CRIMEandSTUFF

140. Metal Mayhem and Murder

Posted on March 30, 2023 by maureenmilliken

Norway’s Black Metal music scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s brought together young men who, giving themselves nicknames like Necro Butcher and Hell Hammer, aimed to shock and act out more than make music, But the hijinks gave way to arson, suicide and murder, with the band Mayhem and its pschopathic leader Euronymous at the center of the storm. Rebecca tells the story.

Also, Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the 27-hour audio version of the book “Monster,” by Steve Jackson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:57:20 — 67.2MB)

139. The Killing Bones: When grave looting leads to murder

Posted on March 16, 2023March 16, 2023 by maureenmilliken

The crime of looting indigenous ancestral sites in the U.S. and around the world goes back centuries. Professor Liz makes a special guest appearance to school us on how archeological looting has led to murder in her adopted home state of Oregon.

She also briefly updates the Michael Francke case, and Maureen updates the latest sanctions agains the corrupt Louisville, Kentucky, police department as well as the charges against former British police officer and convicted murderer Wayne Couzens.

Rebecca and Maureen also do a dual NNW review of the documentary “Old Growth Murder.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:44:43 — 61.1MB)

138. New details on the trail to Logan Clegg’s arrest

Posted on February 28, 2023 by maureenmilliken

Episode 133 told part of the story of what led police to arrest Logan Clegg in the April 2022 double murder of Djeswende and Stephen Reid in Concord, New Hampshire. With the release of the 25-page Concord Police Department affidavit filed in support of his arrest, we learn so much more, including stories from people who may have crossed his path at the Broken Ground Trail preserve in the months and weeks before the Reids were killed, the story behind the Burnt Tent Site and what Clegg told Concord police after he was arrested.

Rebecca also gives an NNW review to Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare.” (The audio book)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:46:26 — 62.5MB)

137. The mysterious final ride of Rita Maze

Posted on February 14, 2023 by maureenmilliken

The second-to-the-last time Bob Maze heard from his wife Rita, she was on her way home to their Great Falls, Montana, home from visiting relatves in Helena, 90 minutes away. The last time he heard from her was 10 hours later and she was calling from the trunk of her car after being attacked and abducted. Rita was later found dead in the trunk in Spokane, Washington. The mystery of her three-state odyssey may never be fully understood. Rebecca tells the story.

Maureen takes a look at Netflix The Pez Outlaw in this episode’s NNW.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:41 — 59.5MB)

136. The many victims of Brian Walshe

Posted on January 30, 2023January 31, 2023 by maureenmilliken

You may have heard the Brian Walshe — arrested Jan. 17 on charges her murdered his missing wife, Ana — was once convicted of fraud “for selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings for $80,000.” That’s like saying the Titanic took on a little water. Walshe’s Warhol fraud was a long con that spanned five years, had multiple victims, involved several pieces of art both real and forged, and cost those he ripped off more than half a million dollars. That the FBI knows of. And that’s just part of the story. When Ana Walshe disappeared, Brian Walshe’s house of con and fraud cards had been toppling for years. Think you know the story? Think again.

Also, Rebecca gives an NNW review to the Netflix doc The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker.

Enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:38 — 65.2MB)

135. Arnold Nash and his final escape

Posted on January 16, 2023January 16, 2023 by maureenmilliken

Arnold Nash was a “career criminal.” He was also a career escape artist from the Maine State Prison System. And the funny thing was, he was escaping because he wanted to stay incarcerated. His crimes escalated as his need to be in prison grew, until someone lost a life. Rebecca tells the story.

We also update Episode 24, finally, “the Fitbit murder.” And Maureen gives NNW treatment to the Hulu doc “My Old School.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:52:55 — 68.1MB)

134. Maine 2022 Homicide List: It’s not a drug problem, it’s a life problem

Posted on January 1, 2023January 3, 2023 by maureenmilliken

Thirty people died of homicide in Maine this year (not including the two perpetrators in murder-suicides), the most recent on Christmas Day. That’s the most since 2008, when there were 31.

While the state’s drug problems get a lot of attention — as they should — 2022 Maine homicides show that, as always, nowhere are Mainers in more danger of being killed than in their own home by someone who should love them.

We take a look at the 2022 homicides as they unfolded, from Eva Cox, 58, on Jan. 8 in Lubec, to Makinzee Handrahan, 3, in Edgecomb on Dec. 25.

Rebecca also gives an NNW review to the Amazon series Three Pines.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:16:37 — 83.0MB)

Episode 133: Wendy and Steve Reid cross Logan Clegg’s deadly path

Posted on December 18, 2022 by maureenmilliken

When Djeswende and Stephen Reid were shot while out for a walk in the woods in Concord, New Hampshire, police said the public was not in danger, even though they didn’t know who did it and didn’t have solid leads for weeks. But it turns out the public WAS in danger, from a man whose history of violence and illegal gun possession didn’t stop him from being armed that deadly day.

We take you step by step through what happened before and after the Reids and Logan Clegg met in the woods, and how a six-month investigation, that focused on the smallest of details, led to Clegg’s arrest just hours before he planned to step on a plane to Germany.

Also, Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Apple+ show “Bad Sisters.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:54:13 — 69.0MB)

Episode 132: Azita Jamshab, there’s no insurance against murder

Posted on December 3, 2022December 3, 2022 by maureenmilliken

Azita Jamshab, 29, and newly divorced was ready to move from Maine to Las Vegas and start a new life. But her insurance agent, who was also the beneficiary on her life insurance policy, had a different plan. Rebecca presents.

Maureen updates Episode 72, the Cocoanut Grove fire, and Episode 125, Katahdin Kills and Doesn’t Care, and takes the NNW machete to the Discovery plus documentary “My Name is Bulger.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:18 — 65.9MB)

Episode 131: The serial killer and the Lady in the Dunes

Posted on November 17, 2022 by maureenmilliken

The Lady in the Dunes case — a murdered woman found in the dunes of Cape Cod on July 26, 1974 — may have gone cold shortly after she was found, but the case lived on in New England as an enduring mystery, and then became an internet sensation. When she was finally identified on October 31 as Ruth Marie Terry, whose Tennessee family had been looking for her for nearly 50 years, what came next would be a shocker.

Using newspaper archives, we take a long, deep look at her suspected killer, who may have gotten away with four murders before he married, then killed, Ruth Marie Terry.

Rebecca also gives the NNW review treatment to “Magpie Murders” — the book and the TV show.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:37 — 52.7MB)

Episode 130: Lottery winner Michael Allen’s losing ticket

Posted on November 3, 2022 by maureenmilliken

Michael Allen had been living large in the nine years since 1988, when he’d won $5.8 million in the lottery. The problem was, he didn’t really know who his friends around town in Lewiston, Maine, were. Then one night, two of them lured him to a motel room… he didn’t live to see the morning. Rebecca reports.

We also give the Discover+ show “Real Life Nightmare” the NNW treatment, introducing our new Copaganda category.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:32 — 65.1MB)

Episode 129: The thing about murder in Ireland

Posted on October 17, 2022 by maureenmilliken

When Ashling Murphy was attacked and killed in broad daylight by a stranger on a well-used path in Tullamore, Ireland, shock and anger reverberated across the small country. Her murder renewed vows that attitudes toward women in Ireland had to change.

But where’s the same outcry when women and children are killed by a man who isn’t a stranger? You might well ask Miriam Burns, killed in Killarney in August, or Lisa Cash, 18, and her siblings, twins Chelsea and Christy Crawley, killed in Dublin in September. Or all the other victims of domestic violence in Ireland.

Ireland isn’t that much different that many other countries, with the exception that its homicide rate is very low. But with domestic violence leading to more than half of Ireland’s murders, we look at the disconnect between murders like Murphy’s and the majority of others.

We also have updates on Episode 127, missing Jill Sidebotham and Lydia Hansen; and episode 123, Sophie Sergei’s murder.

And Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix doc “I Killed My Father.”

Thanks for your patience during our absense! Vacation morphed into technial difficulties. We’re glad to be back.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:09:51 — 44.4MB)

We’ll be back after this short break

Posted on September 1, 2022September 1, 2022 by maureenmilliken

Miss us already? We’re taking a short break, but we’ll be back the first week of October with an exciting new episode. Thanks for all the support and thanks for listening. Meanwhile, check out our “More Stuff” page, where we’ve posted some of the video footage we discussed in Episode 128.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16 — 834.8KB)

Episode 128: Burning down ‘hell’

Posted on August 12, 2022 by maureenmilliken

In one week, three arson fires in Lewiston, Maine’s Tree Streets downtown neighborhood made dozens of residents homeless, destroyed millions of dollars worth of property and added pain to the already hardscrabble existence of the state’s poorest inner city. Police were quick to arrest four people in the unrelated fires — including two children — but was there justice? Rebecca explores.

We also update Episode 96: Just who WAS Shaun Harrison; Episodes 77: The police war on Black women and 95: Johnetta Carr justice delayed; and Episode 127: Where are Jill Sidebotham and Lydia Hansen?

And Maureen gives the NNW treatment to a documentary very close to her heart, if not anyone else’s.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:59:55 — 71.4MB)

Episode 127: Where are Jill Sidebotham and Lydia Hansen?

Posted on July 29, 2022 by maureenmilliken

Jill Sidebotham and her daughter, Lydia Hansen, were last seen by their family on June 27 in Springvale, Maine, when they left with Lydia’s father (Jill’s former boyfriend) on what he described as a “camping trip.” The last confirmed sighting was on surveillance camera at the Mexico, Maine, Walmart on July 2. Jill and Lydia were expected home June 30, but no one has heard from them since. Her family and friends are adamant that she would not have taken off without saying anything, and find it unlikely she’d willingly go anywhere with Hansen.

The Sanford Police Department issued an alert seeking their whereabouts on July 3. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has added Lydia to its list.

In this episode, we discuss the search for the two — and Nick Hansen — as well as Hansen’s history of violence.

We also have an update on the arrest of Raymond Lester (Episode 126.2), charged with murder in the death of Nicole Mokeme, as well as an update on what’s been going on with Uber and sexual assult these days (Episode 12).

Rebecca does her NNW recommendation on the books of K.L. Slater.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34:02 — 57.4MB)

Episode 126.2 When will people start caring about Nicole Mokeme’s murder?

Posted on July 20, 2022 by maureenmilliken

In this Maine Mini we discuss the June 18 murder of Nicole Mokeme, who’s life mission was to create safe and powerful places for Maine’s black, brown, indigenous and other marginalized people. Unfortunately, an abusive man and a criminal justice system that let him continue to get away with it made Maine a very unsafe place for her.

Haven’t heard of her? No big surprise. After a brief flurry of attention, despite the fact that the man charged with her murder is still at large, police aren’t talking and the media has moved on.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:40 — 23.9MB)

Episode 126: The many victims of Armando Barron

Posted on July 14, 2022 by maureenmilliken

It’s hard to get past some of the more sensational aspects of the New Hampshire murder of Jonathan Amerault and the horrific abuse of Brittney Barron by Armando Barron, but once you do it’s a textbook case of what can happen when coercive control goes unchecked. Some people may ask why Barron’s wife didn’t do more to stop what happened, but we’ll get into that. And more. Presented by Rebecca.

We also have updates on Ayla Reynolds, Melissa Sousa, Ghislaine Maxwell and more.

And Maureen gives NNW treatment to the Hulu docusaries “Captive Audience.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:37:21 — 59.6MB)

Episode 125: Katahdin kills and doesn’t care

Posted on June 28, 2022June 28, 2022 by maureenmilliken

One of Maine’s greatest assets is Baxter State Park and Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain, is its crown jewel. Some visitors chafe at the rules, but those who don’t pay attention learn the hard way, and sometimes lose their life because of it. Maine’s Wabanaki legend has it that Pamola guards the mountain and rains thunder and danger down on those who dare climb it. We talk about a few, of the many, times Pamola has one.

Another episode with a very special visit from a family member!

And Rebecca gives an NNW review to the audio version of “Then She Was Gone,” by Lisa Jewell.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:59 — 65.5MB)

Episode 124: Jane Shusko, killer arsonist or badly burned?

Posted on June 14, 2022 by maureenmilliken

Rebecca takes on a tragic story from our old hometown, with a very special appearance by our mom!

We also update our most-ever updated episode, Annie Dookhan (Episode 29), the Concord, NH, double-murder of Desjwende and Stephen Reid (Episode 122.2) as well as catch up on a 2020 Maine triple murder (Episode we can’t remember) and give the NNW treatment to Maine Cabin Masters.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:54:54 — 76.2MB)

Episode 123: Sophie Sergie’s long road to justice

Posted on May 26, 2022 by maureenmilliken

Sophie Sergie was killed on April 26, 1993, in the bathroom of a dorm at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The case went cold fast and stayed that way for 26 years until an investigator in Alaska, inspired by the resolution of the Golden State Killer case decided to try something new.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:53 — 70.1MB)

Episode 122.2: Who killed Djeswende and Stephen Reid?

Posted on May 12, 2022 by maureenmilliken

BONUS EPISODE

Djeswende and Stephen Reid were shot to death while on an afternoon walk in the woods near their Concord, New Hampshire, apartment April 18. There was seemingly no motive for the double murder, and police seem baffled. A little more than a week later, Holly Banks and Keith LaBelle, a newly dating couple, were shot to death in Banks’ home, 100 miles to the north, in Gorham, New Hampshire. Police have said little about that case, and no one has yet been charged.

While two couples killed in mysterious circumstances in New Hampshire, which averages 19 homicides a year, may be an anomaly, it’s not unheard of. Will the Reid and Banks-LaBelle killings join the list of four murders of couples in the Granite State over the past 48 years that have yet to be solved? We discuss in this special New Hampshire Mini Episode.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:14 — 19.2MB)

Episode 122: Amity Maine, not too small for triple murder

Posted on May 6, 2022 by maureenmilliken

When Jeff Ryan, his 10-year-old son Jesse and Jeff’s buddy Jason Dehahn are stabbed to death in Amity, Maine, population 218 in June 2010, it’s a classic “it can’t happen here” crime. But it can And it did. Rebecca exlains.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:25:32 — 52.0MB)

Episode 121: Let’s talk about dating app crime

Posted on April 19, 2022April 19, 2022 by maureenmilliken

One angle in the ongoing story of the death of Lauren Smith Fields that hasn’t been looked at is dating app sexual crimes and violence. Lauren met a man on Bumble — and somehow during their first date wound up ingesting a deadly cocktail of drugs. If her date has something to do with her death, it’s part of the ongoing issue of dating app crimes against women that no one wants to address. Or even talk about.

We also NNW the Netflix docu-series “Bad Vegan.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:15:12 — 46.4MB)

Episode 120: Lauren Smith Fields no justice in sight

Posted on April 5, 2022 by maureenmilliken

When Lauren Smith Fields died in her Bridgeport, Connecticut, apartment while on a first date with a man she met on Bumble, and the police didn’t bother to notify her family, that was just the first injustice in a case that has all the worst elements of racism, white male priviledge, police incompetence and more. And the sad thing is, she’s not the only one.

Also, Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the Netflix series Worst Roommate Ever.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16:27 — 46.7MB)

Special Announcement: No, no one was murdered

Posted on March 18, 2022 by maureenmilliken

Something suddenly came up that has delayed Episode 120. No, no one was murdered, but we do have to take a short break. Listen to this special announcement to find out when we may be back and also some things to do so you’re not staring at the wall until we return (hopefully soon).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:19 — 11.3MB)