guest, Jack Brubaker, a long-time Lancaster investigative journalist, columnist and historian. He shares how the brutal attacks unfolded, and explains how the complex political climate in Pennsylvania halted any justice for the murdered. His book is called "Massacre of the Conestogas: On the Trail of the Paxton Boys in Lancaster County". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 15th, 1915, a steamship with a checkered past called the SS Eastland docked at a wharf on the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, ready to transport 2500 Western Electric employees and their families across Lake Michigan to a company picnic. Once boarding completed, however, terrible tragedy struck when the ship tilted over and into the river, killing over 800 people -mostly women and children- in a horrific, chaotic scene. My guest is Michael McCarthy, author of the New York Times Bestseller "Ashes Under Water: The SS Eastland and the Shipwreck That Shook America". He offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of the ill-fated SS Eastland and recounts the story of the tragic sinking and its aftermath, including famed attorney Clarence Darrow's involvement in the trial that followed. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the headless and mutilated corpse of an eccentric orange farmer named Sam McMillan was discovered submerged in a Florida lake in October of 1882, suspicion pointed to a young Englishman, Archie Newton, recently forced to flee London due to a titillating scandal. My guest is Andrew Fink, author of "Murder on the Florida Frontier: The True Story Behind Sanford's Headless Miser Legend". He utilized his unique perspective as an attorney to research and document this little known but fascinating murder case. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the name "Butch Cassidy" is mentioned, it conjures an image (for many of us) of Paul Newman, who along with Robert Redford joked their way through the classic 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". But that movie was almost entirely fictional, and as often typical, Hollywood ignored the far more interesting factual historical account of the legendary outlaw and his vast criminal resume. Charles Leerhsen, author of "Butch Cassidy: The True Story of an American Outlaw", is my guest on this Most Notorious episode. He helps separate fact from fiction, and shares some fascinating stories about the life of the gentleman robber Robert Leroy Parker, aka Butch Cassidy. The author's website: https://leerhsen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us probably know at least the basics of the 1959 Kansas Clutter family murders case, in large part because the story was dramatically detailed by Truman Capote in his best-selling 1966 non-fiction novel entitled "In Cold Blood". But was Capote's book as factual as he claimed it was? The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says so, but my guest, Gary McAvoy does not. Gary, along with Ronald R. Nye, collaborated to write the book "And Every Word Is True", based on the personal notes and files of Ronald's father Harold Nye, lead investigator of the case. Gary joins me to share some tantalizing theories from their book, based on forgotten facts, clues and witness statements from the original investigation over sixty years ago. The author's website: https://www.garymcavoy.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beverly Hills, California is not all glitz and glamor. The city has had more than its share of shocking true crime over the last one hundred years, often involving famous figures like Lana Turner, Lupe Vélez, Jean Harlow and Bugsy Siegel. Murder and scandal seem to follow the rich and famous, and my guests - investigative reporter Barbara Schroeder and forensic science specialist Clark Fogg - are experts at not only documenting these stories, but also occasionally writing their final chapters, using modern investigative and crime-solving techniques whenever possible. Their book is called "Beverly Hills Confidential: A Century of Stars, Scandals and Murders", and they join me to offer fascinating details on many of the most notorious solved and unsolved cases in Hollywood history. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 1st, 2020 marked the 99th anniversary of one of the most despicable acts of mass murder in American history. A mob of 10,000 white vigilantes descended on an African-American suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma - looting, burning houses and businesses, and killing men, women and children. Black business owners put up a fierce resistance, but were soon beaten back by sheer numbers and firepower. My guest, Tim Madigan, is the award-winning author of "The Burning: Massacre, Destruction, and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921". He shares some of the firsthand accounts he was able to record from witnesses to the tragic event, and offers an explanation as to how this massacre became a "hidden history" in the United States up until recently. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The city of Boston was put to the test when occupying British soldiers opened fire into a crowd of rioters on March 5th, 1770. Known forever as the Boston Massacre, it later became a rallying cry for the American Revolution. My guest is Carlton College's Professor Serena Zabin, author of "The Boston Massacre: A Family Affair". Her research into the pivotal event breaks some longstanding myths on the Massacre, including introducing evidence that suggests that many of the British soldiers who occupied Boston homes in the late 1760s actually assimilated smoothly into the city during their stay. The author's website: https://serenazabin.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On November 5th, 1934, in the small coal mining town of Kelayres, Pennsylvania, Republican political boss Joe Bruno took an extreme and shocking step. Worried and agitated about a possible loss in the following day's elections, he and his family used his large weapons arsenal to fire into a Democratic parade. My guest, Stephanie Hoover, author of "The Kelayres Massacre: Politics & Murder in Pennsylvania's Anthracite Coal Country", outlines the political tensions leading up to the terrible event, give details of the shootings, and explains what happened to the killers afterwards. The author's website: https://www.stefhoover.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As political factions battled in pre-Civil War Washington D.C., a sensational sex and murder scandal suddenly grabbed the nation's attention. New York Congressman Daniel Sickles, having learned that his wife Teresa was in the midst of a torrid love affair with U.S. Attorney Philip Barton Key II, angrily confronted him in a park with fatal consequences. My guest is Chris DeRose, New York Times bestselling author, historian and former law professor. He shares details from his meticulously researched book, "Star Spangled Scandal: Sex, Murder and the Trial That Changed America". The author's website: https://www.chrisderosebooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious. Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the years following World War One, thousands of young women were hired to paint radium on watch and clock dials so they would glow in the dark. As a result, many of the women would suffer the excruciating effects of radiation poisoning, which often lead to their deaths at an early age. My guest, Kate Moore, is author of the New York Times bestselling book "Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women". She joins me to talk about this terrible tragedy (which would be covered up by the guilty corporations for decades) and the bravery of the afflicted women, who fought an uphill battle for justice. The author's website: https://www.kate-moore.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early 19th century Australia, escaping from a penal colony was not an easy task, mostly because there was no where to go. Six foot five William Buckley did just that, however, wandering though the wild Australian bush before being taken in by a tribe of aborigines, close to death. For the next thirty-two years he would live with the tribe, before finally meeting famed bushranger and bounty hunter John Batman. My guest, Adam Courtenay, is an Australian author and historian, and he joins me to talk about this legendary character and his role in one of the most dangerous and tragic eras in Australia's history. His book is called "The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter." More about the author here: https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/adam-courtenay-880000040134 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas was once home to some of the most notorious criminals in America, including Carl Panzram, Robert "the Birdman" Stroud, Frank Nitti and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Part of its history includes one of the most exciting prison breaks in U.S. history, when the "Leavenworth Seven" kidnapped Warden Tom White in December of 1931 White and busted out, only to face one wild obstacle after another. My guest, Kenneth LaMaster, is not only a Leavenworth prison historian but a former correctional officer of the institution. He offers some background history on Leavenworth, tells the tale of the breakout, and even shares stories of his own personal brushes with infamous criminals while working there. His book is called "Leavenworth Seven: The Deadly 1931 Prison Break". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calamity Jane is without question one of the most iconic figures in Old West history. She's been portrayed innumerable times in film and television, most recently in the HBO series Deadwood as Wild Bill Hickock's loyal buckskin-wearing friend and sidekick. Her reputation proceeded her wherever she went, as a master bullwhacker, an excessive drinker, a riveting storyteller, and as a woman who found herself in some of the most pivotal moments in American western history. But how much of her larger-than-life personality was based on fact, and how much was exaggerated? My guest, Linda Jucovy, helps separate fact from fiction in this episode of Most Notorious. She is the author of "Searching for Calamity: The Life and Times of Calamity Jane". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the Coen brothers refuse to confirm it, many believe that their movie "Fargo" was inspired by the Carol Thompson murder case. She was viciously killed in her comfortable Saint Paul home by a hitman hired by her eccentric husband, T. Eugene Thompson, in March of 1963, leaving behind four small children. It was an absolutely sensational case, one not only covered extensively by local press, but by national and international press as well. Longtime journalist William Swanson covers the case with me. His book is called "Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of the most notorious cases in American history were solved by the masterful techniques of forensics expert Dr. Edward Oscar Heinrich. He was known as the "American Sherlock Holmes" for his use of science and deduction to solve what many considered unsolvable cases, including Oregon's infamous 1923 Siskiyou "train robbery"/multi-murder, and San Francisco's 1921 Fatty Arbuckle murder case. My guest, once again, is Kate Winkler Dawson. She talks about Heinrich's pioneering crime-solving techniques, his compelling, complicated personality, and his personal troubles as well. She is the author of "American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI". The author's website: https://www.katewinklerdawson.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late October of 1928, authorities in the small town of Lake Bluff, Illinois discovered a grisly scene in the village hall basement. They found a young woman named Elfreida Knaak, naked, horribly burned and barely clinging to life, next to a furnace. From that point on, investigators would uncover a bizarre story, including a secret affair, mystical Christian rituals, and contradictory deathbed confessions. My guest is historian Kraig Moreland, who has researched this hometown mystery for years. His book is called "Furnace Girl: The Mysterious Case of Elfrieda Knaak". The author's website: https://www.thefurnacegirl.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 6th, 1873, a brutal double ax murder took the lives of two Norwegian women living on the isolated Smuttynose Island, one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. My guest is J. Dennis Robinson, a prolific writer, historian and steward of Smuttynose Island, and author of "Mystery on the Isles of Shoals: Closing the Case on the Smuttynose Ax Murders of 1873". He not only tells the story of the murders of Karen and Anethe Christensen, the harrowing escape by Karen's sister, Marin, and the capture and trial of Louis Wagner, but of the rocky and desolate island itself, and it's role in the horrific and bloody affair. He also addresses the recent conspiracy theories, fueled by a popular novel, that Marin was the actual murderer. The author's website: http://www.jdennisrobinson.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Grann, author of the New York Times Bestselling "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI", is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious. He talks about his research into a spree of murders of oil-rich Osage Indians in 1920s Oklahoma. Dozens and dozens of people were being murdered in a crime wave that became so sensational that J Edgar Hoover and his fledgling F.B.I. were forced to intercede. A team of agents, led by famed lawman Tom White would eventually uncover a diabolical plot to slaughter an entire family. More information about the author's work here: https://www.davidgrann.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1937, in an idyllic neighborhood of Los Angeles called Inglewood, the unspeakable happened. Three little girls were lured from a park, assaulted and murdered. The sensational case, known as the "Babes of Inglewood" Murders, would shake Depression-era America. My guest, Pamela Everett, is not only an attorney with the InnocenceProject and a UNR professor of criminal justice, but also the niece of two of the girls who were killed that day, Madeline and Melba Marie. She draws some very interesting conclusions from her research into the case, and shares her serious doubts about the guilt of the man convicted of the murders. A second suspect, instead, seems more likely to be the killer. Her bestselling book is called "Little Shoes: The Sensational Depression-Era Murders That Became My Family's Secret". The author's publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Little-Shoes/Pamela-Everett/9781510755710 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alvin "Creepy" Karpis could claim many things in his life. He was not only the brains behind the Barker-Karpis Gang, but the last public enemy of the 1930s, one of J. Edgar Hoover's most hated adversaries, and the longest serving inmate in Alcatraz history. Julie Thompson, author of "The Hunt for the Last Public Enemy in Northeastern Ohio: Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and his Road to Alcatraz" is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious. She reveals fascinating details about this brilliant, cunning and dangerous bankrobber-killer. She also tells the little known story of Karpis's final heist in Garrettsville, Ohio - the last successful train robbery in American history. Episode correction: Alvin Karpis died on August 26th, 1979. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we examine the most notorious witch hunt in American history, in Salem, Massachusetts. Hundreds of women and men were accused of witchcraft by young, "afflicted" girls, and many were executed. My guest is Mary Beth Norton, award-winning historian and professor of American history at Cornell University. She joins me to talk about her book, "In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692". Besides explaining the details on how the crisis unfolded, she dispels some of the common myths surrounding this infamous historical event. More about the author: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/22365/mary-beth-norton/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early 1946, a serial killer nicknamed "The Phantom Killer" (aka the "Moonlight Killer") terrorized the citizens of Texarkana (Arkansas and Texas). It was one of the most sensational series of murders in post-war America. Dr. James Presley is my guest, and the author of "The Phantom Killer - Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town In Terror". He walks us through the terrible slayings and builds a case for who he thinks the real killer was. He also tells the story of meeting the likely murderer under unusual circumstances. More about the author here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/James-Presley/172140980 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us are probably familiar with the Kingston Trio song, "Tom Dooley", but fewer may realize that it was based on the true life murder of Laura Foster in 1866 North Carolina. Charlotte Corbin Barnes is an unapologetic supporter of Tom Dooley's innocence, and explains the crime, the complications of the trial due to the intense political climate in North Carolina in the era of Reconstruction, and her suspicions on what might have really happened. Her book is called "The Tom Dooley Files: My Search for the Truth Behind the Legend". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October 1922, a sensational murder gripped the city of London. While on a walk home after a show, Percy Thompson was stabbed by Freddy Bywaters, the lover of his wife, Edith. Passionate love letters written by her, including mentions of the desire to murder Percy, helped send not only Bywaters to the gallows, but her as well. My guest is bestselling author Laura Thompson, and she joins Most Notorious to talk about her book, "A Tale of Two Murders: Guilt, Innocence and the Execution of Edith Thompson". More about the author here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Tale-of-Two-Murders/Laura-Thompson/9781681778716 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the evening of November 17th, 1973, five teenagers, enjoying a campfire at the Gitchie-Manitou State Park in Iowa, were terrorized by three sociopathic brothers, who would end up murdering the four boys in brutal fashion. The lone survivor, Sandra Cheskey, was raped and released, and not surprisingly deeply traumatized by what she'd witnessed and experienced. She would become known from that point on as the "Gitchie Girl", and shunned by classmates and her community. Ultimately she would help catch the brothers, take the witness stand and even confront one of them in prison later in her life. My guest is Phil Hammon, who along with his wife Sandy authored the fascinating national best seller, "Gitchie Girl". Phil was also best friends with one of the murder victims, Michael Hadrath, and retells the notorious events in a compelling, personal fashion. The author's website: https://www.philhammanauthor.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While much is written about Prohibition-era gangsters and bootlegging, the focus is typically in places like Chicago, Kansas City and New York City. Far less known, but very compelling, is the history of the Mexican-American border in the Southwest in the 1920s, and the battles between Old West-era lawmen and the dangerous gangsters who were intent on smuggling booze into the United States. Samuel Dolan, author of "Cowboys and Gangsters: Stories of an Untamed Southwest" joins me to tell to explain the importance of this regional history, and some of the colorful characters who took participated in it. He also shares his experiences as an actor in the 1993 film, Tombstone. The author's website: https://www.samuelkdolan.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the world's most preeminent Ripperologists, Tom Wescott, author of "The Bank Holiday Murders" and "Ripper Confidential" is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious. His extensive research into Jack the Ripper/Whitechapel murders give his a unique perspective into this truly iconic true crime cold case. Focusing on some of the more intriguing peripheral players in the events, including a suspicious prostitute named "Pearly Poll", he offers a fresh take and new theories on who might have murdered the "Canonical Five" (and likely more) in Victorian-era London. The author's website: https://ripperbooks.wordpress.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1919, eight players on the Chicago White Sox baseball team, including "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, were implicated in what would go down in infamy as the Black Sox scandal. In exchange for money, members of the team agreed to intentionally throw the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. New York underworld gangster Arnold Rothstein is widely suspected of being the primary fixer in the sensational crime. My guest is Charles Fountain, journalist, professor, baseball historian and author of "The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball." He gives his expert perspective on what is recognized as the greatest scandal in the history of American sports. Authors page: https://charlesfountain.com/bio/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When many of us think about Old West gunfighters, our minds turn to men like Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, and Billy the Kid. But there were others equally as compelling, including the two that are the subject of my guest G.R. Williamson's recent book, called "Texas Pistoleers: The True Story of Ben Thompson and King Fisher". Thompson and Fisher each had their own unique and violent lives, but happened to be together when they were shot to death at the infamous Vaudeville Theater Ambush in San Antonio, Texas. That story is told, along with tales of their gunfights and their fascinating encounters with famous western figures (and killers) like Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickock, Bat Masterson and John Wesley Hardin. Visit the author's publisher page here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781609490003 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emma Barrett Molloy was a well-known Evangelical Christian, temperance and women's rights activist in the 1870s and 80s. But in 1885 she found herself embroiled in a lurid scandal involving a con-artist named George Graham. Graham married Emma's foster daughter, Cora Lee, but without divorcing his first wife, Sarah. When Sarah eventually found and confronted him, Graham murdered her and attempted to cover up the crime. Emma, of course, would be caught up in the drama, front-line fodder for a scandal-hungry press. My guest is Larry Wood, author of "Bigamy & Bloodshed: The Scandal of Emma Molloy and the Murder of Sarah Graham". He gets into the nitty-gritty of this shocking story on this week's episode of Most Notorious. More about the author here: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLarryWood/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My conversation continues with Ellen Poulsen, co-author (with Lori Hyde) of "Chasing Dillinger: Police Captain Matt Leach, J. Edgar Hoover and the Rivalry to Capture Public Enemy No. 1". In this second part of the interview, Ellen explains the struggles Matt Leach continued to face as he tried to prove East Chicago cops were in on the death of Dillinger, J Edgar Hoover's personal crusade to ruin Leach professionally, and the details of Leach's tragic death. She also talks about her feelings on the "Lady in Red", Anna Sage, Dillinger's position in the Babyface Nelson gang, and her thoughts on the recent attempts to exhume Dillinger's body. More about the author here: http://www.dillingerswomen.com/About-The-Author.html Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ellen Poulsen is back, this time to discuss her new book (co-written with Lori Hyde), "Chasing Dillinger: Police Captain Matt Leach, J. Edgar Hoover and the Rivalry to Capture Public Enemy No. 1."  