The Bygone Society Show
This podcast examines the seedy underbelly of history's forgotten places and people. Each episode is rife with murder, intrigue and a reality beyond our everyday. Requirements to join the society include an appreciation for in-depth research and lurid tales of yore. Our gracious and ghoulish host, Kate, will take you back to a time that refuses to die. This is The Bygone Society Show.
The Bygone Society Show
Episode 1: The Trunk Murderess Part 1
Today’s story takes place in Phoenix, Arizona / 1931 - two years deep into the Great Depression. Once considered a one-horse-town, the city had doubled in size as it neared 20 years of statehood and withstood economic hardships better than most.
On the surface, the Valley of the Sun was inhabited by tight-laced moralists and virtuous families.
But beneath the thin facade of all things prim and proper, lurked a more sinister version of the law-abiding community.
The burgeoning metropolis teemed with late-night parties, bootlegging, and secret deals forged by powerful business tycoons and politicians - all men, of course - who controlled the rise and fall of the desert tides.
James Halloran, or “Happy Jack,” as he was known around town, was one of those men.
For right or wrong, his name would turn to dust from Phoenix history books, replaced by a rather unextraordinary woman. National headlines dubbed her “The Tiger Woman,” others “The Blonde Butcher.” But no moniker would be so on the nose / as “The Trunk Murderess.”
I’m Kate Naglieri - welcome to The Bygone Society Show.
Sources:
1. The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd, Poisoned Pen Press, by Jana Bommersbach
2. The Big House on the Gila, Arizona Memory Project, by an ex-convict
3. Murder & Mayhem: The Strange Saga of Winnie Ruth Judd, Arizona Memory Project
4. The Velvet Tigress, Vimeo, by Jen Sachs
Research, writing and hosting by Kate Naglieri
Production and sound by Jamie Eichhorn
Follow The Bygone Society Show on Instagram @thebygonesocietyshow and on Substack @thebygonesocietyshowpod
