True Crime New England

Another week, another installment of True Crime New England's case profile mini-episode series! This week, Katie starts us off by sharing the extremely depressing case of the murder of 29-year-old Jephthe Chery, who was shot on Thanksgiving day of 2015 in Boston. Then, Liz tells the partially solved story of the murder of John Lima, an 18-year-old who was shot an killed in Brockton, Massachusetts in May of 2007. 

Anyone with any information on the murder of Jephthe Chery is asked to please contact Boston Police homicide detectives at 617-343-4470 or anonymously through the Boston Police CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS.

On this week’s episode of True Crime New England, take a trip back in time to 1850's Maine where Katie and Liz share the infamous story of Mary Bean, “The Factory Girl.” This tale involves a young woman from Quebec named Berengera Caswell, who left home with her sisters to work in the ever-expanding textile mills in New England. After she met a young machinist at the same mill she was employed at, she became pregnant. As premarital sex was harshly stigmatized in society in the 19th century, Berengera and her partner sought out a locally known abortionist to help remedy their problem. This turned out to be fatal, leading to a trial that became widely publicized in the region. Tune in to hear the details of navigating this unnecessary death and how society viewed such a case.

On this week's installment of True Crime New England's case profile mini-episode series, Katie and Liz cover two solved murders from New Haven, Connecticut. First, Liz shares the troubling murder of 18-year-old Tashawn Brown, who was killed after an argument at a family gathering in May of 2021. Then, Katie discusses the upsetting murder of 29-year-old Dwaneia Turner, who was shot and killed by her girlfriend in March of 2021.

On this week’s episode of True Crime New England, Katie and Liz dive into a relatively well-known case in recent Massachusetts history. In February of 2021, 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, who was 3 months pregnant, was found dead in her Canton apartment. She had recently found out she was pregnant and was so excited to be a mom. Her body was found with a duffel bag strap around her neck and tied to a doorknob, appearing as if she had committed suicide. It took three years for her death to be ruled a homicide, and this resulted in the subsequent arrest of former Stoughton Police Department officer Matthew Farwell, a man who had been grooming Sandra for almost a decade. While his trial is set to occur in October of 2026, the evidence mounting against him is damning as Sandra’s family waits for justice for their loved one’s murder.

Would you look at that... another mini-episode from True Crime New England's case profile series! This week, Katie talks about the very suspicious homicide of 63-year-old Jake Keels out of Norwalk, Connecticut in August of 1996. Then, Liz talks about the puzzling disappearance and eventual unfortunate discovery of Jerry Riley in October of 1993 out of Epsom, New Hampshire. 

Anyone with any information on the murder of Jake Keels is asked to please call Lieutenant Weisgerber of the Cold Case Unit at 203-854-3028 or by emailing [email protected].