My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark - MFM Minisode 205 - The Survivors

Episode Date: December 14, 2020

This week’s minisode is a compilation of hometowns that feature survivor stories. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We at Wondery live, breathe and downright obsess over true crime and now we're launching the ultimate true crime fan experience, Exhibit C. Join now by following Wondery, Exhibit C on Facebook and listen to true crime on Wondery and Amazon Music, Exhibit C. It's truly criminal. Hi and welcome to my favorite murder, the mini-soad episode, the mini-soad of episodes, it's the tiniest of all episodes in mini-soad. Look cute one. Little ones where we read you your tiniest emails that you've sent to us. Yay. Yay. Do you want to read them hometown around me? Oh sure. This is pretty good. The subject line is my mom survived Cleveland in 1978. Greetings and salutations to all humans and animals associated with the MFM brand. Well done.

My sister introduced me to your podcast six months ago over since I've been nothing but binge listening, laughing out loud at work and checking every closet in my apartment when I get home at night. I grew up outside Cleveland as did both my parents and my mother worked at a convenience store in Willowick, Ohio called Lawson's when she was in her early 20s. Could be Willowick. It could be Willowick. Offer all of them. Willowick. One night in 1978 she was closing up the store with her co-worker Bonnie because it was 1978. Bonnie. Everyone's name was Bonnie. Why aren't there Bonnie's anymore? There is a Bonnie Conover who I went to grammar school with and she still lives in Petaluma and we talked to each other on Twitter. But she's had that name

forever. I want a new Bonnie. She's the original. Oh, you want a new baby Bonnie? I want like a Bonnie that was born in the 2000s. If you have a Bonnie born in the 2000s, we'd love to see a picture of her. Yeah. Even if it's a dog. A Bonnie. A Bonnie named Bonnie? Oh, also we love pictures of Bonnie. Bonnie named Bonnie. If you have a picture of a Bonnie named Bonnie, that's one of those really big ones. Oh. Like that's like the size of a six-kinder. It's like a hair or got a rabbit. So actually we just want the one picture. Yeah. Bonnie the Bonnie, that's huge. Please. That's got to be a hashtag. Okay. Okay, so Bonnie and the mom are at the Willowick Lawson's. Okay. They're closing up when two men come in wearing black trash bags from head to toe. My mom says

that she initially thought it was two neighborhood teens that would come in from time to time trying to play a prank on them because it was 1978. One of the men was holding a revolver and ordered my mom and Bonnie to open the register and safe and then lay it down face down on the floor with their hands at their sides. They emptied the cash register and then stepped over the women to get to the safe. The whole time my mom was silent while Bonnie was hysterically praying out loud. Oh, Bonnie. Keep it down. Bonnie, be cool. At some point said quietly to my mom that she was quote, glad she had already mopped the floor. Just handle it like a Bonnie. Oh, Bonnie. They're handling it like a Bonnie is the new one. They stayed like that until they heard another

customer come in asking if anyone was in the store. Apparently the two men had left out the back exit while the ladies were up front laying on the recently mopped floor. The police were called, but as far as my mom can remember, no one was ever arrested for the robbery. She and Bonnie got a whopping $25 each from Lawson's because they SSDed during the incident $97 today in today's money, Lauren. Lawson's given them the full hundred days. Lawson's. They really took one for you. They took one for the team. $25. I think nowadays there's like, well, you're just in Los Angeles, but I think there's like a victim of a violent crime fund that you like because I knew a girl who got held up at gunpoint at like a salon she worked at. Like she was a receptionist and she

was closing up and got held up at gunpoint and like got all this money and she was just like, I'm traumatized. So I don't know what to do with this. It feels wrong. Oh, you know. Well, yeah, everything about that would be so hard because you lived and it's okay. But then it's not okay. But I think she used it to go to beauty school and then became a talented hair stylist herself. Fuck yes. Yeah. So good for her. I mean, bad things are seeds that bear fruit into good things. What? Good fruit. You know, that good, good fruit. Yeah. Grapefruit. The best fruit. Great. Great. Grapefruit. The greatest. Eat it with Bonnie. That is a very 70s fruit. Grapefruit with a maraschino cherry in the center. Come on, Dieters.

