MFM Minisode 497

This week’s hometowns include parkouring to avoid arrest and a playground Ponzi scheme. 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 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 https://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.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  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?

  Between work, school, family obligations, and the endless Halloween hustle, it often feels like there's never a good time to slow down.

• 0:49Karen Kilgariff?

  No matter how busy life gets, even a small break can help us recharge, reset, and enjoy the moment.

• 0:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Breaks don't have to be the 15 minutes in your car while you wait for your kid to get out of school, or the two minutes while your lullpumpkin is tying his shoes.

• 1:01Karen Kilgariff?

  Kit Kat gives people permission to take the break they've earned and make it a better break.

• 1:05Georgia Hardstark?

  While the world tells us to keep going, Kit Kat reminds us that the best time for a break is now.

• 1:11Karen Kilgariff?

  Break now. Have a Kit Kat.

• 1:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 1:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Hello.

• 1:31Karen Kilgariff?

  And welcome.

• 1:32Georgia Hardstark?

  To my favorite murder.

• 1:33Karen Kilgariff?

  The minisode.

• 1:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Do we read you your stories?

• 1:36Karen Kilgariff?

  And you will go first.

• 1:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay. I'm not gonna give this one away.

• 1:41Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay.

• 1:41Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's see. Love from New Orleans, 1700s cemetery pool lore.

• 1:47Karen Kilgariff?

  Please.

• 1:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Hey Karen in Georgia. Hello from New Orleans, Louisiana. I work as a ghost tour guide in the French Quarter. Yes, it's as dream jobby as it sounds. And in 2024 minisodes, someone wrote in about swimming in the pool where Erb Baumaster strangled his victims, and that's episode 67. This reminded me of a creepy piece of pool-related historical lore here in New Orleans. New Orleans. New Orleans.

• 2:13Karen Kilgariff?

  New Orleans.

• 2:14Georgia Hardstark?

  In the late 1700s, New Orleans closed its first cemetery, St. Peter Cemetery, where the dead were actually buried underground as opposed to in the above-ground tombs we tend to use today. Some of the bodies from that old cemetery were moved by their families to tombs in the new St. Louis Cemetery Number One, but many bodies were forgotten or abandoned, just paved over and left there.

• 2:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Ooh.

• 2:38Georgia Hardstark?

  In 2011, a guy who owned a condo in the French Quarter decided to dig an in-ground swimming pool in his courtyard.

• 2:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, man.

• 2:46Georgia Hardstark?

  His condo happened to be on one of the blocks where St. Peter Cemetery had been, and you guessed it, the crew started hitting bodies as they dug. Fifteen bodies, in fact, within a 20-square-foot area.

• 2:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Fucking hell.

• 2:59Georgia Hardstark?

  A forensic team from LSU studied the unearthed remains and concluded that all of these people were either African-American or indigenous, which may explain why they weren't moved to the new cemetery. Their families probably didn't have the connections or the money. And that's when a really cool thing happened. The head archaeologist on the project decided to arrange a public reburial event for these people who were left behind.

• 3:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Wow.

• 3:23Georgia Hardstark?

  There was a ceremony to honor the mixed heritage of Black and Native people in New Orleans, and afterwards, there was a second-line parade to St. Louis Cemetery Number One, where the remains were reinterred on sanctified ground.

• 3:35Karen Kilgariff?

  Wow.

• 3:35Georgia Hardstark?

  The pool was eventually completed, and I happen to know the current owners of the condo. Have I swum in that pool? Absa-fucking-lutely. Many times. Everyone calls it the Pool of Souls. Anyway, I don't know of any Poltergeist-style hauntings at the Pool of Souls, and I'd like to think that's because all of those people have been so kindly laid to rest on sacred ground. We try to do right by our dead in this city. P.S. Karen, I have got to tell you the sinkhole-related pun my boyfriend recently made.

• 4:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Uh-oh.

• 4:05Georgia Hardstark?

  We were driving through a beautiful dysfunctional city with his potholes the size of meteorite craters, and we noticed a new place where the street had caved in. My boyfriend goes, "Oh, shit, a new sinkhole just dropped." Get it?

• 4:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 4:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Just dropped? I died. Stay sexy and love New Orleans like the goddamn magical gem it is. Ariadne, she/her.

• 4:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Wow.

• 4:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 4:28Karen Kilgariff?

  I love New Orleans.

• 4:29Georgia Hardstark?

  I know.

• 4:29Karen Kilgariff?

  And those stories. And when you said that they gave those, like, the unnamed dead a sec. It's called a second line.

• 4:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Parade?

• 4:38Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah. So that's the band walking and like that whole, like, it's the celebration of life type of vibe.

• 4:44Georgia Hardstark?

  So cool.

• 4:44Karen Kilgariff?

  It's amazing.

• 4:49Karen Kilgariff?

  The subject line of this email is parkouring out of getting arrested for underage drinking.

• 4:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Well.

• 4:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Dear Karen and Georgia, you recently asked for stories about parkouring out of trouble.

• 4:58Georgia Hardstark?

  What?

• 5:01Georgia Hardstark?

  Who are we?

• 5:03Karen Kilgariff?

  I really love when I, I really purposely ignore stuff so that it's just as fresh to me as it is to you. And I did not read past. Read past.

• 5:12Georgia Hardstark?

  What the fuck? Okay.

• 5:13Karen Kilgariff?

  It's so funny.

• 5:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Happy for us.

• 5:14Karen Kilgariff?

  It says, note, in reference to the Roof Man story in episode 536, Smart and Tricky.

• 5:19Georgia Hardstark?

  It all makes sense.

• 5:21Karen Kilgariff?

  We asked for that, especially ones that involve high school parties. And I immediately knew I had a story to write. Couldn't have been more specific with these people. And they're like, yep, we got it.

• 5:30Georgia Hardstark?

  I got that, finally.

• 5:32Karen Kilgariff?

  It says, I'm in my 30s now, still close friends with the three girls I went to the party with, and we still tell the story with pride. To set the scene, I was 16. Me and my three best friends went to a party at a friend's house whose parents were out of town. There was beer pong and lots of underage drinking. One of my friends decided, with the poor judgment of a teenager, to walk to a gas station with a group of people. And on the way there, they got stopped by cops because a neighbor had called in a complaint about the party. While the cop worked on some paperwork in his car, my girl somehow had the wherewithal to call me and say, dude, get out of the house, the cops are on their way there.

• 6:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Nice.

• 6:07Karen Kilgariff?

  Me and my two friends were hanging out in the basement, and I said something to the effect of, get the fuck up, we gotta go right now. We all ran up the stairs, and just as someone was answering the front door and cops were coming into the house, we opened the sliding glass door to the backyard and bolted out into the night.

• 6:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Nice.

• 6:23Karen Kilgariff?

  We were in a neighborhood with a series of fenced yards and houses, and we realized that if we tried to climb the fence at that moment, we were going to get caught. So instead, the three of us climbed up on the top of an RV at the back of the yard. The railings along the roof of the RV blocked the view of our flat bodies as cops swarmed the backyard, shining their flashlights around, looking for drunk teenagers.

• 6:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Nice. They're all like. Sitting there.

• 6:47Karen Kilgariff?

  Once the coast was finally clear, we leaped from the top of the RV over the back fence into someone's bushes. One of my friends caught her thigh on a piece of the metal fence on the way down and ended up with an eight-inch gouge. Scratched up, bruised, and bleeding, but giddy about our narrow escape, we made our way through backyards and called my friend's older sister to come pick us up. I seriously don't know how I got so lucky to grow up with these three amazing badass women who always have each other's backs through all sorts of mischief and heartache, but their friendship means the world to me. Female friendships truly are a magical gift in this fucked up world. Thank you for sharing yours with all of us. Much love, Erica.

• 7:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 7:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Erica.

• 7:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Beautiful.

• 7:32Karen Kilgariff?

  The perfect amount of ass kissing, the perfect amount of action.

• 7:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Great, yeah, exactly.

• 7:37Karen Kilgariff?

  A wound, all the things.

• 7:39Georgia Hardstark?

  And we asked for it and you get you delivered.

• 7:41Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 7:42Georgia Hardstark?

  So, thank you.

• 7:43Karen Kilgariff?

  True, to the word, basically.

• 7:44Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, literally.

• 7:47Karen Kilgariff?

  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.

• 8:28Karen Kilgariff?

  And when you're ready to launch, use offer code MURDER to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Goodbye. Everyone, we have incredible news. It's finally sweater season.

• 8:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Get your fall wardrobe ready with elevated everyday essentials from Quince.

• 8:43Karen Kilgariff?

  Quince specializes in effortless, high-quality pieces like ultra-soft, organic cotton, and premium Mongolian cashmere sweaters. They're beautifully tailored, built to last, and transition seamlessly from morning meetings to dinner.

• 8:55Georgia Hardstark?

  Everything at Quince is Price 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup. I love that Quince keeps adding items to their roster when it's jewelry. They've got hair stuff.

• 9:12Karen Kilgariff?

  Sheets.

• 9:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Sheets. I just bought a couch from Quince. No joke.

• 9:16Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 9:17Georgia Hardstark?

  I love everything I've got from them clothing wise and sheets wise. Why wouldn't I also get a couch from them? So boom.

• 9:24Karen Kilgariff?

  They know what they're doing. Find the fall pieces you'll reach for most at Quince.

• 9:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com.

• 9:32Karen Kilgariff?

  Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

• 9:35Georgia Hardstark?

  Now available in Canada and the UK too.

• 9:37Karen Kilgariff?

  And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was my favorite murder. It's the best way to support the show.

• 9:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 9:46Georgia Hardstark?

  Hmm, not gonna give this one away.

• 9:49Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay.

• 9:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Let's see. Hey, murder fam. All right, ladies, let's cut the small talk and get right into it.

• 9:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Stop being so bossy.

• 9:56Georgia Hardstark?

  I wanted to share a story about how I didn't get murdered, but definitely tempted fate when I was in my late twenties studying abroad in Italy. Stranded on Easter weekend.

• 10:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Weren't you just in Italy?

• 10:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Just in Italy.

• 10:08Karen Kilgariff?

  What's your Rotten Tomatoes rating on Italy?

• 10:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my gosh, five out of five.

• 10:13Karen Kilgariff?

  Great.

• 10:13Georgia Hardstark?

  Is that how Rotten Tomatoes work?

• 10:14Karen Kilgariff?

  I think they do percentages.

• 10:16Georgia Hardstark?

  100%.

• 10:17Karen Kilgariff?

  Really?

• 10:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, it was great.

• 10:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Love, love, love.

• 10:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Love it. Stranded on Easter weekend.

• 10:20Karen Kilgariff?

  Well, it's my thing, not yours.

• 10:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Stranded on Easter weekend in Italy. My friends and I were desperate for a ride to our condo. And what luck, someone offered us one. And then there's a catch. I'm not going to read it to you because I don't want to give it away. Everything shut down in Italy for Easter, so we had to leave our villa and entertain ourselves for the week. Little known fact about Italy, non-family members are basically kicked out to fend for themselves during the sacred holiday. My two friends and I decided to head to Capri, so we rented a tiny condo and took the train to Sorrento to explore.

• 10:53Karen Kilgariff?

  I would love to confirm that with other Italians. It's like, is that happening to everybody?

• 10:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 10:58Karen Kilgariff?

  Or is it just you guys?

• 10:59Georgia Hardstark?

  They just didn't, they were like, let's get things back in.

• 11:01Karen Kilgariff?

  Hey, this is real sacred. How about you leave town?

• 11:03Georgia Hardstark?

  While waiting for the bus that would take us over the mountain to our place, we decided to do a little shopping. As we shopped, we chatted with the shopkeeper and mentioned our plans to head to Capri. He casually dropped the bombshell that no buses were running all weekend because of Easter. We fact-checked this, and it was true. We quickly realized we were stranded. Then the shopkeeper generously offered to drive us over the mountain once he got off work. My friends and I looked at each other and asked for some time to think about this offer. We were well aware that this is how a tragic study of road murder started. Well, I mean, an older man was offering a ride to three young women out of the kindness of his heart? Who does that? And I'm sure our parents would have been very upset to know we were considering getting into a car with a stranger in a foreign

• 11:45Georgia Hardstark?

  country. But there were no buses for three days, so how else were we going to get to our place? So reluctantly, we agreed. We met him outside the shop, and that's when we saw it. His blue sedan was covered in phallic etchings. Not one or two either, but the entire car looked like it had been the victim of a very determined but not so talented artist. Maybe one really pissed-off ex? They weren't just drawn in the dust either. They were scratched right into the paint, and we're talking everywhere, all sizes, shapes, and angles.

• 12:20Karen Kilgariff?

  What?

• 12:21Georgia Hardstark?

  A fucking dick drive.

• 12:22Karen Kilgariff?

  A dick car. A big dick car.

• 12:24Georgia Hardstark?

  My friends and I exchanged questioning glances, but instead of backing out and embarrassing him, we climbed right in. And what's that thing you two say? Fuck politeness? Well, not that day, ladies. I ended up in the front seat because it had been decided that I was the most badass of the group and would be expected to protect everyone if necessary.

• 12:43Karen Kilgariff?

  No pressure.

• 12:43Georgia Hardstark?

  As I buckled my seatbelt, and then it says, "Safety first," I glanced up and saw even more questionable carvings, this time carved right into his leather dashboard. It had to be an ex, like an angry ex who just carved.

• 12:55Karen Kilgariff?

  I mean, but it's just, you're carving dirty pictures? What were the dashboard carvings?

• 13:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Dicks. It was all dicks.

• 13:01Karen Kilgariff?

  More dicks.

• 13:02Georgia Hardstark?

  This is called... Are those wieners etched on his car?

• 13:08Georgia Hardstark?

