Morbid - Episode 289: The Swamp Angel

Episode Date: January 4, 2022

This is the tale of Helen Ruth Spence, who grew up with the River People on The White River in Arkansas. When Helen was just 17 years old her father was shot and killed in front of her and her stepmother was beaten and assaulted by the same man. Helen had her own way of carrying out justice which landed her in and out of prison. The prisons at this time were deplorable and we don’t even know about all of the punishments Helen underwent. What we do know will shock you to your core. Helen's story is truly unlike any other.   Amazing Book: Daughter of the White River by Denise White Parkinson  Avenging Angel by Sean Clancy  As always, thank you to our sponsors: Pretty Litter: Save twenty percent on your first order at PrettyLitter.com Code morbid! Daily Harvest: Go to DAILYHARVEST.com/morbid to get up to forty dollars off your first box Prose: Take your FREE in-depth hair consultation and get 15% off your first order today at prose.com/morbid LittleSpoon: Enter code MORBID at checkout to get 50% OFF your first Little Spoon order. BetterHelp: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and Morbid listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/morbid See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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That's W-O-N-D-E-R-Y-P-O-D. Audible.com slash wondery pod or text wondery pod to 500-500 to try audible for free for 30 days. Angie has made it easier than ever to connect with skilled professionals to get all your home projects done well. Whether it's routine maintenance and emergency repair or a dream project, Angie lets you browse home on her reviews, compare quotes from multiple local pros, and even book a service instantly. So the next time you have a home project, just Angie that and start getting the most out

of your home. Download the free Angie mobile app today or visit Angie.com. That's ANGI.com. Hey weirdos, I'm Alena. I'm Ash. And this is morbid. It's New Year. That's it. New Year's same.

That's it. Nothing else. We're not claiming anything. We're not doing anything. Ash is going to moisturize. We're going to organize, and that's about it. Moisturize and organize. They do. Not promise in anything else.

No, just promise in. No one's claiming this year. No one's doing anything like that. We're just going to live it. We're just vibing. OK. We're just taking a day by day, everybody, OK? It's all we can do.

It's all we're going to It's all we're gonna do. Hopefully you're living a better new years than the woman who we encountered the other day. Oh my god. For real. If you follow, this is the best. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that we were out the other day grabbing coffee.

When we were in this parking lot drive through area, and this woman basically just started backing her fucking car into mine. When I say to you that I was looking out the window as Ash was driving, and I'm gonna get crushed. She was, I mean, if she had opened her window, she could have tapped on the back of her car easily. I should have actually.

She just kept backing up and wasn't stopping. Yeah. And let me preface this by saying, and I'm still not, I have never been in the business of trusting a complete stranger to not hit my car. I have never been in that business. I don't plan to open that business now, especially after what happened now. No, I've never subscribed to that business. So I did a nice little honk of, hey, please don't hit my car.

Thank you. We all know that warning honk, we know the asshole honk and we know the warning honk. The warning honk is a boop boop, quick little eat and that's all I did. The asshole honk is whaaat like that. We know that. Yeah. So I did a friendly little honk like, hey please don't hit me ma'am and then I rolled down my window and after this woman literally tried to hit my car, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, and I yelled out my window, hey are you trying to get out like I can back up? She did not want to hear that. She started screaming at me.

You're in a fucking parking lot. Pay attention. And I always say, I am the one paying attention to you almost backing into my car. It's evidently you that's not paying attention to where I am. My favorite part of this was she said,

I have a backup camera. I wasn't gonna hit you. Okay, first of all. How do I know that? I don't trust people. I don't know to not hit my car. One, two, we have heated seats in our car. What else do you have?

Gullie knows like we should have just been like, yeah, well, I have heated seats. And then she could have been like, well, I have four-wheel drive. I got new windshield wipers. Are we just doing a tit for tat? What amenities we have in our cars? I don't give a shit that you have a backup camera.

What? So she is literally screaming at me. And I am just looking at this woman befuddled. Like, I know, I'm not the kind of person who in situations like this just screams back because I just, my body shuts down. I don I know I'm not the kind of person who in situations like this just like screams back because I just My body shuts down. I don't know what to do. I'm like, why are you like this? I don't understand it also Ash was very non-confrontation Literally leaned out her window and said hey are you trying to leave like or are you just trying to move your car?

Like I can back up. Yeah, like I tried to rectify the situation very nice Happy new year, lady. Because you, a woman came out, guns blazing, screaming. In her athlete shirt outfit. And, yeah, you know, she was not nice. And the vibes were not immaculate. I was sitting next to Ash and I was just watching this whole thing and I was like, feel the heat radiating.

And I could just fall. I feel my blood pressure. And also like, with the end of the year that we had, I was like, to fuck with honey. You think you can scare me? Yeah. You think we had COVID. My whole life was like,

I'm grown up. We had COVID. We had a dog who we had for 12 years. It was our first baby die. My mom like, you know, almost like broker-hole face open following. And it's like, you think you can scare me? Like, we've been through this.

And you're just not gonna yell at Ash. You're just not going to. You are not. If I surround, you're not going to. Oh, Lena yells at this woman. Come the fuck down. Don't you fucking yell at her? Like, screaming.

And the lady's yelling back and the lady's going, no, no. So I the lady's getting back into the lady's going, no, no! So I just rolled up my window, waved at the woman nicely, and just continued upon my day. In my heart, it was pounding so hard, because I was like, oh, red. I was like, I can't, I can't.

And then I was like, I was like, no, you're not gonna yell at you. Like, it's just not gonna happen. You didn't deserve that. You were being very nice. She almost hit your car. I am not going to trust strangers to not hit my car. And I don't know why you think I care that you have a fucking backup camera.

And who are you yelling at me from your minivan in the middle of a parking lot? Like what is wrong with you? And I was so confused because she had just pulled into the spot. So I was like, oh, maybe she's trying to straighten out at first. And because she had backed up twice actually in almost her ass. So I was like, do you need me to move to straighten out at first. And because she had backed up twice actually in almost

her ass. So I was like, do you need me to move so you can straighten out? Like, I thought that's what it was. But then as she's yelling at me, she points to the car next to her and she's like, he's trying to live. And then I was like, he should do that. Because he has room. Like, and he never move. And I don't even think they knew each other. No, they definitely did. So he's trying to move. How does that OK you backing into Mike? I don't see the correlation, man. So I was like, you know, I don't think anybody's going to win here. I think you should have gotten an extra coffee today, ma'am.

Because I don't know who pissed in your fucking whitties. But it wasn't the year to that, you know, coon to that Becky out there. Yeah. But in what's even great, because this is like a weird parking lot, so this like, you know, it was busy. Yeah. So this other guy tried to get out of line

and he came next to us, rolled down his window and we rolled down ours and he was like, hey, do you mind if when that car in front of you moves, if I just scoot around and out of here? And we said, of course not. Have a great day. But, that happy new year. That's how you talk to people.

Yeah, like if you're trying to move, just be like, hey, I'm trying to move. All she had to do was lean out her window and like make the motion, like, can you roll down your way? And we would have, and if she was like, do you mind if I just try to scoot out of here? I'd be like, absolutely. Absolutely, but no, no.

So there's that. Yeah, the backup camera. I have a backup camera. Me as well. That's my, I want like a shirt that says, I have a backup camera. I think every car since like 2010 has had one. So congrats, lady.

And I just, I literally don't care. I don't, and the way you're acting now, I was supposed to trust that you're a rational person who wasn't gonna hit me. And also, we were getting coffee. She never went in to get coffee. She never got out of her car. And then she just left.

I was like, why were you even here? No, she woke up and she chose electric blue athlete shirt and violence. Yeah, she did. That's what she chose. So I hope she even here? No, she woke up and she chose an electric blue Afelizier shirt and violence. Yeah, she did. That's what she chose. So I hope you know what? I hope you're having a great fucking new year. I hope you're listening to this.

But while you're still a shirt, we all need an Elena. And you know what? She loves me now. You know what? I do. I love you. OK?

No one's going to yell at you. No, I don't like being like that. And you know what we also need We need a 1930s Arkansas murder. Oh, yeah, case We need to talk about the river people of the white river in Arkansas 1930s is what we need to do I woke up this morning and I actually said to myself, you know today on morbid I really need an Arkansas river case. Yeah, I think everybody did.

So here I am. I'm here to deliver it for you. I give the people what they ask for. And this is the case of the swamp angel. The swamp angel? The swamp angel. Can, what? Can I identify as a swamp angel from this day forward?

I mean, you gotta do a lot. And I don't know if after all this, you're still gonna wanna identify as a swamp angel, but let's find out. They called, this is about Helen Spence, who they called the swamp angel. This gives me, already, was it Aunt Julia? Aunt Julia?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It does. You're right. You're right. Now, this takes place in the area, the lower white river in Arkansas. Now, let me give you a brief history on this area because the story not only concerns the area,

but it concerns a community of people in that area. All right. And these people are referred to as the river people. And we're gonna get into that in a moment. All right. So the white river is over 700 miles long, which is crazy. That is.

It begins in Arkansas in the Boston Mountains, which I was like, Boston Mountains, kid. But no, the Boston Mountains, kid. And then snakes into Missouri a little bit, and then bends back in Arkansas. It's really crazy. It's really crazy. There's a little like spit of it in Missouri, but then it's basically in Arkansas. Okay.

Now, the Osage people, which remember when I did, I believe it was the Bloody Benders, where I called it Osage. And everybody was like, you made it sounds so fancy, and I loved it, but it's Osage, I learned. All right. The Osage people and Cherokee and Quapa tribes made the banks of this river their homes for a long time and up to like the 1700s.

Then settlers came through and were like, mine, you know how that goes. You know how that goes. So the lower right river is where the white river proper kind of begins to empty into the Mississippi river, and this is where our story takes place, the lower right white river. Okay. So in the 1920s and the 1930s, which is where this whole story is going to happen. You know, before that, after that, even now a little bit, there is a community of people called the river people.

Of course, people behind their backs would call them river rats, which is not something you should ever call them. That's like a nasty term for them, but you would call them that. And that's basically like, you want to start a fight, you call a river person a river rat. Yeah, don't be doing that. Yeah, so don't do that. But they were proud, they were hard working, and they were a vital part of the culture and the lives of the so-called dry landers,

which were obviously people who lived in the cities and on dry land. All right. They lived on houseboats, and they fur-trapped, they caught their own food, they dove for fish and muscles in particular in that river. They actually were big button makers and they would make them out of the muscle shells. Oh cool! Yeah.

And according to the Arkansas Times, over 90% of buttons in US Army uniforms were made from these muscles. That is really cool. That's so that crazy. I love muscles. You're right, and I do not. I think they're pretty. You said, right? And I was like, you do.

I mean, you do, but I love the look. They're like that pretty. They're pretty, like iridescent shell. Yeah. They made their own diving equipment, too. Whoa. Yeah. Like, they made diving helmets and shit

from car parts and other like refurbished, recycled junk, basically. Fucking crafty guy. Yeah. They would collect muscles on the bottom of the rivers. And this is directly from a book I read about this case, which I highly recommend. Highly, I will obviously post it in the show notes.

It's called Daughter of the White River by Denise White Parkinson. Amazing book. I like that title, Daughter of the White River. It's amazing. I really want everybody to read it because because Denise really goes into, like, so much detail about the timeframe, the area, the river people themselves, the people characters in this story.

She actually spent a ton of time interviewing, like, a character in this story. I say a character, because this really does feel like a movie, but it's real. But I'll tell you who when it comes up to it, but she took a lot of time really talking to people that were fully involved in this. I love that. She's like a descendant from like her ancestors were like river people. She was born and raised in Arkansas. Like she's very much a part of this old thing. Wow. So from that book about the diving helmets that they did, this is a direct quote, it says, using a diving helmet crafted from the barrel-shaped gas tank of a model T, the diver set the metal cylinder on his shoulders and commenced to wait in, weighed down by the

helmet and some rocks. The diver made his descent, dumping rocks as needed to surface again. Some helmets had a window of glass. Sometimes the men just moved along blind in the river muck. Isn't that wild? I can't imagine just diving into just black. It is fascinating. They were discarding rocks to float back up. They were insanely skilled insanely, you know, like, I mean, the ingenuity and the innovation they had was like out of this world and like beyond their time.

Yeah. And so like, excuse me, ahead of their time. It would be a way beyond time. It's true though. What if you were trafficked into a cult over shot nine times, or fell in love with a vampire, or went into a minor surgery and woke up one week later, paralyzed. What would you do? I'm Whit Missildine, the creator of this is actually happening, a podcast from Wondry that brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events, told by the people who lived them. From a young man that dooms his entire future with one choice, to a woman who survived a notorious serial killer, you'll hear their first person account of how they overcame remarkable circumstances. Each episode is an exploration of the human spirit and personal discovery. These haunting accounts sound like Hollywood movies, but I assure you this is actually happening.

Follow this is actually happening wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to ad free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery's podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the kids for cash scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In Northeastern, Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers and often for committing

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But the person that the author of that book talked to to really get a feel for all this was a guy named Elsie Brown. He was the son of the town sheriff who was Lemuel Cressy Brown senior. All right. And LC was actually Lem junior. And Helen Spence is the Swamp Angel who we're going to talk about was very good friends with LC Brown. Like best friends growing up. She actually gave him the nickname LC. She was like, I call it. She was like, you're not like a Lem junior. You don't look like a junior to me.

Like, can I call you LC? I like. He was like, I love it. So he went by that. He plays a huge role in this because they grew up together. They were like best friends. He knew this swamp angel from, you know, from childhood, basically. And he told her story and made sure her story got told the right way. So he's very important. Now, these river people used every bit of everything they caught or hunted. They never hunted or killed animals for sport and they shared what they had and what they caught with each other. If someone got a big fish bounty, they all enjoyed that big fish bounty. It's a community.

Yeah, like they would enjoy the fruits of each other's labors basically. I love that. It was a very tight knit community. They also had their own set of rules and laws. They referred to this as river justice and it was often carried out by their own discretion. Now that's starting to sound scary. Yeah, scary. It's all scary.

I don't want to be served river justice. You do not. It doesn't sound like an angry deal. Settlements of river people would also look out for each other. They created alarm systems that they all knew how to sound and would take turns looking out at night at vulnerable times. They were always willing and ready to jump in and help each other, if needed.

In Arkansas, possibly elsewhere, but I only researched the river people in this particular river in Arkansas. I'm sure there's different rules for all of them. They would whittle their own alarm whistles and would use them to call out in the middle of the night if someone invaded or there was any cause for concern or harm. That's cool.

And there was like a certain like a certain whistle sound that they would make that you knew was the like for concern or harm. That's cool. And there was like a certain, like a certain whistle sounds that they make that you knew was the, like the alarm sound basically. Almost like a tornado siren. Yeah, yeah. So now we know what the river people are, how they work. Let's talk about Helen Spence.

Well, the swamp angel. The swamp angel. Now her burst date is not completely known. Okay. We do know around this time she, that this began, she was, you know, that the story really gets going as when she was around 17 years old. But even to this day, we have no idea what her birth date was. Okay.

