2012 - Cambridge, Massachusetts.

On a June evening in 2012, 16-year-old Charlene Holmes, who went by Chay, was exactly where she was supposed to be—walking home with friends in her own neighborhood in Cambridge—when a car crept down Willow Street. Moments later, shots rang out.

She wasn’t the intended target. She was a bright, hopeful teenager caught in someone else’s crossfire.

More than a decade later, police and Chay’s family still search for answers — and for the mysterious dark car seen circling the block that night.

If you have any information on the murder of Charlene Holmes, please contact the Massachusetts State Police at (781) 897-6600, or Cambridge Police Investigations Section at (617) 349-3370. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling (617) 349-3359 or online at https//www.cambridgepolice.org/tips.

Episode sources and photos: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/charlene-holmes

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

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This week I wanted to bring you a spooky and fun Halloween season bonus from my friend, Laurah Norton of The Fall Line. 

This is One Strange Thing: a podcast that brings you witty true stories of ghost sightings, strange disappearances, supernatural events and famous crypitds, creatures, and lore from small town America. 

This episode is The Connecticut Witch: “In Southwestern Connecticut, in a little village tucked into Monroe, there’s a legend of a local witch named Hannah Cranna—a woman who killed her husband and got away with it. But that’s just the start of trouble caused by an elderly woman who ran circles around her neighbors.”

Hosted and Written by Laurah Norton

Research by Laurah Norton and Bryan Worters 

Produced by Maura Currie 

Engineered by Brandon Schexnayder at Southern Gothic Media

Sources for OST: https://www.onestrangethingpodcast.com/

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

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1977 - Monroe, Connecticut

UPDATE: This week brought a major development in the long-unsolved murder of 8-year-old Renee Freer, who was brutally killed behind her home in Monroe, Connecticut, in June 1977. After nearly 50 years, Renee's case has taken a stunning turn—and it’s not the resolution anyone wanted.

The original episode on Renee Freer was released on March 25, 2025 in collaboration with the Monroe Police Dept. Revisit the episode at the link below.

Original episode sources and photos:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/renee-freer⁠⁠⁠

Listen to the original episode: https://tinyurl.com/ReneeFreer

Original show notes: "In June of 1977, on the eve of her last day of third grade, 8-year-old Renee Freer went outside to play and never came home. Hours later, her body was discovered in the woods near her house, shaking the tight-knit community of Monroe.

Investigators exhausted every lead in their pursuit of justice for Renee, yet decades later, the case remains unsolved. But today’s detectives have one advantage their predecessors never did—21st-century technology. Armed with cutting-edge forensics and a renewed determination, they are closer than ever to unmasking her killer."

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

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Holden, Maine - 1983

In the summer of 1983, Kitty Collins Wardwell vanished after a fight with her much older boyfriend and business partner, Francis ‘Frank’ Julian. Kitty was only weeks away from turning 30—ambitious, full of plans, and then, without warning... she disappeared.

For years, her family searched and speculated. Rumors spread, and the truth seemed to slip further away with every passing year. What began as a missing person’s case soon unraveled into something darker.

But time has a way of surfacing what’s been hidden—even when someone goes to great lengths to keep it buried.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/kitty-wardwell

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

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1974 - Swampscott, Massachusetts.

In the shadows of the early-December afternoon, somebody with a baseball bat beat the life out of 15-year-old Henry Bedard Jr. He had been on his way home to wrap a Christmas gift, and was found the following day in a well-travelled patch of woods that was popular amongst the town’s youth.

Henry was a good kid from a good family, who, to this day, still can’t understand why somebody would have done this. 

But police are still hopeful the right person will recognize the markings on the bat and come forward with the tip they need to crack this case, no matter how much time has passed.

UPDATE: In October 2025, there was a major update to this case. This episode includes the updates as well as the original episode that was published on August 13, 2024.

If you have any information on the murder of Henry Bedard Jr., please contact the Swampscott Police at (781) 595-1111.

Episode sources and photos: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/henry-bedard⁠

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

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1996 - Milo, Maine.

On a cool April day in 1996, 32-year-old Michael Madore disappeared without a trace. He left behind everything—his possessions, his beloved dogs, and a letter claiming he was bound for Alaska to live out a childhood dream of becoming a “mountain man” like Grizzly Adams.

But that dream was only ever a fantasy. The circumstances Mike left behind painted a confusing picture, and the details didn’t seem to line up.

Nearly 30 years have passed, and Mike has never been  heard from again. For his family and friends, the silence has only deepened the mystery—and they are left with a single haunting wish: to finally bring him home.

If you have information on the disappearance of Michael Madore, please contact Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North at (207) 973-3750, toll-free 1-800-432-7381, or ⁠leave a tip here.⁠

Episode sources and photos: ⁠⁠⁠https://murdershetold.com/episodes/michael-madore⁠

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

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1990 - Johnston, Rhode Island.

In July of 1999, 50-year-old Stephen Marfeo took action on a violent plan: he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, Laura Vincent, and attempted to kill her boyfriend, Sal Puleo, before ultimately taking his own life. 

For police, this was an open and shut case fulled by jealousy and domestic violence. However, they held out hope that this tragedy would help them unravel the mystery of what happened to Stephen’s wife, 34-year-old Doreen Ann Marfeo, who vanished without a trace from their Johnston, RI home in March of 1990.

Stephen told police that Doreen’s behavior in the months leading up to her disappearance had taken a bizarre uncharacteristic turn. She abruptly quit her job, and was having late night panic attacks over something she couldn’t bring herself to tell her husband.

Several months later, police began receiving anonymous letters in the mail... letters that claimed to have intimate knowledge about Doreen, and detailed what allegedly happened to her the day she disappeared…

This episode was originally published in September 2023.

Episode sources and photos: ⁠https://murdershetold.com/episodes/doreen-marfeo⁠

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

If you have any information on the disappearance of Doreen Marfeo, please contact the Johnston Police Dept at (401) 231-4210 or leave a tip at [email protected].

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2002 - Bridgeport, Ohio

In July 2002, 45-year-old John Cornelius “JC” McGhee was gunned down in the doorway of his home in Bridgeport, Ohio, just across the river from West Virginia. The case drew little attention at the time—and quickly slipped from the headlines.

Now, decades later, his daughter, Madison McGhee, is demanding answers. Through her investigative podcast, Ice Cold Case, she’s shining a spotlight on her father’s unsolved murder, exposing the skeletons in her own family’s closet, and challenging a community that may hold long-buried secrets—and the name of a killer—to finally come forward.

If you have any information on the murder of JC MCGhee, please contact the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office at (740) 695-5124.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/madison-mcghee

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2015 - Manchester, New Hampshire.

On a warm summer night in August 2015, 62-year-old Denise Robert followed her familiar routine—ending the day with a quiet walk through neighborhood streets she knew by heart. But just before 9 pm, the stillness of the evening broke. Denise was shot in the head by an unknown assailant and killed instantly.

Ten years later, there have been no arrests. No answers. Denise lived a full but quiet life, with no known enemies. But somebody out there knows who pulled the trigger—and it’s time they spoke up.

If you have any information on the murder of Denise Robert, please contact the Manchester Police Department Crimeline at (603) 624-4040 or submit an ⁠anonymous tip online⁠. A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Denise's killer.

Episode sources and photos: ⁠https://murdershetold.com/episodes/denise-robert⁠

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1912 - Carmel, Maine.

When 14-year-old Naomi Etta Mitchell vanished on her walk to the general store, the tiny town of Carmel, ME mobilized overnight. Neighbors scoured the woods, lanterns in hand, until their worst fear was confirmed—Naomi’s body had been found.

Suspicion fell almost immediately on J. Sherman Gray, the man witnesses had seen trailing her that night. But before authorities could close in, Sherman disappeared.

Now, with each passing day, frustration in Carmel was boiling over. If the law didn’t catch Sherman soon, the townspeople were prepared to deliver their own brand of justice, no matter the outcome.

Episode sources and photos:

https://murdershetold.com/episodes/naomi-mitchell

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