  We all made small talk while I silently calculated just how many phallic impressions it would take for this situation to become a red flag. I didn't dare ask about them because what if it set him off? But also, why wasn't he saying anything about them? They were not subtle. We got to the top of the mountain. He pulled over to show us a, quote, "gorgeous photo op overlooking the Sorrento Valley." At that point, I was convinced this was it. This was where we were going to get thrown off a cliff and our parents were going to be so disappointed in us. But no, he simply snapped our picture and we got back in the car. We made it to our condo without incident. He even helped us get checked in, unloaded our bags, and drove off. What a relief. Later, I told my uncle this story and he explained that sometimes people are just nice

• 13:51Georgia Hardstark?

  and that you must trust them. We Mardarinos know that's not always true, but it was true this time. Stay sexy and when in Italy, always put the most badass friend in the front seat, Kimberly. P.S. We never asked about the questionable carvings and he never mentioned them. An hour and a half of driving with curious doodles everywhere and not a single word about them. That's the weirdest fucking part, right?

• 14:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Well, because clearly, if, like, if it was an ex or some revenge, then that's one thing, but there's a chance he could have just wanted to do it and did it himself.

• 14:23Georgia Hardstark?

  That's his style.

• 14:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 14:25Georgia Hardstark?

  My husband hates this part of the story, quote, "Why didn't you ask about them?" Smiley face.

• 14:29Karen Kilgariff?

  You know, there's, I remember going to a little town, a little mountain town, and there was a bar that was famous for being, it was like a phallic bar, and there was all kinds of that everywhere. And that's the reason you went and had a drink, because it was like the dick bar or whatever.

• 14:44Georgia Hardstark?

  That's a choice.

• 14:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah. I mean, who knows?

• 14:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 14:49Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, well, the subject line of this email is "Trapped in a Chuck E. Cheese Machine? Why, yes, I was."

• 14:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, no. Okay.

• 14:56Karen Kilgariff?

  Similar, not the same. In your most recent episode, there's no beginning. It just, we go right into talking about why somebody would be writing this in. You specifically asked for stories about being trapped in a machine at Chuck E. Cheese.

• 15:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Sure, that makes sense.

• 15:09Karen Kilgariff?

  And I just happen to have a story for that weirdly specific ask. I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 80s, and Chuck E. Cheese was where you went for birthday parties, playdates, and just general merriment. This specific Chuck E. Cheese was pretty elaborate. I remember a really big ball pit next to a big bouncy area, completely surrounded by an overhanging series of fort-like structures. Of course, they all had the usual games that would spit out tickets that you could then use for prizes as well. I am still to this day, pretty darn good at Ski Ball.

• 15:39Georgia Hardstark?

  Same, I love it.

• 15:41Karen Kilgariff?

  When I read that line, I was just like, George is gonna have something to say about this.

• 15:44Georgia Hardstark?

  My.

• 15:45Karen Kilgariff?

  But the real, have you ever seen that viral video of the little boy that just literally nails that top high number every time?

• 15:52Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my god.

• 15:53Karen Kilgariff?

  So crazy. But the real treasure was the quote "cheese factory." This was a glassed-in, separate area that was sort of like a maze. Do you remember this?

• 16:02Georgia Hardstark?

  It sounds familiar.

• 16:03Karen Kilgariff?

  You started out just walking through, but it got progressively smaller, narrower, and darker as you went, to the point that it was just a small, narrow, square tunnel wrapped in what I can only assume was the most disgusting carpet in the world.

• 16:16Georgia Hardstark?

  Ah.

• 16:17Karen Kilgariff?

  You could only continue through by crawling on your hands and knees, and we were small children, so it had to be a very small tunnel. My sister and I never once got to the end of wherever that tunnel went, because it just got so dark and so small that you could barely move. We tried so many times.

• 16:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, I'm getting like, I'm getting claustrophobic, just sweating.

• 16:37Karen Kilgariff?

  This is a nightmare I have, where I'm like, walking down a hall, but suddenly the hall's small around me.

• 16:42Georgia Hardstark?

  You know when you see those like, those like drawings of people who go into caves and can't come out again? I just can't, I can't.

• 16:48Karen Kilgariff?

  They're sending children in.

• 16:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, now they're sending, now they're sending children in.

• 16:51Karen Kilgariff?

  And now? This is what they're doing.

• 16:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 16:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay, so, "We never ended up where we started and we never once were successively able to get out of the cheese factory. The exit was a slide that would take you back outside the glassed-in enclosure. We could always see that slide, but we could never figure out how to get there. We always ended up banging on the glass, sobbing, and our parents had to find someone to rescue."

• 17:16Georgia Hardstark?

  I've done that.

• 17:17Karen Kilgariff?

  Rescue us.

• 17:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Slide.

• 17:18Karen Kilgariff?

  And then it says, "Every." Period. Single. Period. Time.

• 17:21Georgia Hardstark?

  I want to go up there. You cry every time. I'm not coming to get you this time.

• 17:25Karen Kilgariff?

  That last tunnel freaks out.

• 17:27Georgia Hardstark?

  I'll do it this time.

• 17:27Karen Kilgariff?

  No, we don't have to. We're doing it together. "Why they continued to let us go back in, or why we wanted to, is beyond me. We weren't necessarily trapped in a machine at Chuck E. Cheese, per se, but we sure spent a lot of time trapped in the cheese factory there, and it haunts me to this day. I wish I knew what it was at the end of that gross carpeted tunnel and how to really get out." Kate.

• 17:48Georgia Hardstark?

  Do we have a photo or anything?

• 17:50Karen Kilgariff?

  No, we got nothing. We got, we got the photos in our mind of that creepy little dark carpeted tunnel.

• 17:56Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, the carpet. I can like, it's like the industrial carpet, probably, right?

• 17:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, it's, it's dark maroon, maybe black a little bit, and then bright red or bright orange.

• 18:04Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 18:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Like a combination where you're like, "Why these colors?"

• 18:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Like covers all the stain, wet stains.

• 18:09Karen Kilgariff?

  And they were making it sound like, as they were trying to go through, other kids were coming through.

• 18:13Georgia Hardstark?

  That's what I was thinking, too, is like, it's a crush situation.

• 18:16Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes. Everyone, we have incredible news. It's finally sweater season.

• 18:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Get your fall wardrobe ready with elevated everyday essentials from Quince.

• 18:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Quince specializes in effortless, high-quality pieces like ultra-soft, organic cotton and premium Mongolian cashmere sweaters. They're beautifully tailored, built to last, and transition seamlessly from morning meetings to dinner.

• 18:37Georgia Hardstark?

  Everything at Quince is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen, so you're paying for quality, not brand markup. I love that Quince keeps adding items to their, like, roster, when it's like jewelry, they've got hair stuff.

• 18:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Sheets.

• 18:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Sheets? I just bought a couch from Quince. No joke.

• 18:58Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 18:59Georgia Hardstark?

  I love everything I've got from them clothing wise, like sheets wise. Why wouldn't I also get a couch from them? So boom.

• 19:06Karen Kilgariff?

  They know what they're doing. Find the fall pieces you'll reach for most at Quince.

• 19:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com.

• 19:14Karen Kilgariff?

  Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

• 19:17Georgia Hardstark?

  Now available in Canada and the UK too.

• 19:19Karen Kilgariff?

  And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was my favorite murder. It's the best way to support the show.

• 19:25Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye. Buying furniture is a lot of pressure. It has to look good, feel good, and hold up to everyday life.

• 19:32Karen Kilgariff?

  Take it from me, a bad couch can ruin your life.

• 19:34Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why Article focuses on stylish, high quality pieces designed to last.

• 19:39Karen Kilgariff?

  Article makes it effortless to create a stylish, long lasting home at an unbeatable price.

• 19:43Georgia Hardstark?

  They take great care in curating their collection, focusing on pieces that stand the test of time. There's no filler. Every item is chosen for its craftsmanship, design, and lasting value.

• 19:53Karen Kilgariff?

  And with Article's 30 day satisfaction guarantee, you can shop with confidence, knowing that if you're not completely in love with your new furniture, you can easily return it. Man, there was nothing I loved more than when I was broke and I could still buy furniture that I needed at Article. It wasn't cheap looking. It's like I was investing in these pieces that were comparatively inexpensive and I was like finishing rooms. I was like getting the kitchen table that was like bringing the whole thing together. And it was such an incredible thing because I never got to do that before. I love that about Article.

• 20:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

• 20:30Karen Kilgariff?

  To claim, visit article.com/murder and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

• 20:35Georgia Hardstark?

  That's article.com/murder for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

• 20:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Well, here's a nice one. My last one. Karen's voice is literally healing.

• 20:49Karen Kilgariff?

  What? Oh no.

• 20:51Georgia Hardstark?

  And then it just goes Karen et al.

• 20:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Hurtful and you're trying to you're trying to cause problems when you started.

• 20:58Georgia Hardstark?

  Truly, but I'm reading it.

• 20:59Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 21:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Longtime listener. Anyway, I must inform you that you have quite a grip on this tinnitus suffering, hard of hearing listener.

• 21:07Karen Kilgariff?

  Hmm.

• 21:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Here's the deal. For as long as I can remember, I slept with a TV on and would tell my boomer parents that the quiet is too loud. So she had to have her TV on.

• 21:16Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 21:17Georgia Hardstark?

  I haven't used my fucking, I keep meaning to use it. That means I don't need them, right? If I haven't used them?

• 21:21Karen Kilgariff?

  Well, maybe. Did Italy heal your eyeballs?

• 21:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh my god.

• 21:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Is my, is my voice right now healing your vision?

• 21:28Georgia Hardstark?

  I can hear everything now. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Too loud. Um.

• 21:34Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, they don't work.

• 21:36Georgia Hardstark?

  They're just making me real stupid. Too loud when they complained about the TV being on. You know that authority figure who speaks sternly and quietly when he's mad? That's my dad. And I, when I responded with huh, more than my low speaking father appreciated, I would get in some major trouble for quote, not paying attention. Growing up, I was always quote, too loud and would get in trouble for quote, not listening. But I didn't know how to change it and was always super embarrassed. Teachers absolutely hated it. But did my parents ever think any of these complaints were cause enough to take me to get a hearing test?

• 22:10Karen Kilgariff?

  For fuck's sake?

• 22:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Of course not. They're boomers and I quote, just wasn't paying attention and needed to be quieter.

• 22:17Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 22:18Georgia Hardstark?

  Man, I hear you.

• 22:18Karen Kilgariff?

  Which is the thing children cannot do.

• 22:21Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 22:21Karen Kilgariff?

  Cannot do.

• 22:22Georgia Hardstark?

  It's not part of their, the thing they, you know. At the age of 31, I suffered an extreme double ear infection that resulted in multiple CT scans to watch out for meningitis. The infection was very intense and even resulted in short-term memory loss.

• 22:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh shit, yeah.

• 22:38Georgia Hardstark?

  That's fucked up.

• 22:38Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, that's.

• 22:39Georgia Hardstark?

  I thankfully walked away with a physically trauma-free brain, but the ringing, oh my god, the ringing was so loud. Do you have tinnitus?

• 22:47Karen Kilgariff?

  I don't.

• 22:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Vince has it. It sounds terrible. I sincerely thought I was going to go crazy. No sound was present enough to drown it out. I visited an ENT and he suggested that I quote, learn coping mechanisms to alleviate the condition. Then took only a quick peek in my ears. I said, fuck these local doctors and delegated this job to someone outside my small corner of southwest Michigan. And then it says, go Lions, Vince.

• 23:15Georgia Hardstark?

  This new doctor did a thorough exam and a hearing test and all caps. It turns out I was born a little bit deaf and can't register low tones. Thirty-one is when she found out.

• 23:26Karen Kilgariff?

  God damn it.

• 23:27Georgia Hardstark?

  You bet the first thing I did on the drive home was call my dad and demand an apology for all those years of hounding. Did I receive one? He only giggled. The doctor referred me to get hearing aids that amplify lower tones and provide a constant little shh sound in the background, which completely dissolves the ringing.

• 23:44Karen Kilgariff?

  Thank God.

• 23:45Georgia Hardstark?

  The aids also connect to my phone and I can listen to my favorite podcasts without anyone knowing. Wink.

• 23:51Karen Kilgariff?

  You're just in a meeting and you're... You're just like...

• 23:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 23:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Doing a lot of nodding at the wrong time.

• 23:57Georgia Hardstark?

  I cannot sleep without the hearing aids. And this is where Miss Kilgariff comes into play. Do You Need a Ride and MFM have been my, quote, "falling asleep" podcasts for years before my ENT appointments and have continued to be in the years after. There's something about Karen's voice that hits the right note to drown out the nighttime ringing and lulls me right to sleep.

• 24:17Karen Kilgariff?

  I don't think that's true.

• 24:21Georgia Hardstark?

  I'm used to that.

• 24:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Don't worry about my mental health. I stack my queue with podcasts like Sleepy History and Lights Out Library.

• 24:29Karen Kilgariff?

  I listen to Lights Out Library.

• 24:30Georgia Hardstark?

  You do?

• 24:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes, I do.

• 24:31Georgia Hardstark?

  Holy shit.

• 24:32Karen Kilgariff?

  It fucking works.

• 24:33Georgia Hardstark?

  I will never listen. I need it.

• 24:34Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 24:35Georgia Hardstark?

  For when I'm asleep, I'll be totally fine. All this to say, hearing aids are just glasses for your ears. No one should be ashamed to get them because, quote, "they're too young." I've heard so much of this since getting them. Insurance did not take promo code murder to help cover the cost of the hearing aids. And the third one is Karen's voice is literally healing. Stay sexy. You look so mad about this. It's sweet.

• 24:59Karen Kilgariff?

  It's embarrassing.

• 25:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Sorry. Stay sexy and pay attention. Kay, she/her.

• 25:05Karen Kilgariff?

  Kay, I'm honored and goddamn, I'm sorry that you... Like tinnitus and that ringing and that idea that you just had to deal with that.

• 25:13Georgia Hardstark?

  At thirty and they're like, well, get used to it.

• 25:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Just as someone who like has seizures, when you have a thing that's wrong with just inside your head and like, it's not like someone can be like, "Your poor, broken arm."

• 25:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah, we took a blood test and yeah.

• 25:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, it's just, that's so frustrating. And so like, and it's also funny because I wonder if having a dad who is technically also kind of deaf, or at least very hard of hearing.

• 25:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, you did.

• 25:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah.

• 25:38Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, right, because of the fucking firehouse.

• 25:40Karen Kilgariff?

  The firehouse and the alarms made all of those guys, that generation of firemen, completely deaf.

• 25:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Right, the alarms on the, on the, um.

• 25:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, in that, when they'd all go off when they'd be asleep.

• 25:51Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 25:52Karen Kilgariff?

  That was like beyond not good for your ears. So yeah, so we have to modulate our voice where we're yelling at my dad, but in the lowest register possible.

• 26:02Georgia Hardstark?

  Jesus.

• 26:03Karen Kilgariff?

  So I think I've always had a, I've always, and also, the first time I saw Janine Garofalo do standup comedy, I was like, "I want to do, have a deep voice when I do standup comedy," because I kind of was like, "I'm here like this," and I was like, "Now I'm gonna talk as low as I can."

• 26:16Georgia Hardstark?

  And now people fall asleep to that, thanks to Janine Garofalo.

• 26:19Karen Kilgariff?

  The dulcet tones, thanks to my deaf father and Janine Garofalo, this is the product you get.

• 26:24Georgia Hardstark?

  Love it. Do you have one more?

• 26:29Karen Kilgariff?

  Yes.

• 26:29Georgia Hardstark?

  Okay, good.

• 26:31Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh yeah, this is great. The subject line of this email, thank you, what was her name again?

• 26:36Georgia Hardstark?

  Kay, just Kay.

• 26:37Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, what if I wrote it about myself?

• 26:40Georgia Hardstark?

  You listen to her.

• 26:42Karen Kilgariff?

  You know whose voice I like best?

• 26:43Georgia Hardstark?

  I listen to Janine E. Wright in my bedroom, it's all I listen to.

• 26:46Karen Kilgariff?

  Lights Out Library.

• 26:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 26:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Okay. The subject line of this email is inappropriate and probably illegal kid jobs.

• 26:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Great.

• 26:55Karen Kilgariff?

  Ahoy, ahoy. Here is my story of inappropriate kid jobs I gave myself. I also, for the record, babysat five children under the age of eight, including an infant, when I was 10.

• 27:06Georgia Hardstark?

  Dude.

• 27:07Karen Kilgariff?

  Gen X was no joke. In third grade, I was living with my great grandparents largely unsupervised, completely undiagnosed ADHD, fiercely overachieving, and just a deeply weird kid.

• 27:19Georgia Hardstark?

  Aww.

• 27:20Karen Kilgariff?

  And then in parentheses, "Still weird, no regrets." That's right.

• 27:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Hell, yeah.

• 27:24Karen Kilgariff?

  That's, please be. Either I was going to end up in federal prison or running my own company. Uh oh.

• 27:30Georgia Hardstark?

  Same.

• 27:31Karen Kilgariff?

  Hi.

• 27:32Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my.

• 27:33Karen Kilgariff?

  Friend.

• 27:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Literally same.

• 27:35Karen Kilgariff?

  We're all looking in the mirror at each other. We're all Spider-Man pointing at each other. But luckily, because I am introverted and like my space, I chose the latter. My entrepreneurial journey began at a friend's house when I hit the jackpot. I found the dirtiest, most scandalous publication my young eyes had ever beheld, a Frederick's of Hollywood catalog.

• 27:54Georgia Hardstark?

  I was obsessed with that as a kid.

• 27:57Karen Kilgariff?

  It was the dirtiest thing.

• 27:59Georgia Hardstark?

  You know what I wanted? The full body, like, uh, like fishnet lace suit. Like, it went to your ankles and to your, what are these, wrists? And up to here. But it was, like, see-through and lace. And I was like, that's, when I'm an adult, that's gonna be the sexiest thing that ever happened to me.

• 28:16Karen Kilgariff?

  I feel like in that catalog, they were drawings, right? Wasn't it, like, really cool cartoon women?

• 28:21Georgia Hardstark?

  I don't remember that at all. Maybe, maybe, like, in, when I, I was, like, probably in the 90s when I was looking at it, early 90s.

• 28:26Karen Kilgariff?

  Oh, I was looking at it in the 1800s. Okay, yeah. Okay, it says, "Naturally, they saw this Frederick's of Hollywood catalog at their friend's house." And so they say, "Naturally, I took it with zero remorse. I saw an underserved demographic of neighborhood boys, and I instantly launched a tiered subscription service."

• 28:47Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my god.

• 28:48Karen Kilgariff?

  Fucking genius. It, so the first tier of this subscription service is bare essentials, and it's 25 cents, and it's a standard glance at bras and underwear. Then the second tier is cheeky business, which is 50 cents.

• 29:01Georgia Hardstark?

  What are you, the most brilliant kid in the world? This is happening.

• 29:05Karen Kilgariff?

  And cheeky business is high cleavage or a thong.

• 29:08Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 29:09Karen Kilgariff?

