Dark Downeast

Thirty-three years after Douglas Wagg, Jr. turned up on a lone stretch of railroad tracks in the middle of the night in rural Martin County and over a year since Delia took on the case the scope of what was really going on in the area during the 1990's has come into view. Who was Doug? How did he end up so far from home? Who was he last seen with? Was the train really what killed him? Why was his case never investigated?

When investigators in Alachua County, Florida discovered the remains of two people among the charred ruins of a burned down shack and a letter in a nearby car that seemed to explain the entire scene, police in two states thought they were on the brink of closing a multiple murder case that started all the way north in New Hampshire. But as experts attempted to identify the two people found in that shack, doubt started to poke glaring holes in the case.

When a fire destroyed the home of respected local innkeepers, leaving it in ruins and revealing the horrifying aftermath of a double murder, the close-knit community of Jackson, New Hampshire faced an unthinkable tragedy. As detectives looked into the lives of the victims, they discovered years of conflict caused by the older man their daughter had fallen in love with. This story begins in New England, but it ends almost 1500 miles away in Florida with two more deaths. But did it really end? Doubts lingered among some of the original investigators, casting skepticism over the closure of the case and the true fate of the suspect.

When an elderly couple was found murdered inside their Danby, Vermont home in the fall of 1989, it had residents of the small town looking over their shoulders and double-checking their door locks at night. State Police identified a suspect early on in the investigation, but the evidence they had against this person was largely circumstantial, and the physical evidence, a single drop of blood, wasn’t enough to point to a suspect. And so, the double murder sat unsolved for over thirty years until 2020, when the case was reopened with the hope that new forensic DNA analysis could finally shine a light on long-concealed answers.

When a 10-year-old girl didn’t come back from a quick trip to the store on a cold January night in 1988, her family and the Pawtucket, Rhode Island community searching for her feared the worst. Then weeks later when her body was found miles away, those fears were confirmed… and the questions just started stacking up. What happened to Christine Cole? Investigators have considered multiple persons of interest and suspects over the last 30-plus years and even made an arrest, but the evidence crumbled as allegations of misconduct rose to the surface.

On the night of July 4, 1980, an evening of celebrations in the rural town of Anson, Maine ended in the murder investigation of a young local mother. Tire tracks at the scene raised suspicion and rumor, but despite the evidence and apparent confidence of investigators, years passed without any movement in the case. By the time it went to trial, Rita St. Peter’s case would be the longest standing unsolved homicide in the state of Maine. Yet the person believed to be responsible for her violent death had been at the top of the suspect list from the very first day of the investigation. This story is proof that even decades later, cold cases can be solved.

16-year-old Ashley Turniak died on the side of the highway in Massachusetts during a busy weekday morning commute. Was it a terrible accident or an intentional act? Despite the numerous drivers passing by who likely witnessed the final moments of her life, more than 25 years later investigators are still trying to determine what exactly happened to the teenage girl, and who, if anyone, is responsible.

When a young mother and her 6-month-old son were found dead in their car one September night in 1996, no one could fathom the senselessness of ending two young lives with still so much ahead of them.

When Ralph Robbins went missing in 1993, his disappearance seemed to be forgotten almost as soon as it was reported. Now over 30 years later, his daughter is searching for answers, but more than anything, she wants closure.

In March of 1978, the small town of Warren, Rhode Island was sent into a tailspin after a well-known member of their community was shot to death just days after his business burned to the ground. Who would have it out for a man so beloved? The deeper you dig into this unsolved case, the murkier it gets.

Nearly four decades after a Connecticut flight attendant and mother disappeared without a trace, investigators don’t seem any closer to solving the mystery. But ask anyone who knows anything about Regina Brown’s life, and they’ll tell you exactly what they believe happened and who they feel is responsible for her disappearance…If only they had the evidence to prove it.

On a crisp fall day in October of 1991, Patricia Scoville set out for a bike ride on the scenic Moss Glen Falls trails in Stowe, Vermont. When she hadn’t returned home more than two days later, Patty’s roommate reported her missing, triggering a search and rescue effort that soon morphed into a homicide investigation. The case that unfolded baffled investigators for almost two decades, but the person responsible for Patricia’s death could only hide for so long. Thanks to efforts by Patty’s parents, police got a new investigative tool that would lead them right to the killer’s doorstep.

When 54-year-old Bobbie Miller and her dog were found dead in their Gilford, New Hampshire home one November afternoon in 2010, it didn’t take long for the public to point the finger at her former husband. The circumstances might be convincing, but over a decade later, no one has been arrested for Bobbie’s murder. Her family waits alongside so many others for closure in her unsolved homicide.

On January 1, 1988, 17-year-old John Lango walked out the front door of his home in Pottsville, Pennsylvania never to return. He was treated as a runaway, but now more than three decades later, all signs indicate John never meant to disappear on his own. John Lango’s case unfolded just outside the boundaries of New England. However, Dark Downeast is sharing this mini episode alongside other audiochuck shows to bring attention to unsolved missing persons cases in honor of National Missing Persons Day.

It has been more than three decades since the day 41-year-old Audrey Groat left her Northfield, Vermont home supposedly for an afternoon of shopping only to vanish without a trace. The initial search for the missing mother had just a few details to go on, but not even those details can really be trusted. The most important question still lingers: What really happened on that August afternoon in 1993?

On a chilly December night in 1972 just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, what might have been just a routine traffic stop took an unexpected turn when two police officers trailed a mysterious man in a dark Cadillac and their pursuit spiraled into a high-speed chase and a shoot out. When officers finally caught up to the vehicle and apprehended the driver, the past four months of fear and torment through the greater Boston area would finally come to an end.

On the night Gwendolyn Taylor was attacked just outside her apartment building in Dorchester, Massachusetts, witnesses watched helplessly as an unknown man grabbed the 18-year old, demanded money, and told everyone within earshot not to call the police. When her body was discovered hours later, those same witnesses found themselves at the heart of the investigation. Their recollections of the man they saw that night pointed authorities to a suspect, and blood evidence left no room for doubt: Thomas Rosa Jr. was their guy. But no matter how self-confident, it’s possible investigators got it wrong, and Thomas Rosa Jr. is fighting to prove it.

It was early afternoon of September 29, 1971 and 11-year old Barbara Ann Ripley should’ve been getting off the bus at home in North Yarmouth, Maine like she did every Wednesday. When she didn’t walk through the front door on schedule, her mother went looking for Barbara in what she thought was the most likely of places. But Barbara wasn’t there, and not even an extensive days-long search effort would uncover any trace of the little girl. Over a decade passed before the community and the Ripley family got answers, but it seemed a self-proclaimed psychic had tried to tip investigators off years before she was finally discovered. Despite the status of her case, one critical question still lingers: What really happened to Barbara?

When 25-year old Nadine Mendonça went to her favorite hang out in downtown Fall River, Massachusetts for a casual night out, neither she nor her family could’ve expected it would end the way it did.  To this day, Nadine’s family is still trying to figure out exactly what happened that July night in 1991, and after over 30 years, where exactly Nadine could be now.

When 13-year old Matthew Margolies didn’t come home for supper on the night of August 31, 1984, police in Greenwich, Connecticut launched a full scale search scouring the Pemberwick woods and waters of the Byram River for any sign of the young fisherman. Despite numerous suspects and abundant evidence over the last 40 years, police have failed to make an arrest in this senseless crime that tossed the otherwise idyllic New England town into a state of chaos.

MAINE, 1973: Just months into production of a new and exciting project, film director Jon Pownall was found dead at his Monument Square office in Portland, Maine. Why would anyone want to kill him? As the investigation into his murder began, a motive for his death emerged, but the question of who was behind it all is one that still hasn’t been answered with a conviction 50 years later.

A special update to this week’s episode, Murder on Goose Rocks Beach, covering the cases of David J. Nixon and Steven Ray Johnson.

MAINE, 1987: On the night of June 8, 1987, David Nixon had just hung up the phone with his father. He called back home to let his folks know that he was staying over at their family beach house in Kennebunkport, Maine for one more night. That phone call was the last contact David ever had with his family. Sometime after he put the phone back on the hook, David was killed just steps from the house on Goose Rocks Beach.

CONNECTICUT, 2018: On the night of May 18, 2018, 36-year old James “Jimmy” Stone Jr. was loading up his belongings from the trailer where he once lived on the Golden Hill Paugussett Reservation in Colchester, Connecticut to take them to his new apartment. Somehow, the mundane task of packing and moving became a deadly one. Jimmy never made it off the reservation alive.

MASSACHUSETTS, 1991: On July 20th, 1991, 17-year-old Patricia Moreno sat on the fire escape at her foster family’s apartment building. She often used the fire escape for solace – the apartment was crowded and hot and loud – but in the early morning hours of that scorching summer night, her place of respite became the scene of her murder.

VERMONT, 2020: On April 15, 2020, 38-year old Ralph “Rizz” Jean-Marie was reported missing from a motel where he was living in Barre, Vermont. The story was that he up and left after an argument, leaving behind his personal belongings, never to be seen again. But from day one of the investigation, law enforcement had reason to believe the initial narrative of Ralph’s disappearance wasn’t anchored in the whole truth. The early investigation indicated that someone, or multiple someones, had a hand in his disappearance, but getting answers as to what really happened proved a challenge for local authorities.

NEW YORK CITY, 1990s: On May 28, 2001, after an eight year long investigation spanning three states, New York police officers finally closed in on their target: a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital. Advancements in fingerprinting technology had finally identified a suspect connected to garbage bags containing the remains of four men discarded on the side of the road in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. His name was Richard Westall Rogers Jr. AKA The Last Call Killer. In this follow-up episode to Frederic Alan Spencer's story, you'll hear the stories of Peter Stickney Anderson, Thomas Mulcahy, Anthony Edward Marrero, and Michael Sakara and how the suspect's past encounters with the law would ultimately play a crucial role in his capture, 28 years later.

MAINE, 1973: In April of 1973, the vibrant college town of Orono, Maine was shattered by a shocking murder that sent tremors through the University of Maine community. The victim was Frederic Alan Spencer, a promising UMaine graduate student with a bright future ahead. When Frederic's roommate came forward and confessed to the killing, it seemed like an open and shut case. However, as the trial of Richard Westall Rogers Jr. unfolded, it was clear the case was far from simple. Despite his admission of guilt, the proceedings took a surprising turn. Nobody in that courtroom could have known at the time, but the unexpected decisions made in the case of Frederic Spencer would set in motion a chilling and deadly ripple effect that only grew with intensity and consequence over the next few decades.

PORTSMOUTH, 1981 & 1982: In just over a year span during the early 1980s in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the lives of two young women were ended by an assailant who broke into their apartments, violently attacked and beat them, and somehow managed to escape undetected, remaining anonymous for decades. Laura Kempton and Tammy Little’s murders have long been intertwined. As you’ll hear, the circumstances of their deaths and their lives are just too similar to ignore a possible connection, but now in 2023, their cases apparently diverge. The New Hampshire State’s Attorney’s Office announced that they have identified the person responsible for one of those homicides. Laura Kempton’s killer has finally been named. In a 25-page report and press conference, the details of the 40-plus year investigation into the murder of 23-year old Laura Kempton were revealed. Now the question on everyone’s lips: What’s next for the case of 20-year old Tammy Little?

MAINE, 2003: On the night of December 23, 2003, two friends dropping off Christmas gifts at the home of 40-year old Raymond “Butch” Weed were shocked to find that their friend, a well-known and beloved member of the Wilton, Maine community, was dead. Sometime between his regular visit to his favorite hangout in downtown Wilton and returning home just a quarter mile away on Main Street, an unknown assailant entered Butch’s home and stole his life. To this day, a suspect has never been apprehended, and Maine State Police have remained tightlipped about any details they’ve learned over the course of a nearly 20 year investigation. Butch’s family members hold out hope that they won’t have to wait much longer to know who killed their brother, and finally see justice handed down to the person or persons responsible. This case has been requested dozens of times by Dark Downeast listeners. The emails and DMs I’ve received over the last two years all spoke highly of the man at the center of the case, but a few of those messages also suggested that there might be more to the case than meets the eye. Wilton, Maine is a small town, and for such a high profile case to go unsolved this long, rumors are rampant.

On March 14, 1968, kids playing in the oil fields of Huntington Beach, California discovered the brutally beaten body of a young woman. Investigators scoured the scene for clues, finding shoe imprints, marks from tires, and a cigarette butt, but it had rained the night before and so any other evidence left behind had likely washed away. Police labeled the woman a Jane Doe and set out to investigate her identity and her death, but the woman found there would not have her name returned to her for more than half a century. Anita Louise Piteau, an Augusta, Maine local, finally came home after over 50 years, thanks to advancements in DNA technology.

MAINE, 1976: Anne Payson Holt, better known as Nancy, was almost 80-years old, but not quite yet. Her milestone birthday and the fancy gala planned in her honor was still a few days away in early October of 1976, but Nancy never saw a day past 79. On October 5, 1976, the safety of her secluded Falmouth Foreside estate was violated by intruders seeking electronics. Before they fled the dirt drive of Thornhurst Road though, they stole more than a television. They stole Nancy’s life. Nancy’s granddaughter, Anne Fowler, is on Dark Downeast to tell her grandmother’s story. Anne gives a glimpse into the life of a woman from one of Portland, Maine’s most well-known families, she shares how her family navigated a very public investigation and trial, and offers her unique reflections on what she believes Nancy would’ve thought about her manner of death.

BOSTON, 2014: On February 4, 2014, 13-year old Kristopher Bryan Lewis got off the school bus at his usual stop on the corner of West Selden and Morton Street in Boston, Massachusetts. He should've been home just a few minutes later around 5:30 p.m. but Kristopher never returned. Kristopher's mother Nina Cancel-Rodgers reported him missing that night. At first, police dismissed Nina’s concerns. The media turned her away. She and her family took matters into their own hands, making noise and bringing awareness to her young son’s disappearance. But nearly 10 years later, Nina is still waiting for her baby boy to come home. Nina gives a heart wrenching account of what it’s like to have a child go missing and the lasting impact it’s had on her life and the lives of her other children. She shares Kristopher's story hoping that people will start saying his name again, that they’ll know Kristopher’s face, and her greatest hope is that one day she’ll know where he is.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 2001: It was late fall of 2001 and Louise Chaput was looking forward to her weekend plans of hiking the White Mountains with friends. But when those plans fell through, Louise, who was eager to return to the majestic White Mountains that she’d hiked before, decided to do the trip on her own. She arrived at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center in New Hampshire on the afternoon of Thursday, November 15, 2001. Before checking into her camp lodgings for the night, she set out on a short hike to stretch her legs after the car ride. But she never returned to check in for her reservation at the lodge. Three days later, she hadn’t returned home to Quebec, either. For three days, searchers fought dangerously cold temperatures and deep snow looking for any clues that would lead to her whereabouts. Then, a week after Louise had set off on what was supposed to be a short hike, her body was located just 200 feet from a popular trailhead. Louise Chaput did not freeze to death or fall from a cliff or suffer some sort of accident. Louise Chaput was murdered, and her killer has never been found.

ATLANTIC OCEAN, 1896: The chilled, windy air of the Atlantic Ocean surrounded the ship past midnight on July 14, 1896. Nine days into its voyage between Boston, Massachusetts and Rosario, Argentina, a single shriek rang out through the back cabin where the officers of the ship resided - the after house. A guest aboard the ship later found the bodies of Captain Charles Nash, his wife, Laura, and the second mate, August Blomberg. The next week on the Herbert Fuller was tense and full of suspicion. As the remaining crew returned to the closest port in Halifax, Nova Scotia, little was solved. Accusations flew. Who murdered Charles, Laura, and August? And why? This is the historic case of Charles Nash, Laura Ray Nash and August Blomberg.

MAINE, 1971: The quiet of a dark late spring evening in Bangor, Maine was interrupted by frightened screams inside an Otis Street Apartment building. Though several residents would later report hearing the sounds of a woman in distress, no one called for help, no one picked up the phone to dial the police, and no one checked in on their downstairs neighbor, 84-year old Charlotte Dunn, until the next morning when help would be a lost cause. Police had a prime suspect for Charlotte Dunn’s murder from the very first day of the investigation, but they’d need to pull some crafty police work to secure the hard evidence against him. Crafty, or maybe questionable police work, depending on who you asked at the time. A rampant rumor mill, contentious evidence, and a slippery suspect made for a complicated investigation as Bangor Police worked jointly with the Maine State Police Homicide division on a case for the very first time. Charlotte Dunn would see justice, but not without a fight.

THE DECK: Sylvia Baker, 28, went downstairs on July 17th, 1982 to take out the trash. Sylvia never returned to her apartment, where her two young kids were watching TV. When she was found the next day, nude and bound with pieces of her own clothing, her family remained in a state of shock as police worked to track down her killers. Over 40 years later, no one’s been held accountable for Sylvia’s murder, but a DNA match and other clues have investigators closer than ever to the truth.

On February 6, 1997, 18-year old Bryan Nisenfeld sat in his afternoon literature class at Roger Williams University in Providence, Rhode Island. Bryan was acting differently during class that day, almost despondent. Where he went after class, what the final moments of his life entailed, is still a mystery. He was simply never seen or heard from again. He never returned to the campus or even to his dorm room. His bank account showed no activity. He didn’t call home. Roger Williams University did not notify Bryan’s family of their son’s disappearance for almost a week. Months later, as summer was coming to an end, a family walking along the shore of Hog Island came upon a lone hiking boot. Inside was a wool sock and a severed foot. 2- DNA tests eventually confirmed the remains to be those of Bryan Nisenfeld. What really happened to Bryan Nisenfeld? Whether an accident, a self-made choice, or foul play, Bryan’s parents hold steadfast to their belief that more could have been done if only Bryan’s disappearance had been reported to police, or to them, and acted upon much sooner. At the very least, maybe they would have some answers.

RHODE ISLAND, 2003: On Christmas morning in 2003, a security guard on the Johnson & Wales Harborside campus in Providence, Rhode Island discovered the body of a young man leaning up against a chain link fence. Fingerprints would later identify the man as 22-year old Roy Weber. Roy was part of a population of men who engaged in street-based sex work in Providence, many of them exchanging sexual acts for money to support their substance use. Almost 20 years later, Roy’s homicide is still unsolved. Police have photos of a man they’ve said could have information about what happened to Roy, and yet no arrests have been made to this day. Richard Holcomb knew Roy Weber, their lives intertwined by their mutual lifestyle at the time. He’s now in recovery, and Rich has spent much of his adult life advocating and raising awareness for street-based sex work and helping researchers, health care professionals, and the general public better understand the realities of that life, one that he fell into at a young age. This is the case of Roy Weber, but it’s also the story of Richard Holcomb and how he sought recovery and helped reclaim Roy Weber’s legacy by helping other men like him.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1982: On December 10, 1982, a car sat in a ditch engulfed in a furious blaze. Janet Dow and her son, Stephen Dow, were inside that vehicle that appeared to have skidded off the road just 500 feet from their own home. They were deceased, but the cause of their deaths – whether from the seemingly gentle car crash, the wild flames, or something else – was not clear. What was clear to the first witnesses on the scene was that there must be more to what they were seeing. Over the next forty years and across multiple investigations, the truth of the suspicious deaths of Janet and Stephen Dow was hotly debated. Was it truly an accident or was the fire hiding evidence of a double homicide?

MASSACHUSETTS, 1982: For over 40 years, the family of 19-year old Brenda LaCombe has wondered what happened to the single mother of a little baby boy after she walked out of her grandmother’s apartment in Lowell, Massachusetts after midnight on May 16, 1982. Lacey Kearns has taken the lead in the fight for answers in her aunt Brenda’s case. Though she never got to meet Brenda, Lacey wants to help her family finally learn the truth after all these years.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 2001: On December 27, 2001, a friend arrived at 50-year old George Jodoin’s farmhouse in Auburn, New Hampshire, expecting to get a tutorial on caring for his animals ahead of George’s trip to Thailand. Instead, he found George dead in his bedroom. In the early days of the investigation, the list of suspects could never be narrowed down to just one person. Investigators were frustrated, and the residents of Auburn, a small town just east of Manchester, feared there could be a killer on the loose. Despite a sizable reward offered by the Jodoin family and efforts by investigators, a year passed with dwindling leads, no arrests, and a lack of evidence. Eventually, the case went cold. But in 2009, New Hampshire’s first-ever Cold Case Unit was established. Within two years, the Cold Case Unit had taken on over a hundred cases of unsolved murders and missing persons in New Hampshire. George’s brother, Robert Jodoin, made sure George's murder case was a priority to investigators. Fourteen years after George Jodoin was found dead in his home, New Hampshire’s Cold Case Unit landed their first conviction.

MASSACHUSETTS, 1969: It was the morning of January 7, 1969 and 23-year old Harvard University graduate student Jane Britton should have been in class to take her exam. A dedicated and standout student of anthropology, Jane wouldn’t have missed a test unnecessarily. Jane was later discovered by her boyfriend and neighbors dead in her bed, the victim of a violent attack. Details of the investigation leaked to the media spiraled into sensational headlines of rumored ancient burial rituals with suspicion cast on Jane’s own anthropology classmates, while other clues at the crime scene led some officials to theorize that the attack was random and opportunistic. Investigators would come up empty handed in the case for decades until finally DNA evidence closed the unsolved mystery of the murdered Harvard Student.

In March of 1976, a young woman was discovered, with no obvious trauma, in the Harpeth River in Nashville; she carried on her a picture of a little boy, and a trail that led to witnesses who said she’d hitchhiked with a mysterious friend, all the way from Minnesota—but that trail led nowhere. Without the possibility of DNA testing, the best shot of identifying “Sherry” Jane Doe is using her extremely accurate forensic art, and the details she shared of her life—and, perhaps, a daughter that ties her to South Carolina. The Fall Line has commissioned new isolated forensic art of her teeth to share with the public in hopes that this information will aid in identification; you can see this image and all others associated with the case on our website.

MASSACHUSETTS, 1979: It was August 20, 1979 and 35-year old Margaret Pizio was clocking into her overnight shift at the Susse Chalet Motor Inn in Seekonk, Massachusetts. Margaret should have returned home the next morning, but as it got later and later with no sign of her, the growing unease in the house was palpable. And then the phone rang. A reporter wanted to speak with someone about Margaret Pizio's murder. Beth Pizio was just a few days shy of her 9th birthday when her mother was killed. Over four decades later, Margaret’s murder remains unsolved. Beth hopes that by sharing her mother’s story, it’ll reach the person or persons who have been withholding information all these years, information that could answer the question that looms over Beth to this day – Why?

MASSACHUSETTS, 2022: On November 26, 2022, 41-year old Reina Morales Rojas got into a car in East Boston, MA and some time later was dropped off in nearby Somerville. That’s the last time anyone had seen or heard from the mother of two. Though she was reported missing soon after, the public didn’t hear anything about Reina’s disappearance for almost two months, and if advocates like Lucy Pineda of Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts hadn’t stepped in to help bring attention to her case, Reina’s family wonders if her story would’ve ever made the news. Now four months later, Reina still isn’t home and information is scarce. Her children and sister in El Salvador who once spoke to her every single day await any sign that she is okay, all while fighting for attention on her case that took far too long to receive.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1973: On July 11, 1973, 15-year old Diane Compagna swung her beach bag over her shoulder and headed out the door of her house in Merrimack, New Hampshire. She was off to a nearby lake to swim with her friend, 15-year old Anne Psaradelis. At least, that was the story they told their parents. Neither girl was expected home that night, but their parents weren’t suspicious as the girls left for the day. It wasn’t until the next afternoon when the pair didn’t return to either home that their parents began to worry. What began as a missing persons investigation for two teenage girls in the summer of 1973 ended in a double-homicide. In 2023, this case will reach its 50 year anniversary without answers. This is the case of Diane Companga and Anne Psaradelis.

MAINE, 1999: On the night of April 20, 1999, 41-year old Bessie Selek was walking along Route 202 near the Waterboro-Lyman, Maine town line when she was hit and killed by a passing vehicle. The driver fled the scene, leaving Bessie there to die on the side of the road not far from her own home. Detectives zeroed in on her boyfriend, Raymond Wood. They’d had a tumultuous relationship. A long history of domestic violence and abuse. Maine State Police were certain that Raymond was their guy. During an intense interrogation by two State detectives, Raymond Wood even confessed to the crime. But as the investigation continued, it appeared the evidence wouldn’t so easily fit the foregone conclusion reached by police, and the confession by their primary suspect wasn’t exactly proof that he did it.

VERMONT, 1971: Rita Curran and her family waited over 50 years for closure in her unsolved homicide, but with a renewed investigation beginning in 2019, detectives turned to advanced DNA analysis to find the answers that had been waiting in evidence storage for half a century. In part 2, you’ll hear what DNA analysis and genealogical research revealed, but it was only the beginning of finally closing Rita Curran’s cold case, once and for all.

VERMONT, 1971: After more than 50 years, 24-year Rita Curran's murder finally has closure. In this two part series, you'll hear the details of an investigation spanning over half a century and the DNA evidence that finally revealed a suspect in Vermont's oldest cold case. Part 2 is out now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

MAINE, 2021: On Mother’s Day weekend in 2021, skeletal remains were discovered in a shed on private property belonging to a man who had passed away months earlier. Though it would take months for the identity of the body to be confirmed, Danielle McNaughton knew in the pit of her stomach that it was her mother, Denise Scott Ramsey. The circumstances of Denise’s death are suspicious, but will Danielle ever have answers about what happened to her mom? The story took over the headlines that spring, but since then, little has been discussed and little is known about this case. That's why Danielle is on Dark Downeast.

VERMONT, 1981: During the earliest moments of the investigation, the death of 35-year old Angela Belisle was presumed to be the result of dangerous temperatures and extreme winter weather. Instead, the autopsy revealed that Angela was the victim of a homicide. What happened to Angela? Who is responsible? What will it take for her killer to be brought to justice all these years later?

VERMONT, 1971: In a homicide investigation, determining the identity of the victim is an obvious and crucial step in the pursuit of justice. Without knowing whose murder they’re investigating, authorities can’t really bring anyone to trial or even fully investigate. In the case of 34-year Vermont Veteran Ronald Rodgers, a family member positively ID’d his body, found shot and on fire on July night on Killington Mountain… But the accused killer’s defense team aimed to convince the jury that the identity of the deceased wasn’t an indisputable fact.

Dark Downeast digs into the decades-old and modern day cases that prickle the history of Vacationland and beyond – the unsolved homicides, undetermined deaths, unexplained disappearances and other dark stories of New England. Investigative journalist and storyteller Kylie Low gets straight to the story with a mix of narrated episodes and documentary style production featuring interviews with surviving family and friends and insight on the investigations from detectives and sources who know these cases best. This is heart-centered, ethical true crime, bringing light to stories you’re not hearing on other podcasts. It is Dark Downeast's mission to honor the legacy of the humans at the heart of each story and bring new attention to the cases still awaiting justice.

VERMONT, 1971: It was 10:30 p.m. the night before the 4th of July in 1971 when a family returning to their cottage near Killington Ski Resort in Vermont discovered a fire down over an embankment. When the father and son got close enough to douse the fire with water they made a grim discovery. It was the badly burned body of a man. A family member would identify the man as 34-year old Veteran Ronald Rodgers, but as the case developed over the course of an entire decade, that basic fact would be challenged. This case begins two years before his body was discovered, with an armed robbery in Rutland, Vermont. This is a story of possible mistaken identity, of investigative missteps, and maybe, the story of a so-called perfect crime.

NEW YORK CITY, 1836: In the early morning hours of April 10, 1836, the madam of a New York City brothel awoke to find 22-year old Helen Jewett's bedroom filled with smoke and flames. Helen Jewett, born Dorcas Doyen in Augusta, Maine, was considered a well-known sex worker in New York City. As her case became sensationalized and publicized around the world, it brought the taboo subject of sex into the prudish public sphere of the 1800s, inviting commentary, opinion and bias, even among those tasked with the pursuit of justice on Helen's behalf.

MAINE, 2010: In January of 2023, yet another year passed without justice for Darien Richardson and her family. You first heard Darien Richardson’s story on Dark Downeast in August of 2021. Since then, I’ve stayed in touch with Darien’s mother, Judi, and this case is one I keep coming back to, especially now that I’ve become a mother to a daughter. I’ve decided to re-release Darien’s story as an extended episode in hopes of furthering the Richardson family’s fight for answers, to support their advocacy for responsible gun laws, as well as bring awareness to their mission of helping those impacted by violent crime.

LIBERTY, MAINE 1973: As the wind and rain picked up on a dark December night in Liberty, Maine, Joaquin "Jack" Bettencourt closed up his popular secondhand clothing shop and headed home to his wife, Florence. Days later, the Bettencourt's car was found abandoned in the woods near their home. What police discovered next began a double homicide investigation that spanned several years and multiple states. This is the case of Jack and Florence Bettencourt and the legacy they left behind.

When Steve and Renee Patten learned that their daughter, Morgan Patten, was killed in a car accident far away from her home in New England, their immediate response was shock and confusion. Morgan’s final text to her parents said that she was heading to bed, but Morgan never made it back to the hotel. What happened to Morgan after her meal at the restaurant bar? How did she end up in a fatal car accident with two strangers 15 miles away from her hotel? In Part One of this two part series, you got to know Morgan through the eyes of her parents, you heard the love story of Morgan and “her Marine” and why she was in North Carolina on Veteran’s Day weekend in 2019. If you haven’t yet, listen to that episode first. In Part Two, we look at the evidence, because from the first moment Morgan’s parents heard the tragic news about their daughter, they questioned everything. What they’ve learned since, despite the conclusion reached by the District Attorney on her case, has them convinced their daughter was the target of something sinister.

Morgan Renee Patten was supposed to be spending a weekend with her fiancé celebrating their engagement in Jacksonville, North Carolina where he was in the School of Infantry at Camp Geiger. On Friday, November 8, 2019, Morgan left the home they shared in Edgartown, Massachusetts for a day-long journey down south. But Morgan never got to see her fiancé. Her life ended in a car accident with two strangers in a remote town far from where she was staying. To this day, the details just don’t add up for Morgan’s parents, Steve and Renee Patten. What happened at the restaurant bar? How did Morgan end up in that truck? Will the two strangers with Morgan in that accident ever speak up? The Pattens will not stop until they have all the answers. This is about justice for their baby girl. This is Part 1 of Morgan's story, told by her parents, Steve and Renee Patten.

Since February 1964, rumors have swirled across New Hampshire about the death of Rena Paquette. It has been almost sixty years and still the truth remains unknown. But Rena Paquette’s story actually begins with two other deaths — 18-year old Sandra Valade and 14-year old Pamela Mason. All three were murdered between the winters of 1960 and 1964 in Manchester, New Hampshire. To this day, only one of these killings has been officially solved. Even then, whether or not the one man accused of these crimes ever truly faced justice is up to debate even now.

On July 25, 1989, 14-year old Carrie Moss, wearing a one-piece swimsuit, stone-washed jeans, and a white t-shirt, hopped on her bike and pedaled off to meet friends for an afternoon at a popular Goffstown, New Hampshire swimming hole. That was the last time anyone reported seeing Carrie Moss alive. In November of the same year, another family awaited the return of their 14-year old daughter and granddaughter in nearby Penacook, New Hampshire.

Police first thought Susan Taraskiewicz’s murder to be a random act of violence, but soon the investigation revealed a much deeper conspiracy. Was Susan a target? It’s been nearly 30 years since Susan’s murder and nobody has been held responsible, but investigators believe somebody out there knows what happened.

As beautiful as they are, lighthouses have a dark side, too. The legend and lore surrounding the light stations of New England date back hundreds of years. Hauntings. Ghost sightings. Paranormal experiences. When you stand in the presence of a lighthouse, whether you believe in the supernatural or not, it’s hard not to feel like you’re in the presence of something or someone. Lighthouse historian Jeremy D’Entremont tells the haunted tales of Seguin Island Light Station and Boon Island.

FAYETTE, 1983: When Ted Flagg returned home from work on a cold day in January 1983, he was not warmly greeted by his wife as usual. Instead, he found 23-year old Judith Flagg dead. Evidence was scattered across the house. There were boot prints in the freshly fallen snow. Suspicions were cast and stories perpetuated throughout the small town of Fayette, Maine, but it would take over two decades to bring this cold case to a close.

In February of 2001, the calm in small town Chesterfield, New Hampshire was disrupted by an investigation carried out by New Hampshire State Police. Mother and daughter Tina and Bethany Sinclair were nowhere to be found. Though the two missing Sinclairs were the focus of the small community that year, over time, updates became fewer and farther between. Eventually, the cold weather made searches of the waterways surrounding the town next to impossible. The investigation stalled out. But Tina and Bethany Sinclair are far from forgotten. The case remains open. Answers are out there.

SOUTH PORTLAND, 1994: 22-year old Tammy Dickson was preparing for a new start in life. She was a recently divorced young mother and was looking ahead to a new beginning. But Tammy would never get to fully realize the dreams she had for herself. A trial ended in a conviction for a man named Foster Bates, but he has long maintained his innocence and continues to file for appeals in hopes of a new trial. For some though, including Tammy's family, there is no doubt that the man in prison was rightfully convicted.

Robert "Bobby" Desmond's case is the oldest on the Maine State Police Unsolved Missing Persons case list but his story has never been told. Detective Steve Borst of the Kennebunk Police Department is reigniting the decades-old investigation for an 11-year old boy gone missing in 1964 and nearly forgotten. Through interviews with surviving family members, limited archival news sources, and other investigative resources, Detective Borst is learning more about the life of Bobby Desmond and what could have happened to him all those years ago. Someone, somewhere may have that one key piece of information that inches this case closer to closure than it’s ever been.

You’ve heard Leslie Spellman’s story on Dark Downeast before. I was initially compelled to tell Leslie Spellman’s story because I couldn’t believe a homicide on the perimeter of Maine’s most well-known national park could go unsolved for over four decades and I couldn’t believe I’d never heard her story before. That was reason enough to shed new light on it the first time, and it’s even more of a reason to revisit it now. Since the first airing of this episode, a family member of Leslie Spellman reached out to me. Leslie’s cousin Margaret only met Leslie once in her life when they were just children, but the fact that her family member was murdered and that it remains unsolved is something Margaret cannot shake. Margaret wants to take action and seek answers for her cousin, Leslie.

Ashley Flowers is the creator and host of the Crime Junkie podcast and founder and CEO of audiochuck, the podcast network behind even more chart-topping shows like The Deck, Counterclock, Strangeland, and more. In this conversation, Ashley shares the origin story of Crime Junkie and what goes into creating ethical true crime content. She also gets personal about her experiences with pregnancy and motherhood. Ashley also leads us through her very first novel, All Good People Here, and how her years of true crime podcasting helped her write a twisty-turny feels-real story that any true crime fan will love.

Would you know how to spot a scam in your life before it was too late? For years, Johnathan Walton didn’t know that the woman he called his best friend was actually a career con artist, suspected of numerous scams and fraudulent activity across the country and internationally. Once he uncovered the truth, though, Johnathan made it his mission to stop her.

When Johnathan Walton hosted a wine and cheese night in his Los Angeles apartment in 2013, he couldn’t have known that the event would invite a shark into his inner circle. Flyers he hung up around the building gave off the scent of a helper, a do-gooder, a warrior against injustice. It was like blood in the water. Johnathan Walton’s story unfolds thousands of miles away from New England, but the woman he knew as Mair Smith began her long career of conning and scamming in her home state of Maine. This is Part 1: The Con. Part 2: The Convict is out now.

He committed his first murder at 15-years old, ending the life of an innocent shopkeeper as he and his buddies made their way around Lawrence, Massachusetts holding up convenience stories “for the thrill of it”. His lawyer would later plead for mercy on the accused teenage killer, but that mercy would have unintended consequences not so far in the future. George Nassar is a two-time convicted killer, yes, but some people believe this man who started his crime streak as a young teen might also be responsible for some 13 or more killings around Boston in the 1960s, too. His association with the man actually accused of those crimes only deepens the suspicion.

Jessica Zernicke Holmes left work on the night of September 24, 2015 to find her phone flooded with missed calls and messages. When she was finally able to call her family member back, they delivered shocking news about her father. 58-year old Kenneth Zernicke was found dead inside his burning home in Caribou, Maine. Two days later, his death was ruled a homicide. Jess reached out to me because after nearly 7 years her father’s case remains unsolved with little public information available, even to family members. She wrote in her email, “I understand it makes it hard to cover a case with little to no information, but I am hoping to get this out there as much, and as often as possible. I miss my dad.”That is why I started this show. No matter the amount of public information on a case, these stories need and deserve attention.

Strung up in the corner of a roadside amusement park fun house was the figure of a man coated so many times with phosphorus paint that it glowed in the dimly lit space. It was alarmingly lifelike, and yet in the several years the figure was on display, no one dared question if it was anything more than a mannequin.

