My Favorite Murder Episode 502: “Washington Favorites”

Released October 16, 2025, Hosted by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark

Episode Overview

In this special "quilt" episode, Karen and Georgia revisit two of their most gripping and memorable true crime stories from Washington State. As they prepare for a tour stop in Seattle, they present the stories of:

• The Seattle Cyanide Poisonings & Stella Nickel, covered by Georgia
• The Barefoot Bandit, Colton Harris Moore, covered by Karen

The conversation blends dark humor with empathy for victims, and their signature banter brings context and depth to these infamously strange cases.

Segment 1: The Seattle Cyanide Poisonings & Stella Nickel

[Starts 04:48] Georgia’s Story

Main Points and Events

• On June 11, 1986, Susan Snow, a mother of two from Auburn, WA, takes her usual morning dose of Extra Strength Excedrin for headaches and collapses shortly after. At the hospital, she dies.
• Assistant medical examiner Janet Miller notices a faint “bitter almonds” smell—classic for cyanide poisoning—though colleagues initially dismiss her observation.
  • Quote: “Yo, I fucking smell a very faint scent of bitter almonds. Which I am, I know from experience means cyanide.” (Karen, as Janet Miller, 07:02)
• Janet persists, documenting her suspicions, which leads (once tests confirm cyanide) to a major investigation. Her insistence may have saved further lives.
  • Quote: "Her fucking politeness and not staying in her lane might’ve saved a bunch of other lives." (Karen, 08:18)
• Investigators find 3 of the remaining capsules in Susan’s Excedrin bottle are also laced with toxic cyanide—her husband had narrowly avoided death.
• The murder shocks the nation, echoing the unsolved 1982 Chicago Tylenol Murders.
  • Quote: “The Chicago Tylenol murders scared the shit out of everyone… those murders four years later and to this fucking day have yet to be solved.” (Karen, 11:01)
• Paul, Susan’s husband, becomes a prime suspect (“Hawaiian Shirt Joe” as dubbed by the hosts), but then a tainted Excedrin bottle is found in a local grocery store—pointing to product tampering at-large.

Enter: Stella Nickel

• Stella Nickel claims her husband Bruce died similarly after taking Excedrin a week prior; his death had been attributed to emphysema, but she challenges this.
• Lab analysis finds cyanide in Bruce’s system and in two of Stella’s Excedrin bottles—she says she bought them at different stores, which investigators find suspicious given their rarity.
  • Quote: “Five bottles… whole country… and Stella had bought two of those at two different places. Quite a coincidence.” (Karen, 19:14)
• Forensics uncover calcium crystals from “algae destroyer”—an aquarium chemical—among the cyanide, and Stella is known for her fish tank hobby, placing her as the prime suspect.

Motive Uncovered

• Stella had taken out $76,000 in life insurance on Bruce, with an additional $100,000 for accidental death.
  • Quote: "It always does. It’s not just for fun." (Karen on life insurance as motive, 20:29)
• Investigation reveals:
  • Stella tried to poison Bruce earlier with foxglove.
  • She checked out library books on “human poisoning”; her fingerprints are recovered from the cyanide chapter.
  • She attempts to create a product-tampering panic to ensure Bruce’s cause of death is ruled accidental, thus collecting extra insurance.
  • Quote: “She poisoned her husband...so to get it back to the fucking poison. She went out...and put poisoned bottles on the shelf.” (Karen, 28:15)
• Her own daughter Cynthia (“a hard lived Molly Ringwald” per Karen) turns whistleblower, testifying about Stella’s past abuse and murder plotting.

Verdict & Aftermath

• Stella is convicted under the newly enacted federal anti-tampering laws: two 90-year terms for deaths, three 10-year terms for product tampering.
• She maintains her innocence and claims her daughter provided evidence for the reward money.
  • Quote: “But since…Stella Nickel continues to maintain her innocence.” (Karen, 30:56)

Notable Quotes & Humor

• Mock ballot measure: “You shouldn’t be allowed to be the coroner if you can’t smell cyanide.” (Georgia, 09:25)
• Tangent on fish tanks, action movies, and fake fish on TV shows (22:03–23:32)
• "She needed more algae destroyers…she loved those fish!" (Georgia, 21:46)

Segment 2: The Barefoot Bandit, Colton Harris Moore

[Starts 33:31] Karen’s Story

Main Points and Events

Troubled Beginnings

• Colton Harris Moore, born 1991, grows up in poverty and abuse on Camano Island, WA.
• His mother, Pam, is abusive and negligent; his father is a drug user who goes to prison early in Colton’s life.
• Severe psychiatric, behavioral challenges documented; CPS intervenes multiple times but can't extricate him from the home.

The Early Crimes

• At 12, Colt begins breaking into homes and local businesses, acting out as a way of seeking notice (“fucking up as a kid is a way of saying, ‘will someone please step in?’” Karen, 39:06)
• He’s in and out of juvenile detention, escalating to more serious burglaries, mostly in vacation homes—often living off the stolen goods and squatting.

The Escalation: “Barefoot Bandit” Era

• Evades authorities through the woods, breaks into homes, living off-grid. Leaves behind items like journals and takes selfies (43:23).
• Becomes infamous by learning to steal and fly small aircraft—with no formal training.
  • Notable: Flies through a whiteout at 13,000ft on his first flight, then crash lands but escapes (44:47).
  • Quote: “A 17-year-old steals a Cessna and is able to fly it somewhere. What 17-year-old…could drive a car, much less an airplane?” (Karen, 45:33)
• Over two years, steals and crash-lands at least five planes, several boats, and numerous vehicles across Pacific Northwest and Canada.
• Leaves bare footprints at some crime scenes, earning the “Barefoot Bandit” nickname despite usually wearing shoes.
• Social media explodes—a fan Facebook page garners over 100,000 followers. Merch arises (“Mama tried” T-shirts), while locals, less amused, crowdsource a bounty for his capture.
  • Quote: “Now it’s becoming international news…reporters from all over the globe travel to Camano Island…” (Karen, 51:42)
• His mother, Pam, is quoted: “I was going to send him to flight school, but I guess I don’t have to. But next time, I want him to wear a parachute.” (Karen, 50:12)

Outlaw Folk Hero / International Chase

• Daring acts, like leaving $100 at an animal hospital: “drove by, had extra cash, please use this money for the care of animals. Signed Colton Harris Moore, AKA the Barefoot Bandit.” (Karen, 55:00)
• Eventually flees to the Bahamas via stolen Cessna, commits burglaries, and enjoys notoriety.

Capture and Sentencing

• Caught after a boat chase; surrenders after threatening self-harm but throws his gun and laptop into the water.
• Pleads guilty in Bahamian court (sentenced to pay a fine for entering illegally), then extradited and indicted on multiple federal counts in the US.
• Mental health evaluations attribute his crime spree to depression, PTSD, and childhood hardship—he is remorseful, favorably viewed for rehabilitation.
• Plea deals ensure money from book/movie rights benefit his victims.
• Sentenced to 7 years jail plus 3 years probation; released to work-release in 2016, where he hopes to pursue aeronautical engineering but is restricted from profiting off his crimes or leaving the state.
  • Quote: “My intention is to build connections with people who are both clearly motivated…along the lines of problem solving, productivity, and accomplishing goals. This is what it’s all about.” (Karen, reading Colton’s LinkedIn, 68:19)
• Declines on GoFundMe for pilot training, sharing on Twitter that his “dream is crushed.”
• Today, describes himself as a “former international fugitive turned entrepreneur.”

Notable Quotes & Banter

• On the sympathy for Colton: “I mean, listen, breaking the law isn’t the way, but…sometimes you’re 17 and you’re depressed…” (Georgia, 69:06)
• On his legend: “You don’t want to celebrate it…but it’s also like, wow, he didn’t hurt anybody.” (Georgia, 69:36)
• On his errors: “He could have killed people…crashing those planes.” (Karen, 69:50)

Memorable Moments & Banter

• The hosts’ comedic chemistry: “Don’t get married. Don’t lie. Don’t cheat.” (Karen, 12:52)
• Tangents on ‘fake fish’ in movies and the show “Tanked” – paralleling Stella Nickel’s fish obsession (22:05–23:27)
• T-shirts, folklore, and social media satire linked to the Barefoot Bandit (51:42)
• Aunties never snitch: “The aunties don’t snitch. That’s their new saying.” (Georgia, 52:17)
• Georgia’s deadpan: “Can we get a TED Talk, please?” (Georgia, 68:26)

Important Timestamps

• [04:48] Start of Seattle Cyanide Poisonings / Stella Nickel
• [13:36] Discovery of tainted pills in multiple locations, investigation heats up
• [21:28] Dental insurance as motive, library evidence
• [28:15] Forensic evidence, Stella’s daughter’s testimony, conviction
• [33:31] Start of the Barefoot Bandit story
• [44:47] First airplane theft and flight
• [50:01] “Barefoot Bandit” nickname, folk hero status emerges
• [55:00] Robin Hood moment: $100 for animal shelter
• [58:49] The chase and capture in the Bahamas
• [62:21] Trial, sentencing, aftermath
• [68:26] Colton’s philosophy on life, modern updates

Tone & Style

Karen and Georgia mix empathy for the victims and perpetrators with irreverent banter, tangential humor, and pop culture references. Both inject personal asides, vivid (sometimes comically macabre) commentary, and a conversational warmth that invites listeners into the story—e.g., imagining made-for-TV movies with “Peggy Bundy” and “Molly Ringwald.”

Takeaway

“Washington Favorites” showcases the strange, sad, and sensational side of true crime, filtered through Karen and Georgia’s charm and curiosity. Both the Stella Nickel and the Barefoot Bandit stories are reminders of the extremes of human motivation—greed, desperation, and ingenuity—and the ways in which ordinary people are sometimes thrust into national headlines.

Karen: “Thank you. Good job, Colton.”
Georgia: “Yeah. I mean, listen, you know… breaking the law isn’t the way, but sometimes… you’re 17 and you're depressed…” [69:06]

Stay sexy, and don’t get murdered.