1 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: Diversion audio. A note this episode contains mature content and 2 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: descriptions of violence that may be disturbing for some listeners. 3 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: Please take care in listening. Letitia was thirty six years 4 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: old when she got her first newspaper job. It was 5 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: at Laura, a left wing daily newspaper in her home 6 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: city of Palermo, Sicily, Italy, and she'd gotten lucky. It 7 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: was August and everyone was out of town, so they 8 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: needed a catch all person to do odd jobs like typing, writing, 9 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: and photographing. She was only on the job three days 10 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: when she photographed her first murder. The crew drove out 11 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: to the country to a picturesque olive grove where the 12 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,679 Speaker 1: corpse had lain for some time before. It was reported. 13 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: She would never forget the smell. It was a mafia casualty. 14 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy one. It was generally mafia killing mafia, 15 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: but it wouldn't take long to escalate into mafia killing 16 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: anyone who got in their way. This day was the 17 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: start of a story that would dominate the news cycle 18 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: for nineteen years. Before long, Letitia said it would become 19 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: not uncommon for her to visit four or five such 20 00:01:47,240 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: scenes in a day. Welcome to the greatest true crime 21 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: stories ever told. I'm Mary Kay McBrayer. Today's episode, we're 22 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: calling the Sicilian photographer who shot the Mafia. It's the 23 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,079 Speaker 1: story of a woman in Palermo who needed a job 24 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: to support herself and fell into a powerful photojournalist career, 25 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: a career that helped legislators end the Cosinastra as they 26 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: knew it. In the spring of twenty twenty three, we 27 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: took our honeymoon to Sicily. We didn't choose that location 28 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: only because The Godfather is one of my top three 29 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: favorite films, but also because we loved the second season 30 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: of White Lotus and Sicilian food is a combination of 31 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: Italian and Middle Eastern food, and we are big wine drinkers. 32 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: We also love an adventure. And it took two flights 33 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: plus an overnight train ride from Rome to get to 34 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: the island. And yes, you heard that right. We took 35 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: a train to an island. They rolled us right up 36 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: onto a ferry, scooted across the Strait of Messina and 37 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: it was just an hour or so before we arrived 38 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: in Tarmina. We took our time, making our way across 39 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: the north coast by train, note I do not recommend 40 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: roller board bags for centuries old cobblestones. But the city 41 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: of Palermo was incredibly beautiful and delicious, and everything was 42 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: tiled naturally. Because I am a nerd, we had to 43 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: walk through every museum and dip into every bookstore on 44 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: the off chance they might have an Inclish language section. 45 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: And in a bookstore in the new part of Palermo 46 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: I learned about Lititzia Battaglia. All the texts were naturally 47 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: in Italian. By the way, I do not speak Italian. 48 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: It's embarrassing how much I do not speak Italian, So 49 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: thank you for your patients in pronouncing these names and places. Still, 50 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: the lack of source material in English only encouraged me 51 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:40,279 Speaker 1: to look for Lititia harder. It was pretty serendipitous for 52 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: this season. I wanted to cover the Mafia, but that 53 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: syndicate is a notorious boys club. If you're not super 54 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: familiar with the Cassa nostra, let me explain in very 55 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: brief overgeneralized terms. In Italian, Cassa nostra means our thing. 56 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: It was an open secret in Sicily that gangs basically 57 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: ran everything in America. We romanticized the mafia. I don't 58 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: feel like it's fair to blame the Godfather exclusively. Although 59 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: author Mario Puzzo straight up said it was a book 60 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: about family guys, my guess is that he meant family 61 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: with a capital F. Mostly, I blame our celebration of 62 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: the underdog. In and before the Second World War, Sicilians 63 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: immigrated to America on a huge scale. They fled Mussolini 64 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:39,479 Speaker 1: and famine caused in part by Mussolini, and they wanted 65 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 1: opportunities in general, like nearly all other immigrants of the time. 66 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: Of course, the land of opportunity also discriminated against immigrants, 67 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: and our mythology says that the mafia manifested as a 68 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: sort of underdog government to protect their residence, that the 69 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:03,160 Speaker 1: actual government wouldn't protect. Italian immigrants during that period also 70 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: fled the mafia, though because they weren't protecting anyone. It 71 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: was a straight up gang. And when you hear the 72 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: term gang by itself, you might think of discriminated against 73 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: racial minorities, indoctrinating children into their violent criminal lifestyle with 74 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: the promise of a brief but rich life or else, 75 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: and that is what the mafia was. According to the 76 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: No Mafia Museum in Palermo, there were three phases of 77 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: the Mafia's development. One social banditism or an act of 78 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,400 Speaker 1: rebellion arising from the living conditions of the subordinate classes. 79 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: That's the underdog we're romanticizing. And two involvement in the 80 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: separatist movement and in the formation of a voluntary army 81 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: for the independence of Sicily. And three massacres of police 82 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:06,400 Speaker 1: officials and attacks against socialist meetings. The next phase, and 83 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: the one we are dealing with. By the time Lititzia 84 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:13,040 Speaker 1: Battaglia was an adult, was just power for the sake 85 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: of power, and violence for the sake of violence. I'm 86 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: embarrassed to say I didn't know about Lititzia Battaglia before 87 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: I visited Palermo, because she is a legend. Like I said, 88 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: a lot of source material is in Italian, but my 89 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: main sources for researching this episode are the documentary Shooting 90 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: the Mafia and the article by Melissa Harris, the Sicilian 91 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: photographer who fought the mafia, and naturally Litzia's photographs. She 92 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: was fiercely heroic, headstrong and determined. But I'm getting ahead 93 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: of myself. Let's start at the beginning. Lititia grew up 94 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: in Palermo, and at that time, which was just after 95 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: the Second World War, the neighborhood where she lived was 96 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: also where the mafia did the dirty jobs. That's where 97 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: the killers lived and men ran everything. The first time 98 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: she left the house on her own as a pre adolescent, 99 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: she rode her bike through town and she saw a 100 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,439 Speaker 1: man expose himself and start masturbating. She didn't know what 101 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: that was. When she told her father, he responded by 102 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,079 Speaker 1: not letting her out of the house. He was very 103 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: domineering for her own safety, but also for his own power, 104 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: and then he sent her to a strict Catholic boarding school. 105 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: If you're a naturally defiant person, you can imagine how 106 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: that went. Lititia got married quote to the first man 107 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 1: who asked me, which I'm I mean the hubris of 108 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 1: knowing that multiple marriage proposals would come her way. I mean, 109 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: I love that many of us only get the one. Still, 110 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: when she was sixteen years old, she met her husband 111 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: in the street one day when she went out to 112 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,679 Speaker 1: get milk. His family checked the sheets for blood after 113 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: their wedding night. When they found it, they announced to 114 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: everyone that she'd been a virgin. I hate that. He 115 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: was also a very controlling man. I hate that too. 116 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 1: She wanted to continue her education and he thought it 117 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: wasn't appropriate. She had three children with him, and then 118 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,839 Speaker 1: she had a mental breakdown that resulted in a two 119 00:09:44,960 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: year convalescence at a Swiss hospital. It seems like the 120 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,560 Speaker 1: convalescence gave her the strength to leave her husband in 121 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one, at age thirty six. That's when she 122 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: got the newspaper job at Laura. She went to Milan 123 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: soon after and began writing for a newspaper there as well. 124 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: Rumor said she went to Milan to escape her soon 125 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,559 Speaker 1: to be ex husband. It seems like she had wanted 126 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: out of that marriage for a long time, for at 127 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: least the two years she was convalescing, and there were stories. 128 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: One story said that her husband caught her in bed 129 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: with a lover and then he tried to shoot the lover. 130 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: Another story said that he'd tried to shoot her and 131 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 1: that's when she finally left him and took their daughters 132 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: to Milan. But she came back to Palermo not long 133 00:10:50,600 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: after documentary. Three of her male coworkers come on and 134 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:09,079 Speaker 1: talk about her. The captions under their names read photographer 135 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: slash ex lover, which I found fascinating. Not because of 136 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: the infidelity, I can't abide that, but because she didn't 137 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 1: let a stifling marriage prevent her from living her life, 138 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: especially because most women at that time and place, which 139 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy one in Catholic sicily didn't see a way 140 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: out of marriages like this one. I also thought it 141 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: was interesting because they're still friends. The men clearly love 142 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: and respect her even if their affairs ended. Also, and 143 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 1: this is just a personal thing that I noticed and 144 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 1: that I don't see very often. All of Latititia's lovers 145 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 1: that I came across in my research are younger than 146 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 1: she is. I've heard it said before that younger men 147 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: are not afraid of powerful women, and this is just 148 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: support for that argument. My own husband is just three 149 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: years younger than me. But look, I'm going to count 150 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: myself among the powerful by any means I can get there. 151 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: But back to Palermo. Since the nineteen fifties, Laura had 152 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: quote made a reputation for covering stories involving the mafia 153 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: in Palermo. It appears to have been a respected publication 154 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: that also had budgetary constraints. In the documentary, Letitia says, 155 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: to look at what they're holding. In the photograph she holds, 156 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: each of the photographers has a part of the camera, 157 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: one with just the lens, one with the light source, 158 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,800 Speaker 1: et cetera. They had to share equipment. She would work 159 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,960 Speaker 1: there through nineteen ninety two. To be frank when she 160 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: landed the job, she didn't know she'd be shooting mafia murders, 161 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: but that's the news that was happening then, and frankly, 162 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: this woman had the determination to pull it off. The 163 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: barricades would let TV crews passed men from the media, 164 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: but they tried to bar Latitia. She didn't let them, 165 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: even when people nearby spat at her and cursed her 166 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: and smashed her cameras. And not to make light of 167 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: a serious situation, but that could be a reason for 168 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 1: their equipment shortage. I'm actually reminded of the opening scenes 169 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: of the very fictional film The Godfather. Remember when Sonny 170 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: smashed the reporter's cameras at Connie's wedding and then stuck 171 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: a wad of bills in his chest pocket. Now imagine 172 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,560 Speaker 1: that reporter was trying to take photos of a murdered relative. 173 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 1: Letitia said the job was very dangerous. She would set 174 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: up the exposure and timer and then cough to cover 175 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: the sound of the linz click. Her coworker confirmed that 176 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:14,200 Speaker 1: the photographers were very exposed. Everyone there knew who they were. 177 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 1: There was no hiding, They had no real protection. Sometimes, 178 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: when they returned from a job, they'd circle the block 179 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 1: once or twice before parking, just to check if they 180 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: were safe. At first, the mafia killed the mafia. Even so, 181 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: Letitia said, you can never be truly happy when you've 182 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: experienced that horror. She also said photographing trauma is embarrassing. 183 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: After all, at a murder crime scene, the body is 184 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:55,359 Speaker 1: not the only person at the site. The law enforcement 185 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: and the media are there, but so are their loved 186 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: ones or even passers by. They all feature often in 187 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: her photography, an older woman in an apron with her 188 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: hands clapped together, seeing a body lying flat by the 189 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: open door of a car on the other side of 190 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: the garage, or a line of children standing shocked behind 191 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: a smeared, wet puddle of blood after the corpse has 192 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: been cleared from the sidewalk. Letitia said, quote, you love 193 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: these people, but you have to take photos. I couldn't 194 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: tell them I was doing it with love. She might 195 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: have been taking photos out of love, but it didn't 196 00:15:42,040 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: take long until she weaponized those photographs to the greater good. 197 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: While Letitia was photographing the many crimes that happened in Palermo, 198 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: the mafia was being run from a little inland town 199 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 1: called Corleone, which probably sounds pretty familiar. The early nineteen 200 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: eighties were the period known as the Second Mafia Wars 201 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty one to eighty four is also known as 202 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: the Great Mafia War or the Matenza, which is Italian 203 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:42,680 Speaker 1: for slaughter. Thousands of people died during the early nineteen eighties. 204 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 1: There was still the violence within the mafia itself, but 205 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: there was also violence against the state, campaigns of planned 206 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: assassinations of politicians, activists, and detectives, not to mention the 207 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: murders of turncoats. The mafia family from Corleoni were the instigators. 208 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: I wanted to visit Corleoni on our honeymoon, since they 209 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 1: have a huge museum dedicated to preserving this part of 210 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: Sicilian history, but we didn't make it. I don't know 211 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:20,439 Speaker 1: if you know this about Sicily, but traffic laws there 212 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: are more like suggestions. We weren't used to that. Also, 213 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,800 Speaker 1: the roads through the mountains are winding and sometimes unpaved, 214 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: and your girl could barely drive around Tahoe without a 215 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: line of honking cars behind her. Plus neither of us 216 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: can really drive a manual transmission, and that didn't seem 217 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:45,120 Speaker 1: like a good time to learn. I got some solace 218 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: from that failure when I learned that The Godfather wasn't 219 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,719 Speaker 1: filmed there. Then it was still too dangerous to tangle 220 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,160 Speaker 1: with the mafia there. To be fair, they were shooting 221 00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:01,120 Speaker 1: in the early eighties, Coosan Nostra families and Polaire called 222 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:07,400 Speaker 1: the Koleonsi the peasants. This was before the Koleoni murdered 223 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:12,480 Speaker 1: the heads of families. On November thirtieth, nineteen eighty two, 224 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 1: twelve mafiosi were murdered in twelve separate incidents. Letitia's photographs 225 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: of the murders show the kind of odd if you know, 226 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: you know, messages like wearing a blanket, or the victim's 227 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: shirt pulled up to show the tattoo of Jesus crying 228 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 1: on his back. Honestly, I'm not sure what those particular 229 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: details mean, but the bodies were positioned deliberately staged almost 230 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: The only example I can think of to elaborate is 231 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:50,640 Speaker 1: when again in The Godfather, when the enforcer Luca Bratzi 232 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 1: goes missing and the family gets delivered a Sicilian message 233 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 1: of a dead fish meaning he sleeps with the fishes, 234 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 1: or actually he's been encased in a cement overcoat and 235 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,400 Speaker 1: dumped in the East River. And by the way, those 236 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: weirdly staged bodies were just the bodies that they recovered. 237 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: There was always the white shotgun method, in which the 238 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: body is completely destroyed or at least never found. These 239 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 1: guys were ruthless. The brutal Luciano Leggio became the new 240 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,960 Speaker 1: mafia boss of Corleoni by simply shooting the old one. 241 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,439 Speaker 1: But you know who wasn't dissuaded by any of this 242 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 1: at all, Letitia. In the documentary, they describe the misery 243 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: of Corleoni as its code of silence. No one reported 244 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: disappearances for fear that they would be next, which, if 245 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: you recall our opening, could be a reason why the 246 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: first body she ever photographed was left alone in that 247 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:16,400 Speaker 1: olive grove for so long. It was an open secret 248 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:21,200 Speaker 1: that Corleoni was the mafia headquarters. Its citizens were too 249 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 1: afraid to speak out, which given who they're dealing with, 250 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: seems completely justifiable. No one wants to fall on a 251 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:34,400 Speaker 1: grenade to no end, But as we know, to provide 252 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:39,359 Speaker 1: justice for a crime, judicial systems need evidence in what 253 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 1: seems like a call to action, or at least an 254 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,680 Speaker 1: inspiration to acknowledgment. Letitia and her crew took their work 255 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: to Corleoni for a sort of open viewing in the 256 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: early eighties, but when they took Letitia's photos to display 257 00:20:54,920 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: in a plaza in Corleoni, everyone cleared the square. Letitia 258 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,920 Speaker 1: hated the corruption. People were so afraid of the mafia 259 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: that they wouldn't stand up to it or really even 260 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: acknowledge it. So in nineteen eighty five she held a 261 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 1: seat on the Palermo City Council for the Green Party. 262 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: She hated that too, she said, because everything was decided elsewhere. 263 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: She said in her documentary, I did nothing and was 264 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: paid a fortune, and the mafia was still in control. 265 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 1: That is until Judge Giovanni Falconi's success as a prosecutor 266 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: brought him into an informal group called the Anti Mafia 267 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: pool back in nineteen sixty one. He'd graduated from the 268 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 1: University of Palermo law school and he practiced just three 269 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,439 Speaker 1: years before he became a judge. He was assigned to 270 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: investigate bankruptcy cases, which doesn't seem like it would have 271 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,400 Speaker 1: a whole lot to do with the mafia, but it did. 272 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: In February of nineteen eighty six, Giovanni Falconi led the 273 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: prosecution on one of the most famous trials in Sicilian history, 274 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:21,879 Speaker 1: the Maxi Trial. Let me tell you how the Maxi 275 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:26,680 Speaker 1: trial came about. On March thirty first, nineteen eighty six, 276 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:31,200 Speaker 1: years before the trial itself, a new law was drafted. 277 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 1: It introduced mafia conspiracy as a new crime to the 278 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 1: Italian legal system. It also allowed courts to seize and 279 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:47,959 Speaker 1: confiscate goods of people involved in mafia conspiracy. That was huge. 280 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,639 Speaker 1: Before this article four one six, the mafia had not 281 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 1: been recognized by the penal code at all. That meant 282 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: people did not consider mafia association a criminal offense, and 283 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:09,280 Speaker 1: by people I mean judges. That didn't just mean judges 284 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 1: could acquit because mafia conspiracy wasn't a crime, although it 285 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 1: did mean that, but it also meant that judges could 286 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: be in the mafia legally, so nineteen eighty was a 287 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: game changer. Palermo's anti mafia pool started combining investigating magistrates 288 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 1: who shared information, which spread out the burden of being 289 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:37,080 Speaker 1: the sole target. Because they were many, they diffused the 290 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: responsibility of being the one prosecuting the mafia. Falconi was 291 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: a big part of that pool. Falconi was a key member, 292 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 1: as was Paolo Borsellino, Giuseppe Dileillo, and several other magistrates. 293 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 1: The way I understand it, the anti mafia pool was 294 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 1: kind of the Italian equivalent of an American task force, 295 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 1: and it was hugely successful. Over the course of several years, 296 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:13,000 Speaker 1: the magistrates heard testimonies from the pentiti, or informants. Several 297 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: of the witnesses were high ranking mafiosi who turned when 298 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: they realized their own lives were on the line. The 299 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,159 Speaker 1: Maxi trial of nineteen eighty six was the first time 300 00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: the existence of the Casinastra was judicially confirmed. A total 301 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:35,399 Speaker 1: of four hundred and seventy four mafiosi were indicted. Not 302 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,960 Speaker 1: all of them were fingered by the informants directly, and 303 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: even if they were, the accusations had to be supported 304 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: by evidence. Falconi's tactic in bringing hundreds of mafia to 305 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:53,440 Speaker 1: court follow the money find the mafia, so simple, so effective. 306 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,360 Speaker 1: He followed the cash flow of drug trafficking and extortion 307 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:11,640 Speaker 1: and brought them all in. Letitia loved Falconi. Everyone who 308 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: hated the mafia loved Falcone. He was fearless, and he 309 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 1: was the one to finally get Luciano A Leggio. Well, actually, 310 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 1: Falconi was the one to make the charges stick to 311 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,639 Speaker 1: Luciano Leggio. He'd been in prison for manslaughter in the 312 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,440 Speaker 1: late nineteen forties and then again after the First Mafia 313 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,159 Speaker 1: War in nineteen sixty four. For those crimes, he was 314 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,800 Speaker 1: acquitted due to lack of evidence. His trials for those 315 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:46,960 Speaker 1: myriad crimes are widely regarded as farcical, since he'd been 316 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: ordering murders since nineteen fifty eight and there was blatant 317 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:57,240 Speaker 1: witness intimidation and witness tampering. Fourteen years later, he was 318 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 1: finally captured in Milan in nineteen seventy four, but he 319 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: still ran the mafia from his prison cell. Letitia had 320 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: photographed Leggio and the Mafiosi before. She said of Leggio 321 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,000 Speaker 1: that he was so arrogant that when he was arrested, 322 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,159 Speaker 1: he walked in front of the policeman, leading him like 323 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,640 Speaker 1: a dog on a leash. And he hated being photographed, 324 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,359 Speaker 1: especially by a woman. She said she was so nervous 325 00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: photographing him. That quote only one shot isn't blurred. She 326 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 1: also said if he could, he would have killed me. 327 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: And Leggio was famous for leaving no witnesses. Falconi is 328 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: the one who led the prosecution against him. Like I said, 329 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: hundreds of Mafiosi were at that Maxi trial. It took 330 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: place in an underground bunker style structure right next to 331 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,199 Speaker 1: the prison. If you watch the documentary, the layout of 332 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: the courtroom is kind of wild. They're all in like 333 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 1: prisons or cages around the court, watching and heckling during 334 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:08,119 Speaker 1: all the proceedings. Lititia did not go to that trial. 335 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,200 Speaker 1: She couldn't stand to look at them all. But also 336 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 1: maybe she couldn't stand for them to look at her. 337 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 1: She did always want to take a good photo of 338 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:31,879 Speaker 1: Judge Falcone, though, but he wouldn't let her. The media 339 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,959 Speaker 1: came down hard on him, and I really can't tell why. 340 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:39,160 Speaker 1: Maybe it's because that's what the media likes. To do anyway. 341 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: He wouldn't pose for photos because he thought it made 342 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 1: him look arrogant. Instead, he told her to take the 343 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,920 Speaker 1: photo while he walked past. Letitia always worried for him. 344 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 1: She said, they're going to kill you, and he consoled Lititzia, 345 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,840 Speaker 1: don't worry. If they kill me, someone else will take 346 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:05,440 Speaker 1: my place. She was right. The mafia bombed the motorway. 347 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 1: It's notorious under the name Capucchi bombing. It was May 348 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 1: twenty third, nineteen ninety two. A later informant described the attack, 349 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:22,159 Speaker 1: detailing who tunneled under the motorway, who packed the thirteen 350 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:27,159 Speaker 1: drums with TNT, who put them into place on a skateboard, 351 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:32,199 Speaker 1: and who actually pressed the button They did kill him. 352 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:37,960 Speaker 1: His assassination killed a total of five people, including Falcone's 353 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: wife and three of his security detail. One of Ltzia's 354 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:48,200 Speaker 1: most famous photographs is actually of one bodyguard's widow. The 355 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: widow said at the funeral that she forgave the mafiosi, 356 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: but she hoped they would change their ways. Lititzia was devastated. 357 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,400 Speaker 1: She couldn't go to the crime scene. She went instead 358 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 1: to the hospital to meet Falconi and his wife. They 359 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: both died there and she couldn't photograph him then either. 360 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: Latiticia photographed a lot of terrible murders ordered and executed 361 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,800 Speaker 1: by the mafia, but she couldn't bring herself to take 362 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:45,160 Speaker 1: photos of Falconi. Two months later, another murder happened that 363 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: she couldn't bear to photograph. Remember how Falcone said, if 364 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 1: they kill me, someone else will take my place. That 365 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 1: someone had been Paolo Borsellino. Paolo had been a part 366 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,400 Speaker 1: of the anti mafia pool, and he was also a 367 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:06,640 Speaker 1: prosecuting magistrate in the Maxi trial. He and Giovanni Falcone 368 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:11,040 Speaker 1: had been childhood friends who both grew up experiencing the 369 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: violence of the mafia. Some of their classmates had been mafiosi, 370 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: and they were determined to stop it out. The mafia 371 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: murdered Paolo Borsellino by a bomb just two months later, 372 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,840 Speaker 1: right in front of his mother's house on a Sunday. 373 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 1: Letitia did go to the side of this crime. She 374 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: remembered seeing bits of bodies. That was all that was left. 375 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: All that was left of Paolo was his stomach, and 376 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 1: she couldn't take a photo of just his stomach. She 377 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:06,120 Speaker 1: didn't take any photos of that massacre. She couldn't even 378 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:08,959 Speaker 1: take a photo of the car that got blown up 379 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: into a tree. She said in her documentary quote, the 380 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: photos I didn't take hurt me most. I miss them. 381 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: I feel disrespectful somehow. It's an interesting inversion to me. 382 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 1: Most of us regular people don't take photos of others 383 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 1: without their permission out of respect. Here, she felt the opposite. 384 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:38,360 Speaker 1: Their deaths deserved to be documented. She said in her 385 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:43,680 Speaker 1: documentary I hate these photos, referring to the mafia murders. 386 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 1: Suddenly I have an archive of blood. But that archive 387 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,760 Speaker 1: would be instrumental not only at the time the photos 388 00:31:52,800 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: were taken, but later. Just like Falcone predicted, the efforts 389 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:22,520 Speaker 1: of anti mafia investigators gradually came to fruition, and it 390 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: helped that by this time they had plenty of informants. 391 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,000 Speaker 1: I've said it before, and I'll keep repeating it forever. 392 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:36,840 Speaker 1: On a long enough timeline, everyone snitches. Julio Andreotti was 393 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 1: one of the most powerful Italian politicians, and through the 394 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: nineties he denied having contact with the mafia, which would 395 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 1: have been almost impossible even if it were true. One 396 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 1: important denial was that he denied ever knowing the Salvo 397 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:00,000 Speaker 1: cousins Ignazio and Nino. They were wealthy businessmen as best 398 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: I can tell, they were also powerful politicians who collected 399 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,240 Speaker 1: ten percent of the tax they collected on behalf of 400 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:11,800 Speaker 1: the government. It's not clear how legal that was, but 401 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,600 Speaker 1: it's clearly exploitation, legal or not. But in nineteen ninety three, 402 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: when they were following the money, they found evidence that 403 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:23,719 Speaker 1: the Salvos were on the take from the mafia, and 404 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:27,480 Speaker 1: they were suspicious that Giulio Andreotti was involved as well. 405 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:31,840 Speaker 1: Giulio said he didn't know them at all, but police 406 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:36,160 Speaker 1: combed through Letitia Bottaglia's photo archives and they found a 407 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 1: snapshot that proved otherwise. Back in nineteen seventy nine, she'd 408 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,800 Speaker 1: taken a photo at a hotel of Giulio Andreotti with 409 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:51,120 Speaker 1: Nino Salvo, which confirmed police suspicions that Nino was a 410 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:56,800 Speaker 1: sort of ambassador between the Casinastra and Palermo's politicians. That 411 00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:02,520 Speaker 1: photo illustrated Julio Andreotti's corrupt and helped convict Nino of 412 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 1: a murder, even though for reasons I don't understand, the 413 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:22,200 Speaker 1: conviction was overturned the following year. Letitia Battaglia died in 414 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:27,319 Speaker 1: Sheffalu Sicily in April of twenty twenty two, but in 415 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:30,319 Speaker 1: the documentary that released just a couple years before that, 416 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:35,960 Speaker 1: she was with her younger artist lover, still photographing. She 417 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:40,560 Speaker 1: photographed what she had always wanted to photograph, Sicilian life. 418 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:43,920 Speaker 1: Though she had wielded her camera as a weapon for 419 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 1: decades fighting against political corruption and day to day brutalism, 420 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:53,040 Speaker 1: her latest photos featured a different Sicilian way of life. 421 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:59,040 Speaker 1: They were of children gazing at birds and self portraits 422 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:30,280 Speaker 1: smoking in bed. Join me next week on the greatest 423 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 1: true crime stories ever told. For our first episode on 424 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:38,279 Speaker 1: Cassie Chadwick. She was a woman who defrauded her way 425 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 1: into Gilded Age high society as an impostor heiress. I'd 426 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:47,359 Speaker 1: like to shout out a few key sources that made 427 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,920 Speaker 1: it possible for me to tell this week's story, especially 428 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:55,040 Speaker 1: the documentary Shooting the Mafia, and of course the many 429 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,440 Speaker 1: supporting sources that are listed in our show notes and 430 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 1: for which I'm very grateful to have read in English translation. 431 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,399 Speaker 1: For more information about this case and others we cover 432 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 1: on the show, visit Diversionaudio dot com, sign up for 433 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: Diversion's newsletter and be among the first to hear about 434 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,319 Speaker 1: special behind the scenes features with hosts and actors from 435 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:22,960 Speaker 1: Diversion's podcasts, more shows you'll love from Diversion and our partners, 436 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:27,759 Speaker 1: and other exclusive tidbits you can't get anywhere else. That's 437 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:39,319 Speaker 1: diversionaudio dot com to sign up for the newsletter. The 438 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:42,759 Speaker 1: Greatest True Crime Stories Ever Told is a production of 439 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:48,120 Speaker 1: Diversion Audio. I'm Mary Kay McBrayer, and I hosted this episode. 440 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:52,400 Speaker 1: I also wrote this episode. Our show is produced and 441 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:58,320 Speaker 1: directed by Emma Demouth, edited by Antonio Enriquez, Theme music 442 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: by Tyler Cash. Executive producers Jacob Bronstein, Mark Francis, and 443 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:04,760 Speaker 1: Scott Waxman.