My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark - MFM Minisode 237 - The Worst

Episode Date: July 26, 2021

This week's minisode is a compilation of hometown stories about famous killers. 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. Hello and welcome to my favorite murder. You're many soared. We're bringing it at you. Your letters, your stories, your urban myths passed down to us and read back to you. In your face. Into your face for the year 2020. That's right. Go.

First one. Okay. No subject line because apparently the website doesn't take it anymore. That's right. Hi for your friends and also the host of the show. When I was in 10th grade, we had a sex ed class once a week during our gym period and during our discussions, sorry, just lost my place immediately. And during our discussions, we got into the topic of consent and rape. This is when our gym teacher shared the following story with us that still gives me chills to this day.

She had a close friend during university who worked at a local bar. She had big red curly hair and a personality to match. So she made friends with the patrons really easily. She had one guy that came in somewhat regularly who she would talk to often and tell him how her classes were going and just other small talk. He was handsome and charming and always tipped well. So of course, she never turned down a chat. Just by chance in all their talks, she never happened to mention to this man that she was planning on quitting her bar job and moving into her boyfriend's place across the city. And this is what saved her life. Because it turns out that man was Paul Bernardo.

Shut your mouth. He had found out where her parents' house was that she was living in at the time and would watch her for weeks from the window and videotape her in her room. Holy fuck. He wrote in his journals about her, referring to her as quote, big red. And this is eventually how she found out she was one of his potential victims, because this is how he would often greet her when he would come in. Oh, my God.

We're talking the Scarborough rapists. We're talking the Ken and Barbie killer Paul Bernardo, the worst thing to come out of Canada, since some band that could be a funny reference right here that's Canadian. The night he planned to attack her happened to be the day after she moved out, so she never came home to her parents that night, therefore saving her life. Bernardo was caught pretty soon after, I believe, and that's when she went to the police after recognizing him on the news and they put the pieces together. She even had to watch some of the videos he took of her just to confirm it was in fact her. God.

How unnerving would that be? Yeah, you'll never feel safe again. I learned about your podcast from a popular influencer and fan. Shout out Dr. Pepper Princess. Who's that? I'm going to follow them right now. Oh wait, someone's calling me. Why is someone calling me? Is it the Dr. Pepper Princess? Oh, my God. What if it's the Dr. Princess? Ask her if she heats up her Dr. Pepper around the holidays and makes hot toddies out of Dr. Pepper.

Let me see. Dr. Pepper Princess. All right. Here she is. Oh, yeah. She's a murderina. And an influencer? Probably, too. You sure? Yeah. Thanks, Dr. Pepper Princess. And I have been hooked ever since. Thanks for helping me get through my work day and

make my boyfriend occasionally think I'm plotting his murder. So, yeah, stay sexy and don't make friends with serial killers just because they tip you well. Amethyst. That was excellent. That was incredible. Excellent, Amethyst. Good job. Good job. This is what we like.

This is a step. You want to hear one about Ted Bundy's car? Hell yes. All right. Okay. Hey Karen, Georgia Steven and chorus of furry pals. Okay. All right. We were talking about Jean Benet Ramsey at a party and ended up with a bunch of

non-murderinas in that classic party huddle where everyone shares their hometown and favorite murders. Nice. Yay. Dream huddle. One of our friends is from Tallahassee where Ted Bundy ended his murder career. When old Ted was ferried to and from the courthouse in those days, they would drive him there in a station wagon with a grill between the front seat and the back.

For some reason, when the state sold the station wagon, our friend's dad, being an entrepreneurial sort, decided to buy the Bundy mobile. Yes. So whenever his friends and his brother went anywhere as kids, they went in that station wagon, still with the bars between the front and back seats. Okay. Sorry. The dad bought the station wagon, but used it as the family car and left in the dog.

Great left in serial killer. Great left in the serial killer. You'll get choked to death if we didn't have this here. Great. Dad. Our friends even took turns. Our friend even took turns with his brother playing Ted Bundy. Yes.

As in, oh, who's going to be Ted today? Set in a sweet southern twang. Oh my God. Shit. A bit that our friend doesn't know is this. The reason that station wagon was sold off? Almost certainly because Bundy was executed in 1989. Yeah.

