Dark Downeast: Maine and New England's True Crime Podcast digs into the decades-old and modern day cases that prickle the history of Vacationland and beyond – the unsolved homicides, undetermined deaths, unexplained disappearances and other dark stories of New England. Investigative journalist and storyteller Kylie Low gets straight to the story with a mix of narrated episodes and documentary style production featuring interviews with surviving family and friends and insight on the investigations from detectives and sources who know these cases best. This is heart-centered, ethical true crime, bringing light to stories you’re not hearing on other podcasts. It is Dark Downeast's mission to honor the legacy of the humans at the heart of each story and bring new attention to the cases still awaiting justice.
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 in an all-too familiar place to Delia. Eastern North Carolina.
Thirty-three years after Douglas Wagg, Jr. turned up on a lone stretch of railroad tracks in the middle of the night in rural Martin County and over a year since Delia took on the case the scope of what was really going on in the area during the 1990's has come into view. Who was Doug? How did he end up so far from home? Who was he last seen with? Was the train really what killed him? Why was his case never investigated?
The journey to find the answers to those questions has revealed a web of small town secrets that feel like fiction, except they're not. Over the course of the Season 6 investigation Delia has interviewed more than 45 people, spoken with convicted murderers in prison, and traced the origins of a disturbing pattern of behavior within local law enforcement that may have resulted in a decades-long cover up of multiple deaths. The investigation into what happened to Doug Wagg appears to be just the tip of a very large, very complicated iceberg that someone has worked hard to keep hidden for more than three decades.
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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 shack, doubt started to poke glaring holes in the case.
If you haven’t already, go back one episode and listen to Part 1 of this series. You’ll want to hear where this case all began in Jackson, New Hampshire.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/malcolmelizabethandpagejenningspart2
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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 England, but it ends almost 1500 miles away in Florida with two more deaths. But did it really end? Doubts lingered among some of the original investigators, casting skepticism over the closure of the case and the true fate of the suspect.
This is part 1 of 2. The Murders of Malcolm, Elizabeth, and Page Jennings, Part 2 will be released on May 9, 2024.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/malcolmelizabethandpagejenningspart1
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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, wasn’t enough to point to a suspect. And so, the double murder sat unsolved for over thirty years until 2020, when the case was reopened with the hope that new forensic DNA analysis could finally shine a light on long-concealed answers.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/georgecatherinepeacock
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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 of interest and suspects over the last 30-plus years and even made an arrest, but the evidence crumbled as allegations of misconduct rose to the surface.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/christinecole
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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 unsolved homicide in the state of Maine. Yet the person believed to be responsible for her violent death had been at the top of the suspect list from the very first day of the investigation.
This story is proof that even decades later, cold cases can be solved.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/ritastpeter
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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 responsible.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/ashleyturniak
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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 struggling to build a case against anyone almost 30 years later.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/rhondacoranjohnson
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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.
View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/ralphrobbins
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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.
View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/amonjamiel
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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.
View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/reginabrown
Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
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