Jesse James didn’t die in a gunfight or on horseback.
He died unarmed, dusting a picture frame in a rented house while the Ford brothers aimed a pistol at the back of his head.
This premiere episode of Season 5: Kansas City’s Darkest Crimes — Heartland Homicide cuts through the Hollywood myth and exposes the real Jesse James: a violent outlaw, a master manipulator of the press, and a man trapped by the legend he created.
We break down his early years as a Confederate guerrilla, the real crimes of the James–Younger Gang, the collapse of his network, and the final moments that led to one of the most infamous back-shootings in American history.
Next week:
The Union Station Massacre (1933) — the machine-gun ambush that turned Kansas City into a national crime headline.
If you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths. Your support pushes these stories forward and keeps the history alive.
📚 RESOURCES & SOURCES
Missouri State Historical Society Archives
St. Joseph Public Records (1882)
The Ford Brothers Trial Transcripts
Kansas City Star Historical Crime Files
“Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War” – T.J. Stiles
Library of Congress: Western Outlaw Newspaper Collections
⚠️ DISCLAIMER
This podcast discusses historical violence, murder, and criminal activity. All research is based on documented historical records, public archives, and verified sources. Some details may be graphic or disturbing for listeners.
Listener discretion is advised.
Between 2013 and 2016, the quiet bourbon town of Bardstown, Kentucky became the center of one of America’s most disturbing clusters of unsolved cases. A police officer ambushed. A mother and teenage daughter brutally murdered. A young mother of five who vanished without a trace. And the father who was shot and killed while searching for her.
In this season finale, we break down every major case:
• Officer Jason Ellis (2013) — executed on the Bluegrass Parkway
• Kathy & Samantha Netherland (2014) — a staged and brutal double homicide
• Crystal Rogers (2015) — missing mother of five
• Tommy Ballard (2016) — killed during the search for his daughter
These cases reshaped Bardstown, fueled theories of corruption and organized crime, and ultimately led to a massive FBI takeover that continues today. This episode lays out the timelines, connections, suspects, failures, and the long shadow these tragedies still cast over the community.
This is Bardstown — the town that became a crime scene.
Sources: Court documents, FBI press statements, Nelson County Sheriff’s Office records, archived reporting from WHAS11, WDRB, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and community witness accounts.
If you’ve followed the Kentucky season, thank you. Your support has pushed this show to new heights — 500+ podcast downloads, 42k TikTok views, 600+ followers, and 97k YouTube views with more than 180 subscribers. Follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths to help keep these stories alive and support future seasons.
DISCLAIMER
This episode contains discussions of real violence, murder, and ongoing unsolved cases. Listener discretion is advised.
Twelve-year-old Shanda Sharer thought she was sneaking out to see a friend. Instead, she was walking straight into one of the most brutal and disturbing crimes in American history.
In this episode, we break down the real story behind the 1992 murder of Shanda Sharer—jealousy, manipulation, group psychology, and a night of escalating violence led by four teenage girls who crossed every line of humanity. From the abduction to the torture, the fire, the aftermath, and the shocking decisions made in court, this is the full, unfiltered truth of a case that still haunts Indiana and Kentucky today.
This episode examines the warning signs, the failures, the psychological dynamics, and the hard human cost left behind. Shanda’s life mattered. Her legacy matters. And this case forces us to confront how quickly cruelty can grow when no one intervenes.
Sources: Court transcripts, victim impact statements, police reports, archived local coverage from the Louisville Courier-Journal and Indianapolis Star, and Indiana Department of Corrections sentencing records.
If this episode resonated with you, follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. It helps keep these cases visible and honors the victims who can no longer speak for themselves.
Disclaimer: This episode contains detailed descriptions of violence involving minors. Listener discretion is strongly advised.
The Bluegrass Conspiracy is one of the wildest true-crime stories to ever come out of Kentucky — a sprawling network of corrupt cops, wealthy insiders, drug-running pilots, political protection, and a smuggling pipeline that stretched from Lexington to Colombia. At the center of it all was former narcotics officer Andrew Thornton II, a man who went from badge to trafficker, flying low-altitude cocaine runs through the Appalachian mountains… until he fell out of the sky wearing night-vision goggles, a bulletproof vest, and a Gucci bag full of cocaine.
