Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Starvation Doctor” Linda Hazzard Pt. 1

Episode Date: October 19, 2020

In the early 1900s, Linda Hazzard marketed herself as a doctor, and claimed that she could cure any ailment with her special starvation regimens. Except, instead of curing her patients, she was killing them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode features graphic descriptions of the effects of starvation that some people may find disturbing. Extreme caution is advised, especially for children under 13. In 1911, Claire Williamson lay limp on her bed. At around 70 pounds, the 34-year-old woman was fading quickly. She had wasted away both mentally and her bed. and physically, until she could barely speak. Linda Hazard, a tall, wiry woman and a white nurse-like dress,

carried another woman into the room. 38-year-old Dorothea Williamson didn't weigh much more than her sister. Up close, Dora took note of her sister's emaciated face. Claire was almost unrecognizable. Realizing Dora was beside her, Claire led out an almost indecipherable whisper. She wished to speak to her sister alone. But Linda Hazard lingered as Claire struggled to speak to her sister.

The wasting woman was too weak to utter a single word. Linda commended herself for a job well done. Dora and Claire had entrusted their health, their lives, and their valuables to her. Slowly and systematically, she drained them of their strength, and they'd paid her for the privilege. Now all she had to do was wait for death to take hold. Because the woman pretending to take such good care of the sisters wasn't a doctor or a nurse. Linda Burfield Hazard was a fraud, a con artist, and above all, a murderer.

Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is serial killers. A Spotify original from Parkast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serious. killer's. Today, we begin our look at Linda Burfield Hazard, a medical practitioner who murdered unsuspecting patients with her starvation cure. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other originals from Parcast for free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Today, we'll cover Linda's early exposure to alternative medicine, how it led her to preach starvation as a cure for disease, and how she managed to turn

killing people into an actual business. Next time, we'll look at Linda's attempt to starve two British heiresses to death, her eventual trial, and how the slippery medical laws of the time aided her evil objectives. 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. It's tedious work to find what you're looking for.

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Do you want to hear something spooky? Some monster. It reminded me of Bigfoot. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal. Mall. 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 podcast. Linda Laura Burfield was born in Carver, Minnesota in 1867 to Susanna Neal and Montgomery Burfield. Montgomery was a corporal during the Civil War. and was, by all accounts, a doting father to his seven children. Linda was the eldest and spent most of her time outdoors. It was during her youth that Linda was first introduced to the idea of restricting one's diet for health benefits. Linda's parents kept a largely vegetarian household, which was a common practice at the time.

While these minor restrictions likely had an effect on Linda's eventual belief in starvation cures, it was her childhood doctor who truly left a last night. impact. Linda's father, Montgomery, put a great amount of trust in the burgeoning medical establishment and believed his children should see a physician whether they were sick or well. He thought that modern medicine could not only cure illnesses, but prevent them from happening in the first place. Although Montgomery acted out of love, these preventative visits had a devastating outcome. The family doctor diagnosed the children with intestinal parasites, despite the fact that none of them showed any symptoms.

Whether he fabricated the illness or he made an honest mistake is unknown. What we do know is that he prescribed the Burfield Children Blue Mass Pills, a common 19th century cure that contained licorice, glycerol, rose honey, and large amounts of mercury. Today, it's known that ingesting mercury can cause severe poisoning. Even at low doses, its side effects are debilitating, both physically and mentally. But in the 19th century, Mercury was a common ingredient in many different medicines. The kind Linda took was called Calomel. It caused severe vomiting and diarrhea, so much so that Linda had trouble keeping food down for years.

The entire time, Linda had no idea that the source of her problem wasn't parasites, but the supposed cure. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, ingesting mercury or its compounds leads to muscle weakness, issues with coordination, and even trouble seeing and speaking. Calamel in particular was known to inflict horrible side effects. In addition to causing gum inflammation and tooth loss, exposure could also inflict neurological symptoms,

such as psychosis, dementia, and even personality changes. While we don't know whether the mercury left psychological damage, Linda undoubtedly experienced trauma. And because this was at the hands of a trusted caregiver, like a doctor, it may have had an even more devastating impact. Psychologist Jennifer Freid coined the term betrayal trauma. To explain how abuse suffered at the hands of a trusted caregiver can be even more harmful than that inflicted by strangers. This is partly explained by the fact that victims must rely on

coping strategies that undermine their self-esteem and may reinforce an unhealthy attachment to their abuser. Not only that, they may continue on in the abusive relationship for years, putting themselves at risk for even more psychological problems. By age 18, Linda stopped seeing her doctor. Eventually, we don't know when. She realized that the medication she'd been prescribed had done irreparable harm to her digestive tract. But by then, the scars of her treatment were deep. While Linda was slowly getting stronger, she met her first husband, 32-year-old Irwin A. Perry.

He was 14 years older than Linda, but the age difference wasn't an issue, and they married in 1886. But what should have been a joyous time was soon marred by despair. 19-year-old Linda lost her father, Montgomery, only one month after her wedding. She carried that grief for the rest of her life. Three years after Linda's marriage to Irwin, the couple moved to Fergus Falls, Minnesota. There, 21-year-old Linda gave birth to a son named Roland in August of 1889, and two years later, their daughter, Nina Floyd, was born. Motherhood produced mixed emotions for Linda. She seemed to adore her son, but her daughter

was a different story. Family friends noticed that her treatment of Nina Floyd was harsh. But the Perry family family was in for even more tumult when in 1898, 44-year-old Irwin disappeared. He left no note, no clue where he was going, and no money. Four years later, in the fall of 1902, 34-year-old, Linda filed for divorce from Irwin, claiming abandonment, though some later wondered if she'd actually left him. The year Irwin vanished was also the year Linda later claimed she began fasting. Whether she started before Irwin left her or afterwards, as response to it, is unclear. But either way, the experience seemed to be a turning point for her.

Around the same time, she came upon the writings of Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey. He was a fasting specialist and a practitioner of alternative medicine. She read his books voraciously. All of them extolled the virtues of fasting, which, according to Dewey, was a miracle cure for anything. He even claimed that a 34-day fast had cured one of his patients of typhoid fever. This wasn't exactly a new idea. Fasting had been considered a pathway to health and religious purity since the time of the ancient Greeks. Dewey's book simply took an old idea and put a new spin on it, namely that food was the cause of all disease.

Dewey's beliefs resonated with Linda. After all, she'd been told since childhood that her body was poisoned by parasites. Given the frequent vomiting she endured, she likely associated an empty stomach with feeling clean and pure, and she may have enjoyed what she perceived to be the psychological benefits of fasting. According to a study in the academic journal Frontiers in Nutrition, fasting often results in a sense of achievement, pride, and self-control, despite feelings of hunger and irritability. This may have inspired Linda to take renewed ownership over the course of her life and forge a new path. Fired up about Dewey's methods, Linda decided to follow in his footsteps and opened her own practice

in 1902. She also sent her children to live with her mother, but it's unclear if Linda, actually had a medical license. She had trained for a time as a nurse, though when she discovered Dewey's books, she took a hard turn away from traditional medicine. In any event, working as a fasting specialist did not require a medical degree or license. But even if Linda didn't have proper medical training, she had business savvy. She heavily advertised her new practice, claiming that fasting could cure almost any disease, even paralysis. This got the attention of Gertrude Young.

The 41-year-old had suffered a stroke that left one foot and one arm paralyzed. For years, she'd been unable to dress herself or do her hair. Doctors had told her that she'd never regain the use of her limbs. But that wasn't good enough for Gertrude. She wanted a cure, so when she heard Linda's claims that fasting could heal paralysis, she was all in. She went to see Linda at her Minneapolis office. During their consultation, Linda prescribed a 40-day fast.

She instructed Gertrude not to eat anything except a cup of tomato broth twice a day and a teaspoon of orange juice in the morning. Along with the Spartan diet, Linda gave treatments to her new patient. These were enemas and brutal massages that felt more like beatings, but it was all in the name of good health. Three weeks into her treatment, however, Gertrude began experiencing side effects. One morning, she woke up to a vomiting fit so violent it crippled her. And when her staff opened the windows of her bedroom,

the fresh air only seemed to make her condition worse. Worried for her mistress's health, a nurse called a licensed physician, Dr. U.G. Williams, who had treated G. G.S. in the past. The nurse urged him to come see Gertrude immediately. When Dr. Williams arrived, he was shocked. Gertrude's skin was a pasty yellow and her body seemed. Sunkin. He demanded that she break her fast immediately, but Gertrude refused, convinced the regime was her miracle cure. Dr. Williams left, powerless to help her. Shortly after his visit on November

18, 1902, Gertrude passed away. She died on the 39th day of her 40-day fast, weighing only 105 pounds. Linda blamed Gertrude's death on her chronic paralysis, but Dr. Williams suspected it was something else. Starvation. In addition to being a physician, Dr. Williams was also the county coroner, so he arranged for a post-mortem exam on Gertrude's body, and his suspicions were confirmed. Gertrude had indeed starved to death. But why? Dr. Williams was baffled. What could possibly be Linda's motivation for starving her own patient?

The answer was soon clear. Investigators discovered that large amounts of jewelry and a number of expensive items were missing from Gertrude's home. Linda had killed Gertrude for her wealth. Linda denied the accusation, claiming that Gertrude had bequeathed her jewelry to a nurse who worked at her practice, but conveniently no one was able to track the woman down. Dr. Williams pursued legal action against Linda. He even alerted the press to her misdeeds.

But Linda, ever the savvy businesswoman, used the notoriety to her own advantage. In an interview with a reporter, 34-year-old Linda claimed that Gertrude had been well on her way to recovery, but that she'd stopped cooperating with her medical recommendations. She added that Gertrude suffered from a fatal condition in addition to her paralysis. So, according to Linda, no matter what treatments she prescribed, there was no way to save her client's life. Linda escaped prosecution. There were no laws against the practice of fasting in the state of Minnesota, and therefore no legal grounds on which to pursue the case. Linda Burfield had killed her first client, made off with her valuables, and walked away, Scott-free.

And it seems like a part of her wondered if she could do it. Again. Coming up, Linda's technique makes her famous, even as it kills her clients. Hey, Parcasters, starting October 1st, we're bringing you the scariest, most hair-raising ghost stories ever imagined. Every Thursday, on the all-new original series Haunted Places Ghost Stories, Alistair Murden summons a new spine-tingling tale of wraiths, phantoms, and chilling apparitions. These stories come from all over the world, including Japan, and India, the UK, and even ancient Rome. Don't miss stone-cold classics like The Kitbag from Algernon Blackwood,

a sinister account of a condemned murderer's final wish, and the lengths he go to fulfill it. And the Miserei, a Spanish tale of a wandering musician who hears a terrifyingly beautiful song in a burned-out monastery and is doomed to capture its notes until he dies. You can find and follow Haunted Places Ghost Stories free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget, October is our favorite month and one of our busiest.

So make sure to search Parcast Network in the Spotify search bar to see all our new shows. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes. and secure a spot in the finale May 29th. Don't pass go and own it all.

Only at Yamava, celebrating its 40th anniversary. UN? Details at Yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. Now back to the story. After being abandoned by her husband,

35-year-old Linda Burfield opened a fasting practice in 1902, claiming she could cure everything from syphilis to strokes. Despite her lack of a medical degree, she quickly attracted clients, including 41-year-old Gertrude Young, who died mid-fast. Even though the county coroner tried to bring charges against her, slippery medical laws shielded Linda from prosecution. But soon, Linda was tangled up with the law for a different reason. Less than a year after Gertrude's murder, she met 33-year-old West Point graduate Samuel Hargrave.

Sam was tall and handsome, but a little shrewd, Shady. Hargrave wasn't even his real last name. It was hazard, but Sam changed it when he left his first wife. And he'd gotten married again to a woman named Viva, who he was still married to when he and Linda began their affair. In October 1903, Sam introduced Linda to Viva and had the gall to refer to Linda as his wife. Understandably, Viva was enraged. She begged Sam to stop seeing Linda, but instead he married her. He claimed that because he married Viva under a fake last name, the marriage was illegitimate. Well, Viva wasn't having any of that. She and her senator father filed bigamy charges against Sam. The trial was the talk of Minneapolis in early

1904. Here was a female doctor fighting with the daughter of a state senator over their right to be married to a man of, let's just say, unsavory character. In the end, letters exchanged between Viva and Sam, convinced the jury that the pair were, in fact, married when Sam wed Linda. So on February 9, 1904, the court sentenced Sam to two years in prison for bigamy. Sam served his time, but this did nothing to dull Linda's feelings for him, and shortly after his release, he returned to Linda's side. The two began running Linda's practice together, with Linda now going by the name Dr. Hazard.

But being married to a convicted bigamist wasn't great for business, so in 1906 they moved to Washington State for a fresh start. There, Linda obtained a license to practice medicine, despite her lack of a degree. In the rural area of Olala, she bought a 40-acre piece of land where she hoped to build a sanitarium, And in Seattle, she secured a small office where she saw patients. It wasn't long until she found her next victim. In late 1907, a 37-year-old woman named Daisy Maude Hagland came to Linda for help. It's unclear what inspired Daisy to seek treatment, but Linda prescribed her a 50-day fast. Daisy dutifully completed the fast, but died shortly afterwards on her 38th birthday.

When Daisy died in February 1908, she left behind a husband and a three-year-old son named Evar, who would eventually go on to found the popular Evar Seafood and Charter Restaurant based in Seattle. Amazingly, Daisy's husband continued to take his young son to Linda three times a week. One possible reason for this was Linda's commanding personality. Confidence and zeal oozed from her tall, wiry frame. It seems that for some people, the thought of disobeying. her was out of the question. Which is possibly why in 1908, another client willingly succumbed to starvation, Mrs. Ida Wilcox,

who died after a 47-day fast. Despite the deaths, Linda was only becoming more popular. That year she published her first book, Fasting for the Cure of Disease. In it she lay the groundwork for her fasting program. For instance, she explained, death in the fast never results from deprivation of food, but is the inevitable consequence of vitality sapped to the last degree by organic imperfection. In other words, nobody could die from fasting alone. According to Linda, if a patient died, the cause would always be whatever underlying condition afflicted them in the first place.

Linda's book was a success, especially within the more progressive sectors of society. People flocked to her practice, and in 1909, two more women died. Viola Heaton and Blanche Tyndall. At this point, the Seattle Health Department was getting concerned, but they seemed unable or unwilling to act. And legally, it seems their hands were tied. Linda did have a medical license, and fasting wasn't outlawed in Washington.

So if patients willingly sought out Linda's treatment and didn't stop, even when it was dangerous, then under the law, their deaths were on them. But one murder, also in 19. 2009 should have been an opportunity for the police to take action. The body of 26-year-old Eugene Stanley Wakelin was found on Linda's Olala property. Unlike her other patients, Eugene didn't die of starvation. He'd been shot in the head. It almost looked like a suicide, except for some fishy details.

Eugene was the son of a British lord. When his body was finally discovered, Linda turned out to have power of attorney over his estate. She wasted no time availing herself of all the money in Eugene's accounts, about $233. Then she wired his lawyer for more, claiming she needed to pay the funeral parlor, but the bill was astronomical for 1909 standards, $155, which would total about $4,000 today. Despite all these red flags, the authorities looked the other way, and no official explanation for the death was ever given. But it's believed that Linda and Sam Hazard shot Eugene when they found out he wasn't as rich

as they'd hoped. Starving him to death would yield them little profit, so they sped things up. Eugene Wakeland's death was followed by that of another patient in 1910, Maude Whitney. But the following year, 1911, is when Linda truly hit her stride. That year, it's believed she killed five clients. in as many months, all of them men. One Frank Southerd, a partner in a prominent Seattle law firm, finished the fast, but died shortly afterwards,

having lost nearly 80 pounds. When he started eating again, his kidneys failed him. He became paralyzed and died. Another victim, John Ivan Flux, was an Englishman who'd come to Washington to buy a ranch. By the time he died in February 1911, after a 53-day fast. He only had $70 left in his possession.

Linda had finagled control over the rest of his cash and assets. He was followed by the publisher of Alaska Yukon Magazine, a man named C.A. Harrison. Then a civil engineer named Earl Edward Erdman died after a three-week fast. But one of the most shocking murders involved a former legislator and magazine publisher named Lewis Ellsworth Raider. Linda began treating the 46-year-old for what she claimed were internal injuries Lewis suffered as a child.

At first, she treated him at his home, but then had him moved into a Seattle hotel. She wanted to observe him at all times. But Lewis was a well-loved man in the community. Eventually, word reached Seattle's mayor that he was being held against his will and starved to death. The health department finally sprang into action. They went to the hotel, spoke to Lewis personally. and tried to forcibly remove him, but he told them to leave. And when Linda heard that city officials were trying to intervene with the care of her patient,

she was irate. She carried Lewis out of the room herself and took him to a new secret location at the hotel. He died a few days later on May 11, 1911. He was 5'11, but weighed less than 100 pounds. Linda did the autopsy herself, and under cause of death, she listed, prolapses of the stomach. Though Linda actively hid Lewis away from authorities, it's possible he wanted to continue to starve.

Psychologists who study eating disorders have found that people with anorexia often report feelings of euphoria, exhilaration, and even a higher tolerance for pain. Raiders' reluctance to end the fast was probably a product of this kind of altered mindset, and it only helped Linda in her macabre intention. While her patients dropped like flies, two more walked into her web. 34-year-old Claire and 38-year-old Dorothea Williamson. Claire and Dorothea were English-born sisters and heiresses. By the time the pair reached adulthood, they were essentially alone in the world.

They had lost their father, their mother, and two sisters. They were also worth millions. Not only do they have cash assets, but also land holdings in Canada, the U.S., England, and Australia. They spent much of their time traveling around the world, visiting their many properties. And although well-educated, the two sisters, particularly Claire, had a childish naivete about them, catered to their whole lives, the women had little real-world experience. They were the perfect victims for a dangerous con artist like Linda Burfield Hazard.

They were also constantly sick. Claire was diagnosed with a dropped uterus, which a doctor told her was affecting her spine and inflaming her reproductive organs. She also suffered from a sensitive stomach that she believed was brought on by nervous exhaustion. Dora experienced her own ailments. She claimed she suffered from acute rheumatic pains and swollen glands. However, a cousin of the two sisters once remarked, Claire and Dorothea are ill because they can afford to be ill. Though we don't know whether the sisters suffered from true debilitating illnesses or twin cases of hypochondria, one thing is for certain. They spared no expense on any treatment they believed could cure them,

but everything they tried either caused them more pain or just didn't work. Disheartened, they searched for the next possible cure. In September of 1910, Claire found an ad for Linda's book, Fasting for the Cure of Disease in a local California newspaper. It was everything she was looking for, new hope. When the sisters read the book, they were captivated by Linda's central idea, that in order to reach perfect health, it was necessary to rest the digestive system and allow the body to cleanse itself. The Williamson sisters were entirely convinced.

Finally, they had found the cure they'd been looking for. They wrote to Linda immediately. Coming up, Linda's wealthy new patients arrive in Seattle and fall into her trap. Now back to the story. Between 1906 and 1911, Linda Burfield Hazard established a thriving business in Seattle as a fasting specialist. Even when at least 10 of her patients starved to death, it did nothing to slow down business. On the contrary, Linda was making money hand over fist, especially because she tended to inherit her dead client's wealth. In the fall of 1910, British heiresses Claire and Dora Williamson became her patience,

much to Linda's delight. As they corresponded with Linda, Dora and Claire grew more and more excited. After several letters, Linda convinced the pair that her fasting treatment would entirely cure them of all their ailments. The prospect was so tantalizing that the sisters were prepared to pay Linda $60 a month each for her fasting expertise. About 3,0002,000. $200 today. Dora and Claire wanted to visit Linda at her new sanitarium in O'Lala, Washington. She advertised it as a sort of countryside retreat, but Linda informed the sisters that the sanitarium was still under construction. In the meantime, however, she invited them to Seattle, where she was based, to begin their regimen. They could move to the O'Lala facility later, she

promised. Claire and Dora jumped at the invitation. They lied to their family, who did disapproved of alternative medicine and said they were headed to Canada. When the sisters arrived in Seattle in February 1911, they met Linda at her office. She was as confident and authoritative as they expected. Like everyone who met her, the sisters saw a magnetism in Linda that made them trust her instantly. It also helped that she regaled them with various success stories. To hear Linda tell it, she'd treated many clients successfully. These lucky patients swore that they'd emerged from her fasts forever cured.

The only disappointment was that the sanitarium wasn't ready yet, but Linda had the sisters settle into a furnished apartment near her office. She then started their treatment, not with an exam, but with a massage that was just this side of a beating. Then she taught the sisters how to create a vegetable broth by boiling tomatoes. It was one of the few foods they could consume under her care. And Linda also explained that every day they would have to take a vigorous walk to help the body detoxify. The sisters didn't seem to have misgivings about the bizarre process.

Though the treatment was extreme, it promised dramatic results, and they were all too anxious to see them. But after just the first week of fasting, Clarendora's hopeful dispositions faded with their strength. They were growing weaker by the day, and soon they found the simplest things exhausting. The sisters frequently fainted. One day, Dora heard Claire fall in the next room and was too weak herself to get up and help. But despite their extreme fatigue, Linda still pushed them to continue treatment. Which included Enema's. A crucial part of Linda's program, they started outlasting about half an hour. But with each successive day, they got longer. Two hours, three hours. The sisters would have to bring their knees to their chests, and when they could no longer hold this position, Linda stretched canvas over the bathtub to support them.

As the sisters lay on the canvas, Linda would insist, we must eliminate the poisons, dear girls. People in the sisters' apartment building took note of what was going on. Neighbors noticed the sisters losing an alarming amount of weight and watched them develop deep lines in their faces, and dark circles around their eyes. Nellie Sherman, a nurse who worked for Linda, helped the ailing sisters take their daily walks down the hall. Their next-door neighbor, Mary Fields, cringed watching how difficult it was for Claire to walk.

She needed to pull herself along by placing her hands on the wall. At night, Mary often heard the sisters moaning in pain through the walls. But the sister's rapid weight loss didn't give Linda pause. She continued pummeling the women during their daily massages, which remained as brutal as ever. One day, another neighbor, Clara Corrigan, witnessed Dr. Linda slamming her fist against 34-year-old Claire's emaciated thighs, back, stomach, and forehead. As Claire groaned through the treatment, Clara commented to Linda that the needing seemed too intense, but Linda had a quick answer for everything. She said the brutal massage served to promote circulation. Then she demanded the sisters relax and let go.

Later, when Linda was gone, Clara came back to give Claire a sponge bath and saw that she had bruises all over her body. 38-year-old Dora wasn't in as dire physical condition as her younger sister, but mentally she was far worse. She seemed to be in a constant state of delirium. Dora couldn't converse. with her sister. She could only rise periodically for a sip of orange juice. The sole sustenance Linda allowed her to consume. It's unclear if Linda treated all of her patients with the same

level of attention that she devoted to the Williamson sisters, but her strict regimen made Claire and Dora feel as if the doctor had taken a special interest in their case, though it wasn't the sister's well-being Linda was concerned with as much as their wealth. In March of 1911, when the The sisters were so weak they could barely walk or think straight. Linda started asking questions about their finances. At first, it was just casual chit-chat while she gave them their daily massage. Was it hard for them to manage their affairs so far from home? Was there anyone they answered to as far as money was concerned?

The sisters revealed they had complete control over their money. This, of course, was just what Linda wanted to hear. eagerly, she offered to keep their valuables safe in her office. At first, the sisters declined. There was no need for that. But Linda insisted, and they were in no state to fight her. So the pair handed over their jewelry as well as their deeds to land in Vancouver. But by now, the sisters were so weak and frail that even Linda's nurse, Nellie Sherman, was concerned.

Behind Linda's back, she contacted Dr. Augusta Brewer, an osteopath who'd tried. treated Claire in the past. At this point, Claire had been fasting for over 30 days, and Dora for over 40. Dr. Brewer urged Nellie to feed the girls more sustenance and said that Linda's methods were out and out dangerous. But Nellie explained that Dora and Claire wouldn't eat anything more than what Linda recommended. As the days stretched on, Nellie's conscience only grew heavier. Soon, she also confided in Dorothea Keck, a cashier at the local grocery store. Nellie told Keck that she regretted working under Linda. She said, if I knew what I was undertaking with the Williamson girls, I would never take another case like it. It's not worth

it. But though Nellie nearly reached a breaking point, she stayed loyal to Linda. Philosopher Hannah Arendt calls this the banality of evil. Arrent explains that even normal people, can commit wicked crimes without questioning their actions simply because someone in a position of power has ordered them to do so. And in the case of Nellie Sherman, there's no doubt that Linda's power and charm increased her loyalty. Linda was Nellie's employer and therefore entirely responsible for her livelihood. It's not surprising she stayed with the doctor despite the horror she witnessed every day.

She likely felt as if she had no choice. In April of 1911, two months into the Williamson Sisters fasting regimen, Linda announced that her sanitarium in Olala was a better place for them than Seattle. Two hours from the city, the Olala property was still unfinished and had no electricity, but 43-year-old Linda deemed it sufficient for her eager patience. To the sisters, Linda was simply fulfilling her promise, but Linda had more nefarious reasons. to bring the two women to O'Lala. Out in the remote coastal town, Linda could further seclude the sisters. There were no curious neighbors in O'Lala, and further isolation meant more dramatic manipulation, and the weaker they got, the closer Linda got to their inheritance. On April 21, 1911, a pair of ambulances arrived to take the incredibly frail Claire and Dora

to the ferry. The sister's neighbor, Mary Farrie. fields came to say goodbye. Looking at the women, she guessed that Claire weighed around 70 pounds, and Dora was only slightly more. Linda hovered over each sister, speaking to each as she would a child, pulling their blankets closer around their withered bodies. To the sisters, she was their mother, their best friend, their caretaker. But to the neighbors gathered outside, Linda cut a more imposing figure. She was directly responsible for their skeletal figures. And once they left, no one expected to see the sisters alive again.

Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back next time with Part 2 of Linda Hazard, as she does her best to get her murderous hands on the Williamson Sisters wealth. For more information on Dr. Linda Burfield-Hassard, amongst the many sources we used, we found Starvation, Heights by Greg Olson, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Serial Killers and all other originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time.

Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler and is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Nick Johnson, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden, and Joshua Kern. This episode of serial killers was written by Bailey Benningfield and Joanna Philbin, with writing assistance by Abigail Cannon and stars Greg Polson and Vanessa Richardson. If you're ready to get into the spooky spirit of the season, remember to follow Haunted Places Ghost Stories.

Every Thursday, Alistair Merton brings a new surprising, chilling, spine-tingling story to life. Follow Haunted Places Ghost Stories free 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.