SSDGM and don't put your kids in the Bundy mobile at Talia in April. That's rad. That's, I mean, it all has to go somewhere. It has to go somewhere and that somewhere is the fucking 80s. Yes. Because they're just like, no, no, we're going to buy that and leave it like that. And every, it doesn't matter that the worst serial killer. I just thought he was the entrepreneurial spirit was that he was going to then sell it

to some kind of a place or museum or whatever. I thought so too, but it must have been like $10. It must have been, he's just always looking for a bargain. They're just like, yeah, no one wants to be in. Nobody. The haunted station wagon. I'll take it. It's hilarious.

I would drive it. No, I wouldn't. Would I? Would I? I don't know. Do it. Hi, MFM crew and animals. I started listening to this show this past summer and just got cut up enough to finally

send in the story. I love you guys, but I'll save the pandering for the end and get right into it. My parents were both thriving young adults in the 70s and 80s, aka prime serial killer time. One night after dinner, I decided to ask them if they had any crazy stories to tell me, but really I wasn't expecting much. But then my dad said, oh yeah, I parked the Galegos's van. From 1978 to 1980, Gerald and Charlene Galego terrorized Sacramento, kidnapping young girls

and young women, holding them hostage before killing and disposing of their bodies. All of the victims had been raped and beaten before they were murdered, and out of the 10 victims, nine bodies were found, including 21-year-old Linda Aguilar, who was four months pregnant. Aw. The two were arrested in late 1980, early 1981, and in 1983, Gerald was sentenced to death. However, that was overturned and he died in prison in 2002. Charlene received 16 years and eight months after promising to fully cooperate and confess

everything. She was released in 1997. No, no deals for killers, please. She was released. I know. As a team, serial killer team. Yeah, you know what? That's fine.

Go rent an apartment somewhere and get a job at the drug store. You know what? You're going to have less years than some of your victims had on earth in jail for your crimes. Good point. Fuck you. During their spree, my dad was working as a parking attendant at Harrow's Casino in Lake Tahoe. Oh my God. I love it.

That casino is legendary. Every couple of months, Gerald and Charlene would drive up to the valet in a large beat-up van, of course. My dad said that whenever they pulled up, he and his co-workers would argue over who had to go park it and get the car because of the terrible smell inside. I don't even want to imagine what he was surrounded by every time he got into that man. That's like making my skin crawl.

I expected that to be the end of it. I had never heard of the Galagos as before, so I was ready to go up to my room and do all the research to craft this hometown. Then my mom turned to him and said, who is that old woman that came into the hotel in Sacramento, the one with all the bodies in her backyard? And I immediately stood up and screamed, you served drinks to Dorothea Pointe? This is like my hometown.

Yeah. After the casino, my dad worked as a bartender at the Holiday Inn in Sacramento. Yes. I guess Dorothea thought he mixed a good drink because my dad remembers her coming in a lot, and every time she did, my dad could tell there was something off about her. She creeped him out beyond belief. Oh my God. An little old lady.

Yeah, creepy. Especially the fact that she tipped in jewelry instead of cash. That's pretty baller. Each time she came in, she'd have a brand new ring or necklace to give out. Oh, wait, no. Yeah. See what that means? I see.

My dad would always turn them down, but one of the waitresses he worked with had developed a collection of all the pieces that Dorothea would give her. Holy shit. Yes. Thank God dad never took them because after her arrest, the police came in and interviewed everyone when the waitress mentioned the jewelry, the police immediately had her turn everything over informing her that they had most definitely belonged to the victims that had been found in her backyard.

Oh, it's so creepy. That is a good thing. She's like, you can have this whole jewelry box and my dresser. All right. Here's my ID of some. And my ear lobes. Love the podcast and thank you for making my college experience a little bit easier. Stay sexy and don't get in a van that smells weird or accept jewelry from creepy old ladies.

Jess. Nice one, Jess. Oh, that was a twofer. Right? That was a that was a sacrament or a sacrament or a powerhouse. It's weird that we've never done the Galegos's. Yeah, I've never heard of it. That was an early one for me.

I was like 12 when that happened. Oh, you got to do it. But I, I don't know why. Maybe maybe that one was kept from me somehow. Yeah, I've never heard of that one. All right. This is called I danced awkwardly in front of the Cheshire murderer. Ooh.

Hi, Georgia Steven and associated creatures. Nice. My hometown is in is the very suburban and rather affluent town of Cheshire, Connecticut, made famous by the home invasion murders of the petite family that occurred there in 2007. Horrible. The crime was shocking and it's brutality. And also because of the one of the murderers came from a prominent local family. Joshua Kamitschewski insane.

