MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories

Episode: Touch Me and Die (Podcast Exclusive)

Date: January 5, 2026
Host: John Allen (MrBallen) | Ballen Studios

Overview

In this episode, MrBallen unravels the chilling and convoluted true story of Bobby Curley, an electrician from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, who died a horrific and mysterious death in 1991. What at first appeared to be a tragic workplace accident gradually revealed itself as a calculated and nearly perfect murder involving rare poison, family intrigue, and a multi-year investigation that almost went cold. Delivered in MrBallen’s signature suspenseful, conversational tone, this harrowing narrative examines how seemingly ordinary events can mask the darkest crimes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: A Lab, a Note, and a Lethal Mystery

[00:00-02:19]

• Introduction:
  MrBallen sets the atmosphere with an investigator discovering a messy college chemistry lab, a rag marked “Thallium wiping rag. Touch me and die,” and the realization that even investigators could be at risk.
• Memorable Quote:
  “When he read that note, he was astonished because he realized he could be the next to die.” (MrBallen, 00:38)

2. Bobby Curley’s Decline

[02:19-13:58]

• Bobby, recently remarried to Joanne and planning a future with a potential settlement from Joanne’s previous husband’s wrongful death, starts feeling unwell at a renovation job site—a university chemistry building cluttered and ill-prepared.

• Despite severe fatigue and pain, Bobby chalks up his symptoms to overwork and stress, only to worsen dramatically over a week: numb hands, burning legs, inability to stand, screaming pain.

• Initial misdiagnosis at the hospital as Guillain–Barré syndrome; temporary improvement with medication, but symptoms return, now with hair loss.

  “At this point, Bobby had to admit to himself that this was not a symptom of overworking. He was sick. Like something was wrong with him.” (MrBallen, 10:27)

3. The Medical Mystery Deepens

[13:58-20:39]

• Doctors, now stumped, transfer Bobby to a major hospital in Hershey, PA, where his suffering becomes so intense he must be physically restrained.

• After nine more days of futile tests and increasing agony, doctors finally diagnose “thallium toxicity”—an extraordinarily rare, highly regulated and dangerous poison.

• Family is devastated as doctors explain there’s no antidote, and soon Joanne must make the agonizing decision to take Bobby off life support.

  “Thallium is an extremely toxic chemical. In fact, it can kill anyone who touches it, ingests it, or even just inhales its fumes.” (Dr. Brennan, paraphrased, 17:20)

4. Investigation: Accident or Crime?

[20:39-29:11]

• Investigators convene: Bobby had 900 times the lethal dose of thallium in his body. Was this a tragic lab accident or deliberate poisoning?

• A key finding: a rag labeled as dangerous but found free of thallium; all chemical vials accounted for; no lab contamination—yet Bobby, Joanne, and her daughter Angela all test positive for microscopic thallium exposure (only Bobby fatally poisoned).

• Family members raise suspicions about Joanne’s cold behavior during Bobby’s illness; investigators remain cautious and open-minded.

  “She stayed downstairs with her daughter and totally ignored them. She didn’t even pretend to want to help.” (David, Bobby’s brother, 26:04)

5. The Iced Tea Theory & A Crucial Break

[29:11-35:43]

• Joanne, under questioning, provides an odd but oddly specific account: Bobby’s thermos, used daily and sometimes returning home with leftover iced tea, was poured back into the communal pitcher—explaining why she and her daughter had trace exposure but no fatal dose.

• Forensic testing: Thallium detected only on Bobby’s thermos, not in the home’s pitcher or fridge.

• Investigators turn focus back to the workplace and Bobby’s coworkers, especially after two fail polygraph tests—yet no hard evidence emerges.

  “Traces of thallium were found on the little ridges at the top of the thermos where the lid screwed back on. And this was huge.” (MrBallen, 34:23)

6. Dead Ends and Cold Trails

[35:43-41:00]

• Months drag on; all coworker leads dry up, polygraphs inconclusive, and university continues to assert no chemical theft.

• Detective Cawley is forced to close the case, with no clear suspect or method—until renewed technology offers a final chance.

  “The case was officially cold. And so, since Cawley could not revive it, all he could do was close the case file and stick it in a drawer.” (MrBallen, 40:30)

7. Technological Breakthrough and the Truth

[41:00-45:00]

• In 1994, toxicology advances allow for timeline reconstruction via Bobby’s hair. Joanne permits exhumation, believing it’ll help—but the evidence is damning.

• Timeline reveals poisoning began in October 1990, with repeated doses escalating into the fatal phase in August 1991.

• This rules out coworkers and even Bobby’s brother David, pointing squarely at Joanne: only she had long-term access.

  “She had actually started poisoning him almost a year before she actually murdered him. But investigators didn’t realize this until a new type of toxicology test allowed them to figure out exactly when Bobby was being poisoned.” (MrBallen, 44:18)

8. Motive and Means

[45:00-46:30]

• Motive: freshly named beneficiary of Bobby’s life insurance policy and unwillingness to share her impending wrongful death settlement. The murder was financial, with chilling calculation.
• Thallium source: old rat poison from before the substance was banned, still accessible in rare households.

9. Justice and Aftermath

[46:30-47:30]

• Joanne Curley is arrested in 1996, pleads guilty to first degree murder, and serves 20 years in prison (released 2016).

  “Joanne’s motive was money. She did not want Bobby to have any of that financial windfall she was gonna get from the death of her earlier husband...” (MrBallen, 45:49)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the horror of thallium poisoning:
  “He was literally periodically screaming in pain, and he also had begun to vomit.” (MrBallen, 11:47)

• On the chilling clue:
  “Touch me and die.” (Lab note, 00:24)

• On the endurance of suspicion:
  “She and her daughter had also been exposed to thallium. So that could mean that they too accidentally were exposed to this chemical... Or Joanne could be the poisoner.” (MrBallen, 28:10)

• Breakthrough science ending the case:
  “Basically, every time Bobby was poisoned, a chemical marker was left behind in his hair... the strands became timelines...” (MrBallen, 44:01)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Opening scenario in the lab | 00:00 – 01:17 | | Bobby’s home life and first symptoms | 02:19 – 10:27 | | Bobby’s pain, diagnosis, hospitalization | 10:27 – 13:58 | | Thallium poisoning diagnosis | 13:58 – 17:20 | | Family and forensic perspectives | 17:20 – 20:39 | | Detectives’ steakhouse discussion | 20:39 – 24:45 | | Suspicions, ice tea theory | 24:45 – 34:23 | | Testing the thermos and failed polygraphs | 34:23 – 41:00 | | Exhumation and new toxicology testing | 41:00 – 44:18 | | Joanne’s arrest, sentencing, and motive | 45:00 – 47:30 |

Conclusion & Takeaways

• The tragic demise of Bobby Curley at the hands of his wife Joanne is a study in methodical, hidden evil—a murder so slow and insidious it outwitted the best investigators for years.
• Modern science (timeline toxicology) was pivotal in bringing closure and justice.
• MrBallen’s storytelling underscores the reality that beneath life’s routine, unimaginable darkness can hide.

If you enjoyed this summary or want the immersive details and tone, the full episode captures the suspense and empathy MrBallen brings to true crime storytelling.