Almost 38 years later, the truth about what happened to Kara Laczynski and who is responsible for her death still has yet to be revealed. Two suspects were arrested and charged in the case, but after three trials with three separate juries and weeks upon weeks of testimony, no one has ever been convicted.

Here’s what investigators thought—and tried to convince the jury—really happened, based on highly disputed evidence that stirred controversy even before it hit a courtroom. But with the case unsolved, what could be done today with contemporary forensics to figure out once and for all what happened on that October night in 1987?

• If you have any information relating to the 1987 homicide of Kara Laczynski, please contact the Hartford Police Department at (860) 757-4000.

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/karalaczynski

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

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• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

Starlette Vining disappeared in 1998 and has never been found, yet 15 years after she was last seen in the small town of Presque Isle, Maine, a suspect was convicted of her murder.

This is a wide-open look at how a cold missing persons case was successfully investigated and solved despite the fact that the victim’s remains were never recovered prior to trial, or ever. It’s a story about what it takes—and that it is fully possible—to bring a suspicious disappearance investigation to a close and get a violent, diabolical killer out of our communities, even when the only proof a murder occurred is the testimony of questionable witnesses, second-hand stories, and inconclusive physical evidence.

• Starlette Vining’s information is listed with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Her remains have never been recovered. Please report any discoveries that may be connected to this case to Maine State Police Troop F in Houlton, Maine, at (207) 532-5400.

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/starlettevining

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

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• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

For almost three years, the case of Katharina Reitz Brow languished without information or evidence that could bring a true ending to the search for answers. And then when someone was finally arrested, charged, and convicted of her murder, a hard-fought battle by the suspect’s own sister unearthed evidence in a dusty courthouse basement that changed everything about the case nearly two decades later.

Now, just this year, 2025, investigative genetic genealogy has identified the person that investigators believe is actually culpable for Katharina’s death.

View source material and photos for this episode at: darkdowneast.com/katharinareitzbrow

Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case