Crime&Stuff

202. Lost on the Appalachian Trail

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:45:10 -0400

We made it back! Unlike some of the people in our episode. From the time it opened in 1937 until now, more than 21,000 people have thru-hiked the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, and countless more have set foot on it. It’s maginificent and awe-inspiring, but not always kind. From three young men from New York in 1938, to Geraldine Largay in 2013, we take a look at some of the well-known, and not so well-known, people who’ve gotten lost on the 2,190-mile trail from Georgia to Maine. Many of them in Maine, some in New Hampshire and other states. Some with happy endings, many without.

We’re using new software that we hope will also lead to video versions of the podcast, so stay tuned! Lots of visuals to go with this episode, so even without a video version, check back on this site for maps, photos and more that go with this episode.

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. The third one, Bad News Travels Fast, has an Appalachian Trail theme.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

201. Big updates, who’s the asshole, and more

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 22:34:24 -0400

A final treat before our summer break: Updates to several episodes, including the latest on the Michael Gaine murder in Ireland, what Uber’s doing for women, another Eliot Cutler rant and more.

We dive into fan favorite “Am I the Asshole?”

And we each take the other’s NNW challenge.

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

200. Judi and Missy: A tale of two 2016 murders

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 19:50:11 -0400

Judi Therianos and Missy Bevers had nothing in common except for the fact they were both beloved women and mothers who were murdered, senselessly, in 2016. Their murders didn’t have much in common, either. One got the usual local coverage, the other was an internet sleuth sensation. One was solved fairly quickly, the other, 10 years later, is still as much of a mystery as it was in 2016. But they both left devastated family and friends in their wake, and their homicides and the aftermath say something about the bigger picture 10 years ago — in a lot of ways, little has improved.

To commemorate our 200th episode, we look at the two homicides from 2016, the same year we started this podcast.

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

199. He hunted humans

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 31 May 2026 22:05:59 -0400

At first no one in central-eastern Ohio connected the killings — they were hunters, outdoorsmen, a jogger — all shot by someone who left no trace between 1989 and 1992. When they finally arrested Thomas Dillon for five murders, law enforcement was happy to leave it at that. But it was clear that Dillon’s carnage stretched far beyond the rural counties of that area of Ohio. Maureen presents.

We also have updates on the arrest of Stephen Bouchard in the 1987 Maine murder of Alice Hawkes, and the latest on Maine’s favorite perv, Eliot Cutler.

Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix series “Clickbait.”

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

198. ‘Unsolveable’ Alice Hawkes murder solved

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 15 May 2026 18:34:40 -0400

When we featured Alice Hawkes’ 1987 homicide in Episode 191 as one of our Maine Cold Cases of the 1980s, Maureen declared that it would never be “solved,” though there was s definite suspect. Well, she was wrong! Maine State Police announced an arrest May 8. We revisit the case with many of our questions from February answered and some new information.

Rebecca gives the Netflix show “Worst Ex Ever” an NNW review.

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

197. Mary Ellen Tanner, nearly 50 years of questions

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 01 May 2026 16:32:53 -0400

Mary Ellen Tanner had planned to go to Massachusetts for the weekend to attend the funeral of her boyfriend’s brother the weekend of July 7, 1978. It wasn’t until two days later that anyone knew she’d never left her hometown in Maine — when her beaten body was found in a remote field in Lyman, Maine. Over the decades, questions about the last hours of her life still haunt her friends, family, the town and the investigators who say they’re still looking for her killer. Rebecca presents.

Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the ID true crime show “Killer in Question.”

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

196. Dominique Dunne: Murder with no justice

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:23:17 -0400

Dominique Dunne was 22 and a rising star in in Hollywood in 1982 — she had everything going for her, except when it came to her ex-boyfriend, Ma Maison head chef John Sweeney. She’d broken up with him after several severe beatings and nearly a year of coercive control, but he still wouldn’t leave her alone. When she tried to get the message across, he killed her. That was just the beginning, as a justice system more concerned about protecting the reputation of a man with a history of violence again women than getting justice for his victim let her, her family and her friends down again. Maureen presents.

Rebecca gives the NNW review treatment to the Netflix doc “Victim, Suspect.”

195. Mary Theresa Simpson murder 60-year road to justice

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:43:03 -0400

Mary Theresa Simpson was 12 when she disappeared while walking home in Elmira, New York, on March 15, 1964. When her body was found four days later, buried under heavy rocks, no one could predict that it would take more than six decades before there were answers to that city’s only unsolved murder. Rebecca presents.

Also, Maureen gives an NNW review to the documentary “Earnhardt.”

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

194. Cabin Fever Reliever – Updates, Maine mini and more!

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 17:37:06 -0500

It’s March. It’s cold [where we live], it’s ugly. We’re tired of it. So, to lighten the mood a little before we get back to our usual content, we have a cabin fever reliever!

Updates on the Maine woman who buried her friend in the backyard and is now facing charges, Maine man Michael Colin Patrick Kelley finally arrested on charges her murdered Irish farmer Michael Gaine, Maine man Eliot Cutler who can’t stop porning despite the break he gets on the consequences, and Massachusetts man Brian Walshe convicted in the 2023 murder of his wife, Ana.

We also have a Maine mini on the murder of Maine philanthropist Robert Fuller at his Maryland nursing home, a nice batch of “Am I the Asshole,” and a Negative Nelly Watching reviews on Netflix series “How to Get to Heaven from Belfast,” and Oxygen series “Buried in the Backyard.” A little something for everyone!

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

193. The 2025 Maine Homicide List

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 16:59:58 -0500

Maine had 21 homicides in 2025, and we take a look at them. Guns and domestic violence continue to be the dominant themes, with mental health issues also a troubling contributing factor.

From people who know each other all too well, to the bizarre seemingly random shooting of a guy on his motorcycle, there are 21 stories of lives lost that may resonate with you, no matter where you live.

We also take a quick look at Maine’s biennial domestic violence homicide report, and what it says about how the public, police and the media perceive domestic homicide, and how that adds to the problem.

To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

192. Maine Cold Cases 3: The 1990s and Beyond

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:10:54 -0500

We wrap up our three-episode look at the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide list, diving into the 1990s and beyond, looking at the cases of Lorna Brackett and Vincent White, Susan Hannah, Joseph Savitch and Louis Alexander, and Neil Salisbury, the most recent unsolved homicide on the list.

We also look at the introduction of DNA as an investigative tool, how the Maine Unsolved Homicide List was created and some stuff about the state’s cold case squad.

Even if you don’t live in, or care about, Maine, the issues related to unsolved homicides and how they were investigated are universal.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

191. Maine Cold Cases 2: The 1980s

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 17:43:14 -0500

We continue our look at Maine’s cold cases with a dive into the 1980s: Beverly Polchies, Theresa Duran, Vincent LaVopa, Brian Kowalczyk and Alice Hawkes. Would they have been solved if they happened today? Should they have been solved four decades ago? We discuss.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

190. Maine Cold Cases 1: The 1970s

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:51:03 -0500

While we wait for the state of Maine to release the 2025 homicide list, we’re taking a look at another list: Maine’s Unsolved Homicides.

In this first part of a three-part series, we dive into the Maine cold cases of the 1970s (and one from the 1960s), and discuss the still-unsolved cases of Effie MacDonald, Mary Olenchuk, Judith Hand, Joyce Tannarillo, Robert McKee, Ellen Choate, and James Cassidy. Would they have been solved if they’d happened today? Would they have even happened today?

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

189. The case that changed criminal investigation Part 3

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 14:04:15 -0500

Darrel Parker starts serving a life sentence. Wesley Peery is incarcerated in Ohio, doing “30 to 75 years,” which we know means he’ll be out soon. And Wesley’s gonna be Wesley.

As Nebraska officials pull out all the stops across decades to keep an innocent man in prison for the rest of his life, Peery is free once again, with no one fighting against it, and does exactly what he’s done every single time he’s been let out of prison since the 1940s.

When Darrel Parker was convicted in 1956, it set John Reid’s star on a trajectory that did change criminal investigation in the U.S. forever. What happened over the next 50 years, including a stunning twist, shouldn’ve altered that course. The fact it didn’t is the biggest crime of all. Maureen wraps up the three-part Darrel Parker saga.

Rebecca gives an NNW review to one of her all-time favorite TV shows.

188. The case that changed criminal investigation Part 2

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 20:40:29 -0500

It’s April 1956, and Darrel Parker is going to trial on first-degree murder charges in the murder of his wife, Nancy. The evidence? A confession wrung out of him by soon-to-be famous crimimologist John Reid, with the help of a lie detector and some very willing Lincoln, Nebraska, cops and county attorney

Meanwhile, career criminal Wesley Peery continues to wreak havoc in Lincoln and the surrounding area. He can’t have killed Nancy, of course, though he’s showing himself to be a violent rapist. He passed a lie detector test, so he’s been cleared.

Part 2 of our look at how the Reid technique and lie detectors and the false confession they elicited launched John Reid to national fame and influenced criminal investigations in the U.S., an influence that continues to this day. Maureen presents.

Rebecca gives an NNW review to the Netflix doc series “Missing: Dead or Alive?”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

2025 Very Special Holiday Special

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 15:58:43 -0500

Sit back and rip the wrapping and bows off our annual holiday special. With special holiday “Am I the Asshole?” And two special holiday Negative Nellies Reviews!

Enjoy! And Merry Whatever Holiday You Celebrate!

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

ICYMI: Brian Walshe’s many victims

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:01:39 -0500

In case you missed it, from January 2023: Brian Walshe’s many victims.

Brian Walshe was found guilty on Dec. 15, 2025, of murdering his wife, Ana Walshe, and dismemembering her body. As promised, we’ll have an episode on it in January. But if you want the full background on Brian Walshe, check out this episode from January 2023 that looks at his long history of fraud, including ripping off his father — twice! It’s not just about the Warhols.

We also have a special holiday issue coming later this week, and Part 2 of The Case That Changed Crime Investigation History coming up in the next couple of weeks.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

187. The case that changed U.S. criminal investigations forever Part 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 12:41:30 -0500

Lie detectors. The Reid Technique. You’ve been listening to us rant about them for nine years. One case, in 1955, was not only the perfect storm of both, but also launched John Reid’s interrogation method into national use, changing criminal justice methods throughout the U.S. into what is now the norm.

But the funny thing about the investigation of Nancy Parker’s 1955 murder and the conviction of her husband, Darrel, is that it’s a huge honking cautionary tale of what can go wrong in an investigation. Maureen presents.

Rebecca gives the Netflix documentary “Sunday Best,” an NNW review.

So, on our ninth anniversary [!!!] check out a really good shooooeeee… [That’s an Ed Sullivan reference, kids, not misplaced ego].

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

186. Father, father, father: Marvin Gaye’s tragic death

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 12:56:19 -0500

Singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye made beautiful music, but what most people didn’t know until his tragic death at his father’s hand was that his life growing up with Marvin Gaye Sr. had been anything but. What led up to the Gaye’s April 1, 1984, shooting death? Rebecca tells the story.

Maureen takes on iconic true crime series “Dateline” in our Negative Nellies Watching review.

We also have updates on the Cocoanut Grove fire, one of the stranger cases from our 2023 Maine Homicide List and the ongoing Brian Walshe murder trial.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

185. Maine cold case solved, hot case unsolved

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 18:57:48 -0500

The cold case of an arson fire that killed one Portland, Maine, resident in 1994 and injured seven others has finally been solved. The disappearance of a New Sweden, Maine, 13-year-old a year ago hasn’t, despite many red flags. We take a look at these two Maine minis, as well as update what happened to James Dailey, who was scheduled to be executed in Florida when we last talked about him in October 2021, the latest on the Bear Brook cold case (Episode 11), a new look at one of the victims of the Connecticut Valley Serial Killer (Episode 31), and some other recent news on old episode.

We also have two NNW reviews! Maureen on the Oxygen series “Accident, Suicide, or Murder,” and Rebecca on the Netflix series, “Dead to Me.”

Light the fire and fill up the coffee mug and settle in for cozy night of murder and mayhem.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

184. Paula Roberts Part 3: Trial 2

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 18:49:32 -0400

Philip Willoughby goes on trial for the Dec. 3, 1983, Maine murder of Paula Roberts, but it doesn’t go smoothly. Not at all. Prosecutors never really let go of Trial 1, and justice takes a hit. But does anyone care? Maureen wraps up the Paula Roberts series.

Rebecca does an NNW review of the Netflix doc “The Perfect Neighbor.”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

183. Paula Roberts Part 2: Trial 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 18:04:20 -0400

When David Willoughby is arrested and charged with the abduction and murder of Paula Roberts, it seemed like the beginning of the end of the case of the 21-year-old store clerk who was taken and killed during an Augusta, Maine, robbery in December 1983.

But it was just the beginning. The tangled tale of the pursuit for justice in the Paula Roberts case goes from complicated to impossibly complicated in Part 2 of our three-part series. Maureen presents.

Rebecca also gives a Negative Nellies Watching review of the Netflix doc “Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey.”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

182. Paula Roberts Part 1: Missing

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 20:19:03 -0400

December 3, 1983, was just a normal night in Paula Roberts’ busy life — she was working the evening shift at Summer Haven Ice Cream shop in Augusta, Maine, one of three jobs she worked to help pay her way through college. But that changed fast when two men burst into the shop, hit a customer over the head with a heavy weapon, stole money, lottery tickets and food stamps. When they left minutes later, they took Paula with them.

Part 1 of Paula Roberts covers that month between Dec. 3, 1983, when she was abducted, and the shocking events of a month later, followed by an arrest. But that’s only the beginning of the story.

Rebecca does a Negative Nellies Watching review of the Netflix series “Adolescence.”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

181. No justice for Tamla Horsford

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 18:03:16 -0400

Tamla Horsford was a little nervous about going to the “girls night” birthday of a friend in Cumming, Georgia, in November 2018. She didn’t know many of the other women, she had a husband and five sons at home to take care of, and on top of it, she was a Black woman in a lily-white town that had a long history of racism. But she was also a fun, friendly person looking for friends. And the party was fun. Until it wasn’t. No one could explain why, the next morning, Tamla was found dead in the back yard. Police quickly determined it was an accident. But a lot of things don’t add up… Rebecca presents.

Maureen also gives a Negative Nellies Watching review to the Hulu documentary “Ruby Red-Handed.”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

180. Michael Gaine murder & the Maine suspect

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 17:25:19 -0400

Michael Gaine was well-known and well-loved in his town of Kenmare, as well as around County Kerry in Ireland. So when the 56-year-old farmer disappeared in the middle of a routine morning in March, the alarm was immediately raised. It wasn’t long before everyone realized it was foul play. Even before the horrific details of what happened to him were learned. What does the American drifter from Maine with the hinky story have to do with it all? Maureen presents.

Rebecca also gives a Negative Nellies review of the new Netlfix doc “Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser.”

179. Summer vacation fun continues with more AITA

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 10:48:13 -0400

We wrap up our summer vacation series with some more of our ever-popular Am I The Asshole advice discussion, as well as Negative Nellies Watching reviews of “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning” streaming on HBO/MAX and “Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil,” streaming on Hulu.

We’ll be back next week with a regular episode!

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

178. The Maine Paddleboard Murder. Also, Jaws

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 14:55:17 -0400

We have a Maine mini on the murder of Sunshine Stewart, who was paddleboarding on a lake in Maine July 2 when she was killed. We have all the up-to-date information! Since it’s July, hot, and busy, who has time for a full-blown story? So we’re also talking about Jaws, 50 years after we saw it in the theater.

To cap it off we have an NNW that we’re not revealing the topic of. It’s a surprise! And we also talk about the Netflix doc “Amy Bradley is Missing.”

So! A lot of stuff in this episode.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

177. AITA special summer edition

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 18:35:38 -0400

Fourth of July party poopers, bridesmaids who “ruin” the wedding, unruly kids at the pool and at home, vacation home SNAFUs — and more! Who really IS the asshole? As the weather heats up, so do the offenses. We take you on a a wild ride through our special summer edition of advice, judgment and outrage.

Maureen also updates the father-daughter deaths on Katahdin from last episode, which was an update to Episode 125.

We also discuss the two competing Titan submersible docs – Netflix’s “Titan: The Oceangate Disaster” and the Discovery+ (also found on Max) “Implosion: The Titan Disaster,” as well as the new Netflix doc “Trainwreck: The Poop Cruise.” Enjoy!

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

176. Maine’s ‘coldest case’ Danny Wood Part 2

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 21:27:17 -0400

We pick up the Danny Wood Jr. murder with his parents taking polygraphs, and 1954 creeping toward 1955 with no more progress on figuring out who killed the Gray, Maine, 12-year-old. Not that there weren’t plenty of suspects. What’s happened in the 71 years since Danny was killed and will his case ever be solved? Rebecca presents.

Maureen has an update for Episode 125, “Katahdin Kills and Doesn’t Care,” and also gives the NNW review treatment to the Discovery documentary “Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster.” [Not to be confused with the Netflix doc “Titan: The Ocean Gate Disaster.”]

175. Maine’s ‘coldest’ case Danny Wood Part 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 20:07:54 -0400

In July 1954, 12-year-old Danny Wood Jr. told his mom in Gray, Maine, that he was going fishing with a friend. Ten minutes later, he called her from a payphone three miles away, in town, telling her he was going to help a door-to-door salesman. She told him not to go with the guy, but Danny was never seen again. This is Part 1 of what’s often called “Maine’s coldest case.” Though it really isn’t. Rebecca presents.

Maureen gives the Hulu doc series “Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam” the NNW review treatment.

We also update Episodes 77 and 95 (the Police War on Black Women and Johnetta Carr), Episode 144 (James Cameron the Worst Kind of Criminal), Episode 152 (Maine’s 2023 homicide list) and Episode 174 (Kathleen McLean murder).

174. Small justice for Kathleen McLean

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 20:26:46 -0400

In Episode 85 we brought you the story of Kathleen McLean, killed in her Dover, Mass., home in May 2020 by her husband, Ingolf Tuerk, a doctor. This episode we bring you the rest of the story, after Tuerk finally goes to trial. Maureen presents.

Rebecca also does an NNW review of the Hulu doc series “Scamanda.”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

173. The mysterious disappearance of the Martin family

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 21:43:18 -0400

Our sister Liz, the history professor, joins us from the Pacific Northwest with another tale of of (possible) murder from that dark corner of the country. The Martin family — Mom, Dad, and three daughters — left their Portland, Oregon, home for a drive up the Columbia River gorge December 7, 1958. They never came home. Was it a tragic accident, or was there more involved? As Liz was preparing her presentation, there was a big break in the case. But maybe not big enough?

We also do an NNW review of the Netflix documentary Con Mum, and Liz also has some recommendations.

172. Am I the A-Hole?

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 16:04:29 -0500

What does the Karen Read case have to do with Brian Walshe (Episode 136) and Ingolf Tuerk (Episode 85)? Our update explains it all.

We also bring back fan favorite Am I the Asshole?

To cap it off, Maureen does an NNW review of the movie “American Fiction.”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

171. Bestselling author vs. coercive controller

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 17:40:52 -0500

Emma Cline should’ve been thrilled — at 25, she’d achieved every writer’s dream. But her $2 million book deal for her bestselling debut novel “The Girls” was too much for her ex, who slut-shamed her, threw false plagiarism and cyber-spying charges at her, and dragged in friends in a years-long campaign to bring her down.

The media focus was on the plagiarism and the sex stuff, but the real issue was coercive control and male privilege, and how he was allowed to get away with it for years.

Rebecca also reviews the Sly Stone documentary “Sly Live.”

170. The 2024 Maine Homicide List

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:32:23 -0500

The state of Maine recorded 35 homicides in 2024, a pretty high number, though the rate has been steadily going up in recent years. Ages of victims ranged from 22 months to 90 years. We’ll take a look at some of their stories.

Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the classic movie 12 Angry Men.

169. Jon Pownall’s Fatal Final Scene Part 3

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 14:04:00 -0500

A decade after he was acquitted — twice — of charges related to Jon Pownall’s murder, Truman Dongo finds himself at the wrong end of a gun. Dongo disappeared from his apartment in Falmouth, Maine, on Sept. 21, 1983. His body was found nearly a month later, in the woods of Stowe, Maine, nearly 60 miles away, dead from multiple gunshots.

The twisted tale of bizarre criminality that began with the fatal shooting of film director Pownall in Portland in 1973, comes to an end in this third and final episode. Rebecca tells the story.

Maureen also gives NNW treatment to the documentary “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

A very special 2024 holiday episode!

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 21:36:13 -0500

Like the Little Drummer Boy, we bring to you what we can — a holiday gift that includes a JonBenet mea culpa, some very special holiday Am I the Asshole discussions, some recommendations, some gripes, and lots of fun!

Happy Holidays and here’s to a great 2025!

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

168. Jon Pownall’s fatal final scene Part 2

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 18:22:15 -0500

The Jon Pownall murder case didn’t end with the trial of Herb Schwartz and Truman Dongo. There was so much more… particularly with the prosecution’s star witness, who couldn’t stay out of trouble after he moved back to his native New Jersey. Rebecca continues to report.

Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix doc series Manhattan Alien Abduction.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

167. John Pownal’s fatal final scene Part 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 23:07:37 -0400

All Jon Pownall wanted was to make his own movies after two decades of filming marketing spots and commercials. It looked like it was all coming together, too, as production began on his film “The Salem Six.” It all ended, though, on August 30, 1973, when he was found shot to death in the Portland, Maine, office of his film company. Rebecca presents.

Also, Maureen gives the NNW treatment to Peacock documentary “Banished: Prince Andrew”

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, click here.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

166. The Lewiston Shooting Report: So Many Red Flags

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 15:08:49 -0400

We take a look at the official report on the Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 24, 2023, shooting, that killed 18 people, and injured many more. The report, released on Aug. 20 by a governor’s commission set up to look at the shooting spent nine months investigating, and it goes step by step through the months that led up to the tragedy, and the many missed opportunities for law enforcement and the U.S. Army Reserve to possibility stop it from happening.

Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the Netflix series LA Homicide.

165. Who is really the a-hole II

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 11:29:54 -0400

Back by popular demand! Am I the asshole? Asks the guy who’s pissed because his wife wrote a “secret book” that netted a book deal. The woman who yelled at her boyfriend because he thought that it was emasculating to him that she talks to her cat. The guy who’s divorcing his wife because her psychic friend told her that he was having an affair, which he wasn’t, but she believed the psychic. And more!

You can’t make this up (or maybe you can) — we take a look at the questions people have no shame about going online and asking.

Also, Rebecca does an NNW review of Dirty Pop, the Netflix doc about Backstreet Boys and NSYNC creator Lou Pearlman.

Enjoy!

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, click here.

164. Three Dead in Portland Part 2

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 14:59:23 -0400

Rebecca picks up the story with Sabato Raia’s trial. Will his self-defense strategy for shooting Nick Patenaude, Dana Matthews and Kevin Pinette pass jury scrutiny?

Maureen gives NNW treatment to the Amazon Prime doc series “Debi Marshal Investigates: Frozen Lies.”

Also, Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix doc How to Rob a Bank.

Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, click here.

163. Three dead in Portland, Part 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 19:14:43 -0400

On a hot June night in 1997, a dispute between Portland, Maine, bar owner Sabato Raia and three acquaintances – Nick Patenaude, Dana Matthews and Kevin Pinette – ended with the three men lying dead in the street in front of Raia’s apartment house. They’d all been shot in the head. Self-defense? Or just a pissed off guy with a gun?

In Part 1, Rebecca takes us through what happened and what people in Portland were saying as the case went to trial. It may be Maine’s largest city, but it’s still a small town where everyone knows everyone else, and that plays a part.

Maureen gives NNW treatment to the Hulu doc series “Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer.”

162. Francis Drake and the West Coast: mystery, hoaxes & lies

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 16:07:20 -0400

How did a simmering lead-up to war between England and Spain, a 16th-century government coverup, fake news about piracy, a likely hoax by a college professor, dismissal of indigenous culture, early American white Christian nationalism and misogyny (of course) influence California history and short- change Oregon? Our sister Liz, the college professor, guest-hosts to discuss the mystery behind Francis Drake’s 1579 visit to the West Coast. More than 350 years later, the questions about the location of Drake’s “fair and pleasant harbor” are still stirring the pot.

Liz also gives the NNW treatment to the Max documentary Six Schizophrenic Brothers

161. Was Patricia Wing’s murder ever solved?

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 19:09:25 -0400

When Everett Savage staggered out of the woods of Fairfield, Maine, on a June day in 1958, the Augusta businessman had been missing for two days and had quite a story to tell. But it took a while for him to get to the lead – that mother of five Patricia Wing, who’d also been missing for two days, from her Oakland home, was dead in the backseat of his car.

What really happened? We’ll tell you.

Also, Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the Hulu documentary Brats.

160. What made Stephen Marshall kill?

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 10:07:51 -0400

In the early morning hours of Easter in 2006, Joseph Gray was shot through the window of his living room in Milo, Maine. Several hours later, William Elliott was shot when he answered the door of his home in Corinth, Maine. What drove Stephen Marshall to kill two men he never met? The question spurred much bigger questions in Maine and beyond about the sex offender registry and more. Rebecca presents.

Also, Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix doc How to Rob a Bank.

Also, looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, click here. [You can also ask your local book store or library to order them if that’s your preference – they’re available through Ingram as well].

159. Lori Jane Kearsey mystery partially solved after 41 years

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 14 May 2024 10:30:52 -0400

Many members of Lori Jane Kearsey’s family didn’t consider her lost, even though they hadn’t heard from her since November 1983. But the 21-year-old left behind a daughter when she “joined the witness protection program” eight months after marrying into the powerful Massachusetts Angiulo crime family. It turns out that there was much more to her going away than anyone realized. We discuss.

Also, Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the movie Poor Things.

Also, looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

158. Kenneth Eugene Smith: Troublesome justice

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 02 May 2024 18:01:24 -0400

There’s no doubt that Kenneth Eugene Smith, along with another man, killed Elizabeth Sennett in Alabama in 1988, a murder paid for by her husband, Charles Sennett. But the long road to Smith’s execution, which took place in January 2024 by a new method, nitrogen hypoxia, raises troubling questions about the death penalty, how it’s administered and what justice actually is. We discuss.

Maureen does an NNW review of the book “Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System,” by M. Christopher Fabricant.

Also, looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

157. Who is really the a-hole?

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 11:23:17 -0400

We explore the age-old question, “Am I the asshole?” with situations curated by Rebecca from the sub-Reddit world.

Maureen also does an NNW on the Max docuseries Onision In Real Life.

Enjoy!

156. Charles Terry, Shirley Coolen, and the Boston Strangler

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 17:48:36 -0400

Charles Terry wasn’t a good guy, especially when it came to women. He liked to beat, rape and strangle them. He was convicted for several attacks and just out of prison in 1951 when Shirley Coolen, a Brunswick, Maine, single mother was found dead, strangled in a yard on the town’s fancy Park Row. But did he do it? And how about the Boston Strangler murders? He was a suspect in those, too. We discuss.

Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Kristin Hannah book “The Women.”

155. ‘Justified’ injustice II: Katherine Hegarty, murdered by cops

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 10:04:07 -0500

In our third episode looking at the “justified” killings of Maine citizens by the state’s law enforcement agencies, we go back to one that spurred a lot of changes over the past decade, but also — spoiler! — not some of the things that really matter. Katherine Hegarty, shot in her remote Maine cabin by three officers from two different agencies on May 15, 1992. We’ll tell you what happened.

Also, Rebecca gives an NNW review to the HBO series “True Detectives: Night Country.”

154. ‘Justified’ injustice: Ambroshia Fagre and Kadhar Bailey

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:00:39 -0500

Ambroshia Fagre was just 18 and likely an innocent bystander when she was killed by police in Maine in February 2017, along with Kadhar Bailey, 25, who police suspected of an armed home invasion. The two were among 13 people shot by police in Maine that year, nine of whom died. Maine police have shot to death nearly 200 people since 1990. Like all those before, and all those after — every police shooting in Maine since 1990 — the officers who shot Ambroshia and Kadhar were found to be justified by the state’s attorney general’s office.

We take a look at what happened that day and Maine’s narrow review system that has yet to find a law enforcement officer unjustified in a fatal shooting. Maureen presents.

Rebecca also has an NNW review of The Running Grave, the latest Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) CB Strike mystery novel.

153. A double tragedy for the McKenna family

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 22:16:06 -0500

One of Maine’s 2022 homicides was Drew McKenna, 24, accidentally shot by his older brother Shay. In 2023, the McKenna family suffered a second tragedy when the lost Shay, who was shot by police.

We also update the 2023 homicide list — it’s up to 54 now, and talk about the texts dismissed by police that warned police that Robert Card was going to do a mass shooting.

152. Maine 2023 Homicide List: 51 and counting

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 18:36:30 -0500

We bring you our annual Maine homicide list with 2023’s 51 homicides, a record year and more than twice the average annual number. Even without the Lewiston shootings that killed 18, it was the worst year for homicide in Maine in decades.

The list wasn’t yet available from the Maine Department of Public Safety, but that wasn’t going to stop use. We compiled it ourself and got all 51, with some others still pending information from investigators.

Guns tell the tale this year, with 39 homicides by gun, including two mass shootings that accounted for 22 gun victims. Nine of the state’s 15 domestic homicides were also by gun, five of which were murder-suicides with the woman killed by a male partner or former partner (the suicide end is not counted in the overall tally).

Once again, the facts show the narrative of out-of-state drug dealers coming in and causing trouble is simply not true. Homicide in Maine is a Maine-grown problem.

Special holiday greeting and some recommendations

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 15:28:47 -0500

Enjoy the figgy pudding, fireworks, airing of grievances, or however else you celebrate! Here are some recommendations on what to watch to get you through until our next episode in two weeks.

Happy holidays!

151. Miriam Stoltz: When memory is murdered

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 17:59:03 -0500

Miriam Stoltz was found shot in the head on a cold February afternoon in the woods in New Hampshire, where she’d lain for 15 hours before being found by a runner. The next day, Roger Whittemore was found dead in Miriam’s Windham, New Hampshire, backyard, shot, stabbed and beaten. Miriam wasn’t expected to recover, but she did. And her memories of what happened the horrific night of February 15, 1989, would lead to an arrest and two trials. But there would be no justice for Miriam and Roger. Maureen, who as a young reporter worked with the man charged with the crimes, tells the story.

Rebecca gives the Netflix documentary Escaping Twin Flames the NNW treatment.

Episode 150: The Berwind, mutiny or just plain murder?

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 10:20:28 -0500

Racial injustice on the high seas and in the courts plays out in a 1905 mass murder on a cargo ship, the Harry A. Berwind. Captain ER Rumill and three other crew members, all but one of them white, are killed, leaving just black crew members Henry Scott, Arthur Adams and Robert Sawyer to explain. The case ultimately involved two presidents and the U.S. Supreme Court. Rebecca tells the tale.

Also, an update on Episodes 117 and 118, the murder of Amy Fitzgerald, and what happened when her husband and killer, Greg Fitzgerald, came up for parole.

And Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix doc series Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire.

149. Lessons learned from the Logan Clegg murder trial

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 22:27:26 -0500

Presumption of guilt. Consciousness of guilt. The magical shell casing. Testilying. Giving the dogs credit. These are just some of the lessons learned as we wrap up discussion on the Logan Clegg murder case after Maureen spent more than three weeks in the courtroom covering it as a journalist.

We also disscus the latest mass shooting in the U.S., which happened right here in our backyard of Lewiston, Maine, and the giant huge honking red flags that were ignored before Robert Card II shot 18 people to death and seriously injured 13 more on Oct. 25.

Also, Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the Megan vs. Tory documentary on Discovery+

148. Can you murder someone from 3,000 miles away?

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 20:57:18 -0400

Andrew Denton had made it clear he wanted to die. Sidney Kilmartin, living in Manchester, Maine, 3,000 miles away from Denton’s home in England, was determined to make sure that would happen. In December 2011, Kilmartin mailed Denton a deadly dose of cyanide. What happened next tangled up the legal system for years. Rebecca tells the story.

Maureen does an NNW review of the Netflix doc series “I am a stalker.”

Something suddely came up. But now Groovy Tube podcast is back.

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 18:41:43 -0400

We’ll have Episode 148 of Crime & Stuff up shortly. But in the meantime, we have some exciting news! After a nearly four-year hiatus, our other podcast Groovy Tube: The Crimes of the Brady Bunch, is returning Nov. 6. Haven’t listened? Nows the time to catch up.

147. Gay panic: No justice for Frederic Spencer

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 12:21:46 -0400

No one knows why Fred Spencer was in his friend and apartment-mate’s room on the afternoon of April 28, 1973. One thing quickly became clear — he didn’t come out alive. The outcome of the University of Maine graduate student’s case would have widespread tragic implications for decades to come. Maureen presents.

Also, Rebecca does a Negative Nellies Watching review of the hit film “Barbie.”

146. Amber Cummings: A special justice

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 13 Aug 2023 18:16:03 -0400

No one in Belfast, Maine, who knew James Cummings liked him very much. But was it OK for his wife, Amber, to shoot him to death as he slept? Turns out, it very well may have been.

Rebecca explains.

Maureen gives an NNW review to the audio version of the book “Vanished in Vermillion,” by Lou Raguse.

145. Amie Riley Unfinished Justice

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 12:33:14 -0400

When Amie Riley disappeared from a Manchester, New Hampshire, bar on August 15, 2003, her boyfriend, mother and friends were frantic, but police weren’t. Not even a little bit. Eight months later, when her remains were found, the investigation led to an imperfect justice. In fact, you could say someone got away with murder. Maureen presents.

Rebecca also gives NNW treatment to the Netflix doc The Perfect Bid.

144. James Cameron the worst kind of criminal

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 27 May 2023 22:25:30 -0400

When police visited James Cameron’s house in Maine in 2007 and took his computer, among other things, most people figured there was just one crime he was likely being investigated for. And they were right – child porn. That was the beginning of a long legal circus orchestrated by the man who until his arrest was one of the state’s top drug prosecutors. And his conviction wasn’t even the end of it. Rebecca tells the story.

Maureen also NNW’s the book “The Real Lolita.”

143. Gerald Goodale Part 2: Janet Brochu

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 12 May 2023 20:24:35 -0400

In June 2021, we brought you Gerald Goodale Part 1, the 1988 murder of Geraldine Finn. At the time her killer, Goodale, had just been arrested for the 1987 murder of Janet Brochu. His case has finally gone to court, so we we bring you Goodale’s first murder, one that could’ve been solved before he went on to kill Geraldine Finn.

Rebecca has an update on Shaun Harrison, the topic of Episode 96, and why he’s racked up some more prison time.

Also, Rebecca has no beef with the Netflix doc “Beef.” She gives it the NNW treatment.

142. The forgotten murder of Lillian MacDonald

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 21:22:11 -0400

Lillian MacDonald was just doing her job, passing out the pay envelopes on July 12, 1930, when she disappeared from her Portland, Maine, place of employment. Her grisly murder wasn’t the only injustice that happened to her as the case unfolded. Rebecca presents.

We also share some feedback from “Old Growth Murder” documentarian Tom Olsen, after we did an NNW review of his film in Episode 139.

And, this episode, Maureen NNWs the Netlfix docuseries “Meltdown: Three Mile Island.”

141. The sad tale of Rosie Ruiz

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 18:00:55 -0400

People will say that in 1980, Rosie Ruiz “came out of nowhere” to win the women’s race in the Boston Marathon. But it soon became clear she came out of the crowd a half mile from the finish line.

In the week that followed, it was revealed she also didn’t finish the October 1979 New York Marathon, despite her recorded 2:56.31 finishing time. As more revelations followed, Ruiz became the poster girl for cheating, and is still vilified online to the this day. But the story was a lot more complicated in that, some of it rooted in the stodgy culture of the Boston Marathon in that era and the misogyny that still colored it in 1980, eight years after women were finally allowed to run. Maureen tells the story.

Rebecca also gives NNW treatment to “My Cat from Hell.”

140. Metal Mayhem and Murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 21:55:00 -0400

Norway’s Black Metal music scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s brought together young men who, giving themselves nicknames like Necro Butcher and Hell Hammer, aimed to shock and act out more than make music, But the hijinks gave way to arson, suicide and murder, with the band Mayhem and its pschopathic leader Euronymous at the center of the storm. Rebecca tells the story.

Also, Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the 27-hour audio version of the book “Monster,” by Steve Jackson.

139. The Killing Bones: When grave looting leads to murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:38:51 -0400

The crime of looting indigenous ancestral sites in the U.S. and around the world goes back centuries. Professor Liz makes a special guest appearance to school us on how archeological looting has led to murder in her adopted home state of Oregon.

She also briefly updates the Michael Francke case, and Maureen updates the latest sanctions agains the corrupt Louisville, Kentucky, police department as well as the charges against former British police officer and convicted murderer Wayne Couzens.

Rebecca and Maureen also do a dual NNW review of the documentary “Old Growth Murder.”

138. New details on the trail to Logan Clegg’s arrest

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 18:10:24 -0500

Episode 133 told part of the story of what led police to arrest Logan Clegg in the April 2022 double murder of Djeswende and Stephen Reid in Concord, New Hampshire. With the release of the 25-page Concord Police Department affidavit filed in support of his arrest, we learn so much more, including stories from people who may have crossed his path at the Broken Ground Trail preserve in the months and weeks before the Reids were killed, the story behind the Burnt Tent Site and what Clegg told Concord police after he was arrested.

Rebecca also gives an NNW review to Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare.” (The audio book)

137. The mysterious final ride of Rita Maze

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 20:46:03 -0500

The second-to-the-last time Bob Maze heard from his wife Rita, she was on her way home to their Great Falls, Montana, home from visiting relatves in Helena, 90 minutes away. The last time he heard from her was 10 hours later and she was calling from the trunk of her car after being attacked and abducted. Rita was later found dead in the trunk in Spokane, Washington. The mystery of her three-state odyssey may never be fully understood. Rebecca tells the story.

Maureen takes a look at Netflix The Pez Outlaw in this episode’s NNW.

136. The many victims of Brian Walshe

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 19:27:30 -0500

You may have heard the Brian Walshe — arrested Jan. 17 on charges her murdered his missing wife, Ana — was once convicted of fraud “for selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings for $80,000.” That’s like saying the Titanic took on a little water. Walshe’s Warhol fraud was a long con that spanned five years, had multiple victims, involved several pieces of art both real and forged, and cost those he ripped off more than half a million dollars. That the FBI knows of. And that’s just part of the story. When Ana Walshe disappeared, Brian Walshe’s house of con and fraud cards had been toppling for years. Think you know the story? Think again.

Also, Rebecca gives an NNW review to the Netflix doc The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker.

Enjoy!

135. Arnold Nash and his final escape

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 20:38:30 -0500

Arnold Nash was a “career criminal.” He was also a career escape artist from the Maine State Prison System. And the funny thing was, he was escaping because he wanted to stay incarcerated. His crimes escalated as his need to be in prison grew, until someone lost a life. Rebecca tells the story.

We also update Episode 24, finally, “the Fitbit murder.” And Maureen gives NNW treatment to the Hulu doc “My Old School.”

134. Maine 2022 Homicide List: It’s not a drug problem, it’s a life problem

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 16:46:50 -0500

Thirty people died of homicide in Maine this year (not including the two perpetrators in murder-suicides), the most recent on Christmas Day. That’s the most since 2008, when there were 31.

While the state’s drug problems get a lot of attention — as they should — 2022 Maine homicides show that, as always, nowhere are Mainers in more danger of being killed than in their own home by someone who should love them.

We take a look at the 2022 homicides as they unfolded, from Eva Cox, 58, on Jan. 8 in Lubec, to Makinzee Handrahan, 3, in Edgecomb on Dec. 25.

Rebecca also gives an NNW review to the Amazon series Three Pines.

Episode 133: Wendy and Steve Reid cross Logan Clegg’s deadly path

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 19:14:42 -0500

When Djeswende and Stephen Reid were shot while out for a walk in the woods in Concord, New Hampshire, police said the public was not in danger, even though they didn’t know who did it and didn’t have solid leads for weeks. But it turns out the public WAS in danger, from a man whose history of violence and illegal gun possession didn’t stop him from being armed that deadly day.

We take you step by step through what happened before and after the Reids and Logan Clegg met in the woods, and how a six-month investigation, that focused on the smallest of details, led to Clegg’s arrest just hours before he planned to step on a plane to Germany.

Also, Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Apple+ show “Bad Sisters.”

Episode 132: Azita Jamshab, there’s no insurance against murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 21:16:32 -0500

Azita Jamshab, 29, and newly divorced was ready to move from Maine to Las Vegas and start a new life. But her insurance agent, who was also the beneficiary on her life insurance policy, had a different plan. Rebecca presents.

Maureen updates Episode 72, the Cocoanut Grove fire, and Episode 125, Katahdin Kills and Doesn’t Care, and takes the NNW machete to the Discovery plus documentary “My Name is Bulger.”

Episode 131: The serial killer and the Lady in the Dunes

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 23:22:27 -0500

The Lady in the Dunes case — a murdered woman found in the dunes of Cape Cod on July 26, 1974 — may have gone cold shortly after she was found, but the case lived on in New England as an enduring mystery, and then became an internet sensation. When she was finally identified on October 31 as Ruth Marie Terry, whose Tennessee family had been looking for her for nearly 50 years, what came next would be a shocker.

Using newspaper archives, we take a long, deep look at her suspected killer, who may have gotten away with four murders before he married, then killed, Ruth Marie Terry.

Rebecca also gives the NNW review treatment to “Magpie Murders” — the book and the TV show.

Episode 130: Lottery winner Michael Allen’s losing ticket

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 20:33:07 -0400

Michael Allen had been living large in the nine years since 1988, when he’d won $5.8 million in the lottery. The problem was, he didn’t really know who his friends around town in Lewiston, Maine, were. Then one night, two of them lured him to a motel room… he didn’t live to see the morning. Rebecca reports.

We also give the Discover+ show “Real Life Nightmare” the NNW treatment, introducing our new Copaganda category.

Episode 129: The thing about murder in Ireland

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 15:58:48 -0400

When Ashling Murphy was attacked and killed in broad daylight by a stranger on a well-used path in Tullamore, Ireland, shock and anger reverberated across the small country. Her murder renewed vows that attitudes toward women in Ireland had to change.

But where’s the same outcry when women and children are killed by a man who isn’t a stranger? You might well ask Miriam Burns, killed in Killarney in August, or Lisa Cash, 18, and her siblings, twins Chelsea and Christy Crawley, killed in Dublin in September. Or all the other victims of domestic violence in Ireland.

Ireland isn’t that much different that many other countries, with the exception that its homicide rate is very low. But with domestic violence leading to more than half of Ireland’s murders, we look at the disconnect between murders like Murphy’s and the majority of others.

We also have updates on Episode 127, missing Jill Sidebotham and Lydia Hansen; and episode 123, Sophie Sergei’s murder.

And Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix doc “I Killed My Father.”

Thanks for your patience during our absense! Vacation morphed into technial difficulties. We’re glad to be back.

We’ll be back after this short break

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:43:12 -0400

Miss us already? We’re taking a short break, but we’ll be back the first week of October with an exciting new episode. Thanks for all the support and thanks for listening. Meanwhile, check out our “More Stuff” page, where we’ve posted some of the video footage we discussed in Episode 128.

Episode 128: Burning down ‘hell’

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 21:17:49 -0400

In one week, three arson fires in Lewiston, Maine’s Tree Streets downtown neighborhood made dozens of residents homeless, destroyed millions of dollars worth of property and added pain to the already hardscrabble existence of the state’s poorest inner city. Police were quick to arrest four people in the unrelated fires — including two children — but was there justice? Rebecca explores.

We also update Episode 96: Just who WAS Shaun Harrison; Episodes 77: The police war on Black women and 95: Johnetta Carr justice delayed; and Episode 127: Where are Jill Sidebotham and Lydia Hansen?

And Maureen gives the NNW treatment to a documentary very close to her heart, if not anyone else’s.

Episode 127: Where are Jill Sidebotham and Lydia Hansen?

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 14:15:11 -0400

Jill Sidebotham and her daughter, Lydia Hansen, were last seen by their family on June 27 in Springvale, Maine, when they left with Lydia’s father (Jill’s former boyfriend) on what he described as a “camping trip.” The last confirmed sighting was on surveillance camera at the Mexico, Maine, Walmart on July 2. Jill and Lydia were expected home June 30, but no one has heard from them since. Her family and friends are adamant that she would not have taken off without saying anything, and find it unlikely she’d willingly go anywhere with Hansen.

The Sanford Police Department issued an alert seeking their whereabouts on July 3. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has added Lydia to its list.

In this episode, we discuss the search for the two — and Nick Hansen — as well as Hansen’s history of violence.

We also have an update on the arrest of Raymond Lester (Episode 126.2), charged with murder in the death of Nicole Mokeme, as well as an update on what’s been going on with Uber and sexual assult these days (Episode 12).

Rebecca does her NNW recommendation on the books of K.L. Slater.

Episode 126.2 When will people start caring about Nicole Mokeme’s murder?

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 21:50:06 -0400

In this Maine Mini we discuss the June 18 murder of Nicole Mokeme, who’s life mission was to create safe and powerful places for Maine’s black, brown, indigenous and other marginalized people. Unfortunately, an abusive man and a criminal justice system that let him continue to get away with it made Maine a very unsafe place for her.

Haven’t heard of her? No big surprise. After a brief flurry of attention, despite the fact that the man charged with her murder is still at large, police aren’t talking and the media has moved on.

Episode 126: The many victims of Armando Barron

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 22:00:54 -0400

It’s hard to get past some of the more sensational aspects of the New Hampshire murder of Jonathan Amerault and the horrific abuse of Brittney Barron by Armando Barron, but once you do it’s a textbook case of what can happen when coercive control goes unchecked. Some people may ask why Barron’s wife didn’t do more to stop what happened, but we’ll get into that. And more. Presented by Rebecca.

We also have updates on Ayla Reynolds, Melissa Sousa, Ghislaine Maxwell and more.

And Maureen gives NNW treatment to the Hulu docusaries “Captive Audience.”

Episode 125: Katahdin kills and doesn’t care

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 21:02:31 -0400

One of Maine’s greatest assets is Baxter State Park and Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain, is its crown jewel. Some visitors chafe at the rules, but those who don’t pay attention learn the hard way, and sometimes lose their life because of it. Maine’s Wabanaki legend has it that Pamola guards the mountain and rains thunder and danger down on those who dare climb it. We talk about a few, of the many, times Pamola has one.

Another episode with a very special visit from a family member!

And Rebecca gives an NNW review to the audio version of “Then She Was Gone,” by Lisa Jewell.

Episode 124: Jane Shusko, killer arsonist or badly burned?

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 21:37:19 -0400

Rebecca takes on a tragic story from our old hometown, with a very special appearance by our mom!

We also update our most-ever updated episode, Annie Dookhan (Episode 29), the Concord, NH, double-murder of Desjwende and Stephen Reid (Episode 122.2) as well as catch up on a 2020 Maine triple murder (Episode we can’t remember) and give the NNW treatment to Maine Cabin Masters.

Episode 123: Sophie Sergie’s long road to justice

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 26 May 2022 22:32:20 -0400

Sophie Sergie was killed on April 26, 1993, in the bathroom of a dorm at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The case went cold fast and stayed that way for 26 years until an investigator in Alaska, inspired by the resolution of the Golden State Killer case decided to try something new.

Episode 122.2: Who killed Djeswende and Stephen Reid?

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 12 May 2022 21:03:27 -0400

BONUS EPISODE

Djeswende and Stephen Reid were shot to death while on an afternoon walk in the woods near their Concord, New Hampshire, apartment April 18. There was seemingly no motive for the double murder, and police seem baffled. A little more than a week later, Holly Banks and Keith LaBelle, a newly dating couple, were shot to death in Banks’ home, 100 miles to the north, in Gorham, New Hampshire. Police have said little about that case, and no one has yet been charged.

While two couples killed in mysterious circumstances in New Hampshire, which averages 19 homicides a year, may be an anomaly, it’s not unheard of. Will the Reid and Banks-LaBelle killings join the list of four murders of couples in the Granite State over the past 48 years that have yet to be solved? We discuss in this special New Hampshire Mini Episode.

Episode 122: Amity Maine, not too small for triple murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 06 May 2022 15:34:24 -0400

When Jeff Ryan, his 10-year-old son Jesse and Jeff’s buddy Jason Dehahn are stabbed to death in Amity, Maine, population 218 in June 2010, it’s a classic “it can’t happen here” crime. But it can And it did. Rebecca exlains.

Episode 121: Let’s talk about dating app crime

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 21:11:36 -0400

One angle in the ongoing story of the death of Lauren Smith Fields that hasn’t been looked at is dating app sexual crimes and violence. Lauren met a man on Bumble — and somehow during their first date wound up ingesting a deadly cocktail of drugs. If her date has something to do with her death, it’s part of the ongoing issue of dating app crimes against women that no one wants to address. Or even talk about.

We also NNW the Netflix docu-series “Bad Vegan.”

Episode 120: Lauren Smith Fields no justice in sight

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 20:58:47 -0400

When Lauren Smith Fields died in her Bridgeport, Connecticut, apartment while on a first date with a man she met on Bumble, and the police didn’t bother to notify her family, that was just the first injustice in a case that has all the worst elements of racism, white male priviledge, police incompetence and more. And the sad thing is, she’s not the only one.

Also, Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the Netflix series Worst Roommate Ever.

Special Announcement: No, no one was murdered

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 12:40:22 -0400

Something suddenly came up that has delayed Episode 120. No, no one was murdered, but we do have to take a short break. Listen to this special announcement to find out when we may be back and also some things to do so you’re not staring at the wall until we return (hopefully soon).

Episode 119: Typhoid Mary the real story

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 21:36:09 -0500

Irish immigrant Mary Mallon became synonymous with the spread of infectious disease, and is still known more than a century later as Typhoid Mary. But what really happened? And it’s interesting how, more than 115 years after she was identified as the source of a typhoid spread in New York, that as much things have changed, how some things just don’t. Rebecca tells us all about it.

We also discuss the revelations that have come out about London’s Metropolitan Police in the wake of the last year’s Sarah Everard murder, an update to our Episode 97, and Maureen NNW’s the HBOMax docuseries “The Murders at Starving Rock.”

Episode 118: Amy Fitzgerald Part 2 Justice Erased

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 19:39:40 -0500

Greg Fitzgerald checked all the eraser killer boxes, including making sure life without parole didn’t really mean life without parole. The second part of the story about the tragic end to the extraordinary life of Amy Fitzgerald.

Also, Rebecca NNW’s the Netflix doc “The Tinder Swindler”

Episode 117: Amy Fitzgerald, another eraser killer victim

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 22:44:01 -0500

There’s a certain kind of killer and Amy Fitzgerald was the victim of one of them. Maybe not as famous as some of the others — Scott Peterson, Chris Watts, Charles Stuart, Mark Hacking, the list goes on and on — but her story is just as significant as their victims. Marilee Strong identified these type of men in her 2008 book “Eraser Killers,” and we’ll talk more about how very dangerous they are, particularly since people still don’t get it.

Maureen also has the latest Maura Murray update, Rebecca does an NNW review of the Netflix documentary “The Puppet Master,” and our ongoing discussion of “Dalgleish” continues.

Episode 116.1 Maine’s first murder of 2022 and more

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 21:20:13 -0500

Hey! It’s a special bonus episode. We had so much stuff for Episode 116 that we had to leave some out, but still wanted you to hear it. We talk about Maine’s first murder of 2022, the alleged domestic homicide of Eva Cox, of Lubec. We also catch up on the recent and startling sentence for the perpetrator in Maine’s first murder of 2020.

We’ll be back next week with a brand new full-length Episode 117.

Episode 116: Montreal Massacre and its legacy of pain

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 18:01:00 -0500

Marc LePine tried to make a “political point” by shooting up a university in Montreal in 1989, killing 14 women. The legacy of the Montreal Massacre could have gone a long way to changing things, ranging from attitudes toward women to guns. But the equivocation started while the bodies were still warm. Are we any smarter in 2022? Rebecca takes a look.

We also update news on Ghislaine Maxwell, the Steven Downs trial, and Maureen gives “Dalgleish” the NNW treatment.

Episode 115: The Happy Face Killer’s unhappy story

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 21:35:47 -0500

Sister Liz is our guest storyteller, bringing another troubling tale from the great northwest.

We also discuss the merits of “The Thomas Crown Affair” (the 1968 version) versus “The Friends of Eddie Coyle,” both bank robber movies shot in Boston in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

And Rebecca and Maureen give the NNW treatment to the Hulu documentary “Dead Asleep.”

Episode 114: Ted Conrad 52 years on the run

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 21:36:46 -0500

On his 20th birthday, July 10, 1969, Ted Conrad walked out of the Clevebank bank where he worked with $215,000 in a paper bag. For 52 years he eluded the FBI and U.S. Marshal Service in what’s still that city’s most expensive bank heist. But then, in May 2021, a Massachusetts man on his death bed, told his family his secret…

We also discuss the Taylor Swift-Don McLean situation, and Rebecca gives an NNW to the podcast “Suspect.”

Episode 113: Dottie Milliken, Pam Webb murders still unsolved

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 14:09:03 -0500

Happy fifth anniversary! To celebrate, we have a jam-packed episode.

Dottie Milliken and Pamela Webb were both young women with promising lives who were murdered in Maine, cases that have gone decades with no arrests ever made. Rebecca takes an in-depth look.

We also discuss some recent news events, the new Bechdel-Milliken Test for sexism in movie, TVs and books, and update the Loon Mountain bone fragments find and the Turpin family.

And Maureen NNWs the show “Case Histories.”

So, lots to enjoy!

Episode 112: The Station Fire revisited, who IS to blame?

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 21:01:45 -0500

We revisit The Station nightclub fire, which we covered in Episode 72, after the TV show “48 Hours” airs an episode that claims to nail down who was responsible for the 2003 blaze that killed 100 in Rhode Island. Then doesn’t.

We also update the Maine-New Hampshire landfill body mystery. More or less.

And Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the new Netflix series “Catching Killers” after which we continue our love affair with Liane Moriarty with an impassioned discussion of “Apples Never Fall.”

Listen and enjoy!

Episode 111: Claudine Longet, Spider Sabich & the celebrity shooting that transfixed America

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 19:27:38 -0400

Singer and dancer Claudine Longet and skier Spider Sabich were the “it” celebrity couple of the early 70s. When a gun Longet was holding in their Aspen, Colorado, home went off, killing Sabich, it became one of the biggest stories of the decade. While many have forgotten about it over the decades, the issues of celebrity, misogyny and speculation that passes as evidence haven’t changed all that much.

We also discuss the TV series “Endeavour,” giving it the NNW treatment, and revist the Liane Moriarty book “Truly Madly Guilty.”

Episode 110: James Dailey vs. the Florida Killing Machine

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 20:12:54 -0400

There was no evidence – none – against James Dailey in the May 1985 murder of 14-year-old Shelly Boggio. Then child rapist and convicted con man Paul Skalnik made a deal with Florida prosecutors that put Dailey on death row, where he’s been for 34 years.

Also, Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to Stephen King’s latest book, “Billy Summers.”

Enjoy!

Episode 109: Cathy Moulton, 50 years and still missing

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 13:27:03 -0400

Cathy Moulton had just turned 16 and was looking forward to going to a dance in September 1971 in her home city of Portland, Maine. She never made it. Five decades later, she is still missing. It’s another sad example of how a case could’ve been solved, and in this one a murder even possibly could’ve been prevented, if only police had paid just a little more attention.

We also, in a mini Maine mini talk about the recent landfill body finds in Maine and New Hampshire, and Maureen takes an NNW sledgehammer to the Netflix doc “Monsters Inside: The 14 Faces of Billy Milligan.”

Enjoy!

Episode 108: Joyce McLain and the long confession

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 21:01:56 -0400

After Joyce McLain was murdered while she was out for a run in East Millinocket, Maine, in August 1980, the investigation took awhile, but it seemed seemed like cops might’ve finally had their guy when Scott Fornier confessed in May 1981. So why did it take more than 37 years to but him behind bars?

We also have brief updates on Sarah Everard and Maura Murray.

And Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix show “Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Bentrayal and Greed.”

Episode 107: The Cowden family massacre and more Oregon injustice

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 14:29:35 -0400

Our very special guest, sister Liz, joins us to discuss some unsolved Oregon campsite cases, including the 1974 murders of the Cowden family, as well as the 1977 attack, by pickup truck and hatchet, on two young women at Cline Falls.

She also gives the NNW treatment to the Discovery Plus documentary “Relentless.”

Rebecca also NNW’s the Liane Moriarty book “Truly Madly Guilty.”

Updates include Luc Tieman’s latest court appearances (Episode 7 and multiple updates), as well as discussion of Liz and Maureen’s trip to some New Hampshire sites of previous episodes that provided some insight to the Louise Chaput murder and Maura Murray’s disappearance.

Enjoy!

Episode 106: Finding justice for Dawn Leighton

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 01:11:59 -0400

Dawn Leighton loved her dogs, her new house, and was kind and friendly – a loving sister, daughter and friend. Unfortunately she was also another Maine victim of a senseless murder by a man who thought he was entitled to her.

We also do an update on Illinois’ new law that prohibits cops from lying to people under the age of 18 during an interrogation.

And Maureen NNWs the heck out of a couple of Audible true crime podcasts.

Episode 105: No justice for Laura Lee Howard

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 12:56:41 -0400

Laura Howard had gone through a messy divorce in her home state of Massachusetts, and thought Florida would be a great place to make a new start. Once in Fort Myers, she became known for her big heart, kindness and generosity. But people will always take advantage, won’t they? On May 3, 2013, police found her dead in her bathtub, and her lodger, Simon Storm, was nowhere to be found. Eight years later, police are still looking for Simon, who’s actually Robert Kuehn, a Florida “chamelon con man” with a history of preying on women.

And, in our NNW rating, Rebecca discusses Tana French’s novel “In the Woods,” audio book version.

Episode 104: What You’re Doing on Our Summer Vacation

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 23:18:31 -0400

We’re taking a break for a few weeks, but we want to make sure you have something to entertain you while we’re not around, so we have recommendations for our current top podcasts, TV shows and books. And we also give the NNW treatment to the Netflix doc Sophie. Enjoy!

Episode 103: Frank Sandford, bound for heaven, prison or hell?

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 23:37:28 -0400

Frank Sandford was just another baseball-playing kid from a big rural Maine family until the spirit hit him when he was 16. Before Jonestown, before Scientology, Sandford’s self-styled religion gained followers across the globe, as well as at his massive compound in Durham, Maine. Many ultimately followed him right to their graves.

Rebecca also updates the honey-bee murder, Maureen has some rants and she also gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix miniseries “Harlan Coben’s The Stranger.”

Episode 102: Gerald Goodale hot case, cold case part 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 22:32:17 -0400

When Gerald Goodale was convicted of killing Geraldine Finn in 1989 in Waterville, Maine, there was something else hanging over his head. Finally, in 2021, it came back to bite him.

Also, we give the HBO series “Mare of Easttown” the NNW treatment!

Episode 101: Sherry York, twice a victim

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 18:45:41 -0400

The brutal attack by a stranger that Sherry York suffered one night in a Portland, Maine, parking lot was compounded by the narrative that followed: her attacker was a family man and firefighter, the story went. She was a sex worker and drug user. But what was the real story?

Rebecca also updates the Angel Torres disappearance.

Episode 100: Singing a song of crime oh yeah

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 17 May 2021 22:24:03 -0400

We celebrate 100 episodes by counting down our favorite songs about crime. What, you were expecting a party? Well, you’ve got one!

Episode 99: Inventing the imperfect murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 02 May 2021 22:03:25 -0400

Every murderer makes mistakes, and it only takes a couple to mess the whole thing up. Inventor Todd Howley thought he was pretty smart, but he made more than a couple when he killed Paul Maasland, a nice guy whose biggest mistake was trusting Howley with his money.

Also, a special dual NNW rating of the Netlfix docuseries “This is a Robbery.”

Enjoy!

Episode 98: The stupid senseless death of Charlie Howard

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 22:28:17 -0400

When a friend asked Charlie Howard why he didn’t protect himself from harassment by acting “a little less gay,” he said told the friend he wasn’t going to be a participant in his own oppression. A few days later, three teenage boys threw Howard, 23, to his death off a Bangor, Maine, bridge. The 1984 killing of a man, just because he was gay, still resonates today.

Also, a Maine mini on the death of Rhonda Pattelena, a domestic violence attack that happened in front of dozens of witnesses on York Beach, Maine; updates on Ghislaine Maxwell, and, wait for it… the never-going-away Episode 29, Wicked Bad Chemistry.

Episode 97: Sarah Everard and reclaiming the night

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 22:30:01 -0400

Sarah Everard was walking home from a friend’s house in south London on the night of March 3. She never got there. What happened next reopened wounds festering in the UK, and around the world, since the Yorkshire Ripper case more than 40 years before. And it once again raises the question, when is male violence against women going to become a men problem instead of a women problem?

Also, Maureen talks about the latest Acadia National Park fatal hiking trip and Rebecca gives an update on Maine wife-killer Noah Gaston, as well as an NNW rating to the HBO docuseries “Murder in Middle Beach”

Episode 96: Just who WAS Shaun Harrison?

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 23:34:18 -0400

For years, Shaun Harrison, a minister and youth counselor was the go-to guy for the Boston press when they needed quotes on gang violence, youth with guns and more. That is, until, he was arrested for shooting a teenager.

Maureen also does an NNW rating for the Netflix doc “Made you Look.”

Episode 95 Justice for Johnetta Carr a long time coming

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 21:22:06 -0500

Johnetta Carr was 16 and going places, but the Louisville, Kentucky, police department had other plans for her. Looking to hang a murder charge on someone, they picked her and her friends, and through a series of false statements, doctored reports, intimidation and more, they “made their case.” Now, 15 years and a wrongful conviction later, she’s beginning to find some justice.

UPDATES: Maureen updates the Alaska murder charges against Steven Downs (Episode 67), and Rebecca updates the rape charges against Ivan Keith (Episode 92).

REVIEWS: Rebecca also gives an NNW rating to the Netflix series “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,” and we revisit “The Lady and the Dale.”

Episode 94: Who shot Sonny Grotton?

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:17:37 -0500

When Sonny Grotton returned to his Belfast, Maine, home on a cold Friday night in December after working all week in Rhode Island, someone shot him dead in his dooryard. His crime would go unsolved for 17 years, until someone spoke. Three were arrested, only one was found guilty.

Rebecca and Maureen also discuss the falacious origins of “Stockholm Syndrome,” the podcasts “Dead Eyes” and “Bed of Lies,” and Maureen gives an NNW rating to the HBO docuseries “The Lady and the Dale.”

Fun!

Episode 93: The unfortunate wives of Dennis Larson

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 12:14:21 -0500

Kathy Frost was lonely and looking for someone to share her life with when she answered the classified ad from a man looking for a longterm relationship. Things happened fast, but it turns out the relationship wasn’t that long-term after all…

And she wasn’t the first wife of Dennis Larson to meet an “accidental death.”

Also, Rebecca NNW rates the podcast Bed of Lies; and the sisters talk about the HBO doc Baby God.

Lots of fun to be had!

Episode 92: You can run to Maine, but you can’t hide

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 20:37:07 -0500

Two totally different men in different decades think they can escape Massachusetts rape charges by taking off for Maine. Maybe it takes one decade, or maybe it takes three, but they’re gonna get ya.

Also, Maureen NNW rates the podcast “Dead Eyes.”

Episode 91: The Murder of Jodi Parrack Part 2

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 20:35:15 -0500

After seven years DNA from a man who tried to assault a 10-year-old girl matches that found on Jodi Parrack. And it’s not Ray McCann’s, who police have been after for seven years. So that’s the end of it, right? Wrong. Pard 2 of this troubling story.

Also, an update on Episode 77 that looks at the police raid on Anjanette Young, and our millionth update to Episode 29, the Boston drug lab scandal.

To top it off, a due NNW rating of Netflix’s four-part series “The Ripper.”

Episode 90: The Murder of Jodi Parrack Part 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 21:29:06 -0500

Police said only a monster could have killed 11-year-old Jodi Parrack, and they were going to find him. In a relentless investigation that spanned seven years, they kept telling the public the tips were piling up, the DNA would reveal the killer, new technology was going to make happen. But when they made an arrest, […]

Episode 89: Paul Dwyer and the Paris, Maine, murders

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 22:32:02 -0500

Paul Dwyer, of Paris, Maine, was 18 when he was found asleep in a car with Maine plates that didn’t belong to him, in Arlington, N.J., on an October day in 1937. Dwyer wasn’t alone in the car — there were also the murdered bodies of Dr. James Littlefield and his wife, Lydia. What followed […]

Episode 88: Sex, lies and the topless coffee shop Part 2

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 21:57:26 -0500

The sordid tale of sex, lies, arson, toplessness and more in central Maine continues with the trial. We also update Maura Murray (Episode 8) and the NNW rating is a duo stab at the doc “An American Murder: The Family Next Door.”

Episode 87: Sex, lies and the topless coffee shop Part 1

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 22:23:11 -0500

When a topless coffee shop — yup, exactly what it sounds like — opened in Vassalboro, Maine, in February 2009, it caused international titters. But four months later, when it burned down, things got serious. We also update Martha Moxley (Episode 17), Breonna Taylor (Episode 77), Ghislaine Maxwell (Episode 78), and, of course, the Massachusetts […]

Episode 86: No justice for Helen Jewett

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 22:10:47 -0400

Helen Jewett was smart, attractive, savvy and ambitious. Unfortunately, it was the 1830s and, born Dorcas Doyon and raised as an orphan servant girl in Augusta, Maine, she didn’t have a lot of options. And the lack of options all came crashing down when she was murdered in her bed in New York City in […]

Episode 85: Kathleen McLean, the surgeon and diagnosis murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 20:42:48 -0400

We’ve wicked had it with people looking at some accomplished white guy and saying “a guy like that wouldn’t kill his wife (or family).” No, this isn’t about Jeffrey MacDonald, though Mo does give an impassioned defense of Joe McGinnis and “Fatal Vision,” and then, yes, we look at another case where a guy “who […]

Episode 84: Bianca Devins wasn’t murdered by the internet

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 21:38:17 -0400

It’s easy to blame the internet for teenager Bianca Devins’ murder in Utica, N.Y. in 2019. After all, like most kids her age, she was all over it — on social media, on gaming sites. Meeting people, many of them predatory. But what it really comes down to is good old-fashioned toxic masculinity, misogyny and […]

Episode 83: The blood cold Walker family murders

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 21:26:48 -0400

On December 19, 1959, the Walker family — dad Cliff, mom Christine, 4-year-old Jimmy and 2-year-old Debbie — were found murdered in their remote Osprey, Florida, house. Some 61 years later, no one has been charged. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some very interesting suspects… Also, we update the Breonna Taylor case (Episode 77) […]

Episode 82: Mark Hoffman, forging murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 19:48:39 -0400

Mark Hoffman seemed like a nice guy, and as a collector of, and dealer in, historic documents, particularly those relating to the LDS church, he really had a knack for finding just the right pieces. Then the bombings started… We also look at domestic violence stats and myths in a Maine-ish mini, and Mo shreds, […]

Episode 81: From Yoga Twins to Ghislaine, we’ve got updates

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 12:10:33 -0400

That’s right, listeners! Time for one of our classic summer update episodes. We catch you up on the Yoga Twins, our Episode 1 stars, all the way through Ghislaine Maxwell, with lots in between including some impassioned rants, as always. And check out our new logo!

Episode 80: Susan Taraskiewicz, murdered by the glass ceiling

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 20:57:05 -0400

Susan Taraskiewicz was working at her dream job, one she had to fight to get, as ramp crew supervisor at Boston’s Logan Airport. But there were other people who weren’t so happy about it. Then one night, she left to get sandwiches for the crew and never came back. Her beaten and stabbed body was […]

Episode 79: Don’t mess with Maine State Trooper Vicki Gardner

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 09:37:05 -0400

When Steven Fortin attacked Maine State Trooper Vicki Gardner on a lonely stretch of Interstate 95, he couldn’t have known that it would lead him being convicted for the murder of Melissa Padilla, in New Jersey. Also, the new “Unsolved Mysteries.” How does it stack up to the old one? We give it the NNW […]

Episode 78: Ghislaine Maxwell, why NOT New Hampshire?

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 21:32:36 -0400

Maybe the world is shocked that socialite predator fugitive Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire, but we’re not. Not even a little bit. The Granite State has a long history of real-life fugitives heading thinking they can hide there. So while the world says, “Why New Hampshire?” we say, “How coul dit not have […]

Episode 77: Say her name – the police war on Black women

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 15:29:22 -0400

From Breonna Taylor to Atatiana Jefferson to Eleanor Bumpurs and more, the number of Black women killed by police is mind-blowing, particularly those killed in their own homes. It’s all for no good reason. We try to at least take a look at the tip of the iceburg and shine a ittle light on it. […]

Episode 76: Norman Horton couldn’t help himself

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 21:16:42 -0400

It was the 1950s, Norman Horton was gay, couldn’t tell anyone, he lived in small-town upstate New York, wasn’t doing well his first year at college and his father wouldn’t get off his back. So there was only one thing he could do about it… Also, we update the case of Nancy Crampton Brophy (Episode […]

Episode 75: Louise’s Chaput’s short hike to death

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 04 May 2020 17:19:33 -0400

Louise Chaput planned to spend a November long weekend hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. She’d barely gotten out of her car when she was dead, brutally murdered in the woods off a lonely trail. Nearly two decades later, the crime is still unsolved. We also update Jans Soering (belatedly), from Episode 48; Dan Gellers, […]

Episode 74: Homicide and the other Jack & Jackie

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 14 Mar 2020 21:06:10 -0400

No one in their Maine town was very fond of Jack, but they liked his wife, Jackie, who owned a popular waterfront restaurant in the beautiful coastal town. Then Jack was killed. And Jackie did it… We also give a brief update to the case of Nancy Crampton Brophy [Episode 55] and inflict our NNW […]

Episode 73: The Unsolved Murder of Michael Francke

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 19:39:24 -0500

Our special guest Dr. Elizabeth Milliken (aka sister Liz) explores one of Oregon’s enduring unsolved crimes. Sourcing and other information will be available at crimeandstuffonline.com as of Feb. 4.

Episode 72: Cocoanut Grove and beyond, once burned…

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 18:37:34 -0500

On Nov. 28, 1942, the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston killed 492 people. Those deaths were preventable. You’d think people would learn, right? But flash forward to Warwick, R.I., February 2003…

Episode 71: Third anniversary special with Maine murders & more

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 21:59:02 -0500

For our third anniversary episode we dip into the Maine well and come up with … well, you can probably guess. Can you believe it’s been three years?

Episode 70: If she died in the tub, wave the red flag

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 21:41:32 -0400

Shele Danishefsky was fed up with her unemployed (except for those professional backgammon tournaments), abusive husband. Unfortunately, two days before she was going to make sure he didn’t get access to her $5 million in assets in their divorce, she had an accident in the bathtub… Funny how many women with bad husbands that happens […]

Episode 69: Catching murder with honey

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 13 Sep 2019 22:29:58 -0400

It could probably only happen in Maine: a couple beekeepers, a couple lobstermen, a family feud, a $6,000 load of honey, and someone ends up dead. Was Leon Kelley’s murder in self defense? We discuss.

Episode 68: Serial killer Roy Melanson, say hello to DNA

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 21:16:10 -0400

It’s a little scary, isn’t it, how many guys would’ve gotten way with how many murders if DNA testing hadn’t come along. Roy Melanson is one of them. Also, on our Negative Nellies Watching ratings, we take a big step back and say “Whoa, we were wrong!” I know!

Episode 67: What’s the deal with all that stuff?

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 08:35:55 -0400

Updates, we have updates. Wondering about Todd Koehlhepp, Ayla, murders on the Appalachian Trail, Maine’s domestic violence murders, bad bad Uber drivers, little Frankie the dog, the romance writer turned murder suspect, and more?

Episode 66: The sad sad story of Constance Fisher

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 20 May 2019 22:47:20 -0400

Constance Fisher, a young Waterville, Maine, mother, was found not guilty by reason of insanity after she killed her three children in 1954. Eventually she was well enough to go home to her husband, Carl, where they started a new family…

Episode 65: Helen Bailey’s fatal final chapter

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 21:39:01 -0400

Helen Bailey was a successful author, but suffering from the sudden death of her husband. Then Ian Stewart came along, and thing started looking up. Until Helen, and her little dog Boris, disappeared…

Episode 64: Bonny Lee Bakley’s long fatal con

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 21:56:52 -0400

In Part II of our loosely related celebrity slaying series, we look at the life and death of Bonny Lee Bakley, whose final of her many marriages, to actor Robert Blake, turned out to be the one that killed her.

Episode 63: Death in the House of Brando

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 16 Mar 2019 20:55:12 -0400

Our latest episode is Part 1 of a two-part look at two loosely connected celebrity homicides. In this one, we discuss the shooting death of Dag Drollet by Christian Brando, Marlon Brando’s son. It’s a sad story of celebrity privilege,

Episode 62: Albert Cochran How many murders can you get away with?

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 16:10:40 -0500

Janet Baxter was killed on a cold November night in Maine in 1976 during a quick trip to the A&P to get some cold medicine. When her murder was finally solved 22 years later, the man who did it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise.

Episode 61: What if everyone hated you, then you disappeared?

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 18:01:34 -0500

Madalyn Murray O’Hair, founder of American Atheists, pissed a lot of people off. And when she, her son John and her grandaughter Robin disappeared from San Antonio, Texas, in 1995, no one made a big effort to find them.

Episode 60: The long road of an Oregon serial killer

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 18:36:10 -0500

Our special Oregon correspondent, our sister Liz, joins us once again, this time to talk about Oregon serial killer John Ackroyd, who fatally stalked Route 20 for decades. The topic is inspired by The Oregonian’s comprehensive coverage of the case,

Episode 59: A Maine murder and manhunt

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 18:14:02 -0500

When Stephanie Ginn Gebo was found dead on her bedroom floor by her 13-year-old daughter in June 2015, her former boyfriend Robert Burton was already in the Maine woods, where he stayed, eluding police for 68 days.

A very special 2018 Groovy Christmas episode

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 18:22:38 -0500

In our annual holiday tradition, we’re merging our podcasts Groovy Tube and Crime & Stuff, this year in an interactive Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-watching extravaganza. Ok, it’s not an extravaganza, but break out the DVD and watch with us anyway.

Episode 58: Part II Negative Nellies Watch Making a Murderer

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 21:42:19 -0500

We continue our in depth discussion, including our NNW rating, of both the Netflix documentary and the case it’s based on.

Episode 57: Part 1 Negative Nellies Watch Making a Murderer

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 22:02:52 -0500

The Negative Nellies watch and rate the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer. Both seasons! And this may be hard to believe, but we have so much to say, we’re splitting it into two episodes.

We knew you’d like that.

Episode 56: When the Ouija board spells MURDER

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 21:56:44 -0400

Sometimes the whole thing’s just the Ouija board’s fault, as murders and other bad decisions from coast to coast and across the pond show.

Episode 55: How to murder your husband, she wrote

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 20:42:27 -0400

In 2011, romance novelist Nancy Crampton Brophy wrote a blog post on “How to murder your husband.” It turned out to be an unfortunate topic: her husband, Dan Brophy, was murdered in June, shot dead at the Oregon Culinary Institute, were he worked. And in September, Nancy was arrested and charged with his murder.

Episode 54: Albert Flick, never too old to be a killer

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 19:32:57 -0400

Albert Flick was convicted of killing his wife in 1979. After he got out of prison, he continued to assault women, a knife his weapon of choice. After his third conviction, Flick got a relatively short prison sentence — the judge said Flick would “age out” of attacking women. Unfortunately for Kim Dobbie, he didn’t.

Episode 53: The Hart family, not what they seemed

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 09:06:03 -0400

When two apparently loving moms and their six kids plunged off a California cliff to their deaths, the pattern of abuse and control that lead up to it made many wonder how the red flags weren’t seen earlier.

A discussion with our special guest host, our sister Liz the college professor.

Episode 52: It’s Drega, and he’s got a gun

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 21:35:43 -0400

Carl Drega didn’t just have a beef with his northern New Hampshire town, he had a lot of beefs. He also had an AR-15 assault rifle and one August day in 1997 he decided to settle things once and for all.

Episode 51: Gary Gilmore, Let’s do it

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 23:07:06 -0400

We’re back! Talking about the killer who brought the death penalty back into fashion in 1976, and inspired a slogan for a giant shoe company. What made Gary Gilmore so special? Listen and find out.

Total other end of the spectrum, we apply our NNW rating to the documentary “Bobby Kennedy for President.”

Episode 50: Think you can’t get scammed? So did I

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 22:57:22 -0400

For our very special 50th episode we get a little personal — one of is $1,300 poorer after she got scammed. We talk about what happened, how it happened and, geez, am I really THAT stupid? Uh huh.

In our special NNW ratings we discuss the 1974 made for TV movie “Bad Ronald” and Michelle McNamara’s “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.”

Episode 49: A true crime pulp murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 23:26:21 -0400

Our long national nightmare is over! That’s right, we finally have another episode up. When a model, her mother and their British gentleman boarder are murdered the night before Easter in 1930’s New York, it’ s not what you think.

Episode 48: No justice for anyone in the Haysom murders

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 15:48:33 -0400

Love? Manipulation? Insanity? Whatever. One word that doesn’t apply in the thirty-three years since Derek and Nancy Haysom were murdered is justice. We discuss.

And our NNW rating system takes on “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Wormwood.”

Episode 47: Did Linda Dolloff go batty for love?

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 22:59:52 -0400

Jeff Dolloff wanted to find a woman to marry who loved his family’s land in Standish, Maine, as much as he did. And he found her. But did Linda Dolloff love it too much to give up without a fight? We discuss.

And in our NNW rating discussion of the documentary “Killing for Love,” can Maureen convince Rebecca about “the absolute biggest problem with this film?” Hmmm. Listen and find out.

Episode 46: What happened to the Turpin family?

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 24 Mar 2018 20:51:12 -0400

David and Louise Turpin are charged with multiple counts for allegedly abusing their 13 children over the past 30 years. What happened between the time the two became a couple — she 15, he 22 — and the moment 30 years later, when their 17-year-old daughter escaped their “house of horrors” in California in January, alerting police, who found children n chains? We take a look.

Episode 45: Brenda Spencer, the shooter who ‘didn’t like Mondays’

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 13:59:27 -0500

The silicon chip inside her head had definitely switched to overload, but how she really felt about Mondays is still up for debate. We discuss the 1979 crime that spurred a song and a lengthy prison sentence.

Also, in a very special recommendations segment, we unveil our Negative Nellies Watching rating system. Now you can understand.

Episode 44: Killer nurse Charlie Cullen, 16 years, nine hospitals, hundreds of deaths

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 20:58:09 -0500

From 1987 to 2003 nurse Charlie Cullen worked at nine hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He wasn’t particularly smart or sneaky, he wasn’t a master criminal. But he killed and killed and killed. And every time a hospital became suspicious and let him go, he’d go down the road to another one, get a job and kill some more.

Estimates are he may have killed as many as 400 people before he was finally stopped.

Join us in our discussion of the man who may be the most prolific serial killer in the U.S.

Episode 43: Who left Ashley Ouellette in the middle of the road?

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 04 Feb 2018 23:16:26 -0500

On February 10, 1999, at about 4 a.m., the body of Ashley Ouellette, 15, was found on the center line of the Pine Point Road in Scarborough, Maine. She’d been neatly placed there after being murdered. Some 19 years later,

Episode 42: The Gardner Heist, solved or not so much?

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 18:57:56 -0500

In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, two thieves dressed as police officers talked their way into Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, tied up the two guards on duty and walked off with art that’s now valued at $500 million.

Episode 41: Murder at Not So Pleasant Point

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 23:06:37 -0500

On a November Sunday in 1965, the extended Francis family’s home was invaded by five hunters from Massachusetts. By the end of the day, one member of the family would be dead. Join us for a story that still resonates in Maine more than 50 years later.

A Very Special Christmas Episode: Crime & Stuff goes Groovy

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 20:52:40 -0500

What’s the true meaning of Christmas? No, really, what is it? In this very special Christmas episode, in partnership with our sister podcast, Groovy Tube, we find out through That Girl, Mary Tyler Moore, Adam 12 and Starsky & Hutch. Sure,

Episode 40: Killed in their own backyards

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 23:35:56 -0500

One of them went outside to shoo hunters away from her property as her year-old twins played in the house; another was removing a log that blocked his family’s camp road, anxious for a weekend away with his fiancee; another was hunting for gems on her ...

Episode 39: The Maine Crime Writers at Crime Bake

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 11:27:42 -0500

Something different this episode! We interviewed four Maine Crime Writers at the annual New England Crime Bake mystery writers conference. Writers Dick Cass, Brenda Buchanan, Barbara Ross and Bruce Robert Coffin — all who write different subgenres of c...

Episode 38: Nichole Cable, teen angst, Facebook and murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 09 Nov 2017 21:09:51 -0500

Nichole Cable, 15, told her mother she was going down to the end of their street in a small Maine town to “get some smokes” from an acquaintance. It was the last conversation they’d have. Cable was murdered, her body found weeks later.

Episode 37: Kim Wall’s fatal final story

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 22:27:29 -0400

Swedish journalist Kim Wall was doing what she did best when she climbed aboard Denmark inventor Peter Madsen’s homemade submarine August 10: chasing a great story. But Wall never got off the sub alive, her dismembered remains later found in the strait between Sweden and Denmark, and Madsen charged in her death.

Episode 36: Murder on the Appalachian Trail

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 20:55:32 -0400

More than 2,100 miles, 14 states and, since 1974, 11 murders. The Appalachian Trail is a pretty safe place to be, unless you run into the wrong crazed killer. All of the 11 people who were killed on the trail that stretches from Georgia to Maine were k...

Episode 35: Carol Jenkins, the murder a town wanted to forget

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 11:42:45 -0400

Carol Jenkins was 21 and on the first day on the job selling encyclopedias when she made the mistake of agreeing to go to Martinsville, Indiana. She didn’t make it out of town alive. That was 1968, and her racially motivated murder is still considered ...

Episode 34: Son of Sam, the terror of New York City

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:57:49 -0400

In the summer of 1977, New York City was terrorized by a killer who shot his victims at close range, eventually killing six people and wounding seven. He was eventually called the Son of Sam. While not history’s most prolific killer — or even 1977’s — ...

Episode 33: Was Conrad Roy texted to death?

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 20:51:27 -0400

The relationship between Massachusetts teens Conrad Roy and Michelle Carter was one that only could have happened in the 21st century. They lived less than an hour from each other, but rarely met in person.

Episode 32: Malaga Island, Maine’s secret shame

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 11:19:35 -0400

Malaga Island residents (malagaisland.org photo)

In 1912, the state of Maine bought Malaga Island and evicted its mixed-race residents, placing eight of them — an entire family — in the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded and casting the rest adrift, some with tragic results.

The move came after a several years of denigration of the people of the island by newspapers, politicians and area residents.

It’s something that until a decade ago, no one in Maine talked much about, or even knew about.

Now, in 2017, we’d like to think we’re better than that. Are we? Things like this surely couldn’t happen today. Could they? We discuss.

Yep, we’re back and all fired up after a month off. Join us for Episode 32. Actually, Episode 32 B. Because we’re not too proud to re-record if severe technical issues screw up a good story.

