539 - It Keeps Getting Ruined
Episode of My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark · July 2, 2026 · 1 h 4 min
Karen Kilgariff recounts the 1778 murder of Joshua Spooner and execution of his pregnant wife Bathsheba, and Georgia Hardstark tells the story of the 1876 Kentucky meat shower.
Summary
After opening banter about vacation manicures, Georgia Hardstark's trip to Italy, and the TV series Widow's Bay, Karen Kilgariff shared a true crime update: Rex Heuermann, the Gilgo Beach killer, had been sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty. The hosts also promoted shows on their Exactly Right network.
Kilgariff told the story of the murder of Joshua Spooner in Brookfield, Massachusetts, on March 1, 1778, described as one of the first high-profile murder cases in America. Against the backdrop of the American Revolution, Spooner's wife Bathsheba, daughter of the despised loyalist Timothy Ruggles, was trapped in an arranged, reportedly abusive marriage. She began an affair with 16-year-old Continental soldier Ezra Ross, became pregnant, and after a failed poisoning attempt recruited two British deserters, William Brooks and James Buchanan, who with Ross beat and strangled Spooner and dropped his body down a well. All four were quickly caught, tried in a case prosecuted by Robert Treat Paine and defended by Levi Lincoln that featured an early use of the insanity defense, and hanged on July 2, 1778. A court-appointed panel of midwives had declared Bathsheba not pregnant, but an autopsy found a five-month male fetus. Kilgariff said the case has come to be seen as a cautionary tale about political and gender bias in the justice system.
Hardstark then told the story of the Kentucky meat shower of March 3, 1876, when about 200 pounds of meat-like flakes fell on Rebecca Crouch's farm in Olympian Springs, Bath County. She reviewed theories including Nostoc bacteria, lung tissue, and extraterrestrial matter, favoring the locals' explanation that startled vultures vomited the meat. She described how Transylvania University art professor Kurt Gohde rediscovered the last known sample in 2004, turned its flavor profile into jelly beans, and in 2026 staged a 150th-anniversary festival culminating in an airplane drop of beef jerky, an event written about by Dave Barry.
Chapters
- 2:41
Opening banter
The hosts discuss vacation nails, Georgia's trip to Italy, and spoilers for the series Widow's Bay.
- 8:12
Gilgo Beach update
Karen reports that Rex Heuermann was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty.
- 9:22
Exactly Right network highlights
The hosts promote episodes of Bananas, Ghosted, Trust Me, and Roz Hernandez's audiobook memoir.
- 11:33
The Spooner household and the Revolution
Karen introduces the 1778 murder of Joshua Spooner and his unhappy arranged marriage to loyalist's daughter Bathsheba Ruggles.
- 19:54
Affair with Ezra Ross and the poisoning attempt
Bathsheba nurses 16-year-old soldier Ezra Ross, becomes pregnant, and urges him to poison her husband with nitric acid.
Linked moment · 29:19Skip to 29:19 using a listen link in the info box.
29:19The murder and the arrests
Bathsheba hires two British deserters who, with Ross, kill Spooner and are quickly caught after drawing suspicion at an inn.
- 37:07
Trial, execution, and legacy
The four are tried and hanged, an autopsy reveals Bathsheba was pregnant, and the case becomes a lesson in bias in justice.
- 47:08
The Kentucky meat shower
Georgia describes meat-like flakes falling on Rebecca Crouch's farm in 1876 and the press and scientific reaction.
- 59:59
Theories and Kurt Gohde's rediscovery
Georgia reviews explanations including vulture vomit and follows art professor Kurt Gohde's rediscovered sample, jelly beans, and 2026 anniversary festival.
- 1:09:24
Closing
The hosts reflect on doing the show in dark times and sign off with credits.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Karen Kilgariff
Kilgariff praised Widow's Bay for its elaborate Easter eggs and storytelling.
“They work so hard to Easter egg and storyline”
- Karen Kilgariff
Kilgariff reported that Rex Heuermann was sentenced to life in prison without parole after changing his plea to guilty.
“Rex Heuermann, the Gilgo Beach murderer, on Wednesday, June 17th, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark said she values solved cold cases because they reveal killers as ordinary, small men rather than powerful monsters.
“That's why I love cold cases. It's like, let's not make them this big, you know, powerful being”
- Karen Kilgariff
Kilgariff described the Spooner killing as one of the first high-profile murder cases in America.
“This is the story of the murder of Joshua Spooner, which is one of the very first high-profile murder cases in America”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark noted that women of the era could not choose their own politics or husbands.
“women don't get to choose their politics or their husbands back then”
- Karen Kilgariff
Kilgariff cited Deborah Navas's point that divorce was nearly impossible for women and adulteresses were publicly whipped, explaining Bathsheba's panic.
“divorces were all but impossible for women in revolutionary America and adulteresses were stripped to the waist and publicly whipped”
- Karen Kilgariff
Kilgariff said the Spooner trial is believed to be among the first uses of the insanity defense in America.
“It's also believed to be one of the first times the insanity defense is used”
- Karen Kilgariff
Kilgariff recounted that a post-execution autopsy found Bathsheba had been five months pregnant, contradicting the court's midwife panel.
“an autopsy is performed on Bathsheba's body, and the physician finds a, quote, perfect male fetus of the growth of five months”
- Karen Kilgariff
Kilgariff argued the case has endured as a cautionary tale about political and gender bias in the justice system.
“it's actually lived on as a cautionary tale about how the biases around politics and gender seep into the justice system”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark recommended the novel Yesteryear, describing its premise of a tradwife blogger sent back in time.
“It's about a trad wife blogger who gets taken back into the time when she would have had to actually work as a trad”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark criticized the New York Herald correspondent for largely mocking the rural community rather than investigating.
“it does seem like a lot of it is just a reporter making fun of the members of this very rural community”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark explained Nostoc as a bacterium that swells into jelly when it rains, but noted the theory fails because the weather was clear.
“Basically, it's a bacteria that swells up into a jelly-like substance when it rains”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark endorsed the vulture-vomit theory as the only plausible non-paranormal explanation for the meat shower.
“that's the only solution that isn't paranormal that makes sense”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark recounted that Kurt Gohde found the last known meat shower sample in storage at Transylvania University.
“Kurt has found at this fucking college that he started teaching at the last known sample of the meat”
- Georgia Hardstark
Hardstark described Gohde's 2026 anniversary festival culminating in an airplane dropping 1,876 wrapped pieces of beef jerky.
“He has a small airplane drop 1876, which is the year it happened, individually wrapped pieces of beef jerky from the sky”
People
In the conversation
- Karen KilgariffAmerican comedian, writer, and co-host of My Favorite Murder
- Georgia HardstarkAmerican writer, TV host, and co-host of My Favorite Murder
Discussed
- Bathsheba SpoonerMassachusetts woman executed in 1778 for conspiring to murder her husband
- Joshua SpoonerBrookfield, Massachusetts businessman murdered in 1778
- Ezra RossTeenage Continental Army soldier executed for the Spooner murder
- Timothy RugglesLoyalist brigadier general and father of Bathsheba Spooner
- Robert Treat PaineSigner of the Declaration of Independence who prosecuted the Spooner case
- Levi Lincoln Sr.Defense lawyer in the Spooner case, later U.S. Attorney General under Thomas Jefferson
- John Avery Jr.Massachusetts official and Joshua Spooner's stepbrother who signed the execution warrant
- Deborah NavasWriter whose research on the Spooner case was the episode's main source
- Rex HeuermannGilgo Beach serial killer sentenced to life without parole
- Rebecca CrouchKentucky farm woman who witnessed the 1876 meat shower
- Kurt GohdeTransylvania University art professor who rediscovered a Kentucky meat shower sample
- Dave BarryAmerican humorist who wrote about the 2026 meat shower anniversary
- Leopold Brandeis19th-century analyst who proposed the meat was Nostoc
- Chris FlemingComedian who plays a shaman in Widow's Bay
- Roz HernandezComedian and Ghosted host whose memoir audiobook was promoted
Topics
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From the publisher
On today’s episode, Karen covers America’s first high-profile murder and Georgia tells the story of the Kentucky Meat Shower. For our sources, please visit https://www.myfavoritemurder.com/episodes . Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/3UFCn1g . Head to social media to share your favorite moments from this episode. Instagram: instagram.com/myfavoritemurder Facebook: facebook.com/myfavoritemurder TikTok: tiktok.com/@my_favorite_murder Send your hometown stories to myfavoritemurder@gmail.com . Join the Fan Cult to access ad-free episodes of My Favorite Murder. Members also receive merch store discounts, exclusive audio and video content and more! Visit www.fancult.supercast.com to join. Shop for My Favorite Murder and other Exactly Right merchandise here: www.exactlyrightstore.com . Rate, review and follow My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to listen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.