The Wicked Wardlaw Women & The Mysterious Death of Ocey Snead Episode #1 (of 2)

East Orange New Jersey was an affluent, tree-lined, mansion-filled community in 1909, populated by oil tycoons and Newark industrialists. In November of that year, its tranquility was suddenly shattered by a phone call to the police from Virginia Wardlaw, one of the three Wardlaw women (the Sisters in Black) who were well known in East Orange for their weird attire and strange behavior. That disturbing call resulted in a visit by the authorities to the Wardlaw home, where they discovered the body of a 19-year girl, Miss Ocey Snead, in an upstairs bathtub. Despite the protests of Virginia Wardlaw that this was an accident (or a possible suicide) the authorities felt otherwise. The investigation that followed and the evidence that surfaced painted a far different picture of how the three sisters treated the young girl in their care. Hardly the benevolent custodians they claimed to be, the sisters plotted to rob the young victim of her inheritance, her sanity, and her life. Join our host, G.W. Bailey, as we chronicle another true story from America’s criminal past—a tale of betrayal, gaslighting and murder.