Her parents were Cicero Spence and Ellen Woods. She had one older sister named Edna, who she referred to as Edie. Full. They were very close. At some point unknown Ellen, the mother passed away. It was when she was very young, like months old, I think when Helen was. And Cicero eventually remarried a woman named Ada. And everyone got along. It seemed like it was a very good solid family who was respected by everybody else. very well liked, everything was great. Cool. And there were river people. There were river people. Yeah. Now, Cicero had made their houseboat himself, like from scratch.

Completely from scratch. A houseboat for like a period of time. I do not. But I think it's, but I think this seems lovely for anybody who likes the water. I think it'd be so cool. It seems like a pretty rad place. Just for a little bit. Yeah, just for a little bit.

A little bit. So, just for a little bit. A little bit. So he made their houseboat. It was pretty rad all considering this houseboat. It had a tin roof, was over 30 feet long. Had a nice patio, a kind of walkway he built around the boat, where they could like hang out on chairs, just hang out there.

They had several rooms. There was three bedrooms, one for everybody aboard. There was electricity running water. Everything you needed on this houseboat. Cool. Now, Cicero was super smart, really skilled. He was a master trapper in Fisherman. He was a great hunter. He was able to provide and he taught his neighbors and friends and his daughters these skills. And according to daughter of the White River, people in the river community would also come to him for help with like and his daughters these skills. And according to daughter of the White River, people in the river community would also come to him for help with like mediation of fights.

Okay. So whenever there was an issue among families or friends on the river, Cicero would always be the one to help talk it out with them and come to an understanding. He was like the river people's therapist. He really was. He would like help them chill out, cool,

and help them like walk away from it without anything happening. Nice. I feel like every community needs that. Right, I feel like everybody needs a cistero. Yeah, I don't know. But Helen adored her father, and they spent a ton of time together. After her chores or whatever she needed to get done, she would just hang out with him,

learning everything she could learn from him. She just admired him. She would follow him to all his little things that he would do and he would happily take her. I love that. Like seemed like they had this like crazy bond. Yeah. And he really like, and everything I read about it was like he, you know, and it was definitely a product of the time. He treated her like, they don't really treat a son. Sure. Because like father-son. Yeah, yeah. But he really, he taught her everything he would have taught a son.

So he never expected that. So he really respected her. And she had a ton of friends. They were like very close friends on the river, too, like because they were together all the time. Oh, yeah. The most mentioned ones I heard about in every article or every book I read, was a guy named

John Black, who she grew up with, and he becomes very important. And the sheriff, son, Elsie Brown, who continually tells her story now. They were huge fixtures in her life. They spent countless days with her and the other kids from the River Boats. They were fish together, hunted together. They played together. They took trips by boat at night to go watch the stars on a boat like beautiful.

Very wholesome, very sweet friendship. Hell yeah. And they would literally like, and it was funny because I read a bunch of things that like Cicero was very protective of his daughters too. And this was around the time of the Great Depression. Things were really shitty. The river people really kind of like thrived

because they fished and hunted and stuff. So like they were kind of taken care of. But farmers were having terrible times. Everybody else on dry land was like, it was a depression. Yeah. And there was also a very hot summer during all of this in Arkansas. So I guess the heat was making people kind of crazy

along with everything that was going on. And there was a lot of times where Cicero would kind of like pull his daughters close and be like, you need to watch out for strangers around here, because people are like starting to go crazy with the heat. And like with what's going on. That's like now, people are going crazy with the pandemic. It's true, so it's like you need to be careful, because people are out of their minds. Yeah. And so like, even when John Black would come to be like,

let's go take a river boat ride and like, watch the stars, he was like, mm-hmm. Like, you can tell if that's all you're doing. You better keep an eye on those stars. Literally, he was like, yeah, you look at the stars. He's like, what constellations? It seems like a very like,

it's just like a wholesome friendship thing. Yeah, yeah. Now, she was briefly married to a boy named Buster Eaton, Buster was, and I feel like with a name Buster Eaton, you can kind of guess that he was a moonshiner. I don't know, it just makes sense. Like, I feel like he would have either been like, you know, like a speakeasy owner,

or like, he just makes sense that he was like, a moonshiner, you know, what's he called when they were like against prohibition. Yeah. Oh um. MMMM. Fuck. Bootlegger. Yeah, that's what it is.

I was like, I'm gonna look it up. I'm gonna bother. A bootlegger. I just like close my eyes really hard. Like you did. That was good. I was like, come to me. It came.

A bootlegger, moonshine or a speakeasy on it. Like he just bust or eaten seems like he's like, just up to no good. Yeah, no, his name's Buster, you can't be like, they've come on, Buster. But they were married briefly. Not a ton is known about it. I couldn't find a lot about it at all.

Yeah, very brief. She returned to live with her family on the river pretty quickly. Buster wasn't for me. No, not for her. But they kept using her former married name of Eaton and newspaper articles about her and that annoyed me a lot. Yeah, that is annoying.

Because she didn't have that name anymore. I hate when they'll do that in cases two where the woman was murdered by her husband and they continue to use the married name. Yeah, like, can you know? No, probably not now. If any time is the time to use her maiden name, like you use that. Right now, yeah. So that's basically what life on the river was a very very brief overview. I urge you to read that book to get a very rich and very like full view of this. It sounds like

a good read. Some good stories from Elsea are in there like first hand accounts and like conversations really good. I can like picture it. But I wanted to give you a quick brief overview of that because then one morning in December in 193232, I believe it was, when Helen was about 17 years old, she recalled she heard her father speaking to a man he referred to as Jack when she woke up early that morning. She could hear him outside. He and Jack discussed a fishing trip and then they left together on a little motorboat. So Helen's stepmother Ada woke her up and was like, ugh, Cicero, I made him some lunch, but he forgot it. So she said, why don't you and I go take a small, like, little paddle boat and

row it out to him? Okay. Because he's probably not that far. Yeah. So she was like, sure thing girl. I love how cute that is. Yeah, I forgot his lunch. Let's go paddle board. Let's just go paddle boat that out there too. Right. So as they come up, they start seeing the boat and they see that they're standing up in the boat and they're arguing. Oh no. And they're like in each other's faces a little bit. Uh-oh. And then out of nowhere, Helen said she just heard a shot sound in Cicero fell. No. Jack saw Ada and Helen coming, like looked over and saw them, immediately pushed Cicero right into the water.

What? And then pointed the gun at them and said, I was, he was looking for Cicero's money that he knew he had buried and he said he refused to show me where it was. So then he's holding a gun at them the whole time in Ada, the stepmother, saved Helen by telling Jack, I know where it is, I'll show you. And she said, she doesn't know anything. She was like, I think she referred to her as like, simple-minded and she said, she won't be able to tell you anything, just leave her alone.

Okay. But I'll tell you. Okay. Wow, what a great stepmother. Apparently they were like very, very close to like, she was like, I'm sure she was like, part of her life for a long time. I think she became her stepmother when she was like, a-year-old or something like so yeah so so so it's really fun to get shot yeah and Jack grabbed Ada forced her onto his

motorboat and then stole the ores from Helen and just pushed her downstream without ores what the felt like what is even the purpose of that just to be an asshole. What did he do? And he's not a river person, right? No, he's an outsider. And she just sat in the boat aimlessly floating an absolute shock in terror. Oh my God. And eventually some nice people found her. How traumatic. Now there was no hidden money.

