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What does it mean to be a victim, or a villain? What happens when the line between the two starts to blur? On 7th July 2010, Kelly Harnett says her abusive boyfriend murdered a man right in front of her. 

So how did she end up in prison for it?

Anna Sinfield - the journalist behind the global number 1 podcast, The Girlfriends, returns with her toughest story yet. 

This series isn’t a whodunnit. It’s not even really about what happened. It’s about how a woman who was a victim of domestic violence became a villain in the eyes of the law. 

Found guilty of murder and locked up for over a decade; Kelly Harnett taught herself the law. And as she battled to overturn her conviction, she became a beacon of hope, fighting for the freedom of the abused women locked up alongside her. 

If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show please reach out to NO MORE at https://www.nomore.org a domestic violence charity we’ve partnered with. 

The Girlfriends: Jailhouse Lawyer is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. 

Because The Girlfriends: Jailhouse Lawyer has been selected as one of Apple Podcasts’ Summer Listens, we’re offering a 30-Day Free Trial to iHeart True Crime + for a limited time. This includes early access to episodes, 100% ad-free listening, and exclusive bonus content. 

Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!

*** 

In Season 1, it’s 1995 and Carole Fisher is a high-flying divorcee looking for love in Las Vegas. It’s slim pickings in the medical community she works in. But then Bob comes to town. Bob Bierenbaum is a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks several languages. Her mom loves that he’s Jewish - but there’s something off about him. He’s perfect on paper but he’s quick to anger and he never talks about his ex-wife. Who, it turns out, is missing and presumed dead. After Carole and Bob break up, she tells her friend Mindy all about Bob’s wife and his bizarre behavior. You see, Mindy dated Bob too, in fact a lot of women in Vegas dated Bob and they all have their own strange stories to tell. Before too long they form a club dedicated to bitching about Bob, eating noodles and figuring out what happened to his wife, Gail. In this riveting nine part series, Carole Fisher uncovers the truth of Gail Katz’s death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.

In Season 2, The Girlfriends are back to investigate one part of the story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. The amateur lady's detective club have a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. 

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. In Season 2, we found the truth about a torso washed up on Staten Island, and gave Heidi Balch the memorial she deserved.
 
Now, we want to introduce you to a global gang of girlfriends in our new show, Girlfriends: Spotlight. Each week, Anna Sinfield is bringing you stories of women winning. 
 
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
 
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight... Coming Soon

Nellie Bly was a true trailblazer. In late 19th century America, women were expected to get married and become housewives, or go into a suitable career like teaching. 
 
But Nellie didn’t do any of that. Instead, she changed journalism forever, becoming one of the world’s first female investigative journalists, and paving the way for a generation of incredible ‘Girl Stunt Reporters’. 
 
And Nellie’s first investigation was probably her most dangerous: In 1887, she deliberately got herself committed to the most notorious insane asylum in New York, to expose the abuse of women inside its walls. She was drugged, half starved and manipulated by doctors as the screams of other patients echoed around the corridors…
 
Researcher and author Kim Todd tells us Nellie’s story.
 
Kim’s book about Nellie and the journalists she inspired is called Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s ‘Girl Stunt Reporters’.
 
 
 
We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.
 
Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.
 
 
 
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
 
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E3: Nelly Goes Undercover

From the moment she heard a guitar being played in an empty classroom at her convent school in the Philippines in 1961, June Millington knew what she wanted to do with her life: rock and roll. 
 
So when a girl called up June and her sister and asked if they wanted to start a band, the answer was hell yeah. 
 
They went on to become Fanny, the first all-female rock band to release an album with a major record label. June and her bandmates moved into a house in LA, toured the world and won fans like David Bowie. But they were also up against sexist stereotypes, skeptical audiences and critics who couldn’t believe that a group of women could rock just as hard as any guy. 
 
But June wasn’t about to let that stop her. This is the story of how she stuck it to the man and blazed a trail for generations of female musicians to come.
 
 
 
June is the co-founder of the Institute for the Musical Arts, which offers workshops and events for women in music: https://ima.org/
 
 
 
We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.
 
Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.
 
 
 
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
 
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E4: June Rocks America

Rose Brady’s job running Baltimore County’s SVU was a frustrating one. The sexual violence crimes she and her team were investigating were just the tip of the iceberg. Her department was sitting on thousands of unsolved rape cases, dating back decades - with little hope of ever finding the perpetrators.
 
That was until Rose made an incredible discovery: At a local hospital, a diligent forensic pathologist had kept in storage all the biological evidence from every rape exam he had ever performed. This could be the key to getting justice for hundreds of desperate women.
 
This is a story of hard work, dogged persistence and a series of incredible coincidences…
 
Rose has her own show with her daughter, Sam: Sgt. Brady's Crime Podcast (not affiliated with The Girlfriends: Spotlight): https://podfollow.com/1560081982
 
 
 
If you’ve been affected by sexual violence, there are organisations which can help. 
 
In the US: https://www.nsvrc.org/survivors
 
In the UK: https://survivorsnetwork.org.uk/get-help/ 
 
 
 
We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.
 
Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.
 
 
 
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
 
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E5: Rose Solves, At Least, 86 Cold Cases

Madison Conradis had her life turned upside down when someone began posting naked photos of her online. Soon, the abuse intensified with anonymous messages and calls to her family, friends and even her boss…
 
The police didn’t seem to care, so Madison turned to her twin sister Christine for help. Together, they transformed into online sleuths, tracking the harasser across the country to get justice for Madison and other victims too.
 
 
 
We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.
 
Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.
 
 
 
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
 
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E6: Madison and Christine Become Digital Detectives

As a trans woman, Eilís Ní Fhlannagáin didn’t have much faith in mainstream health care. So when she wanted gender affirming surgery to remove her testicles, she turned to her best friend and trainee doctor Willow, and asked her to perform the operation in her living room…
 
From this humble beginning, Eilís and Willow built a whole clinic dedicated to trans women - in a tractor barn in the rural Pacific North West.
 
 
 
Related Resources
 
Sylvia Rivera Law Project 
 
Big Door Brigade - Mutual Aid Toolbox
 
Transgender Law Centre
 
Trans Rescue
 
The Gender Reveal Podcast
 
Jesse Lou Lawson - Media consultancy
 
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is not affiliated to any of these organizations and we are not in a position to endorse them.
 
 
 
We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.
 
Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.
 
 
 
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
 
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E7: Eilís Runs the Ball Barn

The prosecutors arrive in Las Vegas to interview The Girlfriends. Hearing the stories from Bob’s time in Vegas, they become convinced that he murdered Gail. But in an attempt to make their argument water tight, they uncover a catastrophic mistake that was made back in 1989, putting their investigation at risk. 
 
If you are affected by any of our topics please reach out to NO MORE at https://nomore.org/girlfriends, a domestic violence charity we’ve partnered with. 
 
The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.
 
For more from Novel visit novel.audio
 
Listen to our soundtrack on Spotify here or buy the album from Bandcamp. All proceeds go to our charity partner NoMore.
 
Follow Carole on social media here:
 
LinkedIn: Carole Fisher
 
Facebook: Carole Fisher
 
X (Twitter): @CaroleAFisher
 
Instagram: @CaroleAFisher

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends S1/E6: Women Who Like to Gab

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. But there’s one part of that story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. Now, the amateur ladies detective club are back with a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. Listen to the The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister, starting May 6th
 

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing Season 2 of The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. 
 
But there’s one part of that story that’s still a mystery. 
 
During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. 
 
In Season 2, the amateur ladies detective club are back with a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister.
 
The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
 
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister... Coming Soon

Looking for clues to our Lost Sister’s identity, our Chief Investigator Mindy Shapiro visits her old New York City stomping grounds. 
 
If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show please reach out to DNA Doe Project, an organisation we’ve partnered with. 
 
The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. 
 
For more from Novel visit novel.audio 
 
Listen to our soundtrack and buy the album from Bandcamp. All proceeds go to our charity partner DNA Doe Project. 
 
Follow Carole on social media here:
 
Linkedin: Carole Fisher
Facebook: Carole Fisher
X (Twitter): @CaroleAFisher 
 
Instagram: @CaroleAFisher
 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends S2/E2: Mindy Goes Undercover

In the third instalment of the Girlfriend’s Guide we turn our attention to the over 600 thousand people who go missing every year in the United States. With the help of a citizen sleuth and former Missing Persons Detective, Producer Anna Sinfield lays out what to do if someone you know goes missing. 
 
Relevant links: 
 
Raul’s Map
 
https://dnadoeproject.org/
 
The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.
 
For more from Novel visit novel.audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends S2/Bonus 3 - The Girlfriends’ Guide to: Finding a Missing Person

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