Medical Murders

Over the ages, arsenic has had many lives — beauty fad, household product, medical prescription… and weapon of choice wielded by killers everywhere from Alabama to ancient Rome. Brine your turkey, knead your dough, and listen to our Thanksgiving Special on the regime-changing, assassination-aiding King of Poisons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1848, Dr. J. Marion Sims had gone from just experimenting on enslaved women, to becoming an enslaver himself. His quest for fame while finding a cure for vesico-vaginal fistulas meant performing inhumane surgeries on the women he held captive. Women whose plight would remain unknown for over a century. Women who would ultimately take down Sims’ legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a failed start to his medical career, Dr. J. Marion Sims settled in Alabama to continue his training. There he found success and started his own practice — specializing in the treatment of enslaved women and their children. But as Sims’ business grew, so did his ego. His desire to experiment on patients meant many of them didn’t make it out of his operating room alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the wild frontier days of turn-of-the-century South Africa, women were expected to settle down young and produce a legion of children. Daisy de Melker dared to pursue a nursing career first. When she finally did find herself in the constraints of a marriage, she just as quickly set herself free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jack the Ripper’s crimes have gone unsolved for nearly 150 years, stirring up controversy even today. While many possible theories have been presented, new technologies bring unexpected leads — including a suspect with no medical training at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During the autumn of 1888, an infamous serial killer terrorized civilians across London, brutally slaying at least five women. While many call him “Jack the Ripper,” little else is known of his identity. However, his murders may offer one major clue about who he may have been: a doctor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After murdering his pharmacist wife, French con artist Jean-Claude Romand began a baffling murder spree. By the end of his crimes in 1993, even the liar himself couldn’t be sure what was true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years, everyone believed Jean-Claude Romand was a prestigious international doctor, not an unemployed con man living off stolen money. But once someone asked for their money back, people ended up paying... with their lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fresh out of school, Ben Geen became an emergency nurse at a hospital in Oxfordshire, England. But his growing arrogance spiraled into a quest to prove himself. One by one, Ben’s patients fell victim to unexplained respiratory attacks while in his care. It would take months for his colleagues to realize: it was no coincidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prestige, profit, and private practice were the three things that Dr. Anthony Pignataro wanted most. When he couldn't obtain it on his own merit, he forged documents to help achieve his dreams. But not even a patient's death or a jail sentence was enough to reform this con man. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He wanted a life of opulence and success as a doctor, but failed his way through three different residency programs. So Anthony Pignataro did the next best thing. He took on plastic surgery as an unqualified surgeon... and the results would be deadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She was a first-generation Colombian immigrant who paid her own way through dental school. After graduation, she married a handsome orthodontist from a good Christian family. Clara Harris thought she had everything. But when she discovered her husband was having an affair, she knew somebody would pay the price. And she didn't care who it was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In October 1909, two members of the Swope family suspiciously fell dead, leaving a one million dollar inheritance on the line. Months later, a typhoid outbreak swept through the household – leaving everyone questioning whether the culprit was diseased water or a greedy in-law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When one of Missouri's most prominent real estate tycoons fell sick in 1909, his family members awaited their plum inheritance. But a fair split wasn't enough for Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde. While he was just an in-law, he wanted the entire fortune, even if it meant using his medical expertise for murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the death of his son Sean, Dr. John Dale Cavaness was forced to go head-to-head with detectives. It quickly became apparent that even though he was a beloved member of the community, it didn't mean he could get away with murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. John Dale Cavaness was a godsend for patients strapped for cash in Eldorado, Illinois. But fueled by alcohol, unbridled rage, and mountains of debt, he was a cruel abusive father, especially to his son Mark, who died mysteriously in 1977. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Scottish travel agent Colin Norris took up a career as a nursing student, he seemed to think it would give him authority and power. What he found instead was burnout and resentment. Rather than find a healthy outlet, Collin weaponized insulin — lethally injecting his elderly patients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When May Greineder dies in a public park, it looks like the work of a serial killer. But intrepid detectives believe May’s allergist husband may be behind the crime. With the family taking sides, law enforcement races to determine whether the doctor really did murder his wife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dirk Greineder had everything. An Ivy League education. A thriving career as an allergist. And a beautiful family. But beneath this facade, he hid dark secrets. Secrets that wouldn't come to light until his wife’s murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During a six week span in the summer of 1975, dozens of patients at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital suddenly stopped breathing. Two Filipina nurses went on trial for five counts of murder, ten counts of poisoning, and one count of conspiracy. The only problem was that they didn't do it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices