Menopause is Murder

Two women murdered. Three trunks. One scandal that shocked the nation! Marguerite tells us the story of Winnie Ruth Judd, the infamous “Trunk Murderess” whose 1931 case became one of America's most sensational true crime mysteries. When the dismembered remains of two women were discovered in luggage shipped from Phoenix to Los Angeles, Winnie found herself at the center of a media frenzy filled wi...

Angela tells us about Elizabeth Wettlaufer, a Canadian nurse who became one of the country’s most prolific serial killers. For years, Wettlaufer worked in nursing homes and home-care settings, where she used her access to insulin to deliberately harm the vulnerable patients entrusted to her care. Eight people died and six others survived her attacks, yet no investigation uncovered what was happeni...

Marguerite shares the story of Jeanne de Clisson, the 14th-century noblewoman who traded castle walls for the open sea—and became known as the Lioness of Brittany. After her husband, Olivier de Clisson, was accused of treason and executed by order of King Philip VI of France, Jeanne was determined to make the French crown pay. According to the legend that grew around her, she sold her estates, rai...

Angela tells us about Stephanie Lazarus, a respected LAPD detective who spent more than two decades hiding a deadly secret in plain sight. In 1986, newlywed nursing director Sherri Rasmussen was found brutally beaten and shot to death inside her Los Angeles home, and investigators initially blamed a burglary gone wrong. But Sherri’s family suspected there was much more to the story—especially afte...

In this episode of Menopause is Murder, Marguerite takes us back to Civil War-era Texas for the haunting and controversial story of Josefa “Chipita” Rodríguez. In 1863, Chipita was accused of murdering traveler John Savage after his body was discovered stuffed inside a burlap sack in the Nueces River. Prosecutors claimed robbery was the motive—but the money Savage was carrying was reportedly recov...

Join us this week as Angela shares the story of Ashley Benefield, a former ballerina whose whirlwind romance with businessman Doug Benefield seemed almost too good to be true—and ultimately ended in bloodshed. They met at a political event, said “I love you” within days, and married just 13 days after meeting. Together, they launched the ambitious American National Ballet, but as the company unrav...

In this episode of Menopause is Murder, Marguerite takes us to 19th-century Leiden, Netherlands, for the chilling story of Maria “Marie” Swanenburg, better known as Goeie Mie—“Good Mie.” A seemingly helpful neighbor who cared for the sick and elderly, Marie earned the trust of those around her while hiding a deadly secret. Behind her reputation for kindness was a calculated poisoner who used arsen...

This week on Menopause is Murder, Angela tells the unbelievable Texas tale of Wanda Holloway, better known as the infamous “Texas Cheerleader Mom.” When Wanda’s daughter failed to make her junior high cheerleading squad, disappointment allegedly turned into something far more sinister. Prosecutors claimed Wanda hatched a shocking plan to eliminate the mother of her daughter’s cheerleading rival—be...

This week on Menopause is Murder, Marguerite takes us to Victorian-era Liverpool for the twisted tale of Catherine Flanagan and Margaret Higgins—better known as the infamous Black Widows of Liverpool. These Irish sisters discovered a particularly sinister way to make ends meet: life insurance policies, arsenic, and a suspicious number of dead family members. What began as seemingly ordinary deaths...

This week on Menopause is Murder, Angela tells the unbelievable story of Lawrencia Bembenek—a former Playboy Club waitress and Milwaukee police officer whose life became a sensational mix of murder, scandal, prison, and one very famous escape. In 1981, Bembenek was convicted of murdering her husband’s ex-wife, Christine Schultz, but she insisted from the beginning that she was innocent. Questions...

Join us this week as Marguerite shares the story of Charley Parkhurst was one of the toughest stagecoach drivers in the American West—a cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking, foul-mouthed legend known as "One-Eyed Charley." But decades after earning a reputation for fearless driving through California's Gold Rush country, the biggest surprise came only after death. Born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst in 181...

In this episode, Angela tells the heartbreaking story of Sally Challen—a woman who appeared to have the perfect life in an affluent English village, but whose marriage hid decades of manipulation, humiliation, and coercive control. As Richard Challen's repeated affairs and psychological abuse slowly eroded Sally's sense of self, a shocking act of violence would leave one man dead and one woman con...

Hollywood royalty. A childhood filled with fear. One fatal night that shocked the nation. Marguerite dives into the tragic and controversial case of Cheryl Crane, the daughter of screen legend Lana Turner. At just 14 years old, Cheryl stabbed her mother's abusive boyfriend, notorious mobster Johnny Stompanato, claiming she acted to protect her mother from a violent attack. Was it a clear case of s...

This week, Angela shares the chilling story of Marybeth Tinning, a mother whose family tragedies left an entire community searching for answers. Nine of Marybeth's children died under mysterious circumstances. Doctors struggled to explain the heartbreaking losses, and for years the deaths were attributed to illness, genetic disorders, and sudden infant death syndrome. But as the body count rose, s...

This week, Marguerite takes us to Belgium to tell the chilling story of one of history’s most prolific female poisoners: Marie Becker. What began as the life of a hardworking seamstress transformed into a deadly campaign of greed, manipulation, and murder. Between 1933 and 1936, Becker poisoned at least eleven people and attempted to kill several others, earning the nicknames The Black Widow and T...

This week, Angela shares one of the most shocking cases of deception, manipulation, and wrongful prosecution you'll ever hear. When Michelle Hadley reported being harassed by her ex-fiancé's new wife, she never imagined she would become the one accused of a bizarre and disturbing crime. Investigators believed Michelle was behind a series of threatening messages and an elaborate "rape fantasy" sche...

This week on Menopause is Murder, Marguerite takes us back to Revolutionary War-era Massachusetts for the scandalous and tragic story of Bathsheba Spooner—the woman who became the first woman executed in the newly independent United States. Born into privilege as the daughter of a prominent Loyalist politician, Bathsheba seemed destined for a comfortable life. Instead, she found herself trapped in...

This week on Menopause is Murder, Angela shares the tangled and heartbreaking story of Cara Rintala—a case that left juries, investigators, and true crime fans divided for more than a decade. When paramedic Annamarie Cochrane Rintala was found beaten, strangled, and covered in white paint in the basement of the family home, suspicion quickly focused on her wife, Cara. What followed was one of the...

This week on Menopause is Murder, Marguerite takes us all the way back to ancient China to tell the jaw-dropping story of the woman who refused to stay in her lane—and became the only female emperor in Chinese history: Wu Zetian. Born in 624, Wu Zetian began her journey as a teenage concubine in the imperial court. Through intelligence, ambition, political maneuvering, and a willingness to elimina...

This week on Menopause is Murder, Angela shares the shocking story of Laurie Leigh Shaver—a case filled with deception, secrets, and a backyard that held a deadly truth. When Michael Douglas Shaver suddenly vanished in 2015, friends and family were told he had simply walked away from his life. But as the years passed, something didn't add up. Messages continued to appear from Michael's social medi...

This week, Marguerite takes us to the misty shores of Washington State to tell the chilling story of Linda Burfield Hazzard—the self-proclaimed healer who believed the cure for nearly every illness was simple: stop eating. What began as an alternative health movement soon became a nightmare for the patients who entered her infamous sanitarium, known locally as Starvation Heights. As wealthy client...

This week, Angela shares the story of Marcia Thompson—a woman whose marriage was already hanging by a thread… until it snapped in the most violent way possible. What started as a troubled relationship quickly spiraled into a case filled with manipulation, shifting stories, and one very suspicious crime scene. And just when you think you’ve figured out who’s telling the truth… the details start unr...

In this episode, Marguerite takes us to post-war Japan, where survival was scarce, resources were thin, and desperation hung heavy in the air. Enter Miyuki Ishikawa—a respected midwife who became one of the most prolific killers in history… all under the guise of “helping.”But was it mercy? Neglect? Or something far more calculated? As Marguerite unpacks this deeply unsettling case, we follow a st...

This week, Angela shares the story of Stacey Castor—a woman who somehow buried not one, but two husbands… and still managed to look like the grieving widow. At least at first. But when questions started bubbling up—and the truth got a little too close for comfort—Stacey didn’t just panic… she escalated. And not in a “let me hire a lawyer” kind of way. Oh no. In a “let me frame my own daughter with...

In this episode, Marguerite takes us back to the foggy streets of Victorian England, where respectability was everything… and arsenic was surprisingly easy to come by. Meet Mary Ann Cotton—a seemingly ordinary wife, mother, and caregiver with an extraordinary talent for outliving just about everyone around her. Husbands? Gone. Children? Tragically departed. Insurance policies? Cashed in. As Margue...