Dark Downeast

Whenever Denise Lynette Hart was away from her young son, she called home every day, multiple times a day to check on him. But then one January night in 2015 those calls stopped. When Denise's family tried to report her missing, they got the runaround, and no one would know where Denise was until almost a year later when the missing persons case became a homicide investigation.

• If you have any information relating to the disappe...

For months, Frank Bowen's daughters complained of strange noises and odd happenings in their Pepperell, Massachusetts home. Frank was sure it was just their imaginations, until an intruder took the entire family hostage one night in December of 1986. When the suspect was released on bail, he was free to commit even more crimes, eventually escalating to murder.

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/dan...

It’s been more than 45 years since John Donaldson was killed while sitting in his parked car just yards away from the safety of his own home in Harvard, Massachusetts. It took years for investigators to build a case and arrest a suspect, but it would all prove to be a distraction from the truth. Now, Johnny’s siblings are taking up their little brother’s case one last time in hopes of finally uncovering the answers they deserve. 

During the winter of 1941, the death of Philip Wendel Boyce found in a downtown Portland, Maine alleyway left investigators divided by two very different theories: Was it an accident or was it murder? 

Every once in a while, I like to go way, way back and unearth cases that might otherwise be lost with time. Given its age and the circumstances you’re about to hear, it’s unlikely that any investigative resources will be devoted to th...

During a nearly 18-month span beginning the winter of 2003, Audrey Lynn Harris, Christine Dumont, and Stacie Goulet disappeared without a trace from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, leaving their families and investigators searching for answers. It wasn’t until detectives received an anonymous voicemail that the pieces finally came together in what would later be referred to as one of the most horrific homicide cases in the city’s history...

When Shari Lynn Roth left her apartment in North Conway, New Hampshire for a short afternoon hike to one of her favorite spots among the White Mountain National Forest, what should’ve been a peaceful retreat turned into a fateful encounter with a still unknown predator. 

Several theories have been floated since that August afternoon in 1977, but none have proven to be the truth about what happened more than four decades ago. 

• If ...

Sarah Hunter was only 15 minutes late for work when her coworker called police to report her missing, but despite his swift action, Sarah’s case would go cold and stay that way for years. 

Decades later, an individual known to the case from the earliest days of the investigation became a prime suspect and advanced DNA testing even led to an arrest. Yet Sarah’s murder still awaits a conclusion to this day after almost 40 years. 

• I...

When a 15-year-old girl snuck out of her bedroom window one night in May of 1996, it was like she vanished right into thin air with no leads. Years later unsealed court documents revealed that police had a theory and a suspect from the earliest days of the case, but it would take over a decade to build a case strong enough for an arrest. 

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/aprildawnpennington

Dark ...

In a one month span during the winter of 1969, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts was set on edge after two violent attacks on women while they slept in their beds challenged the very sense of safety residents thought they had in their own homes. 

Nearly 50 years later, one of those cases was finally solved, but the second, very similar homicide is still waiting for answers. The case file for the homicide of Ada Bean shows that th...

Since the release of CounterClock Season 1, Delia has received hundreds of requests from families of victims of violent crime. In November 2022, one message in her inbox stood out from the rest. It was from a middle-aged woman asking for Delia's help investigating the mysterious death of her 27-year-old brother from 1991. The message stood out for one big reason. The man's mangled body was found in an all-too familiar place to Deli...

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

When a fire destroyed the home of respected local innkeepers, leaving it in ruins and revealing the horrifying aftermath of a double murder, the close-knit community of Jackson, New Hampshire faced an unthinkable tragedy. As detectives looked into the lives of the victims, they discovered years of conflict caused by the older man their daughter had fallen in love with.

This story begins in New England, but it ends almost 1500 miles ...

When an elderly couple was found murdered inside their Danby, Vermont home in the fall of 1989, it had residents of the small town looking over their shoulders and double-checking their door locks at night. 

State Police identified a suspect early on in the investigation, but the evidence they had against this person was largely circumstantial, and the physical evidence, a single drop of blood, wasn’t enough to point to a suspect. ...

When a 10-year-old girl didn’t come back from a quick trip to the store on a cold January night in 1988, her family and the Pawtucket, Rhode Island community searching for her feared the worst. Then weeks later when her body was found miles away, those fears were confirmed… and the questions just started stacking up.

What happened to Christine Cole? Investigators have considered multiple persons of interest and suspects over the las...

On the night of July 4, 1980, an evening of celebrations in the rural town of Anson, Maine ended in the murder investigation of a young local mother. Tire tracks at the scene raised suspicion and rumor, but despite the evidence and apparent confidence of investigators, years passed without any movement in the case. 

By the time it went to trial, Rita St. Peter’s case would be the longest standing unsolved homicide in the state of Ma...

16-year-old Ashley Turniak died on the side of the highway in Massachusetts during a busy weekday morning commute. Was it a terrible accident or an intentional act? 

Despite the numerous drivers passing by who likely witnessed the final moments of her life, more than 25 years later investigators are still trying to determine what exactly happened to the teenage girl, and who, if anyone, is responsible. 

• If you have information th...
  

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

Who would have the motive to kill a mother and her baby? Despite the suspicion that continues to surround an individual connected to the little boy, police in Stamford, Connecticut are still struggling to build a case against anyone al...

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

• If you have any information about the 1993 disappearance of Ralph “Roby” Robbins, please contact Massachusetts State Police Lt. Ann Marie Robertson at (508) 961-1918.
   

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

The deeper you dig into this unsolved case, the murkier it gets. 

• If you have any information about the unsolved homicide of Amon Jamiel, please contact the Cold Case Rhode Island tip line at ...