Criminal Broads

Sharon Wiggins killed a man in a bank robbery gone wrong when she was seventeen. Her state locked her up for life, no chance of parole. Then the Supreme Court stepped in, and Sharon started dreaming. This is the story of a woman with a dubious superlative: the longest-serving juvenile lifer in the world. __ Subscribe to my newsletter: tinyletter.com/toridotgov Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to dameproducts.com/criminalbroads for 15% off sitewide. Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads. Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode70 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1978, a man left Mary Vincent for dead. Ten years later, she told a journalist she’d never get over it. This is a story about surviving and about the narrative of the survivor—what we want from her, what she can’t always give us. Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to dameproducts.com/criminalbroads for 15% off sitewide. Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads. Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode69 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1950s, two lonely, imaginative teenage girls became best friends. Before long they had convinced themselves that they were the most mad, genius girls in the world. And then they began to dream of murder. — Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to calm.com/criminalbroads for 40% off Calm’s entire library of soothing meditations. Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads. Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode68 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Imagine at the age of 16 being sex-trafficked by a pimp named Kutthroat.” That was how the meme about Cyntoia Brown started. Cyntoia herself couldn’t believe it when she heard Kim Kardashian was tweeting about her. After a lifetime of being thought of as a bad kid—people were suddenly on her side? Cyntoia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyntoiabrownofficial/?hl=en Falicia Blakely episode: https://www.criminalbroads.com/episodes/2018/11/28/episode-14-teenager-in-love-falicia-blakely Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to dameproducts.com/criminalbroads for 15% off sitewide, and modernfertility.com/criminalbroads for $20 off your fertility test. Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads. Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode66 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One night in September, a white lady in a long green dress reported that she’d been the victim of a horrific crime. Her story transformed Hawaii—some people were outraged, some were sure she was lying. And then her mother got involved. Read David Stannard’s book on the Massie case here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291248/honor-killing-by-david-e-stannard/ Become a patron: patreon.com/criminalbroads Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode66 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah Overton loved kids. Everyone who knew her thought she was a wonderful mother. But then she found herself in court, with the media calling her a baby-killer and people on the witness stand saying she was a psychopath. Read Pamela Colloff’s article here: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/hannah-and-andrew/ Support Hannah Overton’s nonprofit here: https://www.syndeoministries.com/ Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to dameproducts.com/criminalbroads for 15% off sitewide. Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads. Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode65 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Sisters” by Irving Berlin, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poor Pam Hupp and her bad luck. First her best friend Betsy gets stabbed 55 times. Then her mother falls off a balcony. Then she gets KIDNAPPED. And now Pam, who wouldn’t hurt a fly, is in prison for life?! Some people just can’t catch a break, no matter how hard they lie. Read Jeanette Cooperman’s longform piece on Pam: https://www.stlmag.com/longform/pam-hupp/ Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to modernfamily.com/criminalbroads for $20 off your fertility test, and dipseastories.com/criminalbroads for 30 free days of sensual stories. Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads. Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode64  Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Sisters” by Irving Berlin, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catherine Pileggi went from a flight attendant to a multimillionaire’s girlfriend. But after eighteen years, her relationship was on the rocks. Then one night—someone cracked. Was it him? Or was it her? Check out: lastprisonerproject.org Support the podcast at: patreon.com/criminalbroads Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode63 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Sisters” by Irving Berlin, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Blanche Wright was captured in 1980, police said they’d found a vicious killer. And for decades, no one dug any further to find out who the real Blanche was. Michael Wilson of the New York Times comes on the podcast to tell us her story. Read Michael’s article on Blanche here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/nyregion/prince-charming-hit-man.html?searchResultPosition=1 Read more of Michael’s work here: https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-wilson *** Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to Nutrafol.com and use the promo code BROADS to save fifteen dollars off your first month’s subscription! Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads! *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode62 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Sisters” by Irving Berlin, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Faithful friends, how could I conclude sister month without interviewing MY OWN SISTER? Enjoy this mini just-for-fun interview with the iconic Anna Telfer, actress, little sis, and—controversially—someone who once identified with Kitty in Pride and Prejudice. Follow Anna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna.telfer/?hl=en Follow the podcast on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Intro and conclusion: “Sisters” by Irving Berlin, sung by Anna Telfer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June and Jennifer Gibbons made a pact with each other when they were eight: they weren’t going to speak to anyone but each other. Decades later, they found themselves in a high-security psychiatric hospital, putting the final touches on their pact that had turned surreal, all-encompassing, and…deadly. *** Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to dailyharvest.com and enter promo code criminalbroads to get twenty-five dollars off your first box! Go to dipseastories.com/criminalbroads for a free month of sensual stories! Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads! *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode61 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Sisters” by Irving Berlin, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, my loves! I'm super excited to introduce you all to Sinisterhood, a true crime comedy podcast that covers all things creepy and gives you the deep dives and thorough research you want. Best friends and long time comedians Christie Wallace and Heather McKinney cover serial killers, disappearances, cults, cryptids—and even do legal deep dives into things like the Britney Spears conservatorship. If you like this preview, subscribe below! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sinisterhood/id1391483100 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to week three of SISTER MONTH. The three Khachaturyan sisters liked to take selfies and go to the movies. They looked like typical teenage girls from the outside—but behind the scenes, they were locked in a house of horrors with their cruel father and a wall covered in angels. Email your sister stories to criminalbroads@gmail.com. Sign the change.org petition: https://www.change.org/p/stop-prosecution-of-khachaturyan-sisters-victims-of-sexual-and-domestic-violence Read Matthew Luxmoore’s story: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/10/khachaturyan-sisters-killing-of-abusive-father-russia-trial-family-values *** Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to hellofresh.com/criminalbroads12 and use promo code criminalbroads12 for TWELVE FREE MEALS! Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads! *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode60 Music: Matthew Noble and Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Sisters” by Irving Berlin, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to week two of SISTER MONTH. Today we’re traveling to the midcentury Dominican Republic, where three of the four Mirabal sisters are facing off against notorious dictator Rafael Trujillo. Who wins? That depends on whether or not you take the long view. Email your sister stories to criminalbroads@gmail.com. *** Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to athenaclub.com/criminalbroads for 20% off your new favorite razor.  Head to Onmolecule.com and use promo code criminal for 20% off the best mattress ever. Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads! *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode59 Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to SISTER MONTH. We’re starting in 1930s France, where Christine and Lea Papin do everything together. They work together. They live together. They ignore everyone else together. They kill together. *** Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! Go to dipseastories.com/criminalbroads for a free month of sensual stories! And go to dailyharvest.com and enter promo code criminalbroads to get twenty-five dollars off your first box! Or become a patron at patreon.com/criminalbroads! *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode58 Music: Matthew Noble. Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your faithful correspondent is on vacation, so please enjoy this re-release (with brand new introduction) about one of the most iconic broads we’ve ever covered. In 2018, I described it as follows: “A surreal story of abuse and revenge, one that starts in poverty and ends in power.” And then meet me back here next month for our June theme: SISTERS.  *** Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! *Smoothie time? Go to dailyharvest.com and enter promo code criminalbroads to get twenty-five dollars off your first box. *New mattress time? Onmolecule.com and use promo code criminal for 20% off the best mattress ever. *patreon.com/criminalbroads to become a patron *and @tori-telfer on Venmo to donate to Lloyd Dean For the rest of this episodes’ sources and links, go to the original episode page: https://www.criminalbroads.com/episodes/2018/10/3/episode-11-rebel-of-the-ravines-phoolan-devi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve covered over fifty broads on this podcast, from serial killers and cult leaders to lady lawyers and forensic artists. But their stories don’t end when the episode does. Today we’re taking a look at what some of our most infamous broads—Amy Bishop, Jasmuheen, Caril Ann Fugate, and more—have been doing lately. This episode contains everything from war crimes to nine nights spent in a dark cave with a “guru.” Buckle up. EPISODES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 46 (Sister Abhaya), 6 (Beatrice Munyenyezi), 43 (Amy Bishop), 4 (Jasmuheen), 8 (Caril Ann Fugate), 19 (Anne Hamilton-Byrne), 11 (Phoolan Devi), 18 (Griselda Blanco), 47 (Casey Anthony), 36 (Suzane von Richthofen), 33 (Kathy Kleiner), 8 (Belle Gunness), 12 (Tilly Devine), 42 (Marie Dean Arrington). Want to send some money to Lloyd Dean? Venmo me @tori-telfer (or Paypal/Chase Quickpay: toritelfer@gmail.com), note that it’s for LLOYD DEAN, and let’s get him a nice little gift! Thanks to Darius Johnson for reading Lloyd Dean’s letter! Read Amy Bishop’s short story here: https://pen.org/man-of-few-words/ *** Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! *Go to hellofresh.com/criminalbroads12 and use promo code criminalbroads12 for TWELVE FREE MEALS! *And go to sundayscaries.com and use promo code criminal for 25% off your order… *Or go to patreon.com/criminalbroads to become a patron!  *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode56 Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most powerful offices in the country is up for grabs this year, and it’s never been held by a woman. It’s the office of Manhattan District Attorney. And Eliza Orlins wants the job. She’s a public defender who’s represented over 3000 New Yorkers and now she’s ready to cross the courtroom aisle and reimagine criminal justice across the US. Oh: and she almost won Survivor. Join the fight at elizaorlins.com! Tell your friends about Eliza on social: instagram.com/eorlins and twitter.com/elizaorlins *** Support the podcast by supporting today’s sponsor. Go to athenaclub.com/criminalbroads for 20% off your new favorite razor.  Or check out: patreon.com/criminalbroads *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode55 Music: Matthew Noble. Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last time we encountered Marie Hilley, she was running from the FBI. Now, she’s changed her name and her backstory and (eventually) even her hair color. Meet Robbi. No, meet Teri. You’ll like her. She’ll MAKE you like her.  *** Thanks to Alex Taylor and Anna Telfer for the great voiceover work. :) Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! *Go to dailyharvest.com and enter promo code criminalbroads to get twenty-five dollars off your first box… *And go to sundayscaries.com and use promo code criminal for 25% off your order… *Or go to patreon.com/criminalbroads to become a patron!  *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/mariehilley Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Hilley grew up thinking she was special. Marie Hilley spent a lot of money. Marie Hilley said she had a twin in Texas. Marie Hilley started carrying around hypodermic syringes. MEET MARIE. PART ONE OF TWO. *** Sign Sister Eli's petition: https://www.change.org/p/ned-lamont-more-recreational-time-for-cheshire-ci?redirect=false Support the podcast by supporting its sponsors! *hellofresh.com/criminalbroads12 and use promo code criminalbroads12 for TWELVE FREE MEALS! *betterhelp.com/criminalbroads for 10% off affordable online counseling! *patreon.com/criminalbroads to become a patron! *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/mariehilley Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She came to New York to make a name for herself, and despite a little, um, detour on Rikers Island, Anna Delvey succeeded. Netflix and HBO dueled over her life story; people dressed up as the scammer for Halloween. But behind the bravado and the $400 eyelash extensions, what can we say about the real Anna? …Is there a real Anna? Support the podcast! Go to dailyharvest.com and enter promo code criminalbroads to get twenty-five dollars off your first box! (YUM.) And go to sundayscaries.com and use promo code criminal for 25% off your order. (AHH.) Or check out: patreon.com/criminalbroads *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode52 Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a crime made for the headlines: GOOD TWIN VS. EVIL TWIN. The twins themselves, Sunny and Gina Han, disagreed with the headlines. But you couldn’t deny that something had gone wrong between them, because now one of them was in shackles, and one of them was on the witness stand.  *** Support the podcast by supporting today’s sponsor. Go to athenaclub.com/criminalbroads for 20% off your new favorite razor. Or check out: patreon.com/criminalbroads *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode51 Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobody conquered crime quite like Sophie Lyons, who grew from a childhood pickpocket to a career criminal with a talent for disguises, netting husbands, and talking her way out of sticky situations. Author Shayne Davidson comes on the podcast to tell me Sophie’s story from her book Queen of the Burglars: The Scandalous Life of Sophie Lyons. *** Find more of Shayne’s work (lots of fabulous vintage mugshots!) at capturedandexposed.com Support the podcast by supporting this episode’s sponsor: Try affordable online counseling (and get 10% off!) by going to betterhelp.com/criminalbroads Or check out: patreon.com/criminalbroads *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode50 Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somewhere on the icy sidewalks of New York in 1910, an heiress vanished into thin air. Her family waited six weeks to call the police. This is the tale of Dorothy Arnold, one of America’s original front-page missing person stories. *** LINKS I MENTIONED IN THE INTRO: Donate to the Women’s Prison Association—if you become a quarterly or monthly donor and put “Criminal Broads” in the details section, you’ll get a free tote!: https://www.wpaonline.org/donate/ Watch the new series on John Wayne Gacy: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/john-wayne-gacy-devil-in-disguise *** Support the podcast: patreon.com/criminalbroads Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode49 Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 17, 2014, Sister Eli decided not to go to a party because she was too pregnant. Three years later, she was taking a plea deal for something she hadn't done that night—to avoid a three-to-ten year prison sentence. This is the story of how the criminal justice system can come crashing down on an innocent woman like a wave and make it very hard for her to come up for air. Big thanks to Sister Eli, Somil Trivedi, and Diana McHugh at the Women’s Prison Association for making this episode possible! WANT TO HELP?! *Sign Sister Eli’s change.org petition for better conditions at her husband’s prison: https://www.change.org/p/ned-lamont-more-recreational-time-for-cheshire-ci?redirect=false *Follow the race for Manhattan’s next District Attorney (aka main prosecutor aka one of the most influential jobs in law enforcement)!!! This job has the potential to REALLY make a difference when it comes to mass incarceration, coercive plea deals, and more: https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/1/31/22253418/what-you-need-to-know-about-new-yorks-district-attorney-races-in-2021 *Donate to the Women’s Prison Association—if you become a quarterly or monthly donor and put “Criminal Broads” in the details section, you’ll get a free tote!: https://www.wpaonline.org/donate/ *…and the ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/fight-back-against-attacks-our-civil-liberties-multistep *** Support the podcast: patreon.com/criminalbroads Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: https://www.criminalbroads.com/sources/episode48 Editor: Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey Anthony is a woman whose face launched a thousand death threats, because most Americans believe she killed her daughter. After her high-profile trial and shocking acquittal, she became an odd sort of celebrity: a famous recluse. What’s she been up to for the past ten years? Why do we care? How accurate are the headlines about her? And does it all add up to anything at all? *** Support the podcast by supporting this episode’s sponsor: Try affordable online counseling (and get 10% off!) by going to betterhelp.com/criminalbroads Or check out: patreon.com/criminalbroads *** Follow on Instagram: Instagram.com/criminalbroads Find sources here: criminalbroads.com/sources/episode47 Editor: Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1992, the body of a young nun named Sister Abhaya was pulled from a well with fingernail marks on her neck. Why did it take thirty years for anyone to be charged for her murder? Support the podcast: patreon.com/criminalbroads Sources: “Regressive, crude,” Indian Express, 24 July 2009 “Sister Sephy burst into tears, Fr Kottoor kept a stoic face,” The Times of India, 23 Dec 2020 “She was murdered for catching an Indian priest and nun in a sex act. Three decades later, justice is served,” Yerepouni Daily News, 25 Jan 2021 “A #MeToo movement for India as nuns speak out,” The Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct 2018 “Sister Abhaya case | Priest, nun, and the murder of a witness,” The Hindu, 2 Jan 2021 https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/law-and-order/nun-abhaya-murder-case-verdict-out-here-is-what-transpired-in-the-last-28-years.html https://www.onmanorama.com/kerala/top-news/2020/12/24/sister-abhaya-case-cbi-court-verdict-how-priest-and-nun-sentenced-life.html https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/what-does-justice-mean-teenaged-nun-killed-27-years-ago-kerala-108179 https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2020/dec/23/finally-truth-has-come-out-former-cbi-officer-welcomes-court-verdict-on-sr-abhaya-murder-case-2239855.html https://theprint.in/india/instead-of-warning-they-silenced-her-kerala-nun-abhayas-brother-recalls-28-year-fight/573883/ https://theprint.in/india/how-the-case-of-kerala-catholic-nun-sister-abhaya-turned-from-suicide-to-murder-in-28-yrs/571823/ https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2019/sep/18/abhaya-murder-case-hearing-father-kottoor-behaved-indecently-with-students-says-ex-colleague-2035187.html https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/voices/2021/jan/03/a-crime-of-convenience-2243769.html Team: Jillian Collins, research assistant Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting, editor Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebekah Sebastian has interviewed pretty much everyone in the true crime universe on her podcast Die-Alogue. Now, for our second ever Crime-Obsessed Broad episode, I’m interviewing HER! She talks about the most emotional moments she’s heard during her interviews, why a jury trial scares her, and a HILARIOUS trend involving people who don’t turn down their…um…TV. Oh, and a conspiracy theory involving THE TITANIC. —Listen to Die-Alogue! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/die-alogue-a-true-crime-conversation/id1470890320 —Follow Rebekah on social media: https://www.instagram.com/diealoguepod/ and https://www.instagram.com/yellowtape_truecrime/ —Rebekah’s interview with Kathy Kleiner: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/die-alogue-a-true-crime-conversation/id1470890320?i=1000508417169 —Read my Rolling Stone piece with Kathy Kleiner: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ted-bundy-kathy-kleiner-living-victim-serial-killer-784780/ —SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patron: https://patreon.com/criminalbroads —See photos from the episode on Instagram: http://instagram.com/criminalbroads —Order Confident Women: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/confident-women-tori-telfer?variant=32180878868514 Team:   Jillian Collins, research assistant Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting, editor Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of a fortune teller, a romance novelist, and millions and millions of missing dollars. From CONFIDENT WOMEN: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion. —Preorder my new book, Confident Women, at Pilsen Community Books or Binnacle Books or wherever you get your reads! —SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patron. —See photos from the episode on Instagram. Sources: This episode is an abbreviated version of a chapter in my book. For all the sources and more wild details, including Brad Pitt's fake email address, see CONFIDENT WOMEN: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion. Team: Jillian Collins, research assistant Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting, editor Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Bishop was obsessed with her Harvard degree, but the rest of the world failed to bow down to her, and she couldn’t take it. “These people are against me,” she ranted to a coworker. So she decided to take matters into her own hands. —Preorder my new book, Confident Women, at Pilsen Community Books or Binnacle Books or wherever you get your reads! —Here’s my Atlantic article about women who commit mass shootings. —SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patron. —See heartbreaking photos of young Amy and Seth here. Sources: “A Loaded Gun,” by Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 4 Feb 2013 “What Made This University Researcher Snap?” by Amy Wallace, Wired, 28 Feb 2011 “For Professor, Fury Just Beneath the Surface,” New York Times, 20 Feb 2010 “Ambition fueled a smoldering rage,” Boston Globe, 21 Feb 2010 Mother Jones mass shootings database “UAH shooter Amy Bishop pleads guilty to capital murder, avoids death penalty,” al.com, 11 Sept 2012 “UAH shooting victim speaks out following shooter's prison apology,” Waff48, 20 Oct 2015 “Amy Bishop claimed she was victim in 2002 IHOP assault,” al.com, 18 Feb 2010 Team: Jillian Collins, research assistant Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting, editor Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2007, Jennifer Mee got her fifteen minutes of fame when she couldn’t stop hiccuping. In 2016, she was once again on TV—this time on a show called “Killer Women.” Fame is a curse, and it had cursed her.  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patron.*** Sources: Jennifer Mee advocacy website: jmeefree.com St. Petersburg Times coverage of Jennifer Mee, 2007-2013, especially coverage from journalist Mary Jane Park “Fla. ‘hiccup girl’ charged with first-degree murder,” Charleston Daily Mail, 18 Sept 2013 “‘Hiccup Girl’ Charged in Fatal Robbery,” The Ledger, 25 Oct 2010 “Jail Call to Mom Played in Court,” Tampa Bay Times, 20 Sept 2013 “Victim’s brother: Hiccup girl’s Internet trap led to homicide,” Tribune Business News, 25 Oct 2010 Jennifer Mee episode, Killer Women with Piers Morgan, 6 July 2017 Freak Show entry in Encyclopedia Britannica “Teen Known for Hiccups Now Faces a Murder Charge,” New York Times, 25 Oct 2010 “Facing a New Surge, Florida Prisons Need to Get it Right This Time,” Orlando Sentinel, 4 Dec 2020 “3 on Florida Commission Decide Parole of Thousands of Inmates,” Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 10 Dec 2019 “Florida’s Longest-Serving Inmates: They Get Older, Sicker and More Well-behaved,” Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 17 Oct 2019 “VIDEO: Hiccup girl, Jennifer Mee, breaks silence after going from media darling to convicted killer,” ABC Action News, 17 November 2015 Team: Jillian Collins, research assistant Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting, editor Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Dean Arrington looked out her window, saw a car parked outside, and knew it was the FBI. She’d been running from the law her entire life. And for this last crime—a vanished woman, a ransom note, blood in the trunk of a car—she knew she was going to have to pay.  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patron.*** Sources: “Mean Marie” by Gary Corsair, Lake & Sumter Style, 1 July 2014 “30 Days of Mean Marie,” supplement to the above article, Lake & Sumter Style “Lake Lawyer Bob Pierce Dies at 74,” The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb 1990 “Mother of Accused Woman Takes Witness Stand in Murder Trial,” The Tampa Tribune, 5 Dec 1968 “National Search Started For Lowell Prison Escapee,” The Tampa Tribune, 5 March 1969 “Mrs. Arrington Gone, Not Forgotten,” The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Mar 1971 “Killer Loose,” Spokane Chronicle, 1 Mar 1969 “Mrs. Arrington On FBI’s 10 List,” The Orlando Sentinel, 29 May 1969 “2 Years Later, a Murderess Still at Large,” The Miami Herald, 31 May 1971 “Killer Escapes at Ocala,” Pensacola News Journal, 2 Mar 1969 “Marie Dean Arrington’s Daughter Granted Parole,” The Orlando Sentinel, 4 April 1971 “Arrington Judge Gets Voodoo Doll,” Orlando Evening Star, 16 Oct 1971 “Woman Murderer Transferred,” Tampa Bay Times, 4 July 1981 “Notorious Leesburg murderess Marie Arrington dead at 80,” The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Mar 2014 “Is This The Place They Call Hell?” The Palm Beach Post, 18 Mar 1973 “Segregation Has a Home in Her Stories,” The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Feb 2003 “Judge Names Lake Attorney To Defend Mrs. Arrington,” The Tampa Tribune, 2 May 1968 Team: Jillian Collins, research assistant Jennifer Longworth of Bourbon Barrel Podcasting, editor Music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim). Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Defending murderers and professional jail-breakers isn't for the faint of heart, but thankfully, 1930s defense lawyer Jessie Levy was anything but fainthearted. In a world where women were almost never seen in criminal defense, Jessie and her fabulous shoes stepped up to the plate to represent some of the most notorious gangsters of the day: John Dillinger's men. Denise M. Testa, author of Defending the Dillinger Gang: Jessie Levy and Bess Robbins in the Courtroom, comes on the podcast to walk us through the story.  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter. Purchase THE SCORPION'S TALE from this episode’s sponsor, Amazon Publishing. And you can preorder my new book Confident Women here, and listen to Red Flags (my latest podcast project) here.*** Sources: Interview with Denise M. Testa, 16 Jan 2021 Defending the Dillinger Gang: Jessie Levy and Bess Robbins in the Courtroom, by Denise M, Testa Music: Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer  Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0 Narration music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Something unbelievably awful was about to happen to Bobbie Jo Stinnett. She was about to live a nightmare. But the nightmare was already with Lisa Montgomery, swirling around her, never letting up. The nightmare had molded her, turning her into the sort of person that would knock on Bobbie Jo’s door with a knife beneath her jacket.  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter. Purchase THE UNQUIET ENGLISHMAN from this episode’s sponsor, W. W. Norton. And you can preorder my new book Confident Women here, and listen to Red Flags (my latest podcast project) here.*** Sources: “The Tortured Life and Tragic Crime of the Only Woman on Death Row,” 10 Nov 2020, The Huffington Post “My Sister, Lisa Montgomery, Took a Life. Her Own Was Scarred by Unimaginable Abuse. Spare Her,” 19 Nov 2020, Newsweek “Punch After Punch, Rape After Rape, a Murderer Was Made,” 18 Dec 2020, New York Times “Lisa Montgomery, a Kansan who cut a baby from a mother's womb, was executed by the federal government. Here is her story.” 13 Jan 2021, Topeka Capital-Journal “The Case of Lisa Montgomery,” Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide “Execution date rekindles memories in Skidmore,” 24 Oct 2020, News-Press Now “Accused woman’s relatives say warnings were ignored,” 10 Jan 2005, The Associated Press “Arrest made in death of pregnant woman,” 18 Dec 2004, The Standard “Fateful Day When Butcher Met Victim,” 21 Dec 2004, New York Post “Order Granting Motion to Stay Execution Pending A Competence Hearing,” 11 Jan 2021 “Inside the Race To Save The Only Woman On Federal Death Row,” 8 Jan 2021, The Huffington Post “PETITION FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY ON BEHALF OF LISA MARIE MONTGOMERY PRESENTED TO PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, DECEMBER 24, 2020” (prepared by Lisa’s lawyers) “U.S. Executes Lisa Montgomery for 2004 Murder,” 13 Jan 2021, New York Times Tweets from journalist Liliana Segura and Michael Tarn, who were at Terre Haute January 12-13, 2021 Music: Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer  Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0 Narration music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FIRST EPISODE OF 2021 IS HERE. Meet Juana Barraza, who loved wrestling and her children, who hated elderly women and her mother. Our expert for this episode is Susana Vargas Cervantes, author of THE LITTLE OLD LADY KILLER: The Sensationalized Crimes of Mexico’s First Female Serial Killer. Also, you can preorder my new book Confident Women here, and listen to Red Flags (my latest podcast project) here!  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter. Purchase NOBODY’S NORMAL from this episode’s sponsor, W. W. Norton. *** Sources: Interview with Susana Vargas Cervantes, December 30, 2020 THE LITTLE OLD LADY KILLER: The Sensationalized Crimes of Mexico’s First Female Serial Killer, by Susana Vargas Cervantes “El/La Mataviejitas: Killing genders in Mexico City,: MA thesis, Susana Vargas Cervantes “Juana Barraza: analfabeta, su madre la regaló a los 12 años, fue violada y le mataron un hijo a batazos,” Crónica, 27 Jan 2006 “El papá de la mataviejitas,” Crónica, 5 Feb 2006 “The Lady Killer,” The Guardian, 18 May 2006 “Dan 759 años de prisión a La mataviejitas,” La Jornada, 1 April 2008 “Mexico's “Little Old Lady Killer” gets life term,” Reuters, 31 March 2008 “Woman Held in Mexico City Serial Killings,” New York Times, 26 Jan 2006 “Little Old Lady Killer handed 759 years in a Mexican prison,” The Guardian, 1 April 2008 “The Mexican serial killer who has found love behind bars,” El País, 28 July 2015 “48 murders later, the “Little Old Lady Killer” files for divorce,” El País, 28 Oct 2016 “Juana Barraza, la mataviejitas | Asesinos Seriales,” Azteca Noticias Music: Intro and conclusion: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer  Ad break:  “The Great One Step” by Victor Dance Orchestra, via Free Music Archive, licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0 Narration music: Stereodog Productions (Dan Pierson & Peter Manheim) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A quick state of the Criminal Broads union. This is not goodbye forever, but it is goodbye for now. PLUS, some fun (basic? obvious?) quarantine escapism suggestions. And a bit of rambling. LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLLLL. Stay in touch! instagram newsletter website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midnight. A hospital ward. A young woman writhes in her bed in pain. But wait—here comes the night nurse, Jane Toppan, with a cool glass of water, promising to make it all…go…away… The story of Jane Toppan will chill you to your core, shake you to your bones, and remind you of the inconvenient truth that female serial killers can be just as deadly as the male ones. Want more Criminal Broads? Come to Caveat NYC on October 30 at 70 pm to see me and the host of DIE-ALOGUE talk about female cult leaders!!! Get your tickets here! *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard and bonus content on each broad. Snag a free month of weird and entertaining courses at The Great Courses Plus at thegreatcoursesplus.com/broads by entering code FREEMO. And get 10% off your first month of Betterhelp at betterhelp.com/criminalbroads. *** Sources:  Fatal by Harold Schechter Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer  “Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License” “The Haunted House” by Haunted Corpse, via freemusicarchive.