Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

In the sultry summer of 1949, a sleepy Florida beach town was rocked to its core. A brutal home invasion, a shocking murder, and a desperate, month-long manhunt captivated—and terrified—an entire region. At the center of the storm was John Calvin “Rastus” Russell, a cunning ex-con and former asylum patient who unleashed a wave of fear unlike anything the Gulf Coast had ever seen. My guest is M.F. Gross, author of the recently published MADMAN: The Incredible True Story of John Calvin "Rastus" Russel, the Heinous Crime, and Sensational Manhunt That Terrified Central Florida in 1949. He walks us through the horrific events of August 7th, 1949 and their aftermath. The author's website: https://mfgross.com/ The author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mfgrossbooks The author on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mfgross The author on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mfgrossbook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1952 burglary of eccentric multi-millionaire LaVere Redfield’s mansion in Reno, Nevada was the largest of its time, but also a comedy of errors. "Masterminded" by a French-Canadian woman with a questionable relationship to Redfield, it also included a failed safecracker and a crew of Italian-American hoodlums from the Milwaukee underworld. My guest is historian, author and podcaster Gavin Schmitt, and he shares details from his book Big Safe: The Milwaukee Crew and the Reno Redfield Heist. The author's website: https://gavinschmitt.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The First Forensic Hanging: The Toxic Truth That Killed Mary Blandy by Summer Strevens tells the story of Mary Blandy, executed in 1752 for poisoning her father Frances Blandy with arsenic. Her trial was the first in Britain to use toxicology as evidence in an arsenic poisoning case, marking a turning point in forensic history. Drawing on period newspapers and court records, Strevens unpacks the trial, the intense public fascination, and the shadowy role of Blandy’s lover, Captain William Cranstoun, whose influence and possible manipulation may have led her down the path to the gallows. More about the book on the author's website: https://www.summerstrevens.com/ Purchase the book on Amazon here. (affiliate link) Disclosure: Some links above are affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig pub date: 2/3/24) On August 17th, 1849, London police officers made a grisly discovery at the home of George and Maria (born Marie de Roux) Manning. Her former beau, Patrick O'Connor, had been buried under the floor. A nationwide hunt for the couple would follow, and after that a trial and executions. The murder case would grip London so fervently that Madame Tussaud would later add wax versions of the couple to her infamous Chamber of Horrors. My guest today is Gavin Whitehead, creator, writer and narrator of The Art of Crime podcast, which is currently in its third season. (Note: At the end of this encore interview, I reconnect with Gavin for a teaser on his fifth season, just recently released, called "Murder by the Book"). More about The Art of Crime here: https://www.artofcrimepodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Myra Maibelle Shirley, better known as Belle Starr, was one of the most notorious female outlaws of the Old West (if you believe period newspapers, anyway). My guest, bestselling and award-winning author Michael Wallis, made it his mission to tell the true story of Belle Starr, and in the process dispels many of the myths that surround her. He shares details of her colorful life and violent death, which many believe was committed by a 19th century Florida serial killer. Michael's new book is called Belle Starr: The Truth Behind the Wild West Legend. The author's website: https://www.michaelwallis.com/ The author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelwallisus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Doctor" Robert Spears was arguably one of the greatest con artists of the twentieth century, and very likely a mass murderer. In thirty nine years of grift, he had 25 aliases, 28 arrests in 20 cities, and was imprisoned close to a dozen times. He performed, without any medical degree, abortions on countless women, and in 1959 tricked his best friend into taking his place on an airplane. That plane exploded in mid-air, killing 42 passengers, and allowed Spears to briefly escape his legal woes and start a new life under yet another new identity. My guest is Jerry Jamison, and his book is called "Vanishing Act: A Crashed Airliner, Faked Death, and Backroom Abortions". He share details of this too-crazy-to-believe-but-still-true story with me on this latest episode of Most Notorious. The author's website: https://jerryjamison.com/ Jerry Jamison on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerryjamisonauthor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Scott Ellsworth, author of Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America. He talks about President Lincoln's turbulent last year in office, the Confederate secret service's attempts to create chaos in the north, and John Wilkes Booth's ties to the Confederacy's spy network. The author's website: https://www.scottellsworthauthor.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743267/midnight-on-the-potomac-by-scott-ellsworth On Twitter/X: https://x.com/scotteauthor On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottEllsworthAuthor/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scotteauthor/ Too busy having fun this summer to cook? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In July of 1908 the body of twenty-year-old Hazel Drew was found floating in a mill pond in Upstate New York. Her death captured headlines across the nation and around the world, but after a whirlwind investigation lasting less than thirty days (despite a myriad of suspects), the District Attorney abruptly closed the case. Joining me is Jerry Drake, author of "Hazel Was a Good Girl: Solving the Murder that Inspired Twin Peaks". Through meticulous research and new evidence, he focuses on an intriguing, rarely discussed suspect—and a set of circumstances that turn this classic murder mystery on its head. The author's website: https://drakeinvestigates.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Original pub date: 6/16/21) 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, 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clem Pellett grew up knowing very little about his grandfather, Clarence Pellett, who was murdered along Montana's iconic Hi-Line in April of 1951. Pellett's father had cut ties with the family, and Pellett didn't even know his grandfather's first name until he started investigating the case as an adult. Through extensive research over many years, Pellett uncovered the details of his grandfather's cold-blooded murder by a hitchhiker named Frank Dryman, as well as the lengthy legal battle that followed. Pellett has written a book called "Murder on Montana's Hi-Line" about his grandfather's murder, and a feature film adaptation titled "Pellet" is in the works. "The Pellett Project" website: https://pellettproject.com/ On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepellettproject/ On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePellettProject/ On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePellettProject Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of September 5th, 1917, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Epler was found dead just steps from her home in Alma, Michigan. The investigation into her murder would soon entangle a brothel madam, a traveling theater owner, a local farmer, and a French-Canadian amateur detective. My guest is Allie Seibert, author of Bloodstained: Exploring Michigan's Darkest Murders Forgotten By Time. She walks us through this unsolved mystery and shares some of the strange twists she was able to uncover while researching this long forgotten case. The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Allie-Seibert/author/B0F5BYH6BH Allie in the Archives Podcast links: https://www.pod.link/1819388236 Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 2, 1963, Robert Killins, a former United Church minister, slaughtered every woman in his family but one. She (and her brother) lived to tell the story of what motivated a talented man who had been widely admired, a scholar and graduate from Queen’s University, to stalk and terrorize the women in his family for almost twenty years and then murder them. Through extensive oral histories, Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson painstakingly trace the causes of a femicide in which four women and two unborn babies were murdered over the course of one bloody evening. While they situate this murderous rampage in the literature on domestic abuse and mass murders, they also explore how the two traumatized child survivors found their way back to health and happiness. Their book is called "The Castleton Massacre: Survivors' Stories of the Killins Femicide" and the authors join me to discuss this horrific and very personal tragedy. Their publisher's book page: https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459749863-the-castleton-massacre Sharon Anne Cook's website: https://sharonannecook.com/ Sharon Anne Cook's faculty page: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-education/sharon-anne-cook More about Margaret Carson: https://www.dundurn.com/authors_/t156375/p148940-margaret-carson Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the morning of July 3, 1915, John Pierpont Morgan Jr., one of the most famous names in finance, was entertaining guests at his sprawling Long Island estate when the doorbell unexpectedly rang. An armed man forced his way inside. At the same time, authorities in Washington, DC, were investigating a shocking bombing at the US Capitol. While no one had been killed, the blast had destroyed the reception room, and DC citizens were on edge. Nine years earlier, in 1906, Leone Krembs Muenter had fallen ill and died shortly after giving birth. Her husband, Harvard professor Erich Muenter, blamed his wife’s Christian Science religious beliefs, which prohibited medical intervention, for the death, but an investigation suggested something more sinister: arsenic poisoning. As suspicions mounted, Muenter vanished. Joining me is Mary Noé, author of "The Man Who Shot J. P. Morgan: A Life of Arsenic, Anarchy, and Intrigue". She tells the remarkable tale of a deceptive Harvard professor who reemerges with a new name and family —and a dangerous loyalty to Germany during World War I. The author's website: https://manwhoshotmorgan.