The Hall Closet Podcast

THE BLUB: In this BONUS EPISODE of The Hall Closet, Donna talks to Kathy Sherlock who turned unspeakable tragedy into meaningful legislation that has saved many lives already. Unfortunately, KAYDEN'S LAW (which seeks to prevent violent parents from getting unsupervised visitation or custody) couldn't save three young girls from their father in Washington state. Meet Kathy before she flies out to s...

IN THIS EPISODE: John Hall was a MASTER CRIMINAL. And yet, DONNA HALL's mom, PHYLLIS managed to break him and turn him from the PHILLY PD's favorite SNITCH into a homeless dead guy. If there's really a master criminal here, it might just be PHYLLIS. How this bonkers TRUE CRIME family saga became a podcast - and what will happen in season two! SHOW NOTES In season one of The Hall Closet, I wanted t...

IN THIS EPISODE : It's TRUE CRIME served up FAMILY STYLE! You've heard DONNA HALL's side of what it was like growing up in a lower tier CRIME FAMILY. Now Donna's brother HERB tells his side of the John Hall story - and in incredible detail, too. It's a story about deep CORRUPTION in the PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT and DA's office. SHOW NOTES We've told the John Hall Story from my perspective. W...

IN THIS EPISODE: Not only did MASTER CRIMINAL John Hall change the Halls when he hooked up with DONNA HALL's mom PHYLLIS, he nearly destroyed them. But then, that's life in a lower tier TRUE CRIME family. Because Herb had ratted out my mom as "The HOME ALONE MOM Of Bucks County", John Hall went after Herb with a FALSE CONFESSION that put Herb behind bars for 18 months on a MURDER CHARGE. SHOW NOTE...

IN THIS EPISODE: The Hall's TRUE CRIME Saga continues. DONNA HALL's stepdad - MASTER CRIMIINAL John Hall - plunged the Halls into two of Philadelphia's most notorious UNSOLVED MURDERS. The Philly PD's favorite snitch, John Hall concocted his FALSE CONFESSIONS - supposedly made by other prisoners - to lessen his own considerable legal jeopardy. The first confession put an innocent man named WALTER...

IN THIS EPISODE: Every TRUE CRIME family needs a leader. The Halls had JOHN HALL, a veritable MASTER CRIMINAL. When Donna's mom PHYLLIS hooked up with John Hall, The Halls went from being petty criminals to the criminal big time. John Hall would plunge Donna's family into two of Philadelphia's most notorious UNSOLVED MURDERS. But, first, John would change Phyllis from being just a really terrible...

IN THIS EPISODE: It was hard enough that DONNA HALL grew up in a lower tier TRUE CRIME FAMILY where the adults committed one crime or another almost every day. But Donna also grew up feeling deep down inside that SHE DIDN'T BELONG. She learned when she was 40, that she was right: she didn't belong: her actual biological dad was a sperm donor and none of the various men her mom Phyllis told her was...

IN THIS EPISODE: Meet DONNA HALL's mom PHYLLIS, maybe the WORST MOM EVER. If there's a reason The Halls were a TRUE CRIME family, it's mostly because of Phyllis. Surviving one's mother is a universal experience - if one survives. But, how Donna survived growing up with a mom like Phyllis is a truly remarkable story. SHOW NOTES Being a mother, I know : parenting is hard work. Not everyone’s good at...

IN THIS EPISODE: Meet DONNA HALL and enter a world where TRUE CRIME happened nearly every single day. The Halls were a lower tier CRIME FAMILY who lived in and around PHILADELPHIA, PA in the 1980's and 90's. The Halls weren’t the CORLEONE'S, but they made national headlines just the same! Donna's mom Phyllis - went from flirting with criminality to actually sleeping with it. She spent 6 months in...