Female Criminals

In 1936, Abe Sada was so in love — and lust — she committed a gruesome crime. The case scandalized all of Japan. When she was finally caught, Abe was resolved to meet her fate. But then she was thrown a twist nobody saw coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a young woman in 1920s Tokyo, Abe Sada dreamed of becoming a geisha… but settled for sex work. She began a heated affair with a married man. When his wife threatened their happiness, Abe decided she wouldn’t let him go. Even if it meant losing him forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The unceasing stream of deaths in Castle Cachtice did not go unnoticed, but priests and concerned parents alike were powerless to intervene. When the Countess set a new trap to lure more girls, she unwittingly began the end of her torturous reign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Real-life vampire or expert sadist? Elizabeth Báthory was allegedly responsible for killing hundreds of young women in 16th century Hungary. Her story is steeped in the kind of hearsay and legend befitting a cruel, untouchable noblewoman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Called one of the most dangerous anarchists in the country, Emma Goldman was deported back to Soviet Russia in 1919. Ostracized from her peers and the movement she helped progress, Goldman found new ways to advance anarchist causes until her death at 70. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the turn of the 20th century, a Russian immigrant spent decades supporting the anarchist cause in America — plotting an assassination, publishing a magazine, and lecturing on everything from freedom of speech to prison reform to birth control. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of 17-year-old Missy Avila’s murder, a killer moved into the Avila family home, a witness stepped forward after three years, and Missy’s Law was passed in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A revenge plot turned deadly in 1985 after two teenage girls unleashed their jealous rage on their former friend, Missy Avila. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After luring their friend Payton Leutner into the woods in May 2014, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser stabbed her 19 times — all in the name of Slender Man, a horror character that had materialized on the Internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A made-up bogeyman went viral in 2009, inspiring low-budget web series, video games and fanfiction. The Slender Man was pure invention, but he seemed all too real to two Wisconsin girls. And in 2014, they set out to prove their devotion to him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy these episodes, check out Medical Murders on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! She became the most sought after nurse in eastern Massachusetts. But “Jolly Jane” Toppan preyed on the sickly and poisoned unsuspecting patients. And when pressed for a sizable debt, she embarked on a killing spree that decimated a family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy these episodes, check out Medical Murders on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! She became the most sought after nurse in eastern Massachusetts. But “Jolly Jane” Toppan preyed on the sickly and poisoned unsuspecting patients. And when pressed for a sizable debt, she embarked on a killing spree that decimated a family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After fighting obscenity charges for her stage plays, Mae West went to Hollywood and quickly earned a level of power unheard-of for women in movies. But between censors' efforts to sanitize her, and the revelation of a shocking secret from her past, Mae had to do everything she could to survive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When one of the most famous entertainers in America couldn’t find another good role, she wrote one for herself. The result was a play titled “Sex,” and it became a Broadway smash in 1926 — but moral reformers couldn’t handle its heat, and took drastic action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facing an ultimatum from her husband, 24-year-old Kristin drugged him with a lethal mix of prescription drugs, then staged his death to look like a suicide. Her story quickly unraveled, but to this day she claims innocence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a childhood spent striving for perfection in the early '90s, a devastating ballet injury turned Kristin Rossum to drugs. She married the man who helped her get clean, but after a series of marital rifts, she used her knowledge as a toxicologist to plan the perfect murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 1887, a man opened a package to find a bloody torso, and police set to work following a trail of clues that led right to Hannah Mary Tabbs — but she knew exactly how to play her cards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the late 19th century, Hannah Mary Tabbs used violence to control those around her, directing her cruelty toward family and acquaintances. When she began an affair with a younger man, she thought she'd found happiness. Until he lost interest, and she began to plot her revenge... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an argument in a Days Inn Motel, Yolanda Saldívar shot her boss, beloved Tejana superstar Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, in the back. The murder shocked the world. When her trial began in October 1995, Yolanda stood in a Houston courthouse and swore: Not Guilty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the moment she saw Selena perform, loner and misfit Yolanda Saldívar was obsessed. But it wasn't enough to just be a fan. Within months, she was Selena's personal assistant and one of her closest friends. And Yolanda was prepared to do everything she could to keep Selena close—even if it meant harming her... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of Friday, June 13th, 1980, suburban housewife Candy Montgomery was confronted by the wife of her ex-lover. Betty Gore was desperate—and holding an axe. Candy had no choice but to fight for her life... or so she says today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pretty, perky, and careful to always mind her manners, Candy Montgomery was married with children before realizing she wanted more. She wanted passion. So she set her sights on a man she knew from church. But there was only one problem: his wife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With twin sons, a sprawling mansion, and a blossoming career, Clara Harris had it all—or so she thought. But when her world came crashing down in 2002, her anger fueled a violent outburst… with deadly consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After pursuing a career that launched her from Colombia to America, Clara Harris met the man who would turn her world upside down. The two married and built the perfect life together, but something wicked began brewing in 2002, when Clara discovered her husband was having an affair. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On June 2, 1972, 20-year old Cathy Kerkow drove to the airport with her boyfriend on a mission to hijack a plane. But several hours after takeoff, the ambitious trip took a turn that landed young Cathy halfway across the world—and onto the FBI's most-wanted list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before she hijacked a plane in 1972, Cathy Kerkow was simply a young woman from Oregon with a penchant for risk and scandal. Days of aimless rebellion reunited her with a man from her past, who enlisted her in a brash scheme to free the imprisoned political activist, Angela Davis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Brittany Norwood’s Lululemon coworker was found dead on March 12, 2011, police initially thought Brittany was a victim, too—of a store robbery gone wrong. When shoeprint and blood analysis results arrived, they realized: The killer had never left the store. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Underneath her bubbly exterior, 28-year-old Brittany Norwood lived a secret life that involved thievery, deception, and sugar daddies. When she was caught shoplifting from the Lululemon store where she worked, she decided nothing would stop her from keeping the crime quiet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 1986, Stephanie Lazarus’ strange visits to her ex-lover’s new wife turned to deadly assault. She covered her tracks and hid from suspicion for over twenty years—until the discovery of one piece of evidence unraveled everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She spent the duration of her college years nurturing feelings for a man named John Ruetten. Years later, upon learning of his engagement to another woman, Stephanie Lazarus lashed out—turning her LAPD status into a violent threat on his new lover’s life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1990s, after her mentor, Madam Alex, was thrown in jail, 26-year-old Heidi Fleiss had a decision to make: stay loyal to her former boss, or steal Madam Alex's client list and mount a career of her own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a disastrous break-up with a rich older man in 1989, 22-year-old Heidi Fleiss wasn’t ready to give up the luxuries she's grown accustomed to. Instead, she joined the underground world of high-class Los Angeles escorts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Belle Gunness, who murdered husbands, suitors, and even children for financial gain... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune in every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’ll meet Blanche Taylor Moore, the middle-aged churchgoer convicted of poisoning her boyfriend in 1986... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Uloma Curry-Walker, a woman from Cleveland, Ohio who hired hitmen to kill her firefighter husband. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Lynn Turner. She lost both her husbands to a mysterious, debilitating sickness... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Martha Needle, who discovered early on in life that an arsenic product called “Rough on Rats!” also had a deadly effect on people... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Susan Lee Russo. This wife and mother of two manipulated two men into shooting her husband so she could collect a sizable payout... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After murdering her husband, 42-year-old Stella Nickell tried to cover her tracks by poisoning more Excedrin pills. This led to the death of a second victim, finally putting Stella smack dab on the police’s radar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Tillie Klimek. In addition to murdering three husbands, Tillie is also believed to have killed acquaintances, a couple relatives, and one or two puppies... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune in every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’ll meet Margaret Rudin, the antiques dealer accused of shooting and killing her husband in December 1994... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Sharon Nelson, a former pastor’s wife who raked in $400,000 in life insurance payments after the deaths of her second and third husbands... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Louisa Collins. In 1888, Collins was found guilty of murdering her second husband with rat poison. She’d previously stood trial for murder three times... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Betty Neumar. While she was never officially convicted of any murders, the marital mayhem that followed her for fifty years has led some to call her the Black Widow Granny... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’ll meet the “Black Widows of Liverpool,” a pair of sisters who poisoned lodgers and family members to collect insurance money... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By 1986, 42-year-old Stella Nickell was over her marriage to Bruce. She saw her husband as a boring drunk who was bad in bed. But instead of divorcing Bruce, Stella opted for something much more sinister. She decided to slip a little something extra into his Excedrin pills... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’ll meet Denise Williams—a Florida wife turned murder conspirator. On December 6th, 2000, she colluded with her secret lover to bump off her husband during a fishing trip... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune in every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Nannie Doss. Dubbed the “Giggling Granny” or the “Lonely Hearts Killer,” Nannie was a jovial Southern grandmother who’d been widowed four times over. But after her fifth groom dropped dead, the real cause would be discovered... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Griselda Blanco, the “Black Widow of Columbia.” Though you might know her under a different moniker: The Cocaine Godmother... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is part of our “Black Widows” series, where we detail how these female criminals lured their prey, and why they chose to kill. Tune every day this month for a new episode! Regular Female Criminals episodes will continue to run every Wednesday. Today, we’re discussing Patricia Dagorn. Known as the “Black Widow of the Riviera,” Dagorn targeted older men through manipulation and sexual favors, creeping her way into their lives, and often, their wills... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices