MFM Minisode 447

This week’s hometowns include a witness in a murder trial and a run-in with White Boy Rick at a car wash. For our sources, please visit https://www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3UFCn1g. Head to social media to share your favorite moments from this episode. Instagram: instagram.com/myfavoritemurder http://instagram.com/myfavoritemurder Facebook: facebook.com/myfavoritemurder http://facebook.com/myfavoritemurder TikTok: tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder http://tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder Watch full episodes of My Favorite Murder on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@my_favorite_murder Send your hometown stories to [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. Join the Fan Cult to access ad-free episodes of My Favorite Murder. Members also receive merch store discounts, exclusive audio and video content and more! Visit www.fancult.supercast.com http://www.fancult.supercast.com/ to join. Shop for My Favorite Murder and other Exactly Right merchandise here: www.exactlyrightstore.com http://www.exactlyrightstore.com/. Rate, review and follow My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Karen Kilgariff?

  This is exactly right.

• 0:06Speaker 01

  In New Orleans, truckers kept getting sideswiped the exact same way. When a man is found murdered under questionable circumstances related to these accidents, the rubber hits the road. And what the feds uncover is a complex scheme of staged wrecks, financial fraud, and a pair of conspiring lovers behind it. This is a story about fake accidents that led to real consequences. Listen to Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

• 0:42Georgia Hardstark?

  The Hulu original series Phony is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. Sonny's life is pretty great until he wakes up from a car accident to a world that looks exactly like his, with one exception: his mom.

• 0:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Starring five-time Emmy nominee Carney Britton and Sam Nivola, this small town is hiding the mother of all mysteries just beneath the surface.

• 1:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Watch the Hulu original series, Phony.

• 1:04Karen Kilgariff?

  Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers. Terms apply. Goodbye.

• 1:10Speaker 03

  Do you ever feel like your computer is tracking you? Well, it's not. It's your browser following you. But not if you come back to Firefox. Firefox blocks the trackers automatically, doesn't follow you from site to site, and supports the ad blockers other browsers dropped. Plus, you can switch AI on or off when its intelligence is acting too artificial. And switching? Totally painless. Your bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history come right with you. Come back to Firefox. Visit Firefox.com.

• 1:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Hello. And welcome. To my favorite murder. The mini-sode. Where we read you your stories. You love them. We love them. Here we go. Okay, I'll do this one first. The subject line is, "I Was a Witness in a Murder Trial, UK Hometown Story." Whoa. It says, "Hey ladies, in March 2014, I was 23. I was out having a few drinks and a dance with my friends in the only bar club," and then parentheses, it says, "think awful sticky floors and dodgy patrons in our sleepy hometown in Hampshire, southern England. The club closed and we wandered down the road to the kebab shop, which is a staple after a night out in the UK." That's true, I've seen that. Hell yeah. In Glasgow. Kebabs, love it. Right? "Sitting outside to eat our greasy treats,

• 2:41Karen Kilgariff?

  we were approached by two brothers in their 20s who had clearly overindulged in the alcohol and were still swigging from a bottle of Southern Comfort." Oh, no, put it down. We used to drink Southern Comfort, and it, like, just thinking about it. It's just disgusting. "The men seemed friendly at first, but after a while it was clear the situation could turn at any second, which it did. They squared up to a couple of male friends of mine, being one of only two women there, and a six-foot-tall one at that. I tried my best to diffuse the situation and put myself between them, generally engaging them in small talk and having a laugh with them. One of them even put his arm around me in a kind of a hug. Eventually, they left us alone and some of the group went off home. I managed to shepherd the rest of our group towards the taxi rank, where we encountered them again.

• 3:26Karen Kilgariff?

  They were a bit more aggressive this time, determined to find out where we lived, but we lied and told them a village quite far away. They left us again, we all got home without incident. Fast forward to the next morning, and I woke up to countless messages from friends, social media tags, etc., that the police were looking for anyone who had witnessed anyone acting aggressively the previous night." I contacted the local police station who arranged for their head murder detective to come out. They call them murder detective.

• 3:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Love it.

• 3:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Murder detective to come out and take a statement the following day. I gave a full statement for the entire evening recalling as much as I could. The news breaks that a local shopkeeper had been attacked and beaten to death as he brought in the morning newspapers.

• 4:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my god.

• 4:10Karen Kilgariff?

  The police were looking for two brothers in their early twenties. I was summoned to court, gave evidence on the witness stand for two hours, cross-examined by two defense attorneys, even had to correct them a few times. They mistook me for my friend, who is six foot four and bald and a male. I was six foot with pink curly hair.

• 4:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my god.

• 4:31Karen Kilgariff?

  The brothers were sentenced to life. The victim was thirty-five years old and he left behind his pregnant wife and a five-year-old son. He ran the local newsagents and was the most selfless person. When I left court, his brother-in-law was there. He smiled at me and mouthed "thank you", which made every bit of stress of court completely worth it.

• 4:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 4:51Karen Kilgariff?

  Sorry, this was a long one. I felt it needed a proper story. And then it just assigned Kirsty, your newest murderino.

• 4:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Aww.

• 4:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Kirsty, that was an incredible.

• 5:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Great job.

• 5:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Email for you being new to this place?

• 5:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 5:05Karen Kilgariff?

  You did it perfectly.

• 5:06Georgia Hardstark?

  You did it.

• 5:07Karen Kilgariff?

  And wow, that's a really hard thing to do, to go up and testify like that.

• 5:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Absolutely, and so scary.

• 5:11Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, wow.

• 5:12Georgia Hardstark?

  I have a crimey one, too.

• 5:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay.

• 5:14Georgia Hardstark?

  This is called Wesley Allen Dodd Serial Killer Hometown. You heard of him?

• 5:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, have we covered him?

• 5:20Georgia Hardstark?

  I don't think we've covered him, but he's from the Pacific Northwest. And I'm reading that book Murderland right now.

• 5:26Karen Kilgariff?

  I wanna get that.

• 5:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's talk about it next time. Okay, we'll talk about it. Hi, murderinos. I was born and raised in Camas, Washington, a little town just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Northwest is an absolutely magical, ethereal place with gorgeous mountains and never-ending trees. All the rain makes it seem like a fairyland of mist and moss and waterfalls. And here's my contribution: and lead and fucking arsenic.

• 5:52Karen Kilgariff?

  Like, no spoilers.

• 5:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Spoiler.

• 5:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Huge spoiler.

• 5:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. It's also a location of choice for some of history's most prolific serial killers. But because all that rain and fog is also pretty dark and creepy and full of lead. My, my friend's mom.

• 6:06Karen Kilgariff?

  And ghosts and demons.

• 6:07Georgia Hardstark?

  My friend's mom had a run in with who she would later recognize as Ted Bundy. Gary Ridgway, AKA The Green River Killer, was caught and incarcerated just north of my town. And my very own hometown serial killer story took place when I was three years old. Our idyllic downtown had a charming old theater called The Liberty. We were never allowed to go to the bathroom alone there because of a vague story my mom told us about a boy being kidnapped. When I was older, my mom finally told me what actually happened. In 1989, a six-year-old boy named James was grabbed from the Liberty Theater bathroom by a man that tried to drag him through the lobby. The boy was kicking and screaming and fighting like hell, so the man dropped him and ran.

• 6:48Georgia Hardstark?

  James went back to tell his mom and her boyfriend, the most badass dude ever, William Graves. When William heard, he said, quote, "Fire hit my eyes," and he left the theater to search for the wannabe kidnapper.

• 7:00Karen Kilgariff?

  Fire hit my eyes.

• 7:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, yeah. I don't know, I've never heard this. In a twist of weird fate, he found him just a couple of blocks away where his car was stalled.

• 7:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Ooh.

• 7:10Georgia Hardstark?

  He played it cool and approached him, asking if he needed help. When the guy got out of the car, William put him in a chokehold and told him if he moved, he'd snap his neck.

• 7:19Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 7:20Georgia Hardstark?

  He walked him all the way back to the theater and tied his hands with a belt. The police got there and arrested the man, who turned out to be Wesley Allen Dodd, a pedophile serial killer who had been terrorizing the area.

• 7:33Karen Kilgariff?

  This is the best ending of a serial killer story I've ever heard.

• 7:37Georgia Hardstark?

  This and Night Stalker, like, these two are like, my god.

• 7:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 7:40Georgia Hardstark?

  How do we not know this one?

• 7:41Karen Kilgariff?

  I know. How, how have I never heard this?

• 7:43Georgia Hardstark?

  I can't wait for you to read Murderland. He had murdered three boys, including two brothers, in some of the most heartbreaking scenarios. During his trial, he told the court that they needed to sentence him to death or he would kill again. The things they found in his apartment were absolutely terrifying, and since he was only 28 years old at the time of his capture, who knows what else he would have done if he hadn't been caught.

• 8:05Karen Kilgariff?

  I know that there was a really, I wonder if I read this story and then didn't do it at a live show.

• 8:11Georgia Hardstark?

  This is one that I think we both would have passed on a lot.

• 8:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 8:15Georgia Hardstark?

  It's like so horrifying.

• 8:16Karen Kilgariff?

  Because it's like terrible child murder.

• 8:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, like, we couldn't even get to the ending, but it's good because it's so bad.

• 8:22Karen Kilgariff?

  It's so bad.

• 8:22Georgia Hardstark?

  He was executed by hanging in 1993. I don't think you've covered him before. It'd be a great story to tell. I spent a lot of time in that theater during my childhood and teen years and never once went into that bathroom alone.

• 8:34Karen Kilgariff?

  Hell, no.

• 8:35Georgia Hardstark?

  And to this day, I cannot go to the bathroom alone in any movie theater, and my kids are never allowed to either.

• 8:41Karen Kilgariff?

  No.

• 8:42Georgia Hardstark?

  I've also told them this story many times as an example of exactly what to do if someone tries to kidnap them. Bite and kick and scream and get the attention of anyone and everyone. Never let them take you to a second location.

• 8:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 8:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Stay sexy and work on your serial killer chokehold. Shanna, she/her.

• 9:00Karen Kilgariff?

  What was that guy's name again?

• 9:01Georgia Hardstark?

  William Graves.

• 9:02Karen Kilgariff?

  Fuck, yes.

• 9:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Like the mom's boyfriend, you know? I bet he was like, kind of tough.

• 9:06Karen Kilgariff?

  What the hell?

• 9:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 9:08Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, but also, what an amazing moment to be like, immediately take action and then get to, like, there's so many stories like that where it's like, then he beat the shit out of him, then suddenly he's going to jail or something like that. Instead, it's like, this is a citizen's arrest.

• 9:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 9:23Karen Kilgariff?

  He did the whole thing right.

• 9:24Georgia Hardstark?

  I want to read everything about it now.

• 9:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. Turning something you love into a career is exciting. Then come the invoices. Lucky for you, Squarespace can handle the business stuff, so you can focus on your business. From consultations to events and experiences, you can showcase your skills with a customizable website designed to attract clients and grow your business. With Squarespace's collection of cutting-edge design tools, anyone can build a beautiful, professional, online presence that perfectly fits their brand or business. Get paid on time with professional invoices and online payments. Plus, streamline your workflow with built-in appointment scheduling and email marketing tools. Head to Squarespace.com/murder for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch,

• 10:09Karen Kilgariff?

  use offer code MURDER to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Goodbye.

• 10:15Georgia Hardstark?

  The Hulu original series Phony is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

• 10:19Karen Kilgariff?

  Sonny's life is pretty great, until he wakes up from a car accident to a world that looks exactly like his, with one exception: his mom.

• 10:27Georgia Hardstark?

  To everyone else, she's the same Ellen they've known their whole lives. But for Sonny, he knows something is off.

• 10:33Karen Kilgariff?

  As his relationship with his mother begins to crack in unsettling ways, he's forced to question what happens when the perfect mom becomes a perfect stranger.

• 10:40Georgia Hardstark?

  Is this all in his head or is there really an imposter in his house?

• 10:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Starring five-time Emmy nominee Connie Britton and Sam Nivola, this small town is hiding the mother of all mysteries just beneath the surface.

• 10:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Watch the Hulu original series Phony.

• 10:53Karen Kilgariff?

  Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers. Terms apply. Goodbye.

• 10:59Speaker 03

  Do you ever feel like your computer is tracking you? Well, it's not. It's your browser following you. But not if you come back to Firefox. Firefox blocks the trackers automatically, doesn't follow you from site to site, and supports the ad blockers other browsers dropped. Plus, you can switch AI on or off when its intelligence is acting too artificial. And switching? Totally painless. Your bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history come right with you. Come back to Firefox. Visit Firefox.com.

