Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast Blue Ewe Media

In the early morning hours of October 17, 1953, a frightened, battered woman named Diane Wells told a horrific tale to police. She said intruders had broken into the top-floor penthouse apartment she shared with her husband Cecil, murdered him, beat her, and then made their escape. It was an especially sensational story because 31-year-old "blonde bombshell" Diane Wells was nicknamed "the most beautiful woman in Alaska", and Cecil (twenty years her senior) was a wealthy and well-known Fairbanks businessman.

There were suspicions, however, that Diane was lying. It was soon learned that she was having an affair with a local musician and also being comforted by a dance instructor who worked downstairs.

My guest is James T. Bartlett, author of "The Alaskan Blonde: Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America. He shares details from his research into the almost 70 year old cold case, including an account of Diane's own tragic end.



More information about the author can be found at these links:

https://www.thealaskanblonde.com

https://www.facebook.com/thealaskanblonde

https://www.instagram.com/thealaskanblonde

https://www.twitter.com/alaskanblonde53


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In 1835 Marcus and Narcissa Whitman arrived to the Pacific Northwest, building a mission on Cayuse land near the present day Washington/Oregon border with hopes of converting members of the Cayuse tribe to Christianity. However when a deadly measles outbreak devastated the area, it disproportionally killed Cayuse over whites, leading tribal leaders to believe Dr. Whitman was purposely poisoning them. This (along with other reasons) drove tensions so high that on November 29th, 1847, the Cayuse murdered the Whitmans and eleven others living at the mission.

My guest is New York Times bestselling author Blaine Harden, and his book is called "Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West". He explains the volatile situation that led to the massacre, and how the murders created a ripple effect that led to an explosion of white migration into the Pacific Northwest. He also dismantles a lie created by the Reverend Henry Spaulding that recast fellow missionary Marcus Whitman as the hero who "saved Oregon".

More can be found at the author's website here: https://blaineharden.com/

Americans are used to being on the lookout for a scam, but authorities are warning of a new kind of fraud. Puppy Kingpin shines a spotlight on Jolyn Noethe, a secretive businesswoman from Iowa who is accused of laundering puppies like drug money. Over the course of 7 episodes, investigative reporter and host Alex Schuman exposes the scheme and an underground part of the industry bringing us the pets we love. From Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment subscribe to Smoke Screen: Puppy Kingpin on Apple Podcasts to binge all episodes or listen weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

In February of 1896 the decapitated corpse of a young woman, who would later be identified as Pearl Bryan, was discovered in the woods of Northern Kentucky. Evidence would lead investigators to two dental students in Cincinnati, Ohio named Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling.

My guest is Robert Wilhelm, creator of Murder by Gaslight, an online compendium of notable 19th century American murders. He is the author of "So Far From Home: The Pearl Bryan Murder", and joins me to discuss the case in detail.

More information about the murder can be found at his website, Murder By Gaslight: http://www.murderbygaslight.com/

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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/

Frank Fernando (F.F.) Jones seemed to be one of the most obvious suspects in the aftermath of the horrific 1912 Villisca Axe murders. He had a contentious business rivalry with the patriarch of the slain Moore family, Josiah (Joe) Moore, intensified further because Moore was having an affair with his daughter-in-law. However there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime. Enter James Wilkerson, a pugnacious and cunning private detective who made it his mission to connect Jones to the murders, even if it meant manufacturing evidence.

In this second part of my three part interview with Dr. Edgar Epperly, author of " Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912", we delve into Wilkerson's trumped-up charges against Jones and bitter obsession with pinning the murders on him.

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/