In this episode of Under the Pines, we investigate The Shoe Box Murder Mystery, an 1886 Wallingford, Connecticut unsolved murder and cold case in which a man’s torso was found packed inside a wooden shoe box, with arsenic later found in his stomach. It remains one of the strangest and most enduring unsolved true crime cases in Connecticut history.

This is a story about murder, dismemberment, and erasure. The victim was never definitively identified. The killer was never caught. Investigators traced the box from Wallingford to Fall River and then to Chicago, followed false leads, found more remains, and still could not close the distance between evidence and certainty.

We also look at the rumor that grew around the silence: local fire theories, whispers of a Haymarket connection, the well story, Mabel Gage, Shoebox Road, and the way an old unsolved case can drift from record into folklore when time refuses to let it rest.

This episode contains discussion of homicide, dismemberment, and poisoning. Listener discretion is advised.

Sources:The Shoe Box Murder Mystery — Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project — https://connecticuthistory.org/the-shoebox-murder-mystery/
August 8: The Shoe Box Murder of 1886 — Today in Connecticut History — https://todayincthistory.com/2018/08/08/august-8-the-shoebox-murder-of-1886/
The Mystery of the Wallingford Shoebox Murder — New England Historical Society — https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-mystery-of-the-wallingford-shoebox-murder/
Wallingford’s 'Shoebox Murder' to be Featured on New Ghost-Hunting TV Show — Wallingford, CT Patch — https://patch.com/connecticut/wallingford/wallingford-s-shoebox-murder-be-featured-new-ghost-hunting-tv-show
Haymarket Affair | History, Aftermath, & Influence — Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/event/Haymarket-Riot
The Anarchists and the Haymarket Square Incident — American Experience | Official Site | PBS — https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/chicago-anarchists-and-haymarket-square-incident/

#ShoeBoxMurder #WallingfordCT #ConnecticutColdCase #UnsolvedMurder #HistoricalTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #UnderThePines #ConnecticutHistory

Jason Foreman murder (1975), South Kingstown, Rhode Island: five-year-old Jason Foreman vanished from a neighborhood that felt safe—until it wasn’t. Years later, the case centered on neighbor Michael Woodmansee, a sealed journal, and a second story that reopened old wounds: Rhode Island “good time” sentence credits and what the state does when a sentence ends on paper, but fear doesn’t.

This episode stays with the documented public record: the case timeline as reported, the 1983 guilty plea to second-degree murder and 40-year sentence, the existence of a court-sealed journal described in reporting, the public backlash over sentence credits, and the post-prison confinement plan tied to Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston. Where records are sealed or details were not publicly released, I say so plainly. A clearly marked portion addresses rumors and retellings only to explain how public perception formed—not to present new facts.

Content warning: discussion of child homicide, confinement/corrections history, and public controversy around release and civil commitment. Listener discretion is advised.

If this stayed with you, share it—and follow the show. The next story shouldn’t have to fight for air.

Thank you to Yoza for “Broken Wings,” used with permission—because some songs don’t distract from grief, they honor it.

Sources:

Child Killer Woodmansee to Be Committed After Prison Release — ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/US/child-killer-woodmansee-committed-prison-release/story?id=13731581

Child Killer’s Journal Could Keep Him Confined — ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/news/story/child-killer-michael-woodmansees-journal-confined-13145105

R.I. father says he’ll kill son’s murderer if man is released — CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ri-father-says-hell-kill-sons-murderer-if-man-is-released/

Michael Woodmansee Update: Psychiatrists to review journal of R.I. child killer on verge of release — CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-woodmansee-update-psychiatrists-to-review-journal-of-ri-child-killer-on-verge-of-release/

Hundreds Protest Child Killer’s Pending Release In RI — CBS Boston
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/hundreds-protest-child-killers-pending-release-in-ri/

Convicted Child Killer Released From RI Prison 11 Years Early — CBS Boston
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/convicted-child-killer-released-from-ri-prison-11-years-early/

Attorney General Kilmartin Statement on Passage of Amended “Time Off For Good Behavior” Legislation — RI.gov (Office of the Attorney General)
https://www.ri.gov/press/view/13779

Release of boy’s killer from RI prison is delayed — Bangor Daily News
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2011/08/31/news/release-of-boy%E2%80%99s-killer-from-ri-prison-is-delayed/

Family of Woodmansee victim accepts outcome — TurnTo10 (WJAR)
https://turnto10.com/archive/family-of-woodmansee-victim-accepts-outcome

Woodmansee Talk Stirs Up Lost Memories — Narragansett-South Kingstown Patch
https://patch.com/rhode-island/narragansett/woodmansee-talk-stirs-up-lost-memories

Woodmansee Seeks Absentee Ballot — Narragansett-South Kingstown Patch
https://patch.com/rhode-island/narragansett/woodmansee-seeks-absentee-ballot

#JasonForeman #MichaelWoodmansee #SouthKingstown #RhodeIsland #RhodeIslandTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #SealedJournal #GoodTimeCredits #EleanorSlaterHospital

Alan Bono’s killing in Brookfield, Connecticut became the kind of case people don’t just follow—they project onto. On February 16, 1981, Bono was fatally stabbed, Arne Cheyenne Johnson was arrested the next day, and the courtroom that followed drew a hard line between belief and proof.

Episode 23 stays inside the verified record first: the day’s events as described in contemporary reporting (including Wanda Johnson’s account), the rapid, witness-driven investigation, and the evidentiary fight over whether “demonic possession” could even be presented to a jury—followed by the pivot to conventional arguments and the manslaughter conviction with a 10–20 year sentence and release after roughly five years.

Where sources collide, I don’t sand it down—I name it. Even basic details like the number of stab wounds are reported differently across reputable summaries and later courtroom recollections; this episode treats that discrepancy as a warning about how fast “record truth” can get replaced by “story truth.”

Then, and only then, we step into “Outside the Record”—the Warrens, the “transfer” claim, the rumors, and the media machine—because that layer is part of why this case still won’t stay quiet. But it stays clearly separated from what can be proven.

If you’re on Spotify, tap Follow. Anywhere else you listen, follow the show there too—so you don’t miss the next one.

Thank you to Yoza—“Broken Wings” is used with permission.

SOURCES (as used for this episode; URLs kept intact):

University of Virginia Law Library (Dengrove) — “Arne Cheyenne Johnson”
https://archives.law.virginia.edu/dengrove/writeup/arne-cheyenne-johnson

The Washington Post (Lynn Darling, 1981) — “By Demons Possessed”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1981/09/13/by-demons-possessed/3479fa6b-eee3-4233-a2fc-b9defa403504/

UPI Archives (Oct 28, 1981) — Judge throws out the “demon defense”
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/28/A-judge-Wednesday-threw-out-the-demon-defense-of/2826373093200/

The News-Times (Oct 31, 2023) — Local reporting/courtroom recollection and wound-count detail
https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/devil-on-trial-netflix-doc-mike-allen-18447345.php

Associated Press — Arne Cheyenne Johnson release; arrest date context; “model prisoner” language
https://apnews.com/article/c758c33ba4756f757e1dfec4f0abd39e

TIME (Oct 2023) — Competing perspectives around Netflix’s “The Devil on Trial”
https://time.com/6325498/the-devil-on-trial-netflix-true-story/

Netflix Tudum — “The Devil on Trial” contextual piece
https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/devil-on-trial-release-date-trailer-news

People (Feb 16, 2026) — Later-life/update-style summary reporting
https://people.com/where-is-arne-johnson-now-devil-made-me-do-it-11763765

#DevilMadeMeDoIt #AlanBono #ArneCheyenneJohnson #BrookfieldConnecticut #ConnecticutTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #ManslaughterTrial #CourtroomEvidence #DemonicPossessionDefense #EdAndLorraineWarren #ParanormalHistory #1981Case #NetflixDocumentary #OutsideTheRecord #CriminalJustice

Fall River, Massachusetts. Late 1979 into 1980. Three young women connected to the sex trade end up dead—Doreen Levesque, Barbara Ann Raposa, and Karen Marsden—and their names get swallowed by bigger words people still fight over decades later. This episode stays disciplined: court record first, noise second.

We walk the documented spine of what the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court summarized: the Raposa case and Andre O. Maltais’ first-degree murder conviction; the Marsden case and Carl H. Drew’s first-degree murder conviction; and the way Doreen Levesque’s killing appears through related proceedings, charges, immunity fights, and trial testimony referenced in the record.

We also cover the investigation turns the public tends to skip: how Maltais repeatedly inserted himself near the Raposa investigation as described in the court’s summary, and how Robin Murphy becomes the central doorway the system builds around—through indictments, a plea, and the legal mechanics of compelling testimony.

Then we step into the contested afterlife—carefully labeled as argument, not proof: recantation talk, parole-era flashpoints, and the way modern retellings reshape what people think they know. For modern context only, we draw on reporting about prosecutorial review discussion and parole developments, and we point to the “Fall River” docuseries as cultural background, not evidence.

If you’re on Spotify, tap Follow. Anywhere else you listen, follow the show there too—so you don’t miss what’s next.

Thank you to Yoza for “Broken Wings,” used with permission—one clean, steady light in a story where three names were almost buried under the noise.

Sources and links (plain URLs):Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion — Commonwealth v. Maltais (Barbara Ann Raposa)
https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/volumes/387/387mass79.html

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion — Commonwealth v. Drew (Karen Marsden)
https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/1986/397-mass-65-2.html

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion — William Smith v. Commonwealth (immunity / related proceedings)
https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/volumes/386/386mass345.html

WCVB — “Bristol County prosecutors to review satanic cult killings” (modern context)
https://www.wcvb.com/article/bristol-county-prosecutors-to-review-satanic-cult-killings-1/8170776

Boston.com — “Woman convicted in Fall River ‘satanic cult’ murder granted parole…” (modern context)
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/05/15/woman-convicted-in-fall-river-satanic-cult-murder-granted-parole/

MGM+ — Fall River (docuseries page; cultural context only)
https://www.mgmplus.com/series/fall-river

#FallRiver #FallRiverCultMurders #MassachusettsTrueCrime #SatanicPanic #RobinMurphy #CarlDrew #AndreMaltais #BarbaraAnnRaposa #KarenMarsden #DoreenLevesque #TrueCrimePodcast #CourtRecords #MassachusettsSupremeJudicialCourt #NewEnglandTrueCrime #ColdCaseHistory

In 1892, Mercy Lena Brown of Exeter, Rhode Island died of tuberculosis, and what followed became one of the most infamous cases in the New England vampire panic. This episode traces the real history behind the legend: consumption, family loss, the exhumation of Mercy Brown, the burning of her heart and liver, and the desperate folk remedy meant to save her brother Edwin. It’s not a Dracula story—it’s a story about grief, fear, medicine failing in public, and the way a young woman named Lena was turned into folklore after death.

Sources:

Rhode Island Historical Society, Michael E. Bell, Smithsonian Magazine, Science History Institute.
https://www.rihs.org/have-mercy/
https://www.weslpress.org/9780819571700/food-for-the-dead/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-new-england-vampire-panic-36482878/
https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/distillations-pod/vampire-panic/

#MercyBrown #NewEnglandVampirePanic #ExeterRhodeIsland #RhodeIslandHistory #TuberculosisHistory #AmericanFolklore #UnderThePines #TrueCrimePodcast

Samuel Robidoux’s starvation death in 1999 wasn’t a mystery solved by luck—it was a truth dragged into the light by records, pressure, and a secret that couldn’t stay sealed. A baby who had been described as active and growing is put under a “leading,” his diet restricted, his body visibly failing, and then—after he dies—his remains are concealed and carried deep into the Maine wilderness.

This episode follows what the court record and documented reporting say happened: the group dynamics that treated “leadings” as commands, the narrowing of choices until harm could be reframed as obedience, the concealment after Samuel’s death, the remote burial in Baxter State Park, the search efforts that couldn’t find the grave, and the later break when someone inside the circle led investigators to the burial site. From there, the case hardens into law: indictment, trial, and Jacques Robidoux’s conviction for first-degree murder by reason of extreme atrocity or cruelty, affirmed on appeal.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of an infant’s death, starvation, child abuse, coercive religious control, and concealment of remains. The story is reconstructed from court records and contemporaneous reporting available at the time of release. A clearly separated section addresses online questions and theory-framing; it is not presented as fact.

Music: “Broken Wings” by Yoza is used with permission.

Sources (primary and supporting):Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court — Commonwealth v. Robidoux (affirming conviction; key factual findings and group background)
https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/volumes/450/450mass144.html

U.S. Court of Appeals (First Circuit) — federal appellate summary/context (habeas/appeal posture and record overview)
https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca1/10-1239/10-1239p-01a-2011-06-28.pdf?ts=1410910918

ABC News — reporting on court/child-welfare collision and contempt/jailing context around the sect’s children issues
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126346

Los Angeles Times — contemporaneous reporting on the journal discovery and investigation pressure (reported timeline details)
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-sep-17-mn-22365-story.html

The Washington Post — contemporaneous coverage of the murder conviction and broader case summary
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/06/15/mass-man-convicted-of-murder-in-infant-sons-starvation-death/2f38e6ac-3e53-4bad-bc48-15da5e8a5c3f/

CBS News — trial-era coverage of the guilty verdict
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sect-leader-guilty-in-sons-murder/

CBS Boston / WBZ — later interview context (post-conviction framing; psychology, not a revision of guilt)
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/jacques-robidoux-prison-interview-the-body-former-cult-leader-mind-control-attleboro-wbz-tv/

Lewiston Sun Journal — AP-era reporting reflected in later coverage (plea outcomes in the case’s orbit)
https://www.sunjournal.com/2004/02/11/sect-member-pleads-guilty-accessory-babys-starving-death/

If you’re listening on Spotify, tap Follow. If you’re somewhere else, follow the show there too—so these names don’t disappear back into silence.

#SamuelRobidoux #JacquesRobidoux #TheBodySect #AttleboroMA #MassachusettsTrueCrime #BaxterStatePark #ChildAbuseAwareness #HighControlGroup #CourtRecords #TrueCrimePodcast #NewEnglandTrueCrime #UnderThePines

Gycelle Cote was 12 when she left home in Sanford, Maine on Sunday, April 29, 1984—and by early the next morning she was found along the banks of the Mousam River. In the aftermath, one question stays fixed: what happened to Gycelle. And in court, another question rises beside it—what a jury is allowed to hear when fear is already in the room.

This episode contains factual reporting on the murder of a child and may be disturbing. The narrative is built from court records and documented reporting available at the time of release. Where the public record is limited or unclear, I say so plainly and do not fill in gaps. Later, we step briefly outside the verified record to acknowledge community talk and online doubt; that section is not presented as fact. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode: the known timeline, the conviction of Scott Waterhouse, and the appellate record’s focus on process—especially the controversy around admitting “satanism” evidence and how courts try to protect juries from deciding a case on heat instead of proof.

If you’re on Spotify, tap Follow. Anywhere else you listen, follow the show there too—so you don’t miss next week. And if this story brought you back to Sanford—or to anyone who remembers that spring—share the episode quietly, and respectfully.

Music: Thank you to Yoza for “Broken Wings,” used with permission—music that doesn’t decorate the story, it steadies it.

Sources / linksMaine Supreme Judicial Court (Law Court) opinion — State v. Waterhouse (appeal issues; jury selection/admissibility discussion)
https://law.justia.com/cases/maine/supreme-court/1986/513-a-2d-862-0.html

Contemporaneous reporting (period framing; trial-era reporting reprint PDF)
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/sanford_herald/files/original/be8cb92e6c355b95620cceaba9163271.pdf

Portland Press Herald / Journal Tribune remembrance reporting (victim remembrance; timeline details)
https://www.pressherald.com/2014/04/26/sanford-girl-to-be-remembered-tuesday/

Context on Sanford’s long memory and how place absorbs tragedy (atmosphere/context, not treated as case proof)
https://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/features/the-mills/

#UnderThePines #GycelleCote #SanfordMaine #MousamRiver #MaineTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #ColdCase #1984 #MaineHistory #CourtRecords #MaineSupremeJudicialCourt #StatevWaterhouse #JurySelection #EvidenceRules #SatanicPanic #Justice #VictimFirst #RememberHer #NewEnglandTrueCrime #SmallTownAmerica

Samuel Nieves, 35, was found murdered inside his apartment at 10 Albee Street in Fitchburg, Massachusetts on April 6, 2009—an unsolved homicide still listed publicly and still seeking information. The Worcester County DA’s public summary includes one stark reported detail: two men dressed in black reportedly entered the apartment and murdered Nieves; his death was ruled a homicide.

This episode keeps the verified record tight, then steps carefully into a clearly labeled Speculation Lane to separate what is officially stated from what has circulated publicly in secondary coverage and public posts. The human details included are limited to publicly available obituary/memorial information, used only to keep Samuel in the frame as a person—not just a case file.

If you have information about Samuel Nieves’ homicide, contact Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office: 508.453.7589 or Worcester D A unresolved at mass dot gov.

Music: Thank you to Yoza — “Broken Wings.”

Sources & links used for this episode (verified record + clearly labeled Speculation Lane sources):

• Worcester County District Attorney’s Office — Unresolved Case Summary: Samuel Nieves (Fitchburg, 4/6/2009)

• CurrentObituary.com (Bosk Funeral Home repost) — Samuel Nieves obituary (humanization only)

• Legacy.com — Samuel Nieves obituary/guestbook (humanization only)

• Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Case Unit — public post referencing the case (Speculation Lane only unless independently corroborated)

• True Crime New England — “Case Profiles #27” page referencing the case (Speculation Lane only unless independently corroborated)

• The Lost & The Taken (ashmysteries.com) — blog recap referencing the case (Speculation Lane only unless independently corroborated)

#SamuelNieves #FitchburgMA #FitchburgMassachusetts #10AlbeeStreet #UnsolvedHomicide #ColdCase #UnsolvedCase #MassachusettsStatePolice #WorcesterCountyDA #TrueCrimePodcast #TrueCrimeCommunity #JusticeForSamuelNieves #UnderThePines

Lineida Olivera missing Rutland, Massachusetts: reported missing May 4, 2007; remains located September 4, 2007 in the woods about 200 yards from Route 122. This episode covers the verified public timeline, what the public record says, and what remains unknown in an unresolved death investigation.

Listener discretion advised: this episode discusses a missing person case and an unresolved death investigation.

What you will hear in this episode:

• The confirmed public timeline and recovery details (including how the remains were discovered).

• Humanizing background from documented public records (used only to honor the person, not to speculate).

• A clearly labeled Speculation Lane that is not presented as fact.

If you have information about what happened to Lineida Olivera, contact the Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office at 508.453.7589 or [email protected].

If you are on Spotify, tap Follow. Anywhere else you listen, follow the show there too—so you do not miss next week.

Sources used:Worcester County District Attorney’s Office – Unresolved case summary (Lineida Olivera – Rutland – 9/4/2007): https://worcesterda.com/cases/lineida-olivera-rutland-9-4-2007/
Collins Funeral Home – Obituary: Lineida Olivera Gonzalez: https://www.collinsfuneral.com/obituaries/lineida-gonzalez
The Charley Project – Lineida Olivera: https://charleyproject.org/case/lineida-olivera

Thank you to Yoza for the music used in this episode.

#lineidaolivera #rutlandma #massachusetts #worcestercounty #route122 #centralmassachusetts #missingperson #unsolved #coldcase #truecrimepodcast #unresolvedcase #massachusettstruecrime #justiceforlineida #masp

Waldemar Feliciano is still listed as an endangered missing person in Worcester, Massachusetts—missing since November 2005, last seen by his girlfriend on Eastern Avenue.

In this episode, we stay anchored to what’s in the public record: the Worcester Police Department lists Feliciano (age 23) as missing from 63 Eastern Avenue, with a date of incident of 12/26/2005, and notes in the synopsis that he “was involved in the sale of illegal narcotics.”

This episode contains factual reporting on a missing endangered person case. Some details may be disturbing. Where the public record is limited, unclear, or silent, I say so plainly. A clearly labeled Speculation Lane appears later and is not presented as fact.

If you know anything about Waldemar Feliciano’s whereabouts, Worcester Police encourage tips:

• Text TIPWPD to 274637 (CRIMES) + your message

• Submit an online anonymous tip

• Call the Unresolved Homicide Unit: 508-799-8688

Thanks to Yoza for the music used in this episode (“Broken Wings”).

City of Worcester Police — Feliciano, Waldemar (Unresolved Cases entry)
https://www.worcesterma.gov/police/investigations/unresolved-cases/feliciano-waldemar
City of Worcester Police — Unresolved Cases (tip instructions + case list)
https://www.worcesterma.gov/police/investigations/unresolved-cases?page=1
City of Worcester Police — Submit Anonymous Crime Tips (online tip form)
https://www.worcesterma.gov/police/investigations/crime-tips
The Charley Project — Waldemar Feliciano
https://charleyproject.org/case/waldemar-feliciano
NamUs — Missing Person Case MP13499
https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP13499
Unsolved: Worcester — “Where did Waldemar Feliciano Go?” (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOXIikaBH60
This Week in Worcester — Episode post (Unsolved: Worcester S3E4)
https://thisweekinworcester.com/episode-4-of-unsolved-worcester-season-3/
True Crime New England — Case Profiles #49 (Waldemar Feliciano)
https://www.truecrimene.com/episodes/qxt6r2cm0ljm2ik5gb5g8vfs1ogudm#waldemarfeliciano #worcesterma #massachusetts #missingperson #endangeredmissing #coldcase #unsolved #worcesterpolice #namus #charleyproject #truecrime #truecrimepodcast #underthepines #easternavenue #missingpersons