1 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Novel. 2 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 2: Hey listener, I just wanted to give you a heads 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 2: up on what to expect from this series. As always, 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 2: The Girlfriends is about solidarity, sisterhood, and uplifting women's voices, 5 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 2: but this is also a story about violence of the 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 2: most terrible kind against women. There's going to be mentions 7 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 2: of murder, and we'll also reference drug and alcohol use. 8 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 2: Above all, we're going to talk a lot about missing 9 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:39,200 Speaker 2: and unidentified people. But on the way, as we tread 10 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 2: along this dark, uncertain path, we're going to try to 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,520 Speaker 2: find moments of light, because that's what life is. It's 12 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 2: the good and the bad, the joy and the misery 13 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 2: all mixed up into one. If you feel impacted by 14 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 2: any of the themes while listening, I encourage you to 15 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 2: check out our charity partner, DNA Dough Project. They work 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 2: with law enforcement to identify Jane and John Doe's using 17 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 2: genetic genealogy in the hopes of reuniting the bodies of 18 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 2: unidentified people with their families. You can find them at 19 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 2: dnadough project dot org. Oh and just one more thing, 20 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 2: I still swear like a sailor, So if you're up 21 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 2: for listening, you're gonna hear a fair amount of let's say, 22 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 2: colorful language, but come on, you know me by now. 23 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 3: With familial Yeah, this is it. 24 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 4: I think it might get that one over there. 25 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: Oh you go the wine? 26 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 2: Yeah? What's that old saying? Men come and go, but 27 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 2: girlfriends are for life. Well, hi, girlfriend, we are back. 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 2: It's a dark, cold evening on the sixth night of 29 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 2: Hanukah in twenty twenty three. Myself, my good Nindy, and 30 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 2: my producer Anna are in New York visiting the Lane Cats. 31 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 2: This is the first time we've all been in the 32 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 2: same room together, and we've got a lot of catching 33 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 2: up to do, so we'd best start pouring the wine. 34 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 5: Did you want me to. 35 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: Open up something you bought? 36 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 4: The red on the table or the pink in the 37 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,079 Speaker 4: refrigerator or both. 38 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 1: Oh. 39 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 2: The last time I saw any of these ladies, we 40 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 2: were recording Season one of The Girlfriends. We told the 41 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 2: story of how we came together and helped law enforcement 42 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 2: solve a fifteen year old cold case, and as a result, 43 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 2: we put my fucking asshole ex boyfriend Bob behind bars 44 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 2: for the murder of his wife, Gail Cats. Now you 45 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 2: can listen to that first, if you haven't already. 46 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: After we wrapped this series. 47 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 2: I felt like I finally put that strange part of 48 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 2: my life in the past. But that was wishful thinking, 49 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 2: because it turns out that lurking within one cold case 50 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 2: was another, the case of our lost sister. In nineteen 51 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 2: eighty nine, a few years after Gail Cats disappeared, a 52 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 2: woman's torso washed up on Staten Island. She was then 53 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 2: misidentified as Gail Cats, and after spending nearly a decade 54 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 2: buried in the Cat's family plot, she was exhumed for 55 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: DNA testing in the lead up to Bob's trial. When 56 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 2: the results came back and confirmed that she was not Gail, 57 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 2: she just sort of disappeared. It's been thirty five years 58 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 2: since she washed up on that shore, and we still 59 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 2: don't know her name, which just doesn't sit. 60 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: Right with us. 61 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 6: There is this Jewish. 62 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 2: Belief that after death, your name is still connected to 63 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 2: your soul, and so saying somebody's name after they died 64 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 2: is part of how we remember them. We need to 65 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 2: give our girl her name back so that we can 66 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 2: honor her properly. 67 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: We owe that to her, We owe it to. 68 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,840 Speaker 2: Every murdered and missing woman whose stories go untold because 69 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 2: those stories matter, and because no girlfriend gets left behind, 70 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 2: We've decided to come together again to try and find 71 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 2: out who she is once and for all. We've got 72 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 2: Gail's sister, Elaine Katz, who is a powerhouse of a lawyer. 73 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 2: Most importantly for this new investigation, Elaine spent nine years 74 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 2: believing that our Jane Doe was her sister and has 75 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 2: been wondering who she really is ever since. 76 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 4: When they told me that they had made the wrongful identification, 77 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 4: that was a very blow point. 78 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 2: Then there's Mindy Shapiro, my dear friend, who once not 79 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 2: so dearly set me up with that aforementioned murderer. 80 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: I mean me, at least I say he's perfect on paper. 81 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: See what you think I thought? I said the. 82 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 4: Exact same thing about him, perfect on paper, exact same words. 83 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 2: Mindy's also a fabulous doctor and the girlfriend's answered to 84 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 2: Sherlock Holmes with the nose. 85 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: For digging into the unknown. 86 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 2: And finally, our most recent recruit, producer Anna aka Anna 87 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 2: the Vegan aka the British One. Anna wrote and produced 88 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 2: the first series of the podcast and has been officially 89 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 2: adopted as a member of our club and adopted in general. 90 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: I have no children. 91 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 5: You could be my daughter. You can be my daughter. 92 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 2: So where do we start? This is a thirty five 93 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,679 Speaker 2: year old cold case, a case that couldn't be solved 94 00:05:53,680 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 2: by the police, the medical examiners, or anyone else. As 95 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 2: I'm sure you've picked up, We're not professional detectives. We're 96 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 2: just three nosy Jewish ladies and one tofu eating producer. 97 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: But we really really care. 98 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 2: I'm determined that by the end of the series, not 99 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 2: only will we know this missing girlfriend's name, but we 100 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 2: will know her story. 101 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: So back to that question, where do we start? Well, 102 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: how bad? 103 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 2: At the beginning, I'm Carol Fisher and from the teams 104 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 2: at Novel and iHeart Podcasts, this is the girlfriends Our 105 00:06:34,880 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 2: Lost Sister, Episode one a double mitzvah. 106 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 4: Okay, where are we? 107 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 5: Statton Island Fairy? 108 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: I think you go? 109 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 5: This is free, that's. 110 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: Free, truth be told. 111 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 2: I don't know how you're meant to open up a 112 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 2: cold case, but in all my years working in hospice care, 113 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 2: one thing I've learned is that there's a reason we 114 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 2: often lean on ceremony and ritual when remembering the dead. 115 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 2: It brings order to what we can understand, which is 116 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 2: why myself, Mindy and producer Anna are heading to Staten Island. 117 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: We're on a pilgrimage back. 118 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 2: To the place where our lost sister first appeared before 119 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 2: she got irreversibly tangled up with the story of Gailcats 120 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 2: and our lives. We get ushered onto the ferry and 121 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 2: grab a seat downstairs, leaving the other tourists shivering on deck. 122 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: It is h I'm really lucky. 123 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 2: It's not raining. M h. 124 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: Even if it's a little cold. 125 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 2: It's a little cold is an understated I'm happy to 126 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 2: know I got it, but I will give New York 127 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 2: it stews. Despite the cold, it's a beautiful day. There 128 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 2: isn't a cloud in the sky, and the water is shimmering, 129 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 2: reflecting the Manhattan Skyline back onto its own high rise windows. 130 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 2: Just for a moment, we feel like we're on vacation, 131 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 2: with Mindy Shapiro in the role of tour guide. 132 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 5: Statue of Liberty, hey Hey, New York, New Ywick. 133 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,479 Speaker 2: As we move past Brooklyn and then through the industrial 134 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 2: parts of the Bay, I wonder if we're retracing a 135 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 2: journey our Jane Doe could have taken through the water 136 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 2: before her torso washed up on the shore on May 137 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,719 Speaker 2: twenty one, nineteen eighty nine. It gives me a kind 138 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 2: of spooky feeling to imagine we're following in her footsteps, 139 00:08:58,760 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 2: so to speak. 140 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 5: Everybody seems to be going out our boat docks at 141 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:09,720 Speaker 5: Saint George's Terminal in Staten Island. 142 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 2: We follow the crowd into a building which has the 143 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 2: vibe of a small town strip mall, and after an 144 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 2: embarrassing amount of time spent trying to find the exit, 145 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,079 Speaker 2: we eventually make it out. 146 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 6: Okay Street. 