Morbid

Chicago in the 1920s is often remembered for the rise of organized crime and it’s larger than life leaders like Al Capone and Johnny Torrio. While these men and their organizations surely shaped the city’s identity, their infamy and influence were, at least for a short time, rivaled by a group of young women whose murderous acts would dominate headlines in papers around the country throughout the decade.

While Beulah Annan and Belva Gardner—the real-life inspiration for the musical Chicago—were arguably the most well known of the female murders from this era, their famous murders were preceded by the equally sensationalized murder spree of Tillie Klimek. Between 1914 and 1921, Klimek was believed to have killed as many as seven people including four husbands. While her crimes would ultimately land her in the Illinois State Penitentiary for the rest of her life, her exploits and criminal trial were sensational and occupied the front pages of city newspapers for years.

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References

Chicago Tribune. 1922. "Death called mere routine in posion home." Chicago Tribune, November 15: 1.

—. 1922. "Find arsenic, arrest wife and stepson." Chicago Tribune, October 27: 1.

—. 1922. "Klimek poison list is twenty; arrest 1 more." Chicago Tribune, November 19: 1.

—. 1922. "Koulik friend sought in new poison charge." Chicago Tribune, November 26: 5.

—. 1922. "Mystery deaths in poison case may reach 20." Chicago Tribune, November 14: 3.

—. 1923. "Tillie Klimek is strong witness in own defense." Chicago Tribune, March 13: 7.

Danville Commercial News. 1923. "The woman, not the jury, was on trial." Chicago Tribune, March 30: 8.

Forbes, Genevieve. 1923. "Grave digger tells of goings on at Klimks'." Chicago Tribune, March 10: 3.

—. 1923. "How Mrs. Klimek jested of death of husband told." Chicago Tribune, March 9: 7.

—. 1923. "Life in prison for woman as arch poisoner." Chicago Tribune, March 14: 1.

—. 1923. "'Ma' Koulik, wise in jail learning, goes back home." Chicago Tribune, November 9: 4.

—. 1923. "Poison evidence robs Mrs. Klimek of indifference." Chicago Tribune, March 11: 7.

International News Service. 1922. "May exhume bodies of four former husbands." Waukegan News-Sun, October 27: 12.

Lynch, Charles. 1923. "Ask hanging for 2 women charged with murder orgy." Belvidere Daily Republican, March 6: 1.

Telfer, Tori. 2017. Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.

United Press. 1922. "Chicago police suspect second 'Mrs. BLuebeard'." Freeport Journal-Standard, November 4: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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On October 14, 1987, Reba McClure and her eighteen-month-old daughter, Jessica, stopped by the Midland, Texas home of her sister for a visit. As Reba sat in the backyard watching Jessica play with some neighborhood children, she heard the phone ring and went inside to answer it. When McClure returned to the backyard a few minutes later, she saw the other children staring at the ground on the far-side of the yard, but Jessica was nowhere to be seen.

To Reba McClure’s absolute horror, while she was inside on the phone, Jessica had fallen twenty-feet down into the well on her sister’s property and become lodged in a section only fourteen-inches wide. Rescue teams arrived at the house not long after Jessica fell into the well, but the situation proved far more complicated than anyone had expected; they needed to dig a parallel shaft to rescue the girl, but any amount of significant vibration in the earth could have collapsed the well entirely.

In the early days of cable news twenty-four-hour news coverage, the rescue of Jessica McClure became one of the most watched events in the United States. However, while the rescue of the girl was everyone’s primary concern, the wall-to-wall coverage itself quickly became a major part of the story, as ordinary smalltown Americans were shoved into the spotlight and questions over rights to the story (and rights to privacy) took center stage.

References

Belkin, Lisa. 1988. "Baby Jessica's rescuers fighting over TV rights." New York Times, March 24.

Bone, Mark, and Gregory Rosati. 2021. How 58 hours in Midland, Texas, changed the future of TV news. July 30. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/30/opinions/baby-jessica-cnn-films-shorts-mark-bone-opinion.

Comiter, Jordana, and Carolina Blair. 2025. Where Is ‘Baby Jessica’ Now? Inside Her Life 38 Years After Her Harrowing Rescue from a Texas Well. October 16. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://people.com/all-about-baby-jessica-life-now-11830322.

Crimmins, Patrick. 1987. "Toddler's rescue 'matter of time'." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Hillrichs, Julie. 1987. "Naps, choruses of nursery song help toddler endure her ordeal." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Kennedy, J. Michael. 1987. "Jessica makes it to safety-after 58 1/2 hours." Los Angeles Times, October 17: 1.

Lunsford, Lance. 2024. Inside the Well: The Midland, Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press.

Madigan, Tim. 1987. "Rescue just agonizing inches from sobbing girl in Midland well." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 15: 1.

—. 1987. "Town shares emotion of toddler's relatives." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Nye, Ramona. 1987. "Jessica free, under doctors' care." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 17: 1.

Pitts, John Paul. 1987. "Concerned people give of themselves for Jessica." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 17: 1.

Thomas, Evan, and Peter Annin. 1997. "'Baby Jessica' grows up." Newsweek, October 27: 34.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Carolyn and Roger Perron moved into a small farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, they thought they’d found the perfect house in which to raise their five daughters and enjoy the rest of their lives. Before long, the Perron’s dream home turned into a nightmare. It started small—disembodied voices, unpleasant odors—but soon the unpleasant and obnoxious experiences developed into an all-out attack of ghostly apparitions, assaults from unseen hands, and the presence of something far worse than the spirits of the undead.

At first, the Perron family ignored or dismissed the various incidents that disturbed them, but after several years in the house, the experiences had become too numerous and too severe to dismiss. Faced with the unimaginable scenario of losing their house to forces beyond their comprehension, the Perron’s decided to fight back.

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Read an excerpt from THE BUTCHER LEGACY on Crime Reads RIGHT NOW!!

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References

Langston, Keith. 2024. The True Story Behind The Conjuring: Where Is the Perron Family Now? October 20. Accessed March 26, 2026. https://people.com/the-conjuring-true-story-8645388.

Nickell, Joe. 2016. "Dispelling Demons: Detective Work at The Conjuring House." Skepticakl Inquirer 20-24.

Nickell, Joe. 2014. "The Conjuring: Ghosts? Poltergeist? Demons?" Skeptical Inquirer 22-25.

Perron, Andrea. 2013. House of Darkness, House of Light, vol. 2. Providence, RI: AuthorHouse.

—. 2011. House of Darkness: House of Light, vol. 1. Providence, RI: AuthorHouse.

Rhode Island Governor's Justice Commission. 1995. 

Highlights and Analysis from 25 Years Collecting Serious Crime Data.

 Data analysis, Providence, RI: Rhode Island Statistical Analysis Center.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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We are THRILLED to invite to you join our Morbid Book Club in this bonus episode that is #sponsored by our friends at @ashleyofficial. This quarter, we are serving up forensic chills with a side of culinary chaos as we dive into Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell! And the best part? We’re joined our new best friend Chef Reilly Meehan who helps us break it all down! #Morbidbookclub #ashleypartner

We’re unpacking the very first Dr. Kay Scarpetta novel that basically launched a thousand forensic obsessions, chatting about ALL of the gritty details, and some of the wild theories we came up with while reading! (I’m looking at you Lucy!) Chef Reilly brings a totally unique perspective (and some top-tier vibes), as we somehow manage to connect the worlds of food, storytelling, and forensic science. Expect hot takes, a little dark humor, and some truly unhinged tangents, because you know we can’t stay on track for too long.

So keep it weird… and keep turning those pages!

Mentioned in this Episode

Visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley.com to find your style! We are SO excited to share Ash's Podlab on the next MORBID Book Club Episode  coming in the summer! The pieces from Ashley are GORGEOUS!

Grab your copy of A Little Bit Extra by Chef Reilly Meehan 

Want more of Patricia Cornwell's body of work? Check out her other books, and preorder her upcoming memoir! 

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Weirdos! Pack your getaway bag and  get ready to hit the road for a haunted roadtrip in West Virginia! Alaina starts a trend by telling us about a chilling crime at Cabin 13 in Babcock State Forrest in Babson, WV. Not only is this place's history haunted, what people have seen will give you goosebumps! Ash gives us the pallet cleanser about the Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg where the haunting is a bit more whimsical and includes a spirit who may be our new spirit guide! 

Want to Book? Head to THIS SITE to book a Cabin at Babcock State Park, or THIS SITE to book a stay at the gorgeous Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg!

Come to see MORBID Live at Radio City Music Hall on June 27th! Tickets are available for purchase by visiting this site!

Preorder THE BUTCHER LEGACY and THE BUTCHER GAME In England! Audio and digital versions of THE BUTCHER GAME  are available NOW!

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.