Raymond Fernandez took advantage of widows and spinsters who sent their bios into the Lonely Hearts Club in the 1940s. Martha Beck was one such lonely heart who fell for Raymond and took part in his schemes where the two murdered three people for their money. Strange Country cohosts Beth and Kelly discuss this murderous duo, and the ridiculous amount of coverage devoted to Beck’s body. Beck even asked herself: “Am I on trial for murder or for being fat?”
Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands
Cite your sources:
“2 ‘Lonely Hearts’ Pay Death Penalty.” The New York Times, 9 March 1951, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/03/09/82101582.html?pageNumber=52. Accessed 17 August 2022.
Brown, Wenzel. Introduction to Murder: The Lonely Hearts Murder. New American Library, 1952.
Buhk, Tobin T. The Lonely Hearts Killers: The Bloody Passions of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2020.
Fiske, David. “Executions Ended ‘Lonely Hearts Killers’ Spree.” New York Almanack, 12 March 2020, https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/2020/03/executions-ended-lonely-hearts-killers-spree/. Accessed 17 August 2022.
“The Lonely Hearts Killers - Top 10 Crime Duos - TIME.” Videos Index on TIME.com, http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1900368_1900369_1900362,00.html. Accessed 17 August 2022.
“Martha Beck Biography.” OurBiography, 22 September 2018, https://www.ourbiography.com/martha-beck/. Accessed 17 August 2022.
OConnor, Jessica. “The Lonely Hearts Killers And Their String Of Brutal Murders.” All That's Interesting, 17 July 2022, https://allthatsinteresting.com/lonely-hearts-killers. Accessed 17 August 2022.
Sedlak, Amanda. “12 Morbidly Fascinating Details About the Lonely Hearts Killers.” Ranker, https://www.ranker.com/list/lonely-hearts-killers-facts/amandasedlakhevener. Accessed 17 August 2022.