Episode 135: “Wanna kill grandma? lol” (Case of Wendy Gardner)
15 year old James gathered all his friends at the bowling alley and dragged them outside. He wanted to show off his 13 yr old girlfriend and his brand new car!
The kids were shocked - how did James get a new car? He doesn’t even have a license but they were too excited to care. They all packed in the car. Windows down. Music on. Speeding on the streets.
James and his girlfriend felt free for the first time in their lives.
Well almost free - they had to get rid of the body in the trunk first.
Book Rec: “Kill Grandma For Me” - by James & Jim DeFelice (the best deep dive you will find on this case!)
Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com
Source notes:
Book: “Kill Grandma For Me” - by James & Jim DeFelice
(Such a well written book with such meticulous research done for it!)
https://www.leagle.com/decision/1999932257ad2d6751457
Killer Kids: “Wendy Gardner & James Evans”
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/22/nyregion/girl-15-guilty-in-her-grandmother-s-killing.html
https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2007/10/26/james-evans-a-killer-at-15-denied-parole-again/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-13-mn-48229-story.html
https://buffalonews.com/news/girl-13-boyfriend-charged-with-killing-grandmother/article_d1469817-2192-558f-8c7a-46e3ba583d9a.html
DISCLAIMER: Some links are listed in the source material but the material may never be discussed in the podcast (I just wanted to list them because they gave me a deeper picture of the case in full). If there are un-verifiable sources (ie Reddit) - they are typically referred to as un-verified sources, opinions, and or theories in the podcast and not treated as fact.