This week I have a special episode diving into the topic of the psychology of mass killers.  What prompts someone to commit mass murder against random strangers? How did Columbine become a cultural touchstone that inspired others to plan and execute their own mass shooting sprees?

S6 Ep241: The Minds of Mass Killers with Author Shavaun Scott

Once Upon A Crime is a weekly true crime podcast that tells “the story behind the story” of real life crime. Told in a storytelling style, host Esther Ludlow digs into the details of each case to bring listeners the facts and information they won’t hear anywhere else.

Esther calls on her background in criminal psychology and includes biographical details of both victims and perpetrators to fully explore the circumstances and motivations behind the most heinous crimes.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

True crime


Pamela Smart became a household name - not for being the next Barbara Walters as she’d hoped but for orchestrating the cold-blooded murder of her husband - using her teenage lover as the trigger man. The case became a media sensation when it hit the news cycle in 1990.  It was such a high-profile case that millions watched the trial unfold live on television.  It was the very first time a murder trial in the U.S. received “gavel-to-gavel” coverage on a newly launched cable television channel dedicated to true crime content - Court TV. 





Sources: 

https://web.archive.org/web/20150215233410/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/smart/1.html



https://www.nhmagazine.com/breaking-silence-cecelia-pierce-speaks/



“Do you remember Pamela Smart? She got four boys to kill her husband 29 years ago. Now, they’re free. She isn’t,” Manuel Roig-Franzi for The Washington Post, Jan 15, 2019.







Links:

Travel with me! Click on the link to take a 2-minute survey to help me plan our first adventure! https://trovatrip.com/host/profiles/esther--fr746



www.crimecon.com  - Get your tickets for CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville happening May 31 to June 2. Use my discount code ONCE for 10% off your registration! 










S8 Ep319: Manipulated to Murder: Pamela Smart

In this month’s series, we’ll look at people who were manipulated into committing murder.  First up, we’ll take a look at a case where a mother pressures her child to kill his father.  That fact alone would make this story truly horrible but it was not the last murder Marie Witte orchestrated.  The next one would be as cold-hearted as it was gruesome.





Sources: 



https://murderpedia.org/female.W/w/witte-hilma.htm 



https://thecinemaholic.com/how-did-paul-witte-die-where-are-eric-witte-and-hilma-marie-witte-now/ 



Snapped: Hilma Marie Witte, Season 31, Episode 19, Oxygen TV, 2022. 

https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/hilma-marie-witte-convinced-sons-to-kill-husband-grandmother 



Evil Lives Here: She Made Me Do It, Season 2, Episode 2, HBO MAX,  2017. 

S8 Ep318: Manipulated to Murder: Hilma Marie Witte

In this special bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, I speak with Michael Wolraich, the author of a new true crime book, The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age. 



In 1931, Vivian Gordon’s body was found in a gully in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park. She’d been brutally strangled, her body dumped.  The investigation into her murder would uncover blackmail plots, sex scandals, and corruption at the highest levels of the New York government.  



The Bishop and the Butterfly is a fascinating look into this true-life murder mystery from the Jazz Age. 



For more information about Michael Wolraich’s books and articles, go to www.michaelwolraich.com.  



For a chance to win a copy of The Bishop and the Butterfly go to Once Upon a Crime’s Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/onceuponacrimepod.  Like the post for this episode and tag two friends in the comments for your chance to win. Good luck! 



Sponsor - Lume - www.LumeDeodorant.com - Use code ONCE for $5 off a Lume Starter Pack. 



Links: 

https://www.crimecon.com/CC24 Use promo code: ONCE for 10% off your ticket. 



Travel Survey: https://trovatrip.com/host/profiles/esther--fr746 

S8: The Bishop and the Butterfly. A conversation with author Michael Wolraich.

In this final episode of “Tarnished Hollywood,” I’ll share a story about a promising young actor who ran afoul of the law.  His decision to immerse himself in gang culture at the expense of an acting career would lead to a life sentence in a prison cell and a brutal and bizarre end to his life at the age of 36.



Sources: 

https://chicagodefender.com/how-an-infamous-boyz-n-the-hood-cameo-led-to-real-life-murder/

https://www.thetruecrimedatabase.com/case_file/kevin-roby/



Sponsor: 

www.factormeals.com/once50 and use code once50 to get 50% off your subscription box. 








S8 Ep317: Tarnished Hollywood: The Tragic Life and Bizarre Death of Lloyd Avery II

Amanda Hayes, an actress known for roles on The Sopranos and The Stepford Wives, was convicted of conspiring with her husband, Grant Hayes, to murder Laura Ackerson, his ex-wife and mother of his two children.  The murder  and its cover-up would be one of the most grisly crimes investigators had ever encountered. 



Sources: 

Bitter Remains, author Diane Fanning, Berkley Books, 2016. 



See No Evil: Who killed Laura Ackerson and where are they now? 

ID’s See No Evil: Who killed Laura Ackerson and where are they now? (sportskeeda.com)



Amanda Hayes: Deadly Women - 

https://deadlywomen.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Hayes 



Sponsors: 

Arrow Sand - Go to www.arrowsand.com to find out about their fee-free travel service. Join the email list to score deals from 50% - 60% off travel! 

S6 Ep241: The Minds of Mass Killers with Author Shavaun Scott

Download our free app to listen on your phone