Well, here's another gas station one. I survived because I had to pee. Dear Karen, Georgia, Steven and Cache of Critters. Nice. I'm not sure if you're all doing I survive stories, but who could resist one where AP size bladder saves the day. Back in my mid 20s, I had construction job where I ran a crew of 15 guys where we traveled all over and we're in a different city or state every couple of weeks. As the leader of this motley crew, I was responsible to arrive at our hotels ahead of time to make sure that the hotel had enough rooms, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I spent many hours in my car alone, crisscrossing the states, usually on the same highways as a precaution to stay sexy and not get murdered. I tried to make stops at the same places as the

office and I could. So I know my surroundings. On this particular day, I pulled into one of my usual gas stations and made my typical run to the restroom. I had a sense of something not being right. Lots of cars with no people inside, but my urgency was so great. I ignored it. I plowed through the front doors and as I turned towards the corridor that led to the restrooms, I heard a man yell, stop right there. I didn't even acknowledge him and kept going. Yes. Yes. Let me break in just to say, just because someone's yelling doesn't mean you have to respond or be a part of it in any way. Yes. Yelling can also mean get the fuck out of there. Yes. Okay. He yelled stop again and replied and I replied with a fuck you as I entered the locked door and entered and

locked the door as I dropped my pants with much relief. And when I suddenly heard pounding on the restroom door and heard that same voice yelling at me to come out, once again, I responded with a fuck you. I hurried up and when I finished the door, open the door only to find myself face to face with an angry man who pointed a gun straight in my face. He grabbed my arm forcing me in front of him and told me to walk to the front of the store. Well, that sense of something not being right was actually me walking smack dab into the middle of an armed robbery, the gas station. All the customers and employees except the one, except one were being held in the back room with one employee opening the cash registers as I burst into the door. Oh, shit. Fear not,

as this has a happy ending, obviously, since I'm the one sending this tale to you as the robber was distracted, trying to round me up. The clerk behind the counter had time to hit the sign on alarm and as luck would have it, there were police nearby. As they're ever forced me to the front of the store, we were met with four policemen pointing guns and dude gave up without a fight. His accomplice decided to rob the gas station with empty guns. So, okay, after giving my statement to the police and receiving some free snacks and drinks, I was on my way and on to more adventures. Oh, and by the way, while I was at this job, I survived five hotel fires, staying at a haunted hotel reminiscent of the shining, almost sliding off the side of a mountain

during an ice storm, almost being dumped and crushed in a garbage truck while dumpster diving and trudging through 12 inches of snow on crutches. What? Proud to be a murderer, Nicole. Fuck, Nicole. That was so enjoyable. I'm so into, we've talked about that before, when people yell across a room at you and you just are like, not doing that. I don't need to, I don't need to respond to your urgency. Yeah. I used to do that in, when you hang out with comics, as you know, too, when you hang out with comics, they like to do across the room bits a lot of the time. It's like, if there's more than eight comics at a bar, people start yelling within 20 minutes. And anytime anyone's done that to me, I yell back, I don't do room bits.

Like, don't yell across this fucking bar. Yeah, because you want people to know what you're saying. Yes, exactly. Listen, and your emergency is not my emergency. So if it's your emergency, you can come over and tell me. Well, and also, she had to pee, which is priority number one. We've all been there. You have to do it. And if you, yeah, you can't just control people with your voice. Also, what a great, like, just a drop of chaos in the middle of what they thought, like, this will be our perfectly planned robbery. This girl just fucking runs in. She's like, this doesn't feel right. Anyway, I fucking been there, man. I got it. You never ask a gas station if you can pee, you just go straight for it. No, I've required memory of when you disappeared

in that store. God, that's scary. That's what I was thinking about the whole time. Okay, go. Okay. The subject line of this email is my best friend's dad was Mary Vincent's lawyer. Oh, holy shit. Come on. Hello, MFM boss, ladies, pod producing guru and plethora of pets. Over the long weekend, my best friend came home to visit from New York. We met up in Orange County. Hey, and sorry, beige apologies all around and ended up having dinner with her parents at one of our favorite spots. I've always known her dad was a badass lawyer, but I've never really asked about his cases because I didn't want to sound too intrusive. While at dinner, he told us that he recently had a meeting to talk about one of his most high profile cases, a case where a young

woman had her arms chopped off. I swear, I must have looked like a crazy person in this tiny restaurant when I squealed. Oh my God, wasn't Mary Vincent and indeed it was. I have chills right now. Right. Her dad went on to tell me that he represented Mary pro bono throughout her case against her attacker and even went with Mary in front of Congress advocating for the no second chances for murderers, rapists or child molesters act of 1998. Amazing. I've never heard of that. I have fucking chills. So I'm like, I'm saying I've never heard of that. And I'm like, did I say it in my story? You might have. Amazing. Okay. Yeah. Oh, when we returned to their home after dinner, he showed me photos of him and Mary speaking before Congress and he told me about how

Mary used to babysit my best friend and how her sons and my best friend love to play together as kids. Oh my God, I'm going to cry. I am still blown away by the fact that I have such a close connection with someone who knows Mary. It shows how small the world is, but it also puts things back into perspective that these horrific things happen to real people. And while it's so depressing, it's so important to highlight these awful things so that we can try to prevent them from happening again in the future. As a 25 year old Angelino, I have to thank you both from the bottom of my heart for confirming my love for true crime isn't weird. My neuroses are valid and the constant reminder to lock my doors. All the best, Taylor. Taylor. Such a good email, Taylor. Oh, that was

amazing. Yeah, that's very cool. If you, Taylor, took a picture of the picture of Mary, I bet Stephen could find one. I'd love to see a picture of Mary Vincent at testifying before Congress. I would too. That's, I just, the fact that she did that so bad has to be unbelievable. So incredible. And what a great fucking law that should absolutely always be passed. Yes. Fuck you, murders, rapists, and child molesters. Unless you're one of those three things. Oh, no. That's, it's a very special hundredth episode here to tell you about my past. Okay, this is called when a beauty school student encounters a serial killer. Okay. Greetings all. My name is Sarah and I live in San Diego. I actually just got tickets for your January San Diego show for Christmas a couple days ago and I'm so excited.

I'll be going with my mom who this story is about. Guess what happened last week, the other day? It was so much fun. It was really, really good. It's up San Diego. We could feel her presence. We could. Even though I was born and raised in San Diego, half of my childhood was spent driving up the California coastline and spending entire summers in Northern California north of Napa Valley where my mother is from. It sounds like Petalona, Maine. I'm sorry. What's up? She had quite a few crazy stories about her time in Northern California and my favorite one is this. When my mother was 17 or 18 years old, she went to beauty school in Napa Valley. It was a small school that was located on a small one-way street and if you've ever been to a beauty school, you know that nine times out

of 10, they have a huge, one of those huge glass windows that are floor to ceiling so people walking by could look in, see a student doing hair and possibly come in as a three month beauty school dropout. I agree with all of this. You get this. I'm here to cooperate this. What did you learn? Did you learn anything that you still remember? A little bit. I learned how to do finger waves because it was the 1920s apparently and they've never updated their beauty school shit. Right. Start with the basics. Right. And then just a little bit. I can still cut my bangs pretty well, but that's about it. Nice. Okay. My mother was always positioned at the very last chair right next to the window. Well, one day in the middle of a sunny afternoon, what seemed like the entire

Napa Valley police force and surrounding county's forces descended on this very small, very tight little one way street from all directions. There are cars pulling up onto the sidewalks and sirens blaring across the street from the beauty school less than 40 feet from where my weather was standing next to the window. There was a phone booth. 20 minutes earlier, the Zodiac killer had called the police from that phone booth. Oh my fucking God. Needless to say, the police went in every shop and questioned all the people inside, but no one remembers seeing anything or anyone of significance. I always tease my mom that it was the one lone male beauty school student who snuck out the back door and went around to make the call. Maybe she said that they have

a scene similar to this scenario in Karen's favorite movies. Zodiac. Though that doesn't mean much since he was always calling and taunting police. So I'm sure that was an amalgamation of different phone calls. Looking forward to seeing you next month already happened. I can't wait to hear what stories you come up with. Already did them. Did them. Always Sarah. Oh, God, I don't know why that's so exciting to me. Because if she hadn't looked up at the phone booth, which she probably did and just didn't, there was nothing that I was normal. It's a dude with a crew cut and those army-issued black friend glasses. How do you go? Amazing. Yeah. Write this down. Yeah. You wouldn't. Also, I'm thinking of the city of Napa in, she said it was the 70s, right? I think so,

yeah. Yeah. So it's like a tiny town. Tiny, like this is pre-wine boom. So Napa is just another little burg over a hill. Yeah. Like it's not big at all. I just can't, I, it's like, I'm weirdly starstruck. It's not healthy. Okay. That's what this podcast theme is. It's not healthy. To be starstruck. Looking for a better cooking routine? With meal planning, shopping and prepping handled, HelloFresh has you covered. HelloFresh makes home cooking easy and affordable so you can stay on track and on budget in the new year. HelloFresh meals are convenient, seasonal and delicious. Stay cozy all winter long with classic comfort foods available weekly. Why stop with just dinner? Now you can enjoy HelloFresh's expanded menu of quick lunch solutions,