  Now, looking back, did I lead some young boys astray? Maybe. But like any good CEO, I didn't care. And more importantly, I knew I couldn't rely on a single revenue stream. I channeled my illicit money into a second venture, establishing a schoolyard candy cartel. This is fucking major.

• 29:26Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 29:27Karen Kilgariff?

  I'd buy a pack of Now and Laters for a quarter and flip the individual squares for 25 cents each. I mean, come on. I was basically the Pablo Escobar of cavities. The lingerie division was eventually shut down when a teacher So good.

• 29:43Georgia Hardstark?

  It's so smart.

• 29:44Karen Kilgariff?

  The lingerie division was eventually shut down when a teacher noticed a suspicious queue of boys forming around me. My poor father had to sit in the principal's office, not the first or last time, by the way, and listen to a tale of his wayward daughter's adult undergarment subscription ring.

• 29:59Georgia Hardstark?

  I mean, he had to be a little proud.

• 30:01Karen Kilgariff?

  It had to be. I got grounded, obviously. They took away my Intellivision. Do you remember Intellivision?

• 30:07Georgia Hardstark?

  No. What is that?

• 30:08Karen Kilgariff?

  It was kind of like early Atari.

• 30:11Georgia Hardstark?

  Oh, my God.

• 30:12Karen Kilgariff?

  Which I found deeply unfair. It's not my fault I knew my audience. However, the candy operation completely survived the crackdown. I ran that operation straight through sixth grade until I was finally busted, but I had bought an amazing Casio keyboard.

• 30:27Georgia Hardstark?

  Wow.

• 30:28Karen Kilgariff?

  Totally worth it. Unsurprisingly, I've now been a legitimate, successful, and happily self-employed business owner for 22 years. The hustle started early, and I can't recommend it enough. Stay sexy and be your own boss, and it's just the initials PCP.

• 30:43Georgia Hardstark?

  That is so smart, because it's the tiered part that makes me go, that's a smart. I would never think of that.

• 30:49Karen Kilgariff?

  Yep.

• 30:50Georgia Hardstark?

  The tiered part is brilliant.

• 30:51Karen Kilgariff?

  Yeah, you could have this.

• 30:53Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 30:53Karen Kilgariff?

  Sure.

• 30:54Georgia Hardstark?

  Yeah.

• 30:54Karen Kilgariff?

  Find it. Steal another quarter out of your dad's bowl.

• 30:57Georgia Hardstark?

  Right.

• 30:58Karen Kilgariff?

  On his dresser, and you can see some cheeks.

• 31:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Amazing. Tell us how you started. You became the person you are today by doing fucked up things as a child.

• 31:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Yep.

• 31:08Georgia Hardstark?

  At myfavormurder@gmail.

• 31:10Karen Kilgariff?

  Get it off your chest on this podcast. We love it.

• 31:13Georgia Hardstark?

  This is the place to tell everyone.

• 31:15Karen Kilgariff?

  We're all with you.

• 31:16Georgia Hardstark?

  We are. And we love you, and we appreciate you, and thank you for listening.

• 31:20Karen Kilgariff?

  And stay sexy.

• 31:20Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't get murdered.

• 31:22Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye. Elvis, do you want a cookie?

• 31:33Karen Kilgariff?

  This has been an Exactly Right Production.

• 31:34Georgia Hardstark?

  Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes.

• 31:38Karen Kilgariff?

  Our editor is Aristotle Lasevedo.

• 31:40Georgia Hardstark?

  This episode was mixed by Liana Scolacci.

• 31:42Karen Kilgariff?

  Email your hometowns to [email protected].

• 31:45Georgia Hardstark?

  Follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder.

• 31:47Karen Kilgariff?

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

• 31:52Georgia Hardstark?

  And now you can watch My Favorite Murder on Netflix.

• 31:55Karen Kilgariff?

  And when you're there, hit the double thumbs up and the remind me buttons. That's the best way you can support our show.

• 32:00Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 32:08Karen Kilgariff?

  Calling all amateur detectives and podcast obsessives.

• 32:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Virgin Voyages' second true crime voyage sets sail March 20th, 2027, for a five-night escape to Grand Turk and the Beach Club at Bimini.

• 32:20Karen Kilgariff?

  As part of the On Air at Sea collection, this immersive sailing brings together fan favorite podcasts, including DisgraceLand, Buried Bones, and Wisecrack for live recordings, behind-the-scenes access, exclusive meet and greets, and crime-themed programming that you won't find anywhere else.

• 32:36Georgia Hardstark?

  All aboard our award-winning, kid-free ships.

• 32:39Karen Kilgariff?

  Head over to virginvoyages.com/trucrime to secure your spot.

• 32:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 32:45Speaker 04

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• 33:15Speaker 05

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• 33:28Speaker 06

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• 34:11Speaker 06

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