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We have updates galore, ranging from Nichole Cable, episode 35, all the way to the Cape Breton boys, episode 204, and several in between. They’re like little mini stories! And we also ask that popular and enduring question, “Who is the a*****e?” Topics range from uninviting wedding guests to writing a book about a cheating spouse to another mom telling a hubby to tell his wife not to let the kid bring her creepy toy to school. Enjoy! We’ll be back with a regular episode in two weeks. T0 check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Arnold Nash kept ending up in Maine State Prison. Every time he did, he escaped. The first escape lasted 41 days and resulted in a wild and wooly central Maine manhunt. The second time, things turned deadly. Believe it or not, there was also a third time. In case you missed it, we’re reposting Episode 135, the story of Maine three-time prison escapee Arnold Nash. For a map of his epic 1981 escape and more, check out our More Stuff page. Don’t worry! We still have a new episode coming up right on schedule in a few days.

In July 1970, three young men from Cape Breton set off on a great adventure across the border. The adventure ended in tragedy, on the tracks of the Bangor & Aroostook rail line in Maine. No one believed at the time — or now — that Ken Novak, Terry Burt and David Burrows would bed down on active railroad tracks for the night, and not react as a freight train beared down on them. No one but local law enforcement, that is. Nearly 60 years later, the search for what really happened to the the Cape Breton Three continues. CORRECTION: In the episode, we got the geography wrong. Ingonish is northwest of Sydney, not south. It doesn’t change the story much, but we apologize! We’ll talk about it more next episode. To become part of the discussion on this case, advocates for answers has created a Facebook page that includes documents and more. Visit Searching for Answers on Facebook. T0 check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

In fall of 2012, Brianna Alley and Peter Neblett felt lucky that they’d been able to rent a house in the village of Hall Quarry on Mount Desert Island in Maine for a very reasonable price, even though the landlord seemed kind of sketchy. It turns out, though, that the man they thought was Richard Bellitieri may not be him at all, but an imposter. In fact, none of Rick’s friends had seen him since July 2012. So who was this guy living at his house and renting out his property? Rebecca tells the story. Maureen does an NNW review of hte YouTube podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out.” To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. The third one, Bad News Travels Fast, has an Appalachian Trail theme. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

We made it back! Unlike some of the people in our episode. From the time it opened in 1937 until now, more than 21,000 people have thru-hiked the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, and countless more have set foot on it. It’s maginificent and awe-inspiring, but not always kind. From three young men from New York in 1938, to Geraldine Largay in 2013, we take a look at some of the well-known, and not so well-known, people who’ve gotten lost on the 2,190-mile trail from Georgia to Maine. Many of them in Maine, some in New Hampshire and other states. Some with happy endings, many without. We’re using new software that we hope will also lead to video versions of the podcast, so stay tuned! Lots of visuals to go with this episode, so even without a video version, check back on this site for maps, photos and more that go with this episode. To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. The third one, Bad News Travels Fast, has an Appalachian Trail theme. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

A final treat before our summer break: Updates to several episodes, including the latest on the Michael Gaine murder in Ireland, what Uber’s doing for women, another Eliot Cutler rant and more. We dive into fan favorite “Am I the A*****e?” And we each take the other’s NNW challenge. To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Judi Therianos and Missy Bevers had nothing in common except for the fact they were both beloved women and mothers who were murdered, senselessly, in 2016. Their murders didn’t have much in common, either. One got the usual local coverage, the other was an internet sleuth sensation. One was solved fairly quickly, the other, 10 years later, is still as much of a mystery as it was in 2016. But they both left devastated family and friends in their wake, and their homicides and the aftermath say something about the bigger picture 10 years ago — in a lot of ways, little has improved. To commemorate our 200th episode, we look at the two homicides from 2016, the same year we started this podcast. To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

At first no one in central-eastern Ohio connected the killings — they were hunters, outdoorsmen, a jogger — all shot by someone who left no trace between 1989 and 1992. When they finally arrested Thomas Dillon for five murders, law enforcement was happy to leave it at that. But it was clear that Dillon’s carnage stretched far beyond the rural counties of that area of Ohio. Maureen presents. We also have updates on the arrest of Stephen Bouchard in the 1987 Maine murder of Alice Hawkes, and the latest on Maine’s favorite perv, Eliot Cutler. Rebecca gives the NNW treatment to the Netflix series “Clickbait.” To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

When we featured Alice Hawkes’ 1987 homicide in Episode 191 as one of our Maine Cold Cases of the 1980s, Maureen declared that it would never be “solved,” though there was s definite suspect. Well, she was wrong! Maine State Police announced an arrest May 8. We revisit the case with many of our questions from February answered and some new information. Rebecca gives the Netflix show “Worst Ex Ever” an NNW review. To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Mary Ellen Tanner had planned to go to Massachusetts for the weekend to attend the funeral of her boyfriend’s brother the weekend of July 7, 1978. It wasn’t until two days later that anyone knew she’d never left her hometown in Maine — when her beaten body was found in a remote field in Lyman, Maine. Over the decades, questions about the last hours of her life still haunt her friends, family, the town and the investigators who say they’re still looking for her killer. Rebecca presents. Maureen gives the NNW treatment to the ID true crime show “Killer in Question.” To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Dominique Dunne was 22 and a rising star in in Hollywood in 1982 — she had everything going for her, except when it came to her ex-boyfriend, Ma Maison head chef John Sweeney. She’d broken up with him after several severe beatings and nearly a year of coercive control, but he still wouldn’t leave her alone. When she tried to get the message across, he killed her. That was just the beginning, as a justice system more concerned about protecting the reputation of a man with a history of violence again women than getting justice for his victim let her, her family and her friends down again. Maureen presents. Rebecca gives the NNW review treatment to the Netflix doc “Victim, Suspect.”

Mary Theresa Simpson was 12 when she disappeared while walking home in Elmira, New York, on March 15, 1964. When her body was found four days later, buried under heavy rocks, no one could predict that it would take more than six decades before there were answers to that city’s only unsolved murder. Rebecca presents. Also, Maureen gives an NNW review to the documentary “Earnhardt.” To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

It’s March. It’s cold [where we live], it’s ugly. We’re tired of it. So, to lighten the mood a little before we get back to our usual content, we have a cabin fever reliever! Updates on the Maine woman who buried her friend in the backyard and is now facing charges, Maine man Michael Colin Patrick Kelley finally arrested on charges her murdered Irish farmer Michael Gaine, Maine man Eliot Cutler who can’t stop porning despite the break he gets on the consequences, and Massachusetts man Brian Walshe convicted in the 2023 murder of his wife, Ana. We also have a Maine mini on the murder of Maine philanthropist Robert Fuller at his Maryland nursing home, a nice batch of “Am I the A*****e,” and a Negative Nelly Watching reviews on Netflix series “How to Get to Heaven from Belfast,” and Oxygen series “Buried in the Backyard.” A little something for everyone! To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

Maine had 21 homicides in 2025, and we take a look at them. Guns and domestic violence continue to be the dominant themes, with mental health issues also a troubling contributing factor. From people who know each other all too well, to the bizarre seemingly random shooting of a guy on his motorcycle, there are 21 stories of lives lost that may resonate with you, no matter where you live. We also take a quick look at Maine’s biennial domestic violence homicide report, and what it says about how the public, police and the media perceive domestic homicide, and how that adds to the problem. To check out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.

We wrap up our three-episode look at the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide list, diving into the 1990s and beyond, looking at the cases of Lorna Brackett and Vincent White, Susan Hannah, Joseph Savitch and Louis Alexander, and Neil Salisbury, the most recent unsolved homicide on the list. We also look at the introduction of DNA as an investigative tool, how the Maine Unsolved Homicide List was created and some stuff about the state’s cold case squad. Even if you don’t live in, or care about, Maine, the issues related to unsolved homicides and how they were investigated are universal. If you’re interested in checking out Maureen’s Maine-based Bernadette “Bernie” O’Dea mystery novels, including the award-winning (seriously!) Dying for News, click here. Looking for a cool Crime & Stuff T-Shirt, or another cool shirt designed by Rebecca? Check out her Bonfire shirt site, by clicking here.