There was no buried money. Ada knew there was no buried money. Ada did it purely to save Helen. She knew there was nothing to show Jack. But she was like, I just need to get him away from her. Oh my God, what an amazing human. Yeah. When Jack discovered this, he beat Ada to within an inch of her life and raped her. Oh God. She survived initially. And the guy, his name was Jack Warhol's, was caught when word spread of what had happened. Now normally the river people would have dealt out some river

justice. Hell yeah. But he was caught by the law and would stand trial for the murder of Sissaro Sissaro Spence. Okay. Now family from a neighboring actually was born with paralysis. So she was like, she couldn't walk. She needed a lot of help and care. Without parents on the river, she was not going to do well. So neighboring family took her in in the city. Now Helen stayed and spent all her time in the hospital and Memphis taking care of Ada. And just being there in case she woke up and being there to like try to nurse her back to health. Because was she in a coma? She was in and out of a coma.

She was in horrible shape. Now January 7th, 1931. So sorry, I said this happened in 1932, it was 1931. That's great. January 7th, 1931, she died as a result of her brutal assault. Oh, I knew you were going to say that too. Yeah. So on the day of Jack's trial at the Deweyck courthouse,

Helen was seated in the front row. And Helen is all alone now. She's an orphan now. My god. And how old was she? She was 17. Oh my god. Yeah.

And they described what she was wearing, and there's a ton of old newspaper accounts of this. They described what she was wearing as a red velvet suit and a white fur-trimmed, like, rabbit fur-trimmed muff on her hands. Yeah. Yes, but she'd got to work. And she sat quietly for hours in that front row just watching this. And it seemed as those this case could honestly go either way, weirdly, because he was claiming it was self-defense. Mm-hmm.

She was 17, so she wasn't able to testify, because they wouldn't take her as credible evidence. And now Ada, the only witness, was dead. It's like, hi, I witnessed the whole entire thing. But she's not allowed to testify. That's so f**k. And they basically, you know, it was wondered whether this was really being properly tried as well, because the victim was a river person. I was gonna say, it was definitely a class-

It was definitely a class- A thing I think was playing into this, and it plays into a lot of this. I was gonna ask you that. So there was a real possibility that Jack was going to be acquitted at the end of this. And as Jack stood, while the jury, so Jack stood up, the jury stood up, the jury was about to file out of the room to go deliberate.

Helen also stood. And from inside her handmuff, she drew a pearl-handled pistol. Bitch, yes she did. And without hesitation, she shot Jack in the chest four times in the middle of the courthouse. A mother-fucking-eye-con. After pulling it out of a rabbit-fur-trimmed muff. While wearing a fucking red velvet suit, we said. Hell yeah.

B-A-J. I am living. Then she just stood there in the courtroom as it descended into chaos. I was like, what the fuck is this? In the local sheriff. County Sheriff, Lemuel Cressy Browns, senior friend, best friend, who was close to the Spence family and like we said, whose son was like best friends with Helen, was the first to come up to her. I believe it was a moment of insanity, sorry. And I believe he's described as still smoking a pipe

and he was just walking up to her, holding the pipe. Excuse me, girlfriend. Oh no. She just turned around and was like, oh, who's that? Who's that? And like had her hands down,

like after she shot him, she's put her hands down, like, yeah, that's what I wanted to do. Vengeance is hers. She went with the sheriff without incident into a holding room and he took the gun from her and she gave it to him. A pearl hand in the gun. And he tried to empty the bullets out that remained in the gun

and it was like stuck and he was like very stressed out and was like shaking, I guess according to the book, he was like shaking and breaking out. And she basically was like, let me do it. It sticks sometimes and just pulled it back. And she did it for him and then gave the gun back to him. Amazing. And according to the book, daughter of the White River,

every man in the room literally dove for cover thinking she was going to just go, I'm in shoot everybody. She's like, no guys, I don't care about you. But she just calmly emptied the bowl. She's like, does motherfucker murdered my dad? Well, her only response to what the hell she was thinking was, he killed my daddy.

Hell yeah, he did. She said he killed my daddy. Not killed, is it? Now, newspaper media. She said, that's River Justice. Yep, she said fuck her and then find out. He found out. She said, fuck her.

So, fuck her. And find out. And what's crazy is newspaper and media, obviously when that's about this. Oh, yeah, and of course There was like sensationalism like they said that she had to be tackled and she threw the gun But the sheriff confirmed she she had just chilled there Yeah, and that she had gone with him easily and calmly handed the gun no incident the Arkansas Gazette reported quote She laughed telling of the flight of judge jurors, lawyers, and spectators from the courtroom

where she opened fire. She hopes to obtain her freedom, as she does not believe she committed a crime. When the electric chair was mentioned, she laughed again, amazing. Now, she was dubbed the swamp angel. Yeah, she was. Great band name, I call it.

So, honestly. And she was also quoted as saying, down where I was raised in the white river bottoms, where we rarely saw the quote unquote law, we took care of such matters ourselves. No one ever killed anyone unless there was great reason for it. I was born to that kind of law and it seemed all right to me anyhow.

None of the my people or the folks I grew up with trusted officers or the courts. Yeah, I knew clearly that's why. And it looks like he was about to get acquitted. Right. And he had brutally assaulted and murdered her stepmother as well. Yeah. And raped her. No, and she was definitely a hero to a lot of people and a lot of people sympathized with her. I do. And they sympathized with this act of vengeance. A lot of people came out and supported her. That motherfucker murdered her daddy of vengeance a lot of people came out and supported her that motherfucker murdered her daddy Obviously, there were people who came out and you know

We're like vigilante justice can't be a thing because laws and shit which like I know that it's a very slippery slope When you allow people to shoot people in the middle of courtroom be very chaotic if we can 100% we can look back on this and be like well that, that was crazy, but like, it can't happen. No, no. Now, but the support was pretty overwhelming, but you know, how that goes. So now she was just, so now she's tried on the crime of first-degree murder

because she did bring that gun into the courthouse with a clear plan in mind. She was facing five years in prison if kidnvicted and technically they had passed that judgment down pretty quickly. Like, she was going to go to prison. But there was some technicality which allowed her to appeal this immediately. Now, she was not held in jail or anything for this time. She was released into the custody of another sheriff who offered to have her live in his house.

Wow. Sheriff McAllister and his wife. And during that time that she waited her trial, they were trying to, you know, they were gonna try to appeal. And there was the possibility that she might even get a pardon from the governor while this time. But while she was doing this, she was kinda out on like a promise to appear,

kinda thing. She had a curfew. She couldn't be out after sundown. And she got a job. She had a curfew. She couldn't be out after sundown and she got a job. She had to get a job. And she got one at the Rothenhofer Cafe into it. Now, its owner was a man who everyone in town knew to be pretty horrific with women, especially those he had working for him. He assaulted and grope to them with reckless abandon. His name was Jim Bohots. We'll get back to him, but Helen was doing well there, and actually had her reputation was actually bringing people in from everywhere

because they wanted to be served by the swamp angel. Sure. Which, like, same. You're welcome, Jim. Yeah. So a judge granted her permission to move from the sheriff's home eventually into an apartment above the cafe where she worked.

Okay. And she was moving in with another waitress at the cafe whose name was Ina Mayberry. Oh, I love the name Ina. It's just like pretty. Yeah, it is. Ina. I like Inaems. Right, it's just Ina.

I don't know. It's flowy. Anybody named Ina. You just feel like it's just like, woo, yeah, like Ina Garden. So I feel like Ina was probably great. For months, it was kind of the same with nothing moving forward with her case But she gets kind of worked and worked and worked Jim Bohots got more and more

Deligerent and would go into drunken rages and try to assault the girls that worked for him great He was also getting very angry whenever reporters would show up at the cafe. Why? It's like you're getting a lot of press here. Yeah. And when men would try to talk to Helen. So he was getting, yeah. Now, he kept asking her out and trying to get her to go places with him.

