Episode 695: Linda Hazzard & Starvation Heights (Part 1)

Aug 4, 2025

Delve into the dark legacy of Linda Hazzard, a self-proclaimed medical expert who believed in the power of extreme fasting. Despite her controversial methods, including the starvation of her patients, she staunchly defended her practices until her own demise. Explore the manipulative dynamics of her life and marriage, alongside the chilling consequences of her unregulated wellness clinic. This gripping true crime narrative reveals the perils of unchecked medical authority in the early twentieth century.

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ANECDOTE

Early Health Trauma

Linda Hazard's health woes began after taking mercury-laden "blue mass" pills prescribed for parasites.
She suffered lifelong stomach issues and gave herself daily enemas as a result of this poison.

ANECDOTE

Linda's Bigamous Marriage

Linda Burfield married con man Sam Hazard, who had multiple wives.
Their odd marriage started with him disappearing on the wedding night but returning later.

INSIGHT

Sam Hazard's Deceit Unraveled

Sam Hazard was a habitual criminal and bigamist exploited by both wives in a bitter legal battle.
Linda aggressively defended him but ultimately the evidence of his crimes doomed his case.

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At the dawn of the twentieth-century, major advances in science and technology brought incredible change to the field of medicine, enhancing and extending the lives of millions. Yet at the same time, a lax regulations and minimal oversight made it possible for countless medical grifters to get rich offering quack medical solutions to everything from whooping cough to cancer, sometimes at the expense of their patient’s lives.

When Linda Hazzard opened her sanitarium, the Institute of Natural Therapeutics at Wilderness Heights, in Olalla, Washington in the first decade of the 1900s, she claimed her rigid fasting and elimination approach to dieting was a miracle cure for a variety of illnesses, both trivial and serious. For years, Hazzard operated what amounted to a health retreat for the wealthy, without any oversight from the state or federal agencies. In the end, Hazzard’s starvation cure resulted in the deaths of over a dozen people and her arrest and trial for manslaughter, but through all of it, she maintained it was a viable treatment—standing by her methods up until they ended her own life.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Hines, Terrence. 1997. "Starvation Heights." Skeptical Inquirer.

Lovejoy, Bess. 2014. "The doctor who starved her patients to death." Smithsonian Magazine, October 28.

Olsen, Gregg. 2005. Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group.

Seattle Daily Times. 1911. "Erdman diary tells method of treatment." Seattle Daily Times, August 14.

Seattle Star. 1908. "Charged with starving eight-months-old baby." Seattle Star, January 30: 1.

—. 1911. "Denies she 'fasted' 2 girls." Seattle Star, August 9: 3.

—. 1911. "'Fast cure' woman is arrested." Seattle Star, August 7: 3.

—. 1909. "Prosecutors think they can put a stop to starvation cure." Seattle Star, June 26: 1.

—. 1908. "Sign doesn't make a doctor." Seattle Star, June 8: 6.

—. 1909. "Woman starves to death under care of Dr. L.B. Hazzard." Seattle Star, June 24: 1.

—. 1908. "WQeeden case leads to Dr. Hazzard's arrest." Seattle Star, January 31: 1.

Tacoma Daily Ledger. 1912. "Dr. Hazzard has her first inning." Tacoma Daily Ledger, Janaury 28: 1.

—. 1912. "Dr. Hazzard's trial begins." Tacoma Daily Ledger, January 16: 1.

—. 1912. "Final arguments in Hazzard case." Tacoma Daily Ledger, February 3: 2.

—. 1912. "Heiress testifies against Dr. Hazzard." Tacoma Daily Ledger, January 20: 1.

—. 1912. "Mrs. Hazzard breaks down, and is attended by a dcevoted follower." Tacoma Daily Ledger, February 5: 1.

—. 1904. "Samuel Hazzard sent to Minnesota prison." Tacoma Daily Ledger, March 16: 3.

—. 1912. "Witnesses deny state's charges." Tacoma Daily Ledger, January 30: 1.

—. 1912. "Woman bathed by young men." Tacoma Daily Ledger, January 23: 1.

—. 1911. "Woman meet before judge." Tacoma Daily Ledger, October 22: 1.

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