Criminalia

Tom Cox began his life as a gentleman with a small estate inherited from his father -- but he spent that small fortune in the blink of an eye with his, “riotous living.” Broke, Cox went to London to find work; and, he did find work, though it wasn't legal work. Tom fell in with a group of highway robbers, and quickly made a name for himself as bold, cunning, and … handsome. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People thought Jonathan Wild was a fine, upstanding kind of a guy: he was a thief-taker who was very good at catching criminals. The Privy Council, advisers to the Crown, consulted with him on methods of controlling crime in London. Highway robbers, a scourge on the city, feared him. But what most people did not know was that Jonathan, himself, was actually a very bad guy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

England has Robin Hood. Australia has Ned Kelly. Japan; Goemon Ishikawa. There are many legendary heroic outlaws in many cultures. Juraj Jánošík has, over the centuries, become known as the Robin Hood of Slovakia – and a symbol of Slovak resistance. Unlike some of these Robin Hood figures, Jánošík was 100 percent a real person, a real bandit who became a folk hero – and legend after his death. This is the story of Juraj Jánošík, an ordinary 17th century highway robber who became an enduring national hero. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William Davis led a double life. He was a successful highway robber by night, and a respectable farmer by day. Farming was honest work, but, it was also a clever way to distract others from noticing that he had another life, that he was one of the most notorious highwaymen of the 17th century. He kept that criminal career secret for four decades, even from his wife and family. Let's talk about William's adventures -- good or bad, fact or fiction -- and how he got the nickname, the Golden Farmer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Never confused with the legend of Robin Hood or a 'gentleman robber' among highwaymen, there was really nothing to admire about Jerry Abershawe. He was a thief and he was a cold-blooded killer – several times over. Ruthless and intimidating, he was a "nightmare for travellers on those approach roads to London." There are stories boasting of Jerry's numerous and daring highway robbery acts – but, it's his behavior from capture to execution that gives us a chance to see who he was without his flintlock pistol. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jocelin Harwood was a highwayman who committed such “Barbarous Murders” – and he was just so ...wow – that his fellow criminal associates betrayed him and gave him up to the authorities after they couldn't stomach his depraved behavior the night of his final crime. Described as "a degenerate plant from a good tree," which seems like a pretty apt description, Jocelin's story has never been confused with the legend of Robin Hood. He was insolent; he was violent; and, this is his bloody story. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William Spiggot was an 18th century English highwayman and the leader of a gang of at least eight men. While he may have started out as an apprentice cabinetmaker in London, he didn't end up following his family's legit path in life, instead deciding on a more... felonious one - as a robber, poacher, burglar, and murderer -- until he was sentenced to peine forte et dure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Nevison was a very good highwayman, though you may not recognize his name. And that's largely because his crimes have, over the years, gotten attributed to the stories of other notorious highway robbers, notably Dick Turpin – who hadn't yet been born when Nevison was prowling the roads. Turpin's romanticized legend seems to be a magnet for many things he didn't do. Much about Nevison's life is a bit of a mystery, partly because of that confusion with his cohorts. Let's look at those conflicting tales. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though dealing in counterfeit currency may have been David 'Davy' Lewis' first criminal efforts, he eventually added highway robbery as a lucrative gig – and that's when he gained the nickname, Robber Lewis -- and as a highwayman, he also came to be known as the “Robin Hood of Pennsylvania". Was he? Well, that may be a stretch – maybe a big stretch -- but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a good story, right? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joan Phillips was a known beauty with an artful and cunning mind -- and both her looks and the famiy's money attracted the attention of many suitors – suitors that Joan wasn't interested in. But all that stuff about engagement, marriage, and relationships changed when Joan met Edward Bracey, the only suitor who caught her eye. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the tale (and legend) of the Dunsdon brothers: Thomas, Richard, and Henry – yes, a real life Tom, Dick and Harry. Known as the Burford Highwaymen, they terrorized the locals between Glouster and Oxford. But the crime the brothers are best known for committing actually had nothing to do with highway robbery -- but it did include amputation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some highwaymen were straight-up thugs. But some, like Claude Duval, were highwaymen who were polite, chivalrous, and sometimes portrayed as a version of Robin Hood – although none of them gave their loot to those less fortunate. Opinions differ among biographers and historians when it comes to Claude's life, but he ultimately became a folk legend – with some truth and some truth-is - and in the end, it's believed he was the 'Gentleman Robber' who paved the way for future depictions and adventures of the chivalrous highwayman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

English gentlewoman and heiress named Lady Katherine Ferrers who, as a highwaywoman known as The Wicked Lady, terrorized England in the mid-1600s. Her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death -- though it may be a bit embellished. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the final episode of our season about cold cases -- unsolved crimes, where the perpetrator was never identified and there are no active leads. Whether it’s murders, robberies, or kidnappings, this season was full of all types of unresolved crimes. There were plenty of investigations, and a few acquittals, but no known offenders were ever brought to justice -- still today. And, don't forget to join Holly and Maria as they share their top shows and drinks inspired by these crimes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amber Hagerman had long brown hair and freckles. She liked playing with her Barbie dolls, and was a Girl Scout. But on the afternoon of January 13, 1996, everything changed. Amber, age 9, was abducted while riding her pink bicycle in an abandoned Winn-Dixie parking lot in Arlington, Texas; only two-tenths of a mile from her grandparents' house. It only took eight minutes for Amber to disappear. This episode is about the legacy of third-grader Amber Hagerman, who inspired America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, popularly known as AMBER alerts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was her smile, everyone said, that was the first thing you noticed about Andrea Buchanan. People called her "Miss Personality," and spoke of her as being a “free spirit with much energy and vitality.” Andrea was a rising professional tennis star who was murdered, at age 26, while she was working in a restaurant in Los Angeles. Here's what happened. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twenty-one-year-old Jean Townsend's body was discovered the morning of September 15, 1954, around 7 a.m., in an empty lot just 600 yards from where she lived on Bempton Drive in South Ruislip. She had spent the evening at a party with friends at a nightclub called the Pyramid Club, not far from her work in London's West End -- but she never made it home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The press nicknamed the killings, 'the Torso Murders'. They called the killer, who had murdered, dismembered, and decapitated at least a dozen people, 'The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run', an area of Cleveland where most of the victims were found. The majority have never been identified -- and neither has the killer. Brace yourself for some ugly details. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, newspapers reported on March 1, 1908: "Pat F. Garrett ... fulfilled his own prophecy ... that he would die with his boots on. Garrett was killed ... between 10 and 11 o'clock on the road to his Bear Canyon ranch at a point five miles from [Las Cruces]." Best known as a lawman and the guy who fatally shot Billy the Kid, Pat's life was high-profile. When it comes to his death, though, a lot of questions remain. Was it a conspiracy? Or was he shot in self-defense? People had thoughts about what happened – and still do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ambrose Bierce was an American Civil War veteran, and he was also a writer: he was one of the most famous journalists of the late 19th century; he was a literary critic, a poet and a short story writer (primarily exploring themes of war, death, and the general absurdity that is life). And he is also one of the biggest disappearing acts of the 20th century. When he was 71 years old, Bierce rode into Mexico, and that's about the last anyone ever heard from him. Of course, there are plenty of theories about what happened. Follow Brandon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonkylegoodman Join the C'Heauxmunity at https://brandonkylegoodman.substack.com/ Submit your own messy story or question at TellMeSomethingMessy@gmail.com or call ‪(669) 696-3779 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.