Ms. Frye suggested that Ms. Flowers conduct her own interviews or share the source of her information with listeners. “You can either take down that podcast or I — and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — will pursue this legally,” she wrote. Within days, the episode had been removed, along with several others.

The comment sent shock waves through show’s fan base, and in the tight-knit world of true-crime podcasting. And Ms. Frye’s accusation prompted other podcasters to complain that they, too, had their work used by “Crime Junkie.”

Ms. Frye did not immediately return requests for comment; she told BuzzFeed News that she first learned of the podcast while traveling with her daughter. David Bailey, the managing editor of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which in 2003 published the four-part series on Ms. Woody’s death, said in an email on Tuesday that Ms. Frye was a former reporter there and that the paper was aware of the issue. He said he considered the issue “effectively rendered moot” because the episode had been removed.

Four days after Ms. Frye’s note, “Crime Junkie” posted a statement to its Facebook page announcing that it had taken down “several” episodes because “their source material could no longer be found or properly cited.” It did not say how many.

“Our research process is thorough, rigid, and exhaustive, and those familiar with Crime Junkie are aware that we make clear references to the use of other sources and that comprehensive notes and links to all sources are made available on our show’s website,” the statement said.