All Episodes

October 21, 2025 13 mins

This story is one of Alabama’s most infamous and jaw-dropping true crime stories. It’s the tale of a charming Southern belle turned cold-blooded killer: Audrey Marie Hilley.

Born and raised in Anniston, Alabama, Hilley seemed to have it all - beauty, charm, and a picture-perfect family. But beneath that polished exterior lurked greed, deceit, and a taste for poison. What started as a husband’s mysterious illness spiraled into a string of crimes involving arsenic, insurance money, and one of the most bizarre fugitive stories you’ll ever hear.

Before it was over, two people were dead, one barely survived, and Hilley herself faked her own death, took on a new identity, and vanished for years, only to return home in one of the strangest endings in Alabama true crime history.

New episodes weekly.

Subscribe for new weekly episodes.

Listen to our sister serial podcast, Skeptical, available on any podcasting platform. Find links to listen at murdercreekmedia.com/skeptical

Dead Diary is a production of Murder Creek Media, a woman-owned podcasting and media company. Without backing from any production studio or corporate entity, we have the freedom to explore cases thoroughly and tell the stories that matter the most. While this independence allows for creative control, it also means that we rely heavily on listener support to keep the show going. Please visit murdercreekmedia.com to learn more about us, our mission, and how you can support the show.

This episode was created with Descript, a podcast editing and transcription tool that’s been a game-changer for our production process. By signing up using our link (https://get.descript.com/3pci2rvzsx9x), you’ll not only get a great tool but also help support our show.



Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dead-diary/exclusive-content
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.