True Crime Couple

After a late night church service Dawnia Dacosta began the familiar half and hour ride home. She had done the drive so many times she could have done it with her eyes closed. But as she cruised down I95 she felt her car sputter then slow. She had run out of gas. As she eased onto the shoulder, she may have thought of her mother and the lessons drilled in long before moments like this ever came. Be prepared. Stay alert. Know what to do. So Dawnia followed those rules. Windows up. Doors locked. Hazards flashing. From where she stood, she could see the glow of a Texaco sign just off the exit ramp, not far at all. As she clutched an empty gas can, she stepped into the night, convinced it would be a quick walk… she’d make it. Sources:https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/1720973.htmlhttps://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/347254/file/02-1590_AmdInit.pdfhttps://library.law.fsu.edu/Digital-Collections/flsupct/dockets/sc02-1590/02-1590amdinit.pdfhttps://www.iexitapp.com/exits/Florida/I-95/North/686https://www.newspapers.com/image/229834760/?terms=dawnia%20dacosta&match=1https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/lucious-boyd-cold-case-jane-doe-eileen-truppner-dawnia-dacosta-murder-rape-resolved-indictment-convicted-murderer-rapist-death-row-broward-county-sheriff-detectives-florida-december-5-2023https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1998/12/13/hundreds-celebrate-life-of-slain-nursing-student/https://www.newspapers.com/image/638261922/?match=1&terms=Roderick%20Bullardhttps://www.cnn.com/2023/12/05/us/florida-murder-rape-cold-case-dna/index.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090830185850/http://www.fadp.org/news/Sun-Sentinel-20040115.htmhttps://cbs12.com/news/local/lucious-boyd-cold-case-jane-doe-eileen-truppner-dawnia-dacosta-murder-rape-resolved-indictment-convicted-murderer-rapist-death-row-broward-county-sheriff-detectives-florida-december-5-2023https://www.newspapers.com/image/238640528/?match=1&terms=melissa%20floydhttps://pubapps.fdc.myflorida.com/OffenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=699893&TypeSearch=AInewspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-gina-marie-moore/9867526/

In 1995, the Campbellton Road neighborhood of southwest Atlanta was rocked by the brutal murder of 14 year old Nacole Smith. The crime would haunt the community for decades. Nearly ten years later, a young girl in nearby East Point survived a horrific attack with unsettling echoes of Nacole’s case. Join me as I tell John the heartbreaking cases of Nacole Smith and Betty Brown and we explore the parallel stories of two young victims, the forensics that tied their experiences together, and the long, painful wait for the truth.Sponsors:Uncommon GoodsUncommongoods.com/tcc for 15% offSources:https://www.disastercenter.com/georgia/crime/2726.htmhttps://www.atlantapublicschools.us/page/832https://www.newspapers.com/image/799530544/?match=1&terms=Nacole%20SMithhttps://www.aetv.com/real-crime/atlanta-nicole-smithhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/us/atlanta-child-murders.htmlhttps://www.ajc.com/news/local/years-later-year-old-brutal-killing-remains-unsolved/jBg57t8HJscJGpObfClDQL/Newspapers.com Accessed archived articles from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta Daily World, Atlanta Voice, and the Fulton COunty Daily Report from 1995-2022Cold Case Files: a Fatal Path https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlHQTDFNufg

Join us for our ninth installment of listener stories!

