Crimes of Passion

In New Zealand in the early 1950s, two young girls formed an intense bond over the agony and isolation of their childhood illnesses and their love of fantastical make-believe. When their parents threatened to separate them, they agreed to do whatever it took to stay together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Husband and wife Gerald and Charlene Gallego embarked on a brutal killing spree in the fall of 1978. For months, they terrorized young women in California, until an FBI manhunt brought their reign of terror to an end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the time Gerald Gallego was 30, he was already a lifelong predator whose twisted crimes reached back into his childhood. When he met Charlene Williams in 1977, she became the newest target of his abuse — until she proposed a plan that made her his accomplice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1990, Gregg Smart was murdered. Suspicion fell on 15-year-old Billy Flynn and his friends at first, but eventually the trail led back to Gregg's wife, 22-year-old Pamela Smart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pamela and Gregg Smart's romance started strong, but after Gregg had an affair, 22-year-old Pamela turned to 15-year-old Billy Flynn for validation. The once happy marriage ended in betrayal... and death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Casting himself as a lovestruck Robin Hood, 27-year-old John Wojtowicz tried to rob a bank so he could pay for his estranged wife’s gender confirmation surgery. The heist didn’t go as planned — but it would change both their lives forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Volatile and brash, John Wojtowicz lusted after a vibrant transgender woman named Liz Eden in the 1970s. They had a passionate relationship, but it soured — leaving Liz doomed to a hospital’s mistreatment, and John with an outrageous plan to get her out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Years of emotional abuse, combined with an addictive prescription from Dr. Herman Tarnower, led Jean Harris to become severely depressed. She decided to take her life in March 1980 — but not before seeing Herman one last time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1960s, Jean Harris and Dr. Herman Tarnower developed an unconventional open relationship. He strung her along as a romantic afterthought for years, while prescribing her methamphetamines — leaving her hopelessly devoted, dependent, and ultimately, doomed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the third and final part of this series, we’ll look at three more infamous romances between prisoners and civilians. And how some of them seemed to work… but only for a while.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices