She Goes by Jane: A True Crime Podcast

Latest Episodes:

43: Episode 43: Sneha Philip with guest reader Sakina Jaffrey Part 2 Jun 25, 2024

Show notes

Though Dr. Sneha Philip, who lived just blocks from the World Trade Center, is last seen on September 10th, she is added to the list of 9/11 victims. That is until the NYPD starts investigating her personal history and this investigation leads to her removal. Over the years her family fights for her to be recognized as one of the victims and, in 2008, she finally is. Despite this, what one judge calls rank speculation about her, and her disappearance, continues.

This week our guest reader is Sakina Jaffrey. Sakina can currently be seen on the Showtime series Billions and the TNT Drama Snowpiercer. She can also be seen on Apple's limited series Defending Jacob. She was a series regular on the NBC series Timeless. Sakina starred as White House Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez in the Netflix series House of Cards, recurred on Little Voice, the Apple series, Lost in Space for Netflix, American Gods for Starz, and on Homeland for Showtime. Recent films include Red Sparrow, directed by Francis Lawrence, Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories and Equalizer 2, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Greatest hits include her role as 'Nilma,' Kate Hudson's bat-wielding neighbor, in Garry Marshall's Raising Helen. Among her dozens of films, she has had the privilege of working with Jonathan Demme, James Ivory, Sidney Lumet and Frank Oz.

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 June 2024 selection is the memoir Rabbit Heart: A Mother’s Murder, A Daughter’s Storyby Kristine S. Ervin.

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 42: Sneha Philip with guest reader Sakina Jaffrey Part 1 Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

New York City, September 10th, 2001. The day before the attacks on the World Trade Center is a day when most New York City residents are going about their regular business. The same was true for Dr. Sneha Philip who left her Battery Park apartment that evening to run some errands. It wasn’t unusual for her to spend the night out in the city, but when she doesn’t return home by the next day, her family knows something is wrong. The problem? With all eyes on the terrorist attacks, can they get anyone to listen?

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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41: Episode 41: North Arlington Jane Doe with guest reader Crystal Balint. Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

In December 1990, a woman accidentally drowned in the Passaic River in New Jersey. Despite these tragic circumstances, her story garners little media attention. She becomes one of the tens of thousands of individuals who are currently unidentified in the United States. Researchers call these tens of thousands of unidentified our “silent mass disaster.”

This week our guest reader is award-winning actor Crystal Balint. Crystal has appeared on many renowned productions over the span of her career, working alongside some of North America's finest talent with notable credits including CW's The 100 and Supergirl, Disney's Mech-X4, and dramatic series such as ABC’s The Good Doctor and FOX's Prison Break. In 2019, Crystal’s leading role as Iris Bearden in Britbox’s spin-off series The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco won her a Best Actress Leo Award. Crystal also appeared as a series regular on both of writer/director Mike Flanagan's critically acclaimed Netflix original series, Midnight Mass (2020) and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023). She can be most recently seen as a heavily recurring character on the CBC series Allegiance.

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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40: Episode 40: Promila Mehta-Paul with guest reader Mouzam Makkar Jun 04, 2024

Show notes

On March 22, 2011, employees at Dr. Promila Mehta-Paul’s medical office arrive and get ready for another busy day of patients and appointments. There’s one problem? The Doctor never arrives. Always reliable and communicative, they know it’s unlikely that she wouldn’t have called if something came up and soon they, along with Promila’s family and friends, are flooding the local police offices with calls wondering where she is, but when police check her home, it’s clear she hadn’t been there for several days.

This week our guest reader is Mouzam Makkar. Mouzam is an actor, writer and filmmaker. She was last seen recurring as Commander Nouri on Paramount+’s “Seal Team” and in the series regular role of Jennifer McDuffie on Ava DuVernay’s “Naomi” for The CW. She also voices two characters on the recently released, space action RPG Xbox game, Starfield. Mouzam has also been a series regular in ABC’s “The Fix”, and NBC’s “Champions”, created by Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy. She has recurred on shows like “Law & Order: SVU”, “NCIS”, “The Exorcist”, “The Vampire Diaries”, and “Chicago Fire” with guest star roles in “American Horror Story”, and “Bones”, to name a few. Mouzam is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf and the Improv and Sketch Writing programs at The Second City in Chicago. During the strike she wrote, produced and starred in the short film, “Maggie’s Not Okay”, which is currently in post-production.

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 39: Deanna Merryfield with guest reader Alison Arngrim May 28, 2024

Show notes

At 3:30am, a 13-year-old Deanna Merryfield shows up at her uncle’s trailer and wakes her twin who is sleeping inside. The two talk for just a moment before Deanna, startled by her uncle waking up, bolts. This is the last confirmed time she was seen alive. Since 1990, the year she disappeared, until now, there are a few clues that she might be out there somewhere: a collect call, a police computer search, a sighting, but are any of those proof she’s still out there?

This week our guest reader is Alison Arngrim, the actor, comedian, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated. Alison is best known to viewers world-wide for her portrayal of the incredibly nasty “Nellie Oleson” on the much loved, long running hit television series "Little House On The Prairie.”. Her one woman show “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch”, which started at Club Fez in New York in 2002, has now become a world-wide phenomenon. As a stand-up comedian, Alison has headlined at nightclubs and theaters worldwide. She is currently starring in two comedy series pilots: “Life Interrupted” and “C.P.R. – Child Performers Resurrection Talent Agency.”

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 May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon.

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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38: Episode 38: Maria, or the Pyre Case with guest reader Dedee Pfeiffer May 21, 2024

Show notes

In 1952, a man comes across the burned body of a woman in Cottonwood Gulch, just outside of Black Hawk, Colorado. He returns to this site several times before reporting what he found to the sheriff’s office, a fact that will immediately cloud his actions in suspicion. Without any identifying information, she becomes known as Maria to some, or more often as the Pyre Case for the way she was murdered. It’s been 72 years since she was murdered, and there are questions if she will ever be identified. You see, her remains are missing.

This week our guest reader is Dedee Pfeiffer. Dedee landed her first movie role in John Landis' film Into the Night. She went on to star in the horror cult classic comedy Vamp, in the film Red Surf, and made numerous other appearances in films such as Falling Down, and Tune in Tomorrow. Dedee played numerous roles on multiple television shows for the past 40 years such as her role as a series regular on Cybil as Cybil Shepherd's daughter Rachel. Pfeiffer and the rest of the cast were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series. Pfeiffer went on to star in the series For Your Love and guest starred in iconic shows such as Simon and Simon, Murder She Wrote, Ellen, Seinfeld, Friends, two CSI series, ER, and Supernatural to mention a few. Dedee won awards and nominations as an actor and producer on her short films, The Tub and Laredo. She also appeared in the award-winning film L.A., I Hate You. Pfeiffer took a 10-year break from Hollywood to earn her Master of Social Work degree from UCLA, and returned to acting as a series regular on the ABC drama Big Sky for the past 3 years. She is a proud single parent who has raised her two boys and is grateful to be recovering out loud in the hopes to help reduce the social stigma and shame that still surrounds those suffering with their disease of addiction. This is where her podcast “Down with Dedee” comes in.

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 May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon.

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

37: Episode 37: Tara Calico with guest reader Lauren Robertson May 14, 2024

Show notes

Perhaps you’ve seen the photo before. A young woman with her hands bound, tape over her mouth, laying in the back of a van with a similarly bound little boy. This photo has, for better or worse, become synonymous with the case of Tara Calico, a 19 year old young woman who disappeared while riding her bicycle in New Mexico in 1988. But beyond that photo, many don’t know much about Tara or her disappearance. And this year, she’ll have been missing for 36 years, almost twice as long as she was alive.

This week our guest reader is Lauren Robertson, an LA based actress / comedian who received her training from Chicago establishments like iO Theatre and Second City (Conservatory program), where she then went on to write and perform in shows around Chicago and LA. TV credits include "Modern Family", "Baskets", and "Sorry For Your Loss". She has been in several national commercials including McDonald's, Pepsi, and NY Life Insurance. She is a published author at "Darling Media" and has written, produced, and starred in web content in conjunction with Funny Or Die and Hello Giggles. Her favorite mention in the press is: "Especially good...even inside all of that blue spandex" - Chicago Tribune. Follow her on Instagram.

