Christopher Knight disappeared into the Maine woods in 1986. For the next 27 years, families around North Pond found food, propane, batteries, clothing, and other supplies missing from their camps while the person responsible remained almost impossible to find.

In 2013, the man locals knew as the North Pond Hermit was caught leaving Pine Tree Camp. Knight told investigators he had lived in the woods for nearly three decades and admitted to more than 1,000 burglaries, though only 13 burglary and theft counts were ultimately resolved in court.

This episode of Under the Pines goes beyond the legend: Knight before the woods, the families whose camps stopped feeling private, his survival, capture, guilty plea, mental-health evaluation, specialty court, restorative justice, and the mythology that followed.

A story about solitude, survival, theft, privacy, accountability, and the difference between disappearing from society and truly living without it.

Sources:
After 27 years of burglaries, ‘North Pond Hermit’ is arrested
https://www.pressherald.com/2013/04/09/north-pond-hermit-suspect-in-more-than-1000-burglaries-captured/

For victims of the North Pond Hermit, anger mixes with sympathy
https://www.pressherald.com/2013/04/13/hermits-capture-brings-sense-of-peace_2013-04-14/

Hermit was quiet, smart, former classmates recall
https://www.pressherald.com/2013/04/13/hermit-was-quiet-smart-former-classmates-recall-2013-04-13/

North Pond Hermit pleads not guilty to burglary, theft charges
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2013/08/27/news/north-pond-hermit-to-appear-in-augusta-court-tuesday/

North Pond Hermit pleads guilty in Augusta court to burglary, theft charges
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2013/10/28/news/north-pond-hermit-pleads-guilty-in-augusta-court-to-burglary-theft-charges/

Mental problems get North Pond Hermit into specialty court
https://www.centralmaine.com/2013/11/02/mental_problems_get_north_pond_hermit_into_specialty_court_/

North Pond Hermit graduates from court program, starts probation
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2015/03/23/news/north-pond-hermit-graduates-from-court-program-will-serve-3-years-probation/

North Pond Hermit Knight does not owe for road repair work done by Maine State Police
https://www.centralmaine.com/2016/08/04/north-pond-hermit-knight-does-not-owe-for-road-work-done-by-maine-state-police/

The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/251786/the-stranger-in-the-woods-by-michael-finkel/

#NorthPondHermit #ChristopherKnight #MaineTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #UnderThePines

Martha Moxley was fifteen years old when she was murdered in Greenwich, Connecticut, on October 30, 1975. What began as an ordinary Mischief Night inside the guarded Belle Haven neighborhood became one of New England's most enduring and controversial murder cases.

This episode of Under the Pines goes beyond the headlines to remember Martha as a daughter, sister, friend, California kid, athlete, artist and teenager finding her place in a new town. We follow the night she disappeared, the broken Toney Penna golf club, the early focus on Thomas Skakel and Kenneth Littleton, the reinvestigation, and the eventual case against Michael Skakel.

Michael was convicted of Martha's murder in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years to life. His conviction was later vacated after Connecticut's highest court concluded he had received constitutionally ineffective representation. In 2020, prosecutors announced he would not be retried. Today, no one stands convicted of Martha Moxley's murder.

We also examine the competing theories that still surround the case, including the early suspicion of Tommy Skakel, the scrutiny of Littleton, the Tony Bryant allegations, the role of wealth and the Kennedy family connection, and the way rumor can slowly turn into accepted "fact" online.

Most importantly, this is Martha's story. Before the case, there were sleepovers, Elton John records, childhood clubs, basketball, tennis, drawing, friends and a life that was still being written.

Sources:Piedmont Pals Never Forgot Moxley's Grin, Zest for Life: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/piedmont-pals-never-forgot-moxley-s-grin-zest-2830289.phpState of Connecticut v. Michael Skakel: https://portal.ct.gov/dcj/latest-news/state-v-skakel/state-of-connecticut-v-michael-skakelTutor's 'Confession' at Issue in Skakel Trial: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-15-na-skakeltrial15-story.htmlJudge Overturns Michael Skakel's Murder Conviction: https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-michael-skakel-20131024-story.htmlNephew of Robert Kennedy Accused of Murder as Teen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/01/20/nephew-of-robert-kennedy-accused-of-murder-as-teen/2338bc32-f132-45b8-b2bc-536428def59d/How the Skakel-Moxley Murder Case Unfolded Over Four Decades: https://www.nytimes.com/article/skakel-moxley-murder-case.htmlMurder of Martha Moxley in Greenwich in 1975 Shocked the Community: https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/martha-moxley-skakel-kennedy-greenwich-ct-21098731.php/2024 Awards: https://greenwichscholarship.org/awards/2024-awards/Newspapers.com Archive: https://www.newspapers.com/Death at Halloween: The Murder of Martha Moxley: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1g3nm43/death_at_halloween_the_murder_of_martha_moxley/

#MarthaMoxley #MichaelSkakel #TrueCrime #ConnecticutTrueCrime #UnsolvedMurder

Karina Holmer was 20 years old when she came to Massachusetts from Sweden in 1996, hoping to work, travel, and prove she could make her own way. Three months later, after a Midsummer night out at Zanzibar in downtown Boston, she vanished into a few unexplained hours that investigators still cannot fully reconstruct.

In this episode of Under the Pines, we go beyond “the Swedish nanny” and remember Karina as a person first: one of four sisters, a young woman who studied the restaurant business, cared for two children in Dover, spent weekends with other au pairs in Boston, and was thinking about returning home to Sweden later that summer.

Karina was last reliably seen in the early morning of June 22, 1996. The next day, part of her remains were found behind 1091 Boylston Street. Her lower remains have never been recovered, the location where she was killed has never been identified, and no one has been charged. Thirty years later, the case remains active.

We examine the verified timeline, the unexplained letter Karina sent home, the uncertain later sightings, the missing crime scene, the investigation, and the theories that have followed the case for decades, while keeping the daughter, sister, friend, caregiver, and young traveler at the center of the story.

Sources:

1996 Unsolved Homicides - Boston Police Department

The murder of Karina Holmer remains unsolved 30 years later; police asking public for help - The Boston Globe

The murder of Karina Holmer remains unsolved 30 years later; police asking public for help - Boston.comhttps://www.boston.com/news/the-boston-globe/2026/07/07/the-murder-of-karina-holmer-remains-unsolved-30-years-later-police-asking-public-for-help/

Who killed Karina Holmer? Twenty-five years later, Swedish nanny’s grisly murder remains unsolved - The Boston Globehttps://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/22/metro/who-killed-karina-holmer-twenty-five-years-later-swedish-nannys-grisly-murder-remains-unsolved/

Remembering Karina Holmer By Name, Not Just By The Crime That Killed Her - GBHhttps://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2019-06-24/remembering-karina-holmer-by-name-not-just-by-the-crime-that-killed-her

Decades later, few clues in Swedish nanny case - Massachusetts Lawyers Weeklyhttps://masslawyersweekly.com/2020/01/23/decades-later-few-clues-in-swedish-nanny-case/

Who Killed Karina Holmer?https://whokilledkarinaholmer.com/

Victim regarded as upbeat, good with children - The Boston Globe, June 26, 1996

Dover-based employer questioned; police trace events at loft, nightclub - The Boston Globe, June 26, 1996

Additional archival reporting: The Patriot Ledger, Associated Press, and United Press International, June 1996, accessed through Newspapers.com.

#KarinaHolmer #BostonTrueCrime #UnsolvedMurder #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast

On Halloween morning in 2025, Joanna Lynn Brown left the Bean Counter Bakery Café in Worcester, Massachusetts, expecting to return for her next shift. She didn’t. Her absence unsettled people who had come to count on seeing her.

Joanna was an older sister, an artist whose painting Broad Meadow earned a 2013 Scholastic Gold Key, and a familiar face to bakery regulars. They remembered her humor, kindness, and the little routines they shared.

Under the Pines follows her Halloween disappearance, the police search and later court proceedings involving Donovan Foster, who pleaded not guilty. We separate allegations from established facts and keep Joanna’s life at the center.

Sources and further reading

Joanna Lynn Brown:

2013 LISTING OF ALL ART AWARDS BY SCHOOL:

2013 Boston Globe Scholastic Art & Writing Awards results:

Local student wins national prize for artwork on poverty:

Worcester bakery mourns death of ‘beloved staff member’ as police continue to investigate:

Worcester police find missing woman Joanna Brown dead in car:

WPD Investigating the Death of Joanna Brown:

Details on Worcester woman found dead in her car:

Murder Indictment Returned in Death of Joanna Brown:

Former boyfriend charged with murdering Joanna Brown of Worcester:

With Joanna Brown's family in courtroom, Foster arraigned on murder charge:

No bail for Worcester man charged with murder in mysterious death of Joanna Brown:

Music: Yoza, Broken Wings.

#JoannaBrown #WorcesterMA #TrueCrimePodcast #MassachusettsTrueCrime #UnderThePines

Who killed Johnny Donaldson?

On April 6, 1979, 20-year-old John Royal “Johnny” Donaldson was found shot to death inside his orange Ford Pinto in the driveway of his family home on Lovers Lane in Harvard, Massachusetts.

