Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

On January 16, 1900, a bitter feud between a former Kentucky congressman and colonel named David Grant Colson and a fellow officer, Ethelbert Dudley Scott, reached its bloody climax as they fought it out with pistols in a crowded hotel lobby in Frankfort. Both believed their honor had been besmirched by the other, and that the death of one of them was the inevitable outcome.My guest is Thomas E. Stephens, who has a personal connection to this story, and wrote about it in the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society in 2000.More about the author and his work at his Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thomas-E.-Stephens/author/B003D8MHKWThe author's article: Stephens, Thomas E.  Congressman David Grant Colson and the Tragedy of the Fourth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Vol. 98, No. 1 (Winter 2000), pp. 43-102This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://www.betterhelp.com/notorious to get 10% off your first month. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a lot of buzz about Taylor Sheridan's newest television series Lawmen: Bass Reeves, and this week's guest, Old West author and historian Art T. Burton, is here to separate fact from fiction. He tells us about the exploits of this legendary Deputy U.S. Marshal, not only one of the first African-American marshals in United States history, but arguably the greatest lawman of his era. Art Burton's book is called "Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves". More about the author and his book can be found at his website here: https://www.artburton.com/The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004081261210This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and get 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mackinac Island, Michigan is a special place. Summers there are always bustling with tourists, who come in droves to enjoy its history, beauty and charm. However on July 24, 1960 a horrific event shook the residents of the peaceful island. A 49-year-old widow named Francis Lacey was viciously murdered at the end of a morning walk. Law enforcement officers from across Michigan joined the hunt to find her killer, but the case still remains unsolved today. My guest is Rod Sadler, author and retired police officer. He shares details about the case and discusses some of the many suspects that kept police very busy that summer. His book is called "GRIM PARADISE: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer". The author's website: https://www.rodsadler.com/His Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RodSadlerAuthor/His Twitter/X handle: https://twitter.com/RMSauthorHis Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/therodsadler/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the 1930s to the 1950s, Irish altar-boy turned gangster Eddie McGrath ruled New York City's West Side waterfront. Not only did he provide union muscle for the International Longshoreman's Association, but he was also involved in dozens of gangland shootings and murders.My guest, Neil G. Clark, is the author of "Dock Boss: Eddie McGrath and the West Side Waterfront". He tells the story of McGrath's violent rise to power as the leader of New York City's Irish Mob and some of the terrible acts he committed to keep it.The author's website: https://www.neilgclark.com/This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and get 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When two General Motors executives drove into Crater Lake National Park in July 1952, no one could predict they would be dead within an hour—not even their killers. It was a crime of opportunity, a botched robbery during the middle of summer in a crowded national park. When Albert Jones and Charles Culhane were found shot to death two days later, the story became a national obsession. The FBI used every resource and available agent but, as time wore on, the investigation ran out of steam. A lack of evidence worked to the killer’s advantage. He had committed a perfect crime.My guest is Monty Orrick, author of "The Crater Lake Murders: The story of the 1952 murders of two General Motors executives and the search for a killer hiding in plain sight." He not only shares details about the crime and its aftermath, but also offers his own theory on who he believes murdered Albert Jones and Charles Culhane on that fateful summer day. The author's page at Genius Books: https://geniusbookpublishing.com/products/the-crater-lake-murders?variant=46302290870551The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093321581643This episode is also sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp and get 10% off your first month! https://www.betterhelp.com/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born in Texas to immigrant parents in 1855, Charles Siringo lived a fascinating life from the very start. At the age of twelve Charlie went on his first cattle drive, and then spent decades working as a cowboy. Along the way crossed paths with legendary Old West figures like Bat Masterson, Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. He was in Chicago during the Haymarket Riot, protected famed attorney Clarence Darrow from a lynch mob, and as a Pinkerton detective pursued Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch for years. And he was also an author, writing multiple books about his many adventures. In the last years of his life he went to Hollywood, where he acted as as advisor to filmmakers churning out early 1920s westerns.My guest is Nathan Ward, who has written the definitive biography of Charlie Siringo, called "Son of the Old West: The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier."More about the author here: https://www.nathanwardwriter.com/This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and get 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notoriousThis episode is also sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp and get 10% off your first month! https://www.betterhelp.com/notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On August 4, 1933, Eleanor Jarman, her boyfriend George Dale and another accomplice attempted to rob a Chicago clothing store owner, Gustav Hoeh. Hoeh fought back and was murdered by Dale. Eleanor still received a 199 year prison sentence for her part in the crime, but after serving just seven years she escaped with a fellow inmate. From that point on she became a fugitive (never caught) and likely holds the distinction of being the longest-running female fugitive in American history.My guest, Silvia Pettem, is a Colorado author who specializes in cold cases. She not only walks us through Eleanor's interesting life, but also shares with us where she believes Eleanor (nicknamed "the Blonde Tigress by the Chicago Press) eventually ended up. Her book is called "In Search of the Blonde Tigress: The Untold Story of Eleanor Jarman".More about the author and her work here:  http://www.silviapettem.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On January 14, 1858, Felice Orsini and his fellow Italian revolutionaries tossed his newly designed bombs at the carriage of Emperor Napoleon III, outside of the Paris Opera House. This frightening new form of terrorism would have global ramifications, inspiring nihilists, anarchists, nationalists and others, angry about a wide range of injustices both real and perceived, to create chaos around the world.My guest is Dr. James Crossland, author of "The Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism". He walks us through the evolution of terrorism in the second half of the nineteenth century and talks about some of the events historically associated with terrorism in this period, including the assassinations of President William McKinley and Tsar Alexander II and Chicago's Haymarket Riot.More about the author here: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-arts-professional-and-social-studies/humanities-and-social-science/james-crosslandYou can purchase the book through Amazon here:  https://www.amazon.com/rise-devils-origins-modern-terrorism/dp/1526160676/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February of 1959, Albert Lepard brutally murdered his seventy-four-year-old great-aunt Mary Young and was tried, convicted and given a life sentence at Mississippi's Parchman Penitentiary. Lepard would escape six times over fourteen years.In 1968, my guest Lovejoy Boteler, then eighteen years old, was kidnapped by Lepard during his fifth escape. He shares details about the research he has done over the years on the notorious Lepard, and tells the story of his own abduction.Lovejoy Boteler is the author of "Crooked Snake: The Life and Crimes of Albert Lepard."The book is available through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crooked-Snake-Crimes-Albert-Lepard-ebook/dp/B07PNRCP84.You can listen to the audio version on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Crooked-Snake-Audiobook/1494548844 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Most Notorious, we examine one of the most infamous true crime cases in North Carolina history. On a cold autumn evening in 1901 a young woman named Nell Cropsey stepped out of her house with her spurned suitor, Jim Wilcox. She was never seen alive again. Wilcox later told police that he had broken up with her, leaving her crying on her porch, and then gone home. Over a month later her body (in pristine condition according to the coroner) was pulled out of the Pasquotank River.My guest, Dr. William Dunstan, grew up in Elizabeth City where Nell's murder took place, and has been interested in this case since he was a boy. He believes that Jim Wilcox was innocent and has his own theory on what might have happened to her - and it includes a fascinating family connection. He is the author of "Nell Cropsey and Jim Wilcox: The Chill of Destiny."Purchase Dr. Dunstan's book through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nell-Cropsey-Jim-Wilcox-Destiny/dp/1530121671This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Order here and support the show with 50% off plus free shipping! http://www.hellofresh.com/50notorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices