He committed his first murder at 15-years old, ending the life of an innocent shopkeeper as he and his buddies made their way around Lawrence, Massachusetts holding up convenience stories “for the thrill of it”. His lawyer would later plead for mercy on the accused teenage killer, but that mercy would have unintended consequences not so far in the future. George Nassar is a two-time convicted killer, yes, but some people believe this man who started his crime streak as a young teen might also be responsible for some 13 or more killings around Boston in the 1960s, too. His association with the man actually accused of those crimes only deepens the suspicion.
Jessica Zernicke Holmes left work on the night of September 24, 2015 to find her phone flooded with missed calls and messages. When she was finally able to call her family member back, they delivered shocking news about her father. 58-year old Kenneth Zernicke was found dead inside his burning home in Caribou, Maine. Two days later, his death was ruled a homicide. Jess reached out to me because after nearly 7 years her father’s case remains unsolved with little public information available, even to family members. She wrote in her email, “I understand it makes it hard to cover a case with little to no information, but I am hoping to get this out there as much, and as often as possible. I miss my dad.” That is why I started this show. No matter the amount of public information on a case, these stories need and deserve attention. If you have any information that could aid the investigation into the 2015 homicide of Kenneth Zernicke in Caribou, Maine, please contact Detective Adam Bell at the Maine State Police Houlton Barracks at 207.532.5400.
On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she’d scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando. Not since the O.J. Simpson case had the eyes of the nation been so fixated on a homicide. The search for Bonny’s killer took detectives on an eleven-month odyssey across the country and through Hollywood's underbelly of hustlers, drug addicts, and would-be hitmen. It would be the most expensive murder investigation in LAPD history to date. This is the story of Robert and Bonny’s toxic relationship, her shocking murder, and his chaotic trial. Did actor Robert Blake kill his wife? Or was the murder someone else's vendetta?From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood and Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders, Death of Starlet) comes a six-part series about love, obsession and fame gone wrong. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas. Listen by subscribing to http://wondery.fm/DDE_TEOBLB (Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App)
Strung up in the corner of a roadside amusement park fun house was the figure of a man coated so many times with phosphorus paint that it glowed in the dimly lit space. It was alarmingly lifelike, and yet in the several years the figure was on display, no one dared question if it was anything more than a mannequin. https://www.amazon.com/Elmer-Mccurdy-Afterlife-American-Outlaw/dp/0465083498/?_encoding=UTF8andcontent-id=amzn1.sym.bbb6bbd8-d236-47cb-b42f-734cb0cacc1fandpd_rd_r=26faf89a-357e-41bc-bb99-d7379e038e88andpd_rd_w=NYYXbandpd_rd_wg=wBQM3andpf_rd_p=bbb6bbd8-d236-47cb-b42f-734cb0cacc1fandpf_rd_r=ZHC0W375Q9Y63N41V4RNandref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mi (Elmer Mccurdy: The Life And Afterlife Of An American Outlaw) by Mark Svenvold Visit darkdowneast.com to see photos and sources for this case + more. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/darkdowneast (Support Dark Downeast with Buy Me a Coffee)
Visit darkdowneast.com and follow along on Instagram @darkdowneast. If you have a case that needs a closer look and media attention, email me at hello@darkdowneast.com. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/darkdowneast (Support Dark Downeast with Buy Me a Coffee) Dark Downeast Summer 2022 Air Dates June 6 June 20 July 4 July 18 August 1 August 15 August 29
ACTIVE CASE, PART 3: In October of 2016, about a month after he was plucked from a life raft after a week at sea, Nathan Carman walked into the private memorial service he’d organized to honor his mother, Linda Carman. Notably missing from the private service were Linda Carman’s three sisters. It was publicly obvious that something wasn’t right. The relationship between Nathan Carman and his aunts was not a good one. Soon it would be abundantly clear how and what the aunts thought about their nephew. They believed he was a murderer driven by greed for the family fortune. If you haven’t already, begin with parts 1 and 2 of this story. This is part 3 of a three-part mini-series covering the ongoing cases of John Chakalos and Linda Carman. Visit https://my.captivate.fm/www.darkdowneast.com (darkdowneast.com) to see photos and sources for this case + more. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/darkdowneast (Support Dark Downeast with Buy Me a Coffee) Dark Downeast Summer 2022 Air Dates June ...
ACTIVE CASE, PART 2: Nathan Carman was 23-years old when his boat the Chicken Pox sank during a fishing trip off the coast of Rhode Island, presumably claiming the life of his mother, Linda Carman, who was also aboard the vessel before it went down. Nathan was rescued a week later – a miraculous recovery by a freight ship that just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The story only got more compelling when it was learned that Nathan Carman was the grandson of wealthy real estate developer John Chakalos, whose 2013 murder remained unsolved, and that Nathan himself was a suspect in his grandfather's death. In Part 2: Who is Nathan Carman? Did Nathan intentionally sink his boat with his mother aboard? If you haven't already, listen to Part 1: Murdered at Home and Missing at Sea available wherever you get your podcasts. Visit https://my.captivate.fm/www.darkdowneast.com (darkdowneast.com) to see photos and sources for this case + more. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dark...
ACTIVE CASE, PART 1: When the daughter of wealthy real estate developer John Chakalos walked into her father’s Connecticut home one morning in December 2013, it set into motion a long-term investigation of not one, but two suspicious deaths in the same family within a three year span. Investigators had a prime suspect for the murder of John Chakalos from the beginning, but it wasn’t until another member of the family disappeared under mysterious circumstances that the identity of that suspect was revealed. This is Part 1 of a deep dive into the cases of John Chakalos and Linda Carman. Visit https://my.captivate.fm/www.darkdowneast.com (darkdowneast.com) to see photos and sources for this case + more. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/darkdowneast (Support Dark Downeast with Buy Me a Coffee)
AUGUSTA, ME 1976: The murder of 70-year old Augusta resident Blanche Kimball remained a cold case for decades until a new tip, advancements in DNA technology, and a clever idea brought all the loose ends together. Visit https://my.captivate.fm/www.darkdowneast.com (darkdowneast.com) to see photos and sources for this case + more. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/darkdowneast (Support Dark Downeast with Buy Me a Coffee)
Missing Kim, a Dark Downeast mini-documentary is out now at missingkim.com. If you have information that could help in the investigation, please contact Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit South at (207) 624-7076 or https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/about/report-crime/major-crimes-unit-south (leave an anonymous tip). Dark Downeast will return with regular full-length episodes on Monday, May 16, 2022. Visit https://my.captivate.fm/www.darkdowneast.com (darkdowneast.com) to see photos and sources for this case + more. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/darkdowneast (Support Dark Downeast with Buy Me a Coffee)