🎙 Episode 91: Winnie Ruth Judd — “Two in the Trunk”
Part 2 of a multi-part series
Two women are dead.
One is missing.
And a pair of leaking trunks has turned a quiet train station into a national crime scene.
In this chapter of the Winnie Ruth Judd story, host Sidney Smith takes listeners deeper into the blood-soaked aftermath: a bullet-riddled bedroom, a burning incinerator, and a missing mattress no one can explain.
From the shifting details in Winnie’s story to the silence surrounding Jack Halloran, Part 2 unpacks the moment when this case stopped being private—and became a spectacle.
Was it self-defense?
Was it a cover-up?
Or was something darker hiding beneath that brown traveling suit?
📍 Location: Phoenix, Arizona → Los Angeles, California
📅 Key Dates: October 18–22, 1931
👥 Central Figures: Winnie Ruth Judd, Agnes Anne LeRoi, Hedvig “Sammy” Samuelson, Jack Halloran
🧠 Themes: Sensationalism, fragile truth, missing evidence, gendered assumptions
📖 Next Episode: Part 3 – "Trial by Reputation"
Official Sources Used:
– The Trunk Murderess by Jana Bommersbach
– Arizona State Archives trial transcripts
– Phoenix PD case files
– Historical news coverage (1931–1933)
– Psychiatric and parole documents (AZ Historical Society)
🎧 Murderess Podcast is written and hosted by Sidney Smith
🎙 Produced in partnership with Sidney Smith Cre8tiv, LLC and the You Hear Good Things podcast network
📅 New episodes every Thursday
🔗 Find past episodes, merch, and tour dates:
https://www.sidneysmithcre8tiv.com
🎧 Stream the show on your favorite platform:
Spotify – https://spoti.fi/4e3ncIh
Apple Podcasts – https://apple.co/42A11UK
iHeart Radio – https://ihr.fm/3SRT7BS
📱 Follow Sidney on social:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter → @sidneysmithcre8tiv
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