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2024/the-man-who-shot-j-p-morgan/ Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Lowther was a mutineer and a pirate, one of the most prolific during the golden age of piracy. His first mate, Edward "Ned" Low, went on to establish himself as perhaps the most sadistic and depraved of all pirate captains. Virtually all popular sources specify Lowther's death being by suicide in 1723, while marooned on the small island of Blanquilla, off the coast of Venezuela. While researching the War of Jenkins' Ear, historian Craig Chapman found repeated references to "Lowther the Pirate" in primary source material. This Lowther was pardoned and commissioned as a Royal Navy lieutenant in 1741. Further research revealed that this was indeed George Lowther, and therefore, that the date and place of his death had been reported erroneously. Military historian and author Craig Chapman shares the story of how Lowther became a pirate, some of his most notable and notorious actions, and his astonishing resurfacing years after his purported death. His book is called "The Resurrected Pirate: The Life, Death, and Subsequent Career of the Notorious George Lowther". The author's website: https://craigschapman.com/ The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CraigSChapmanAuthor/ Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Original pub. date: 9/27/2018) Catherine Pelonero, author of "Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and its Private Consequences", is my guest. She walks us through the murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, New York in 1964 and its aftermath. The horrific crime is especially infamous because no one called police or stepped in to help, despite being witnessed by dozens of people. Note: I normally post a link to an author's website, but a listener just notified me that Catherine's no longer exists. Her Wikipedia page hasn't been updated yet with news of her passing, but here is the link to that page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Pelonero Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Cowlam stands out as one of the most remarkable con artists of nineteenth-century America. He talked his way into receiving pardons from both President Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Through deception, he secured a role investigating Lincoln’s assassination. He preyed on lonely widows, attempted to manipulate a Florida election, and created a secret society to steal money. His cons were as bold as they were relentless. My guest, Frank W. Garmon Jr., has written the definitive book on this colorful charlatan. It's called A Wonderful Career in Crime: Charles Cowlam’s Masquerades in the Civil War Era and Gilded Age. The author's website: https://www.frankgarmon.com/ The author's publisher page: https://lsupress.org/9780807182161/a-wonderful-career-in-crime/ Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November 1945, James Newton, a young World War II veteran, was shot four times—twice in the back—in his room at an Abingdon, Virginia boardinghouse owned by Helen Clark. She would soon stand trial for his murder, as speculation swirled about the true nature of their relationship. Was she a protective, motherly figure trying to prevent Jimmy from taking his own life, or had she killed him in a fit of jealousy? Greg Lilly joins me to disuss the case. He is the author of "Abingdon's Boardinghouse Murder". More about the author and his work on his website: https://www.greglilly.com/ His publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781467157322 Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much like the wheel, the boat, and the telephone, the axe is a transformative piece of technology―one that has been with us since prehistory. And just as early humans used the axe to chop down trees, hunt for food, and whittle tools, they also used it to murder. Over time, this particular use has endured: as the axe evolved over centuries to fit the needs of new agricultural, architectural, and social development, so have our lethal uses for it. Rachel McCarthy James, who wrote "The Man From the Train" with her father Bill James, returns to the show to talk to share some of the history of this iconic tool and weapon. She shares examples of how it's been used for violence over the centuries - from the Vikings to Henry VIII to Lizzie Borden. Her new book, out on May 13, called "Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder". The author's website: http://rmccarthyjames.com/ The author's publisher page: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250276735/whackjob/ Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The American sailing vessel Adriatic collided with the French steamship Le Lyonnais on November 2, 1856, off the coast of Nantucket in what can best be described as a maritime hit-and-run. Adriatic’s captain, Jonathan Durham, rendered no aid and left the passenger steamship to fend for herself. 114 people died in the collision and in the days that followed. My guest is shipwreck hunter Jennifer N. Sellitti, author of "The Adriatic Affair: A Maritime Hit-and-Run off the Coast of Nantucket". In this episode of Most Notorious, she recounts the tragic tale of the incident and the dramatic efforts by France to bring Captain Durham to justice. She also shares details of her quest to uncover the long-lost wreck of the Le Lyonnais. Atlantic Wreck Salvage's website: https://dvtenacious.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.schiffermilitary.com/products/the-adriatic-affair More on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dvtenacious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just in time for summer! This is an introduction and excerpt from the Slaycation Podcast, hosted by Kim and Adam "Tex" Davis and Jerry Kolber. Pack your body bags for a darkly comic, true crime podcast that looks at murders, mysterious deaths and whodunits that happened while people were on vacation. More here! https://www.slaycation.wtf/ Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/show/6m5al8OnkyVCunFq56qwRE Apple link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slaycation-true-crimes-murders-and-twisted-vacations/id1714880880 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices