MFM Minisode 473

Summary

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My Favorite Murder Minisode 473 – Detailed Summary

Date: February 2, 2026
Hosts: Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark
Episode Theme:
Listener Hometown Stories: Near-encounters with infamous criminals, neighborhood true crime mayhem, instrument lore with a criminal twist, accidental terror plot, family milestones inspired by the show, and a heartwarming tale of "reverse dog kidnapping."

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1. John Wayne Gacy Almost-Victim Story (01:54–04:14)

Main Points:

• Listener Story: Subject: "My dad was almost John Wayne Gacy's first murder victim" (Kristin Murphy).
  • Kristin's dad, Jeff, hitchhiked in 1972 on his way to a Cheech and Chong concert.
  • He was picked up by a "smaller and stockier" man who became inappropriately forward, causing Jeff to panic and demand to be let out.
  • Years later, Jeff recognized the driver as John Wayne Gacy after his arrest.
  • The timing coincides with Gacy's first murder.

Notable Quotes:

• Georgia [02:00]: "Holy shit."
• Karen [03:35]: "My dad panicked, knocked his arm off, and yelled at him to pull the car over immediately or he would grab the wheel and wreck the car."
• Georgia [04:09]: "Jesus."
• Karen [04:10]: "SSDGM. Fuck politeness. Kristin Murphy."

Additional Discussion:

• Georgia discusses new literature written about Gacy, including "Postmortem" by Courtney Lund O'Neill [04:32–04:51].
• Karen: "He was kind of one of my entrees in. ... There's like a lot of people in the Chicago area that have those kinds of 70s stories of like, cause the hitchhiking and all that stuff." [04:55]

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2. Hellacious San Francisco Neighborhood (05:16–08:16)

Main Points:

• Listener Story: "Longtime listener, first time writer," referencing previous episode themes.
  • In 2017, listener’s teenage brother saved their house from burning down after an arson in their San Francisco neighborhood.
  • A wave of violent incidents: drive-by shooting, attempted arson with a Molotov cocktail, and the revelation that a jailed neighbor orchestrated these attacks.
  • The family discovered that a neighbor had been “swatting” them for years, leading to an armed police raid, which the parents de-escalated.

Notable Quotes:

• Georgia [06:15]: "My brother saved the whole house from burning down."
• Karen [08:06]: "God, that's so violent. And then, like, it happening over and over... horrifying."
• Georgia [08:16]: "It makes me like, you know, that neighbor's dog barking all the time isn't such a bad thing."

Additional Discussion:

• Reflections on what constitutes a "bad neighbor" and personal anecdotes about being the "problem neighbor" in the Upper Haight in San Francisco.

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3. Mafia Banjo – The Capone Connection (10:24–15:38)

Main Points:

• Listener Story: Gavin from Queens, NY, is a professional banjo restorer.
  • Received photos of a high-end 1928 Bacon and Day Silver Belle NE+ Ultra 9 tenor banjo, engraved for Sammy Mosmano.
  • Research revealed Sammy was a musician in Chicago, connected to Al Capone. Capone allegedly bought the banjo for him, and Sammy taught Capone how to play.
  • Sammy's brother was a defense attorney and judge; gangster drama ensued, including a post-gig mugging.
  • Sammy retired with a peaceful family life after escaping the mob.

Notable Quotes:

• Karen [11:32]: "To those who don't know what that is, it's basically like the Rolls Royce of banjos."
• Georgia [13:01]: "I was thinking that, oh my God."
• Karen [13:05]: "Apparently Sammy Masmano had quite the career. He was involved with the Chicago mafia and played with orchestras hired by Al Capone for his parties."
• Georgia [15:02]: "That's a podcast. Yeah. Of like, stories about your instrument."

Additional Discussion:

• Hosts riff about launching a podcast series of musical instrument history stories.
• Georgia admires the banjo's artistry and encourages listeners to send in similarly fascinating music stories.

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4. Therapy Journals & Accidental Terror Plot (15:45–19:37)

Main Points:

• Listener Story: Combines "stories you can never live down" and "vetoed wedding speech” prompts.
  • The listener’s sister, undergoing therapy, kept a “worst-case scenario” journal; one entry described a terrorist attack at Rogers Arena—with detailed maps.
  • She lost the journal at the hockey game, which included her full name and diagrams—inside the actual stadium, causing a panic.
  • The event became a family legend, but the sister has not been banned from Rogers Arena.

Notable Quotes:

• Georgia [16:50]: "I fucking love that."
• Karen [19:37]: "A I mean, thank God those other stories were in there. ... I think it is just somebody trying to work through some stuff."

Additional Discussion:

• Both hosts discuss the usefulness of writing out grief scenarios, especially concerning beloved pets, and share personal coping strategies.

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5. "Pappy": Family Nicknames and Podcast Influence (21:43–23:55)

Main Points:

• Listener Story: A high school teacher and long-time listener announces her pregnancy to her whiskey-enthusiast father by gifting a thematically relevant bottle; uses bottle names as clues (Old Granddad, McLaughlin's Grandma's Rocking Chair, Uncle Nearest).
• Dad, inspired by the show's Pappygate episode, chooses "Pappy" as his grandpa nickname.
• Listener credits show for support throughout her teaching career and therapy journey.

Notable Quotes:

• Karen [23:23]: "That's it. I'm going to be Pappy. ... We named a grandpa."
• Georgia [23:55]: "Oh my God. Stop with this."

Additional Discussion:

• Georgia shares her own family’s assortment of grandparent nicknames, discussing their sweetness.

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6. Reverse Kidnapping: The Accidental Dog Adoption (24:11–27:22)

Main Points:

• Listener Story: Amanda writes about "reverse kidnapping"—her family fostered (then adopted) a greyhound, Dimitri, from a rescue group.
• The dog was informally made a family member when the rescue quietly listed him as adopted while he was still in their care.
• Amanda emphasizes the joy and blessing Dimitri brought to the family.

Notable Quotes:

• Amanda (via Georgia) [26:41]: "When fate or determined rescue brings a dog into your life, accept the blessing. Much love, Amanda."
• Georgia [26:58]: "Italian greyhound. Like, if you ever get a chance to own a greyhound, just do it."

Additional Discussion:

• The hosts extol the virtues of greyhounds, their personalities, and the rescue group’s "genius" in engineering successful pet placements.

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7. Closing Remarks

• Throughout, Karen and Georgia maintain their trademark dark humor and warmth, with loving jabs and emotionally honest moments.
• Requests for more instrument and pet stories, emphasizing community and shared experience.
• Signature sign-off: “Stay sexy and don’t get murdered.”

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Timestamps & Segments Reference

• [01:54–04:14] — John Wayne Gacy Almost-Victim Hometown
• [05:16–08:16] — Violent San Francisco Neighborhood
• [10:24–15:38] — Mafia Banjo & Al Capone
• [15:45–19:37] — Therapy Journal/Terror Plot Fiasco
• [21:43–23:55] — Pappy, Grandparent Nicknames & Podcast Milestones
• [24:11–27:22] — Reverse Dog Kidnapping & Greyhound Love

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Memorable Quotes (with Speakers & Timestamps)

• "My dad panicked, knocked his arm off, and yelled at him to pull the car over immediately or he would grab the wheel and wreck the car." — Karen Kilgariff [03:35]
• "It makes me like, you know, that neighbor's dog barking all the time isn't such a bad thing." — Georgia Hardstark [08:16]
• "Apparently, Sammy Masmano had quite the career. He was involved with the Chicago mafia and played with orchestras hired by Al Capone for his parties." — Karen Kilgariff [13:05]
• "That's a podcast. Yeah. Of like, stories about your instrument." — Georgia Hardstark [15:02]
• "When fate or determined rescue brings a dog into your life, accept the blessing." — Amanda (read by Georgia) [26:41]
• "Stay sexy and don’t get murdered." — Karen & Georgia [27:27]

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Episode Tone

• Witty, darkly comedic, honest, supportive, and engaging—as always, Karen and Georgia balance true crime chills with vulnerability, humor, and a celebration of community storytelling.

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For fans and newcomers alike, this episode is a perfect snapshot of My Favorite Murder’s cult appeal: heartfelt, creepy, hilarious, and full of unexpected twists—sometimes from history, sometimes from your own neighborhood.

Transcript

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Tara Davis Woodhull]

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[Hunter Woodhull]

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[Tara Davis Woodhull]

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[Capella University Announcer]

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[Hunter Woodhull]

My savior.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hello and welcome to my favorite murder. That's Georgia Hart, the miniso.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

God damn it. 10 years of this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

God. You want me to go first?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Sure.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay. The subject line of this email is, my dad was almost John Wayne Gacy's first murder victim.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We covered John Wayne Gacy when we did the Chicago Podcast Festival way back in November of 2016. So if you want to hear that, you can. Hello, all. There was only one way to tell this story, and that's to get straight to the point. By the way, my name is Kristin Murphy. Feel free to use my name. My father told me this vague story of him in the 70s about his incident with a sketchy hitchhiker, because that's what they did in the 70s. I finally asked him the whole story now that I'm older, and he told me everything. It was such an intense experience for him that he remembers it in grave detail to this day. It was the fall of 1972, and my dad was 18, trying to find a ride to the Cheech and Chong concert.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God. That's such a time and place. I can smell it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Those guys doing comedy to probably a huge stoned. A huge stoned audience somewhere. I would love to know. Oh, wait, I'll just finish reading it. Mind you. John Wayne Gacy's first murder was in 1972. He said it happened September 22, 1972, on Interstate 94. My dad Jeff was standing on the side of the interstate when he finally found a car that pulled over and came to a stop. The man driving asked my dad where he was headed and offered him a ride, and my dad accepted. He described the guy as being smaller and stockier. The car ride was normal at first. Talking about partying and nightlife, the driver asked my dad if he liked to party at night. My dad didn't fully understand what he meant, but my hippie dad was like, yeah, I like to party. Sure.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, man. Let's dark out.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay. The next moment, the man put his hand on my dad's thigh and asked him if he wanted to party tonight. My dad panicked, knocked his arm off and yelled at him to pull the car over immediately or he would grab the wheel and wreck the car. The driver tried to calm him down and ended up pulling over and letting my dad out of the car. A few years later, when John Wayne Gacy's picture was released on the news, my father knew 100% he was the man who picked him up back in the fall of 1972, the year Gacy committed his first murder.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus.

[Karen Kilgariff]

SSDGM. Fuck politeness. Kristin Murphy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. I've been reading a lot about Gacy lately, just because there's been some books that have been written that I like. There's one where the daughter of the girl who put the photograph receipt in the pocket of the last victim at the pharmacy they worked at together.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That, like, led to Gacy being finally caught. Last victim. Her daughter wrote a book about Gacy, and about that, her mother, and everything that was involved in the boy that was killed. It's just fucking crazy. It's called Postmortem by Courtney Lund o'. Neill.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wow.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And it's really incredible.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, I want to read that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Anyway, Gacy. Because I never really knew about Gacy, like, I never cared that much.

[Karen Kilgariff]

He was kind of one of my entrees in. And it's just. It fascinated me so much. But then he did it for so long, and there's, like, a lot of people in the Chicago area that have those kinds of 70s stories of like, cause the hitchhiking and all that stuff. He was, he was a drunk and he didn't make a secret of like picking people up and doing that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The Boys End of the House is an incredible book about it as well. Okay. Mine's called I'm not going to tell you what it's called. Hi ladies. Longtime listener, first time writer. I just finished listening to Minisode 462, which is full of bad neighbors and kids home alone, and I figured it was time to write in. I grew up in San Francisco in the 2000s and 2010s in a quiet neighborhood near Golden Gate Park. My younger brother was about 15 years old the first time my parents left him home alone overnight. This was around 2017, so parenting style was more helicopter than trash. As always, my dad's parting words of wisdom were don't burn down the house. Yeah, everything went fine until early the next morning when my brother started to smell smoke from the garage. He ran downstairs, threw open the door, and saw flames creeping up our garage door. He immediately called 911 and the firefighters were able to put the fire out quickly. Luckily, the damage was limited to the garage door and my brother saved the whole house from burning down.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Wow.

[Georgia Hardstark]

When the police investigated the fire fire, they found traces of fuel where the fire began and realized that it was started intentionally. Unfortunately, this was only one nefarious incident amongst several others on our quiet San Francisco block. One of our neighbors had been the victim of a drive by shooting just days earlier where thankfully, nobody was injured by the bullets that smashed through their living room windows. Another house had a Molotov cocktail thrown into the front of their house. Again, luckily nobody was physically hurt. A neighbor on our block had been recently imprisoned for fraud and soon after these incidents, a group of guys had been arrested with a list of addresses in the glove compartment of their car that included the homes that had been threatened from prison. Our neighbor hired these guys to attack homes on our street. Why? I don't know. I recently asked my. Let's read. I recently asked my parents for clarification on some of these details because my brothers and I were teens when this all played out and they tried to protect us from the full story. My mother then told me that in addition to these horrible acts of violence, yet another neighbor had been swatting our house for years, which is prank calling the police on our house. The worst incident had happened one night when the neighbor called the police and falsely told them that there was an armed intruder in our house. The Police broke into our house and came inside. My mom opened their bedroom door to a police officer pointing a gun directly at her. My parents were able to deescalate the situation, and my brothers and I slept for the entire event.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Thank God.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know my dad went full murderino and collected all of the 911 calls from the neighbor and hired a lawyer to get the neighbor to stop swatting our house. My parents both struggled to recount the story when I asked them about it recently because it had been so terrifying and infuriating for them. Thank you so much for all you do. You are both inspirations. Stay sexy and don't burn the house down. Em.

[Karen Kilgariff]

God, that's, like, so violent. And then, like, it happening over and over. Like, now this is on fire. Now there's cops in your house. Like, horrifying.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I know. It makes me like, you know, that neighbor's dog barking all the time isn't such a bad thing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, just.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It could be. So, like, bad neighbors just ruin your life.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Earplugs. And then I think about when we lived. Cause we kind of lived near the park. We were in the Upper Haight.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And the volume with which we did every single thing all day and night.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God. You were the problem neighbor. You've always been the problem neighbor. Always. At some point in our lives.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, just standard volume alone is not great, but yeah. God. Horrible.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hey, this is U.S. olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhull.

[Hunter Woodhull]

And I'm U.S. paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[Hunter Woodhull]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the.

[Hunter Woodhull]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA.

[PennyMac Announcer]

And you learn more at pennymac.com pennymac Loan Services, LLC. Equal Housing Lender NMLS ID 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford, and I'm the founder of meaningful beauty. When Dr. Sabah and I decided to do a skincare line together, he said to me, we are going to give women meaningful beauty. And I said, that's exactly right. We want to give women meaningful beauty, which means each and every product is mean. It has a reason to exist. It's efficacious. You're gonna get results, and then you just go out and live your life.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Meaningful beauty.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Confidence is beautiful.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Learn [e-mail].

[Capella University Announcer]

You'Ve never been one to settle. Stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner, energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on, and your own high standards to meet. Stop now. Chance At Capella University we help you catch what you're chasing because you've always had the drive. Now go earn the degree Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella. Edu to learn more.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay, the subject line of this email is Mafia Banjo. Okay, Greetings and hello to Karen, Georgia exactly right media and Furry unpaid interns. I am a professional banjo player who specializes in the four string banjo, which is not the style that everybody is most familiar with. All of my banjos are well over a hundred years old. Some of them have really interesting stories, while the others have stories that have been lost to time. As well as playing the banjo, I also restore and set up banjos for people who want theirs to be like how they were when they left the factory. That means that quite often I have older people come to me and share that they inherited their father or grandfather's banjo and would love to hear it play again.

[PennyMac Announcer]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Some of these instruments come with a mix of fascinating stories, sad stories, or no story at all. One of my favorite moments happened about three years ago when a woman reached out to my friend about inheriting a banjo. My friend told me about it and I got in contact with the woman. She sent me pictures of the banjo and it was an incredibly nice 1928 Bacon and Day Silver Belle NE+ Ultra 9 tenor banjo.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus.

[Karen Kilgariff]

To those who don't know what that is, it's basically like the Rolls Royce of banjos.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Fancy engravings, gemstones and rhinestones. All the instrument, gold plating and to top it off, an elephant head carving with real ivory tusks at the heel of the neck.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Its original cost was $900.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy. Which today 2019, 29, 28, 28. $900 would be 150,000.

[Karen Kilgariff]

17,000.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Damn it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But all those gems and things, you know, makes sense. To make it even better, it was common to request your name or initials to be engraved onto the banjo. When you ordered the instrument, the owner's name was engraved on the back. Sammy Mosmano One of my favorite things to do is research the original owner of any antique instrument, especially banjos. I asked the woman if she knew anything about Sammy and she said he was her husband's great uncle and played banjo in various bands and orchestras around the Chicago area. This was a great lead and I decided to do some digging. I found out more basic info where, when he was born, where he lived, where when he died. He played all over the world on banjo, mandolin, guitar, and even harp. I was itching to know more, so I asked if she could send me more pictures, like what was inside the case and such. Apart from some pics and a couple of small wrenches, there was a picture of Sammy with a man in a long coat, a snappy hat, and a cigar in his mouth. I said, wow, that looks a lot like Al Capone.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I was thinking that, oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It was.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Apparently, Sammy Masmano had quite the career. He was involved with the Chicago mafia and played with orchestras hired by Al Capone for his parties. Yes, Al and Sammy were very good friends. Sammy taught Al Capone how to play the. What if this whole thing is just a lie?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, this sounds like it's like the.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Best creative writing of all time. I'd take it. Yeah, so funny. Okay. Sammy taught Al Capone how to play the banjo in his free time until Al went to prison. Sammy's brother, Michael Masmano was a defense attorney and judge in the 1920s and early 30s. Al made sure to stay on Sammy's good side. One time, after a gig, a rival gang mugged Sammy and stole his gig money from that night. The woman who told me about the banjo also told me that Al Capone supposedly bought the banjo for Sammy, which I have yet to confirm. In the 1930s, Sammy continued to teach and play on the radio until retiring from music in the 1940s. He escaped from the mafia and had a calm rest of his life raising his children. I have attached a couple of images of the banjo and Sammy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Apologies that some are blurry. They are the ones the women sent me. I have so many more crazy stories that I've collected from these instruments. And the more I learn about these stories, the closer I feel to to the era and the instruments themselves. It's an honor to be a part of these instruments history, and I'm so glad I can take care of them and let them ring for another hundred years. My girlfriend introduced me to this podcast during a long road trip from Northern California down to Los Angeles about two years ago. I was instantly hooked and I've been listening every weekend during my weekly commute back and forth from New York City to Rochester, New York. And for that, I thank you more than I can express in one email. Stay sexy and ask your elderly acquaintances if they have A banjo in their attic. Gavin and Anna, Queens, New York.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That is so cool. Like who? That's such a cool hobby.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. It's such a cool email. I know everything about it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hear me out.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Check this out.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's a podcast.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, absolutely.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's a podcast. Yeah. Of like, stories about your instrument.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Cause check this out as episode one.

[Georgia Hardstark]

We'll put it on our socials. My favorite murder. These photographs. I didn't know banjos could be that gorgeous.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I know.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And look at Sam. Swarthy as fuck.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Also, it's like quite a thing to be able to play an instrument, especially professionally. So, like that idea that professional musicians are always like one of 10 guys in a band. But it's like, totally. But they all have stories like this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. I love that. Send us your instrument history stories only.

[Karen Kilgariff]

If it's a Rolls Royce of your instrument.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's right. We don't want any fucking. What is a bad car? I don't know. Saturn's.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. Tinto.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tinto. Okay. Sister fueled terror plot. Okay. Brought to you by anxiety. Hi, MFM crew. I love you silly ladies and the fantastic work you do. Please keep it up.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Not if you call his name.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, Jesus.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Once upon an episode, you requested stories about things you can never live down. And in another episode, you requested stories that got vetoed from wedding speeches. My story involves both of those topics. My sister therapy. Yay. And a thwarted terrorist attack. Question mark. My older sister has battled bravely with mental health challenges since we were kids. She's done a wonderful job at it. And today she is a happy mother of two who is completing her MBA at night.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So hard.

[Georgia Hardstark]

She's the coolest. Because of her mental health challenges, she has done almost every type of therapy known to womankind. Hi.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hi.

[Georgia Hardstark]

When we were in our mid-20s, she tried out a type of therapy that required her to keep a worst case scenario diary. She had to write out diary entries as if her worst fears had come true that day. Hmm.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I fucking love that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I've never put it on the page because it really does work it out of your, like, brain.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Because your brain doesn't know the difference between real trauma and just imagined trauma. Yeah, right. So smart. My brother and I used to do dramatic readings of the entries in the living room, which often ended in all three of us crying with laughter. So cool topics included, grandma died today. The big one happened. We live in Vancouver. This referred to the pending mega earthquake and our dog went missing forever.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I constantly think about that. Constantly.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm always like, Where's Mo and Vince? The other day, I was like, he didn't get out. Like, I'm always convinced that Mo got out. I don't know why.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Also. And you know this well, but having Frank, a 17 year old dog, walking around the house, I'm just like constantly processing. I'm just like, and the grief will be hard and it will be whatever. Like, and it's. After a while, you're just like, all right, let's wrap this up.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I did with Elvis. Like, it did help me. Like, I always in my heart was like, someday I'm gonna have to live without him. And it's. I just always thought about it. And so when it finally came, it was like, not a surprise. I had asked him for 16 years and he gave me 16 years.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And you're grateful. Like, you get it makes you grateful.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. The Jewish people like to say may their memory be a blessing. So that's all you can do. Anyway, one day, my dad generously gave us two tickets to go see the Vancouver Canucks. It says it's hockey. Georgia play at Rogers arena downtown. I met my sister at the game and she pulled out her therapy journal. She wanted to show me the topic of the day. This one was a terrorist attack at Rogers Arena. She included detailed diagrams, maps, and of course, her dramatic plan of how the terrorist attack would unfold. Oh, no, I totally get this. We chuckled at it and she tucked it away as the game started. The game was pretty uneventful, but in the second period, things took a turn for the worse. My sister patted down her pockets, looked at me and said, ha. Okay, give it back. I didn't know what she was talking about. She said, not funny. Give me back my journal. Unfortunately, I hadn't taken her journal in that moment, time stood still as we quickly realized three things. She lost her journal somewhere in the stadium. She lost her journal containing all caps, detailed diagrams, maps, and the plan of a terrorist attack on a stadium inside of that stadium.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, no.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And three, her journal had her full name on it. You gotta use initials. I mean, we immediately got up, left the hockey game that was still going on, and proceeded to silent cry, slash laugh. Our way home. I don't think we've ever laughed so hard. This story sadly got vetoed when I was asked to speak at my sister's wedding. Yeah, but I'm happy to be sharing it here. She hasn't been banned for life from the stadium, so it seems that her journal unread. Stay sexy and don't lose your therapy journal.

[Karen Kilgariff]

A I mean, thank God those other stories were in there. So by the time they get to a backstory, they're like, oh, wait, hold. It's fine. I think it is just somebody trying to work through some stuff.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Or we're like. They're like, this person's a psychotic murderer or something who loses their dog constantly.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I really wanted it to be that. It was like somebody gets hit in the head with a puck, and then they get hit in the head with a puck. Oh, but that's going to go in my journal.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, that's yours. Yeah, that's for yours. And then we'll do a dramatic reading.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's right.

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay, here's my last one. Hi, Karen and Georgia, my sweet, sweet angels. As I call my nearly adult age high school students daily. Thanks to both of you sweet, sweet angels. I've been a listener since I was in my master's program for teaching in 2016. I'm now in my ninth year of my career as a high school teacher. You've been with me through so much, including starting me on the therapy journey that has so deeply improved my life. An engagement and wedding. And now my husband and I are expecting our first baby.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Who we planned a lot to be ready for and are so excited about. Backstory to this story. Since becoming an empty nester, my dad has gotten very into whiskey. He's collected hundreds of bottles, read books about the distilling process, curated tastings for his friends and for us, and generally has loved making it his new hobby and thing to learn about. He's gotten our who. And because of this, my husband and I decided to announce our pregnancy by getting each family member a bottle for my dad, old granddad for my mom, McLaughlin's grandma's rocking chair for my brother, uncle nearest. They were so stoked when they figured out the surprise and it was such a fun way to share the news.

[Georgia Hardstark]

So cute.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Brilliant. Before we even said we were pregnant, my mom and dad had loved to throw around ideas for their grandparent names. Like they would be Nana and Papa, et cetera. But nothing had stuck for my dad yet. You know what's coming.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I'm gonna cry.

[Karen Kilgariff]

You should cry. Go ahead. Later that same evening, I brought up to my dad that he would like listening to your episode on the Pappygate Bourbon heist since it was right up his alley. When I said that, his eyes got huge. He looked at us so excited and said, that's it. I'm going to be Pappy. Come on.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Stop.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We named a grandpa. Oh my God. He has been so excited ever since, talking about how perfect it is and how he can't wait to be Pappy to his future grandkid. He also wants to a bottle of Pappy Van Winkles to celebrate, but I think the price tag might give my mom a conniption.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So thank you, mfm, for picking my dad's name for his next phase of life and for being with me through so many of mine. And thank you both for always advocating for public school teachers. It's rough out here, but your work truly does. Now I'm fucking crying.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God. Stop with this.

[Karen Kilgariff]

But your work truly does make it better.

[Georgia Hardstark]

As she, her, my nephews, my sister's kids call their other grandparents. Their nicknames are Pops and Honey. Isn't that the cutest?

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's very cute.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's actually Honey and Pops is how you say it. This is called the reverse kidnapping. The Dog adoption story. So don't freak out, okay?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hello.

[Georgia Hardstark]

My favorite murderinos. The story of the almost kidnapping of Axel the dog reminded me that my family has a story. Oh, I think they like almost stole it from their neighbors or something.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, like they thought it was a stray dog and actually they were stealing someone's dog. Yes, yes, yes.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It reminded me that my family has a story of the opposite situation. We got our dog through reverse kidnapping. Let me explain. There's a greyhound rescue where we have gotten all of our family dogs. The founder had a knack for placing the right dog with the right family. I love that and was deeply dedicated to her rescue work. They once got a group of greyhounds rescued from a track in Guam that had been shut down. Since the dogs were international, they needed to be quarantined temporarily. Our previous dog, Meggie had died some years before, so they knew we were dogless and reached out to see if we were interested fostering a dog just for the summer until his quarantine period was up. We said yes, and they sent the sweetest boy named Dimitri. And it says yes. I've included pictures. As the summer grew to a close, my parents reached out to the rescue to ask when we should bring him back. The response was something like, oh, soon for sure. We'll let you know when it's time. Soon after this, my sister and I noticed Dimitri was listed as adopted on the website. Strange, since he was still with us and we received no notification that he'd been adopted. Naturally, my sister and I did not tell our parents about this because we loved Demetri and we're hoping to keep him. Sure enough, when my parents checked in with the rescue a bit later, they got another oh yeah, we can take him back soon, just not quite yet. By then, I think we had him for at least six months. At one point, my mom was texting me about something cute he'd done and said, I think I love him. Jackpot. Eventually, one of my mom's friends who was looking for a dog checked the website and told her, Renee, it says he's been adopted. At that point, our parents accepted that he was just our dog now. He fit in so well with the family and we all loved him dearly. So none of us were upset about the reverse kidnapping situation. I don't even think that's technically a crime. Instead of taking a family member away, the shelter gave us a new one. I like to think the founder knew it was time for us to get a new four legged friend and had the Perfect guy for the role who brought us so much laughter, joy, and love. Demetri lived with us for eight years before passing away in 2020, surrounded by his family in the backyard of the animal hospital, lying in the grass in the sunshine, just like he loved to do.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Ugh.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Cookie loves the sun. Demetri Dimitri. SSTGM and when fate or determined rescue brings a dog into your life, accept the blessing. Much love, Amanda. Demetra. I love it. Italian greyhound. Like, if you ever get a chance to own a greyhound, just do it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The way they trot around. Like, they're so supernatural.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They're like a little doe and they love to be held.

[Karen Kilgariff]

They're all like, they don't want to walk or do anything.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They want to wear sweaters. Like, what more do you want out of a pet?

[Karen Kilgariff]

It is so genius of a dog. Dress you to be like, oh, yeah, it's almost over. We'll get real quick.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hey, we know you have a dog right now. Can you just keep an eye? Like, as if anyone could ever let a dog go.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I know.

[Georgia Hardstark]

For six months.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Nice move. Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

All right, send us any story you want.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, you guys are doing great.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Thank you for listening.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And stay sexy and don't get murdered.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?

[Karen Kilgariff]

This has been an exactly right production.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This episode was mixed by Liana Squillace.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Email your hometowns to my favorite murdermail dot com.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Follow the show on Instagram at my favorite murder.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Listen to my favorite murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye.

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[Karen Kilgariff]

Why have we asked our.

[Andrea Gunning]

Contractor we found on Angie.com to be.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our kid's legal guardian? Because he took such good care when redoing our basement that we knew we could trust him to care for our kids, all eight of them. Should something happen to us. Are you my dad now?

[Karen Kilgariff]

No, sorry.

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