Town file
St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah (Washington County, Utah) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 705, "Medicine Made Me Murder" (4 June 2026). Janice Elaine Fondrin was born on April 20th, 1960 in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, one of three children of John and Betty Joe Fondrin.
- Town
- St. George
- County
- Washington County
- State
- Utah
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 705
- Approximate location
- 37.077, -113.577
Episode 705 / 4 June 2026 / 182 min / full
Medicine Made Me Murder
"This is St. George, Utah. It's in southwestern Utah, like all the way in the corner there... this is in Washington county." about 0:05:22
The case: Murder of Janice Fondrin (July 22nd, 1990); Killing of Mildred, the Halcion case (June 19th, 1988). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2026
- Population
- 92,875
- Median age
- 37.9
- Median household income
- $63,604
- Median home value
- $485,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- $1,270
- Cost of living
- 110
- Religious
- 78%
- Property crime
- ▼ a little bit below average
- Violent crime
- ▼ about half
- Murders
- none in four years
History, in brief
- The town was settled in 1861 as a cotton mission, which is why it became known as Utah's Dixie; cotton never became a successful crop. about 0:07:18
- The settlement is named after George A. Smith, an LDS church apostle. about 0:08:21
- In 1877 the LDS church completed the St. George Utah Temple, its third temple and the oldest still in active use in Utah. about 0:08:28
- In the early 1950s St. George received most of the fallout from above-ground nuclear testing at Yucca Flats in Nevada, and cancer rates rose from the mid-1950s until the early 1980s. about 0:08:45
- In 1980 People magazine reported that 91 of about 220 cast and crew who filmed The Conqueror near St. George in 1956 had developed cancer. about 0:10:00
- In 1992 an earthquake destroyed three houses and a lot of utility infrastructure. about 0:10:46
- In 2005 a hundred-year flood killed one person and destroyed 28 homes. about 0:10:57
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Born and raised here and still living here; a great in-between of small town and plenty to do, with variety of residents, good schools, sports teams and job opportunities. Hence five stars."about 0:11:32
3 stars
"Very friendly town for someone wanting to settle, but if you want nightlife or fun activities it is really not the place."about 0:12:06
3 stars
"Very family friendly, but everyone is caught up in keeping up with the Joneses, a big Mormon thing; everyone seems copy and paste."about 0:12:32
1 star
"St. George wins the award for most hated city for domesticated animals; hard to rent with a pet, people on trails point guns at hikers' dogs, and the police do not care."about 0:12:48
5 stars
"An incredible discovery, educational and fun, good for kids and adults; actual dinosaur footprints and impressions of skin, an excellent selection of books, and more than an hour planned."about 0:21:35
1 star
"Very disappointing, mud tracks only, no dinosaurs."about 0:22:08
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Cedar City, Utah50 miles
- Paragonah, Utah71 miles
- Boulder City, Nevada113 miles
- Grasshopper Junction, Arizona122 miles
- Golden Valley, Arizona134 miles
- Fillmore, Utah147 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.