While the Coen brothers refuse to confirm it, many believe that their movie "Fargo" was inspired by the Carol Thompson murder case. She was viciously killed in her comfortable Saint Paul home by a hitman hired by her eccentric husband, T. Eugene Thompson, in March of 1963, leaving behind four small children. It was an absolutely sensational case, one not only covered extensively by local press, but by national and international press as well.  Longtime journalist William Swanson covers the case with me. His book is called "Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson".  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

The 1963 Murder of Carol Thompson w/ William Swanson - A True Crime History Podcast

In 1978, Rodney Alcala won a date on the popular TV show, The Dating Game. What no one knew was that he was a prolific serial killer in the middle of a cross-country murder spree. In this six-part series, co-hosts Tracy Pattin (Hollywood & Crime) and Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don’t Breathe) take listeners on an unbelievable journey into Alcala’s twisting secret life. He hid behind normal jobs as a typesetter at a prominent newspaper and a summer camp counselor. How did this predatory monster fool employers, prison psychiatrists, and parole boards — all while committing heinous crimes from coast to coast? And how did a one-time appearance as a game show contestant help lead to his capture? From the makers of Dirty John, Dr. Death, and Young Charlie, learn the story of the most famous serial killer you’ve never heard of - The Dating Game Killer.Subscribe today: wondery.fm/mostnotoriousDGK . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dating Game Killer

Some of the most notorious cases in American history were solved by the masterful techniques of forensics expert Dr. Edward Oscar Heinrich. He was known as the "American Sherlock Holmes" for his use of science and deduction to solve what many considered unsolvable cases, including Oregon's infamous 1923 Siskiyou "train robbery"/multi-murder, and San Francisco's 1921 Fatty Arbuckle murder case.  My guest, once again, is Kate Winkler Dawson. She talks about Heinrich's pioneering crime-solving techniques, his compelling, complicated personality, and his personal troubles as well. She is the author of "American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI".  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "American Sherlock Holmes" & Father of Forensic Science, Dr. Edward Oscar Heinrich w/ Kate Winkler Dawson - A True Crime History Podcast

In late October of 1928, authorities in the small town of Lake Bluff, Illinois discovered a grisly scene in the village hall basement. They found a young woman named Elfreida Knaak, naked, horribly burned and barely clinging to life, next to a furnace. From that point on, investigators would uncover a bizarre story, including a secret affair, mystical Christian rituals, and contradictory deathbed confessions. My guest is historian Kraig Moreland, who has researched this hometown mystery for years. His book is called "Furnace Girl: The Mysterious Case of Elfrieda Knaak". Thanks, The RealReal for supporting Most Notorious. Sign up for an account to receive $25 off your first purchase within one week and then get 20% off select items at therealreal.com with promo code REAL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mysterious 1928 Death of "Furnace Girl" Elfrieda Knaak w/ Kraig Moreland - A True Crime History Podcast

On March 6th, 1873, a brutal double ax murder took the lives of two Norwegian women living on the isolated Smuttynose Island, one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. My guest is J. Dennis Robinson, a prolific writer, historian and steward of Smuttynose Island, and author of "Mystery on the Isles of Shoals: Closing the Case on the Smuttynose Ax Murders of 1873". He not only tells the story of the murders of Karen and Anethe Christensen, the harrowing escape by Karen's sister, Marin, and the capture and trial of Louis Wagner, but of the rocky and desolate island itself, and it's role in the horrific and bloody affair. He also addresses the recent conspiracy theories, fueled by a popular novel, that Marin was the actual murderer. Thanks, The RealReal for supporting Most Notorious. Sign up for an account to receive $25 off your first purchase within one week and then get 20% off select items at therealreal.com with promo code REAL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1873 Smuttynose Ax Murders w/ J. Dennis Robinson - A True Crime History Podcast

David Grann, author of the New York Times Bestselling "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI", is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious. He talks about his research into a spree of murders of oil-rich Osage Indians in 1920s Oklahoma. Dozens and dozens of people were being murdered in a crime wave that became so sensational that J Edgar Hoover and his fledgling F.B.I. were forced to intercede. A team of agents, led by famed lawman Tom White would eventually uncover a diabolical plot to slaughter an entire family. Thanks The RealReal for supporting Most Notorious. Sign up for an account to receive $25 off your first purchase within one week and then get 20% off select items at therealreal.com with promo code REAL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oklahoma's 1920s Osage Murders w/ David Grann - A True Crime History Podcast

In the summer of 1937, in an idyllic neighborhood of Los Angeles called Inglewood, the unspeakable happened. Three little girls were lured from a park, assaulted and murdered. The sensational case, known as the "Babes of Inglewood" Murders, would shake Depression-era America.  My guest, Pamela Everett, is not only an attorney with the InnocenceProject and a UNR professor of criminal justice, but also the niece of two of the girls who were killed that day, Madeline and Melba Marie. She draws some very interesting conclusions from her research into the case, and shares her serious doubts about the guilt of the man convicted of the murders. A second suspect, instead, seems more likely to be the killer.  Her bestselling book is called Little Shoes: The Sensational Depression-Era Murders That Became My Family's Secret.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1937 "Babes of Inglewood" Murders w/ Pamela Everett - A True Crime History Podcast