• 11:31Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, well, the only way I can follow that story up is with "Tornadoes and a Hero Dog", the subject line of this email. Thank God. "Hi, ladies. It was summer 2008 in the intensely Midwest town where I grew up. I was nine, my middle sister was seven, and my younger sister was four. What a group, what a group. My mom was at home with us that day, and my dad was working at his office across town. It was early afternoon, and my sisters and I were playing out on the lawn in the sunshine. Suddenly, the air began to thicken, and the sky turned the telltale shade of green that every Midwesterner recognizes as a sign that tornadoes are near." So weird. It's insane. And then in parentheses, it says, "It's a sixth sense we have. The sky's green."

• 12:16Karen Kilgariff?

  Mostly, that's, that's the fifth sense of sight. My mom called us inside and turned on the local news where the news anchor confirmed our suspicions a tornado had been spotted in a nearby town. The tornado sirens began to blare. I just, I want to live through this one time. Why? I mean, it just would be so scary and heightened. I'm good. Yeah. I don't want to. I don't know. It feels like a bungee jumping thing. Yeah, but you don't know how it's going to end is the problem. No, and the video of like when a tornado is like this and it's just like. Yeah. No. I told you how I made my cousins watch a tornado. It was like caught on tape tornado. Oh, yeah. And we sat around watching it one night. It was the one of the most upsetting things of all time. It's insane. Okay, anyway.

• 12:58Karen Kilgariff?

  The tornado sirens began to blare and we headed down to the basement, taking our cat and standard poodle, Mr. Bubbles with us. Oh, Mr. Bubbles. Meanwhile, my dad was at his office about 15 minutes away. He and my mom had spoken on the phone and he confirmed that he would be staying in his office's basement to wait out the storm. After a while, the sirens stopped and we emerged from the basement, only to hear the sirens blast again a few minutes later. A second tornado had formed. And then in parentheses, it says this is actually pretty common. We went to the basement again, assuming my dad would be doing the same across town. Little did we know, the man decided he could shoot the gap between the two tornadoes and drive home before the second tornado reached our town.

• 13:39Karen Kilgariff?

  So while we were all hunkered down and thinking he was safe too, my dad was actually casually beginning his 15 minute drive home. Obviously, this did not go well. Oh, my God. When he talks about it now, he says he got halfway through the journey when he suddenly spotted the tornado. It was barreling across a cornfield toward his car. He gunned it, his words, as fast as he could, screeched into our driveway and went to throw open the front door, but it was locked. What?

• 14:11Karen Kilgariff?

  Sorry. It's like out in the middle of the Midwest, cornfield.

• 14:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Locked the door during a tornado.

• 14:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, let's get this. No tornado, bandits. But it was locked and he had forgotten his house key at the office. So this left my dad banging on the door, looking over his shoulder at an approaching tornado.

• 14:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy shit.

• 14:29Karen Kilgariff?

  You're right, I don't want to do this.

• 14:30Georgia Hardstark?

  You don't.

• 14:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah. And yelling for anyone to come unlock the door. And then in parentheses, it says, and probably shitting himself. Downstairs, we were blissfully unaware of his shouting as we couldn't hear him at all over the wind of the storm. But Bubbles, our poodle, could. Bubbles, usually a quiet, gentle fella, sprinted up the basement stairs, barking and howling. My mom chased after him to wrangle him back into safety to the basement, but when she got upstairs and she went to grab his collar, she paused. Out from the shelter of the basement, she could hear my dad pounding on the door. She ran over to the door, peered out to see on earth who was there during a tornado.

• 15:06Georgia Hardstark?

  The tornado.

• 15:08Karen Kilgariff?

  The tornado acting all polite.

• 15:09Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 15:10Karen Kilgariff?

  Let's eat. And she saw my dad soaked in rainwater and flung it open. I'm sure she had a few choice words for him later, but at that moment, everyone was just happy to have the whole family safe at home. Thank you for, and that goes into us and like, Bubbles needs another moment.

• 15:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, Bubbles.

• 15:27Karen Kilgariff?

  That dad would be absolutely dead.

• 15:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Good boy.

• 15:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, it says, thanks for everything you do. My mom, sisters, aunt, and I are all murderinos. Keep up the good work, SSDGM, and don't try to outrun a tornado because you probably can't. CC.

• 15:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my God. That's terrifying. Terrifying.

• 15:46Karen Kilgariff?

  So crazy.

• 15:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I'm good. I'm good on not ever experiencing that.

• 15:51Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, you're right.

• 15:52Georgia Hardstark?

  I mean, earthquakes are bad enough.

• 15:53Karen Kilgariff?

  I think it's, you know what it is? The moment of those tornado siren going off, same as a tsunami, where all of a sudden everyone is totally aligned with like, we're all in this thing together.

• 16:04Georgia Hardstark?

  It's like time to go.

• 16:05Karen Kilgariff?

  What would that be like?

• 16:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, I hear you.

• 16:08Karen Kilgariff?

  In LA, I don't want that to happen because that's just out of my way. I'm the most important person in the world.

• 16:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 16:14Karen Kilgariff?

  But in the wide open Midwest, I think that they're a little more polite about.

• 16:19Georgia Hardstark?

  They're disasters? Okay. Probably not. This one's about white boy Rick, who I covered recently. That's right. And just starts, oh, my God, you guys. My husband and I are driving home from the family cabin with earbuds in because obviously we are in the brink and cannot handle our children anymore. And we started episode 487. How cute that they listen to a podcast together with headphones. As soon as George started the story, my husband and I started cracking up and my husband said, see, I fucking told you, everyone knows white boy Rick.

• 16:54Georgia Hardstark?

  We live about 30 minutes north of Detroit and a few weeks ago, Raul, husband, was at the car wash and came home extra pumped, telling me, you're never going to guess who I talked to. I look over and there's this guy dressed in all white and I thought, holy shit, I think that's white boy Rick. He walked over to him and said, Rick? And he said, yeah. Raul said, holy shit, white boy Rick, what's up? He said they started talking about where they live, what Raul does for a living and like, basic life stuff. Raul left with snowman swag. Remember that was his nickname that he had on his car? Oh, yeah. And he now sells like- But no actual snow for the snowman? Right. And they exchanged phone numbers. Raul said he texted with him recently, probably something I should be aware of, that my husband

• 17:38Georgia Hardstark?

  is yucking it up with white boy Rick, but whatever, and said he was really cool. Pretty sure he called everyone he knew when he got home and gave them the same quiz quote. Okay, so I just met someone. Who is the most famous white guy in Detroit? And every single person responded with, oh, white boy Rick. Like, duh. And everyone was equally as pumped as Raul. We now have a totally inappropriate picture of our five-year-old wearing a snowman pot shop baseball hat and a selfie of Raul and Rick. Anyway, wanted to share the random connection. Love you guys. Please know you're badass for what you do for so many reasons. SSDGM Whitney. That is so hilarious.

• 18:21Georgia Hardstark?

  And the title was Met White Boy Rick at a Car Wash. Was, sorry, but at the end of your story about White Boy Rick, is he just like regular life now? He was the longest-serving, nonviolent drug offense in like, you know, history. And they let him out finally and he started, yeah, like a, he sells like swag. No. A prophet? Yeah, a prophet. He started a White Boy Rick prophet? And I think so, like pot strains too, because it's legal now, you know? Yeah, god, that's ironic. I know.

• 18:50Georgia Hardstark?

  That's, I love that. Yeah. Local lore. And he's a local fucking famous person. It's pretty crazy. If you have any White Boy Rick interactions, we'd love to hear about them. Definitely.

• 19:00Georgia Hardstark?

  The Hulu original series Phony is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

• 19:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Sonny's life is pretty great, until he wakes up from a car accident to a world that looks exactly like his, with one exception: his mom.

• 19:12Georgia Hardstark?

  To everyone else, she's the same Ellen they've known their whole lives, but for Sonny, he knows something is off.

• 19:18Karen Kilgariff?

  As his relationship with his mother begins to crack in unsettling ways, he's forced to question what happens when the perfect mom becomes a perfect stranger.

• 19:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Is this all in his head, or is there really an imposter in his house?

• 19:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Starring five-time Emmy nominee Connie Britton and Sam Nevola, this small town is hiding the mother of all mysteries just beneath the surface.

• 19:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Watch the Hulu original series, Phony.

• 19:39Karen Kilgariff?

  Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

• 19:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 19:45Speaker 03

  Do you ever feel like your computer is tracking you? Well, it's not. It's your browser following you. But not if you come back to Firefox. Firefox blocks the trackers automatically, doesn't follow you from site to site, and supports the ad blockers other browsers dropped. Plus, you can switch AI on or off when its intelligence is acting too artificial. And switching? Totally painless. Your bookmarks, passwords, and browsing history come right with you. Come back to Firefox. Visit Firefox.com.

• 20:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Sometimes being a little salty is completely justified.

• 20:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Pair your salty side with something sweet with the new Salted Caramel flavor from Kachava.

• 20:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Kachava is a whole body shake with plant-based protein, fiber, greens, and other nutrients to help fill nutritional gaps.

• 20:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Just two scoops provide complete nutrition your body craves with protein, fiber, greens, and so much more.

• 20:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Their new Salty Caramel flavor combines sweet caramel with a little salt, so you get that salty-sweet balance along with the nutrition Kachava is known for.

• 20:44Georgia Hardstark?

  When the day demands your salty side, fuel it with plant-based protein that actually tastes delicious.

• 20:49Karen Kilgariff?

  I really do love Kachava and I really do think it does taste delicious for getting you through the morning, filling in the gap if you just need some protein and you need some vitamins. It's such a nice little treat.

• 21:01Georgia Hardstark?

  It's such an easy way to get everything you need and it tastes good too, which is just huge bonus.

• 21:05Karen Kilgariff?

  So embrace your salty side.

• 21:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Go to kachava.com and use code MFM for 15% off your first order.

• 21:11Karen Kilgariff?

  That's Kachava, K-A-C-H-A-V-A dot com, code MFM. Goodbye.

• 21:18Karen Kilgariff?

  My last one is a celebrity interaction.

• 21:20Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, great.

• 21:21Karen Kilgariff?

  And the subject line is "You Asked For It: Celebrity Interaction." It just gets right into it. "I've tried submitting a classic hometown, a dad's story, and now for my third attempt, I'm just going to K-I-S-S, keep it simple, stupid, with a traditional celebrity interaction slash sighting story."

• 21:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 21:38Karen Kilgariff?

  "Being born and raised in LA, hey, that's rare, it was somewhat common to come across celebrities in their natural habitat, but you knew never to approach or bother. While working at several restaurants, tons of Lakers players came in. John Corbett and Bo Derek roamed from Sublime, asked me for some weed. Steve Wozniak left a fellow server a sheet of connected $2 bills, which basically quadrupled the tip." So like an uncut sheet of $2 bills.

• 22:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, what?

• 22:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Which now, they're so rare.

• 22:07Georgia Hardstark?

  So rare.

• 22:07Karen Kilgariff?

  That would be...

• 22:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 22:09Karen Kilgariff?

  And even the president of Honduras at some point.

• 22:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay.

• 22:12Karen Kilgariff?

  "While out and about during my twenties, Natalie Portman sat down next to me and then my boyfriend while at dinner, and my then-boyfriend."

• 22:19Georgia Hardstark?

  And then my boyfriend.

• 22:20Karen Kilgariff?

  She first sat down next to me. Giovanni Ribisi was at another location with another boyfriend and I saw Kevin from the Backstreet Boys at another restaurant. And again, as a born and raised Agelino, you never bother them and you basically act like they don't exist. You simply nudge the person next to you and then with your eyes say, "Look." Yeah, totally. Oh, my God, I did that the other day and Vince went, "What?" And I was like, "What is wrong with you?" There's a reason we're doing eye stuff. Yeah. What's that actor from the 90s? He was in Swingers. Ron Livingston. Ron Livingston. Whose wife is famous too and she's so gorgeous. I saw them at Found Oyster, it was very exciting. It's very funny that you cite him as being in Swingers because... He was, wasn't he? I don't know, I don't watch, I never watched that movie, but the Office movie with my stapler. Ah, the Office movie.

• 23:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, Office Space. Thank you, Office Space. Yes, I should have gone there first. Well, no, I mean, it's like, whatever comes up, but your thoughts are wrong. That's all I'm trying to tell you. However, there was one occasion where copious amounts of alcohol led me to abandon all protocol when it comes to celebrities and it remains a favorite story to tell to this day. My friend and I are standing in line for a pinback concert at the gorgeous El Rey Theater circa 2009. Nice. Were we there?

• 23:35Karen Kilgariff?

  And between the pre-partying at home and then in the car before going into the venue, we are thoroughly lubed up. The energy is great, everyone is excited, and these guys start chatting us up in line. One in particular is paying attention to us when another one of his friends joins in a mild flirtation. I don't remember my brain making this connection, but all of a sudden, I am petting this man's face. Full-on petting, stroking my hand down his cheek in a loving way. Oh, no. He inquires bemusedly, "Why are you petting me?" And I answered, "Because you're McLovin." That's right, at the height of super bad stardom, Christopher Mintz-Plasse is standing in line with us and I am petting his fucking face. Oh, my God. He was such a good sport about it and eventually the line started moving and we all went in to see the show.

