As a train traveled from Phoenix to Los Angeles, staff grew uneasy. A foul smell was coming from two trunks belonging to a young female passenger. That unease turned to horror when they noticed blood seeping from the cracks. Hoping it was something as simple as spoiled meat, they alerted police to inspect the trunks upon arrival.
At the station, officers stopped the petite woman walking away from the luggage—her name was Winnie Ruth Judd. When asked about the trunks, she claimed her husband had the keys... then dropped them and ran. Inside were the bodies of her two closest friends, Agnes Anne LeRoi and Hedvig "Sammy" Samuelson. How did they end up dismembered and hidden in trunks, traveling by train with the woman they once trusted? And where did Ruth go? This chilling case captivated the nation and even inspired an all-puppet film, Murderess: The Winnie Ruth Judd Story, written and directed by Scott Coblio. Join us as we unpack the bizarre, bloody mystery of the “Trunk Murders.”
Sources:
“Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search.” Google.com, 2025, news.google.com/newspapers?id=tMQlAAAAIBAJ&pg=7051. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
John, Finn J.D. “Offbeat Oregon: Oregonians Played Prominent Role in 1930s’ Most Horrific Murder.” The Lincoln County Leader, 5 Mar. 2021,
www.thenewsguard.com/community/offbeat-oregon-oregonians-played-prominent-role-in-1930s-most-horrific-murder/article_b9009184-7d2a-11eb-a0d7-63595170049c.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
“Murder & Mayhem - the Strange Saga of Winnie Ruth Judd.” Arizona Memory Project, azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/303.
Pela, Robrt L. “Phoenix New Times.” Phoenix New Times, 24 Sept. 2014, www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/ruthless-a-long-lost-confession-letter-may-finally-tell-the-real-story-of-winnie-ruth-judd-6657689.
THE. “American Hauntings.” American Hauntings, 2025, www.americanhauntingsink.com/trunk-murderess. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
“The Story of the Phoenix “Trunk Murderess” Winnie Ruth Judd.” The Arizona Republic, 2025, www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/phoenix/2024/11/25/phoenix-trunk-murderess-winnie-ruth-judd/74188821007/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
“The Twisted Tale of Winnie Ruth Judd: Phoenix’s Favorite Murderess | the Order of the Good Death.” The Twisted Tale of Winnie Ruth Judd: Phoenix’s Favorite Murderess | the Order of the Good Death, 2024, www.orderofthegooddeath.com/article/the-twisted-tale-of-winnie-ruth-judd-phoenixs-favorite-murderess/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Winnie Ruth Judd.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Feb. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_Ruth_Judd.
“Winnie Ruth Judd Reminiscences Letter.” Arizona Memory Project, 2025, azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/94275. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
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