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[00:00:01]

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode features graphic descriptions of the effects of starvation that some people may find disturbing. Extreme caution is advised, especially for children under 13. 43 year old Linda Hazzard watched the sunset with one of her patients, 37 year old Dora Williamson, Linda reckon Dora weighed about 70 pounds thanks to the extreme fast that Linda had prescribed. By any measure, Dora should have been dead by now.

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But this woman turned out to be stronger and more attached to life than Linda had expected. Linda thought that maybe Dora just needed a little nudge. So she pointed to a deep ravine off in the distance and mentioned that one of her former patients had attempted suicide by throwing themselves off the edge of it in a honeyed voice.

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Linda asked Dora if perhaps she was considering doing the same. After all, she thought, death is inevitable. And surely for Dora, it was only a matter of time. Hi, I'm Greg Polson.

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This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from podcast. Every episode we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers.

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Today, we're concluding our two part series on Dr. Linda Berfield Hassad, a fasting specialist who murdered unsuspecting patients with her starvation cure. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson.

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Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of Serial Killers and all other originals from podcast for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Last time we learned about Linda's childhood exposure to harmful medical treatments and charted her evolution into a popular alternative medicine guru and ultimately a killer.

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Today, we'll see how Linda victimized wealthy British sisters Dora and Claire Williamson at her horrific sanitarium in Washington state.

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And finally, we'll cover how her deadly medical practice was exposed for what it truly was murder.

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We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us.

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By 1911, 43 year old Linda Berfield Hazard was a successful businesswoman, health guru and seasoned killer. She was a passionate believer in the powers of fasting to cure disease.

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But her methods were extreme. And if they resulted in death. Well, Linda wasn't too bothered, especially if the patient had money. Between 1982 and 1911, at least 13 of her patients died from starvation, but that did nothing to quell her popularity.

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In late 1910 to British heiresses, 33 year old Clare and 37 year old Dora Williamson came across Linda's book. They wrote to her asking for her help. Linda, aware of the women's wealth, was only too happy to make them her special clients.

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In February 1911, the sisters moved to Seattle to start their fasting regimen until Linda's care. They were thrilled about the doctor with the cult following had agreed to take on their cases for the laundry list of ailments they described to her. Linda prescribed her usual Spartan menu one cup of vegetable broth and a teaspoon of orange juice a day.

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Two months later, the sisters were emaciated, Dora was delirious, and Clare could barely walk. Their neighbors were aware the women were starving, but were helpless to do anything. Even Linda's nurse was concerned, but Linda told the sisters they were improving.

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She also said it was time to bring them to her sanitarium in Olalla, about a two hour ferry ride from Seattle on April 21st, 1911, two ambulances arrived to transport the sisters to Olalla. Each woman was strapped onto a gurney covered in thick woolen blankets to hide her skeletal frame and carried out of the building. Linda looked on, pretending to offer words of comfort.

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But as soon as the vehicles were en route, Linda's attorney, John Arthur, swooped in. His mandate from Linda was to get the sisters to create a new will. He asked Claire if there were any changes she wanted to make in case she didn't survive the journey to Olalla. She dutifully put pen to paper.

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After leaving Margaret all of her jewelry, she promised the Hassad Institute 25 British pounds per year. And then she directed her remains to be left under the care of Dr. Linda Hazzard. When she was done, Arthur signed off on the letter without knowing it, Claire had just created a new will. The sisters were then loaded onto a steamboat that would take them across Puget Sound. Ship Captain Nels Christensen saw both women during the journey.

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He recalled that the girls were at best 50 or 60 pounds. Neither could stand. It was troubling, to say the least.

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Vanessa is going to take over and the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show.

