Almost 38 years later, the truth about what happened to Kara Laczynski and who is responsible for her death still has yet to be revealed. Two suspects were arrested and charged in the case, but after three trials with three separate juries and weeks upon weeks of testimony, no one has ever been convicted. Here’s what investigators thought—and tried to convince the jury—really happened, based on highly disputed evidence that stirred controversy even before it hit a courtroom. But with the case unsolved, what could be done today with contemporary forensics to figure out once and for all what happened on that October night in 1987?If you have any information relating to the 1987 homicide of Kara Laczynski, please contact the Hartford Police Department at (860) 757-4000.View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/karalaczynskiDark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
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The Disappearance of Starlette Vining (Maine)
Starlette Vining disappeared in 1998 and has never been found, yet 15 years after she was last seen in the small town of Presque Isle, Maine, a suspect was convicted of her murder. This is a wide-open look at how a cold missing persons case was successfully investigated and solved despite the fact that the victim’s remains were never recovered prior to trial, or ever. It’s a story about what it takes—and that it is fully possible—to bring a suspicious disappearance investigation to a close and get a violent, diabolical killer out of our communities, even when the only proof a murder occurred is the testimony of questionable witnesses, second-hand stories, and inconclusive physical evidence.Starlette Vining’s information is listed with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Her remains have never been recovered. Please report any discoveries that may be connected to this case to Maine State Police Troop F in Houlton, Maine, at (207) 532-5400.View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/starletteviningDark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
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The Murder of Katharina Reitz Brow (Massachusetts)
For almost three years, the case of Katharina Reitz Brow languished without information or evidence that could bring a true ending to the search for answers. And then when someone was finally arrested, charged, and convicted of her murder, a hard-fought battle by the suspect’s own sister unearthed evidence in a dusty courthouse basement that changed everything about the case nearly two decades later.Now, just this year, 2025, investigative genetic genealogy has identified the person that investigators believe is actually culpable for Katharina’s death.View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/katharinareitzbrowDark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
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The Murder of Kathy Perry and Rhonda Travers (Rhode Island) Part 2
For years, the murders of Rhonda Travers and Kathy Perry sat stagnant without any promise of justice, but when an informant surfaced with a story about a suspect who had never before been investigated, it changed everything.“There's always names that come up in every case,” Sgt. Pierce explained. “You know, look at this one, look at that one, whatever. There's always something, though, that just doesn't fit, you know? And these people get ruled out for whatever reason. They had alibis; they had this or what have you. In these two cases, once his name surfaced, everything fit, everything.”This is Part Two of a two-part series. Find Part One of the series here.If you have any information relating to the 1986 murder of Kathy Perry or the 1987 murder of Rhonda Travers in Warwick, Rhode Island, please contact the Warwick Police Department Detective Division at (401) 468-4233. You can also share information with retired Warwick PD Sgt. Fred Pierce via the Kathy Perry Facebook page. Any information shared with Sgt. Pierce will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency.View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/kathyperry-rhondatravers-part-twoDark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
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The Murders of Kathy Perry and Rhonda Travers (Rhode Island)
In a nine-month span between 1986 and 1987, two women were found brutally slain in the same Rhode Island city. Investigators believed that the first was abducted from the side of the road on her way home from work in the middle of the night, while the second appeared to get into an unknown vehicle voluntarily. Both were found a few miles away from the locations they were last seen alive, cruelly discarded in industrial areas.Decades later, thanks to creative contemporary investigative strategies led by a bullish cold case detective, the cases were reenergized, producing new leads, new evidence, and a new suspect who had been right under the noses of law enforcement all alongIf you have any information relating to the 1986 murder of Kathy Perry or the 1987 murder of Rhonda Travers in Warwick, Rhode Island, please contact the Warwick Police Department Detective Division at (401) 468-4233. You can also share information with retired Warwick PD Sgt. Fred Pierce via the Kathy Perry Facebook page. Any information shared with Sgt. Pierce will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency.View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/kathyperry-rhondatraversDark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case
Dark Downeast: Maine and New England's True Crime Podcast digs into the decades-old and modern day cases that prickle the history of Vacationland and beyond – the unsolved homicides, undetermined deaths, unexplained disappearances and other dark stories of New England.
Investigative journalist and storyteller Kylie Low gets straight to the story with a mix of narrated episodes and documentary style production featuring interviews with surviving family and friends and insight on the investigations from detectives and sources who know these cases best.
This is heart-centered, ethical true crime, bringing light to stories you’re not hearing on other podcasts. It is Dark Downeast's mission to honor the legacy of the humans at the heart of each story and bring new attention to the cases still awaiting justice.
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