147 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 5: Where on the street Okay. 148 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 2: After a short drive, we arrive at Front Street, the 149 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 2: location where the torso first washed ashore. When we get 150 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 2: out of the car, we emerge into a new industrial landscape. 151 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:52,199 Speaker 2: There's apartment buildings, offices, and construction sites, and in front of. 152 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 5: Us, well, here are the piers. 153 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,439 Speaker 2: Most of the piers are fenced off due to building works, 154 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 2: and we can't spot an entry point, so I get 155 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 2: creative joy wirecutters. As we're looking for a spot to 156 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 2: enter totally legally, we notice that none of these piers 157 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 2: are matching the location we had in our minds. We 158 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 2: always imagined that she was found on the water's edge, 159 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 2: but there's no beaches here, it's just water right up 160 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:29,559 Speaker 2: to the ocean wall. So we walk a little further 161 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,200 Speaker 2: out and that's when we see it. 162 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 5: I'm just looking at a little beachhead right over there. Yeah, like, 163 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 5: this kind of beach area. 164 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: Looks more like what I imagined. 165 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 4: And I swear I heard that it washed. 166 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: Washed Sure, sure I remember those words. 167 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, this feels way more like it. 168 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 5: Yeah, this seems right. 169 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 2: We arrived at some rail lanes fencing off a shingle 170 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 2: beach with some old wooden posts jutting out of the water. 171 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,080 Speaker 2: It's a remarkably peaceful scene with the waves crashing gently 172 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 2: onto the pebbles, and probably for the first time in 173 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 2: our goddamn lives, all three of us shut up. 174 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:41,680 Speaker 1: The whole thing is so horrific. 175 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:46,679 Speaker 5: But standing here, this is actually quite a beautiful scene 176 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 5: beneath the bridge and the New York skyline and the 177 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 5: sound of the water. So as violent and horrific as 178 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:04,680 Speaker 5: her death would have been, you know, maybe there is 179 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 5: some karma, that there's some calmness and beauty to where 180 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 5: her her heart was found. 181 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 2: You know, it also makes me really think about Gail 182 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 2: and how she was just discarded into the water. Bob Beerenbaum, 183 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 2: my ex boyfriend, and Gail Katz's husband, threw Gail's body 184 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 2: out of a plane into the Atlantic Ocean. It's unlikely 185 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 2: that Gail's body will ever be found, which only makes 186 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 2: our investigation into our Jane Doo's identity all the more meaningful. 187 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 2: To think of someone's life taken not only way too short, 188 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,679 Speaker 2: but then disposed of the way it was, and then 189 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 2: the torso washes up here. I just find it incredibly sad. 190 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 2: It's almost like it's become the moral obligation to find her. 191 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 2: Now that we're here, in this spot where it all began, 192 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,320 Speaker 2: we feel like it's important to mark the occasion with 193 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 2: the ceremony of sorts. It can often be hard to 194 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:27,640 Speaker 2: know what to say when you're dealing with death, especially 195 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 2: death as tragic and brutal as these two. 196 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: So I thought i'd read something. 197 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 2: There's this beautiful poem that people often read at funerals 198 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 2: called remember Me, And if you listen to the words, 199 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:46,439 Speaker 2: I think you'll agree that it's fitting. To the living, 200 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,559 Speaker 2: I am gone, to the sorrowful, I will never return 201 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 2: to the angry I was cheated, But to the happy 202 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,839 Speaker 2: I am at peace, And. 203 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: To the faithful. 204 00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 2: I have never left. I cannot speak, but I can listen. 205 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 2: I cannot be seen, but. 206 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: I can be heard. 207 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,680 Speaker 2: So as you stand upon a shore, gazing at a 208 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 2: beautiful sea, as you look upon a flower and admire 209 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 2: its simplicity, remember me, Remember me in your heart, your thoughts, 210 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 2: and your memories of the times we loved, the times 211 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 2: we cried, the times we fought, the times we laughed. 212 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 2: For if you always think of me, I will never 213 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 2: have gone. That's really pretty. 