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Halloween night, a young woman sneaks her boyfriend into her house…to kill her parents. Meet Suzane Von Richthofen, Brazil’s biggest teen girl psychopath.  Mega-thanks to Luiz Alberto Moura for the research assistance! Read his work on serial killers here. Want more Criminal Broads? Come to Caveat NYC on October 30 at 70 pm to see me the host of DIE-ALOGUE talk about female cult leaders!!! Get your tickets here! *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard and bonus content on each broad. Get 30% off all Proverb jewelry with code BROADS. Snag a free month of weird and entertaining courses at The Great Courses Plus at thegreatcoursesplus.com/broads by entering code FREEMO. And check out the new Nevertheless She Existed podcast!*** Sources: “Sex-and-murder transfixes Brazil,” The Windsor Star, 24 July 2006 “‘Red Baron’ heiress who plotted to murder parents gets 39 years,” The Times, 24 July 2006 “Red Baron Descendant's Murder Trial Is Hot Ticket,” Bloomberg News, June 2, 2006 + Brazilian sources aplenty! https://entretenimento.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2019/06/23/carla-diaz-se-inspira-em-silencio-dos-inocentes-para-interpretar-suzane-von-richthofen.htm https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2019/05/08/suzane-von-richthofen-deixa-prisao-para-saida-de-dia-das-maes.htm https://tvefamosos.uol.com.br/noticias/redacao/2019/07/12/reporter-da-globo-cita-poder-de-seducao-de-suzane-von-richthofen-em-prisao.htm https://super.abril.com.br/mundo-estranho/suzane-von-richtofen-o-crime-que-chocou-o-brasil/ https://g1.globo.com/sp/vale-do-paraiba-regiao/noticia/teste-para-aval-a-soltura-de-suzane-richthofen-indica-detenta-egocentrica-e-narcisista.ghtml http://g1.globo.com/fantastico/noticia/2017/06/prontuario-diz-que-richthofen-estava-com-higiene-precaria-e-olhar-vidrado.html https://g1.globo.com/sao-paulo/noticia/irmao-de-suzane-von-richthofen-e-internado-em-ala-psiquiatrica-de-hospital-em-sp.ghtml https://veja.abril.com.br/brasil/daniel-cravinhos-vai-sair-em-lua-de-mel/ https://vejasp.abril.com.br/cidades/romance-suzane-richthofen-sandra-gomes-tremembe-presidio/ https://canalcienciascriminais.jusbrasil.com.br/artigos/323442322/caso-richthofen https://g1.globo.com/sao-paulo/noticia/irmao-de-suzane-von-richthofen-e-internado-em-ala-psiquiatrica-de-hospital-em-sp.ghtml https://istoe.com.br/promotor-de-justica-e-medico-foram-seduzidos-por-suzane-von-richthofen-diz-jornalista/ https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u62515.shtml  Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer “Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License “Copo de Veneno” by Karina Buhr, via freemusicarchive.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a young black woman named Joan Little ran from her jail cell, leaving her white male guard dead on the floor—without his pants—the country couldn’t decide who, exactly, Joan Little was. The prosecution said she was a vicious seductress who’d lured the guard in specifically to kill him. The defense said she was an innocent angel who hadn’t even known he was dead. Who in the world was Joan Little, really? Want more Criminal Broads? Come to Caveat NYC on October 30 at 70 pm to see me the host of DIE-ALOGUE talk about female cult leaders!!! Get your tickets here! *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard. Get 10% off your first month of Betterhelp at betterhelp.com/criminalbroads. Snag a free month of weird and entertaining courses at The Great Courses Plus at thegreatcoursesplus.com/broads by entering code FREEMO. And check out Harlequin Suspense’s new line of creepy fall books at bit.ly/mustreadsuspense.*** Sources: New York Times coverage of the Joan Little case, 1975-1989The Innocent of Joan Little: A Southern Mystery, by James RestonJoan Little ephemera (including her poem, “I Am Somebody”), from usprisonculture.com“Free Joan Little: Anti-Rape Activism, Black Power, and the Black Freedom Movement,” by Ashley Farmer, from Black Perspectives by AAIHS Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer “Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License“Gospel House Mix 1” by DJ Renay, via archive.org. Public domain.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do women love true crime? Wait, no—why do people love true crime? Author Rachel Monroe comes on the podcast to deconstruct our appetite for horrifying true stories. Also covered: relating to the Manson girls, why true crime is not the same as a bowl of oatmeal, the ethics of crime scene photos, and the murky side of the victim's rights movement. Check out Rachel’s new book, Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsessiontoday! Want more #content? 1) Subscribe to the new podcast I’m hosting, Why Women Kill, from CBS All Access. 2) Come see me + the host of DIE-ALOGUE talk about female cult leaders in NYC on October 30. Tickets here! *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard. Get a free month of courses at The Great Courses Plus at thegreatcoursesplus.com/broads. Check out Harlequin Suspense’s new line of creepy fall books at bit.ly/mustreadsuspense.*** Sources: Interview with Rachel Monroe: August 28, 2019Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession, by Rachel MonroeRachel’s con-man article in the Atlantic: “The Perfect Man Who Wasn’t,” April 2018 issueThe article about serial rapists we discuss: “An Epidemic of Disbelief,” by Barbara Bradley Hagerty, The Atlantic, August 2019 issue Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer“Can You Tame Wild Wimmen?” by Billy Murray, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License“Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the night of January 15, 1978, Kathy Kleiner opened her eyes to see the serial killer Ted Bundy standing over her bed. One year later, she stared him down in the courtroom, thinking, “I’m standing, now, and you’re in the bed.” This is her story, in her own words. Here’s the Vulture article about Ted Bundy that I wrote…and my profile of Kathy for Rolling Stone. *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard. Get a free month of courses at The Great Courses Plus at thegreatcoursesplus.com/broads. Get 25% off your Care/of order by heading to takecareof.com and using code CRIMINALBROADS. And check out the new Nevertheless She Existed podcast!*** Sources: Interview with Kathy Kleiner: August 23, 2019 Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer“Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License“Show Yourself (Living Light remix)” by Ayla Nereo, licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License and used with permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years ago, a wild-eyed maniac named Charles Manson sent a gaggle of his girls into the night to murder seven people. But his most loyal girl, his second-in-command, a teenager named Squeaky Fromme, didn’t head out with the group. Since she didn’t kill for Charlie that night, she spent the rest of her life trying to prove that she was just as loyal to him—and so, long after Manson's murderesses had disowned him, Squeaky remained.  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard. Get a free month of courses at The Great Courses Plus at thegreatcoursesplus.com/broads. And check out the Pretend Radio podcast!*** Sources + music: COMING TONIGHT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tanya Nelson believed everything her fortuneteller, Ha Jade Smith, told her—until Tanya’s life spiraled out of control, and Ha couldn’t seem to help her. With that, Tanya decided that someone was going to have to pay for the wreckage that was her life. Someone was going to have to die.  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard. Support Crimibox on Kickstarter. Get 25% off your Care/of order by heading to takecareof.com and using code CRIMINALBROADS. And check out the new Nevertheless She Existed podcast!*** Sources: “Police Seek Pair Seen Leaving the Home of Two Slain O.C. Women,” Los Angeles Times, 03 May 2005 “Seeking Clues in Shadowy World; Trying to solve killings of a fortuneteller and her daughter in Little Saigon, police ask for help understanding ethnic nuances,” Los Angeles Times, 05 May 2005 “Charges Filed in O.C. Double Slaying; North Carolina woman is being held in the slayings of fortuneteller and her daughter in Westminster. A man will be extradited, police say,” Los Angeles Times, 04 June 2005 “Man said to have confessed to slayings,” The Orange County Register, 12 April 2006 “Woman enticed accomplice into murder plot, prosecutor says,” The Orange County Register, 14 January 2010 “Witness testifies bad ‘fortune’ led to murders,” The Orange County Register, 1 February 2010 “Prosecutor: Fortune-teller, daughter killed over prediction,” The Orange County Register, 10 February 2010 “Sister of slain fortune teller breaks down,” The Orange County Register, 24 February 2010 “Sister of murderer pleads for mercy,” The Orange County Register, 25 February 2010 “Woman sentenced to death in fortune teller slayings,” The Orange County Register, 23 April 2010 “Tanya Nelson Irks Judge Frank F. Fasel, Who Sends Double-Killer to Death Row,” OC Weekly, 26 April 2010 Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer “Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License “Spirit’s Cradle ft. Leah Song,” by saQi, licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License and used with permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There were plenty of jobs for women in WW2: nurse, ambulance driver, factory worker. But then there were the other jobs, the ones no one really talked about. Spy. Resistance fighter. Killer. These are the stories of five women—Nadezhda Popova, Vitka Kempner, Noor Inayat Khan, Nancy Wake, and Lyudmila Pavlichenko—who fought the Nazis. They terrorized them from the sky, blew up their trains, endured their torture, rode bikes through their territory, and shot them down with their rifles. In a world that threatened to be consumed by evil, they fought back.  *** SUPPORT THE PODCAST! Become a Patreon supporter and get a cool postcard. Get a free month of Stitcher Premium at stitcherpremium.com with code BROADS. And get 25% off your Care/of order by heading to takecareof.com and using code CRIMINALBROADS. *** Sources: “Nadezhda Popova, WWII ‘Night Witch,’ Dies at 91,” New York Times, 14 July 2013 “Nadezhda Popova, celebrated Soviet ‘Night Witch’ aviator of World War II, dies at 91,” The Washington Post, 13 July 2013 “Vilna Jewish Partisans Led By Young Girl,” The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, 8 Sept 1944 “VITKA KEMPNER-KOVNER,” The Encyclopedia of Jewish Women “Vitka Kovner, partisan, passes away at the age of 92,” Yad Vashem, 15 Feb 2012 “Overlooked No More: Noor Inayat Khan, Indian Princess and British Spy,” New York Times, 28 Nov 2018 “One Woman, Many Surprises: Pacifist Muslim, British Spy, WWII Hero,” NPR, 6 Sept 2014 “Noor Inayat Khan: The Indian princess who spied for Britain,” BBC, 8 Nov 2012 “Nancy Wake, Proud Spy and Nazi Foe, Dies at 98,” New York Times, 13 Aug 2011 “Farewell to Nancy Wake, the mouse who ran rings around the Nazis,” The Guardian, 8 Aug 2011 “War hero Nancy Wake's ashes scattered in France,” ABC Australia, 10 Mar 2013 “Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper,” Smithsonian, 21 Feb 2013 “The life and myths of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Soviet Russia's deadliest sniper,” Public Radio International, 9 March 2018 “By the Numbers: End of World War II,” CNN, 2 Sept 2013 World War II Foundation (for statistics)   Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer “Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 16” by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Sviatoslav Richter, piano; Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki, cond.), via archive.org. Samples played from “Miss Pavlichenko” by Woody Guthrie and Inglorious Bastards by Quentin Tarantino.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meet Irma Grese. She likes boys, girls, movies, makeup, and sadistic torture. She hates her dad, but loves Adolf Hitler. This is horrific story of the story of how propaganda—and a large dose of teenage boredom—transformed an unskilled peasant girl into one of the Holocaust’s most successful concentration camp guards.(Become a Patreon supporter.) Sources: The Beautiful Beast: The Life & Crimes of SS-Aufseherin Irma Grese, by Daniel Patrick Brown “The Violence of Female Guards in Nazi Concentration Camps (1939-1945): Reflections on the Dynamics and Logics of Power,” by Elissa Mailänder in SciencesPo “Nazi Bride Schools: ‘These girls were the nucleus of the Reich,’” Telegraph, 16 August 2013 “Auschwitz II-Birkenau,” from Auschwitz.org “Life for young people in Nazi Germany,” BBC Bitesize, accessed 6/31/2019 “Gendering the Holocaust: A case study of Irma Grese: Constructing the ‘evil’ and the ‘ordinary’ through digital oral testimonies and written trial testimonies of the Holocaust survivors,” by Bianka Vida, Kaleidoscope Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer“Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License“Death Is Our Only God” by Silent Carrion, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

History remembers them as beautiful booze-hounds. Hollywood turned them into fame-hungry starlets. But who were these murderesses, really? With Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, author of UGLY PREY: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence That Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago, we dive into the stories of Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan, the most infamous lady killers of 1920s Chicago. What did the press get wrong about them? What do we get wrong about them today? WHY WERE THEIR JURIES SO UTTERLY MAD? And honestly, was the whole thing just a gin-soaked joke, or were real crimes committed? Find Emilie on her website and Instagram. Buy her books here. And become a Patreon supporter for rewards and bonus content! Sources: Interview withEmilie Le Beau Lucchesi, 6/14/19UGLY PREY: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence That Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago, by Emilie Le Beau LucchesiThe Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago, by Douglas PerryLady Killers, by Tori Telfer Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer“Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License“One Night Alone With You” via archive.orgBrief clips played for educational purposes: “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago and “Hula Lou” by Danny Kaye Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story behind New York’s first-ever female detective! In 1896, Isabella Goodwin was a quiet, hard-working police matron who wrangled murderesses, made up the prison beds, and earned about half of what her male coworkers did. As far as she knew, she’d be a police matron forever…until one day, a gruff captain called her over to his desk and asked if she’d like to take a crack at going undercover. (Become a Patreon supporter for rewards and bonus content!) Sources: The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin: How New York's First Female Police Detective Cracked the Crime of the Century, by Elizabeth Mitchell“Robbers Hold Up Bank Messengers in Taxi; Steal $25,000 and Escape in an Auto,” Brooklyn Times Union, 15 Feb 1912“The First Municipal Woman Detective in the World,” The New York Times, 3 March 1912“Mrs. Isabella Goodwin is a Sherlock Holmes in Skirts,” Daily Long Island Democrat, 26 March 1912“Who Mrs. Isabella Goodwin Really Is,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7 April 1912“Bandits’ Sentences Pile High,” New-York Tribune, 13 April 1912“Woman Detective is Secret Bride,” The Standard Union, 28 Nov 1921“Overlooked No More: Isabella Goodwin, New York City’s First Female Police Detective,” New York Times, 13 March 2019Ticket Scalping: An American History, 1850–2005, by Kerry Segrave (p. 68) Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.“Shake It and Break It” by Lanin's Southern Serenaders, licensed under a Public Domain / Sound Recording Common Law Protection License“La Traviata, Brindisi (Verdi)” by MIT Symphony Orchestra, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Juanita Spinelli ran a gang of embarrassingly awful Northern Californian crooks who could barely rob enough gas stations to stay afloat. And yet three years after forming her gang, she was walking toward the gas chamber, while citizens across the country clamored that it wasn’t right to execute a woman. (Become a Patreon supporter for rewards and bonus content! And here’s the slideshow of California’s death row inmates that I mention at the end of the episode…) Sources: All Juanita Spinelli coverage from The San Francisco Examiner, 1940-1941“Murder Ring in State Broken,” Santa Maria Times, 16 April 1940“Robbery-Gang Killing Explained,” The Los Angeles Times, 17 April 1940“Woman Seized as Murder Ring Head,” Leader-Telegram, 17 April 1940“Gang is Indicted in Sacramento For Slaying of Youth,” Reno Gazette-Journal, 23 April 1940“Aided Slayers to Save Child,” Muncie Evening Press, 25 May 1940“'Duchess’ Gang Aid Admits Throwing Victim Into River,” Oakland Tribune, 27 May 1940“A Woman Condemned to Die,” Lincoln News Messenger, 13 Feb 1941“‘The Duchess’ to Die for Gang Slaying,” The Press Democrat, 19 June 1941“Murderess Snatched from Death’s Shadow,” The Press Democrat, 20 June 1941“Death Awaits Mrs. Spinelli,” The Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov 1941“‘The Duchess’ Dies in Gas Chamber,” The Roseville Press, 21 Nov 1941“Many Pleas Made For Duchess’ Life,” Oakland Tribune, 21 Nov 1941“‘Duchess’ Quiet in Execution,” Santa Cruz Evening News, 21 Nov 1941“Aides to ‘Duchess’ Executed; Laugh and Pray at Finish,” The Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov 1941“These Interesting People,” Oakland Tribune, 4 Nov 1946 "Big Names from the Big House,” Santa Cruz Sentinel, 17 Dec 2000“The Death of a Duchess,” Daily News, 29 June 2003“Timeline: Capital Punishment in California,” Southern California Public Radio“California Death Penalty Suspended; 737 Inmates Get Stay of Execution,” New York Times, 12 March 2019“The most notorious inmates on California's death row,” SF Gate, 13 March 2019“These are the 737 inmates on California's death row,” LA Times, 13 March 2019 Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.“Me and the Blues,” sung by Mildred Bailey, from archive.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1982, Kazuko Fukuda strangled her coworker, changed her name, and went on the run—for fifteen years. She was playing a game of chicken with the law, trying to stay free until the statute of limitations for her crime ran out. To do this, she had to go under the knife. (Become a Patreon supporter for rewards and bonus content!) Sources: Crime stats for Japan and the US: The Japanese Industrial System (De Gruyter Studies in Organization, 3rd Edition), Page 46, and “The U.S. Murder Rate Is Up But Still Far Below Its 1980 Peak,” FiveThirtyEight, 25 Sept 2017 “Staying Healthy in Japan: Jujin Hospital,” Tokyo Weekender,  20 May 1888 “A Modest Proposal for Capturing Fugitives,” The Japan Times, Aug 07, 1997 “Informant donates reward to charity,” The Japan Times, 24 Aug 1997 “After 14 years on run, murder suspect arrested,” The Japan Times, 30 Jul 1997  “Japanese police scramble to catch up with criminals,” The Washington Post, Tokyo, 13 September 1997 “Ex-fugitive admits killing,” The Japan Times, 28 Oct 1997 “Life term for ex-fugitive upheld,” The Japan Times, 14 Dec 2000 “The rules of hostessing,” Japan Today, 3 November 2009  “Japan: Statute of Limitations for Murder Abolished,” Global Legal Monitor, The Law Library of Congress, 21 May 2010  “Heisei flashback: Kazuko Fukuda, ‘The Woman of Seven Faces,’” Tokyo Reporter, 19 April 2019 Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.“Moon-kana – Tsuki Kinoko (Yaka-anima Slow Mix)” by Yaka-anima from Broken Doll (2018), used with permission from archive.org under license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The victims of Jack the Ripper, the most famous serial killer in the world, are known to us mostly by their autopsy photos. On the conclusion to our WOMEN OF JACK THE RIPPER series, historian Hallie Rubenhold comes on the podcast to illuminate the rough and tragically brief lives of Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elisabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—the canonical five. Hallie is the author of The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper.  (Become a Patreon supporter for rewards and bonus content!) Sources: Interview with Hallie RubenholdThe Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, by Hallie RubenholdDescriptions of the victims’ injuries are available in detail on casebook.org/victims/ Music: “Guilty” by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, and Gus Kahn, sung by Anna Telfer.“Funeral March in C minor, Op. posth. 72 no. 2” by Frederick Chopin, used with permission from musopen.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We remember Jack the Ripper as a man who did the brutal work of a typical male serial killer, de-feminizing his victims by hacking up their bodies. But in this two-part series, let’s take a look at the women who circle around the Ripper legend. First up, the admittedly controversial and kinda odd theory that perhaps Jack the Ripper is the wrong nickname for the killer—perhaps, some writers insist, we should have been looking for a Jill all along! This episode features an interview with Jonathan Menges of Casebook.org and the Rippercast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Victorian women were expected to be wives and mothers—not killers. Enter Adelaide Bartlett. In her middle-class Victorian world of green wallpaper, taxidermy, and submissive wifehood, the beautiful Adelaide was an enigma. Was she telling the truth about her husband’s weirdness? Was she really as good as she seemed? And most importantly: did she do it? (Become a Patreon supporter for rewards and bonus content!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1930s New York, a single man ruled the entire city with extortion, racketeering, and a healthy dose of murder. Nobody could take him down—until a black girl from Atlanta decided to try her hand at it. It was the match of the century: the lawyer, Eunice Hunton Carter vs. the mobster, Lucky Luciano. Only one of them would walk out of that courtroom unscathed.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once upon a time, in 1930s Texas, a girl named Blanche fell desperately in love with a boy named Buck. She thought they had a shot at a good life together, but everything went off the rails one night when Buck’s brother and his brother’s girlfriend—Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker—showed up drunk at their door. Before long, Blanche was swept up in the on-the-run world of Bonnie and Clyde, terrified that their outlaw lifestyle would take her love away from her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1960s Melbourne, a lot of very wealthy people found themselves wondering if there was more to life, and wouldn’t you know, a gorgeous yoga teacher was there to tell them: yes, yes there is. But this yoga teacher with her warm, appealing aphorisms would soon become a voracious cult leader with a penchant for pretending like she was the best mama in the world. This is the story of Anne Hamilton-Byrne, a woman who wanted to be an actress and a mother, but ended up playing God on a purple throne, ruining the life of every child she touched. This episode features interviews with Chris Johnston and Rosie Jones, authors of "The Family." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of the 1970s, body after dead body began appearing on the streets and sidewalks and parking lots of Miami. Many of those bodies were linked to the Colombian cocaine trade, which was in turn linked to one incredibly powerful woman with a love of gangster movies and a penchant for drive-by shootings. Meet Griselda Blanco: the Black Widow, La Madrina, the Godmother of Cocaine.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At eight years old, Lois Gibson begged God to give her a job where she could draw faces. As a young woman, a man with an evil face burst through her door, leaving her broken, despairing, and consumed with the desire for justice. At thirty-nine, she became a full-time forensic artist. At sixty-six, she made the Guinness Book of World Records. This is the story of Lois Gibson, the world’s most successful forensic artist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beneath the soft green grass of the Last Supper cemetery, most regular, God-fearing residents of Mobile, Alabama had one family member resting. Maybe two. Rhonda Belle Martin had eight. This is the story of a woman who the tabloids labeled a “redheaded hellcat,” whose urge to kill swept over her one day when her little daughter asked for a drink of water, and who was never able to explain why she gave her poisoned milk, instead.