Female Criminals

As a young woman in 1920s Tokyo, Abe Sada dreamed of becoming a geisha… but settled for sex work. She began a heated affair with a married man. When his wife threatened their happiness, Abe decided she wouldn’t let him go. Even if it meant losing him forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The unceasing stream of deaths in Castle Cachtice did not go unnoticed, but priests and concerned parents alike were powerless to intervene. When the Countess set a new trap to lure more girls, she unwittingly began the end of her torturous reign.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Real-life vampire or expert sadist? Elizabeth Báthory was allegedly responsible for killing hundreds of young women in 16th century Hungary. Her story is steeped in the kind of hearsay and legend befitting a cruel, untouchable noblewoman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Called one of the most dangerous anarchists in the country, Emma Goldman was deported back to Soviet Russia in 1919. Ostracized from her peers and the movement she helped progress, Goldman found new ways to advance anarchist causes until her death at 70.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the turn of the 20th century, a Russian immigrant spent decades supporting the anarchist cause in America — plotting an assassination, publishing a magazine, and lecturing on everything from freedom of speech to prison reform to birth control.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the aftermath of 17-year-old Missy Avila’s murder, a killer moved into the Avila family home, a witness stepped forward after three years, and Missy’s Law was passed in California.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A revenge plot turned deadly in 1985 after two teenage girls unleashed their jealous rage on their former friend, Missy Avila. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After luring their friend Payton Leutner into the woods in May 2014, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser stabbed her 19 times — all in the name of Slender Man, a horror character that had materialized on the Internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A made-up bogeyman went viral in 2009, inspiring low-budget web series, video games and fanfiction. The Slender Man was pure invention, but he seemed all too real to two Wisconsin girls. And in 2014, they set out to prove their devotion to him.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy these episodes, check out Medical Murders on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!  She became the most sought after nurse in eastern Massachusetts. But “Jolly Jane” Toppan preyed on the sickly and poisoned unsuspecting patients. And when pressed for a sizable debt, she embarked on a killing spree that decimated a family.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy these episodes, check out Medical Murders on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!  She became the most sought after nurse in eastern Massachusetts. But “Jolly Jane” Toppan preyed on the sickly and poisoned unsuspecting patients. And when pressed for a sizable debt, she embarked on a killing spree that decimated a family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After fighting obscenity charges for her stage plays, Mae West went to Hollywood and quickly earned a level of power unheard-of for women in movies. But between censors' efforts to sanitize her, and the revelation of a shocking secret from her past, Mae had to do everything she could to survive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When one of the most famous entertainers in America couldn’t find another good role, she wrote one for herself. The result was a play titled “Sex,” and it became a Broadway smash in 1926 — but moral reformers couldn’t handle its heat, and took drastic action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facing an ultimatum from her husband, 24-year-old Kristin drugged him with a lethal mix of prescription drugs, then staged his death to look like a suicide. Her story quickly unraveled, but to this day she claims innocence.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a childhood spent striving for perfection in the early '90s, a devastating ballet injury turned Kristin Rossum to drugs. She married the man who helped her get clean, but after a series of marital rifts, she used her knowledge as a toxicologist to plan the perfect murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In February 1887, a man opened a package to find a bloody torso, and police set to work following a trail of clues that led right to Hannah Mary Tabbs — but she knew exactly how to play her cards.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late 19th century, Hannah Mary Tabbs used violence to control those around her, directing her cruelty toward family and acquaintances. When she began an affair with a younger man, she thought she'd found happiness. Until he lost interest, and she began to plot her revenge... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an argument in a Days Inn Motel, Yolanda Saldívar shot her boss, beloved Tejana superstar Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, in the back. The murder shocked the world. When her trial began in October 1995, Yolanda stood in a Houston courthouse and swore: Not Guilty.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the moment she saw Selena perform, loner and misfit Yolanda Saldívar was obsessed.  But it wasn't enough to just be a fan. Within months, she was Selena's personal assistant and one of her closest friends. And Yolanda was prepared to do everything she could to keep Selena close—even if it meant harming her... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the morning of Friday, June 13th, 1980, suburban housewife Candy Montgomery was confronted by the wife of her ex-lover. Betty Gore was desperate—and holding an axe. Candy had no choice but to fight for her life... or so she says today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices