Betsy Novak October 31, 2013

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5. Central Pine Barrens

Stretching over 100,000 acres in Suffolk County, New York State, the Barrens is a stretch of protected pine barrens on Long Island. While quite beautiful, it is also a common site for body dumps. In the nearby town of Manorville alone, twelve bodies were found between 2000 and 2007. In 2010, the remains of nine women were found, beheaded and dismembered; they are thought to be the victims of a serial killer dubbed The Butcher of Manorville. In 2007, America’s Most Wanted featured the case. “We’ve gotten kind of a nasty reputation,” says longtime Manorville resident Jedd Akins. “Some wingding from the city comes up here, thinks, ‘hey, nobody will look here.’ We’ve become a dumping ground. It’s unsettling.” Local residents don’t believe the killer lives in their midst, but, as local stay-at-home mom Kerry Culver says, “Look, the cops pull a bunch of chopped-up ladies outta the woods, no way in hell I’m letting my kids play there, period.”

4. Tacony Creek Park

Where Tookany Creek enters Philadelphia, it becomes Tacony Creek and provides an unofficial border between Northeast Philadelphia and the rest of the city. The park is 1/2 square mile of polluted water, a sewer outlet, and abandoned power plants, and is described by Philadelphia urban fisherman Glen Jones as “surrounded by high-crime neighborhoods.” The park is well known as a place of robbery and violence, and residents know to go home before the sun sets. It is also well known as a body dump, having rendered up corpses shot execution-style, buried in shallow graves, decomposing in trash dumps, and set on fire in oil drums.

3. The Everglades

Everglades National Park, in southern Florida, consists of some 2,500 square miles of tropical wetlands. It is a popular vacation spot; it is also a popular place to dump a body. In addition to providing the cover of murky water thick with plant life, the Everglades have an added bonus for those looking to get rid of a corpse: it’s chock full of alligators who eat them. For this reason, it’s impossible to estimate how many bodies have disappeared in the Everglades.

2. The Mojave Desert

Stretching across California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, the Mojave Desert is over 25,000 square miles. It has long been known as the favorite dumping ground of the Mafia, as well as playing host to many other killers’ leavings. Temperatures in the desert can reach 134 degrees Fahrenheit, drastically speeding up decomposition time and destroying evidence, making it likely that the bodies will be untraceable, even if they are ever found. 148 bodies have been discovered in the Mojave desert to date; who knows how many more are left undiscovered.

1. Louisiana Swamps

The Louisiana marshlands are humid, fecund, rife with petrified trees, and nearly impossible to search, due to the density of its wooded areas. Even from a helicopter, law enforcement’s view can’t penetrate the swamp. Like the Everglades, the presence of alligators and other insect and animal life guarantees that bodies dumped in the swamps will decompose or be consumed quickly. Add to that the heat and the humidity, and the Louisiana marshlands are paradise for anyone looking to dump a body.

Google Hangouts

1:15 PM

Lucy Westenra

You there baby?

Mina Murray

I’m here. How are you holding up? You had nightmares last night, huh?

Lucy Westenra

Sorry i woke you :(

Mina Murray

Shh no way. <3

Lucy Westenra

<3

So um…I brought Harker’s tablet to work bc I knew today would be a slow day and uh…

I looked at his search history <_____________________<

Mina Murray

Oh god, is it porn that no sister should ever see?

Lucy Westenra

I wish it WAS

Mina Murray

Uh oh. What is it babe?

Lucy Westenra

Here I’m sending the screenshots I took to your email

Mina Murray

Oh. That is…a bit grim.

But you KNOW my search history is !!! bc of Shadowcast.

Lucy Westenra

Yeah, he clearly doesn’t listen to our podcast if he doesn’t even know where to hide a body :/

Mina Murray

:D

Lucy Westenra

Ok I’m not trying to be paranoid buuuut…this is a creepy thing to find in Hark’s history! Why would he need to know where to dump a body? Mina is my brother a killer?!

I’m only half kidding!

Mina Murray

Well, ok hmm. He googled bars, so maybe he had a date and was coming up with…conversational topics? * hopeful emoji*

Lucy Westenra

Right like, Hey, come here often, want to know where the best place to hide a body is?

Mina Murray

I mean, can't lie, that’d be way more appealing than 90% of my first dates soooo

Anyway.

Lucy Westenra

This is…god, what if he was abducted and the person who took him looked up where to dump his body!!!?

Mina Murray

That’s really scary, but seems pretty unlikely. There are a lot of more logical explanations than that a killer would use their victim’s own tablet to see where to dump him and then leave it behind. Don’t worry, L

Lucy Westenra

This is just not like him. I mean, sure, he’s weird but…this seems weird, even for him.

Mina Murray

For real, there is probably a totally reasonable explanation for his search history that has nothing to do with abduction or murder, just like there is for ours when we look up stuff like that.

Research or…hell, maybe he was watching a tv show and wanted to fact check.

There are tons of reasons.

Lucy Westenra

Yeah, you’re right, there are tons of reasons. It’s just this weird feeling I keep getting.

Mina Murray

And what you sent only had a few days of history.

I bet if he hadn't wiped the history before it'd be stuff like "where to adopt puppies" and "recipe for lamb stew."

Lucy Westenra

Oh god, stew out of puppies :( :( :( Besides, Hark’s allergic to dogs

Mina Murray

Worst stew ever.

Just examples, Luce. So we would've found searches like "cultural significance of x" and "etymology of y."

You know?

Lucy Westenra

Yeah. I know. It’s just really weird. I can count on one hand the number of times Harker has ever done anything out of the ordinary.

He’s like the guy that invented bullet journaling, you know?

This is so unlike him, and you know how many times on our show we get the whole “If I had only listened to my intuition!” thing from people whose family members are missing?

Okay, ignore me, I’m definitely being dramatic.

Mina Murray

Out of context, almost anything can seem scary, but it’s probably nothing. Hell, maybe he’s writing a mystery novel.

Lucy Westenra

Ok. Ok maybe.

Listen, you know H’s advisor who I emailed?

Mina Murray

Yeah, Van Helsing?

Lucy Westenra

I think maybe let’s not tell him about the search history. I don’t want anyone to know.

Just in case

Idk. Like what if the professor wants to go to the police or something?

Because I am pretty sure I’m making something out of nothing, and I don’t want to get the police involved.

Mina Murray

Sure. I mean, I think it’s probably nothing anyway. So it def makes sense not to broadcast it.

My lips are sealed.

Lucy Westenra

Ok good.

Hmm. Maybe I’m gonna ask Arthur if he’ll talk to the prof.

And I don’t wanna accidentally be like “Excuse me but have you noticed my brother displaying any signs of being a murderer?”

Mina Murray

You definitely don’t have to mention it, and it’d be great if Arthur can take that off your plate. He likes talking to everyone so that’s a good task for him.

Lucy Westenra

Great, thanks. Maybe tonight we could go check out some of the places he hangs out? See if anyone’s seen him? Like…he basically has zero social life, but the Prytania Theatre and stuff?

Mina Murray

Of course, baby <3

Kay, i'm gonna run. i actually AM cooking lamb stew.

NOT PUPPY STEW NO PUPPIES WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS STEW

Lucy Westenra

Mmmm save me some and bring it when we meet up to go look???

Mina Murray

I already have your tupperware out :)

Lucy Westenra

You're too good to me

Mina Murray

No such thing <3

Text Message

Lucy Westenra to Arthur Quincey

8:39 AM

Lucy: Can you do me a favor?

I emailed Harker’s advisor, Van Helsing, and he said he’d be concerned about Harker if he was me and I really want to hear what he has to say.

But i’m a little UMMM apprehensive abt…things and so me and Mina are gonna check some places Hark might be.

Anyway If I forward you the professor’s email would you mind talking to him?

Arthur: Sure no problem. Send it along. You okay?

Lucy: Oh thank you!!!

Yeah I’ll fill you in when I see you, kay?

Arthur: Ok wow you didn’t mention this prof is pretty hot *leer* thanks

Lucy: Haha is he?! Mina found him on the Tulane website. What’s he look like?

Arthur: Oh man. Kinda like Viggo Mortensen if he played a modern day Indiana Jones?

Like all rugged and professorial and stern mmmmm

Lucy: Damn. Well. I was gonna say thanks but I guess I’ll say you’re welcome ;)

<3

[forwards email]