His death was only the beginning.
As investigators traced his final flight, they uncovered parachute drops, missing millions, and a string of corrupted institutions that didn’t want this story told. And when a black bear in Georgia stumbled onto one of Thornton’s lost duffel bags — consuming nearly 70 pounds of pure cocaine — it exposed just how chaotic the entire operation truly was.
This episode walks through the deep corruption, the drug routes, the DEA failures, the criminal network, the Cocaine Bear autopsy, and the lingering secrets still buried under Kentucky’s Bluegrass.
If you’ve ever wondered how one of the strangest cases in American crime history unfolded — this is the truth behind the headlines.📢 FOLLOW, RATE & SHARE
If you found this story compelling, follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts. Your support keeps these forgotten histories alive — and pushes the algorithm to bring these stories to more listeners who want the truth behind America’s darkest legends.📚 RESOURCES
• The Bluegrass Conspiracy by Sally Denton
• The Crimes of Andrew Thornton II – regional investigative articles
• Kentucky Historical Society crime archives
News & Archival Sources:
• Lexington Herald-Leader (1970s–1980s crime reporting)
• Louisville Courier-Journal investigative series
• Associated Press coverage of Thornton’s death
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation autopsy statements on the “Cocaine Bear”
Government & Legal Documentation:
• DEA reports on Appalachian smuggling corridors
• Federal court filings tied to Bluegrass Conspiracy indictments
• FAA incident records related to aircraft linked to Thornton
• Kentucky court records (publicly available summaries)⚠️ DISCLAIMER
This episode contains discussions of violence, drug trafficking, corruption, and historically documented criminal cases. Listener discretion is advised.
All information presented here is based on publicly accessible records, investigative journalism, and historical archives. While great care is taken to ensure accuracy, variations in historical accounts may exist.
Deadly Truths is written and produced independently.
This content is for educational and storytelling purposes only.
Marion Miley was one of the brightest stars in American golf — a 25-year-old prodigy with national titles, international attention, and a future the sports world was already predicting. But in the early hours of September 28th, 1941, everything ended in a violent burst of gunfire inside the Lexington Country Club.
In this episode, we uncover the full story:
• Marion’s rise as one of golf’s most promising female athletes
• Her final night inside the clubhouse apartment
• The break-in by three desperate men
• The chaotic gunfight that left Marion dead and her mother critically injured
• The massive Kentucky manhunt
• The confessions, trials, and executions
• The legacy Marion left behind in the world of sports and the Bluegrass
Kentucky remembers this crime for a reason — the brutality, the shock, the loss, and the way the entire state fought to bring justice to a young woman who deserved far better.
Follow Deadly Turths on Spotify and YouTube for more true-crime stories buried in the Kentucky Bluegrass.
Primary Newspaper Sources (1941–1943):
• Lexington Herald-Leader archives
• Louisville Courier-Journal reporting on the investigation & trials
• The Cincinnati Enquirer crime coverage
• Associated Press wire reports following the murder and executions
Historical & Legal Sources:
• Kentucky Court Records, Fayette County (trial transcripts & sentencing summaries)
• Kentucky Department of Corrections execution logs
• Lexington Country Club historical documentation
• “Marion Miley: A Kentucky Legend” – regional sports history articles
• Women’s Amateur Golf Association archival notes
Secondary Sports & Historical Analyses:
• Sports history features on early women golfers
• Local Kentucky historical society publications
• University of Kentucky Special Collections (regional crime & sports history)
This episode contains discussions of violence, homicide, and historical criminal cases. Listener discretion is strongly advised. All information in this episode is based on publicly available records, historical archives, and verified reporting from the time of the events. While every effort has been made to present accurate details, some elements of historical cases may vary between sources.
This podcast is for educational and storytelling purposes only. It does not sensationalize tragedy, and it is not intended as legal advice, investigative direction, or commentary on any ongoing cases.