ACTIVE CASE, PART 3: In October of 2016, about a month after he was plucked from a life raft after a week at sea, Nathan Carman walked into the private memorial service he’d organized to honor his mother, Linda Carman. Notably missing from the private service were Linda Carman’s three sisters. It was publicly obvious that something wasn’t right. The relationship between Nathan Carman and his aunts was not a good one. Soon it would be abundantly clear how and what the aunts thought about their nephew. They believed he was a murderer driven by greed for the family fortune. If you haven’t already, begin with parts 1 and 2 of this story. This is part 3 of a three-part mini-series covering the ongoing cases of John Chakalos and Linda Carman.

ACTIVE CASE, PART 2: Nathan Carman was 23-years old when his boat, the Chicken Pox, sank during a fishing trip off the coast of Rhode Island, presumably claiming the life of his mother, Linda Carman, who was also aboard the vessel before it went down. Nathan was rescued a week later – a miraculous recovery by a freight ship that just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The story only got more compelling when it was learned that Nathan Carman was the grandson of wealthy real estate developer John Chakalos, whose 2013 murder remained unsolved, and that Nathan himself was a suspect in his grandfather's death. In Part 2: Who is Nathan Carman? Did Nathan intentionally sink his boat with his mother aboard? If you haven't already, listen to Part 1: Murdered at Home and Missing at Sea available wherever you get your podcasts.

ACTIVE CASE, PART 1: When the daughter of wealthy real estate developer John Chakalos walked into her father’s Connecticut home one morning in December 2013, it set into motion a long-term investigation of not one, but two suspicious deaths in the same family within a three year span. Investigators had a prime suspect for the murder of John Chakalos from the beginning, but it wasn’t until another member of the family disappeared under mysterious circumstances that the identity of that suspect was revealed. This is Part 1 of a deep dive into the cases of John Chakalos and Linda Carman.

AUGUSTA, ME 1976: The murder of 70-year old Augusta resident Blanche Kimball remained a cold case for decades until a new tip, advancements in DNA technology, and a clever idea brought all the loose ends together.

Missing Kim, a Dark Downeast mini-documentary is out now at missingkim.com.

The fire horn rang out in Ossipee, New Hampshire around 10 p.m. on September 28, 1916. The blaze at Frederick and Florence Small's cottage on the lake burned fast, even, and hot. The fire department could do nothing to save the structure or anyone who might remain inside. Frederick was out of town, seen leaving on a train towards Boston that afternoon, but Florence was unaccounted for. It was a suspicious fire that left a homicide case in its smoldering rubble. Frederick Small was arrested and charged with his wife's murder, but how could he pull off the crime from an entirely different state?

When Albert Flick was released from his first prison sentence for killing his wife, he restarted his pattern of threatening and victimizing women. But he’d age out of it, wouldn’t he? Statistics said so. His drooping, wrinkled face and frail body did not look like that of a brazen killer. He’d be in his mid-70s by the time he was free again, surely the threat he posed to society would fade. Sadly, that would not be the case. The stories of these three women, and the unnamed women also victimized by the same man, will have you asking what is justice really? Does it and can it exist when a convicted killer is afforded more mercy than those whose lives he threatened and ended?

NEWPORT, MAINE 1975: Ellen Choate was ready to start her new job. So ready, that she hopped a train from Philadelphia to Boston just hours after she graduated to get a jump start on her journey to Maine. It was midnight when Ellen took her seat on that train heading north, hoping that once in Massachusetts, she’d find a ride to Bangor, where her house, car, and new role as a Montessori teacher was waiting for her. That was June 1, 1975. The last time anyone saw Ellen Choate alive.

It was just before 4 a.m. on June 20, 1975 in Newport, Maine. The sky was just warming with hints of dawn and the air was quiet save for the buzz of the ice cooler and Coca Cola vending machine sitting in the dim glow of the gas station lights. The fishermen waiting in their car for gasoline noticed a light on inside McNally’s Texaco, but no one came to greet them outside at the pump. Anxious to get their day started, the driver stepped out of the car to see what was the hold up. As he opened the door to the station, the unsuspecting fisherman found 35-year old Robert McKee lying on the floor in a pool of blood. His murder remains unsolved to this day.

It was described as one of Vermont’s most frustrating cold cases. A dedicated mother and beloved school teacher disappeared in November of 1979, with nothing but a smashed up vehicle and a strange hand-written note left behind. When her ex-boyfriend disappeared a month later, too, authorities had two people to track down – one they presumed to be dead, and the other they suspected of causing her death. The search for the suspect would become a cross-country event, tracking aliases and addresses out west until finally, a dedicated detective and a new State’s Attorney saw eye to eye on what needed to be done in the case, what needed to be done for Judith Leo-Coneys.

VERMONT, 1979: When the vehicle of Judith Leo-Coneys turned up at a junkyard in Roxbury, Vermont, it was the first big clue in the disappearance of the beloved school teacher and young mother. The case would spiral into an investigation spanning a decade and stretching across the United States, but before investigators would uncover any answers for Judy, they’d have to find a second missing person. The primary person of interest disappeared, too. This is Part 1 of Judith Leo-Coneys story.

Semper Memento. Always Remember. Those words guide the work of the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit. In this special release episode, I peel back the curtain on the Unsolved Homicide Unit and reveal what goes into re-examining and investigating long standing homicide cases in the state of Maine and how a team of experts collaborates in pursuit of one common goal – to find answers. Each of the individuals you’re about to meet would agree with me here: The most important story to tell is the one about the victim so that they are never forgotten and their legacy is honored, even and especially if their story doesn’t have an ending yet. The Unsolved Homicide Unit becomes part of those stories, assembling each piece of a nebulous puzzle so that hopefully, one day, they can give the victims and their families the ending they deserve. As someone who is deeply invested and interested in the work that it takes to solve a cold case murder, and as a podcaster who has spoken their names and shared the work they’ve done on the cases I cover, it is an honor to introduce you to members of the Maine Unsolved Homicide Unit – Commanding Officer Jeff Love, Assistant Attorney General Lara Nomani, Forensic Chemist Alison Gingras, Victim Witness Advocate Renee Fournier, and Investigator Jay Pelletier.

STOCKTON SPRINGS, 1984: Nearly four decades is a long time to wait for justice. In the case of Dorthea "Dot" Burke, time proved to be exactly what detectives needed to secure that justice, bringing key witnesses forward to tell their story. You might assume DNA is the key to closing out cold cases, but more often than not, it’s all about getting people talking. It was a 36-year long investigation into Dot’s death. I'll walk you through it. In collaboration with the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit and with the consent of the immediate family of Dorthea “Dot” Burke, this is her story on Dark Downeast.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1978: When State Police investigators started digging in March of 1988, it had been 10 years since anyone had seen Russell Bean. An investigation followed his disappearance, but foul play wasn’t suspected. Not until a deathbed confession and shocking accusation sent investigators to the site of an old pig pen on the property of Marlow, New Hampshire’s Police Chief, Robert Chambers Sr.

In April 1979, the lives of two teenagers from two very different parts of the country were inextricably linked by murder. In Brewer, Maine, 17-year old Amy Banks awoke one night to learn that her father, Dr. Ronald Banks, had been murdered in New Orleans, Louisiana. One month later, authorities in New Orleans arrested 16-year old Isaac Knapper and charged him with the killing of Amy’s father. But Isaac didn’t commit the murder. This is the story of a wrongful conviction, a young Black man railroaded by the justice system, and evidence withheld at trial that would’ve saved him from a life sentence behind bars in the nation’s bloodiest prison. This is the case of Dr. Ronald Banks, told by his daughter Amy Banks, and Isaac Knapper, the man once charged and convicted of his murder.

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 1993: After more than two decades of searching for answers in the unsolved homicide of 20-year old Sophie Sergie, DNA evidence led detectives from Alaska to the doorstep of Steven Downs in Auburn, Maine. On Thursday, February 10, 2022, the jury found Steven Downs guilty on the charges of murder and sexual assault. I covered Sophie Sergie’s case in two parts on Dark Downeast.

MASARDIS, MAINE 1977: The impact that murder has on a family and a community is profound and far-reaching. When a murder goes unsolved, grief is partnered with lasting fear. In a small town like Masardis, Maine, the shock that came after the killing of Lila Drew still reverberates these 45 years later. Who chose to end the life of a 78-year old woman for seemingly no reason? How could this person pass through a town as small as Masardis unnoticed and carry out a brutal attack without detection? Or maybe they weren’t passing through. Maybe Lila Drew’s killer was one of their own.

LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS 1996: 6-year old Jesus De La Cruz was out playing with a friend on September 28, 1996 when a man approached the two young boys. His friend later told police that Jesus was lured away by that man who promised him a new bike. It was the last time anyone saw Jesus. Despite suspicions surrounding a man in the neighborhood, rumors of drug debt retaliation, accusations cast on the boy’s own mother, and FBI involvement, Jesus’s case remains unsolved. Some wonder if maybe he could be alive out there somewhere, now a 31-year old man.

DEDHAM, MAINE 1983: For nearly three decades, the family of Kitty Collins Wardwell hoped that the whereabouts of their daughter, sister, and mother would be revealed and the secret of what happened to the smart, beautiful Kitty would come out into the light. But they wouldn’t learn the truth about Kitty until someone else passed away 28 years later. You won’t find her name on the Maine State Police Unsolved case list anymore, as cases like Kitty’s are excluded when there is evidence establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that the person responsible is dead, but the death of a key individual is not a true resolution for Kitty Wardwell. Is someone out there, still walking the streets of Maine, holding onto information that could uncover the secret of why Kitty disappeared and the person, or persons, responsible?

RHODE ISLAND, 2006: Was it a seizure or did somebody murder Shawn O'Brien? His daughter, Natalia St. Louis, just wants to know the truth, but the details of that July afternoon in 2006 don’t make any sense. It was labeled a medical call, an apparent seizure, but the autopsy report and blood evidence at the scene point to something much more violent than that. Over 15 years later, Shawn O’Brien’s case is still labeled a suspicious death. She’s been told to keep quiet, but if she’s not asking questions, chasing down leads, and talking about father’s case, who will?

26 years is a long time to wait for answers in an unsolved homicide, but in 2019 the family of 20-year old Sophie Sergie finally had a glimmer of hope that closure was possible. Familial DNA evidence led cold case investigators from Alaska all the way to Auburn, Maine and to the doorstep of the man now charged with the murder of Sophie Sergie. The trial of Steven H. Downs began in January 2022 and continues as we speak. If you haven’t tuned into part I of Sophie Sergie’s story, please pause here and turn back one episode, because in this episode, you’ll hear about the evidence, the admitted mistakes, and the list of alternative suspects that the defense says will change your mind about who committed this violent crime. At the end of it all, we all just want one thing – Justice for Sophie Sergie and peace for her family.

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 1993: Sophie Sergie was a first generation college student from a small village in rural Alaska who set her eyes on building a better future for herself and her family. In April of 1993, someone cut that future short. This case played out on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks over 4000 miles from New England and nearly three decades in the past, but the long arm of justice knows no limits of distance or time. DNA evidence reached across the farthest corners of the United States to implicate the alleged killer of Sophie Sergie. He was working as a nurse in Auburn, Maine. The 2019 arrest of Steven Downs seemed like the first sign of real closure for Sophie’s family, but as the trial proceedings play out in Alaska Superior Court right now in January of 2022, what seemed like a clear answer on the surface gets more difficult to pin down each day. This is Part I of Sophie Sergie's story.

WALDOBORO, MAINE 1983: Who killed well-known Waldoboro figure Douglas J. Parent? And why? His case has been on the Maine Unsolved Homicide list for decades, and one rumor about what happened the night of October 2, 1983 has circulated nearly as long. In this special episode of Dark Downeast, you’ll get to know Doug Parent through his own words and voice and we’ll dig into the whispered theory that even some inside the law enforcement community believe could hold pieces of the truth, if only they could prove it.

CORNISH, MAINE 1991: Sean Conway's family has been waiting 31 years to learn what happened to their brother and son on January 16, 1991. This long-standing case is still considered an open and active homicide investigation, though it’s been years since any new developments have come to light. Nim is on Dark Downeast to share her brother’s story in hopes that it will reach the person or persons who know exactly what happened at that motorcycle supply shop in Cornish, Maine one January afternoon.