Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast

Episode 66 “Coin in a wishing well” – Pt 1 Solving the West Georgia Murder of Gwendolyn Moore: A cry from the well by Clay Bryant

Back in 1970, the beaten body of a young wife and mother was lifted from an old well just outside Hogansville, Georgia.  The victim, Gwendolyn Moore, had long been married to her violent and abusive husband, Marshall Moore.  Yet, mysteriously, this homicide investigation went cold the day Gwendolyn died, with Hogansville Chief of Police, Buddy Bryant, haunted by the case for decades. 32 years later, Buddy Bryant’s son, Clay Bryant, following in his father’s steps, would delve into a new investigation. Would the cold case thaw?
 
Sources, snack recipe, wine recommendation and show notes are found on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com
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By Jill, All Rights Reserved

Episode 65 2ndCast- ‘Female of the Species’- Pt.3 Death Sentence- The True Story of Velma Barfield’s Life, Crimes and Execution by Jerry Bledsoe

Pt 3: What happens when you are on Death Row?  How does the appeal process work?  What is the human toll?  Is it justice?  We will follow Velma’s loved ones as they struggle with new revelations, and hear from the families of the victims’ as human endurance is tested.  Jill walks you through Velma Barfield’s maze of appeals, arguments for a new trial, and the final emotional outcome.  And, Jill tells you what she thinks of Velma Barfield, the Death Row Granny (of course she does!)
 
Sources, show notes, photographs, recipe and drink information are found on Jill’s blog: www.murdershelfbookclub.com. Leave comments!
Email Jill:    jill@murdershelfbookclub.com and leave a 5 star review wherever you listen!
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By Jill, All Rights Reserved.
 
 

Episode 64: ‘Poisoning the waterhole’ – Pt.2 Death Sentence- The True Story of Velma Barfield’s Life, Crimes and Execution by Jerry Bledsoe

In Part 2, on trial for premeditated murder, Velma Barfield’s attorney, Bob Jacobson has an uphill battle—she confessed to poisoning Stuart Taylor- and 3 other people. With the defense team facing the “World’s most deadly prosecutor” Joe Freeman Britt, only Velma could explain herself.
Was she too impaired from her drug abuse to understand what she was doing?  Would she sway the jurors? Could this risky decision save her life? Or was she a cold-calculating serial killer as the Prosecution presents? 
 
Sources, photographs, recipes and wine pairings are found on Jill’s blog at www.murdershelfbookclub.com
Email Jill:    jill@murdershelfbookclub.com and leave a 5 star review wherever you listen!
AND- Jill is on PATREON! Now you can support the podcast, AND zoom with Jill zoom, getting her take on new developments in true crime! Help her choose the next book too!
Check out Jill’s merch store on SpreadShop with new Spring designs!
 
By Jill, All Rights Reserved.

Episode 63 ‘Broken Hearts and Hearths’- Death Sentence- The True Story of Velma Barfield’s Life, Crimes and Execution by Jerry Bledsoe Pt 1

After a childhood of poverty and abuse, 17-year-old Margie Velma Bullard eloped with Senior Thomas Burke while they were both in high school. Building a happy life, they welcomed a son and daughter, becoming a normal American family. That is, until addiction reared its ugliness, triggering a cascade of painful, inexplicable deaths. Why did so many people around Velma die? Then, the world imploded with devastating shock—Velma was arrested for murder, and the investigation would reveal- it wasn’t the only one.
 
Sources, photographs, recipes and wine pairings are found on Jill’s blog at www.murdershelfbookclub.com
AND- Jill is on PATREON- where you can share in behind the scenes zoom with Jill! and get her take on new developments in true crime!
 
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https://murder-shelf-book-club.myspreadshop.com/
 
By Jill, All Rights Reserved.
 

Episode 62- “Serendipity and a Serial Killer” She Married the Green River Killer Pt 4!

Jill chats with the author of She Married the Green River Killer, Pennie Wood. The women speak of serendipity in forging friendships and healing, while uncovering lost memories from Judith Ridgway’s life that enabling the construct the book. Truth revealed, they delve into the normality of Gary Ridgway’s dual life, the roots of his murderous deviance, and a marriage made in deception. Do not miss the insights, peeling back layers to expose truths, and how one woman survived catastrophic change and betrayal.
Sources, photographs, recipes and wine pairings are found on Jill’s blog at www.murdershelfbookclub.com
ANNOUNCEMENT! Jill is on PATREON- where you can share in behind the scenes zoom with Jill!
 
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https://murder-shelf-book-club.myspreadshop.com/
 
By Jill, all rights reserved.

Episode 61- 2ndCast, ‘Rebirth: The Renaissance’- She Married the Green River Killer by Pennie Wood, Pt 3.

Denial shattered forever, Gary Ridgway confesses and is sentenced, enveloping wife Judith with the incomprehensible reality- Her Prince Gary did it.  Ridgway best friends, Jim and Linda Bailey share their remembrances; then Gary Ridgway shares, providing disturbing insights. What did he tell Judith, who emerges from the Dark Ages, reborn as she builds a new life, her personal Renaissance.  
AND: Who were the young women strangled by the Green River Killer? All 49 are remembered in this trilogy, updating the case with Jill’s analysis of a serial killer. 
 
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ANNOUNCEMENT! Jill is on PATREON- where you can share in behind the scenes zoom with Jill! 
Sources, photographs, recipes and wine pairings are found on Jill’s blog at www.murdershelfbookclub.com
 
Check out Jill’s merch store on SpreadShop with new Spring designs!
https://murder-shelf-book-club.myspreadshop.com/
 
By Jill, all rights reserved.

Episode 60-”The Dark Ages”- She Married the Green River Killer by Pennie Wood Pt 2

Happily married, Judith Ridgway settles into being the wife of her Prince, Gary Ridgway, nurturing their dogs and cats, her daughters, grandchildren, and Gary’s son.  Living the American dream, Judith gardens and Gary works hard and attends union meetings, life is good—until it all abruptly ends: Gary is arrested for killing 48 women.  World imploding, with him denying he is the killer, Judith is thrown into years of heartbreak, fear, and dismay.  Where there signs she missed? Red Flags? What do you say to your husband, the serial killer? Will Judith survive having her whole world demolished?
 
Trilogy sources, photographs, links, recipe and wine pairing are found on Jill’s blog at www.murdershelfbookclub.com
Contact Jill:  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com 
 
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Episode 59–‘The Medieval Era’- She Married the Green River Killer by Pennie Wood Pt 1

This story begins on the worst day of Judith Ridgway’s life, when detectives came to her home after her husband of 14 year, Gary Leon Ridgway, was arrested. DNA evidence would tie him to victims of the notorious Green River Killer, murdering for over 20 years.  Completely shell shocked, Judith goes is in denial. How had she gotten here? 
Jill examines Judith’s life, difficult childhood, marriage and children while in the Sea-Tac area of Washington, bodies of strangled women are being discovered at great regularity, terror seizing the region. Then, Judith meets Gary, her Prince, and they build a life together, a perfectly normal life as the hunt for a prolific serial killer continues.  
 
Sources, photographs, recipes and wine pairings are found on Jill’s blog at www.murdershelfbookclub.com
Check out Jill’s merch store on SpreadShop with new Spring designs!
https://murder-shelf-book-club.myspreadshop.com/
 
By Jill, all rights reserved.

Episode 58 2ndCast -“It is darkest before the dawn”- Last Time We Saw Her by Robert Scott Pt 3

Convicted in the Natalie Kirov case, Joel Courtney is finally extradited to Oregon to stand trial for the murder of Brooke Wilberger.  With no body, Prosecutors knew this was not the easiest case to win. What shenanigans will Courtney pull?
Police and the media begin examining other cases that could possibly be linked to Courtney- Katie Eggleston, Stephanie Condon, Leah Freeman, and Kristin Smart.  Was Courtney a serial killer? New, updates on these cases are presented.
Questions? Comments?  Contact: jill@murdershelfbookclub.com
Check out Jill's blog for show notes, sources, photographs, and maps at www.murdershelfbookclub.com.
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By Jill, All Rights Reserved

Episode 57: “Stars cannot shine without darkness.”- Last Time We Saw Her by Robert Scott Pt 2.

Brooke Wilberger is missing.  The eager public cooperates fully, sending in over 4500 tips that need investigating, with critical evidence buried in the pile. Of the number of suspects, the most viable is Sung Koo Kim, a man with an underwear fetish, and a trove of evidence on his computer.  But then, a phone call from New Mexico changes everything! There was a similar case in Albuquerque, and a man, Joel Patrick Courtney, had been arrested.  He’d recently lived in Beaverton, Oregon, which was interesting, but could they make a case against Joel?  The number of dots to be connected seem endless.
Questions? Comments?  Contact: jill@murdershelfbookclub.com
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Check out Jill's blog for show notes, sources, photographs, and maps at www.murdershelfbookclub.com.
Check out the Murder Shelf Book Club merch shop!
By Jill, All Rights Reserved