Kentucky has seen violence, but nothing like what hit Rowan County in the 1880s.
This wasn’t a feud — it was a war.
In this episode, we uncover the brutal story of The Rowan County War, a three-year bloodbath that turned the quiet town of Morehead into a battlefield. What began as a political dispute exploded into public executions, ambushes, burned homes, and open-street shootouts, all led by the ruthless Craig Tolliver and his armed clan.
You’ll hear how a single Election Day killing lit the fuse… how Sheriff James Hogg’s daylight murder pushed the governor to deploy the Kentucky State Guard… and how the final, violent siege at the American Hotel ended one of the deadliest family conflicts in Kentucky history.
This is a story of power, revenge, and a town held hostage by fear.
This is Kentucky’s bloodiest feud.
This is Deadly Truths.
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Resources & References
Primary Historical Sources
The Kentucky State Guard Reports, 1885–1888
Rowan County Courthouse Documents & Inquest Records
Official Correspondence of Governor J. Proctor Knott
Contemporary newspaper coverage:
The Louisville Courier-Journal
The Lexington Herald
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Eyewitness accounts preserved in the Kentucky Historical Society Archives
Secondary Sources / Research
Collins, Lewis. History of Kentucky, Vol. II.
Caudill, Harry. Night Comes to the Cumberlands.
Brown, H.C. The Rowan County War.
Kentucky Humanities: “The Tolliver-Martin Feud”
Morehead State University Special Collections on the Rowan County Feud
Disclaimer
This episode of Deadly Truths is for educational, historical, and documentary purposes only.
All events are presented based on recorded history, archival research, and publicly available documents.
Descriptions of violence and historical events are not intended to sensationalize but to accurately portray the brutality of the era.
All opinions expressed are my own.
In 1896, the body of 22-year-old Pearl Bryan was found in a frozen Kentucky field—
pregnant, murdered, and beheaded.
Her killers, Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling, were educated, well-dressed medical students.
Her missing head was never found.
This episode uncovers Pearl’s final days, the lies that lured her into danger, the forensic trail that exposed her killers, and the explosive double execution that shocked America. We examine the rumors of satanic rituals, the courtroom chaos, and the haunting legends that still cling to the Ohio River valley.
More than a murder, this is a case about control, cruelty, and the one question history still can’t answer:
Where is Pearl Bryan’s head?
This is Deadly Truths: Kentucky Bloodlines.
If this episode gripped you, take a moment to follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths on:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
YouTube
Amazon Music
Your support keeps these forgotten stories alive and helps new listeners discover the show.
Deadly Truths is created for educational, historical, and documentary purposes.
The violence described in this episode reflects the documented brutality of the real case.
Nothing is dramatized for entertainment beyond the historical record.
Listener discretion is advised due to graphic historical content.
Primary Sources
Court Records of Commonwealth vs. Scott Jackson & Alonzo Walling (1896–1897)
Hamilton County Coroner’s Reports (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Kentucky State Archives – Fort Thomas Investigation Papers
Contemporary newspaper coverage from:
Cincinnati Enquirer
Louisville Courier-Journal
Indianapolis News
New York World
Witness testimony from the Newport Jail interrogations
Letters between Pearl Bryan and Scott Jackson (entered into trial evidence)
Secondary Sources / Research
Hensley, Mary. The Pearl Bryan Murder Case.
Kentucky Historical Society – “The Headless Mystery of Pearl Bryan”
Talbott, Tim. Kentucky Gruesome Crimes & Trials.
Morehead State University Special Collections
Ohio River Valley Folklore Archives – Pearl Bryan legends & oral histories
Newport History Museum – Execution Records of Jackson & Walling
Brenda Sue Schaefer was 36, kind, devout, and ready to end her relationship with Mel Ignatow — a controlling, 51-year-old real estate broker from Louisville. On September 23, 1988, she vanished.
For years, Ignatow taunted investigators, manipulating the media while police searched for proof. When her body was finally found, the case still fell apart in court — and Ignatow walked free.
Then, six months later, a man remodeling Ignatow’s home opened a floor vent… and found five undeveloped rolls of film. The photographs showed everything — the torture, the murder, and Ignatow’s face.
But it was too late. He couldn’t be retried.
This is the story of one of America’s most haunting miscarriages of justice — where truth surfaced, but justice never did.
🔊 Follow & Support:
Follow Deadly Truths on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.
Rate, review, and share to help keep these forgotten stories alive.
⚠️ Disclaimer:
This episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised.
📚 Sources:
The Courier-Journal (Louisville), 1988–2008
FBI Evidence Archives — Case File “Schaefer, Brenda Sue”
People v. Ignatow (Jefferson County Circuit Court, 1991)
ABC Primetime Live — “Justice Too Late” (1993)
Lee Strobel, Reckless Faith
The New York Times — “Man Admits Killing Woman He Was Cleared of Slaying” (1992)
In December 1901, two young women vanished from a Lexington boarding house. Days later, two wooden trunks arrived in Cincinnati — leaking blood.
Inside were the dismembered remains of Lillian Rodin and Minnie Everly… and the calling card of a man named Claude O’Brien.
He was charming, well-dressed, and deadly — a salesman who turned seduction into slaughter.
His arrest and public hanging shocked Kentucky, giving birth to forensic science in the Bluegrass and inspiring one of America’s earliest urban legends: O’Brien’s boxes.
This episode of Deadly Truths: Kentucky Bloodlines dives into the real story behind the “Cutting-Box Murders,” the public spectacle of O’Brien’s trial, and how Victorian morality turned two murdered women into footnotes while turning their killer into folklore.
Kentucky true crime, Lexington murders, 1901 trunk murders, Claude O’Brien, Lillian Rodin, Minnie Everly, Kentucky history, historical crime podcast, Deadly Truths, American serial killers, female victims, cutting box murders, public execution history, forensic origins, haunted Kentucky, Bluegrass crimes, Becca Clark podcast
This episode contains historical accounts of extreme violence, including murder, dismemberment, and execution. Listener discretion is advised. All events are presented using verified archival sources and historical documentation.
The Lexington Herald (Dec 12–20, 1901)
The Cincinnati Enquirer (Dec 13, 1901 – Apr 11, 1902)
Fayette County Court Records: Commonwealth v. O’Brien (1902)
University of Kentucky Special Collections, “Lexington Murder Files, 1900–1905”
Kentucky Historical Society: Hanged in the Bluegrass: Executions 1865–1930
If you found this story compelling, follow Deadly Truths on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.
Rate ★★★★★, share the episode, and help keep these forgotten histories alive.
Before the words serial killer ever existed, the frontier already knew their kind.
In the late 1790s, Micajah “Big Harpe” and Wiley “Little Harpe” roamed the Kentucky-Tennessee wilderness with three captive “wives” and a trail of mutilated bodies behind them. They didn’t kill for money or revenge — they killed because it made them feel alive.
This season premiere of Deadly Truths takes you into the birth of American sadism — a land without law, mercy, or conscience.
From the Revolutionary War’s ruins to the first roadside manhunt, this is where America learned what evil really looked like.
Follow Becca as she unearths the true story of the Harpe brothers — the ghostly legends who turned Kentucky’s frontier into a graveyard.
🔗 Follow, rate, and share on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts — it keeps these forgotten histories alive.
📚 Sources: Kentucky Historical Society Archives; Tennessee State Library & Archives Frontier Justice Collection; Bruce McLeod, Bad Men of the Frontier South; Paul I. Wellman, Spawn of Evil (1947).
⚖️ Disclaimer: This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence, including child homicide and historical mutilation, intended for mature audiences only.
They weren’t the legends — they were the wreckage left behind.
In this Morally Bankrupt season finale, we go beyond Dillinger, Nelson, and Bonnie & Clyde to uncover the men who died forgotten: John Paul Chase, Homer Van Meter, Adam Richetti, Doc Barker, Red Hamilton, Eddie Green, and others erased by J. Edgar Hoover’s myth-making machine.
