Sensationalist press coverage of crime
Subject in Society & Culture
Sensationalist press coverage of crime has come up in 1 episode across 1 podcast in TMT, including Morbid. 1 person has made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Ash KelleyCo-host of the true crime podcast Morbid
Kelley says contemporaries speculated Klimek was convicted because she was considered unattractive, citing unkind press descriptions.
“Some members of the press and public speculated that her conviction was due to her lacking physical attraction”
Morbid: Tillie Klimek: Mrs. Bluebeard of Chicago (Apr 9, 2026) · Listen from 44:11
Kelley expresses dislike of accused killers giving jailhouse interviews and becoming celebrities during investigations and trials.
“I know. I hate that part of murder investigations and trials and everything”
Morbid: Tillie Klimek: Mrs. Bluebeard of Chicago (Apr 9, 2026) · Listen from 32:34
Kelley says the suspected victim count grew to 20 people by mid-November 1922 as the press covered every sensational detail.
“By mid-November, the suspected number of victims had risen to 20 people, and that was just as they were indicted by a grand jury”
Morbid: Tillie Klimek: Mrs. Bluebeard of Chicago (Apr 9, 2026) · Listen from 33:11
Podcasts
- Morbid · 1 episode
Episodes
Tillie Klimek: Mrs. Bluebeard of ChicagoMorbid · Apr 9, 2026 · 50 min
Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart recount the arsenic murders, sensational 1923 trial, and conviction of Chicago's Tillie Klimek.