Terrifying & True | The Disappearance of Carrie Culberson – Ohio’s Infamous No-Body Murder Case - Weekly Spooky: Scary Holiday Stories | Terrifying Tales to Creep Your Night

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
For our one hundredth episode of Terrifying and True, we're
honoring our good buddy and listener, Wolf Dan with his
request to cover one of Ohio's most haunted unsolved crimes.
In nineteen ninety six, twenty two year old Carrie Culberson
vanished after a violent encounter with her ex. Her body

(00:23):
was never found, but someone was still convicted of her murder.
What you were about to take is burnt to be you?
Based on witness accounts, testimonies, and public record. This is

(00:44):
terrifying and true True Blanchester, Ohio, August twenty eighth, nineteen
ninety six. And why at summer night, shattered by a scream,

(01:04):
a young woman runs for her life beneath the glow
of a street lamp, but she's never seen again. Twenty
two year old Carrie Colberson vanished without a trace after
a violent confrontation with her ex boyfriend. Her body was
never found, her car gone, and yet a jury convicted

(01:30):
her killer. What happened to Carrie? And why did local
authorities seem to protect the suspect instead of the victim.
For our one hundredth episode of Terrifying and True, we'll
be telling that story After this, late August nineteen ninety six,

(01:59):
blanchets to Ohio. A sticky summer night hangs over the
sleepy small town street in the darkness just before midnight,
A sudden scream pierces the silence. Help me. A young
woman's voice cries out, raw with terror. On a moonlit

(02:24):
front lawn, a frantic figure, twenty two year old Carrie Culberson,
is seen desperately running her silhouette, illuminated by a flickering
street light. Chasing her is a man she knows all
too well, her on and off boyfriend, twenty four year

(02:48):
old Vincent Dowan. He catches up to her and grabs
a fistful of her hair. Neighbors peering from their windows
watch in alarm. As Carrie struggles. Dowan's voice, rough with rage,
shatters the humid air. I told you if you ever

(03:09):
tried to leave me, I'd kill you, he snarls. Carrie
is pummeled with fists as she fights to break free.
For a moment, her pleas for help cut through the night,
and then, with a squeal of tires on asphalt, there

(03:29):
is only silence. The little red Honda CRX they had
been seen beside is now gone. Disappearing into the darkness.
By dawn, Carrie Coulberson had vanished without a trace. Her
family would awaken to an empty house and a nightmare

(03:54):
that was just beginning. In the coming days, this at
Ohio village would be plunged into a real life mystery
worthy of the darkest crime drama, a mystery of love
and violence, of a body that refused to surface, and

(04:17):
of justice sought in the haunting absence of a victim.
The story of Carrie's disappearance and the search for answers
unfolds like a cinematic thriller. A beautiful young woman gone missing,
a violent lover as the prime suspect, a town divided

(04:42):
by secrets, and a determined family fighting for the truth
in the face of unimaginable loss. Blanchester, Ohio is the
kind of tight knit Midwestern town where everyone's seemingly knows everyone.

(05:02):
In nineteen ninety six, its population hovered around four thousand,
two hundred. A one stop like village amid the cornfields,
about thirty five miles outside of Cincinnati, It's the sort
of place that seemed safe, even idyllic, the kind of

(05:25):
small town where parents felt comfortable letting their children ride
bikes down sleepy streets, and where neighbors greet each other
at the grocery store. Nothing bad ever happens here, people
used to think, But Blanchester would soon learn that even

(05:47):
in quiet towns, darkness can lurk behind closed doors. In
this unassuming community, Carrie Coulberson was a loved figure with
a warm smile and vibrant personality. Carrie was often described
as truly someone special by those who knew her. She

(06:13):
had big brown eyes, a cheerleader's energy, and homecoming queen looks,
as one account later put it, In high school, Carrie
had been everywhere. She served as a class officer and
appeared on the homecoming court all four years, balanced by

(06:33):
nine years as a cheerleader. She sang in the choir,
played sports from soccer to volleyball, and even played the
bells in the school band. After graduating in nineteen ninety two,
Carrie explored college. She enrolled at the University of Cincinnati

(06:56):
as a pre law student, but ultimately found her her
passion closer to home, becoming a licensed nail technician. Ever ambitious,
she hadn't given up on furthering her education In fact,
the day before she disappeared, Carrie took a nursing school

(07:16):
pre admission test at a local community college, hoping to
launch a career in healthcare. By her early twenties, Carrie
seemed to have the world at her feet. Friends and
family remember her as bubbly, genuine and fun loving, the

(07:37):
kind of young woman who could light up a room.
She doated on her family, her mother, Deborah Culberson, her
father Roger, and her younger sister Christina, often trying out
new low fat recipes on her mom and little sister
and joking about future domestic bliss. Quote. Well, the world

(08:00):
needs little white picket fences, she would say with a laugh,
dreaming of having her own happy family some day. Raised
with confidence and strong willed by nature, Carrie wasn't someone
anyone thought would fall into the trappings of an abusive relationship.

(08:22):
That's why it was so shocking to those close to
her when they began to see the signs of trouble
with the man she was dating. Carrie met Vincent Dowan
in the mid nineteen nineties, and at first their relationship
seemed like a typical young romance, but it quickly spiraled

(08:45):
into something dangerous. Vince was a local guy with a
troubled reputation quote, violent, controlling, and prone to explosive jealousy,
as friends would later describe him. Less than a year
after they began dating, the abuse started and escalated very quickly.

(09:19):
In one early incident, Doan smashed the windows of Carrie's
car while she was sitting inside, glass, flying a terrifying
outburst that foreshadowed worse to come soon. He was hitting
her on at least one occasion so brutally that he

(09:40):
bruised her kidneys. He would throw her across rooms in
fits of rage. Friends saw Carrie turn up with black
eyes and bruises trying to cover for Vince's violence. Her
boss at the salon recalled how Carrie once came to
work with finger shaped marks on her neck and a

(10:04):
bruised temple, signs of strangulation and blows to the head.
Dowan's violence peaked in the summer of nineteen ninety six,
just weeks before Carrie went missing. In late July, during
a dispute, Vince grabbed a heavy space heater and smashed

(10:26):
it into the back of Carrie's head, splitting her scalp.
She survived the assault, but needed five surgical staples in
order to close the gash. This time, Carrie did something courageous.
She filed a criminal complaint against Dowan for misdemeanor assault.

(10:50):
It was not the first time she had gone to
the police for help. At least three times prior she
had reported Vince's abuse. Each time the response was tepid.
Dowan somehow evaded arrest or serious investigation until Carrie herself

(11:13):
pressed charges for the space heater attack. Finally, a court
date was set. Vince Dowan was due in court on
those assault charges the week after August twenty eighth, nineteen
ninety six. For once, it seemed Carrie was standing up
and the law would intervene, but Vince Dowan had other plans.

(11:40):
Those close to Carrie later realized that leaving Vince was
the most dangerous time for her. Quote every time she
attempted to leave was when he would beat her and
tell her if I can't have you, no one can.
Her family recalled, threatened not just Carrie but also her

(12:03):
loved ones, warning he'd hurt her mother or sister if
Carrie ever broke up with him. He stalked her, controlled
who she saw and even held her at gunpoint. In fact, chillingly,
just a few days before Carrie disappeared, Dowan abducted her

(12:26):
and held her captive for five hours at gunpoint. She
eventually got away from that encounter with her life, but
it was a sign that Vince's obsession was reaching a
fever pitch. As one prosecutor would later theorize, Dowan was

(12:49):
desperate to stop Carrie from testifying against him on the
assault charges or from escaping his grasp once and for all.
The stage was set for a tragedy. Carrie's friends and
family were urging her to leave him for good, terrified

(13:13):
by the abuse they'd witnessed. Carrie herself was afraid, but
she seemed to be gathering the resolve to break free.
In late August nineteen ninety six, despite her fear, she
was planning to end the relationship for good. Vince apparently

(13:36):
sensed it coming. He was not about to let Carrie go.
In his mind, she was his, and if he couldn't
control her, he'd make good on his threats. The darkness
that had been building in their two year relationship was
about to engulf them both When August twenty eighth, nineteen

(14:02):
ninety six began as a normal day, brimming with late
summer activity. That evening, Carrie joined her friends for a
weekly ritual. She played in a co ed volleyball league
in a town nearby called Morrow. Carrie loved sports, and

(14:24):
the friendly game followed by a trip to a local bar,
was something she always looked forward to. But that night,
an uninvited visitor showed up at the sand courts, Vincent Dowan.
He was angry, angry that Carrie hadn't come to see him,

(14:46):
angry perhaps that she was spending time with others when
he was facing legal trouble. According to Carrie's friend Jessica Williams,
who was with her at the game, Dowan tried to
to get Carrie to leave with him mid game, insisting
she go with him, but she refused. On the surface,

(15:09):
Carrie stayed calm, shaking her head no as Vince glowered
at her from the sidelines. She had promised to drive
her teammates home that night. She wasn't about to abandon
them for him. Frustrated, Dowan peeled out of the parking
lot tires, squealing and frustration. Jessica later recalled that after

(15:35):
the game at Carrie's request, they drove by Doan's house
in Blanchester a couple of times, perhaps to see if
he was home or still fuming, before Jessica dropped Carrie
off back at her house on West Main Street around
eleven thirty pm. Blanchester's streets were and quiet at that hour.

(16:02):
A neighbor, Kimberly Lanyard, was sitting on her porch enjoying
the late summer night, and she saw Jessica's car pull up.
It was about eleven forty five pm when Carrie stepped
out in front of her home, said good night to
her friend, and went inside. But within minutes Lanyard noticed

(16:28):
something was strange. Carrie's red Honda CRX, a distinctive little
two door car, backing out of the Culberson driveway. The
car's headlights were off, which struck Lanyard as odd. She
watched the dark car roll halfway down the block before

(16:52):
its headlights flicked on and it drove off into the night.
Carrie had just gotten home. Why was she leaving again
so soon and in such a stealthy manner. Lanyard would
later report this peculiar sight, not realizing at the time

(17:15):
that Carrie herself might not have been behind the wheel.
Around the same time, another neighbor across town was about
to witness the chaos described in our opening scene. Billy

(17:39):
Joe Brown lived across the street from Vincent Dowan's house.
Sometime near twelve thirty am, as she was getting ready
for bed, Brown was startled by the sounds of a
commotion outside. She peeked out to see under the glow
of a street land there was that same little red

(18:03):
car parked near Dowan's home, and a man and woman
in a heated struggle. Brown recognized Vince Doan. He was
a familiar face she often saw across the way, and
she recognized the woman with him as the young lady

(18:24):
who visited him frequently, Carrie Coulberson. What Brown saw next
was horrifying. Carrie was screaming for help and trying to flee,
but Vince was on her, yelling furiously. Brown distinctly heard
Carrie cry out help me, while Dowan was shouting something

(18:49):
like I told you next time, I'd kill you. Brown
watched as Vince dragged Carrie and struck her repeatedly, then
a sudden silence, perhaps Carrie was forced into the car
moments later, Brown heard the squeal of tires. By the

(19:12):
time she looked out again, the street was empty, The
red car and Carrie were gone. What happened in those
fraught moments would become the subject of testimony and speculation,
but one thing is certain. Carrie Culberson was never seen

(19:38):
again after that night. Some time after midnight, she vanished,
as if into thin air. When the sun rose on
August twenty ninth, nineteen ninety six, Debbie Culberson since something
was wrong. She noticed that Carrie's Honda was not in

(20:01):
the driveway where it should be. Carrie always came home
at night, and if she ever stayed elsewhere, she would call.
Debbie's worry quickly turned to panic when she couldn't find
Carrie anywhere. She began driving around town, retracing routes Carrie

(20:24):
might have taken. Her first instinct was to drive straight
to Vincent Dowan's house or to his father's place, somewhere
where she might find her daughter. At Lawrence Baker's house,
Vincent's father, Debbie found Vince and demanded to know if
he had seen Carrie. Vince's answers that day would later

(20:49):
raise every possible alarm bell. According to Debbie, the first
time she asked, Vince claimed he hadn't seen Carrie in
three days. That made no sense. He had shown up
at her volleyball game just the evening prior, after all.

(21:12):
When Debbie pressed him again later, Vince abruptly changed his story.
Now he said Carrie had driven by his house around
twelve thirty a m honking her horn, but he refused
to come out. He claimed she was drunk. Carrie's friends

(21:33):
would later insist she'd had at most one beer all
night and she was far from intoxicated. This version still
didn't square with Debbi. She confronted Vince a third time
as the day wore on, and again he shifted his tail.

(21:55):
This time, he admitted he did see Carrie around twelve thirty.
He said she'd even come into his house wrapped in
a towel from a shower he'd been taking, and that
they had had an argument. Supposedly, he told her he
didn't love her any more. He claimed. Carrie then sped

(22:16):
off angrily in her car, never to return. Three stories
in one day, each different. Debby's blood ran cold. She
knew something was terribly wrong. As Thursday turned into Friday,

(22:38):
with still no sign of Carrie or her car, the
missing person's case took on increasing urgency. Carrie's family reported
her missing to the Blanchester Police within hours of her vanishing.
The investigation into Carrie's disappearance had now begun, but it

(23:02):
would soon become apparent that the search for truth would
be frustrated at nearly every turn. When a loved one disappears,
every minute counts, But in Carrie Culberson's case, the initial
police response was shockingly lackluster, even possibly compromised. Blanchester Police

(23:30):
Chief Richard Peyton, the town's top lawman, happened to be
a personal friend of the Dowan family. In those crucial
early hours after Carrie went missing, Instead of immediately treating
Vincent Dowan as a suspect and locking down potential crime scenes,

(23:52):
Chief Peyton alerted the Dowan family. He privately warned Vincent's father,
Lawrence Baker, that Vincent would inevitably be a suspect in
Carrie's disappearance. It was a heads up that gave the
Dowans time to prepare, or perhaps to hide evidence. Carrie's

(24:17):
family and friends, meanwhile, were not sitting idle. They fanned
out across town, posting flyers and pleading for information. The
whole community was on alert for the missing red Honda
CRX or any sign of Carrie. Have you seen this girl?

(24:40):
Posters with Carrie's smiling face went up in shop windows.
Tips and rumors began to trickle in, some plausible, some
utterly outlandish. One ghastly local rumor even suggested that Carrie
had been fed to a lion that supposedly guarded the

(25:04):
Dowan's junkyard, a horrifying notion that underscored the desperation and
dark imagination swirling around the case. Amid the swirl of theories,
one thing was clear. All roads of suspicion led to

(25:24):
Vincent Dowan and his family's properties. Within five days of
Carry's disappearance, investigators, under pressure from Carry's family and county authorities,

(25:46):
finally honed in on the Dowan homestead on Hunt Road,
a rural property owned by Vincent's father. There, behind a
cluster of trees lay a murcury pond. Acting on a tip,
and perhaps guided by the sickening intuition that a body

(26:08):
might be hidden under the water, authorities brought in search dogs.
The dogs hit on a scent at the edge of
the pond, strongly indicating Carrie's body could be in or
around that water. On September third, nineteen ninety six, the

(26:30):
decision was made to drain the pond to see what
secrets it might hold. What happened next would become one
of the most contentious aspects of the case. After the
cadaver dogs reacted, Chief Peyton abruptly called off the search

(26:53):
for the night, citing darkness or safety, no one's quite
sure why. Shockingly, he also left the sight unguarded overnight.
In other words, the one place on Earth that might
contain Carrie Culberson's remains was left open and unwatched, even

(27:19):
after a strong indication of human scent had been found.
By the time law enforcement returned and drained the pond
the next day, it was perhaps too late. They found
only a set of footprints sunk into the pond's muddy

(27:40):
bottom and no body. It looked for all the world,
as if some one had waded into the muck to
retrieve and remove something or some one during the unguarded night.
Investigators were horrified. The prime opportunity to recover Carrie or

(28:06):
evidence of her fate from that pond had slipped right
through their fingers, and it appeared to Carrie's family at
least that the police chief's negligence or collusion had enabled
the perpetrators to cover their tracks. As days turned to weeks,

(28:30):
the case intensified. The Clinton County Sheriff's office and state
investigators took on a larger role given the conflicts of
interest in the tiny Blanchester police department. Evidence against Vincent
Dowan continued to mount even without a body. Neighbors like

(28:52):
Lanyard and Brown gave statements about what they saw that night,
the car leaving without lights, the assault in the yard.
Friends recounted Vince's history of abuse and how Carrie feared
for her life. Carrie's own mother, Debbie, told police about

(29:13):
Vincent's shifting stories on August twenty ninth, which looked highly suspicious.
It became painfully clear to investigators that Carrie had likely
been murdered that night, and that Vincent, possibly with help

(29:33):
from his half brother Tracy, and others, had disposed of
her body and her car in some unknown location. By
early September nineteen ninety six, the focus of the investigation
had fully turned toward Vincent Dowan. He was officially named

(29:55):
a suspect and a grand jury convened to hear evidence.
Facing mounting pressure, the local authorities could no longer shield
their friend's son. In November nineteen ninety six, a grand
jury in Clinton County indicted Vincent Dowan, initially on a

(30:16):
charge of kidnapping. Since no body had been found to
prove a murder, even without Carrie's body, prosecutors were determined
to pursue justice. As one reporter later noted, Carrie's disappearance
was eventually ruled a homicide, even though her body was

(30:39):
never found. The case was building momentum, and soon it
would head to a dramatic trial, one that would test
the limits of prosecuting a murder without a body. In
July nineteen ninety seven, the eyes of the region and
soon the nation, turned to the Clinton County Courthouse in Wilmington, Ohio,

(31:06):
where Vincent Dowan's murder trial began. It had been nearly
a year since Carrie vanished. The prosecution faced a daunting
task convince a jury that Carrie was dead and that
Doan killed her, all without a body, without a murder weapon,

(31:31):
and without forensic certainty. It was a circumstantial case, but
it was also a compelling one. Over weeks of testimony,
prosecutors presented a mosaic of evidence that peace by Peace
painted a chilling portrait of what likely happened on that

(31:55):
August night. They argued of two possible motive, either of
which or both could explain the crime. One theory was
that Vincent Dowan, obsessively jealous and enraged that he could
no longer control Carrie, murdered her in a final act

(32:19):
of domination. The other theory was that he killed her
to stop her from testifying against him on the assault
charge scheduled in court the following week. In either scenario,
the threat to his control was Carrie's intent to leave

(32:39):
him for good, and Vincent acted on his oft repeated ultimatum.
If he couldn't have her, nobody could. One by one,
witnesses took the band to recount the events surrounding the

(33:03):
disappearance and Dowan's prior acts of violence. Jessica Williams described
the volleyball game on August twenty eighth, explaining how Dowan
showed up unannounced, angry and demanding, and how Carrie stood
her ground, refusing to leave with him. Neighbor Kimberly Lanyard

(33:27):
testified about seeing Carrie's car leave her house around midnight
without its lights on, an eerie detail suggesting stealth or duress.
Then Billy Joe Brown riveted the courtroom with her eyewitness
account of the fight in her front yard, how she

(33:49):
saw Carrie running and screaming help me, and her Dowan bellow.
I told you if you ever tried to leave me,
I'd kill you, you bitch, as he beat her. Brown
admitted she had no phone to call the police that night,
and that her own husband initially dismissed the commotion as

(34:13):
simply a drunken squabble. By the time she realized something
truly heinous was happening, Carrie and Dowan were gone. The
prosecution didn't stop at the disappearance. They traced what they
believed happened in the hours after. Vicky Watson and Laurie Baker,

(34:38):
relatives by marriage to Don's half brother Tracy, provided key testimony.
Watson said she was sleeping over at Tracy Baker's house,
Vincent's half brother, that night at three fifteen a m.
She was awakened by a knock peeking through the blonde.

(35:01):
She saw Vincent Dowan on the back deck, shirtless, looking disheveled,
with his right hand clutching his left arm as if injured.
He was talking to Tracy outside, but Watson couldn't hear
the words. She did notice something peculiar. Dowan's hair was

(35:24):
messy and he appeared agitated, but she saw no visible
blood on him at that moment. Watson didn't intervene. Shortly after,
Tracy's wife, Laurie Baker, drove Watson to work very early
around four am, leaving the two men alone. Laurie Baker

(35:50):
herself testified next, filling in crucial gaps. She confirmed that
Vincent arrived around three point fifteen wearing only jeans, shirtless
and smeared with blood across his chest. He was holding
his arm as if hurt. Laurie recounted that Vincent and

(36:14):
her husband, Tracy spoke in low urgent tones. Then Tracy
came inside to grab trash bags. Vincent took a shower
in her bathroom, washing off something one can only imagine what,
and the two men left the house around three point

(36:36):
thirty or three forty five am, carrying garbage bags and
a gun. When they returned before dawn, roughly five am.
Both men had blood on their clothes and boots. Laurie
testified that she handed Tracy bleach and a scrub brush

(36:59):
and watch as he delivered them to Vincent, who immediately
went to shower. Yet again, she even saw Tracy wiping
off blood from his boots with a rag. It was
a grim clean up scene, bleach, water and blood swirling

(37:20):
away as dawn broke. Investigators later recovered some of Tracy's boots, towels,
and his truck. Testing found blood on them, but it
was too degraded to identify a definitive match. To carry

(37:40):
through these witnesses, the prosecutors effectively walked the jury through
a timeline of murder and cover up. The confrontation around
twelve thirty am, the likely killing and hiding of Carrie's
body somewhere soon after, and the convening of Vincent and

(38:00):
Tracy in the pre dawn hours to dispose of evidence,
presumably moving Carrie's body, perhaps initially hidden in that pond
or elsewhere, to a more permanent location, and disposing of
her car. The red Honda CRX has never been found.

(38:25):
Prosecutors implied it may have been dismantled or crushed, perhaps
hinting at the involvement of the Dowan family junkyard, the
same place that spawned the macabre rumors. Beyond the immediate crime,
the state presented evidence of Dowan's pattern of brutality to

(38:49):
establish intent and motive. Carrie's friends and coworkers recounted her
black eyes and bruises, establishing that day Owen had consistently
beaten and terrorized her. One particularly chilling piece of testimony
came from Mitchell Epperson, a cellmate who was housed with

(39:14):
Vincent in a county jail in late nineteen ninety six
on an unrelated charge. Epperson recalled casual conversations he had
had with Vincent about women. Vincent bragged in jail that
quote you can't let them walk, You gotta make them pay,

(39:36):
referring to disobedient girlfriends. Even more damning, Dowan allegedly admitted
he would quote lie awake at night and think of
a hundred different ways to kill Carrie before I did. This.
Jaw dropping confession from Doan's own mouth, if true, painted

(39:59):
him as a man who not only could have killed Carrie,
but fantasized about it in advance. It went directly to
the issue of premeditation and intent. Finally, Deborah Culberson, Carrie's mother,
took the stand, providing a poignant bookend to the case.

(40:26):
She confirmed the various stories Vincent had told her on
August twenty nine when she searched for Carrie, highlighting how
his lies had evolved over a single mourning Deborah also

(40:48):
recounted a disturbing conversation she had had with Vincent before
Carrie vanished, wherein he tried to downplay his abuse. Quote,
I've always slapped her around. I never hit her with
my fist. I just slapped her, he told Deborah, as

(41:10):
if this somehow made it acceptable. The court room felt
the weight of Deborah's testimony, the anguish of a mother
who practically knew from day one that Vincent had harmed
her daughter, but who still did not know where her
child's body lay. Vincent Dowan's defense team, for their part,

(41:37):
faced an uphill battle, with so many witnesses painting him
as violent and with no solid alibi. His own accounts
of the night were self contradictory. Their strategy was to
so doubt about whether a murder had even occurred without

(41:58):
a body. Defense argued, who could say Carrie wasn't still
alive somewhere. They floated the idea that perhaps Carrie ran off,
that maybe she'd gotten so fed up with life in
Blanchester and with Vince, that she decided to disappear on

(42:20):
her own. They pointed out that not a single drop
of Carrie's blood had been found, nor any finger prints
or DNA tying Vincent conclusively to a killing. They even
produced a few witnesses, some locals who claimed to have

(42:42):
seen a woman resembling Carrie in the days or weeks
after August twenty eighth, though none of these sightings could
be substantiated and were likely cases of mistaken identity or
false hope. The defense also highlighted that no murder weapon

(43:04):
had been recovered, and that some charges like abuse of
a corpse against Tracy Baker had been dropped precisely because
there was no corpse. Could it be? They urged the
jury that Carrie was out there somewhere alive, but the

(43:26):
prosecution had effectively preempted this argument. They had introduced Carrie's
close friends, who testified that Carrie had not packed any belongings,
taken any money, or contacted anyone, not the behavior of
a voluntary runaway. She also had upcoming plans, a new

(43:52):
career path, and ap pending court case, and had given
every indication to stay in her community, not to flee.
And then there were those powerful witnesses to violence that night.
If Carrie had survived the beating, Brown witnessed, why had

(44:15):
she not surfaced? Everything pointed not to a willing disappearance,
but to a violent end. After two weeks of testimony,
the case went to the jury. The nation waited. The
media had taken keen interest, since trials without a body

(44:38):
were at the time relatively rare and risky for prosecutors. Indeed,
the Culberson case would go on to be featured on
national true crime shows like American Justice and date Line,
precisely because of the no body aspect. The story had

(45:01):
all the elements of a made for TV mystery, except
this was painfully real for those involved. As one local
reporter later noted, the trial drew national attention because Dowan
was convicted despite the absence of a body, something many

(45:25):
jurors find difficult to do. In the deliberation room, twelve jurors,
six men and six women agonized over the evidence for
four days. On August seventh, nineteen ninety seven, they returned

(45:46):
with a verdict. They found Vincent Dowan guilty of aggravated murder,
specifically the court alleging that he killed Carrie in the
commission of kidnapping her, and guilty of three counts of
kidnapping related to the various times he'd abducted or restrained her.

