Phoenix, January 1932. Winnie Ruth Judd goes on trial for her life — and on the first morning, before a single juror is seated, her lawyers tell the room she will not be taking the stand. She never does. Twelve men sentence her to death without once hearing her voice. Part Three is the trial, the verdict, and the sixty-seven years that came after. Spectators fighting hand to hand at the courtroom door. A state chemist and a state physician who could not agree on which room two women died in. A prosecution that rested its case without ever mentioning the bullet wound in her hand. Her own mother, taking an oath about her daughter that no mother should have to take. A jury out for less than three hours. And a handkerchief the defence had been quietly pointing at for six weeks without telling anybody what it was. Then, under sentence of death, the woman who would not speak to save her own life talks for days to take a man down with her — and the only official in Arizona who ever said out loud that he believed her says it while setting that man free. This is also the part where the record finally answers some of what it has been refusing to answer for two episodes, and flatly refuses to answer the rest. Nobody has ever established where the rest of Hedvig Samuelson is. Everything here comes from the historical record: more than twenty newspapers across four states, from October 1931 to January 1933, read page by page — plus the Arizona Supreme Court's own written opinion in the case, and an Associated Press obituary filed sixty-seven years later. The full account of her testimony against Jack Halloran — far more of it than would fit in this episode, in her own words — is up at Section29.com. This is the final part of three. — Forgotten True Crime is an independent podcast. No network, no studio, no staff — one man doing the research, the writing, the recording, the editing and the promotion. If you enjoyed this episode, the best thing you can do is share it with a friend, post it, or leave a review. It helps more than you know. Have information about this case, or a forgotten case you think deserves an episode? Reach out at Section29.com Sources: Newspaper clippings — including The Pasadena Post, the Los Angeles Evening Express, the Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, The San Francisco News, The Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee, The Modesto Bee, the Visalia Times-Delta, The Press Democrat, the Santa Maria Times, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the Martinez Herald, The San Bernardino County Sun, The Gridley Herald, the Scottsbluff Daily Star-Herald, The Times-Picayune and the Ventura County Star, October 1931 through October 1998. Court record: Judd v. State, 41 Ariz. 176, 16 P.2d 720 (Supreme Court of Arizona, December 12, 1932), accessed via CourtListener. Music: TrackTribe — copyright-free music for creators. TrackTribe is Mike Chiavaro, Gunnar Olsen, Otis McDonald, and Fred Beteille. https://www.tracktribe.com · https://www.instagram.com/tracktribemusic/ · Additional music via Pixabay, free to use under the Pixabay Content License. We use AI tools to enhance the narration and edit the audio on this show.
