Dark Downeast

When a teenager disappeared from Brattleboro, Vermont, hours before the wind, rain, and damaging floods of a major natural disaster devastated the state, it took days before he was finally reported missing and initial search efforts were hindered by ongoing storm recovery. Now as the case approaches another anniversary in 2024, loved ones are still waiting for the information that could lead them...

From the location of her car, to the condition of her body, to the timeline of disappearance until discovery, Krystal Lee Higgins’ sister feels that so much of the case doesn't quite add up to an accidental death. So, we’re peeling back the layers of this case even further with the help of experts.  If you haven’t already, go back and listen to Part 1 of this story. View source material and photos...

It’s been 20 years since 17-year old Krystal Lee Higgins disappeared from her downeast Maine town only to be found dead a week later. Her death was ruled an accident, but her sister has questioned that ruling since day one.  This is Part 1 of Krystal's story. Part 2 will be out next week on Dark Downeast. View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/krystalleehiggins-pt1  ...

During the late 80s and early 90s, multiple women from Hartford, Connecticut were found dead in remote areas of the city and surrounding towns. After identifying a suspect in one of the cases and bringing it all the way to trial, police thought they might have a serial killer on their hands. But all the suspicion in the world was proven false when years later advanced DNA analysis challenged what...

In the last episode of Dark Downeast, you heard the story of Denise Hart and her still unsolved homicide in Vermont. I mentioned in that episode the case of another woman who grew up in the same city and around the same people as Denise. So, that’s the story I’m going to tell you today – the story of a young mother who walked out the door and got into a waiting vehicle with someone she and her fam...

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 inf...

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 t...

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 unco...

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 investiga...

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 h...

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...

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 t...

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: darkdo...

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 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 i...

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...

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 Eng...

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,...

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 o...

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...

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 respons...

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 struggli...

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.   View s...

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 Co...

Nearly four decades after a Connecticut flight attendant and mother disappeared without a trace, investigators don’t seem any closer to solving the mystery. But ask anyone who knows anything about Regina Brown’s life, and they’ll tell you exactly what they believe happened and who they feel is responsible for her disappearance…If only they had the evidence to prove it.  If you have information rel...