Alvin "Creepy" Karpis could claim many things in his life. He was not only the brains behind the Barker-Karpis Gang, but the last public enemy of the 1930s, one of J. Edgar Hoover's most hated adversaries, and the longest serving inmate in Alcatraz history.  Julie Thompson, author of "The Hunt for the Last Public Enemy in Northeastern Ohio: Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and his Road to Alcatraz" is my guest on this week's episode of Most Notorious. She reveals fascinating details about this brilliant, cunning and dangerous bankrobber-killer. She also tells the little known story of Karpis's final heist in Garrettsville, Ohio - the last successful train robbery in American history.  Thanks The RealReal for supporting Most Notorious. Sign up for an account to receive $25 off your first purchase within one week and then get 20% off select items at therealreal.com with promo code REAL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1930s Gangster Alvin "Creepy" Karpis w/ Julie Thompson - A True Crime History Podcast

In this episode, we examine the most notorious witch hunt in American history, in Salem, Massachusetts. Hundreds of women and men were accused of witchcraft by young, "afflicted" girls, and many were executed.  My guest is Mary Beth Norton, award-winning historian and professor of American history at Cornell University. She joins me to talk about her book, "In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692". Besides explaining the details on how the crisis unfolded, she dispels some of the common myths surrounding this infamous historical event.  Thanks, The RealReal! Sign up for an account to receive $25 off your first purchase within one week and then get 20% off select items at therealreal.com with promo code REAL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1692 Salem Witch Hunt w/ Mary Beth Norton - A True Crime History Podcast

In early 1946, a serial killer nicknamed "The Phantom Killer" (aka the "Moonlight Killer") terrorized the citizens of Texarkana (Arkansas and Texas). It was most sensational series of murders in post-war America.  Dr. James Presley is my guest, and the author of "The Phantom Killer - Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town In Terror". He walks us through the terrible slayings and builds a case for who he thinks the real killer was. He also tells the story of meeting the likely murderer under unusual circumstances. Thanks, The RealReal! Sign up for an account to receive $25 off your first purchase within one week and then get 20% off select items at therealreal.com with promo code REAL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1946 Texarkana Phantom Serial Killer w/ James Presley - A True Crime History Podcast

Most of us are probably familiar with the Kingston Trio song, "Tom Dooley", but fewer may realize that it was based on the true life murder of Laura Foster in 1866 North Carolina.  Charlotte Corbin Barnes is an unapologetic supporter of Tom Dooley's innocence, and explains the crime, the complications of the trial due to the intense political climate in North Carolina in the era of Reconstruction, and her suspicions on what might have really happened. Her book is called "The Tom Dooley Files: My Search for the Truth Behind the Legend".  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tom Dooley & the 1866 Murder of Laura Foster w/ Charlotte Corbin Barnes - A True Crime History Podcast

In October 1922, a sensational murder gripped the city of London. While on a walk home after a show, Percy Thompson was stabbed by Freddy Bywaters, the lover of his wife, Edith. Passionate love letters written by her, including mentions of the desire to murder Percy, helped send not only Bywaters to the gallows, but her as well. My guest is bestselling author Laura Thompson, and she joins Most Notorious to talk about her book, "A Tale of Two Murders: Guilt, Innocence and the Execution of Edith Thompson".  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1922 Murder of Percy Thompson & Execution of Edith Thompson w/ Laura Thompson - A True Crime History Podcast

In March of 1892, a private detective named Charles Gardner was hired by the Reverend Doctor Charles Parkhurst, moral crusader and social reformer, as an escort through the seediest, vilest slums in New York City. The purpose of this slumming tour was so that Dr. Parkhurst could gather evidence to present to a grand jury to aid in their investigation of municipal corruption and neglect. Included here are allegedly truthful, highly colorful, and likely embellished excerpts from Gardner's 1894 book "The Doctor and the Devil, or the Midnight Adventures of Dr. Parkhust". I narrate chapters 4 and 5 of in this episode (which were the first two nights they hit the town together). Midnight Potboiler is my third and final possible new addition to the Most Notorious lineup, a narration of a true-crime related historical fiction and non-fiction, all in the public domain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Midnight Potboiler: The Doctor & the Devil, or the Midnight Adventures of Dr. Parkhurst

True Crime Tripper is the second of three new shows I'm trying out on Most Notorious. If launched in 2020, it would be a travel show that focused on historic sites, hotels, restaurants and museums related to true crime history. In this first pilot episode I chat with Sue Vickery, tour guide at the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum in Fall River, Massachusetts. She talks about the history of the house, gives a refresher on the murders, and offers details on how someone can stay in the very same room where Lizzie's step-mother met her unfortunate end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True Crime Tripper: The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum

In this first trial episode of "Aghast at the Past", a possible new weekly addition to Most Notorious, I narrate true crime stories I've culled from North American newspapers dated December 17th, 1901. They include the murder of a young woman by a burglar in Pittsburgh, a bar fight gone wrong in Sioux City, Iowa, and a mysterious man nicknamed "Jack the Squeezer" who terrorized unsuspecting women with hugs and kisses in Vancouver, Canada. If you would like to hear more Aghast at the Past episodes in the future, email me at erivenes@yahoo.com or leave me a message or comment at facebook.com/mostnotorious1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aghast at the Past: December 17th, 1901

Serial killers. Gangsters. Gunslingers. Victorian-era murderers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Each week, the Most Notorious podcast features true-life tales of crime, criminals and tragedies throughout history. Host Erik Rivenes interviews authors and historians who have studied their subjects for years, and the stories are offered with unique insight, detail, and historical accuracy.

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Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

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