No, thank you. And would not accept no for an answer. So in February, finally, he came up to Helen and he was like, listen, will you take a drive with me? No. I feel bad about how I've been acting. I just want to show you that I'm not a predator. So she was like, listen, will you take a drive with me? No. I feel bad about how I've been acting. I just want to show you that I'm not a predator. So she was like fine.

So she's giving me a criss in the craft vibes. Yes. And so she's like fine. I like it. Well, these are boss. Yeah, I was like, I gotta have to. Yeah, I have to. And part of her whole thing is she has to have employment.

And she's like, I don't want to get fired. She's like, I'm doing well here. Yeah. I'm like, I'm trying to get this pardoned. Like just let's just do this. Now they went, don't know what happened. But the following day, news broke that Jim Bohots was found murdered at a popular place

for couples to hang out and bang out. I don't know. I made that up. But you were saying, you were just hanging out and bang out. I didn't run. And you just did it so casually. I know. You just said they hanged out and banged out. Wow. No, just couples did. Just just hang out and bang out? I didn't run. And you just did it so casually. I just said they hanged out and banged out. Wow.

No, just couples did. Just couples hanging out and bang out. This is where they go. It rhymed. I felt like I had to say that. That's hilarious. That was like bumping a glee's butt better. Thank you.

She wants to go hang out, bang. Hang out and bang out at this cool Arkansas over looked place. Cute. So Jim had been shot by the gun he actually owned and he was found in his car with it parked in a space there. Well, you know, they immediately went and brought in Helen for questioning that morning because she is a known murderer who worked for him and he was a predatory best around her and everyone do it.

So she denied everything. There was no evidence to say that she was lying. So the case just kind of went cold. All right. And everyone basically said there were so many people who hated this guy. It could have been a lie. That it would kind of be hard to nail it down to one person

who did it, which like way harsh tie. But like I think it's, I watched Clue this last night. Get it. I did. That's amazing. But I think it's like, they knew Helen went out with him or someone said they did it, but they were like, there's no evidence that she did it.

And he's rose to a lot of people and a lot of people could have done this. So we can't just say it's her. Now, not long after that, the five-year sentence that they originally gave her was overturned. Yes. And her conviction was downgraded to manslaughter.

She didn't get the pardon, but it was downgraded. So she was no sentence to two years in prison to be served starting October 11th, 1932. She was going to serve it out at a women's facility in Jacksonville. And this place was called the Pee Farm. The Pee Farm. A real sure one. By all accounts her stay in that prison was completely fine. She had really no complaints, was not really forced, or she wasn't at all forced into hard labor because her name recognition at the time, they didn't want like fights breaking out or anything, so she was kept inside what she was fine with. Everyone according to Helen was nice, then mates took care of each other. Cool, weird, but okay.

She was actually paroled early because of an appeal for parole by the Arkansas prosecution attorney, George Harte, I think it's like heart, heart hay, I believe it's, you say it? George, we'll just say George. So she was released early, like pretty early in June 1933. Wow, but the only thing was she got that, you know,

she got that appeal for parole. She got out early, but she couldn't return to Dewitt or the White River and had to stay away from any of the counties that she kind of knew her whole life. She can't go home? Yeah, she can. Why? It was just part of the parole like you got to be out of here.

That's stupid. Where the fuck am I supposed to go? She went to Little Rock. Okay. And basically stayed there for a couple of weeks and then kind of had enough. It wasn't into it. She was like, I'm going to the river. So she was out June 1933, only a couple weeks later on June 15th, 1933. She got dressed in a polka-dotted dress, did her hair, gave herself that finger-gun-wing fake in the mirror. I don't know if she did that.

Of course she did. Of course she did. Then she walked to the Little Rock Police Department, asked for chief James Pitcock. And when she got him, she said, hey, I actually did kill Jim Bo-Hort-Hotson, do it. And here's the full confession. So do you think that she wanted to go back to prison because she didn't have anywhere else to go? That's the big question on everyone's mind because she had literally been out for like two weeks. Yeah. There was really nothing that set this off. She just

walked in there. Right. People think either she had to clear conscience. And she said it had been weighing on her mind. Okay. So maybe it was just a guilty conscience, but maybe a combination of a guilty conscience. I think it might have weren't a cow. Like this isn't really the life I want to live anyways, and this is weighing on me, so I'm just gonna tell them. So, but she's gonna go to prison. So she makes the full conversion.

Okay. Now the newspaper commercial appeal said this about it, which I was like, of course this is how this got. I love it, she got dressed up to go to prison. Of course. The quote, attractive, taste they started. I love it, she got dressed up to go to prison. Of course, the quote, attractive, tastefully dressed young brunette, calmly told of circumstances surrounding the killing.

So she told them he was basically a letch, and he had consistently, and aggressively come after her. She said he threatened those close to her and her own safety, and would say like, if you don't go out with me, I'm gonna hurt someone close to you. Yeah. And wouldn't take no for an answer.

And in the paper she said quote, her companion then started making overtures to her when they were out in the car. And quote, pawing her. So she wrote a dog sir. She attempted to get him out of the car by asking him to see if he could repair the motor trouble because he completely he parked there and then was like oops, the motor died. Oh, what a sleet. Yes, fuck you guys.

But he remained in the automobile. When he declared he could not start the motor and did not try, the young woman said she reached into a car pocket where she knew he kept a pistol, drew the weapon and fired one shot. The shot struck him in the chest. Bo-Hot's remaining upright on the seat, but making no sound. Then the young woman opened the car door, and standing with one foot on the running board,

she fired two more shots. And she said, quote, I thought he might not die. Okay. So basically put her hands up. It was like, sorry. I did it. I plead guilty. I did it.

All right. And she was sentenced to 10 years at the same prison for a second degree murder. Now this time she wasn't lucky enough to be kept inside. Oh. She was on hard labor. She was working in the fields in the stifling heat. And it's called like working the line, basically. She seemed to adjust and made some friends.

Well, she's the other in range. She kept on the river. Exactly. She knows hard work, but this sucks. But she made a ton of friends. They were all like pretty, you know, this is a woman's prison. I guess they were very close in there. They'd like looked out for each other for the most part.

And one night, an inmate, and close friend of her, his name, Catherine, told the group that she had heard the guards planning a seriously fucked-up scheme. And she said, because Catherine I guess was like in there for a while she was older, she had some more privileges than they did, so she was in various areas and heard more than they probably would. Yeah. She said they were basically planning to force some of the younger inmates into sex slavery. What? They were going to bust them nightly to Memphis and basically traffic them. What the for money? Now obviously that was terrifying and Helen immediately was like,

oh well fuck that is not going to be me. No. And so the next day, September 13th, 1933, she was in the fields digging up sweet potatoes. And she said she just noticed how shitty the fencing was around the perimeter. Yeah, she did. So she just walked away. Bye. She just shot her shot and walked the fuck away through a shitty fence. Like, I'm just, bye. I love that she was like one of the first people to think of that.

Like, hey, that fence is really shitty. Yeah, I could leave. Well, there was like an armed guard near her and she was just like of the first people to think of that like hey that fence is really shitty Yeah, I could leave well There was like an armed guard near her and she was like hmm. I gotta go see you Unfortunately for her she was caught and returned back to the prison in only three hours Like bold move though. Yeah, but now I'm really nervous for her But then it was announced that she would receive a punishment Uh-huh, and that punishment was going to be 10 lashes. Oh yeah. 10 lashes with something they called a black snake. A whip that was horrifically huge and dangerous,

and this was used commonly in prisons, and they would strip the prisoner naked, make them spread eagle over a barrel and whip them. Oh my god. This is where the phrase have like have me over a barrel. Yeah. Came from, which I had no idea. They referred to what they did to Helen as, quote, correcting her. And they kept records of every punishment. So they kept a record saying like this is what we did. Her record says, and it's signed by the warden. Yeah. It says, I have today corrected Helen Spence, register number one, two, seven, crime, murder in the second degree, term 10,

county, Arkansas, for what offense corrected, for escaping, how corrected, 10 lashes. Oh. Now remember, and also she was five foot one. Oh, and she weighed like 130 pounds. She was like tiny. Yeah. Yeah, and I guess when they all,

all the inmates heard that this was gonna happen, they were like terrified for her because they were like, can she even handle 10? Like I was gonna say, she could die. Yeah, remember, this was on September 13th. She rested for a couple of days, and then on September 18th, right back in the field, to work again. She escaped again. Yeah, she did.

Through another hole in the fence, she ran with fresh lash marks still healing. She was recaptured the next day. Come on, Helen, run faster. Now this is where things get really dark. She was corrected again, but there is no record of how she was corrected. I'm sure there's not. They took her into the warden's basement, and then when she came out, she had a high fever and suffered a kidney infection and could barely walk and couldn't speak. She was almost septic in a matter of days, and they believed she would die. What do you think happened for to make her become septic?

Well, they tried to treat her in the prison medical facility and sent word to her friends and family, basically saying like she was probably gonna die, sorry. Records indicate that she was treated with high levels of sodium benzoate, which is used to treat high levels of ammonia in your system, because it aids in the breaking the ammonia down. Now, high ammonia levels can happen often

from liver failure, kidney failure, basically systemic breakdown, organ failure. So Helen being treated with this meant her organs were literally failing. Now, aside from that, she was also being treated with digitalis, which is a heart medication that's given to patients with congestive heart failure or with rhythmic heart issues. She had no history of that.

It increases the blood flow and reduces swelling and extremities, so it reduces fluid retention so a demon. Now if it was used to treat the fluid retention that could have been because of heart issues or because of something like tuberculosis, epilepsy, migraines, spasms, so I'm like, what did they do to word that made these things possibly happen? Weird little side note about digitales, too. Digitalis is made from the plant fox glove and it's highly poisonous. Oh.

But fox glove is also one of the major ingredients in de Jackson, which is the medicine that Dorothy Appuente used to try to kill some of her patients. Wow, weird little connection there. Isn't that a weird little connection? That is. Now records also say on September 30th between 4 to 6 p.m., Helen was given at least five enemas between those a couple of hours. Now this makes me wonder if the digitalist was partially to try to induce vomiting because it can be used for that,

were they trying to get something out of her system. What do you think was in her system, though? I don't know what they could have done to her down there, but they did something down there. What the fuck? And something else further makes me think that that happens later. So she went through even more animals. Like one would definitely say way too many animals. Yeah. In the end, she was completely filled to the brim with morphine. In October, second, she went into a coma. They kept at it though, after this,

they just added sweet milk to her animals. Why? Don't know. October 3rd was a full day of almost constant animals in morphine. That night, she was finally transported to an actual hospital because her fever was at 103, and she was literally dying.

Almost immediately, she was treated with something called aluminum, or excuse me, aluminum, and this is used to induce vomiting as well. They use this at the hospital. So they must have poisoned her. So that's, I'm like, they're trying to get something out of her.

Right, clearly. Right. Now on October 7th, she was just transported back to the prison in good condition according to records. So when she got to the hospital, she was immediately fine. Yeah. But they couldn't, they just kept doing all that shit they were doing to her at the prison.

That was just torture. I was just going to say that was pure torture. So she sent back to the prison and at this point, she wasn't allowed in the fields anymore because duh. So now they made her work in the prison laundry. Okay point she wasn't allowed in the fields anymore because duh. So now they made her work in the prison laundry, which she was like, that's fine. Now within weeks, that scheme that Catherine was saying about they were going to bring them to Memphis, that was happening. So she kept wanting to...

Catherine was warning everybody and some people weren't really listening, some people were, but would you not listen? Helen took it seriously. Yeah. And then she found herself on that bus to Memphis. No one knew you were going to say that, but I'm still shocked. I'll need a few nights later. No.

When the bus arrived at a rest stop in West Memphis, she asked to use the ladies room. Hell yeah, she did. And they let her. And what they didn't know was that all these weeks, she had been in the laundry working. She had been systematically and slowly stealing gingham cloth napkins from the laundry, one by one. And at night, she was sowing them to the inside lining of her prison dress.

So soon when she went to the ladies room, she said reverse, reverse. She said out. And it looked like she was wearing a red and white gongham dress Then she just walked to the fuck away. Yes, bitch. They caught her again But she had fucked up this whole Memphis scheme. Yeah, they didn't get to go to Memphis Well, what the fuck are they gonna do to her for that? She was corrected with another 10 lashes. No. Now this is when the wardens were like, get her the fuck away from us.

And they had her transferred to a state hospital. Okay. That was on December 5th, 1933. And they basically did this by stating that she was suffering from homicide almania. No, she suffered from severe prison. Which was really just suffering from severe prison. She's suffering from, she's smarter than us and we can't deal with it. That's what she's suffering from, she's really just suffering from, she's smarter than us and we can't deal with it That's what she's suffering from

She was transferred to the hospital and examined there said to be completely sane. Yeah, of course she is But suffering from what they called Constitutional psychopathic inferiority, which is now Actually anti-social personality disorder. Okay. Yeah, I wonder why. She was returned to the prison again because they were like, yeah, we're overrun here and she's not insane. So, so she went back and this time the wardens were not taking any chances. So they literally, are you ready? No. Built a wooden cage to keep her in. What? This wooden cage was so small she couldn't move. What?

They built a wooden cage around her and put her in it. What the fuck is wrong with people? They also placed this cage in its own barracks away from everybody at the end of a room under a window so that all day she would be unable to get out of the full unfiltered sun. Oh God. That would make the cage temperatures reach well above 100 degrees. Oh my God. She was being literally burned to death essentially. Where are the people that are supposed to make sure the prison conditions are okay? Yeah, not sure. There was a lot of reform after this, but I'm sure.

Also, she began to be sent outside to work again and then locked up in the cage for the rest of the day. Wow. So, no one was allowed to speak to her. She had to eat alone, and out in the fields, no one could look or speak to her. What the fuck? Now, on July 10th, she's out in the fields working,

middle of the summer, obviously July 10th in Arkansas on a field. She said, by again, she's out in the fields working. Middle of the summer, obviously July 10th in Arkansas, I feel. She's a biagon. She fainted in the fields and asked, when she came to, she asked to go get her medication, she was still on medication from that whole ordeal. Yeah. They allowed her to do it.

She did. She came back out to the field and just kept walking. Uh-huh. Didn't stop. OK. She walked right by the assistant warden and a guard, an armed guard named Frank Martin, who was actually called a trustee guard. And he was actually an inmate who was serving 21 years in prison for murder. But he's little job

in the prison was to carry a gun and watch over the women. Are you guys okay? Are you guys okay? What's happening over there? Like, how did that seem like a smart job? She walked right by them. She climbed a barbed wire fence and they said she did it like it was nothing. Yeah, she did. And then just ran into the woods. At this point, it's like, guys, let her go.

She's gonna keep doing this. Well, somehow she got out of the woods and ended up walking down a dirt road. She slept under an oak tree that night. No one found her, good. But then somehow. No, stop. I don't want you to keep talking to me.

And there's the cherry. Well, there's various reports how she was spotted by someone and someone reported her. Well, fuck that person. Now, so she gets up the next morning, she starts walking again down this dirt road. The authorities are on their way now, because she's been spotted.

Damn it! They showed up and ordered her to stop, but she didn't. She just kept walking. She's like, fuck off. That's when Frank Martin shot her in the back of the head, killing her instantly. When they searched her, they found lipstick in her, and that one of the

other inmates had given her, and a gun belonging to Frank Martin, the guard, because she had snuck into his room beforehand and stole it while he slept, because oh my god, who is she? Whoa. She had it hidden in her clothing, it was his gun. What? The warden, Mrs. Brockman, was informed of this, and she said, that is a great bird and off my shoulders. Yeah, that's a cool to move. She was set up to die. It made set the field that day,

said, even though the assistant warden in Frank Martin watched her walk away, the day she escaped, they didn't make much of an attempt to stop her, and it was like they were letting her go. Even though the assistant warden in Frank Martin watched her walk away, the day she escaped, they didn't make much of an attempt to stop her, and it was like they were letting her go. And there was nothing she had on her that would have allowed her to break into Frank's room. That door was unlocked, they found.

It was left unlocked. Also, there was a note left in her little cage, and it said, to whom it may concern, I'll never be taken alive. And they think it was forged, nay nay, they don and it said, to whom it may concern, I'll never be taken alive. And they think it was forged, nay nay, they don't think it, they know it now. Of course. And part of the setup, her signatures did not match. In fact, her sister, Edie, later brought hundreds

of letters she had sent her. Wow. When they were apart from each other. And they compared the handwriting and the signatures. And she brought them specifically to be like, fuck you guys, that's not her hand. Right. None of it matched up. And the coroner actually changed her cause of death

from justifiable homicide to undetermined and the coroner asked for a grand jury investigation into her murder. Good. Now, it was determined it was indeed a setup. It's entirely just like everyone got fucked. The grand jury charged the assistant superintendent who was the warden's husband by the way

with basically every single accessory to murder charge you could. Good. They charged Frank Martin with another murder. And the warden Mrs. Brockman resigned and was subject to her own grand jury investigation now into her prison and how her prison was being run. Oh, yeah. And the superintendent, A.G. Stedman, who actually wrote that she needed to be kept in that cage. And he actually wrote a thing saying, do not let her out of that cage. Don't let her speak to anyone.

Do not let her escape again. He was a piece of shit. He resigned as well. And he should have prisoned for that alone. Exactly. And they found out that Frank had done it. He said he shot her because they said, if you shoot her, we'll get you out of your sentence.

Wow. Yeah. Now, Helen again became a very sympathetic character to everyone in the voice reading this. And they kept doing a fucking cage. Oh, the mistreatment was outrageous. Not even a word for it. Donations for flowers, funeral arrangements,

everything came in from everywhere. People were donating everything for her and her family. People even donated funeral plots for her. Wow. Newspapers were running full pages about her story and an anonymous person took out a full page to write a huge thing about her, and this is just a little excerpt from the daughter of the White River book. It says Helen was

loyal and true to all who were straight with her. The girls on the farm were all fond of her. She never gossiped or said mean things about them, so this is somebody she was in prison with. In the room at night when the girls would gather around Agasa, Helen would be in her bed fixing her face and singing old-time songs. I have gotten in bed with her many a night to listen to her singing songs that my mother used to sing. All the time I knew her, I never heard her curse. Wow. So, more and more and more came out about the reality of her situation in prison after her death. One of the doctors that had seen her actually

testified to the grand jury that he told prison officials you cannot put her in that cage. Like they were literally like, duh. You can't put her back in there. Like this is not something you can get in the cage. And they were like, she's literally burning to death in there.

Like you're killing her slowly. Yeah, it's like being in a hot car. Yeah, like they were like, she's literally burning from the inside. Like her organs are cooking. And yeah, and they said it was literally medieval torture. Yep. It was also mentioned he said in that grand jury testimony

that she had had a heart attack. I'm sure she knew. And no one knew about it. I'm sure she said whatever. She said whatever. She said whatever. They did to her. She had a heart attack from it.

Wow. And when they put her in that cage, she was like, you can't put her in, they said, in fact, the doctor said that he told them, if you're going to put her in the fields, that's fine, but you can't have her overworked. She's going to have another heart attack. And they were also like, if he said, if you want to put a ball and chain on her to keep her from running, like, go ahead. That's fine, but they were like, you can't,

like she can't try to escape again, you can't try to like run after her anything, she will have another heart attack. Right. Which nobody knew she even had one. Wow. They just kept that all under wraps. Now, unfortunately, by a technicality,

Frank Martin was acquitted. Well, that's fucking murder. The technicality was a section 9691, and it basically said that a guard can murder a convict to stop them from escaping. He's not a guard, he's a murderer. A convicted murderer. And that whole program of having inmates

speak guards for the women prison was taken care of. I think you really think that was gonna end up because unbelievably murderous humans guarding other humans. Oh, okay. And this murderous man watching over a bunch of women like are you kidding me? That's safe.

No. So her body was actually, so the funeral home, it was all paid for by like donations. Yeah. But they put her body on display at the funeral home for everyone to come by and see. It's real weird. The river people, their community were not pleased with this.

Obviously. That's weird. She was, she ended up buried in an unmarked grave in St. Charles next to the grave of her father, Cicero Spence. Why did they not mark her grave? Well, here's the thing. So one of her best friends in life, the man named John Black, who I mentioned earlier, they grew up together.

Yeah. He planted a cedar tree at her grave that he removed as like a little baby tree from the banks of the white river to mark her grave. My whole body just says. And it's still there today. Wom. Now you asked, why was she buried in an unmarked grave?

I did. How did she get to this burial place? Well, in the middle of the night, John Black and others from the river broke into the funeral home and carried her body there. Hell, yeah, brother. To bury her where they knew she would have wanted to be buried next to her dad. Next time, father.

They didn't want her to be in the window of the funeral home. They said, so weird. She had already spent a day and a night being on display and they said they were sick of everyone looking at her. They wanted her to have dignity and not be the show she was forced to be in life. I think they were like, this is it. Like this guy murdered her father and this was the rest of her life.

Yeah. Now, that's so sad, that is tragic. Yeah. And actually, so I told you that the author of that book, daughter of the right river, talked to Elsie Brown, the sheriff's son who she grew up with. There was an article called Avenging Angel,

and it was in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat, because that, and this article was written by Sean Clancy. And it said, in the late 70s, Elsie Brown was working as a policeman in Hot Springs, so he became a policeman. Wow. Following in the lawman footsteps of his Arkansas County deputy sheriff father,

it was around this time that John Black got in touch with Brown again. And they had been friends as like boys. Yeah. Asking him to come over to Dewitt for a visit. The river folk aren't a real talkative lot, and it took more than two visits before Black finally got around to telling Brown what he wanted. Black had quietly tended the St. Charles cemetery for years, and he knew where Helen's unmarked grave was in the cemetery because he'd planted that old cedar tree there. He loved her. He said, I helped bury her. Brown 87 says of the conversation he had with Black. He said, promise me that you'll tell this story, the true story about Helen. After I die, I want the story told.

Brown was reluctant, but Black assured him, you'll figure it out. I'm ruined. Now, John Black died in 1979, and he made LC Brown promise to wait until his death to reveal the location of where he'd buried Helen. And LC did wait until 1979. A lot of people thought John and Helen were in love.

