Some crimes are so heartbreaking or shocking that they change laws, change society or even earn the label Crime of the Century. But the stories that made headlines in decades past aren't necessarily remembered today.

I'm Amber Hunt, a journalist and author,

and in each episode of this show,

I'll examine a case that's maybe lesser known today

but was huge when it happened. This is crimes of the centuries. Oh, The front page of the Cincinnati Inquirer on November 30 30, 1904 was dominated by a single sensational story.

Cassie Chadwick, a con woman who Swindling managed to shudder

an entire bank in Oberlin, Ohio Ohio was believed to have died by suicide.

Then, as now, newspapers didn't tend to glorify suicide deaths, so front-page placement placement was unusual and it turned out inappropriate

because it wasn't true but more on that in a bit. Now Chadwick's crimes

weren't actually in the Queen City. In fact, most were close to her adopted home in Cleveland, some 250 miles away.

But her tale was so crazy that it had mesmerized not just all of Ohio, but the entire country and beyond.

On the surface,

surface, Chadwick was an unlikely celebrity.

She was plain-looking and matronly with a slight lisp.

She did have impeccable taste, however, as evidenced by her vast collection of fancy, designer dresses, elaborate jewelry, and house full of tasteful art. Her friends in Cleveland knew her as an old money,

Ritchie Rich,

who had inherited money from one dead husband

before remarrying a local doctor.

But Chadwick had chosen a select few with whom she opted to share a tantalizing secret.

She was no mere wealthy widow, she assured these people, most of whom were the top tier of the upper crust,

including some high-ranking bankers with access to serious cash.

In truth, she told them, before swearing them to secrecy, she was an heiress.

...