• 24:20Karen Kilgariff?

  I believe we waved to them from afar once in the venue, but that was the end of our celebrity encounter. That's nice. And then it says, "I have since stopped drinking, almost nine years sober. And while some of my drunker moments make me cringe, some of them just make me laugh." I mean, that one's beautiful.

• 24:36Georgia Hardstark?

  That's so funny. Congratulations.

• 24:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Also, I would like to shout out my dearest friend, Weenus, who not only introduced me to this podcast, but witnessed this drunken exchange and many more, and in spite of it all, remains my friend to this day.

• 24:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Aww.

• 24:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Stay sexy and don't pet the celebrities, Erin C. Erin C.

• 24:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my God.

• 24:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Isn't that nice?

• 24:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 24:57Karen Kilgariff?

  Here's the thing, I think sometimes, like, when younger guys get super famous,

• 25:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 25:01Karen Kilgariff?

  it's hard for them to handle, like,

• 25:03Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 25:04Karen Kilgariff?

  in a situation like that, I would absolutely see any famous

• 25:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 25:08Karen Kilgariff?

  movie star type person being like, "Get her away from me."

• 25:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally.

• 25:11Karen Kilgariff?

  And instead, he's just like, "What's going on?"

• 25:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, "Why are you petting my face?" It's like, "You know the answer. You know the answer. You're a McLovin."

• 25:17Karen Kilgariff?

  It's your face that makes me love you.

• 25:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, this is my last one. It sounds like a Karen Kilgariff and Laura Kilgariff story.

• 25:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, you know, we write in all the time, and we just sign different names.

• 25:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Toddler grocery store adventure. "Hi, MFM crew. I could never decide if this was a 90s kid slash parent story, or a big sister making a little sister do something story, and I knew it wasn't quite trash parents, so I was excited when you opened the hometowns to just about anything. Yes, I know that was a while ago, but I'm pretty great at procrastinating." Anyway, here we go. "It was summer in the early 90s, and I was five years old and my sister was three. Our mom had gone to the grocery store and asked us multiple times if we wanted to go with her. We told her we wanted to stay home with our dad, who had just started cutting the grass. She left, and of course, shortly after, we changed our minds. I decided that we could walk to the grocery store on our own,

• 26:09Georgia Hardstark?

  since it was just through the neighborhood and we'd gone that way a million times. What my five-year-old brain did not understand was that it was a mile away."

• 26:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh.

• 26:18Georgia Hardstark?

  That's a long way for tiny, little five-year-old legs.

• 26:20Karen Kilgariff?

  Little legs.

• 26:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah. "So, I strapped a bungee cord around my sister, to keep her safe, I guess, and we started walking down the street. Now, if you ask my dad, he will tell you he was cutting the backyard, but I distinctly remember him being in the front as we crept by, waiting to see if he'd catch us."

• 26:38Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 26:38Georgia Hardstark?

  He did not, and off we went. I remember it was a long walk and I forgot about having to navigate the long parking lot of the shopping center that was before the grocery store. The suburbia, like.

• 26:50Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, you're coming out. Little, short, tiny kids.

• 26:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Five and three.

• 26:54Karen Kilgariff?

  The most dangerous place for them to be walking.

• 26:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Anyway, we made it safely to the store and I asked an employee to call my mom to the front of the store. Luckily, she had told us how to do this in case we ever got lost in the store. My mom came up front, very confused to find her two toddlers, beet red from the summer heat, just standing there with a bungee cord. The bungee cord like makes it.

• 27:15Karen Kilgariff?

  It's so good. It's like, this'll do it.

• 27:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, yeah. She quickly checked out and as we were walking out, my dad pulled up to the store. Apparently, they had recently had a few arguments about taking us places without telling the other, causing panic. My mom saw his angry face and said, "Don't even." Because the dad thought that she took the kids and didn't tell him.

• 27:35Karen Kilgariff?

  Yep.

• 27:35Georgia Hardstark?

  She said, "Don't even," pointed at her red faces and said, "They walked here." Meaning, "I did not take them without telling you, motherfucker. You did not see them walk by."

• 27:46Karen Kilgariff?

  And also, she doesn't have to argue because it's like, take a look at tomato number one in the neighborhood.

• 27:50Georgia Hardstark?

  Sweaty little fucking kids. I don't remember the consequences from there, but apparently, it became a funny story that my mom told her friend down the street. After that, the neighbor would jokingly call when she was out of milk and ask her mom to send the girls to the store for her. That same neighbor begged my sister and I to tell the story in our maid of honor speeches at each other's weddings. I, of course, obliged. I told my sister's husband I was handing over the bungee cord to him to take care of my little sister.

• 28:19Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, that's so sweet.

• 28:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Sweet.

• 28:21Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 28:22Georgia Hardstark?

  I really thought about bringing a bungee cord to hand to him, but I decided against a bunch of drunk people having access to one of those.

• 28:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Also, you don't need props. Your story is good enough.

• 28:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally. I also questioned my mom recently if we were three and five, or almost three and five, since this was in the summer and both our birthdays are in late August, meaning they could have been.

• 28:41Karen Kilgariff?

  Two and four.

• 28:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Yep. She swears we were three and five.

• 28:45Karen Kilgariff?

  You're just like the dad swears he was in the front or the back.

• 28:48Georgia Hardstark?

  But I'm still skeptical. I wanted to thank you both for all you do for mental health awareness. I am a therapist, working with men and women who were recently incarcerated. I have seen a big shift in the amount of these individuals being open to therapy. I know most of them are not murderinos. But I believe you've played a major role in erasing the stigma around mental health treatment, and I want to thank you for that.

• 29:10Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, my God. I mean, that's just That's a lovely idea.

• 29:13Georgia Hardstark?

  That's a lovely, yeah. That would be great. Stay sexy and don't forget your bungee cord when you take your sister for a walk. Kelly, she, her. How sweet is that?

• 29:24Karen Kilgariff?

  It's so good. It's so good. And also, they made it.

• 29:27Georgia Hardstark?

  They made it.

• 29:28Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean,

• 29:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Thank fucking God.

• 29:29Karen Kilgariff?

  The funny thing, too, is that there is a movie to be made between them leaving that house and arriving in that parking lot.

• 29:35Georgia Hardstark?

  The Bungee Cord Girls, The Bungee Cord Adventures.

• 29:38Karen Kilgariff?

  Imagine there was probably a loose dog at some point and a mean mailman and, of course, the sun beating down.

• 29:44Georgia Hardstark?

  And they got shrunk and suddenly they were teeny tiny, walking through grass.

• 29:48Karen Kilgariff?

  They got onto the back of a moving truck.

• 29:50Georgia Hardstark?

  All right. Thanks, you guys, for listening to this minisode.

• 29:54Karen Kilgariff?

  This was a good one.

• 29:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Totally good one.

• 29:56Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, please remember that, at this point, we are open to your stories in general.

• 30:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Absolutely. My Favorite Murder Gmail, please send them in.

• 30:03Karen Kilgariff?

  And please stay sexy.

• 30:04Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't get murdered.

• 30:06Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye.

• 30:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 30:16Karen Kilgariff?

  This has been an Exactly Right production.

• 30:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Our senior producers are Alejandra Keck and Molly Smith.

• 30:21Karen Kilgariff?

  Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

• 30:23Georgia Hardstark?

  This episode was mixed by Leona Scolacci.

• 30:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Email your hometowns to [email protected].

• 30:28Georgia Hardstark?

  And follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder.

• 30:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 30:35Georgia Hardstark?

  And now you can watch us on Exactly Right's YouTube page. And while you're there, please like and subscribe.

• 30:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye.

• 30:47Karen Kilgariff?

  Vacation planning should feel like a breeze, not a deep dive into countless travel sites searching for the best deal.

• 30:52Georgia Hardstark?

  With CheapCaribbean's Budget Beach Finder, you can search every destination and every date, all in one search.

• 30:58Karen Kilgariff?

  You'll save time and money with the Budget Beach Finder.

• 31:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Say goodbye to endless scrolling and tab hopping and hello to Budget Beach Bliss at your fingertips.

• 31:06Karen Kilgariff?

  Go to cheapcaribbean.com to try out the Budget Beach Finder and see just how stress-free vacation planning should be. Goodbye.

• 31:14Speaker 04

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