Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

On the morning of July 16, 1936, the crumpled body of nineteen-year-old college student Helen Clevenger was found by her uncle in her room at Asheville, North Carolina’s Battery Park Hotel. She’d been shot in the chest and her face had been cut. A black bell hop named Martin Moore would ultimately confess after the murder weapon was found under his porch, but eyewitnesses reported seeing a white man flee the scene of the crime, and questions of police coercion linger to this day.My guest is Anne Chesky Smith, author of “Murder at Asheville’s Battery Park Hotel: The Search for Helen Clevenger’s Killer”. She walks us through the details of the case, clouded by politics in the era of Jim Crow.Photos and more about the story can be found at the Western North Carolina Historical Association’s website: https://www.wnchistory.org/wnc-history-story-behind-the-accused-murderer-in-1936-battery-park-hotel-homicide/The book is available to purchase here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467145602Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Texas Rangers in the late 1880s were a tough and colorful lot, especially the members of Company F. And while they made their livings hunting down outlaws, none proved more cunning than Willis Conner and his sons, a fugitive family accused of murdering two neighbors in a business dispute over pigs. My guest is Joe Pappalardo, author of "Red Sky Morning: The Epic True Story of Texas Ranger Company F". He not only shares details of the events leading to the showdown between the Rangers and the Conners, but talks about one of the most vaunted members of Company F, James Brooks, and a fatal gunfight that got him indicted for murder. More about the book and the author can be discovered here: https://www.joe-pappalardo.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between July 1st and 12th, 1916, a sensational series of shark attacks terrorized seaside resorts and communities along the Jersey Shore. Four people would ultimately die before the shark thought responsible was found and killed.My guest, Dr. Richard Fernicola, is the world's foremost expert on the subject. He not only tells the story of how the attacks unfolded, but explains why they might have happened. His book is called "Twelve Days of Terror: Inside the Shocking 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks".His book can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H4D157MBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4698315/advertisement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In September of 1916 a mysterious fire consumed a cottage nestled on Ossipee Lake in New Hampshire, and when local law enforcement searched the wreckage they made a horrifying discovery. The smoldering body of Florence Small was pulled out of the basement, partially preserved by rainwater. The immediate suspect was her husband, Frederick Small, who was known to have abused Florence on a number of occasions. He seemed to have a rock solid alibi, however. He'd been in Boston, selling insurance, when the fire had started. My guest is author Janice S. C. Petrie. She has a personal connection to the story, which has driven her research into the case for decades. Her book is called "Perfection To A Fault: A Small Murder in Ossipee, New Hampshire, 1916". More information about the author and her work can be found at her website: https://janicepetrie.com/To purchase her book through Amazon, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Perfection-Fault-Murder-Ossipee-Hampshire-ebook/dp/B002A9K4DWBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In August of 1892, one of the most famous double murders in American history was committed in brutal fashion. Andrew and Abby Borden were hacked to death in their Fall River house, and their daughter Lizzie, home at the time, became the number one suspect. What followed was a spectacular trial, fought by brilliant attorneys, in a courtroom packed with fascinated spectators and reporters. My guest is Cara Robertson, author of "The Trial of Lizzie Borden: A True Story". She summarizes this sensational Gilded Age true crime story with a unique legal perspective. More about the author and her work can be found here: https://www.carawrobertson.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp and their wives united in Tombstone, Arizona in 1879 with the intent to make their fortunes, but along the way crossed paths with a gang of lawless cowboys that included Ike Clanton, Curly Bill Brocius and Johnny Ringo. In October of 1881, tensions between the Earps and their adversaries climaxed with a shootout in a Tombstone alley, forever known as the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral", which left three cowboys dead. But the animosity didn't end there. The cowboys would get their revenge on the Earp family, and Wyatt and Doc Holliday in turn would seek vengeance on remaining members of the gang. My guest is New York Times Bestselling author Tom Clavin. He returns to the show to talk about his epic book "Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell". More about the author, including his books about Dodge City and Wild Bill Hickok can be found here: https://www.tomclavin.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tranquility of Ohio's Pleasant Valley was forever scarred in June of 1896 when tragedy struck the Rose family. Twenty-three-year-old Ceely Rose was infatuated with neighbor boy Guy Berry. When he did not reciprocate her feelings, her family ordered her to stop following him, and she in turn used rat poison to murder them. A trial would follow, with much of the focus on her sanity and mental capacity. My guest is Mark Sebastian Jordan, author of "The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm". He's been fascinated with this story since childhood, and not only shares details of his decades long research into the murders, but also explains how the case has reached folkloric status over the years. The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mark.jordan.794The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467146180Buy it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094XCCD8The author's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/MarkSebastianJordanBecome a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1932, with the Cubs in the thick of the pennant race, Billy Jurges broke off his relationship with Violet Popovich to focus on baseball. The famously beautiful showgirl took it poorly, marching into his hotel room with a revolver in her purse. Both were wounded in the ensuing struggle, but Jurges refused to press charges. Even without their star shortstop, Chicago made it to the World Series, only to be on the wrong end of Babe Ruth's legendary Called Shot.My guest is Jack Bales, author of "The Chicago Cub Shot For Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series". He shares details from his book, just in time for the 70th anniversary of this infamous intersection of baseball and true crime (which happened on July 6th, 1932). The author's website: http://WrigleyIvy.com/The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467148481You can also buy the book on Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094X2TFYQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.comhttps://www.facebook.com/thealaskanblondehttps://www.instagram.com/thealaskanblondehttps://www.twitter.com/alaskanblonde53Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices