Last Podcast On The Left
Last Podcast On The Left
"Marie Bessnade was born Marie Develle in Loudon, France in 1886. Oh my god. This is going to be good. In 1886 into a strict religious background. But when she got to her teen years, Marie was said to have blossomed into a quote unquote vicious and immoral woman." — Henry Zebrowski
"Well, what they did with these guys is they established a relationship with them. It wasn't just they took them in, had them sign a bunch of documents and then killed them. They nurtured a relationship with, this guy in particular, for two years because they had to establish a relationship with them and they put certain things in his name because these women were, they were actually like landowners. They had businesses, so they put things in Paul's name and essentially make him work something." — Marcus Parks
"The nature of the crime has to be profitable. Yeah, it seems. Maybe a Black Widow's, like you're getting something out of the deal. Yeah. Like you are, it's serial killing meets grand theft." — Henry Zebrowski
The episode continues the exploration of "Black Widows," focusing on Marie Besnard, a French woman active in the mid-20th century. Besnard, married multiple times, was suspected of poisoning numerous family members and acquaintances to gain inheritances. Her case highlighted the challenges in prosecuting serial killers, especially when combined with a male partner, and how legal defenses exploited the lack of definitive evidence and societal disbelief. The narrative then shifts to more contemporary cases, detailing the crimes of Helen Goley and Olga Ruterschmitt, an elderly duo in Los Angeles who targeted homeless individuals. Their method involved befriending victims, establishing life insurance policies in their names, and then staging fatal "hit-and-run" accidents. The episode also touches upon Stella Nickel, who used cyanide-laced pills, inspired by the Chicago Tylenol murders, to kill her husband and poison others, attempting to frame her actions as accidental.
The discussion emphasizes the variety of methods and motivations employed by these female offenders, ranging from meticulous poisoning for financial gain to opportunistic acts driven by boredom or a desire for profit. The legal proceedings against them often involved complex investigations, with defense strategies focusing on procedural errors, contaminated evidence, and the sheer improbability of the crimes. The episode underscores how, despite societal expectations, women have been capable of serial violence, often using cunning and exploiting trust to achieve their objectives. The conversation also briefly touches upon the societal implications of these crimes and the importance of issues like net neutrality, which directly affects the dissemination of information and content.