She walks us through John Dillinger's rise in 1933 and 34 to gangster infamy, including his Crown Point prison escape, and his intense rivalry with Matt Leach of the Indiana State Police, who was singularly focused on bringing Dillinger down. Ellen's website: https://www.ellenpoulsen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just in time for the Halloween season! This episode explores the real Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, a 15th century warrior-ruler infamous for his extreme brutality and cruelty. My guest Leif Pettersen, a former travel writer with Lonely Planet, has spent considerable time in Romania, and through his writing, research and wanderings, developed a special attachment to the real life Dracula. His book on the subject is part memoir, part travelogue and part history, and called: "Backpacking with Dracula: On the Trail of Vlad "the Impaler” Dracula and the Vampire He Inspired". More abut the author here: https://leifpettersen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author Eric Jay Dolin joins me to talk about his book, "Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates". He discusses the Golden Age of Piracy in 17th and 18th century America, explains why pirates were so prolific during this time, dispels some prevailing pirate myths, and tells stories about some of most infamous (like Blackbeard) and the most murderous (like Ned Low). The author's website: https://www.ericjaydolin.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May of 1980, a brazen group of four heavily armed men, in an attempt to rob the Security Pacific Bank in Norco, California, ended up responsible for one of the most violent criminal events in American history. It would be a massive shootout against an underarmed police department, and would fundamentally change how law enforcement departments across the country dealt with crime. My guest, author Peter Houlahan, summarizes the events detailed in his book, "Norco '80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History". His research includes insightful, first hand interviews from people on both sides of the shootout, and fascinating tales of the trial that followed. More about the author here: https://www.peterhoulahan.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of the American Civil War there was a sharp rise of interest from Americans interested in communicating with the dead, and the Spiritualism movement grew increasingly popular. This, combined with the new technology of photography, gave rise to a scam called "spirit photography". The main perpetrator of the fraud was William H. Mumler, who convinced many that he could capture images of lost love ones alongside the living in portrait photographs. Eventually he would face a sensational trial, with even P.T. Barnum testifying against him. My guest is Peter Manseau, writer and curator of American Religious History at the Smithsonian Institution. His book is called "The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost", and he tells the this tale of deception in this latest episode of Most Notorious. The author's website: https://www.petermanseau.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October of 1900, four men accompanied a young woman named Jennie Bosschieter to a New Jersey saloon, where one of them slipped a large amount of chloral hydrate into her drink. She was then taken on a ride to a remote place, sexually assaulted, and eventually died from the overdose. My guest is Kimberly Tilley, author of "The Poisoned Glass", and she tells the disturbing story of the murder, the investigation, the trial and its aftermath. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of "Sin in the Second City", "American Rose", and "Liar, Temptress, Soldier. Spy". She discusses her new book, "The Ghosts of Eden Park", and the wild story of George Remus, the most powerful bootlegger in early Prohibition-era America. It's a roller-coaster tale - his rise, his fall, and the strange love triangle he shared with wife Imogene and Prohibition Agent Franklin Dodge, which would ultimately drive him to such rage that he would shoot her dead and face a sensational trial. The author's website: https://karenabbott.net/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harper Lee, author of "To Kill A Mockingbird", famously accompanied Truman Capote as he investigated the murder of the Clutter family; ultimately writing about the terrible events in his true crime classic, "In Cold Blood". Years later, Lee tackled her own multi-murder investigation, with the goal of writing her own true crime book. My guest is Casey Cep, author of "Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee". She not only discusses Harper Lee's involvement, but goes into detail about the Reverend Willie Maxwell, who after murdering five people in Talapoosa County, Alabama, was himself shot dead during the funeral for one of his victims. More information on Casey's work can be found here: https://www.caseycep.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Arthur Conan Doyle is recognized as the creator of one of the most famous characters in literary history - Sherlock Holmes- fewer people know that Doyle used his Holmesian skills of deduction to help solve actual real-life true crime cases. One in particular had to do with Oscar Slater, a Jewish immigrant gambler who was convicted for the brutal beating death of a wealthy woman named Marion Gilchrist in Glasgow, Scotland in late December of 1908. My guest, Margalit Fox, is author of the book "Conan Doyle for the Defense: How Sherlock Holmes's Creator Turned Real-Life Detective & Freed a Man Wrongly Imprisoned For Murder". She tells the story about Slater's wrongful conviction and Doyle's crusade for justice amidst a corrupt Glasgow police department. More about the author here: http://margalitfox.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cults are certainly not a new phenomenon - in fact one of the strangest ones existed in Los Angeles in the 1920s. The "Blackburn Cult", also known as the "Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven", was the brainchild of a grifter named May Otis Blackburn. She, along with her daughter Ruth, in need of money, suddenly claimed that the archangel Gabriel had visited them with orders to write books that revealed the mysteries of life, death, and a post-apocalyptic world that would be ruled by eleven Queens . My guest is Samuel Fort, author of "Cult of the Great Eleven". He discusses some of the cult's bizarre rituals and behavior, and more ominously, the mysterious deaths and disappearances it was involved in - grim events that would eventually be exposed to the country in a sensational trial. The author's website: https://www.samuelfort.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April of 1920, two payroll guards were gunned during a robbery in Braintree, Massachusetts. Police immediately honed in on two Italian-born anarchists, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and charged them with murder. My guest, Susan Tejada, author of "In Search of Sacco and Vanzetti: Double Lives, Troubled Times and the Massachusetts Murder Case That Shook the World", dives into the case in detail. And it's fascinating - from a questionable police investigation, including confusing ballistics evidence, to a biased judge, to an ignored confession, this is a case that caused a world-wide outcry over a failed legal process, which led to the eventual execution of both men. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long before Dutch Schultz, "Lucky" Luciano or even Monk Eastman ran rackets in New York City, a man named Albert Hicks terrorized lower Manhattan. He'd made his living as a murderous pirate, and became one of the worst criminals to ever wander the notorious Five Points, a wretched slum made famous in Asbury's (and Scorsese's) "Gangs of New York". Rich Cohen, bestselling author of "The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, A Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation" is my guest this week. He tells the story of a mysterious, empty ship found floating in the New York Harbor in 1860, and evidence left behind of three violent murders that would eventually lead police to the handsome and ruthless Albert Hicks. The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547872/the-last-pirate-of-new-york-by-rich-cohen/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is George R. Dekle Sr., former prosecutor and prolific author. He discusses his book, "Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts", and draws comparisons between the Helen Pott's husband, Carlyle Harris (who would be tried and convicted for her 1891 murder in a sensational New York case) and Ted Bundy, whom Dekle was responsible for prosecuting in Florida. More about the author here: https://www.bobdeklebooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June of 1968, a wealthy Detroit-area family was gunned down in their northern Michigan cabin. It would become one of the most famous cold cases in the state's history. Mardi Link, author of "When Evil Came to Good Hart", shares the tragic story of the Robison family, and the police suspect who was never convicted but almost certainly committed the terrible crime. The author’s website: https://www.mardilink.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1385, a bitter feud between two French courtiers came to a terrible head when Marguerite, the beautiful young wife of Norman knight Jean de Carrouges, accused her husband's enemy, Jacques LeGris, of outraging her. After a long legal fight, Parliament finally determined that God would produce the verdict. A judicial duel to the death would decide the outcome. And the risk was great - if Carroughes was killed, Marguerite would also die. My guest is Eric Jager, professor of medieval literature at UCLA. He summarizes the story documented so thrillingly in his book, "The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France". More about the author here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/43532/eric-jager/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Andrew Hutton, best-selling author of "The Apache Wars: The Hunt For Geronimo, The Apache Kid, And The Captive Boy Who Started The Longest War In American History", is my guest on this episode of Most Notorious. He tells the story of a mixed-blood warrior and Apache scout named Mickey Free, whose capture as a boy is considered the catalyst for the Apaches Wars. They were wars that spanned over two decades in the American Southwest, and led by famed Apache leaders like Geronimo, Cochise and Mangas Coloradas. The Apache Wars also gave birth to one of the most famous outlaws of the era, the notorious "Apache Kid". More about the author here: https://www.paulandrewhutton.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us have grown up thinking that Elliot Ness and his famed "Untouchables" were the crimefighters who brought down the notorious Al Capone in Chicago. But instead, it was a group of millionaire businessmen called the "Secret Six" who were the real reason for the Capone Outfit's demise. In his book "Al Capone and the 1933 World's Fair: The End of the Gangster Era in Chicago", my guest, William Hazelgrove, makes the argument that in order for the city to successfully host their second World's Fair, they had to take out Al Capone first. More about the author here: https://www.williamhazelgrove.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1974, a young woman named Alice killed her abusive husband. Then she met and married a man named Gerald Uden, who was having financial issues with his ex-wife, Virginia Martin. Not long after, Gerald would murder Virginia and her two sons, Richard and Reagan, and hide their bodies in the vast Wyoming wilderness. Best selling author Ron Franscell is my guest, and he talks about his research into 40 year old murder investigation, along with his beliefs about Gerald Uden as a sociopathic murderer. His book is called "Alice and Gerald: A Homicidal Love Story". More about the author here: https://ronfranscell.