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The Case of Gwen Graham
📻 Episode #349
🎙️ Hosted by Maggie Freleng
📅 Apr 17, 2023
About This Episode
In 1987, five elderly women passed away at a nursing home in Grand Rapids, MI. Gwen Graham and Cathy Wood both worked at this nursing home, and the pair had been in a brief relationship at the time. Months later, when Gwen broke up with Cathy and started seeing someone new, Cathy became angry and…
The Case
In 1987, five elderly women passed away at a nursing home in Grand Rapids, MI. Gwen Graham and Cathy Wood both worked at this nursing home, and the pair had been in a brief relationship at the time. Months later, when Gwen broke up with Cathy and started seeing someone new, Cathy became angry and told her ex-husband that the five women did not die naturally, but that she and Gwen had smothered them as part of a lover’s pact that would bind them together for life. Shocked, he reported this to authorities, and two of the five bodies were exhumed. Despite there being zero signs of smothering, a medical examiner changed the manners of death from natural causes to homicide, and a seemingly made up story landed Gwen in prison for life. Maggie talks to Gwen Graham, Corina Hilton, Gwen's sister, and Elizabeth Cole, Gwen's attorney.
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In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:04:43“Speaker 1: with her parents about her sexuality, but she does remember Speaker 3: The philosophy or whatever the means, was just the prey Speaker 3: it out of you, I guess. My uncle kept me Speaker 3: after school for I think about three weeks, and we Speaker 3: prayed on it and just prayed about it, talked about it,”
00:17:23“Speaker 1: AIG is committed to corporate social responsibility and to making Speaker 1: a positive difference in the lives of its employees and Speaker 1: in the communities where they work and live. In light Speaker 1: of the compelling need for pro bono legal assistance, and Speaker 1: in recognition of AIG's commitment to criminal and social justice reform,”
00:30:23“Speaker 3: How am I ever going to make him see him? Speaker 3: But I didn't do this. Speaker 1: Although Gwen didn't think she could fix her wrongful conviction, Speaker 1: she still tried. Gwen wrote letters to experts, attorneys, and Speaker 1: innocence projects. In twenty twenty two, Elizabeth Cole was handed”
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← #348 Zavion Johnson #350 Lamar Johnson →
Also on the podcast: #597 Gwen Graham