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Darkcast Network Cruel Summer Part 1
21 Plays2 years ago
It's a cruel, cruel summer, leaving me here on my own...you know the lyrics, but are you ready for this dark and disturbing summer scream?
We got to take part in a major collab featuring some of Darkcast Network's hottest shows, and if you love us you are probably gonna love these guys too! Buckle up, and grab your comfort animals for some creepy, crimey, chill your bones stories to listen to in the dark!
Darkcast featured podcasts: @HorrifyingHistory @ParanormalPeeps @BeyondtheRainbow @CreepyTapas @MistyMysteries @sinisterstoryhour
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Transcript
Introduction to Cruel Summer Part 1
00:00:06
Speaker
Hello, I'm Jackie Maranti. I host Cause of Death 100 Seconds to Midnight, and I'll be your guide for this special Darkcast Network event as we embark on our Cruel Summer Part 1.
00:00:23
Speaker
Summertime, usually it's about vacations, like going to the beach, cooling down in the swimming pool, and lots and lots of ice cream. These are much different scenarios than what we see a few months later in autumn. The fall months bring us an array of leaf colors, punk and spice everything, and spooky season.
00:00:46
Speaker
For all of us here at Dark Cast Network, Spooky Season is a year-round event, which is why we would like to present to you a cruel summer. True crime and paranormal stories that occurred during summertime.
The Ghost of Mary Gallagher
00:01:02
Speaker
My name is Brenda, and I'm the host of Horrifying History where dark history and the paranormal collide. And today, I will tell you all the story of the ghost of the headless Mary Gallagher.
00:01:14
Speaker
Now, Gryphon Town is a historic neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, and Canada. It was first populated in the early 19th century by mostly Irish immigrant workers who were building some of the most famous places in Montreal today, like the Port of Montreal and the Lachine Canal. In the 1960s, this neighbourhood started to depopulate, and since the 2010s, it has been seeing new life as it has been redeveloped.
00:01:39
Speaker
Located near the Lachine Canal, this neighbourhood was like any other 19th century industrial slum. It was filled with stables, taberns, mills and warehouses. Drifters, labourers and their families all called this place home, but on June 27, 1879, this neighbourhood gained a gruesome reputation that lives on today, even though everyone who was involved is now long gone.
00:02:06
Speaker
On that day, two young sex workers and best friends named Mary Gallagher and Susie Kennedy met a new client. His name was Michael Flanagan, and the trio decided to go back to Susie's second floor apartment to do some early morning drinking and partying.
00:02:22
Speaker
Now everything started out okay, and it stayed that way for a couple hours, but then the other tenants from the apartment below Susie's heard a very loud thud, and then came what sounded like hitting noises that were so forceful that it cracked the plaster ceiling of the unit below.
00:02:41
Speaker
As dusty bits and chunks of plaster fell onto the tenants below Susie, they heard a female voice say, and I quote, I've wanted revenge for a long time, and I finally got it. This is when the tenant saw a crimson stain start to spread out on their ceiling, and soon, blood started dripping from the plaster cracks.
00:03:02
Speaker
The tenants immediately went to the police, and when they arrived at the apartment building, a crowd of onlookers were already swarming. When the police entered Susie's apartment, they found Mary's dead body lying face down on the floor, wearing a very thin nightgown.
00:03:17
Speaker
but she wasn't actually faced down since she didn't have a face. Her head and one severed hand lay in a bucket nearby. The police found Susie standing right by the body, and she was drenched in blood, but according to Susie, she didn't do anything wrong. She claimed she didn't hurt Mary. She just simply slipped and fell in the horrific mess that covered her home.
00:03:40
Speaker
The police found Susie standing right by the body and she was drenched in blood. But according to Susie, she didn't do anything wrong. She claimed that she didn't hurt Mary. She just simply slipped and fell in the horrific mess that now covered her home. Susie told police that while she and Michael slept in the front room, an unknown man who looked like a sea captain walked into her home and had an argument with Mary. He called her names and Susie told the police that he must have killed her
00:04:09
Speaker
since she watched him washing blood off of his hands before he left. So, just to sum up here, Susie and Michael were sleeping while Mary was not. Even though Susie and Michael were sleeping, they saw this random sea captain just walk into Susie's home, then somehow there was a massive gap of time where the murder occurred, and the victim had their head and their hand cut off, and then this mysterious sea captain just walked away after washing his hands.
00:04:37
Speaker
So, as you guys can imagine, no one believed this story. There also was the fact that the murder weapon, which was a hatchet that belonged to Susie, was left right near the body and it was covered in Mary's blood and hair. The police immediately arrested both Susie and Michael. Susie was charged with murder and was later sentenced to die by the hangman's noose. But Michael, on the other hand, was released.
00:05:02
Speaker
Susie didn't die for her crimes, though. Her sentence was commuted and she was sent to the Kingston Penitentiary for 16 years. Now, in a bizarre coincidence, on the day that Susie was supposed to hang, Michael died. He lost his footing while aboard a boat. He fell through the ice and he drowned.
00:05:20
Speaker
Now, the thing is that Mary did not receive the justice that she deserved. The building where she died in used to sit on the corner of William and Murray streets. In today's time, the old factories and apartments are long gone and have been replaced with film studios and trendy condos. In the years since Mary's death, there have been countless reports of people seeing the ghost of Mary who was said to be looking for her head.
00:05:46
Speaker
These sightings occur every seven years on the anniversary of her death. On this date, many people go down to the corner of William & Murray Streets to hopefully catch a glimpse of Mary, and if you want to see her for yourself, it is said that your next chance would be on June 27, 2025. You can hear stories like this and so much more on our show Horrifying History, which you can find on any podcast provider.
Ghost Stories from Japan
00:06:13
Speaker
You also can follow us on Facebook at Horrifying History, on Instagram at Horrifying Underscore History, and on Twitter at HorrifyingHIST1. Hey, everybody. My name is Josh. And I'm Jamie. And we are from the Paranormal Peeps podcast. And we have a great story for you guys lined up tonight, and it's going to be a Japanese ghost story.
00:06:37
Speaker
Yeah, so they're big spooky season. For us in the States, it's in October. For Japan, it's actually in the summer. Yeah, which seems a little strange. Well, for us, because we weren't brought up in that culture, but I find it fascinating. Nonetheless, I like seeing how other cultures differ from ours. Yeah. And so what is the one belief that they have about the summertime ghost season, essentially? I don't know.
00:07:02
Speaker
they believe that their ancestors come back and they'll leave fires, inviting fires for them to come and hang out with their families. Is it like fires for them to find their way to the, to their still living relatives? And yeah, in, as cases were, but yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And it's, you know, and the, the interesting thing is the Japanese culture is so much more ancient than anything we have in the US. Oh yeah. Yeah. By leaps and bounds.
00:07:29
Speaker
And they call it the Season of Bonn. And there are good spirits. Most of the spirits are actually, you know, ancestral, happy spirits. Yeah. But then you have the Yokai, which are evil spirits. And what are we going to hear about today? I would say let's figure that out at the end of this wonderful story. Okay, let's get to it. So the name of the story is Ingwa Bananshi. Is it Bananshi? It looks like Banshee to me.
00:07:57
Speaker
It looks like banshee, but I don't think it's spelt the same way. So we'll just say banshee, that's fine too. It actually essentially translates into the tale of ingua. Okay. So maybe it's banshee. I mean, it's kind of have banshee-like characteristics, so.
00:08:12
Speaker
Okay, well let's get straight to it then. The Domino's wife was dying and knew that she was dying. She had not been able to leave her bed since the early autumn of the 10th bonsai, and it was now the fourth month of the 12th bonsai, the year 1829 by western counting. And the cherry trees were blossoming
00:08:29
Speaker
She thought of the cherry trees in her garden and of the gladness of spring. She thought of her children. She thought of her husband's various concubines, especially the lady Yukiko, 19 years old. My dear wife, said the Damyo, you have suffered very much for the three long years. We have done all that we could
00:08:47
Speaker
could to get you well, watching beside you night and day, praying for you, and often fasting for your sake. But in spite of our loving care, and in spite of the skill of our best physicians, it now seems the end of your life is not far off. Probably we shall sorrow more than you will sorrow because of your having to leave what the Buddha so truly termed this burning house of the world. I shall order to be performed no matter what the cost.
00:09:13
Speaker
every religious rite that can serve you in the regard to your next rebirth. And all of us will pray without ceasing for you, that you may not have to wander in the black space, but may quickly enter paradise and attain to Buddhahood. He spoke with the uttermost tenderness, caressing her the while. Then, with eyelids closed, she answered him in a voice, thin as the voice of an insect. I am grateful, most grateful, for your kind words,
00:09:37
Speaker
Yes, it is true, as you say, that I have been sick for three long years, and that I have been treated with all possible care and affection. Why, indeed, shall I turn away from the one true path at the very moment of my death? Perhaps to think of worldly matters that such a time is not right, but I have one last request to make. Only one. Call here to me, the Lady Yokiko, and you know that I love her like a sister. I want to speak to her about the affairs of this household.
00:10:01
Speaker
Yukiko came at the summons of the Lord, and in obedience to the sign from him, knelt down beside the couch. The d'Amio's wife opened her eyes and looked at Yukiko and spoke, Ah, here is Yukiko. I am so pleased to see you, Yukiko. Come a little closer, so that you can hear me well. I am not able to speak loud. Yukiko, I am going to die, and I hope that you will be faithful in all things to our dear Lord. For I want you to take my place when I am gone. I hope that you will always be loved by him.
00:10:30
Speaker
Yes, even a hundred times more than I have been, and that you will very soon be promoted to a higher rank, become his honored wife. And I beg of you always to cherish our dear Lord. Never allow another woman to rob you of his affection. This is what I want to say to you, dear Yukiko. Have you been able to understand? Oh, my dear lady, protested Yukiko.
00:10:49
Speaker
Do not, I entreat you. Say such strange things to me. You well know that I am of poor and mean condition. How could I ever dare to aspire to become the wife of our Lord? Nay, nay, return the wife huskily. This is not a time for words of ceremony. Let us speak only in the truth to each other. After death, you will certainly be promoted to a higher place. And I now assure you again that I wish you to become the wife of our Lord. Yes, I wish this, Yokiko.
00:11:14
Speaker
Even more than I wish to become a Buddha, and I have almost forgotten, I want you to do something for me, Yukiko. I know that in the garden there is a yayzakura, which is brought here the year before last from Mount Yoshino in Yamato. I have been told that this is now full bloom. I want to see it in flower. In a little while I shall be dead. I must see the tree before I die. Now, I wish you to carry me into the garden at once, Yukiko, so that I can see it.
00:11:40
Speaker
Yes, upon your back, Yokiko. Take me upon your back." While thus asking, her voice was gradually becoming clear and strong. As if the intensity of the wish had given her new force, then she suddenly burst into tears. Yokiko now motionless, not knowing what to do, but the Lord not an assent. It is her last wish in this world, he said.
00:12:00
Speaker
You always loved cherry flowers, and I know that she wanted very much to see that Yamato tree in blossom. Come, my dear Yokiko. Let her have her will. As the nurse turns her back to a child, the child may cling to it. Yokiko offered her shoulders to the wife and said, Lady, I am ready. Please tell me how I can best help you. Why this way, responded the dying woman, lifting herself with an almost superhuman effort by clinging to Yokiko's shoulders. But as she stood erect, she quickly slipped her thin hands down over her shoulders.
00:12:28
Speaker
under the robe, and clutched the breasts of the girl, and burst into a wicked laugh. I have my wish, she cried. I have my wish for the cherry blossom, but not the cherry blossom of the garden. I could not die before I got my wish, and now I have it. And oh, what a delight! And with these words she fell upon the crouching girl.
00:12:46
Speaker
and died. The attendants at once attempted to lift the body from Yukiko's shoulders and to lay it upon the bed. But strange to say, this seemingly easy thing could not be done. The cold hands had attached themselves in some unaccountable way to the breasts of the girl, appearing to have grown into the quick flesh. Yukiko became senseless with fear and pain. Physicians were called. They could not understand what had taken place. By no ordinary methods could the hands of the dead woman be unfastened from the body of her victim.
00:13:14
Speaker
They so clung that any effort to remove them brought blood. This was not because the fingers held. It was because the flesh of the palms had united itself in some inexplicable manner to the flesh of the breasts. At that time, the most skillful physician in Tokyo was a foreigner, a Dutch surgeon. It was decided to summon him after a...
00:13:32
Speaker
careful examination he said it could not be could not understand the case and then at the immediate relief of yokiko there was nothing to be done except cut the hands from the corpse he decided that it would be dangerous to attempt to detach them from the breasts his advice was accepted and the hands were amputated at the wrists but they remained clinging to the breasts and their soon
00:13:52
Speaker
darkened and dried up, like the hands of a person long dead. Yet this was only the beginning of the horror, withered and bloodless, though they seemed those hands were not dead. At intervals they would stir, stealthily, like great gray spiders, and nightly thereafter.
00:14:08
Speaker
beginning always at the hour of the ox. They would clutch and compress and torture. Only at the hour of the tiger, the pain would cease. Yokiko cut off her hair and became a mendicant nun, taking the religious name Dassetsu. And she had
00:14:23
Speaker
a mortuary tablet made bearing the cameo of her dead mistress. And this she carried about with her in all her wanderings, and every day before it she humbled Bassat the dead for pardon, and performed a Buddhist service in order that the jealous spirit might find
00:14:49
Speaker
According to the testimony of those persons to whom she had last told her story, when she had stopped for one evening at the house of Noguchi Tengo Zayelmo,
00:14:58
Speaker
in the village of Tanaka and the district of Kawachi in the province of Shimotsuki. This is the third year of Kokai, which is 1846. Therefore, nothing more was ever heard of her. So basically, this dying woman, this dying wife, was jealous. And before she died in her trickery, she told her husband, you know, she's like a sister to me. Yeah.
00:15:21
Speaker
You know, I love her like a sister. Bring her here to me. Yeah. And then? Deceptive, misleading, and jealous, and spiteful. Yes. Yeah. And so she would definitely be a yokai. Yes. An evil spirit. Well, yeah. I mean, you leave the world, and that is your last act. Dying wish. An act. Yeah. Because she had to, you know, attach herself, obviously. So, yeah. Yeah. That's kind of a terrifying story.
00:15:49
Speaker
I mean, yeah, I mean, we're so used here, especially here in the States, we're so used to these, you know, scary movies and haunting tales and they're much more graphic. They're, you know, but, and I've said this before on a handful of occasions, if something like this happened to you in real life, would you not be terrified? It would be absolutely horrifying. I mean, imagine a dead person's hands seized to your chest.
00:16:18
Speaker
Like they melted with your, into your skin. Yeah. They binded with you. Yeah. And then every night from two to four, which is the hour of the ox, they twitch and torture you for 17 years. Yeah. How do you not go insane? That's a very good question.
00:16:35
Speaker
I think I would cut off my breasts. Yeah. Yeah. But what if that didn't work? Well, that's even, that's even more terrifying. That's a terrifying thought as well. So yeah, everybody check us out on the paranormal peeps podcast. We are part of the dark cast network and as always stay ghosting my peeps. Hey there. This is CJ host of beyond the rainbow true crimes of the LGBTQ plus.
00:16:58
Speaker
Regardless of your gender or sexual identity, Beyond the Rainbow was made for listeners from just about all walks of life. As well, I'm the founder of Darkcast Network and I feel so honored to be working with the fantastic shows of our network.
August Provost's Tragic Story
00:17:17
Speaker
The case I have for you this cruel summer takes us back a bit to the Bill Clinton Administration.
00:17:24
Speaker
While many may believe inserting a cigar into Monica Lewinsky's hoo-ha might have been the dumbest thing Clinton did in office, I'd have to disagree. I personally believe the military's don't ask, don't tell is what took the cake.
00:17:43
Speaker
While the law was enacted in 1993 to protect gay and bisexual military personnel, it did nothing more than disallow them to live their truth, and it put a bigger target on their backs. The law basically stated if you're gay or bi, and a member of the military, you're banned from telling anyone.
00:18:05
Speaker
At the time, thousands of LGBTQ people served to defend the United States and our freedoms. They gave their lives to protect their fellow soldiers and American citizens. But it wasn't easy. On top of their assigned duties, they had to grapple every day with don't ask, don't tell. And that required them to hide their truths, their identities.
00:18:31
Speaker
their core parts of themselves. Every single day they felt the weight of that. Don't ask, don't tell turned into a punishment for patriotic LGBTQ Americans. And all they wanted to do was serve their country and fight for freedoms Americans are supposed to have.
00:18:52
Speaker
More than 13,000 qualified service members were discharged under that policy. Some even lost their lives due to it because they were frightened to report harassment, like Private First Class Barry Winchell, who I covered in Season 9 Episode 15 when Barry met Callie, and the young man whose case I'm presenting for you today.
00:19:17
Speaker
In 2010, President Obama revoked the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy much to the delight of the LGBTQ community. This particular case I'm going to tell you about was a 29-year-old gay military man in the summer of 2009, just before the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy ended.
00:19:40
Speaker
August Provost was a handsome black Navy sailor from Houston, Texas. In 2009, he was assigned to the Camp Pendleton Naval Base near San Diego, California. August had a secret he was supposed to be keeping. Otherwise, he could be discharged from the Navy. Or worse.
00:20:01
Speaker
Before the military, August was a proud and open gay man, and he presented masculine. As a naval sailor, and if y'all don't mind, I'd like to avoid calling him a semen. There's just too many sexual connotations associated with that word. As a naval sailor, aside from his family, only a select few he really trusted knew about his sexual identity.
00:20:25
Speaker
Friends and family described August as a harmonious man, non-judgmental, fully accepting of just about everyone, no matter their sexual or gender identities or ethnicities. August was also very loving, and he had a beautiful contagious smile. The beginning of June 2009, however, he was being bullied at his naval base.
00:20:52
Speaker
August complained to the members of his family that he was being harassed by a fellow sailor that knew he was gay. His sister told him to report the other sailor to his commanding officer, but with the don't ask, don't tell policy in place, August was reluctant to do so. Instead, August, who was non-confrontational most of the time, he just sat on the harassment and let it happen.
00:21:18
Speaker
The night of Tuesday, June 30, 2009, August had taken his post in the guard tower at Camp Pendleton. At some point, his killer had also gained entry to the tower and confronted August, then his killer shot him multiple times, leaving August to die at his sentry post.
00:21:39
Speaker
The killer left the tower, and he tried to set it ablaze to hide the evidence of the murder. August's body was found the following day on Wednesday, July 1, 2009. While many of August's family and friends felt August was the target of a hate crime for being gay, his commanding officer and other military personnel didn't believe this was the case.
00:22:04
Speaker
They seemed to think it was coincidental, and since he was murdered while on sentry duty in the tower, had any other soldier also been assigned to that detail that night, they too would have been murdered in the same manner. But a military investigation into August's murder ensued, and the next day another sailor was arrested and placed into the Navy's custody in the brig of Camp Pendleton.
00:22:30
Speaker
There was strong evidence against 32-year-old Petty Officer Jonathan Campos. The Navy felt Jonathan had been pulled over for a driving under the influence charge earlier in June. They felt like he was retaliating for any punishment he received for the DUI. They also believed that he planned to set fire to the watchtower regardless who was in it. And when he came across August, he stole his gun and fatally shot him.
00:22:59
Speaker
However, many others surmised Jonathan was hiding insecurities about his own sexual identity, and that he killed August to keep everyone from finding out he too was gay or bisexual. Simply put, Jonathan thought August was going to out him, but there's no concrete evidence for either theory.
00:23:20
Speaker
Friday, July 31, 2009, military police checked on Jonathan in his holding cell around 12.20 pm. He was checked on less than an hour before this, and everything seemed fine. But during this 12.20 check, Jonathan was unresponsive and he was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
00:23:44
Speaker
Jonathan had taken his own life via self-affixiation. He had stuffed into his mouth and ingested an incredible amount of toilet paper, and this caused him to suffocate. The completion of suicide left many to believe Jonathan had killed August in order to keep his secrets about his own sexual identity. It's unknown whether Jonathan and August had something sexual going on with one another.
00:24:13
Speaker
August did have a boyfriend back home in Texas at the time of his murder. And because Jonathan took his own life, August's family felt that Jonathan took away any closure and answers as to why their beloved August was killed.
00:24:31
Speaker
Rest in power, August. Remember, it's not a crime to be gay, unless you're a murderer. And Darkcast Network, you rock. Guess what, chicken butt. Summertime living sleazy. Sweating your balls off. Absolutely. Seriously, what summer means when you hit a certain age, it is time to chuck your children into the arms of whoever will take them so they don't drive you insane.
00:25:01
Speaker
Anybody want this kid? Yup, because it's gonna be home for like three months. Did you ever do a summer camp though? No. I did it once, a place called Camp Toulouly. Holler to central New York. But that's where I got my like profound fear of the outdoors. It was just a mild fear at first, but sleep away camp is where the profound fear really started.
00:25:27
Speaker
Today we are going to give you a small taste of a notorious crime that happened in 1977, a gruesome and tragic mystery that to this day remains unsolved.
The Unsolved Girl Scouts Mystery
00:25:39
Speaker
Founded in the early 20th century, the Girl Scouts, if you don't know, is an organization dedicated to the empowerment of young girls.
00:25:47
Speaker
It instills this confidence and courage. You know, they bond over activities like community service, camping, they get their badges, they sell their cookies, right? I don't want to go peddle your cookies. I was into that because I was a fat kid and I was like, yeah, I want to get some badges for selling cookies to myself.
00:26:06
Speaker
So, it's fairly innocuous. Promise of a good time. And it shouldn't be dangerous, right? It shouldn't be. June 13, 1977 marked one of the most terrible and shocking crimes in Oklahoma history, which kicked off an investigation that would continue for decades. The now-abandoned Camp Scott is in a densely wooded location on 410 acres in Mays County, Oklahoma.
00:26:30
Speaker
Camp Scott, a cornerstone of Oklahoma Girl Scouting, had been operated by generations of Girl Scouts going as far back as 1928. Many parents of the campers had experienced this two-week getaway themselves and looked forward to sharing the experience with their littles. Get out by and go swimming and shit.
00:26:47
Speaker
Go do some shit, make some friends. Earlier that day, 10-year-old Doris Denise Milner expressed hesitation about the trip to her mom, but was convinced to board the bus on the promise that her parents would pick her up if she felt like coming home once she got there. Like, hey, you know, try it out, see what happens, we'll come and get you.
00:27:05
Speaker
Might be more fun than you think. Months leading up to this particular trip, there was some very odd activity happening around the camp. A counselor found that one of the tents had been slashed open. Others on the campground reported some of their items were missing. Some heard strange noises off in the distance. And one counselor even found that a donut had been stolen from a box of a dozen and in its place was a handwritten note, which first of all, ew, do not replace a donut with a note.
00:27:34
Speaker
That is not- You don't sing your dirty note in my donuts? Ew. Nasty son of a bitch. Because now, depending on where that donut is, two to four donuts are inedible. Yeah, because they've touched your grimy note. Yeah, like keep your folded up greasy threat paper away from the donuts. Donuts and threats don't go together. Anyway, this glazed threat said, we are on a mission to kill three girls in tent one. Ew.
00:28:01
Speaker
all of these incidents, all of the shit, including that. Including the note and the donuts. Yeah, it was all dismissed as a prank. I don't like it. On the first night of camp, a thunderstorm rolled in, and the girls and their counselors all hunkered down in their tents to go to sleep. In order to keep a close eye on the scouts, the counselors had the tents fanned out around their own sleeping quarters. Milner was in the farthest tent, accompanied by eight-year-old Lori Lee Farmer and nine-year-old Michelle Heather Goose.
00:28:31
Speaker
Lori Farmer, a bright little girl who was said to be mature beyond her years and the youngest girl scout at camp that week, was excited to write home to her family in Tulsa. She told her loved ones about her two new friends and her roommates. No stranger to Camp Scott, having attended the camp the year prior, Michelle Goos was a shy, athletic girl with a love for plants.
00:28:52
Speaker
In fact, before leaving her home in Broken Arrow, her mother, George Ann, told a newspaper that Michelle insisted she take care of her plants while she was away at camp. African violets were one of her favorites. Having sold enough Girl Scout cookies to be able to attend camp with her friends, Denise Milner had been excited about going to camp. She was a straight A student and had already been admitted to a Tulsa school that was created for exceptionally bright students. However, at the last minute, her friends backed out and Denise reluctantly went alone to camp.
00:29:20
Speaker
She was not keen on the idea of leaving her mom and her five-year-old sister. On the bus, Denise cried. After the trio finished their letters, the girls gathered for story time before heading to bed. During story time, Denise was again upset and asked to call her mom. One of the Kiowa counselors, a young woman named Dee Elder, comforted Denise.
00:29:40
Speaker
After some convincing, Denise agreed she would wait and call her mom the next day. Meanwhile, as the girls were winding down for the evening and the first day of camp was coming to a close, a counselor in the Comanche Unit stared out into the dark night. Through the dense trees, movement caught her eye. A dim light was moving through the woods toward the Kiowa Unit. Anybody walking through that camp, unless you had a good flashlight, it'd be pretty much pitch black, Wilson said.
00:30:05
Speaker
As with any camp, the first nights are always loud. Excited campers enjoyed their newfound freedom with their friends, away from their parents, and free to do whatever they wanted. You know, within reason. Around midnight, Counselor Carla Wilhite heard some campers giggling outside near the latrine. She woke up, got the girls, and hey, go back to bed, brought them back to their campsite, probably was really annoyed. Again, at 1.30 a.m., Wilhite was awakened by girls giggling in tent six.
00:30:32
Speaker
From the door of her tent, Willhite shone a flashlight toward their tent and hollered, go to sleep. Then, Willhite and a fellow counselor, Dee Elder, walked over to tent six to get these girls to quiet down. They were just like, I'm a party, aren't I? We do what we want. From the darkness behind tents one and two, Willhite heard a low guttural sound.
00:30:54
Speaker
or a moaning coming from the woods. Though they assumed it was an animal, when Wilhite went to investigate and shown her flashlight in the direction of the noise, the sound stopped. She turned around and started going back to her tent. As soon as she did that, with the light not being shined in that direction anymore, the sound started back up, Wilson said. So, she turned around a second time and started walking back that direction, and as she shined the flashlight in that direction again, the sound stopped again.
00:31:20
Speaker
Wilkite would say later that when she was back in her tent trying to fall asleep, she could still hear that sound. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. No. I mean, this day and age was cell phones, definitely would have called someone. Right? Yeah. But, you know, again, this is 1977, so.
00:31:35
Speaker
Around the same time, a camper in tent seven saw a light approaching the tent. Suddenly, the light flooded the tent and a male figure stood in the entryway. Terrifying. Jesus Christ, those poor kids. Just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared back into the dark, closing the flap of the tent behind him, which by the way, the tents that these kids were in were basically just like, it was like an eight by 10 wooden pallet with like some cots. With like a cloth tent around it.
00:32:02
Speaker
No security. No. Just open flaps and a tent. I wouldn't sleep in that shit. Bugs are definitely getting in. Oh my god, yeah, forget it. Definitely. Forget it. If this dude's getting in, so are spiders, for sure. One camper said they heard a scream in the night, and another camper said they heard someone crying for their mama.
00:32:21
Speaker
That would also, I mean that makes me so sad. Oh my god, yeah me too. The next morning the sun rose on another day at Camp Scott. This morning probably promised to be pretty cool I would imagine. I mean those kids spent all night during a thunderstorm like getting to know each other and like bonding. It makes me sad to think that this is how they like woke up the next day. Woke up to a nightmare.
00:32:42
Speaker
Wilhite woke early around 6 a.m. to get into the shower before the other campers woke up. As she headed out of her tent, she spotted what appeared to be sleeping bags a little way away. When she approached, she realized it was three sleeping bags sprawled across the ground. Two of the sleeping bags were zipped closed, but one was open.
00:33:01
Speaker
Milner, Farmer, and Goose lay dead on the trail about 150 yards from their tent. Two bodies were stuffed into the bottom of their sleeping bag while one was left out into the open. The young girls had been brutally sexually assaulted before being bludgeoned and strangled to death. An investigation turned up a well of evidence.
00:33:21
Speaker
A large red flashlight was found on top of the bodies, and while there was a fingerprint on the lens, it was unfortunately too smudged to be ID'd. Newspaper had been stuffed into the casing to prevent batteries from rattling. There was even a piece of fabric that he'd put over the light, like it was duct taped over it, so it would like dim the light while he was walking through the woods.
00:33:43
Speaker
The girl's tent was covered in blood and in that blood was the print of a nine and a half sized shoe. A larger search of the 400 acre camp turned up duct tape, rope, and women's eyeglasses. Police found a nearby cave that showed signs that someone had been living there
00:33:59
Speaker
And there were newspapers scattered around that matched the issue that were used to stuff the batteries in the flashlight. That's pretty damning. In case that wasn't enough evidence, somebody had also just kind of like doodled on the wall.
00:34:18
Speaker
The way that they wrote the date, like 6-17-1977. Oh yeah, the year's first. Soon the police identified a suspect, 33-year-old Jean Leroy Hart. Hart had a documented history of violence, which included sexual assault. He was arrested for the kidnap and rape of two pregnant women in Tulsa. And he got out on parole shortly after.
00:34:39
Speaker
Yeah. The fuck is wrong with people? You'd think pregnant women would be kind of safe. You'd think. Oh, he was in and out of jail. Burglary charges. Managed to escape in 1973. Escaped fucking jail. Like, just got out. Well, it was the 70s. It was the 70s. He probably had a damn poster of some bikini-clad sweetheart in his cell. Yeah, with a big hole behind it. Yup.
00:35:06
Speaker
tunneled his way through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Boil. No, fuck this guy though. This guy really did do the things, I think, that he was accused of. Anyway, he was a member of the Cherokee Nation and tensions began to mount as the police focused their search on him. Hart was eventually arrested, though the sheriff at the time said he was 100% certain of his involvement. Hart was acquitted in 1979 when a jury unanimously found him not guilty of murdering the girls.
00:35:35
Speaker
Yeah, because apparently the whole town loved this guy. Yeah. And there were a lot of people that were like, nah, he couldn't have done it. DNA testing has come a really long way and recently they have linked him. Like, I think it was 2022. They were able to confirm Hart's involvement.
00:35:51
Speaker
So it kind of sucks, like he didn't serve time for that. He didn't go to prison for killing the girls, but he did have 305 years to serve for his prior sentences for raping pregnant ladies and escaping from prison. In June of 1979, he died of a heart attack in the prison exercise yard. Yeah, wasn't long.
00:36:14
Speaker
He had a heart attack. He done got murdered. Then people found out what he did and they were like, we don't take too kindly to child molestation and they killed him. Tis possible. Eventually Camp Scott was shut down. Hm. Alleging negligence, two of the victim's families sued the Magic Empire Council, which ran the Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, for five million dollars.
00:36:36
Speaker
Jurors voted nine to three in favor of Magic Empire. Attorneys claimed that scouting officials showed an... Unbelievable lack of caution and alertness. ...despite numerous incidences, which should have prompted them to improve camp security. There's all these things that were going on for years prior to this incident, and they just gave one of the counselors, an underage counselor, a gun, and was like, yeah, just defend the camp. Did he shoot him? Yeah, just like, holy shit.
00:37:05
Speaker
He's in Oklahoma. Just shoot him. Richard Goos, the father of Michelle Heather Goos, helped the state legislature pass the Oklahoma Victims Bill of Rights. He also went on to found the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Board. Lori Lee Farmer's mother, Sherry Farmer, founded the Oklahoma chapter of the Parents of Murdered Children support group.
00:37:28
Speaker
There's never any good that comes out of anything like this, but time has gone on. It's been like 45 years and people are still feeling the effects of it. Um, and if you want to take an even deeper look at this disturbing case, Hulu actually did come out with a documentary called Keeper of the Ashes, the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders. It is hosted by superstar celebrity, Kristen Chenoweth.
00:37:50
Speaker
Chenoweth said of this incident that occurred as an eight-year-old girl to children that she vaguely remembers passing in the hallways of school, quote, this happened. There's no closure. There's no pretty red bow at the end. And when I think of those three girls, I wonder what's the best way to honor them? And that's why I've come back home to find answers once and for all and make it about me.
00:38:16
Speaker
It has to be seen to be believed, honestly. It's very self-congratulatory about her survival of something that she wasn't even there for.
00:38:28
Speaker
Joanna Wright, a girl who was legitimately affected by this nightmare, almost chose tent number seven in the camp's Kiowa unit, but ultimately chose another tent. I just didn't like the location. She said. There were a lot of woods around it and I just didn't like it. I wouldn't have liked it either. Got some vibes. That camp was set up weird and those poor kids were like the furthest away from any kind of authority figure.
00:38:51
Speaker
authority in quotation marks cuz they were teenagers but they were the furthest ones away the counselors were in the middle and then the campers fanned off out to the side and so there were two tents that were like super crazy far away from any kind of assistance.
00:39:06
Speaker
Absolutely. The tent, the furthest away, I have the least amount of kids in there. Like, if there was a free space, a counselor should have gone in there. Right? They could just give him a gun. I mean, yeah, just give him a gun. Fuck it. They'll be fine. I don't know, eight year old. Here, have a gun. Here's a handgun. You know how it works, right? Yeah, you do. You're from Oklahoma. It's fine. Yeah, they were Oklahomians. Oklahomies. I hope that's what they call themselves. They better. Creepy tapas. Check us out wherever you listen to podcasts, guys. We have all kinds of cool stuff. Thanks for listening, y'all.
00:39:35
Speaker
Thanks y'all. Bye. Bye. Hey there, friend.
The Lady of the Dunes Case
00:39:38
Speaker
My name is Keely. I'm the host of Misty Mysteries, a true crime and paranormal podcast that brings you ghostly spooks and chilling crimes every Wednesday. Today I'm telling you about the well-known case known as Lady of the Dunes, a former Jane Doe case, but still unsolved homicide.
00:39:55
Speaker
In the morning of July 26, 1974, a 12-year-old girl named Leslie Metcalfe was playing outside with her dog in Cape Cod, a Providence town, Massachusetts, when she noticed her dog had taken off. She went off to search for her pup. She only walked 100 yards when she reached the Race Point sand dunes, where she heard her dog barking and decided to follow his barks.
00:40:20
Speaker
Following his barks, she found him barking at the decomposing remains of a woman. The woman was found naked, lying face down. Half of her body was on a green beach towel as if she had been sharing the towel with a friend. Her head rested on regular blue jeans and a blue bandana that had been folded and was covered in blood.
00:40:44
Speaker
She had green eyes and auburn hair. Her toenails had been painted a pink color. Her hair had been tied back with a golden flaked hair tie, but her ponytail had been very disheveled. She was determined to be between the ages of 25 to 40 years old. She was 5 foot 6 inches, but initially police believed her to be 2 inches taller at 5 foot 8 inches.
00:41:08
Speaker
She weighed 145 pounds with an athletic belt, and though some of her teeth had been missing, presumably taken by her killer, it was determined she had expensive dental work done, including crowns ranging between $5,000 to $10,000.
00:41:24
Speaker
When her remains were found, it was believed she could have been deceased anywhere between 10 days to 3 weeks, but it wasn't hard for police to mark her death a homicide. Her hands had been removed at the wrist and taken from the scene. Teeth were taken from her mouth and she had been nearly decapitated. Her cause of death was from blunt force trauma that caused the left side of her skull to be crushed.
00:41:51
Speaker
Police believed she either knew her killer or was asleep when this attack happened because the scene showed no signs of a fight.
00:41:59
Speaker
On the scene, very little evidence to basically none was found. What was found on scene were footprints approaching her remains and stopping a few yards away. Then 50 yards from her were tire tracks that led to the dunes. The police chief at the time said there was no way to know if these were or weren't connected to her homicide.
00:42:23
Speaker
After her remains had been removed from the scene, they searched for a weapon or any further evidence around the area, using a bloodhound and a fresh set of eyes, bringing in new law enforcement personnel, but nothing else was found. Away from the scene, her body was examined for anything that may offer clues to her identity or who was responsible for this horrific crime. Her clothes were searched for any identifying information, but again, nothing was found.
00:42:53
Speaker
So police set off to search elsewhere. They went to motels, hotels, and other locations, those vacationing may stay, to see if someone had gone missing, but nothing came of this. They then used the victim's characteristics and appearance to compare her to the thousands of missing persons reports, looked into the owners of every vehicle with permits to drive in the dunes, or those who had abandoned their vehicles in the dunes, but this led nowhere.
00:43:21
Speaker
Finally, in the efforts to help her be known as more than the Lady of the Dunes, they asked the public for help, sharing her characteristics, and started to send out her dental charts. Her dental charts were sent to the FBI, dental groups, 5,000 dentists in Massachusetts alone, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But this didn't get them anywhere closer to finding her identity.
00:43:46
Speaker
Without any solid leads to her identity or her killer, she was laid to rest in St. Peter's Cemetery in Providence Town with a grave marked, unidentified female. For 48 years, she was known as the Lady of the Dunes, while police worked to identify her, using her skull to create sketches and exhuming her body for DNA.
00:44:09
Speaker
After 48 years laid to rest without her identity, the Lady of the Dunes was identified in October of 2022 as 37-year-old Ruth Marie Terry. Ruth was married to a man named Guy Rockwell. Guy was an antique dealer who was suspected of the deaths of his previous wife and stepdaughter in 1960.
00:44:33
Speaker
Knowing that Ruth is the lady of the dunes, the investigators are now looking for more information about Guy, although he did pass away in 2002 in California. And they're looking for more information on her time in Massachusetts before her death.
00:44:48
Speaker
If you want to hear more about Ruth, in-depth details of this investigation, including theories of her possibly being a background in the movie Jaws, or a false confession of a serial killer, you can check out the longer and way more detailed coverage of this case on the Missy Mysteries podcast. I hope you join me soon. Until then, I hope you have a safe and cruel summer, and you enjoy all the rest of the stories from my dark cast friends.
00:45:15
Speaker
Hello everyone, my name is Sinister Steph and welcome to the Darkcast Network's Cruel Summer episode.
The Murder of Laura Ackerson
00:45:21
Speaker
Today I wanted to share a little Sinister Summer story with you. Unfortunately, bitter custody battles between parents are a tale as old as time. However, the battles that are taken much further than a court of law are thankfully a little less common.
00:45:39
Speaker
During the summer of 2011, 27-year-old Laura Jean Ackerson was going through a terrible fight for custody of her toddler son's, Grant Hayes IV, and Gentle. Her ex-boyfriend Grant Hayes was making life hell for her. The two had joint custody over the children, but that wasn't enough for greedy Grant. He had already moved on with another woman named Amanda, and they were married in 2010.
00:46:06
Speaker
Shortly after they were married, Grant and Amanda welcomed a new baby of their own. So why couldn't Grant just leave Laura alone? She was a fantastic mother, very loving and nurturing, but for some reason Grant seemed determined to try to take any happiness away from Laura that he could.
00:46:26
Speaker
In spite of all this, Laura was really trying to move on with her life as well. But it seemed like every time something positive would happen for her, there was Grant, a big gray rain cloud looming over her head. Laura lived in Kinston, North Carolina and worked successfully in the marketing industry. She was well-liked for her cheerfulness by just about everyone who came in contact with her.
00:46:53
Speaker
On July 12, 2011, Laura was emailed by Grant to come visit their boys on Wednesday, July 13th after her work. But in order to make the visit, Laura would have to go to Grant and Amanda's apartment in Raleigh instead of meeting at a neutral site like a family restaurant. Laura, however, would never miss the opportunity to see her children, and I can identify with that, so of course she said that she would be there.
00:47:23
Speaker
She was supposed to be present for a conference call with a coworker later that evening for work, but she missed it. Her coworker did know that Laura was going to Raleigh to visit her kids for a bit, but Laura missing the phone meeting still worried her a little bit. Two days later, on July 15th, Laura was due to pick up the boys for her parenting portion of the week. However, she never showed.
00:47:50
Speaker
On July 18th, that same coworker I previously mentioned reported her missing because Laura had still not shown up for work and it had been now several days that she could not be reached. A few days after she was reported missing, Laura's car was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex that her and her boys used to live in with Grant when they were all together. The complex was in Raleigh.
00:48:18
Speaker
On July 24th, Laura's remains were discovered in Richmond, Texas. She had been dismembered. Her body parts were located in three different spots in a creek, and because of the grueling summer heat in Texas, the decomposition of her remains had settled in rapidly, making it nearly impossible for the medical examiner to determine exactly how Laura had been killed.
00:48:46
Speaker
It was finally ruled as undetermined homicidal violence. But their final findings suggested she either succumbed to asphyxiation or blunt force trauma to her neck.
00:49:01
Speaker
Investigators had their work cut out for them. They started to first look into the circle of people in Laura's life, beginning with her ex-boyfriend and father of her children. Detectives visited Grant at the apartment he shared with his wife Amanda and their children. Immediately, detectives noticed a strong bleach smell emanating from the apartment.
00:49:23
Speaker
They found a note with Laura's signature stating she would give up the kids to Grant for $25,000, but after speaking to Laura's friends and coworkers, investigators believed that Laura's signature was forged on the document. Detectives were also somehow able to determine a shower curtain, a vacuum, and bathroom rugs were missing from the apartment. Grant and Amanda moved quickly to the top of their suspect list.
00:49:55
Speaker
With a little searching, law enforcement discovered that Grant had recently purchased gloves, bleach, plastic sheeting, a reciprocal saw, goggles, garbage bags, ice, and some ice chests. Nothing suspicious there with his ex-girlfriend and mother of his toddler son's missing, right? They also found all of these items were purchased before Grant, Amanda, and the kids had left for a trip to Texas.
00:50:24
Speaker
After arriving in Texas, Grant purchased some bottles of muriatic acid and was seen on a home improvement store's surveillance doing this. Amanda was seen on video footage dumping some of those empty bottles of muriatic acid near her sister's residence. There were also witnesses that could place Grant and Amanda near the creek in Texas where Laura's remains were found.
00:50:50
Speaker
Detectives surmised that Laura was murdered in Grant and Amanda's apartment. The couple dismembered her with their reciprocal saw, and her body parts were stored in the ice chests. When none of the couple's previous attempts to dispose of Laura's body were effective, they rented a U-Haul and drove to Richmond, Texas, where Amanda's sister lived. In Texas, they had tried to dissolve Amanda's body in the muriatic acid.
00:51:19
Speaker
but they were again unsuccessful. So the couple rented a boat and dumped Laura's remains in Oyster Creek where alligators were prevalent. Grant and Amanda hoped that alligators would eat all of the evidence, but thankfully the alligators were non-compliant with the couple's plan.
00:51:41
Speaker
Grant and Amanda Hayes were arrested on first degree murder charges, and as often happens when couples are arrested together for crimes, they turned on each other pretty quickly. Amanda insisted that she was fearful of Grant, and he threatened her if she didn't help him. Grant insisted that Amanda had strangled Laura to death, but it was an accident. I don't know how you accidentally strangle someone.
00:52:10
Speaker
Two years later in 2013, Amanda and Grant would have separate trials. Amanda's defense was once again that she was coerced by her violent, scary husband to play a part in the murder of Laura.
00:52:25
Speaker
Her defense team painted Grant as a classic sociopath who murdered Laura without Amanda's knowledge, and then Grant tricked Amanda into the trip to Texas to dispose of Laura's body parts. Amanda's sentence was lowered from first degree murder to second degree murder. Before the end of the court proceedings, Amanda apologized to just about everyone, Laura's family, her son's, Grant's family, the courtroom,
00:52:53
Speaker
The judge told her she most likely could have saved Laura's life, but had chosen not to. Amanda was found guilty and by the time her trial concluded in February 2014, she was sentenced to a 13-16 year incarceration. She received an additional 20 years for tampering with evidence and trying to feed Laura's body parts to alligators. As soon as her trial was over, she served Grant with divorce papers.
00:53:23
Speaker
Imagine that. Grant's trial went a little differently. After introducing over 500 pieces of evidence and interviewing 47 witnesses on the stand, the prosecution played the jury a song.
00:53:39
Speaker
What I haven't mentioned yet is that Grant was a musician. His stage name was Grant Hayes, H-A-Z-E. The song they played was written and recorded by Grant himself, now the defendant in his own trial. On it Grant can be heard singing
00:53:57
Speaker
Quote, My baby's mama, don't talk to me, don't want your drama, I got two kids by you, I can't take any more from you. I put a price tag on your head, you must have told your attorney I got intentions on killing you. You must have told your attorney I got intentions on killing you. End quote.
00:54:18
Speaker
Other verses of the song are, quote, given to me, I want it all. I want your scream. I want your crawl. I'll make you bleed. I'm not the one to make you scream. I'm just the one to make you bleed. Don't raise your arms. You can't stop me. I'll put my hands on your throat and squeeze. End quote. He titled the song Broomstick Rider, which of course in itself seems like a reference to his ex being a witch.
00:54:47
Speaker
This song isn't really a ballad, as you can imagine. It has more of a hip-hop rap vibe to it, and it's actually still available to hear on YouTube, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's not a great song. After the song was played, the prosecution rested its case, which was probably a great place to rest. Grant had pretty much said it all in his musical verses, and it didn't seem metaphorical at all.
00:55:16
Speaker
The jury came back with a guilty verdict. Grant was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And that, my friends, concludes my cruel summer story with Dark Cast Network and the disturbing murder of Laura Ackerson. Thank you for listening to Sinister Story Hour and all of my other favorite podcasts from the Dark Cast Network. We wish you a sinister summer.
00:55:43
Speaker
Well, if I wasn't sweating from the heat, I'm certainly sweating from the variety of chilling tales just told. Tomorrow we'll release part two of our cruel summer tour. Be sure to join me back here, and in the meantime, be careful out there. Real life is spooky.