Appalachian Mysteria

The unsolved murder of a young couple in Shenandoah National Park shakes the gay and lesbian communities. One year later, a bicyclist is assaulted in the same area, and authorities begin to suspect him of serial murder.

Resources and Links: "Murder on the Mountain" (1996) — Barry Yeoman's article quoted and discussed in this episode. Trail map of Shenandoah National Park — Julie and Lollie were killed just off the Skyland / Big Meadows Horse Trail, not far from Skyline Drive.

Interviewees: Yvonne Malbasha — A Canadian paramedic and cyclist, enjoying a ride along picturesque Skyline Drive in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. Yvonne does not realize she is being stalked by a man named Darrell Rice, who eventually tries to abduct her. Yvonne tells a harrowing story about the man who will soon become a suspect in multiple homicides. Barry Yeoman — A journalist teaching at Duke and Wake Forest universities. Barry wrote the best existing article on the lives of Julie Williams and Lollie Winans, the lesbian couple whose murder this whole season revolves around. Barbara Nordin –– A former reporter for The Hook who covered the Shenandoah murders and their aftermath, as well as Malbasha’s case against Rice.

06:05 – Canadian Bicyclist — Yvonne Malbasha

09:56 – Former Reporter for The Hook— Barbara Nordin

17:46 – Former Special Agent — Tim Alley

26:14 – Journalist Professor — Barry Yeoman

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Someone is pulling over dozens of women on a road just 15 miles from Skyline Drive. Alicia Reynolds disappears. At least three bodies turn up in a small hamlet nearby. The Innocence Project fights to free a man convicted of murder.

Resources and links: Rt 29 Stalker — Unsolved Mysteries Wiki Twenty Years Later — Article by Scott Shenk on the 20th anniversary of the murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds.

Interviewees: Scott Shenk — Reporter with the Fredericksburg Freelance-Star.

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Two medical examiners take the stand. Megan testifies about the entire ordeal, closing out the trial.

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A massive hunt for Julie & Lollie's killer begins. Some demand a hate crime investigation, drawing parallels to the attack of another lesbian couple hiking the Appalachian Trail. A lesbian defense lawyer finds herself arguing for the prosecution.

Resources and links: "Panic Defense" — Podcast episode from Criminal with Phoebe Judge explaining the fascinating history of the gay/trans panic defense. "In the Hollow" — 15-minute documentary/short film featuring Claudia Brenner returning to the scene of Rebecca Wight's murder for the first time in decades. Supplemented with scene reenactments. The Claudia Brenner Papers — Tons of resources on the Brenner/Wight story from the Cornell University Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Interviewees: Abbe Smith — Director of the Criminal Defense and Prisoner Advocacy Clinic, Co-Director of the E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship Program, and Professor of Law at Georgetown University. (Importantly for our story, she was also the personal lawyer for Claudia Brenner during the prosecution of Stephen Roy Carr.)

3:25 – New evidence on Lollie & Julie case

13:00 – Steven Roy Carr’s arrest

16:30 – Claudia Brenner explains the encounter with Steven Roy Carr

21:00 – Abby Smith: personal lawyer of Claudia Brenner

26:40 – Trial in court

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In Episode 4, we examine just a few people on the long, deplorable list of suspects in the murders of Mared & Karen.

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