Welcome to the 15th episode of Wild Society!

This week’s murder case covers Josefina Rivera, Sandra Lindsay, Lisa Thomas, Deborah Dudley, Jacqueline Askins and Agnes Adams - all of whom were abducted, tortured, and raped by Gary Heidnik. Some of these women would never make it out of Gary’s basement alive, but Josefina was able to bring the others to freedom from one of the most sinister men we’ve ever heard about.

In part two of this episode we learn about how in mid-century America, the Florida Panhandle made up two-thirds of the country’s total loss-of-limb accident claims. Vernon, Florida, was the epicenter. Claims included farming accidents, garage mishaps, hunting incidents and more. Some of the accidents were so brutal that the claims break the million-dollar mark in today’s money. When an insurance investigator arrives, he makes a stunning discovery that would cement a new nickname for Vernon: Nub City.

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Gary Heidnik Sources:

• Cellar Girl by Josefina Rivera
• Josefina Rivera Interview with Kinetoscope Productions 
• Wikipedia
• Wikipedia
• Oxygen

Vernon, Florida Sources:

• All That’s Interesting
• Mental Floss
• The New York Times
• Wikipedia
• OZY
• Starcasm