weekend brunch, simple side dishes and amazing desserts. Karen January is going to be my month for HelloFresh. I am so sick of takeout. I miss cooking so much. I haven't lifted a knife or a pan since like early fall. So I can't wait to get back in the kitchen and HelloFresh makes it so easy and also makes it so that my food tastes good, which is hard to do on my own. It gives you everything, everything you need. So get up to 20 free meals with purchase plus free shipping on your first box at hellofresh.ca slash murder20 with code murder20. That's up to 20 free meals plus free shipping on your first box when you go to hellofresh.ca slash murder20 and use code murder20. Goodbye. What makes a person a murderer? Are they born to kill or are they made to kill?

I'm Candice DeLong and on my new podcast Killer Psyche Daily, I share a quick 10 minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the criminal masterminds, psychopaths, and cold-blooded killers you hear about in the news. I have decades of experience as a psychiatric nurse, FBI agent, and criminal profiler. On Killer Psyche Daily, I'll give you insight into cases like Ryan Grantham and the newly arrested Stockton serial killer. I'll also bring on expert guests to dive deeper into the details, share what it's like to work with a behavioral assessment unit at Quantico, answer some killer trivia, and even host virtual Q&As where I'll answer your burning questions. Hey, Prime members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast,

Killer Psyche Daily, in the Amazon Music app. Download the app today. Hey, this subject line, sorry, is Trauma Nurse Attempted Murder Story? I'm so tired that I can't read. Hey all, I'm finally caught up with all the episodes and I'm surprised there aren't more stories from first responders or nurses. We had a little run there, but yeah, we haven't got a lot. Hey, listen, you finally caught up and then you're here to give your complaints? You're here to fucking say, here's what is it? Here's what's lacking? Here's what's missing in your podcast. I mean, thank you for all the feedback. We've seen some shit, that's very true,

and most of us have a dark sense of humor, also true, so you better be fucking laughing at me attacking you. This story was a pivotal moment in my nursing career. I work in a trauma ICU. I had heard on the news earlier that day in a nearby small town, a man shot his ex-wife, her boyfriend, and his own daughter, and that he was on the run. Thankfully, all three lived. Oh good. Yes. Later that day, the police were on a high speed chase with him and finally caught up. The shooter got out of the car, took his handgun, and shot himself in the head. Wow. He did it right in front of the local hospital, so they were able to keep him alive, and here's where I come in. Oh my god.

The man was stabilized at the local hospital and transferred to me in the ICU at a larger hospital. He had a through and through gunshot wound to the head, so no chance of recovery, but there was a chance we'd still harvest his organs. So I worked on this man to keep him alive all night. He was on the ventilator along with other medications to keep him alive. Those with a weak stomach, cover your ears. Oh my god. Oh my god. I'll give you a cover your ears pause. Stephen, cover your ears. Oh wait, his ears are already covered with headphones. He just burst into tears. I can't cover them anymore than I already have. This is just one sentence, so you mute it for five seconds. Or say la la la really loud. Okay, go.

This dude had brain matter coming out of his nose. Ew. And we're back. Okay. I was trying to keep alive a motherfucker that had just tried to kill three people, including his own young daughter. It was really a bizarre experience for me. That's nursing though. You take care of the best people and the worst. A lot of the worst. I read that so weird. That was amazing. A lot of the worst. This man was not an organ donor on his license, but his next of kin, his older daughter, made the decision to make him an organ donor. Let's scrape that motherfucker clean. Yes. It was a small bit of justice that we were able to help people on the transplant list with his death. Please become an organ donor. I agree.

Yes. Please do. We're still in female. That was not me. That was not me, but I agree. I won't go into too many details, but it is very rare that someone who passes in the hospital is even a candidate for organ donation. Love you guys and everything you do. Zee. Amazing. That's such a good point. And then, you know, it took me so long. I was in my 20s when I became a donor and like just checked that little box. Yeah. Because I think everyone thinks of it as superstitious. You know, that thing of like, well, as soon as you do it, then I'm going to die. Something's going to happen to me or it's like, well, that doesn't exist. This world isn't even fucking real. Like everything is fine. Just you're going to be a better person. Just put like click donor box.

Yes. Nothing is real. Nothing's real. But also it just, there is a way you can be generous past. Right. Instead of standing around fearing your own death, you can look at it in a different way, maybe just briefly and be like, this could actually be, there are people who need spleens. Eyeballs. Livers and kidneys and livers. Probably. I don't know. Everything. And you know what else? It'll actually help your family after because they'll think of you as not as an asshole as you were in your life. I don't know where I'm going. It will make your family stop hating your guts. Those stories, your literal guts because they'll be in someone else's fucking. They'll love, finally be able to love your guts. Those stories of people who's like kid dies and

it, but they get the organs and they go, gotta go meet the person who has their son's heart. Unbelievable. And it's like, that's real. That one video where the dad meets the boy with his daughter's heart is like, it really is her, still her heart. I know. It's the most beautiful thing of all time. She lived with it for, okay. Well, here's a good story. I've actually bought this. My almost murder in the stairwell. Hi Karen, Georgia, Stephen and furry friends. I work at an office building. You would normally need a key card for access. However, our floor was undergoing construction. So the security was lax and there was a number of extra people coming and going for a few weeks. I should mention my mother has been embedding safety tips into my head since I was

a teen. Don't take drinks from strangers. Be aware of your surroundings and parking lots. Don't wear a lanyard around your neck. Oh, just someone could grab it? I guess. Yeah. And keep your keys in between your knuckles, et cetera. Pay special attention to that last one. Anyway, I was leaving work one day and took the stairwell. One, because it was much faster than waiting on the elevator. And two, I sit at a desk all day and thought I should get in a minute of exercise. And then she writes, ha. I walked the floor fights, flights down, noticed a middle-aged man at the bottom. I said, hi, excuse me, and monitor and motion for the door because he was blocking it. He looked up on his phone, gave me the most creepy look slash stare and lunged forward

towards me, putting his arms around me in a big bear hug. Uh-uh. My instincts kicked in immediately. I kneaded him in the balls as hard as humanly possible and proceeded to stab him in the cheek with my fucking car key. He yelled, started crying like a little girl and yelled every obscenity possible at me. Fucking asshole. Yeah, you're yelling at her. As I ran back up the four flights of stairs in a panic, I got to the reception desk, told her to call security while I dialed 911. This was before I listened to the podcast, so my fucking politeness attitude was non-existence. What are you talking about? You just beat the shit out of this guy. It was right there, baby. Don't you worry about your fucking politeness attitude. Well, then she says, looking back,

my dainty, excuse me, was so stupid, I should have immediately turned around and went back upstairs when I saw someone I didn't recognize, but that's not true. I mean, you tried your best to be a human. It turns out this person wasn't. Yeah. And so you fucking defended yourself. Yeah, you were acting like how normal people act. Right. With normal people. Right. And even if you had gotten attacked and raped and hadn't fought him off, it's not, you didn't do anything wrong. I hate everyone so much. Side note, had I not taken my car to work that day, I would have only had a key fob on my key chain, but because I drove my husband's car to work, I had a nice chunky key to stab that motherfucker with. Yes. Anyway, stay sexy and don't get murdered. Please come back to Orlando soon.

Love, Sarah from Florida. Oh, that's an amazing story. Also, the presence of mind just to go right for the balls. Yeah. In that, in that moment, because I think a lot of times you just freeze up. I know I would. I'm sure I would. Or they would be prepared for the needed. That's what I always fear is that they're going to be like, I, you know, I imagine kicking someone in the dick daily. Oh, and I always imagine that maybe they'll be prepared for it and block it. Be wearing a cup like from their JV baseball team. That's right. Or be a eunuch. Or you know, then what are they doing? What are they doing? I love Narnia in my mind. My imagination is insane. Don't forget you can gouge eyes also. Someone said recently, because they said in, they teach you

this again, we have to do. Oh my God. We have to do a self defense class. But they say that you don't think of it because it's so extreme. Right. But if you have a free hand, go right for the, go the eye's nose, put a finger up the nose. So yeah, poke someone in the eye, right? Like, think that's, you get to the eye tissue, you get up the nose, you do whatever you can and basically don't, don't be afraid to shove a key in an ear. I feel like I feel like a forehead to a nose bridge would be a great. Yes. That's Mac that motherfucker on the bridge of their nose. That's the Belfast Good Morning. I don't know. I don't know what's going on. I wish people greeted each other like that. Okay. A boom in Narnia. Classic headbutton Narnia. Okay. Send your stories at my favorite

murder at Gmail and, you know, yeah. And stay sexy. And don't get murdered. Goodbye.