She Goes By Jane

It’s June 1989 and Kansas is rocked by a series of attacks on young women. Twenty-four year old Terri Maness was found murdered in her townhouse and eleven days later 24 year old Joan Butler goes missing from her apartment. Just days after that, two roommates, Theresa Brown and Christine Rusch are abducted as well. These abductions spur a manhunt across several states and investigators search for their kidnapper in the hopes these three women can be found alive. This week our guest reader is Jackie Lee McLean, a visual and musical artist based in New York State. She has previously released 3 albums with her band Roan Yellowthorn, and is currently working on the release of her first self titled album, All mine now. Jackie is also the feature of an upcoming documentary of the same name, about her life and journey as a musician. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our July 2024 selection is the novel The God of the Wood by Liz Moore. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

Summary In June 1989, Terri Maness is found murdered in her townhouse in Wichita Kansas. Over a week later and 200 miles away, Joan Butler doesn’t show up for work worrying her family and co-workers, but when they go to her apartment, she’s nowhere to be found. Initially, there’s nothing to connect these two cases, but within a week, investigators realize that they could be dealing with a serial killer. This week our guest reader is Jackie Lee McLean, a visual and musical artist based in New York State. She has previously released 3 albums with her band Roan Yellowthorn, and is currently working on the release of her first self titled album, All mine now. Jackie is also the feature of an upcoming documentary of the same name, about her life and journey as a musician. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our July 2024 selection is the novel The God of the Wood by Liz Moore. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In 1979 the body of a woman was found on or under a porch in North Camden, New Jersey. Years later, her skull is found in another residence. Despite this shocking find, little information is known about her. This week we try to shine light on her story and the factors that have worked against her identification. This week our guest reader is Shay Mack, an actress, director, and acting coach based in Atlanta, Ga. She received a BA in theatre from Spelman College. Her training has involved numerous classes and workshops with Atlanta and L.A. coaches. Shay is a recurring actress in DC Comics "Doom Patrol" she can also be seen in Ozark, Tell Me Your Secrets, and more. Although Shay has directed numerous theatrical productions over the years, she made her film and television directorial debut directing the multi award winning short The Virtual Baby Sitter, as well as the upcoming season one series Welcome to the Forties. She also coaches and self tapes actors from all over the world with her company, Audition With Shay Mack LLC. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our July 2024 selection is the novel The God of the Wood by Liz Moore. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

Though Dr. Sneha Philip, who lived just blocks from the World Trade Center, is last seen on September 10th, she is added to the list of 9/11 victims. That is until the NYPD starts investigating her personal history and this investigation leads to her removal. Over the years her family fights for her to be recognized as one of the victims and, in 2008, she finally is. Despite this, what one judge calls rank speculation about her, and her disappearance, continues. This week our guest reader is Sakina Jaffrey. Sakina can currently be seen on the Showtime series Billions and the TNT Drama Snowpiercer. She can also be seen on Apple's limited series Defending Jacob. She was a series regular on the NBC series Timeless. Sakina starred as White House Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez in the Netflix series House of Cards, recurred on Little Voice, the Apple series, Lost in Space for Netflix, American Gods for Starz, and on Homeland for Showtime. Recent films include Red Sparrow, directed by Francis Lawrence, Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories and Equalizer 2, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Greatest hits include her role as 'Nilma,' Kate Hudson's bat-wielding neighbor, in Garry Marshall's Raising Helen. Among her dozens of films, she has had the privilege of working with Jonathan Demme, James Ivory, Sidney Lumet and Frank Oz. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our June 2024 selection is the memoir Rabbit Heart: A Mother’s Murder, A Daughter’s Story by Kristine S. Ervin. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

New York City, September 10th, 2001. The day before the attacks on the World Trade Center is a day when most New York City residents are going about their regular business. The same was true for Dr. Sneha Philip who left her Battery Park apartment that evening to run some errands. It wasn’t unusual for her to spend the night out in the city, but when she doesn’t return home by the next day, her family knows something is wrong. The problem? With all eyes on the terrorist attacks, can they get anyone to listen? This week our guest reader is Sakina Jaffrey. Sakina can currently be seen on the Showtime series Billions and the TNT Drama Snowpiercer. She can also be seen on Apple's limited series Defending Jacob. She was a series regular on the NBC series Timeless. Sakina starred as White House Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez in the Netflix series House of Cards, recurred on Little Voice, the Apple series, Lost in Space for Netflix, American Gods for Starz, and on Homeland for Showtime. Recent films include Red Sparrow, directed by Francis Lawrence, Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories and Equalizer 2, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Greatest hits include her role as 'Nilma,' Kate Hudson's bat-wielding neighbor, in Garry Marshall's Raising Helen. Among her dozens of films, she has had the privilege of working with Jonathan Demme, James Ivory, Sidney Lumet and Frank Oz. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our June 2024 selection is the memoir Rabbit Heart: A Mother’s Murder, A Daughter’s Story by Kristine S. Ervin. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In December 1990, a woman accidentally drowned in the Passaic River in New Jersey. Despite these tragic circumstances, her story garners little media attention. She becomes one of the tens of thousands of individuals who are currently unidentified in the United States. Researchers call these tens of thousands of unidentified our “silent mass disaster.” This week our guest reader is award-winning actor Crystal Balint. Crystal has appeared on many renowned productions over the span of her career, working alongside some of North America's finest talent with notable credits including CW's The 100 and Supergirl, Disney's Mech-X4, and dramatic series such as ABC’s The Good Doctor and FOX's Prison Break. In 2019, Crystal’s leading role as Iris Bearden in Britbox’s spin-off series The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco won her a Best Actress Leo Award. Crystal also appeared as a series regular on both of writer/director Mike Flanagan's critically acclaimed Netflix original series, Midnight Mass (2020) and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023). She can be most recently seen as a heavily recurring character on the CBC series Allegiance. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our June 2024 selection is the memoir Rabbit Heart: A Mother’s Murder, A Daughter’s Story by Kristine S. Ervin. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

On March 22, 2011, employees at Dr. Promila Mehta-Paul’s medical office arrive and get ready for another busy day of patients and appointments. There’s one problem? The Doctor never arrives. Always reliable and communicative, they know it’s unlikely that she wouldn’t have called if something came up and soon they, along with Promila’s family and friends, are flooding the local police offices with calls wondering where she is, but when police check her home, it’s clear she hadn’t been there for several days. This week our guest reader is Mouzam Makkar. Mouzam is an actor, writer and filmmaker. She was last seen recurring as Commander Nouri on Paramount+’s “Seal Team” and in the series regular role of Jennifer McDuffie on Ava DuVernay’s “Naomi” for The CW. She also voices two characters on the recently released, space action RPG Xbox game, Starfield. Mouzam has also been a series regular in ABC’s “The Fix”, and NBC’s “Champions”, created by Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy. She has recurred on shows like “Law & Order: SVU”, “NCIS”, “The Exorcist”, “The Vampire Diaries”, and “Chicago Fire” with guest star roles in “American Horror Story”, and “Bones”, to name a few. Mouzam is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and the Improv and Sketch Writing programs at The Second City in Chicago. During the strike she wrote, produced and starred in the short film, “Maggie’s Not Okay”, which is currently in post-production. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our June 2024 selection is the memoir Rabbit Heart: A Mother’s Murder, A Daughter’s Story by Kristine S. Ervin. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

At 3:30am, a 13-year-old Deanna Merryfield shows up at her uncle’s trailer and wakes her twin who is sleeping inside. The two talk for just a moment before Deanna, startled by her uncle waking up, bolts. This is the last confirmed time she was seen alive. Since 1990, the year she disappeared, until now, there are a few clues that she might be out there somewhere: a collect call, a police computer search, a sighting, but are any of those proof she’s still out there? This week our guest reader is Alison Arngrim, the actor, comedian, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated. Alison is best known to viewers world-wide for her portrayal of the incredibly nasty “Nellie Oleson” on the much loved, long running hit television series "Little House On The Prairie.”. Her one woman show “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch”, which started at Club Fez in New York in 2002, has now become a world-wide phenomenon. As a stand-up comedian, Alison has headlined at nightclubs and theaters worldwide. She is currently starring in two comedy series pilots: “Life Interrupted” and “C.P.R. – Child Performers Resurrection Talent Agency.” Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In 1952, a man comes across the burned body of a woman in Cottonwood Gulch, just outside of Black Hawk, Colorado. He returns to this site several times before reporting what he found to the sheriff’s office, a fact that will immediately cloud his actions in suspicion. Without any identifying information, she becomes known as Maria to some, or more often as the Pyre Case for the way she was murdered. It’s been 72 years since she was murdered, and there are questions if she will ever be identified. You see, her remains are missing. This week our guest reader is Dedee Pfeiffer. Dedee landed her first movie role in John Landis' film Into the Night. She went on to star in the horror cult classic comedy Vamp, in the film Red Surf, and made numerous other appearances in films such as Falling Down, and Tune in Tomorrow. Dedee played numerous roles on multiple television shows for the past 40 years such as her role as a series regular on Cybil as Cybil Shepherd's daughter Rachel. Pfeiffer and the rest of the cast were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series. Pfeiffer went on to star in the series For Your Love and guest starred in iconic shows such as Simon and Simon, Murder She Wrote, Ellen, Seinfeld, Friends, two CSI series, ER, and Supernatural to mention a few. Dedee won awards and nominations as an actor and producer on her short films, The Tub and Laredo. She also appeared in the award-winning film L.A., I Hate You. Pfeiffer took a 10-year break from Hollywood to earn her Master of Social Work degree from UCLA, and returned to acting as a series regular on the ABC drama Big Sky for the past 3 years. She is a proud single parent who has raised her two boys and is grateful to be recovering out loud in the hopes to help reduce the social stigma and shame that still surrounds those suffering with their disease of addiction. This is where her podcast “Down with Dedee” comes in. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

Perhaps you’ve seen the photo before. A young woman with her hands bound, tape over her mouth, laying in the back of a van with a similarly bound little boy. This photo has, for better or worse, become synonymous with the case of Tara Calico, a 19 year old young woman who disappeared while riding her bicycle in New Mexico in 1988. But beyond that photo, many don’t know much about Tara or her disappearance. And this year, she’ll have been missing for 36 years, almost twice as long as she was alive. This week our guest reader is Lauren Robertson, an LA based actress / comedian who received her training from Chicago establishments like iO Theatre and Second City (Conservatory program), where she then went on to write and perform in shows around Chicago and LA. TV credits include "Modern Family", "Baskets", and "Sorry For Your Loss". She has been in several national commercials including McDonald's, Pepsi, and NY Life Insurance. She is a published author at "Darling Media" and has written, produced, and starred in web content in conjunction with Funny Or Die and Hello Giggles. Her favorite mention in the press is: "Especially good...even inside all of that blue spandex" - Chicago Tribune. Follow her on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In 1977, a young female hitchhiker catches a ride from a man who offers to bring her to her home. Within an hour, the man murders her and leaves her body to be found by a group of blackberry pickers a few days later. She has no identification on her. Though it’s not long before they pinpoint him as the murderer, but he doesn’t know her name. Investigators spend years trying to identify her, eventually giving her the name Precious Jane Doe in the hopes that it will help people remember her. In another case solved by investigative genetic genealogy, we highlight the case of Lisa Roberts, formerly known as Precious Jane Doe. This week our guest reader Heather Morris who is best known for her comedic breakout role as Brittany S. Pierce on FOX’s hit series, Glee. She is currently recurring as Judy in the CBS hit comedy So Help Me Todd and is executive producer and writer on the dark comedy Podcast The Bystanders available on all podcast platforms. Morris has appeared in numerous indie films including the upcoming comedy Cora Bora starring Meg Stalter and Manny Jacinto and voiced the role of Katie the Mammoth in the Multimillion dollar franchise Ice Age: Continental Drift. Aside from a successful career as an actress, Heather is an incredibly established dancer who began her career with Beyonce and currently travels the country teaching for HEAT Dance Convention Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In 1968, the body of a young woman was found in rural Pennsylvania. She’d been shot to death. Months later, another young woman is found just a few miles away. Their only connection? They wore the same leather sandals. It will take nearly fifty years and an online database dedicated to missing and unidentified persons to identify who they are. But even with this development in their case, their murders are still unsolved. This week our guest reader is Kelsey Wang is a Chinese-American actress who can be seen on television, film, and theatre. She is a graduate of Duke University and Yale School of Drama’s Summer Conservatory. Her television credits include Magnum PI, The Young and the Restless, and Netflix’s Daredevil. Her theater credits include the U.S. Premiere of Chimerica at the Studio Theater in Washington, D.C. and Pan Asian Repertory Theater's production's Off-Broadway production of A Dream of Red Pavilions. You can follow her on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and untwidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In August 1993, a man walks into a police station and gives a statement about the disappearance of 16-year-old Sequoya Vargas. In it, he details the brutal assault and murder of the teenager, placing blame for these on his two friends. This statement of what happened to Sequoya will be just one of many that’s given over the years by the three men. They’ll be full of contradictions and blame, but one thing will be certain, Sequoya didn’t survive her encounter with these men. This week our guest reader Tonantzín Carmelo, the award winning actress, voice artist, and choreographer playing lead and supporting roles for film, television, video games, theater and more. Her credits include a series regular as Paara on NBC’s La Brea, Touching Ground in the BBC Mini series The English, Kendra Daniels in the original video game Dead Space, and Shayla Stonefeather in the independent film Imprint. In addition, she has guest starred on a number of TV shows including The Rookie, Animal Kingdom, Undone, American Dad and Spirit Rangers. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. In this episode we highlight Where’s Sequoya? by Dove Johnson, Sequoya’s sister. It’s available on Amazon. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In 1993, 16-year-old Sequoya Vargas hitchhikes with a friend to her friend’s home. Later that evening, the man who gave them a ride asks her to go to his cousin’s house to watch movies. She never returns home. Despite this being out of character for her, the police brush aside her mother’s pleas to search for her daughter, sending her family and friends on their own quest to find out what happened to Sequoya that night. This week our guest reader Tonantzín Carmelo, the award winning actress, voice artist, and choreographer playing lead and supporting roles for film, television, video games, theater and more. Her credits include a series regular as Paara on NBC’s La Brea, Touching Ground in the BBC Mini series The English, Kendra Daniels in the original video game Dead Space, and Shayla Stonefeather in the independent film Imprint. In addition, she has guest starred on a number of TV shows including The Rookie, Animal Kingdom, Undone, American Dad and Spirit Rangers. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. In this episode we highlight Where’s Sequoya? by Dove Johnson, Sequoya’s sister. It’s available on Amazon. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

Detective Lorie Howard was once told that the only way the case of the unidentified woman she was working on would be by the grace of god. This gave her the name Grace Doe and she was known by this for years until she was finally identified as Shauna Garber. A few weeks ago, investigators made public new information, filling in gaps in Shauna’s story including an update to her name and revealing what happened to her the night she was murdered. This week we’re joined by actress Teryl Rothery. Four-time Leo-nominated Rothery is best known and loved for her portrayal of Dr. Janet Fraiser on Showtime’s “Stargate: SG-1” and her starring role opposite Andie MacDowell in the Hallmark Channel Original Series “Cedar Cove.” Rothery can most recently be seen recurring in Amazon’s “Upload.” and Netflix’s “Virgin River.” You can find Teryl on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

Tot Tran Harriman survived the Vietnam War. She witnessed history when she was evacuated on the last boat out of Saigon before it fell. She lived through being held in a refugee camp in Pennsylvania along with 20,000 other refugees. And made a life for herself in Maine, raising three children, starting new businesses, and helping other refugees. But in 2001, she also became one of America’s missing women. This week our guest reader is actor, writer, and producer Porter Duong whose work showcases stories within the Asian narrative and diaspora. She is a first generation Vietnamese-American, born to refugees of the Vietnam War and the proud daughter of her mother, a gifted singer who found her way to freedom as one of the many "boat people." Her first lead role in the independent film, Touch, garnered a Best Actress and Audience Choice Award. A groundbreaking story of the dynamics of an immigrant family and their identity in America while navigating the afterlife of war. It opened in Vietnam to rave reviews, despite concerns regarding the complicated relationship with the Communist government. She has had significant roles on Emmy award winning shows such as NBC’s This is Us and HBO’s Silicon Valley. Her nonprofit work through The Chimaera Project aims to support and fund women and nonbinary filmmakers. Porter is currently working to publish a collection of poems and short essays woven by love and grief, dedicated to her late mother. You can find Porter on Instagram. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

On a hot summer’s day in 1992, 63-year-old Bessie Kutnak goes to look for her missing cattle near her home in Cameron, Texas. Witnesses say she seemed disoriented and was seen asking for directions before she disappeared. When family members realized she was missing, a full-scale search of her began, but no trace of her was ever found. This week our guest reader is actress Catherine Mary Stewart. Perhaps the most recognizable title on Catherine’s resume is the classic comedy, Weekend at Bernie’s where she starred as the lead, Gwen. She has also starred in Days of Our Lives as Kayla Brady, in The Last Starfighter, and Mischief. She has also starred in the television mini-series Hollywood Wives, New Amsterdam, Limitless, and White Collar along with many roles on Hallmark, Lifetime and in independent movies. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

On July 11, 2007, a 31-year-old Carma Purpura was last seen getting into the cab of a truck driver at a rest stop near Indianapolis. The next day, he’s arrested in Nashville under suspicion he’s involved in the murder of another woman. Inside his cab, investigators find Carma’s phone and credit card and so much of Carma’s blood detectives are certain Carma is no longer alive. Four years later, a skull along with some other remains are found in Kentucky. With few clues to go on, she becomes one of the state’s unidentified women. Even though it takes five more years to identify her as Carma, it brings some amount of resolution to her case. This week our guest reader is comic Jann Karam whose numerous TV credits–stand up performances and series acting roles–include repeat appearances on both The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman, HBO’s legendary 13th Annual Young Comedians’ Show, How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life), Comics Unleashed, The Arsenio Hall Show, Norm, Mad About You, Politically Incorrect, Dr. Katz, and many others. She was a regular sketch player in the last incarnation of The Carol Burnett Show and, in the now classic Seinfeld episode “The Switch.” Her latest claim to fame—bantering with comedy genius Larry David during her two co-starring roles on both season 11 and 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm She’s released three successful comedy albums—Live at the Blue Loon and Same Guy, DifferentShirt, most recently, Live at the Wren Theater, and taped her own documentary special, Beyond the Set. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

On Valentine’s Day in 1991, a young woman is seen hitchhiking along US 1 in the Florida Keys. The next morning, a pair of windsurfers find her body in a densely wooded area. She’d been beaten to death before being strangled with her own bikini top. For years this young woman was known only as Valentine Doe, named for the last day she was seen alive. But investigators never give up on her case, utilizing new tactics and techniques to identify her. This week our guest reader is Patricia Rae, a dynamic Latin American actress and producer born and raised in New York City, currently based in LA. She starred in John Polson’s cult classic “Swimfan” and starred in a major supporting role in the Academy Award nominated film, “Maria Full of Grace”. She also recurred on “All Rise” on OWN for three seasons as Judge Delgado. Her long list of television credits include NCIS: Los Angeles, Blue Bloods, The Mentalist, and Chuck. She is currently co-hosting podcast “Believe This” on Spotify with Chris Crimy, from the Scientology survivors podcast “Come Get Sum”. Patricia also produces the cooking segments “Cooking With Patty” that can be viewed on instagram and her youtube channel @cookinguppatty. You can also find her on X and Facebook. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

In 2001, the Green River Killer was finally caught, ending one of the most horrific eras in the Pacific Northwest and ending a decades long investigation dedicated to identifying this mnan. Convicted of 49 murders, this man confessed to even more, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. It would take over twenty more years to identify three of his young victims with the most recent being identified in 2024. This week our guest reader is actress and creative Tabitha Brownstone who is originally from Los Angeles. As an actress Tabitha’s credits include Kaljillionaire, Domino, The Middle, and The Real O’Neals, to name a few. As a creative, Tabitha wrote and produced her own live comedy show, having sold out five consecutive shows during the Fringe Festival, later touring abroad in Europe and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She also co-created and starred in Fickle, a series that was acquired by two streaming services. You can find her on Instagram and TikTok. You can also find her podcast “Overthinking It With Liz and Tabitha” here. Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our March 2024 selection is the novel The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook. To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.