The Want-Ad Killer: The Original Toxic Workplace

The Want-Ad Killer: The Original Toxic Workplace

This week on Hot Mess Murder Club, Kat and Holly are dragging you back to the 1970s to scream about one of the most rage-inducing failures of the justice system we've ever covered: Harvey Carignan. Better known as The Want-Ad Killer—or Harvey the Hammer if you’re nasty—this predator should have been locked in a cage permanently after a brutal attack in 1950. Instead, thanks to a botched interrogation and a series of maddening procedural loopholes, the courts essentially handed him a hall pass to unleash decades of cross-country terror. We are breaking down exactly how Harvey weaponized newspaper classifieds to hunt down vulnerable young women—including 15-year-old Kathy Sue Miller—before pivoting to a chaotic "ghost strategy" along the midwestern hitchhiking routes. You'll hear about the terrifying mobile trap he built inside a pea-green Chevy Caprice, his stash of tape-wrapped ball-peen hammers, and a deeply chilling road map covered in 181 hand-drawn red circles. But we’re also talking about the badass women who finally brought him down. From Gwen Burton’s miraculous survival and photographic memory after a horrific attack in a Sears parking lot, to the two quick-thinking teenagers who bolted at a rural gas station, this episode is a testament to victims outsmarting a monster while the system was still playing catch-up. Prepare to launch the entire judicial branch into the sun, because the level of incompetence that allowed this guy to live comfortably behind bars until he was 95 years old is going to ruin your day. Stay safe, trust literally no one offering you a ride or a job, and welcome to the madness. Episodes drop every Monday! Make sure you are following and subscribed to HMMC wherever you listen to your podcasts. #HotMessMurderClub #fyp #foryou #HarveyCarignan #TrueCrimePodcast #TheWantAdKiller #SerialKillers #New #TrueCrimeAddict #CrimeAndPunishment #TrueCrimeCommunity #TrueCrimeJunkie #storytime #comedy

Fatal Attraction in Kentucky: The Ryan Poston Tragedy

Welcome back to the mess. This week, we are dissecting a relationship dynamic so profoundly cursed it requires a biohazard suit just to look at. We are mapping out the entirely chronological, disastrous timeline of Ryan Poston and Shayna Hubers. Ryan was a sharp, successful Kentucky attorney desperately trying to pull the ripcord on an exhausting, on-again-off-again situationship. His grand escape plan? Finally cutting ties so he could go on a date with a literal Miss Ohio contestant. Enter Shayna: a walking, talking air-raid siren of a girlfriend who decided that if she couldn't have him, a pageant queen certainly wouldn't either. Instead of gracefully bowing out and updating her Tinder profile, Shayna let herself into Ryan’s condo on the night of his date and unloaded six bullets into him. Her defense? A masterclass in pure delusion. She claimed self-defense while casually dropping the detail that she shot him in the face to give him the "nose job" he had always wanted. Yes, she said that out loud. To the police. But the actual crime scene is just the appetizer to the three-ring circus that followed. We are breaking down every jaw-dropping, factual detail of Shayna’s police interrogation, where she decided the best way to cope with just having murdered her boyfriend was by doing literal gymnastics, pirouetting around the room, and belting out hymns. Plus, we’ll drag you through the judicial nightmare of her two trials, because apparently, even the court system couldn't handle this level of chaos without fumbling the bag. Buckle up, double-check your red-flag detectors, and let’s get into the timeline. #truecrime #RyanPoston #fyp #fyp;) #TrueCrimePodcast #ToxicRelationships #TrueCrimeCommunity #murder #comedy #storytime #MurderMystery #InterrogationFootage #CrazyEx

Hitchhiking is Canceled: The Ed Kemper Story

Welcome back, Murder Nerds! This week on Hot Mess Murder Club, Kat and Holly are tackling a man who took "mommy issues" to a wildly unhinged, deeply horrific level. Meet Edmund Kemper: a six-foot-nine, 300-pound genius with an IQ that could launch a rocket and the emotional stability of a wet napkin. We are diving into the absolute dumpster fire that was Big Ed's life. We trace his terrifying evolution from a childhood spent locked in a damp Montana basement staring at a furnace he thought was Satan, to his "practice run" of executing his grandparents. And if you thought he was bad, wait until you hear about the California psychiatric system. We discuss the state's brilliantly flawed idea to parole him directly back to the exact abusive mother who broke his brain in the first place. We break down how Kemper engineered an inescapable rolling cage out of a Ford Galaxie, manipulated the entire Santa Cruz police force by buying them rounds at the local pub, and carried out a brutal, highly calculated spree against young hitchhikers. Finally, we detail the ultimate, deeply disturbed finale: a horrific Easter weekend showdown with his mother, Clarnell, some highly disrespectful flowerbed landscaping, and a Colorado payphone confession where he literally had to argue with the cops just to get arrested because he was simply too tired to keep being a fugitive. Lock your car doors (seriously, check the inside handles), double-check your closets, and join us for a masterclass in why you should never trust a giant guy with a mustache. 👇 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Drop a comment below: Which part of this absolute systemic failure makes you the most angry? The parole board's incompetence or the Santa Cruz PD drinking beers with a serial killer? Let us know! ✅ Hit that SUBSCRIBE button and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode of Hot Mess Murder Club! #HotMessMurderClub #fyp #fyp;) #EdmundKemper #TrueCrimeCommunity #SerialKillers #TrueCrimePodcast #CoedKiller #TrueCrimeAddict #BingeListening #DarkHumor #TrueCrimeCreators #Macabre #comedy #storytime

Welcome to the Death House: Dorothea Puente (Part 2)

Welcome back to Hot Mess Murder Club! Last week, we gave you all the diabolical build-up and zero climax. This week, Kat and Holly are finally opening the doors to 1426 F Street, picking up the shovels, and digging up the yard. In the final chapter of this two-part series, the chameleon's trap snaps shut. We are diving deep into the actual pipeline of prey and the brutal reality of her body count. From her first proven pen-pal victim, Everson Gillmouth—whose body spent three years as a "John Doe" in a coffin-like plywood box—to the absolute psychological horror of burying a tenant alive under a metal tool shed, Dorothea's grandmotherly facade completely shatters. We’re talking predatory poisoning, targeted medical hijacking, and the pure audacity of calling a commercial carpet cleaner to scrub "foul-smelling slime" out of the floorboards. But arrogance always leaves a trail. Tune in to hear how a fiercely persistent social worker, an unhinged fake phone call to Mexico, and a massive legal loophole finally brought Detective John Cabrera straight to her freshly tilled dirt grid. Plus, we cover her dramatic five-day escape to Los Angeles, the motel arrest, and the historic, chaotic 1993 trial that resulted in a record-breaking 24 days of jury deliberation. The yard is officially dug up, and the trial is over. If you haven't already, make sure to hit that subscribe button, leave us a 5-star review, and share the chaos with your favorite true crime obsessed friends! #TrueCrime #fyp #foryou #TrueCrimePodcast #HotMessMurderClub #DorotheaPuente #SerialKiller #TrueCrimeCommunity #Mystery #CrimeDocumentary #TrueCrimeStories #comedy #storytime #morbid

How to Build a Grandma Serial Killer: Dorothea Puente (Part 1)

Welcome back to Hot Mess Murder Club! This week, Kat and Holly are bypassing the pleasantries and diving straight into the deeply toxic, unhinged life of Dorothea Puente. You might know her as the infamous "Death House Landlady" who treated a Sacramento Victorian duplex like her own personal, privately-funded cemetery, but how exactly do you build a cardigan-wearing apex predator? In Part One of this two-part series, we are unpacking her absolute garbage-fire of an origin story. We trace Dorothea's path from a soul-crushing childhood filled with severe trauma to her adulthood, where she speed-ran through four wildly volatile marriages. We're talking illegal brothel side-hustles disguised as "bookkeeping," rampant check forgery, and one husband whose survival instincts kicked in so hard he fled for the hills after exactly one week. Listen in as we break down how a diagnosed pathological liar managed to completely rebrand herself into the ultimate "Benevolent Matron." Armed with massive vintage glasses, a fake nephew, and absolutely zero human empathy, she flawlessly manipulated the local social services system into funneling the city's most vulnerable "shadow people" directly into her trap. The most wild plot twist of all? She didn’t even own the murder house—she was just renting it! We are giving you all the diabolical build-up today, outlining the chilling architecture of control she established before the first body even hit the dirt. Make sure you hit subscribe so you don't miss Part Two next week, where the trap finally snaps shut, the shovels come out, and we count the bodies! #TrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #HotMessMurderClub #DorotheaPuente #DeathHouseLandlady #TrueCrimeCommunity #SerialKillerDocumentary #UnsolvedMysteries #CrimeStorytime #SacramentoHistory #Psychopath #TrueCrimeStories #comedy #fyp #fyp;) #storytime