Pretty Wicked

Her date that night was a young actor whose name you’d definitely know today, and when he showed up late to her house in Hollywood in February 2001, nobody answered the door. So he peeked through the window, saw what he thought was spilled red wine on the floor, and went home, assuming the 22-year-old fashion student he was taking out had left without him. It would take seven years and a woman who fought for her life before anyone could connect what happened inside that house to a trail of stabbings that may have started years earlier in a quiet suburb outside Chicago.

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Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

CBS News / 48 Hours - The Hollywood Ripper: How 48 Hours Helped Crack the Case https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-hollywood-ripper-how-48-hours-helped-crack-the-case-of-convicted-serial-killer-michael-gargiulo/

E! Online - The Chilling Details of the Murder of Ashley Ellerin and the Hollywood Ripper Trial https://www.eonline.com/news/1045255/a-murder-trial-years-in-the-making-3-deaths-an-alleged-serial-killer-and-the-chilling-reason-ashton-kutcher-s-knock-went-unanswered

NBC News - Ashton Kutcher Testified He Was Freaking Out When Police Told Him Woman Had Been Killed https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ashton-kutcher-testified-he-was-freaking-out-when-police-told-n1011656

The Daily Beast - Hollywood Ripper Sexual-Thrill Killer Survivor Breaks Her Silence https://www.thedailybeast.com/hollywood-ripper-sexual-thrill-killer-survivor-breaks-her-silence-i-woke-up-with-someone-on-top-of-me/

The Daily Beast - Hollywood Ripper Michael Thomas Gargiulo Sentenced to Death https://www.thedailybeast.com/hollywood-ripper-michael-thomas-gargiulo-sentenced-to-death-for-slaying-2-women/

KTLA - LA Serial Killer Michael Gargiulo Convicted in Murders of Young Women https://ktla.com/news/local-news/trial-begins-in-l-a-for-alleged-serial-sexual-thrill-killer-michael-gargiulo/

Investigation Discovery - How Serial Psychosexual Thrill Killer Michael Gargiulo Got Caught https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/serial-killer/how-serial-psychosexual-thrill-killer-michael-gargiulo-got-caught/

Fox News - Hollywood Ripper Michael Gargiulo Liked to Watch Death https://www.foxnews.com/us/hollywood-ripper-michael-gargiulo-liked-watch-death-inflicting-pain-victims

Chicago Sun-Times - Michael Gargiulo Trial: Prosecutor Links Illinois, California Attacks https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2019/8/7/20758568/michael-gargiulo-trial-california-illinous-murders

CBS Chicago - Convicted Serial Killer Michael Gargiulo Extradited to Illinois for 1993 Murder of Tricia Pacaccio https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/serial-killer-michael-gargiulo-extradited-murder-tricia-pacaccio/

Fox 32 Chicago - Hollywood Ripper Faces Charges in 1993 Glenview Murder of Tricia Pacaccio https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/michael-gargiulo-1993-glenview-murder-tricia-pacaccio

Criminal Discourse Podcast - Michael Gargiulo https://criminaldiscoursepodcast.com/michael-gargiulo/

🎬 DOCUMENTARY & TV

48 Hours - The Boy Next Door (2011) / The Hollywood Ripper (CBS) The CBS News program that first connected Gargiulo's California murders to the 1993 killing of Tricia Pacaccio in Illinois, and whose broadcast directly prompted witnesses to come forward with information that led to new charges.

Once Upon a Crime in Hollywood - Season 2 (2023/2024) Features new interviews with LAPD Homicide Detective Tom Small, the lead investigator on the Ashley Ellerin case, and other key figures. Available to stream.

People Magazine Investigates - The Hollywood Ripper (Max/Discovery) In-depth documentary on the full arc of the case from the 1993 Illinois killing through the California murders and the 2019 trial.

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Would you still reach for your favorite candy if someone swore they had poisoned it? In March 1984, the president of the Japanese company that makes Pocky was dragged out of his bath at gunpoint and held for ransom, and even though he escaped a few days later, it was only the beginning. Over the next 17 months, someone calling themselves the Monster with 21 Faces sent taunting letters to the police and the press, threatened to poison candy on store shelves across Japan, and then actually did it, and they were never caught.

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Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

CrimeReads - Japan's Most Notorious Kidnapping Is Still Unsolved https://crimereads.com/japans-most-notorious-kidnapping-is-still-unsolved/

All That's Interesting - full case profile https://allthatsinteresting.com/monster-with-21-faces

The Ghost in My Machine - deep dive narrative https://theghostinmymachine.com/2019/08/12/unresolved-the-monster-with-21-faces-the-glico-morinaga-case-and-the-candy-poisoning-incident-of-1984-kidnapping-katsuhisa-ezaki-extortion-unsolved-fox-eyed-man-video-man/

Unresolved - Monster with 21 Faces case file https://unresolved.me/the-monster-with-21-faces

Historic Mysteries - full case timeline https://www.historicmysteries.com/major-crimes/monster-21-faces/1240/

Monster with 21 Faces - dedicated case archive https://www.monsterwith21faces.com/

Who was the Fox-Eyed Man - case archive https://www.monsterwith21faces.com/who-was-the-foxeyed-man

Marilyn Ivy - "Tracking the Mystery Man with the 21 Faces" Critical Inquiry, Vol. 23, No. 1, Autumn 1996. The only serious English-language academic analysis of the Monster's letters and their cultural significance. Available via JSTOR or university library access.

📚 BOOKS MENTIONED

Lady Joker, Volumes 1 & 2 - Kaoru Takamura The closest thing to a definitive literary treatment of this case. A 1997 Japanese epic, only translated into English in 2021–2022, by the author often called the Queen of Japanese crime fiction. It's a fictional reimagining - the candy company becomes a beer company, the Monster becomes "Lady Joker" - but it's directly inspired by the real events and goes deep into the social wounds of postwar Japan that made this case possible. Made TIME magazine's 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time. Devastating and extraordinary. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/598484/lady-joker-volume-1-by-kaoru-takamura-translated-by-allison-markin-powell-and-marie-iida/

Toppamono - Manabu Miyazaki The autobiography of the prime suspect. Deals with his experience of being publicly named as the only person of interest in Japan's most notorious unsolved case. Currently available in English and Japanese.

🎬 FILM & TV

The Voice of Sin (Tsumi no Koe) - 2020 A Japanese thriller film based on Takeshi Shiota's 2016 novel of the same name, which uses the Glico Morinaga case as its backdrop. Stars Shun Oguri and Gen Hoshino. Japanese-language with subtitles. A rare piece of fiction that engages directly with the actual events rather than fictionalizing them.

Lady Joker - Film & TV Adaptations Kaoru Takamura's Lady Joker novel has been adapted into both a film and a television series in Japan. Japanese-language productions. Worth seeking out for anyone who reads the books and wants more.

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How well do you really know the person you married? For more than a decade, a charming, eccentric man in Boston and New York high society told everyone he was a Rockefeller, and he married a brilliant businesswoman, had a little girl, and lived very comfortably on his wife’s income. But in 2008, after he snatched his 7-year-old daughter during a supervised visit and vanished, investigators started pulling on his story, and they found a trail of fake names leading all the way back to a backyard in California, where something had been buried. Welcome to the show!

SHOW NOTES

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New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Instagram: @prettywickedthepodcast 

If you loved this episode, leaving a review means the world and helps other listeners find the show.

Pretty Wicked is hosted by Megan Alda.

🖤 SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Here is everything used to research this episode.

🔗 WEB SOURCES

History.com overview - https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rockefeller-imposter-and-convicted-felon-born

All That's Interesting full profile - https://allthatsinteresting.com/clark-rockefeller

ABC News - murder conviction, April 2013 https://abcnews.go.com/US/clark-rockefeller-impostor-found-guilty-1985-murder/story?id=18924924

ABC News - kidnapping trial opening day https://abcnews.go.com/News/story?id=7672617

CNN - Sandra Boss trial testimony https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/02/massachusetts.rockefeller.trial/index.html

CNN - murder sentencing, August 2013 https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/justice/rockefeller-impersonator-sentence

San Diego Union-Tribune - Sandra Boss cross-examination https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-us-rockefeller-mystery-060209-2009jun02-story.html

Boston Herald - Sandra Boss on the stand https://www.bostonherald.com/2009/06/02/rockefeller-lawyer-grills-sandra-boss-on-stand/

Fox News - first wife Amy Jersild-Duhnke testimony https://www.foxnews.com/story/first-wife-of-clark-rockefeller-to-testify-at-kidnap-trial

NPR interview with journalist Mark Seal https://www.npr.org/2011/07/10/137624164/30-year-con-from-german-kid-to-rockefeller-scion

CBS News 48 Hours - full case profile with jailhouse interview https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unmasking-con-man-and-rockefeller-imposter-christian-gerhartsreiter/

CBS News 48 Hours - did he almost commit the perfect crime? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rockefeller-impostor-murder-case-did-a-con-man-almost-commit-the-perfect-crime/

Walter Kirn - Pedigree, The New Yorker, June 2013 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/10/pedigree-personal-history-walter-kirn

RealClearInvestigations - deep dive on the original Vanity Fair investigationhttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2018/05/30/investigative_classics_the_con_man_in_the_rockefeller_suit.html

Oxygen - full Sohus case breakdown https://www.oxygen.com/blood-money/crime-news/what-happened-to-john-linda-sohus-christian-gerhartsreiter

Oxygen - murder conviction details https://www.oxygen.com/a-wedding-and-a-murder/crime-news/christian-gerhartsreiter-convicted-murder-john-sohus

Oxygen/Dateline - investigation narrative https://www.oxygen.com/dateline-secrets-uncovered/crime-news/christian-gerhartsreiter-convicted-of-john-sohus-murder

Unsolved Mysteries Wiki - John and Linda Sohus case filehttps://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/John_and_Linda_Sohus

Boston Globe - interview with Alexander Gerhartsreiter in Bergen, Bavaria https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2008/08/08/the-little-town-and-life-rockefeller-left-for-fame/l20Zs5ZzVbgic07Sf0MB6M/story.html

Boston Herald - You found my brother https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/08/09/you-found-my-brother/

WildAboutTrial - murder trial coverage https://wildabouttrial.com/trial-coverage/clark-rockefeller/

📚 BOOKS MENTIONED

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal (Viking, 2011) The definitive book on the case. Seal's original Vanity Fair investigation is what blew the lid off the story.

Blood Will Out by Walter Kirn (Liveright, 2014) Kirn's personal account of his fifteen year friendship with Gerhartsreiter. One of the most unsettling memoirs you'll ever read.

🎬 DOCUMENTARY

My Friend Rockefeller (2015), directed by Bernhard von Büttner Features interviews with Gerhartsreiter's Bavarian family and the Americans who knew him. Available on documentary streaming platforms.

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In 1925, British explorer Percy Fawcett vanished into the Amazon jungle with his son and a close friend. He was searching for a lost city he called “Z”—a hidden civilization he believed would rewrite the history of the Americas.

Mocked by scholars and dismissed by the Royal Geographical Society, Fawcett pressed on, convinced of Z’s existence. He was never seen again.

What happened to him remains one of the Amazon’s great unsolved mysteries.

*A previous version of this episode included an incorrect pronunciation of Raleigh Rimmel . The episode has since been updated with the correct pronunciation.

Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. 

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Episode Reference Material

⁠The Lost City of Z⁠ by David Grann

⁠Percy Fawcett and The Lost City⁠ by Alexander Lee

⁠The Enduring Mystery Behind Percy Fawcett’s Disappearance⁠ by Evan Andrews

⁠Percy Fawcett⁠ by Spike Island

⁠Col. P.H. Fawcett: the ultimate Amazon explorer⁠ by Jerome Jennings

⁠The Lost City of Z is a very long way from a true story – and I should know⁠ by John Hemming

⁠Veil lifts on jungle mystery of the colonel who vanished⁠ by The Observer (republished in The Guardian)⁠Lost Cities of the Amazon Discovered From the Air⁠ by Brian Handwerk

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The year is 1918, and New Orleans trembles under the weight of unseen terror. A figure moves through the night, targeting innocent families with brutal precision, leaving only questions and fear in his wake. They call him the Axeman, a killer who claims to be more than mortal...a demon from hell.

Then comes the letter. A chilling promise to spare those who fill their homes with the sound of jazz on a designated night. The city's response is unprecedented, its streets alive with music and panic as the Axeman's legend deepens.

Who was he? Why did he kill? And how has his story lingered in the city’s dark memory for over a century? The answers remain elusive, but the tale begins here.

Macabrium is produced by SoundBite Studios and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. 

Episode Reference Material

⁠The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919 (The Influenza Encyclopedia)⁠⁠

The Axeman of New Orleans

⁠⁠Fresh light on the Axeman of New Orleans⁠⁠

The Axeman of New Orleans Preyed on Italian Immigrants⁠⁠

Axeman of New Orleans⁠⁠The Axeman’s Letter⁠

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The ad promised love.

The reply sealed a fate. Martha watched as Raymond penned another letter, his words a perfect trap, soft, seductive, laced with lies. She had read enough of them to know how this would end. A train ride, a candlelit promise, a kiss that tasted like forever.

Then the screams. The blood. The body they’d have to bury.

Another lonely heart, hopelessly in love. Hopelessly doomed.

Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. 

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People were vanishing along the Osage Trail, their fates swallowed by the unending Kansas plains. At the center of it all stood a seemingly ordinary family, their small inn offering tired travelers a hot meal and a place to rest. But behind their smiles lay something far more sinister.

Inside the Benders’ cabin, trust turned to terror, and the innocent fell prey to unspeakable acts. What drove this family to darkness, and how did they carry out their gruesome deeds unnoticed? This is the chilling story of the Bloody Benders, the family who turned hospitality into horror.

Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. 

Connect with us!

• Follow us on⁠ Instagram⁠• Subscribe on ⁠Youtube⁠• Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠Visit us at ⁠www.macabriumpod.com⁠ to learn more!

Episode Reference Material 

Keepers of the Devil’s Inn⁠ by Wayne Hallowell ⁠

The Bloody Benders – Serial Killers of Kansas⁠ by Kathy Alexander for Legends of America⁠

The Bloody Benders⁠ by Beverly Roath⁠

Unsolved mysteries in Kansas: the bloodbath Bender family escapes into thin air⁠ by Jennifer Silvay

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In the blistering August heat of 1990, the quiet college town of Gainesville, Florida, was paralyzed by a series of brutal slayings. Over just four days, five students were murdered—each crime more horrifying than the last. Doors were bolted. Campuses emptied. Fear became a living thing.

But beneath the surface terror lay something even stranger: the killer seemed to be performing for an unseen audience, staging scenes like a director crafting a horror film. His spree would go on to inspire one of the most iconic slasher villains of all time—Ghostface.

Macabrium is produced by Macabrium Creative and hosted by Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloë Kibbe, Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown. 

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Show Notes & Further Reading

FL v. ROLLING (1994) – Officer Barber’s Testimony by CourtTV

Prosecution chips away at Rolling’s case for mercy by David K. Barstow 

Rolling’s Mother Testifies by The South Florida Sun Sentinel 

The Gainesville Serial Killer by ABC’s 20/20

Danny Rolling, The Gainesville Ripper by the Department of Psychology at Radford University

Rolling v. State (1997) by The Florida Supreme Court

How a woman in Louisiana helped break the case of 5 student murders in Florida by Glenn Ruppel, Sean Dooley, and Anthony Rivas

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Long after the first tragedy, Erdington carried on like nothing had ever happened. Life moved forward, routines settled back in, and the past slowly grew quiet. Until one day, it didn’t. And what happened next felt far too familiar.

About Us

Macabrium is a podcast exploring dark history, crime, lore, & legend, and is part of the Southern Gothic Media Podcast Network. The show is hosted by actors Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloe Kibbe.

Connect with Us

Visit our socials, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@macabriumpod. You can learn more about us by visiting our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support Us

You can support Macabrium by joining our Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This will help toward our goal of podcasting full time which means bringing you more Macabrium, more often! 

Content Warning

Some episodes may contain content that some listeners find disturbing or potentially triggering/ Please take care while listening.

Source Material & Further Reading

The Eerie Coincidences of the Erdington Murders by HuffPost

The Mind-Bending True Story of the Erdington Murders by True Scares and Real-Life Nightmares

Two eerily similar murders, 157 years apart by USA Today
The chilling links between two brutal murders, 160 years apart by Birmingham Mail

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Victorian London, where beauty came at a price and secrets could cost a fortune. Behind the doors of an exclusive salon, promises of eternal youth lured the wealthy and the curious alike. Charm, deception, and scandal unfold in this story of ambition, cunning, and survival.

About Us

Macabrium is a podcast exploring dark history, crime, lore, & legend, and is part of the Southern Gothic Media Podcast Network. The show is hosted by actors Megan Alda and Derek Stephen Brown, with writing and research by Chloe Kibbe.

Connect with Us

Visit our socials, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@macabriumpod. You can learn more about us by visiting our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support Us

You can support Macabrium by joining our Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This will help toward our goal of podcasting full time which means bringing you more Macabrium, more often! 

Content Warning

Some episodes may contain content that some listeners find disturbing or potentially triggering/ Please take care while listening.

Source Material & Further Reading

The extraordinary life of Madame Rachel by Cornell University Press

Madame Rachel: The Con Artist Who Sold the Fountain of Youth to London’s Gentlewomen by Kat Devitt

Madame Rachel: A Victorian Era Con Artist by Geri Walton

Beautiful For Ever: The True Story of Madame Rachel of Bond Street by Helen Rappaport 

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