Hours earlier, Johnny had finished a late shift at the Sheraton Boxborough, spent time with young coworkers, and driven home. A local patrolman saw him alive around 4 a.m., sitting in the car and finishing a cigarette. By 6:45 that morning, Johnny’s brother Jim had found him dead.

The case soon widened beyond one driveway. Investigators looked at other .22-caliber shootings around Boxborough, a possible witness later located in Los Angeles, an accessory-after-the-fact charge that collapsed in 1984, old bullets recovered during a 1998 search, and later reviews of leads that never produced a proven killer.

But this episode is not just about a gun, a timeline, or an unresolved file. It is about Johnny: the youngest of four siblings, a young man home from college, remembered as friendly, easygoing, a dreamer, a “good kid,” someone who loved his dog Heidi and his orange Pinto and was still trying to figure out where life was going.

Was Johnny deliberately targeted, or did he die because somebody recklessly fired at a parked car without realizing he was inside? Nearly five decades later, that question remains unanswered.

If you have information: Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office can be reached at 508-453-7589 or WorcesterDAunresolved@mass.gov.

Sources:

Unresolved Cases - Worcester County District Attorney’s Office

After drinking beer with co-workers, he was shot dead in his parents’ driveway in Harvard. His murder was never solved.

The trauma of the unsolved murder of my brother

New England’s Unsolved: The murder of John Donaldson

The Murder of John Donaldson (Massachusetts)

Susan Donaldson James - Finding Johnny

Newspapers.com archive: contemporary Massachusetts reporting, 1979-1999

Under the Pines

#JohnnyDonaldson #UnsolvedMurder #MassachusettsTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast

Ruth Marie Terry was a daughter, sister, mother, and traveler long before the world knew her as the Lady of the Dunes.

Her 1974 murder in Provincetown, Massachusetts became one of Cape Cod’s most haunting cold cases, lasting nearly 50 years before investigative genealogy finally restored her name.

This episode of Under the Pines follows Ruth’s life from Whitwell, Tennessee, to Michigan and California, her son Richard Hanchett, her marriage to Guy Rockwell Muldavin, the discovery near Race Point, decades of failed identification attempts, and the theories that grew around an unnamed woman, including the Jaws extra theory and Whitey Bulger speculation. Most of all, this is about Ruth as a human being, not a nickname or a case file.

Sources:Remarks Prepared for Delivery Announcing the Identification of the Lady of the Dunes - FBI - https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston/news/press-releases/remarks-prepared-for-delivery-by-fbi-boston-sac-joseph-bonavolonta-at-press-conference-announcing-the-identification-of-the-lady-of-the-dunesLady in the Dunes - Town of Provincetown - https://www.provincetown-ma.gov/618/Lady-in-the-DunesLong Unsolved Murder Comes Into Focus - The Provincetown Independent - https://provincetownindependent.org/featured/2022/11/30/long-unsolved-murder-comes-into-focus/Police Seek Info on Man ‘Lady of the Dunes’ Married Months Before Her Death - NBC Boston - https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/lady-of-the-dunes-husband/2881407/Cape Cod's ‘Lady of the Dunes’ Murder Case Closed as Killer Is IDed - NBC Boston - https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/cape-cods-lady-of-the-dunes-murder-case-closed-as-killer-is-ided/3122569/Joe Hill Sees a Link Between Lady of the Dunes and ‘Jaws’ - Boston.com - https://www.boston.com/culture/movies/2018/08/07/joe-hill-author-and-son-of-stephen-king-sees-a-link-between-lady-of-the-dunes-jaws/Lady of the Dunes: A New Headstone in Provincetown and a New Documentary - Cape Cod Times/AOL - https://www.aol.com/lady-dunes-headstone-provincetown-documentary-100516270.htmlNewspapers.com Historical Newspaper Archive - https://www.newspapers.com/

#RuthMarieTerry #LadyOfTheDunes #CapeCodTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast

Shaun Hibbard was 33 years old when he was shot in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, just after 4 a.m. on August 3, 2013. Wounded, he moved through Forest Street knocking on doors and asking strangers for help. His murder would take more than a decade to reach a courtroom.

This episode of Under the Pines follows the full Shaun Hibbard murder case: the July 2013 firebombing tied to the conflict around him, the fatal shooting near Forest and Charles Streets, the neighbors who heard his calls for help, the long investigation, John Yang's 2023 arrest, and the 2025 trial that ended with a second-degree murder conviction. Yang was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years.

But this is more than a cold case timeline. Shaun was a tattoo artist, a father, a brother, and a man whose life had become complicated by addiction. His family carried the loss for twelve years before they finally had the chance to speak in court about what those years had taken from them.

