Wicked Words - A True Crime Talk Show with Kate Winkler Dawson

A writer’s stepfather is a researcher in a prison when he meets a prisoner---and they’ll change each other’s lives forever. This is a tragic true crime tale about regret…lots of regret. Could one decision have saved the life of a police officer? Author Lisa Belkin tells us her very personal story from her book: Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night. Support thi...

In the late ‘60s, a serial killer stalked women in New England. His name was Tony Costa. He was unusual because he spent a lot of time drawing in his victims. We’ve heard this story from a woman who Costa babysat, but this is a different account. Journalist Casey Sherman tells the story from his book, Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod. Support this podcast by shopping our l...

I’ve been fascinated with the story of Jesse Pomeroy in 1870s Boston. He’s the boy who murdered kids for quite a while before he was caught. What does this story tell us about crime today? Author Roseanne Montillo talks about her book, The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire, and the Hunt for America's Youngest Serial Killer.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and...

By now, most of you know the story of the Delphi murders. Actually, this wasn’t a case that I had kept up with. So that’s why this episode is interesting for me. My guest is Nic Edwards—he’s the host of the True Crime Garage podcast. He’s also an author. Nic wrote a book about the murders of Libby and Abby in 2017 called  The Delphi Murders: The Quest To Find ‘The Man On The Bridge.’  He told me a...

I love 1920s Hollywood…it was full of glitz, glamour, controversy and murder. William J. Mann’s wonderful book:  Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood  details the story of a mysterious, unsolved murder of film director William Desmond Taylor. Did Mann solve Taylor’s murder, 100 years later? Maybe.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotio...

Most of us know this, but women are just as capable of killing as men are. Yet most true crime stories cover men killing women, which makes sense, considering the statistics. Author Jennifer Wright wrote a book called She Kills Me. She did research on dozens of stories, where women are the killers. And now she tells us why.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions...

Most of us know the story about serial killer John Wayne Gacy. I frankly don’t want to know more about Gacy. But I do want to hear about his victims. So I had a great discussion with author David Nelson, who focuses on the boys who were Gacy’s victims in his book,  Boys Enter the House: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind.    Support this podcast by shopping our latest sp...

In February of 1992, a 22 year old walked into a police station in Florida and confessed that he’d shot and killed his parents. He claimed that he had been possessed by the devil. He was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and ruled “not criminally responsible” for the murders on grounds of insanity. But after the trial, where do the "criminally insane” end up? Nonfiction author and psychoanal...

What would it be like to interview a serial killer? New York Times best-selling author Jillian Lauren knows. Her haunting account of confronting Samuel Little is detailed in her book  Behold the Monster.  In our chat, Jillian explains how she convinced Little to tell her where one unknown victim was buried.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  h...

Best-selling author Bryan Burrough returns to his small-town Texas roots in the podcast, by Texas Monthly, called “Stephenville.” This season he explores a murder case that went cold for nearly two decades. To tell this amazing story, Bryan is armed with the newly discovered diary of the killer himself.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https...

The story of one of America’s youngest death row inmates is tragic and complicated. How did a young woman in 1980s Indiana end up in prison? Alex Mar unfolds her incredible book,  Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy . It’s a journey about racism, anger, and forgiveness.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI...

Maurice Chammah hosts a podcast called “Smoke Screen: Just Say You’re Sorry.” It tells the story of a brutal murder of a woman who was disparaged by the police to secure a suspect. And that's just the beginning of the questionable techniques used by investigators, as well as the Texas Rangers.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/...

One of the most incredible stories in true crime is the tale of Arthur Conan Doyle and how he helped free a man…who was innocent of murder. Author Margalit Fox offers us a deep dive into the characters in her book, Conan Doyle for the Defense.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Buy my books:  katewinklerdawson.com    If...

You can’t beat a story about an eighteenth-century mutiny and survival and then conflicting accounts. Author David Grann has written about the epic, harrowing saga of a ship and its crew in a book called The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Buy my books:  katewinklerdawson....

Most of you have probably heard the story of the Hart family, the couple that drove a car off a cliff with all of their adopted children inside. Our guest Roxanna Asgarian unfolds the story with details that we’ve never heard before, including an investigation into the child welfare system.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsq...

One of the most studied murder trials in recent history is the case of Kathleen Peterson, which was featured in the TV series, The Staircase. Author Tiddy Smith recounts the story in his book Death by Talons and focuses on the most controversial part of the case…the owl theory.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Buy my bo...

A wealthy man is poisoned in 1830s England, and there are many suspects, including several heirs. Would coffee grounds prove to be crucial evidence in a murder case that helped change forensics? Sandra Hempel in her book, The Inheritor’s Powder, tells us the story of a determined chemist who shifted the outcome of a historic case.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and prom...

A man is found dead from a gunshot wound in Washington DC in 1923. He’s an aide and a confidante to a powerful politician, the attorney general of the United States. Was his death a murder or a suicide? Author Nathan Masters tells us the story at the center of his book: Crooked.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Buy my...

Have you ever heard of the Rice Chest Prince? It’s a real story from Korean history, and it’s a fascinating look at the dynamic between a king and his son, and how it turned so tragic. Author June Hur explores her culture in her novel, The Red Palace, as she uses the Prince’s story for inspiration.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit...

The brutal murder of a 3-year-old shocked Victorian England not only because of how it happened, but because of who the police suspected. Could one of Britain’s most famous detectives solve the case? Author Kate Summerscale tells us the story at the center of her book, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bi...

When Dr. Benjamin Gilmer takes over a small clinic in North Carolina, he was told that he is actually the second Dr. Gilmer to practice there. The first “Dr. Gilmer” had murdered his father in 2004. The book: The Other Dr. Gilmer details the lives of both Dr. Gilmers and how their lives intersected.     Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https:/...

This story centers on a terrible crime in 1999 rural Oklahoma. Two parents were murdered and two teenaged girls in the same trailer went missing. Author Jax Miller details the story in her book, Hell in the Heartland.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Buy my books:  katewinklerdawson.com    If you have suggestions for h...

One of the most controversial tools used by investigators is the lie detector. It’s used often to intimidate suspects and sometimes it’s responsible for confessions, real and false. Author Amit Katwala explains how the lie detector’s origin is grounded in deception, abuse, and of course murder.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/...

In some parts of the world, one of the most dangerous jobs you can have is being a journalist. Author Katherine Corcoran writes about a ground-breaking reporter who risked her life to expose corruption in Mexico… and then she was murdered.   Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Buy my books:  katewinklerdawson.com    If you...

In 1905, many people seemed to have a reason to kill one of the richest women in America and Stanford University’s co-founder, Jane Stanford. Author and Stanford Professor Dr. Richard White tells us about the wealthy eccentric’s troubled legacy and mysterious death.    Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link:  https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Buy my books:  kate...