Georg Honauer was maybe a scientist. He was maybe a goldsmith. He was definitely, a fraudulent alchemist in the service of Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg. And when he couldn't fulfill the sensational promises he made -- turning 2 tons of iron into 2 tons of gold, the duke ordered his execution. Welcome to Criminalia, where all that glitters is not gold.

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Georg Honauer was maybe a scientist. He was maybe a goldsmith. He was definitely, a fraudulent alchemist in the service of Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg. And when he couldn't fulfill the sensational promises he made -- turning 2 tons of iron into 2 tons of gold, the duke ordered his execution. Welcome to Criminalia, where all that glitters is not gold. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

Criminalia

Georg Honauer was a goldsmith and alchemist and charlatan who claimed that he could convert iron into gold. When he failed to produce this gold, his execution was ordered by Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg.

Georg Honauer and the Counterfeit Gold

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1c44bd4a-3fa5-477f-89fb-ae2d0173cfc5/transcript

Lester Warfel Brockelhurst, Jr. was the president of the Mormon church's Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association and he was a Sunday school teacher -- he was generally and genuinely known as a, “good boy.” But in his early 20s, he picked up a new nickname: "crime tourist,” after he and his girlfriend, Bernice Felton, pulled off multiple robberies and killed three men during a six-week crime spree that spanned across more than a dozen states in 1937. 

Lester Warfel Brockelhurst, Jr. was the president of the Mormon church's Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association and he was a Sunday school teacher -- he was generally and genuinely known as a, “good boy.” But in his early 20s, he picked up a new nickname: "crime tourist,” after he and his girlfriend, Bernice Felton, pulled off multiple robberies and killed three men during a six-week crime spree that spanned across more than a dozen states in 1937.

Lester Brockelhurst and Bernice Felton and the 'Crime Tourist' Murders

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/604105a3-50cd-4198-90e4-b1f40148a6ac/transcript

This story is one of murder, but it's also a tale of woe. It begins when a young ship's steward named Frederick 'Freddy' Bywaters became involved with a married woman named Edith Thompson. They had known each other growing up in the same London suburb as her husband Percy Thompson; and, it was generally considered that Freddy would marry Edith's sister, Avis. But life doesn't always work out the way you think it will -- and he ended up being executed for Percy's murder. And so did Edith. History now suggests maybe she wasn't a woman who killed for her lover, but, rather, a witness to the event. Were Freddy and Edith partners in murder, or was Edith sentenced to death for adultery?

This story is one of murder, but it's also a tale of woe. It begins when a young ship's steward named Frederick 'Freddy' Bywaters became involved with a married woman named Edith Thompson. They had known each other growing up in the same London suburb as her husband Percy Thompson; and, it was generally considered that Freddy would marry Edith's sister, Avis. But life doesn't always work out the way you think it will -- and he ended up being executed for Percy's murder. And so did Edith. History now suggests maybe she wasn't a woman who killed for her lover, but, rather, a witness to the event. Were Freddy and Edith partners in murder, or was Edith sentenced to death for adultery?

How Her Illicit Love Letters Got Edith Thompson Hanged for a Murder

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a6ad0890-cde5-4217-bfec-b1ee001974a5/transcript

Joseph Bowers is considered the first prisoner to try escaping Alcatraz, but was killed during his attempt. The next to attempt it was a pair of conspiring inmates named Ted Cole and Ralph Roe. Both men had long rap sheets and were known escape risks -- including from high security facilities. As a last resort, each was sentenced to time at the most inescapable prison in the United States: Alcatraz. With hindsight, and it's easy for us to say with time on our side, maybe they should have been kept apart, because these prisoners-in-crime totally escaped Alcatraz Island, and were never seen again.

Joseph Bowers is considered the first prisoner to try escaping Alcatraz, but was killed during his attempt. The next to attempt it was a pair of conspiring inmates named Ted Cole and Ralph Roe. Both men had long rap sheets and were known escape risks -- including from high security facilities. As a last resort, each was sentenced to time at the most inescapable prison in the United States: Alcatraz. With hindsight, and it's easy for us to say with time on our side, maybe they should have been kept apart, because these prisoners-in-crime totally escaped Alcatraz Island, and were never seen again.

The Disappearance of Ted Cole and Ralph Roe From Alcatraz: Dead or Alive?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/131870b0-1952-463f-9d1b-b1e700bbf96a/transcript

Georg Honauer and the Counterfeit Gold

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Criminalia

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