And That's Why We Drink - E107 Ghostly Cat Toes and a Box-in-a-Box-in-a-Box

Episode Date: February 17, 2019

Odds are we’re currently in an airport, on an airplane, or in an airport again. That’s why we’re coming at you live from Phoenix, AZ, this week! Em covers the Jerome Grand Hotel, which is full of bearded ghosts, headless ghosts, and best of all, cat ghosts. The hotel is also inexplicably proud of its ancient elevator, but we’d advise against using it. Next up, Christine picks one of Arizona’s many female murderers, Wendi Andriano, whose terminally ill husband just wasn’t dying fast enough for her liking. TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE for this week’s live shows - visit andthatswhywedrink.com/live for more info!Get 15% off your first Thirdlove purchase when you go to third love.com/drinkFor 40% off all subscriptions, visit mylola.com and enter DRINK40 when you subscribe.Visit ritual.com/DRINK to start your ritual today. For two free months of unlimited Skillshare classes, sign up at Skillshare.com/DRINK2.

hey guys just christine here today so m even i've been touring like crazy the past couple months which you probably know if you follow us on social media we have done 21 shows in 14 cities i counted and we've had the most incredible time. We risked our lives to snow banks in Missouri. We pretended every bridge in New York was the Brooklyn Bridge. That was mostly me, but that's besides the point. And we did a freaking homecoming tour in the city we met, which is Boston. So all in all, a lot of blood, sweat, tears, also Purell and wine have happened over the last few weeks. Speaking of live tours, we still have tickets available for Seattle and Vancouver, which are this week, a couple days from when this releases. So please check that out ASAP.

And over the next couple weeks, we also have a ton of dates in Florida. So check those out. And we also have Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, a ton of other cities. Go look at our tour page at and that's why we drink dot com slash live for all the dates. Anyway, I don't want to bore you. The point of this rant is that, as you can probably imagine, we have not been home much the past few weeks. And while we did record as many episodes in advance as we could, recording one for this week just was not feasible. So this week we're coming to you live from a super fun show we did in Phoenix, Arizona.

We want to thank the amazing Stand Up Live for showing us such a good time. And we want to thank everyone who has come out to our shows, whether it was Phoenix or any of the other cities we've visited the last few weeks. We have had the most incredible time and we are so thankful for all of you. If you guys come to our future shows, we cannot wait to meet you. We cannot wait to see you. We are so thankful for all of you. So enough of my blabbing. I want you guys to hear the show. It was a super one we had a great time enjoy and we will talk to you next week sorry I feel like a kid that's about to give a presentation that he has no idea about. We just flew in from Los Angeles. And boy, are my arms tired.

Fun fact, he was a wonton. English is my first language. Is Tamara home? Whoops. Sassy with me. Sassy the clown. The clown is showing. Ooh, a quiet night.

Oh, sweet. Finish your drink. And that's why we dream! Hello! Phoenix! Hi guys! Damn! What's going on? Wow, we thought Houston was the loudest,

but I think maybe you guys are giving them a... Damn! We were at Houston and the guy was like, I had to put on earplugs, and we were like, sorry. Thank you guys so much for having us. It's so nice. Are your arms tired? Very tired.

I flew a whole 45 minutes. I think. But guess what? I was upgraded to first class. You guys didn't witness what I had to witness back in Texas. Last week we were in Dallas, and Christine almost got herself into first class. 4C, I was so close. And they had promised it to her, and she was very excited, too.

She had this whole thing where she was going to get a mimosa and then take a picture and send it to me and Eva and Coach. And be like, I miss you. I had a whole plan. And then we got to the airport and found out that our plane was delayed like a casual six hours, and we almost weren't going to make it to our show. And so we had to change flights last minute which meant christine got put back in bitch seat with us excuse me i was downgraded to group eight the whole time christine was walking past all the people and in first class she it was like

just dangling a yarn in front of her and just taking it away. And so she was looking. We walked past group one, which is where she should have been. And she was just so damn bitter. And then she had to sit next to me and Eva in group eight. In a middle seat. And she was like, are you fucking kidding me? Can you believe this? And I was like, yeah, I can.

This wasn't going to be any different for me. But karma prevailed and she got her first class today. I got 45 minutes in first class. But everyone around me was drunk, and I was like, it is 10 a.m., sir. And I'm also a drunk, but like, wow, I got to save it up for you guys.

Apparently they were having like three vodka sodas in a 45-minute flight. Yes, 45 minutes. They were pre-gaming for the show apparently. Yes. Anyway, so I feel like, I feel like, I feel like I'm on top of the world, you know?

I'm an asshole, I'm sorry. Yeah, we're not usually dicks, but It's just fun. Today Christine was. It's just fun. I actually haven't gotten to spend a lot of time here in my adulthood, but my mom actually texted me today

and said that I spent a lot of time in Phoenix when I was little. Oh. And apparently my favorite restaurant was... Ah, shit. Something Roost. Okay. Yeah, that.

And apparently I was that annoying child who just ran up the stairs and went down the slide for like three hours. Surprise. Surprise. And so my mom was asking if I would

be equally annoying on a slide this time around but hopefully no. So anyway, that's my only anecdote for Phoenix. Sorry guys.

I have quite an anecdote. I watched TV and I cried at a dog food commercial. And that was my time. Today? Yes, today. It's been a roller coaster, I tell you what. I was on top of the world.

I fell a little bit. I'm back. Oh, God, am I flashing you guys? Hold on. Maybe. It's that kind of show. You never know. All right.

So with that I guess it's time for me to crack into it also drink if that happens I guess alright so I do apologize because my goal was to find something specifically in Phoenix but I found something

near Phoenix I think we all know me in geography and really anything at all. This is in Jerome. So I did good. Half the people looked pissed and the other half were excited. Hopefully I sway them all over to my side

by the end. There's a lot going on in Jerome, everyone. It was I sway them all over to my side by the end. Yeah. Yep. Cool. There's a lot going on in Jerome, everyone. It was... I think there's a person in my story named Jerome. Oh, look at that. Wow. We're psychics.

It's like we're on the same page. Well, fun fact. Oh, Christ. It starts now. Jerome is actually known as the City of Ghosts. What? According to Zach Bagelbites. Well, he says a lot of things.

Apparently, it actually is called the City of Ghosts because there are more ghosts in that town than actual living residents. I told you, it's kind of dark. It gets darker, so laugh at that because you're definitely not going to laugh later. So I'm not doing the whole town of Jerome. I just wanted to throw that out.

There's a 7-Eleven on 8th Street. So this is the Jerome Grand Hotel. That makes me feel good that people know what I'm talking about. Wow. Usually we tell you to do that even if you don't know what it is. Right. I have anxiety.

Just clap no matter what. But I didn't even have to say that. That's great. All right. Do that when I do it too. Yeah. Just pretend. Yeah.

Thank you. Okay. So I'm going to give you a little history because I need to show that I educated myself for this travel of mine. Okay. And we'll get to the ghost, don't worry. So the Grand Hotel is a national historic landmark. Ooh, ah.

Don't do that. Don't. And it is the tallest public building in the entire Verde Valley. All right. Amazing. And right. Amazing. And it gets better. How?

How could it possibly get better? So the town of Jerome, this all makes sense later, so hang in there. The town of Jerome was established in 1876 as a copper mining town, and a majority of it was destroyed only 20 years later by several fires.

But Jerome, Arizona, is also known as the world's most vertical city because the entire area is so darn steep. So darn steep. It has an altitude of 5,200 feet, and most of the town is at a 30-degree incline. Someone was like, yeah. Did you see my calves?

They were like, okay okay we know that okay um in 1927 the united verde hospital was built on top of cleopatra hill what it was built to it was built to replace an older hospital that actually stood there in 1917 and the need for the hospital came from it being a mining town and people were dying of a combination of the flu, tuberculosis and just general mining accidents. Those were the top three

reasons. Oh, right. Love those. Those are good. When it was a hospital it was called the quote, most modern and well-equipped hospital in Arizona and possibly the western states. So good for you guys. The hospital was so modern because in the 1920s it had the following.

Patient call lights, balconies, sun porches, emergency backup lighting, self-service elevators, an ice room, laboratories, x-ray rooms, major and minor surgical facilities, men's, women's, and children's wards, private and semi-private rooms, blanket warming closets, and housing for staff. Ooh, blanket warming closets. Love a good blanket warming closet. Yes. Because the area was so steep, the building was actually made by pouring concrete at a

50-degree angle, like into a 50-degree interesting to me maybe not anyone else but i have the microphone the building is fireproof and can withstand dynamite blasts up to 130 tons of dynamite from nearby mines and it is by definition an above ground bomb shelter. What? Oh yeah. Damn. One of the modern perks of the hospital was its original self-service elevator that was installed in 1926. And it is still in use. Oh, that seems dangerous.

It is named the oldest self-service elevator in all of Arizona. I don't know why that's something to be proud of. Yeah, I wouldn't get in it. I wonder if that's what they tell you after you've ridden it. That's like they had the oldest ambulance of all time. Congratulations. Guess what you just rode. Yikes. A few years into it being a hospital,

there was a maintenance man. Oh yeah, this is where it starts getting fucked up, what you came here for. I hope you had fun because it's all over. So a few years into it being a hospital, a maintenance man named Claude was found at the bottom floor and

his body was next to the elevator and I'm telling you his body was next to the elevator. His head was found pressed hang in there with me while I try to figure out how to describe this and paint a picture for you.

Okay, think of an elevator. Yes. Cool. Think of a body next to the elevator with no head and the neck part is pressed against the doors.

Where you could probably put the pieces together on your own now and realize the elevator did something to the head. Right? All right. We're all in the same boat.

And it's still used today. It's still used today. I don't really get the point of pride in that, but okay. Okay, so, oh, oh, oh, I did write a description. Good for me. Oh, my God. I'm so proud of you. It looks like he's lying on the floor with only his head

in the elevator waiting for it to come down on him. That was the description I gave you. So that was how he died, by the way. Wait, really? So it looks like he basically was, it's almost as if the elevator was

on a top floor and he stuck his head only into the elevator shaft and lied on the floor and waited for the elevator to come down on his head. Way brutal. God damn it. So they don't know if it was a suicide or a homicide.

Wow. Because either he lied there and let it happen or someone pinned him down while it happened. Oh my god. I i mean neither's good um no and so i thought it was an accident is that not an option no okay they don't think it was an option because um usually elevators at that time moved at 500 feet per minute and this elevator was moving at 80 feet per minute oh my There was a lot of time to get away. That's truly terrible.

That was one of many, many deaths, but that's probably the most common and the worst one. Yeah, pretty bad. And, fun fact, it happened in the basement, on the basement floor by the elevators, and if you were to walk into the basement today, they have the taped off body line of where he was. And it's a body without a head.

No. Pressed against the... Zach Baggins lied in it. Fucking swear to God. No comment. No comment. I just wanted everyone to know what I had to see. I swear to God. No comment.

No comment. I just wanted everyone to know what I had to see. In 1950, the hospital closed, but the owner kept it vacant for a while, hoping that he could turn it into something else. And while it was vacant, he hired a guy named Manoa Hoffpower. Oh, yeah. I know him. He was nicknamed Hoff. I wonder him. He was nicknamed Hoff. I wonder why.

They hired him to live in the building to keep vandals away while it was vacant. But however, while he lived there, he died by suicide in the building. Oh, no. And he hanged himself on one of the pipes downstairs. Oh, my God. Fun fact? Nope. Oh my god.

Fun fact? Nope. Two weeks before he died, he kept telling people that he was seeing a woman in white in his room at night and he just wanted her to go away. Oh! So. Yuck. Yikes. So that was, oh yes, now we're in the 1970s and hippies start moving in, as they do.

Love it. At the time, Jerome's population was less than 100 people, but thank God for the hippies, because then they came and made the population boom all over again. Oh, yeah. And so tourism came back, and they needed that building to become a hotel, and it was purchased in the 90s to become Jerome Grand Hotel in 1966. And it is the hot... Oh, the hotel is now best preserved...

It's the best preserved building in Arizona. So 95% of its structure is original. Oh, including the tape line. Including the tape line. Wow, incredible. Love it. While it was a hospital, just to set you up for the ghost,

in hospital times alone, there were up to 9,000 deaths in the building. There was one a day for 30 years minimum. Wait, so the town's population was 100 people and 9,000 people died in this hospital.

It sounds like the population used to be 9,100 or uh-oh. I don't know why I'm questioning. I feel like I do this and then on stage we're like, why did we call out something that we can't explain? I don't know. I mean, that's a fact that I saw on many sources, though. It's like a well-known

thing that 9,000 people died in that building. Alright. Several of the Today's Hotel's amenities are part of the past... Sure. There you go. That means something, I think.

I don't know. A lot of the amenities in the hotel are still there from when they were a hospital, so a lot of the rooms still actually have nurse call lights. Oh. Oh, yeah. Another example is that the trash chutes that the cleaning service use are the same chutes that the hospital used to use to dispose amputated body parts. That's fun. Since the 1920s, they have had a reputation for being very, very haunted.

And today, the front desk keeps records of all paranormal experiences that the guests and staff witness. The front desk also has a ghost package when you check in, where during your stay they will give you equipment for investigating on your own. Oh, my God. And if you survive your stay, you get 10% off, baby. That's hysterical. I love it. That being said, here are the ghosts you've been waiting for.

Okay. Tell me Claude is there. Oh, Claude's kicking. Oh, good. I miss him already. Okay. So the first, a lot of these are quotes. The owner that actually lives there now, he was actually raised in the hotel as a child

because his family is the one who bought it in the 90s to become a hotel. Very much like The Shining, how they all lived in the hotel. Yes. And now he grew up, and now he lives there, and he has a whole lot to say. He said, oh, first of all, quote, we get probably one call every two to three days from a paranormal group that would like to come up and search the hotel. The biggest group that came here is without a doubt the Arizona Paranormal Society,

and they brought 14 investigators here on one night, and in one night with those 14 people, they got over 40 hours of paranormal activity evidence. The current owner actually tries not to go in the building. I was watching an interview where he said that the rooms that are the most haunted, he'll actually walk past them and say, excuse me, just to make sure he doesn't piss anyone off.

He said it really freaks him out to be in the building, and he tries to work outside of the building as often as possible. Some other things that have happened are that hotel plaques on the wall will lift themselves off of their nail and fly across the lobby.

There is a spirit of a lady in white who the guy living there said that he saw before he passed away. The spirit is apparently an old nurse who was guilt-ridden about her patients

who had died under her watch. She said, she didn't say this, but records say, that under her watch particularly, there was one patient who threw himself off the balcony when she wasn't looking, and it was her job to watch him. And so she lived with that guilt, and now apparently she still hangs around there looking for him.

Yikes. Yikes. People also see a shadow figure staring at them when they're walking. And then it walks up the stairs after you've caught it looking at you. So it'll do the whole like, and then just like walk away like it wasn't looking. There's a ghost of a maintenance man, maybe named Clyde. Claude. Sorry.

God damn it. What is wrong with me? Anyway, there's a ghost of... It could be Clyde. I don't know. I don't know. Who's to say? There's a ghost of a maintenance man working and whistling and pacing near the elevator in the basement.

There's an apparition of a bearded man who visits all floors, all rooms at all hours of the day. That sounds terrifying. Great. Fabulous. There's the sound of an infant crying. And people have reported it to the hotel staff so much, saying that it sounds like there's a baby crying in the neighboring room, but the room is always empty, and they've gotten to a point where they don't even check anymore.

They're like, oh yeah, that's not a live baby. It's, just ignore it. What the fuck? On the third floor, that is where most people hear screams, and they feel their skin tingling, and if you look back enough, it's because the third floor was the burn unit. I regret laughing. It's okay.

We're going to make it happy again. There's a ghost cat. Aw. E-B-B-B-B-B. Apparently the cat's name is Kitty. And Kitty is way friendly. People feel a cat brushing up against their legs. They will see imprints on their bed liddens as if a cat is there.

They will see little cat toes on the bathroom mats. Not like off of a cat. I was like, what the fuck? Like imprints. Disembodied feet. What is this one toe? The cat will also appear in photos. So there's one picture of the cat that's actually very popular

and is framed on the front desk at the hotel for people to see. And if you invite Kitty to have a sleepover in your room, you will feel a cat snuggling up to you in the middle of the night. I want that! It's so sweet! I want that! Oh, it's so nice! I miss my June bug. Oh!

That's the nicest thing you're gonna hear tonight. Great. So hang on to that feeling. Remember the cat toes. Also, room 32, in case you ever want to check it out, room 32 is the most haunted room where very few people end up actually staying the night. They will see people on their bed, lying in bed with them,

lying in bed screaming next to them. Cool. on their bed, lying in bed with them, lying in bed screaming next to them. Also, the electronics will turn on and off, water faucets will turn on full blast and flood the bathrooms. There are sounds of people pacing the halls outside and going up and down stairs next to the room.

Also, there's a five-year-old that runs around and giggles at you, which is the exact opposite of what I want to hear. No. No. Also, things will follow staff home, and they won't let people into their own rooms and their own home. Like, they'll try to claim territory,

and you'll try to walk into your room, and you'll feel something push you. Fabulous. The staff have actually had to call for backup from other staff because they can't get themselves out of rooms they'll feel something blocking the way and there have been other staff who have just been actually literally locked in the door will slam and lock when they're in there oh no oh oh also people feel strangled sometimes.

Good. Great. That's nice. Love it. The old nurse, oh, not the old nurse, sorry. The old nurse call lights, yikes. They will flash over rooms where patients died. Oh.

And a lot of investigators have gotten orbs floating in between the doorway when the lights are flashing. Do what you will with that. You can also hear patients... Oh, I get it. So it's... Hold on. What did I say that people didn't get? No, it's just me.

I haven't slept in 11 days. Okay. So wait. Oh, so it's... Okay, I get it. There's a doorway. There's nurse call lights, but it's a hotel. Right. Okay, I get it. The nurse call lights.

When you said that earlier, I was like, yeah, every hospital still has that. I forgot. I said the wrong word, my bad. No, you didn't. I just completely skipped. Do you like this? Yeah. Do you like? Welcome. I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. Eva, edit all of this out. Eva you like this? Yeah. Do you like? Welcome. I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. No, I'm sorry. Eva, edit all

of this out. Eva, the fuck? This is truly the shit that everyone's like, we want to hear a full unscripted. No, you don't. No, you don't. This is us doing our best. Trying so hard. This is us trying. Let's remember the first episode took like eight hours to get through. At least I didn't call you

at 2 a.m. and said, I get it now. At least I got it valid during the story. Valid. Okay. I'm following. So there are nurse call lights in the rooms that were once patients' rooms. Yes. Okay.

There we are. Okay. Very creepy. Very, very creepy. They will flash in rooms where patients are on record to have died, especially people have noticed that when they're filming the doorway and they see orbs, yikes, the lights will flash. Okay.

You can hear patients crying and saying no. Oh. That aren't there, by the way. I don't know if you think patients are also in the hotel. I know. I'm trying. So the Jerome police force are also very on top of this. They are used to getting phone calls in the middle of the night for several reasons.

That sucks, though. Can you imagine? Well, yeah. So police chief Ron Ballator, he's been police chief of Jerome for 11 years, and he said, we have gone up to that hospital at least 100 times. Around 60% of it are trespassing kids, but at least 40% are paranormal. Paranormal reasons.

Really? So he just admits that. He's like, oh yeah, that's a ghost. All right. That's the kind of police I'm into where I'm like, oh, something's in my house. He's like, are you sure it's not a ghost?

And I'm like, you know what? Maybe. I'm like, no, it's definitely a murder in my closet don't fuck with me ron go check yikes no thank you he also says uh he would be called to check in because the whole place would have the lights on but the building has not did not have electricity at the time so there was no reason for lights. I get that one. That one I followed.

There you go. Thank you. Oh, wait, the kitty comes back. Yay. So someone, can you tell I didn't put these in order? So someone was talking about the cat and how they wanted to take pictures. The photos later revealed a gray cat under one of the beds but i don't like that face after that it was just chaos for the rest of the night from dark figures standing over our beds

dark orbs white lights doorknobs rattling and strange screams to the occasional flicker of lights we saw all of it that night so the cat was like I brought my friends the cat was like a beacon don't worry so the next few of these are actually quotes but I got them all from one website I really should have given that source

I'll just edit it and later like it was brought to you by ghost.com i don't know so in uh okay so one quote is room 26 is the old x-ray room two of us laid in the bed and had the emf going off on our bodies like someone was laying there with us we felt a heaviness on top of us one friend saw a large woman in black walking across the room we also heard the door handle trying to be opened and the curtain pull handle kept kept moving around by itself another quote is my sister brother mother and i stayed in room 10 at 12 30 and30 and again at 4, we heard singing, a band playing, and something like a cocktail party.

Sounds like a good time. Okay, all right. I was like, yeah. When we went in the hallway, nobody was there and the music stopped. The blankets were also pulled off my mother's bed in the middle of the night. And while we're talking about things happening

in the middle of the night, people also say that whether or not they have ever experienced sleep paralysis, they always do there. Cool. Yikes. So it's a day trip for me. Cool.

Yeah, absolutely not. Absolutely not. Ooh, this is a good one. So this is a quote that says, At around 2.45 a.m., I felt someone whisper in my ear saying, Be careful, I'm in here. Oh, my God. That's just the worst thing you could say. That's terrible.

After I heard that, I immediately sat straight up and looked around. I did not see anyone, but I felt something lingering in my room for about an hour. There were strange things happening with the shadows in that room too. There's another quote that says, I saw a figure several times in the bathroom. The TV shut off. There was banging on our closet door, and we could hear talking in our room

while we were in the bathroom. Yikes. Mm-mm. People have also seen a child looking for their father. No, that's sad. People also wake up to feeling their ribs crushed. What? It's okay, the cat comes back.

And another quote that says, we invited Kitty to sleep on the bed. Next morning, there were imprints of cat feet where he slept, and I felt his warm tail slapping me on the leg all night. Oh! Baby! People all, now back to the nitty gritty.

People, um, people here people hear talking coughing moaning sneezing and cries of distress from almost every empty room and objects will inexplicably move of their own free will and electrical appliances will turn off by themselves um the cleaning staff have heard the names have heard their own names shouted from other rooms, thinking it was their co-workers, and nobody was there. When asked to... Oh, when they are asked to stop being annoying, they will be for like a day. And then they'll get the shit together and like,

no, we're not done. They're like teenagers. Yeah. It's like, okay, I guess. I'm at the age where I think I can make fun of teenagers, and it doesn't... It's not really playing guess. I'm at that age where I think I can make fun of teenagers. It's not really playing well. I'm trying it out. I'll work on it.

You know, teens. I hate teenagers a little bit, but I also kind of still feel like I am one. Do I hate myself? I know. Like, maybe. Yeah, probably. The lobby furniture will rearrange itself and items will fly off the gift shop shelves. The lobby desk has also received a number of phone calls from empty rooms and no one is ever on the other end.

This is a big quote, but it's a good one. Buckle up. Buckle up. I stole your quote. I'm sorry. Quote. We had nobody scheduled to check in that day. We had nobody in the building.

And in fact, the phone started ringing anyway behind the front desk, and it was on the switchboard. And this phone call was coming from room 41 up on the top floor. So I picked up the phone, and it was a woman, and she started speaking a very, very fast language. It was foreign, and it sounded like this woman was in trouble. And then all of a sudden, the phone cut out and went dead. So I hung up the phone, and I took my keys. I ran up to that room on the top floor and there was nobody in that room that's creepy i picked up the phone and made sure that it rang down on the same line and it did it was working fine so i left and i went back downstairs and i sat in the chair and as i sat in the chair

the phone rang again the phone started ringing and i picked it up but this time there was just some very very eerie breathing noises. Very disturbing. Very raspy. This literally sounds like an actual horror movie. So that's fun for them. The elevator will sound like it's running when it isn't, and people say

that they hear people talking in the elevator. Don't get me started on that goddamn elevator. But when the door opens, no one's there. There is an angry spirit that will make you feel irritable if you feel him staring at you. I'd be irritable too, by the way.

People sense being pushed in the hallways and they felt their arms being grabbed. There's an unexplained smell of flowers, dust, cigarettes, medicine, baby powder, and whiskey. It's like the world's weirdest candle. Yeah, it is.

Are you listening, Yankee Candle? But different parts of the hotel smell like those different things. It's not like a combo deal. What flowers and cigarettes? Mmm. There's also a ghost of a nurse carrying a clipboard, roaming the halls and looking down as if at a gurney

but nothing is there. The doors will open and close on their own and ghosts like to lock the maids in or lock them out until they need help and when someone comes down, all of a sudden the door can open itself. It's so rude.

Just to make you look like a fool. Yeah, that's really mean. There's a figure, Christine, seen in the bar when it's closed. Yeah, I'll be there. And people wake up to a voice loudly whispering their name. And once you sit up, it happens again. Loudly, like, hey, are you awake? That sounds like our hotel room.

By the way, the hotel we're in is for sure haunted. I just want everyone to know. I texted Christine today. Where are we staying? We're staying at the, what's the name of a hotel? The Westin.

Go there. We're staying at the most expensive hotel. I'm not going to fucking tell you what hotel we're staying at. Think of the most expensive bougie hotel on Earth. True Crime Podcast. We're staying at the most expensive hotel. As if we're going to fucking tell you what hotel we're staying at. Think of the most expensive bougie hotel on Earth. I've got a true crime podcast. And we're in the penthouse. Yes, we're in the fanciest hotel that ever was.

There's so many ghost cats, you wouldn't believe it. Oh. After party. Yeah, meet you at the Westin. People wake up to a voice loudly whispering their name, and they will hear it screamed at them. Also, a child likes to hide at the foot of your bed

and stare at you while you're sleeping, and if you wake up and see the child, they will run across your room and hide somewhere else. Oh, that's terrible. Your electronics will be found unplugged, and toiletries will fly across the room at you and people will find their phones directly under their bed, like in the far center of it.

People will hear sneezing in the laundry room. They will hear meowing, hissing, and scratching at the doors. And they will hear the sound of hospital gurneys rolling down the hallways, even though the halls now have carpet. And that is the Jerome Graham Hotel. Jesus Christ. I also, I'd like to apologize for getting so defensive.

It's just that when we were in Kansas City, I did accidentally announce what hotel we were staying at very loudly to 500 people. And Eva and Em were not thrilled about that. So I'm extra careful now. She accidentally... I'm just going to pick her.

Like, the Christine Hotel. I'm just going to say that. But during the show, Christine was like, oh, yeah, well, we're staying at the Christine... And then I made a lot of noise. just gonna say that but during the show christine was like oh yeah well where we're staying at the christine and then i was looking at her like don't you fucking don't you do it it's too late anyway and then everyone tweeted it and i was like you you people anyway thank you guys for uh listening to me get through a ghost story yes that was good i really liked that thank you yeah that was very good look i try to throw a cat listening to me get through a ghost story. Yes.

That was good. I really liked that one. Thank you. Yeah, that was very good. Look, I try to throw a cat wherever I can. Yeah, I love that. Okay. Ready to be sad again?

Okay. Hey, guys, I'm going to tell you a terrible murder thing. All right. Look at all these sickos who bought money to hear it. What the fuck is wrong with you? Bought money. Yikes. Paid money. I didn't even notice. Oh. Boy oh boy. Remember what I said about

pretend like you know what this is. Remember? Okay. I am going to tell you the story of Wendy Andreano. Woo! One time Em did this and nobody actually knew what it was. And then later was like, you guys know all about it. And I was like, no, you told them to do that.

Nobody knows. I felt extra stupid. I was like, and here's my story. And everyone was like, I was like, oh no. Alright, here we go. So, I want to give special thanks to my favorite website, Murderpedia.org. Alrighty.

It's a very good website. And, of course, Snapped. That lovely show on Oxygen. Love a good Snapped. Love a good Snapped. Definitely watched it in 2D today. Oh, with your champagne. Really, that guy next to me was like

not having it. Like, what the fuck is this girl watching? Not having it. It's okay, he had three vodkas. He's fine. Alright, let's go here. Wendy and Joe. Wendy. Her husband's name is Joe.

Good start. I was like, alright, I'm suckered in now. Guys, this is great. Wendy and Joe both grew up in the small farming community of Casa Grant, Arizona. All right. Which is about an hour from here because I Google mapped it. Yeah, Google Maps. So they went to the same high school, but they never dated. And Wendy's father was a minister, so she was heavily involved with the church. And he was this outgoing football player guy, so they didn't really, they ran in different circles basically in high school.

But after high school, Wendy, she spent her time in Mexico, a lot of time in Mexico as a missionary. And when she came back to kind of like find her footing back in Arizona, she kind of reconnected with Joe. And even though they weren't friends in high school, they got together and basically started spending all their time together, became a couple, and got married in January of 1994. All right. Yeah, good start.

We're good so far. So far, it's a happy story. And then they also became business partners. They combined his mechanical skills and her administrative skills to form a windshield repair company. Now that sounds like a Lifetime movie. Everything was great. That's a literal bullet. I don't know why.

I wrote everything was great. It's like you're trying to convince us already it gets worse everything was great I promise but only a year into their marriage Joe noticed a bump on his neck and when doctors did a biopsy they told him it was a non-cancerous tumor oh boy

called pleomorphic adenoma. Thank you to PASME for writing that and thinking that I would be able to do that. Good job. Thanks. But a year or so later, they began to second-guess the diagnosis when the tumor came back. A second surgery confirmed the tumor was benign, but shortly after they had their first child in 97, the tumor came back for a third time.

And finally, while Wendy was pregnant with their second child in 98, the tumor reappeared one more time, and this time a chest x-ray determined that Joe did indeed have cancer, and it had spread all throughout his body. Yeah, terrible. Oh, no. Truly terrible. And there was no guarantee that the chemo would work,

so at first they decided against it. They tried everything from changing his diet. He went on these spiritual retreats and took holistic treatments. Spoiler alert, it didn't work. So they tried everything but chemo. I mean, you can't blame them. It's a terrible thing to go through. And around this time they also filed a lawsuit against Joe's

original doctor for the misdiagnosis. And they were basically expecting that they would get millions of dollars from the lawsuit. But until that went through, it kind of fell to Wendy to provide for the family just because Joe was not well enough to keep up a job and work.

So in December of 1999... Nope. Yep. Yes, and work. So in December of 1999... Nope. Yep. Yes, that is correct. In December... In December of 1999, Wendy took a job managing an apartment complex

in the... Oh, here we go. Ahwatukee Foothills. I love it. All right. I started just keeping in all the names of local shit because it's a really nice ego boost when people cheer for something

that you have no idea what you just said. Oh, boy. Okay, so... Awatoki Fudels, right. An upscale community on the outskirts of Phoenix. Ooh, you guys are fancy. The salary... So she was managing this apartment complex, basically. So the salary was average, but out of the deal, they got this three-bedroom

apartment. So it was a really good deal for the family because they had two kids at this point. And there was this upscale apartment building. And so she was able to kind of keep the family afloat by doing that. And the job, because she was managing an entire complex, was pretty intense. Especially considering, apparently this complex was known for being a quote, singles hangout for business professionals. Oh my! Ooh!

Saucy! Oh, I missed that noise. So, part of her job was actually planning events for these these people i don't know she planned picnics set up pool parties sponsored a softball team all right yeah all american yes i don't know very very american and although um it was a lot of work she did gain this kind of new like sense of purpose and confidence um and she was able to kind of distract

herself from her husband's cancer diagnosis and meanwhile while she was working joe would stay home and watch the kids so they had a really good setup going and then in the summer of 2000 unfortunately further tests revealed that joe's cancer had spread so they finally decided to start chemo treatments but all the, he kept a positive spirit. He comforted his own family and friends. Like, he was just that kind of guy where he was sick, but he was kind of still the rock. Thank you.

And it quickly became apparent that the cancer was terminal, but doctors did tell him that because it was slow-growing, he did have a couple years to live. And at this point, he was only 33. So really terrible, terrible time for the whole family, and their kids to live. And at this point, he was only 33. So really terrible, terrible time for the whole family. And their kids were still pretty young at this point. Then on October 8th, around 2 a.m., the same year, 2000, Wendy called a neighbor and asked if they could watch the kids while she took Joe to the hospital. So this is a friend of hers living next door. And this lady came over and saw that Joe was lying on the floor in the fetal position, barely breathing.

And Wendy said, you know what, I think this is the end. I've lost all hope. I don't think he's going to survive this. And this lady asked, well, Wendy, did you call 911? And she said, no, I didn't. It's too late. And the lady's like, no, we should call paramedics. Right.

So she convinces Wendy to call 911. And the neighbor says, okay, you stay with Joe. I'm going to go outside and wait for the ambulance and tell them which apartment to go to. So Wendy calls 911. And, oh Christ, I was so excited. I was getting it all right and then I lost my place. Yeah, thank you. This is the stuff we usually edit out. I was so excited. I was getting it all right, and then I lost my place. Yep. Yeah, thank you. This is the stuff we usually edit out.

You wanted unscripted. Never gets better. You got unscripted. Right. So the paramedics arrived. Thanks, guys. The paramedics arrived only minutes later, so the friend brought them to Wendy's apartment and said, this is the place.

And Wendy said, no, you guys can leave. And they were like, what? And she was yelling through the door. And she hadn't answered the door, actually. She was just saying, no, no, it's fine. Don't worry. Don't come in. It's fine. And they were like, uh. And then a few minutes later, she came

from behind the building, clearly having just showered. And they were like, well, what's going on? What's happening? And she says, don't worry. I have it under control. There's no medical care needed. And then sent them all away, including the neighbor.

So it was only an hour later at 3.30 a.m. when Phoenix police received another 911 call from Wendy. And this time she had a completely different story. She said Joe had tried to kill her. So she defended herself stabbing him with a knife. Okay. Yeah. So when police arrive, paramedics arrive,

they see Joe on the living room floor. The evidence seemed to confirm that there was a very violent struggle. There was blood everywhere. A broken bar stool was on the floor. There was damage to the furniture and the walls. So she claimed that an hour after he was barely breathing and was basically suffering from cardiac arrest that he had brutally and violently attacked her.

So they were like, well, that seems a little odd because we were just here and this neighbor said that... Also, he's in the fetal position on the floor not moving. And the neighbor had seen that, so it wasn't like nobody had actually seen that happening. And so this was her story to police. She said that Joe hadn't noticed she was wearing her wedding ring that night

and he had flown into a rage accusing her of having an affair. The argument turned into a shoving match. Joe grabbed a belt. She grabbed a bar stool and swung at him until he stopped moving. And that was when she claimed

she had called the neighbor for help. And that was why he was on the floor. Gotcha. She also claimed that when the neighbor went outside to hail the paramedics and tell them where to go, that Joe had gotten back up

and had become physical with her again after she had sent the EMTs away and had tried to strangle her with a phone cord, so she grabbed a knife from the counter and stabbed him in the neck. So, Joe was stabbed in the neck, so that actually... Why are we clapping?

Did I miss something? We're clapping for your storytelling abilities. Oh my. Oh no, I hope I didn't say We're clapping for your storytelling abilities. Oh, my. Oh, no. I hope I didn't say something wrong. Okay. I guess I'll hear it later. Or Eva will just gently tell me that I did something very wrong.

Okay. So, Joe had been stabbed in the neck. So, that actually was what killed him. So, that part of her story did seem to check out. However, the neighbor claimed that when she had gone into the apartment she had seen no blood nor a bar stool anywhere near joe so that part didn't add up and then when they took pictures of her alleged defensive wounds they only she only had some like faint scratches um even though she had said like he had choked me nearly to death with

a telephone cord and there wasn't much evidence of that it was just a couple scratches um and then they found out from joe's friends and family that joe was actually so sick at this point that he could barely stand yeah i was gonna say it doesn't i don't he doesn't in my mind doesn't seem like someone has a lot of strength right now to be able to wrap a phone cord around his whole family was like we saw him that morning and he could couldn't get out of bed right and i mean you know and maybe adrenaline, rage, whatever, that's, you know, not impossible. But it just seemed like enough of a red flag that they decided to look into it.

And that's when Wendy, who's waiting in the interrogation room, somehow had access to a phone. And I don't know. I think this is where this is the thing where when we're home alone, I can say it and then delete it later. but I'm just going to say it anyway. I think this is usually where Christine goes, hang on a second. Let me Google that real quick. Eva edited all this out, but I'm just going to Google something real quick.

So what I'm elevator music, right? So what I'm thinking is now that I think about it, I think it would be really smart if the police actually did put a phone in there. And they're like, okay, we'll see in a bit. Right, to see if maybe she outed herself. Yeah, like who knows what she's going to do with that phone. I think that's smart. I don't know if that's actually what happened.

Probably not. This sounds like something out of Criminal Minds, but I really like it. So they left a phone in there for her to see what happened. She did somehow have access to a phone. I don't know why. But she calls a fellow employee at the apartment complex and she asked them to do her a favor and please hide some paperwork for her what a dummy sketchy yeah i'm like red flag literally on they have a video of her making this phone call like what are doing? So obviously they get a search warrant of her office,

and that same day, based on all the physical evidence they'd collected, they arrested 30-year-old Wendy for Joe's murder. Now there's only one question, which is obviously why on earth did she kill her terminally ill husband? And the first lead was obviously that stupid fucking phone call she made.

Right. Yeah, so they were like, well, there's some paperwork she doesn't want us to see, so let's go look at it. Right. So they went through the belongings and found out that Wendy had been actually leading a very different life than the one she had presented

to police and to her family. First off, it turns out that she was having not only one affair, but actually many affairs. One of them with a co-worker. And oftentimes she would tell her family she was out working and planning events, but she was actually going out to nightclubs with friends and staying over at other

men's apartments. Her co-workers also told police that she had been disciplined by management for, quote, looking up inappropriate things on the work internet. Uh-oh. Now, I was like, ooh, oh juicy let's see what that is right like it sounds sounds like one thing sounds like one thing to me and then it goes a different

thing oh when they searched wendy's work computer it turns out she had not been researching porn as I suspected. Just me? No? Okay. But she was actually looking up, quote, poison, end quote, and, quote, how to murder people, end quote. That doesn't mean anything. To be fair, on the plane, I was in seat 2C. I don't know if you knew about that. I know. So I actually, on the plane, was researching narcotics that can kill you.

And then I was like, hmm. I wonder what some of the most wild things you've had to Google for this show are. There's a lot. On an airplane, not great. I feel like if something happens to you and then the police are like, well, we have to look into her computer, I'd be like, as a friend, you shouldn't.

I'm not saying you should be nervous about what you find. I'm just saying it's going to shock you. I'm just saying you're going to end up on a BuzzFeed list in like 10 years. Right. So she literally looked up how to murder people.

On the work computer. I mean, listen, I worked at an investigations company. I hoped you were going to bring this up. Yes, I can't not bring it up. Listen, I worked at, I know, I drink again. I worked at an investigations company. It was literally, we would get employees' computers and I would look through them.

And I was like, that sounds boring. Oh, no. People look, I found so many nudes I can't even tell you how many naked fifth grade teachers I had to see I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about that but it's too late

so I remember I remember this was when her and I were just becoming friends too and she'd be like oh today was so hard I saw like five naked ladies and I was like this sounds like a and I were just becoming friends too and she'd be like oh today was so hard I saw like five naked ladies and I was like this sounds like a friend I need to have see M was lured in by my flirting technique

it's the age old trick oh boy okay so anyway people I will say this doesn't surprise me because people look up It's the age-old trick. Oh, boy. Okay. So, anyway, people, I will say, this doesn't surprise me because people look up crazy shit on the Internet, on their work computers. So, as for the papers she told her co-worker to hide, police got their hands on those, too, and it turns out they were shipping invoices

for something called sodium azide, which is an extremely deadly poison. And it's used usually for industrial things such as an airbag propellant. Oh, shit. That was the example they gave. So like really aggressive. Yes. Okay.

Right. And used in like jet planes. Oh my God. Yes. Very. All right. You're not surviving off that. Right.

Got it. Yeah. And it's very much something that like an average person would not need to own. And actually, it's not restricted so much that companies can't buy it, but they need to actually present a legal reason why they need it to purchase it. and she did so by creating a fictitious business license using the tax ID form from the apartment complex, a Xerox copy, and an X-Acto knife, where she cut out the complex's name and put a... It's like when you'd fake your report card. She's like arts and craftsing.

DIY, right. She's like Pinteresting a business license. Right. And she put a fake company name, and then she used an address in Scottsdale to throw off the scent. Yeah, we love Scottsdale. I hear it's just great. It turns out the address that she used

was an actual business, like an actual address. And so when the police basically went to that address and asked them like oh, did you get a package? Did anybody show up here? The receptionist was like yeah, this lady this blonde lady

showed up and said she had accidentally had a package delivered here and picked it up. So that's kind of her way of skirting. Like oh, oopsies. Might as well. I had my poison delivered here. My bad. But so, of course,

police were like, well, so she picked it up so they have to go back to the source and see where she hid it. And so when they searched Wendy and Joe's apartment, they did not find the poison,

but the lead investigator had detectives take a sample of every single food item that was opened in their home, including Joe's last meal, which was a pot of beef stew. I know, and it was still on the stove, so it was just out there, so they took the whole

thing and ate it. No, they didn't. Had a party! I don't know why I said that. They tested it for poison. Meanwhile, they uncovered a storage unit that Wendy had. It was not hard because it was literally on the apartment complex's property. So she did a great job of hiding that.

And at first they saw only boxes and tools, but then they found a box. I forgot about this. A box, you say? It's hilarious, isn't it? They found a box with another box inside it. With another box inside it. With another box inside it. I get it now. With another box inside it.

With some aluminum foil inside it. With a bottle of sodium azide poison inside it. Complete with a kitchen measuring spoon. Oh, got it. And definitely the one they showed was from Ikea. And I was like, I have that. And that doesn't matter. We're the same. It doesn't matter we're the same it doesn't matter

no but so she had kept the fucking measuring spoon with it in the box in the box in the box in the box that's how you hide things I guess I don't know so okay cool where are we I don't know

choose your own adventure Christine okay I wrote surprise surprise so let's see what happens I don't know. Choose your own adventure, Christine. Okay. I wrote surprise, surprise. So let's see what happens. Guys. Is that right? Woo-hoo. Okay.

So complete with an Ikea measuring spoon that I also have. Okay. Surprise, surprise. The beef stew and Joe's stomach contents both contained the poison. So they were like, well, that's what did it. Police theorized that Wendy had grown tired and embittered as her husband battled cancer and had plotted to poison him in an attempt to end his life he did indeed have a heart attack after

consuming the poison so she called the neighbor and claimed she was taking him to the hospital hence her not calling 911 got it but when the neighbor went out to wait for paramedics Wendy realized the poison hadn't actually killed him yet and so one very specific part of the plan has not happened went out to wait for paramedics, Wendy realized the poison hadn't actually killed him yet. One very specific part of the plan

has not happened. She jumped the gun a bit there. So she sent the paramedics away and then proceeded to hit Joe with a bar stool repeatedly before stabbing him with a knife, ending his life.

Yikes. Yikes. So interestingly enough, they hadn't purchased any life insurance, so that was not even part of the theory at all. So the only money on the line was still that lawsuit against the doctor, but that hadn't gone through yet. And in fact, this is a little weird fun fact. It's not fun.

During the life insurance screening process she and her husband had actually solicited a friend to pose as her husband because her husband had cancer so she had actually like they had like gotten a friend to pretend to be her husband um to shop for policies but they never actually bought one. It's all weird. Meanwhile, the defense argued that Joe had taken Wendy... Nope. Start over. Shit. Meanwhile, the defense argued that Joe had talked Wendy

into a suicide pact and that he had poisoned himself before asking why a condom was missing from his nightstand. Just buckle up and go with me. Trust me. I'm going to take you. When she admitted to having a one-night stand,

Wendy says Joe flew into a rage and tried to strangle her with the phone cord. She said that's when she hit him with a barstool, and then he stabbed himself in the neck. Got it. You know, as you do. Right. So, okay. The prosecution also brought two of her former lovers to the stand.

Neither of them knew she was married when they got together. One even testified that she had brought him back to her apartment when Joe was visiting family with the kids. And when he saw a photo of Wendy and Joe and asked about it, Wendy told him her husband had sadly died of cancer. And he is still alive. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it's really icky. Oh, no.

The trial was postponed about 12 times, but finally on November 18, 2004, which was actually four years later, so this lasted a long time, a grand jury formally indicted Wendy Andreano for the first degree murder of her husband, Joe. Prosecutors also

pursued something almost unprecedented in Arizona. Almost unprecedented, which I'm like, that doesn't mean much at all, but it sounds good. On December 22, 2004, Wendy Andreano was sentenced to death by lethal injection, becoming only the second woman

on Arizona's death row. Wow. Aye, aye, aye. And that, my friends, is the story of Wendy Andreano. Guys, I will say I read an article called like

Phoenix's top five craziest female murderers and I had to ask Blaze to help me narrow it down because there were a lot of options A lot of things going on here But this one was the one we went with I will add really quickly that I do have a horror scope for Wendy one was the one we went with. I will add really quickly that I do have a horoscope for

Wendy. And for all the significant others who were dragged here against their will, I'll explain what that is. And that is essentially a horoscope, aka where I give unsolicited advice to people who can't use

it anyway. So, this is for all you Leos out there. Yes. And Wendy herself is a Leo so she should listen up. Listen up, girl. Listen up, Wendy. God damn it, Wendy. You should have listened to me before you did all this.

Leo, this week could bring a suitably dramatic end or completion to something you've been working on for several months. Eclipses bring things out of the shadows, from secret information to plans you've kept quiet until now. Yikes. Make the necessary internal adjustments to get your groove back.

Get a new hairstyle. Sign up for dance classes. Test drive a new boudoir toy. Commit a felony. No, I added that. Sorry. I thought it fit. Leo, are you in a long-term relationship?

Take the... I'm not asking you. Take the grown-up approach and talk about your feelings. Candidly and with kindness. How you deal with them is the mark of a healthy relationship. And that is the end

of the Wendy Andriano story. Thank you guys. Thank you for being patient with me. Hey everybody. So normally at this time, Em and I do a fun little surprise for the audience that we are not going to play in this audio recording if you want to see it, you'll have to come see us live and we really, really hope you guys do but we do want to give a special thank you to all of you whether you're Phoenix, whether you're Brooklyn, whether you're Boston

all the cities that we've visited have been equally amazing we are so lucky, we feel so fortunate to have been able to come see all of you. So we're not going to play the total ending of the show right here. You're going to have to come see us live and we really hope you do. But thank you. Thank you. Thank you for making this a reality. Thank you for letting us do this dream job together as best friends. We are so thankful forever and ever. And we hope to see you guys soon. Big hugs. Speak soon.

Thank you guys so much for having us. And that's why we drink. We'll be right back.