Murder, She Told

1940 - Rockland, Maine.

It was Halloween night, and 16-year-old Alzada Pauline Young wanted to go out. Her younger siblings were trick-or-treating, and on their way to a party. Why was she being punished? 

In the height of an argument, she drew a knife in a threat against her step-father, John Phelps, who was the only thing standing in her way. In what he claimed was self defense, he hurled the closet weapon at her—a hammer—killing her instantly. 

What happened next, was one of the most heinous and horrifying attempts at a cover up in Maine history. 

John cut up her body under the cover of darkness, disposed of each part in burlap bags, and made sure all trace of Pauline was removed… The teenager did have a habit of staying away from home. He’ll just tell her mother she ran off to get married… 

But little did he know, somebody had been listening. Neighbors were growing suspicious, and his secret would only stay buried for so long.

Was this a terrible and tragic accident? Or a man who killed his wife’s daughter in a homicidal rage because he wanted her gone?

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/alzada-pauline-young

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2001 - League City, Texas.

When Tot Harriman arrived in the US after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam in 1975, nobody knew the lasting impact she would go on to have in greater Portland area in ME.

With a big smile, hard work, and great food to share, she helped cultivate the Vietnamese community in Maine that stands strong today.

When Tot was 57, she decided to move to Texas to be closer to her children. But in July of 2001 when she was going to look at homes, both Tot and her car vanished without a trace on Highway 35 between Houston and her destination of Corpus Christi.

Her son, Chien Si fought tooth and nail to keep his mom’s case in spotlight— to make people care… but without clues pointing to an answer, the attention on Tot’s case tapered off, and the trail eventually went cold. To this day, her case remains unsolved. 

Some think her case is connected to the Texas Killing Fields, others think she may have gone off the road, or been abducted. Her family just wants to know the truth about what happened to their mom.

This is part two of Tot Tran Harriman’s story.

Episode sources and photos:

https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/tot-harriman-2

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

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2001 - League City, Texas.

In 2001, 57-year-old Tot Harriman vanished into thin air while on the road in Texas between Houston and Corpus Christi.

Her son, Chien Si fought tooth and nail to keep his mom’s case in spotlight— to make people care… but without clues pointing to an answer, the attention on Tot’s case tapered off, and the trail eventually went cold. 21 years later, the answer to what actually happened to Tot remains just as murky.

But Tot had an incredible life, and a bright legacy that still shines today through her family, the communities she helped build… and it’s a story that deserves to be heard. 

To understand where Tot was in life at the moment she vanished, you have to understand her journey to get there.

This is a story of survival, love, and the strength of the human spirit. 

This is part one of Tot Tran Harriman’s story.

Episode sources and photos:

⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/tot-harriman

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

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1988 - West Swanzey, New Hampshire.

On a hot summer night in 1988, 22-year-old Jane Boroski, who was 7-months pregnant, stopped at a convenience store on her way home from a fair, when she was attacked by an unknown assailant who stabbed her 27 times and left her for dead. Miraculously, Jane survived... and so did her baby.

In the 1980’s, a serial killer was preying on women in the area surrounding the Connecticut River Valley in New Hampshire and Vermont. To this day, the identity of the killer is still unconfirmed, and remains one of New England’s most prolific unsolved cases.

There are 7 known victims connected to the Connecticut River Valley Killer, and one survivor—who believes that without a doubt, she almost became his 8th. 

But there is so much more to Jane Boroski than the night she was attacked, and 34-years later, she's ready to open up about it.

This is Jane's story... in her own words.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/jane-boroski

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

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2006 - Cranston, Rhode Island.

The case was doomed from the start.

In July of 2006, when paramedics arrived at the apartment of 34-year-old Shawn O'Brien, they believed it was for a medical emergency. It wasn't until after he passed away—and the police consulted with the medical examiner—that they realized the magnitude of his injuries were not consistent with what allegedly happened: a fall from a seizure. His cause of death was blunt force trauma. By the time police got a search warrant, it had been 4 days and the crime scene was contaminated.

What's worse, the medical examiner didn't have a clear story from police about how his injuries occurred, and ruled the manner of death as undetermined, beginning an uphill battle with the police (to investigate as a homicide) that continues to this day.

16 years later, the family is still asking themselves the same questions they did in 2006, and pushing even harder for the answers. His only daughter, Natalia St. Louis, remains determined to find out the truth about what happened to her father... and won't stop until she does.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/shawn-obrien

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

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2006 - Cranston, Rhode Island.

Shawn O’Brien was the life of the party. Despite the trouble that he'd occasionally get into, he had the luck of the Irish, and would often emerge unscathed... until one hot summer night in 2006, when everything changed...

Paramedics arrived to his basement apartment on a call for a seizure, something Shawn occasionally suffered from. According to accounts, he had been seizing for over an hour, making this a life threatening situation that ultimately took his life.

But things just didn't add up, and questions swirled around the circumstances of Shawn's death. If Shawn died from a seizure, why was the medical examiner saying that his death was caused by blunt force trauma? And why won't the police rule it a homicide?

16 years later, his daughter, Natalia St. Louis has set out to fulfill a promise she made to herself as a girl: to find out the truth about what happened to her father.

This is part one of the unexplained death of Shawn O'Brien.

Episode sources and photos: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/shawn-obrien⁠

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

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2011 - Roxbury, Massachusetts.

In December of 2011, 61-year-old Gail Miles was brutally murdered in her own home in Roxbury, Massachusetts. As Boston Police work to track down her killer, they realize that Gail is one of their own: a former officer for the nearby Watertown Police Dept, and that her time there was most remembered by the feathers she ruffled by standing up against harassment in the workplace.

Gail was also supposed to meet a landlord the night of her murder, and was getting impatient that he had taken all day to show up…

Her friends and family believe Gail knew her killer. She wouldn't open her door to just anyone… but over a decade later, police are still trying to answer the same question: who killed Gail Miles?

If you have any information about the murder of Gail Miles, please call Boston Police Crimestoppers at 1800-494-TIPS.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/gail-miles

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

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1992 - Limington, Maine.

Susan Hannah was a free spirit. Her family recalls her “ditty-bopping” in and out of the three different homes on Snow Road in Scarborough that they occupied. She was always out and about at the beach and in nature. She loved to feed the birds in her backyard, and they would even land on her outstretched arm, unafraid.

Susan disappeared on the evening of Saturday, April 18th, 1992 and her family knew right away that something was wrong. Police turned their eyes toward her husband, Jon Hannah, against whom she had recently secured a restraining order. 18 months later, her body was discovered in a rural part of Maine, an hour west of where she lived.

Once the police ruled it a homicide, the hunt was on to find her killer.

Episode sources and photos: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/susan-hannah

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

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2006 - Skowhegan, ME.

Amy Drake was only 18-years-old when her body was found by hunters in 2006 in the woods of Norridgewock, Maine, just a few miles from the Skowhegan town line. She’d been missing for a little over a month.

Since then, there have been few answers as to what happened to Amy, and her case, although still open 15 years later, sits on a list of 100+ other cold cases in the state of Maine.

But this story isn't about a murder. It’s about friendship, nostalgia, and legacy. The things that were, and a butterfly effect of the things that could have been.

This is a revisit of the life and death of Amy Lynn Drake. This episode originally aired December 2020.

If you have any information on the murder of Amy Drake, please reach out to the Maine Major Crimes Unit Central at (207)624-7076 x9 or ⁠leave a tip⁠.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, it’s not too late to get help. Call the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Hotline at 1-800-662-HELP or visit ⁠⁠findtreatment.gov⁠⁠ for additional resources.

Episode sources and photos: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/amy-lynn-drake⁠

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

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1996 - Lynn, Massachusetts.

On the evening of September 28th, 1996, a man with a dog approached 6-year-old Jesus de la Cruz with the enticing offer of a shiny bike for him to play with. Jesus' bike had been broken, so he followed the man up the street and toward a park, excited about his new toy. He was never seen again.

The man was later identified as Robert Levesque, but he claimed to have no knowledge about Jesus. On paper, he looked like the perfect suspect. But as the investigative layers begin to peel back and additional suspects emerge, detectives were left baffled with more questions than answers in a desperate race against time.

The disappearance of Jesus de la Cruz remains one of New England's most haunting mysteries. It’s also every parent's worst nightmare: a total stranger abducting your child in broad daylight.

Episode sources and photos: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/jesus-de-la-cruz

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

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