Criminal Broads

At eight years old, Lois Gibson begged God to give her a job where she could draw faces. As a young woman, a man with an evil face burst through her door, leaving her broken, despairing, and consumed with the desire for justice. At thirty-nine, she became a full-time forensic artist. At sixty-six, she made the Guinness Book of World Records. This is the story of Lois Gibson, the world’s most succe...

Beneath the soft green grass of the Last Supper cemetery, most regular, God-fearing residents of Mobile, Alabama had one family member resting. Maybe two. Rhonda Belle Martin had eight. This is the story of a woman who the tabloids labeled a “redheaded hellcat,” whose urge to kill swept over her one day when her little daughter asked for a drink of water, and who was never able to explain why she...

Falicia Blakely was only 16 when she met the man who would change the course of her life. At first, Mike Berry was the perfect boyfriend—bringing her flowers, treating her little boy as his own son. But then came the brainwashing, the manipulation, and the fire. Before long, Falicia would find herself holding a phone and a pistol, with Mike on the other end of the call, urging her to shoot. Learn...

While many remember the 1978 Jonestown massacre as a dark monument to the power of a single man’s paranoia and fanaticism, the tale of Jim Jones’ lover, Carolyn Layton, reveals a more complicated narrative—and a more frightening truth. Carolyn was a bubbly young woman who believed in pacifism and political engagement, but when she met Jim Jones, she became an unsmiling woman would do anything for...

Do female vampires exist? Are they bloodier than their male counterparts? And if the answer to those first two questions is yes: should we race to the grocery store RIGHT NOW to stock up on garlic?! Join me as we travel through the long, dark, decomposition-ridden history of female vampires, from ancient Assyrian myths to New England vampire panics to Hungarian countesses with bad reputations. We’...

If you were looking for vice, Sydney in the 1920s-1940s was the place to be. Duck into the back alleys of Surry Hills and Woolloomooloo and you’d find all the cocaine, “sly grog” (booze!), brawling, and brothels your dark little heart desired, all of it presided over by not one but two larger-than-life crime queens: Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh. The women’s’ rivalry was bloody, colorful, absurd, an...

How much abuse can a woman endure before she breaks? That seemed to be the horrible challenge that the wealthy men who abused Phoolan Devi had set for themselves. It was as though they were mad scientists, experimenting on the human spirit. But their experiment failed. No matter how many times they assaulted her, sent her to prison, shamed her, and beat her family, Phoolan refused to remain silent...

We all know the story: Lizzie Borden may or may not have taken an ax (okay, a hatchet) and given her mother (okay, stepmother) forty whacks (okay, nineteen). We know for sure that there were two deaths, and a lot of blood. But something sprung to life the day of those brutal double murders: the Lizzie Borden industry. For the very special tenth episode of Criminal Broads, let’s dive into the wild...

As the 19th century loomed, China experienced a huge boom in piracy—and the largest, most terrifyingly organized fleet that menaced the South China Sea was led by…a woman. Madame Cheng (remembered as Cheng I Sao or Ching Shih) had a meteoric rise from impoverished sex worker to climb to arguably the most successful and influential pirate of all time. Should we cheer her on—or remember her as a cri...

In 1958, Nebraska was terrified by a spree killing so brutal, so atrocious that it seemed impossible to believe it was pulled off by...teenagers. When Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate were apprehended, she ran screaming to the cops, telling them he was going to kill her. He told them she was a killer, too.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/...

Bestselling true crime author Harold Schechter comes on the podcast to tell us the story of Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-American serial dater who had a thing for butcher’s tools. Or perhaps you know her as the author of the best dating profile line ever: “Triflers need not apply.” Belle’s story is covered at length in Schechter’s new book, Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of M...

In 1998, Beatrice Munyenyezi came from Rwanda to New Hampshire, claiming that she needed sanctuary from the horrific genocide that had recently happened in her home country. On her immigration forms, she swore that she’d had nothing to do with the violence. She was a mother, after all! But when an agent from the Department of Homeland Security began looking into her past, he couldn’t believe the b...

Bestselling true crime author M. William Phelps comes onto the podcast to tell us the story of Amy Archer Gilligan, a turn-of-the-century serial killer who disguised her sociopathic tendencies beneath a kind, neighborly facade. Her lemonade was laced with arsenic, and her convalescent home was not a place where anyone could get better. Also discussed: hot tub horrors, female criminals’ skyrocketin...

Jasmuheen, an Australian guru who became media catnip in the 90s, seemed kind of spacey and silly. Sure, her belief system was totally wild—she told the world that she lived off energy alone, and hadn’t eaten actual food in years—but her teachings didn’t seem all that serious. After all, her fridge was stocked with food, and her website was covered in purple fonts, and no one really believed her,...

The Gonzalez Valenzuela sisters did not have an easy childhood, but when they grew up, they proceeded to steadily destroy the childhoods of other young women. When their “horror ranch” was discovered, the people of Mexico were appalled at the secrets that began to emerge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Bender knew how to get along with people. She could converse, dance, ride horses, flirt, and generally blend into society like a pro. So when society found out that she and her creepy family been serially killing travelers all along, they wanted to punish her for it.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1819, Lavinia and John Fisher were arrested in Charleston, SC after beating up a couple of travelers. Their case ballooned from accusations of assault to a charge of highway robbery—and a double death sentence. Today, Lavinia is remembered as America’s first female serial killer. What in the world happened?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/liste...