Elizabeth Short in life, The Black Dahlia in death. What do people really understand about the woman before she became the poster girl for true crime curiousities? Most know her as the Black Dahlia, but few know Elizabeth Short was a young woman whose life was marked by tragedy long before her brutal 1947 murder made headlines across America.

In part one, we separate fact from fiction in the life of Elizabeth Short, who was born and raised in Medford, Massachusetts. Her tragic story has been sensationalized for decades, but few know about the real woman behind the gruesome headlines.

Born in Hyde Park, Boston in 1924, Elizabeth was the middle daughter of five girls. Her early years took a devastating turn when her father, Cleo Short, lost everything in the 1929 Wall Street Crash and abandoned his family, staging his own suicide by leaving his car on a bridge. For twelve years, Elizabeth's mother Phoebe believed she was a widow, struggling alone to raise five daughters during the Great Depression.

The family's world was upended again in 1942 when a letter arrived from the supposedly dead Cleo, revealing he was alive and living in California. Elizabeth, seeking connection with the father she thought dead, traveled west only to find disappointment. Their reunion lasted barely a month. Her life continued on a path of heartbreak when her boyfriend, decorated WWII pilot Major Matt Gordon, died in a plane crash just weeks before Japan's surrender in 1945.

Despite media portrayal of Elizabeth as a "party girl," records reveal just one minor brush with the law—an underage drinking incident. The nickname "Black Dahlia" wasn't media sensationalism but originated during her time in Long Beach, inspired by her striking appearance: dark hair, pale skin, and signature red lipstick.

The cruel irony of Elizabeth Short's story lies in how she's remembered only for her brutal end, while the resilient women in her family—her mother and sisters who lived well into their 90s—carried the burden of never knowing what happened to their beloved Elizabeth. By exploring her life before the headlines, we honor the real woman who existed beyond the infamous case that still captivates America's imagination.

This is part one. In the next episode, I examine Elizabeth Short's final days and the enduring mystery of how this young woman met this fate and who is responsible for her brutal end.
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Reina Carolina Morales Rojas was last seen on Saturday, November 26, 2022 when she left her apartment in her East Boston neighborhood. She was seen getting into a vehicle that was headed to Somerville - reportedly to a friend's house. She is believed to have entered that building on Alston St. That is the extent of what we know. But we didn't know it until she was missing for 45 days. The Boston Police Department would eventually acknowledge their obvious negligence in notifying the public. There was no urgency. Critical time was lost. 

With insights from Marcela García, the first journalist to report on Reina's case, we navigate the emotional toll on Reina's family and the systemic shortcomings in media coverage and police responses that hinder the search for justice.

The initial lack of response to her case, both from the police and the media, is a factor in why it took time for her disappearance to gain wider notice. Reina Carolina had only been in the Boston area for a short time and did not speak English, which may have presented additional challenges in her disappearance. Another missing persons case in the region had taken up the air in the room. 

Marcela García, Associate Editor and columnist for The Boston Globe, covers a wide range of topics, from public education and immigration policy to social inequities and the Latinx community in Boston and beyond.

Marcela García
Boston Globe report on her visit to El Salvador: A heartbreaking visit to the hometown of a missing Boston woman

Women's Media Center

FBI

MMMPAC

Sources list at crimeofthetruestkind.com

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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This is about the abuse of children by those who should be trusted figures. Listen with care.

Episode 78, part two of my conversation with Melanie Perkins McLaughlin, host of Open Investigation, the 9-part investigative podcast, and documentary filmmaker of "Have You Seen Andy?", we explore classism, child exploitation, and the vital role of advocacy in creating safer communities for all children and adult survivors of CSA, revealing dark realities and how society was largely silent or ignorant to such horrors. Horrors like the institutional failures that allowed predators to thrive, from widespread clergy abuse, to sex abuse rings and their use of CB radios in targeting children. We see the role of advocacy with the creation of the sex offender registry and A.M.B.E.R. Alert System, established because of children like Jacob Wetterling, Johnny Gosch, Etan Patz, Adam Walsh, and Amber Hagerman, emphasizing the need for legislative reforms to protect our most vulnerable.

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) 
• Kristen Lombardi, reported on clergy sex abuse for the Boston Phoenix before the Spotlight team broke the story on a larger scale
• Gisèle Pelicot, SA survivor who refuses to stay anonymous
• Ann Burgess, Boston nurse and author how studies America’s Most Notorious in order to stop them
• Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score
• Judy Herman, Truth and Repair  
• Sister Cathy Cesnik, her murder is at the center of The Keepers doc
• SNAP Network, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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This is about missing and murdered children. Listen with care.

In episode 77, Melanie Perkins McLaughlin, creator and host of Open Investigation, the 8-part investigative podcast, and documentary filmmaker of "Have You Seen Andy?" shares her story of her missing childhood friend, Andy Puglisi, and the new discoveries in his almost 50-year-old unsolved case.

Melanie recounts meeting Andy - the cute older boy - their blossoming friendship, and the last day she spent with him. Within hours of her leaving the pool that day, Andy was gone. Last seen in the late afternoon of Sunday, August 22, 1976 - this date is a detail that developed in Melanie's research for the podcast. It is a detail that has an impact on how law enforcement handled the investigation. It is one of the most important discoveries made during the research for the podcast. An unexpected revelation in a recorded audio tape uncovers a crucial clue, challenging previous assumptions about Andy's disappearance. As we recount childhood memories, we recognize the profound impact of childhood trauma. I believe the day Andy disappeared, marked the beginning of Melanie's advocacy journey to uncover the truth of her friend.

We discuss the importance of scientific advancements DNA technology, genetic geneology, and  in identifying  solving cold cases.

Massachusetts Missing & Murdered Persons Advocacy Coalition (MMMPAC), massmissingandmurdered.org

Have You Seen Andy?, streaming on MAX

GedMatch

Advocacy Con, advocacycon.com

Power Twins Activate! Form of family advocates using true crime for good.

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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This is about abuse, missing, and murdered children. Listen with care.

In preparation for Friday's new episode with Melanie Perkins McLaughlin, a replay of Andy Puglisi's case first released in June 2023, in two parts.
There are many updates to this story, despite it being a decades-long mystery.

Explore the haunting case of Andy Puglisi, a young boy who vanished from a public pool in 1976, spotlighting the societal attitudes towards missing children during that time. There was no system in place, no organizations, resources or support. The discussion delves into a failed police response, and the lack of societal capital of these children.  Andy's case shines a light on the systemic failures that persist in handling missing child cases, and worse, the cold realities of child exploitation, insidious clergy sex abuse, and the loss and anger survivors of sexual abuse have been left with.

The story of 10-year-old Andy Puglisi's disappearance in the summer of 1976 still echoes through those neighborhoods. We learned in shocking detail what was going on in 1970s Massachusetts from the documentary "Have You Seen Andy," that was researched, written, and produced by Melanie Perkins McLaughlin—Andy’s childhood friend and neighbor in the Lawrence projects. We confront the epidemic of missing and murdered children during that time, and confront the real threat of online child exploitation.

We travel the Merrimack Valley, remembering Michelle Wilson's 1969 murder in Boxford and the ripple effects of these events. Hear about the grim confessions of Charles E. Pierce and the sinister connections involving Wayne W. Chapman, a known predator whose dark legacy taints this New England community.

We continue to advocate for these children and so many like them.

Crime of the Truest Kind, EP 44 for photos, resources, and links

NCMEC information at missingkids.org
Tipline: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678)

LINKS
Have You Seen Andy?, streaming now on MAX
by Melanie Perkins McLaughlin

Boston Globe "Have You Seen Andy' series, July 4, 1999
by Judith Gaines

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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This is about abuse, missing, and murdered children. Listen with care.

In preparation for Friday's new episode with Melanie Perkins McLaughlin, a replay of Andy Puglisi's case first released in June 2023, in two parts. There are many updates to this story, despite the  decades-long mystery.

In part one, we explore the haunting case of 10-year-old Andy Puglisi, the boy who vanished from his neighborhood, spotlighting the societal attitudes towards missing children during that time. The discussion delves into the failed police response, media portrayal, and subsequent changes in child protection laws.

On Sunday, August 22, 1976, (we learn this is the actual date he was last seen), Andy Puglisi disappeared from a public pool in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Melanie Perkins McLaughlin, Andy's childhood friend and documentary filmmaker, spent years piecing together the events of that fateful day. Her decades-long investigation, highlighted in her documentary "Have You Seen Andy" and new podcast "Open Investigation," brings fresh perspectives to his case and others like his.

It doesn't stop with Andy's story. We delve into the broader narrative of missing and murdered children in the 1970s, an era marked by systemic child abuse within the Catholic Church. This period saw high-profile cases like Etan Patz and, later, Adam Walsh, which led to the creation of crucial resources like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

We learn about Springfield boy, Danny Croteau, and the powerful forces that shielded his alleged killer, Father Richard R. Lavigne, a notorious child abuser who would later be convicted of molesting boys across Western Massachusetts, and the investigative work of journalists such as Kristen Lombardi, of the Boston Phoenix, whose work played a critical role in unmasking these crime against children.
Crime of the Truest Kind - Episode 43 - What Happened To Andy Puglisi, Part One

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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In episode 76, I revisit the Attiin Shaw case in Washburn, Maine (I did an episode earlier this year with Brandie of Evaporate the Missing). I dug deeper into her story and those of two other Northern Maine missing people who've been in the news very recently - Stephanie Damron (New Sweden) and Erik Foote (Washburn). It's not good. It never is. 

Missing in Maine, three stories, and one town's involvement in a tragic outcome that did not have to be. This episode examines the circumstances surrounding each case and questions that continue to linger.

Plus, how advancements in DNA and investigative genetic genealogy are changing how we look at solving crimes. FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch have become instrumental in giving people their identities back and solving long-gone-cold cases like The Bear Brook Murders in Allenstown, NH and Lady of the Dunes Ruth Marie Terry in Provincetown.

Ancestry and 23andMe continue to influence the way people see genealogy.

I revisit the case of Attiin Shaw, missing from a small Maine town since September 2021. Her family cannot  get any information about their missing daughter and sister. Her children have to face life without her, and her husband hasn't offered any insight into her disappearance. Special thanks to Kara. 

Attiin Rachmawati Shaw: Please share any information about missing Washburn, Maine woman Attiin Shaw with Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit - North, 1 Darcie Dr. Houlton, Maine 04730. Call (207) 532-5400 or toll free 1-800-432-7381. You may also report information about this case using the leave a tip form.

Stefanie Damron: Anyone with information about missing 14-year-old Stefanie Damron from New Sweden, please call the Maine State Police Houlton Barracks at 1-800-824-2261 or 207-532-5400, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, your local FBI office, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

more... 

crimeofthetruestkind.com

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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EP 75: The Vanishing of Tammy Belanger: A Dark Anniversary
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the disappearance of 8-year-old Tammy Belanger from Exeter, New Hampshire. Tammy’s story is one that many in Southern New Hampshire know all too well, but the dark truth behind her abduction is still haunting. In this episode, we explore the mystery of what happened to Tammy after she was last seen crossing the street on her usual walk to school on November 13, 1984. 

Tammy’s case is eerily linked to another young girl—Christy Luna, an 8-year-old girl from Greenacres, Florida whose circumstances mirrored Tammy’s in disturbing ways. As we dive into the details, I make the case for the main suspect in these crimes, a deviant predator who is believed to be responsible for both disappearances.

Through Tammy’s story, we learn of the lost hours that passed before anyone realized she was missing, and how this case helped shape new protocols in the way schools respond to student absences. In 1984, when Tammy vanished, there were no calls home for missing children, no immediate alerts or search efforts. It wasn’t until hours later, when her mother Pat noticed Tammy was missing, that anyone realized she wasn’t at school, and by then, critical hours were lost.

This episode uncovers the haunting details of that fateful day and examines how a missing child led to critical changes in child safety protocols.

Listener Warning: This episode contains sensitive content and details about child abduction, abuse, and trauma.

Updating sources at crimeofthetruestkind.com

New Hampshire Missing Children - NaMUS

https://www.namus.gov/missingpersons/search#/results

Back in two weeks. Happy Thanksgiving.
Next live show is Sat, Jan 25 at Koto, Lowell, Mass.

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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North Shore Crime Cases was recorded live on October 10, 2024 at Off Cabot in Beverly, Mass. This bonus episode features questions from our audience in an open Q+A setting. Nothing was off limits.

Episode: https://www.crimeofthetruestkind.com/post/ep74northshorecases

Join us for a captivating journey through some of the North Shore of Massachusetts' most perplexing crime cases like that of Susan Taraskiewicz's unsolved murder and the person who found her body, the true gift that Colleen Ritzer, a dedicated math teacher at Danvers High, was to every student she touched, what stories have been told about missing Lynn boy Jesus de la Cruz, the impact of The Station Nightclub Fire, Wenham dermotologist, Richard Sharpe's history of family violence, the disappearance of Maura Murray 20 years ago and how searching for missing people has changed during that time, the tragic fate of Beryl Atherton, and the disturbing story of 16-year-old Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, who was found dismembered along the Merrimack River in November 2016. A classmate from Lawrence High School was convicted in his case. 

We emphasize the essential role of community involvement in keeping these people and their stories alive, to push for justice for others like them by taking action to shed light on unresolved crimes and to advocate of the missing and murdered. 

The true crime genre carries with it a weighty responsibility and consideration must be paid to the families of crime victims. The converstation does not shy away from the ethical considerations involved, touching on the importance of compassion and respect when recounting real lives with the mission of empathetic storytelling. Host Anngelle Wood reaffirms her commitment to treating these stories with empathy and care. We invite you to join our community in advocating for justice, ensuring that these voices continue to be heard.

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

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Our live shows have become something special. We have enjoyed hosting them and plan many more in the year ahead because it is important to share empathetic storytelling, to keep these stories alive as time passes and victims of these stories are being forgotten about. Special thanks to Sean and Stephanie and the Brodie family.

Episode page: https://www.crimeofthetruestkind.com/post/ep74northshorecases

Join us for a captivating journey as we navigate true crime with some of the North Shore of Massachusetts' most perplexing crime cases with compassion and advocacy. In this episode, recorded live on October 10, 2024 at Off Cabot in Beverly, Mass, we take an emotional exploration of some of the most poignant crime stories covered by Crime of the Truest Kind, and others we are learning about. Our live events offer a sence of community, where stories and insights are shared in an intimate setting.

Shedding light on the cases of Marcia Biancardi, a Beverly teenager killed by her own mother, Martha Brailsford, a talented Salem artist whose life ended in 1991, by someone she called a friend, a focus on the pressing issue of domestic violence with stories of young mother Nayeli Nieves of Salem killed and discarded by her partner, 14-year-old girl Amy Carnevale of Beverly, lured and brutally murdered by someone she thought she loved, Beth Brodie, from my hometown of Groveland, whose kindness was taken advantage of by a former classmate whose obsession turned deadly, and Kristen Gove Crowley, a beautiful young woman stalked by two men who decided they would take what they wanted from her, following her to her Peabody home and attacking her in the woods and leaving her to die.

Other cases we intend to cover: Claire Gravel, Beverly. Caleigh Harrison, Rockport, Michael O’Gorman, Gloucester, Lois Centofanti, Lynn, Jesus De La Cruz, Lynn, Susan Taraskiewicz, Saugus, Dickson “Joel” De Los Reyes, Revere, Elaine Donahue, Revere, Leigh Savoie, Revere, Henry Bedard Jr, Swampscott, Leanne Redden, Lynn, Beryl Atherton, Marblehead

These tragedies highlight the enduring impact on families in our communities and how we honor these victims, we say their names, and advocate for empathy, awareness, and change.

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This podcast has minimal profanity but from time to time you get one or some curse words. This isn't for kids.

Music included in episodes from Joe "onlyone" Kowalski, Dug McCormack's Math Ghosts and Shredding by Andrew King

Support the show: patreon.com/crimeofthetruestkind

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