Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

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/ You can also listen to the book at Audible here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Ship-of-Blood-Mutiny-and-Slaughter-aboard-the-Harry-A-Berwind-and-the-Quest-for-Justice-Audiobook/B09TG7S41S 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: [email protected] 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