Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

In the season finale of Most Notorious, I chat with Philip Jett, author of "The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty”. He discusses the attempted kidnapping and eventual murder of Coors Brewery heir Adolph Coors III in 1960 Colorado, and the personal involvement of J. Edgar Hoover in this sensational case that drew international interest.

My guest is Nathan E. Bender, who wrote the introduction for the most recent edition of the 1958 classic "Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver-Eating Johnson". Johnson, (who was the basis for Robert Redford's character in the "Jeremiah Johnson" film), is known in history for hunting down members of the Crow Indian tribe to avenge his wife and child's death, but much of our modern knowledge of this now legendary figure was made up by the original authors of the book, Raymond W. Thorp and Robert Bunker. Author Nathan Bender tells us the true story of Liver-Eating Johnson, and helps separate myth from historical accuracy.

Rose Veres, known as "The Witch of Delray", was tried in 1931 for murdering one of her tenants in Detroit, and has been suspected of killing others throughout the 1920s.  Karen Dybis, author of "The Witch of Delray: Rose Veres and Detroit's Infamous 1930’s Murder Mystery" is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious, and not only tells Rose's story, but helps separate  legend (and serial killer accusations) from the true-life, historical account of her story.

In 1936, New York City prosecutors, desperate to put infamous Murder Inc. boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano behind bars, decided to arrest him on tenuous charges for running the Big Apple's largest prostitution racket. Ellen Poulsen is my guest, and author of "The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial".  She talks about the case, the trial, and the state of prostitution and organized crime in 1930s New York City.

Fifty years after the brutal murders of three Tucson women, an inside account of killer Charles Schmid, aka "The Pied Piper of Tucson" is published -  written by Schmid's former friend Richard Bruns not long after the tragic and terrible events.  The author's daughter, Lisa Espich joins the Most Notorious podcast to share the fascinating details from her father's book, called "I, a Squealer: The Insider's Account of the Pied Piper of Tucson Murders".

The Axeman has become a figure of American folklore; a jazz-loving serial killer preying on Italian grocers in 1910s New Orleans. Miriam C. Davis, the author of "The Axeman of New Orleans", chats with me about the series of murders that terrified the city and helps separate myth from fact.

My guest is the prolific true crime author Harold Schechter, who returns to talk about his latest book, "Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men".  He tells the story about the legendary Norwegian immigrant serial killer who lured men to her Laporte, Indiana farm and murdered them, before a fire finally destroyed the farmhouse and killed her children, and allegedly her as well. Sponsored by ZipRecruiter.com/most .

My guest is Karen L. Cox, author of "Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South". She tells  the story of Jennie Merrill, an aged Southern belle who was murdered in her home in 1932 Natchez Missouri. Two of the main suspects against her were her neighbors: Octavia Dockery (aka " Goat Woman") and Dick Dana (aka "Wild Man"), who lived in the notorious ramshackle mansion nicknamed "Goat Castle".

True crime history enthusiasts  are devouring TNT's "The Alienist", the television show based on the popular Caleb Carr novel. Richard Zacks, the author of "Island of Vice: Theodore Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York" joins me to talk about this crazy era in the New York City's history, and how reformer and newly minted police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt attempted to curtail the power of corrupt Tammany Hall politicians and police officers, who profited from the lax law enforcement of brothels, saloons and gambling joints.

From December of 1884 to December of 1885 a serial killer terrorized the city of Austin Texas. He had multiple nicknames: the Midnight Assassin, the Intangible Nemesis and the Servant Girl Annihilator. Journalist Skip Hollandsworth, author of "The Midnight Assassin: The Hunt for America's First Serial Killer", shares the story of this brutal murderer's killing spree, the suspects, the hapless police department who pursued him, and the rumors that the killer was none other than Jack the Ripper.

Historian James L. Neibaur, author of "Butterfly in the Rain: The 1927 Abduction and Murder of Marion Parker", talks about the horrific tale of a young girl kidnapped from her family in Jazz-age Los Angeles and brutally murdered. Also, Mark Lee Gardner joins me for a chat about the latest rash of Billy the Kid photographs that have surfaced and their legitimacy.

1952 post-war London was a city in the throes of tragedy. Thousands were sickened and killed from a great filthy smog that choked the city. In the meantime a serial killer named John Reginald Christie was lurking in Notting Hill, murdering multiple women over years and burying their bodies in his backyard, under floorboards and behind walls. Author Kate Winkler Dawson tells these two parallel stories and their ultimate repercussions for the country in her book "Death In the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City."

Perhaps the most notorious killer in 19th century America was H.H. Holmes, a man who committed fraud and murder with cold abandon across the United States. His infamous Chicago "murder castle" is legendary in true crime lore. My guest, Adam Selzer, author of "H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil", tells Holmes' story and breaks some myths about the murderous scoundrel. Sponsored by www.ziprecruiter.com/most

My guest is former criminal defense attorney Mark Shaw, author of "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen". He talks about the life of Pulitzer nominated reporter and television star Dorothy Kilgallen, who was on the brink of breaking wide open the real story behind John Kennedy's assassination before her mysterious and suspicious death abruptly ended her investigation. Go to www.mostnotorious.com and click the Amazon link for all of your online shopping needs!

My guest, Jay Atkinson, author of "Massacre on the Merrimack", tells the notorious and controversial story of Hannah Duston. After members of the Abenaki tribe captured her and her newborn infant in March of 1697, they killed her baby on a forced march north. Duston got her revenge by killing and scalping ten of her captors, including six children, and fleeing by canoe back to her home in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Go to www.mostnotorious.com and click the Amazon link for all of your online shopping needs!