Crime&Stuff

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.