Eugène-François Vidocq was a French criminal who became a detective. Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe, and Honoré de Balzac were all influenced by Eugène-François Vidocq's life. The former criminal went on to develop and lead the first known private detective agency as well as the first director of the crime-detection Sûreté nationale. Vidocq is revered as the founder of contemporary criminology.

Source Materials:

https://headstuff.org/culture/history/terrible-people-from-history/eugene-francois-vidocq-french-criminal-detective/

https://thrillingdetective.com/2019/05/10/eugene-francois-vidocq/

https://thecrimewire.com/multifarious/The-Father-of-Criminology-Eugene-Francois-Vidocq

http://scihi.org/eugene-vidocq/

Dr. Crippen was an amiable doctor who committed one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century by killing his wife and briefly avoiding capture. New forensics came to light in 2007. So was he a cold-blooded killer or an innocent man?

Source Materials:

Young, D. 2014. Trial of H.H. Crippen. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-notorious-case-of-dr-crippen/

Connell, N. 2013. Doctor Crippen: The Infamous London Cellar Murder of 1910. Stroud: Amberley Publishing.

https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1926/6/the-case-of-dr-crippen

https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/the-notorious-case-of-dr-crippen/

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/execution-dr-crippen

Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie was a New Orleans socialite and her legend has grown into pop culture phenomenon. As her legend grew, the facts became harder to discern from fiction but after a fire at her mansion, a torture chamber filled with her slaves was discovered. Check out this episode for the full gruesome tale. 

Source Materials:

https://www.neworleanslegendarywalkingtours.com/blog/womens-history-month-madame-delphine-lalaurie/

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-torture-chamber-is-uncovered-by-arson

https://www.thoughtco.com/delphine-lalaurie-4684656

https://murderpedia.org/female.L/l/lalaurie-delphine.htm

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/lalaurie-mansion/

One of history's deadliest duos, the Harpe brothers murdered, plundered and pillaged across Kentucky, Illinois and Kentucky in the late 18th century. 

Source Materials:

Kathy Weiser, “The Vicious Harpes – First American Serial Killers” https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-harpes/

https://www.appalachiabare.com/the-devil-in-appalachia-the-bloodthirsty-harpe-brothers/- Delonda Anderson

DeLani R. Barlette, “The Harpe Brothers: America’s First Serial Killers” - https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-harpe-brothers-americas-first-serial-killers-8741fbc7fad2

Hall, Hon. Judge. Letters from the West; Containing Sketches of Scenery, Manners, and Customs; and Anecdotes Connected with the First Settlements of the Western Sections of the United States. London: Henry Colburn, 1828.

Join us this week and we dive into the life and crimes of Lizzie Halliday. She earned the title of "Worst Woman on Earth" with her penchant for arson and murder.

Source Material:

https://truecrimeengland.wordpress.com/2020/09/27/lizzie-halliday/

https://medium.com/mystery-confidential/true-crime-the-worst-woman-on-earth-b576f9b5be18

Join Lizze as she travels back to 16th centrury Germany to examine the life and crimes of the Medieval Boogeyman. Was Peter Niers a psychopath or a supernatural cannibalistic satan worshipper? Join us to find out!

Source Materials:

Was Medieval Cannibal And Black Magician Peter Niers History’s Most Prolific Serial Killer? https://cvltnation.com/was-medieval-cannibal-and-black-magician-peter-niers-historys-most-prolific-serial-killer/

The Untold Story of Peter Niers, The Cannibal Magician Who Killed 500 People, 

https://www.ranker.com/list/16th-century-peter-niers-facts/jen-jeffers?ref=dshare&source=pinterest&medium=p_share

Was Medieval Cannibal And Black Magician Peter Niers History’s Most Prolific Serial Killer? - https://cvltnation.com/was-medieval-cannibal-and-black-magician-peter-niers-historys-most-prolific-serial-killer/

How The Execution of Peter Niers Killed the Boogeyman, https://theravenreport.com/2017/06/17/the-execution-of-peter-niers-killed-the-medieval-boogeyman/

What a Way to Go: The Guillotine, the Pendulum, the Thousand Cuts, the Spanish Donkey, and 66 Other Ways of Putting Someone to Death by Geoffrey Abbott