They bled out in cornfields, cheap hotels, and back alleys while the FBI built its empire and Hollywood wrote its heroes.
This episode strips away the headlines to show what really happened when the spotlight moved on — the loyalty, betrayal, and quiet deaths of America’s last bandits.
You’ll hear:
• The Kansas City Massacre’s forgotten fallout
• The bloody trail from Little Bohemia to Chicago
• The death of Doc Barker and the prison system that broke him
• How Hoover turned corpses into propaganda
🎧 Listen now — and remember the ones history buried.
This podcast is for educational and historical analysis. It contains descriptions of real violence and archival material from the 1930s gangster era. Listener discretion is advised.
FBI case files (1933–1935)
National Archives – Public Enemies Collection
The Dillinger Days by John Toland (1963)
St. Paul Police Historical Society – Public Enemy Era Records
Newspaper archives: Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Star, St. Paul Pioneer Press
If you found this story compelling — follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Your support keeps these forgotten histories alive.
He was the last man standing — calm, brilliant, and impossible to catch.
Alvin “Creepy” Karpis wasn’t the romantic outlaw Hoover’s FBI wanted you to believe in.
He was the strategist — the man who made the Bureau look foolish, survived Alcatraz, and taught a young Charles Manson how to play guitar.
This episode of Deadly Truths: Morally Bankrupt exposes the truth behind Hoover’s staged arrest, the propaganda that buried Karpis’s legacy, and the irony of America’s final Public Enemy — a man who never killed for pleasure, but who understood power better than anyone chasing him.
“Everyone wants control,” Karpis wrote. “The difference between a gangster and a government is who gets to call it justice.”
If you found this story compelling, follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts — it helps keep these forgotten histories alive.
Watch extended visuals and short episodes on YouTube and TikTok under Deadly Truths with Becca.
This episode contains historical descriptions of organized crime, violence, and federal law enforcement corruption.
Listener discretion is advised.
All research and narration © 2025 Deadly Truths Media.
Public Enemy Number One by Alvin Karpis
On the Rock by Alvin Karpis & Robert Livesey
FBI and U.S. Department of Justice declassified case archives
Newspaper archives: St. Paul Pioneer Press, Chicago Tribune, New Orleans Times-Picayune
He never fired the gun that made him famous.
He never wanted to be an outlaw.
But his wife — and the FBI — turned him into one.
In 1933, George “Machine Gun” Kelly shouted “Don’t shoot, G-men!” as federal agents surrounded a Memphis farmhouse.
It was the line that built the legend — and the lie — that made J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI a national empire.
In this 40-minute episode of Deadly Truths: Morally Bankrupt, Becca unravels the story of fear, ambition, and manipulation behind the myth:
how Kathryn Kelly manufactured her husband’s persona,
how the Urschel kidnapping changed federal law,
and how a terrified man became the symbol of a new kind of American justice —
one built on image, not truth.
If this story made you question what’s myth and what’s history —
share it, like it, and follow wherever you listen to Deadly Truths.
Every follow keeps these forgotten histories alive.
This episode contains historical descriptions of kidnapping, imprisonment, and violence.
Listener discretion is advised.
All material is based on verified historical records, FBI case files, and reputable academic and journalistic sources.
Some dialogue and internal reflections are dramatized for pacing and atmosphere but remain true to documented events.
FBI Case File: The Urschel Kidnapping (1933)
U.S. District Court Transcripts, Western District of Oklahoma (1933)
Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough (2004)
Oklahoma Historical Society Archives: Kathryn Kelly Interviews
Alcatraz Inmate Records and Correspondence, 1934–1954
Federal Bureau of Investigation Press Releases, 1933–1935
The Life and Death of Pretty Boy Floyd by Jeffery King (1998) [contextual cross-reference]
American Justice: The Rise of the FBI – Smithsonian Oral History Collection
“The past isn’t dead."
— Deadly Truths: Morally Bankrupt
On April 7th, 1919, a violent explosion ripped through the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth — a blast so powerful it shattered windows a mile away and left dozens of soldiers dead.
