450: The Murderous Harp Brothers Revisited w/ Katherine Grandjean

On August 23, 1969, the badly decomposed body of twelve-year-old Tina Marie Andrews was found under a discarded sofa in the woods outside McComb, Mississippi. Days earlier, she and a friend had accepted a ride home but were instead driven to a remote area, where Andrews was murdered. Her friend eventually came forward and accused two local police officers of the brutal crime. My guest is Trent Brown, who wrote the definitive book on the case, "Murder in McComb: The Tina Andrews Case". More about the author here: https://english.mst.edu/people/facultyandstaff/brown/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just months after the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders, the body of a 19-year-old woman was discovered off a secluded stretch of Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles on November 16th, 1969. She had been stabbed over a hundred times, and there was no identification on or near the body. It would be decades before she was identified as Reet Jurvetson, an Estonian-Canadian woman who had only been in California for a short time before her murder. My guest is Catherine Fogarty, author of the new book "The Girl with No Name: The Story of Jane Doe #59 and My Relentless Search for Her Killer". She walks us through the crime scene, how Reet was identified, and the many challenges faced along the way - including finding leads on her possible killer. The author's website: https://www.catherinebfogarty.com/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My conversation with Derek Sherwood, author of Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938–1940 and the Panic at Penn State, continues. He shares a story about trying to find the location of Faye Gates's murder, talks about another possible suspect in the Rachel Taylor case, and recounts his long, frustrating attempts to get the Taylor case files from the Pennsylvania State Police. The author's publisher page: ⁠https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/nittany-nightmare/⁠ The author's YouTube channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@truth_revealed2k⁠ More on his Amazon author page, including a link to his book "Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime." https://www.amazon.com/stores/Derek-Sherwood/author/B005E0586W Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between November 1938 and May 1940, Margaret Martin, Rachel Taylor and Faye Gates were abducted and sexually assaulted, their bodies dumped within 50 miles of Penn State College. My guest is Derek J. Sherwood, author of "Nittany Nightmare: The Sex Murders of 1938–1940 and the Panic at Penn State". He discusses the murders and investigators' attempts to determine whether a serial killer was responsible, all set against the backdrop of the college. The author's publisher page: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/nittany-nightmare/ The author's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@truth_revealed2k More on his Amazon author page, including a link to his book "Who Killed Betsy? Uncovering Penn State University's Most Notorious Unsolved Crime." https://www.amazon.com/stores/Derek-Sherwood/author/B005E0586W Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Orig Pub Date 11/8/17) My guest is former criminal defense attorney Mark Shaw, author of "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen". He talks about the life of Pulitzer nominated reporter and television star Dorothy Kilgallen, who was allegedly on the brink of breaking wide open a story about John Kennedy's assassination before her mysterious and suspicious death abruptly ended her investigation. The author's website: ⁠https://markshawbooks.com/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Harp(e) brothers have been called America's first serial killers, once notorious enough to be the stuff of folklore and legend before fading into obscurity. In the chaos of the post-Revolutionary frontier, the two men committed dozens of murders across Kentucky and Tennessee, their wives traveling alongside them the entire time. My guest is Katherine Grandjean, author of "Kingdom of Devils: A Tale of Murder in the Shadow of the American Revolution", out now. She explains how the desperation of frontier life might have pushed two ordinary men toward violence, and what their story reveals about the darker side of the years following the American Revolution. The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2289902/katherine-grandjean/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the first episode of American Criminal's latest season - all about Boss Tweed, the Tammany Hall politician who has become synonymous with civic graft and corruption. Listen to my interview with Ken Ackerman about Tammany Hall’s Boss Tweed here at the Most Notorious website:   https://www.mostnotorious.com/2020/09/28/tammany-halls-boss-tweed-w-kenneth-ackerman/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William Morgan was last seen in Batavia, New York, in September 1826, shortly after threatening to publish purported Masonic secrets. He was arrested that same month in Canandaigua, transported to Fort Niagara and never seen again, and the local Freemasons were blamed for his disappearance. When a body was discovered a year later, many wanted it to be Morgan's for political purposes. But nearly two hundred years later, the case remains officially unsolved. My guest this week is forensic anthropologist Dr. Ann Webster Bunch. Her book, "The William Morgan Affair: A Masonic Mystery in Upstate New York", explores the fate of this polarizing historical figure. The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/the-william-morgan-affair-978 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ted Bundy grew up in Tacoma in the shadow of one of the most toxic smelters in the United States, and he wasn't the only one. Between the 1970s and '80s, the Pacific Northwest was home to a bizarre, outsized cluster of serial killers including Bundy, Gary Ridgeway, Charles Manson and many more. Could there be a connection between lead and arsenic poisoning and the making of a serial killer? My guest is New York Times bestselling author Caroline Fraser, and in her book Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers, she explores this possible link, and how toxins like lead were promoted to the American public despite the known dangers. The paperback version of her Edgar Award-winning book just came out in June. The author's website: ⁠https://www.carolinefraser.net/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Phillip Barlag, author of "Evil Roman Emperors: The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More." He shares stories about some of the worst rulers in Rome's history and the horrific deeds they committed, including Tarquin, Caligula, Nero, Caracalla and Elagabalus. He is also the creator/host of The "Greats" of History podcast, available on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-greats-of-history/id1741228862. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mS1MVueNYjtkomqWEtkjG. Podbean: https://phillipbarlag.podbean.com/ and everywhere else great podcasts are heard. And he is available for questions related to his books, his podcast and anything Rome via email here: [email protected] and his book can be purchased on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Roman-Emperors-Shocking-Caligula/dp/1633886905 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices