Dark Downeast – Details, episodes & analysis

When friends Cynthia Kane-Clark and Dawn Shippee both turned up the victims of homicide, one after the other, in the same two month span, investigators were faced with a complex investigation. It’s now been over 20 years since the two women were killed in neighboring Rhode Island towns and police are still looking for answers. 

• If you have information relating to the murder of Cyndi Kane-Clark or Dawn Shippee, please call the Cold Case Rhode Island tip line at 1-877-RI-SOLVE.
   

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/cynthiakaneclarkdawnshippee/

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

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• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

When a teenager disappeared from Brattleboro, Vermont, hours before the wind, rain, and damaging floods of a major natural disaster devastated the state, it took days before he was finally reported missing and initial search efforts were hindered by ongoing storm recovery. Now as the case approaches another anniversary in 2024, loved ones are still waiting for the information that could lead them to answers. 

• If you have information relating to the disappearance of Marble Arvidson, please contact Brattleboro Police at (802) 257-7950.
   

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/marblearvidson

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

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• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

During a nearly 18-month span beginning the winter of 2003, Audrey Lynn Harris, Christine Dumont, and Stacie Goulet disappeared without a trace from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, leaving their families and investigators searching for answers. It wasn’t until detectives received an anonymous voicemail that the pieces finally came together in what would later be referred to as one of the most horrific homicide cases in the city’s history.

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/audreylynnharrischristinedumontandstaciegoulet

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

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• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

Semper Memento. Always Remember. Those words guide the work of the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit. In this special release episode, I peel back the curtain on the Unsolved Homicide Unit and reveal what goes into re-examining and investigating long standing homicide cases in the state of Maine and how a team of experts collaborates in pursuit of one common goal – to find answers.

Each of the individuals you’re about to meet would agree with me here: The most important story to tell is the one about the victim so that they are never forgotten and their legacy is honored, even and especially if their story doesn’t have an ending yet. The Unsolved Homicide Unit becomes part of those stories, assembling each piece of a nebulous puzzle so that hopefully, one day, they can give the victims and their families the ending they deserve.

As someone who is deeply invested and interested in the work that it takes to solve a cold case murder, and as a podcaster who has spoken their names and shared the work they’ve done on the cases I cover, it is an honor to introduce you to members of the Maine Unsolved Homicide Unit – Commanding Officer Jeff Love, Assistant Attorney General Lara Nomani, Forensic Chemist Alison Gingras, Victim Witness Advocate Renee Fournier, and Investigator Jay Pelletier.

• Cases Referenced in this Episode
• Justice for Dorthea Burke: What Finally Solved Her Case
• Identified: Stacyville John Doe
• A Killer Connection: The Janet Brochu Cold Case
   

View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/unsolvedhomicideunit

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
   

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

STOCKTON SPRINGS, 1984: Nearly four decades is a long time to wait for justice. In the case of Dorthea "Dot" Burke, time proved to be exactly what detectives needed to secure that justice, bringing key witnesses forward to tell their story. You might assume DNA is the key to closing out cold cases, but more often than not, it’s all about getting people talking.

It was a 36-year long investigation into Dot’s death. I'll walk you through it. In collaboration with the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit and with the consent of the immediate family of Dorthea “Dot” Burke, this is her story on Dark Downeast.

• View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/dortheaburke
• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1978: When State Police investigators started digging in March of 1988, it had been 10 years since anyone had seen Russell Bean. An investigation followed his disappearance, but foul play wasn’t suspected. Not until a deathbed confession and shocking accusation sent investigators to the site of an old pig pen on the property of Marlow, New Hampshire’s Police Chief, Robert Chambers Sr.

• If you have information regarding this case, contact the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit at (603) 271-2663, [email protected], or leave a tip
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View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/russellbean

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
   

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

In April 1979, the lives of two teenagers from two very different parts of the country were inextricably linked by murder. In Brewer, Maine, 17-year old Amy Banks awoke one night to learn that her father, Dr. Ronald Banks, had been murdered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

One month later, authorities in New Orleans arrested 16-year old Isaac Knapper and charged him with the killing of Amy’s father. But Isaac didn’t commit the murder.

This is the story of a wrongful conviction, a young Black man railroaded by the justice system, and evidence withheld at trial that would’ve saved him from a life sentence behind bars in the nation’s bloodiest prison.

This is the case of Dr. Ronald Banks, told by his daughter Amy Banks, and Isaac Knapper, the man once charged and convicted of his murder.

• Read Fighting Time by Amy Banks and Isaac Knapper
   

View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/wrongfulconviction

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• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
   

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

MASARDIS, MAINE 1977: The impact that murder has on a family and a community is profound and far-reaching. When a murder goes unsolved, grief is partnered with lasting fear. In a small town like Masardis, Maine, the shock that came after the killing of Lila Drew still reverberates these 45 years later.

Who chose to end the life of a 78-year old woman for seemingly no reason? How could this person pass through a town as small as Masardis unnoticed and carry out a brutal attack without detection? Or maybe they weren’t passing through. Maybe Lila Drew’s killer was one of their own.

• If you have information regarding this case, please contact the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit - North at (207) 973-3750 or toll free 1-800-432-7381. You may also report information about this crime using the leave a tip form
  .

View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/liladrew

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
   

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 1993: After more than two decades of searching for answers in the unsolved homicide of 20-year old Sophie Sergie, DNA evidence led detectives from Alaska to the doorstep of Steven Downs in Auburn, Maine. On Thursday, February 10, 2022, the jury found Steven Downs guilty on the charges of murder and sexual assault.

I covered Sophie Sergie’s case in two parts on Dark Downeast.

• Sophie Sergie: Part 1
• Sophie Sergie: Part 2
   

This special release episode contains updates and notable moments from the conclusion of the trial proceedings and a look at what’s next for the case of Sophie Sergie.

View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/sophiesergieupdate

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
   

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS 1996: 6-year old Jesus De La Cruz was out playing with a friend on September 28, 1996 when a man approached the two young boys. His friend later told police that Jesus was lured away by that man who promised him a new bike. It was the last time anyone saw Jesus.

Despite suspicions surrounding a man in the neighborhood, rumors of drug debt retaliation, accusations cast on the boy’s own mother, and FBI involvement, Jesus’s case remains unsolved.

Some wonder if maybe he could be alive out there somewhere, now a 31-year old man.

• If you have any information concerning Jesus De La Cruz, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit an anonymous tip online.
   

View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/jesusdelacruz

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
   

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.