In the winter of 1924-1925, quiet Medina County, Ohio, was shaken to its core. Martha Wise, an ordinary farm widow with an extraordinary obsession, slipped arsenic into her family’s food and water. Three of her relatives were dead, dozens more gravely ill, and a rural community was gripped by fear.
What followed was a murder investigation and trial unlike anything the Midwest had ever seen. Was Martha a cold-blooded killer, or (as she later claimed) a woman under the spell of the Devil himself?
I'm joined in this latest episode of Most Notorious by Rod Kackley. He is the author of "The Murders of Martha Wise: A Shocking True Crime Story".
The author's website: https://www.rodkackley.com/
Our interview about the murder of Thora Chamberlain on the Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2022/05/14/the-murder-of-thora-chamberlain-w-rod-kackley/ and the Disappearance of Molly Zelko: https://www.mostnotorious.com/2025/03/22/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-molly-zelko-w-rod-kackley/
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54:41
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54:41
MoNo Encore: The Murder of President James Garfield w/ Candice Millard
Original Pub Date: 1/14/19
On July 2nd, 1881, a disappointed and mentally unstable office-seeker named Charles Guiteau shot President James A. Garfield in a Washington D.C. train station. Over the next weeks, Garfield would linger, bedridden, as infection set in, caused by poor medical treatment, and America would wait with bated breath over whether their beloved president would survive. Meanwhile, Guiteau, the most hated man in America, would face trial and possible execution.
My guest is Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author, who discusses her book "Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President".
The author's website: https://www.candicemillard.com/destiny-of-the-republic.html
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59:28
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59:28
413: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday & Tombstone w/ Mark Lee Gardner
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were two complicated men whose steadfast friendship became one of the legendary relationships of the American West. Both were flawed, and often on uncertain moral ground, yet their bond carried them through the violent world of frontier justice, culminating in a deadly conflict with the Clanton-McLaury gang in Tombstone, Arizona. It's a story of two very different men who became linked forever by circumstance and loyalty.
With his new book, "Brothers of the Gun: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a Reckoning in Tombstone", historian Mark Lee Gardner offers a clear-eyed account of who Doc and Wyatt really were. He joins me to talk about their partnership and the lasting myths that have grown from a friendship rooted in both loyalty and survival.
Mark's website: https://songofthewest.com/
More from his publisher: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711805/brothers-of-the-gun-by-mark-lee-gardner/
Mark Lee Gardner on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YOcr3okF0fjheNeOLpyzU
Mark's Brothers of the Gun Western Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2jbh2Rl1fgD1ry8Ex1KM5W?si=4niAaWv7Tl2ESSYf_ZlnLQ
Mark's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCNOVu3xJh6/
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1:20:10
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1:20:10
412: The Killing of William Woodward w/ Jerry Aylward
In the early hours on a rainy autumn night in 1955, on a lavish country estate in Oyster Bay Cove, esteemed New York socialite Ann Woodward fired both barrels of her custom-made shotgun into the head of her husband, multimillionaire William J. “Billy” Woodward Jr., killing him. She mistook him for a notorious prowler who preyed on the privileged class. At least that was what the official reports stated. The police focused on catching the prowler, as they cast an impenetrable dragnet around the “Playhouse” for the elusive intruder. However, as with many other aspects of Billy and Ann’s social circle, things were not always as they appeared.
Retired detective Jerry Aylward, author of "Murder on the Gold Coast: The Killing of William Woodward", discusses with us the uncomfortable truths behind one of the Gold Coast’s most notorious murders.
The author's website: https://www.jerryaylward.com/
The author's Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jerry-Aylward/author/B0841NGVSZ
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1:09:13
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1:09:13
411: The Murder of Zoya Fyodorova w/ Chris Pouy
My guest is Chris Pouy, who shares an astonishing true story of love, betrayal, and murder on this latest episode of Most Notorious. His grandmother, Zoya Fyodorova, was a celebrated Russian actress who fell in love with an American naval officer, Jackson Tate, in 1945. It was a forbidden romance that led to the birth of Chris’s mother, Victoria. Zoya was imprisoned for nearly a decade before reuniting with her daughter, who later moved to Connecticut after marrying Chris's father, another U.S. Navy captain. During Zoya's preparations to defect and join her family in the United States, she was mysteriously murdered at her kitchen table in December of 1981.
Chris's website: https://whoischrispouy.com/
Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pouy-3b56334a
The Admiral's Daughter on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/admirals-daughter-Victoria-Fyodorova/dp/0440003660
BBC Outlook: Murder in Moscow: https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct6xcs
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About 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.
Listen to Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast, The Way to College Podcast and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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