Yes. Was adopted by very religious parents who also took in foster children, one of whom allegedly sexually abused him as a boy. Joshua's adopted paternal grandparents were extremely prominent figures. Theodore Kamitschewski was a famous Russian theater director and son of a princess. Shit. Three exclamation marks. We love royalty on this show.

And Ernestine Stodl was a modern dancer who had performed with Martha Graham and became an author and dance teacher later in life. Wow. Miss Stodl, as I knew her, lived in a bucolic 65 acre farm in the rural outskirts of Cheshire with her son and his family, including young Joshua. Enter me an awkward preaching with little to no dancing ability who took lessons in the gorgeous converted barn studio. Wow.

I recall a high beam ceiling and a baby grand piano that Miss Stodl herself would play to accompany our efforts. And then she would serve us cookies and juice. She was incredibly graceful and refined and an extremely kind teacher. Her grandson, Joshua Kamitschewski, was around my age, but homeschooled and would have been living on the grounds of the dance studio when I was traipsing around in tights in a leotard. Innocent and carefree and mostly in it for the snacks. In addition to the alleged sexual abuse, he had severe mental health issues and apparently

suffered from no fewer than five head traumas during childhood. Oh, God. I was no longer living in Cheshire when the petite family was murdered. Is it petite? Is that right? I'm not sure. I was going to say pettit. Pettit.

Is it P-E-T-I-T? Yeah, I think it's pettit. Fuck, sorry. But I don't know that for sure. Sorry, everyone. When they were murdered, but I was definitely creeped out to learn that one of the perpetrators was related to my former dance instructor and was lurking on the premises when I was studying with her.

It was such a senseless act of cruelty and I was relieved to learn that Mrs. Soto, although still living, was unaware of her grandson's crimes. She died a few months after the murders occurred at the age of 95. Such a tragic situation all around and it shattered the local's false sense of security in our quaint New England town. Thanks for covering the Cheshire murders in one of your early episodes. Yeah, I didn't. Great.

I got so excited when you mentioned your friend, Sean, because of course I know him and he'd theater with him back in the day. Oh my god. That's hilarious. He and James Van Der Beek are probably the only famous people who are not murderers from our town. SSDGM, Meredith. Thanks, Meredith.

Yeah, that's my friend Sean, who is the one that recommended that. That was right when I was starting at a job that he and I worked at together. And he totally did that thing where he was like, hey, so you ever heard of this one? Is that the one with the fire? Yes, and the dad runs to the neighbor of like somebody go do something. It's so awful and so extremely violent and like when they say senseless. And you know, when Sean was telling me about it, it's like, of course that classic thing

where people are like, no one locks their door. Everyone walks around. It's a very specific like kind of lifestyle. And then everyone was just so horrible. Looking for a better cooking routine? With meal planning, shopping and prepping handled, Hello Fresh has you covered. Hello Fresh makes home cooking easy and affordable so you can stay on track and on budget in the new year.

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Hey, I'm Mike Corey, the host of Wondery's podcast against the odds. In our next season, three masked men hijack a school bus full of children in the sleepy farm town of Chowchilla, California. They bury the children and their bus driver deep underground, planning to hold them for ransom. Local police and the FBI marshal a search effort, but the trail quickly runs dry. As the air supply for the trapped children dwindles, a pair of unlikely heroes emerges. Follow against the odds wherever you get your podcast.

You can listen ad free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. I'll read you half the title. Okay, Nurse Mom Stories. Great. Okay, so masked up MFM crew. A few mini-sodes ago, you asked for Nurse Mom Stories. I meant to write in earlier, but dot, dot, dot quarantine life with a five year old. Oh my God, no.

Bless you and bless your soul. My mom was a nurse when my sisters and I were growing up. She worked in both the ER and in labor and delivery throughout her career in Denver and in Orange County. Though her accounts from her time spent as an RN range from crazy car baby deliveries due to massive Denver snow storms to having to do an emergency C-section solo as an RN. What? Due to a doctor not answering his pager.

Dude. And then in parentheses, the 70s were a different time. A couple standout. Like the time in ambulance pulled up with a non-responsive individual, her and the ER team worked 15 minutes to try and revive him with no success. After 15 minutes flat-lined, the man sat straight up, pulled the tube out of his mouth, threw it on the floor and laid back down, all while still flat-lined. To this day, the hair is on the back of my mom's neck standup when she recounts that story.