The government called it an accident.
The prisoners called it revenge.
And more than a century later, guards still whisper that something beneath those walls remembers.
In this Halloween finale, Becca unearths the haunting true story of The Blast Inside the Walls — a mix of fact, fire, and the ghosts of justice gone wrong.
This episode of Deadly Truths contains historical accounts of death, military justice, and violence. Listener discretion is advised.
All sources are cited and verified through official records and archival materials.
While the haunting elements are dramatized for storytelling, the historical foundation remains factual.📚 Resources & References:
The Leavenworth Times (1919–1921 incident reports)
Army Signal Corps Archives
U.S. Disciplinary Barracks Fire Investigation Records (1919)
Fort Leavenworth Military Historical Society
🔗 Connect & Support:
Follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube — it helps keep these forgotten histories alive.
🎥 Watch the video versions and short visual stories on TikTok and YouTube under Only Deadly Truths with Becca.
🩶 New bonus season out now: Morally Bankrupt — the true stories of America’s 1930s bank robbers, from Dillinger to Bonnie & Clyde.
He robbed banks when the banks were robbing everyone else.
He burned mortgage records so families could keep their homes.
And when the FBI called him Public Enemy Number One, Oklahoma called him a hero.
In this episode of Deadly Truths, we uncover the rise and fall of Pretty Boy Floyd — from barefoot farm boy to Depression-era legend — and how the government’s war on crime turned a desperate man into an American myth.
Was he a cold-blooded killer… or the outlaw America needed most?
Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen.
— Woody Guthrie
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She wasn’t a mastermind. She was a mother — and Hoover needed a monster.
Before she was a headline, she was just a woman standing in a kitchen in the Ozarks — a pot boiling, four boys yelling, and a husband running out of patience.
Arizona Donnie Clark Barker — “Ma” — wasn’t born a monster. She was born poor, in a world that punished women for being anything but quiet.
When the FBI raided her Florida hideout in 1935, they claimed she was the criminal mastermind behind one of America’s most dangerous gangs — a gray-haired matriarch orchestrating kidnappings and murders while knitting in the corner.
But what if that was never true?
What if J. Edgar Hoover needed a story more than he needed the truth?
In this episode of Deadly Truths: Morally Bankrupt, Becca pulls back the curtain on the real Ma Barker — tracing her path from poverty in the Ozarks to the myth that made her a national villain. Using declassified FBI files, firsthand accounts, and Alvin Karpis’s own words, this story explores how one mother’s loyalty became a weapon — and how the government turned grief into propaganda.
🔎 Featuring:
– The Barker-Karpis Gang and the Edward Bremer kidnapping
– Hoover’s PR war and the creation of America’s first “gangster mother”
– Newly declassified records that reveal the truth behind the bullets at Ocklawaha
Was Ma Barker the most dangerous woman in America — or just the most convenient scapegoat?
Listen now to uncover the mother of all lies.
Written, narrated, and produced by Becca
Research sources include FBI declassified case files, On the Rock by Alvin Karpis, and contemporary press archives from The St. Paul Pioneer Press and The New York Times.
🎧 Follow, rate, and share on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts — it helps keep these forgotten histories alive.
He wasn’t just another outlaw — he was a storm with a gun.
Lester Gillis, better known as Baby Face Nelson, wasn’t driven by fame like Dillinger or fantasy like Bonnie and Clyde. He was driven by rage.
In this episode of Deadly Truths: Morally Bankrupt, we unravel the violent rise and fall of America’s most unpredictable Public Enemy — from his days under Al Capone to the bloody shootout in Barrington that left federal agents dead and the country shaken.
Nelson wanted respect. What he got was infamy.
And in the end, even his trigger couldn’t save him.
📚 Research sources include FBI archives, Chicago Tribune (1934), Bureau of Investigation case files, and eyewitness accounts from Barrington, Illinois.
⚠️ Content Warning:
This episode contains discussions of violence, death, and historical crime. Listener discretion is advised.
