Female Criminals

After marrying the heir to the Gucci empire, Patrizia Reggiani was living the dream. Almost overnight, she became a jet-setting socialite, rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. But when her husband threatens to take all the glitz and glam away from her, Patrizia snaps. This Lady Gucci won’t go down without a fight — and she’s willing to play dirty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early 1990s, erstwhile biographer Lee Israel was having the time of her life forging letters from long-dead celebrities. But when that particular scheme got too risky, she switched gears, and started making real money moves... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a sought-after biographer makes a costly misstep, she gets desperate enough to use her talents for more criminal exploits… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One night in 1834, a fire swept through the LaLaurie mansion in New Orleans, drawing a crowd of worried onlookers. Until then, Delphine LaLaurie had been a queen of Creole society, but what volunteers found inside her home as they rushed to help would change all that. This is the story of what really happened that night, and about the birth of a monstrous legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Delphine LaLaurie is a name synonymous with history's most twisted villains. But though there are countless embellished and horrific stories about the evils she carried out in her New Orleans mansion, few know the story before the legend... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Batemen had been playing people for fools for years. The problem was, too many of her dissatisfied customers stuck around to complain about her trickery. Her solution? Murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Bateman was an accomplished liar from a young age, and when she grew up, she started using that talent as a way of making money. Passing herself off as a witch, she tricked paranoid and gullible customers into handing over their hard-earned money in exchange for predictions and potions. But unfortunately, not every one of the Yorkshire Witch's customers lived to tell the tale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1933, Kathryn took the FBI on a ride the likes of which no other criminal could ever match. So buckle up, listeners. This here’s about to be a wild one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Behind every great man, there's a great woman. Or so they say. But Kathryn Kelly was never that far behind her infamous mobster husband. For most of her life, she was calling her own shots, instigating trouble and making her own way. So it seems only fair that Kathryn's story is finally being told. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After years of getting away with murder at her aged care facility, Amy Archer-Gilligan didn’t realize how closely she was being watched. But in her desperation to make money, she was finally exposed as one of America’s deadliest female serial killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Business leaders and industry innovators are typically held up as examples to emulate — seizing the chance to turn a profit whenever possible. But Amy Archer-Gilligan was more money hungry than most, and she wasn't content to let her revolutionary idea make her a livable income. She wanted more. And for that, a lot of people had to die. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Confronted with her status as an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever, Mary Mallon was disbelieving and hostile. She was captured, tested, and quarantined nonetheless. Her legacy includes deaths and debilitation — but was she a criminal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late 1800s, an Irish immigrant in New York City made ends meet by working as a cook for wealthy families. But wherever Mary Mallon went, typhoid fever followed. As more people succumbed to the deadly illness, a man named George Soper set out to investigate. By 1907, fever wasn’t the only thing tailing Typhoid Mary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Katherine Knight was in her last relationship. Of that she was sure. Because if one more man left her, she was going to lose it. But then she realized her partner John couldn't leave her if she struck first. The final say would be hers, and she intended to make a grand statement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Australia, a young Katherine Knight had a volatile childhood marked by parental abuse and a short fuse. Things didn't improve as she got older. But what Katherine never had a problem with was finding men — she fell into relationships as quickly as her partners fell out of them, until eventually, she reached the very end of her rope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1875, the Queen of Thieves was wealthy, fashionable, and nearly untouchable. But New York was changing. Marm Mandelbaum became the target of a relentless district attorney and the famed Pinkerton Detective Agency. Despite serious blows to her criminal empire, Marm still managed to exit the game on her own terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of New York’s shrewdest criminals in the late 19th century was a German Jewish immigrant with a knack for buying and reselling stolen goods. But Fredericka “Marm” Mandelbaum wasn’t just any thief. Before long, she would reshape organized crime forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's still so much mystery surrounding the fate of Belle Gunness, and what exactly happened on her now-infamous murder farm. The truth may be just as terrifying as the rumors… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Belle Gunness never wanted much from her life: a fresh start in the USA, a nice husband, and maybe some children. But after a chance fire burned down her family home, an idea sparked in her — one that would lead to countless murders at her chilling Indiana farm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With her relationship with Bhagwan strained and her power slipping away, Sheela Birnstiel knew she had to do something drastic to make him happy and gain it all back. So in 1984, assisted by a group of loyal followers, Birnstiel masterminded the largest bioterrorist attack the U.S. had ever seen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices