Starvation. Control. Obsession. Death.
In the early 1900s, one woman claimed she possessed the power to cure every illness — not with medicine, but with extreme fasting. Her name was Linda Burfield Hazzard, and the world would come to know her as The Starvation Doctor.

Operating out of a remote Washington sanitarium locals later called Starvation Heights, Hazzard convinced vulnerable patients that starvation could cleanse the body. Instead, her methods led to a shocking trail of emaciated victims, manipulated wills, forged documents, and one of the most disturbing medical horrors in American history.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

⚫ Linda Hazzard’s childhood and upbringing
⚫ How she fell under the spell of dangerous “fasting cures”
⚫ The opening of her infamous Olalla, Washington sanitarium
⚫ The suffering of her victims — including the tragic Williamson sisters
⚫ Her sensational trial, conviction, and chilling final years
⚫ Why her story remains one of America’s darkest true-crime cases

Join me as we explore the haunting tale of a woman who believed starvation could heal — and the many who paid with their lives.

Step into the darkness… one crime at a time.

📚SOURCES:
Nelson, Paul. “Hazzard, Linda Burfield Perry (1867–1938).” MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society, 2 June 2025.

“Linda Hazzard.” Wikipedia, last updated August 2025.

Lovejoy, Bess. “The Doctor Who Starved Her Patients to Death.” Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Oct. 2014.

“Linda Burfield Hazzard: Healer or Murderess?” Washington State Archives — Digital Archives.

“British Heiresses… One Starved to Death, the Other Emaciated.” People Magazine, Jan. 2025.

State v. Hazzard, 75 Wash. 5, 134 P. 514 (Wash. 1913).

“Just in Time for Halloween: … Washington’s First Female Serial Killer.” Washington State Archives Blog, 30 Oct. 2013.


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