Morbid

In November 1958, Frank Duncan’s pregnant wife, Olga Kupczyk, disappeared without a trace from their Santa Barbara home after enduring months of abusive treatment from her mother-in-law. A short time later, Frank’s marriage was inexplicably annulled after his mother, posing as Olga, showed up at the local courthouse with a man she’d hired to pose as her son, Frank.

One month later, in mid-December, investigators in the small coastal town of Carpinteria, California, were directed to the location of Olga’s body in a shallow grave, after one of her killers confessed to kidnapping and murdering her the previous month. The arrest of Augustine Baldonado and his accomplice, Luis Moya, solved the mystery of what happened to Olga, but when it came to the motive for the murder, the truth was more shocking than anyone had expected.

References

Associated Press. 1959. "Mrs. Duncan shouts 'liar' at friend in court." Modesto Bee, March 1: 2.

Blake, Gene. 1958. "Body of missing bride unearthed." Los Angeles Times, December 22: 1.

—. 1959. "Find Mrs. Duncan guilty of murder." Los Angeles Times, March 17: 1.

—. 1959. "Mrs. Duncan held sane, faces death." Los Angeles Times, March 25: 1.

—. 1959. "Mrs. Duncan tried to hire her to kill, carhop says." Los Angeles Times, February 25: 2.

—. 1959. "Mrs. Duncan's son weeps when death story is told." Los Angeles Times, February 27: 2.

Hertel, Howard, and Paul Weeks. 1962. "Mrs. Duncan dies with 2 conspirators." Los Angeles Times, August 9: 1.

Holt, Bob. 1959. "Frank Duncan in court outburst as D.A. Gustafson questions mother." Ventura County Star, March 5: 1.

—. 1959. "Jury out 4 hours, 51 min. debating fateful verdict in murder-for-hire case." Ventura County Star, March 17: 1.

—. 1959. "Mrs. Duncan testifies in own defense; admits 'plot' to break up marriage." Ventura County Star, March 4: 1.

Larkin, Deborah Holt. 2022. A Lovely Girl: The Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California's Most Notorious Killers. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Los Angeles Times. 1958. "Body of missing wife pointed out." Los Angeles Times, December 22: 1.

Martinez, Arlene. 2013. "Love, scandal and murder: Ventura County case drew national attention." Ventura County Star, June 30: 2013.

Renner, Joan. 2013. "Mother-in-law knows murdwer: The tragic death of Olga Kupczyk." Los Angeles Magazine, June 17.

The People of California v. Elizabeth Ann Duncan. 1960. 6490 (California Appeals Court, March 11).

Ventura County Star. 1958. "Grand jury set for murder case." Ventura County Star, December 23: 1.

Welsh, Nick. 2022. Elizabeth Duncan: The Last Woman Executed in California. October 13. Accessed November 11, 2025. https://www.independent.com/2022/10/12/elizabeth-duncan-last-woman-executed-california-history/.

Williams, Brad. 1958. "Mother-in-law in jail on charge of fake annulment." Los Angeles Times, December 16: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In November 1958, Frank Duncan’s pregnant wife, Olga Kupczyk, disappeared without a trace from their Santa Barbara home after enduring months of abusive treatment from her mother-in-law. A short time later, Frank’s marriage was inexplicably annulled after his mother, posing as Olga, showed up at the local courthouse with a man she’d hired to pose as her son, Frank.

One month later, in mid-December, investigators in the small coastal town of Carpinteria, California, were directed to the location of Olga’s body in a shallow grave, after one of her killers confessed to kidnapping and murdering her the previous month. The arrest of Augustine Baldonado and his accomplice, Luis Moya, solved the mystery of what happened to Olga, but when it came to the motive for the murder, the truth was more shocking than anyone had expected.

Grab SIGNED EDITIONS of The Butcher Legacy from Barnes & Noble before they run out!

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In today’s March Bonus Episode, Ash & Alaina sit down to unpack Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, the new documentary that takes a long, hard look at ANTM, the world of reality TV, and the price paid by young contestants chasing swift fame.

This isn’t a criminal case  but it is Morbid: power dynamics, exploitation, public scrutiny, looking back with adult hindsight… so, yeah, we had to discuss it! 

Join in the conversation on socials by clicking the episode post on MORBID Instagram! What parts of this documentary left your jaw on the floor?

Get ready for next month's Book Club Bonus Episode by reading Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell wherever books are sold! We are THRILLED to have Chef Reilly joining us on the day his book A Little Bit Extra comes out (3/31/26) to discuss all things Scarpetta! Preorder his book!

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Weirdos! Get ready to get abducted by this month's batch of listener tales brought to you By you FOR  you and ALL ABOUT YOU! This month Listeners are giving the deets of encounters from visitors from other planets, with a few ghostly and all-out-jumpscare stories! Because of  the MASSIVE blizzard, we're kicking it OG style, with audio only and sans Nicholas, but fret not!! Both will be coming back in March! 

If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to DEB by emailing us at  [email protected] with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line- and if you share pictures- please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

Mentions:

Follow Sarah James on TikTok!

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the news cycle, an elderly woman attempting to poison her husband would have garnered a pretty small amount of attention from the press, then faded away when a larger story came along. But it didn’t take long for the press to learn that the poisoning of Melissa Ann Shepard's new husband wasn't  the first time she had been suspected or convicted of attempted murder. In fact, Melissa Ann Shepard had a criminal history in two countries that went back decades, including many crimes that were very similar to the one she had just perpetrated only with a much worse outcome.

Recommendations

Follow @itsmartymiller on TikTok

 

References

As It Happens. 2016. Victim questions release of notorious Internet Black Widow. March 16. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.3492260/victim-questions-release-of-notorious-internet-black-widow-she-ll-never-change-1.3492579.

Associated Press. 2005. "'Black Widow' pleads guilty." Kingston Whig-Standard, March 15: 2005.

Canadian Press. 2013. "'Black Widow' pleads guilty to drugging husband's coffee days after wedding." Globe and Mail, June 11.

—. 2016. "Internet black widow off the hook." Hamilton Spectator, December 23: 10.

—. 2013. "'Black Widow' gets 3 1/2 years for drugging husband." Toronto Star, June 12.

—. 2013. "Alleged victim of 'Black Widow' holds no ill will as trial set to start." Windsor Star, June 7: 35.

2012. The Fifth Estate: The Widow's Web. Television. Directed by CBC News. Performed by CBC News.

Elash, Anita. 2012. Police were asked to warn husband of 'Internet Black Widow'. October 5. Accessed May 15, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/police-were-asked-to-warn-husband-of-internet-black-widow-1.1163836.

L'Heureux, Catie. 2016. "The real-life Gone Girl is 80, and terrifying." The Cut, April 13.

McMahon, Tamsin. 2005. "Robert Friedrich was alive and well, then he met this woman." Kingston Whig-Standard, April 9: 1.

O'Connor, Joe. 2012. "Romancing the 'Black Widow' ." National Post, October 3: 1.

Sherren, Reg. 2013. "Internet Black Widow 'will do it again,' says former husband." CBC News, September 16.

Starnes, Richard. 2005. "'Black widow' arrested in Florida." Ottawa Citizen, January 13: 7.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.