Female Criminals

Latest Episodes:

"The ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ Killer” Amy Archer-Gilligan Pt. 1 Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Business leaders and industry innovators are typically held up as examples to emulate — seizing the chance to turn a profit whenever possible. But Amy Archer-Gilligan was more money hungry than most, and she wasn't content to let her revolutionary idea make her a livable income. She wanted more. And for that, a lot of people had to die.

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“Typhoid Mary” Mary Mallon Pt. 2 Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

Confronted with her status as an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever, Mary Mallon was disbelieving and hostile. She was captured, tested, and quarantined nonetheless. Her legacy includes deaths and debilitation — but was she a criminal?

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"Typhoid Mary" Mary Mallon Pt. 1 Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

In the late 1800s, an Irish immigrant in New York City made ends meet by working as a cook for wealthy families. But wherever Mary Mallon went, typhoid fever followed. As more people succumbed to the deadly illness, a man named George Soper set out to investigate. By 1907, fever wasn’t the only thing tailing Typhoid Mary.

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“The Cannibal Cook” Katherine Knight Pt. 2 Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

Katherine Knight was in her last relationship. Of that she was sure. Because if one more man left her, she was going to lose it. But then she realized her partner John couldn't leave her if she struck first. The final say would be hers, and she intended to make a grand statement.

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“The Cannibal Cook” Katherine Knight Pt. 1 Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

In Australia, a young Katherine Knight had a volatile childhood marked by parental abuse and a short fuse. Things didn't improve as she got older. But what Katherine never had a problem with was finding men — she fell into relationships as quickly as her partners fell out of them, until eventually, she reached the very end of her rope.

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“Queen of Fences” Marm Mandelbaum Pt. 2 Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

By 1875, the Queen of Thieves was wealthy, fashionable, and nearly untouchable. But New York was changing. Marm Mandelbaum became the target of a relentless district attorney and the famed Pinkerton Detective Agency. Despite serious blows to her criminal empire, Marm still managed to exit the game on her own terms.

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“Queen of Fences” Marm Mandelbaum Pt. 1 Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

One of New York’s shrewdest criminals in the late 19th century was a German Jewish immigrant with a knack for buying and reselling stolen goods. But Fredericka “Marm” Mandelbaum wasn’t just any thief. Before long, she would reshape organized crime forever.

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"The Murder Farm" Belle Gunness Pt. 2 Jul 14, 2021

Show notes

There's still so much mystery surrounding the fate of Belle Gunness, and what exactly happened on her now-infamous murder farm. The truth may be just as terrifying as the rumors…

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"The Murder Farm" Belle Gunness Pt. 1 Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

Belle Gunness never wanted much from her life: a fresh start in the USA, a nice husband, and maybe some children. But after a chance fire burned down her family home, an idea sparked in her — one that would lead to countless murders at her chilling Indiana farm.

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“The Guru's Secretary” Sheela Birnstiel Pt. 2 Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

With her relationship with Bhagwan strained and her power slipping away, Sheela Birnstiel knew she had to do something drastic to make him happy and gain it all back. So in 1984, assisted by a group of loyal followers, Birnstiel masterminded the largest bioterrorist attack the U.S. had ever seen.

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