Semper Memento. Always Remember. Those words guide the work of the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit. In this special release episode, I peel back the curtain on the Unsolved Homicide Unit and reveal what goes into re-examining and investigating long standing homicide cases in the state of Maine and how a team of experts collaborates in pursuit of one common goal – to find answers.
Each of the individuals you’re about to meet would agree with me here: The most important story to tell is the one about the victim so that they are never forgotten and their legacy is honored, even and especially if their story doesn’t have an ending yet. The Unsolved Homicide Unit becomes part of those stories, assembling each piece of a nebulous puzzle so that hopefully, one day, they can give the victims and their families the ending they deserve.
As someone who is deeply invested and interested in the work that it takes to solve a cold case murder, and as a podcaster who has spoken their names and shared the work they’ve done on the cases I cover, it is an honor to introduce you to members of the Maine Unsolved Homicide Unit – Commanding Officer Jeff Love, Assistant Attorney General Lara Nomani, Forensic Chemist Alison Gingras, Victim Witness Advocate Renee Fournier, and Investigator Jay Pelletier.
Press play to hear the full episode with an in-depth look at the investigative process, how decades-old evidence is reviewed and analyzed with new technology, why little information about unsolved cases is shared with the public or even families, and what these seasoned professionals really think about true crime podcasts.
Episode Source Material
MAINE STATE POLICE UNSOLVED CASES COVERED ON DARK DOWNEAST
- Justice for Dorthea Burke: What Finally Solved Her Case
- The Unsolved Homicide of Lila Drew
- Douglas J. Parent: The Most Important Man in Waldoboro
- Sean Conway: 31 Years Unsolved
- Unsolved Homicide: Thomas Napier
- Identified: Stacyville John Doe
- His Name is Angel Torres, Part 1
- His Name is Angel Torres, Part 2
- What Happened to Beverly Polchies?
- The Disappearance of Ludger Belanger
- The Disappearance of Kim Moreau, Part 1
- The Disappearance of Kim Moreau, Part 2
- The Cold Case of Mary Catherine Olenchuk
- Leslie Spellman: Cold Case Murder in Acadia National Park
- A Killer Connection: The Janet Brochu Cold Case
- The Maine Cold Case of Daniel K. Wood Jr.
- A Killer Moved In: The Disappearance of Pauline Rourke
- The Disappearance of Ayla Reynolds
- The Cold Case of Virginia Sue Pictou-Noyes
- The Cathy Marie Moulton Disappearance, Part 1
- The Cathy Marie Moulton Disappearance, Part 2
- One Murdered, One Missing: Where is Shirley Moon Atwood?
This list excludes cases in Portland and Bangor, as those investigations are handled by the local police departments.