Appalachian Mysteria

Joan Ann Charlton was the first of her family to attend college.  Three weeks into her freshman year at Frostburg State University, she was brutally murdered in the campus arboretum. This episode tracks three generations of college students, from 1980s Frostburg to current-day Morgantown, each story centering around the memory of one 19-year-old woman who seems perpetually on the cusp of being for...

Four big updates from the Mysteria Crew. Sarah & Geoff's book about the WVU Coed Murders (available on Amazon) Kendall's Appalachian Motorcycling Travel Channel (@motoappalachiadiscovery on YouTube) Kromatic Media

This short Christmas special tells the story of a Pennsylvania Santa Claus (and his chauffeur) who definitely ended up on the naughty list in 1983. Taking listeners from the top of the tallest skyscraper in Pittsburgh to a backwoods hangar in West Virginia, this episode throws our own rules to the wind with a solved case, zero interviews, and way too much humor. Sarah & Geoff's book about...

In one month, the killers of Julie Williams, Lollie Winans and at least two victims of the Colonial Parkway murders are identified. Bill Thomas joins us to discuss the details, and why there are still so many questions unanswered. Meanwhile the grave of Harry Spitz, which inexplicably exploded in 1975, has its headstone stolen by thieves. A Morgantown resident and Appalachian Mysteria producer ste...

In the second of this 2-part series, Jack Edward Hawkins is put on trial without physical evidence for three assaults committed by the Sunnyside rapist, but prosecutors refuse to claim he is a suspect in any others.  Neighbors of the Hawkins family come forward to describe their experience with Jack and his children. As Hawkins’ involvement in a 1975 incident comes to light, the Mysteria team lear...

Fifteen years after the events of Season 1 (The WVU Coed Murders), Morgantown women are faced with a new predator: a rapist so meticulous and organized that he vanishes through police checkpoints and neighborhood lockdowns every summer. In the first of this two part series, we speak with two women who met the Sunnyside rapist face-to-face at both ends of his 10-year crime spree. Geoff Fuller (seas...

In the last of this 3-part series, we examine Mabel’s top suspects in the murder of Walter Curnutte. Years later, Tim and Becky discover an entirely new motive connected to a forged document, a federal racketeering case, South American cocaine, and, potentially, the West Virginia mafia. Sarah & Geoff's book about the WVU Coed Murders (available on Amazon) Kendall's Appalachian Motorc...

After Walter Curnutte’s murder, his sister Mabel takes on the case, recording interviews, writing letters to powerful officials, and hiring a private detective. The community’s war on Walter comes to light – from protests to arson to civil disobedience.  We look back at the strange month preceding Walter’s death – including his hiring of Herb Willie, the man tried for his murder. Was Herb a drunke...

This is the beginning of a 3-part story about one square mile of the West Virginia mountains. The story winds its way through a savage war between Indians and settlers, a poor boy adopted into wealth for his ruthlessness, more than one murder trial, the infamous black hand mafia, environmental protests, and international cocaine smuggling. In Part 1, the descendants of West Virginia’s first white...

A WVU alum working for the state prosecutor’s office suddenly finds herself on the scene of a very personal tragedy that could be much more sinister. Much to her dismay, her forensic investigation training is not being employed by authorities in the real world.  Meanwhile, the victim’s sister is conducting her own investigation, releasing all of her findings to the public. Was the death of Amber W...

Arthur's phone is tracked down, and we listen to audio of a Morgantown detective interviewing three students who headed out on the town with Arthur the night he died.  Sarah & Geoff's book about the WVU Coed Murders (available on Amazon) Kendall's Appalachian Motorcycling Travel Channel (@motoappalachiadiscovery on YouTube) Kromatic Media

This two-part special introduces the life and death of Arthur Bagenda, an international student at WVU who drowned in a ditch within sight of the Morgantown Police station.  In this first episode, we visit the Walnut Street bridge, where a long-time local explains her problems with hard drug users at the site of Arthur's death. We review forensic photographs from the scene, hear from Arthur’s...

A child's grave explodes after 63 years underground. As Morgantown police and reporters gather around the coffin, they are shocked to find that his corpse is strangely well-preserved.  Cradle Will Rock is the story of the life, death, and disinterment of four-year-old Harry Spitz and his family, as uncovered by co-producer Jordan Carter. This stand-alone episode has been missing from our podc...

In this episode, we take a step back in time to the week Cathy Thomas and Becky Dowski were murdered in the first of several Colonial Parkway murders.  As the crime scene tape still hangs from Becky Dowski’s doorway at William & Mary College, another headline hits the student paper: Three men are being charged in the campus gang rape of another student.  Our guest for this episode was directly...

As Appalachian Mysteria finished covering the story of Julie and Lollie, author Kathryn Miles completed her own book about the murders. In this episode, Kathryn uses her total access to Dierdre Enright's evidence to bring to light new information — including how we've been wrong about a key piece of evidence. Resources: Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders — Purchas...

Darrell Rice is released from prison, but the publicity of his indictments makes a normal life elusive. The FBI plans a summit to examine other possible murders by Evonitz, but it falls by the wayside.  Two decades later, we give it a shot. Resources:  The Pamela Gould Special — We’re hosting this 24-page special investigation from the Fredericksburg Freelance-Star until it is made available elsew...

Forensic evidence throws the upcoming trial of Darrell Rice into upheaval, and an unexpected conclusion leads to yet another indictment. Several of our guests openly disagree on the final results.  Resources:  Witness Points Out Suspect as Abductor — Washington Post article on the Shomo trial Sarah & Geoff's book about the WVU Coed Murders (available on Amazon) Kendall's Appalachian...

We examine key evidence in the pre-trial hearings of Darrell Rice: jailhouse informants, the audio recording that gave rise to hate crime charges, a shifting timeline, and a phone call that Rice’s defense attorney calls “a bizarre piece of evidence”.  Interviewees:  Jerry (Gerald) Zerkin: One of Rice’s defense attorneys in the double-homicide of Julie & Lollie Sarah & Geoff's book abo...

Kara Robinson makes an escape, putting all the information she memorized to good use. Evonitz goes on the run. Kara talks to us about the complex ethics of telling stories like hers in the true crime genre, and explains what “trauma-informed” media looks like.  Resources and Links:  Escaping Captivity — Oxygen Network documentary made with the involvement of Kara Robinson  Interviewees:  Kara Robi...

The Attorney General of the United States announces the indictment of Darrell Rice. We review the life story of the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Sofia Silva and the Lisk sisters, and interview his final victim about her abduction. Resources and links:  Into the Water — Diane Fanning’s true crime book about the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Sofia Silva and the Lisk sist...

As murders and abductions haunt Lignum, Rt 29, and Shenandoah National Park, three children are taken from their front yards less than 30 miles away.  The girls are the first known victims of a serial killer who will become an important part of our story. Resources and links:  Into the Water — Diane Fanning’s true crime book about the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Sofia Silva and the...

We investigate claims that the Park Service has a history of transferring troubled rangers. An NPS whistleblower explains a coverup culture within the agency, and shares the story of a ranger who investigated both the Shenandoah and Colonial Parkway murders. Resources and Links:  The Case of the Indian Trader — The book in which Paul Berkowitz extensively documents his investigation at Hubbell Tra...

Eight Years Earlier: The Navy undertakes “purges” of lesbians from its ranks. The first of Virginia’s Colonial Parkway murders looks eerily familiar. A southern con-man helps find the killer — and defrauds the victims’ families.  Resources and links:  The Lover’s Lane Murders — Oxygen Network show about the Colonial Parkway murders, for which guest Bill Thomas served as consulting producer.  Mind...

Someone is pulling over dozens of women on a road just 15 miles from Skyline Drive. Alicia Reynolds disappears. At least three bodies turn up in a small hamlet nearby. The Innocence Project fights to free a man convicted of murder. Resources and links:  Rt 29 Stalker Unsolved Mysteries Wiki Twenty Years Later — Article by Scott Shenk on the 20th anniversary of the murder of Alicia Showalter Reynol...

A massive hunt for Julie & Lollie's killer begins. Some demand a hate crime investigation, drawing parallels to the attack of another lesbian couple hiking the Appalachian Trail. A lesbian defense lawyer finds herself arguing for the prosecution. Resources and links:  "Panic Defense" — Podcast episode from Criminal with Phoebe Judge explaining the fascinating history of the gay/...