FBI Historical Records: Public Enemies, 1933–1935
Chicago Tribune Archives, November 1934
Bureau of Investigation Case Files (Barrington Shootout)
“Baby Face Nelson: The End of the Public Enemies Era,” History.com
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Official Public Enemy List (1934)
You’ve been listening to Deadly Truths: Morally Bankrupt — where America’s myths meet its crimes.
If you found this story compelling, follow, rate, and share on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts — it helps keep these forgotten histories alive.
They were young, reckless, and deadly — and America couldn’t look away.
In this episode of Deadly Truths: Morally Bankrupt, Becca unravels the myth of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the outlaw lovers who turned bloodshed into legend. From dusty backroads and stolen Fords to the FBI ambush that ended their story, this is the truth behind the glamour — the grief, the bodies, and the lies we told ourselves to make it all sound romantic.
Discover how newspapers turned criminals into celebrities, how Hollywood kept the fantasy alive, and why our obsession with outlaw love stories still won’t die.
⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode includes discussions of violence, historical crime, and death. Listener discretion advised.
📚 Sources include FBI archives, Dallas Morning News reports (1934), and firsthand accounts from the Barrow and Parker families.
🔗 Follow & Share
Listen to more on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts — and leave a review to help keep these forgotten histories alive.
#BonnieAndClyde #TrueCrime #DeadlyTruths #OutlawMyth #MorallyBankrupt
He was the man who made America fall in love with crime.
John Dillinger didn’t just rob banks — he robbed the line between fame and infamy.
In this episode, Deadly Truths unravels how a restless boy from Indianapolis became the “Gentleman Bandit,” how the media built his legend, and how J. Edgar Hoover used his death to build the FBI’s empire.
From the charm to the bloodshed, from the wooden gun to the Biograph alley — this is the story of the outlaw who taught America that fame can outlive morality.
⚠️ Content Disclaimer:
This episode contains discussions of violence, death, and historical crime. Listener discretion is advised.
Written and narrated by Rebecca Clark
Research sources include FBI archives, Chicago Tribune reports (1934), and contemporary accounts from Life Magazine and the Indianapolis Star.
🔗 Follow & Share
If you found this story compelling, follow Deadly Truths on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts — and leave a rating or review to help keep these forgotten histories alive.
Share this episode with someone who loves true crime, history, or the darker side of American legend.
It was tradition at the Leavenworth Penitentiary: before a man walked to the gallows, he was offered one last drink. Some refused. Some asked for whiskey. Others stayed silent.
But behind that ritual lay a darker story — one about the guards who built the scaffolds, the warden who signed the orders, and the soldiers who watched death become routine.
In this episode of Deadly Truths, Becca uncovers the hidden history of execution at Leavenworth — the hangmen, the condemned, and the uneasy morality that lingered long after the trapdoor fell. From the 1920s Prohibition era to the final military hangings, this is the story of America’s most haunted prison ritual: the last call before judgment.
Follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music for more true stories where history, horror, and humanity collide.
🔜 Coming Soon:
Season Two continues through October with Leavenworth: Halloween in the Big House — exploring the darkest corners of America’s most infamous military prison.
Then in November, tune in for a special bonus season, “Morally Bankrupt: The 1930s Bank Robbers,” reexamining the myths and the gruesome truths behind Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, and the cult of outlaw fame.
And this winter, Season Three: Kentucky Bloodlines begins — a deep dive into unsolved murders, historical crimes, and haunted legacies from the Bluegrass State.
⚖️ Disclaimer:
Deadly Truths is written and produced for educational and documentary purposes. All accounts are drawn from verified historical and legal sources. Sensitive content, including violence and execution, is presented with respect for victims and accuracy of record.
📚 Sources & References:
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) – Leavenworth Penitentiary Files
U.S. Army Historical Division – Execution Orders and Records, Fort Leavenworth
Leavenworth Times Historical Editions (1923–1949)
Bureau of Prisons Historical Reports
Kansas Historical Society Archives
Library of Congress: Federal Prison System Records