Female Criminals

Over the ages, arsenic has had many lives — beauty fad, household product, medical prescription… and weapon of choice wielded by killers everywhere from Alabama to ancient Rome. Brine your turkey, knead your dough, and listen to our Thanksgiving Special on the regime-changing, assassination-aiding King of Poisons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Their sinister life insurance scheme had worked once — now, 74-year-old Helen and 72-year-old Olga were ready to strike again. But their “perfect murder” had a hitch: an insurance investigator who took a look at their policies, and found red flags all over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Their upbringings couldn’t have been more different, but by the time they meet, Helen and Olga have one important thing in common: They’re schemers, willing to bend the world to their will if it means making a quick buck. In the 1990s, they hatch a plot more devious than all the rest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In South Carolina, legend tells of a woman who lured weary travelers to their deaths — turning her inn into a murder house. But there’s more to Lavinia Fisher’s story than bodies beneath floorboards. Was she really America’s first female serial killer? Or was she really only guilty of raising a little hell? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After marrying the heir to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1862, Sarah Winchester was seemingly set for life. But while her finances never despaired, Sarah did — experiencing a string of tragedies that would haunt her. She built a strange and sweeping mansion to try and escape her ghosts, but in the process, built an even bigger legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She was a singular woman in Gold Rush-era San Francisco: an entrepreneur, an abolitionist, and extraordinarily wealthy. But Mary Ellen Pleasant’s mere presence was enough to rattle her neighbors, and the accusations levied against her were enough to shock: she practiced black magic; she murdered a business associate; she cursed a family. Now she’s rumored to haunt a park in the very city that helped her swim, then watched her sink. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 17th century, a middle-aged woman remakes her life in New England. But her fresh start turns sour after her neighbors decide she’s a witch. Jailed several times over, Goody Cole is never quite able to reclaim her reputation... so a new crop of townspeople do it for her, hundreds of years later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listeners, we’re back with the finale of The Candy Box Killings from Solved Murders: 44-year-old Cordelia Botkin was the sole suspect in a murder-by-mail case that killed two sisters and involved two jurisdictions on two different coasts. Authorities knew she had an affair with the husband of one of the victims. But could they find enough evidence to prove it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listeners, this week we’re sharing an episode of Solved Murders we think you’ll love: The Candy Box Killings. In the summer of 1898, two sisters died after eating chocolates they received in the mail. Their suffering was inexplicable — until their father discovered a sinister clue. We’ll be back soon with new Female Criminals episodes. In the meantime, enjoy!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the deaths of Jacob and Jane Young, Nancy Clem became a prime suspect. As a business partner of Young's, she had the motive. But at the time, it was unheard of for a woman to participate in a pre-meditated murder. And that's precisely what Clem hoped the jury would think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She became financially stable after her husband’s death by loaning out money to friends in return for high-interest repayments. Once remarried, Nancy Clem went into business with two locals who ran a confidence game. But when one of them wanted out, he wound up dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some people would do anything for family. Seventeen-year-old Abby Catt was one of those people. So when her dad and brother said they needed her for a bank heist, she said she would help. But her sense of loyalty would be tested when her dad tried to get her to take the fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1950s Texas, a teenage runaway sets clubs ablaze with her improvisational dance style. Then she starts making headlines. In today’s episode: the traumatic — and whirlwind — origins of her career, how a club owner manufactured her image as a gun-toting stripper, and the sting operation that some claim was a conspiracy to take her down. Who really was the woman behind the stage name? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When her husband died unexpectedly, it brought Sante Kimes and her son Kenny closer together in an unexpected way. And without access to her husband's money, the two would need to take drastic action. Sante had the plans. Kenny just needed to follow through on them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She didn't want to pay for something if she could take it for free. And now that Sante Kimes had a millionaire boyfriend who could literally bail her out of any jam, she raised the stakes. Instead of stealing bread as she did as a kid, she graduated to lifting mink coats, swiping high-end automobiles, and even human trafficking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In her early childhood, she didn't have much. So as Sante Kimes got older, she was motivated by one idea: enough is never enough. And even after she moved in with millionaire real-estate investor Kenneth Kimes, she continued to take what she wanted, even if it meant breaking the law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Elizabeth Holmes found more investors, she had to answer more questions about her company. But she always found a way to buy more time, hoping to turn her lies into truths — until a whistleblower contacted the Wall Street Journal. The truth was coming, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She burst into Silicon Valley promising to revolutionize healthcare. Her pitch was so convincing that she raised tens of millions of dollars. But the technology didn't work. Investors believed Elizabeth Holmes was on the cusp of something remarkable. Others claim she was simply a con artist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There was no debate over whether Betty Lou Beets killed two of her husbands. But there was great concern over her motivation. Did she do it out of fear or for money? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All she really wanted in life was freedom. But Betty Lou Beets wound up trapped in abusive marriage after abusive marriage. It was only a matter of time before she would strike back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices