Female Criminals

Born in 1920 to poor, Jewish immigrants, Leona Helsley spent the first 30 years of her life doing whatever it took to rise above her humble origins. She changed her name, bullied her competitors, and, if necessary, skirted the corners of the law, engaging in blackmail and fraud. Parcasters - One of the greatest true crime cases in ever told is also one of the most impactful events in our nation’s...

She was out of options and desperately searching for a way back to her home to America. In 1945, Iva Toguri, stepped forward and claimed to be the infamous Japanese war broadcaster “Tokyo Rose”. Her bold decision landed her a trip back home, but it came with a steep price. Parcasters - If you haven’t checked out our new show, Crimes of Passion, you’re missing out! Listen to our newest episodes on...

A Japanese American found herself stranded in Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, unable to return to the United States. To make ends meet, she started working for Radio Tokyo in the early 1940s, broadcasting to American GIs. But did working for the Japanese turn her into a traitor? Sponsors! BetterHelp - Female Criminals listeners get 10% off your first month with discount code CRIMINALS. Go...

In 1983, she was accused of shooting her three children in a twisted attempt to prove her love to her boyfriend. The Oregon district attorney feared that Diane Downs would walk free, due to a lack of evidence. All his hopes rested on a star witness: 8-year-old Christie Downs, Diane's oldest daughter. Parcasters - To learn about an iconic event in American history, check out our our new episode on...

She was a mother from Oregon who felt like she never received the love she deserved. In 1983, when Diane Downs finally met a man who gave her the attention she craved, she was willing to sacrifice anything to keep them together. Including her own children. Sponsors!  SugarBearHair - Go to SugarBearHair.com/CRIMINALS for amazing hair and a healthier you! Swap.com - Get free shipping on your first p...

Known for stealing from the rich, and giving to the poor, newspapers called her "The Bandit Queen." But was Wild West anti-hero Belle Starr actually guilty of being a thief, or was she simply married to one? In 1889, her notorious reputation would result in a bloody ending only reserved for an American outlaw.  Parcasters - Love may have brought Belle Starr to her grave, but she isn’t alone! Learn...

She grew up during the Civil War and supported the Confederacy. When Belle Starr married her first husband, a notorious horse thief, she was plunged into a world of outlaws in the postwar era of the 1870s and 80s. Was she a bystander to her husband's crimes? Or complicit in his reign of terror in the Wild West? Sponsors! BetterHelp - Female Criminals listeners get 10% off your first month with dis...

After months of torment and abuse in the summer of 1965, Sylvia Likens stopped fighting back. No one would find out what was happening in Gertrude Baniszweski's house of horrors until it was far too late. By the time it’s over, Baniszweski wouldn’t be the only person convicted of manslaughter and murder.  Sponsors! BetterHelp - Female Criminals listeners get 10% off the first month with discount c...

In the summer of 1965 in Indiana, teenagers Sylvia and Jenny Likens were invited to stay in the home of their friend's mother, Gertrude Baniszewski. Only one of them would leave the house alive. Parcasters - After this episode of Female Criminals, go check out our new show Extraterrestrial and learn about the abduction of Barney and Betty Hill. Listen at parcast.com/extraterrestrial Learn more abo...

Mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was perhaps the only man Virginia Hill ever loved. He also brought her closer than ever to a bloody downfall at the hands of the Mafia. Shortly before Bugsy’s assassination in 1947, Hill fled to Paris, leading to questions about her knowledge of his impending death. Sponsors! Upstart - Hurry to Upstart.com/CRIMINALS to find out HOW LOW your Upstart rate is! Checking...

A trusted operative, she ascended to the highest ranks of the Chicago Outfit in the 1930s and made millions of the dollars for the mob, and herself. By the time Virginia Hill was 30, her cutthroat mentality would land her at the top of the FBI’s Most Wanted list.  Sponsors! Torrid - Go to Torrid.com and use Promo Code CRIMINALS15 for $15 off every $50 you spend! That means you can get up to $150 o...

After one fateful day in 1976, the New York City Queenpin lost her faith in the mob and turned her back on them forever. Brickman was able to bring the mob to its knees and take down kingpins as a police informant from the inside. Sponsors! Candid - Head to CandidCo.com/CRIMINALS to save 25% on your modeling kit. Sun Basket - Go to SunBasket.com/CRIMINALS today to learn more and get $35 off your f...

Associated with some of New York City’s most infamous criminals, Brickman was involved in the drug empire from the mid-1950s until the 1980s.  She served as a courier, sold drugs, and ran her own bookmaking operation. Brickman not only used her family's mob connections, but also climbed the mob hierarchy, searching for the next powerful man she could seduce.  Sponsors! Sun Basket - Go to SunBasket...

Today, Lizzie Borden's name is forever associated with the brutal axe murder of her parents. But when she stood trial in 1892, she was known only as a polite, educated society woman. Even with all the evidence pointing towards Lizzie, convincing a jury that a well-mannered woman was a murderer was going to be a difficult task. Sponsors! Caffé Monster - Available in Mocha, Vanilla, and Salted Caram...

Andrew and Abby Borden were found gruesomely slaughtered with a hatchet in their Massachusetts home in 1892. The main suspect was Lizzie Borden, a reserved Sunday school teacher who had been nothing but a loving daughter. Which begs the question - was she capable of killing her father and stepmother?  Sponsors! Audible - Get 3 months of Audible for just $6.95 a month by going to Audible.com/CRIMIN...

Between 1960 and 1964, numerous children began disappearing across Manchester, England. The sadistic rapist and torture duo behind the murders? Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. After getting away with murdering four children they wanted to push the limit. They decided they wanted to murder their next victim in front of a live audience. The trial would prove Myra Hindley to be “the most evil woman in Br...

Myra Hindley would do anything for her boyfriend, Ian Brady. She would even go as far as to murder someone for him. Both from troubled homes in Manchester, England, Hindley and Brady had abusive alcoholic parents. Their relationship would eventually cause Hindley to brutally murder five children between July 1963 and October 1965.  Sponsors! Candid - Go to CandidCo.com/CRIMINALS to save 25% on you...

After her husband’s murder in the late 1980’s, she became head of a drug operation transporting cocaine and heroin from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. Known for her extravagant fur coats, Thelma Wright used her drug money to keep up with appearances.  Sponsors! Caffé Monster - Now available in Mocha, Vanilla, and Salted Caramel. Caffé Monster: Chill it down, Shake it up, Enjoy! Kopari - Go to Kopari...

The leader of the Barker-Karpis Gang is responsible for increasingly violent bank robberies and kidnappings in the 1930s. In an attempt to take down the gang, the FBI engages in a shootout that lasts more than four hours. Does Ma Barker make it out unscathed? Sponsors! Caffé Monster - Available in Mocha, Vanilla, and Salted Caramel. Chill it down, Shake it up, Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choic...

She frequently traveled with her gang of sons during the Public Enemy Era. But did the “mother of criminals” actually commit any crimes? Sponsors! Candid Co - Go to CandidCo.com/CRIMINALS to save 25% on your modeling kit. Kopari - Go to KopariBeauty.com/CRIMINALS to save $5 off your first order when you subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first woman executed by the US federal government. Her crime? Engaging in a conspiracy to kill Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.  Subscribe now to our new podcast HOSTAGE, featuring the riveting story of Patty Hearst's abduction by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Sponsors!  Kopari -  Go to KopariBeauty.com/CRIMINALS to save $5 off your first order when you subscribe! Li...

Could you kill a president on your own? John Wilkes Booth used a network of conspirators to execute his plan of assassinating President Abraham Lincoln. The Surratt tavern was a well known hideaway from Confederate spies, was Mary involved in their ultimate act of vengeance? Subscribe to our new show - Hostage - today! Sponsors! Parcast - Sign up for the Parcast Monthly Newsletter at Parcast.com!...

After getting caught by authorities her partner dies and Kim expects to be tortured, but ends up surprised at what happens next. Sponsors! Caffé Monster - Available in Vanilla, Mocha, and Salted Caramel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Would you blow up a plane to be a hero? In November, 1987, twenty-five-year-old Kim Hyon-hui was given what would be her last mission as a North Korean spy. She and her partner were told that if they completed it, it would unify South Korea with North Korea. All they had to do was get on an airplane and plant a bomb. Sponsors! Caffé Monster - Available in Vanilla, Mocha, and Salted Caramel. Kopari...

After committing more than 30 kidnappings, murdering 22 high-caste men in the 1981 Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, and being placed on India’s Ten Most Wanted list—  Phoolan Devi was wanted dead or alive. How did she manage to re-brand herself as a local hero? Sponsors! Go to TakeCareOf.com and enter CRIMINALS for 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins. Learn more about your ad...