The Case of Jeanette Maples

Samuel Little, arguably the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, died at a Los Angeles County hospital on Wednesday. He was 80 years old, and had operated undetected for decades, primarily because he primarily targeted poor people of color and people who were estranged from their families. If you know anything about any of the cases listed on the FBI website, please contact them immediately: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/samuel-little-most-prolific-serial-killer-in-us-history-100619 A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #truecrime

1 Jan 20215min

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon (also known as the "Anesthetic Prowler," Friz, the "Phantom Anesthetist," or simply the "Mad Gasser") was the name given to the person or persons believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in Mattoon, Illinois, during the mid-1940s. More than two dozen separate cases of gassings were reported to police over the span of two weeks, in addition to many reported sightings of the suspected assailant. The gasser's supposed victims reported smelling strange odors in their homes which were soon followed by symptoms such as paralysis of the legs, coughing, nausea, etc. Police remained skeptical of the accounts throughout the entire incident. Nevertheless, local newspapers ran alarmist articles about the reported attacks and treated the accounts as fact, going so far as to allege the culprit was an escaped German soldier in World War II. The attacks are widely considered to be a case of mass hysteria. However, others maintain that the Mad Gasser actually existed, or that the perceived attacks have another explanation, such as industrial pollution. So, did The Mad Gasser of Mattoon even exist? Leave a comment and let us know what you think. A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Join our FREE Discord Group: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #truecrime Source Material: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Gasser_of_Mattoon https://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/blog/the-mad-gasser-of-mattoon/ https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/madgasser

28 Des 202039min

Merry Christmas! 3000 Sub Celebration + Yergy's Birthday! A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #merrychristmas

26 Des 20202min

Happy Holidays from The Misery Machine! We hope this holiday season find you safe and well. This week, Drewby and Yergy take a break from true crime to discuss some of the more unique holiday traditions from around the globe - some fun and quirky, others more macabre and spooky. Who's having KFC and strawberry shortcake on Christmas Eve? Listen and find out! A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #podcast #themiserymachine #truecrime  Source Material: https://www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/worlds-weirdest-christmas-traditions/ https://www.holidayextras.com/travel-blog/wanderlust/unusual-christmas-traditions.html https://www.thetravel.com/weird-christmas-traditions-around-the-world-done-in-america/ https://www.thedailymeal.com/holidays/weird-christmas-traditions-around-world-gallery/slide-13 https://theculturetrip.com/europe/articles/13-quirky-christmas-traditions-from-around-the-world/ https://acis.com/blog/international-holiday-traditions-la-quema-del-diablo-guatemala/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Christmas_Spider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pickle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallikantzaros https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Lwyd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_goat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse_(folklore)

21 Des 202044min

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss The École Polytechnique Massacre, also known as the Montreal Massacre, which was a mass shooting in Montreal at an engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal. Fourteen women were murdered and ten women and four men were injured. On December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine entered a mechanical engineering class at the École Polytechnique and ordered the women and men to opposite sides of the classroom. He separated nine women, instructing the men to leave. He loudly stated that he was "fighting feminism" and subsequently opened fire, shooting all nine women in the room, killing six. Lépine proceeded through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, targeting women for just under 20 minutes. He killed eight more before shooting himself in the head. At the time, the incident was the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history, only surpassed by the shootings in Nova Scotia taking place in April of this year. A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #podcast #documentary #truecrime  Source Material: https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lepine-marc.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_L%C3%A9pine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Jalbert https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/121-58272 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_College_shooting https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Marc_L%C3%A9pine https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/hope-lives-for-polytechnique-survivors-1.791821 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-awful-echoes-of-marc-lepine/article1145087/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre

14 Des 202044min

This week, Yergy and Drewby delve deep into the mysterious disappearance of Ludger Belanger, which has gone unsolved for the last 45 years. Belanger lived in Washington, Maine with his wife Linda at the time of his disappearance. He worked as a heavy equipment mechanic at Bridge Construction in Windsor, working on diesel engines, but at the time of his disappearance was between jobs, and Linda had a job as a waitress at Ho Ho Chinese Restaurant on Western Avenue in Augusta. They had three daughters - Michelle, Traci, and Angel,  whom was only four months old. At 9:00 a.m. on November 25, 1975, after a morning of hunting with Linda and his brother (and possibly his father according to Open Season), Ludger was dropped off half a mile from their home on Route 105 so he could go deer hunting.  Belanger had a good home life and marriage at the time of his disappearance, and isn't believed to have left of his own accord. Linda thinks he was murdered. Police had allegedly two suspects: David Svenningsen (Suspect A) and Danny Collins Jr. (Suspect B). The latter being the only one alive and still living in Maine. This year on November 5th would have been Ludger’s 70th birthday. As of the date of this release, Ludger will have been missing for 45 years.   “Open Season: True Stories of the Maine Warden Service,” by author Daren Worcester dedicates an entire chapter to Ludger's case for anyone interested in further reading. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Maine State Police at (207) 624-7143 or (800) 452-4664. You can also reach out to Ludger’s family via their FB page “Justice for Ludger Belanger.” A very special thank you to Dani for the invaluable information she generously shared with two complete strangers that went out on a limb to reach out! Thank you to Daren for helping us with our questions regarding Open Season: True Stories of the Maine Warden Service , and the vast amount of information he covered. And of course, to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #podcast #themiserymachine #truecrime  Source Materials: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B01NATIZJP&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_QAbZFbX0KGERS https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=justice%20for%20ludger%20belanger https://lcnme.com/currentnews/mvhs-graduates-1975-disappearance-remains-unsolved/ http://charleyproject.org/case/ludger-r-belanger https://www.pressherald.com/2015/11/21/hunters-disappearance-decades-ago-haunts-family https://www.facebook.com/Justice-For-Ludger-Belanger-387173201682994 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111144212/david-brackenridge-svenningsen https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3A0D0YpXggY1oJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fknox.villagesoup.com%2Fmobile%2Fp%2Ffamily-of-washington-man-seeks-justice-43-years-after-his-apparent-murder%2F1791792%20&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&fbclid=IwAR1F9n3cl1cbdYAvUmBJZrD408z0VIruXR3f-evgoolcxRqHoIDlI4m6p64 https://newspaperarchive.com/kennebec-journal-jul-31-1976-p-1/ https://youtu.be/O4Gyt-cS28U

7 Des 20201h 2min

This week, Drew and Yergy discuss the horrific torture and murder of Suzanne Capper, which was committed in Greater Manchester, England in December of 1992. Sixteen-year-old Suzanne Jane Capper died in Withington Hospital on December 18th 1992, from multiple organ failure while in a coma arising from 80% burns after she was deliberately set on fire days prior. Before her death, Capper related that she had previously been kidnapped and kept prisoner for seven days at a house in Moston, Manchester, where she was beaten and tortured. Suzanne was taken from the house by car, driven into the countryside and then forced out of the car virtually naked into the woods at Werneth Low where petrol was poured over her and she was set alight. The torture and murder arose from the "avenging of trivial grievances: a sexual insult, infection with pubic lice and the loss of a pink duffel coat." Detectives conducting the inquiry said that "for sheer mindless brutality" the crime ranked alongside the torture inflicted on children by the Moors murderers. The case went to trial in November 1993, but received "comparatively little publicity" as it coincided with the trial of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables for the murder of James Bulger.  On December 17th 1993, Jean Powell, aged 26, her ex-husband Glyn Powell, aged 29, and Bernadette McNeilly, aged 24, were sentenced to life imprisonment for their parts in the murder. Jeffrey Leigh, aged 27, was jailed for twelve years for false imprisonment. Jean Powell's brother Clifford Pook, aged 18, was sentenced to fifteen years in a Young Offenders' Institution for false imprisonment and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. Anthony Michael Dudson, who was 16 years old at the time of the murder, was also found guilty of murder and sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure under section 53(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. During Suzanne's imprisonment and torture, there were several times in which bystanders could have taken action to save Suzanne's life, but all failed to do so. Suzanne's family claimed ignorance of the direness of her situation, but all had turned Suzanne away when she had come to them for help prior to her death. Unfortunately, bystander apathy mixed with a toxic cocktail of a drug filled mob mentality were Suzanne's undoing, and another young British girl was senselessly lost. A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! This episode is brought to you by Scary Time, help support us by clicking the link to check out Scary Time here: http://www.dummies.fan/mmachine Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #podcast #themiserymachine #truecrime  Source Materials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Suzanne_Capper https://medium.com/crimebeat/going-down-in-flames-d849b8ae8e50 https://morbidology.com/one-week-of-sadism-the-murder-of-suzanne-capper/

30 Nov 202044min

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss the tragic life and death of Judith Eva Barsi, who was an American child actress of the 1980s. The child of Hungarian immigrants, Barsi was very small for her age, and often played much younger roles. She began her career in television, making appearances in commercials and television series such as Punky Brewster, as well as in the films Jaws: The Revenge, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven, providing the voices for animated characters in the latter two (Ducky and Anne Marie). She and her mother, Maria, were killed in July 1988 as a result of a double murder–suicide perpetrated in their home by her father, József Barsi, an abusive alcoholic who was jealous of his daughter's success. Barsi was only 10 years old, with a promising career ahead of her. Judith and her mother were buried in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, with grave markers that were crowdfunded by fans in 2004 - their graves being previously unmarked since 1988. If you are in need of help, please call 911 or 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) The National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/ r/CalmHands: https://www.reddit.com/r/calmhands/ This episode is brought to you by Scary Time, help support us by clicking the link to check out Scary Time here: http://www.dummies.fan/mmachine Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #podcast #documentary #truecrime  Source Material: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Barsi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania https://landbeforetime.fandom.com/wiki/Judith_Barsi https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3038/judith-eva-barsi

16 Nov 202027min