Murder, She Told

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 Office 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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1937 - Mexico, Missouri

On the eve of Thanksgiving in 1937, 46-year-old Margaret Mortimer, who went by Peggy, was just steps from her front door when she was attacked and killed by an unknown assailant.

Investigators found few clues and no obvious suspects, despite a city-wide manhunt. And as early leads faded, local police turned to Ira Cooper, the St. Louis Police Department’s first Black lieutenant, hoping his sterling reputation could bring answers to a case already slipping away.

The murder shocked the industrial town of Mexico, Missouri. Peggy was well known and widely liked, with no clear enemies. But on that cold November night, someone was waiting—and the question remains: who?

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/margaret-peggy-mortimer

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

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1981 - Winchendon, Massachusetts.

On January 30, 1981, 19-year-old Nancy Williams picked up a last-minute shift at the Cumberland Farms in Winchendon, Massachusetts.

Just two hours before closing, an unknown assailant entered the store, robbed it, and brutally stabbed Nancy, leaving her for dead behind the counter.

The crime stunned locals, who struggled to believe something so violent could happen in their quiet town. Even more unsettling was the thought that the person responsible may have simply blended back into the community—never identified, never held accountable.

Now, 45 years later, Nancy’s case is being revived in the hope that renewed attention, advances in forensic technology, and fresh tips can finally bring justice for Nancy.

Episode sources and photos: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/nancy-williams

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

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1963 - Wytopitlock, Maine.

In April of 1963, a violent discovery was made inside a tiny, one-room cabin in the woods off Route 2A in Aroostook County. 68-year-old Emil Andrew Martens was found brutally beaten to death, setting off a brief and fragmented investigation that produced a swirl of suspects, rumors, and unanswered questions.

Today, Emil Martens’ name does not appear on any official unsolved case lists in Maine. His life, his death, and the circumstances surrounding a brutal crime remain largely forgotten—buried in history… until now.

This is the life and death of Emil Martens.

Episode sources and photos: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/emil-martens

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

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