Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

My guest this week is Phillip Barlag, author of "Evil Roman Emperors: The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More." He shares stories about some of the worst rulers in Rome's history and the horrific deeds they committed, including Tarquin, Caligula, Nero, Caracalla and Elagabalus. He is also the creator/host of The "Greats" of History podcast, available on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-greats-of-history/id1741228862. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mS1MVueNYjtkomqWEtkjG. Podbean: https://phillipbarlag.podbean.com/ and everywhere else great podcasts are heard. And he is available for questions related to his books, his podcast and anything Rome via email here: [email protected] and his book can be purchased on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Roman-Emperors-Shocking-Caligula/dp/1633886905 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joaquin Murrieta has been remembered as a Robin Hood of the California Gold Rush — a wronged miner turned avenging outlaw, the supposed inspiration for Zorro. The truth is far darker and more complicated: the real Murrieta led one of the bloodiest bandit gangs of the era. He was killed in 1853, and his severed head became its own strange piece of California history. My guest is New York Times bestselling author John Boessenecker, and his book is called "Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta: The Bandit Chief Who Terrorized California and Launched the Legend of Zorro". He has been on the show twice before, and back to separate the myth of Murrieta from the man. The author's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/p/John-Boessenecker-100039302328585/ The author's publisher page: https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/john-boessenecker Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig pub date: 3/28/23) 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 Audubon article:  https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fall-2021/the-strange-true-story-john-williams-and-charles Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 17, 1941, in Lynn, Massachusetts, attractive nineteen-year-old Frances Cochran stepped off a commuter bus and into a mysterious black automobile. Three days later, police discovered her mutilated body in a Salem lovers' lane. Her murder made national headlines on the eve of World War II. Investigators checked twelve thousand cars and interviewed almost two thousand witnesses. Despite leads that spanned the continent, decades passed and the killer was never caught. Like a poisonous vine, the death of Frances Cochran is tangled with other unsolved murders, including the 1947 Los Angeles Black Dahlia case. My guest is Robert Fitzgibbon, author of the new book "Murder in Salem, Massachusetts: The Death of Frances Cochran". The author's blog: https://medium.com/@chebacco.parish The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/murder-in-salem-massachusetts-9781467171298 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 7, 1964, Debra Miller’s life turns upside down when her mother is arrested for the murder of her father. At only fourteen years old, Debra becomes a ward of the court, grappling with the unfathomable trauma of watching her mother’s trial and conviction—a devastation that is only amplified when her family’s tragedy is splashed across headlines nationwide and featured in Joan Didion’s "Slouching Towards Bethlehem". Debra is the author of the new book "The Most Wonderful, Terrible Person: A Memoir of Murder in the Golden State". She joins me to share intimate details about her family and the murder case that has so deeply shaped her life — and to wonder whether her mother really killed her father that autumn night so long ago. The author's publisher page: https://shewritespress.com/portfolio/debra-miller/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first decades of the twentieth century, saloon proprietor Erastus Wallace Scott of Des Moines―with his cousins in the infamous Carter Gang―operated a campaign of murder, fraud, corruption, and prostitution from his bar on East Court Avenue. In 1908, the local paper denounced the neighborhood as “given up almost entirely to houses of prostitution. At one end stands a notorious saloon, the scene of many crimes, even murders, and for years a harbor for criminals and a plotting place for the evil minded." That reviled enterprise was none other than Scott’s seedy shack of sin. Initially, Scott gained the most notoriety, due to a slaying, numerous assaults, and sex trade associated with his establishment. But a subsequent murder brought cousin Will to the forefront. A land fraud scheme involving all three Carter brothers followed, including grand theft and even more deaths. Authors David and Rose Donovan, authors of  The Nastiest Saloon in Iowa: Murder, Prostitution, and Corruption in the Heartland, recount the long-forgotten story of a crime family’s nefarious reach beyond the red-light district. The authors' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574329629177 The authors' publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/the-nastiest-saloon-in-iowa-9781467170826 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The night before Easter 1905, Miranda Bricker left her sister’s house and made her way through the darkness. Her destination was her living quarters and place of employment, the Maplehurst mansion, the home of Mount Vernon, Ohio’s leading industrialist. Within sight of her destination, an attacker emerged from the darkness, rushing her from behind. Their battle cut across the Maplehurst lawn, ending in Bricker’s death before witnesses could be sure what was happening. The killer melted away into the night. My guest is Mark Sebastian Jordan, author of "The Maplehurst Murder: Mount Vernon’s Most Infamous Unsolved Crime". He walks us through Miranda's horrific murder, the bloodhound hunt that led to the sheriff's prime suspect, and the suspect's eventual death. The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/marksebastianjordan/ The author's publisher's page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/collections/vendors?q=Mark%20S%20Jordan&contributorID=18602 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig Pub Date 8/10/2016) 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/ This is the 150th Anniversary of the Raid! Visit the official The Defeat of Jesse James Days website for more about the festivities: https://www.djjd.org/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig pub date: 8/3/2016) 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/ This is the 150th Anniversary of the Raid! Visit the official The Defeat of Jesse James Days website for more about the festivities: https://www.djjd.org/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Merry Gordon, author of Arizona's Murdered Madams: Death in the Red-Light Districts. She shares the stories of two of Territorial Arizona's most infamous madams, former Mormon Minnie Powers and "Belgian Jennie" Bauters, including the cold-blooded murders that ended their lives. She also talks about the colorful and often dangerous world of sex workers in the Old West. The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Merry-Gordon/author/B07F99X97T The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/arizonas-murdered-madams-9781467171069 The author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merrygordonwrites/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May of 1832, an American whaleship called the Mentor went down on a remote reef in the western Pacific. Of the crew, eleven men made it out alive, but surviving the wreck was only the beginning. They found themselves stranded on unfamiliar shores, running low on supplies, and before long they were face to face with the Indigenous people of Palau, who approached them cautiously and heavily armed. My returning guest is best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin, and his new book is called The Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail. In this conversation he walks us through the shipwreck, the crew's captivity, the clash of cultures and much more. The author's website: https://www.ericjaydolin.com/ The author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericjayd/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is New York Times bestselling author Phyllis Karas. She shares the deeply personal story of two shocking tragedies in her family history: a 1935 car accident that killed six relatives, and the brutal 1954 murder of a Massachusetts seamstress named Ora Schonarth that sent her cousin Ronnie to prison. She also explores how the trauma of both events reverberated through her family for generations. Her new book, Curse of the Blumenthals, is out now. The author's website: https://www.phylliskaras.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Phyllis-Karas/260784571 30% off sitewide at Batch! Go here and support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠hellobatch.com/NOTORIOUS⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code NOTORIOUS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig pub date: 6/21/22) 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.gourmetghosts.com/ https://www.facebook.com/thealaskanblonde https://www.instagram.com/thealaskanblonde https://www.twitter.com/alaskanblonde53 30% off sitewide at Batch! Go here and support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠hellobatch.com/NOTORIOUS⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use the code NOTORIOUS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1986, The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults drew a larger audience than the Super Bowl or David Frost’s interview with Richard Nixon. The special was intended as a comeback for journalist Geraldo Rivera, built around the dramatic opening of a "vault" beneath Chicago’s Lexington Hotel, rumored to contain Al Capone’s riches. But when the vault was finally opened live the moment didn’t deliver what millions of viewers were expecting. My guest is William Hazelgrove, author of Capone’s Vault: The Real Story of the Biggest Disaster in Television History. His book traces how the idea came together, combining Rivera’s career arc with the mythology of Capone’s hidden fortune, and reconstructs the broadcast itself along with its fallout, showing how the event became a defining example of live television gone wrong. The author's website: https://www.williamhazelgrove.com/ The author on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@williamhazelgrove 30% off sitewide at Batch! Go here and support the show: ⁠⁠⁠hellobatch.com/NOTORIOUS⁠⁠⁠ and use the code NOTORIOUS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1939, the crimes of German serial murderer Eugen Weidmann captivated France, culminating in a sensational trial and a public execution by guillotine, the last of its kind in the country, just weeks before the outbreak of World War II. My guest today is Mark Braude, author of The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Murderer, and the Meeting of Two Cultures on the Eve of World War II. In our conversation he shares how Janet Flanner’s reporting brought this case to American readers and why she saw Weidmann’s story as a chilling reflection of a continent on the brink. The author's website: https://www.markbraude.com/ 30% off sitewide at Batch! Go here and support the show: ⁠⁠hellobatch.com/NOTORIOUS⁠⁠ and use the code NOTORIOUS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Edward Buckley was a violent East End tough whose life unfolded in the same streets and shadows as the Whitechapel murders. Born into a rough, crime-entangled family, he grew up in a world of poverty, street gangs, and routine violence -where assaults, intimidation, and desperation were part of daily life in 1880s London. My guest is Jonathan Tye, author of "Jack the Ripper? Edward Buckley: East End Thug and Gang Member". His book revisits the Whitechapel murders of 1888 and the years around them, bringing the focus back to the neighborhoods where they happened and the kinds of men who lived there. Could Buckley, a local thug with a documented history of brutalizing women, offer a clearer way to understand the events known as the Autumn of Terror? The author's book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Ripper-Edward-Buckley-Member/dp/1036115682 The author's publisher page: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Jonathan-Tye/a/6186 The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583065492211 30% off sitewide at Batch! Go here and support the show: ⁠hellobatch.com/NOTORIOUS⁠ and use the code NOTORIOUS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig. Release Date: 4/23/23) 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/AtlantisMagazin More about their book on Amazon here:  https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Romanovs-Anastasia-Anderson-Greatest/dp/0470444983 30% off sitewide at Batch! Go here and support the show: hellobatch.com/NOTORIOUS and use the code NOTORIOUS at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is forensic psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Smalldon. He shares stories from decades of correspondence, prison visits and interviews with some of America’s most notorious killers, including Charles Manson, Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. His memoir is called "That Beast Was Not Me: One Forensic Psychologist, Five Decades of Conversations with Killers". The author's website: ⁠https://jeffreysmalldon.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is award-winning author Saladin Ambar, who examines a wave of racially motivated killings along the Mississippi River in the 1830s - events that left a deep impression on a young Abraham Lincoln and helped inspire his Lyceum Address. His book, Murder on the Mississippi: The Shocking Crimes That Shaped Abraham Lincoln, explores how these crimes shaped Lincoln’s early views on justice and mob rule. The author's website: https://www.diversionbooks.com/books/murder-on-the-mississippi The author on Twitter/X: https://x.com/dinambar The author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saladin.ambar Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: https://www.quince.com/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One chilly January night in 1867, a Virginia City prostitute was strangled to death in her bed. The murderer was caught and hanged in front of a crowd of thousands, and the citizens of the Comstock considered the matter closed. More than 150 years later, the murder of Julia Bulette has become a local legend. The man accused, John Millain, was suspected of killing before, but there would be no justice for those victims. Reduced to vague mentions in newspaper articles, little was left to tie their unsolved murders to that of Julia’s. Did John Millain leave a trail of tragedy that stretched from San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood to Julia’s untimely end in Virginia City? Joining me is journalist Robin Flinchum, author of "The Redemption of Julia Bulette: Murder, Myth & the Hunt for a Serial Killer in Early Virginia City", who revisits the case, tells Julia’s story, and explores whether her death may have been one of several connected killings. The author's website: https://rkflinchum.wixsite.com/robin-flinchum#dataItem-m2x14b5q1 On Arcadia Press: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/collections/the-history-press/products/the-redemption-of-julia-bulette-9781467171748 Pre-Order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Julia-Bulette-Murder-Virginia/dp/1467171743 The author's FB page: https://www.facebook.com/RedLightChronicles Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: https://www.quince.com/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a chilly night in March of 1976, a father searching for his missing son made a horrifying discovery inside a Chicago apartment - in at what first appeared to be a drug deal gone bad. Inside were the bodies of Gio Messina and Delphine “Tinker” Moore, brutally stabbed to death. With no clear motive and a case that seemed ready to fall apart, it might have stayed buried if not for a series of unlikely breaks. My guest is author Gregg Owen, who, years later, found himself prosecuting that very case and was determined to see it through. His book "Convergence", co-authored with Jonathan Dixon, tells the story of how it all came together. The author's website: https://26thstreetbooks.com Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: https://www.quince.com/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig pub date: 10/8/2017). 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. The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JORXLK On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerjayatkinson/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jay_atkinson/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a crisp September evening in 1899, a seventeen-year-old petty thief named Edwin Ray Snow shot and killed a bakery deliveryman named Jimmy Whittemore outside Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The gunshots rang out for only a moment, but the effects resounded on Cape Cod for half a century. The idyllic atmosphere of turn-of-the-century Cape Cod was shattered in a flash. My guest is Theresa Mitchell Webster, author of "The Cape Cod Murder of 1899: Edwin Ray Snow's Punishment & Redemption". She guides us through the crime and the long, complicated prison journey that followed. The author's website: theresawebster.com The author's email address: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Suzanne Huntington, co editor of Ripperologist Magazine and author of the recently published book "The Thames Torso Murders: Fact or Fiction?" She not only talks about the “Canonical Four” Thames Torso murders and the possible killer (or killers), but she also takes a wider look at Victorian era dismemberment cases in and around London, the challenge of separating fact from long repeated myth, and the ways these crimes have been linked (rightly or wrongly) to the Whitechapel murders and Jack the Ripper. It is a fascinating deep dive into one of the most unsettling murder series of the late 19th century. The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Thames-Torso-Murders-Fact-or-Fiction-61565822546574/ The author's US Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Suzanne-Huntington/author/B0GHT5B8TK The author's UK Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Suzanne-Huntington/author/B0GHT5B8TK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times bestselling author Tom Clavin returns to the podcast to discuss his books "The Last Outlaws: The Desperate Final Days of the Dalton Gang" and "Bandit Heaven: The Hole-in-the-Wall Gangs and the Final Chapter of the Wild West". We talk about the Dalton Gang, the Wild Bunch, and the violent final years of frontier outlawry as the legendary era of the Old West drew to a close. The author's website: https://www.tomclavin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish galleon San José sailed from South America carrying a vast cargo of gold and silver bound for Spain. Off the coast of present-day Colombia, British ships of war intercepted the galleon in a fierce naval clash. During the battle, the San José exploded and sank, taking its enormous treasure to the bottom of the Caribbean. My guest this week is Julian Sancton, author of Neptune’s Fortune: The Billion-Dollar Shipwreck and the Ghosts of the Spanish Empire. He discusses the circumstances that led to the sinking of the San José and enigmatic Cuban archaeologist Roger Dooley’s determined quest to locate the wreck deep beneath the sea. Follow Julian Sancton:Twitter/X: https://x.com/jsanctonInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jsancton/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julian.sancton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig. Pub Date: 11/10/21) 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1949, a quiet neighborhood in St. Louis became the center of one of the most controversial religious cases in American history. A 13-year-old boy began exhibiting disturbing symptoms including violent outbursts, strange markings on his body, and other troubling episodes, leading Catholic priests to perform a series of secret exorcism rites. The case would later inspire The Exorcist, but the real story was far more complex than the film. My guest is Troy Taylor, author of The Devil Came to St. Louis: The Uncensored True Story of the 1949 Exorcism, who takes a careful look at the case, its origins, and how fact, faith, and folklore became intertwined in one of America’s most enduring mysteries. The author's website: https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/ Become a Most Notorious Patron here! https://www.patreon.com/c/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up in Memphis, George Kelly Barnes starts dabbling in crime from a young age. First he blackmails his father, then he grows a successful bootlegging business for himself. But how did this small-time crook earn one of the most famous names in criminal history? And why don't we talk about his most famous crime? To listen to all four episodes of 'Machine Gun Kelly' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Told and retold in many languages, the legend of the Blood Countess has consumed cultural imaginations around the world. But despite claims that Elizabeth Báthory tortured and killed as many as 650 girls, some have wondered if the Countess was herself a victim- of one of the most successful disinformation campaigns known to history. So, was Elizabeth Báthory a monster, a victim, or a bit of both? My guest is Shelley Puhak, author of the new book "The Blood Countess: Murder, Betrayal, and the Making of a Monster". She helps us separate fact from fiction as she reexamines the life of Elizabeth Báthory, long labeled one of history’s most notorious killers, and unpacks a complex story of power, politics, and how it all led to the making of a "monster". The author's website: https://shelleypuhak.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/blood-countess-9781639732159/ Become a Most Notorious patron here: https://www.patreon.com/c/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a beautiful fall day in September 1916, 68-year-old Hannah Spielman went on a picnic with her new husband, 71-year-old James Allen, in the woods outside Grand Rapids, Michigan. She had met him through a newspaper advertisement, and the two were married just two days earlier - only hours after stepping off a train and meeting him face-to-face for the first time. But James Allen was not the man he claimed to be. His real name was Henry Scott Mausell, and his intentions were anything but honorable. Eleven days later, Hannah’s decomposed body was discovered and the murder investigation began. So who was Henry Scott Mausell? A man with a deeply troubled past—and Hannah was likely not his first victim, but the last in a long line of murdered women. In "Bloodstained: Exploring Michigan’s Darkest Murders Forgotten by Time", author Allie Seibert sheds light on this largely forgotten, and very likely, serial killer. The author's Household History website: https://www.householdhistory.com/ Allie in the Archives Podcast links: ⁠https://www.pod.link/1819388236 On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allie.in.the.archives/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest, William J. Mann, has spent years writing about Hollywood, and in his new book "Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood", he takes a fresh look at Los Angeles's most notorious crime - the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short. Mann shares his impressions of Elizabeth herself, unpacks the sprawling investigation, revisits some of the most infamous suspects, and explains who he believes most likely killed her. His new book was recently released on January 27th. The author's website: https://williamjmann.com/ The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/williamjmann/ Our previous interview about William Desmond Taylor's murder: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2023/02/07/the-murder-of-william-desmond-taylor-w-william-j-mann/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Most Notorious, I speak with author Jack El-Hai about his book "The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII". He talks about the fascinating relationship between Dr. Douglas Kelly, who was assigned to evaluate senior Nazi leaders awaiting trial at Nuremberg, and Herman Göring, charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. His book was adapted into the film Nuremberg, which came out in November of 2025. The author's website: https://www.el-hai.com/ My 2019 interview with the author about the 1951 disappearance of the Klein brothers: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2023/02/01/the-mysterious-1951-minneapolis-disappearance-of-the-klein-brothers-w-jack-el-hai/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig. Pub. Date 9/6/2021) 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 21, 1836, crowds lined the docks of Saint John, New Brunswick, to watch the steamship Royal Tar depart for Portland, Maine - this time carrying an entire circus. Cages filled with exotic birds, snakes, lions and a tiger rolled on board, along with horses, camels and the star attraction: Mogul, a massive Asian elephant, who took his place on the upper deck. Four days later, after battling fierce storms, the ship caught fire, killing many on board. In desperation, some animals were forced into the icy waters of Penobscot Bay, while others perished in their cages. My guest is Jane Parks Gardner, author of The Wreck of the Circus Ship Royal Tar: Tragedy in Penobscot Bay. She shares details on the disaster, and its impact on Maine’s maritime history. The author's website: https://janepgardner.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the close of the nineteenth century, serial killer Joseph Vacher terrorized the French countryside for years, eluding capture while murdering more victims than Jack the Ripper. His sprawling crime wave ultimately drew in prosecutor Emile Fourquet and pioneering criminologist Alexandre Lacassagne, whose pursuit of Vacher helped push criminal investigations toward the modern era. My guest is Douglas Starr, author of "The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science". He shares details with us about Vacher’s reign of terror and the groundbreaking investigation that led to his conviction. The author's website: https://douglasstarr.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 13, 1788, outrage erupted in New York City when word spread that students from the local medical school were stealing corpses from nearby graveyards, at the direction of their instructors, for classroom dissection and study. A large mob attacked an anatomy lab and then set out in search of the students and doctors believed to be responsible for defiling the bodies of their loved ones. City leaders John Jay and Alexander Hamilton were among those who tried (and failed) to calm the crowd. The unrest ultimately led to a violent confrontation between civilians and the local militia, resulting in serious injuries and loss of life. My guest is Andy McPhee, author of the new book Doctors’ Riot of 1788: Body Snatching, Bloodletting, and Anatomy in America (out June 6). We discuss the riot itself, the history of body snatching, and the moral question at its core: could stealing bodies for medical training be justified in the name of public health? The author's website: https://andymcphee.com/ The publisher's author page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Doctors-Riot-of-1788/Andy-McPhee/9781493088058 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the many murder cases handled by South Carolina attorney Dick Harpootlian, one continues to stand apart: the prosecution of Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins. A serial killer and sexual predator, Gaskins claimed to have taken more than 100 lives and is known to have murdered over a dozen people, including a young child and his own teenage niece. He killed for both revenge and gratification, using whatever methods were available - from knives and firearms to poison, suffocation, and drowning. Disturbingly, he maintained a charming persona, presenting himself as friendly and generous while privately committing the most heinous of crimes. One of his most shocking occurred on Death Row, when he murdered another inmate using an explosive device, demonstrating that his capacity for violence extended even behind bars. In this episode, I’m joined by Dick Harpootlian, author of Dig Me a Grave: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer Who Seduced the South, who prosecuted Gaskins, to share firsthand insight into the man and his crimes. The official book website: https://www.dickharpootlian.com/ or https://digmeagrave.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January 1947, the bisected body of Elizabeth Short, completely drained of blood, was discovered in an undeveloped lot in Los Angeles. Its gruesome mutilations led to a firestorm of publicity, city-wide panic, and an unprecedented number of investigative paths led by the LAPD—all dead ends. The Black Dahlia murder remained an unsolved mystery for over seventy years.Six years earlier and sixteen hundred miles away, another woman’s life had ended in a similarly horrific manner. Leila Welsh was an ambitious, educated, popular, and socially connected beauty. Though raised modestly on a prairie farm, she was heiress to her Kansas City family’s status and wealth. On a winter morning in 1941, Leila’s butchered body was found in her bedroom bearing the marks of unspeakable trauma. One victim faded into obscurity. The other became notorious. Both had in common a killer whose sadistic mind was a labyrinth of dark secrets. My guest is Emmy-nominated producer Eli Frankel. He has spent years researching the Black Dahlia case and makes a very convincing argument for his suspect in his recently published book, "SISTERS IN DEATH: The Black Dahlia, The Prairie Heiress & Their Hunter". The Sisters In Death website: https://www.sistersindeath.com/ The author's personal website: https://www.elibfrankel.