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 10th, 1883, the famed Newhall House hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, caught fire. Made worse by a series of blunders by hotel staff and a poorly trained and equipped fire department, seventy five people would ultimately lose their lives in the horrific, raging inferno. My guest, historian Matthew J. Prigge, is author of “Damn the Old Tinderbox! Milwaukee’s Palace of the West and the Fire That Defined An Era”. He tells the harrowing stories of the guests and the staff who both perished and escaped from one of the most devastating hotel fires in American history, and the man who would eventually be arrested and tried for setting the blaze. More about the author: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15238 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In part two of this episode, John Boessenecker continues his tale of Frank Hamer, including his days as a Prohibition agent in the 1920s, a cold-case investigator, and his famous hunt of notorious Depression-era outlaws and murderers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. John Boessenecker is the New York Times bestselling author of "Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde". More about the author here: https://us.macmillan.com/author/johnboessenecker Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is John Boessenecker, former police officer and New York Times bestselling author of "Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde". In this first part of the episode, he talks about Hamer's wild and bloody career in Texas law enforcement from 1906 until 1920, and makes the case that Hamer was the greatest American lawman of the twentieth century. More about the author here: https://us.macmillan.com/author/johnboessenecker Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On December 6th, 1969, The Rolling Stones headlined a free concert at Altamont Speedway outside of San Francisco. It quickly turned ugly, culminating with the stabbing death of eighteen-year-old Meredith Hunter by a member of the Hell's Angels, who were acting as security. My guest, Joel Selvin, long-time music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times bestselling author, explains how the concert came into being and offers details on the terrible night, including his thoughts on whether Mick Jagger and the Stones were really aware of the extent of the violence during their set. Joel Selvin's book is called "The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day". More about the author here: http://www.joelselvin.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June of 1906, famed architect Stanford White was murdered by an obsessive millionaire's son named Harry Thaw at the roof garden theater of Madison Square Garden. His attorneys would claim in the sensational court case that followed that he'd done it because his young wife, model Evelyn Nesbit, had been raped by White when she was only sixteen. My guest is award-winning historian and author Simon Baatz, and his book is called "The Girl on the Velvet Swing: Sex Murder and Madness at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century". He joins me to tell the dramatic story. The author's website: http://www.simonbaatz.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early 1942, as World War II raged and Japan threatened Australia, tens of thousands of American servicemen arrived in Melbourne to provide assistance in the Pacific Theater. One young U.S. soldier, however, named Eddie Leonski, used the browned-out city as a hunting ground to strangle and murder women. My guest is Ian W. Shaw, author of "Murder at Dusk: How US Soldier and Smiling Pyschopath Eddie Leonski Terrorized Wartime Melbourne". He shares details of the serial murders and their consequences to U.S.-Australian relations at a pivotal time in world history. More about the author here: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/ian-w-shaw/murder-at-dusk/9780733640452/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1902 New York City, a group of wealthy young men, known as the Bedford Avenue Gang, spent their free time terrorizing their neighborhood - including drinking, stealing, fleecing businesses and seducing women. After gang member Walter Brooks, began dating one of the gang's groupies, a badly behaved young woman named Florence Burns, he ended up murdered in a seedy downtown hotel. Virginia A. McConnell, author of "The Belle of Bedford Avenue: The Sensational Brooks-Burns Murder in Turn-of-the-Century New York", is my guest on this episode. She tells the story of Florence Burns, the Bedford Avenue Gang, and how the "Unwritten Law" helped determine whether justice would ever be served in the murder of Walter Brooks. More about the author here: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/author/mcconnellv/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1921 in Missoula, Montana, a wife and mother of two named Nora Shea was gunned down near some railroad tracks. The main suspect was a local hoodlum named Joe Vuckovich, but a recent piece of surfaced evidence points the finger at her husband, Jerry Shea, as the real killer. My guest is history writer and journalist Kim Briggeman, whose article in the Missoulian newspaper brought the nearly one-hundred year old murder back to local attention. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, the 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe slaughter of the Moore family has been one of the greatest unsolved family massacres in American history. Many believe that it was a local townsperson, but others believe it was the work of a transient serial killer. From the late 1890s until possibly as late as the 1920s, Paul Mueller, a German sailor, rode the American rails, murdering entire families with the blunt edge of an axe, according to my guest, Rachel McCarthy James. She, along with her co-author and father, baseball historian and statistician Bill James, make a convincing case in their book, "The Man From the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery", that they have discovered the slayer of potentially a hundred or more people across the United States, Canada, and even Germany. More information about the book can be found here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Man-from-the-Train/Bill-James/9781476796260 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August of 1965, the idyllic little community of Shaker Heights, Ohio, was shaken to its foundation when housewife Mariann Colby shot to death her neighbor boy, eight-year-old Cremer Young Jr.. Attorney and professor William L. Tabac, author of "Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights: Examining the Trial of Marian Colby", tells the story of the crime and her defense's bold strategy in claiming that the seemingly sane woman was actually insane at the moment she pulled the trigger. More about the book here: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2017/the-insanity-defense-and-the-mad-murderess-of-shaker-heights/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1947 Los Angeles Black Dahlia murder case has long been one of the most infamous unsolved crimes in American history, and many suspects have been accused over the years of being the slayer of Elizabeth Short. In this second Most Notorious episode about the subject, I talk with Piu Eatwell, author of "Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption and Cover Up of America’s Greatest Unsolved Murder". In her book, she makes a convincing case that the murderer was a man being pursued in a separate parallel police investigation, secret from the public, until it all blew up and the doctor leading the charge was unfairly discredited, despite compelling evidence. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 2nd, 1881, a disappointed and mentally unstable office-seeker named Charles Guiteau shot President James A. Garfield in a Washington D.C. train station. Over the next weeks, Garfield would linger, bedridden, as infection set in, caused by poor medical treatment, and America would wait with bated breath over whether their beloved president would survive. Meanwhile, Guiteau, the most hated man in America, would face trial and possible execution. My guest is Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author, who discusses her book "Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President". Her website: https://www.candicemillard.com/destiny-of-the-republic.html Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll grew up quickly, from Irish tenements to enforcer for Bronx bootlegger and gangster Dutch Schultz while still in his teens. Soon the two split, and began gunning for each other in a bloody feud that left a trail of dead hoodlums in its wake. My guest is Rich Gold, co-author with Breandán Delap of the book, "Mad Dog Coll: An Irish Gangster", and tells the story of this vicious gangster, including his violent end in a New York City drugstore. Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special interview episode from the files of Where Blood Runs Cold, I interview Sharon Henry Darby, author of "Glensheen's Daughter", about the notorious Minnesota murderer and arsonist Marjorie Congdon, who besides allegedly conspiring to murder her mother Elizabeth Congdon at the famous Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, also left a trail of fire and death for the next three decades across the country. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The subject of today's episode is Henri Landru, the most notorious serial killer in French history. He placed advertisements in Paris newspapers in the late 1910s, preying on lonely women left behind as French soldiers marched off to war. While he would eventually be tried and convicted on twelve counts of murder, Richard Tomlinson, the author of "Landru's Secret: The Deadly Seductions of France's Lonely Hearts Serial Killer", believes the actual murder count to be higher, and he explains why. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ann Marie Ackermann is my guest on this episode, author of the book "Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee". In 1835, a German mayor is murdered at night as he approaches his own front door. After an extensive investigation, including the first forensic ballistics test in history, the case goes cold until 1871, when it is finally solved in the United States. To make the story even more strange and compelling, the murderer of the mayor ends up dying at the feet of a young Robert E. Lee during a Mexican-American War battle. More about the author here: https://www.annmarieackermann.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Dr. Emilie La Beau Lucchesi, author of "Ugly Prey: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence That Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago". She discusses the case of Sabella Nitti, a poor Italian immigrant woman accused by police of murdering her husband with help from her farmhand lover in 1923. Dr. Lucchesi's investigation offers new evidence that she helps further exonerate Nitti, who is probably most well known in modern day culture as one of the characters in the Chicago musical and film. The author's website: http://www.emilie-lucchesi.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catherine Pelonero, author of "Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and its Private Consequences", is my guest. She walks us through the murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, New York in 1964 and its aftermath. The horrific crime is especially infamous because no one called police or stepped in to help, despite being witnessed by dozens of people. The author's website: https://catherinepelonero.net/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Jack Kelly joins me to discuss his book, "Heaven's Ditch: God Gold and Murder". He shares some stories of early 19th century murder and mystery surrounding the great engineering marvel known as the Erie Canal. The author's website: https://jackkellybooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mafia historian and Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano is my guest this episode. He offers insight into gangster Frank Costello, underboss to Lucky Luciano, whose role and influence in the growth of organized crime in America was immense. DeStefano's book is called "Top Hoodlum: Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia". More about the author and his work here: https://www.tonydestefano.