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 May 2024 selection is the fiction book Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon.

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

36: Lisa Roberts: The Teen Once Known as Precious Jane Doe with guest reader Heather Morris May 07, 2024

Show notes

In 1977, a young hitchhiker accepted a ride from a man who promised to take her home. Within hours, she was dead.

Investigators quickly identified her killer. But they could not identify her.

For decades, the young woman became known as Precious Jane Doe, a name given in the hope that someone, somewhere, would recognize her and help return her identity. Instead, she remained unnamed for more than forty years.

In this episode, we examine the case of Lisa Roberts, formerly known as Precious Jane Doe, and the decades-long effort to discover who she was. We explore the investigation that followed her murder, the questions that lingered after her killer was identified, and the role investigative genetic genealogy played in finally restoring her name.

At its heart, this is a story about identity, remembrance, and the extraordinary work required to return a woman to her family after decades of uncertainty.

📍 Everett, Washington | August 9, 1977

📖 Featuring an original poem written in her honor, read by Heather Morris

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

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

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More about Heather Morris:
Heather Morris is best known for her comedic breakout role as Brittany S. Pierce on FOX’s hit series, Glee. She is currently recurring as Judy in the CBS hit comedy So Help Me Todd and is executive producer and writer on the dark comedy Podcast The Bystanders available on all podcast platforms. Morris has appeared in numerous indie films including the upcoming comedy Cora Bora starring Meg Stalter and Manny Jacinto and voiced the role of Katie the Mammoth in the Multimillion dollar franchise Ice Age: Continental Drift. Aside from a successful career as an actress, Heather is an incredibly established dancer who began her career with Beyonce and currently travels the country teaching for HEAT Dance Convention

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35: Episode 35: Martha and Sandra Stiver with guest reader Kelsey Wang Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

In 1968, the body of a young woman was found in rural Pennsylvania. She’d been shot to death. Months later, another young woman is found just a few miles away. Their only connection? They wore the same leather sandals. It will take nearly fifty years and an online database dedicated to missing and unidentified persons to identify who they are. But even with this development in their case, their murders are still unsolved.

This week our guest reader is Kelsey Wang is a Chinese-American actress who can be seen on television, film, and theatre. She is a graduate of Duke University and Yale School of Drama’s Summer Conservatory. Her television credits include Magnum PI, The Young and the Restless, and Netflix’s Daredevil. Her theater credits include the U.S. Premiere of Chimerica at the Studio Theater in Washington, D.C. and Pan Asian Repertory Theater's production's Off-Broadway production of A Dream of Red Pavilions. You can follow her on Instagram.

Join us on Patreon! Your support helps us continue to shine light on America’s missing and untwidentified 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 April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles.

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

34: Episode 34: Sequoya Vargas, part 2 with guest reader Tonantzín Carmelo Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

In August 1993, a man walks into a police station and gives a statement about the disappearance of 16-year-old Sequoya Vargas. In it, he details the brutal assault and murder of the teenager, placing blame for these on his two friends. This statement of what happened to Sequoya will be just one of many that’s given over the years by the three men. They’ll be full of contradictions and blame, but one thing will be certain, Sequoya didn’t survive her encounter with these men.

This week our guest reader Tonantzín Carmelo, the award winning actress, voice artist, and choreographer playing lead and supporting roles for film, television, video games, theater and more. Her credits include a series regular as Paara on NBC’s La Brea, Touching Ground in the BBC Mini series The English, Kendra Daniels in the original video game Dead Space, and Shayla Stonefeather in the independent film Imprint. In addition, she has guest starred on a number of TV shows including The Rookie, Animal Kingdom, Undone, American Dad and Spirit Rangers.

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 April 2024 selection is the nonfiction book Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles.

You can find us on Instagram and Facebook.

In this episode we highlight Where’s Sequoya? by Dove Johnson, Sequoya’s sister. It’s available on Amazon.

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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