What? But did he go on to live or was he still dead? I think he was still dead. He was still dead. He was, but he did a thing that only living people can do. Or can they? That's why they need to keep experimenting on different bodies. You're justifying the last letter with the next letter.

I'm justifying back to the view during the read. That's right. I would love for it. Okay, but the thing about my mom's time as an RN that stands out most to my sister's and I is how she worked in the ER alongside Jeffrey McDonald. No. The Jeffrey McDonald's still in prison for murdering his whole family. Not only did she work with him, they were friends.

And here's how I found out that little detail. One night when I was only 10 years old, I was somehow permitted to stay up late watching TV with my parents before bed. That was a mistake. They were watching a made for TV movie called Fatal Vision, apparently about Jeffrey McDonald's murdering of his family. I was too scared to move, let alone go to bed. After the movie, my dad looks at me and says,

oh, and your mom's friends with him. She says he didn't do it. Needless to say, I barely slept for years. And to this day, she says, quote, everyone loved him. He didn't kill his family. Oh, no. Uh-huh. Cheers to all the nurses out there.

Many in my family included. Be considerate and wear a mask. And don't let your 10-year-old stay up late watching movies about murderers, you know. Laurie. The scariest thing, I feel like in a kid's mind, it's like my parents know this murderer. That means that they might be in on it and murderers too.

Possibly. Although I believe that the Jeffrey McDonald story is the one that Errol Morris went on to write a book and I think make a movie about. Uh-huh. It's the one with the hippies, right? I did that one. Yeah. Yes, you did.

And Errol Morris' whole thing is that the whole case was botched and he is innocent. I wish I could believe that because the way those poor children were killed is just horrific in the thought of. It's so awful. It's really awful, but I think there was, it's interesting. It's an interesting thing because I haven't figured it out. Oh, my God. I mean, I did that case years ago and I still know the details of it.

It's just so horrible. Yeah. So it's bad. Yeah. It's too very bad. I'm adjusting my levels even though I don't really know what that means. Okay. Okay.

Thank you to Steven for dropping equipment off at my house without touching anything. Right. Well, you don't know that. What you don't know what he touched on that equipment. Oh, God. Oh, I mean, I don't tell him, but I fucking wiped everything down again. So we're good. You can absolutely hear you.

Oh, shit. Okay. This one's just called the hometown story. Greetings, true crime, royalty. In the late 90s to early 2000s, I was a young teen living in the outskirts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There was also a serial killer running loose at this time. Oh, yeah.

The paranoid murder Reno that I was and still am was convinced he was stalking me and I was going to die. My mom worked in a bar. So I was a latchkey kid. So anytime I heard strange noises outside, I would call her freaked out. Do you remember how often you used to call your mom at work? Oh, yes.

When you were a latchkey kid? Yeah. Oh, sorry. At the mental hospital. Me and my sister would be like, Laura won't give me the brush. She's like, I have other problems to deal with. I will kill you both when I get home. The Baton Rouge serial killer was named Derek Todd Lee.

He killed seven women between 1992 and 2003, although there are many others that are not confirmed. This case was the first in history to use DNA to determine an unknown person's race. The details are quite interesting, but we won't go down that rabbit hole. Lee was arrested in 2003. Wouldn't you know it? My mom recognized him. He used to come in and play $100 in her bar's poker machine once a week.

Oh, shit. Uh-huh. Those barflies. Later in life, I also read a book called I've Been Watching You, which taught me that Lee was raised in the house in front of my family's small private cemetery. Your family has a fucking few of your own cemetery. Oh, bougie. Okay, okay, queen of the Goths.

Who's the royalty of... Who's true crime royalty now? Your own cemetery. That's right. Yep, you guessed it. He played in our cemetery and climbed his trees, et cetera. Well, that's what I have. Stay sexy and keep being open about mental health.

I dig it. Love y'all, Tiff. Tiff. Tiff with the private cemetery. Tiff the heiress to the gravestone fortune. Who is she? Okay, good job, Tiff. Send us your stories, all of them.

Amazing set, everybody. Great job. Great job. My favorite murder at Gmail, or you can do it on the website as well. My favorite murder. Please do. Calm. Spooky Halloween.

Spooky Halloween. And stay sexy. And don't get murdered. Goodbye. Elvis, do you want a cookie?