Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast
Serial killers. Gangsters. Gunslingers. Victorian-era murderers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Each week, the Most Notorious podcast features true-life tales of crime, criminals, tragedies and disasters throughout history. Host Erik Rivenes interviews authors and historians who have studied their subjects for years. Their stories are offered with unique insight, detail, and historical accuracy.
Episodes
401: The First Forensic Hanging w/ Summer Strevens
The First Forensic Hanging: The Toxic Truth That Killed Mary Blandy by Summer Strevens tells the story of Mary Blandy, executed in 1752 for poisoning her father Frances Blandy with arsenic. Her trial was the first in Britain to use toxicol…
MoNo Encore: The Bermondsey Horror w/ Gavin Whitehead
(Orig pub date: 2/3/24) On August 17th, 1849, London police officers made a grisly discovery at the home of George and Maria (born Marie de Roux) Manning. Her former beau, Patrick O'Connor, had been buried under the floor. A nationwide hun…
400: The Legend of Belle Starr w/ Michael Wallis
Myra Maibelle Shirley, better known as Belle Starr, was one of the most notorious female outlaws of the Old West (if you believe period newspapers, anyway). My guest, bestselling and award-winning author Michael Wallis, made it his mission …
399: The Life & Crimes of Robert Spears w/ Jerry Jamison
"Doctor" Robert Spears was arguably one of the greatest con artists of the twentieth century, and very likely a mass murderer. In thirty nine years of grift, he had 25 aliases, 28 arrests in 20 cities, and was imprisoned close to a dozen ti…
398: John Wilkes Booth & the Last Year of the Civil War w/ Scott Ellsworth
My guest this week is Scott Ellsworth, author of Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America. He talks about President Lincoln's turbulent last year in office, the Confedera…
397: The Hazel Drew Murder Revisited w/ Jerry C. Drake
In July of 1908 the body of twenty-year-old Hazel Drew was found floating in a mill pond in Upstate New York. Her death captured headlines across the nation and around the world, but after a whirlwind investigation lasting less than thirty …
MoNo Encore: The 1912 Murder of Ella Barham w/ Nita Gould
(Original pub date: 6/16/21) In November of 1912, a young woman named Ella Barham journeyed home, on her horse, to her family farm in Boone County, Arkansas, but never arrived. After her body was discovered, murdered and dismembered, suspi…
396: The 1951 Murder of Clarence Pellett w/ Clem Pellett
Clem Pellett grew up knowing very little about his grandfather, Clarence Pellett, who was murdered along Montana's iconic Hi-Line in April of 1951. Pellett's father had cut ties with the family, and Pellett didn't even know his grandfath…
395: The 1917 Murder of Beatrice Epler w/ Allie Seibert
On the morning of September 5th, 1917, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Epler was found dead just steps from her home in Alma, Michigan. The investigation into her murder would soon entangle a brothel madam, a traveling theater owner, a local farm…
394: The Castleton Massacre with Margaret Carson & Sharon Anne Cook
On May 2, 1963, Robert Killins, a former United Church minister, slaughtered every woman in his family but one. She (and her brother) lived to tell the story of what motivated a talented man who had been widely admired, a scholar and gradua…
393: The Man Who Shot J.P. Morgan w/ Mary Noé
On the morning of July 3, 1915, John Pierpont Morgan Jr., one of the most famous names in finance, was entertaining guests at his sprawling Long Island estate when the doorbell unexpectedly rang. An armed man forced his way inside. At the s…
392: Golden Age Pirate George Lowther w/ Craig Chapman
George Lowther was a mutineer and a pirate, one of the most prolific during the golden age of piracy. His first mate, Edward "Ned" Low, went on to establish himself as perhaps the most sadistic and depraved of all pirate captains. Virtually…
MoNo Encore: The Murder of Kitty Genovese w/ Catherine Pelonero
(Original pub. date: 9/27/2018) Catherine Pelonero, author of "Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and its Private Consequences", is my guest. She walks us through the murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, New York in 196…
391: Civil War Era & Gilded Age Con Artist Charles Cowlam w/ Frank W. Garmon Jr.
