Doctoring the Truth
Welcome to Doctoring the Truth, a podcast where two dedicated audiologists dissect the world of healthcare gone rogue. Explore jaw-dropping stories of medical malfeasance, nefariousness, and shocking breaches of trust. The episodes provide deep dives that latch onto your curiosity and conscience. It's a podcast for truth-seekers craving true crime, clinical insights, and a dash of humor.
Doctoring the Truth
Ep 12-Dr. Hazzard's Hunger Games
The rise and deadly reign of Linda Burfield Hazard stands as one of the most disturbing chapters in American medical history. Without formal training, this self-proclaimed "fasting specialist" established a sanitarium in rural Washington State where dozens of wealthy patients would meet their demise—all while enriching herself with their fortunes.
From her first documented victim in 1902 to her eventual conviction a decade later, Hazard perfected a sinister formula: convince vulnerable, health-seeking individuals that their ailments stemmed from "impure blood" and "impaired digestion," then subject them to extreme fasting regimens where they received only small amounts of vegetable broth twice daily. As patients weakened physically and mentally from starvation, Hazard administered painful enemas and brutal massage sessions where she beat patients with her fists. This systematic torture served a calculated purpose—to render victims compliant enough to sign over guardianship of their estates, rewrite wills in her favor, and surrender jewelry and heirlooms.
The tragic story of British heiresses Claire and Dora Williamson crystallizes Hazard's predatory pattern. These wealthy sisters sought treatment after reading Hazard's book, only to be imprisoned at what locals had nicknamed "Starvation Heights." Claire died weighing a fraction of her healthy weight, while Dora was rescued by their former governess Margaret Conway—but only after Hazard extracted thousands of dollars in "medical fees." The subsequent investigation revealed forged documents, stolen possessions, and a pattern of financial exploitation that accompanied each death.
Despite her 1912 conviction for manslaughter, Hazard served less than three years before receiving a pardon. Most disturbingly, she continued practicing for decades afterward, claiming more victims until her own death in 1938—ironically, while attempting to cure herself through fasting. Her legacy serves as a chilling reminder of how charismatic individuals can weaponize medical authority to devastating effect, particularly when systems fail to protect the vulnerable from those who wear the mask of healer while harboring the heart of a predator.
Resources:
- Book: Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen
- https://www.olallabaymarket.com/starvationheights
- https://digitalarchives.wa.gov/Collections/TitleInfo/2508
- https://www.historylink.org/File/7955
- https://www.forgottenminnesota.com/2018/08/01/2018-07-starvation-doctor-quack-healer-serial-killer/
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Amanda Jenna Hi.
Speaker 2:How are you?
Speaker 1:Tell me the truth. I think we're both just out here surviving. If you guys are from southern Minnesota, you know the sickness is going around and it has found us, mm-hmm. Yeah, it found my husband first and he was very polite and like tried to stay away from me and I thought I was in the clear because he was sick for four days before I started showing symptoms. I thought I was in the clear, showing symptoms, I thought I was in the clear, and then last Thursday I was like Hoover, damn, it's got me. So, yeah, last weekend was a little rough for me.
Speaker 1:I had an acupuncture appointment yesterday and she was like, oh, you don't sound good. And so I like offered to wear a mask or whatever. And she was like, no, I'm just saying like I can do cupping treatment on you. It will help you feel better. And y'all, first of all, shout out to Peggy at Wellspring Clinic in Rochester, minnesota. But even the quality of my voice from when I like got there to when I left, when I like got there to when I left tremendous difference I I was shocked. So I think, peggy, for me being able to record tonight, because yesterday I had like a baritone voice.
Speaker 2:So, well, I'm not quite baritone, but I'm definitely sexy with all the you know, phlegm in the background and stuff. So, apologize, thank you for bringing that to us. Hey, oho, for sure I do have. I did. You know it's been a horrible couple days, but I did have something really amazing. I think it's really amazing happened to me um and um, I don't know, people are gonna think I'm whatever, but I don't care. It made me so, so happy. So I've had this refrigerator for like I don't know, I feel like we to think I'm whatever, but I don't care. It made me so, so happy.
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Speaker 1:Okay, well, I see really no time like the present to get into it. Okay, so the case I will be covering today, y'all, we're going back to the early 1900s and we're going to be discussing another quack doctor, dr Linda Hazard. Her name is quite fitting, if you ask me. This is a case of it's a blended case, really of medical malpractice and fraud, highlighting the dangers of pseudoscience. And just before I get super into it, I'm just going to say like there will probably be little to no banter in this episode, because poor Jenna is much more under the weather than I. So I guess if you enjoy an episode with little to no banter, this one is for you, baby, there are no trigger warnings in this episode. The main source that I used for the episode was a book titled Starvation Heights by Greg Olson. Also, shout out, greg Olson, you're an awesome author. I've read other books by him. I used digital archives of trial transcripts and news articles, and all sources that I used will be listed in the show notes. So this quack Dr Hazard used some insanely twisted methods in her medical practice. While there were many victims under Dr Hazard's care, there are two sisters that most articles, books and other sources focus on because they were a tipping point in Linda's career. So today we'll cover Linda's background, several of her victims, with an emphasis on the Williamson sisters and Linda's trial. So let's get into it.
Speaker 1:Linda Burfield Hazard was born on December 18, 1867 in Carver County, minnesota. Linda was the oldest of seven children born to Susan Neal Burfield and Montgomery Burfield. Linda was an outgoing child who cherished climbing trees rather than playing with dolls. Her early life was, on the surface, relatively unremarkable. The family's views on nutrition and exercise would surely shape Linda's future. The family's views on nutrition and exercise would surely shape Linda's future. The family was vegetarian for the most part, with only small portions of meat offered occasionally. Susan never forced her children to take or try any of the meat. Linda was largely self-educated, reading books about health and medicine. When she was 18 years old she married Edwin Perry and the two settled in Fergus Falls, minnesota. No-transcript. The marriage unfortunately ended in divorce and Linda moved to Minneapolis.
Speaker 1:By her early 20s Linda had become obsessed with alternative medicine, particularly fasting as a form of treatment. She was fascinated by the power of nature's ability to heal and firmly believed that overeating was the main cause of major illnesses. She believed that fasting would remove toxins from the body, correcting imbalances and allowing the body to heal itself. She was largely inspired by books written by American physician Edward H Dewey, who was a pioneer in therapeutic fasting. Despite not having formal medical education or legitimate credentials, linda sought to present herself as a medical professional. Studying fasting and its supposed benefits, linda was able to successfully set herself up as a practitioner of alternative medicine.
Speaker 1:In 1902, her first patient, gertrude Young, died under her care of apparent starvation. After undergoing a 40-day fast prescribed by Linda, the Hennepin County coroner launched an official inquest into Gertrude's death in hopes of bringing murder charges against Linda. Linda was investigated, but in the end the panel of the three physicians conducting the inquest couldn't bring formal charges against Linda because technically she didn't have a medical license and therefore they could not pursue a malpractice case. Additionally, gertrude was a willing participant in her own treatment, so that was also a dead end. Soon after the death of her first patient, she met Samuel Chrisman Hazard, who was known for being a drunk lecher and swindler. It was suggested that this marriage was more of a business decision than it was an act of love. Linda thought the image of the two of them would be good for her practice. You know him being confident, having a handsome masculine appearance and a background in the military. She thought this would bring credibility to the practice, but as it turns out, samuel was actually dishonorably discharged from the military due to misappropriation of military funds. He had been married twice before and had apparently you know, I don't know forgotten to officially divorce one of his ex-wives.
Speaker 1:Samuel was charged with bigamy due to failure to divorce the previous wife. He was prosecuted in 1904 and sent to prison for two years. Samuel had planned to leave Linda and reconcile his relationship with his former wife, but Linda would have absolutely no part in that because, you know what, it didn't fit her plans. Having only visited him once in prison, she somehow managed to get him wrapped around her finger and make the decision to stay with her. Upon his release, the two decided to leave Minneapolis, as they had earned themselves reputations for the wrong reasons. They packed their bags and moved to Washington State, where they settled in Olala in Kitsap County, which is a small town off of the Puget Sound.
Speaker 1:The decision to move to Seattle area was likely also a strategic business move for Linda, because at the time the state's medical licensing law had a loophole that grandfathered in practitioners of alternative medicine who lacked formal training or an official medical degree. Thus Linda got to call herself a doctor. Linda's plan was to save up enough money so that she could build a sanitarium. She would name the property Wilderness Heights a sanitarium. She would name the property Wilderness Heights To earn money. She set up practice in Seattle and would travel each day from Olala to Seattle until her sanitarium was completed.
Speaker 1:Her practice attracted many patients seeking an alternative approach to medicine. Her methods included fasting, enema treatments to rid the body of waste and promote a clean basis in the body, as well as massage therapy sessions. In January 1908, daisy Hagland came to the practice and suggested that she fast for 50 days. In her late 30s Daisy would die in February before completing the 50 days. Ida Wilcox would die the same year. Despite the deaths under her care, linda would go on to practice her alternative medicine. She even published a book you guys titled Fasting for the Cure of Disease. Two more patients died in 1909, with more to follow in 1910.
Speaker 1:Her practice began to receive more attention after the death of engineer Earl Edward Erdmund. Mr Erdmund was a civil engineer who had come to Seattle after working on a project on the Columbia River. He had complaints of indigestion and, after seeing several doctors with no relief, he called Dr Hazard's office in the Northern Bank and Trust Building. After three weeks of going without food, daily enemas and being massaged by the fasting specialist, the 24-year-old wasted away. A friend of his, who deplored the treatment, called an ambulance to take him to the hospital where doctors would order an urgent blood transfusion. He was so thin and frail that his ribs could be counted through the hospital sheets. And you guys, as I'm reading this, I'm like did I write there were no trigger warnings? Because maybe this is. This is so sad, it's horrible. This is a very tragic case. So back to Earl. His eyes were sunken so deep that one had to lean over the bed rail to make eye contact with him. Unfortunately, earl died on the table before the transfusion could be completed.
