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AUGUSTA, ME 1976: The murder of 70-year old Augusta resident Blanche Kimball remained a cold case for decades until a new tip, advancements in DNA technology, and a clever idea brought all the loose ends together.

Missing Kim, a Dark Downeast mini-documentary is out now at missingkim.com. If you have information that could help in the investigation, please contact Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit South at (207) 624-7076 or https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/about/report-crime/major-crimes-unit-south (leave an anonymous tip). Dark Downeast will return with regular full-length episodes on Monday, May 16, 2022.

The fire horn rang out in Ossipee, New Hampshire around 10 p.m. on September 28, 1916. The blaze at Frederick and Florence Small's cottage on the lake burned fast, even, and hot. The fire department could do nothing to save the structure or anyone who might remain inside. Frederick was out of town, seen leaving on a train towards Boston that afternoon, but Florence was unaccounted for. It was a suspicious fire that left a homicide case in its smoldering rubble. Frederick Small was arrested and charged with his wife's murder, but how could he pull off the crime from an entirely different state? Janice Petrie, author of https://amzn.to/37SXWXC (Perfection To A Fault: A Small Murder in Ossipee, New Hampshire, 1916) joins me to explore the case of Florence Aileen Curry Small.

When Albert Flick was released from his first prison sentence for killing his wife, he restarted his pattern of threatening and victimizing women. But he’d age out of it, wouldn’t he? Statistics said so. His drooping, wrinkled face and frail body did not look like that of a brazen killer. He’d be in his mid-70s by the time he was free again, surely the threat he posed to society would fade. Sadly, that would not be the case. The stories of these three women, and the unnamed women also victimized by the same man, will have you asking what is justice really? Does it and can it exist when a convicted killer is afforded more mercy than those whose lives he threatened and ended?

NEWPORT, MAINE 1975: Ellen Choate was ready to start her new job. So ready, that she hopped a train from Philadelphia to Boston just hours after she graduated to get a jump start on her journey to Maine.  It was midnight when Ellen took her seat on that train heading north, hoping that once in Massachusetts, she’d find a ride to Bangor, where her house, car, and new role as a Montessori teacher was waiting for her. That was June 1, 1975. The last time anyone saw Ellen Choate alive. If you have any information about the death of Ellen Choate, please contact Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North at (207) 973-3750 or leave https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/about/report-crime/major-crimes-unit-north (an anonymous tip here).

It was just before 4 a.m. on June 20, 1975 in Newport, Maine. The sky was just warming with hints of dawn and the air was quiet save for the buzz of the ice cooler and Coca Cola vending machine sitting in the dim glow of the gas station lights. The fishermen waiting in their car for gasoline noticed a light on inside McNally’s Texaco, but no one came to greet them outside at the pump. Anxious to get their day started, the driver stepped out of the car to see what was the hold up. As he opened the door to the station, the unsuspecting fisherman found 35-year old Robert McKee lying on the floor in a pool of blood. His murder remains unsolved to this day.

It was described as one of Vermont’s most frustrating cold cases. A dedicated mother and beloved school teacher disappeared in November of 1979, with nothing but a smashed up vehicle and a strange hand-written note left behind. When her ex-boyfriend disappeared a month later, too, authorities had two people to track down – one they presumed to be dead, and the other they suspected of causing her death. The search for the suspect would become a cross-country event, tracking aliases and addresses out west until finally, a dedicated detective and a new State’s Attorney saw eye to eye on what needed to be done in the case, what needed to be done for Judith Leo-Coneys. If you haven’t listened to the first episode in this two part series, start there, with https://www.darkdowneast.com/episodes/judithleoconeys1 (The Disappearance of Judith Leo-Coneys).

VERMONT, 1979: When the vehicle of Judith Leo-Coneys turned up at a junkyard in Roxbury, Vermont, it was the first big clue in the disappearance of the beloved school teacher and young mother. The case would spiral into an investigation spanning a decade and stretching across the United States, but before investigators would uncover any answers for Judy, they’d have to find a second missing person. The primary person of interest disappeared, too. This is Part 1 of Judith Leo-Coneys story. Part 2 is out on Monday, April 4.

Semper Memento. Always Remember. Those words guide the work of the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit. In this special release episode, I peel back the curtain on the Unsolved Homicide Unit and reveal what goes into re-examining and investigating long standing homicide cases in the state of Maine and how a team of experts collaborates in pursuit of one common goal – to find answers. Each of the individuals you’re about to meet would agree with me here: The most important story to tell is the one about the victim so that they are never forgotten and their legacy is honored, even and especially if their story doesn’t have an ending yet. The Unsolved Homicide Unit becomes part of those stories, assembling each piece of a nebulous puzzle so that hopefully, one day, they can give the victims and their families the ending they deserve. As someone who is deeply invested and interested in the work that it takes to solve a cold case murder, and as a podcaster who has spoken their names and shared the work they’ve done on the cases I cover, it is an honor to introduce you to members of the Maine Unsolved Homicide Unit – Commanding Officer Jeff Love, Assistant Attorney General Lara Nomani, Forensic Chemist Alison Gingras, Victim Witness Advocate Renee Fournier, and Investigator Jay Pelletier. Cases Referenced in this Episode https://www.darkdowneast.com/episodes/dortheaburke (Justice for Dorthea Burke: What Finally Solved Her Case) https://www.darkdowneast.com/episodes/christopherroof (Identified: Stacyville John Doe) https://www.darkdowneast.com/episodes/janetbrochu (A Killer Connection: The Janet Brochu Cold Case)

STOCKTON SPRINGS, 1984: Nearly four decades is a long time to wait for justice. In the case of Dorthea "Dot" Burke, time proved to be exactly what detectives needed to secure that justice, bringing key witnesses forward to tell their story. You might assume DNA is the key to closing out cold cases, but more often than not, it’s all about getting people talking.  It was a 36-year long investigation into Dot’s death. I'll walk you through it. In collaboration with the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit and with the consent of the immediate family of Dorthea “Dot” Burke, this is her story on Dark Downeast.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1978: When State Police investigators started digging in March of 1988, it had been 10 years since anyone had seen Russell Bean. An investigation followed his disappearance, but foul play wasn’t suspected. Not until a deathbed confession and shocking accusation sent investigators to the site of an old pig pen on the property of Marlow, New Hampshire’s Police Chief, Robert Chambers Sr. https://business.nh.gov/ColdCaseTips/Tip.aspx (New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Tip Form) Sources are listed at darkdowneast.com.

In April 1979, the lives of two teenagers from two very different parts of the country were inextricably linked by murder. In Brewer, Maine, 17-year old Amy Banks awoke one night to learn that her father, Dr. Ronald Banks, had been murdered in New Orleans, Louisiana. One month later, authorities in New Orleans arrested 16-year old Isaac Knapper and charged him with the killing of Amy’s father. But Isaac didn’t commit the murder. This is the story of a wrongful conviction, a young Black man railroaded by the justice system, and evidence withheld at trial that would’ve saved him from a life sentence behind bars in the nation’s bloodiest prison.  This is the case of Dr. Ronald Banks, told by his daughter Amy Banks, and Isaac Knapper, the man once charged and convicted of his murder. https://bookshop.org/books/fighting-time/9781646031672 (Read Fighting Time by Amy Banks and Isaac Knapper) Sources are listed at darkdowneast.com

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 1993: After more than two decades of searching for answers in the unsolved homicide of 20-year old Sophie Sergie, DNA evidence led detectives from Alaska to the doorstep of Steven Downs in Auburn, Maine. On Thursday, February 10, 2022, the jury found Steven Downs guilty on the charges of murder and sexual assault. I covered Sophie Sergie’s case in two parts on Dark Downeast. https://www.darkdowneast.com/episodes/sophiesergie (Sophie Sergie: Part 1) https://www.darkdowneast.com/episodes/sophiesergie2 (Sophie Sergie: Part 2) This special release episode contains updates and notable moments from the conclusion of the trial proceedings and a look at what’s next for the case of Sophie Sergie.  Sources are listed at darkdowneast.com.

MASARDIS, MAINE 1977: The impact that murder has on a family and a community is profound and far-reaching. When a murder goes unsolved, grief is partnered with lasting fear. In a small town like Masardis, Maine, the shock that came after the killing of Lila Drew still reverberates these 45 years later. Who chose to end the life of a 78-year old woman for seemingly no reason? How could this person pass through a town as small as Masardis unnoticed and carry out a brutal attack without detection? Or maybe they weren’t passing through. Maybe Lila Drew’s killer was one of their own. Lila Drew’s unsolved homicide will reach a somber 45 year anniversary this March of 2022. The details are limited, but it’s all the more reason to say her name and share her story right now. Sources are listed at darkdowneast.com.

LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS 1996: 6-year old Jesus De La Cruz was out playing with a friend on September 28, 1996 when a man approached the two young boys. His friend later told police that Jesus was lured away by that man who promised him a new bike. It was the last time anyone saw Jesus. Despite suspicions surrounding a man in the neighborhood, rumors of drug debt retaliation, accusations cast on the boy’s own mother, and FBI involvement, Jesus’s case remains unsolved.  Some wonder if maybe he could be alive out there somewhere, now a 31-year old man. This is the case of Jesus De La Cruz. Sources are listed at darkdowneast.com.

DEDHAM, MAINE 1983: For nearly three decades, the family of Kitty Collins Wardwell hoped that the whereabouts of their daughter, sister, and mother would be revealed and the secret of what happened to the smart, beautiful Kitty would come out into the light. But they wouldn’t learn the truth about Kitty until someone else passed away 28 years later. You won’t find her name on the Maine State Police Unsolved case list anymore, as cases like Kitty’s are excluded when there is evidence establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that the person responsible is dead, but the death of a key individual is not a true resolution for Kitty Wardwell. Is someone out there, still walking the streets of Maine, holding onto information that could uncover the secret of why Kitty disappeared and the person, or persons, responsible? Send a tip to tips@darkdowneast.com.

RHODE ISLAND, 2006: Was it a seizure or did somebody murder Shawn O'Brien? His daughter, Natalia St. Louis, just wants to know the truth, but the details of that July afternoon in 2006 don’t make any sense. It was labeled a medical call, an apparent seizure, but the autopsy report and blood evidence at the scene point to something much more violent than that. Over 15 years later, Shawn O’Brien’s case is still labeled a suspicious death.  She’s been told to keep quiet, but if she’s not asking questions, chasing down leads, and talking about father’s case, who will? NOTE: At the time of this episode’s original release day in January 2022, no one has been arrested or charged with any crimes as it relates to the suspicious death of Shawn O’Brien. Names mentioned in this episode are in the public record, though no individuals have been publicly named persons of interest or suspects in this case.  If you have any information regarding the death of Shawn O’Brien in July of 2006, please contact Cranston Police Detective Rob Santagata at (401) 942-2211 or text the tip line at (401) 284-9555. For more information and updates in Shawn’s case, visit justiceforshawnobrien.com. Contact information and photos are listed at darkdowneast.com.

26 years is a long time to wait for answers in an unsolved homicide, but in 2019 the family of 20-year old Sophie Sergie finally had a glimmer of hope that closure was possible. Familial DNA evidence led cold case investigators from Alaska all the way to Auburn, Maine and to the doorstep of the man now charged with the murder of Sophie Sergie.  The trial of Steven H. Downs began in January 2022 and continues as we speak. If you haven’t tuned into part I of Sophie Sergie’s story, please pause here and turn back one episode, because in this episode, you’ll hear about the evidence, the admitted mistakes, and the list of alternative suspects that the defense says will change your mind about who committed this violent crime.  At the end of it all, we all just want one thing – Justice for Sophie Sergie and peace for her family.  Sources are listed at darkdowneast.com.

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 1993: Sophie Sergie was a first generation college student from a small village in rural Alaska who set her eyes on building a better future for herself and her family. In April of 1993, someone cut that future short. This case played out on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks over 4000 miles from New England and nearly three decades in the past, but the long arm of justice knows no limits of distance or time. DNA evidence reached across the farthest corners of the United States to implicate the alleged killer of Sophie Sergie. He was working as a nurse in Auburn, Maine.  The 2019 arrest of Steven Downs seemed like the first sign of real closure for Sophie’s family, but as the trial proceedings play out in Alaska Superior Court right now in January of 2022, what seemed like a clear answer on the surface gets more difficult to pin down each day.  This is Part I of Sophie Sergie's story. Part II is out on Monday, January 24, 2022 on Dark Downeast.

WALDOBORO, MAINE 1983: Who killed well-known Waldoboro figure Douglas J. Parent? And why? His case has been on the Maine Unsolved Homicide list for decades, and one rumor about what happened the night of October 2, 1983 has circulated nearly as long. In this special episode of Dark Downeast, you’ll get to know Doug Parent through his own words and voice and we’ll dig into the whispered theory that even some inside the law enforcement community believe could hold pieces of the truth, if only they could prove it. View sources at darkdowneast.com. TAKE ACTION: If you have any information about the murder of Douglas J. Parent, please contact the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit at (207) 624-7143 or https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/about/report-crime/major-crimes-unit-central (submit a tip here).