S14 E1 - Rough on Rats - A Farm, a Fortune, and a Fatal Promise

In 1883, sixty-year-old Michigan farmer John Guild transferred his property to a woman who promised him a home for the remainder of his life. Not long after the deal, he was dead. An examination reportedly revealed arsenic. A neighbor testified about purchasing a product called Rough on Rats. And investigators questioned what happened to Guild's missing money. Korun Larson was convicted of first-degree murder. Her husband, Ole, was acquitted. But the story didn't end with the verdicts. A campaign to secure Korun's pardon would raise further questions about one of Michigan's forgotten nineteenth-century murder cases. Join Tracy Preston and Christine Mulligan as they examine the historical evidence and remember the life of John Guild. #MaliceInTheMitten #MichiganTrueCrime #HistoricalTrueCrime #JohnGuild #TrueCrimePodcast Written, recorded, edited & produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston Original artwork by Todd Preston Sources: “The ‘Rough on Rats’ Murder.” Kalamazoo Gazette, 20 Feb. 1884, p. 1. Reproduced in Murder by Gaslight, 12 July 2014. Read historical newspaper transcription. The Clinton Republican. Historical newspaper issue containing reports of Ole Larson's acquittal and Korun Larson's pardon effort. Clinton County Historical Newspaper Archives. Historical newspaper archive. “Woman's Christian Temperance Union.” Social Welfare History Project, Virginia Commonwealth University. Historical background. “Microfilm & Obituary Request.” Muskegon Area District Library. Newspaper collection information.