A contemporary artist is murdered in broad daylight in Washington D.C.  Conspiracy theories about who was responsible begin to swirl after her close connection to John F. Kennedy is revealed.

S5 Ep201: Artful Crimes, Volume 2: The Murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer

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.

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We’re wrapping up Season 8 on the way to Once Upon a Crime’s 9th birthday! We’re sharing six of our “Best Of” Episodes from the archives to celebrate eight years of true crime podcasting. 



First up, you’ll hear a clip from one of our most popular episodes released as discussions with everyone’s favorite co-host, my sister, Yolanda.  We’ll break down the O.J. Simpson case with details you may not have heard before.  



Links: 

Season 6: Episode 225: Breaking Down the O.J. Simpson Case with Yolanda - https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/s6-ep225-breaking-down-the-oj-simpson-case-with-yolanda/



Season 3: Episode 115: The Darlie Routier Case w/Yolanda - https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/s3-ep115-the-darlie-routier-case-with-guest-co-host-yolanda-from-not-perfect-or-functional-podcast/



Season 2: Episodes 71 and 72: The 12 Crimes of Christmas - Laci Peterson, Parts 1 and 2 - https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/s2-ep71-the-12-crimes-of-christmas-laci-peterson-part-1/



https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/s2-ep71-the-12-crimes-of-christmas-laci-peterson-part-1/



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Lume - www.lumedeodorant.com - Use code ONCE for 15% off your first purchase. 



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Patreon - Become an OUAC super fan. Starting at $2 a month. https://www.patreon.com/OnceUponACrime


S8: Best of Once Upon a Crime: O.J. Simpson


In the last chapter of the series “Manipulated to Murder,” I’ll share a story about a predator who hid behind a false identity to manipulate young and impressionable teens into committing the senseless murder of a vulnerable young woman. 







Sources: 

https://law.alaska.gov/press/releases/2024/011124-Schilmiller.html 



https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6154251/Schilmiller-Court-Docs-061419.pdf



https://lawandcrime.com/crime/catfished-killer-takes-plea-deal-in-2019-death-of-best-friend-murdered-in-exchange-for-9m-from-fake-millionaire/ 



https://law.alaska.gov/press/releases/2024/021224-Brehmer.html 



https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/content/news/Who-is-accused-killer-Darin-Schilmiller-Cynthia-Hoffman-murder-suspect-511444111.html



https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2023/07/13/indiana-man-pleads-guilty-to-child-porn-charge-linked-to-anchorage-teens-killing-in-catfishing-scheme/ 



https://medium.com/the-legal-beagle/astonishing-case-in-the-unusual-murder-by-denali-brehmer-of-best-friend-beginning-with-social-media-b6ad8c827830



https://www.the-sun.com/news/10406051/cynthia-hoffman-murder-hire-plot-denali-brehmer-sentenced/









Links: 

Our Website - www.truecrimepodcast.com



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! 



Dr. Phil interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCBOXtwHVg4&ab;_channel=Dr.Phil 






S8 Ep320: Manipulated to Murder: Darin Schilmiller


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 

S5 Ep201: Artful Crimes, Volume 2: The Murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer

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