Mared & Karen

In one month, the killers of Julie Williams, Lollie Winans and at least two victims of the Colonial Parkway murders are identified. Bill Thomas joins us to discuss the details, and why there are still so many questions unanswered. Meanwhile the grave of Harry Spitz, which inexplicably exploded in 1975, has its headstone stolen by thieves. A Morgantown resident and Appalachian Mysteria producer step up to set things right. Harry Spitz Gravestone GoFundMe 1:30 – The FBI Press Conference 6:25 – The Annes 9:37 – Questions Unanswered 12:35 – Don’t Talk to Bill Thomas 14:13 – Darrell Rice… 19:26 – …Is Dead 22:54 – Colonial Parkway Killer Identified 31:05 – The Harry Spitz Gravestone Saga Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second of this 2-part series, Jack Edward Hawkins is put on trial without physical evidence for three assaults committed by the Sunnyside rapist, but prosecutors refuse to claim he is a suspect in any others. Neighbors of the Hawkins family come forward to describe their experience with Jack and his children. As Hawkins’ involvement in a 1975 incident comes to light, the Mysteria team learns that a new West Virginia law now makes it impossible to learn details about any sexual assault cases. And a team of New Zealand researchers is hired by the defense to explain the problems with the eyewitness testimony used against Hawkins. Jack Hawkins’ letter to the judge explaining his side of the events 1:25 – Who is Jack Hawkins? 3:50 – Neighbors speak out 13:48 – Oklahoma, 1975 16:35 – Charges filed 17:25 – The death of FOIA and Geoff’s insider info 22:17 – The first trial 27:02 – Judge misconduct and the second trial 32:28 – Memories distorted? 48:30 – Final notes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega

Fifteen years after the events of Season 1 (The WVU Coed Murders), Morgantown women are faced with a new predator: a rapist so meticulous and organized that he vanishes through police checkpoints and neighborhood lockdowns every summer. In the first of this two part series, we speak with two women who met the Sunnyside rapist face-to-face at both ends of his 10-year crime spree. Geoff Fuller (season 1) returns to help set the scene for a trial that will become studied internationally. Elaine’s Daughter Sexually Assaulted Years After Her Own Attack 2:09 – The first victim 16:15 – WVU basketball rape scandal 19:00 – 1985 - 1991 38:57 – The arrest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last of this 3-part series, we examine Mabel’s top suspects in the murder of Walter Curnutte. Years later, Tim and Becky discover an entirely new motive connected to a forged document, a federal racketeering case, South American cocaine, and, potentially, the West Virginia mafia.    1:30 – Mabel’s top suspects 15:54 – Modern day rumors 18:41 – The Spadafore Conspiracy 24:05 – The Puerto Rican doctor 28:30 – A landing strip? 33:23 – The mob Thank you to our sponsor June’s Journey! Discover your inner detective when you download June’s Journey for free on iOS and Android.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Walter Curnutte’s murder, his sister Mabel takes on the case, recording interviews, writing letters to powerful officials, and hiring a private detective. The community’s war on Walter comes to light – from protests to arson to civil disobedience. We look back at the strange month preceding Walter’s death – including his hiring of Herb Willie, the man tried for his murder. Was Herb a drunken liar, a murderer, or both? A state trooper who investigated the case has an opinion. Tim and Becky beg to differ. 1:55 – Mabel’s obsession 5:30 – Mining and dumping 12:35 – Walter’s last month alive 17:15 – Trooper Wick 26:00 – Herb Willie’s Confessions & Trial Thank you to our sponsor June’s Journey! Discover your inner detective when you download June’s Journey for free on iOS and Android.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the Mysteria crew receives a concerned email from a professional working on sexual assault issues, we invite her on the show to critique Season 2, Big Savage. What follows is a discussion of Megan Shaffer’s poor defense, the biological response to trauma, how the absence of expert testimony may have worked against her, and some ways that language affects how we perceive issues surrounding rape.   Thank you to our sponsor June’s Journey! Discover your inner detective when you download June’s Journey for free on iOS and Android.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the beginning of a 3-part story about one square mile of the West Virginia mountains. The story winds its way through a savage war between Indians and settlers, a poor boy adopted into wealth for his ruthlessness, more than one murder trial, the infamous black hand mafia, environmental protests, and international cocaine smuggling. In Part 1, the descendants of West Virginia’s first white settlers find themselves at war with Indian tribes, eventually building a home that will become the center of a web of controversy, violence and crime. 1:40 - In the beginning 3:24 - Introducing Tim & Becky 5:12 - Warring with Indians 10:37 - The Morgan house 12:27 - Walter Curnutte’s youth 14:20 - Watler’s first brush with murder 20:15 - The murder of Walter Curnutte 27:53 - Walter’s life and controversies 36:00 - Mabel’s quest begins Thank you to our sponsor June’s Journey! Discover your inner detective when you download June’s Journey for free on iOS and Android.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone

A WVU alum working for the state prosecutor’s office suddenly finds herself on the scene of a very personal tragedy that could be much more sinister. Much to her dismay, her forensic investigation training is not being employed by authorities in the real world. Meanwhile, the victim’s sister is conducting her own investigation, releasing all of her findings to the public. Was the death of Amber Whitelaw a case of accidental fire or murder? Welcome to the first episode of Season 4! The full season launches in April. Justice for Amber Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/justiceforamber2.18.18 1:35 – Highland County & Amber Whitelaw 4:36 – Wearing a Wire? 11:04 – One and One on the Side 13:00 – Night of the Incident 15:17 – The 911 Call 25:02 – 8 Red Flags 41:25 – Not Having Closure Thank you to our sponsor Seeker's Notes! Keep Your Mind Sharp! Download Seekers Notes Now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains detective interviews with three students who headed out on the town with Arthur the night he died. After speaking to each of them, a Morgantown detective feels confident that Arthur’s death was primarily due to his intoxication. Two months later, Arthur’s phone turns on. After tracking the GPS coordinates, police arrive at the home of a bouncer who threw Arthur out of a club just before his death. While the detective tries to figure out whether this was a coincidence, Harriet decides she is unsatisfied with the work being done by police, and hires a private investigator. The investigator has questions about the five people who walk by the police station surveillance camera just before Arthur. One of them appears to be carrying the backpack full of meth-making equipment found under the bridge, but the detective and prosecutor don’t agree. We delve into the details of all these issues in this hour-long episode of Unattended Death. Resources and Links: Appalachian Mysteria Facebook Page --

This two-part special introduces the life and death of Arthur Bagenda, an international student at WVU who drowned in a ditch within sight of the Morgantown Police station. In this first episode, we visit the Walnut Street bridge, where a long-time local explains her problems with hard drug users at the site of Arthur's death. We review forensic photographs from the scene, hear from Arthur’s mother about the 19-year-old son she lost, and explain the first 72 hours following the discovery of his body. Over the course of two episodes, Unattended Death will examine police reports, drone footage, forensic photographs, surveillance video, audio of police questioning, and interviews with those involved to craft a previously-untold West Virginia story. ### We have been trying to report this story for a long time. After covid interrupted our interview process, we decided to focus on other work, but three years later we’re finally ready to share the case of Arthur Bagenda.   Unattended Death is the third Morgantown-ce

A child's grave explodes after 63 years underground. As Morgantown police and reporters gather around the coffin, they are shocked to find that his corpse is strangely well-preserved. Cradle Will Rock is the story of the life, death, and disinterment of four-year-old Harry Spitz and his family, as uncovered by co-producer Jordan Carter. This stand-alone episode has been missing from our podcast catalog for two years, and we're finally making it available again. [00:00:00] Cradle Will Rock was originally released in 2018 and went missing from our catalog in 2019. It was produced and co-narrated by Jordan Carter. This story begins in 1975, one year before Clawson confessed to the murders. Later this month, we hope to release another standalone Morgantown story. [00:04:06] On July 2, 175, a caretaker noticed broken rumpled earth atop an unmarked grave. Inside the coffin was a second engraved plaque and the remains of Harry E. Spitz. Too many factors in determining what sort of state Harry's body should have bee

In this episode, we take a step back in time to the week Cathy Thomas and Becky Dowski were murdered in the first of several Colonial Parkway murders. As the crime scene tape still hangs from Becky Dowski’s doorway at William & Mary College, another headline hits the student paper: Three men are being charged in the campus gang rape of another student.   Our guest for this episode was directly involved in that incident, and she helps us use it as a lens through which we can examine some failures of response to sexual assault -- some of which are still problems today. We also examine an astounding survey of college students published the year before the incidents at William & Mary, which suggested more than 25% of college women have experience rape or attempted rape since the age of 14. Description/Notes: To best understand the context of this episode, be sure to listen to Season 3 Episode 4, Exploring Substantial Similarities.  In that episode, we speak with Bill Thomas, leading authority on the Colonial

This episode is the last of a three-part update on Appalachian Mysteria Season 1 — Mared & Karen: The WVU Coed Murders. Without a doubt, these three episodes will be the most important updates since the season finished airing in 2018. In this episode, Devona Coffey — formerly Devona Daft — finds out about the existence of Geoff and Sarah’s book, and one paragraph in particular makes her blood boil. The passage leads to an emotional confrontation in the holler, and eventually to Devona contacting the Mysteria crew to share a long-buried family secret. The terminally ill aunt who took care of Devona after her father’s death confides in her about the night Mared & Karen went missing, and a growing chorus of voices in the family echo the story. But is it all true, or a story contrived to create a dangerous mystique around career criminals? The WVU Coed Murders: Who Killed Mared & Karen? — Geoff & Sarah’s book, now available at Amazon. The book goes into much greater detail about the entire case than the podcast c

This episode is the second of a three-part update on Appalachian Mysteria Season 1 — Mared & Karen: The WVU Coed Murders. Without a doubt, these three episodes will be the most important updates since the season finished airing in 2018. In this episode, we’re reintroduced to Danny Strakal, host of the YouTube series Spirit Walk Paranormal. Danny’s history with the spirit realm began in his childhood, but his full-scale investigations began after the release of our first podcast season. A viewer of Danny’s channel connects him with Dave Campbell, another man who was there at the moment Mared and Karen’s bodies were discovered. After spending time together on several investigations, Dave claims to have received a vision of two men that he believes are the murderers. When Sarah shows him a lineup of our best suspects, he tells us that two of the men — members of the same family that lived in the hollow where the girls were killed — were known to pick up and rape hitchhikers. This leads to the first of two damnin

This episode is the first of a three part update on Appalachian Mysteria Season 1 — Mared & Karen: The WVU Coed Murders. Without a doubt, these two episodes will be the most important updates since the season finished airing in 2018. In this episode, we’re reintroduced to Albert “Rod” Everly, a National Guardsman who was one of the first people on the scene when the bodies of Mared & Karen were found. As it turns out, Rod has been nursing a theory about the murders for more than 50 years. After acquiring the “Triangle” letters from Geoff and Sarah, he fleshes the theory out further, leading the podcast crew to unexpectedly exhume a body. A few weeks later, the Dominion Post begins a series of articles about new excavations by State Police. The photos accompanying the articles clearly depict Rod Everly, and we set out to explain to the general public exactly what has been happening with the case. The WVU Coed Murders: Who Killed Mared & Karen? — Geoff & Sarah’s book, now available at Amazon. Coming in at 400 p

As Appalachian Mysteria finished covering the story of Julie and Lollie, author Kathryn Miles completed her own book about the murders. In this episode, Kathryn uses her total access to Dierdre Enright's evidence to bring to light new information — including how we've been wrong about a key piece of evidence. Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders — Purchase Kathryn’s book here.   Interviewees:  Kathryn Miles — Kathryn Miles is an award-winning journalist and science writer. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Saint Louis University and took both her Master of Arts and Doctorate in English from the University of Delaware. Miles is the author of five books: Adventures with Ari, All Standing, Superstorm, Quakeland, and Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders. Her essays and articles have appeared in publications including Audubon, Best American Essays, The Boston Globe, Down East, Ecotone, History, The New York Times, Outside, Pacific Standard, Politico, Pop

Darrell Rice is released from prison, but the publicity of his indictments makes a normal life elusive. The FBI plans a summit to examine other possible murders by Evonitz, but it falls by the wayside. Two decades later, we give it a shot. Description / Show Notes: The Pamela Gould Special — We’re hosting this 24-page special investigation from the Fredericksburg Freelance-Star until it is made available elsewhere. If you want to dive deep on the comparisons of Rice, Evonitz, and forensic evidence, this is where to start. Rt. 29 Sketches — Images of all six sketches, plus photos of Rice and Evonitz “The FBI should use DNA, not posters, to solve a cold-case murder” — Dierdre Enright’s 2021 appeal in the Washington Post to check Evonitz DNA in the slayings of Julie & Lollie Innocence Project says answers to cold-case Shenandoah murders may sit buried in FBI evidence locker — A report by WUSA9, including interviews with Julie’s father, the parents of Alicia Showalter Reynolds, and Dierdre Enright Thank you to ou

Forensic evidence throws the upcoming trial of Darrell Rice into upheaval, and an unexpected conclusion leads to yet another indictment. Several of our guests openly disagree on the final results. Resources: “Witness Point Out Suspect as Abductor” — Washington Post article on the Shomo trial Thank you to our sponsor June's Journey. Download June’s Journey free today on the Apple App Store or Google Play! Thank you to our sponsor Switchcraft! Download Switchcraft for free and unlock the magical mystery! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We examine key evidence in the pre-trial hearings of Darrell Rice: jailhouse informants, the audio recording that gave rise to hate crime charges, a shifting timeline, and a phone call that Rice’s defense attorney calls “a bizarre piece of evidence”. Description / Show Notes: Interviewees: Jerry (Gerald) Zerkin: One of Rice’s defense attorneys in the double-homicide of Julie & Lollie Thank you to our sponsor June's Journey. Download June’s Journey free today on the Apple App Store or Google Play! Thank you to our sponsor Switchcraft! Download Switchcraft for free and unlock the magical mystery! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summary: Kara Robinson makes an escape, putting all the information she memorized to good use. Evonitz goes on the run. Kara talks to us about the complex ethics of telling stories like hers in the true crime genre, and explains what “trauma-informed” media looks like. Description / Show Notes: Resources and Links: Escape From Captivity — Oxygen Network documentary made with the involvement of Kara Robinson Interviewees: Kara Robinson Chamberlain — The survivor who ended the career of serial killer Richard Marc Evonitz Thank you to our sponsor June's Journey. Download June’s Journey free today on the Apple App Store or Google Play! Thank you to our sponsor Switchcraft! Download Switchcraft for free and unlock the magical mystery! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices