Crime&Stuff

Lie detectors. The Reid Technique. You’ve been listening to us rant about them for nine years. One case, in 1955, was not only the perfect storm of both, but also launched John Reid’s interrogation method into national use, changing criminal justice methods throughout the U.S. into what is now the norm. But the funny thing about the investigation of Nancy Parker’s 1955 murder and the conviction of her husband, Darrel, is that it’s a huge honking cautionary tale of what can go wrong in an investigation. Maureen presents. Rebecca gives the Netflix documentary “Sunday Best,” an NNW review. So, on our ninth anniversary [!!!] check out a really good shooooeeee… [That’s an Ed Sullivan reference, kids, not misplaced ego]. If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye made beautiful music, but what most people didn’t know until his tragic death at his father’s hand was that his life growing up with Marvin Gaye Sr. had been anything but. What led up to the Gaye’s April 1, 1984, shooting death? Rebecca tells the story. Maureen takes on iconic true crime series “Dateline” in our Negative Nellies Watching review. We also have updates on the Cocoanut Grove fire, one of the stranger cases from our 2023 Maine Homicide List and the ongoing Brian Walshe murder trial. If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.  

The cold case of an arson fire that killed one Portland, Maine, resident in 1994 and injured seven others has finally been solved. The disappearance of a New Sweden, Maine, 13-year-old a year ago hasn’t, despite many red flags. We take a look at these two Maine minis, as well as update what happened to James Dailey, who was scheduled to be executed in Florida when we last talked about him in October 2021, the latest on the Bear Brook cold case (Episode 11), a new look at one of the victims of the Connecticut Valley Serial Killer (Episode 31), and some other recent news on old episode. We also have two NNW reviews! Maureen on the Oxygen series “Accident, Suicide, or Murder,” and Rebecca on the Netflix series, “Dead to Me.” Light the fire and fill up the coffee mug and settle in for cozy night of murder and mayhem. If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Philip Willoughby goes on trial for the Dec. 3, 1983, Maine murder of Paula Roberts, but it doesn’t go smoothly. Not at all. Prosecutors never really let go of Trial 1, and justice takes a hit. But does anyone care? Maureen wraps up the Paula Roberts series. Rebecca does an NNW review of the Netflix doc “The Perfect Neighbor.” If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

When David Willoughby is arrested and charged with the abduction and murder of Paula Roberts, it seemed like the beginning of the end of the case of the 21-year-old store clerk who was taken and killed during an Augusta, Maine, robbery in December 1983. But it was just the beginning. The tangled tale of the pursuit for justice in the Paula Roberts case goes from complicated to impossibly complicated in Part 2 of our three-part series. Maureen presents. Rebecca also gives a Negative Nellies Watching review of the Netflix doc “Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey.” If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

December 3, 1983, was just a normal night in Paula Roberts’ busy life — she was working the evening shift at Summer Haven Ice Cream shop in Augusta, Maine, one of three jobs she worked to help pay her way through college. But that changed fast when two men burst into the shop, hit a customer over the head with a heavy weapon, stole money, lottery tickets and food stamps. When they left minutes later, they took Paula with them. Part 1 of Paula Roberts covers that month between Dec. 3, 1983, when she was abducted, and the shocking events of a month later, followed by an arrest. But that’s only the beginning of the story. Rebecca does a Negative Nellies Watching review of the Netflix series “Adolescence.” If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.  

Tamla Horsford was a little nervous about going to the “girls night” birthday of a friend in Cumming, Georgia, in November 2018. She didn’t know many of the other women, she had a husband and five sons at home to take care of, and on top of it, she was a Black woman in a lily-white town that had a long history of racism. But she was also a fun, friendly person looking for friends. And the party was fun. Until it wasn’t. No one could explain why, the next morning, Tamla was found dead in the back yard. Police quickly determined it was an accident. But a lot of things don’t add up… Rebecca presents. Maureen also gives a Negative Nellies Watching review to the Hulu documentary “Ruby Red-Handed.” If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.  

Michael Gaine was well-known and well-loved in his town of Kenmare, as well as around County Kerry in Ireland. So when the 56-year-old farmer disappeared in the middle of a routine morning in March, the alarm was immediately raised. It wasn’t long before everyone realized it was foul play. Even before the horrific details of what happened to him were learned. What does the American drifter from Maine with the hinky story have to do with it all? Maureen presents. Rebecca also gives a Negative Nellies review of the new Netlfix doc “Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser.”  

We wrap up our summer vacation series with some more of our ever-popular Am I The Asshole advice discussion, as well as Negative Nellies Watching reviews of “Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage and Reckoning” streaming on HBO/MAX and “Ted Bundy: Dialogue with the Devil,” streaming on Hulu. We’ll be back next week with a regular episode! If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

We have a Maine mini on the murder of Sunshine Stewart, who was paddleboarding on a lake in Maine July 2 when she was killed. We have all the up-to-date information! Since it’s July, hot, and busy, who has time for a full-blown story? So we’re also talking about Jaws, 50 years after we saw it in the theater. To cap it off we have an NNW that we’re not revealing the topic of. It’s a surprise! And we also talk about the Netflix doc “Amy Bradley is Missing.” So! A lot of stuff in this episode. If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.  

Fourth of July party poopers, bridesmaids who “ruin” the wedding, unruly kids at the pool and at home, vacation home SNAFUs — and more! Who really IS the asshole? As the weather heats up, so do the offenses. We take you on a a wild ride through our special summer edition of advice, judgment and outrage. Maureen also updates the father-daughter deaths on Katahdin from last episode, which was an update to Episode 125. We also discuss the two competing Titan submersible docs – Netflix’s “Titan: The Oceangate Disaster” and the Discovery+ (also found on Max) “Implosion: The Titan Disaster,” as well as the new Netflix doc “Trainwreck: The Poop Cruise.” Enjoy! If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

We pick up the Danny Wood Jr. murder with his parents taking polygraphs, and 1954 creeping toward 1955 with no more progress on figuring out who killed the Gray, Maine, 12-year-old. Not that there weren’t plenty of suspects. What’s happened in the 71 years since Danny was killed and will his case ever be solved? Rebecca presents. Maureen has an update for Episode 125, “Katahdin Kills and Doesn’t Care,” and also gives the NNW review treatment to the Discovery documentary “Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster.” [Not to be confused with the Netflix doc “Titan: The Ocean Gate Disaster.”] If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

In July 1954, 12-year-old Danny Wood Jr. told his mom in Gray, Maine, that he was going fishing with a friend. Ten minutes later, he called her from a payphone three miles away, in town, telling her he was going to help a door-to-door salesman. She told him not to go with the guy, but Danny was never seen again. This is Part 1 of what’s often called “Maine’s coldest case.” Though it really isn’t. Rebecca presents. Maureen gives the Hulu doc series “Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam” the NNW review treatment. We also update Episodes 77 and 95 (the Police War on Black Women and Johnetta Carr), Episode 144 (James Cameron the Worst Kind of Criminal), Episode 152 (Maine’s 2023 homicide list) and Episode 174 (Kathleen McLean murder). If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

In Episode 85 we brought you the story of Kathleen McLean, killed in her Dover, Mass., home in May 2020 by her husband, Ingolf Tuerk, a doctor. This episode we bring you the rest of the story, after Tuerk finally goes to trial. Maureen presents. Rebecca also does an NNW review of the Hulu doc series “Scamanda.” If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Our sister Liz, the history professor, joins us from the Pacific Northwest with another tale of of (possible) murder from that dark corner of the country. The Martin family — Mom, Dad, and three daughters — left their Portland, Oregon, home for a drive up the Columbia River gorge December 7, 1958. They never came home. Was it a tragic accident, or was there more involved? As Liz was preparing her presentation, there was a big break in the case. But maybe not big enough? We also do an NNW review of the Netflix documentary Con Mum, and Liz also has some recommendations.

What does the Karen Read case have to do with Brian Walshe (Episode 136) and Ingolf Tuerk (Episode 85)? Our update explains it all. We also bring back fan favorite Am I the Asshole? To cap it off, Maureen does an NNW review of the movie “American Fiction.” If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Emma Cline should’ve been thrilled — at 25, she’d achieved every writer’s dream. But her $2 million book deal for her bestselling debut novel “The Girls” was too much for her ex, who slut-shamed her, threw false plagiarism and cyber-spying charges at her, and dragged in friends in a years-long campaign to bring her down. The media focus was on the plagiarism and the sex stuff, but the real issue was coercive control and male privilege, and how he was allowed to get away with it for years. Rebecca also reviews the Sly Stone documentary “Sly Live.”

The state of Maine recorded 35 homicides in 2024, a pretty high number, though the rate has been steadily going up in recent years. Ages of victims ranged from 22 months to 90 years. We’ll take a look at some of their stories. Rebecca gives NNW treatment to the classic movie 12 Angry Men.

A decade after he was acquitted — twice — of charges related to Jon Pownall’s murder, Truman Dongo finds himself at the wrong end of a gun. Dongo disappeared from his apartment in Falmouth, Maine, on Sept. 21, 1983. His body was found nearly a month later, in the woods of Stowe, Maine, nearly 60 miles away, dead from multiple gunshots. The twisted tale of bizarre criminality that began with the fatal shooting of film director Pownall in Portland in 1973, comes to an end in this third and final episode. Rebecca tells the story. Maureen also gives NNW treatment to the documentary “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?” If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.    

Like the Little Drummer Boy, we bring to you what we can — a holiday gift that includes a JonBenet mea culpa, some very special holiday Am I the Asshole discussions, some recommendations, some gripes, and lots of fun! Happy Holidays and here’s to a great 2025! If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the just-released Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.