Episode 1: The Trunk Murderess Part 1

The Bygone Society Show

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
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