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Thanks, Greg. Despite Captain Christensen's obvious concern for the Williamson sisters, he did nothing to intervene. Nor did he question why the women were so thin. This phenomenon in which witnesses look on while others are victimized is known as the bystander effect. According to social psychologist Dr Rachel Manning. There's a negative correlation between the number of witnesses at a crime scene and the likelihood that any of those bystanders will speak up. Essentially in the presence of many people, individuals are more likely to assume that others will intervene, shifting the responsibility to those around them rather than taking action themselves.

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In the case of Claire and Dora Williamson, Captain. Christensen undoubtedly believed that if something were horribly wrong with the sisters, another person with them, the lawyer, the paramedics or their own doctor would have said something, but they didn't.

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And so with no protest or resistance from any of the many bystanders on the boat, Linda and the starving sisters made the two hour voyage to Olalla.

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At the time, Olalla was a sparsely populated village, and the locals gave Linda a wide berth. They'd seen her skeletal patients walking the paths and word quickly spread that strange things were afoot on her property, which they dubbed starvation heights.

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When the Williamson sisters finally got to the property, they were disappointed in the extreme instead of the luxurious retreat they'd imagined. They found a collection of rough cabins with no electricity or running water surrounded by forest.

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The only finished portion of the facility was Linda's house, where she lived with her husband, Sam. Linda told the sisters that they were to stay in the attic.

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33 year old Claire had her own small, bare room, while 37 year old Dora was ordered to sleep outdoors. Her bed was on a landing, separated from Claire's room by a wooden screen.

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Linda claimed that sleeping outside would help to take advantage of the fresh Washington air. But the lows in Olalla were near freezing, and Dora had lost nearly all of her body fat.

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That first night, she shivered in the frigid air, her blanket barely protecting her from the cold.

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The very next morning, as soon as the sisters woke up, Sam Hazzard offered to help them write letters to their loved ones. At the time, Dora was feeling too delirious to speak properly. Clare, however, agreed, appreciating the seemingly kind gesture, Sam told her that he would type the letter.

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As Clare dictated to him, Clare barely managed to speak, only muttering vague sentiments about how happy she was to finally be in Olalla. Then her strength was gone and she needed to rest once more. Sam, meanwhile, kept typing and typing. Then he had her sign the letter. Unbeknownst to Clara, instead of sending well wishes to her family, she had just signed away a portion of her wealth.

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It was only the first of many financial documents that Sam and Linda forged, ultimately granting the hazards access to the sisters many assets. But their manipulation didn't stop there. As soon as Linda had the sisters isolated from the outside world, she went to work on isolating them from each other.

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With Claire and Dora in separate rooms and unable to walk on their own, they had no way to communicate, and Linda insisted that any contact would only be a distraction from their recovery. Instead, the sisters relied on Linda and her nursing staff to pass along messages, but neither knew if the other ever received them.

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When Dora begged Linda to see her younger sister, Linda claimed that Clare was far too weak for visitors. And when Clare asked after Dora, Linda said that her mental state had deteriorated, telling Clare that Dora was altogether out of her head.

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Though the sisters were only a room apart, these lies made them feel as if they were miles away and too helpless to come to the other's aid. But one day, Dora took matters into her own hands.

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Desperate to see her sister, Dora pushed herself onto the floor of the attic and crawled over to her sister's bed from her spot on the ground. Dora peered up at Claire's unmoving figure on the bed. She called to her, Clare, can you hear me? But as Claire stared and turned over, Dora was stunned. Her younger sister was gone beyond recognition. The skin on her face clinging tight to her skull. Clare was also shocked. Dora starved body was just as sickening, like seeing twisted reflections of their own emaciation.

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The sisters were horrified at the sight of one another.

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Clare demanded that Dora leave the room. Dejected and disheartened, Dora crawled away as she dragged herself across the floor. She scraped the craib thin skin on her knees, leaving a trail of blood from her sister's bed to her own.

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At this point, it's unclear if the sisters were aware of how dire the situation was or if they suspected that Linda was trying to kill them. But seeing Dora skeletal face clearly stirred something in Clare. Soon afterwards, she wrote a letter to the women's former governess, Margaret Conway, gathering what little strength she had. Clare wrote just three lines, they read. Come SS Marma, May 8th, 1st Class Claire, when Margaret received Claire's message on April 30th, 1911, she was unnerved.

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Clare's message was so brief, but she understood what it meant.

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Something was terribly wrong, worried and confused. Margaret boarded the SS Mahmod days later from her home in Melbourne, Australia, bound for Alala Washington. But the journey across the world would take over a month. A month. The sisters didn't have to spare.

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Coming up, Margaret races to save the sisters from Linda's murderous clutches.

[00:11:49]

Hey, podcasters. Starting October 1st, we're bringing you the scariest, most hair raising ghost stories ever imagined. Every Thursday on the all new original series, Haunted Places Ghost Stories, Alistar Murden summons a new spine tingling tale of rates, phantoms and chilling apparitions. These stories come from all over the world, including Japan, India, the U.K. and even ancient Rome, don't miss stone cold classics like The Kitbag from Algernon Blackwood, a sinister account of a condemned murderer's final wish and the lengths he go to fulfill it.

[00:12:24]

And the misery of a Spanish tale of a wandering musician who hears a terrifyingly beautiful song in a burned out monastery and is doomed to capture its notes until he dies. You can find and follow haunted places, ghost stories free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget, October is our favorite month and one of our busiest. So make sure to search our cast network and the Spotify search bar to see all our new shows.

[00:12:56]

Now back to the story. In April of 1911, 43 year old Linda Berfield Hassad was slowly killing her patients, British heiress Claire and Dora Williamson, having isolated the sisters at her unfinished sanitarium in a remote corner of Washington.

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Linda waited for them to die so she could claim their fortune. Days into their stay at Olalla, the sisters began to desperately crave food. Any food. Claire even begged Dr. Hazzard for chicken, though she had been a vegetarian for years.

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But the doctor shot down all requests for anything outside of their strict diet. Instead, she insisted the treatment was working, was restoring their health. She told them, I can see it in your eyes.

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During one of the few times the sisters were permitted to dine together, the famished Claire grew ravenous. The once dainty and well-mannered young woman was so ashamed, she begged Dora to leave her so she could suck spilled broth off her dress.

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In May, after two weeks at the sanitarium and 60 days of fasting, Claire's health took a sharp turn. She was deteriorating both physically and mentally, bed bound and barely able to speak, separated from one another and with no means to communicate.

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Daura begged Linda for updates on Claire, but the reports were always vague and offered little information about her sister's condition. Until one day, Linda asked if Dora wanted to speak with Claire. Daura eagerly agreed.

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When Linda carried her to Claire's bedside, Dora was horrified by what she saw bedsores spread across her sister's body and the outline of her bones poked through her thin, almost translucent skin.

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Meanwhile, Linda loomed over the pair, taking in Dora's horrified expression. Claire mustered her strength and managed to whisper to her, I want to see Dora alone.

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Eventually, Linda left the girls and went to linger in the hall outside when she was gone. Clare looked long and hard at Dora, as if she desperately wanted to tell her something.

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But neither sister seemed to have the strength, physically or mentally, to speak. They simply looked at one another for a few moments. Then Dora softly kissed Claire in the forehead as Clare closed her eyes, seemingly asleep. After a moment, Dora stumbled from the side of the bed back into Linda's arms.

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It's possible that Linda knew the sisters drew strength from one another and wanted to break their spirits.

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So when Linda sensed Clara was about to slip away, she made sure that had happened in front of her sister. On May 19th, 1911, Dora was in the sitting room when Linda came down the stairs with Clare in her arms. This time, Clare attempted to speak to Dora. She whispered, It's me, Dory.

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But over the dying woman's quiet words came the booming voice of Linda Dory. Is that a pet name? What a lovely name. How do you spell it?

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Clare continued to whisper. But Linda rambled on, drowning out Claire's weak voice. Then, to Dora's horror, Linda asked Clare if she would like a treatment door looked on as Linda placed Clare in a bed and hammered her palm against her stomach.

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Clare let out an infantile cry and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She seemed to fall unconscious. And then Dora realized she was dead.

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Sobbing Dora kissed her sister on the forehead. 33 year old Clare, the only family she had left in the world, was gone in the days following Claire's death.

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Dora was delirious with starvation and her own private mourning. But Dr. Hazzard did little to relieve her patient's pain. Instead, she forced Dora into taking regular enemas and subjected her again and again to the same violent massages that literally killed her sister with one sister taken care of and a series of forged documents granting her access to their wealth, Linda was determined to push Dora even closer to death.

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Two nights after Clare died, Linda and Dora sat together. Outside, Linda pointed toward a deep ravine on the property and mentioned another patient's suicide.

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Dora snapped that this was a highly inappropriate thing to say. In light of her sister's death, Linda met her anchor. She called Dora insane and an imbecile. But then she softened her voice. She lied to Dora, telling her it was Claire's wish that she remained at Olalla for life.

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And Linda promised they would fulfill Claire's desire to never let Dora leave.

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When Dora. Usted Linda ignored her, she simply picked up Dora's frail body, telling her it was time for a treatment. Daura, weak and unable to argue, was carried off by the doctor for yet another painful enema and violent massage.

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Days later, on May 26, 1911, as a grieving Daura wasted away in bed, Sam Hassad went to the sister's bank without informing the cashier of Clara's death. Sam presented a signed money order from Clare to be paid to Dr. Linda Berfield hazard.

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Then he withdrew 1000 dollars about 27000 dollars. Today, nothing, not even death, would stop the hazards from stealing from their patients. But unbeknownst to Linda and Sam, Clare and Dora's former governess had finally arrived in Olalla.

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It had taken Margaret over a month to complete the long voyage from Melbourne, Australia, to Washington. Her ship docked on June 1st, 1911.

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Too late for Clare, but Dora was still alive and she needed help.

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When Margaret arrived at the sanitarium, Sam Hazzard told her plainly, Miss Claire has died and Miss Dora is helplessly insane. Margaret almost fainted. She'd had no idea that the sisters had been seeking medical treatment this entire time and was crushed to hear of Claire's death. She was also suspicious, especially when she met Linda, who seemed oddly unaffected by Claire's death. Linda swore that Claire was in such ill health at the start of her treatment that she was already about to die and that the fasting had little to do with her decline.

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And then to prove her claim, she described in great detail the autopsy that she'd conducted on Claire's body.

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She told Margaret that Claire's liver was so hard from cirrhosis that she couldn't get a knife to penetrate it.

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And supposedly the blood had dried so severely in one of her heart valves that it turned to powder in Linda's fingers. It sounded as if she were talking about an animal, not a human being.

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Then Linda showed her Claire's embalmed body. The governess hardly recognize the gaunt corpse of her former charge. Regardless, she was determined not to let Daura meet the same fate.

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Linda led Margaret outside to Dora's cabin, warning the governess that Dora was now mentally incapacitated. Margaret spotted someone seated outside, and at first she believed the small figure was a young child.

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But as she got closer, she realized it was Daura skin drawn tightly over her skull, her body a bluish tint.

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As soon as Lynda left the two women alone, Dora begged Margaret to take her from the sanitarium. Margaret embraced Dora and promised she would do everything she could to get her out.

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But the very next day, Dora changed her mind. Margaret was shocked.

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She wondered if Linda had gone to see Dora after Margaret's visit or if Dora truly had lost her mind. As Linda and Sam insisted.

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Despite this, Margaret was determined to help Dora escape and in the meantime, add some weight to her emaciated body. Sometimes she added rice or flour to the thin tomato broths. But there were nights when Linda dropped in at mealtimes, making that impossible. Linda watched Dora cyper thin vegetable broth and gushed over the farm. Fresh quality of the produce.

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It all came from cans. But Linda lied with such conviction. Even Margaret found herself believing her. After a while, she would say later that part of Linda's power over people was mentals suggestion. And Linda's primary suggestion was that her method was to be followed no matter the consequences. According to the book Brainwashing the Science of Thought Control by author Kathleen Taylor, the promise of healing or a cure is a common method of gaining psychological dominance over a victim. The brainwasher, usually an authority figure, uses these claims to liberate an individual from a supposed false doctrine.

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They then chain them to another belief that the brainwashers claims will actually heal their victim. In the case of Linda Hazzard and her victims, traditional medicine was the supposed false doctrine and starvation the proposed cure. Kathleen Taylor writes, Brainwashing removes its victims freedom to act, but leaves them still believing they're acting freely. This is done through a process Taylor calls mental weathering. Taylor goes on to explain that brainwashing can literally carve out new pathways in the human brain, changing the way a person thinks these pathways can be overturned.

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But it takes time. So Margaret was patient with Toura. She stayed by her side, nursing her body and mind back to normalcy. Slowly, Daura emerged from the fog of her starvation, and after some weeks passed, she was able to fully realize the danger she was in.

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In late July of 1911, three months after her arrival at the sanitarium, Margaret announced a 43 year old, Linda, that she and Dora were leaving.

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Linda was livid. Her face turned bright red as she told the woman that Dora was by no means allowed to travel in the state she was in. Then Linda dropped a bombshell. She was Dora's legal guardian and therefore could refuse to let her leave.

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Dora was shocked. She insisted she didn't grant Linda legal guardianship. But after some investigation, Margaret discovered that when Dora's mental state was at its worst, Linda's lawyer declared the 37 year old mentally incompetent.

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This left Linda as her doctor in charge of the sister's personal. And financial matters, realizing they couldn't simply walk out, Margaret, send a telegraph to Dora's uncle in Portland, John Herbert, urging him to come right away when John arrived on July 19th.

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He calmly informed Linda that they would, in fact, be taking Daura after consulting a lawyer. Linda finally agreed to release Daura, but only if she paid her remaining bill in full, gritting his teeth.

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John handed Linda over 800 dollars in traveler's checks, a little over 20000 dollars today. But it was a small price for Daura to pay for her own freedom.

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On July 22nd, John, Margaret and Dora left the sanitarium. Margaret had been there 52 days, Dora for almost 100. Her mental clarity was increasing every day, and by now she knew that she'd barely escaped with her life.

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The three traveled over Puget Sound on a little steamer bound for Tacoma when they reached their destination. It was time to seek justice. Daura recruited the help of British Vice Consul Lucien Agassi and Frank Kelly, a seasoned Tacoma attorney, to help build a case against Linda. Their first step was to take her to court over Dora's guardianship. That month, they were able to remove Linda as guardian and order her to return 973 dollars around 26000 dollars. Today, though, ultimately she was allowed to keep more than half for the medical services she provided.

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It wasn't a big win, but the legal team hoped it would open the door to criminal charges for Claire's death. And it did. The judge agreed to launch an investigation. Agassi and Kelly began building their case against Linda for manslaughter. Their first order of business was to retrieve the jewelry Linda stole from Clare after her death. Dora estimated that in all, Clare was missing 6000 dollars or 160000 dollars. Today, worth of precious jewels, many of them family heirlooms, passed down to the sisters by their mother.

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But as usual, Linda gave the legal team the runaround. She claims she returned some of the jewelry to Dora and sent a portion to her former attorney, John Arthur, for safekeeping. Though they were able to locate five hundred dollars worth of jewels, they never found the rest.

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Dora's legal team also discovered that Sam and Linda had been transferring money to themselves via Clare and Dora's bank accounts after gaining access through forged documents. In all, the pair withdrew around 1700 dollars, approximately 46000 dollars today.

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But the most important discovery by far was that authorities in Seattle had been keeping a file on Monday when Agassi sat down to speak with the Seattle prosecutor about the case he was building against Linda, the attorney, and let him know that Olalla was not in his jurisdiction. But he knew of other cases in Seattle, just like the one involving Claire that could be prosecuted there.

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As Agassi stared in amazement, the attorney pulled out a weathered folder. It was stuffed with notes on all of Linda's Seattle victims, starting with Lewis Rader, the legislator and magazine publisher. He died in Seattle on May 11th, 1911, only eight days before Claire, and just as she'd done with Claire.

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Linda had isolated Rader away from anyone who could have helped him.

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Agassi and Kelly sifted through all the hazard complaints, as they were called.

[00:27:50]

It was one name after another. Frank smothered mud Witney, Blanche Tindell, Viola Heaton. All in all, they were looking at 11 victims.

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Linda, they saw, had an established pattern starving her clients of their life and on occasion their finances, and they were determined to put a stop to it.

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Coming up, Linda's lies unravel in court. Now back to the story.

[00:28:19]

After almost 100 days of isolation at starvation heights, 37 year old Dora Williamson finally escaped Linda Hazard's clutches. On July 22nd, 1911, she boarded a steamer bound for Tacoma and never looked back.

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After fleeing Alala, Dora began her arduous recovery from the brink of starvation. But for as far as she had come, she had a whole new battle yet to face, this time a legal one. First, she had to remove the linta as her guardian. Then her lawyers began the process of building a case for manslaughter. Soon, they uncovered a file being kept on Linda by Seattle authorities. 11 of her patients had died within three years, and one of them, Eugene Wakelin, was found on her property with a bullet through his head.

[00:29:11]

Lucien Agassi, the British vice consul, wasn't sure what surprised him more that Linda's practices had killed so many or that officials in Seattle had deliberately looked the other way, while Seattle authorities seemed keen to prosecute those in Olalla weren't.

[00:29:28]

Agassi chalked it up to the relative poverty of the rural area. They simply couldn't afford to put Linda on trial. Plus, they knew that their district attorney was no match for any defense lawyer Linda would hire, aware that a case was being built against her.

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Linda didn't worry. In fact, she was outraged. She saw herself as a martyr and a scapegoat for alternative medicine.

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After all, she'd only lost 12 patients out of a thousand.

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She doubted anyone would have the temerity to charge her with anything.

[00:30:00]

But that all changed on August 3rd, 1911, when authorities arrived in Olalla with an arrest warrant.

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Her bail was set at ten thousand dollars.

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Finally, on January 15th, 1912, after a month long investigation, 44 year old Linda Burfield Hassad stood trial for the manslaughter of Claire Williamson. The proceedings drew massive crowds during the trial, outbursts frequently came from the gallery, forcing the judge to silence onlookers. He told them this courtroom is not a place for amusement.

[00:30:38]

Amidst the chaos, however, Linda and Sam Hazzard sat in the courtroom quiet and aloof, unwaveringly confident in their ability to win the case when a reporter asked Linda what she would do if she wasn't victorious in the case. She replied with confidence. There's no such thing as if this demonstration of detachment paired with a sense of grandiosity, is not an uncommon reaction in killers who face trial. According to criminology researchers Bruce Arrigo and Diana Griffin, public attention around a crime only serves to bolster the criminals idea that their larger than life.

[00:31:16]

Origo and Griffin go on to explain that many times killers take advantage of this opportunity to receive notoriety they may not have been granted otherwise.

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And Linda, perhaps sensing that her window for fame as an alternative medicine guru was closing, seized her chance to gain publicity by whatever means necessary.

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At one point, she leaned over and whispered in Sam's ear, then laughed when questioned about what had induced the chuckle, Linda told a reporter, Do you know I can't be serious about this trial, as I suppose I ought.

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I really feel almost as if I were at a play. While Doris sat in the gallery still devastated by the loss of her sister, Linda treated the trial like nothing more than an elaborate performance.

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Four days after the trial began on January 19th, 1912, 37 year old Dora finally took the stand. Her testimony extended over a two day period in which she testified in great detail about the horrible cruelty she experienced at Linda's hands, the painful treatments sold as cures that ultimately killed Claire.

[00:32:26]

But even among days of damning testimony, Linda remained steadfast in her innocence. And by January twenty third, 1912, news of the outrageous trial had circulated internationally. Even newspapers as far as Australia were reporting on the case. Finally, on February 4th, the jury reached a verdict. 44 year old Linda Berfield hazard was found guilty of manslaughter.

[00:32:54]

Linda remained stoic as the verdict was announced, displaying no emotion in the courtroom. But as soon as she stepped outside, she screamed at reporters, I am the victim.

[00:33:07]

It was a familiar spin, but one that didn't fool anyone. Linda was sentenced to two to 20 years at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

[00:33:17]

Dora. Williamson was pleased with the verdict. Glad to have put a stop to Linda's killing spree, she told a reporter.

[00:33:24]

Even after all I suffered, that would be nothing if I could not do something to prevent others from going through what I did. Dora was on the road to recovery, both physically and mentally, but she experienced medical complications for the rest of her life. Linda's consequences, however, weren't nearly as permanent.

[00:33:46]

Linda was booked at the Washington State Penitentiary on December 29th, 1913, but she was mysteriously released after less than two years on December 19th, 1915. She walked out of the penitentiary on parole. She was released in order to spend Christmas with her family in Seattle. But for reasons unknown, she never returned.

[00:34:07]

Not long after, Governor Ernest Lyster granted Linda a pardon under the condition that she leave the United States. So the hazards packed their bags and moved to New Zealand. Linda once again opened a medical practice, which surprisingly was an overwhelming success.

[00:34:26]

About five years later, in 1920, the hazards moved back to Washington State with enough money to resume their ownership of the Olalla Sanitarium for the rest of her days. Linda experienced nothing but mere brushes with the law. She was arrested in 1925 for the death of another patient. A jury found Linda guilty of the death, but she was fined only 100 dollars, about 1500 dollars.

[00:34:51]

Today, Linda was irate even at this small punishment, telling the press, think of it being called a murderous for trying to help people. Linda continued practicing until 1935, when a fire consumed a Lolla and her beloved sanitarium at age 70. Linda lost everything she built, as well as most of her followers. And just three years later, Linda herself fell ill.

[00:35:18]

Ironically, she called on her remaining devotees to carry out the fasting technique on her ailing body.

[00:35:25]

She received enemas, broths and massages everything she had administered to her patients.

[00:35:32]

It seemed that Linda really did believe that fasting was a cure for disease, but she held the cure in higher regard than her patients and it seems in higher regard than her own life.

[00:35:46]

Linda passed away just a few weeks later, alone and gaunt in her bed, her own final victim. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. For more information on Dr. Linda Berfield hazard, amongst the many sources we used, we found Starvation Heights by Greg Olsen, extremely helpful to our research.

[00:36:14]

You can find all episodes of Serial Killers and all other originals from Park Cast for free on Spotify.

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Will see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cuddler and is a Spotify original from podcast.

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Executive producers include Max and Ron Cuddler Sound Design by Nick Johnson with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden and Joshua Kern. This episode of Serial Killers was written by Bailey Bedingfield and Joanna Philbin with writing assistants by Abigail Canon and stars Greg Polson and Vanessa Richardson. If you're ready to get into the spooky spirit of the season, remember to follow haunted places ghost stories every Thursday, Alistar Murden brings a new, surprising, chilling, spine tingling story to life, follow haunted places, ghost stories free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.