Crime&Stuff

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.

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.

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+

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.”

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)  

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.

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!

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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).

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.”  

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”

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”  

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!

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!

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.”  

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!

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!

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.”