🎙 Episode 93: Winnie Ruth Judd — “The Girl Who Kept Escaping”
Part 4 of a multi-part series
She was sentenced to death.
Then quietly declared insane.
And for the next 40 years, Winnie Ruth Judd slipped through the cracks—sometimes literally.
In this chapter of the story, host Sidney Smith guides us through life behind the locked doors of Arizona State Asylum:
overcrowded wards, heavy sedation, and a woman slowly fading into the background.
But Winnie didn’t stay silent. She ran.
Again and again.
Until one day, she ran so far she disappeared into a whole new life.
From her early breakouts to her six-year reinvention as Marian Lane, this episode isn’t just about escape—
it’s about identity, invisibility, and the way the world treats women it calls “mad.”
📍 Location: Phoenix, Arizona → Los Angeles, California
📅 Key Dates: 1933–1969
👥 Central Figures: Winnie Ruth Judd, Jack Halloran, Arizona State Asylum staff, “Marian Lane”
🧠 Themes: Justice, punishment vs care, gendered insanity, institutional failure
📖 Next Episode: Part 5 – "The Fight for Parole"
Official Sources Used:
– The Trunk Murderess by Jana Bommersbach
– Arizona State Archives psychiatric and parole documents
– Phoenix PD records and case files
– Historical news coverage (1933–1971)
– Retrospective reporting in True Crime Magazine, Arizona Highways, and the Arizona Republic
– Halloran family correspondence and oral histories (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 | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadio
📱 Follow Sidney on social:
Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook | Twitter → @sidneysmithcre8tiv
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