2019 - Manchester, NH.

On December 31st, 2021, the Manchester, NH police went to the media with an alarming press release: a little girl named Harmony Montgomery was missing, and she hadn't been seen in 2 years.

In 2024, her father, Adam Montgomery, was convicted of second degree murder for the death of his daughter.

In June of 2026, there was a major update in Adam's conviction. This is what you need to know.

Revisit the Murder, She Told 2-part episode on Harmony Montgomery's disappearance and the trial of Adam Montgomery:

Learn about "prior bad acts" in the episode on Mark Dugas: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/mark-dugas

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1977 - Elwood, Illinois.

In September 1977, 84-year-old Alice Sturm was murdered in her bed inside her home in Elwood, Illinois. Suspicion quickly fell on Alice’s live-in granddaughter, Sheila, and her friend, Ernest Stanberry. But almost as quickly as the charges were filed, they were dropped — and Alice’s case quietly faded into obscurity for decades.

What investigators didn’t know at the time was that Ernest Stanberry was also a suspect in another murder: the 1975 killing of Judy Lord in Concord, New Hampshire, a case that remained unsolved until 2025.

It wasn’t until 2026 that our research uncovered the connection between these two cases—linking a decades-old Illinois murder to a cold case hundreds of miles away.

For nearly fifty years, Alice Sturm’s murder sat collecting dust… Until now.

This is the story of the murder of Alice Sturm.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/alice-sturm

Revisit The Murder of Judy Lord, published on 2/25/26: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/judy-lord⁠

Support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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1987 - Westbrook, Maine.

In October of 1987, 23-year-old Alice Hawkes was brutally murdered inside the apartment she shared with her boyfriend in Westbrook, Maine. Her killer left her dying on the bathroom floor, locked the door behind them, and disappeared into the night.

For nearly four decades, Alice’s case remained unsolved.

But now, after 39 years of unanswered questions, there has been an arrest. This is a short need-to-know update in the recent major developments in the unsolved case of Alice Hawkes.

Revisit the original Alice Hawkes Episode from 2021

Find your platform for the original episode:

Support the show: ⁠⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠⁠

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1990 - Springfield, Massachusetts.

On the morning after Christmas in 1990, a parks employee at Blunt Park in Springfield, MA, made a grim discovery: the body of 17-year-old Shana Renee Price. Initially, police suspected she had been shot, but an autopsy later revealed the brutal truth behind her death.

Shana was a young mother to a baby boy, living a vibrant life surrounded by her friends and family.

Her case received little public attention until 2022, when Springfield Police and the Hampden County DA released a phenotype composite sketch developed by Parabon Nanolabs. The sketch, created using DNA evidence found on Shana’s body, reignited hope that her tragic murder might finally be solved.

However, police still need the public’s help to bring her killer to justice.

This episode was originally published in December 2024.

If you are a current or former Hampden County resident, get a free DNA ancestry kit to help solve cold cases: ⁠https://hampdenda.com/news/forensic-genetic-genealogy/⁠

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/shana-renee-price

Support the show: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠

Learn more about Investigative Genetic Genealogy: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/investigative-genetic-genealogy⁠

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1984 - Windham, New Hampshire

25-year-old Chris Bird was missing. According to his friend, Richard Brunt, he was last seen at DQ Stables after the pair returned from a camping trip in July of 1984. Days later, Chris's car was found abandoned at a nearby mall. Chris was nowhere to be found.

But Richard Brunt was hiding a violent past.

Years earlier, he had been convicted of murdering his partner in Florida before relocating to New Hampshire, where he attempted to build a new life. As Chris's disappearance deepened, attention turned to the last person known to have seen him, and investigators soon began to question whether the same dangerous patterns that marked Richard Brunt’s past had followed him north.

Episode sources and photos: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/christopher-bird⁠-2

Support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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1984 - Windham, New Hampshire

1975 - Plantation, Florida

When 25-year-old Chris Bird didn't return home after a camping trip in New Hampshire with a friend in July of 1984, alarm bells began to ring. Days later, his car was found abandoned at a nearby mall with a flat tire-Chris was nowhere to be found.

Nearly a decade earlier, on New Year's Day in 1975, the Broward County Sheriff's Department in southern Florida received a call from New Hampshire authorities: someone had confessed to a murder in their area. When police arrived at the home, they found 28-year-old George P. Long dead on the floor.

Two cases, seemingly unrelated. Different states. Years apart. But when a newspaper article exposed a troubling past, the connections became impossible to ignore—leading investigators to focus on the one person both cases had in common.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/christopher-bird

Support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Listen to My Victorian Nightmare, a podcast about mysterious deaths, morbid fascinations, true crime and disturbing stories from the Victorian era. This preview is from episode 82, “Madame Vesta la Viesta’s Galactic Love Affairs & The Meek’s Family Murders.”

In this episode, Genevieve discussed the eccentric Madame Vesta la Viesta, the galactic mystic and clairvoyant, suicidal ghosts, mediums in spirit cabinets, and the horrifying Meeks family murder of 1894.

Listen anywhere you find your spooky podcasts.

Apple: https://apple.co/41fDSqA

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Td3FtsVMWFyHFoHdsCVca?si=845f36a241ac4380

Podlink: https://pod.link/1749899895

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1993. Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

23-year-old Deborah Lynne Bates, known as Debbie, was trying to start over after leaving her abusive ex, George, with whom she shared a child. She wasn't perfect, but she was determined to build a better life.

One February night in 1993, seven months pregnant, Debbie stepped out of her apartment for a pack of cigarettes and vanished. She never came home.

Police treated her disappearance as routine, but her family knew she would never abandon her young son.

The case lay practically dormant until 2004, when a gruesome discovery that was meant to stay buried turned up on the side of the hideaway—raising questions no one was ready to answer.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/deborah-bates

Support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Back in November 2024, I spoke with investigative genetic genealogist Cairenn Binder of Ramapo College about the basics of investigative genetic genealogy and how it helps solve cold cases and restore the names of unidentified people.

Now, in an interview with Laurah Norton of The Fall Line, Cairenn returns to discuss a recent development that has shaken the field. Changes to the terms of service at Ancestry affecting access to historical records and family trees could have major implications for investigators working to identify John and Jane Does and generate leads in homicide cases.

Many genealogists fear the policy shift could impact both current investigations and cases still waiting to be solved. Cairenn helps break down the key updates—and what they could mean moving forward.

Revisit "Cracking Cold Cases Using Investigative Genetic Genealogy" originally published 11/5/2024: ⁠https://murdershetold.com/episodes/investigative-genetic-genealogy⁠

Support the show: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠

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1975 - Concord, New Hampshire.

In May 1975, a rent collector knocked on the door of 22-year-old Judith Lord’s apartment. There was no answer—only the sound of her baby crying. When he went inside, he found Judy dead in her upstairs bedroom.

From the beginning, police had suspects. The case moved quickly. An arrest felt imminent.

But then, a single scientific conclusion shifted the trajectory of the investigation. What should have been a straight path to justice became a decades-long detour.

This is a story about a young mother, a community shaken, and a murder investigation steered off course by flawed forensics—a mistake that cost years, and a resolution that came far too late.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/judy-lord

Support the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/support⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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