Dark Downeast

On a fall morning in 1988, police in Nashua, New Hampshire walked into an apartment and found two women murdered in their bed. What followed seemed, at first, like a case that would never truly reach an ending. 

There were suspects, confessions, trials, and years of legal battles but no final resolution. For decades, the killings of Charlene Ranstrom and Brenda Warner lingered in the background, a file sitting quietly among other unsolved cases. But some investigations refuse to stay buried.

Years later, new detectives took another look. With fresh eyes, new witnesses, and forensic technology that hadn’t existed when the crime was first investigated, the story began to change.

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/brendawarner-charleneranstrom

 

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

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On a rainy night in late May 1989, a fire was spotted in a Westport, Connecticut parking lot. Within minutes, first responders realized the impossible: a body was burning in the open. Not long after and just a few miles away, a husband called police to report his wife missing.

Her name was Joan Wertkin. From the outside, she was living an enviable life in one of Connecticut’s most idyllic towns. But as investigators traced her final hours, the case turned into something far more complicated – a tight timeline, a fraying relationship, a car left where it shouldn’t have been, and questions that still echo for her family.

If you have information about Joan Wertkin’s case, please contact the Westport Police Department Cold Case Unit at (203) 520-3831. You can also email tips to [email protected].

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

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

Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok

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

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On an August evening in 1982, children playing in Boston’s Franklin Park stumbled onto a scene that would quietly become one of the city’s most troubling unsolved cases. 

The victim was a 16-year-old girl who had already endured instability, displacement, and independence far beyond her years. Her murder received little attention at the time, but within months, rumors began to swirl: allegations of sexual assault inside a private police club, whispers of a cover-up, and a detective who refused to back down.

If you have any information that could help bring answers in Lucia Kai Roberts’ case, please contact the Boston Police Department at (617) 343-4470 or submit a tip through the online form.

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

 

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

Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok

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

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On a quiet Saturday night in 1931, a 19-year-old cattle dealer sat at his desk to write a check that he never got the chance to finish signing. 

Investigators were left with more questions than answers – a missing revolver, a name on a check no one could trace, and a household already tangled in rumor and tension. What followed was a shifting investigation, a contested admission, and a trial that forced a small New England city to confront issues of race, reputation, and reasonable doubt.

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/abrahamlevine-eleanorjohnson

 

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

Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok

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

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Before she vanished, April Grisanti was a young woman trying to find her footing. Then, over the course of one winter night in 1985, she disappeared in plain sight. Witnesses saw her struggle. Police heard her voice asking for help. And yet, April was never seen again.
What followed has never felt like justice. No murder charge. No body. No answers. This is a story about incomplete justice, and about a family left carrying questions the investigation has never fully resolved. Over four decades later, the question still hangs in the air. Where is she?
If you have information relating to the unsolved disappearance of April Grisanti, please contact the Norwalk Police Department Cold Case Unit at (203) 854-3028 or the anonymous tip line at (203) 854-3111. You can text CRIMES and NPD with your tip in the body of the text message or use the Norwalk Police Department tip submission form.
View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/aprilgrisanti
 
Dark Downeast is an Audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.
Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.