(46:11):
He was actually acquitted on a second murder count, which
had alleged prior calculation and design, essentially premeditation, and on
one additional kidnapping count. The jury seemed to conclude that
while he may not have planned out the murder in advance,

(46:32):
he did intentionally kill her during an abduction. With those convictions,
the maximum sentence was on the table. Dowan faced the
death penalty. A separate sentencing phase followed. In November of

(46:53):
nineteen ninety seven. After hearing further arguments, the jury spared
Vince Saint Owan's life by recommending a sentence of life
in prison without the possibility of parole, rather than execution.
The judge imposed that life sentence. Vincent Dowan, at twenty

(47:17):
five years old, was led away in shackles destined to
spend the rest of his days behind bars. As he
was sentenced, he remained defiant, continuing to proclaim his innocence,
a claim he maintains to this day. But the evidence

(47:41):
and verdict spoke otherwise. In the eyes of the law,
Vincent Dowan had murdered Carrie Culberson, even if he had
gone to extreme lengths to ensure that her body would
never be found. For Carrie's family and friends, the verdict

(48:04):
was a moment of bitter sweet justice in that courtroom,
justice was served, a dangerous man was held accountable, yet
there was no reunion with Carrie, no body to lay
to rest. Debbie Culberson and her family walked out, knowing

(48:27):
Dowan would never hurt anyone again, but also knowing that
their own agonizing quest to find Carrie was not over.
Debbie said later quote, we felt relief that he was

(48:49):
put away, but complete peace. That'll never happen as long
as Carrie remained missing. The case was far from closed.
The aftermath of the trial sent shockwaves through Blanchester and beyond.

(49:12):
In the close knit town, people took sides during the ordeal.
Some couldn't believe a local boy like Vincent could commit
such an atrocity. While others rallied behind the Culberson family
search for truth, longtime friendships frayed, the community became bitterly divided.

(49:37):
Quote the wounds of Carrie's disappearance divided the town at
the time and still run deep today. One resident observed
eight years later, the village was split over those who
supported the Culbersons and those who supported Dowan. She said,

(50:00):
this town hasn't given Carrie's family much respect. They have
been treated unfairly. It will always be that way. Everybody
knows everybody's business. It divided the town and I don't
think it will be fixed. Even after the conviction, rumors

(50:23):
and suspicions lingered in Blanchester's gossip mills. A few stubborn
holdouts whispered that carry might have run off, or that
Vincent was framed, But as the years went on, most
came to accept the obvious. A horrific crime had occurred

(50:45):
in their midst, and it had been badly mishandled by
those sworn to protect the community. Indeed, one of the
most consequential fallouts from Carrie case was the harsh light
it shone on law enforcement's failure to protect a domestic

(51:07):
violence victim. Debbie Culberson, Roger Coulberson, and their surviving daughter,
Christina were not content to let Blanchester's officials off the hook.
In nineteen ninety seven, while the criminal case preceded, the
Culbersons took the extraordinary step of filing a civil lawsuit

(51:31):
against the Village of Blanchester, its police department, police Chief
Richard Payton, and members of the Dowan family. They alleged
a wrongful death and a conspiracy. Essentially that Carrie died
not only because of Vincent's actions, but also because the

(51:56):
authorities willfully failed to protect her and then aided in
covering up the crime. It was a bold and emotionally
charged move born out of the family's frustration with how
events had unfolded. Their claims were striking. The lawsuit contended

(52:20):
that Chief Peyton knew Carrie was in danger, he was
aware of Vince's prior violence. In fact, as later came
out in court, Peyton had been explicitly told about multiple
domestic violence incidents involving Carrie, and yet did nothing meaningful

(52:41):
to intervene. Worse, after her disappearance, he behaved like en accessory.
After the fact, as one federal judge put it, by
tipping off the suspect's family and failure to secure the
crime scene. In one blistering court order, U. S. District

(53:04):
Judge s Arthur Spiegel wrote that Peyton had violated his
duty as the chief law enforcement officer and may have
been quote explicitly or implicitly involved in the cover up
of Carrie's murder and disposal of her body. The family's attorney,

(53:27):
Jennifer Branch, argued that Blanchester's officials had learned nothing from
the tragedy. Quote from the citizen's point of view, the
police allowed their neighbor to be murdered, they failed to
protect her. Branch said, what the village learned from this

(53:48):
incident was how to protect their police chief, not how
to protect their citizens. The village did not enforce its
domestic violence law, and unfortunately that has not changed. It
was a stark indictment of the entire system that had

(54:10):
let carry down. The civil case dragged on for years
through legal twists and turns. At one point, Blanchester tried
to get it thrown out, but parts of the lawsuit
were allowed to proceed. The culbersins were determined not just

(54:32):
to recover damages for their pain, but to force changes
so that no other family in their town would endure
what they did. By two thousand and one, five years
after Carrie's death, the village decided to settle and avoid

(54:54):
a federal trial that would air all of its dirty laundry.
In a settlement reached in January of two thousand one,
the village of Blanchester agreed to pay the Culberson family
two million dollars. More importantly to the family, the village

(55:14):
also pledged to institute reforms. They promised to establish a
memorial to domestic violence victims in Carrie's name, and to
ensure that all law enforcement officers receive further training in
handling domestic violence cases. In effect, Blanchester's authorities tacitly acknowledged

(55:39):
that they had failed carry and that change was indeed needed.
As part of the settlement's non monetary terms, Blanchester unveiled
plans for a permanent memorial to carry at the municipal building,
a place where the community could re remember her and

(56:01):
where her mother could find a small measure of peace.
On a rainy day in April of two thousand four,
townspeople gathered in drizzle. To dedicate that memorial at the

(56:22):
front lawn of the village hall, they placed a large
stone engraved with an image of angels and the words
dedicated to the life of Clarissa Anne Carrie Culberson. Next
to it, a five foot tall bronze statue was installed,

(56:43):
depicting a young woman in a flowing dress. At the
statue's base, the word hope is inscribed in bold letters,
a message as much for the future as for the past.
Surrounding it are large rocks, each carved with values like faith, awareness, courage, justice, respect,

(57:13):
love and support. It is, in essence, a monument not
only to carry but to all victims of domestic violence,
a physical reminder that such tragedies must not be allowed

(57:34):
to happen again. For Debbie Culberson, the memorial was deeply meaningful,
but also bitter sweet. Quote she doesn't have any closure,
a friend of Debbie's said at the dedication, she doesn't
have anywhere to go. We go to the cemetery. Where

(57:58):
does she go? The memorial became that place, a surrogate
grave where a mother could go to grieve the daughter
that she couldn't bury. On the eve of the dedication,
Mayor Tom White observed Debbi at the sight, tenderly arranging

(58:19):
those engraved stones around the statue. Quote, I would like
to see something found that can give Debbi closure. The
mayor admitted, it would be closure for the town too.
There are a few people out there that maybe don't
believe she's dead. They never found a body. It would

(58:43):
be closure for everyone. The memorial therefore stood as a
symbol for both remembrance and the unresolved nature of the loss. Meanwhile,
Chief Peyton faced his own reckoning, albeit a mild one.

(59:04):
He was charged in state court with multiple felonies, including
obstruction of justice, for his actions during the investigation. In
a controversial plea deal, those were reduced to misdemeanor dereliction
of duty charges, to which Peyton pleaded no contest. He

(59:28):
was convicted and given a slap on the wrist, a
short suspended jail sentence, a fine, and probation. Outraged residents
watched as Peyton was allowed to quietly retire from the
police force. In fact, as Deborah Culberson later testified to Congress,

(59:51):
Peyton was even granted a year's back pay and his
accumulated sick leave roughly eighty six thousand dollars to pad
his pension, essentially rewarding him as he exited in disgrace
to Carrie's family, This was an insult added to injury

(01:00:13):
that the man they believed helped cover up her murder
got to ride off into the sunset with benefits. But
at least he was no longer wearing a badge. If
any good could come out of such a nightmare, it
was that Carrie's case sparked change. Debbie Culberson transformed her

(01:00:38):
grief into activism. She became a leading voice on the
Clinton County Domestic Violence Task Force, which was formed around
the time of Carrie's disappearance. Debbie worked with social workers
and law enforcement on developing better protocols and training for

(01:00:59):
handling domestic violence calls. Quote Debi helped to draw up
the protocol and police training, said one task force member,
underscoring how the woman who had lost her daughter was
determined to save others. This was part of a broader
trend in the late nineteen nineties and early two thousands,

(01:01:23):
communities across America were pushing police and courts to take
domestic violence more seriously. In Ohio and many other states,
laws and policies were strengthened. For example, many jurisdictions adopted
mandatory arrest policies for domestic violence calls and better enforcement

(01:01:48):
of restraining orders. Nationally, experts noted huge changes in criminal
justice procedures for domestic violence during that era, though Carrie's
case showed how those changes hadn't permeated everywhere. The lawsuit
the Culbersons brought was one of several groundbreaking cases seeking

(01:02:13):
to hold law enforcement accountable for failing victims of abuse.
The message was clear, ignoring domestic violence has consequences and
police have a duty to protect the vulnerable, not to
look the other way. The legal precedent set by Carrie's

(01:02:37):
case also had a profound implication in criminal law. It
proved that a no body homicide case could succeed. Historically,
prosecutors were wary of bringing murder charges without a corpse,
subscribing to the old adage no body, no murder. But

(01:03:01):
Kerrey's trial became a textbook example that if the circumstantial
evidence is strong enough, a jury can be convinced beyond
a reasonable doubt of murder even without physical remains. The
conviction of Vincent Dowan in nineteen ninety seven, joined a

(01:03:23):
growing list of cases that emboldened prosecutors nationwide. It demonstrated
that advances in forensic science, eyewitness testimony, and defendant behavior
analysis could together establish the corpus delicti, or proof of

(01:03:43):
a crime without the victim's body. This case has since
been cited in law enforcement trainings and by other prosecutors
to justify pursuing charges in similar heartbreaking scenario where a
body is missing but evidence of foul play is overwhelming.

(01:04:14):
Ohio in particular, took note the successful prosecution signaled to
would be killers that they cannot count on a missing
body to escape justice. As one legal commentator put it, quote,
the body and the questions surrounding Carrie's murder have yet

(01:04:38):
to be laid to rest. But even so, the courts
delivered justice to Carrie's killer. Ohio thus joined the ranks
of jurisdictions proving that no body is no barrier to conviction. Yet,
for all these legal and so social impacts, the personal

(01:05:02):
fallout for Carrie's loved ones was immeasurable. They had won
some justice, yes, but the emptiness of loss remained. Carrie's father, Roger,
and sister Christina had to somehow continue living, carrying the
memory of a daughter and sister who never got to

(01:05:26):
fulfill her dreams. Debbie Culberson, in addition to championing domestic
violence reform, carried the torch for keeping Carrie's memory alive.
In every interview, every vigil, every birthday that passed, she

(01:05:48):
reminded the world that her daughter was more than just
a crime victim. She was a beloved young woman who
deserved to be found and laid to rest. Debbie would
attend support groups for families of the missing and speak
out for legislation to aid in searching for unidentified remains.

(01:06:14):
The Culberson families fight became not only about how Carrie died,
but also where she was. Where is Carrie Culberson? That
question has haunted everyone involved in this case since day one.

(01:06:35):
Carrie's body has never been found, and neither has her
Red Honda CRX. The search for both became one of
the most extensive and frustrating quests in Ohio history, full
of false leads, fruitless digs, and whispered rumors that only

(01:06:58):
compounded the family's anguish. In the immediate aftermath of Vincent
Dowan's conviction. Authorities hoped that one of the co conspirators,
perhaps Tracy Baker, might reveal the body's location in exchange
for leniency, but no such luck. Tracy, convicted of helping

(01:07:24):
dispose of evidence, kept his silence, serving his prison term
without ever giving up the secret of what they did
with Carrie after that bloody night. Vincent Dowan, for his part,
invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during the trial on any

(01:07:45):
questions about the whereabouts of Carrie's remains, and he has
steadfastly refused to confess or cooperate in any recovery effort
in all the years since. Without the perpetrator's cooperation, the
task fell to law enforcement and Carrie's family to scour

(01:08:10):
the region for any trace of her. The initial focal
point was, of course, the Dowan family pond, which had
yielded only footprints. Divers and search teams combed it again
to no avail. Investigators also searched the surrounding property. They

(01:08:33):
looked in wells, ditches, woodlands, and junked cars on the
Doan and Baker properties. There was a nagging fear that
perhaps Carrie's body had been put through a car crusher
or burned in a secret makeshift grave, eliminating obvious evidence.

(01:08:56):
The lack of blood traces in Vincent's house, it was
surprisingly clean when police first searched it days later, suggested
the crime might have occurred outside, lending credence to the
theory of the pond or elsewhere as the primary scene.

(01:09:18):
But it also meant there were no forensic breadcrumbs to follow.
As weeks turned to months, leeds grew scarce. Carrie's disappearance
took on an almost urban legend quality. In Blanchester. Children
on school buses would pass by the junkyard and whisper

(01:09:42):
about that lion rumor, an outrageous tale that Carrie's body
had been thrown to an exotic pet lion supposedly kept
on the property. Investigators never found any evidence of such
a creature. It seemed to be the stuff of small
town myth, a manifestation of the community's darkest fears. Other

(01:10:07):
rumors suggested her car had been compacted, or that she
was buried under a concrete slab somewhere. Each new tip
that came in was like a tantalizing spark of hope
for Debbie and her search volunteers, but so many led

(01:10:28):
to dead ends. Nonetheless, Debbie Culberson never stopped searching. She
organized highly publicized searches periodically, sometimes enlisting volunteers by the dozens.
They trudged through fields and forests, turning over tire dumps,

(01:10:49):
and peering into old wells. With each search that ended
in frustration, Debbie's resolve only grew. Quote, we have been
cheated out of a proper grave, a proper funeral, all
the things people need to grieve, she said, articulating the

(01:11:11):
cruel limbo in which her family was stuck. Indeed, not
knowing where your loved one's body lies is its own
special kind of torment. It means no closure, no final
good bye. One of the most dramatic search efforts came

(01:11:32):
in spring of two thousand and four, nearly eight years
after Carrie vanished. Investigators got a tip pointing to a
remote barn on a farm property in Brown County, a
county adjacent to Clinton. A man named Jared Messer, who

(01:11:53):
had once lived at that property and had ties to
criminal elements, was mentioned. Acting on this lead, authorities deployed
cadaver dogs to the barn, and one dog signaled positively
on the concrete floor, Excitement and dread spiked. Could this

(01:12:26):
finally be it? The Clinton, Brown and Claremont County Sheriff's offices,
along with the FBI and Ohio state authorities, swarmed the
site with backos and forensic experts. On April thirtieth, two
thousand and four, crews began the arduous task of breaking

(01:12:50):
up the barn's concrete slab and digging beneath it. Debbie
Culberson got a phone call that day while she was
literally preparing the memorial dedication ceremony for Carrie. She dropped
everything and raced to the scene. For the next thirteen

(01:13:12):
days through Mother's Day, Debbie and Christina Culberson camped out
at the sight, standing vigil from morning till night. As
investigators excavated the barn inch by inch, hope hung in
the air. The media reported on the dig constantly. Quote,

(01:13:37):
I'm just doing what I do best, just waiting, Debbie
said as she stood in the rain watching heavy machinery
claw at the earth. If it turns out to be Carrie,
then that's what we want. But if it isn't, we'll
wait some more. Those words appearized Debbie's endurance, an endless

(01:14:04):
patient weight for the truth. When the Brown County Barn
dig finally concluded, the result was another heartbreaking disappointment. They
found nothing related to carry, no remains, no scraps of clothing,

(01:14:25):
no car parts. The tip had been well intentioned, but
ultimately false, or worse, perhaps even a cruel prank or
a jailhouse rumor with no basis. The investigators packed up
their gear and Debbie went home with empty hands yet again.

(01:14:51):
Quote the feelings are just as strong as they were
eight years ago, she reflected, emotional exhaustion in her voice.
Over the years, authorities have chased down other leads. At times,
divers have searched nearby lakes and rivers, and the FBI

(01:15:14):
reportedly checked out auto salvage yards for any sign of
Carrie's Honda. Psychics reached out to the family with visions,
none that led anywhere. Verifiable cadaver dogs have been taken
out to various points of interest multiple times, a testament

(01:15:35):
to law enforcements continued efforts. Anonymous letters or deathbed confessions
have surfaced, occasionally hinting at secret burial sites, but none
have panned out. Even two decades on. Police said they
still receive the occasional tip quote tips still will come in.

(01:16:01):
We still hope to find her, a sheriff's investigator said
in twoenty and sixteen, reaffirming that the case, while cold,
is not closed. The absence of a body has also
had many legal reverberations. For instance, one charge that Tracy

(01:16:23):
Baker initially faced was gross abuse of a corpse. He
was acquitted on that count, not necessarily because he didn't
do it, but because prosecutors had no corpse to prove it.
With that strange quirk underscored a broader issue. Without a body,

(01:16:46):
certain truths remain legally unprovable. It also meant that Carrie
could not be declared legally dead for some time. In
nineteen ninety eight, about two years after she disappeared, a
court declared Carrie Anne Culberson legally deceased, allowing her family

(01:17:11):
to obtain a death certificate. But for Debbie and her
loved ones, a piece of paper could never substitute for
physical closure. The community tried to help the Culberson's cope
with that lack of closure in any way they could.

(01:17:32):
We've seen how the memorial gives them a place to
focus their grief on milestones. Such as Carrie's birthday January
thirty first, or the anniversary of her disappearance. Friends still
gather sometimes at the memorial rock or at the Culberson
home to pray and remember carry. They share stories about

(01:17:58):
her laughter, her athletic exploits, and her sense of humor.
They imagine what she would be like if she were here,
approaching the age of fifty quote. I wonder how many
kids she might have, where she might be in her life,
what she might look like now, mused her close friend Jamie,

(01:18:24):
aching with the knowledge that those possibilities were stolen away
for the people who loved her. Carrie is frozen in
time at twenty two, forever young, forever out of reach.
One particularly poignant symbol of hope that endures in Blanchester

(01:18:48):
is found in the lobby of the police station. There,
a plaque with Carrie's picture hangs on the wall, with
a promise implicit in its presence it will remain until
Carrie is found. Her youthful face smiles out at the

(01:19:10):
officers each day, silently urging them not to forget. It's
as if Carrie herself is waiting there, asking for the
truth to finally be uncovered. The plaque's very existence acknowledges

(01:19:30):
a harsh reality that her body and the full story
of her death are still missing, while also serving as
a constant goad to those in power do not give
up until she is home. The lack of a body

(01:19:52):
has in some ways kept the mystery alive in the
public imagination. Over the year years, Carrie's story has been
featured on numerous true crime television programs and podcasts like this,
often under titles like Where Is Carrie or no Body,

(01:20:14):
No Justice. But unlike some other unsolved mysteries, in Carrie's case,
justice was partially achieved, her killer sits in prison, Yet
the mystery persists. A case that is at once resolved

(01:20:34):
and unresolved. Solved in the courtroom, but unsolved in the
physical sense. This duality is haunting. There is no grave
for family and friends to visit, no way to ensure
Carrie's remains are treated with dignity and respect. Debbie once

(01:20:57):
candidly expressed her anguish quote, I have no place to
go to talk to Carrie. I don't know if she's
laying in a field or under concrete or in water.
I just want to bring her home and lay her
to rest. In those words lies the simple, heart breaking

(01:21:22):
wish that has fueled the Culbersins for decades to find
Carrie and to finally say goodbye. As of today, nearly

(01:21:44):
twenty nine years have passed since that fateful August night.
It is now a given that Vincent Dowan will spend
the rest of his life in prison. Barring some unforeseen
legal reversal. He is incarcerated at an Ohio State penitentiary,

(01:22:05):
serving a life sentence with no chance of parole. Over
the years, Dowan exhausted his appeals, State courts upheld his conviction,
and federal courts denied his petitions. Outside of a miraculous
confession or new evidence surfacing, Dowan's case is closed in

(01:22:31):
the criminal justice system. In prison, he has few headlines
one bizarre footnote. In two thousand and fifteen, Dowan was
bitten by a police dog during a disturbance at the prison,
and later won a seven thousand, five hundred dollars settlement
for his injuries, a grimly ironic epilogue, as some noted,

(01:22:55):
for a man who caused so much injury to others.
Through it all, Vincent Dowan insists he is innocent. He
has never wavered from that stance. For many, his protestations
ring hollow against the massive evidence of his guilt. To

(01:23:18):
this day, he has offered no apology, no admission, and
no information to help locate Carrie. Tracy Baker, Vincent's half brother,
who helped him that night, served his sentence for obstruction
and was released in two thousand and five. He returned

(01:23:39):
to society and by most accounts, has kept a low profile.
Lawrence Baker, Vincent's father, lived out the remainder of his
life under a cloud of suspicion by some, though he
was acquitted in court. Chief Richard Peyton fad from the

(01:24:00):
public eye after his retirement, his name now synonymous, at
least in Blanchester with a cautionary tale of how not
to handle a missing person's case in Blanchester. Carrie's absence
is still felt. She would be forty nine years old now,

(01:24:23):
a fact that astonishes her childhood friends, who still picture
the vivacious twenty two year old with big quote nineties
hair and a radiant smile. Each year, on January thirty first,
Debbie Culberson quietly marks Carrie's birthday. Public reaction to Carrie's

(01:24:44):
story remains strong, in the area. The case is taught
in some police academies as part of domestic violence response
training and investigative procedure. Memorial motorcycle rides and fire ik
runs have been organized by domestic violence awareness groups in

(01:25:05):
her honor. On social media, the Fine Carrie Culberson Facebook
page continues to share memories and updates, ensuring new generations
here her story. Strangers occasionally leave comments of support, and
locals post photos of the memorial statue decorated for the holidays,

(01:25:30):
purple ribbons for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, or flowers on
the anniversary of her disappearance. Crucially, law enforcement has not
forgotten Carrie either. The Clinton County Sheriff's Office retains open
case files on her disappearance. Investigators periodically review the evidence

(01:25:53):
with fresh eyes, hoping new forensic technology or a changed
conscience might crack open the location of her remains. There
have been recent leads, even decades later. In twenty nineteen,
Deborah Culberson mentioned that letters had been discovered in prisons

(01:26:15):
that potentially related to Carrie's case. Those letters were being
followed up by law enforcement. Debbie didn't divulge details publicly,
but she said quote The reason I have hope is
because there are so many law enforcement officials who have
so much invested in Carrie's case that they won't give

(01:26:38):
up even now. Officers who were just rookies back in
nineteen ninety six have since risen to senior positions and
carry forward the determination to bring Carrie home as long
as somebody is willing to dig, search, or listen to

(01:26:59):
a tip. Hope remains the case's broader legacy in Ohio's
domestic violence law reforms is also notable today. The tragedy
of Carrie Culberson became a rallying point for advocates. In
the late nineties, Ohio implemented more robust protective order enforcement

(01:27:24):
and improved how victims can get help. By the two thousands,
thanks in part to awareness raised by cases like Carrie's,
domestic violence training for police became more standardized across the state.
Ohio also saw the creation of programs to confiscate firearms

(01:27:45):
from convicted abusers and better cross agency communication when someone
with a known violent history like Dowan is involved. While
no legislation features Carrie's name, her case is frequently cited
in Ohio Domestic Violence Task Force reports as an example

(01:28:06):
of why early intervention and zero tolerance policies are so critical. Essentially,
Carrie Culberson did not die in Vain. Her story spurred
changes that have likely saved other lives, as every officer
in that region now knows to take domestic violence calls

(01:28:29):
seriously and to secure potential crime scenes diligently, no matter
who the suspect may be. In the community of Blanchester,
time has a way of moving forward, but reminders of
Carrie's life and loss are ever present. On a corner

(01:28:51):
of the Culberson family's property, a tree that Carrie planted
as a little girl stands tall. The police station lobby
still bears that plaque of Carrie, a silent exhortation to
never stop looking. And of course, the memorial sculpture in
front of the municipal building stands as a permanent testament.

(01:29:16):
Town residents drive by it on their daily commutes, some
perhaps now too young to recall nineteen ninety six, but
their parents will tell them of the beautiful cheerleader who
once graced these streets and the tragedy that befell her.

(01:29:37):
Carrie's memory is woven into Blanchester's identity, a caution and
a call for compassion. If you visit the memorial to day,
you might see fresh flowers laid at the base of

(01:29:58):
the statue. Perhaps they were left by Debbie, who often
stops by, perhaps by a friend or even a compassionate
stranger moved by Carrie's story. The bronze woman gazes out
with a patient, hopeful expression at her feet. The stone,

(01:30:22):
carved with the word hope catches the morning light. It's
a hope that has been tested but not extinguished, hope
that someday someone will come forward, or some clue will
surface and carry can finally be found. Until that day,

(01:30:45):
Carrie Culberson's case remains open in the only way that
truly matters, open in the hearts of those who seek
justice and closure for her. They will not rest until
they bring Carrie home. Terrifying and True is narrated by

(01:31:10):
Enrique Kuto. It's executive produced by Rob Fields and bobble
Toopia dot com and produced by Dan Wilder, with original
theme music by Ray Mattis. If you have a story
you think we should cover on Terrifying and True, send
us an email at Weekly Spooky at gmail dot com,
and if you want to support us for as little
as one dollar a month. Go to Weeklyspooky dot com

(01:31:32):
slash join. Your support for as little as one dollar
a month keeps the show going. And speaking of I
want to say an extra special thank you to our
Patreon podcast boosters, folks who pay a little bit more
to hear their name at the end of the show.
And they are Kate and Lulu, Jessica Fuller, Johnny Nix,
Jenny Green, Amber Hansford, Brent McCullough, Karen we Met, Jack Kerr,
and Craig Cohen. Thank you all so much and thank

(01:31:54):
you for listening. We'll see you all right here next
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Terrifying & True | The Disappearance of Carrie Culberson – Ohio’s Infamous No-Body Murder Case

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Terrifying & True | The Disappearance of Carrie Culberson – Ohio’s Infamous No-Body Murder Case