Murder, She Told - Cold Case Arrest: The 1984 Murder of Dorothea Burke

Cold Case Arrest: The 1984 Murder of Dorothea Burke

06/01/21 • 26 min

4 Listeners

Murder, She Told

1984 - Stockton Springs, Maine

After celebrating her 63rd birthday at her favorite local dive bar and spending the day at a family wedding, Dorothea Burke went missing. Five days later, her body was found on the side on a country back road—she's been a victim of blunt force trauma.

For years her case sat on Maine's unsolved homicide list with no updates to family or media. And then in September of 2020, Maine State Police announced an arrest had been made: 57-year-old Kirt Damon Sr, a guest and local man who had been at the wedding that night.

I went to the Waldo County Courthouse to dig through public files for this case and learn what I could, which surprisingly, was a lot.

This is everything publicly available (and not yet released by the news) on the upcoming trial of Kirt Damon Sr. for the murder of Dorothea Burke.

UPDATE: Check out the follow up episode on this case released in February 2022.

Detailed sources and photos can be found on murdershetold.com

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

Support the show here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1984 - Stockton Springs, Maine

I went to the Waldo County Courthouse to dig through public files for this case and learn what I could, which surprisingly, was a lot.

This is everything publicly available (and not yet released by the news) on the upcoming trial of Kirt Damon Sr. for the murder of Dorothea Burke.

UPDATE: Check out the follow up episode on this case released in February 2022.

Detailed sources and photos can be found on murdershetold.com

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

Support the show here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

The Bizarre and Unexplained Death on Rattlesnake Hill

3 Recommendations

1936 - Mount Wantastiquet, New Hampshire.

In May of 1936 firefighters responded to a fire on top of Mount Wantastiquet in New Hampshire, right across the river from Brattleboro, Vermont. The next day, when sifting through the rubble for the source of the fire, they made a horrifying discovery: The broken and burned body of a woman, blunt force trauma to the back of her head, with a gun and an oil can laying nearby.

As police unraveled the mystery to find her identity, they learned of a Grace Hurley who had visited hotels in the NH and VT area. Even more bizarre, Grace Hurley was actually a woman named Elizabeth Freel from Massachusetts, and Grace Hurley had purchased the very oil that had killed her. What happened to Elizabeth Freel on Rattlesnake Hill?

Tune in and hear a tale of bizarre history that's been lost to time, and left investigators in a stalemate over what happened.

Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast

Support the show here

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Next Episode

Searching For Answers: The Murder of Robert Joyal, Part One

2 Recommendations

1998 - Portland, Maine.

Moving to Maine in 1997 was supposed to be 18-year-old Robert Joyal's fresh start. But instead of becoming the football star he was in Texas, he found himself on the outside looking in, unable to carve a path in Gorham High School's social circles.

When his rebellious behavior came to a head at home, it was agreed that he would move out while finishing his senior year. Another fresh start, and one where the family felt a sense of bittersweet hope.

But that hope was short lived. That same night, before he even got a chance to unpack his car and sleep at his new apartment, Robert Joyal was stabbed to death in a Denny's parking lot in Portland, Maine. And to this day, despite the public thinking otherwise, his case remains unsolved.

Hear Rob's story told through his brother, Marc in this two part special on the life and death of Robert Joyal and a family's 20-year search for answers.

If you know anything about the murder of Robert Joyal, I urge you to call the Portland Police Department's tip line at 207-874-8584.

Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com

Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast and on Facebook

Support the show here

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices