Episodes

An organized crime ring burglarized the Wickersham Jewelry store in downtown Bakersfield in 1964. This is that story. If you'd like to support the Notorious Bakersfield podcast, you can buy me a coffee. Visit here to make a ...

An airplane carrying the Cal Poly Univesity football team crashed on takeoff from a Toldeo, OH area airport. Eight players on that flight were from Bakersfield or had ties to Bakersfield. Four of them perished. If you'd lik...

Glenda Crosley killed her husband Sam by running him down with her car. She claimed spousal abuse as justification for this crime. Victim of Domestic Violence? Visit this link: https://kernalliance.org/ If you'd like to suppo...

Tony Azevedo was murdered in 1996 while delivering pizzas for Pizzaville USA. This is his story. If you'd like to support the Notorious Bakersfield podcast, you can buy me a coffee. Visit here to make a donation: https://www....

In 1961, Spade Cooley, a Country Music star, brutally murdered his wife in Willow Springs near Tehachapi. His murder trial in Bakersfield attracted enormous public interest. It was a media spectacle, the likes of which hadn't...

Tom Dertinger called his wife Barbara on the afternoon of January 10, 1986. He told Barbara he was leaving his office to run some errands. Later that afternoon, Tom called his secretary to tell her he was at the apartment of ...

When Jimmy and Sharon kissed their mother Patricia Leard goodbye on their way out the door for school on September 5, 1978, that was the last time they ever kissed their mom. If you'd like to support the Notorious Bakersfield...

On May 7, 1954, a domestic dispute turned deadly at the Kern County Juvenile Court building. Two people died and two others were wounded. If you'd like to support the Notorious Bakersfield podcast, you can buy me a coffee. Vi...

Jack Downing's abandoned station wagon was found near the KERN Radio station on June 4, 1975. His body was found later that evening in a reservoir two miles away. His murder remain unsolved 47 years later. If you'd like to s...

The California Relief Administration (SRA) was the precursor to what today we know as the Employment Development Department. In 1941, an SRA employee was murdered by a relief recipient. If you'd like to support the Notorious ...

Bill and Dorothy Gutierrez were having marital problems. The terror that took place in their Country Club Drive home on October 9, 1990, shocked the entire city of Bakersfield. Purchase the Friday The 13th Tour Here: https://...

Here's an update regarding Episode 38: The Supermarket Rapist. Purchase the Notorious Bakersfield Friday The 13th audio tour here: https://fridaythe13thtour.supercast.com/

Al "The Snake Man" Robbins entertained Bakersfield area school children for nearly five decades. The magician used live snakes to captivate his audience's attention. This is his story. If you'd like to support the Notorious B...

Glenda Jean Hough went missing April 1, 1984. Eight months later her car-with her body inside- was discovered submerged in a canal. Kern County officials ruled her death an accident. Glenda's family doesn't agree. If you'd li...

Alicia Manning was only three weeks away from graduating from CSUB when she was brutally murdered. Notorious Bakersfield takes a look back at that tragedy that shocked the entire CSUB community. If you'd like to support the N...

What was Amelia Earhart's husband doing in Bakersfield two years after she went missing? Learn all about that incident in this episode. If you'd like to support the Notorious Bakersfield podcast, you can buy me a coffee. Visi...

When the father of the leading candidate for California Attorney General is killed in 1938, it becomes a sensational news story. Matt Warren, Earl Warren's father, was brutally murdered in his home on Niles Street. This is on...

Judge Alan Klein was in his chambers on Sunday, March 26, 1995. For someone devoted to his job like Judge Klein, it wasn't unusual to find him at the courthouse working on a weekend. But on this particular Sunday afternoon, t...

On the evening of November 21, 1992, Three members of the Kammeyer family were discovered brutally murdered in their home on Gibson Street next door to the Bakersfield Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The dea...

Merle Haggard was probably the most well-known person born and raised in Bakersfield. His career as a Country and Western singer, songwriter, and entertainer spanned over 50 years. Notorious Bakersfield takes a look back at t...

In 1967, A Kern County Sheriff Deputy discovered the lifeless body of Dominga "Dee" Montoya in a 24-hour laundromat. Because of the brutal nature of this crime, and the fact that the victim was a secretary for a California la...

In the late 1980s in Bakersfield, there was a serial rapist targeting women who were alone in grocery store parking lots. This predator became known as "The Supermarket Rapist". Congratulate Elvis Barber, on winning the Notor...

The March Meet drags are Notorious not only in Bakersfield but around the world. Every year race Fans flock to the Fomoso Dragstrip to witness a legacy of racing that dates back 63 years. You'll want to listen to this episode...

What makes a story rise to the notorious level? I look back to see how long a story remained in the headlines of the Bakersfield Californian. That's probably the main determining factor. The next is to see if the story made n...