Bonus Episode 2: What we’re doing on our summer vacation

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:41:36 -0400

Soooo… it’s been 31 episodes. And it’s July in Maine. And we have day jobs (kind of). So we’re taking a break for a few weeks from Crime & Stuff. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to say… We discuss what we’re reading, watching,

Episode 31: The Connecticut Valley Serial Killer

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 14:01:58 -0400

In the ongoing Maine case of Anthony Sanborn, the man who served 27 years for a 1989 murder he may not have committed, the most recent twist is that a profiler has linked that murder, of Jessica Briggs, to another in 1987 in Vermont. That murder,

Episode 30: Kyron Horman, little boy still lost

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 01:17:10 -0400

On June 4, 2010, Kyron Horman’s stepmother took him to school in Portland, Oregon. There was a science fair that morning and Kyron, 7, was excited about his tree frog exhibit. His stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman,

Episode 29: Annie Dookhan, wicked bad chemistry

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 21:00:34 -0400

Annie Dookhan, a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory in Boston, was loved by prosecutors — she was a whiz, testing more drug evidence than everyone else in the lab, and she always got them the results they wanted. Although some of her coworkers wondered just how she got it done, no one else was […]

Episode 28: The mysterious death and life of Joyce Carol Vincent

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 11:04:55 -0400

Joyce Carol Vincent was pretty, bubbly, smart and talented. She also didn’t talk about her past and had parts of her life even those closest to her knew nothing about. Still, when the remains of a woman were found in a London bedsit in January 2006, about three years after the woman died, none […]

Episode 27: You might remember Phil Hartman’s murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 20:30:51 -0400

You might remember Phil Hartman from Saturday Live, where in the 1980s he was uproariously funny as Frankenstein in the ongoing Frankenstein, Tarzan and Tonto bit, or as the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer (“Your world frightens and confuses me…” Trust us, it was funny). Or maybe you loved him on The Simpsons, where he did another […]

Episode 26: Blanche Kimball, the cold case chewing gum murder

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 30 May 2017 16:44:14 -0400

When Blanche Kimball was stabbed to death in her home in Augusta, Maine, in 1976, police were stymied. She’d been stabbed 44 times and left to die, only found by police after neighbors became concerned at least a week after she was killed.

Gary Raub — then Gary Wilson — was at the time tearing an alcohol and violence-fueled path through central Maine, but somehow avoided serious attention from the police.

The case was one of Maine’s oldest cold cases. But in 2012, DNA and some smart cross-country detective work and, ultimately, a piece of apple pie flavored chewing gum, led to Raub’s arrest 3,000 miles away.

The case was the oldest cold case in Maine to be solved.

We also discuss “Tower,” more Kimmy Schmidt and lots of other stuff.

Join us for Episode 26.

Episode 25: Phil Spector, murderous wall of crazy

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 24 May 2017 12:08:55 -0400

So, what do you do with a musical genius who loves guns and scares the hell out of people? Well, since he’s rich, more famous than famous and influential, nothing. Until someone gets hurt. Phil Spector, whose “wall of sound” production transformed the music of the 60s, spent decades bending people to his will with crazy […]

Episode 24: The Fitbit & the woodchipper, two murders that made investigative history

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 16 May 2017 15:23:21 -0400

In April, Richard Dabate was arrested on charges he murdered his wife in December 2015. The evidence against Dabate is a cyber-crumb track of electronic device information, the biggest ones provided by the Fitbit his wife was wearing when she was shot in their Connecticut home. Investigators said it’s the first time a Fitbit has […]

Bonus Episode 1: Logan Marr, Anthony Sanborn updates

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 11 May 2017 21:29:23 -0400

Updates on Logan Marr (episode 18) and Anthony Sanborn (episode 22). Find out how Logan Marr’s sister, Bailey, turned out. Some good news for a change. On the other hand, in the ongoing saga of Anthony Sanborn, the Portland, Maine, man recently freed on bail after 27 years in prison, find out what a case […]

Episode 23: Frances Schreuder, keeping murder in the family

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 10 May 2017 14:55:11 -0400

Frances Schreuder wanted desperately to be a member of high society, but she just didn’t have enough money to bankroll it. So she did what a lot of women would do — got her teenage son to kill her incredibly wealthy but tight-fisted father. You may not recognize the names now, but the murder of Franklin […]

Episode 22: Anthony Sanborn, murder, injustice and disposable lives

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 02 May 2017 22:04:47 -0400

When 16-year-old Jessica Briggs was found dead under the Maine State Pier in Portland in May 1989 — stabbed, beaten and eviscerated — police quickly narrowed their focus to her fellow street kids. They arrested her sometime boyfriend Tony Sanborn in 1990, he was convicted of her murder in 1992 and an appeal failed in […]

Episode 21: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing

Crime&Stuff gals — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 10:54:51 -0400

Today’s quiz: After 9/11, what was the worst act of terrorism on U.S. soil? You know, the one that killed more people than any other? That’s right, Oklahoma City. Don’t you feel people have kind of forgotten about that one? In any case, we talk about Tim McVeigh the twisted white supremacist whose bomb killed […]

Episode 20: The tragic story of Bruce McKay and Liko Kenney

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 17 Apr 2017 11:35:48 -0400

Ah, bucolic small-town life, where everything is wonderful. NOT. More like, where everything can be a real cluster f***. Take Franconia, New Hampshire, in 2007 for instance. Mix in a messed-up kid, a hard-ass cop and a vigilante gun-nut bystander and the only outcome there’s going to be is trouble. On May 11, 2007, Like […]

Episode 19: Maine Crime Writers Noir at the Bar

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 12:19:59 -0400

In a VERY SPECIAL episode, we feature the April 2 Noir at the Bar event, in which a dozen members of the Maine Crime Writers blog and some guest speakers read (brief!) passages from their work. The Maine Crime Writers blog is a loose group of published mystery and crime writers who live in, and […]

Episode 18: Logan Marr, the little girl who never had a chance

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 17:37:02 -0400

Logan Marr was too young to understand why the state of Maine kept taking her away from her mother. Her mother, Christy Baker, didn’t really understand either. Baker did everything she was asked, but a tangle of poverty, culture and, most importantly, a bureaucracy that valued its own prejudices over the well-being of a […]

Episode 17: Martha Moxley, the murder case that just won’t go away

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 17:30:41 -0400

Martha Moxley was bludgeoned to death, then stabbed through the neck with the broken end of a golf club when she was 15. If it had happened in 2015, an arrest probably would have been made almost immediately. But it happened in 1975 in an exclusive gated neighborhood in Connecticut and the man finally […]

Episode 16: A Tale of Two Rockefellers

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 10:48:43 -0400

It was the best of times, then the worst of times, for two con men — and their marks — as they separately traveled America using one of the country’s most famous and powerful names to wheedle their way into the hearts and minds of the rich. And ultimately, for one, to commit murder. What […]

Episode 15: Stalking, from Saldana to Grimmie, it’s not funny

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 15:27:02 -0400

Everyone makes stalking jokes. Everyone. But from the time it first came into modern public perception as a thing, to the recent murder of singer Christina Grimmie, and for millions of regular people who aren’t celebrities and have to live with it every day, it’s not a joke at all. What’s happened since the vicious […]

Episode 14: Going Postal, the shootings that coined the phrase

Crime&Stuff gals — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 12:41:54 -0500

We don’t mail it in when we discuss the spate of US Postal Service-related shootings over a 20-year period that spurred the phrase “going postal,” particularly one in Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1986 that changed the way we look at mass shootings. Patrick Shirrell wasn’t the first disgruntled worker to shoot up his workplace, but when […]

Episode 13: Chandra Levy, it’s over when they say it’s over

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 19:23:44 -0500

Nearly 16 years after Washington intern Chandra Levy disappeared and nearly 15 after her remains were found in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., police are no closer to convicting someone of her murder. That’s despite one trial and conviction, a scheduled then dumped retrial and the extremely unhelpful “goofiness” of Gary Condit, the […]

Episode 12: Uber crime, taking a ride with danger

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 11:50:17 -0500

From drunken assaults to sex trafficking to an Uber app in which Satan told the driver to kill, the ride-share business has had plenty of crime during its short life. Drivers, passengers, bystanders — everyone joins the party. We discuss some of the highlights from our special perspective of being Uber drivers ourselves. Buckle […]

Episode 11: New Hampshire cold case serial killer revealed

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 10:43:13 -0500

One of New Hampshire’s longest-standing mysteries — the discovery of the remains of a woman and three children in Bear Brook State Park — was solved (kind of) when a young woman searching for her birth parents with DNA set off a series of events that revealed a cross-country serial killer. Bob Evans — or Gordon […]

Episode 10: Jonestown, it’s about more than the Kool-Aid

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 17:38:10 -0500

What seemed like a good thing for people on the margins when it started out turned into one of the most horrific tragedies of the late 20th century, thanks to a narcissistic megalomaniac who had just enough charisma to convince politicians he was a godsend and to leave him alone, get a thousand people to […]

Episode 9: Special Women’s March Episode, Time for a Traffic Study America!

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 09:40:02 -0500

A special road trip episode as we talk in the car ride home from Washington DC about the Women’s March and other stuff. Fun fun fun with one million others! What’s the deal with the crowd count? The guys who were there? What was the deal with the boy in the tree? What DID he see? […]

Episode 8: Maura Murray and stuff

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 19:54:47 -0500

What happens when the details of a tragedy become the foundation of internet legend? We discuss the Massachusetts nursing student’s disappearance on a dark New Hampshire road as the 12-year mark approaches, it’s connection with the Vermont disappearance of 17-year-old Brianna Maitland a month later, as well as the possible Boston serial killer of young mostly […]

Episode 7: Maine’s murderers and the women who loved them

Crime&Stuff gals — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 17:16:49 -0500

Maine has one of the lowest murder rates in the country. For the past couple of decades, there have been between 20 to 25 homicides a year in the state. In 2016, there were 16. Yet, the types of murders Maine has are telling — murder victims are most likely to be killed by someone […]

Episode 6: JonBenet Ramsey documentary wars

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 09:07:58 -0500

It’s been 20 years since the body of JonBenet Ramsey was found in the basement of her parents’ Boulder, Colorado home. She’d been bludgeoned to death and strangled. The case has, to quote one documentary “haunted America” ever since and, America being what it is, spawned a variety of documentaries over the past months, some […]

Episode 5: Not-so-merry Christmases

Crime&Stuff gals — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 17:40:32 -0500

On Christmas 27 years ago in California, a woman on her way home from looking at the Christmas lights was abducted, brutally raped and nearly killed, saved by her own bravery and smarts. It took nearly three decades and the imagination of a young prosecutor to bring her attackers to justice. The day after Christmas […]

Episode 4: Sarah Cheiker’s long strange trip

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 01:46:22 -0500

Sarah Cheiker happily lived most of her 80-plus years in her Los Angeles bungalow. That changed when three drifters befriended her. In 2008 she disappeared, turning up 3,000 miles away in Maine four years later, abandoned in a ramshackle cabin that the police officer who found her said he wouldn’t keep his dog in. What […]

Episode 3: Ayla Reynolds, still missing after five years

Crime&Stuff gals — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 00:35:45 -0500

On the morning of December 17, 2011, Justin DiPietro called the Waterville, Maine, police to report his 20-month-old daughter, Ayla Reynolds, missing. That was the spark to what eventually became the biggest criminal investigation in Maine’s history. Five years later, Ayla is still gone and no one has been charged in her disappearance, which […]

Episode 2: NOT a good boy, the story of SC serial killer Todd Kohlhepp

Crime&Stuff gals — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 18:08:20 -0500

Todd Kohlhepp, charged with killing seven people in South Carolina, is not a good boy. No matter what his mother says. Kohlhepp, a popular and successful realtor, was arrested in early November after Kala Brown, missing for three months, was found in a storage container on his 100-acre farm. Kohlhepp admitted to killing Charles Carver, […]

Episode 1: Twisted Sisters, a tale of yoga and death

Crime&Stuff gals — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 23:57:07 -0500

Ali and Ann Dadow (Thomas Cordy/West Palm Post)

Ann and Alison Dadow were as close as two sisters could be. Or closer. They did everything together. They changed their names together, to Anastasia and Alexandria Duval. They taught yoga together, moved across the country, drank, fought and even filed for bankruptcy together. Everything, that is, until their car went over a cliff in Hawaii during a hair-pulling brawl and one died and the other was charged with murder.