Hey everybody, and welcome back to 'Mysteries of the Mind", (couch squeaking) a true crime podcast hosted by me, Daphne
St Clair-- --and myself, Preston Knight.
Today, we're continuing our coverage of the "Doctor Love" case, following the story of a psychiatrist from a rural Philadelphia asylum in the 1950s, who ran away with one of her patients.
We've managed to get our hands on never before seen records, lost to history when the asylum attempted to cover up the scandal.
We're discussing
Doctor Love, a.k.a. Doctor Audrey Ann Burnett, and the subject of her illicit affair,
Hazel Mary Finley.
Last time, on "Mysteries of the Mind," we started to see what led to them running away together.
Today, we cover the plan, its execution, and the last time anyone ever heard from Doctor Burnett and Hazel.
We'll go deeper into Hazel's psyche, and the relationship of Doctor Love.
Stay tuned!
Maya Appavoo presents,
Doctor Love. An audio drama.
Episode Six: "Cold Trail"
A full list of themes, topics, and content warnings can be found in the episode description. (clearing throat)
Okay, hello, time for your guys' favorite segment,
Mindful Musings.
Yeah, so this is the part of the episode where we go through all the comments you guys had on the last episode, and we pull the questions and comments we got from you guys, and we discuss.
Ready to get into it? Sure am. Alrighty, first up, we've got @fishNchips5083, who asked, "Hey guys, big fan of the show!
I think you guys said that the clips we're listening to were all recorded on a tape deck.
I was wondering if you guys were going to get the corrupted tape restored, so we can hear what's on it?"
Oh, okay, yes, so these are all recorded on tape decks originally.
So the family had digitized everything at some point, so they had just emailed us copies rather than mailing us the physical copies, which would-- That would mean they would also lose access to it.
Exactly.
So, no, we unfortunately can't have it restored.
I don't know if the family even still has the physical copy, so it might just be totally lost to time.
Yeah, that's kind of sad.
Anyway, moving on to the next one, this comes from one of our Patreon, uh...
Patreon supporters, Lee, who asked "Hi, Preston and Daphne, love the show!
I was wondering if you have any more details about the relationship between Doctor Jackson and Doctor Burnett?
It seems like they've got beef.
Again, love the show."
Pretty much what you've heard is what we have.
The only thing we haven't read out, like, on the show is Doctor Burnett's, um, employment contract and all of that paperwork, where I did notice that she had a very long probationary period, but that's about it.
Ah, how long?
It was something like 12 or, like, 18 months.
Hmm. Yeah,
I wonder if that's normal for the period or for psychiatrists.
Yeah,
I wasn't able to find anything about that.
But, to speak on their working relationship, it seems like Doctor Jackson just straight up did not believe a woman could do that job, which I think is so gross.
I kind of wonder what he thought of female psychiatrists after this all went down.
I think there was another female psychiatrist that joined Willow Waters in 1952 or '53.
There was some reference in one of Nurse Amelia's notes on Hazel to another psychiatrist in the isolation ward--ward, that she referred to as "she," but I don't know.
Hmm, fascinating, yeah.
Well, moving on, this last one isn't a question, but I thought you'd like this comment
Daphne.
Ooh.
Rain, from Patreon, said, "I think Daphne is a lot like Doctor Burnett.
They're both very nurturing and caring and, y'know--" and then there's a rainbow emoji. (laughing)
Well, that's very sweet, Rain, thank you.
I think there's something to that observation. Aw, Preston.
Thank you.
Anytime.
All right, well, let's get into the rest of the show.
First up,
I have a clip from summer of 1953,
About a month and a half, two months, after where we left off last episode. (click)
Well, in my professional opinion, Hazel, you've made great strides.
You've improved a lot.
So, from here, we'll start retaking some of the assessments you've done before, and with improved scores, we should be able to get you completely rehabilitated, and back to living in the world.
Wherever you want to.
Audrey,
I don't feel better.
I'm terrified.
You haven't had an outburst in a long time-- But I-- --and any fear you're currently feeling is situational, not clinical.
Hazel, my love, it is totally normal to be scared right now.
I'm scared, too.
We'll help each other through it,
I promise.
I just... I know the plan is to get me discharged, but...
I know I have been a little better, but I haven't lived outside of this-- this room in over a decade, and...
What happens if I get out there and just... implode?
I'll be right there with you.
Hazel, we don't-- the alternative here is for you to continue treatment at another psychiatric hospital, and I don't know that I'll know which hospital has swept you up, let alone if I can follow you there.
You're right.
I don't want us to be separated.
I don't either.
Hazel, these tapes, our regular sessions,
I'm the only one who really has access to them.
Administration doesn't listen to these.
But the tapes where we are reassessing you, administration may want to listen to those before signing off on your discharge paperwork.
So, we'll talk about what needs to happen in those assessments, and I'll need you to work with me.
As in... give the right answers?
No, I want you to be honest, otherwise it's not a good assessment.
But we'll talk about which answers indicate improvement, and what I have to look for.
So, I do have to give you the right answers.
There are technically correct answers, but I don't want you to answer that way just to score well on the assessment.
I want you to know what I'm looking for, so we can work on those symptoms over the course of the next few months.
Oh. Okay.
Yes.
We can do that.
Thank you, Hazel. (click)
Ah, so, the goal here was to get Hazel ready for those assessments so Doctor Barnett could get her legitimately discharged.
Honestly,
I think the goal at this point was to teach Hazel what the correct answers were.
I just don't think that Hazel quite picked up on that implication during this conversation. Hmm.
I'm not really sure why she didn't say it outright,
I wonder if maybe someone was walking past the room or something.
But, anyway,
I do think that this sort of encouragement to study for the assessment would be a bad thing to do in any other situation--
You know,
I don't think it's great in this situation though.
Well, but it's a necessary evil.
Well, like, it means she won't have access to the care she might need.
Okay, I agree, it's not a great move, but, like, they're on a deadline.
A lot of asylums were known to have horrific conditions, and there's absolutely no way for Doctor Burnett to guarantee that Hazel would have been safe and taken care of at another facility.
I still think focusing on studying for an assessment, instead of just focusing on the symptoms that need work...
Yeah,
I think that's, for lack of a better word, messy.
Okay, but after this, Hazel basically has access to 24/7 psychiatric care, right?
Hmm. Yeah, I suppose.
It's nothing to worry about.
So, there is a little more from this session
I want us to hear. At the very end, specifically. (click) (laughing, knocking, door opening) Hi,
I hope I'm not interrupting.
No, not at all.
We were just finishing up chatting a little bit.
Oh, good.
So, Hazel, are you ready for your walk in the courtyard?
I just need to change.
Of course. (stands, walks away, door closes)
Thanks, Nurse
Amelia, I'll see you this afternoon--
Actually, doctor,
I'd like to speak to you for a second, if I can. (door closes) Sure.
I know it's been a few weeks since your outing with Hazel, but
I've heard whispers amongst the men...
They are keeping close eyes on you.
Lay low.
If Hazel needs an off- site outing, allow me to do it.
I don't want them to have a reason to throw you out too.
Maybe start keeping an eye on the newspaper for a new position, as well.
Thank you for the warning,
Nurse Amelia.
I really appreciate it.
Well, we've got to look out for one another.
Or else the men will think they can run all this without us. (chuckle)
I'll keep an eye out.
Thank you. (door opens)
You know,
I'm not going to miss the hospital's clothes.
Nobody does. Everything's scratchy, and then I get in trouble when I try to use a drop of fabric softener in the laundry. (giggling)
Have a good walk, you two.
Page me if you-- (click)
That was interesting.
Okay.
You know, I think Nurse Amelia is the perfect example of people who are, you know, sort of at the bottom of the food chain, you know, not being taken too seriously.
So she can hear people scheming and, you know-- and nobody worries about it, even though she can hear and remember--
Yeah, she very much can, and obviously will, relay that information.
I wonder how much of this plan might have fallen apart if the men had just, you know, been smart enough to not talk about it in front of a nurse? (flipping pages) Well, I have a Doctor Burnett
Journal entry from after that conversation. (clearing throat) "Nurse Amelia is right.
I will defend that taking Hazel out for ice cream was the right thing to do, she was much happier for it.
But it did land me in some trouble with Doctor Jackson, so I can't be surprised that they are keeping a closer eye on me.
Unfortunately, this means I can't take Hazel out for another outing.
Or if I do, it may be our last."
Yeah, so that does seem to imply that if they got out, she wouldn't bring Hazel back.
You know, I know you know how this ends, but I'm still speculating here, so I wonder if she got all the discharge paperwork ready, then told Hazel they were going on a fun outing, you know, so that she wouldn't panic.
Yeah, that's a cool theory.
I don't know,
I guess you'll just have to see...
Oh, just play the next clip, Daph. (laughing) (click) Hello, I'm Martin Moores with the five o'clock news.
Today, we continue our coverage of a psychiatrist who ran away with her patient.
New evidence has revealed them to be having a secret homosexual affair.
With us tonight is William S. Burnett, father of the psychiatrist, Doctor Burnett.
Now, Mr. Burnett, were you aware of your daughter's homosexual tendencies?
Absolutely not.
You know, I discouraged that girl from working.
I knew it wouldn't be good for a woman to be educated or independent.
Of course it made her sick. Interesting.
You think working made her queer? Yeah, that's right, and she's not welcome in my home until she's cured of that horrible illness.
You hear that, Audrey?
You come back right, or you don't come crawling back to me at all. (click)
What a lovely man, right?
Oh, yeah, what a class act, my God.
You know,
I think it's easy for us to forget how new acceptance and allyship is.
As harsh as it is to hear those sentiments, you know,
I think it's important to remember that they still exist, and they were held by the vast majority until very recently, all things considered. Yeah,
I think the thing that is important for us to consider as we go over this case is that the big scandal that prevented the hospital from reopening wasn't the disappearance of a patient.
It wasn't even, like, the theory that it was a kidnapping.
It's that the investigation revealed it wasn't a disappearance or kidnapping, but two women choosing to be happy together.
The hospital faced a lot of criticism for employing a queer woman like Doctor Burnett.
A female doctor was a radical enough idea, but a queer female doctor sank them.
They basically shut down and buried as much as they could, in the hopes that it would blow over and they would reopen under a different name and continue, but that never happened.
All because people had the audacity to be gay. Yep.
And I'm glad we're largely past that as a society. Mhm.
So, this next clip is from months down the line.
Doctor Burnett had, by this point, spent a lot of time going over what the assessments asked of Hazel, so this was the day they actually did go through a couple assessments.
Now I'm not going to play the full assessment because the session was over two hours long, so that'll go on our Patreon.
What I will play is the very end of this assessment session where they discuss the results.
Oh, and I would also like to point out that Doctor Jackson did actively supervise this.
Mhm. Wait, had he done that before?
No, he hadn't, and as far as I can tell, it wasn't standard.
I think the asylums administration would, like, listen back to these clips, but that's it.
I think this was part of him keeping a closer eye on Doctor Burnett. Mhm. (click) (writing) Well I think it's fair to say that you've shown very fantastic progress here, Hazel.
Thank you, Doctor Burnett.
Your depression scores have gone down significantly, which is a big relief, as well as your schizophrenia score. Hmm.
You have normal femininity scores, a normal level of social introversion... really, this all looks great.
Thank you, Doctor Burnett.
You said you have an aunt that's still living who you could go live with?
I think the next step in your care is rehabilitating you for the real world. (sigh)
We'll need her name so that we can get in contact with her.
She'll need to sign any paperwork since you're not a ward of the state--
Doctor Burnett, may I speak with you for a moment, outside?
Um, yes, of course.
I'm sorry, this will just be a moment. (walking away, door opens then closes)
You're jumping the gun here,
Mrs--Doctor Burnett. Mrs. Finley has shown great improvement, but not enough to completely discharge her.
Doctor Jackson, with all due respect, you've been in the room with her for two hours.
I've been with her for three years.
These scores are-are great, and she's more than ready to move into rehabilitation.
These scores are great in comparison to her old scores.
These are not the normal scores of a functioning individual. But--
Mrs. Finley doesn't have much family.
She's an orphan and a widow.
There is nobody else to catch her if she falls.
There is no guarantee that she can find herself a second husband.
She does not have enough support out there for me to sign off on her being discharged.
Are we clear?
Yes, sir,
We're clear.
Good.
Go finish up your session. (walking away) (deep breath, door opens) How are you feeling, Hazel?
Good.
I feel good.
Okay.
I'll need the name of your aunt.
But-- but didn't he just say-- He'll come around.
Margaret Baker.
Thank you,
Hazel. (click) Oof.
So, yeah,
Doctor Jackson was not making it easy for Doctor Burnett.
No, he was not.
So, would you like to update your theory at all?
Yeah, you know,
I think that Doctor Burnett knew he would never sign the papers, and so she faked what she could, and didn't leave it to chance, you know, just whisked Hazel away, hoping that falsified papers would buy her more time. But-- but don't tell me, don't tell me.
I want to hear the next clip. Okay.
This next one is a news segment with Nurse Amelia. (click)
Welcome back, this is Martin Moores with your five o'clock news.
If you're just joining us, we've been continuing our coverage of the Doctor Burnett scandal.
A psychiatrist from a rural hospital has run off with a patient, and the two have been involved in a secret homosexual affair.
With us tonight is Amelia Mitchell, former nurse of patient Hazel Mary Finley.
Miss Mitchell, did you know about this affair?
No, I didn't know a thing.
How did something like this happen right under your nose?
Doctor Burnett was always very caring and nurturing.
I was always under the impression that she was just trying to do what was best for Hazel.
Hazel had been a patient with us for over a decade, and was very troubled, and under Doctor Burnett's care, she had started picking up hobbies, and coming out of her shell a bit.
I'm truly worried for Hazel.
I didn't know Doctor Burnett was capable of such a thing.
And Hazel has nobody else.
She's been in an asylum for over a decade, how is she going to-- Is it true that you were let go by the hospital because you aided and abetted their escape?
No, no, that's not true at all!
I didn't know it was an escape.
I have to sign discharge papers for my patients, and I go off the recommendation of the doctor.
Doctor Burnett recommended Hazel's discharge, so I signed.
I did what any good nurse would do,
I just got caught in the crossfire.
I am furious at Doctor Burnett for doing that to me.
I had looked out for her over the years, helped her any way I could, and she threw me under the bus.
I lost my job, my reputation.
I...
I would never have signed those papers if I knew what was happening. (click) (couch sqeuaking) So what do you think?
Oh, me first? Yeah,
I think this is a stark contrast between her warning Doctor Burnett, and now having a clear resentment for her.
I would, too, if I'm being honest.
I think Doctor Burnett did what she had to do, but it sucks that Nurse Amelia, who'd been nothing but sweet, had to lose her job in the meantime.
Do we know if she, like, landed on her feet?
So, yeah, I looked her up, and it looks like she got married over the summer of 1954, and never worked again.
Oh, she was fine then.
I mean, you know, she lost her career, but she was-- She was supported,
Yeah. Yeah.
So what do you think is about to happen?
Before we get into the last few tapes here.
Oh, uh, I mean, you know, the best I can do is think about Hazel's mindset here.
We know she's scared out of her mind-- Yep. --and I can't help but think that can't be good for rehabilitation.
A bit of anxiety, fine, you know, whatever, but the outright fear that Hazel has displayed makes me worry for her.
I wonder if that's what tipped people off, if something happened with Hazel after the papers were handed in, and that's how they realized the papers were illegitimate.
I mean, I'll tell you right now, that was just that Doctor Burnett disappeared without resigning.
And then they went back and looked at the papers and things didn't line up.
So, Doctor Burnett was doing a whole lot of organizing, but didn't care to tie up loose ends.
You know, she clearly knew she was home free once they were out of there.
Or she knew that there was no foolproof way of covering her tracks, so she put that effort into making sure she and Hazel escaped with plenty of time before anyone noticed.
This next clip is from early 1954, about three weeks before they disappeared. (click) (opening briefcase, pulling out papers) Are those the discharge papers?
Yes.
I got the signatures all sorted out.
Now, these won't be handed in for a couple more weeks, but I want to talk through this with you and have you sign now, so that we can spend the next month just focused on you, okay?
I'm scared.
I don't know what it's like out there anymore.
I know.
Things have changed,
I won't lie to you.
Maybe it's better if I transfer.
Hazel, you passed all your assessment.
I was lying-- --and you're doing amazing right now.
It's normal to be scared of change, but keeping you in a hospital is robbing you of the life you deserve to live.
And it's robbing me of the love of my life. I know.
I love you, and I will do anything to keep you safe and happy, you know that, right?
I know. I can only do that if we are together.
Alright.
Your aunt's already signed, and so has Doctor Jackson.
He has?
I told you he'd come around.
All you have to do is sign right here. (pen clicking)
And nothing bad will happen?
Nothing bad will happen.
I love you, too, you know.
I do. (writing)
I'm all yours. (kiss) (sipping, clearing throat) Welcome back, everyone.
Getting right into it,
I have a clip from a police press conference in Philadelphia. (click) (loud chatter, cameras flashing) Well, late Thursday evening, an administrative assistant at the psychiatric hospital noticed a clerical error on some paperwork that unveiled a horrible scheme.
One of the patients had been incorrectly discharged, and the psychiatrist charged with her care had disappeared without a word.
What we know right now is that the two individuals in question are Doctor Audrey Ann Burnett and Hazel Mary Finley.
Mrs. Finley has been known to have violent outbursts, and the supervising physician, Doctor Robert Jackson, was not confident she made a full recovery, so anyone who thinks they've seen Mrs. Burnett and Mrs. Finley are advised to keep a safe distance and call the emergency line. Captain Rodman, how is the police force going to mitigate the risk of civilian harm? Thank you.
We're following this case very closely, and are cooperating with the FBI.
The error was not noticed immediately, so they could be anywhere by now.
We advise that you all stay alert.
We do not expect that they are armed, but we do suspect again that Mrs. Finley could be dangerous.
Both women are in their 30s with-- (click)
So, you'll notice in these clips we're reviewing that they never name drop the asylum. Yeah.
So, there's implications in some of the paperwork
I've gone over that the hospital paid off the police and the press, to avoid having their name tarnished.
So now obviously this wasn't 100% effective, word did get out.
Nurse Amelia, for example, wasn't given, even, like, she wasn't even given severance pay, so I suspect some of the word of mouth was from her.
Not naming the hospital was a great way to also hide
Doctor Burnett and Hazel over time, too.
Yeah. Because Doctor Burnett and Hazel were tied to the hospital, and the hospital started paying people off, renaming the case "Doctor Love" removed all ties.
And so... Oh god, what a way to bury things.
Yeah.
Kind of horrifying that they were able to pay off that many people.
You know, it makes you wonder what would happen if you disappeared and someone didn't want anyone to know where you went.
Sure does.
Well, we're getting to the end here, and I have one last thing for us to go over. Yeah, go for it.
This one is a journal entry.
So, you might be wondering how we even have the journals. (papers flipping)
It's only our most asked Patreon question.
Well, both journals were found at a cafe next to a train station, along with some other personal belongings.
Mostly the things police had used as identifiers, like Doctor Burnett's glasses.
We have Hazel's final journal entry.
This is the last anyone ever heard from her or Doctor Burnett. (clears throat) (couch squeaking) "We're getting muffins while we wait for our train.
I don't know where we're going yet.
Audrey took me out, and told me we were going into town for lunch, as my last official outing, and didn't tell me until we abandoned her car that we weren't going back.
Today is the day.
If I'd known, I would have hugged Nurse Amelia, and given her one of my paintings to remember me by.
I suppose that's why Audrey didn't tell me we were leaving,
I might have spoiled the whole plan.
I'm still afraid.
I don't know what happens to us, especially Audrey, if we get caught.
But she's planned this out so meticulously,
I don't think we will be caught.
And I'm excited.
It's a terrifying concept, to be free, for the first time in my life.
I don't know if I've earned it.
I've fought just as hard as Charles did, but I don't know if I overcame.
But I'm free.
And I'm with Audrey, who loves me, who cares for me, who will keep me safe and warm for the rest of my days.
I pray I am forgiven for the sins I've committed." (exhale) Wow.
And that's it.
That's the last anyone ever heard from them.
They were never found.
They've obviously passed away, by now, but even then, nobody ever saw so much as an obituary.
Presumably, they changed their names-- of course. --but, yeah, we'll have no way of tracing that if they didn't do it legally, which--
Which they never would have done. Yeah.
What do you think happened to them after they disappeared?
Well, I mean, it's impossible to know.
My guess is Hazel probably struggled adapting, which could have caused more outbursts.
It also could have prevented her from really forming friendships, so she may have only had Doctor Burnett for the rest of her life.
And, you know, Doctor Burnett probably wasn't able to practice medicine again, you know, if she changed her name or she had to go back to school and get degrees and qualifications under her new name.
But I'd bet that she didn't do that, and, you know, maybe became a nurse or something. Maybe.
I like to think they bought a property outside of a city somewhere and-and homesteaded, maybe. Just some countryside cottage.
That seems peaceful, and I think they would have needed peace after that whole... affair.
It's really interesting to see, you know, now that we've gone over the whole case from start to finish, the evolution of their relationship.
What strikes me is that it wasn't really that they just needed to be together so bad that they ran away, but that the circumstances were changing, and it made it easier for them to slip away together.
I don't know,
I think it was that they needed to be together.
What drove them to run away together, you know, wasn't the idea of a good window, it was the idea that they would get separated.
To me, it seems very obvious that they were deeply in love, that they both found a lot of comfort in each other.
I hope that the comfort was enough to carry them through the rest of their lives. Me too.
I like to think it was.
Well,
I guess that's it, huh?
That brings us to the end of the story of Doctor Love.
Don't forget, the last episode of the season is a full Mindful Musings episode, so get your questions in!
Yes, we'll answer as many questions as we can next week in the final episode of our season.
That's it from us for now, and we'll see you then.
Bye!
Doctor Love is written and directed by Maya Appavoo, and produced by Maya Appavoo and Monica Gate.
Starring the voice acting talents of Madeline Harsh as Daphne,
Jacob Martin as Preston,
Abby McDougall as Doctor Burnett, and Emily Lizotte as Hazel.
Additional voices by Cleo Birch, Robert Wooldridge,
Sarah McKinnon, and Tyler Pasquarella.
Post production management by Monica Gate.
Sound design for this episode by Ace Luke, and music by Ken Kosowick.
A full list of credits and disclaimers can be found in the episode description or on our website, appoova.ca/portfolio/doctorlove
Follow us on social media! We are @doctorlovepod on everything.
Doctor Love is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council, and the City of Edmonton.
Thank you for listening.
This is a beautiful painting, Hazel.
I bet I could convince the men to let me put it up somewhere.
Really?
Oh, absolutely. (giggle)
Well, thank you.
That means a lot.
Can I say something? (chuckle) That's what we're here for.
I never thought I'd be happy again, before I met you.
And now I can't imagine being unhappy again.
Thank you,
Audrey.
Oh, Hazel. (kiss)
If I can have it my way,
I'll keep you forever.