Chris Enss is a New York Times bestselling author, historian, and private investigator known for her extensive work chronicling the lives of women in the American West. With more than 20 books to her name, she specializes in uncovering the truth behind legends—whether about lawmen, gunslingers, or the women often written out of the narrative.

Learn more about Chris Enss at chrisenss.com or follow her on Instagram @chrisenssauthor.

Her latest book, Meet the Kellys: The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne, is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, KensingtonBooks.com, and bookstores everywhere.

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator Sheryl McCollum sits down with bestselling author and private investigator Chris Enss to dig into the real story of Kathryn Thorne—the woman who didn’t just stand beside Machine Gun Kelly but helped build his legend. They talk about Kathryn’s sharp mind, bold choices, and how she planned a headline-making kidnapping and even called J. Edgar Hoover herself. Sheryl and Chris also get into the early days of the FBI, where the term “G-Man” really came from, and how the courtroom became Kathryn’s stage.

 

Show Notes: 

• (0:00) Welcome to Zone 7 with guest Chris Enss
• (1:30) The Kellys vs. Bonnie and Clyde
• (3:00) Ground-level research and historical truth
• (6:05) According to Kate and the untold story of Doc Holliday
• (10:50) Kathryn Thorne was all about what she wanted
• (14:30) Turning Machine Gun Kelly into a myth
• (16:45) Charm, privilege, and the making of an outlaw
• (22:00) The kidnapping of Charles Urschel
• (25:30) Lindbergh Law and the FBI’s rise to power
• (29:30) The double kidnapping and the G-Man legend
• (33:00) Kathryn Thorne plays the victim
• (36:00) Silk in the courtroom and a spotlight on the stand
• (38:30) Getting what she wanted, even as questions remain
• (40:30) “I wish he had left the dog” – Little Steve Stevens

 

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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.   

Social Links: 

• Email: [email protected] 

• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips 

• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum 

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

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