159: The Worst Woman on Earth & a Cruise Ship

Explicit content warning

02/03/21 • 155 min

1 Listener

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon!
Brandi starts us off with a story about a serial killer who the New York Times dubbed, “the worst woman on Earth.” In 1889, Lizzie Brown took a job working as a housekeeper for a 70-year-old farmer named Paul Halliday. Paul quickly proposed to Lizzie, but he’d come to regret that decision. As it turned out, Lizzie Brown wasn’t her real name. Soon, the Halliday’s barn burned down. So did the family home. Paul’s adult son, John, died in the blaze. Neighbors suspected Lizzie had something to do with the fires.
Then Kristin tells us about the cruise from hell. “The Island Escape” is a no-frills cruise ship that sails the Mediterranean. It’s a converted ferryboat that caters to budget travelers and offers balconies that -- unlike most other cruise ships -- hang over the water. Nonetheless, this was the cruise that attorney Lonnie Kocontes selected when he wanted to woo his ex-wife, Micki Kanesaki.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
The “Open Water” episode of Dateline
“Irvine attorney convicted in ex-wife’s cruise ship murder,” NBC Los Angeles
‘Almost Got Away With the Perfect Crime': Attorney Gets Life in Prison for Ex-Wife's Cruise Ship Murder,” NBC Los Angeles
“Former lawyer convicted of murdering ex-wife on cruise, tossing her overboard,” by Amanda Woods for the New York Post
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“The Worst Woman on Earth” Murder by Gaslight
“True Crime: The Worst Woman on Earth” by Kieran W, Medium
“She Was Crazy About Killing by Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News
“Lizzie Brown Halliday: The Worst Woman on Earth” by David Levine, Hudson Valley Magazine
“Lizzie Halliday’s Trial” Buffalo Weekly Express, newspapers.com
“Mrs. Halliday Convicted” Lancaster Intelligencer, newspapers.com
“Lizzie Halliday” wikipedia.org
YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 19+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

Previous Episode

158: Rosa Parks & a Serial Killer

1 Recommendations

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon!
We all think we know the story of Rosa Parks. She was an old, tired woman who got on a bus in segregated Montgomery, Alabama. When the white bus driver asked her to give up her seat to a white passenger, Rosa refused. She was tired! Her feet hurt! For refusing to move, Rosa Parks was arrested. Then, oopsies, she became a civil rights icon! ... well, that’s not quite how it went down. Rosa Parks wasn’t that old. Her feet didn’t hurt. When she refused to give up her seat, she knew exactly what she was doing. She’d been a take-no-shit activist her entire life.
Then Brandi tells us about a serial killer. When Alice Williams showed up at 86-year-old Norma Davis’ house and shouted her name, Norma didn’t respond. Alice became concerned. So she cautiously made her way through Norma’s home. That’s how Alice discovered that Norma had been brutally murdered. A knife stuck out of Norma’s neck. Another stuck out of her chest. About a week later, another woman in Norma’s gated community was murdered.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
An episode of the show “The Origin of Everything,” titled “Is the Rosa Parks Story True?”
A Ted Talk titled “The real story of Rosa Parks -- and why we need to confront myths about black history” by professor David Ikard
“Rosa Parks,” entry on Wikipedia
“Edgar Nixon,” entry on Wikipedia
“Recy Taylor,” entry on Wikipedia
“Browder v. Gayle,” entry on Wikipedia
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Dana Sue Gray” episode Diabolical Women
“Addicted to Luxury: The Pampered Killer” by Katherine Ramsland, The Crime Library
“Justice Story: Serial killer Dana Sue Gray offed elderly women so she could shop with their credit cards” by Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News
“Dana Sue Gray” wikipedia.org
YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 19+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

Next Episode

160: The Mysterious Death of Sarah Widmer

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon!
It was nearly 11 p.m. when Ryan Widmer called 911. He told the dispatcher, “My wife. She fell asleep in the bathtub, I think. I was downstairs. I just came up here and she was laying face down in the bathtub.” He said that his wife, Sarah, fell asleep in the bathtub “all the time.” Ryan drained the bathtub and removed Sarah from it, then began performing CPR. Paramedics showed up a short while later, but were unable to revive Sarah. Later, questions emerged about how exactly Sarah Widmer died.
Brandi presented the only case because Kristin and Norm said goodbye to their sweet pup of 13 years this week. Peanut lived a long, happy life and left her mark on this podcast. She never shared a case, but she did make her presence known with an occasional bark. She’ll be missed.
And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.
In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“The Mystery in the Master Bedroom” episode Dateline
“Sarah Widmer” chillingcrimes.com
“Widmer admitted to punching, killing wife, witness testifies” by Denise G Callahan, Springfield News-Sun
“Newly uncovered Ryan Widmer documents: My wife walked on tippy toes the night she drowned” by Keith BieryGolick, cincinatti.com
“A decade after Sarah Widmer drowned in tub, husband is still trying to overturn murder conviction” by Paula Christian, WCPO Cincinnati
“‘Reasonable Doubt’ explores Ryan Widmer case, concludes he lied to police” by Jay Warren, WCPO Cincinnati
YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 19+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!