Speaker 1:The next day the headlines in the Seattle Daily Times read woman MD kills another patient. Sadly there was nothing that could be done about the case. The county coroner said that his hands were tied. This was not a new journey for Linda to traverse. She had been the spectacle of bad press before. In court battle after court battle. She had been both vilified and adored. Shockingly, the following day she was vindicated in the headline news. The State Board of Medical Examiners made the news that Linda Burfield Hazard, the fasting specialist, and 28 others were entitled to practice their controversial cures. They were all granted licenses. The others that were granted licensures included chiropractors, osteopaths, doctors practicing hot air therapy, mechanotherapy which is a tissue rehabilitation and electrotherapeutics.
Speaker 1:Despite the bad press, there were still many people that were eager to take advantage of her medical theories. In the span of two months, two more men died under her care. A patient named Ivan Flux had come to Washington from England to buy a ranch. Ivan was fascinated by her treatments and opted to place himself under her care. She insisted that he fast to cure his ailments. As his treatment progressed, he became weaker and weaker and after 53 days 53 days he died. It should be noted that while Ivan was under Linda's care, she somehow managed to take control of his finances. We'll find out that this is not only a conniving skill of hers, but also largely part of her devious scheme.
Speaker 1:Dorothea Dora, as she was referred to, and Claire Williamson were the orphaned daughters of a well-to-do English officer in the empirical army medical service. Neither sister was married and they were in their early 30s, with an estate estimated to be between somewhere in the tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars in today's money. They were best friends, their bond strengthened by male suitors seemingly only after their wealth. They attracted plenty of attention from men, but they weren't interested in traditional courtship. Having spent their lives traveling the world, they traveled near and far to visit distant relatives, which was sadly the only remains of their family tree. Their father died shortly after Claire was born and their mother when Claire was 14 and Dora 18. They had had two sisters, ethel and Gertrude, who also tragically died when they were very young.
Speaker 1:Beyond their distant aunts, uncles and cousins, they also continued to have a strong connection with their beloved governess, margaret Conway. Margaret began working for the family the day after Claire was born. With the death of their parents, margaret became very close and extremely important to the girls' lives. She was like a mother to them. From childhood they called her Tootie and after their mother's death Margaret referred to Dora and Claire as my Girls. So sweet, while their fortune afforded them world travel, homes around the world and a wardrobe. A person could hardly dream up. Travel homes around the world and a wardrobe a person could hardly dream up, it had not brought them the one thing that they sought over everything else a sense of well-being. If not their money, what would make them happy? These were often questions asked by the rich and unhappy, and one that Claire frequently posed to Dora.
Speaker 1:Both Europe and America were dotted with centers for healing and sanitariums, all promising robust health to those with brimming pocketbooks. The sisters were like many other faddists and had been to many institutes around the world. It became almost a hobby or a lifestyle for them, forever chasing endless good health. It was September 1910 and the sisters were on holiday in the Empress Hotel in Victoria, british Columbia. While there, the sisters saw a small but intriguing advertisement in the Seattle Daily Times newspaper for Dr Linda Hazard. Claire responded to the notice requesting a copy of Dr Linda Hazard's book Fasting for the Cure of Disease, with a personal note from Claire briefly describing some of the sisters' quote-unquote ailments. Five days later, the sisters received a copy of Dr Hazard's book in the mail.
Speaker 1:The two were consumed by the book, claire proclaiming that she agreed with every word. Claire proclaiming that she agreed with every word. A quote from her book is it should not require an exhaustive argument to establish the fact that disease has its own origin in impaired digestion. Upon this fundamental truth and its development, the treatment known as the fasting treatment depends on its entirety, and long experience at varied hands has demonstrated that, whatever the manifestation, the only disease is in pure blood and its sole cause impaired digestion. Dr Hazard's thesis was to rest the digestive system and allow the impurities of the body to pass. The natural cleansing process would, in time, strengthen the body with a fresh foundation to work upon to carry a person on indefinitely. The two thought that Dr Hazard's treatment could be their key to a lifetime of good health. Inside the book, an insert for her sanitarium located in Olala Washington.
Speaker 1:Claire and Dora wrote correspondence back and forth with Linda for a couple of months. Claire and Dora wrote correspondence back and forth with Linda for a couple of months, claire detailing her personal ailments and Linda suggesting treatment regimens for her. To start, claire and Dora felt that Linda was a woman of great compassion, caring for them without ever having met them. They felt that they even may become friends one day. They said of her she was the kind of person who would go to great lengths for her patients. They felt she had taken a special interest in them.
Speaker 1:The sisters agreed that they would go to Seattle to be under the care of Linda, who promised them a lifetime of good health following a three-week regimen, and then they decided they would not tell their family of their plans. After their three-week stay, claire planned to go back to England to train to become a kindergarten teacher and Dora to Australia to spend time with Tootie. This is so sad. The sisters were disappointed to learn that the sanitarium was not yet completed due to an unprecedented rainy season in Washington, but that Linda would transfer their care there as soon as she was able. In the meantime, she would coordinate living arrangements for them in a Seattle apartment where she would go and visit them personally to complete their treatments. To complete their treatments, treatment was a litany of odd regimens, as I kind of mentioned before, but it included being fed vegetable soup broth twice a day, having long sessions with enemas in the bathtub that could last one to several hours, and bizarre massage therapy sessions where Linda would beat her fists against the sisters' bodies. It had been two months and the sisters had lost an alarming amount of weight. While in the apartment they were delirious, each of them fainting at random and only being able to make groaning sounds, as recalled by a neighbor in the apartment.
Speaker 1:It was during this time that Linda had them transferred to Wilderness Heights, which by this time had earned itself a new nickname among the locals Starvation Heights. Wilderness Heights was becoming like a cult-like atmosphere. The clinic was located in a remote area, making it harder for patients to seek help and for patients' families to intervene. Linda surrounded herself with a group of loyal followers, some of whom were former patients. She was manipulative to her patients, using psychological tactics to keep them under her control. Conveniently, on the day of the sisters' transfers, she had her lawyer present, who would assist in drawing up a new will for them. Their new wills would have detailed instructions that Linda would receive an annual cash allowance from their estate and that she would be their guardian.
Speaker 1:Margaret Conway received many letters from Claire and Dora, which was not unusual as they routinely stayed in touch about their travels around the world. Margaret knew that they had planned to winter in California with family and plans to go back to British Columbia in the spring before finally departing to England and Australia. There were no mentions of a stop in Seattle. On April 30, 1911, a cablegram arrived for Margaret. The letter read Come SS Marama, may 8th, first Class, claire. She didn't think too much of this at first, though it was a very short letter from Claire, who routinely wrote down all of her thoughts and feelings, much like she was sending pages of her diary. Two words on the gram gave Margaret pause. Picking it up again, she read it over and over and over First Class. Why did she write that? Claire and Dora were women of means, born into it. They would travel nothing but first class. So this wording stood out as a red flag.
Speaker 1:She called the steamship's company office and learned that the Marama was not sailing to Sydney but from Sydney on May 8th. She knew then that something was wrong, and the cablegram was a call for help. She reserved herself a seat on the steamship and would head to British Columbia and from there make her way to Seattle and then to Olala. When stopping in Honolulu, margaret checked in the agent's office to see if she had any mail. She did in fact have a cablegram waiting for her. The cablegram was dated May 17, 1911, dispatched from Seattle Washington less than one week before, and it read Margaret Conway, arriving SS Marama, honolulu, Ask agent for letters. Both. Quite well, williamson, the letter was in care of someone she had never heard of before and a place she had never heard of before Linda Burfield Hazard, olala-hitsap County, washington, usa.
Speaker 1:In another letter waiting for her, claire wrote to Margaret that she had planned to stay where she was in Olala until July of that year, so it made the most sense for her to come and visit the sisters there. She wrote that she would explain more to Margaret when she arrived. Was there a problem or a possible danger that could not be committed to paper? Margaret wondered. She had now learned that Claire and Dora had fallen into bad health and were under the care of Linda Hazard, who was the only licensed fasting doctor in the world. Claire wrote in a different letter of Linda and her husband Samuel that they were the greatest and most wonderful humans. Claire also wrote of the doctor's recent conversation with her about Dora and said that it may take months for her to get her brain right, saying that she'd share more.
Speaker 1:When Margaret arrived, margaret thought what was all this talk about Dora's brain, what was wrong with it and what was all this about staying in a sanitarium until July, in cabins at that? She stowed the letters and the cablegram and continued on her travels, feeling so confused and so concerned. When she arrived in British Columbia, she was met by Samuel Hazard. She recognized his name from the letters as the man that was married to Linda. He said that he would accompany her on the last four-hour leg by boat to Seattle and they would catch a launch to Alola together.
Speaker 1:When inquiring of the girl's status, she learned that Dora was now better, but Claire who was now gravely ill. Samuel told Margaret that there was something he needed to share with her. He said ever so casually Claire dead, dora insane. Unprepared for such an announcement, all she could do was sit and cry. Upon arrival at their destination, she met Linda Hazard, who did not offer any condolences. She simply stated the facts. The girls came to her and when they did, they were in a shocking state of health. There was no hope for either one of them.
Speaker 1:And with that we're going to head into the old chart note section. Chart note chart note. Sorry, you had to listen to me sing this by myself. Welcome to the chart note segment, where we learn about what's happening in medicine and healthcare. All right, y'all.
Speaker 1:I recently heard about the world's smallest pacemaker geared towards babies and I thought that was such an exciting thing for families and babies and the medical world. So I looked more into it to share with you all and you know, in case you haven't heard of it yet, scientists at Northwestern University created the pacemaker. The device is smaller than a grain of rice. It is seriously so wild. You guys have to look up pictures of it online. It's crazy.
Speaker 1:The pacemaker measures 1.8 millimeters wide, 3.5 millimeters long and 1 millimeter thick. It is geared towards newborn babies with congenital heart defects, but it could also serve as a safe option for adults. The device is paired with a wearable patch on the chest and when the patch detects an irregular heartbeat, it sends a light pulse to activate the pacemaker. This pacemaker is injected into the body with a tiny syringe and dissolves after it is no longer needed. Scientists at Northwestern also noted that the pacemaker is powered by bodily fluids. It uses a galvanic cell, which is a simple battery that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. There are two different metals that serve as electrodes to send the electrical pulses to the heart, and those electrodes form a battery when in contact with surrounding biofluids that act as conducting electrolytes.
Speaker 1:Children were the main driving force behind the creation of this device. Experimental cardiologist Igor Efimov at Northwestern said, about 1% of children are born with congenital heart defects, regardless of whether they live in a low resource or high resource country. The good news is that these children only need temporary pacing after surgery. In about seven days or so, most patients' heart will self-repair, but those seven days are critical. Now we can place this tiny pacemaker on a child's heart and stimulate with a soft, gentle, wearable device, and no additional surgery is necessary to remove it. So super cool, super wild. Look into it, and the source that I used to look that up will be in the show notes. Okay, back to the case.
Speaker 1:Margaret was taken to olala, to wilderness heights, to see dora. She was immediately alarmed to see her bones protrude so sharply. Dora couldn't even sit without pain. She was only 60 pounds. Dora pleaded, thataded, that Margaret take her away from the sanitarium. However, if Linda was present, dora's tune changed In the presence of Linda. She was sure to state that she enjoyed being there and that Dr Hazard was such a caring person who was indeed curing her ailments. This was not the case for only Dora, but others at the sanitarium. Margaret had been approached several times by others begging her to take them with her when she left, in addition to patients raising awareness of the dangers at the sanitarium, margaret was also met in private conversation with a nurse, sarah Robinson. Sarah wanted Margaret to understand one thing fully If Dr Hazard's treatments failed, she would not be held accountable. The state board supported the doctor's rights to the fasting cure. You need to get Dora out of here before it's too late, sarah said. Margaret knew that Sarah was right and immediately went to pack the girls' trunks with their belongings. She felt that Dora was strong enough to make the journey out of this sanitarium and she would go to great lengths to make sure her life was saved.
Speaker 1:Margaret informed Linda of her plans to leave the sanitarium with Dora the next morning and that she would like to collect all of the belongings of Claire's that Linda so disgustingly took upon herself to have for personal use, including her clothing. Linda snarled Dora is not going anywhere. It is not in her best interest to travel in the state that she is in. It is in her sister's wish that she stay in her cabin. Unfortunately, kitsap County had deemed Dora incompetent, at the recommendation of Linda and Sam, putting Linda in charge of all of her personal and business affairs, knowing she'd need outside assistance to get Dora out of there. Margaret sent a cablegram to the girl's uncle, john Herbert, in Portland Oregon, requesting he come to Olala at once. By this time Linda was holding mail, locking the box so no one else could see what was coming and going. Margaret was unsure if the cablegram would reach John, but it was her only chance at saving Dora.
Speaker 1:On July 19, 1911, john Herbert arrived in Seattle to the fasting specialist's office. He told Linda that he received a telegram to come at once and fully agreed that a change in care for Dora was necessary, with plans of removing his niece immediately, removing his niece immediately. Linda informed him that she was the guardian appointed to Dora, given her mental weakness, and that he must obtain her consent before going anywhere. She told John that she would, you know, consider consulting with her lawyer over the matter you know when she had time and she'd get back to him. And then she turned away to tend to her patients. Margaret was beyond relieved to see John arrive at the sanitarium and then she turned away to tend to her patients. Margaret was beyond relieved to see John arrive at the sanitarium and she shared further what had taken place and of Claire's unfortunate fate.
Speaker 1:Linda arrived back in Olala that afternoon and informed John that her lawyer advised her not to let Dora be released anywhere until her accounts were settled. She handed John a billing statement for the amount of $2,000. This $2,000 would translate to $66,878 in today's money, with no details of the expenses. John was furious about the exorbitant amount. Linda snarked back I am a licensed physician and I am allowed to charge whatever I see fit for my services and if I wanted to, I could charge more. Negotiations went back and forth. Sam and Linda insisted that the charges were warranted and John fumed that they were extorting money from the vulnerable. A settlement was finally reached. John gave Linda $250 in traveler's checks with a note payable in three months for another $250, added to the amount of $375.90, which was already credited to the account. And it was done. The money bought freedom. This amount, by the way, would translate to $29,259 today, and with that John, margaret and Dora left Wilderness Heights.
Speaker 1:Lucian Agassiz, british Vice Counsel in Tacoma, washington, met with John, margaret and Dora the next day. Margaret took charge in sharing the story of what happened to the sisters under the care of Linda Hazard. Lucian was absolutely appalled at the idea of two of His Majesty's subjects held captive by some charlatan doctor in the forest of Kitsap County. Not only that, but one of them died. Margaret shared further detailings of the devious monster Linda was. Linda had imprisoned the sisters, stolen their money, forged and cashed personal checks and swindled them out of their jewels and family heirlooms. Margaret shared with the council that all the patients were prisoners there begging to be saved. There were those that fled in the night, others who begged her to take them with when she left.
Speaker 1:After discussion had ended, lucian knew that his first order of business would be to meet with a lawyer to get Linda Hazard's name removed from any legal documents regarding the Williamson sisters and their estate. He worked with Frank Kelly for this mission. A hearing took place over Dora's guardianship in Seattle. Judge, still known for his fairness, would oversee the hearing. After it was said and done, the guardianship was voided and the court ordered Linda to return some of the money paid to Dora. Lucian was hopeful that shedding light on the happenings at Wilderness Heights through this guardianship case would open the doors to a criminal case, and that is exactly what happened. Each day that pressed on afterwards, lucian continued an investigation into Linda Hazard and Wilderness Heights. With every passing day, dora continually grew stronger. She felt it was her duty to avenge her sister's death.
Speaker 1:Lucian Agassi and Frank Kelly continually pressured Kitsap County to open a criminal investigation against Linda Hazard. The county agreed to move forward in pursuing charges against Linda with the caveat that Dora Williamson must pay for the costs associated with the interviews, travel and hotel expenses for witnesses. Only then would the county do its part. Dora was, of course in full agreement. If she must pay to stop her sister's murderer, so be it. And so it was agreed. The judge prepared an arrest warrant for Linda. Linda Hazard would be charged with the willful murder of British heiress Claire Williamson.
Speaker 1:The investigation uncovered that Linda was well known to the authorities. The investigation uncovered that Linda was well-known to the authorities. The death of Claire Williamson was not an isolated incident. King County Prosecutor Mr Murphy offered previous files to Lucian and Frank. The case of Louis Rader was presented to them. Frank Kelly knew the name well. Louis Rader was a man of great potential whose time had been cut short. He died at the age of 46, 37 days after fasting treatment began. His death would be only eight days before Claire's. He settled in Olala in 1901. After serving in the state's legislature, rader was educated and published in local magazine. Rader was educated and published a local magazine, sound Views.
Speaker 1:Rader was initially treated at home but was moved to a hotel in Seattle so that Linda could monitor his progress more closely. As a sanitarium was not quite ready, lucian and Frank were fascinated by the facts of the case as they read through the documents and the discovery of a potential pattern. Officials at the health department were notified the second week of May that there was a man at the Outlook Hotel in Seattle who was starving. Health officials had heard this before but felt helpless to interject because Linda Hazard had a license now to perform treatment, no matter how dangerous most perceived it to be. Those who willingly sought their treatments would not be protected from their own foolishness. They said the health officials were to report to the higher-ups if they had heard of her treating any infants who died under their care, as they saw that as the only way to break down the walls for a prosecution. But all of her patients were adults who put themselves voluntarily under her treatment. Dr JE Crichton, head of the health department, later said and although Louis Rader's was certainly such a case and the patient was the most intelligent and accomplished man, we intervened. Rader assured the doctors that he was receiving great care, they attempted to remove him from the hotel, stating that all he needed was nourishment, but Rader refused to leave. He assured the health officials that he was in agreement with his care. When Linda heard that officials were intruding on her patient's care at the direction of the mayor, she was outraged. She moved him to a location that she would not disclose and he died at noon the next day, the 5'11 man weighing less than 100 pounds.
Speaker 1:The trial began in January of 1912 at a county courthouse in Port Orange. Linda's defense team argued that the medical establishments were conspiring against her because she was able to cure patients and they were unable to help. They also maintained that the patients who had come to see her were already ill, so those that died would have died anyway, even if they sought more controversial medical methods. The prosecution, however, produced witnesses that were medical experts. They discredited her practices and had a large amount of evidence that proved Linda benefited from the death of her patients, including forged signatures by Linda on legal documents. The trial revealed not just the fatal effects of her treatments, but also her exploitation of her patients' wealth and the psychological manipulation she employed to maintain control over them. Linda refused to take any accountability for the death of any of the patients and proclaimed that this was an attack on her as a successful woman and an attack on natural medical treatments.
Speaker 1:After deliberation, the jury came back in short order, finding the defendant, linda Hazard, guilty of manslaughter of Claire Williamson Hallelujah. She was sentenced to between two and 20 years of quote hard labor at the penitentiary in Walla Walla, washington. Walla, walla, washington. They have great onions, walla Walla. Anyway. She also had her medical license revoked, thank God, because it was just a joke. Anyway.
Speaker 1:Less than three years later, on december 26 1915, she was released due to her own declining health. The governor at the time, ernest lister, gave her a full pardon. Her and samuel then went to new zealand where she advertised herself and worked as a dietician and an osteopath. Because dream big Linda, she practiced there until New Zealand government charged her under the Medical Practitioners Act for practicing medicine without a license. In 1920, she and Samuel moved back to Olala where she opened another sanitarium. The sanitarium was named the School of Health. The sanitarium proved to be a success, but in 1935, it burnt down, thank God.
Speaker 1:Three years later, in her late 60s, linda herself again became ill. She underwent a fast of her own, but it proved to be unsuccessful. On June 24th 1938, she died at the age of 70. Karma the number of patients to die under her care are unknown, but estimates are between 20 and 40 people. Dorothea recovered her health and moved back to England where she later married and lived a reportedly happy life. And that, friends, is the story of Linda Hazard, the quack doctor, or one of the, I'm sure, of the early 1900s. But I did find a fun fact that I wanted to share with y'all, and if you have lived in or been to Washington State, you will probably know this. Well, you won't know this fact maybe, but you will know what I'm talking about. So one of Linda's victims, a man by the name of Ivor Haglund, was just a small child when his mother was killed by Dr Hazard, and he himself was also a patient of hers. He went on to form the successful seafood restaurant in Seattle called Ivers.
Speaker 2:No, ivers, you guys. That's on the pier.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, great fish and chips, great, great fish and chips. So while Linda killed his mother from starvation, ivers clam chowder would go on to feed millions, and I loved that. Yes, jenna is going to be joining us in some discussion about this case.
