Female Criminals

She first met the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh as a teenager and was instantly enamored. Sheela Birnstie vowed to spend her life helping him achieve his goals, including building a city for his loyal followers. And the best place to do that was in Oregon — whether the locals liked it or not. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following God’s orders led Joan of Arc into battle against the English, and into an audience with the king. But by her own admission, she had only a year to fulfill her holy mission — and time was slipping through her fingers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hero. Martyr. Feminist. Witch. Who really was Joan of Arc? And could she really speak to God, or were her visions something else entirely? Today’s episode delves into the story of one of history’s most enduring icons, and explores what made her a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anna Delvey wasn’t who she claimed to be. But despite mounting setbacks, she refused to temper her schemes. The fantasy life she built for herself was a house of cards doomed to fall, and her tower was starting to teeter… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A con artist storms New York’s social scene in the 2010s, cementing her place in high society as a German heiress worth millions. Anna Delvey masterfully swindled banks, hotels, airlines, even her own friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her past was murky, but her persona was nearly unstoppable… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In November 1958, three young duck hunters came across a body near a remote lake in Ohio. As police closed in on Edythe Klumpp and Bill Bergen, the couple’s loyalty reached a breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edythe Klumpp liked to have fun with the men in her life... even if that made her the "other woman." But in 1958, her love triangle turned deadly. Edythe would make the ultimate sacrifice for her lover. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lori Loughlin had it all: a career as a beloved TV icon, a happy marriage, and two loving daughters. But in the world of the ultra-rich and famous, success seemed to rest on the wins your child netted. And there was no bigger win than getting into a top college. So Lori left nothing to chance… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A particular caper in 1965 brought Doris uncomfortably close to law enforcement and the media. With her face now easily recognizable in the U.S., she turned her attention to Europe, eager to prove just how good she really was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born in 1930, Doris Payne realized early on that she had a taste for the finer things in life. She also realized she had a knack for putting people at ease — and it was a skill she could use to get exactly what she wanted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After abducting Elizabeth Smart in 2002, Barzee and Mitchell — known to each other as Hephzibah and Immanuel — fashioned her into a sister-wife, systematically abusing her into submission. It would be nine months before Elizabeth was rescued by police in Utah. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All Wanda Barzee wanted in life was for someone to take care of her, and in return she promised complete devotion. So when her paramour, self-styled prophet Brian David Mitchell, demanded she help him find a child bride, Wanda aided and abetted the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She's perhaps the most famous femme fatale of the 20th century. And yet, Mata Hari's supposed crimes are shrouded in mystery. Who was this woman who captivated all of Europe? How did she become embroiled in the espionage of WWI? And who masterminded her ultimate fate? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In espionage terms, honeytraps are the stuff of legend: a beautiful temptress so seductive that she can convince even the most cunning of men to reveal state secrets. But in the case of Shi Pei Pu and the affair known as M. Butterfly, seduction would turn to love, and a decades-long deception which would ultimately expose a very different kind of secret. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The beautiful Soviet seductress is a well-known figure of femme fatale lore. She's patriotic, irresistible, and deadly. But how much of that is true? Did the KGB really train women to seduce and kill men? Or were the "sparrows" just women desperate for a better life? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A cunning puppetmaster, Catherine de Medici is most vividly remembered as a one-time queen of France who dispatched beautiful women in her court to manipulate the men of France. Except… that’s not really the case. But hidden in the spectacular legends lie kernels of truth about Catherine and her Flying Squadron. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The term "femme fatale" conjures up noir vixens whose sole purpose is to bring the story's male hero to his knees. But sometimes, women behaving badly are just getting things done the only way society will allow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the aftermath of her elaborate bank-robbery-gone-wrong, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong had to resort to every tactic up her sleeve to avoid going to jail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intelligent and unstable, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong always had a way with men. But they never seemed to live for long. Nobody connected her to their deaths — until she roped an innocent hostage into an elaborate bank heist, and forced him to wear a collar bomb.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1936, Abe Sada was so in love — and lust — she committed a gruesome crime. The case scandalized all of Japan. When she was finally caught, Abe was resolved to meet her fate. But then she was thrown a twist nobody saw coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices