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

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

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

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/transcriptThe author's recent Audubon article: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fall-2021/the-strange-true-story-john-williams-and-charles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In January 1953, a New York City musician named Christopher “ Manny” Balestrero was wrongly arrested for armed robbery, misidentified by eye witnesses. What followed was a nightmarish ordeal that completely devastated him and his family. Alfred Hitchcock was so moved by the miscarriage of justice that he made the case the focus of his underrated, classic 1956 film "The Wrong Man".My guest is Jason Isralowitz, author of "Nothing To Fear: Alfred Hitchcock And The Wrong Men". He shares details of the true crime case that revealed some concerning flaws in the American criminal justice system.The author's website: https://www.nothingtofearbook.com/This episode is sponsored by Talkspace! As a listener of this podcast, you’ll get $100 off of your first month with Talkspace. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to https://www.talkspace.com/ . Make sure to use the code MONO to get $100 off of your first month and show your support for the show. That’s MONO and talkspace.com.

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

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

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

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

For almost sixty years, the Kennedy assassination has occupied the hearts and minds of Americans. Hundreds of books have been written about the fateful day at Dealey Plaza in November of 1963, often offering elaborate and convoluted conspiracy theories about government plots, the Mafia, Cuba and the KGB.My guest is investigative journalist and bestselling author Gerald Posner. He believes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in murdering President Kennedy. His critically acclaimed book, "Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK" was a 1994 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for History. Gerald Posner's website: https://www.posner.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

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

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

In 1931 a young woman named Helen Spence, part of a houseboat community along Arkansas' White River, shocked everyone when she stood up in a local courtroom and shot to death the man on trial for murdering her father and step-mother. What followed for Helen would be a nightmare journey of incarceration, torture and more murder. My guest, Denise White Parkinson, has made it her mission to tell Helen Spence's story, and she shares details of it this week on Most Notorious. Her book is called "Daughter of the White River: Depression-Era Treachery and Vengeance in the Arkansas Delta".The author's website here: http://dwparkinson.com/Her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HelenSpenceofArkansasThe audio book version of her story here: https://tinyurl.com/RiversistersThe teaser trailer for her documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90R312WmghAThis episode is sponsored by the Generation Why Podcast. Go to Amazon Music or listen early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus on Apple Podcasts, or the Wondery app.Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

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

In November of 1958 a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her suburban California apartment. Police quickly suspected Olga's mother in-law Elizabeth Duncan, a domineering and manipulative woman who was incensed that her son Frank had married Olga without her approval. When Olga's badly beaten body was found buried in a shallow grave, Elizabeth was arrested, along with two hired hitmen, for murder. My guest Deborah Holt Larkin is the author of "A Lovely Girl: The Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California's Most Notorious Killers". She has a personal connection to the case - her father was a court reporter who covered Elizabeth Duncan's trial - and she followed the case closely as a girl as it all unfolded. The author's website: https://deborahholtlarkin.com/Buy the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Lovely-Girl-Tragedy-Californias-Notorious/dp/1639362444Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

In 1944 a battalion of African-American soldiers were tasked with the horrific job of building a road through the heart of the Indo-Burmese jungle during World War II. One of the men, a private named Herman Perry, had been having an especially difficult time of it. He’d suffered abuse while serving a stint in the local military prison, and eventually turned to opium and marijuana to escape from reality. On one fateful day, in the midst of an emotional collapse, Perry murdered an unarmed white lieutenant trying to apprehend him for dereliction of duty. Perry then fled into the jungle, where he became a fugitive in an intense manhunt.My guest is Brendan Koerner, author of “Now the Hell Will Start: One Soldier’s Flight from the Greatest Manhunt of World War II”. He talks about the poor conditions faced by black soldiers in a segregated army and shares details of Herman Perry’s wild escape into the wilderness, where he assimilated into a local tribe to avoid capture.Connect with the author via Twitter here: https://twitter.com/brendankoernerPurchase the book through the publisher's website here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/300974/now-the-hell-will-start-by-brendan-i-koerner/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

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

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

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

On the morning of July 16, 1936, the crumpled body of nineteen-year-old college student Helen Clevenger was found by her uncle in her room at Asheville, North Carolina’s Battery Park Hotel. She’d been shot in the chest and her face had been cut. A black bell hop named Martin Moore would ultimately confess after the murder weapon was found under his porch, but eyewitnesses reported seeing a white man flee the scene of the crime, and questions of police coercion linger to this day.My guest is Anne Chesky Smith, author of “Murder at Asheville’s Battery Park Hotel: The Search for Helen Clevenger’s Killer”. She walks us through the details of the case, clouded by politics in the era of Jim Crow. Photos and more about the story can be found at the Western North Carolina Historical Association’s website: https://www.wnchistory.org/wnc-history-story-behind-the-accused-murderer-in-1936-battery-park-hotel-homicide/The book is available to purchase here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467145602Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

Between July 1st and 12th, 1916, a sensational series of shark attacks terrorized seaside resorts and communities along the Jersey Shore. Four people would ultimately die before the shark thought responsible was found and killed. My guest, Dr. Richard Fernicola, is the world's foremost expert on the subject. He not only tells the story of how the attacks unfolded, but explains why they might have happened. His book is called "Twelve Days of Terror: Inside the Shocking 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks". His book can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4D157MBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

In September of 1916 a mysterious fire consumed a cottage nestled on Ossipee Lake in New Hampshire, and when local law enforcement searched the wreckage they made a horrifying discovery. The smoldering body of Florence Small was pulled out of the basement, partially preserved by rainwater. The immediate suspect was her husband, Frederick Small, who was known to have abused Florence on a number of occasions. He seemed to have a rock solid alibi, however. He'd been in Boston, selling insurance, when the fire had started. My guest is author Janice S. C. Petrie. She has a personal connection to the story, which has driven her research into the case for decades. Her book is called "Perfection To A Fault: A Small Murder in Ossipee, New Hampshire, 1916". More information about the author and her work can be found at her website: https://janicepetrie.com/To purchase her book through Amazon, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Perfection-Fault-Murder-Ossipee-Hampshire-ebook/dp/B002A9K4DWBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

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

The tranquility of Ohio's Pleasant Valley was forever scarred in June of 1896 when tragedy struck the Rose family. Twenty-three-year-old Ceely Rose was infatuated with neighbor boy Guy Berry. When he did not reciprocate her feelings, her family ordered her to stop following him, and she in turn used rat poison to murder them. A trial would follow, with much of the focus on her sanity and mental capacity. My guest is Mark Sebastian Jordan, author of "The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm". He's been fascinated with this story since childhood, and not only shares details of his decades long research into the murders, but also explains how the case has reached folkloric status over the years. The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mark.jordan.794The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467146180Buy it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094XCCD8The author's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/MarkSebastianJordanBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

In the summer of 1932, with the Cubs in the thick of the pennant race, Billy Jurges broke off his relationship with Violet Popovich to focus on baseball. The famously beautiful showgirl took it poorly, marching into his hotel room with a revolver in her purse. Both were wounded in the ensuing struggle, but Jurges refused to press charges. Even without their star shortstop, Chicago made it to the World Series, only to be on the wrong end of Babe Ruth's legendary Called Shot.My guest is Jack Bales, author of "The Chicago Cub Shot For Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series". He shares details from his book, just in time for the 70th anniversary of this infamous intersection of baseball and true crime (which happened on July 6th, 1932). The author's website: http://WrigleyIvy.com/The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467148481You can also buy the book on Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094X2TFYQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious

In the early morning hours of October 17, 1953, a frightened, battered woman named Diane Wells told a horrific tale to police. She said intruders had broken into the top-floor penthouse apartment she shared with her husband Cecil, murdered him, beat her, and then made their escape. It was an especially sensational story because 31-year-old "blonde bombshell" Diane Wells was nicknamed "the most beautiful woman in Alaska", and Cecil (twenty years her senior) was a wealthy and well-known Fairbanks businessman. There were suspicions, however, that Diane was lying. It was soon learned that she was having an affair with a local musician and also being comforted by a dance instructor who worked downstairs.My guest is James T. Bartlett, author of "The Alaskan Blonde: Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America". He shares details from his research into the almost 70 year old cold case, including an account of Diane's own tragic end. More information about the author can be found at these links: https://www.thealaskanblonde.comhttps://www.facebook.com/thealaskanblondehttps://www.instagram.com/thealaskanblondehttps://www.twitter.com/alaskanblonde53Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

In 1835 Marcus and Narcissa Whitman arrived to the Pacific Northwest, building a mission on Cayuse land near the present day Washington/Oregon border with hopes of converting members of the Cayuse tribe to Christianity. However when a deadly measles outbreak devastated the area, it disproportionally killed Cayuse over whites, leading tribal leaders to believe Dr. Whitman was purposely poisoning them. This (along with other reasons) drove tensions so high that on November 29th, 1847, the Cayuse murdered the Whitmans and eleven others living at the mission. My guest is New York Times bestselling author Blaine Harden, and his book is called "Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West". He explains the volatile situation that led to the massacre, and how the murders created a ripple effect that led to an explosion of white migration into the Pacific Northwest. He also dismantles a lie created by the Reverend Henry Spaulding that recast fellow missionary Marcus Whitman as the hero who "saved Oregon". More can be found at the author's website here: https://blaineharden.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

Americans are used to being on the lookout for a scam, but authorities are warning of a new kind of fraud. Puppy Kingpin shines a spotlight on Jolyn Noethe, a secretive businesswoman from Iowa who is accused of laundering puppies like drug money. Over the course of 7 episodes, investigative reporter and host Alex Schuman exposes the scheme and an underground part of the industry bringing us the pets we love. From Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment subscribe to Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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: lost-story-of-the-ocean-monarch.html#.YoRgfpPMKsg">https://penandswordbooks.com/the-lost-story-of-the-ocean-monarch.html#.YoRgfpPMKsgBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

In October of 1905, the schooner Harry A. Berwind was intercepted off the coast of North Carolina. On board were four Black sailors, three of them alive and one dead. The survivors told conflicting stories - blaming each other for the murder of the ship's four White officers, who had been shot and thrown into the sea. The men would be arrested and tried for murder in Wilmington (which had suffered deadly racial violence only a few years before) and an intense legal drama would follow, ultimately involving the Supreme Court and President Theodore Roosevelt. In the end, so many participants - from jurors to lawyers to participants - acted against type that justice had a fighting chance.My guest is Charles Oldham, author of "Ship of Blood: Mutiny and Slaughter Aboard the Harry A. Berwind, and the Quest for Justice". He shares details of this sensational yet largely forgotten story in American history. More about the author's work can be discovered here: https://charlesoldhamauthor.com/The Audible version of his book can be purchased here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Ship-of-Blood-Mutiny-and-Slaughter-aboard-the-Harry-A-Berwind-and-the-Quest-for-Justice-Audiobook/B09TG7S41SBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/B01M0LDR8GThe author's publisher page here: and-sword.co.uk/Mary-Ann-Cotton-Dark-Angel-Paperback/p/12432">https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mary-Ann-Cotton-Dark-Angel-Paperback/p/12432

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_editionBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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: sally.html">https://www.casematepublishers.com/axis-sally.htmlAudio clips are from the National Archives and Records Administration.Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mostnotoriouspodcastMost Notorious on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

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/refBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/killingtimecatskillsThe author's contact information: killingtimecatskills@gmail.comBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

The latest season of the wildly popular con-themed podcast Chameleon takes place in the summer of 2003 when two half-starved young men turned up in a small Canadian town telling an incredible story. They’d been raised in the British Columbia wilderness, and this was their first-ever contact with society — they’d never seen a TV, gone to school, or registered for IDs. So the community took them in and set about introducing them to the modern world. Before long, the international media descended on the town, enthralled by the mysterious “Bush Boys.” There was just one problem: not a word the boys said was true. Nearly 20 years later, award-winning comedian and journalist Sam Mullins uncovers the bizarre true story of the strangers who turned his hometown upside-down.

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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=8-1Mark's Deer Meadow Twin Peaks podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deer-meadow-radio-a-twin-peaks-podcast/id1076219034Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/booksThe Christmas Tree Ship audiobook: https://www.amazon.com/The-Christmas-Tree-Ship/dp/B08QDRCDXC/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1639683708&sr=1-1Charles Huddleston's Narrator Page: https://narrator.page/n/charles_huddlestonBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/5YRiVfMZX7hfVDSezq1aNoGeorge McKeon's book can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-D-B-Cooper-Crime-Coloring/dp/1737712709Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/1555915787Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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.htmlBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/9780813564258https://www.hiram.edu/archives/lester-friedman-bio/https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/allison-kaveyBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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 and-sword.co.uk/Murder-During-the-Hundred-Years-War-Hardback/p/18027">https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Murder-During-the-Hundred-Years-War-Hardback/p/18027Her class: Romancing the Gothic: https://romancingthegothic.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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=8-2https://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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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=svWatch "The Last Duel" Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgygUwPJvYkMore about Eric Jager here: https://english.ucla.edu/people-faculty/jager-eric/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

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: wade.com/">https://stephen-wade.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/9781467147392Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/9781467148177Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/9781467136532Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

In 1897 a Belgian named Adrien de Gerlache, in command of a ship called the Belgica, sailed to Antarctica with the intent to be the first to reach the south magnetic pole. On the expedition was Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who would later become one of the world's most famous explorers, and Doctor Frederick Cook, who would become one of America's greatest charlatans. My guest, Julian Sancton, shares the story of the ill-fated ship, which found itself entombed in ice and forced to face a dark polar winter, its crew suffering from scurvy, madness and death. His book is called "Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night."More information about the book can be found at: https://sites.prh.com/juliansanctonBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MostNotorious1Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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

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

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

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