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Publication Date: 4/3/22 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/ Check out the new cover here! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G3KZPMVY?crid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 19, 1884, the yacht Mignonette set sail from England on what should have been an uneventful voyage. When their vessel sank in the Atlantic, Captain Thomas Dudley and his crew found themselves adrift in a tiny lifeboat. As days turned to weeks, they faced an unthinkable choice: starve to death or resort to cannibalism.Their decision to sacrifice the youngest —17-year-old cabin boy Richard Parker—ignited a firestorm of controversy upon their rescue. Instead of being hailed as heroes and survivors, Dudley and his crew found themselves at the center of Regina v. Dudley and Stephens, a landmark murder trial that would establish the legal precedent that necessity cannot justify murder—a principle that continues to shape Anglo-American law today. My guest is bestselling author Adam Cohen. His new book, published on November 18th, is called "Captain's Dinner: A Shipwreck, An Act of Cannibalism, and a Murder Trial That Changed Legal History". The author's website: http://adamscohenwriter.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1942, two Abwehr German agents, including Johannes Eppler, slipped into Cairo to gather intelligence for Rommel’s desert campaign, getting help from local allies like the famous dancer Hekmet Fahmy and Anwar Sadat. Despite their efforts to infiltrate British circles, the whole operation eventually fell apart once Allied intelligence caught on. My guest, once again, is Gavin Whitehead, creator of The Art of Crime Podcast. His sixth season of the show (all about espionage) is now available wherever podcasts are heard. Gavin's website: https://www.artofcrimepodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

November 10, 2025, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the sinking of the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald during a vicious Lake Superior storm. All 29 crew members were lost, a tragedy later memorialized in Gordon Lightfoot’s iconic song. My guest is bestselling author John U. Bacon, who shares details from his new book, "The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald". The author's website: https://johnubacon.com/ The author's publisher page: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324094647 The author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnUBaconAuthor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the winter of 1924-1925, quiet Medina County, Ohio, was shaken to its core. Martha Wise, an ordinary farm widow with an extraordinary obsession, slipped arsenic into her family’s food and water. Three of her relatives were dead, dozens more gravely ill, and a rural community was gripped by fear. What followed was a murder investigation and trial unlike anything the Midwest had ever seen. Was Martha a cold-blooded killer, or (as she later claimed) a woman under the spell of the Devil himself? I'm joined in this latest episode of Most Notorious by Rod Kackley. He is the author of "The Murders of Martha Wise: A Shocking True Crime Story". The author's website: https://www.rodkackley.com/ Our interview about the murder of Thora Chamberlain on the Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2022/05/14/the-murder-of-thora-chamberlain-w-rod-kackley/ and the Disappearance of Molly Zelko: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2025/03/22/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-molly-zelko-w-rod-kackley/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Pub Date: 1/14/19 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". The author's website: https://www.candicemillard.com/destiny-of-the-republic.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were two complicated men whose steadfast friendship became one of the legendary relationships of the American West. Both were flawed, and often on uncertain moral ground, yet their bond carried them through the violent world of frontier justice, culminating in a deadly conflict with the Clanton-McLaury gang in Tombstone, Arizona. It's a story of two very different men who became linked forever by circumstance and loyalty. With his new book, "Brothers of the Gun: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a Reckoning in Tombstone", historian Mark Lee Gardner offers a clear-eyed account of who Doc and Wyatt really were. He joins me to talk about their partnership and the lasting myths that have grown from a friendship rooted in both loyalty and survival. Mark's website: https://songofthewest.com/ More from his publisher: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711805/brothers-of-the-gun-by-mark-lee-gardner/ Mark Lee Gardner on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YOcr3okF0fjheNeOLpyzU Mark's Brothers of the Gun Western Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2jbh2Rl1fgD1ry8Ex1KM5W?si=4niAaWv7Tl2ESSYf_ZlnLQ Mark's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCNOVu3xJh6/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early hours on a rainy autumn night in 1955, on a lavish country estate in Oyster Bay Cove, esteemed New York socialite Ann Woodward fired both barrels of her custom-made shotgun into the head of her husband, multimillionaire William J. “Billy” Woodward Jr., killing him. She mistook him for a notorious prowler who preyed on the privileged class. At least that was what the official reports stated. The police focused on catching the prowler, as they cast an impenetrable dragnet around the “Playhouse” for the elusive intruder. However, as with many other aspects of Billy and Ann’s social circle, things were not always as they appeared. Retired detective Jerry Aylward, author of "Murder on the Gold Coast: The Killing of William Woodward", discusses with us the uncomfortable truths behind one of the Gold Coast’s most notorious murders. The author's website: https://www.jerryaylward.com/ The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jerry-Aylward/author/B0841NGVSZ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest is Chris Pouy, who shares an astonishing true story of love, betrayal, and murder on this latest episode of Most Notorious. His grandmother, Zoya Fyodorova, was a celebrated Russian actress who fell in love with an American naval officer, Jackson Tate, in 1945. It was a forbidden romance that led to the birth of Chris’s mother, Victoria. Zoya was imprisoned for nearly a decade before reuniting with her daughter, who later moved to Connecticut after marrying Chris's father, another U.S. Navy captain. During Zoya's preparations to defect and join her family in the United States, she was mysteriously murdered at her kitchen table in December of 1981. Chris's website: https://whoischrispouy.com/ Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pouy-3b56334a The Admiral's Daughter on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/admirals-daughter-Victoria-Fyodorova/dp/0440003660 BBC Outlook: Murder in Moscow: https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct6xcs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just off the old Natchez Trace, in the quiet woods of Tennessee, stands a broken marble column marking the grave of Meriwether Lewis. The monument was meant to honor one of America’s greatest explorers, but its shattered form also reflects a life cut short under circumstances that remain unsolved more than two centuries later. In 1804, Lewis and Clark led the Corps of Discovery across thousands of miles of uncharted wilderness. They mapped rivers, documented new species, and forged fragile relationships with Native Nations, returning home as national heroes. Yet only a few years later, while traveling east on government business, Lewis stopped at a frontier inn called Grinder’s Stand. Before dawn, gunfire rang out. By morning, the celebrated explorer was dead. From the start, the explanation was contested. Some, including Thomas Jefferson and William Clark, believed Lewis had taken his own life after years of depression, financial trouble, and lingering illness. Others pointed to inconsistencies in the testimonies, the absence of eyewitnesses, and the violence of the scene to argue that he was murdered. Over the years, theories have ranged from robbery on a lawless road to political assassination, while modern scholars have even suggested his death may have been linked to malaria or another untreated disease. In this episode, we retrace Lewis’s final journey along the Natchez Trace and examine the testimonies left behind. We look at the evidence for suicide, the motives for murder, and the generations of speculation that have kept this mystery alive. We also consider the more recent efforts by Lewis’s descendants to exhume his body, hoping that modern science might finally answer the question that has haunted his legacy: how did Meriwether Lewis really die? Southern Gothic: The Podcast Step into the world of the unknown and unravel the dark history, and infamous legends of the American South. Join us as we journey 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. Follow Southern Gothic on your favorite podcasting app today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November 1856, Dublin was shaken by the murder of George Little, chief cashier at the Broadstone railway terminus. He was found in his office, beaten and with his throat cut, thousands of pounds worth of gold and silver left untouched and the door locked. The investigation gripped the public, filled with twists and unusual developments, including a phrenologist who later inserted himself into the main suspect's life. In this episode, we speak with Thomas Morris, author of "The Dublin Railway Murder: The Sensational True Story of a Victorian Murder Mystery". Thomas walks us through the case and explores what it tells us about crime and policing in Victorian Dublin. More about the author and his book here: https://www.thomas-morris.uk/the-dublin-railway-murder/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices