My Favorite Murder – Minisode 453

Date: September 15, 2025
Hosts: Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark
Podcast Network: Exactly Right / iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

Minisode 453 features Karen and Georgia reading and reacting to favorite listener-submitted stories—this time, including wild home invasions, vintage true crime, generational "curses," accidental "kidnappings," pool dog legends, and creepy kid moments. With their signature blend of dark humor and empathy, the hosts offer reactions, support, life advice, and plenty of laughs.

Key Discussion Points & Listener Stories

1. The Home Invasion Sleeper

Timestamps: [02:45 – 04:08]

• A listener, Krystal Marie, recounts sleeping through a terrifying home invasion where her brother narrowly escaped—a fake gun, quick-thinking family, and police intervention.
• The invader even tried her bedroom door but left when it was locked.
• The next morning, the mom calmly relayed the ordeal "like it was a casual weather update" ([03:39]).
• Quote (Karen, 03:37):
  • "Hell, yeah."
• Host reaction: Amazed she slept through it, joking about avoiding trauma and comparing it to sleeping under Ambien.

2. Vintage True Crime: The Disappearing Murderess

Timestamps: [04:21 – 07:05]

• A story about Lucille Hartman Witt (husband's great-grandfather's cousin) who shot and killed her husband in a dramatic, public way, then surrendered ("I'm ready to go to jail" [05:38]).
• Revealed to have previously shot another husband—and later escaped prison by swapping clothes with a male visitor. She was never found.
• Georgia: "That should be a full episode!" ([06:35])
• Hosts riff, imagining Lucille as some secret, beloved celebrity (“And that woman became Betty White” [06:42]).

3. The Podcast’s Place in Listeners’ Lives

Timestamps: [07:01 – 07:19]

• Story contributor Laura shares her long-time fandom and the milestones she’s passed since MFM’s start—graduating, earning a master’s, working as a therapist.
• Hosts joke about never finishing college and wanting honorary degrees, reflecting on how they've been part of listeners' lives.

4. The "Curse" of School & Family Loss

Timestamps: [10:36 – 14:18]

• Each childhood school milestone for a listener coincides with a family member’s death—kindergarten, middle school, college, even an MFA dream haunted by this pattern.
• The writer describes funerals, guilt over feeling relief, and funny/sad coping moments (e.g., hiding with her brother in the family "library" during a grandmother's passing).
• Quote (Karen, 14:09):
  • "It's hard enough and everyone feels relieved. Yeah, it's very normal."
• The hosts reassure not to feel guilty for relief after a long illness: "You don’t need the guilt on top of the sadness." ([14:07])

5. Accidentally Kidnapped at the Canada Border

Timestamps: [14:18 – 17:57]

• Summer road trips with grandparents turn into accidental border drama when nervous cousin Timmy screams, "They can't drive me into another country!" ([16:01]) at the Canadian border.
• Authorities, lacking proof, temporarily detain the kids in a room with raisins and interrogate everyone.
• Grandpa’s status as a NY State Supreme Court Justice saves the day; a judge verifies their story hours later.
• The only highlight: grandma buys a glitter wand at a rest stop ([17:47]).
• Georgia: "Send us your accidental kidnapping stories." ([18:00])
• Karen: "All actors in these stories must be like Timmy’s grandparents—of good faith." ([18:11])

6. Public Pool Legend: Dylan the Diving Dog

Timestamps: [20:46 – 25:24]

• Listener "Tree" recalls her beloved family dog Dylan, famous for following kids everywhere, who one day lines up at the public pool's diving board and jumps in—three times—before lifeguards intervene.
• Sister, embarrassed, tells kids "pretend you don't know him," but Dylan is the pool's star.
• Georgia and Karen enthusiastically imagine what breed Dylan was and reminisce about the "free range kids and dogs" era of the ‘70s.
• Quote (Karen, 25:24):
  • "Tree. Legendary email. The dog got in line."

7. Trash Kid or Creepy Kid?

Timestamps: [25:46 – 28:42]

• At age 9, a listener and friends discover animal bones (actually a deer, but they think dinosaur), tote them back to a ballgame, and alarm all the parents.
• Karen and Georgia delight in the macabre curiosity of children, drawing parallels to "Stand By Me," and Karen shares that her own dog Frank brings her deer bones ("just a spine" [29:27]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On sleeping through trauma:
  • Georgia: "Good job. Sleeping through a fucking hostage situation through trauma." ([04:10])
• On vintage murder:
  • Karen (after prison escape): "Shut the fuck up." ([06:03])
• On being podcast companions for big life milestones:
  • Georgia: "It's crazy that we can go—like, we've been through so many people's existences." ([07:08])
• On the "curse":
  • Karen: "Just stop educating yourself." ([13:02])
• On the Canada detainment:
  • Timmy at border: "They can't drive me into another country!" ([16:01])
  • Georgia (sarcastic re: snacks for kids): "Gross. You're not getting anything out of me with fucking a box of raisins." ([16:37])
• On the pool dog:
  • Karen: "He got in line like, he's a dog, and he got in line for a diving board." ([24:17])
  • Georgia: "You're the fucking star of the pool. That's my brother. Star." ([24:56])
• On bone collecting:
  • Georgia: "Kids are so creepy, so gross." ([28:42])
• On dogs bringing in bones again and again:
  • Karen: "And the other day, I was walking… just a spine." ([29:27])

Segment Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |---------|--------------------------------------------| | 02:45 | Home invasion sleeper story | | 04:21 | Vintage murder & vanishing act | | 07:01 | Listener life milestones/hosts reflect | | 10:36 | School/family 'curse' | | 14:18 | Road trip to Canada—accidental "kidnapping"| | 20:46 | Dylan, the dog who dived in the pool | | 25:46 | Child finds "dinosaur bones" (deer) | | 29:08 | Karen's dog, Frank, brings home bones |

Tone & Style

• The hosts’ trademark blend of dark humor and warmth is ever-present, balancing laughter, empathy, and tongue-in-cheek life advice.
• Karen and Georgia riff on each other's childhood memories and encourage listeners to send in more wild, weird, and even unsettling tales.
• There’s a consistent theme of celebrating survival, finding humor in hard times, and being “sexy and not getting murdered.”

Listener Callouts

• Send stories of accidental kidnap scenarios, pool dog antics, bone discoveries (animal or otherwise), and any "fucked up bone stories" (broken limbs, metal plates, etc.).

Summary:
This episode is a prime example of My Favorite Murder’s cult-fave Minisodes: deeply personal, shocking, and often hilarious listener stories, with Karen and Georgia’s signature reactions and life lessons. From sleeping through a home invasion, to discovering dinosaur "bones," to reluctant educational curses, Minisode 453 is an entertaining ride for murderinos and new listeners alike.

Stay sexy and don’t get murdered!