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Falicia Blakely was only 16 when she met the man who would change the course of her life. At first, Mike Berry was the perfect boyfriend—bringing her flowers, treating her little boy as his own son. But then came the brainwashing, the manipulation, and the fire. Before long, Falicia would find herself holding a phone and a pistol, with Mike on the other end of the call, urging her to shoot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While many remember the 1978 Jonestown massacre as a dark monument to the power of a single man’s paranoia and fanaticism, the tale of Jim Jones’ lover, Carolyn Layton, reveals a more complicated narrative—and a more frightening truth. Carolyn was a bubbly young woman who believed in pacifism and political engagement, but when she met Jim Jones, she became an unsmiling woman would do anything for Jones’ cause—including death. Was this a personality change, or had Carolyn been a secret fanatic all along? Author Laura Elizabeth Woollett comes on the podcast to tell us Carolyn’s long-forgotten story, which she covers in her latest novel, Beautiful Revolutionary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do female vampires exist? Are they bloodier than their male counterparts? And if the answer to those first two questions is yes: should we race to the grocery store RIGHT NOW to stock up on garlic?! Join me as we travel through the long, dark, decomposition-ridden history of female vampires, from ancient Assyrian myths to New England vampire panics to Hungarian countesses with bad reputations. We’ll talk about lady vamps in legend, in pop culture, and—eek!—in real life. Happy Halloween! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you were looking for vice, Sydney in the 1920s-1940s was the place to be. Duck into the back alleys of Surry Hills and Woolloomooloo and you’d find all the cocaine, “sly grog” (booze!), brawling, and brothels your dark little heart desired, all of it presided over by not one but two larger-than-life crime queens: Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. The women’s’ rivalry was bloody, colorful, absurd, and stretched on for decades. They raged at each other in the press and in the streets; they insulted each other’s dogs (GASP!); they tried to outdo each other with glamorous photoshoots. Polish your diamonds and hike up your garters, listeners, because we’re diving into their story.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much abuse can a woman endure before she breaks? That seemed to be the horrible challenge that the wealthy men who abused Phoolan Devi had set for themselves. It was as though they were mad scientists, experimenting on the human spirit. But their experiment failed. No matter how many times they assaulted her, sent her to prison, shamed her, and beat her family, Phoolan refused to remain silent. And when, as a teenager, she was swept up into the wild world of Northern Indian bandits, called dacoits, it was time for those wealthy abusers to fear for their lives, as Phoolan grew into an expert in the vicious art of vengeance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all know the story: Lizzie Borden may or may not have taken an ax (okay, a hatchet) and given her mother (okay, stepmother) forty whacks (okay, nineteen). We know for sure that there were two deaths, and a lot of blood. But something sprung to life the day of those brutal double murders: the Lizzie Borden industry. For the very special tenth episode of Criminal Broads, let’s dive into the wild and endlessly enduring legend of alleged ax murderess Lizzie Borden, tackling her not as a killer, but as a cultural touchstone. We’ll cover the crimes themselves, but also the myths, misinformation, and weird products that have sprung up around the Lizzie Borden biz. Today, you can buy a pair of Lizzie Borden earrings, watch a Lizzie Borden rock opera, see a couple of Lizzie Borden-themed horror movies, go to a Lizzie Borden ballet, buy a Lizzie Borden Candle, drink a Lizzie Borden Cocktail, and stay at the Lizzie Borden B&B—but the one thing you can never, ever do is know exactly what Lizzie Borden was thinking on August 4, 1892.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the 19th century loomed, China experienced a huge boom in piracy—and the largest, most terrifyingly organized fleet that menaced the South China Sea was led by…a woman. Madame Cheng (remembered as Cheng I Sao or Ching Shih) had a meteoric rise from impoverished sex worker to climb to arguably the most successful and influential pirate of all time. Should we cheer her on—or remember her as a criminal?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1958, Nebraska was terrified by a spree killing so brutal, so atrocious that it seemed impossible to believe it was pulled off by...teenagers. When Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate were apprehended, she ran screaming to the cops, telling them he was going to kill her. He told them she was a killer, too.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling true crime author Harold Schechter comes on the podcast to tell us the story of Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-American serial dater who had a thing for butcher’s tools. Or perhaps you know her as the author of the best dating profile line ever: “Triflers need not apply.” Belle’s story is covered at length in Schechter’s new book, Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men. Also discussed: why female psychopaths are more psychopathic than people give them credit for; how male serial killers are “undiscriminating”; why poisoners are worse than Jack the Ripper; and the old “meat grinder falls on head” trick.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1998, Beatrice Munyenyezi came from Rwanda to New Hampshire, claiming that she needed sanctuary from the horrific genocide that had recently happened in her home country. On her immigration forms, she swore that she’d had nothing to do with the violence. She was a mother, after all! But when an agent from the Department of Homeland Security began looking into her past, he couldn’t believe the brutal stories that emerged.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling true crime author M. William Phelps comes onto the podcast to tell us the story of Amy Archer Gilligan, a turn-of-the-century serial killer who disguised her sociopathic tendencies beneath a kind, neighborly facade. Her lemonade was laced with arsenic, and her convalescent home was not a place where anyone could get better. Also discussed: hot tub horrors, female criminals’ skyrocketing brutality (eek), and an amazing undercover lady cop named Zola. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jasmuheen, an Australian guru who became media catnip in the 90s, seemed kind of spacey and silly. Sure, her belief system was totally wild—she told the world that she lived off energy alone, and hadn’t eaten actual food in years—but her teachings didn’t seem all that serious. After all, her fridge was stocked with food, and her website was covered in purple fonts, and no one really believed her, right? Then people started dying.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Gonzalez Valenzuela sisters did not have an easy childhood, but when they grew up, they proceeded to steadily destroy the childhoods of other young women. When their “horror ranch” was discovered, the people of Mexico were appalled at the secrets that began to emerge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Bender knew how to get along with people. She could converse, dance, ride horses, flirt, and generally blend into society like a pro. So when society found out that she and her creepy family been serially killing travelers all along, they wanted to punish her for it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1819, Lavinia and John Fisher were arrested in Charleston, SC after beating up a couple of travelers. Their case ballooned from accusations of assault to a charge of highway robbery—and a double death sentence. Today, Lavinia is remembered as America’s first female serial killer. What in the world happened?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices