"WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING" HIT MOVIE, REAL LIFE MURDER?
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 July 2022
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Delia Owens' "Where the Crawdad's Sing," a fictional story about a murder in North Carolina, has sold more than 12 million copies and has spent 166 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list.
However, Owens is linked to another murder. The author is wanted for questioning in Zambia about a deadly shooting in Africa in the 90s.
During that time, Owens and her then-husband Mark ran a Zambian conservation center protecting elephants from poachers. In 1996, they were the subject of an ABC documentary where one scene shows an alleged poacher being fatally shot.
Neither the victim nor the shooter is identified. The mystery was never solved.
While Zambia authorities don't believe Delia was directly involved in the murder or the disposal of the body, authorities still want to talk to her about it.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Mark Tate, trial lawyer, Savannah, GA, tatelawgroup.com
- Dr. Jeff Gardere - Board Certified Clinical Psychologist, Prof of Behavioral Medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine www.drjeffgardere.com, Author: 'The Causes of Autism” @drjeffgardere
- Irv Brandt - Former US Marshals Service International Investigations Branch, Author: "FLYING SOLO: Top of the World" available on Amazon IrvBrandt.com, Twitter: @JackSoloAuthor
- Dr. Tim Gallagher - Medical Examiner State of Florida PathcareMed.com, Lecturer: University of Florida Medical School Forensic Medicine, Founder/Host: International Forensic Medicine Death Investigation Conference
- Grey Stafford, Host Zoo Logic podcast. Author, and zoo/aquarium consultant.
- Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, author “At Any Cost” @ReRosenberg
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace |
| 0:07.0 | How has this happened? |
| 0:15.0 | A New York Times bestseller, who's been on the bestseller list, I think 166 consecutive weeks has sold over 12 million copies of the book, |
| 0:28.0 | which is now a major motion picture where the crawdad's saying is wanted for questioning in a murder. |
| 0:41.0 | I'm Nancy Grace, this is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Series XM 111. |
| 0:49.0 | How has this happened? |
| 0:52.0 | First of all, take a listen to our friend Joe Fryer at the Today Show. |
| 0:57.0 | Jumping from the page to the screen where the crawdad's saying is a highly anticipated film based on the best-selling novel. |
| 1:04.0 | It's a fictional story about a murder in North Carolina in the 1960s, but in real life, |
| 1:13.0 | author Delia Owens is facing questions about a deadly shooting in Africa in the 90s. |
| 1:19.0 | Editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, first reported that Owens is wanted for questioning in the shooting. |
| 1:25.0 | I've spoken with many leaders of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Zambia National Police, |
| 1:31.0 | and they are very, very eager to speak to Delia Owens. |
| 1:34.0 | In the mid-90s, Delia and her then husband Mark ran a conservation center in Zambia, protecting elephants from poachers. |
| 1:41.0 | In 1996, they were the subject of an ABC documentary called Deadly Game, where one scene shows an alleged poacher being fatally shot. |
| 1:50.0 | The victim is not identified, neither is the shooter, a mystery that was never solved. |
| 1:56.0 | With me is an incredible panel to make sense of what we know right now, but the banner, the headline is, |
| 2:02.0 | a New York Times best-seller, an incredible author, sold over 12 million copies now that the movie's coming out, |
| 2:11.0 | where the crawdad singer, it's an incredible movie itself, wanted and questioning for a murder. |
| 2:21.0 | Rebecca Rosenberg is joining me from Fox News. She's the author of many books, but the one that really knocked me out was at any cost. |
| 2:29.0 | The story of Rod Covlin and his dead wife, Shelley Dennis Schewski. |
| 2:34.0 | Thank you, know the rest of that story. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.