She Goes by Jane: A True Crime Podcast

Latest Episodes:

53: Episode 53: Jean Spangler with guest reader Sara Tomko Sep 10, 2024

Show notes

Summary

Known to the courts as a glamor girl, 26 year old Jean Spangler was trying to make her way in Hollywood as an actress and dancer while raising her young daughter as a single mom. And then the unthinkable happens, on the night of October 7, 1949, Jean Spangler left her home telling her family she would be doing a bit part at one of the studios. She was never seen again.

This week our guest reader is Sara Tomko. Sara is a Film and Television actress based in LA and CEO of In The Pocket Productions. She is most notably known as Series Regular, Asta Twelvetrees, in the hit show Resident Alien which is produced by Amblin and NBCU. Her career began in experimental theatre and musicals in Virginia and Ohio, later moving to Los Angeles to pursue Film and TV. She is an actor, producer, poet, singer and mental health advocate. Sara can be found on Instagram @saratomko19

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our September 2024 selection is Madame Victoria by Catherine LeRoux and translated by Lazer Lederhendler.

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.

To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

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Episode 52: Parker County Jane Doe with guest reader Kate Roman Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

In 1998, an unidentified woman’s remains are found near a highway truck stop in Weatherford, Texas. It is believed that she died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but in the past 26 years no one has come forward to claim her. Today, little has been publicized about her case, making her one of the many unidentified women whose stories aren’t told.

This week our guest reader is Kate Roman, a teenage actor, dancer, and singer from Toronto, Canada who's been performing on stage and screen since age 4. She is a highly skilled, technically trained dancer in 7 genres with 12 years professional level training. Credits include a leading role as Ariana on The Next Step season 9 (BBC, CBC, YTV), Netflix films 13:The Musical and Feel The Beat, Amelia Parker/The Parker Andersons, Charlotte Cardin’s Sad Girl music video, The Big Fun Crafty Show, and Gerry Dee's Kids That Are Amazing at Stuff. Musical Theatre experience includes community productions of: The Lion King (Nala) and Aladdin (Narrator). Awards include: Joey Award winner for Best Actress and Young Artist Award nomination for the short film Butterfly. In dance, Kate is the recipient of several first overall solo awards over many years, is ranked top 10 in North America (The Dance Awards Orlando and Las Vegas) and received team gold in Germany (IDO World Show Dance). Kate understands the importance of giving back by mentoring young girls in the arts and in life, to ensure a balance in both physical and mental health by promoting a positive outlook and self-care in what can be a challenging time growing up. IG: @k8roman

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To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

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Evelyn Throsby : Murdered by a Conman Husband in Landmark No-Body Case Aug 27, 2024

Show notes

When Evelyn Throsby married her fifth husband, friends and family worried something was wrong. What they didn’t know was that he was a conman skilled at manipulation, isolation, and deception.

Over time, Evelyn became increasingly cut off from the people who loved her. Her money disappeared. Eventually, she did too.

Months passed before those closest to Evelyn realized something far more sinister had happened.

In this episode of She Goes by Jane, we examine the disappearance and murder of Evelyn Throsby—a landmark case that helped shape how prosecutors pursue homicide convictions when a victim’s body has never been found.

We explore coercive control, financial exploitation, isolation within abusive relationships, and the devastating reality that someone can disappear long before they are officially declared missing.

📍 Los Angeles, California | May 16, 1955

📖 Featuring an original poem written in her honor, read by Nadia Hatta

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More about Nadia Hatta:
Nadia Hatta is best known for her recent role as ‘Mei Chen’ in the Netflix series AWAY, which has been listed in Netflix’s Top 10. She starred in Discovery Channel’s Golden Bell award-winning travel show, FUN TAIWAN, which reached over 2 billion views. Hatta can be seen recurring in the drama-mystery series HEAD ABOVE WATER. At MTV ASIA in China, she was a VJ and wrote, produced, directed, and hosted a seven-part miniseries on New York Fashion Week. Nadia has also starred in BA BI LUN MI WU as well as BABYLON FOG by acclaimed Chinese director, Lu Chuan. In 2012, she won Best Actor for A PART APART in National Film Challenge, USA. Nadia currently resides in Canada and has a BFA in Acting and Theatre from New York University’s famed Tisch program. She has also studied at Amsterdam’s International Theatre School and the Roy Hart International Arts Centre in France. While English is her native language, she speaks Mandarin with a native tongue and is fluent in French and Italian.

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Episode 50: Lola Celli Aug 20, 2024

Show notes

It’s 1946. Twenty-four year old Lola Celli is visiting her parents in Grandview Heights, Ohio when she decides to take a bus into Columbus to buy some nylons. But her neighbors don’t report seeing her on the morning bus nor is there any record of her making a purchase at the store she planned to visit. Is it possible that something happened to Lola in the two blocks between her parents’ home and the bus stop?

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our August 2024 selection is the Pulitzer Prize winning nonfiction book Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Christina Rivera Garza.

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.

To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

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49: The Indiana Dunes Disappearances: Ann Miller, Patricia Blough, & Renee Bruhl Aug 13, 2024

Show notes

On July 2, 1966, three young friends—Ann Miller, 21, Patricia Blough, 19, and Renee Bruhl, 19—drove from Chicago to Indiana Dunes State Park for a day at the beach. Amid a holiday crowd of over 8,600 people, the three women went into Lake Michigan to swim.

They were never seen again.

Their belongings were found untouched on their blanket: purses, car keys, cash, identification. Witnesses would later describe seeing the women swim out to meet a boat and climb aboard, but the boat, and the women, vanished without a trace.

In the decades since, investigators and independent researchers have chased a range of theories from a botched illegal medical procedure to a chilling connection to a powerful horse-racing family later tied to multiple murders and unsolved violence in the Chicago area. No one has ever been charged. No trace of Ann, Patricia, or Renee has ever been found.

In this episode, we examine the disappearance of Ann Miller, Patricia Blough, and Renee Bruhl, the flawed early investigation, and the theories that still surround one of the Midwest's most enduring unsolved missing persons cases.

More importantly, we remember who they were: three young women, friends through a shared love of horses, whose lives were interrupted on an ordinary summer day.

This episode contains discussions of abortion and brief explicit content related to one investigative theory. Listener discretion advised.

📍 Indiana Dunes State Park, Indiana | July 2, 1966

📖 Featuring an original poem written in her honor, read by Meredith Garretson.

➡️ Help bring attention to missing and unidentified women—subscribe and share this episode.

➡️ Find us on Instagram & Facebook.

📚 Get Aimee's book, Doe, now available via University of Akron Press, Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

📰 For more women-centered true crime content, subscribe to Aimee's newsletter, GIRLHUNT.

➡️ Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women.

More about Meredith Garretson:
Meredith Garretson. Meredith will star in the World Premiere play BLOOD OF THE LAMB Off Broadway at 59E59 Theaters in NY this fall. She is currently starring as Kate Hawthorne in the hit TV show RESIDENT ALIEN (Peacock, Netflix, Syfy, coming soon to USA). Past TV credits include: Ali MacGraw in THE OFFER (Paramount Plus), FOSSE/VERDON (FX), STARGIRL (CW), Chicago Med (NBC), NEW AMSTERDAM (NBC), PRODIGAL SON (Fox), THE GOOD FIGHT (Paramount+), ELEMENTARY (CBS). Starring in the upcoming feature film FRIENDSHIP opposite Paul Rudd (director: Andrew DeYoung).Theater credits include: Rosalind in AS YOU LIKE IT, Maid Marian in ROBIN HOOD (The Old Globe), Christina Mundy in DANCING AT LUGHNASA (Two River Theater), PAINT MADE FLESH (The Cell). She is a founding member of SOCIETY THEATRE COMPANY.

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48: Episode 48: Rocio Sperry with guest reader Tonya Todd Aug 06, 2024

Show notes

A serial killer sends investigators a series of notes, detailing his crimes. In them, he mentions a married woman who drove a white grand am. He claims he murdered her and that investigators should be able to use his clues to identify her. There’s one problem though, investigators can’t find any missing person or murder cases that match these clues.

This week our guest reader is Tonya Todd. Tonya is a writer, director, actress, and activist invested in fair representation in the literary and cinematic worlds she inhabits. When not writing or filmmaking, she works as a DEI instructor, a sensitivity reader, and co-host of Femme On Podcast. She served as co-editor and contributor for the forthcoming essay collection Comics Lit, Volume 1, which highlights the value of comic books as a form of high art. Her anti-censorship series Banned Books Conversations is available on her YouTube channel and her directorial debut “Mourning Sacrifice” is slated to hit the festival circuit this year. Learn more about Tonya across social media @mstonyatodd and her websitewww.mstonyatodd.com.

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our August 2024 selection is the Pulitzer Prize winning nonfiction book Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Christina Rivera Garza.

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.

To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

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

47: From “Bone Woman” to Donna Nelton: A Jane Doe Identified After Decades with guest reader Devyn Dalton Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

In 1990, burned skeletal remains were discovered in rural Benton County, Arkansas. For decades, she was known only as “Bone Woman,” or Benton County Jane Doe.

The condition of her remains made identification nearly impossible—and for over 30 years, her name was lost.

In 2022, investigators used investigative genetic genealogy to identify her.

Her name was Donna Nelton.

In this episode of She Goes by Jane, we trace Donna’s case from discovery to identification, examining the limitations that kept her unnamed for decades—and the forensic breakthroughs that finally restored her identity. What does it mean to be known only by circumstance? And what does it take to return a name after so long?

📍 Benton County, Arkansas | 1990 (discovery) — 2022 (identified)

📖 Featuring an original poem written in her honor, read by Devyn Dalton, actor, dancer, and stunt performer.

➡️ Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women.

➡️ Help bring attention to missing and unidentified women—follow, rate, and share this episode.

📍 Find us on Instagram & Facebook

📚 Doe by Aimee Baker — available via University of Akron Press, Bookshop.org, and Amazon
📰 Subscribe to GIRLHUNT for more women-centered true crime

More about Devyn Dalton:
Devyn Dalton, a Canadian born actor, dancer and stunt woman extraordinaire. A few of Ms. Dalton’s well known credits include, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes, The BFG, Hypnotic, DC Legends of Tomorrow, Two Sentence Horror Story, Fairly Odd Christmas, Beyblade Burst, My Little Pony, Peter Pan and Wendy and The Last of Us. Upcoming projects include Brothers, playing the role of Samuel alongside Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, Brendan Fraser, Marisa Tomei, and Glenn Close, as well as in Grand Death Lotto directed by Paul Feig, and The Electric State, cast as the lead motion capture role of Cosmo and acting alongside Millie Bobby Brown, Christ Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Billy Bob Thornton and Stanley Tucci.

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46: Episode 46: Joan Butler, Christine Rusch, and Theresa Brown Part 2 Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

It’s June 1989 and Kansas is rocked by a series of attacks on young women. Twenty-four year old Terri Maness was found murdered in her townhouse and eleven days later 24 year old Joan Butler goes missing from her apartment. Just days after that, two roommates, Theresa Brown and Christine Rusch are abducted as well. These abductions spur a manhunt across several states and investigators search for their kidnapper in the hopes these three women can be found alive.

This week our guest reader is Jackie Lee McLean, a visual and musical artist based in New York State. She has previously released 3 albums with her band Roan Yellowthorn, and is currently working on the release of her first self titled album, All mine now. Jackie is also the feature of an upcoming documentary of the same name, about her life and journey as a musician.

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our July 2024 selection is the novel The God of the Wood by Liz Moore.

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.

To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

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45: Episode 45: Joan Butler, Christine Rusch, and Theresa Brown Part 1 Jul 09, 2024

Show notes

Summary

In June 1989, Terri Maness is found murdered in her townhouse in Wichita Kansas. Over a week later and 200 miles away, Joan Butler doesn’t show up for work worrying her family and co-workers, but when they go to her apartment, she’s nowhere to be found. Initially, there’s nothing to connect these two cases, but within a week, investigators realize that they could be dealing with a serial killer.

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our July 2024 selection is the novel The God of the Wood by Liz Moore.

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.

To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

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

44: Episode 44: Camden County Jane Doe with guest reader Shay Mack Jul 02, 2024

Show notes

In 1979 the body of a woman was found on or under a porch in North Camden, New Jersey. Years later, her skull is found in another residence. Despite this shocking find, little information is known about her. This week we try to shine light on her story and the factors that have worked against her identification.

This week our guest reader is Shay Mack, an actress, director, and acting coach based in Atlanta, Ga. She received a BA in theatre from Spelman College. Her training has involved numerous classes and workshops with Atlanta and L.A. coaches. Shay is a recurring actress in DC Comics "Doom Patrol" she can also be seen in Ozark, Tell Me Your Secrets, and more. Although Shay has directed numerous theatrical productions over the years, she made her film and television directorial debut directing the multi award winning short The Virtual Baby Sitter, as well as the upcoming season one series Welcome to the Forties. She also coaches and self tapes actors from all over the world with her company, Audition With Shay Mack LLC.

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and unidentified women. Flashlight level members also get access to additional content like Behind the Poem, a weekly conversation about the episode’s featured poem, and our monthly true crime/mystery book club. Our July 2024 selection is the novel The God of the Wood by Liz Moore.

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.

To buy Aimee’s book, Doe, it’s available now with University of Akron Press, at Bookshop.org, and Amazon.

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

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