Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - Sante Kimes Pt. 1

Episode Date: September 11, 2023

Sante Kimes grew up with very little, so after she moved in with millionaire real-estate investor Kenneth Kimes, she took advantage of all that his wealth had to offer. Enough was never enough: and once she got what she wanted, she couldn’t stop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So due to the graphic nature of this episode, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of sexual abuse of a minor and assault. We advise extreme caution for children under the age of 13. Most of us have remade ourselves at one time or another. It's not always a big change, but I think that if you look back on your life, you'll find that there were moments when you became someone new. If Sante Kimes did that, she'd have trouble keeping count of the ways and reasons she squeezed her into a different shape, whether it was makeup to lighten her skin color, trading up husbands

based on their bank balance, or becoming the perfect upper-class socialite. Sante was no stranger to metamorphosis. But the problem with that is that Sante Kimes only seemed motivated by one idea. Enough is never enough. And eventually, the line between who she was and who she was pretending to be must have felt pretty blurry. Maybe that's how she tripped her way from shoplifting to embezzlement, to enslaving people, to murder. Then again, maybe that's who she was all along. I'm Vanessa Richardson, and this is Serial Killers, a Spotify podcast. Today we're diving into the life of Sante Kimes, a woman whose

crimes were so outrageous. We're going to need three episodes to cover them all. First, we'll explore Sante Kheim's childhood during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era. Then I'll take you through her earliest crimes and how they played a part in her rags to ultra-riches story. Next week, we'll go deeper into Sante's gilded life. We'll go behind the gates of her extravagant mansions and shine a light on one of her darkest deeds, forcing immigrant women into slavery. But that's only the start of Sante's story.

In part three, we'll take a closer look at her talking. relationship with her son, Kenny, and explore how the mother's son duo went from con artists to killers. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer, the hunt can be exhausting. When detectives looked and searched to find any kind of evidence to find the person they were looking for, like Jack the Ripper, the Golden State Killer, the Unit Bomber,

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rolling hills and fertile farmlands of Oklahoma City. Her parents, Mary Van Horn and Pramah Singers, settled there at some point in the 1920s after a whirlwind romance. The two had met at a state fair and fell head over heels in love. A few A few weeks after that, they tied the knot, but while the newlyweds were over the moon, not everyone celebrated the union. You see, Prama was an East Indian immigrant, which meant he likely faced some pretty overt racism in 1920s America. It even played a role in his relationship because it appears that Mary's conservative

family didn't approve of the marriage. As a result, the couple didn't have the kind of family support other newlyweds might expect. They were basically on their own. Prama got a job as a sharecropper while Mary worked as a maid. And though I doubt they were pulling in a lot of money, they were setting themselves up for a pretty good life. Unfortunately, that's when the Great Depression hit, not to mention the extreme dust storms that plagued the South throughout the decade.

With that, life got much harder, but the couple were determined to make it work. They had two kids in quick succession before welcoming Sonti's in 1934 and a fourth child in 1939. A year after that, Prama died of heart disease before he was even 50. That left Mary as the sole breadwinner to four young kids. And from what we can tell, she did her best to make ends meet. She took on job after job, working at all hours of the day. Unfortunately, that meant six-year-old Sante and her siblings were often left to their own devices.

own devices, which is where it all went downhill. Before we continue with today's psychology, please note that I'm not a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, but we have done a lot of research for the show. And we started with this specific part of Sante's childhood. According to researcher Jeanneek Crucia, kids who grow up in single-parent households are far more likely to engage in delinquent behavior than their counterparts. That may in part be because with only one parent in charge of resources, family income dwindles, and kids are more likely to turn to criminal acts to survive. There's an emotional component as well. If a child feels physically or even emotionally abandoned, they could go on to develop what's known as an insecure attachment style.

This type of attachment develops when a child believes his or her needs aren't being met by their caregivers. As a result, the child often struggles to develop close bonds with others, and approaches relationships from a place of fear and uncertainty, even in adulthood. According to psychotherapist Marnie Fehrman, people with an insecure attachment style also develop poor coping methods. Without a good support system to lean on, they can become aggressive or unpredictable, especially toward those closest to them. This is exactly what happened with Sante's older brother, Karam. With Mary, often away at work, Karam didn't have an adult figure to turn to for support.

As such, he struggled to deal with his emotions, and pretty soon after that, he started exhibiting aggressive behavior. And he turned that anger on the one person whose help he needed the most, his mother. It began with yelling and screaming. Then one day he got so mad that he hit Mary in the face. The blow knocked her to the ground. As she lay there, frozen in a state of shock and confusion, Karam started gathering up his belongings. He also grabbed what little money Mary had in the house, as well as her wedding ring, and stuffed it all into a bag. When he stormed out the door and vowed to never come back, Mary was relieved. She'd hoped her family could finally relax and start life anew. But the worst was far from over. When Sante was about eight or nine, she stepped into Karam's

metaphorical shoes and started exhibiting the same delinquent behaviors. But instead of turning her eye on Mary, she sought out a much more vulnerable victim, her little sister. According to Ritha, Sante would announce her plans by saying, it's time for the fire. Then she'd strike a match and hold the flame under the toddler's fingers. If Ritha flinched, she'd start the process all over again. Sante also abused the animals on the farm. She started with the goats who were easy pickings. After tying them up, she'd stick them with pins until they started bleeding in pain. Eventually, when the thrill of that wore off, she turned her attention to the dogs.

Sante chased after the hounds, who had free reign of the property. If she caught them, she put clothespins on their noses, ears, and genitals. To you or I, it sounds like. horrific, but Sante loved it. While it may be difficult for us to understand why Sante delighted in the pain and chaos she caused those around her, it's possible this was a kind of SOS signal. According to clinical psychologist Dr. Joni E. Johnston, children between the ages of six and 12 years old who exhibit animal cruelty may be doing so as a cry for help.

Dr. Johnston explains that this is a child who intellectually understands that it's not okay to hurt animals. The behavior is not due to a lack of education. Instead, the animal abuse is more likely to be a symptom of a deeper psychological problem. Sadly, these problems often stem from a history of physical or sexual abuse. Now this has never been confirmed, but Sante may have been a victim of childhood sexual assault. Ritha later recalled that before he left, Karam touched Sante inappropriately. Whether or not she'd been victimized by her brother, it's clear Sante was struggling to cope with the past few years of trauma.

Unfortunately, instead of seeking proper treatment for her daughter, it seems Mary thought the answer to all her problems was a fresh start. So in the early 1940s, Mary moved the family to Los Angeles. how expensive the city was, even back then, it's baffling that she chose to make her home there, but a factory owner took pity on them and allowed them to live in his spare apartment rent-free. That might seem generous, but really, the place was little more than a roof and four walls. Their only appliance was a hot plate they used to heat up soup, which was pretty much all they could afford anyway. Despite taking on whatever odd job she could find, Mary had a hard time providing

for her kids, and they lived below the poverty line. And Sante resented that. She was tired of her meager existence and wanted a better life, a nicer home, new clothes, and good food. So in 1944, she took matters into her own hands. According to Jean King, author of Dead End, the 10-year-old setup shop on a street corner and started begging passers-by for spare change.

Needless to say, it was a slog, and she rarely got the results she wanted. It took her days to gather enough to buy a loaf of bread. Realizing how little hard work got her, it seemed easier to just swipe food from stores, so that's what she did. And she got pretty good at it. That's where Sante developed a kind of guiding principle that she'd carry for the rest of her life. Why pay for something when you can just take it? But as Sante matured, she realized getting what she wanted didn't always have to involve outright theft.

Sometimes she could con people into helping her. When Sante was about 11, she walked into a local soda shop. There she met Dorothy and Kelly Seligman, the older couple who ran the place. Figuring them for easy marks, she turned on the waterworks and fed them a compelling sob story. And the Seligmans bought it, hook, line, and sin. They took pity on the young girl and gave her free reign to shop. She could have all the food and drinks she wanted. After a few months, they took their charity a step further.

They sat Sante down and told her that Dorothy's sister, a woman will call Mrs. Chambers, wanted another child of her own. She lived just one state over in Nevada, and she had more than enough money to provide a comfortable life. So they thought that Sante might like to go live with her. In that moment, Sante saw the tides shifting. She knew this was her chance at a better life, so she said yes without even hesitating. After that, the Seligmans pitched the idea to Sante's mother. Now remember, Sante and Mary weren't on the best of terms.

Sante resented Mary, and Mary was done with her daughter's antics. So around 1947, Mary happily signed away her parental rights, and 12-year-old Sante boarded a bus for Nevada, ready for her shiny new life. Coming up, Sante reinvents herself. Snoring, gasping during sleep, feeling fatigued, ask your doctor about Zepbound, terseptite. The first and only FDA-approved prescription medicine for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, and adults with obesity. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet, increased physical activity to help adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea,

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blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsened kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-99 or visit setbound.lily.com. Want to support your gut health? Take Activia's gut health challenge by enjoying two Activio yogurt today for two weeks and see if you feel a difference. With billions of probiotics and 20 years of scientific expertise, Activia is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to start your gut health ritual. Try Activia today. Enjoying Activia twice a day for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. Now back to the story. In the mid-1940s,

12-year-old Sante boarded a bus to Nevada and breathed a sigh of relief. The days of panhandling and begging were behind her now, and she hoped her new family would give her every luxury her birth mother couldn't afford. Sure enough, her adoptive parents, Edwin and Mary Chambers, satisfied her every whim. They gave Sante her own room, a closet full of beautiful clothes, and an endless supply of food. What's more, they allowed her to reinvent herself. Like a chameleon, Sante changed her entire persona to blend into her new environment. She changed her name to Sandy Chambers to seem more anglicized, and she changed her name. and used white powder to cover her olive skin, trying to hide her Indian heritage.

Her efforts paid off. Her new classmates loved Sante, and she became quite popular. But while everything seemed peachy keen at school, her home life was less than ideal. According to Sante, that's because her adoptive father began molesting her. Eventually that escalated to rape. At first, Sante kept quiet. She didn't want to risk losing all the good things she had going for her, but sometime before she turned 16, she told her adoptive mother the truth.

Sadly, Mrs. Chambers didn't handle the situation very well. She confronted her husband, but never went to the police or kicked him out of the house. Instead, she allegedly blamed Sante for what happened. After that, it felt like there was a ticking clock providing the soundtrack to Sante's life. was just waiting for her to graduate and get out. It was a familiar, unsettling kind of deja vu, feeling unloved and rejected by her parental figures. The whole situation was a lot for any teenager to deal with,

and pretty soon the heaviness of it all became unbearable. So, the 16-year-old headed to a department store to do a little R&R. She walked up and down the makeup aisles, trying on different shades of blush, then foundation, Finally, she got to the lipsticks and found a shade so perfect, it made all her problems seem inconsequential. She had to have it. Now, remember, Sante was no longer living below the poverty line.

Her adoptive parents were pretty well off, and she probably had more than enough money to pay for the lipstick right then and there. But instead, she just slipped it into her pocket. Logically, this might not make sense to us. Why steal when you have the means to just buy the thing? But it's actually a pretty common phenomenon. In fact, the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention found that nearly 75% of shoplifters steal in response to personal pressures, rather than economic need or greed.

According to addiction therapist Terence Schulman, that's likely because most shoplifters struggle with a host of unresolved traumas. When their pain becomes unbearable, people may steal in order to dull the suffering, fill a void or to counteract feelings of powerlessness. So in a way, shoplifting is a form of self-medication. But like any drug, there are risks to consider. According to psychiatrist John Grant, shoplifters may feel a euphoric high after committing the deed, but that feeling is fleeting. This was certainly true for Sante. With the lipstick tucked into her pocket, she sauntered out of the department store as if she were invincible.

Of course, she wasn't, and the police caught up to her and arrested her for stealing. They brought her down to the station, and it seemed as though, for the first time in her life, Sante might learn that her actions could have very real consequences. But then, the case got dismissed. We don't know why specifically. It likely had something to do with the fact that Sante was a minor without a record, and the lipstick was such a small item. As a result, the 16-year-old walked away with an unblemished record,

though it seems as though the incident might have scared her straight, at least for now. For the next two years, Sante applied that mentality to everything she did. She took on leadership roles in her school clubs. She assembled a collection of friends who idolized her. She even got herself a boyfriend named Edward Walker. But the relationship fizzled out when it came time to graduate. Sante wanted to move back to California, and Ed had his sights set on college elsewhere. So in 1952, the two called it quits, an 18-year-old Sante left for Callie.

But she wasn't on her own for very long. At some point in 1955, she crossed paths with her former classmate, Lee Powers. The two were instantly smitten and began dating. But while Sante was sure she'd found her Mr. Wright, Lee wasn't ready for a long-term commitment. However, like the lipstick, Sante was sure that she'd found something that would make her life immeasurably better. So she lied and told Lee that she was pregnant, knowing full well that he'd do what back then was considered the right thing. Her plan worked like a charm. Lee proposed, and the couple wed in May of 1956.

But the shine of marriage faded pretty fast, and Sante started to regret her decision. For one, she hadn't expected married life to be so boring. I'm not sure what she thought it would look like, but cleaning a house and cooking meals for her husband weren't on her dream marriage bingo card. Making it all worse, Lee was just as boring. He didn't even bother to confront Sante when it became clear that she wasn't pregnant after all. Sante had expected some sort of challenge, a fight-merexed. maybe. Instead, he just pretended like nothing had happened. Their finances were just icing on

the cake. Lee didn't make a ton of money, and Sante knew there was no way she could live the life she wanted. So after just one year of wedded monotony, she left. But one failed marriage wasn't enough to put her off the idea of romance. So after she walked out on Lee, Sante got in touch with her old high school boyfriend, Ed Walker. She wrote her. wrote him a letter, lamenting how getting married had been a mistake. She missed him, she wrote, and hoped they might rekindle their relationship. When he didn't respond right away, she showed up on his doorstep in Northern California. Instead of being creeped out, Ed was apparently flattered by her perseverance, and he gave

their love another shot. Then in November of 1957, roughly six months after her first marriage died, 23-year-old Sante tied the knot for a second time. Financially, Ed was a big upgrade from Lee. He was a general contractor who'd built homes in Sacramento. That made him a lot more money than her ex-husband and meant he could provide Sante a comfortable life. And yet, it still wasn't enough.

She encouraged her husband to keep on growing his business. Well, that's putting it nicely. She got obsessive over it. If he wasn't constantly bringing in more money, she felt like her entire life was threatened. In her book Dead End, Jean King quotes Ed as saying, Sante had an absolute paranoia of being poor.

This likely stemmed from Sante's early childhood when financial scarcity was her reality. According to a report in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, childhood resource levels often moderate how people respond to scarcity threats as adults. For those who grew up in high, high socioeconomic households, when something like a recession hits, they focus on slow strategies,

such as increasing retirement contributions. Even when their finances are threatened, they're still able to focus and plan for the future. On the other hand, those raised in low socioeconomic households tend to respond by, quote, spending money in the present with less concern for the future. When funds are scarce, it feels better to spend on what you need right now. rather than planning for a nebulous better tomorrow. Even though Sante's financial situation was far different from her childhood, she still operated from a scarcity mindset. The second she felt like the money wasn't coming in fast enough,

she reverted to her impulsive ways, with a twist. This was on full display during a Christmas shopping spree in 1960. As she'd done so many times before, 26-year-old Sante strolled into the mall on a mission. Only this time, she didn't plan on stealing a thing. Instead, she wanted to buy gifts for all of her closest friends. So she went from one store to another and handed over her credit card. Before she knew it, Sante had racked up $13,000 in charges, which in 1960 was basically her husband's yearly wages. When Ed found out what she'd done, he was stunned. He tried to get her to

return everything, but she'd already given most of the items away. In her impulsivity, she'd plunged them into debt. But while Ed was overwhelmed, Sante wasn't phased. She had a plan. A week or two later, their house mysteriously caught on fire. It started in the kitchen, but ended up causing structural damage, enough for them to collect a good amount of insurance. Ed chalked the blaze up to some faulty wiring and tried not to think much more of it. But whether he wanted to admit it or not, it was awfully convenient timing. We don't know how much the fire netted them, but Sante and Ed were able to pay off their debts, so it must have been a lot.

At the time, no one suspected a thing, which left Sante feeling pretty good. That was until two months later when she went to the mall and got arrested for sure. shoplifting a hair dryer. In the grand scheme of things, it was a small-time crime, but it was the first time she was taken into custody as an adult, and it gave her a criminal record. She pled guilty to petty larceny and paid a $131 fine. Meanwhile, Ed was at his wit's end.

He confronted Sante at home, desperate to understand her. They could afford a hairdryer. There was no need to steal one. In response, Sante was a bit of a hair dryer. Santé simply shrugged. She explained that she'd just wanted to save them some money. Then she went on the offensive. If he'd take on more work than they'd have more than enough money, and she wouldn't feel

compelled to steal. It seems her words struck a chord with Ed. Later that year, he got a gig building residential homes for millionaire land developer Everett Wagner, and Wagner, or more specifically, his finances, caught Sante's attention. Behind her husband's back, she flirted with Wagner, and the two began an affair. At the same time, Sante convinced Wagner to let her handle the books for her husband's project. Then she siphoned off money for herself. It's unclear whether Ed knew that Sante was involved in the accounting,

but when his contractors complained they weren't getting paid, he did some investigating and discovered that his business accounts had been drained. Assuming it was all Wagner's fault, Ed took him to court and won. But the victory was bittersweet. In the course of his civil suit, he learned about his wife's affair and her likely involvement in the disappearing money.

It's possible Ed would have left her after that, except that Sante announced she was pregnant, and this time it wasn't a lie. So sometime in 1962, she gave birth to her son, Kent. Sante told her husband that the child was his, but no one could be totally sure she was telling the truth. As you can imagine, the tension in their marriage was at an all-time high. But despite that, Ed didn't call it quits. And so, with her life on a somewhat even keel, Sante carried on with her schemes for the next few years.

While she was never charged or convicted of arson during this period, several of the homes Ed built mysteriously caught fire, and according to an A&E documentary on Sante Kimes, she made sure to personally collect the insurance money. But even with those windfalls, Sante was dissatisfied with her life. It wasn't enough to have nice things anymore. Now she wanted the best of everything. That meant designer clothes, lavish mansions,

and a filthy rich husband. And Ed just didn't make the grade. So, Sante filed for divorce. Her affair with Wagner had seemingly fizzled out by that point, but it was no matter. She knew exactly what she wanted. And nothing less than a multi-millionaire would suffice. Coming up, Sante reels in a big fish.

This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have every... everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Now back to the story. Sante Walker was ready for an upgrade. To make that happen, the 35-year-old

set her sights on marrying a ridiculously wealthy man. At around 1969, she started flipping through the pages of a publication, literally called Millionaire Magazine. This particular edition featured a spotlight on 51-year-old Kenneth Kimes, a real estate investor who owned motels all across California. He had at least five properties of his own, including a motel across the street from Disneyland and one in Palm Springs. It was a great start. He was also handsome, check, recently divorced, double check, and he was worth somewhere between 12 and 15 million dollars.

Reading all of that, Santee knew. She'd just found husband number three. He just didn't know it yet, but that was okay. She was happy to play the long game on this one. First she found out where exactly in Palm Springs Kenneth lived and what hotspotspots he frequented. Then she took her seven-year-old son Kent and moved to the desert. She eventually befriended a store owner who was close to the Kimes family. Soon after that, she scored an invite to meet the man of her dreams. We don't know what pretense they met under, but it certainly

did the trick. Sante played up her charms, and Kenneth immediately took a liking to her. They started seeing each other after that, but the two were far from exclusive. Kenneth had no no intention of marrying again and insisted on dating around. He just wanted to enjoy the rest of his life, then leave all of his money to his kids. Despite knowing this, Sante wasn't deterred. If anything, the challenge made the whole process even more enjoyable. Just like she'd done as a teenager, she molded herself to fit into the Palm Springs lifestyle. She started by studying celebrities and socialites.

She learned where they went and how they dressed, the food they ate, and what they talked about. Then she mimicked it all. She wore big black wigs to look more like Elizabeth Taylor. When she learned that Sophia Loren drank Vuv-Clico, Sante made it her signature drink. If she heard about a movie star dining at the newest spot in town, she booked reservations there for her and Kenneth. But most importantly, she studied Kenneth. She wore a gardenia-scented fragrance.

because that was his favorite flower. She always dressed in white because he thought it looked elegant. She took him to stakehouses and made sure they prepared his order medium rare just the way he liked it. In her eyes, her one and only job was to make Kenneth sublimely happy. She made it so that anything he liked, he associated with her. But Sante had her work cut out for her. That's because the entire time she was playing offense, Kenneth's circle was in his ear, warning him about Sante.

His daughter called her white trash and accused her of just being after his money. His friends thought her behavior was erratic and embarrassing at best, horrifying at worst. And no one knew where she'd come from. The mystery of her past concerned them. But Kenneth waved them all off. He was too smitten to see the red flags. According to psychology professor Lawrence Joseph's,

there are all kinds of reasons why we ignore warning signs. One is due to the phenomenon known as the primacy effect, which is when our snap judgments about a person stick. For example, if you find someone to be warm and charming when you first meet them, you're more likely to believe that to be true in future interactions. Simply put, first impressions matter. From there, confirmation bias kicks in. This is when we want to believe we were right from the start,

So even when we noticed signs that we were wrong, we choose to ignore them to preserve our own set of beliefs. Kenneth certainly fell victim to this. Even when Sante did something worrying, he brushed it off because he thought he could make the relationship work. For all his business smarts, when it came to his personal life, Kenneth was just as vulnerable as the rest of us, and by 1971, he'd agreed to let 37-year-old Sante and her 9-year-old son, move in with him. After that, you'd think that she'd finally sit back and enjoy the benefits of her hard work.

With Kenneth taking care of her, she could pretty much buy whatever she laid her eyes on. And yet, she chose to commit crime after crime. To go over her rap sheet would take up all the time we have here. But over the first few years that she and Kenneth were together, she was arrested for credit card forgery, grand theft auto, and art theft, just to name a few. Whenever Sante found herself in these situations, she followed a similar pattern. First, she denied any responsibility. There was always someone else at fault. At one point she even claimed the police were conspiring against her.

Then she begged Kenneth for bail money. He stepped in and saved her, but they always fought afterward and broke up. Each time it seemed like he might leave her for good. Eventually, though, they wound up back together. There was something about Sondi. Sante that he just couldn't shake. It's possible that Kenneth needed Sante as much as she needed him. In any case, thanks to his resources, Kenneth made all his honey's legal issues disappear. Sante rarely spent more than a night in jail. And that reinforced the lesson she'd learned as a teenager. She could do whatever she wanted and get away with it. Needless to say, Sante was living a charmed life, but there was one slight hiccough.

that she couldn't really ignore. Even after a few years together, Kenneth still refused to marry her. What's more, he was steadfast in his decision to leave all his money to his kids. Once Kenneth was gone, Sante would be back to the simple life. And that just wouldn't do. So, Sante came up with a twisted solution. If she and Kenneth had a child, then he'd have to leave some money to her and her baby. And if he was going to do that, maybe he'd just give up and make her his wife. It took a while, but by the end of 1974, Sante was pregnant. The following March, the 40-year-old gave birth to another baby boy. She named him Kenneth Kimes Jr., or as he'd more often be known, Kenny. To celebrate the birth, the couple flew to Honolulu, where Sante hoped she might

finally convince him to marry her. That would make it all worth it. All her schemes, her planning. If she was Kenneth's wife, she'd finally have it all. Right? She'd spent her entire life swapping one family for the next, a road that took her from poor farmer's daughter to wife of a multi-millionaire. Now she had homes in Hawaii, Palm Springs, and San Diego. She drove fully loaded Cadillacs and partied with politicians and celebrities. From the outside looking in, it seemed like she had everything she could ever dream of. But, as we already know, nothing was ever enough for Sante Kimes. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers.

We'll be back next week to cover the slavery scandal that made headlines. For more information on Sante Kimes, amongst the many sources we used, we found Dead End, the crime story of the decade, murder, incest and high-tech thievery by Gene King extremely helpful to our research. We'll see you next time. Stay safe out there. Serial Killers is a Spotify podcast. This episode was written by Alex Burns, edited by Jane O. and Joel Callan, fact-checked by Bennett Logan, researched by Mickey Taylor and Chelsea Wood, and produced by Joshua Kern, with sound design by Juan Borda. I'm your host, Vanessa Richardson.

Want to hear something? Spooky. It reminded me of Bigfoot. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal. One of the boys started to exhibit demonic possession. Stories straight from the witnesses' mouths themselves. Something very snake-like lifted its head out of the water. Hosted by me, your guide, Derek Hayes. Somehow I lost eight whole hours.

Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. A beloved 75-year-old man, washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.