00:00:00
This is exactly right. Isn't some far off concept? It's already here. Next starts now.
00:00:33
Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Goodbye. When a charming neurosurgeon rode into Frontier Town
00:00:39
selling a persona of confidence and care, patients trusted him. He wore cowboy boots in the operating room
00:00:45
and became sought after by patients. He promised to heal them. Instead, he left a trail of broken bodies.
00:00:51
This is a story of greed, betrayal, and a fight for justice. Listen to Dr. Death the Cowboy wherever you get your podcasts
00:00:58
or binge the entire series right now only with Audible. Goodbye. By now, you've probably heard of Reef.
00:01:05
They've been making iconic sandals forever. But what you might not know is that they also make ridiculously comfortable everyday shoes.
00:01:11
The Neptune is a lightweight everyday slip-on shoe with a crushed back heel so you can wear it traditionally
00:01:16
or step on the heel and wear it like a slide. Lightweight, breathable, and easy to wear.
00:01:20
The Neptune is the everyday shoe your feet have been waiting for. I feel like so often you have to sacrifice cuteness for comfort,
00:01:26
which is so annoying because I want both all the time. Everything has to be cute,
00:01:31
but also I'm old and I want comfortable shoes. So I feel like the Neptunes are the perfect answer to that.
00:01:36
Yeah, I love how cushy they are. They're like, they go with everything. They're really cute,
00:01:40
but your feet are like on little clouds. Check out the Neptune on reef.com and redeem 15% off your first purchase.
00:01:47
Goodbye. New beginnings are exciting, especially when they come with four wheels.
00:01:52
If you're shopping for your next car, start your search with cars.com. Cars.com has the tools and expert advice to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
00:02:01
With more than 2 million new and used vehicles nationwide, it's easy to search, compare, and find the right fit for you.
00:02:07
Cars.com is there when you're dreaming, planning, or ready to embrace the new. Start your search with Cars.com.
00:02:13
Where to next? Goodbye. Hello and welcome to My Favorite Murder, the mini-sode, where we read you your emails, your stories and emails.
00:02:41
Emails and stories and anything in between. Friends and neighbors. I think you're first, yeah?
00:02:47
Yeah. Okay. The subject line of this email is, my younger sister did the illegal part.
00:02:53
Hello, Karen and Georgia. You guys are the best. And seeing you in Chicago was a highlight of 2025.
00:03:01
You absolutely crushed it. My story firmly falls into the oldest sister puppeteering younger sister category.
00:03:08
We love those. The year was 2009 and it was a summer afternoon in the south side of Chicago.
00:03:14
I am the eldest of five kids. At the time I was 19. My twin sisters were 18 and my twin brothers were 13.
00:03:22
Jesus. This lineup has probably tipped Karen off to our Irish Catholic-ness and Georgia.
00:03:30
Growing up, I had the ideas and my sister Bridget did the doing. She is deeply funny and gave little fucks, making her the perfect puppet.
00:03:39
On this particular afternoon, we found ourselves sitting around plotting how we could get alcohol for later that night.
00:03:45
We had exhausted our Rolodex of older cousins and we were not feeling brave enough to get a run.
00:03:50
Did everyone call it this when you sit outside a liquor store and ask a cool looking adult to buy you beer?
00:03:56
Done it. So many times. My cousin Eileen, I remember, she called it tapping shoulder.
00:04:02
That's so good. I think they made that up. Anyways, we had no options left when an idea occurred to me.
00:04:09
Old people don't get carded. My plan took little convincing. Bridget was immediately in.
00:04:14
I spent the next hour Mrs. Doubtfire style transforming her from sunburned teenager into the most convincing grandmother our resources could manage.
00:04:24
Oh, my God. That would have never crossed my mind because I can't act. I would have been laughing or crying the whole time.
00:04:30
Or just being like scared. Oh, my God. We used an old Halloween wig, an obscene amount of makeup.
00:04:37
We relate. And the oldest looking clothes we could find in my mom's closet. Bridget practiced her old lady walk and satisfied with the results, we were off.
00:04:47
If this works, then I'll believe in God. Here we go. We loaded into our hand-me-down 1999 silver Grand Marquis.
00:04:56
Amazing. That's an old lady car. Yeah. Never more grateful for this geriatric monstrosity of a car than in that moment.
00:05:03
Surely any liquor store employee seeing someone exit this vehicle would assume she's at least 65.
00:05:09
We parked and Bridget shuffled in. We held our breath and watched from the car as she made her way to the back of the store.
00:05:16
She paused in front of the beer, then grabbed a case of twisted teas. Oh, my God.
00:05:21
So, Grandma. You know, yeah. What Grandma's drink? Old people love twisted teas.
00:05:26
She later said that she panicked and could not decide what a grandmother would be buying at noon on a Tuesday.
00:05:31
As she hobbled up to the counter, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten about her chipped black nail polish.
00:05:37
Jesus. The attendant did not seem to notice. He smiled and asked, oh, fun party night.
00:05:44
She put on her best fake granny voice and replied, yes. He handed her the change completely unaware that she was a high school senior and told her to have a good day We started cheering as she walked out She looked at us jumped straight into the air and I shit knew you not clicked her heels together before sprinting back to the car
00:06:05
It worked. It fucking worked. The afternoon ended. There's a picture. Okay. Oh my God.
00:06:10
The afternoon ended with us driving to the bar where we knew my grandpa Charlie and his brother Jimmy were at. Bridget cruised in and sat down next to them, still fully in character.
00:06:20
No. She tried to talk to them for five minutes, but they wanted absolutely nothing to do with this random old woman.
00:06:26
Finally, she ripped off the wig and yelled, Papa, it's me. The entire bar erupted.
00:06:32
My grandpa was a little horrified, but mostly amused. We decided not to push our luck and never dusted off that old lady wig again, despite none of us liking Twisted Tees.
00:06:42
You better believe that we forced our way through them that night. Yeah. I'm attaching pictures of Grandma Bridget for your viewing and sharing pleasure, as I believe the Statue of Limitations has expired on this.
00:06:53
Stay sexy and don't underestimate a bad wig, Maggie. I can't wait to see this. Yep.
00:06:59
I totally buy it. A hundred percent. Look at that outfit. It's fucking brilliant.
00:07:04
It's so good. It's like not too over the top. It's not. But it's enough. The teeth give it away because she's got perfect teeth.
00:07:12
Right. She should have yellowed those up a little bit. Yeah. The glasses are perfect.
00:07:15
The blush is perfect. The fucking blazer. I think the scarf around the head tied under the chin is an overplay.
00:07:21
Yes. But it's still, nobody gives a shit. It gives. And as long as she was kind of crouched over and talking in the old lady voice.
00:07:30
Well, coin purse. Oh my God. Like, I hate that we just gave a bunch of teenagers a fucking.
00:07:36
There's a thing. There's a great photo of her. There's one on her across the top of the fucking.
00:07:42
Grand marquee. Posing like a pinup girl. We'll put them on our Instagram. That second picture is absolutely joy.
00:07:49
Also, I think the grand marquee was 50% of that journey right there. It's a giant silver light cop car.
00:07:55
It's a total grandma car. I want it. Okay. I want Bridget to have become an actress and I want her sister who wrote it in to be a makeup artist.
00:08:02
Oh my God. That's what happened in the end. What if it's Maggie Gyllenhaal and her sister Bridget.
00:08:09
Bridget Gyllenhaal. Bridget Gyllenhaal. The infamous Bridget Gyllenhaal. Wow. That was one for the ages.
00:08:16
So epic. So good. All right. Wow. Okay. We'll have to follow that one with a tornado story.
00:08:23
Oh, yes. Dear Karen in Georgia, let's jump right in. In April of 1979, my mom, Vicki, was 16, a junior in high school in her Wichita Falls, Texas, and dealing with a breakup.
00:08:35
On the dresser in her bedroom, she had her class ring, her mom's class ring, and her recent ex's class ring.
00:08:41
The ex, Mark, had come by asking for the ring back, but my mom refused and simply told him that she'd give it back later.
00:08:49
Sure. She wasn't ready. No. Nobody could have known how much later that would be.
