Female Criminals

In the 1920s and ‘30s, two crime bosses dominated Sydney’s criminal underworld. Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine were queens of vice, building their empires on alcohol, cocaine, and sex. They were also fierce rivals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2007, three years after Lisa Montgomery’s grisly crime, her trial began. What unfolded there, and in the decade following, put discussions of mental health, abuse, and the death penalty in the national spotlight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a gruesome 2004 crime, Lisa Montgomery strangled 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett before cutting her unborn child out of her. Montgomery’s own past was itself a trove of horror and abuse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we look ahead to the new year, we want to take one last chance to say thank you for the year that was — and present our "Best of 2021"! Please enjoy this episode from our fan-favorite podcast, Solved Murders. In August 1969, actress Sharon Tate was living the Hollywood dream. Until it turned into the bloodiest kind of Hollywood nightmare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Christmas Eve nearly seventy years ago, Dorothy Martin and the Seekers stood outside in Chicago and sang carols. They were waiting for a spacecraft that would shepherd them away from Earth — and the impending apocalypse. In this Christmas Special from Cults, join us for a look into a doomsday cult awaiting deliverance. And if you like this episode, follow Cults — a Spotify Original from Parcast — for more chilling insights every week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the end of 1979, Marie was facing a life behind bars. But before authorities could lock her up for good, she made a run for it. When she resurfaced, the escape artist had a new name, a new look… and a new con. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever since childhood, Audrey Marie Hilley loved being in command. But when she started losing control over her family, she turned to a bottle of arsenic… and poured it down their throats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kansas City, Missouri’s most infamous femme fatale was a woman dubbed “La Pistolera” by Mexican newspapers in the 1960s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Japan, a yoga teacher named Shoko Asahara claimed he had special DNA, developed the battery-powered “Perfect Salvation System,” and directed his cult, Aum Shinrikyo, to carry out chemical attacks in Tokyo. This is the final episode in the three-part series — if you enjoyed it, search and follow Cults to hear what really happens behind the closed doors of covert societies. New episodes Tuesdays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Vanessa Richardson and Lanie Hobbs explore the story of Geshe Michael Roach and Christie McNally — the so-called king and queen of Diamond Mountain who used tantric yoga to lure hundreds to their Arizona desert retreat. This episode is a collaboration between Cults and Crimes of Passion, two Spotify Originals from Parcast. Every week, Cults analyzes the minds and movements of notorious cult leaders, and Crimes of Passion follows love stories that turn into crime stories. Search and follow to catch new episodes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do quests for enlightenment get so sinister? In this three-part special from Cults, a Spotify Original from Parcast, we’re looking at three stories of yoga gurus who were loved — then loathed — for their practices. We start in Romania, charting the rise of Gregorian Bivolaru: an allegedly all-powerful mystic who remixed religions for an ever-expanding cache of followers across Europe. But the price of following him was more than devotion… If you like this episode, search and follow Cults to delve into the minds of more notorious cult leaders every Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After marrying the heir to the Gucci empire, Patrizia Reggiani was living the dream. Almost overnight, she became a jet-setting socialite, rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. But when her husband threatens to take all the glitz and glam away from her, Patrizia snaps. This Lady Gucci won’t go down without a fight — and she’s willing to play dirty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1990s, erstwhile biographer Lee Israel was having the time of her life forging letters from long-dead celebrities. But when that particular scheme got too risky, she switched gears, and started making real money moves... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a sought-after biographer makes a costly misstep, she gets desperate enough to use her talents for more criminal exploits… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One night in 1834, a fire swept through the LaLaurie mansion in New Orleans, drawing a crowd of worried onlookers. Until then, Delphine LaLaurie had been a queen of Creole society, but what volunteers found inside her home as they rushed to help would change all that. This is the story of what really happened that night, and about the birth of a monstrous legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Delphine LaLaurie is a name synonymous with history's most twisted villains. But though there are countless embellished and horrific stories about the evils she carried out in her New Orleans mansion, few know the story before the legend... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Batemen had been playing people for fools for years. The problem was, too many of her dissatisfied customers stuck around to complain about her trickery. Her solution? Murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Bateman was an accomplished liar from a young age, and when she grew up, she started using that talent as a way of making money. Passing herself off as a witch, she tricked paranoid and gullible customers into handing over their hard-earned money in exchange for predictions and potions. But unfortunately, not every one of the Yorkshire Witch's customers lived to tell the tale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1933, Kathryn took the FBI on a ride the likes of which no other criminal could ever match. So buckle up, listeners. This here’s about to be a wild one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Behind every great man, there's a great woman. Or so they say. But Kathryn Kelly was never that far behind her infamous mobster husband. For most of her life, she was calling her own shots, instigating trouble and making her own way. So it seems only fair that Kathryn's story is finally being told. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After years of getting away with murder at her aged care facility, Amy Archer-Gilligan didn’t realize how closely she was being watched. But in her desperation to make money, she was finally exposed as one of America’s deadliest female serial killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Business leaders and industry innovators are typically held up as examples to emulate — seizing the chance to turn a profit whenever possible. But Amy Archer-Gilligan was more money hungry than most, and she wasn't content to let her revolutionary idea make her a livable income. She wanted more. And for that, a lot of people had to die. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Confronted with her status as an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever, Mary Mallon was disbelieving and hostile. She was captured, tested, and quarantined nonetheless. Her legacy includes deaths and debilitation — but was she a criminal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 1800s, an Irish immigrant in New York City made ends meet by working as a cook for wealthy families. But wherever Mary Mallon went, typhoid fever followed. As more people succumbed to the deadly illness, a man named George Soper set out to investigate. By 1907, fever wasn’t the only thing tailing Typhoid Mary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katherine Knight was in her last relationship. Of that she was sure. Because if one more man left her, she was going to lose it. But then she realized her partner John couldn't leave her if she struck first. The final say would be hers, and she intended to make a grand statement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Australia, a young Katherine Knight had a volatile childhood marked by parental abuse and a short fuse. Things didn't improve as she got older. But what Katherine never had a problem with was finding men — she fell into relationships as quickly as her partners fell out of them, until eventually, she reached the very end of her rope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By 1875, the Queen of Thieves was wealthy, fashionable, and nearly untouchable. But New York was changing. Marm Mandelbaum became the target of a relentless district attorney and the famed Pinkerton Detective Agency. Despite serious blows to her criminal empire, Marm still managed to exit the game on her own terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of New York’s shrewdest criminals in the late 19th century was a German Jewish immigrant with a knack for buying and reselling stolen goods. But Fredericka “Marm” Mandelbaum wasn’t just any thief. Before long, she would reshape organized crime forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's still so much mystery surrounding the fate of Belle Gunness, and what exactly happened on her now-infamous murder farm. The truth may be just as terrifying as the rumors… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Belle Gunness never wanted much from her life: a fresh start in the USA, a nice husband, and maybe some children. But after a chance fire burned down her family home, an idea sparked in her — one that would lead to countless murders at her chilling Indiana farm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With her relationship with Bhagwan strained and her power slipping away, Sheela Birnstiel knew she had to do something drastic to make him happy and gain it all back. So in 1984, assisted by a group of loyal followers, Birnstiel masterminded the largest bioterrorist attack the U.S. had ever seen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She first met the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh as a teenager and was instantly enamored. Sheela Birnstie vowed to spend her life helping him achieve his goals, including building a city for his loyal followers. And the best place to do that was in Oregon — whether the locals liked it or not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following God’s orders led Joan of Arc into battle against the English, and into an audience with the king. But by her own admission, she had only a year to fulfill her holy mission — and time was slipping through her fingers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hero. Martyr. Feminist. Witch. Who really was Joan of Arc? And could she really speak to God, or were her visions something else entirely? Today’s episode delves into the story of one of history’s most enduring icons, and explores what made her a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna Delvey wasn’t who she claimed to be. But despite mounting setbacks, she refused to temper her schemes. The fantasy life she built for herself was a house of cards doomed to fall, and her tower was starting to teeter… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A con artist storms New York’s social scene in the 2010s, cementing her place in high society as a German heiress worth millions. Anna Delvey masterfully swindled banks, hotels, airlines, even her own friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her past was murky, but her persona was nearly unstoppable… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November 1958, three young duck hunters came across a body near a remote lake in Ohio. As police closed in on Edythe Klumpp and Bill Bergen, the couple’s loyalty reached a breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Edythe Klumpp liked to have fun with the men in her life... even if that made her the "other woman." But in 1958, her love triangle turned deadly. Edythe would make the ultimate sacrifice for her lover. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lori Loughlin had it all: a career as a beloved TV icon, a happy marriage, and two loving daughters. But in the world of the ultra-rich and famous, success seemed to rest on the wins your child netted. And there was no bigger win than getting into a top college. So Lori left nothing to chance… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A particular caper in 1965 brought Doris uncomfortably close to law enforcement and the media. With her face now easily recognizable in the U.S., she turned her attention to Europe, eager to prove just how good she really was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born in 1930, Doris Payne realized early on that she had a taste for the finer things in life. She also realized she had a knack for putting people at ease — and it was a skill she could use to get exactly what she wanted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After abducting Elizabeth Smart in 2002, Barzee and Mitchell — known to each other as Hephzibah and Immanuel — fashioned her into a sister-wife, systematically abusing her into submission. It would be nine months before Elizabeth was rescued by police in Utah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All Wanda Barzee wanted in life was for someone to take care of her, and in return she promised complete devotion. So when her paramour, self-styled prophet Brian David Mitchell, demanded she help him find a child bride, Wanda aided and abetted the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She's perhaps the most famous femme fatale of the 20th century. And yet, Mata Hari's supposed crimes are shrouded in mystery. Who was this woman who captivated all of Europe? How did she become embroiled in the espionage of WWI? And who masterminded her ultimate fate? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In espionage terms, honeytraps are the stuff of legend: a beautiful temptress so seductive that she can convince even the most cunning of men to reveal state secrets. But in the case of Shi Pei Pu and the affair known as M. Butterfly, seduction would turn to love, and a decades-long deception which would ultimately expose a very different kind of secret. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The beautiful Soviet seductress is a well-known figure of femme fatale lore. She's patriotic, irresistible, and deadly. But how much of that is true? Did the KGB really train women to seduce and kill men? Or were the "sparrows" just women desperate for a better life? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A cunning puppetmaster, Catherine de Medici is most vividly remembered as a one-time queen of France who dispatched beautiful women in her court to manipulate the men of France. Except… that’s not really the case. But hidden in the spectacular legends lie kernels of truth about Catherine and her Flying Squadron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The term "femme fatale" conjures up noir vixens whose sole purpose is to bring the story's male hero to his knees. But sometimes, women behaving badly are just getting things done the only way society will allow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of her elaborate bank-robbery-gone-wrong, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong had to resort to every tactic up her sleeve to avoid going to jail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intelligent and unstable, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong always had a way with men. But they never seemed to live for long. Nobody connected her to their deaths — until she roped an innocent hostage into an elaborate bank heist, and forced him to wear a collar bomb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices