My Favorite Murder Minisode 485 Summary
Podcast: My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Episode: Minisode 485
Date: April 27, 2026
Duration of main content: 02:00 to 39:01 (excluding ads, intro, outro)
Episode Overview
This MFM minisode features Karen and Georgia reading listener-submitted "hometown" stories that blend true crime, dark humor, and offbeat family tales. Stories include a ferry captain's disastrous flirtation, a brush with the Golden State Killer, a mischievous childhood séance, a hidden criminal past revealed through a posthumous treasure hunt, bizarre body orifice discoveries, and an embarrassing car accident cover-up. Throughout, Karen and Georgia riff, laugh, commiserate over victim-blaming, and encourage listeners to share their wildest family secrets—reminding everyone to "stay sexy and don't get murdered."
Key Stories and Discussion Points
1. Ferry Disaster: The 'Siren of the San Juans'
[02:25 - 09:13]
- Listener Kelly recounts a 1983 incident where a Washington State ferry captain, trying to impress a female passenger, steered the massive ferry off-course to perform a "sail-by salute" at her home, crashing into a submerged reef.
- Damage: $250,000 (over $700,000 in today's money).
- Aftermath: No one hurt, but the female passenger was labeled the "Siren of the San Juans" as if she had lured the captain, spurring a conversation on victim-blaming even in weird, maritime ways.
- Notable Quotes:
- Georgia: “Because nothing is more impressively flirtatious than, would you like to see your home from a dangerously questionable distance.” [04:24]
- Karen: “It's always the woman. Siren. As if this woman was just out there luring this dumbass. Little more to the left, Captain.” [06:22]
- Kelly's sign-off (read by Georgia): “Stay sexy and don’t let a man blame you for crashing a ferry.” [08:50]
2. Golden State Killer Close Call
[09:17 - 14:13]
- Emma writes about realizing Joseph D'Angelo (the Golden State Killer) may have burgled her family's Woodland Hills home in 1983, targeting symbolic items and leaving ominous clues like a chef's knife placed in her closet.
- Retrospective horror: Hang-up calls, missing wedding rings, and a $20 bill that didn’t fit the usual profile of a random burglary.
- **DAUGHTER WHOLE FAM COULD HAVE BEEN VICTIMS but ultimately weren’t, thanks possibly to the family labrador, Oreo.
- Notable Quotes:
- Karen: “Today, following standard MFM advice, I called my dad. I laid out my case... He said, ‘Well, it is true there was a rash of similar break-ins all over the neighborhood at the time.’” [11:43]
- Georgia: “Oreo Cookie!” [13:11]
- An extra chilling postscript that D'Angelo bought a second home in Long Beach at the time the SoCal killings started.
3. The Child Witch & Midnight Showers
[17:01 - 20:47]
- Marissa tells of her mom and uncle in the 1960s Milwaukee suburbs, bored and unsupervised, pulling a “witch” prank by hosting a séance and convincing neighborhood kids to shower at midnight or else their families would die.
- The prank worked—parents were woken by eleven post-midnight phone calls from frightened, freshly-showered children.
- Notable Quotes:
- Georgia: “At 12:15 in the morning... awoke to 11 phone calls by neighbors with freshly showered and scared little kids. My mom and uncle were promptly grounded and probably whacked with a wooden spoon.” [19:49]
- Karen: “My mom grew up to be an OG Murderino who still checks her for perps and pervs on a nightly basis. And my uncle joined a biker gang.” [20:12]
4. Deathbed Treasure Hunt & The Cocaine-Running Carpenter
[21:27 - 29:10]
- Listener recounts discovering her father-in-law's double life after his death. He lived modestly as a carpenter but was previously the co-pilot for a drug-running baseball player, didn’t flaunt a pilot's license, and ran a “typewriter ribbon re-inking” company as a front for cocaine runs along the East Coast.
- After his death, family finds $10,000 hidden in the house and a locked file cabinet containing documents revealing his criminal past, including a letter from the Bahamas declaring him persona non grata.
- Discussion on how older generations hold onto shame for past misdeeds, and encouragement for listeners to share their wild stories.
- Notable Quotes:
- Karen: “In reality, he was a legit drug mule running cocaine from Florida to Massachusetts. He kept a newspaper clipping from a trial where he turned state's evidence and testified to taping bags of cocaine to his body.” [26:57]
- Georgia: “If your dad has a boring job or mom has a boring job, ask them what they did. Ask them to please finally be honest with you.” [29:19]
5. Orifice Origin Stories: The Bead in the Ear
[32:33 - 34:44]
- Georgia (not Hardstark) recounts how as a child, her younger brother lost his hearing due to a bead lodged in his ear for four years—to prevent his sister from using it!
- Karen and Georgia riff on kids putting random objects in their noses/ears and the childhood urge to hide prized treasures this way.
- Notable Quotes:
- Georgia: “It had been in there for four fucking years.” [34:11]
- Karen: “They truly like the man looking for the diamond... that little kid found that thing on the floor, thought it was beautiful and was like, mine.” [34:30]
6. Ran Over By My Own Car
[36:08 - 37:43]
- Megan shares how she ran over her own leg with her first car after forgetting to put it in park, then blamed it on the car’s gear shift when explaining the injury at school.
- Leads to both hosts requesting more stories about embarrassing mishaps that required inventive cover-ups.
- Notable Quotes:
- Karen: “I mean you could have died. Don’t drink and drive, is what I was trying to tell you.” [36:56]
- Georgia: “I want to hear the best stories of people who did a really dumb thing and then blamed it on something totally... that had nothing to do with it.” [37:43]
Memorable Moments & Host Banter
- Victim-Blaming Rant & Pop Culture References: Karen and Georgia decry the continued tendency to blame women for men's reckless or criminal behavior even in minor news stories. [06:22 - 07:40]
- Dog Save: Upon realizing a labrador likely deterred the Golden State Killer, both hosts warmly shout, “Oreo Cookie!” [13:11]
- Encouragement for ‘Secret Past’ Stories: “If you're a boomer... you have some crazy fucking story you're ashamed of. We are not ashamed of you. Please send it to us.” [28:28 - 28:44]
- Obsessed with Internet Mudlarkers: Extended aside about an Instagrammer searching daily for a diamond, tying into the bead-in-ear story. [25:03 - 25:44]
- Light-Hearted Self-Mockery: Confessions from both hosts about childhood mishaps—Karen stuffed foam up her own nose, resulting in an ER visit; Georgia wished she had a doctor's ear-flashlight. [34:44 - 35:07]
Notable Quotes & Timestamp Highlights
- “Stay sexy and don’t let a man blame you for crashing a ferry.” — Listener Kelly, read by Georgia [08:50]
- “No diamond today.” — Both Karen and Georgia, referencing Instagram mudlark and bead-in-ear [33:52 / 33:53]
- “Ask them why they never want to go to the Bahamas anyway...” — Georgia [29:27]
- “Stay sexy and check your children’s orifices with some regularity.” — Georgia (the listener) [34:37]
- “We are not ashamed of you. Please send it to us.” — Georgia [28:28]
Episode Flow & Additional Notes
- Segmented and Conversational: Each story is read by one host and bantered about, often sparking personal or topical tangents (always comedic, sometimes darkly reflective).
- Recurring Themes:
- The absurdity of victim-blaming, especially toward women.
- The hidden lives and crimes of family members—sometimes shocking, sometimes comic.
- Childhood mischief: from séances to hiding beads in ears.
- The catharsis (and humor) in sharing, or discovering, shameful or bizarre family secrets.
Final Sign-Off
- Call to Listeners: The hosts invite more family secret stories, or "orifice origin stories" (with a caveat: "above the belt, family-friendly please!" [35:29]).
- Classic Outro:
- “Stay sexy and don’t get murdered.” [38:49]
- “Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?” [38:49]
In Summary
Minisode 485 brings exactly what fans love: true crime–infused family weirdness, friendly banter, victim advocacy, and a sense of community among listeners who love a good hometown tale—no matter how ridiculous, harrowing, or oddly heartwarming. Whether it’s madness at sea, a near-miss with a serial killer, glitter and pranks, hidden criminal pasts, or the simple agony of living down your own dumb move, Karen and Georgia turn it all into relatable, cathartic comedy.