Speaker 1:But so what I do find fascinating about this case is that some say she's a delusional, quack doctor. But then how can she so clearly be committing fraud to get money from her patients? There has to be a level of sanity there to do that Right. But she so clearly be committing fraud to get money from her patients? There has to be a level of sanity there to do that Right. But she so clearly believed in fasting methods and that would become her own demise, which I shouldn't laugh about by treating herself at the end of her life. So was she a serial killer, narcissist, delusional, I don't know what? Do you think All the above? I know it's like she obviously truly believed in what she was doing.
Speaker 2:If she treated herself that way you know, when she was sick he maybe listen. I thought I was out for the count. I went and laid down. I was like I'm just gonna listen to the soothing voice of amanda tell a story. And then I got mad and madder and madder and kudos to you, amanda, because I kept making faces and gestures. Every time I learned something new about this horrific woman. And you managed to keep going. Yeah, so it's probably good that I wasn't able to interject without a coughing fit, because I had a lot to say.
Speaker 1:Y'all. I saw her finally start getting a notepad out and she would start scribbling things down.
Speaker 2:Yeah so I scribbled some stuff. It wasn't big enough, so we're just gonna go for it. First of all, well done. I mean thank you for bringing this to our attention. I love old-timey cases, uh, fascinating, and I think this ties into our goat ball guy. Uh, you know, with all the the uh just lack of need for licensure and just like, go for it. You don't need an md to go and and best case scenario, not help people and take their money. Worst case scenario, take their money and kill them, like this woman. Um, yeah, the starvation Heights. Obviously this was uh not a good thing.
Speaker 2:Um, 53 days of fasting what the hell? Jesus didn't even fast for 53 days. It was 40 days and 40 nights in the Bible. So like, come on, we can't even conceive of the. It's not possible. Come on, what was she thinking? Well, I think she was a master manipulator. He was like we're gonna weaken them. I mean, you hear about this in cults, right, they, you know they underfeed and overwork and and cut their sleep down and uh, so that you can like basically control people. She was so evil. And claire and dora oh my god, those poor ladies I know. Um, I had to laugh. I wrote down unusual rainy, unusual rainy season in seattle come on come on, guys, have you been there?
Speaker 2:all right? Uh, anyway, um, and the fact that she was called the only licensed fasting doctor in the world. Well, guess what? There that's. For a reason there is nobody else doing this, because it's not a thing. It's not a thing. Um so, uh, and the fact that this poor who's margaret, a cousin, a sister or something uh, she was their governess, governess, so like their nanny yeah, shameless.
Speaker 2:Yeah, basically their their mama, and she came and and and uh, linda's husband was like miss uh, miss claire's dead and dora's insane uh, hello, bedside. Hi, nice to meet you asshat, have some remorse and some, oh my god, okay and actually when.
Speaker 1:Just to interject again, when she first arrived at the sanitarium, they actually took her to see claire's body first and she was just like a shell of what she was and for some reason she had taken her organs out and this was actually part of the trial. But y'all, I could have made this into a five-part thing out linda took.
Speaker 1:Linda took claire's organs out and then it was like just a shell of what should have been like a liver left and all these things, and she was like, well, this is obviously why she died, like she should have been fasting long ago, like she was rotten from the inside out she was rotten because you went in there and you starved her for two months and people can't survive without food.
Speaker 1:and then you started using her shit like a psychopath wearing her dresses, using her notebooks, wearing their family jewels, like. If you guys are any sort of interested in looking into more about this, I highly recommend Greg Olson's book Starvation Heights Crazy.
Speaker 2:Listen, it's making me hungry, but, um, your medical chart note. Oh, oh my gosh, a pacemaker the size of a grain of rice. I want to see it. I'm gonna look it up and oh my god, how cute.
Speaker 1:And oh, thank you, thank you, so cute there was a picture of a little penny on there and they had three little pacemakers sitting on this penny. It's just, they're so cute.
Speaker 2:What a wonderful invention oh bless, and they're saving babies so it was like a little glimmer of light in this sad ass, bad woman's history.
Speaker 2:um, yeah, and thank you for what you did for women. Linda hazard, you did f all. You made us look bad. Okay, all right. Um, we have a real license, right. And then there were. There was a section I wrote I just might not say doctors rights, ffs, I mean about killing their patients. Okay, you have a right over the victims. And then I wrote uncle John, yay, so he had to pay the equivalent of $29,000 so that this organization could kill one sister and permanently disable the other. Yeah, I mean, okay, insult to injury. Basically, I wrote she basically instilled eating disorders in patients for her profit, am I right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh God. But again, she obviously believed in the treatment. She treated herself that way. Okay, but treated herself that way and she had that cult-like following there that worked with her, because obviously not all of her patients died, so she had people like hailing over her at this starvation heights, like no, no, like, no, no, this is great Eat drink your vegetable broth.
Speaker 2:Listen, if you go without some of that you know hot Cheetos for a couple of days, you're going to feel better. A little coffee, enema Woo, a little zip in your zap. You know what I'm saying. But, like she was, this is a cough medicine talking but she claimed that these that Claire died because she was rotten from the inside. Claire and dora weren't ill when they got there, they just had the misfortune of being wealthy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so like claire's claire's ailment that she had written in those correspondence back and forth with dora and not dora um, dr, psycho hazard, um were that. So she had a anterior tilt to her pelvis which would create some like back pain, and and so this is what Linda was treating her for.
Speaker 2:So let's get her down to 60 pounds, cause that's going to help that little pelvic tilt when your body can't stand upright because you're so.
Speaker 1:Where you have to sit on a pillow because your your bony butt is causing you pain to sit, but you're also too weak to stand. So what do you do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, to sit, but you're also too weak to stand. So what do you do? Yeah, and, by the way, while you're weak and vulnerable, let's have you sign all your guardianship and your money over.
Speaker 1:I mean yeah horrible, horrible, horrible woman made me so mad.
Speaker 2:That made me so mad and I I really appreciate you sharing it, but I'm I'm so angry that it actually made me feel a little bit better that I could come I thought I was out, found a little spunk.
Speaker 1:She back, cause she mad. No one likes a mad woman. Hashtag Taylor Swift.
Speaker 2:Fascinating.
Speaker 1:Um, shall we sorry. Did you have another thought?
Speaker 2:I have so many thoughts, but it's just going to be more ranting and it might end up in a coffee fit, so we should probably move on to her, let's let's move along to a happier note or funny note. I'm not sure what we've got. What do we got? Medical mishap. We've got a medical mishap Favorite part. So this one is from my own experience and by my own. I'm talking as myself.
Speaker 2:This is Jenna Um, you know the sexy voice lady um hey, a few years ago, when my daughter was about 10 years old, we paid a visit to my mother who was in the hospital recovering from knee surgery. I sat and chatted and my daughter wandered around the hospital room amusing herself while her grandmother and I talked. She liked to make uh know, blow up turkeys out of the gloves. You know how kids are, oh sure, classic.
Speaker 1:I was just letting her do her.
Speaker 2:She also loves to draw, so I thought nothing of it when she located some tri-erase markers and began doodling on the whiteboard in the room. For those lucky listeners who may not have had an experience in a hospital room, these whiteboards are a communication board where information about the doctor nurse on duty are located dietary concerns, rounding times and other important messages are relayed. Mom was still pretty woozy on painkillers and dregs of anesthesia, so we finished our visit and said our goodbyes, promising to visit again the next day. Later that evening my dad was in the room with my mom when a nurse came in and asked my mom to hold out her arm so she could put an alert bracelet on. Oh no, dad was alarmed that it was bright red, and even more so when he saw that it said dnr, do not resuscitate. He shouted wait, don't do that. She's not dnr, we want resuscitation. We want. Why are you doing this? The nurse pointed to the whiteboard and the large message on it which spelled out D N R in large letters.
Speaker 2:My daughter's idea of a joke. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or be impressed that my daughter's idea of that. She even knew what DNR was.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, what a stinker. So my dad was there. I, I was gonna just say that thank god, your dad was there visit your loved one.
Speaker 2:Folks, uh, don't let your kids draw on the whiteboards and always be there when wristbands are being put on.
Speaker 1:oh my gosh, go john. Thank god you were there. Yes, that's so funny, thank you.
Speaker 2:LOL Savannah.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, I guess you're going to be up next week, so you better heal up. And by that time, what can we expect to hear?
Speaker 2:I will be right as rain, because next week we're doing something a little more lighthearted, amanda. Oh, okay, sounds good. Yeah, I got, I got pulled down in the dregs of conspiracy and animal cruelty and experimentation and and all kinds of stuff. So you know what we're doing next week. Tell us Black market body brokers. Oh my God, that's right, people Gross. Stay tuned for lightheartedness. You'll learn how much a piece of whatever costs and it'll be enlightening.
Speaker 1:I will be very much looking forward to that.
Speaker 2:I'll try not to be on cough medicine for this, although it might help who knows, or do whatever.
Speaker 1:Let us know what you think about her on cough syrup.
Speaker 2:No okay, well, I can do this part because you're on cough medicine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, I got, I got you boo okay, so don't miss a beat. Subscribe or following doctoring the truth wherever you enjoy your podcast for stories that shock, intrigue and educate. Trust, after all, is a delicate thing. You can text us directly on our website at doctoring the truth at buzzsproutcom. Email us your own story ideas and comments at doctoring the truth at gmail, and be sure to follow us on instagram at doctoring the truth podcast oh yeah, oh my gosh, yes, yes, yes, yes, we had to change that.
Speaker 1:We got to change this. Be sure to follow us on instagram at Doctoring the Truth Podcast.
Speaker 2:And before you finish, I just want to say we have started a Patreon. We haven't launched it yet, because we want to hear from you guys what do you want for special content as a Patreon. If you sign up for $5 a month to be a patron of our show, what do you want to see for $5 a month to be a patron of our show? What do you want to see? This could be special content an extra episode, ad free um video, um funny stories, I don't know. Just please email us at um doctoring the truth, at Gmail, or you can send us messages on Instagram, because we're here for you and we want to keep being able to do this.
Speaker 1:So, um, we'll be launching, Stay tuned, We'll be launching that Patreon very soon and, in the meantime, don't forget to download, rate and review so we can be sure to bring you more content, as mentioned next week. Until then, stay safe and stay suspicious. Goodbye.