Sources:

Worcester County District Attorney, “Fitchburg Man Shot and Killed”
https://worcesterda.wordpress.com/2013/08/

Worcester County District Attorney, “Fitchburg Man Charged with Murder in 2013 Killing of Shaun Hibbard”
https://worcesterda.com/fitchburg-man-charged-with-murder-in-2013-killing-of-shaun-hibbard/

Worcester County District Attorney, “Fitchburg Man Convicted of Murder in 2013 Killing of Shaun Hibbard”
https://worcesterda.com/fitchburg-man-convicted-of-murder-in-2013-killing-of-shaun-hibbard/

Worcester County District Attorney, “Yang Sentenced in Murder in 2013 Killing of Shaun Hibbard”
https://worcesterda.com/yang-sentenced-in-murder-in-2013-killing-of-shaun-hibbard/

Massachusetts Appeals Court, “Commonwealth v. Yang, 98 Mass. App. Ct. 446”
https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/court-of-appeals/volumes/98/98massappct446.html

Worcester Telegram & Gazette, “Former Fitchburg man, released after firebombing of man's home, goes on trial for his murder”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/former-fitchburg-man-released-firebombing-172028147.html

WCVB, “Fitchburg shooting leaves 1 dead”
https://www.wcvb.com/article/fitchburg-shooting-leaves-1-dead/8186027

The Boston Globe, “Man, 33, shot to death after argument”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/08/03/fitchburg-man-shot-death/jQIKzLadTU7suQuTkVZjjN/story.html

Telegram & Gazette archival clippings via Newspapers.com: “Man is shot to death in Fitchburg” (Aug. 4, 2013); “Murder victim’s home firebombed in July” (Aug. 7, 2013); “Community comes together to talk crime” (Aug. 9, 2013); “Prosecutor: Suspect hired firebombers” (Mar. 24, 2015); “Jury convicts Fitchburg man in ’13 killing of ex-roommate” (Oct. 13, 2025); “John Yang sentenced for 2013 Fitchburg murder: When could he get parole?” (Nov. 6, 2025).
https://www.newspapers.com/

#ShaunHibbard #FitchburgMA #MassachusettsTrueCrime #ColdCaseSolved #UnderThePinesPodcast

Connecticut River Valley Killer Part Two investigates the unsolved murders of Lynda Moore and Barbara Agnew, the 1988 attack on Jane Boroski, and the New Hampshire-Vermont cold cases still linked by an unproven serial killer theory.

Lynda was a wife and mother who helped families through hospital programs. Barbara spent a winter day skiing with friends and started home. Jane was 22, pregnant, and stopping for a soda when a stranger attacked her. She survived 27 stab wounds and lived to describe the man police could not identify.

We also examine Philip Ginsburg's The Shadow of Death, the later investigation of Michael Nicholaou, the absence of a publicly reported forensic link tying him to these crimes, and the modern cold-case work that continues today. In 2025, investigators returned to the New London area searching for physical evidence in the 1978 murder of Catherine Millican.

This episode keeps the focus where it belongs: on Lynda, Barbara, Catherine, Betsy Critchley, Bernice Courtemanche, Ellen Fried, Eva Morse, and Jane. These cases remain unresolved, and no single offender has been conclusively established as responsible for all of them.

Sources
Estate of Moore v. Stephen L. Moore Const. Co.
https://outside.vermont.gov/dept/Labor/WorkersComp/1990%20-%201999/1995/37-95WC%20Estate%20of%20Moore%20v.%20Stephen%20L.%20Moore%20Const.%20Co.%20%28August%2018%2C%201995%29.pdf
Barbara Agnew | Vermont State Police
https://vsp.vermont.gov/unsolved/homicide/agnew
The Cold Case Unit says it's doing its best to crack cases
https://www.concordmonitor.com/2023/08/07/death-and-disappearance-fuel-this-coaliton-51790438/
Victim presses to ID 1980's serial killer
https://www.sunjournal.com/2007/07/06/victim-presses-id-1980s-serial-killer/
Cold case is hot topic in Newport
https://vnews.com/2024/06/01/police-investigation-teams-search-newport-property-believed-connected-with-cold-case-55257316/
NH Cold Case Unit renews search in 47-year-old New London murder case
https://vnews.com/2025/10/30/cold-case-unit-sunapee-homicide/
Dark Valley: Chapter 9 | Not My Bad Man
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-dark-valley-102012249/episode/chapter-9-not-my-bad-120849482/

Music: Broken Wings by Yoza.

#ConnecticutRiverValleyKiller #JaneBoroski #NewEnglandTrueCrime #UnsolvedMurders #ColdCases