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stacy Horn, author of "Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad and Criminal in 19th-Century New York", joins me to chat about the infamous New York City island, which housed the women's notorious lunatic asylum that continued to operate for decades, despite the horrendous abuses committed against the inmates. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even today, the world is still utterly fascinated with the Romanov family, the last Tsar and Tsarina of Imperial Russia and their famous daughters and son. My guest is Helen Rappaport, a world-renowned expert on the subject. She joins me to discuss her third book about the Romanovs, called "The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family", which answers lingering questions about why the world couldn't save the family from their terrible deaths. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1900s police were stymied by a series of murders of Italian grocers and fruit vendors in midwest America. Witnesses refused to cooperate, which made the crimes impossible to solve. Enter the United States Postal Service. Postal Inspector Frank Oldfield finds a man willing to testify, and suddenly the organization is knee-deep in a massive investigation which leads them to one of the first crime rings of Sicilian gangsters in American history. For the first time, law enforcement agencies realize that an organized mafia (known as the Black Hand) exists in the United States. My guests are William Oldfield and Victoria Bruce, authors of "Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society", and share some of the most interesting details from their book on this episode. More information at the publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Inspector-Oldfield-and-the-Black-Hand-Society/William-Oldfield/9781501171215 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November, 1849, Dr. George Parkman, Boston businessman and Harvard Medical School benefactor, disappeared. While many believed he might have been done in by an Irish immigrant, the discovery of his dismembered body in a privy eventually led investigators to a Harvard faculty teacher, John Webster. Paul Collins, English professor at Portland State University and author of "Blood and Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard", shares this story of debt, greed and rage at one of America's most prestigious colleges, during the era of Longfellow, Emerson, Melville, Hawthorne and Dickens. More about the author here: https://www.pdx.edu/profile/paul-collins Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, author and journalist Paul Hoffman, discusses the July 1925 abduction and murder of little Buddy Schumacher in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He wrote the book, "Murder in Wauwatosa: The Mysterious Death of Buddy Schumacher." The author's website: https://paulhoffmanauthor.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most violent old west towns in the late 19th century was the legendary Dodge City, Kansas. Among the notable lawmen and gunfighters who called it home were Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, who formed an unlikely friendship to do battle with gunmen, horse thieves, and desperadoes. New York Times best-selling author Tom Clavin joins me to talk about his book, "Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West". The author's website: https://www.tomclavin.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Most Notorious, I chat with Philip Jett, author of "The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty”. He discusses the attempted kidnapping and eventual murder of Coors Brewery heir Adolph Coors III in 1960 Colorado, and the personal involvement of J. Edgar Hoover in this sensational case that drew international interest. More information about the author can be found here: https://philipjett.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Nathan E. Bender, who wrote the introduction for the most recent edition of the 1958 classic "Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson". Johnson, (who was the basis for Robert Redford's character in the "Jeremiah Johnson" film), is known in history for hunting down members of the Crow Indian tribe to avenge his wife and child's death, but much of our modern knowledge of this now legendary figure was made up by the original authors of the book, Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker. Author Nathan Bender tells us the true story of Liver-Eating Johnson, and helps separate myth from historical accuracy. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4698315/advertisement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rose Veres, known as "The Witch of Delray", was tried in 1931 for murdering one of her tenants in Detroit, and has been suspected of killing others throughout the 1920s. Karen Dybis, author of "The Witch of Delray: Rose Veres and Detroit's Infamous 1930s Murder Mystery" is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious, and not only tells Rose's story, but helps separate legend from the true-life, historical account of her story. The author's website: https://www.karendybis.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1936, New York City prosecutors, desperate to put infamous Murder Inc. boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano behind bars, decided to arrest him on tenuous charges for running the Big Apple's largest prostitution racket. Ellen Poulsen is my guest, and author of "The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial". She talks about the case, the trial, and the state of prostitution and organized crime in 1930s New York City. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years after the brutal murders of three Tucson women, an inside account of killer Charles Schmid, aka "The Pied Piper of Tucson" is published - written by Schmid's former friend Richard Bruns not long after the tragic and terrible events. The author's daughter, Lisa Espich joins the Most Notorious podcast to share the fascinating details from her father's book, called "I, a Squealer: The Insider's Account of the Pied Piper of Tucson Murders". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Axeman has become a figure of American folklore; a jazz-loving serial killer preying on Italian grocers in 1910s New Orleans. Miriam C. Davis, the author of "The Axeman of New Orleans", chats with me about the series of murders that terrified the city and helps separate myth from fact. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is the prolific true crime author Harold Schechter, who returns to talk about his latest book, "Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men". He tells the story about the legendary Norwegian immigrant serial killer who lured men to her Laporte, Indiana farm and murdered them, before a fire finally destroyed the farmhouse and killed her children, and allegedly her as well. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Karen L. Cox, author of "Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South". She tells the story of Jennie Merrill, an aged Southern belle who was murdered in her home in 1932 Natchez, Mississippi. Two of the main suspects against her were her neighbors: Octavia Dockery (aka " Goat Woman") and Dick Dana (aka "Wild Man"), who lived in the notorious ramshackle mansion nicknamed "Goat Castle". The author's website: https://karencoxhistorian.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True crime history enthusiasts are devouring TNT's "The Alienist", the television show based on the popular Caleb Carr novel. Richard Zacks, the author of "Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York" joins me to talk about this crazy era in the New York City's history, and how reformer and newly minted police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt attempted to curtail the power of corrupt Tammany Hall politicians and police officers, who profited from the lax law enforcement of brothels, saloons and gambling joints. More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/34037/richard-zacks/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious/ Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From December of 1884 to December of 1885 a serial killer terrorized the city of Austin Texas. He had multiple nicknames: the Midnight Assassin, the Intangible Nemesis and the Servant Girl Annihilator. Journalist Skip Hollandsworth, author of "The Midnight Assassin: The Hunt for America's First Serial Killer", shares the story of this brutal murderer's killing spree, the suspects, the hapless police department who pursued him, and the rumors that the killer was none other than Jack the Ripper. More about the author here: https://www.texasmonthly.com/contributors/skip-hollandsworth/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian James L. Neibaur, author of "Butterfly in the Rain: The 1927 Abduction and Murder of Marion Parker", talks about the horrific kidnapping and murder of little Marion Parker in Jazz-age Los Angeles. Also, Mark Lee Gardner joins me for a chat about the latest rash of Billy the Kid photographs that have surfaced and their legitimacy. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian James L. Neibaur, author of "Butterfly in the Rain: The 1927 Abduction and Murder of Marion Parker", talks about the horrific kidnapping and murder of little Marion Parker in Jazz-age Los Angeles. Also, Mark Lee Gardner joins me for a chat about the latest rash of Billy the Kid photographs that have surfaced and their legitimacy. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1952 post-war London was a city in the throes of tragedy. Thousands were sickened and killed from a great filthy smog that choked the city. In the meantime a serial killer named John Reginald Christie was lurking in Notting Hill, murdering multiple women over years and burying their bodies in his backyard, under floorboards and behind walls. Author Kate Winkler Dawson tells these two parallel stories and their ultimate repercussions for the country in her book "Death In the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City." More about the author here: https://www.katewinklerdawson.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perhaps the most notorious killer in 19th century America was H.H. Holmes, a man who committed fraud and murder with cold abandon across the United States. His infamous Chicago "murder castle" is legendary in true crime lore. My guest, Adam Selzer, author of "H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil", tells Holmes' story and breaks some myths about the murderous scoundrel. More about the author here: https://adamselzerchicago.wordpress.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is former criminal defense attorney Mark Shaw, author of "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen". He talks about the life of Pulitzer nominated reporter and television star Dorothy Kilgallen, who was allegedly on the brink of breaking wide open a story about John Kennedy's assassination before her mysterious and suspicious death abruptly ended her investigation. The author's website: https://markshawbooks.