Monday Feb 23, 2026

S11 E1 - I Killed the Devil – The Pichette Case and the Death of Marian Doyle

In 1938 Dollar Bay, Michigan, Wilfred and Loria Pichette confessed to killing Marian Doyle — claiming she was possessed by devils. After multiple family tragedies, economic hardship during the Great Depression, and a scandal involving a pregnant housekeeper, the brutal murder shocked the Upper Peninsula and drew national headlines. Featuring courtroom testimony from a seven-year-old child, this Michigan true crime case explores delusion, domestic violence, religious extremism, and mental illness inside a small mining town.

Story Researched and Written by Rebecca Hiers

Hosted and Produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan

Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston

Sources:

https://access-newspaperarchive-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/us/michigan/ironwood/daily-globe/1930/02-17/page-4

https://access-newspaperarchive-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/us/michigan/ironwood/daily-globe/1938/10-31/page-7

https://access-newspaperarchive-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/us/michigan/ironwood/daily-globe/1938/10-27/page-1

https://access-newspaperarchive-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/us/michigan/ironwood/daily-globe/1938/10-24/page-1

https://access-newspaperarchive-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/us/michigan/ironwood/daily-globe/1938/10-26/page-2

https://access-newspaperarchive-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/us/michigan/ironwood/ironwood-daily-globe/1939/02-15/page-14

https://access-newspaperarchive-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/us/michigan/ironwood/daily-globe/1938/10-31/page-1

https://uplink.nmu.edu/_flysystem/repo-bin/2022-08/nmu_65931.pdf