🎙 Episode 95: Winnie Ruth Judd — “The Truth That Never Made Trial”
Part 5 of a multi-part series
For forty years, Winnie’s story was buried beneath headlines, half-truths, and courtroom omissions.
But journalist Jana Bommersbach wasn’t content with the official version.
In this final installment, host Sidney Smith guides us through the suppressed affidavits, silenced eyewitnesses, and political forces that kept Jack Halloran out of the courtroom—while Winnie stayed locked inside one.
From institutional records to late-life confessions, this isn’t just about a cover-up.
It’s about power, silence, and what happens when the truth shows up four decades late.
📍 Location: Phoenix, Arizona
📅 Key Dates: 1971 parole + 1933–1970 suppressed details
👥 Central Figures: Winnie Ruth Judd, Jack Halloran, Jana Bommersbach
🧠 Themes: Corruption, gendered justice, institutional complicity, media reframing
📖 Next Arc Preview: Stay tuned for our next case—a crime just as twisted, and just as forgotten.
Official Sources Used:
– The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd by Jana Bommersbach
– Trial transcripts from the Arizona State Archives
– Historical coverage from The Arizona Republic, Phoenix Gazette, and True Crime Magazine
– Police reports and internal memos (Phoenix PD archives)
– Arizona Historical Society psychiatric records and oral histories
– Private correspondence, parole filings, and witness interviews (1933–1971)
– Coverage of her 1969 arrest and Halloran revelations via Arizona Highways and AP wire archives
🎧 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
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