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Jay Atkinson, author of "Massacre on the Merrimack", tells the notorious and controversial story of Hannah Duston. After members of the Abenaki tribe captured her and her newborn infant in March of 1697, they killed her baby on a forced march north. Duston got her revenge by killing and scalping ten of her captors, including six children, and fleeing by canoe back to her home in Haverhill, Massachusetts. More about the author: https://www.bu.edu/writingprogram/people/writing-program-faculty/jay-atkinson/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Charles Brandt, the author of bestselling book "I Heard You Paint Houses". He tells the story of Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran, a hitman who goes to work for famed mob boss Russell Bufalino and Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa in the 1950s and 60s. According to confessions by Sheeran to Brandt, he was involved in three of the most famous murders of their era - President John Kennedy, Jimmy Hoffa and "Crazy" Joe Gallo. More about the author here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/59303/charles-brandt/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spring of 1897, Chicago sausage tycoon Adolph Leutgert's wife Louisa went missing. Police soon suspected her body had been dissolved in a vat in Adolph's factory. My guest, Robert Loerzel, author of "Alchemy of Bones: Chicago’s Luetgert Murder Case of 1897", tells the sensational true crime story of murder, sex and sausage on this week's episode of Most Notorious. More about the author here: http://www.robertloerzel.com/books/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1941 Berlin police were on the hunt for a serial killer who stalked women on the S-Bahn at night, bludgeoning victims to death before throwing their bodies off of the train. Scott Andrew Selby, author of "A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin: The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer" details the terrible rape and murder spree of railway worker Paul Ogorzow. The author's website: https://www.scottselby.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1828 two friends named William Burke and William Hare killed sixteen people in Edinburgh, Scotland and sold their bodies to an anatomist named Dr. Robert Knox. Dr. Lisa Rosner, author of "The Anatomy Murders", tells the story of this notorious duo of serial killers and the nefarious business of body selling in early 19th century Scotland. The author's website: http://burkeandhare.com/anatomymurders.htm Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oklahoma oilman and multi-millionaire Jake Hamon had just helped elect Warren Harding President of the United States and had a fast track to become Secretary of the Interior - but under one condition. He had to break things off with his mistress of ten years, Clara Smith. That was when things went terribly wrong. David R. Stokes, author of "Jake and Clara: Scandal, Politics, Hollywood and Murder". tells this remarkable story of loyalty, deception and murder. More about the author here: https://davidstokeslive.wordpress.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is historian Michael Greenburg, the author of "The Mad Bomber of New York, The Extraordinary True Story of the Manhunt that Paralyzed a City". He tells the story of serial bomber George Metesky, who terrorized New York City in the 1940s and 50s over a grudge with a utility company. More about the author: https://www.michaelgreenburg.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The number of theories surrounding the Jack the Ripper murders in 1880s London are too staggering to mention. At least 200 suspects have been considered over the decades and spirited debate over his true identity has preoccupied the time of many a true crime history buff. Donald Rumbelow is my guest on this first Jack the Ripper-themed episode of Most Notorious. He is a world renowned expert on the subject, and gives us an introduction to the infamous series of murders, and also discusses some of the primary suspects. His book "The Complete Jack the Ripper" has been the go-to manual for Ripperologists for 45 years. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On September 28th, 1953, Bobby Greenlease, six-year-old son of millionaire Robert Greenlease, was kidnapped and then murdered by two grifters named Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie Brown Heady. John Heidenry, author of "Zero at the Bone: The Playboy, the Prostitute, and the Murder of Bobby Greenlease" tells the disturbing story of this notorious crime, which included corrupt cops and Saint Louis mobsters. More about the author here: https://us.macmillan.com/author/johnheidenry Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Juliet Mofford, author of "The Devil Made Me Do It! Crime and Punishment in Early New England". She discusses a variety of topics, including scarlet letters, witches, and the methods that Puritans dealt out punishments to law-breakers. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today, Catherine Spude, author of "That Fiend in Hell: Soapy Smith in Legend", tells the story of the renowned con-man, crime boss and murderer Soapy Smith, known in history as the "King of Skagway". She also helps separate the fact from the fiction and dispel some myths about the most notorious man in Alaskan history. More about the author and her work here: https://www.oupress.com/author/catherine-holder-spude/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a rough part of Cleveland Ohio called Kingsbury Run, twelve decapitated bodies, some mutilated and dismembered, were discovered from 1934-1938. My guest, Dr. James Badal, author of "In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders", discusses the details of the crimes and the investigation, including the involvement of legendary lawman Elliot Ness. More about the author and his work here: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/author/badalj/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are many myths surrounding Grigori Rasputin, known in popular history as the "Mad Monk" and the "Holy Devil". His influence on Tsar Nicholas II and his family in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Russia is well known, but my guest, Douglas Smith, author of "Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs" sheds new light on his life, his motives and where the legends end and the actual man begins. The author's website: https://douglassmith.info/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dillinger historian Ellen Poulsen, author of "Don't Call Us Molls", completes her interview with me about the role of women in Depression-era gangs of the Midwest. Included in this episode, girlfriends of the Barker-Karpis and Dillinger Gangs, Mrs. Babyface Nelson and Bonnie Parker of Bonnie and Clyde fame. The author's website: http://www.dillingerswomen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this first part of my two part interview with Ellen Poulsen, author of "Don't Call Us Molls", we discuss the many women involved with notorious 1930s Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger, including Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, Anna Sage and Polly Hamilton, and the role that molls played in the lives of bank-robbing Depression-era gangsters. The author's website: http://www.dillingerswomen.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March of 1887 a high-class prostitute and two others, including a child, were found stabbed to death in a luxury apartment on the upscale Avenue Montaigne. Police settle on a mysterious immigrant gigolo as their main suspect, named Enrico Pranzini. My guest, Aaron Freundschuh, author of "The Courtesan and the Gigolo: The Murders in the Rue Montaigne and the Dark Side of Empire in Nineteenth-Century Paris" tells the story of the crime, the investigation, the trial, and the role that xenophobia played in its outcome. More information about the author and his work here: https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=27006 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Zacks, bestselling author of "Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd" is my guest, and he tells some stories (and breaks some myths) about a man considered one of the most infamous pirates in American history. More about the author here: https://www.echonyc.com/~rzacks/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1930s were filled with news of midwest bank-robbers like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie & Clyde, but few know that Boston had its own gang of thieves and killers during the Depression. Murt Millen, a whip-smart but unstable Jewish kid, his mentally challenged brother, Irv, his wife, Norma Brighton (the wayward daughter of a minister), and his MIT graduate friend Abe Faber, formed the Millen-Faber gang in the early 30s. My guest, Nathan Gorenstein, author of "Tommy Gun Winter: Jewish Gangsters, a Preacher's Daughter, and the Trial That Shocked 1930s Boston", tells the tale about the rise and fall of this notorious group of hoodlums. The author's website: https://www.nathangorenstein.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two events in early 1940s L.A. grabbed newspaper headlines almost back to back- The murder of José Díaz and following trial of 22 boys, and the race riots between American sailors and zoot-suit wearing Mexican-American kids in downtown Los Angeles. Eduardo Obregón Pagán is a professor at Arizona State University and a co-host of PBS's History Detectives, and he talks with me about his book, "Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A.". More about the author here: https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/person/eduardo-pagan/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carl Panzram was a self-confessed serial killer and rapist, who admitted in his autobiography to over 20 murders just before his execution in 1930. My guest, John Borowski, director of the documentary "Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance" talks about this man, who many consider one of most evil people to ever walk the earth, and how childhood traumas and prison torture might have contributed in transforming him into a monster. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few of us think of 19th century Los Angeles in the same breath as Tombstone, Dodge City, or Deadwood, but in the 1850s it was filled with rampant racism and violent conflict. Vigilantes roamed the streets and lynchings were commonplace. My guest, Professor John Mack Faragher, author of "Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles" talks about this rough and savage time in California history. More about the author here: https://history.yale.edu/people/john-faragher Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1913 a PR man named John Gluck successfully petitioned the US Post Office for control of New York City's Santa Claus letters. From that point forward, he not only built the Santa Claus Association into a major holiday organization, but also found ways to steal large amounts of money in the process. Alex Palmer, author of "The Santa Claus Man: The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Age Con Man and the Invention of Christmas In New York", talks about one of the great Christmas cons in American history. The author's website: https://www.alexpalmerwrites.com/santa-claus-man Become a Most Notorious patron at: www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cory Frye, author of "Murder in Linn County, Oregon: The True Story of the Legendary Plainview Killings" is my guest. He tells two stories. On June 21, 1922, Linn County sheriff Charles Kendall and Reverend Roy Healy drove out to arrest a moonshining farmer named Dave West. By the end of the day, all three men were dead. William Dunlap replaced him, but was also killed on duty within a year. Author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467135221 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My interview with Michael Wallis, author of "Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd" continues. We cover the bloody and notorious Kansas City Massacre, as well as the last few weeks, days and hours of Pretty Boy Floyd's life. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pretty Boy Floyd lit up the late 20s and early 30s Midwest with bank robberies, daring escapes from the law, and cold-blooded murder. My guest, Michael Wallis, author of "Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd", talks about his early life, his first forays into crime, time in a Kansas prison, and an audacious bank heist in his hometown cheered by his friends and grandfather in this first part of a two part series on the legendary social bandit. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rumors for many years have circulated about the mysterious death of famed boxer Sonny Liston in December of 1970. My guest, Shaun Assael, author of "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin and Heavyweights" and a former police reporter and sports writer for ESPN Magazine, talks about the suspects and possible scenarios surrounding Lison's demise, and the very strong possibility of his murder. The author's website: https://shaunassael.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most enduring historical mysteries of the 20th century is of the missing Sodder children. After a fire in the family home on Christmas Eve of 1945, George and Jennie escaped with four of their children, however five more never made it out of the house. At first, it was assumed that they died in an accidental fire, but a series of strange clues aroused their suspicions that something more sinister happened to them and their home instead. I'm joined by Jennie Henthorn, granddaughter of George and Jennie Sodder, who gives the family's perspective, details and possible theories about the reason for the fire, and the potential fate of her aunts and uncles. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, David Pietrusza, is the author of "Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius who Fixed the 1919 World Series". He talks about this extraordinary, eccentric man who managed to expertly balance between high society, highbrow intellectual circles, Tammany Hall and the underworld, and had his fingers in just about every racket in Jazz-Age New York City. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the outskirts of France in 1869, an entire family is found dead after being stabbed and then buried alive. G.S. Johnston, author of "The Cast of a Hand", talks about France in the 1860s under Napoleon III, and the events that led up to the terrible, tragic murders of Jean and Hortense Kinck and their six children by Jean-Baptiste Troppmann and possible accomplices. The author's website: http://gsjohnston.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just in time for some Halloween, Diane Student, co-producer and host of the "History Goes Bump" podcast, joins me to share her list of the top ten most notorious ghosts in American history. We deviate a bit from our regular author /interview format this week to delve into some of the sightings of ghostly activity attributed to many of the subjects we've covered in past episodes, including The Black Dahlia and Jesse James, and some we haven't, like the infamous H.H. Holmes. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, on a November evening in 1928, Nelson Rehymeyer, a local "powwow" practitioner of Christian folk magic, is murdered in his home. John Blymire soon confesses, telling police that he was trying to lift a hex. Shane Free, the producer and director of the documentary "Hex Hollow" is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious, where he explains the details of this strange and terrible crime. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In December 1888, in Bradford, England, a little boy named Johnny Gill disappears and is eventually found murdered, his body mutilated almost beyond recognition. Kathryn McMaster, author of "Who Killed Little Johnny Gill?" tells the tragic story of this most horrific of crimes, and the man who she thinks did the evil deed. The author's website: https://kathrynmcmaster.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1871, on the outskirts of London, a police constable discovers a young woman, bloodied and battered beyond recognition. She dies, and the police officially have a murder on their hands. They eventually set their sights on Edmund Pook, the son of a wealthy printer, who had employed the woman, named Jane Clauson, as a family servant. Paul Thomas Murphy, author of "Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrooke Lane: A True Story of Victorian Law and Disorder: The Unsolved Murder that Shocked Victorian England" tells the story of the murder, the subsequent trial, and his own ideas on what really happened. The author's publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Thomas-Murphy/172142068 Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling UK author Kate Summerscale joins me to talk about her book, "The Wicked Boy". Two young boys, Robert and Nattie Coombs, conspire to murder their mother in Victorian-era London. While the murder is gruesome and sensational, an uplifting event years later gives hope that rehabilitation can have a positive effect on a young criminal's life. The author's website: https://www.katesummerscale.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My conversation with author Mark Lee Gardner continues, about his book "Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, the Northfield Raid, and the Wild West's Greatest Escape". In the second part of the story, we talk about the James-Younger Gang's flight into the Big Woods of southern Minnesota, and the difficulties that they faced navigating through unknown territory, and also the troubles the local posses had finding them. The author's website: https://songofthewest.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much has been written about Jesse James, including his gang's ill-fated trip to Northfield, Minnesota, a botched bank raid met with death and tragedy, but never told like this. Mark Lee Gardner, author of "Shot All to Hell: Jesse James, the Northfield Raid and the Wild West's Greatest Escape", joins me to tell the story of the James-Younger gang's foray north from Missouri and the chaos that followed. The author's website: https://songofthewest.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April of 1920, neighbors discover the bodies of most of the Wolf Family, killed by shotgun and hatchet, on their North Dakota farm, just outside Turtle Lake. Only the Wolfs' eight month old daughter survived. Vernon Keel, journalist and author, grew up in Turtle Lake, and joins me to talk about the book he's written about the sensational and tragic crime, called "The Murdered Family". The author's website: https://www.themurderedfamily.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the 1870s to the 1930s, New York City's fabled Chinatown was the site of a series of vicious wars between two rival tongs, the On Leongs and the Hip Sings. Scott D. Seligman, author of "Tong Wars: The Untold Story of Vice, Money and Murder in New York's Chinatown" joins me to chat about the origins of the animosity, and how their rivalry escalated into incredible brutality for both sides. The author's website: https://www.seligmanonline.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alfred Knapp, known as the "Hamilton Strangler", left a trail of dead young women through Southern Ohio in the 1890s and early 1900s. My guest, Richard O Jones, the host of the "True Crime Historian" podcast, and author of "The First Celebrity Serial Killer in Southwest Ohio: The Confessions of the Strangler Alfred Knapp", tells the story of the life and death of this notorious killer. The True Crime Historian website: https://www.truecrimehistorian.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dale W. Laackman, author of "For the Kingdom and the Power: The Big Money Swindle That Spread Hate Across America", tells the story of con artists Edward Young Clarke and Bessie Tyler, who through a brilliant public relations campaign turned the Ku Klux Klan from shadowed obscurity to a structured and powerful organization of millions in late 1910s and early 1920s America, and made a fortune in the process. Author's publisher page: https://ugapress.org/author/dale-w-laackman/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the small town of Isadore Michigan in 1907, a young nun named Janina disappeared. Ten years later, her body is discovered by a priest intent on building a new church on the foundation of the old one. Mardi Link, author of "Isadore's Secret", chats with me about the terrible circumstances surrounding the death of Sister Janina. The author's website: https://www.mardilink.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1874, a group of six men set off through the high mountains of Colorado. Weeks later, only a man named Alfred Packer came out. Packer would later be tried and convicted of robbing, murdering and eating his traveling companions. Prolific true crime writer Harold Schechter returns again to Most Notorious to talk about his bestselling book, "Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American Cannibal". The author's website: https://haroldschechter.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1 Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In early 1870s Kansas, a German family named the Benders built a small shack, opened it as an inn, and robbed and butchered travelers who stopped there for a bed or a meal. I'm joined by Phyllis de la Garza, author of "Death for Dinner: The Benders of (Old) Kansas", who tells the story of the murderous family known in history and American lore as the "Bloody Benders". Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, Steve Hodel, author of "Black Dahlia Avenger" and "Most Evil", and I continue our discussion about the Black Dahlia case. We discuss the evidence he's collected implicating his father George Hodel, including a set of police transcripts that links his father to other unsolved Los Angeles murders from the late 1940s. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No case in Los Angeles crime history has been more discussed and speculated about than the January 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, aka The Black Dahlia. My guest, Steve Hodel, is a private investigator, former LAPD homicide detective, and author of Black Dahlia Avenger. In his book he documents his investigation into the murder, implicating his own father, George Hodel, in the process.  Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest on this episode is Jeff Maysh, author of the Kindle single "Handsome Devil", a book that documents the life and death of one of the most talented and charming con artists of the 20th century, Victor Lustig. He was a master of disguise, an escape artist, and the creator of epic swindles in the 1920s and 30s, including "selling" the Eiffel Tower and managing one of the most prolific counterfeiting operations in American history. The author's website: https://jeffmaysh.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 18th, 2016, marks the 89th commemoration of the Bath, Michigan School Massacre. In 1927 Andrew Kehoe rigged the school with over 600 pounds of dynamite. The explosion killed 38 school children, 6 teachers, and injured dozens more. Arnie Bernstein, author of "Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing", talks with me about the devastating tragedy. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious/ Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For those of us who've watched and enjoyed HBO's Deadwood, the town and its characters are absolutely larger than life. But was the show historically accurate? What is fact and what is fiction? My guest, Barbara Fifer, author of "Deadwood Saints and Sinners", helps set the record straight. Her writing partner and co-author, the late Jerry Bryant, was a consultant on the Deadwood TV show, and has passed to her a treasure trove of historical research on both the town, and its biggest villain, Al Swearengen. She chats with me about both on this week's episode. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Al Capone is the most infamous gangster in American history, forever associated with Chicago, and known around the world for his connection to the bloody St. Valentine's Day Massacre. But did he really order those murders? A few don't think so. My guest, Deirdre Marie Capone is the granddaughter to Al's brother Ralph, and author of Uncle Al Capone. She offers an inside view into the Capone family, and helps dispel some of the long held beliefs about Al Capone, his actions, and his later life. Her book is called "Uncle Al Capone: The Untold Story from Inside His Family". The author's website: http://www.unclealcapone.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Thomas Neill Cream was a 19th century contemporary of Jack the Ripper, and many claim that they were one and the same. The UK's A.J. Griffiths-Jones, author of "Prisoner 4374", discusses the life of this serial killer, better known as the "Lambeth Poisoner", and the bloody trail he left through Canada, the United States and England. The author on FB: https://www.facebook.com/authoraj66/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When authorities have difficulties linking physical evidence to Bruno Hauptmann in the Charles Lindbergh Jr. abduction and murder, Arthur Koehler, an expert on wood, helps them connect Hauptmann to the ladder left outside the Lindbergh family estate on March 1st, 1932. My guest is Adam Schrager, author of "The Sixteenth Rail: The Evidence, the Scientist, and the Lindbergh Kidnapping". The author on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aschrager Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 4th, 1886 in Chicago's Haymarket, a labor rally is interrupted first by a column of police officers, and then by a bomb from the crowd thrown into their ranks. This has major implications for the labor and social reform movement in the US. James Green, author of "Death in the Haymarket: A Story of Chicago, the First Labor Movement and the Bombing that Divided Gilded Age America", talks about the events leading up to the bombing and the aftermath. Note: James Green died a few months after this interview, on June 23, 2016. I am grateful I was able to speak with him. Here is his obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/business/james-green-author-and-human-rights-activist-dies-at-71.html Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the winter of 1900, John Hossack is brutally attacked and mortally wounded with an axe while in bed next to his wife. Patricia Bryan, co-author (along with Thomas Wolf) of "Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland", talks about the murder and the number one suspect, John Hossack's wife Margaret, and the shock of the crime to rural turn-of-the-century Iowa. The author's publisher page: https://uipress.uiowa.edu/books/midnight-assassin Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

in 1920 three African-American men were lynched in Duluth, Minnesota, accused of raping a white woman. Over 10,000 people gathered in the street to watch them hang. Michael Fedo, author of "The Lynchings In Duluth", discusses this horrific moment in Minnesota history, and the questionable accusations that led to it. The author's website: https://www.michaelfedo.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 1920s, an estimated 20 boys or more are abducted, tortured and murdered at a chicken ranch in Wineville, California. My guest is Anthony Flacco, author of "The Road Out of Hell: Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders". He tells the both tragic and inspiring story of Sanford Clark, the nephew of sadistic serial killer Gordon Stewart Northcott. The author's website: https://anthonyflacco.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm joined by Tobin T. Buhk, the author of "Poisoning The Pecks of Grand Rapids: The Scandalous 1916 Murder Plot". We talk about the charming, devious killer Arthur Warren Waite, who ingratiated himself into the wealthy Peck family through marriage, and then put a plot in motion to kill every member of the family so he could inherit a fortune. The author's website: https://tobinbuhk.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karen Abbott, author of "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War", joins me to talk about a group of extraordinary women in 1860s America, both Union and Confederate, who become spies to help advance their sides in the Civil War. The author's website: https://karenabbott.net/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Off of the coast of western Australia, the Dutch East India Company's state-of-the-art ship, the Batavia, wrecks on a reef in June of 1629. One of the officers on board, a failed apothecary named Jeronimus Corenlisz, is left in charge of the survivors and begins to slaughter them with terrible brutality. I'm joined by the author of "Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny", Mike Dash, who tells this story in gruesome detail. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1937, on the eve of the Japanese occupation of Peking (Beijing), China, a young English woman is found brutally murdered at the base of Fox Tower, and an investigation launches that churns up some disturbing details. Paul French, the author of "Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China", is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious. The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/242223/paul-french/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Benny Binion was a larger-than-life character, a gangster who grew up in Texas and built a criminal empire. Eventually he moved to Las Vegas, started the Horseshoe Casino, and began the World Series of Poker. I chat with Doug Swanson, author of "Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker" about the crazy life of this Lone Star legend. The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2212223/doug-j-swanson/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 29th, 2015, marked the 125th Anniversary of one of the most tragic events in American history. My guest Jerome A. Greene, author of "American Carnage: Wounded Knee 1890", talks about the massacre of Lakota Indians by the United States 7th Cavalry. Author's publisher page: https://www.oupress.com/9780806144481/american-carnage/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back to Old New Mexico on this episode of Most Notorious. I talk to Mark Lee Gardner, author of "To Hell on a Fast Horse: The Untold Story of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett" about this famous outlaw and lawman, forever linked together in history in the early 1880s. The author's website: https://songofthewest.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

J.D. Chandler, author of "Murder and Scandal in Prohibition Portland", tells the tale of the Torso Murder in 1946 Portland, Oregon, including his decade long investigation of this very cold case. Note: Note: J.D. Chandler, Portland Oregon's most well-known true crime historian, passed away on May 30th, 2021. I'm so lucky to have had him as a guest. Here is a story on his fascinating life: https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2021/05/jd-chandler-prolific-chronicler-of-portland-murder-and-corruption-dies-at-60.html Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, host Erik Rivenes talks with Arnie Bernstein, author of "Swastika Nation: Fritz Kuhn and the Rise and Fall of the German-American Bund", about the rise Nazism in the United States in the 1930s under Fritz Kuhn. Famed columnist Walter Winchell, Jewish gangsters like Mickey Cohen and Meyer Lanksy, and even a former Miss America play a part in Kuhn's eventual fall from power. The author's website: https://www.arniebernstein.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Joe Urschel is the Executive Director of the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington D.C. He's also the author of "The Year of Fear: Machine Gun Kelly and the Manhunt That Changed the Nation." Joe and Erik discuss the life and times of George Kelly and his adversarial relationship with F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover in the early 1930s. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Christmas Day, 1929, in Germanton, North Carolina, Charlie Lawson murdered his wife and six children on their rural farm. This horrific crime is part of local lore, and Trudy J. Smith and her father, M. Bruce Jones researched the massacre 25 years ago, conducting interviews with Lawson family members and witnesses. Their original book, "White Christmas, Bloody Christmas" has been revised and expanded in the last ten years, and is now called "The Meaning of Our Tears". The author's website: https://trudyjsmith.com Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harold Schecter is one of America's most prolific true crime writers. Back in 2001, he wrote about one of the most chilling serial killing sprees in history, a true life account of the notorious "boy-fiend" Jesse Harding Pomeroy in 1870s Boston. Erik Rivenes chats with the author about his fascinating book, "Fiend: The Shocking Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer". Visit the author's website here: https://haroldschechter.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1799 Micajah “Big” Harpe and Wiley “Little” Harpe cut a bloody path down the Wilderness Trail in Kentucky and Tennessee, murdering everyone in their path. My guest, E. Don Harp, a descendant of the infamous brothers, argues in "The Last Rampage of the Terrible Harpes" that they were the first serial killers in American history. In our conversation we get the lowdown on these lowdown murderers. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mickey Cohen went from selling newspapers on the streets of L.A. to heading one of the largest crime rackets in the United States. He worked under Bugsy Siegel, rubbed shoulders with Frank Sinatra, Lana Turner and Billy Graham, and cut down enemies with a ruthless passion. Joining host Erik Rivenes is Tere Tereba. A former fashion designer, friend of Jim Morrison and Andy Warhol, she wrote the definitive book of the Los Angeles underworld, called "Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.'s Most Notorious Mobster". The author's website: https://teretereba.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in 1892, and the accusation that sent daughter Lizzie Borden to trial, is one of the most infamous in American history. But did Lizzie Borden really give her mother forty whacks? What is myth and what is fact in this notorious murder case? Erik speaks with Joseph Conforti, author of "Lizzie Borden on Trial: Murder, Ethnicity and Gender" about the woman behind the crime. The author's publisher page: https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700620722/ Note: If you're interested in Lizzie Borden, please also check out my more recent interview about her case at episode 254. Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest Simon Baatz, author of “For the Thrill of It: Leopold and Loeb and the Murder That Shocked Chicago” talks about the infamous and horrific Bobby Franks murder, and the trial of Leopold and Loeb, with famed criminal attorney Clarence Darrow at the defense. Also, Irish mobster Dean O'Banion runs into trouble on Chicago's north side. The author's website: http://www.simonbaatz.com/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1930s, Saint Paul Minnesota was considered a vacation home for some of the most notorious bank-robbing gangsters of the Depression-era, including John Dillinger and the Barker-Karpis Gang. Host Erik Rivenes' guest, Paul Maccabee, wrote the definitive book on the subject, entitled "Dillinger Slept Here: A Crook's Tour of Crime and Corruption In St. Paul", and he shares some of those titillating stories here, on this first ever episode of Most Notorious: A True Crime History Podcast. This is a classic! More about Paul here: https://maccabee.com/our-team/paul-maccabee/ Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices