Once Upon a Crime By cover art

Once Upon a Crime

By: Esther Ludlow
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Once Upon A Crime is a weekly true crime podcast that tells “the story behind the story” of real life crime. Told in a storytelling style, host Esther Ludlow digs into the details of each case to bring listeners the facts and information they won’t hear anywhere else. Esther calls on her background in criminal psychology and includes biographical details of both victims and perpetrators to fully explore the circumstances and motivations behind the most heinous crimes.
    361423
    Show more Show less
Episodes
  • S8 Ep319: Manipulated to Murder: Pamela Smart

    S8 Ep319: Manipulated to Murder: Pamela Smart
    Apr 22 2024
    Pamela Smart became a household name - not for being the next Barbara Walters as she’d hoped but for orchestrating the cold-blooded murder of her husband - using her teenage lover as the trigger man. The case became a media sensation when it hit the news cycle in 1990. It was such a high-profile case that millions watched the trial unfold live on television. It was the very first time a murder trial in the U.S. received “gavel-to-gavel” coverage on a newly launched cable television channel dedicated to true crime content - Court TV.


    Sources:
    https://web.archive.org/web/20150215233410/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/smart/1.html

    https://www.nhmagazine.com/breaking-silence-cecelia-pierce-speaks/

    “Do you remember Pamela Smart? She got four boys to kill her husband 29 years ago. Now, they’re free. She isn’t,” Manuel Roig-Franzi for The Washington Post, Jan 15, 2019.



    Links:
    Travel with me! Click on the link to take a 2-minute survey to help me plan our first adventure! https://trovatrip.com/host/profiles/esther--fr746

    www.crimecon.com - Get your tickets for CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville happening May 31 to June 2. Use my discount code ONCE for 10% off your registration!



    Show more Show less
    42 mins
  • S8 Ep318: Manipulated to Murder: Hilma Marie Witte

    S8 Ep318: Manipulated to Murder: Hilma Marie Witte
    Apr 15 2024
    In this month’s series, we’ll look at people who were manipulated into committing murder. First up, we’ll take a look at a case where a mother pressures her child to kill his father. That fact alone would make this story truly horrible but it was not the last murder Marie Witte orchestrated. The next one would be as cold-hearted as it was gruesome.


    Sources:

    https://murderpedia.org/female.W/w/witte-hilma.htm

    https://thecinemaholic.com/how-did-paul-witte-die-where-are-eric-witte-and-hilma-marie-witte-now/

    Snapped: Hilma Marie Witte, Season 31, Episode 19, Oxygen TV, 2022.
    https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/hilma-marie-witte-convinced-sons-to-kill-husband-grandmother

    Evil Lives Here: She Made Me Do It, Season 2, Episode 2, HBO MAX, 2017.
    Show more Show less
    38 mins
  • S8: The Bishop and the Butterfly. A conversation with author Michael Wolraich.

    S8: The Bishop and the Butterfly. A conversation with author Michael Wolraich.
    Apr 8 2024
    In this special bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, I speak with Michael Wolraich, the author of a new true crime book, The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age.

    In 1931, Vivian Gordon’s body was found in a gully in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park. She’d been brutally strangled, her body dumped. The investigation into her murder would uncover blackmail plots, sex scandals, and corruption at the highest levels of the New York government.

    The Bishop and the Butterfly is a fascinating look into this true-life murder mystery from the Jazz Age.

    For more information about Michael Wolraich’s books and articles, go to www.michaelwolraich.com.

    For a chance to win a copy of The Bishop and the Butterfly go to Once Upon a Crime’s Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/onceuponacrimepod. Like the post for this episode and tag two friends in the comments for your chance to win. Good luck!

    Sponsor - Lume - www.LumeDeodorant.com - Use code ONCE for $5 off a Lume Starter Pack.

    Links:
    https://www.crimecon.com/CC24 Use promo code: ONCE for 10% off your ticket.

    Travel Survey: https://trovatrip.com/host/profiles/esther--fr746
    Show more Show less
    45 mins
True Crime Social Sciences
Show more Show less

What listeners say about Once Upon a Crime

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Susie Q

Really like Esther!

She's interesting and compassionate. This is a good podcast. Thanks for offering these stories. Very good.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Ryan

Good podcast

Awesome podcasts I love it so much one of my favs to listen to before bed.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for B.T. McAllister

Esther is Awesome!

Esther, as always, you research each case completely and thoroughly. You always bring out new details and facts that I never knew. Keep up the awesome work! ❤

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amazon Customer

A delightful true crime podcast

I love this podcast. Gives all the deets of the crime and stays on topic. it really feels like a story in each episode. The way each story is presented is always well researched and flows very well.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Eliana

Well researched and performed

This is hands down my favorite podcast for a few years now. With a new theme each month the stories don't get boring, as things get shaken up. The performances are top notch and she handles heavy topics with care. I really enjoy how she focuses on the full life story of the victims, and brings in the story of the killers life. Her skill at weaving stories is gripping, and her vice is soothing enough that you can fall asleep to it.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Ashley

love most of this podcast , all but unsolved ones

please read this Ms Ludlow. this isn't a review, Actually, it's a question. I listened to the first episode in the "till death do is part " series and enjoyed it like always. But now, I REALLY want to listen to the rest of the series and am unable to. Whenever I try to download or just play it from the podcasts list, it says something like, playback failed. it does it on all of this series other then the first episode. plus, they are no longer on the list of all episodes. idky but all of the 170's are missing on the list even though they are still in my episodes tab , but just womt play. any idea why it's doing this??

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!