This week, we’re sharing an episode from The Gratitudeology Podcast with Jamie Hess—the powerful story of Jessie Buttafuoco. Jamie Hess, a wonderful interviewer, listens as Jessie’s life turned into a media circus when her father’s mistress attempted to murder her mother. Years later, she is finally ready to tell her own story. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production. To connect with Infamous's creative team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at Campsidemedia.com/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Episode
Hey Infamous listeners, today we're doing something a little different. We're sharing an episode from a show we absolutely love, the Gratitudology podcast with Jamie Hess. It's a podcast that digs deep into resilience, recovery, and finding meaning through life's most intense moments. And this episode is pretty infamous.
Jamie dives into the story of Jesse Budafuco, a name you might recognise from one of the most sensational true crime cases of the 90s. The case where one man's wife was shot in the face by his underage mistress, Amy Fisher. The case that maybe helped kick off the true crime craze that's still going on today.
But what you might not know is what happened to that couple's daughter, Jessie, a nine-year-old whose normal life was upended when her family's tragedy became a media circus. This is Jessie's story. It's about reclaiming her voice and navigating trauma and media exploitation. It's powerful, moving, and honestly, kind of unforgettable. Here's Gratitudology, Growing Up Budafuco. Hope you enjoy.
This episode mentions gun violence and suicide. Please take care while listening. Born in 1983, Jesse's childhood was like one long movie montage combined with a classic family sitcom.
My parents, Joey and Mary Jo, and the name alone is adorable, right? And then there was so much love there. They were high school sweethearts. I mean, Joey and Mary Jo were like it. They were popular in the neighborhood. You know, it was very much them. The family lived in a safe, close-knit neighborhood on Long Island, New York.
You knew everybody, and you could ride your bike up and down the street and go skateboard with those kids and go ding-dong ditch over there.
When Jessie was nine years old, she was getting ready to take part in it. She'd no longer be left behind while her big brother and the other neighborhood kids caused a little harmless mischief on their way to school. Her biggest worry was remembering her bike lock combination.
Outside of school and neighborhood shenanigans, Jessie spent her time at dance classes and just generally preparing to be the greatest thing Broadway had ever seen. You know, singing along with the best of the 90s divas, just waiting to be discovered from her bedroom.
I came out of the womb just singing and dancing and wanting to entertain and make people laugh. I would play Whitney Houston on repeat, Mariah Carey on repeat, and just dance in my room with a hairbrush and just really like got into that kind of fantasy life. And then at nine years old, my mother was shot in the face by my dad's underage mistress.
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