394:  The Castleton Massacre with Margaret Carson & Sharon Anne Cook

394: The Castleton Massacre with Margaret Carson & Sharon Anne Cook

Author: Blue Ewe Media June 17, 2025 Duration: 1:22:52
On May 2, 1963, Robert Killins, a former United Church minister, slaughtered every woman in his family but one. She (and her brother) lived to tell the story of what motivated a talented man who had been widely admired, a scholar and graduate from Queen’s University, to stalk and terrorize the women in his family for almost twenty years and then murder them. Through extensive oral histories, Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson painstakingly trace the causes of a femicide in which four women and two unborn babies were murdered over the course of one bloody evening. While they situate this murderous rampage in the literature on domestic abuse and mass murders, they also explore how the two traumatized child survivors found their way back to health and happiness. Their book is called "The Castleton Massacre: Survivors' Stories of the Killins Femicide" and the authors join me to discuss this horrific and very personal tragedy. Their publisher's book page: https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459749863-the-castleton-massacre Sharon Anne Cook's website: https://sharonannecook.com/ Sharon Anne Cook's faculty page: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-education/sharon-anne-cook More about Margaret Carson: https://www.dundurn.com/authors_/t156375/p148940-margaret-carson Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Step back in time and explore the darkest corners of the past with Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast. This isn't just another crime show; it's a deep dive into the historical context that shaped infamous acts and the figures behind them. From the ruthless gangsters of the Prohibition era to the chilling methods of Victorian-era murderers, each episode unpacks a story rooted in its specific moment in history. Host Erik Rivenes acts as your guide, conducting thoughtful interviews with authors and historians who have dedicated years to researching their subjects. These conversations move beyond sensational headlines to deliver nuanced narratives filled with detail and scholarly accuracy. You'll hear about forgotten tragedies, legendary outlaws, and societal disasters, all presented with a focus on understanding the why and how within the framework of the past. Tune in for a compelling blend of education and narrative, where every story is a piece of historical truth, often more fascinating and complex than fiction. This podcast from Blue Ewe Media connects the dots between crime and history, offering a rich, thoroughly researched listening experience for anyone curious about the shadows cast across different centuries.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast
Podcast Episodes
422:  The Wreck of the Circus Ship Royal Tar w/ Jane Parks Gardner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:32
On October 21, 1836, crowds lined the docks of Saint John, New Brunswick, to watch the steamship Royal Tar depart for Portland, Maine - this time carrying an entire circus. Cages filled with exotic birds, snakes, lions a…
421:  The Killer of Little Shepherds w/ Douglas Starr [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:01
At the close of the nineteenth century, serial killer Joseph Vacher terrorized the French countryside for years, eluding capture while murdering more victims than Jack the Ripper. His sprawling crime wave ultimately drew…
420: The 1788 Doctors' Riot w/ Andy McPhee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:34
On April 13, 1788, outrage erupted in New York City when word spread that students from the local medical school were stealing corpses from nearby graveyards, at the direction of their instructors, for classroom dissecti…
419: Serial Killer Pee Wee Gaskins w/ Dick Harpootlian [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:10
Among the many murder cases handled by South Carolina attorney Dick Harpootlian, one continues to stand apart: the prosecution of Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins. A serial killer and sexual predator, Gaskins claimed to have tak…
MoNo Encore: The Murder of Frank Richardson w/ Kimberly Tilley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:29
Original Publication Date: 4/3/22 On Christmas Eve, 1900, 44-year-old dry goods store owner Frank Richardson was shot to death in his Savannah, Missouri home. Suspects included his wife Addie, his teenage lover Goldie Wh…
417: The Shipwreck of the Mignonette w/ Adam Cohen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:06
On May 19, 1884, the yacht Mignonette set sail from England on what should have been an uneventful voyage. When their vessel sank in the Atlantic, Captain Thomas Dudley and his crew found themselves adrift in a tiny life…
416: Nazi Germany’s Bungled Operation Condor w/ Gavin Whitehead [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:52
In 1942, two Abwehr German agents, including Johannes Eppler, slipped into Cairo to gather intelligence for Rommel’s desert campaign, getting help from local allies like the famous dancer Hekmet Fahmy and Anwar Sadat. De…
415:  The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald w/ John U. Bacon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:04
November 10, 2025, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the sinking of the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald during a vicious Lake Superior storm. All 29 crew members were lost, a tragedy later memorialized in Gordon Lightfoo…
414: The Martha Wise Murders w/ Rod Kackley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:41
In the winter of 1924-1925, quiet Medina County, Ohio, was shaken to its core. Martha Wise, an ordinary farm widow with an extraordinary obsession, slipped arsenic into her family’s food and water. Three of her relatives…