They were like, were they like love of? Maybe they were just best friends. But LC said in the book, quote, John and Helen were not lovers. They're just buddies. Is all, ain't you ever had a buddy? Yes. Which I was like, fuck you.

Yeah. Because like, not everything has to be a love story. No, they were just best fucking friends. Like, he just loved her. Like, he just loved her. Right. And she loved him. Yeah, like, they were, it sounds like they were just best fucking like he loved her. Like he just loved her. Right. And she loved him. Yeah, like they were, it sounds like they were like almost like brother and sister. They were like soulmates in that way. So LC Brown told Helen's story everywhere and helped create that book, daughter of the way River. And he was helping to create like documentaries about

it. He kept her memory and legacy alive and told of how, you know, she wasn't life. He passed away January 26, 2015, and his recliner in Arkansas. His obituary says LC Brown 88 of Hot Springs peacefully passed in his sleep in his recliner in his home on January 26, 2015. What a way to go. He was born April 17th, 1926 in Arkansas County

near his beloved White River. He was born April 17th, 1926 in Arkansas County near his beloved White River. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lemuel and Estella Brown, by the love of his life, his wife, Anna Frank Brown, his brother John Homer and sister in Charlsea Brown. He hunted and trapped in the woods he cherished. He served in the army during World War II in a purple heart metal recipient. He was a wonderful father, mechanic extraordinaire, hot springs police detective, long distance truck driver, and small business owner.

He was a contributor to a documentary film on the people of the White River and book, a daughter of the White River. Now the author Denise White Parkinson of that book is still fighting Elsie's fight to get a posthumous pardon for Helen Spence. Oh, they should, obviously. Yeah, it hasn't happened yet that I could see I dug, dug, dug. I couldn't find anything that says it happened, but I want to see it happen. I absolutely want to see it happen. She was done real dirty.

She was put in a fucking cage. That alone should be enough to get her a partner. Her mother, her grandmother, when they went back to talk to her after her death. Her grandmother said she didn't believe that Helen had killed Jim Bohotz. She said she thought there was some misguided way, like you said, that she believed she didn't want to be where she was, she couldn't go home.

So she just put me back in prison, because this is basically prison. I just don't understand why they wouldn't let her go back to the river. She didn't do anything wrong on the river. That's the thing. Like why couldn't she go back there? Yeah, I don't know.

I just was part of the whole parole, I guess. But it's interesting. It's an interesting story. Obviously, vigilante justice isn't like, woo, kill someone in a courtroom. No, it's a very intense story. There's so many layers to it. Wow, where did you end up finding this?

I was looking for, I forget what other case I was like peeking at. I was looking at like a case, another case in Arkansas, I believe. And I was, and it just happened to pop up as like a book. Oh, okay. And I was like, oh, daughter of the White River. And I just kinda like popped it open. And I was like, well, that looks interesting. to pop up as a book. Oh, okay. And I was like, ooh, daughter of the white river. And I just kinda popped it open,

and I was like, well, that looks interesting. I'll give it a look. I started reading it. Could not stop. And was like, yep, this is my case. I cannot stop. That was such an interesting case. It was different than anything you've really ever done.

That's it felt like I was like, I have to tell this story. Well, that was like gut wrenching. And there was just so many, like moments that you're just like, what the fuck? Yeah. You don't see the shots in the courtroom happening. You don't see, you know, that punish, whatever punishment they gave her, I still want to know this day what the fuck they did to her. I know. And then I can't even imagine. They probably just did like multiple horrific horrific things. Oh, I'm sure they did

horrible things because Denise White Parkinson who wrote the the book she said, you know, there's a lot written about prisons at that time because it was so horrific at that time. But they said not a lot is written about women's prison. It's true. It's particular. I was thinking that actually. Yeah, we didn't know that the same shit was happening in those prisons. You have no really even worse sometimes.

So she wanted to make sure that was known too, but I can't tell you how much. I don't think there's any other books written on this case, but read that book about this case. Absolutely. So just tons of articles too. I'll see if I can link a few of the articles to be just very fascinating. The ones with LC Brown are really, really fascinating. Yeah, I just love that like the sense of community.

Well, just like in like that, really fascinating. Yeah, I just love that, like, the sense of community. Well, just like, in like that, uh, John Black Lake, just like kept her, like, was like, like, he kept tending that spot where they put her and just thinking about like, it reminded me of, um, the Fear Street 1666. I was just fucking thinking that. When they get her body and they bury her

themselves under the tree because that's the, that's what you do when like, you want someone to have dignity and get the wronged in death. Well, I'm so happy that like, she was able to do that for her and she was like, to rest next to her family. That's because it was like,

she had nobody. And she was with her dad. Who she loved, obviously. Who everything was for. You know, like this whole thing was for him. I hope eventually they marked her grave. They did. There's a mark there now. And there's a mark for Cicero's grave too.

And there's the tree there too. And the tree is there. Is it in a cemetery, do you know? I think it is, yeah, but it's like off to the side. So he had put it in like a place where it wouldn't be. I would really love to go there someday. I would love to see it. Yeah.

Because I want to see that tree too. There's some flowers. And I just love to see it. Yeah. Because I want to see that tree too. I know some flowers. And I just love that he uprooted like I think it was like a year old little cedar tree from the banks of the white river. That's amazing. Where she spent her whole life. Like what a beautiful tribute to her. Right? I just feel it. I'm like, I know she like maybe people make it bad because like she killed people, but I know it's it's it's a tough one. It's a it's a it's a very Different kind of case. It's a weird case. It's for sure as I personally was reading for Helen the whole time Well, and it's a sad what happened to her later was just Outrageous. Yeah, I mean it was completely outrageous

It and again her grandmother doesn't think she killed Jim Bohot. So what do you think and there was no actual evidence that she did There was no physical evidence. Yeah, I think she definitely Jim Bohot, so. What do you think? And there was no actual evidence that she did. There was no physical evidence that committed to it. I think she definitely could have done it for sure. And I'm not saying you should murder anyone, but of course not. If she was doing anything in self-defense, I was just gonna say realistically, it sounded like it very well could have been.

But it was so long ago and this so little to go on. And no way you say it really say here or there. And obviously you can't shoot people in the middle of a quarter. No. But, you know, the whole story is just a really fascinating look. It's like a movie. It really, it felt like, that's why I kept saying characters.

It really felt like a movie. Yeah, like an old time era. I was like, how is this movie real? Like how? Wow, that was a really great case. Thanks. I thought it was a crazy one. And you know, like I, the whole thing is just really weak. Like how? Wow, that was a really great case. Thanks. Thank you. That crazy one.

And you know, like I, the whole thing is just really tragic. Yeah. But that was really sad. I hate that. That was the ending. Like, I know. I was like, no. I feel like I was like on the last page, like crying.

And that they like set her up and everything. Yeah, that's fucked. So, they put a note in her cage. Yeah. As she would have had fucking any room to write in there. For her inner cage. Yeah. I love that. Dis her cage. Yeah. She would have had fucking any room to write in there. For her inner cage. Yeah. She would have that disgusting.

Yeah. So that is the story of Helen Spence, the swamp angel. And we hope that you keep listening. And we hope you keep it. We're. But that's the way that you do this to anybody ever. Yeah. Not so weird that you do vigilante justice

because that's not good. No, and it doesn't end up well clearly so. And no, we're the murder anyone anyways. And that's the word that you ever put anybody in a cage. No. I don't even put a baby in a corner. Yeah, like I don't even want to put like a dog in a crate. Never mind like a fucking human in a cage.

No, no, this is not the best. Okay. Look. Thank you. Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to Morvid, Early, and Add Free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen Add Free with Wondery Plus and Apple Podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wundery.com slash survey.