WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:11.119 She came to America chasing a fresh start, but everywhere 2 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:15.519 she ventured, men seemed to die, their wills were changed, 3 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:19.320 their bank accounts were emptied, and their symptoms were always 4 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:23.239 the same. But no one questioned the charming German caregiver 5 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:27.440 who appeared to help everyone that she met. Eventually, though, 6 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:31.199 she had one victim too many, and the truth finally 7 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:35.000 began to surface. This is the story of a woman 8 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:39.560 who killed silently, poisoning her victims. This is the story 9 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:43.240 of arsenic Annie. 10 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:47.159 My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked 11 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:49.799 and Grim, a true crime podcast. 12 00:00:51.399 --> 00:01:19.640 The following podcast maid more mature audience listener discretion. Do 13 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:20.480 you see a difference? 14 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:22.319 Oh, does it look bigger? 15 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:26.879 Yeah, it looks bigger. It's huge, right, it's massive. Get 16 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.040 your mind out of the gutter. Awkward, don't go there. 17 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:32.640 I'm talking about my muscles. I've been going to the gym. 18 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.920 Yes, I'm flexing. We have decided to go on a 19 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.599 tropical vacation. We haven't done a tropical vacation for years 20 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:43.840 in the spring, and so we're like, holy shit, we 21 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:46.040 got to get our our urses to the gym. 22 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:48.159 Yeah, get our beach bods on the go. But it's 23 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:50.239 also not just like, hey, get a beach bod. It's 24 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:53.239 like I've been eating shitty. I need to get healthy again. 25 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:55.519 I have a history in my family, have some high 26 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.719 blood pressure stuff. I should probably do the adult thing here, 27 00:01:58.840 --> 00:01:59.959 you know, take care of myself. 28 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:02.439 You're getting up there in age, you know, so you 29 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:04.000 got to start taking care of yourself. 30 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:07.480 Yet, calm down, it's not that bad. 31 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:10.360 I know you're still a spring chicken. I guess we 32 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:11.080 could say I don't. 33 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:14.479 I'm just as spry as I was yesterday, but not 34 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.879 the day before. I don't know if that's the saying. 35 00:02:17.879 --> 00:02:19.879 It just made it up, but it seemed to work well. 36 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:22.520 I do also have to say, I don't know. Going 37 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:24.439 to the gym too, it's so nice for your mental 38 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:27.800 health and just clearing your mind right. It's a good 39 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.439 time a year to be doing that. I think you're right. 40 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:33.919 And then there's also the like it almost puts you 41 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:36.800 in a mindset of eating better too. You're going to 42 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:39.039 the gym, You're like, well, I just went and worked out. 43 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:41.840 I feel good, I'm happy. I'm not going to just 44 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:43.960 go and eat a sleeve of oreos, which is probably 45 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:46.159 what I generally do on a Sunday afternoon or something 46 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:48.800 like that. What I would do is go home be like, oh, well, 47 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:50.879 I'm not going to just consume a bunch of calories 48 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:53.000 because I waste my gym time. I'm going to eat 49 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:56.199 healthy to balance it out, so it like perpetuates some 50 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:57.719 better living. 51 00:02:57.919 --> 00:02:59.759 It's like the snowball effect in a good way. 52 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.439 There you go, the good snowball effect. Another good snowball 53 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.360 effect too is when multiple people join up on Patreon 54 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.840 and support the show, we can really grow. So thank 55 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:14.719 you and shout out to Mariah Carellis, Claire Jones, Shariah Kegle, 56 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:18.719 Blackie Alexander, and David Walter who all signed up and 57 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:23.280 are supporting us and joining that amazing snowball that we 58 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:25.319 have of a community over there that. 59 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.639 Was not planned. That sounded like it was almost rehearsed. 60 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:30.039 But that's just Ben. 61 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.879 I'm I'm enjoying trying to like fit it in in 62 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:34.159 a in a. 63 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:37.840 Natural stuff like that. Yeah, he's that good. 64 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:42.319 Can you tell? I did improv in high school? We 65 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:45.680 had an interesting story today. I mean I could talk 66 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:48.520 about my muscles and vacations and snowballs all day long. 67 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:50.960 But I think we should get over to the story 68 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:51.759 of Arsenic Annie. 69 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:54.680 H I agree, Holy moly, this is going to be 70 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:56.159 a gooder. I think it is a. 71 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:58.319 Little bit of an older case, so I will say that. 72 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:00.560 But we are staying in the nineteen h We're not 73 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:02.759 going back to the eighteen hundred, so it's not like, well, 74 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:05.080 I guess it is a whole other century. I was 75 00:04:05.080 --> 00:04:06.840 going to say, we're not going back a century, but 76 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:09.000 we are. We are, all right, I just dated myself. 77 00:04:09.159 --> 00:04:11.520 We're going back one century, not too how about that. 78 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:13.879 I feel like the ones that we've done recently have 79 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.160 been a little bit newer, so well, that's. 80 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:17.879 Kind of why I picked this one, is it's been 81 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:19.759 a while since we've doed back in time a little 82 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:22.439 bit around that clock. So we're going to talk about 83 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:23.360 Arsenic Annie. 84 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:23.759 Now. 85 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:27.680 Annie Marie Filsner entered the world on July seventh, nineteen 86 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:31.759 oh six, in the quiet Bavarian town of FEUs in Germany. 87 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:33.920 It was the kind of place where people knew each 88 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:37.639 other for generations, and gossip traveled faster than the church 89 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:41.199 bells that rang through the town air. Her parents, George 90 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:44.600 and Kathrina, well, they were doing pretty well for themselves. 91 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:48.439 George made furniture, and the Filser name actually carried a 92 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:51.120 very kind of respect that comes with steady work and 93 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:55.120 a big family. Anna was the twelfth child to be 94 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:57.360 born into this family, so it's a large family to 95 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.000 say the least, no kidding, And she was the baby 96 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:02.319 of the house. And by the time she came along, 97 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:06.120 her parents had actually already buried five of those children. 98 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:09.600 What, Yes, that's freaking heartbreaking. 99 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.160 Yes, And then not to mention, two more of the 100 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:15.759 older boys would eventually be lost in the First World War, 101 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:20.199 So death loss, it was definitely an unfortunate thing that 102 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:23.120 was woven into the family long before Anna will even 103 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:27.000 really learn to speak. Now, as the youngest daughter, Anna 104 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:30.040 grew up pushing from the harsher edges of life. We 105 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.199 all look at the youngest of the family. The baby 106 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:35.360 tends to get coddled a little bit more, right, and 107 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:39.000 that's certainly this case in this story. Her mother adored her, 108 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.600 and in a household that had known so much tragedy, 109 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.600 it was easy to see why the surviving children, especially 110 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:49.959 the youngest one, was held a little closer. But Anna 111 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.879 wasn't a child who stayed close for long. Her early 112 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.560 years were filled with sickness, and she had a long, 113 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.000 frightening battle with blood poisoning that kept her in the 114 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.800 hospital for months, followed by a go to your operation 115 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:04.519 that left her frail and anxious. In fact, she genuinely 116 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:06.639 thought she might die at one point, and maybe that 117 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:11.000 brush with mortality did something to her, because when she recovered, 118 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:14.160 she began pushing boundaries, in fact, every boundary that she 119 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.680 could really find. By her teenage years, Anna was slipping 120 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:21.279 out of bedroom windows long after curfew, sneaking out to parties, 121 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:25.040 and testing the limits of her parents' patience. Now Feusen 122 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.040 was a small place, too small for secrets, but she 123 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:30.600 still found ways to lie her way out of trouble. 124 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:35.040 Even then, people remembered her charm, the soft spoken girl 125 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:38.800 with blonde hair who always had a reason, always had 126 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:44.160 an explanation, and somehow always got away with having another chance. 127 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.879 School was something that never really interested her. She drifted 128 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:51.120 far away from studies, and later in her life even 129 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:54.879 insisted that she completed coursework for teaching, even though there 130 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.560 was no way of verifying that. But I digress. What 131 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:01.600 she was good at, though, was people. She learned early 132 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:04.480 on that a well timed smile or a carefully spun 133 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:07.879 story could get her what she wanted. But like many 134 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:11.800 young women, life shifted sharply when she found herself pregnant. 135 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:15.519 She was seventeen years old in a conservative Catholic town 136 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.480 and now pregnant, and that wasn't something that the family, 137 00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:22.720 like the Philsners, could easily hide. Now, Anna insisted that 138 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:26.279 the father of her child was a Viennese doctor, a 139 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:30.879 brilliant cancer researcher by the name of doctor Max maskushek. 140 00:07:31.639 --> 00:07:36.600 It sounded impressive, almost heroic even, but the problem was simple. 141 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:39.800 There was no record of him that existed anywhere. No 142 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:42.040 one saw him, no one knew of him. He was 143 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:46.399 just something that she said. The truth, whatever it was, 144 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.120 didn't matter as much as the scandal, and the scandal 145 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.920 certainly came fast. It seemed like for the first time 146 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:57.800 in her life, Anna's charm wasn't enough to smooth things over. 147 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:01.120 So to contain the damage, parents sent her to live 148 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:05.079 with her sister Caddie in Holland. She gave birth to 149 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.399 her son, there Oscar on May thirty first of nineteen 150 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:12.160 twenty five. She's still unmarried with this doctor knowher in 151 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:16.319 sight and still the source of the family shame. And 152 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:19.759 then she came back home. But the relationship between Anna 153 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.319 and the rest of the Filsner household, while it was 154 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:26.319 never quite the same. Oscar stayed behind with Anna's mother 155 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.360 while Anna tried to reclaim her place in Fusen. But 156 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:35.039 words spread fast, people whispered, and Anna, who always had 157 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:37.879 the gift of gab, found herself boxed in by her 158 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:42.000 own choices. By the time she was in her early twenties, 159 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:45.320 Anna had outgrown her small Bavarian life, or maybe she 160 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:48.240 had simply burned too many bridges to stay. Either way, 161 00:08:48.679 --> 00:08:51.679 she was looking outwards past the mountains and towards the 162 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:56.320 United States of America. It held the prospect of a 163 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.000 chance to start fresh, and by the winter of nineteen 164 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:04.399 twenty nine, Anna had convinced herself that America would fix everything, 165 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.480 because the US was far enough away that her past 166 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:13.240 couldn't follow. So when she stepped onto the SS Muchin 167 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:17.039 with a second class ticket and a suitcase, she was 168 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:21.519 excited to leave the small Bavarian town's opinion behind her. 169 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.960 That makes sense. Fresh starts are definitely appealing. I am curious, though, 170 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:28.679 did she take her baby with her? Did she leave 171 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:30.399 the babe with her parents. 172 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:35.039 Her son stayed behind for now, for now, for now. Yes, 173 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.200 so the plan would be to you know, head over 174 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:39.519 to the States, get her root set, and then bring 175 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:40.120 her son over. 176 00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:43.240 That was the s point. Okay, okay, yeah, that makes sense. 177 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:46.360 It is too bad that everyone just I don't know. 178 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.480 I mean, I was going to say things have changed, 179 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:51.559 but I think people actually are still a little bit gossipy. 180 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:53.799 It's just maybe about different things nowadays. 181 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:57.000 I think it's different things and in different ways for sure, 182 00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:59.480 Like if someone's getting pregnant and they don't know who 183 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:02.039 the father is, that might spread a little bit of gossip, 184 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:04.840 but it's not going to be anything out of the 185 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:06.200 ordinary these days. 186 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:09.120 It's not necessarily going to put shame on your family. 187 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:13.559 Right exactly. It's not like, oh she's pregnant, Hey, excited 188 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:15.679 to meet the kid. That's going to be the more reaction. Yeah, 189 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:17.399 that's gonna be the stuff that spreads, Oh she doesn't 190 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:19.360 know who the father is, or she says it's this doctor. 191 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:21.200 Might be a little bit of whispers, but no one's 192 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.759 really going to care in this case. Hey, being religious 193 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:27.600 where you know, premarital sex is a thing that sort 194 00:10:27.639 --> 00:10:29.879 of stuff. That's where the scandal really starts, when you 195 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:34.080 get back into the olden days, olden days. And so yeah, 196 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:36.639 it's just a whole different life, a whole different set 197 00:10:36.759 --> 00:10:41.240 of standards, I guess. But there's definitely still scandals that happen. 198 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:42.120 It's just different. 199 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:45.360 Topics, h you say it is. Yeah, it's definitely different. 200 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:47.879 And now with social media too, it adds a whole 201 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:48.639 new layer. 202 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:50.639 Right, Yeah, isn't that the truth? 203 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:55.720 When she arrived in New York in February after days 204 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:59.480 at sea, she then traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, a city 205 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:03.039 that felt way familiar with its German roots. Much of 206 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:05.559 the neighborhood spoke the same language that she grew up with, 207 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:09.240 and it had its beer hauls, its bakeries and butcher shops, 208 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:12.919 and church bells and German newspaper. It probably felt honestly 209 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:16.919 more like Germany than America at first. Even she moved 210 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:21.159 in with her relatives, Max and Anna Doschel. They were 211 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.879 kind and patient from the very beginning. They even covered 212 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:28.360 her ship fare when she arrived, but within weeks she 213 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:31.519 got sick with scarlet fever and spent almost a month 214 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:35.480 bedridden in their home. Now the docials. They took care 215 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:38.000 of her while she recovered, expecting she would pay them 216 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:40.519 back when she found work sort of thing. So they 217 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:43.240 covered the fair, but it was you know, hey, we gotcha, 218 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:47.080 just whenever you can pay us back. But as soon 219 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:51.279 as Anna was healthy again, she simply left. There was 220 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:55.320 no repayment or apology or explanation, just nothing. 221 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.399 Okay, So she didn't really believe or think she owed 222 00:11:58.399 --> 00:11:59.360 them anything. 223 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:03.279 Exactly, and this is the first hint of a pattern 224 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:06.679 that would later control her entire life. If she could 225 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:10.399 slip away from like an IOU or a responsibility like that, 226 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:14.840 then she would I don't like that, No, it's greasy. 227 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:16.399 Yeah. 228 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:19.200 So she soon found work, landing a job as a 229 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:23.159 chambermaid at the massive five hundred room hotel Elms. It 230 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.240 was an eye opening place for a young immigrant. Wealthy 231 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:30.759 travelers came and went, leaving behind tips, stories, and opportunities 232 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:36.039 as well. Anna watched carefully how people trusted hotel staff 233 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:38.720 with personal belongings, and how easy it could be to 234 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:42.679 get close to these strangers, and how charm something she 235 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:47.759 had could smooth over almost anything. But the most life 236 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:52.279 changing moment in Cincinnati happened somewhere far less glamorous at 237 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:56.519 a community dance hall. That's where she met Philip Hahn, 238 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:02.559 a telegraph operator for Western Union. Now Philip was polite, practical, 239 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:07.000 and honestly the exact opposite of Anna in almost every way. 240 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.200 He believed what she told him, and that she had 241 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.200 trained as a nurse in Germany, which was clearly not true. 242 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:16.120 That she wanted a stable life again, not so much, 243 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.960 and that she was ready to put down roots again 244 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.120 not so much. She was moving all over the place, 245 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:25.240 her son was a country away, and you know, all 246 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.559 these things were far off from the reality of her 247 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:31.240 actual situation. Now, whether they were true, that she was 248 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:34.080 actually striving for them or not, well, it didn't really matter. 249 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:38.480 What mattered was Philip believed them through and through, and 250 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:42.000 on May fifth, nineteen thirty, after a short courtship, they 251 00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:43.639 married in Buffalo, New York. 252 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.559 I was just going to say, well, why wouldn't he really? Right? 253 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:50.759 I feel like someone that you're interested in is necessarily 254 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:52.600 be spelling lies to you, right, so I think you 255 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:54.000 would just believe them? 256 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:57.360 Why not? Yeah, you're totally right. Now. That same summer, 257 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:00.799 Anna returned to Germany briefly to bring Oscar with her. 258 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:05.120 Now five years old, he's coming to America. The three 259 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.799 of them settled into a modest home in Cincinnati, trying 260 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:11.159 to build a normal family life. But normal while that 261 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:15.159 never lasted long. Around Anna, she started dipping into the 262 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:18.360 finances of some older men that she'd known before the wedding, 263 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:20.879 though there's no evidence that there was any sort of 264 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:24.559 romantic or physical intimacy or anything. She just simply used 265 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:28.759 her charm. One of those men was Charles Oswald, a 266 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:31.679 retired baker she rented a room from for a short period. 267 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:35.080 Now he'd grown attached to her back then, imagining a 268 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:39.159 future between them, and now he denied signing over apparently 269 00:14:39.240 --> 00:14:43.120 twenty seven shares of Union Gas and Electric to her. 270 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:48.399 Yet somehow those stocks landed in her possession. Bank records 271 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:52.000 also show seven hundred dollars shifting into Anna's account around 272 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:55.360 that same time. Now, she didn't really talk about it, 273 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:59.080 Philip didn't really seem to ask in Oswald. Well, he 274 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.879 didn't pursue anything, he couldn't prove anything, and probably because 275 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.240 well he gave them to her and didn't want to 276 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:08.799 admit it. But by nineteen thirty one, she sold all 277 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:11.240 those stocks that she had acquired and used the money 278 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:13.919 to help the couple invest in a small family business, 279 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:18.159 a bakery and delicatesian kind of like a deli with 280 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:20.679 baked breads and such as. Well, you know, so the 281 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:23.200 idea of running their own shop, well it looked good 282 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:25.799 on paper, especially during a time when steady work was 283 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:29.039 hard to come by. But Anna wasn't built for slow, 284 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:33.679 careful progress. She well, she wanted money fast instead, and 285 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.240 she found a place where she could chase that feeling 286 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:41.879 the race track. A harmless, little two dollar bet would 287 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:45.360 win her two hundred and sixty dollars early on, and 288 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:49.399 that small victory hooked her into betting at the racetrack, 289 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:52.440 and very quickly she moved from the occasional wager to 290 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:56.240 betting twenty dollars to thirty dollars and even fifty dollars 291 00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:59.480 a day. And remember this is the late nineteen twenties. 292 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:03.360 Well, I was just thinking, that's a slippery slope right. 293 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.320 There, exactly. And this was money that the couple absolutely 294 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:09.519 could not afford to lose. And so as a result, 295 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:13.200 the bakery began to struggle. Bills piled up, and Philip 296 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:17.559 worked long shifts to keep them afloat. By nineteen thirty two, 297 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:20.320 their little shop was hanging on by a threat. The 298 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:23.679 Great Depression didn't spare small businesses either, and with Anna's 299 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:27.240 growing gambling habit draining their pockets, the shop never really 300 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:30.960 had a fair chance. When it finally folded, the couple 301 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:34.519 found themselves renting rooms inside the home of a man 302 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:37.000 by the name of Koch, a sixty to two year 303 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.519 old widower who had owned the house and rented out 304 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.720 rooms to lodgers, including Anna and a local physician named 305 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:47.840 doctor Arthur Voss. Now. Koche was quiet, frail, and grateful 306 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:52.039 for the company. To Anna, though he wasn't just company. 307 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.159 He was a man with money, a man with feeling health, 308 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:58.200 and no close relatives really to keep an eye on him. 309 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:01.879 So she made a move and became a part of 310 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:04.960 his life with almost no effort. Really. She began helping 311 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.839 around the house, you know, preparing meals, running errands, and 312 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:13.279 betraying herself as a caring, dependable presence. Philip meanwhile, worked 313 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:17.160 long hours and wasn't home much. But soon Anna started 314 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.920 stealing from Koch small things at first, you know, loose change, 315 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:24.680 pantry items, and other things from other people in the 316 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:29.039 house too, including prescription pads from doctor Arthur Voss who 317 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.480 but these prescription pads, well, they turned into a dangerous territory. 318 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:38.799 Using a doctor's forged signature, she began writing orders for morphine, 319 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:42.839 which she filled and kept for herself. Now whether she 320 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:47.160 used it, recreationally sold it, or whatever isn't exactly clear. 321 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:51.240 But what is clear is that Coach suddenly got very 322 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:54.759 sick around the same time, and it is possible that 323 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:59.359 she began experimenting with this as her first means of poison. 324 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:05.440 Okay, it's interesting because she seems like she could be good, 325 00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:09.599 but then she is. Also she's actually just this terrible human. 326 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:12.359 She's a monster. I will see. Yeah, yes she is, But. 327 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:14.359 I don't know. There's little glimpses I guessed it in 328 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:16.480 there where it's like, okay, like she could have gone 329 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:17.480 a good way. 330 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:22.759 But anyone can, anyone can go a good way. But 331 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:26.640 what is what is she showing that's good about her? 332 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:30.400 I'm yeah, I guess everything she does does have an 333 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:31.319 ulterior motive. 334 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:35.319 So yeah, she's manipulating every single person around her. She's 335 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:41.079 creating relationships and everything for means to an end. Now 336 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:45.240 I don't know for certain, but even her husband. Potentially 337 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:48.279 there's a means to an end there. She's not necessarily 338 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:51.519 after him for hey, a relationship, a husband, a partner, 339 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:54.279 someone to go through life and enjoy things with and 340 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:56.799 maybe raise her son, that sort of stuff. I don't 341 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:00.160 think so. I think she's more after someone to financial 342 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:02.960 support her. And there is a little bit of evidence 343 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.599 to go along with that that I'll mention here a 344 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:05.319 little bit later. 345 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:07.720 I don't know. For some I don't maybe it's because 346 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:09.680 it's like a female or for some reason. I'm just 347 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.200 struggling because, you know, I like the idea of someone 348 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:15.759 wanting a fresh start and stuff. But I know, yeah, 349 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:18.079 she's a terrible person. It's going to just get worse. 350 00:19:18.519 --> 00:19:21.160 So I need to change my mindset. 351 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.400 Think of it this way. 352 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:25.400 Why did she want a fresh start because she burnt 353 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:27.480 shit back home? I guess exactly. 354 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:30.759 Yeah, she's looking for a fresh start, not because she's 355 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.880 looking for herself, but she's looking for fresh people to. 356 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:39.160 Manipulate who don't know of her ways exactly. Yeah. 357 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:42.079 Now, Throughout April and early May of nineteen thirty three, 358 00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:47.720 well Co suffered waves of excruciating abdominal pain, vomiting weakness, 359 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:51.519 and even trouble swallowing. Doctors believed that he was getting 360 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:54.880 throat cancer and that was causing this. And Anna, well, 361 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:58.039 she never questioned that diagnosis. In fact, she supported it 362 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:02.480 and almost even encouraged it. Oddly enough, and on May sixth, 363 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:07.960 nineteen thirty three, Koch passed away. No one suspected anything criminal, 364 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:12.200 no one ordered an autopsy, and Anna the attentive caretaker 365 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:15.000 position that she jumped into while she walked away with 366 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:22.559 everything he had. Koach's will named her his soul air shit. 367 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:26.960 He gave her his home, personal belongings, and whatever savings 368 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.240 he had left. She even kept his ashes in an 369 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:31.720 urn on her mantle for a while. 370 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:37.279 Huh, okay, that I mean but she okay, I don't know. 371 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:40.440 I'm just going to keep listening. She did care for him, 372 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:43.880 but also she was probably the reason of his just demise. 373 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.519 So oh she was for sure? 374 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:51.599 Yes, Oh, okay, okay, she shed He would have lived 375 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.079 a longer life without her having ever moving. 376 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:58.839 I shouldn't say technically that she was for sure. I 377 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:01.400 don't believe she was conveyed did on him. Let's say that, 378 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:04.759 but it's almost certain. How's that? 379 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:07.200 Okay? Okay, that's sad? 380 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:11.000 So years later, when her crimes did finally come to light, 381 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:14.759 investigators would revisit Coach's death and classify it as her 382 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:17.160 likely first poisoning. 383 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:18.960 Okay, so. 384 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.759 They know that she is the cause of his death, 385 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.440 but there's technically not a conviction attached to his name. 386 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:29.599 So that's kind of why I'm being iffy on the 387 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:33.640 clarification there. They've attached that death to her, but there's 388 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:35.759 no conviction, is what I'm trying to say now. At 389 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.400 the time of his death, though, too, there was no 390 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.960 red flags raised, No one questioned it. It was just, oh, 391 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.880 you know what, stuff happens to older people, and that 392 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:46.720 was really that. 393 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:50.279 And he was literally just this little old man that 394 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:52.119 lost his wife and wanted company. 395 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:57.000 Pretty much now, before Coach, Anna gambled, lied and stole, 396 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:00.000 and she hadn't crossed a line that directly ended someone's 397 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.000 life before. But after Koch While she learned something, she 398 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.319 learned that she could get away with murder, and once 399 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:13.440 Anna realized that, everything started to accelerate. In nineteen thirty 400 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.559 four and nineteen thirty five, more financial chaos followed. Their 401 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:22.759