Podcast Summary: The Crimes of Margo Freshwater | Episode 1: The Breakout

Podcast: The Binge Crimes: The Crimes of Margo Freshwater
Host: Cooper Moll (Sony Music Entertainment)
Episode Title: 1. The Breakout
Release Date: January 5, 2026

Episode Theme and Purpose

This gripping episode launches the story of Margo Freshwater, a woman sentenced to 99 years in prison after a notorious three-week crime spree in 1966. Through immersive storytelling, Cooper Moll retraces Margo's descent from a troubled Ohio teen to an accomplice (and possibly more) in a spree of murders led by the erratic Glenn Nash. The episode is framed around Margo’s daring 1970 prison escape and the beginnings of her decades-long disappearance, questioning not just how she evaded authorities, but who Margo Freshwater really was: victim, villain, or both.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Escape: Night of October 4, 1970 ([01:40] – [06:21])

• Detailed Escape Account:
  The episode opens cinematically, describing Margo and fellow inmate Faye executing a carefully-planned escape from the Tennessee Prison for Women.

  • They exploited a moment of weak supervision to sprint from a church service, scale fences (using a jacket to cover barbed wire), and employ a pepper shaker as a makeshift scent deterrent for bloodhounds.
  • They hid in shrubs while guards and flashlights searched nearby; after narrowly avoiding capture, they changed into street clothes and flagged down a truck driver with a plausible story.

• Quote (Faye, Margo’s accomplice):

  “She started sprinkling pepper around... so when the dogs come after us, we’ll sprinkle the pepper and that’ll throw them off.” ([03:38])

Setting the Historical Context ([06:21] – [08:34])

• The late 1960s societal unrest parallels Margo’s personal upheaval: Vietnam War, civil rights movements, and a generation “imagining different futures.”
• Psychological frame: Margo’s escape is contrasted with larger social desires to break free.

Margo’s Troubled Beginnings ([08:34] – [13:52])

• Background:

  • Margo grew up in Columbus, Ohio with a single mother who expelled her after an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.
  • By 18, she was alone, adrift from home, and dependent on the kindness of friends.
  • Her connection with criminal lawyer Glenn Nash was initiated through a favor for incarcerated friend Al Schlareth, who "traded" Margo’s help as payment to Nash.
  • Nash's shady background is revealed: nearly disbarred, unstable work/life, running a karate school to supplement his failing law practice.

• Quote (Richard Knudsen, retired FBI):

  "She had dropped out of high school... kind of like a wild child, you might say." ([08:34])

• Quote (Steven Ross Johnson, attorney):

  “He goes to Memphis, opens a law firm, he ran a karate dojo at night.” ([11:20])

The Relationship: Obsession and Desperation ([13:52] – [15:27])

• Nash and Margo’s relationship quickly turned romantic and co-dependent, blurring professional and personal boundaries.

• Margo, vulnerable and isolated, became entwined in Nash’s spiraling problems, with little agency or support.

• Quote (Knudsen, FBI):

  “Here’s an 18-year-old girl coming down to Tennessee to try to help her boyfriend and gets hooked up with an attorney who turns out to be a nutcase.” ([12:06])

Crime Spree: Killings Across the South ([17:35] – [27:51])

• First Murder:

  • On December 6, 1966, Nash and Margo rob D Square Liquor in Memphis; the store clerk, Hillman Robbins Sr., is executed in the back room. Margo acts as a decoy at the counter.
  • Ballistics: Two guns used—a .38 and a .22 (“the lady gun”), implicating Margo in the actual shooting.

• Quote (Judge John Campbell):

  “She did not let anybody think there was anything wrong.” ([20:29])

  • Suggests she acted like “she was working there” during the robbery.

• Further Murders:

  • December 18: In Florida, the pair kill another clerk, Esther Bouill.
  • December 27: A Mississippi cab driver, CC Surratt, is executed during a ride.
  • Parallels are drawn to the legend of Bonnie & Clyde, with the press romanticizing (and distorting) their story.

• Capture:

  • The spree ends with their arrest in rural Mississippi, found with the murder weapon concealed in Nash's briefcase.

Legal Fallout: Trials and Insanity ([27:51] – [31:28])

• Nash Declared Insane:

  • Diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic; committed to a mental institution rather than standing trial.

• Margo Faces Multiple Trials:

  • Tried twice in Mississippi for being an accessory to Surratt’s murder—both result in mistrials.
  • In Florida, insufficient evidence to try her for the second murder.
  • Extradited to Tennessee to stand trial for the Memphis murder.

• Quote (Johnson):

  "She was tried twice in Mississippi for the murder of the cab driver... and there was a mistrial both times." ([30:20])

The 1969 Murder Trial in Tennessee ([32:34] – [39:37])

• Media Sensation:

  • The press christens Margo the “blonde Bonnie,” casting her as a femme fatale. The all-male jury is swayed by her appearance and the narrative of seductress/manipulator.

• Legal Strategy and Testimony:

  • Defense rests on duress: Margo claims Nash forced her into the crimes under threat, and she lived in fear for her life.
  • The prosecution counters that her actions indicated active participation, with ample opportunity to escape.

• Quote (Judge Campbell):

  “Whether she shot him or not is not going to be the deciding factor. The deciding factor is if she was an accessory before the fact... if you’re the lookout, if you’re the getaway driver, if you’re holding other people hostage while somebody else does a killing, you’re guilty of the killing." ([34:50]–[35:20])

• Courtroom Excerpt (Terry Lafferty, prosecutor) [37:47]:

  "She made no attempt whatsoever to tell that customer that Mr. Nash was in the back... and she wants you to believe... she's in fear of her life at that time."

• Verdict & Sentence:

  • Jury finds her guilty of first-degree murder. Judge sentences Margo to 99 years in prison ([39:19]).
  • The real triggerman, Nash, is in a private mental institution; Margo, the younger and more sympathetic figure, receives the full punishment.

• Quote (Knudsen, FBI):

  "Got this very attractive young girl having to do 99 years. And the shooter? They put him in a private mental institution. Just the facts of this were extraordinary." ([39:37])

The Aftermath and Next Chapter ([40:57] – [41:21])

• The Vanishing Act:

  • Margo’s escape cements her legendary status. Years pass, authorities hunt her, and the public’s image of her grows more mythic, shaped by legal records and media.
  • Host Cooper Moll teases direct engagement with Margo herself—now living under a new name—as the investigation into her real story continues.

• Quote (Margo Freshwater, as “Tonya”):

  “No one has really confronted me, and if they did, I would just say, well, you need to hear what the real story is before you are so quick to judgment and leave it at that.” ([41:21])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Margo’s Escape Partner, recalling in vivid detail:

  “I took my jacket off and threw it over the barbed wire and I was up and over the fence without any problems.” ([02:34])

• Early Motives:

  “She had dropped out of high school, and she had had some problem. Juvenile type situations for a while. Kind of like a wild child, you might say.” – Richard Knudsen, FBI ([08:34])

• Describing the Nash-Freshwater Partnership:

  “He struck a deal with Glenn Nash. I don’t have any money to pay you, but I’ve got an 18-year-old friend, Margot, in Columbus.” – Steven Ross Johnson ([12:29])

• Media Framing of the Case:

  “Margo Freshwater was very much portrayed as this femme fatale ... Bonnie and Clyde, except Clyde was, you know, schizophrenic and crazy, and Bonnie was the one really running the show.” – Johnson ([33:21])

• Prosecutor’s Cross-Examination:

  “She wants you to believe, general jury, that she’s in fear of her life. At that time.” – Terry Lafferty ([37:47])

• Margo’s Voice, Now Living as Tonya:

  "No one has really confronted me, and if they did, I would just say, well, you need to hear what the real story is before you are so quick to judgment and leave it at that." ([41:21])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Escape from Prison | 01:40 – 06:21 | | Margo’s Background/Early Life | 08:34 – 13:52 | | Relationship with Glenn Nash | 13:52 – 15:27 | | First Murder (Memphis Liquor Store) | 17:35 – 22:42 | | Crime Spree/Further Murders | 22:42 – 27:51 | | Arrest & Nash’s Insanity | 27:51 – 31:28 | | Tennessee Murder Trial & Verdict | 32:34 – 39:37 | | Host Looks for Margo (Now “Tonya”) | 40:57 – 41:21 |

Tone and Style

Host Cooper Moll narrates with a noir-tinged, investigative style—balancing chilling detail, historical context, and personal empathy. Legal and forensic experts lend authority while archival audio from court proceedings brings immediacy to the story. The episode walks a careful line between myth-making and interrogation, ever questioning what is legend and what is truth.

In Summary

Episode 1, "The Breakout," is an immersive, meticulously researched plunge into the origins of Margo Freshwater’s infamy—from a dramatic prison escape to the tangled, tragic origins of her criminal journey. The narrative interrogates the boundaries between victim and accomplice, setting the stage for future episodes that promise to finally hear Margo’s own voice, and perhaps, finally, the "real story."

Memorable question posed by Margo (as Tonya, [41:21]):

"You need to hear what the real story is before you are so quick to judgment..."

For More:
Future episodes will chase Margo “Tonya’s” ghost, peel back decades of rumor and record, and bring you face-to-face with the woman whose name—true or assumed—has haunted generations of true crime lore.