546 - A Superstar of the Early 70s

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark - Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark of My Favorite Murder dive into a mix of personal reflections, humor, and updates from their podcast n

Key takeaways

• Sobriety can be gamified and celebrated through visual tracking, helping individuals stay motivated and acknowledge progress.

Main topics

• Personal sobriety journeys and mental health
• Aging, beauty, and self-acceptance

Notable quotes

"Cindy said I had to choose between the truth and my family, and I had to choose the truth."

"I don't want to die an addict."

Conclusion

The episode blends lighthearted banter with heartfelt reflections on p

Transcript preview

Speaker 6 (0:01) This is exactly right. Speaker 6 (0:06) I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 3 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous situation that destroyed two families. It's a scorched earth war that shows just how far someone will go to get what they want. Speaker 4 (0:21) Cindy said I had to choose between the truth and my family, and I had to choose the truth. Speaker 6 (0:27) Listen to Season 3 of Burden of Guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 5 (0:36) Betrayal Weekly is back with brand new stories from threatening text messages disturbing a small Midwestern town. It was from an unknown number. Who else is getting these messages? Why did it start with us? To long cons and stolen identities. Who Speaker 4 (0:53) lies about being this sick? This was the last time I ever believed a word she said. Speaker 5 (0:59) Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 8 (1:28) Darcy Carden, Sherry Oteri, Anna Faris, Dave Franco, Madeline Klein, Adam Scott, T.S. Madison, and more. Listen to Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 2 (2:03) And welcome. To my favorite murder. That's Georgia Hardstark. That's Karen Kilgareff. And we're just casually podcasting for your entertainment. Can Speaker 1 (2:11) you see that I have a nap crease in my face? In the face? As I'm podcasting on Netflix. Is Speaker 2 (2:18) it a vertical or horizontal? Speaker 1 (2:20) It's, what's that way? Speaker 2 (2:21) Horizontal. Thank you. Like the horizon. Like the horizon. It's as wide as the horizon across your cheek. Speaker 1 (2:27) That's how together my shit is. Is that I just show up with a fucking nap. I Speaker 7 (2:33) mean, I was literally at Sephora seven minutes before this show started in a kind of wild attempt to like, maybe this will help. Maybe this lipstick will solve it. Speaker 3 (2:45) Absolutely. And Speaker 7 (2:46) I feel like I need to just say a public generalized apology to people who work at Sephora. I couldn't be ruder. Really? I don't want to be rude at all. I want to look at lipstick. I want to touch foundation. I want to see all the new things that all my friends on the Internet talk about. Speaker 2 (3:05) And I want to interact with them. And I don't want to interact with Speaker 7 (3:08) anybody else. Speaker 1 (3:08) How come, though, when you need help, you can't find anybody? Is this a stand-up routine? This is the funniest stand-up routine we've ever written on this. show. But Speaker 3 (3:17) then when you ask them for help, then they use their brushes on you. And I don't want your brushes on my face. You've Speaker 7 (3:22) got to find the person that works there. And for me, it's usually the woman that's closer to my age. The Speaker 3 (3:27) oldest Speaker 7 (3:27) woman, Speaker 3 (3:27) yeah, for sure. Speaker 7 (3:28) Completely. Always. And she's always kind of looking at me like, almost afraid to say, you know, still don't need help. But if I do, absolutely, that's the person I'm going to. Where it's like, hey, help me fix Speaker 1 (3:40) this, this, and that. It's Speaker 2 (3:42) like Speaker 1 (3:42) when you see those videos of influencers going. Tips that made me look as good as I did in my 20s and my 30s. And you're like, it's fucking collagen, bitch. And you, it's not. There's no tip. You're not special yet. No, Speaker 2 (3:55) you haven't hacked anything. Tell me when you're 59. Speaker 1 (3:57) You've Speaker 7 (3:58) hacked chronological age. Exactly. You're just doing. It's the thing like when I used to love to mouth off about in my 30s of like, I would never get plastic surgery. And it's like, correct. 30 year old you would never get plastic surgery. Just wait till 55 year old you shows up. And Speaker 1 (4:13) in fact, I wish I had gotten it in my 30s so I could have all that time to look fucking great. Speaker 7 (4:18) POV that you Speaker 2 (4:19) have at any time in life Speaker 7 (4:21) is Speaker 1 (4:22) simply Speaker 2 (4:22) just the information you've gotten up until that point. 100%. Because Speaker 1 (4:26) I know there's some chick who's in her 60s going to me, shut the fuck up at 46 talking about your Botox. Yes, Speaker 2 (4:32) always. So I will. So we will shut up. So that's why I'm not Speaker 3 (4:35) talking about it. Speaker 2 (4:36) Our silent true crime podcast for the rest. Speaker 3 (4:39) You know what is maybe going to help me is 55 days without alcohol. Really? Beauty treatment. I Speaker 2 (4:45) mean, for real. Your skin is glowing. Thank you. You really can see it. How does it feel? Great. It's good. It's I feel I have Speaker 3 (4:52) less anxiety, as my therapist Speaker 2 (4:54) told Speaker 3 (4:54) me for the past 10 years. I would less anxiety. Depression is the same. But that's just me. But it's Speaker 2 (5:01) a Speaker 3 (5:01) slow build. That's Speaker 2 (5:03) nothing. If it worked immediately, everyone would do it. Totally. Totally. Well, that's an adventure. That's like something new. Speaker 3 (5:10) Yeah. It does feel like I'm actually like excited for the 60 days and the 90 days and the year. Speaker 2 (5:17) Knock wood. And what about you? What's Speaker 1 (5:19) up? Speaker 2 (5:19) That's nice. Me, I'm just tracking your sobriety. Speaker 1 (5:23) You've got an app. Track your friend's sobriety. I don't know. I don't know about Speaker 7 (5:28) her today. Speaker 2 (5:29) What if she doesn't do it today? Speaker 7 (5:32) God, can you Speaker 2 (5:32) imagine? I mean, here's the thing. Yeah. Just have fun with it. Yeah. Just have fun. I have a Speaker 1 (5:39) curiosity, which I think is smart. Important in life. Speaker 2 (5:42) Yeah. That's new corner shit. Yeah. Was there something that like inspired Speaker 7 (5:47) you in a positive way you want Speaker 1 (5:49) to talk Speaker 3 (5:50) about? Yeah. I mean, every Quitlet book, every Quit. memoir that I've read by a chick that's just like me or totally not like me has helped me so much over the 10 years that I've been listening and reading them. Yeah. And over and over and over again. So just kind of and then going to Italy and drinking every fucking day with every meal and then turning 46 while I was there. I was like, all right, let's not wait until it's dire. Yes. Let's do. And I saw something that was like just one in one of those books that said, I don't want to die an addict. And I was like, whoa. That hit me. And both my siblings have quit alcohol, which I'm so impressed with. And competing with. Speaker 2 (6:28) Always. Always. You will not beat me. Competitive sobriety. That's the new thing. Speaker 3 (6:36) That's your new genre. And you know what else I did? I gamified it in my calendar every day at night when I haven't had a drink. I get a purple day. Yeah. Or whatever your favorite color is. And then you see them all in a Speaker 1 (6:47) row. It's exciting. Yeah. It's like a material. Speaker 7 (6:50) Because I think our brains have a tendency to minimize real serious accomplishments and always be focusing on the lack or the other instead of like, hooray for me, I did this thing. Totally. So hooray for you. You did a Speaker 2 (7:06) thing. I did. I Speaker 7 (7:07) just thought it was a Speaker 2 (7:07) regular Thursday. But we're getting real and deep on this show. Deep and disgusting. Speaking of which, Speaker 1 (7:17) we've got a network. We Speaker 3 (7:19) have a podcast Speaker 1 (7:19) network. Good one. Speaker 3 (7:20) It's called Exactly Right Media. Correct. Here are some highlights. Speaker 7 (7:22) This week on Bananas, Kurt and Scotty are joined by Christine Schieffer, host of Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet, the podcast. They all talk about the usual humanoid robots working at a school in New York. A Pennsylvania man who briefly was the world's first quadrillionaire. What? And the guy who hiked six miles after impaling himself at the pole. Man. And Speaker 3 (7:41) speaking of Scotty Landis, he is the guest this week on Dear Movies, I Love You. Millie and Casey talk about his area of expertise, which is actors playing sports terribly. Plus, they review the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon. Speaker 7 (7:55) Also, I don't know if everybody knows, but co-host of Bananas, Scotty Landis, is the screenwriter for the movie Ma. If you like that horror movie. Yep. That was Scotty's idea. So him being on Dear Movies, I Love You is so perfect. Then over on The Knife, Hannah and Pesha are joined by our very own Paul Holes. There's Speaker 2 (8:14) a Speaker 7 (8:14) lot of cross-pollinization happening on the network here. Paul cross Speaker 2 (8:18) -pollinization? Oh, no. You did it. It's like I'm doing it and I don't know I'm doing it. Speaker 7 (8:23) So Paul goes on the knife to discuss his audio book, Finding the Lost Girls, which is all about the investigation of the serial killer Joseph Nasso, which we did cover on this show, and Paul's ongoing effort to identify the victims of those murders. Then Speaker 1 (8:38) breaking news over on Brief Recess. Speaker 3 (8:40) This is all over the Instagrams. I'm so excited. It's Speaker 2 (8:42) so Speaker 3 (8:42) exciting. If Speaker 1 (8:43) you Speaker 3 (8:43) haven't heard, Michael Foote. Fucking just darling of all darlings is going to be on this new coming season of The Traitor's New Blood. So this week, he and Melissa answer all your questions about that. Plus, they cover recent election results, a viral ICE video, and Kash Patel's announcement of an indictment involving the Southern Poverty Law Center where Michael used to work. Yeah. Lots of fucking crazy good stuff happening over there. I Speaker 7 (9:07) love Brief Recess. It's one of my favorites of the new shows that we have right now. Melissa, of course, genius. But Michael. is the kind of person who can be an immigration lawyer in New York City for real. Yeah. Be able to TikTok about it in a way that makes people love and support him. And then do this podcast and then go on Traders. It's like, I don't understand. He does Speaker 2 (9:30) it all. He's in his 30s. Speaker 7 (9:31) Is that true? Yeah. Speaker 2 (9:33) We used to do that. We used to defend the innocent. We used to do Speaker 1 (9:36) things. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was Speaker 2 (9:38) us. Speaker 1 (9:38) You know, back in our 30s. That was us. We could have. Speaker 7 (9:40) Listen, we have done a lot of things. Taking nothing away from Michael Foote. No, no, of course. But we ourselves, we've done Speaker 2 (9:47) things, and we actually make podcasts where we remember the things that we've done. I've done so many things in my 30s. So we're good. A Speaker 7 (9:55) lot of them take place in Rewind with Karen and Georgia, which is our show. Hey, look at you. This Speaker 1 (10:00) week, Speaker 7 (10:00) right? I was doing a little bridge. We recap episode 110 this week. It's our live show in Columbus. During that show, we give out a book called Creative Cooking with Aluminum Foil. And it turns out our writer, Alison Agosti, found a copy for Speaker 1 (10:18) us to Speaker 7 (10:18) look at and hold in our hands once again. Look Speaker 1 (10:22) at that meat substance on the cover of it. It's a Speaker 7 (10:25) shank Speaker 1 (10:26) of some sort. Speaker 7 (10:26) It kind of is like you think at first glance that that is a chicken, but then you look at the shape and you're like, that's a starfish. Yeah. Speaker 3 (10:35) There's a stein of warm beer. There's some kind of shredded mayonnaise-based salad. And then here is, thankfully, Allison bookmarked it, tuna temptees. Yes. Which Speaker 1 (10:47) sounds so disgusting. And does involve dill relish. Here's one for you. It's called wait a while potatoes. I'm not fucking making that up. Speaker 2 (10:56) That's where you throw them in the oven for eight hours. Until the kids come home. Then you just take a couple of uppers, vacuum the whole house. Speaker 3 (11:04) I love that we're both on vacuum. So, yeah, Rewind with Karen and Georgia. That's really fun. You guys should check it out if you haven't. Fucking Speaker 2 (11:11) my favorite murder all week long. God, just go inside the Speaker 1 (11:14) frame and inside the frame. That's right. In the merch corner, we still have some Weet Woo whistles available. I've never, have we? I don't think we ever have. Prepare, Aristotle. Speaker 3 (11:26) And these are just great whistles to have on your key chain. And the proceeds benefit the National Immigration Law Center. So grab yours while they still last at exactlyrightstore.com. We Speaker 7 (11:36) should send one to Michael Foote. Speaker 2 (11:37) We will. Absolutely. Here's the quietest this can be. Okay. As someone who can't whistle. And Speaker 3 (11:43) it goes up Speaker 2 (11:43) from there. Speaker 3 (11:44) Which is like one of my great shames in life. Speaker 2 (11:46) As it should be. I know. Speaker 3 (11:47) I Speaker 2 (11:48) hope that doesn't knock you off the wagon. I appreciate this. Speaker 1 (11:50) You know how many dogs haven't come to me because I couldn't whistle at them? We will. We will. There's your answer. That's right. Okay. I hope that knocks you off the wagon. Speaker 1 (12:01) Karen Marie Speaker 2 (12:02) Kilgara. Yes. You could not. It's just for the show. It's just for content. Okay. Because I'll fucking do it. Because I'll fucking. Speaker 1 (12:08) Right Speaker 2 (12:08) fucking now. I'll go now. What pushed you over the edge? Karen made me do it. I had to walk down under the overpass and go to the secret bar everyone goes to at this office. Speaker 6 (12:18) I'm Nancy Glass, host of the Burden of Guilt Season 3 podcast. This is a story about a horrendous situation that destroyed two families. It started more than seven years ago when Cindy and Kenny were two 40-somethings who had just gotten engaged. Days later, they walked into a scorched earth war they never saw coming. Speaker 4 (12:43) The cops came into my house and threw me in jail. Speaker 6 (12:45) And to Cindy's surprise, her fiance, Kenny, was charged with abusing one of her children. I Speaker 4 (12:51) never once doubted Kenny, and I always doubted the accusation. Speaker 6 (12:57) On Season 3 of Burden of Guilt, you'll hear a story about the lengths someone will go to in order to get what they want. Speaker 4 (13:04) This case has got to be one of the most despicable. Listen Speaker 6 (13:08) to Season 3 of Burden of Guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 1 (13:20) Georgia goes first. That's me. What are you doing? Oh, they're going to spray me in the face with that shit. We put this on before Speaker 2 (13:27) every show and I forgot. Speaker 1 (13:28) Oh, shit. That's why it Speaker 3 (13:29) sucked so bad. Speaker 2 (13:30) Yes, that's why it's not working. Oh, let's start over. It's just 98 Speaker 7 (13:37) degrees outside with a hot wind blowing. And so moisture. A hot, like Speaker 3 (13:42) Burbank, like smoggy airport wind. Yes. So every just everything feels. Like it's got a little like thin layer of asphalt. Yeah. Speaker 7 (13:51) On it. It's a thick, gritty wind that blows today, Speaker 1 (13:54) America, in Burbank. In beautiful Burbank where there isn't a tree in sight except for those ones that have our Wi-Fi Speaker 2 (14:02) trees. Oh, yeah. Let's get serious. Let's start talking about the things that people are actually here to hear about. True crime. Speaker 1 (14:10) True crime. True crime. Allora, Georgia. Speaking of gritty cities. that are Speaker 3 (14:17) covered in asphalt. Today, we are in Atlanta, Georgia. Speaker 7 (14:21) I Speaker 3 (14:21) really Speaker 7 (14:21) want to make a joke about how if you're going to talk gritty cities, you must be talking about Philadelphia. But that's kind of a sports reference. Oh, Speaker 2 (14:29) I don't get it. You know, Gritty, the big mascot? Oh, that's what his name is? The real good one? Yeah, he's fun. He's from Philadelphia, right? Speaker 1 (14:34) Yeah. He has a scrunchie as a belly button. That is facts to know about Philly. Speaker 1 (14:44) This whole production has gone off the rails. Speaker 3 (14:47) Do we Speaker 1 (14:47) have Speaker 3 (14:47) a photo of us crunchy? Okay, this is the serious part. That's right. Today's story is about a serial killer in the 80s. And the main sources for the story is reporting from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the rest can be found in our show notes. So I'm just going to get into it. So it's the mid-80s and we're in Atlanta, Georgia. Crime in Atlanta at this time is bad. We've got high violent crime rates. There's urban decay. Of course, the impact of the crack cocaine epidemic can't be understated. Statistics ranked Atlanta among the top major U.S. cities for violent crime, including robbery, aggravated assault and homicide. Just a couple of years before this story takes place in 1982, the Atlanta child murders, where at least 29 black children, teens and young adults, mostly boys, were murdered or went missing during a two-year spree. And that had finally been allegedly solved by police. who had been very slow to act on this spree, and they tied all the murders together and tried one man on two of the cases. Of course, we've talked about the podcast Atlanta Monster before. Check that out if you want to hear more about it from Speaker 2 (15:52) our friend Payne Lindsey. And season two of Mindhunter, which actually centers those Black mothers that had to fight and fight and fight. They're the reason. Just to be heard. It's really powerful and amazing. Yeah, there's Speaker 1 (16:04) a Speaker 2 (16:04) really great documentary about Speaker 3 (16:04) it as well. So one telling fact that I found while researching Atlanta back then and what it was like and how not safe it was is that the residents had a trend of nicknaming their neighborhood Kroger stores the way we have like Rock and Roll Ralphs in Hollywood and Hipster Ralphs for, you know, the neighborhood grocery store. So those are Kroger grocery stores. So there's a Disco Kroger, a Kosher Kroger because it's in the kosher neighborhood. That's also nicknamed Krosher. A stinky Kroger, a gay Kroger, which is in the gay town. Yeah. And also there was a Kroger in the Ponce Highland area that's been known for decades and is still known for good reason as Murder Kroger. Whoa. It's just a murder Kroger. Wow. And yes, they have merch. Not them, but there is merch for Speaker 2 (16:55) murder. Some smart neighbor was like, you know what? is needed here. Yeah. Speaker 3 (16:59) And also I want to, I want to make a note that I want to cover Murder Kroger because it's a story on its own. Speaker 2 (17:05) You're not Speaker 3 (17:05) about to do that? No. Speaker 2 (17:06) Don't waste my time. Sorry. God, I would have, shit. Okay, sorry. Speaker 7 (17:10) Don't do it. Speaker 3 (17:11) You'll do it. I'll definitely do it sometime. But this story isn't about that. Today's story is about a serial killer in the 80s in Atlanta who went under the radar. He had another one in part because his victims came from a marginalized community again. And it took two Atlanta homicide detectives also from marginalized communities to put together the pieces and realize they were looking for a serial killer. Speaker 1 (17:30) This Speaker 3 (17:30) is a story of Michael Terry and the two detectives who tracked him down. Wow. Not a cold case. So this brings us to October of 1986, where two homicide detectives have each been assigned a separate case. The detectives are Sheila Cumberworth, who had been one of the first three female homicide detectives in Atlanta when she was promoted