Charles Cowlam stands out as one of the most remarkable con artists of nineteenth-century America. He talked his way into receiving pardons from both President Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Through deception, he secured a role invest…
390: Abingdon's Boardinghouse Murder w/ Greg Lilly
In November 1945, James Newton, a young World War II veteran, was shot four times—twice in the back—in his room at an Abingdon, Virginia boardinghouse owned by Helen Clark. She would soon stand trial for his murder, as speculation swirled a…
389: A History of Axe Murder w/ Rachel McCarthy James
Much like the wheel, the boat, and the telephone, the axe is a transformative piece of technology―one that has been with us since prehistory. And just as early humans used the axe to chop down trees, hunt for food, and whittle tools, they a…
388: The Adriatic Affair w/ Jennifer Sellitti
The American sailing vessel Adriatic collided with the French steamship Le Lyonnais on November 2, 1856, off the coast of Nantucket in what can best be described as a maritime hit-and-run. Adriatic’s captain, Jonathan Durham, rendered no ai…
Introducing the Slaycation Podcast
Just in time for summer! This is an introduction and excerpt from the Slaycation Podcast, hosted by Kim and Adam "Tex" Davis and Jerry Kolber. Pack your body bags for a darkly comic, true crime podcast that looks at murders, mysterious …
MoNo Encore: The Murders of Stringbean and Estelle Akeman w/ Taylor Hagood
(original pub date 7/19/23) David "Stringbean" Akeman was a singer, clawhammer banjo player and an early Grand Ole Opry star, known for his lanky build and comedic personality. And as a cast member of the nationwide television show Hee-Haw…
387: The Beatle Bandit w/ Nate Hendley
On July 24, 1964, twenty-four-year-old Matthew Kerry Smith disguised himself with a mask and a Beatle wig, hoisted a semi-automatic rifle, then held up a bank in North York, Ontario. The intelligent but troubled son of a businessman and me…
386: America's Nazi POW Murders w/ William Geroux
The American government was faced with an unprecedented challenge: where to house the nearly 400,000 German prisoners of war plucked from the battlefield and shipped across the Atlantic. On orders from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the D…
385: The 1870 Murder of A.P. Crittenden w/ Gary Krist
Shortly before dusk on November 3, 1870, just as the ferryboat El Capitan was pulling away from its slip into San Francisco Bay, a woman clad in black emerged from the shadows and strode across the crowded deck. Reaching under her veil, she…
384: The 1943 Murders of Dr. Roy & Mae Hunt w/ Christena Stephens
On a nearly moonless night in October 1943, a single gunshot rang out in Littlefield, Texas. A prominent Texas doctor and his wife were found bound, shot, beaten, and murdered. The only witness: their five-year-old daughter, who was bound t…
MoNo Encore: The Murder of Carol Thompson w/ Bill Swanson
(Original pub date: 3/11/20)While the Coen brothers refuse to confirm it, many believe that their movie "Fargo" was inspired by the Carol Thompson murder case. She was viciously killed in her comfortable Saint Paul home by a hitman hired by…
383: The Mysterious Disappearance of Molly Zelko w/ Rod Kackley
Molly Zelko was the crusading editor and publisher of the Spectator, a newspaper devoted to battling local gangsters operating slot machines and other rackets in Joliet, Illinois. In the late night hours of September 25, 1957 she vanished,…
382: The Notorious Nancy Clem & the Cold Spring Murders w/ Wendy Gamber
On September 13, 1868, the bodies of Jacob and Nancy Young were discovered brutally murdered along the bank of the White River in Cold Spring, Indiana. Police would eventually set their sights on a charming and fascinating confidence woman …
381: Alabama's Kilpatrick Shooting w/ Lesa Carnes Shaul