On September 8, 1978 15 year old Raynham, MA resident, Mary Lou Arruda, was kidnapped while riding her bike to her friends house on the first friday of the new school year. Could her disappearance have had something to do with the fact that she grew up in the middle of what paranormal psychologists had coined the Bridgewater Triangle? Could it have been the work of the satanic cult who practiced their rituals in the Freetown State forest, or had the devil himself rode into town? Join me as I tell John the case of Mary Lou Arruda. Patreon.com/truecrimecoupleJoin to get ad free episodes and two full-length bonus episodes a month!SponsorsIQBARIQBAR is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQBAR products—including the sampler pack—plus FREE shipping. To get your twenty percent off, text TCC to 64-000. See terms for details.Sources:https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ma-supreme-judicial-court/1038292.htmlhttps://www.wickedlocal.com/story/journal-news-independent/2016/01/26/no-tears-in-raynham-on/987501007/https://www.silvafuneralhome.com/obituaries/joanne-arrudahttps://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/crime/2016/01/31/steve-damish-time-to-delete/32590506007/https://lailasnews.com/international/mary-lou-arruda-death-obituary-how-james-kater-death-happened/https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/journal-news-independent/2016/02/01/decades-later-arruda-case-looms/32587202007/https://www.patriotledger.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/2020/10/28/enter-the-bridgewater-triangle-if/581946007/https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/1983/388-mass-519-2.html#:~:text=*522%20On%20November%2011%2C%201978,afternoon%20of%20September%208%2C%201978.Articles from the Boston Globe from 1978-2002 accessed via Newspapers.com

In August of 2003 Sonya Ivanoff went missing after parting ways with her best friend and roommate. Within hours of being reported missing her body was found in a remote old mining road in Nome, Alaska. Police were shocked by the lack of evidence at the scene. It made them wonder if their killer had done this before…NOTE: In the show I used the term Native American, however, it has been brought to my attention that this is the incorrect terminology. Rather I should have used the term Alaska Native when referencing Sonya Ivanoff and other peoples indigenous to Alaska. I apologize. Patreon.com/truecrimecoupleSponsors:IQ BarText TCC to 64000 to get twenty percent off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping.Message and data rates may apply.Sources:https://law.justia.com/cases/alaska/court-of-appeals/2021/a-13016.htmlhttps://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ivanoff-24https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/rural-alaska/2018/08/23/from-2003-nome-police-must-work-to-regain-trust-after-officer-charged-with-murder/https://www.oxygen.com/dateline-unforgettable/crime-news/alaska-officer-matt-owens-convicted-murder-sonya-ivanoffhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/579071706/?match=1&terms=sonya%20ivanoffhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/1061988740/?match=1&terms=sonya%20ivanoffhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/1061933416/?match=1&terms=sonya%20ivanoffhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/1137349180/?match=1&terms=sonya%20ivanoff‘

Hudson, Wisconsin is a sleepy, quiet community bordering the St. Croix river. In 2002, as the rest of the country adjusted to the growing crime rates of the 21st century Hudson locked itself away in its tight northwest corner of the state. Everyone truly knew everyone and daily interactions between the residents resembled episodes from Leave It to Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show. That was why, when a beloved member of their community was murdered, the town was left reeling. It would be difficult, but, in order to catch the killer, the town would have to face their demons. Sources:Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 4Source 5Source 6

In the late afternoon of July 12, 1988 the neighborhood search for four year old Barbara Jean Horn would end abruptly after the girl’s body was discovered completely washed and nude in a television box just over a quarter of a mile from her home. The hunt for the man that committed the horrific crime and the subsequent trials that would follow would expose other wrong doings and injustices in the city of Philadelphia. Patreon.com/truecrimecouple Sources:https://www.newspapers.com/image/186267498/?match=1&terms=barbara%20jean%20hornhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/169372109/?match=1&terms=barbara%20jean%20hornhttps://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Barbara_Jean_Hornhttps://northeasttimes.com/2020/04/09/barbara-jean-horns-mom-release-walter-ogrod-he-is-innocent/https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/barbara-jean-horn-murder-philadelphia-walter-ogrod/https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/2003/07/17/man-confesses-to-1987-rape/50978184007/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6825730-The-Snitch-Career-Thief-A-Master-at-Dropping-the/https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/investigations/former-philadelphia-police-detectives-frank-jastrzembski-manuel-santiago-martin-devlin-perjury-lying-trial-wrongfully-convicted-man-anthony-wright/4144229/The Trials of Walter Ogrod by Thomas LowensteinChicago Review Press