Episode 183: The Case of Angelina Napolitano

On today’s episode, Kate and Paul travel to 1911 Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, where Angelina Napolitano finds herself at the center of a shocking crime and facing the ultimate punishment. But as Kate and Paul dig into Angelina’s life and the events leading up to that fateful night, the case becomes much more complicated than it first appears.

Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4buCoMc

Sources:

“A Very Dangerous Doctrine.” The Sault Star. June 1, 1911: P8.

“But Now She Will Not Hang.” Atchison Champion. July 8, 1911: P1.

Capital Case: Angelina Napolitano Before Justice Britton at Sault Ste Marie Commuted – M. Justice [Minister of Justice] 1911/07/13. Record no. 301591. Library and Archives Canada. Accessed January 6, 2026. https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=ordincou&id=301591&lang=eng&ecopy=e010841462-v8

Dubinsky, Karen and Franca Iacovetta. “Angelina Napolitano.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. May 2, 2022. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/angelina-napolitano

Dubinsky, Karen and Franca Iacovetta. “Murder, Womanly Virtue, and Motherhood: The Case of Angelina Napolitano, 1911–1922.” The Canadian Historical Review 72, no. 4 (1991): 505–531.

Duffy, Andrew. “A Murder Trial Like No Other.” The Ottawa Citizen. July 25, 2017: P2.

“Faints When Told She Is Not to Hang.” The Cincinnati Post. July 15, 1911: P1.

Fanning, Honor D. “Shadow of Gallows Falls on Clothes She Makes for Baby.” Evansville Press. June 23, 1911: P1.

Fanning, Honor D. “Chill of Death Already Over Woman Condemned to Hang as Soon as Her Child is Born; Women Everywhere Petition Governor for Pardon.” Wilkes-Barres Times Leader. June 8, 1911: P4.

Glancy, Graham, Marissa Heintzman, and Adam Wheeler. “Battered Woman Syndrome: Updating the Expert Checklist.” International Journal of Risk and Recovery 2, no. 2 (2019): 4–17. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijrr.v2i2.3820

“O Danger of Hanging.” The Sault Star. May 25, 1911: P4.

“Would You Help to Save Woman from Gallows?” Waukegan News-Sun. July 5, 1911: P5.