Close to midnight on May 17, 1951, four north Alabama lawmen drove to a bootlegger’s home to serve an arrest warrant. Before the clock struck twelve, the bootlegger lay dead in front of the house he shared with his wife and eight children, …
380: Murder in Blackout London w/ Amy Helen Bell
My guest today is Dr. Amy Helen Bell, author of "Under Cover of Darkness: Murders in Blackout London". She shares accounts of the terror, tragedy and crime experienced by Londoners during the blackout and the blitz in 1940s wartime Britain.…
379: The Pan Am Flight 7 Seven Crash w/ Ken Fortenberry
My guest this week is award-winning journalist Ken Fortenberry, author of "Flight 7 Is Missing: The Search for My Father's Killer". He walks us through the ill-fated flight of Pan Am's luxurious "Romance of the Skies", a Boeing 377 Stratoc…
MoNo Encore: The Villisca Axe Murders - The Reverend Lyn George Kelly w/ Edgar Epperly
(Original publish date: 6/7/22) In this third and final part of my interview with Dr. Edgar Epperly, the "little minister" Lyn George Jacklin Kelly is examined as a primary suspect in the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders. Although Kelly spoke obse…
MoNo Encore: The Villisca Axe Murders: Wilkerson Vs. Jones w/ Edgar Epperly
(Original Publish Date: 5/31/22) Frank Fernando (F.F.) Jones seemed to be one of the most obvious suspects in the aftermath of the horrific 1912 Villisca Axe murders. He had a contentious business rivalry with the patriarch of the slain Mo…
MoNo Encore: The Villisca Axe Murders: Crime Scene w/ Edgar Epperly
One of my absolute favorites! This is the first of a three part interview I did with Dr. Ed Epperly about the notorious 1912 Villisca Axe Murders. (Original publish date 5/23/2022) This episode is sponsored by Strawberry .me. Get a $50 cre…
378: The Murder of "Elvis Girl" Jenny Maxwell w/ Buddy Moorehouse
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Jenny Maxwell was one of Hollywood's "it girls", appearing in countless television shows and films. Arguably her most memorable role was that of Ellie Corbett in Elvis Presley's 1961 movie "Blue Hawaii", w…
377: The Murder of Anna Wilkens & The Birth of the Lie Detector w/ Amit Katwala
Late one evening in the summer of 1922, Henry Wilkens burst through the doors of the emergency room covered in his wife's blood. But was he a grieving husband or a ruthless killer who conspired with bandits to have her murdered? To find out…
376: Erie's Mausoleum Mystery w/ Justin Dombrowski
On February 8, 1911, the Scott Mausoleum, a symbol of wealth for the Scott and Strong families in Erie, Pennsylvania, was desecrated by unknown vandals, coined by nationwide papers as ghouls. With the inside of the mausoleum heavily damaged…
375: The Murder of Virginia Olson w/ Brian & Cameron Santana
On April 15, 1973, the body of Virginia Olson was discovered near the campus of the University of North Carolina-Asheville in an area known as the Botanical Gardens. She had been raped and stabbed to death in horrifically brutal fashion. P…
American Criminal: John Gotti - Making a Man
This is the first episode of Airship's new series about John Gotti on their American Criminal podcast."Living in poverty as a young kid, John Gotti takes up mafia work very early on. He knows that the Gambino family is his ticket out, and h…
374: The Mafia, the Kennedys & Hoover w/ Louis Ferrante
Louis Ferrante is back on the show, sharing more of his extensive research into the history of the American Mafia. In volume two of his trilogy, called "Borgata: Clash of Titans", he focuses on the Mafia during the height of its power in th…
373: The Murder Case that Inspired The Scarlet Letter w/ Kate Winkler Dawson
On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, m…
MoNo Encore: Catch Me If You Can's Frank Abagnale - Perpetrator of the Ultimate Hoax? w/ Alan C. Logan
Happy New Year everyone! This Most Notorious Encore episode revisits my conversation with Alan Logan, originally released on May 19, 2021.Most of us are familiar with the critically acclaimed film called Catch Me If You Can, based on the au…