The Femme Fatal

In this episode of The Femme Fatal, we take a closer look at Leslie Van Houten, the youngest woman convicted in connection with the Manson Family murders.

At just 19 years old, Van Houten participated in the brutal murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in August 1969, crimes that would forever tie her name to Charles Manson and one of the darkest chapters in American true crime. We trace her life before Manson, how she became part of his inner circle, her role in the LaBianca murders, the trials that followed, and the decades she spent behind bars before being paroled in 2023.

In pop culture, we look at how the Manson women have been portrayed on screen, including *Charlie Says*, and the strange cultural mythology that continues to surround the summer of 1969.

Then in Horoscopes & Homicides, we examine Leslie’s birth chart, including her planetary placements and lunar nodes, and what they reveal through an astrological lens about identity, influence, relationships, and the path she ultimately had to reckon with.

A story of murder, manipulation, accountability, and what happens when a 19-year-old gives herself completely to someone else’s reality.

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On the heels of Netflix’s Maternal Instinct, we’re taking a look at the disturbing case of Taylor Parker.

A fake pregnancy. An elaborate web of lies. And a horrifying plan to make it all real.

In this episode of The Femme Fatal, we dive into the murder of Reagan Hancock, the deception leading up to the crime, the trial that put Parker on death row, and the latest chapter in her appeals.

Then in Horoscopes & Homicides, we put both Taylor and the day of the crime under an astrological lens, where themes of illusion, obsession, relationships and a reckoning with reality make for one fascinating chart.

Check out my co-host's podcast Dead Serious

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For over a year in the early '90s, the FBI hunted one of the smoothest bank robbers Dallas had ever seen: a quiet cowboy in a white hat and a Santa Claus beard who passed polite notes, never carried a gun, and walked out of six banks like he had nowhere to be. They called him Cowboy Bob. They were wrong about almost everything.

This week, we discuss, a wild-at-heart Texas girl who loved Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, dreamed of a hacienda on a Mexican beach, and spent decades caring for her bedridden mother in a tiny Garland apartment. That is, until the day she glued on a beard, pulled a hat down low, and became somebody else. 

Episode based on Skip Hollandsworth's "The Last Ride of Cowboy Bob," Texas Monthly.

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CORRECTION: Lyudmila Pavlichenko earned the nickname “Lady Death” solely because of her number of confirmed kills, not because of her escape from a lost battle as stated in the episode.

 week on The Femme Fatal, we step away from our usual kind of killer to meet Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the Soviet sniper credited with more than 300 kills during World War II. Known as “Lady Death,” she became a wartime legend, an unlikely friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, and a symbol of resistance against fascism.

We explore the woman behind the rifle, the remarkable patience and precision reflected in her astrology, and a pop culture legacy that stretches from a Woody Guthrie song and Battle for Sevastopol to The Diamond Eye and Call of Duty.

Miss Pavlichenko by Woody Guthrie

Battle for Sevastopol Movie

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Meet Kate Bender, one of the most mysterious women in American true crime history. In 1870s Kansas, the Bloody Bender family welcomed travelers into their roadside inn, but some never made it back out.

This week on The Femme Fatal, we unravel the legend of Kate Bender, the family's gruesome crimes, their mysterious disappearance, and the question that remains more than 150 years later: What happened to Kate Bender?

Plus, we explore the Bloody Benders' surprising place in pop culture and get creative with numerology and generational astrology when a birth chart simply doesn't exist.

Supernatural: The Benders

The Librarians: And the Heart of Darkness

Bender Movie

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When Casey Elliott vanished from North Texas, investigators uncovered a case filled with secrets, suspicion, and one of the state's most disturbing homicide investigations. His girlfriend, Helen Hardin Moore, maintained there was more to the story, but the evidence led to a life sentence.

In this episode of The Femme Fatal, we examine the investigation, the forensic evidence, and the legal questions that continue to spark debate decades later. Then, we perform an astrological autopsy on Helen's birthchart to see if the signs were always there.

Autopsy Episode 

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Belle Gunness is believed to be one of America's most prolific female serial killers, luring wealthy suitors to her Indiana farm through newspaper ads—where many were never seen again.

In this episode of The Femme Fatal, we uncover the murders, the mystery of the infamous farmhouse fire, and the enduring theory that Belle escaped and lived the rest of her life as Esther Carlson.

Plus, we explore how Belle's legend lives on in popular culture and in Horoscopes & Homicides, we examine her Scorpio Sun and Full Moon birth to see what astrology can—and can't—tell us about one of history's most infamous women.

Macabre - Bella the Butcher

Method Movie

Autopsy 8: Dead Giveaway

Hell's Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schechter

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She looked like the perfect friend. Helpful. Caring. The kind of person you'd trust with your secrets or your life.

This week on The Femme Fatal, we're diving into the shocking case of Pam Hupp, the Missouri woman whose web of lies, greed, and manipulation left multiple lives destroyed. What began with the murder of Betsy Faria eventually unraveled into one of the most unbelievable true crime stories in recent history, complete with a staged home invasion, a bizarre police interrogation, and enough twists to make investigators question everything they thought they knew.

Finally, we examine Pam's Libra sun, Virgo moon, and 10/10 birthday through an astrological lens.  

The Thing About Pam - TV Mini Series

The Thing About Pam - Podcast

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She published 14 bestselling novels before anyone knew who she really was.

In 1954, two teenage best friends in Christchurch, New Zealand committed a murder that shocked the country, just because they couldn't bear the thought of being separated. One of those girls served her time, changed her name, crossed the world, and quietly became one of the best-selling mystery novelists on the planet.

Then, forty years later, an unknown filmmaker named Peter Jackson made a movie. It launched Kate Winslet's career. It also ended a secret that had lasted decades.

This week, I'm telling the story of a fantasy world two girls built to survive their childhoods, the crime that grew out of it, the trial that scandalized a nation, and the reinvention that followed. Then we close it out the way we always do: pulling her birth chart to see exactly what the stars had to say about a woman built to keep a secret.

🔪 A friendship turned obsession
 📖 A hidden identity, and the movie that broke it
 ✨ An astrology reading that might explain it all

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Heavenly Creatures Movie

Anne Perry Novels

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The press called her one half of "Ken and Barbie" a nickname that stuck long after the trial ended. This episode traces how that image was built, sold, and eventually picked apart across film, documentary, and courtroom testimony.

Then we turn to the stars for a different kind of read, not as explanation or excuse, but as another lens on two people whose astrology, like their story, resists easy answers.

Karla Movie

Ken and Barbie Killers: The Lost Murder Tapes TV Mini Series

Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer TV Mini Series

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