383: The Mysterious Disappearance of Molly Zelko w/ Rod Kackley

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 Department of War hastily built hundreds of POW camps in the United States. Today, traces of those camps—which once dotted the landscape from Maine to California—have all but vanished. Forgotten, too, is the grisly series of killings that took place within them: Nazi power games playing out in the heart of the United States. My guest today is William Geroux, a World War II expert and author of "The Fifteen: Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America". He discusses the origins of the German prisoner-of-war camps, the daily lives of the men held there, and the deep divisions between hardline Nazis and less political prisoners—tensions that ultimately led to a series of murders and the prosecution of fifteen POWs. The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/725017/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 drew a small pistol and aimed it directly at a well-dressed man sitting quietly with his wife and children. The woman fired a single bullet into his chest. “I did it and I don’t deny it,” she said when arrested shortly thereafter. “He ruined both myself and my daughter.” This week’s guest is acclaimed author Gary Krist. In his latest book, "Trespassers at the Golden Gate: A True Account of Love, Murder, and Madness in Gilded-Age San Francisco", Krist delves into the gripping true story of attorney A.P. Crittenden and his long-time mistress, Laura Fair. Their seven-year affair came to a tragic and scandalous end with a very public murder and a pair of sensational trials. More about the author here: http://garykrist.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 to silence and refused to speak about what happened for 70 years. Christena Stephens is my guest, and her book is called "Bound in Silence: An Unsolved Murder in a Small Texas Town". She shares details about the horrific case and talks about her experience interviewing the slain couple's daughter, Jo Ann. A summary of the case written by the author for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/lifestyle/columns/2017/12/01/chronicles-tangled-web-west-texas-murders/14825468007/ The author's website: https://www.christena.net/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(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 her eccentric husband, T. Eugene Thompson, in March of 1963, leaving behind four small children. It was an absolutely sensational case, one not only covered extensively by local press, but by national and international press as well. Longtime journalist William Swanson covers the case with me. His book is called "Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson". The author's Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/William-Swanson/author/B001JSC22G Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, with only her shoes and signs of a struggle left as evidence that something sinister had likely happened to her. My guest is reporter and author Rod Kackley, whose book "Murder! Molly And The Mob: A (1950s) Shocking True Crime Story" is the focus of today's episode of Most Notorious. The author's website: https://www.rodkackley.com/ The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rod-Kackley/author/B0090N097W Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 named Nancy Clem, who happened to be involved in some extremely shady business dealings with Jacob Young at the time. My guest is Wendy Gamber, author of "The Notorious Mrs. Clem: Murder and Money in the Gilded Age". She tells us all about the colorful Nancy Clem, the Cold Spring murder case, and shares theories on how and why the murders might have really happened. The author's Indiana University page: https://history.indiana.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/gamber_wendy.html The author's publisher page: https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/authors/wendy-gamber Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, and three of the four officers were also dead. Afterward, a sixteen-year-old boy would face a series of trials that would divide a county and thrust the state of Alabama into the national spotlight. My guest is Professor Lesa Carnes Shaul, author of "Midnight Cry: A Shooting on Sand Mountain". She grew up on Sand Mountain hearing stories about this sensational shootout and joins me to talk about her research into this fascinating case. More about the author and her book here on her publisher's page: https://ugapress.org/book/9781588385338/midnight-cry/ This episode is sponsored by Strawberry .me. Get a $50 credit when you use our link: https://strawberry.me/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. More about the author here: https://amyhelenbell.com/ Interested in revisiting the serial killers mentioned in this episode? John Reginald Christie: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2022/12/17/serial-killer-john-reginald-christie-the-great-london-smog-w-kate-winkler-dawson/ John George Haigh ("The Acid Bath Murderer"). https://www.mostnotorious.com/2022/11/22/the-acid-bath-murderer-w-gordon-lowe/ This episode is sponsored by Strawberry .me. Get a $50 credit when you use our link: https://strawberry.me/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Stratocruiser that mysteriously crashed into the Pacific Ocean in November of 1957. Forty-four people were killed, including his own father, who copiloted and navigated the plane. His decades long investigation of the crash has led him to the conclusion that the victims were murdered, and he shares with us who he believes the killer is. The author's website: https://kenfortenberry.com/ The author's publisher page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Flight-7-is-Missing/Ken-Fortenberry/9781949024074 This episode is sponsored by Strawberry .me. Get a $50 credit when you use our link: https://strawberry.me/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(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 obsessively about the case and even confessed to the murders, many believed that the confession was the result of mental illness and police coercion. Dr. Epperly also offers his thoughts on whether the murders might be the work of a serial killer named Paul Mueller (aka The Man From the Train). Dr. Epperly's book, the result of almost seventy years of research, is called "Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912". Listener discretion is advised on this episode, as it contains adult themes and language. Dr. Epperly's website: https://villiscabook.com/ More about the documentary "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" here: https://www.villiscamovie.com/ Dr. Epperly's Villisca Axe Murders Blog: https://docublogger.typepad.com/villiscamystery/ This episode is sponsored by Strawberry dot me. Get a $50 credit when you use our link: https://strawberry.me/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices