Murder, She Told

1925 - Winthrop, Maine.

Harry Kirby didn't resist arrest. He was finally apprehended while on the run for the brutal murder of Aida Hayward and the attempted murder of Emma Townes, who had survived his gunshots and lay recovering in a hospital bed.

But Harry's past was finally starting to catch up with him, and as people close to him are interviewed for the robberies and other crimes he was also accused of, a darker past began to unravel, revealing other victims he'd left in his wake.

Could Harry Kirby be the key to solving other murders in New England and beyond?

This is part two of the Harry Kirby Story, the murder of Lillian White and the tragedy in Winthrop.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/harry-kirby-2

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

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1925 - Winthrop, Maine.

By the time firefighters made it to the blaze on Lake Maranacook in Winthrop, ME, the fire had consumed the once beautiful Hayward cottage. Nearby, 60-year-old Emma Townes crawled on the forest bed, escaping the home; she was in bad shape, but she was alive.

Neighbors were horrified to learn that Emma hadn't just escaped the flames; she was shot by a mystery man who tried to kill her before setting the cottage on fire—and when he left, he had taken her niece, Aida Hayward with him.

The news that there was a killer on the loose and a beloved young woman to rescue spread like wildfire, and launched one of the biggest searches in Maine state history. Everyone in town stopped to pitch in and help in the search for Aida, hoping she would turn up safe... everyone, including the killer himself.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/harry-kirby

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

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You're invited! A special update and announcement for two live events happening in June with Murder, She Told and the Kittery Police Dept for the 1983 Kittery, ME missing persons case of Reeves Johnson.

Check out details for both events here and RSVP.

Facebook event link for June 4th event.

If you can't make it and want to support, all donations through June 18th will go towards costs for both events. Find that here.

Listen to and share the original episode on Reeves here.

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2006 - Epping, New Hampshire.

Just as Sheila LaBarre's impending murder trial in March of 2008 was approaching, Sheila's legal team dropped a bombshell: Sheila had admitted to killing both Kenneth Countie and Michael DeLoge (despite the fact the state hadn't charged her with Michael's death), but declared she was "not guilty by reason of insanity"—that Sheila believed she was an avenging angel put on this earth with a mission to take out the bad guys.

The families of Kenneth and Michael were aghast at the possibility Sheila might be able to escape responsibility for their loved ones' deaths, meanwhile, the media dug into Sheila's history... unearthing a horrifying record of domestic violence, and the survivors who lived to tell their accounts on the stand.

Was Sheila LaBarre in fact legally insane? And are there other victims we don't know about?

This is part three (of three) of the Sheila LaBarre case.

Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

Support the show here

Read: Wicked Intentions by Kevin Flynn about the Sheila LaBarre case

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2006 - Epping, New Hampshire.

Sheila LaBarre was on the run. While only wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Kenneth Countie, Sheila didn't want to take a chance; she dyed her hair bright red and tried to skip town with a fresh wad of cash.

But while Sheila was hopping from hotel to hotel, investigators were tearing apart the secrets that lay between the walls of the historic farmhouse. With multiple burn pits, and tons of evidence collected at the scene that doesn't quite match up, police are starting to wonder if maybe Kenneth isn't the only victim of Sheila LaBarre... could they have a serial killer on their hands?

This is part two (of three) of the Sheila LaBarre case.

Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

Support the show here

Read: Wicked Intentions by Kevin Flynn about the Sheila LaBarre case

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2006 - Epping, New Hampshire.

When Epping Police Sergeant Shawn Gallagher received a wellness check concerning 24-year-old Kenneth Countie that sent him to Sheila LaBarre's estate, he figured it would be 'yet another encounter with Sheila', who was infamous around town for her behavior with men. This wasn't the first time he'd gone to her farm.

But a few weeks later, he received another call... this time reporting Kenneth as missing. But Kenneth wouldn't just leave on his own, and when police return to the farm, they start putting together the pieces of the unimaginable horror of what really happened inside the walls of the old farmhouse... and set out to catch a cold-blooded killer on the loose.

This is part one of the Sheila LaBarre case.

Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

Support the show here

Read: Wicked Intentions by Kevin Flynn about the Sheila LaBarre case

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2000 - Providence, Rhode Island.

Kimberly Morse was the life of the party. She loved to entertain and make people laugh and smile, and she had a wide circle of friends and family who adored her. A true extrovert, Kim could make friends with just about anyone. This makes it so much harder to accept what happened to her.

In January of 2000, somebody was in Kim's home, waiting in the dark for her to get back from work. Somebody who knew she worked late nights. Kim was murdered in her own kitchen. Her body wasn't discovered until 15 hours later when firefighters responded to a fire at the apartment, unaware of the horror waiting inside.

But as the mystery unravels, the potential suspect list continues to grow, and one thing remains clear to police: Kimberly Morse knew the man who killed her.

Kim had so many people who loved her. People who are still waiting for the day the man who stole Kim's life is in handcuffs. Four of them can be heard in this episode.

This is the life and unsolved homicide of Kim Morse.

If you have any information about the murder of Kim Morse, please contact the North Providence Police Department at (401) 231-4533.

See sources and photos: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/kimberly-morse⁠

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1994 - Madison, Maine.

At 55, Raynald Levesque was living the American dream he set out to achieve: he had a beautiful family, a community who loved him, and a successful local business he enjoyed. A proud French-Canadian, Ray was looking forward to traveling in his retirement, and meeting his future grandchildren... but Ray would never see those golden years.

One morning in April of 1994, he was shot by an unknown man in his own home in Madison, Maine. The intruder stole cash and left Ray for dead. When he was discovered hours later, it was too late.

For the past 28-years, Ray's case has quietly sat on the Maine State Unsolved Homicide list. Little progress has been made since the initial investigation. 

But Ray's daughter, Julia, still holds onto faith that somebody has the key. She reached out to me to tell her dad's story, hoping somebody out there can help bring her family the long-awaited answers they deserve.

Episode sources and photos: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/raynald-levesque

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

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1962 - Newport, New Hampshire.

John William McGrath was a brilliant teenager. He was accepted to Dartmouth University and was starring in the school play. He came from a loving home and had a good future... but on a chilly night in March of 1962, just shy of his 18th birthday, John took his father's beloved rifle, killed his little brothers, and waited in the dark for his parents to return home to give them the same fate.

How could such a bright young man murder his family in cold blood? John was found unfit to stand trial, and was committed indefinitely to the New Hampshire State Hospital where for the next decade, he was a star patient... until an ordinary Tuesday night in August 1974 when he simply walked away, and never returned.

This is the story of Francis, Willena, Peter, and Charles McGrath, whose lives were tragically cut short by somebody they loved, and the search New Hampshire's longest fugitive who took their lives, John William McGrath.

If you have any information about the whereabouts of John William McGrath, I encourage you to contact the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force at (603) 225-1646.

Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com.

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

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1971 - Middlebury, Vermont.

For 18-year-old Lynne Schulze, 1971 was an exciting time. She was coming-of-age during a time of great change in America, and left her hometown in Connecticut to go to a quaint New England liberal arts school, Middlebury College.

But three months after her freedom as a young adult began, something went wrong. Lynne missed an important exam; one she'd been studying for. That same day, she was spotted near a bus station in town, but had left all of her belongings in her dorm.

At the time, it was easy to cast missing young people as counter-culture runaways; moving off the grid in the nearby mountains.

But Lynne was responsible, and her family insisted she wouldn't just leave without telling them... but she just vanished, leaving behind little for police to go on... within months, Lynne's case sadly went cold.

Until 2015, when an infamous millionaire named Robert Durst is arrested for murder, and this 44-year-old, small-town missing person case is thrust into the national spotlight. Is Robert Durst the key to solving this mystery?

If you have any information about the 1971 disappearance of Lynne Schulze, please contact Thomas Hanley at the Middlebury Police Dept at (802)-388-3191.

Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com.

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

Support the show here

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