00:08:54
On April 10th, 1979, a massive tornado ripped through town in an event now known as Terrible Tuesday.
00:09:01
Oh, God. You love tornadoes. I do. The tornado touched down at 5.55 p.m., traveled eight miles through the city, killing 42 people and destroying more than 100 commercial businesses, two schools, and more than 3,000 homes.
00:09:15
Oh, my God. On that evening, my mom, her parents, and her brother, who had come by the house for dinner, were getting ready to eat when the tornado warning hit.
00:09:22
My granddad ordered everyone into the car to drive out of town. My mom argued because even at 16, she knew that being in a car during a tornado is a famously bad idea.
00:09:32
But dad said, get in. And when the Texas dad says that, you get in. The only one not required to leave was her brother who stayed behind.
00:09:41
I guess he was over 18. So he was like, fuck you. I'm just going to hang out here.
00:09:44
In the tornado house. They drove out of town a bit, but then couldn't go anymore as there was too much traffic with cars pulled over as everyone was trying to leave.
00:09:54
That's so scary. That's like why you don't get in your car and try to drive somewhere.
00:09:58
Also, that's when the LA fires were happening and I had fires literally in a ring around my neighborhood.
00:10:04
Yeah. I left my house because I was like, I can't get out while everyone else is trying to get out.
00:10:09
Exactly. That's exactly why I left before I needed to. Yeah. And my cousin was one of the ones who got stuck in the Palisades driving out and her car got fucking burned.
00:10:19
For real? Because she had to get out and run. So later that day, I was like, I'm not doing this.
00:10:24
No. My God. Terrifying. Yeah. So my mom watched the tornado as it barreled through town.
00:10:29
It was over a mile wide and looked like a massive black wall. When it passed, they drove back toward their house and realized at the end of their block that all of the houses were leveled.
00:10:40
It went from a normal neighborhood and houses to nothing. Her brother, who had stayed behind, survived by sheltering in a closet under the stairway.
00:10:49
And when he emerged, the entire second story of their house was gone. And so I can show you a photo of the houses, the before and after of the house.
00:10:58
Beautiful, 70s looking. Normal house. And then that. Like if her brother hadn't been there, he would have died.
00:11:06
Right. He was hiding like somewhere there. Yeah, somewhere there. Isn't that fucking, like that's an uninhabitable teardown.
00:11:12
Yes. And so random. Yeah. We'll show it on our Instagram. Okay. And so the entire second story was gone, which meant my mom's room and the class rings were gone as well.
00:11:22
Remember that? Yeah. My mom really only cared about the class rings and even searched in the ditch behind the house.
00:11:28
She never found them. In the end, my grandparents decided to sell the lot rather than rebuild, and the rings were presumed lost.
00:11:35
Fast forward 10 years to 1987. Vicky and Mark exchange different rings. What? So they get back together and get married and then emoji with a heart's in its eyes.
00:11:47
Fast forward 16 more years to 2003. I'm 13 years old, the middle of Mark and Vicki's three daughters.
00:11:54
The family who rebuilt the old lot is still living there Their 19 son is in the backyard when their dogs dig something up And what do they find A Ryder High School class of 1979 ring with the initials ML
00:12:09
Oh, shit. I love a photo of it, too. Shit. This is from Molly. You fucking killed this email.
00:12:14
Molly. Look at that. Vintage class ring. Unbelievable. They borrow a yearbook, realize the former resident is now married to a guy named Mark, and call my mom.
00:12:22
My mom brought my sisters and me in on the news. And one night we played a game of asking my dad if he could remember what his class ring
00:12:29
looked like. He ended up describing it all wrong. Classic. And then my mom said, did it look like this?
00:12:35
And held out the ring to him. He was shocked and amazed, of course. Stay sexy and give your ex his class ring back so it's not lost in a tornado or maybe
00:12:45
don't, Molly. Oh, my God. I know. That is, when you start, like, when it started going that direction, I was like, they found the ring.
00:12:55
I'm like, how is that possible? And just in the backyard, sitting there. That's why you need to always bring a metal detector and bring it with you everywhere you go.
00:13:04
That's literally what I was going to say. From house to house. While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup this summer, Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent.
00:13:15
The future soccer stars who are already turning heads at age 14. Making plays that end up on everyone's feed, scoring from angles that don't make sense, rewriting record books that barely had time to gather dust.
00:13:26
Because Next doesn't wait for an invitation, and Hyundai doesn't either. Hyundai has always moved the future within reach.
00:13:32
Hyundai did it by making advanced safety standard on every vehicle. Hyundai did it by engineering EVs with ultra-fast charging capability.
00:13:39
And Hyundai continues doing it every day. From robotics that change how people live to young athletes changing the game, the future isn't some far-off concept.
00:13:47
It's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Goodbye.
00:13:53
If you're always on the lookout for a great audiobook or just want help figuring out what to listen to next, there's a podcast you should know about.
00:14:00
It's called Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club, hosted by Cal Penn. Each episode takes a closer look at some of the most talked about new audiobooks on Audible, spanning a wide range of genres from sci-fi and literary fiction to rom-coms, thrillers, and comedy.
00:14:14
Cal is joined by guests who dig into what these stories are about, what makes them stand out as audiobooks, and why they're connecting with listeners right now.
00:14:21
If you're looking for your next listen, this is a great place to start. Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:14:31
Goodbye! Pandora Jewelry brings the sparkle to summer. now with even better prices. Shop now for up to 50% off select jewelry featuring personalized
00:14:39
pieces to must-have summer favorites. Timeless jewelry made to move with you through every
00:14:44
moment. Shop in-store or online now through July 5th. Terms and conditions apply. See
00:14:48
pandora.net for more details. Goodbye. Goodbye. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace.
00:14:54
It's 2026, and if you have an alternative career like food photography or professional mixtape
00:14:59
making or witchcraft, you're going to need an online presence. Whatever your thing is,
00:15:04
Squarespace helps you build a website that's as unique as you are. Squarespace provides you
00:15:08
everything you need to offer services and get paid all in one place. From consultations to
00:15:13
events and experiences, you can showcase your offerings with a customizable website designed
00:15:17
to attract clients and grow your business. Get paid on time with professional invoices
00:15:21
and online payments. Plus, streamline your workflow with built-in appointment scheduling
00:15:26
and email marketing tools. With Squarespace's collection of cutting-edge design tools,
00:15:30
anyone can build a beautiful, professional online presence that perfectly fits their brand or business.
00:15:35
Head to squarespace.com slash murder for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch,
00:15:38
use offer code MURDER to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
00:15:43
Goodbye. Goodbye. Okay, I'm not going to read you the subject line. It says, Hey folks, my maternal great-grandfather,
00:15:51
or Papa Pete, as my family called him, was a character. He was a raging alcoholic who, to me, sounds like a total piece of shit, but at his core, cared for his children, my grandmother and her siblings.
00:16:04
The closest fictional character I can compare him to is Frank Gallagher from Shameless.
00:16:09
Oh, fuck. Yeah, it's rough. He frequently went on drinking and gambling binges where his family wouldn't hear from him for weeks.
00:16:17
He gave classic drunk advice, my favorite of which being, if you have nowhere to sleep, sleep on a grave because no one will bother you.
00:16:25
And then it says classy. But that's really true. I kept thinking about that where I'm like, that's really true.
00:16:30
You go into a graveyard. At night, you're alone pretty much. Yeah. Kind of. Well, some drinking teenagers, but they're scared of you.
00:16:38
And ghosts. And ghosts, but they're also scared of you. Right. So without further ado, it's the late 60s in the small town of Wetumpka, Alabama, a population of about 4,000 people at the time.
00:16:50
My great-grandmother, Big Mama, no, I'm not kidding, gets a phone call from a sheriff in Texas.
00:16:56
Ma'am, are you the wife of Pete Brooks? Yes. Ma'am, your husband is dead. He drunk himself to death.
00:17:03
You're going to have to come to Texas to collect his body. Big Mama, who's only about 30 at the time while holding this charming nickname, by the way, is devastated.
00:17:13
She takes her two young teenage daughters on a road trip to Texas to bring the body of their father home to Alabama to be buried.
00:17:20
They enter the police station. They explain that they are there to collect Mr. Rooks' remains.
00:17:25
The young mother and her daughters are brought around the corner to the cells only to find Pete Rooks drunk off his ass and slurring his hellos to his wife and daughters.
00:17:37
Pete had gone on a bender so grandiose that it carried him three states away. Upon being arrested for God knows what, the sheriff must have asked him who he could call to come pick him up from the station.
00:17:49
Pete knew no one would come pick him up in Texas all the way from Alabama. No. And he was out of money So being the genius he was he told the sheriff to call his wife and tell her that he had died okay the sheriff is so complicit and it so not okay and it was your job to not do that this is
00:18:06
this is a real bros before hoes situation that is like and that's the devastation that they went
00:18:13
through the whole time before knowing that just because you were like come pick me up yeah and
00:18:18
the sheriff was like let's do it boys club wow that's why the girls club must must we must get
00:18:25
serious about the girls club yes because the boys have been boys clubbing for far too long
00:18:29
you've had your fucking day can you imagine how furious you would be no okay he knew that the only way his wife would come pick his dumb ass up in a whole other state
00:18:41
after no contact, no apology, and no money to fund the trip was over his dead body.
00:18:48
I can't even imagine that 12-hour car ride of shame home. And that's my crazy great-grandparent
00:18:54
story, JS. Shit. You got one of those stories? Email them to us. Please. What's the most fucked
00:19:01
up thing someone's ever done to you? Also, if you feel shame, maybe not that, but if you have a story
00:19:07
where you feel like you're supposed to feel shame or that somebody's bad, they're not.
00:19:12
Right. Write it in. Let us decide. Yeah, we'll tell you the truth. Okay. We'll tell you the truth.
00:19:20
Let's see. Okay. Oh, and it's Memorial Day when this comes out. So this is kind of a Memorial Day story.
00:19:27
Hello, ladies and emotional support animals. I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York.
00:19:32
My family traveled from Italy sometime around 1890 and decided to make the City of Good Neighbors their home.
00:19:39
In 1996, my grandfather embarked on a dedicated search to locate his missing uncle, Bartholomew,
00:19:45
who had served in World War II. Initially, the family had been informed that he was missing in action,
00:19:50
but later the military communicated that he had been killed in battle with no remains discovered.
00:19:56
Due to the onset of Alzheimer's disease, my grandfather's pursuit was tragically interrupted.
00:20:01
However, in 2019, my father took it upon himself to continue the search. He began reaching out to distant relatives he had never met and joining Facebook groups dedicated to the families of missing veterans.
00:20:12
After years of tireless research, my father discovered a cemetery in Luxembourg that still contained approximately 100 unmarked graves.
00:20:21
Given that Bartholomew's last known location was in this area and he had been missing for 75 years, it seemed to be the most likely place to find him.
00:20:28
In a remarkable turn of events, several family members submitted DNA samples, which ultimately allowed us to confirm Bartholomew's identity among the unmarked graves.
00:20:39
Whoa. I know. After all that time. So I wonder if the army or whatever it was has some sort of procedure to keep something so they can test.
00:20:49
And then his remains were repatriated to Buffalo for a proper military burial just in time for what would have been his 104th birthday on Memorial Day.
00:20:58
Wow. On Saturday, June 1st, 2024, Bartholomew received full military honors and was laid to rest with his family, bringing closure to a story that has resonated in our family for generations.
00:21:09
It is a profound and moving moment to know that after so many years, he will finally rest with those who loved him.
00:21:16
My papa, who passed away on October 14th, 2024, has now been reunited with his beloved uncle, SSDGM K.
00:21:25
Wow. That's a powerful story. Yeah. for Memorial Day. Wow. Well, if you're enlisted
00:21:34
or if you're in any part of the military in this country, thank you for your service.
00:21:39
Yes, thank you. And thank you to World War II veterans for fighting Nazis. Yeah, literal Nazis.
00:21:46
Very important to fight Nazis. Let's do it. While the world watches the stars at the FIFA World Cup this summer,
00:21:54
Hyundai has its eyes on the next generation of talent. The future soccer stars who are already turning heads at age 14.
00:22:00
Making plays that end up on everyone's feed, scoring from angles that don't make sense, rewriting record books that barely had time to gather dust.
00:22:08
Because Next doesn't wait for an invitation, and Hyundai doesn't either. Hyundai has always moved the future within reach.
00:22:13
Hyundai did it by making advanced safety standard on every vehicle. Hyundai did it by engineering EVs with ultra-fast charging capability.
00:22:21
And Hyundai continues doing it every day. From robotics that change how people live to young athletes changing the game, the future isn't some far-off concept.
00:22:29
It's already here. Next starts now. Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Goodbye.
00:22:35
If you're always on the lookout for a great audiobook or just want help figuring out what to listen to next, there's a podcast you should know about.
00:22:42
It's called Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club, hosted by Cal Penn. Each episode takes a closer look at some of the most talked about new audiobooks on Audible, spanning a wide range of genres from sci-fi and literary fiction to rom-coms, thrillers, and comedy.
00:22:56
Cal is joined by guests who dig into what these stories are about, what makes them stand out as audiobooks, and why they're connecting with listeners right now.
00:23:03
If you're looking for your next listen, this is a great place to start. Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:23:12
Goodbye. Pandora jewelry brings the sparkle to summer, now with even better prices.
00:23:18
Shop now for up to 50% off select jewelry featuring personalized pieces to must-have summer favorites.
00:23:23
Timeless jewelry made to move with you through every moment. Shop in-store or online now through July 5th.
00:23:29
Terms and conditions apply. See pandora.net for more details. Goodbye. Summer clothes should feel easy and still look polished.
00:23:37
Low maintenance, high reward. That's how we live our lives. For summer clothes you will actually wear, there's quince.
00:23:43
Quince has beautiful everyday pieces like 100% European linen pants, dresses, and tops with styles starting at $32.
00:23:50
Their denim is soft and easy to wear, and their organic cotton sweaters are perfect for layering on cool summer nights.
00:23:56
Everything at Quince is priced 50% to 80% less than similar brands because they work their own.
00:24:00
ethical factories. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup. And it's not just clothing. Quince has become a destination for elevated essentials across the
00:24:08
home, kitchen, bedding, and beyond, making it easy to bring a more premium feel into everyday life.
00:24:13
I am a fan of Quince. Yeah. Karen's wardrobe is Quince. I'm a lazy basics person. And the things that I get from them, I always go, oh yeah,
00:24:23
now I'm wearing these. They work. They're cute. They're stylish. And they're classy. Like it doesn't look lazy. It looks classy.
00:24:30
And it's so affordable. Yeah. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com slash MFM for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.
00:24:39
Now available in Canada too. That's quince.com slash MFM for free shipping and 365 day returns.
00:24:46
Quince.com slash MFM. Goodbye. Okay. My last email. The subject line is a fun train derailment.
00:24:56
Question mark. Hello, murder pals. I know you're awesome. You know you're awesome. We don't need
00:25:01
to discuss it. Some random Wednesday in 2007, my grandfather picked me up from school,
00:25:08
just like any other day. We made some small talk on the way home. And when we walked in the door,
00:25:13
he told me that he had a gift for me. While I waited, my grandmother showed me a brand new
00:25:18
diamond ring he had just given her. This was weird since my grandparents weren't exactly well off.
00:25:24
My gift was a brand new laptop. Since our household computer was of the 90s and it was on its last leg, I was eager to get on MySpace in less than a 15-minute wait time.
00:25:34
So I stopped wondering if my grandfather had pulled a bank job and I went on to my room.
00:25:38
That's right. Don't ask questions. Don't ask questions. Just log on. Fast forward to a few hours when the nightly news came on.
00:25:46
Being a teenager, I didn't watch the news, but I happened to walk through the living room at just the right time to see my grandfather on the screen talking about how something felt like an earthquake.
00:25:56
Super confused, I stopped to listen. That afternoon, he had stopped at a convenience store.
00:26:02
It was one of those stores you wouldn't know was a store unless you were a local.
00:26:07
Just a boring, tiny building on the side of the road. There's nothing unusual about him stopping there.
00:26:12
But what he conveniently didn't mention at all that day was that while he was there, a fucking train ran through the store.
00:26:21
Well, I forgot about the train completely. Right. According to the news, a train engineer ignored a stop signal when he was backing up on an offloading track, which caused three train cars to roll through a dirt barrier and hit the store 30 feet from where the track ends.
00:26:36
The owner managed to get everyone out safely including having to pull out a customer who went into shock and had to be sent to the hospital My grandfather had only a tiny cut on his nose probably from his glasses being pushed into his face from the impact of a train
00:26:55
I don't remember the store ever reopening, and eventually it was demolished. But as far as I know, trains have run without incident in my hometown ever since.
00:27:04
Oh, yeah. And the gifts. He stopped there to buy a lottery ticket. The ticket won him $100,000.
00:27:11
I'm sorry. What the fuck? I was like, he stole the money when everyone had evacuated?
00:27:15
No. He says, yeah. Not only did he survive a freak train derailment, but he won more than my salary from the ticket he bought immediately before it happened.
00:27:26
What the fuck? Stay sexy and avoid stores near train tracks, Brit. Or don't. And then our producer, Kate Schallenbach, looked the incident up and she says there was indeed a train derailment near in Lancaster, South Carolina in 2007.
00:27:42
The train ran into a buy right convenience store and Kate found a print interview quoting a witness who had stopped in to get a lottery ticket when the train crashed into the store.
00:27:53
No one died in this incident. I mean, the time the timeline that you're on in this life.
00:28:00
That's it. After that. That's pretty fucking great. Constant whistling. Constant chill attitude.
00:28:07
Someone likes you. Just I am blessed. Oh, my God. Wow. Okay. My last one is just about medieval family folklore.
00:28:16
Oh, just that? Yeah. Hi, Karen in Georgia. Greetings from Brussels. I'll get straight into it.
00:28:23
I'm from the rural part of Belgium, Limburg. I've been to Belgium. Isn't that weird?
00:28:27
Yeah. Back in the late medieval times, This area was mostly farms, tiny wooden houses with thatched roofs and local pubs.
00:28:36
Take me there. So fun. Life was fine if you were hardworking. Unfortunately, I come from a long line of, quote, enthusiastic enjoyers of life.
00:28:46
Not exactly a line with the whole reap what you sow lifestyle. So my ancestors found a solution, a gang.
00:28:52
Not just any gang, the biggest and most notorious one in the region. Their name.
00:28:58
Okay, here I go. Dubocken Riders. Dubocken Riders. Dubocken Riders. Dubocken Riders.
00:29:04
Literally, the goat riders. Oh. And then it says, I know, goat riders. Folklore says they rode goats through the night.
00:29:13
Some stories even mention flying goats. In reality they were more into leaving threatening burn letters on people doors not to be confused with the Mean Girl Burn book And since everything was made of wood and straw very flammable vibes the letters basically said
00:29:28
nice home you got there. It would be a shame if it burned down. People had to pay to avoid that.
00:29:33
Oh, shit. Like early mafia or Brussels mafia. Yeah. My family name shows up in multiple court documents connected to this gang.
00:29:40
I find that both cool and slightly concerning and honestly, a bit explanatory for how my family still operates today.
00:29:48
No crime, just creative thinking. It doesn't end well, though. Two of my ancestors were hanged in a nearby town after being tortured for a confession.
00:29:57
When I was about eight, my dad took me there. The original gallows were still standing in front of the town hall.
00:30:03
My dad somehow arranged a meeting with the mayor to discuss our family history. I vividly remember us walking into the office and my dad immediately joking,
00:30:12
so who here hanged my family? It remains one of my favorite childhood memories to this day.
00:30:19
Now that I've uncovered my dad's side, I'm looking into my mom's. Apparently, my grandparents were heavily involved in resistance efforts during the Nazi occupation.
00:30:27
Hell yes. They rarely talked about it because of the trauma, even though that's where their love story began.
00:30:32
Wow. Maybe a story for another day? Anyway, thank you for being you, heart emoji.
00:30:37
Stay sexy and maybe don't trust anyone who rides goats. Em. Em, please write in the love story where your grandparents met during the resistance.
00:30:46
We need resistance love stories. We need all resistance stories. Any. Any. Like today, are there any resistance love stories?
00:30:52
That's right. Minneapolis. Yes. Come on. Let us. Write us at, what is it? MyFavoriteMurderAtGmail.com.
00:30:59
Thank you, Goat Riders in the Sky. That's right. Stay sexy. And don't get murdered.
00:31:04
Goodbye. Elvis, do you want a cookie? This has been an Exactly Right production.
00:31:16
Our senior producer is Molly Smith, and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes. Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.
00:31:22
This episode was mixed by Liana Squalachi. Email your hometowns to MyFavoriteMurder at gmail.com.
00:31:27
Follow the show on Instagram at MyFavoriteMurder. Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:31:34
And now you can watch My Favorite Murder on Netflix. And when you're there, hit the double thumbs up and the remind me buttons.
00:31:39
That's the best way you can support our show. Goodbye. Cheap Caribbean summer savings event is here.
00:31:52
Right now, get $100 instant savings on vacation packages to Cancun, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.
00:31:58
Whether you chasing poolside drinks white sand beaches or endless all fun Cheap Caribbean helps you get more beach for less money Book your summer vacay today at CheapCaribbean Goodbye
00:32:10
If audiobooks are your thing, or if you've been meaning to listen to more of them,
00:32:14
you should check out a podcast called Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club, hosted by Cal Penn.
00:32:20
Each episode spotlights standout audiobooks on Audible across all kinds of genres.
00:32:24
Sci-fi, comedy, romance, thrillers, and more. with Cal talking to guests who help break down what makes each story worth listening to.
00:32:31
It's a fun, easy way to discover your next great audiobook. Check out Earsay on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:32:39
Goodbye. You know that fantasy where you run into your ex while looking impossibly cute and wildly unbothered?
00:32:46
Hill House makes the perfect dress for that moment. Or if you're just running errands.
00:32:51
Hill House Home is the brand behind the viral nap dress, known for its signature smocking, ultra flattering fit, and comfort that makes it a favorite for just about everyone.
00:33:00
Celebrities like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Anne Hathaway, and Mindy Kaling have all been spotted in Hill House.
00:33:07
These dresses are the definition of versatile. Perfect for running errands in the morning and stylish enough for dinner or a party that night.
00:33:14
And it's not all they carry. They started with bedding back in 2016. And now you'll find bathrobes, pajamas, children's clothes, and maternity, all with the cutest prints.
00:33:23
And it's so true, the hardest time picking out one nap dress because the prints are so
00:33:27
dreamy and beautiful. But now that I have it, I'm going to wear it all day, every day.
00:33:32
I'm going to throw on my leather jacket at night and look like a total badass. Cowboy boots or cute heels, whatever it is, this nap dress can make it look classy.
00:33:40
You look like that classy lady you see at the airport. Hill House makes fun fashion that makes you feel good.
00:33:45
Get 15% off your first order of $100 or more at hillhousehome.com with code MURDER15.
00:33:52
That's Murder15 for 15% off at hillhousehome.com. Goodbye. There's always a point in the day when your feet decide they've had enough.
00:34:00
Especially if you've been running errands, traveling, or my favorite, just standing around.
00:34:05
And that's where Reef comes in. Reef has been known for comfort since the 1980s.
00:34:09
While many people think of their sandals first, they now make comfortable everyday shoes as well.
00:34:13
Like women's Neptune, a lightweight everyday slip-on shoe with a crushed back heel so you can wear it traditionally or step on the heel and wear it like a slide.
00:34:21
It's lightweight and breathable, which makes a noticeable difference if you're on your feet for long stretches.
00:34:25
You know, we got some of these shoes. I know. They're so cute. They're super cute, but they are really lightweight.
00:34:31
You don't think about that. Sometimes when I'm wearing like this heavy running shoes, they weigh your feet down.
00:34:36
And these Reef ones are like super kicky and comfortable. Check out the Neptune on Reef.com.
00:34:41
That's R-E-E-F and redeem 15% off your first purchase. Goodbye.