The Silver Linings Handbook

In April 1996, Dawn Michelle Holt returned to Southern Maryland after spending a few weeks with her sister in Florida. She called her husband from a hotel in Waldorf, Maryland, to let her husband know that she was coming to see her 2-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. She has not been seen since. The nearly 3-decade investigation has offered many sorted clues, but one question remains: What hap...

Claire St. Amant rose to the top of the true crime journalism world as a producer for 48 Hours, contributor to 60 Minutes , covering some of the biggest cases and bringing to life the story of Samuel Little, America's perhaps least known and most prolific serial killer. Claire's work trying to break through the typical true crime model, however, left her jaded and she joins me to discuss this, her...

When Dione Thomas died in a Gallup, New Mexico hotel room, it was ruled a homicide. Deep into the investigation, the family discovered it had been reclassified as an undetermined death. Similar to the family of Ellen Greenberg in Pennsylvania, her family is pushing for an independent forensic pathologist to review the case and for the death to be once again classified as a homicide. But, unlike th...

In many ways, the death of Dione Thomas is the Indigenous Ellen Greenberg case. Christine Means and Karen Watson have spent years questioning the circumstances surrounding their sister Dione's death. At first, the police in Gallup, New Mexico, said it was a murder and they had a suspect. Years later, the family found out that the medical examiner classified what appeared to be a brutal beating as...

I continue the second and final part of my interview with journalist Billy Jensen. Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad was one of the top true crime podcasts before it was rocked by a scandal. In this episode, we dive into the scandal but also talk about crime, victims, addiction and recovery, the struggles of journalism and our concerns about men's mental health. Investigative journalist Billy J...

I want to share some listener updates for the summer - living my life, some work we are doing related to some cases and just some cool things I love about and will be doing with our listeners. Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com Check out the Silver Linings Handbook website at: https://silverliningshandbook.com/ Check out our Patreon to support the show at: https://www.patreon.com/the...

Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad was one of the top true crime podcasts. Investigative journalist Billy Jensen and investigator Paul Holes, both known for work related to the Golden State Killer case, co-hosted the podcast that topped the charts since 2019. At the 2022 CrimeCon convention for true crime enthusiasts in Las Vegas, Jensen was a headline speaker on a panel on the Long Island Seria...

I continue my conversation with tribal Judge Victorio Shaw. Humbolt County, on the northern California coast, is known as the place where the name Bigfoot originated and is the home of Murder Mountain , which took its name from serial killers who fled here. The 2018 documentary by the same name explores how Humbolt is the county in the United States with the highest rate of missing persons. But it...

Humbolt County, on the northern California coast, is known as the place where the name Bigfoot originated and is the home of Murder Mountain , which took its name from serial killers who fled here. The 2018 documentary by the same name explores how Humbolt is the county in the United States with the highest rate of missing persons. But it does not touch on how many of those people are Indigenous....

This is a re-release of a September 26, 2023, episode. In this episode, Jayson, Dani Brillhart and Colton Jones, of the band NI/Co, discuss what it's like to break into the music industry while remaining authentic, sending a message of love from music while nurturing their own love and managing racism as an interracial couple in the public eye. We also get to listen to their powerful music. See Pr...

Rebecca Harbowy went to get help at a British Columbia hospital with people who loved her. Hours later, she disappeared in a mystery that is still unsolved. In the second part of my conversation with Rebecca's mom, Debbie, we talk about her search for Rebecca and her hope to improve the systems that failed her. Listen to part one with Debbie: https://silverliningshandbook.com/2025/05/02/142-the-di...

The day of November 23, 2023, was a difficult one for 36-year-old Rebecca Harbowy. She had just committed to getting clean from an opioid addiction and was staying with her parents at their home in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. When she found herself markedly disoriented, Rebecca asked if her mom could take her to the hospital. Several hours later, despite assurances Rebecca would not be released...

I continue my conversation with Donna Hall, who grew up in Philadelphia crime family. We continue to discuss her family, the cases they were involved in and how starting her podcast to tell their story has given her a voice and begun the process of her healing. To check out The Hall Closet podcast: https://thehallclosetpodcast.com/ Contact me at silverliningshandbookpod@gmail.com Check out the Sil...

Donna Jean Hall grew up in a Philadelphia-area crime family. It was not like being Meadow or A.J. from the Sopranos, but there were some parallels. She did not even realize that the crimes and abuse in her family were out of the normal until one day when her best friends’ family barred them from seeing each other. Along the way, Donna’s stepfather would be exposed as a Philadelphia police informan...

Captain Joe Woyjeck, a Los Angeles firefighter, lost his son, Kevin, in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire. Kevin was one of the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of wildland firefighters within the Prescott, Arizona Fire Department killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire. Monte Fronk, another emergency responder, lost his daughter, Nada, to a domestic violence murder in St. Paul, Minnesota, in...

I continue my conversation with Gilbert King, the host of Bone Valley , on the relationship that's developed between Jeremy Scott, the man who says he killed Michelle Schofield, and Leo Schofield, who was convicted of her murder. In Part 2 of this conversation, we discuss the evidence against Jeremy, his confession to another crime that could result in a death sentence, Leo's friends who were also...

One man was freed from prison for a murder he says he did not commit. Another man who will never get out is admitting to that murder, but authorities don't believe him. Gilbert King, the host of the hit podcast  Bone Valley , joins me to discuss Season 2 and the relationship between Leo Schofield Jr., who was accused of killing his wife Michelle, and Jeremy Scott, the man who said he killed h...

Damian Bloss grew up in a rural farm community in Maryland dreaming about becoming a baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles. But life took a different turn. He never viewed himself as an addict, but, now, he says he was. After 20 years of active addiction and trying to get sober on his own, Damian realized that he had no one to hold him accountable and he was the least suited for the job. Damie...

This is the re-release of an episode from June 2 2024. In Part 2, Allison Dickson and I continue the conversation about the 1975 disappearances of two sisters, Katherine and Sheila Lyon. We follow the cold case detectives as they discover witnesses, suspects and forensic evidence that becomes key to cracking one aspect of the case. We explore and the bizarre culture that surrounded this main suspe...

This is the re-release of an episode from May 30, 2024. Allison Dickson and I discuss the 1975 disappearances of two sisters, Katherine and Sheila Lyon. The girls vanished from a mall in Wheaton, Maryland. Witnesses reported seeing a strange man with a tape recorder, but after a massive search, this case, that transformed the Washington, DC area, went cold. That was until 2011, when Montgomery Cou...

Tammy Cox grew up in a deeply religious home, but one that was also mired in domestic violence and control. Now, a trauma specialist and coach, joins me to talk about healing from religious trauma, being able to reclaim your spirituality and worldview using vulnerability to heal and how to have meaningful and positive relationships after you've walked through something like this. Contact me at sil...

The growing popularity of social media has provided a means for people to reach large, global audiences, and Internet celebrities have taken over Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The grassroots movement was once seen as a way to empower people to get around gatekeepers but now it has come under criticism for its impact on people. Giovanna Silvestre is a social media influencer, has her own...

Join me as I continue my conversation with Jennifer Santanello, whose daughter, 20-year-old Layla Santanello went missing in Kingsport, Tennesse on June 26, 2023. As the investigation moves at breakneck speed, rabbit holes and clues begin to emerge, including a bizarre string of messages asking for money for Layla's safe return. Listen to Part 1 at: 132. The Disappearance of Layla Santanello and I...

The day of Monday, June 26, 2023, seemed to be a confusing one for Layla Santanello. After an argument with her boyfriend's family, she was staying at the Americourt Extended Stay Hotel in Kingsport, Tennessee, with a friend. Her now thin frame, her bleached blonde hair, her wry smile and a long-sleeved shirt with "FU" on it that captured her spunk, were all in the last known image of her, caught...

The shoe goes on the other foot in this episode where I am interviewed by A.J. Daulerio, the editor of The Small Bow and former of editor of Gawker . We talk addiction, recovery, scandal, getting over yourself, getting the help you need and helping others. We talk the tools - among them, the little bows and arrows -- that make all the difference in living a better life. To check out The Small Bow...