214 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 5: I think this was very perfect and Elaine would be pleased. Yeah, well, 215 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 5: we didn't do this for Gail. 216 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: Well, because we didn't have closure for Gail. No, you know, 217 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: and so this is. 218 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 5: Just a double mitzvah. 219 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 2: A mitzvah is a good deed, and we hope that 220 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 2: this whole series will be a mitzvah, a chance for 221 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 2: us to not only identify this missing woman, but to 222 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 2: honor her, to honor Gail Katz, and in doing so, 223 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 2: to honor all women who are missing or unidentified. I'm 224 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 2: sure this won't be a seamless journey. We're taking a 225 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 2: leap into the unknown here, and anything could happen. But 226 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 2: I can promise you one thing. It's going to be 227 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 2: fueled by a whole lot of love and a bunch of. 228 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: Food and good wine. 229 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 2: Which brings me to the next step in our investigation. 230 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 2: We're going back to Elaine's home for food and of 231 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 2: course some wine, but also because she's managed to dig 232 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 2: out a stash of files that may hold the key 233 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:55,480 Speaker 2: to identifying our lost sister. 234 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 4: Be sure, you guys, I'm hungry. 235 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:22,800 Speaker 1: I'm gonna I have food myself into. 236 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 2: A stupid When you arrive in any Jewish mother's house, 237 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 2: she will always have more than you need on the table. 238 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 2: We can't help it, and a lain Cats is no exception. 239 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 2: So yes, I cry. I'll take your many bottles of wine, 240 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 2: your cheese, your chocolates and crackers, even if I'm not 241 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 2: actually hungry, because there's no better way of showing your 242 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 2: love to a Jewish mother than consuming whatever she puts 243 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 2: in front of you. And they're nestled in among the 244 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 2: appetizers is just what we came for. The Holy Grail 245 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 2: a two inch thick folder of documents. 246 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 3: By the way, I am made a second at all 247 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 3: of my documents from the medical Examiner, which are quite extensive. 248 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:08,439 Speaker 2: I believe it's all of Elaine's files from our sister 249 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 2: Gail's case. 250 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 5: You know there's a lot there. 251 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 4: Look at all these now, yeah, the postillios. 252 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 2: As we start flicking through them, it takes me and 253 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:20,400 Speaker 2: Mindy back to the nineties when a group of us 254 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 2: girlfriends were investigating Gail's disappearance and drinking wine. And now 255 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,679 Speaker 2: thirty years on, we're round another table with more wine. 256 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 2: But our club has grown, our sisterhood is stronger. This 257 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 2: time we're joined by Anna Elaine, and we're all here 258 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 2: to do something momentous in honor of the women who 259 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:39,879 Speaker 2: can't be here. 260 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 3: I need to always feel like I'm doing something in 261 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 3: memory of and in honor of my sister in order 262 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 3: to live with the sadness of all of it. 263 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: Does it come in way? Sor said constant? 264 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 3: I had to tell you, it's constant as always. 265 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 2: It's this constant pain that's driving Elane to help us 266 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 2: identify this Jane Doe. After all, her torso spent nearly 267 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 2: a decade in her sister Gail's grave and Elaine doesn't 268 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 2: even know her name. But that's not the only reason 269 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 2: she wants to help. Elaine knows what it's like to 270 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 2: have a loved one disappear and to be left so 271 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 2: long without any answers. 272 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:30,200 Speaker 4: That was something that was really important to me, reuniting 273 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 4: the family with the torso, giving another family closure. 274 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 2: As another glass of wine is poured, we turn our 275 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,840 Speaker 2: attention back to the files. We want to find out 276 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 2: how our Jane Doe was ever misidentified as Gail. 277 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: In the first place. 278 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 2: In the box of files we find a document that 279 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 2: talks about a number of complaints from the Cat's family 280 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,800 Speaker 2: to the Manhattan Medical Examiner. It seems like in nineteen ninety, 281 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:06,120 Speaker 2: the year after the torso was identified as Gail Cats, 282 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 2: that communication had really broken down between the Cat's family 283 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,360 Speaker 2: and the office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The family, 284 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 2: who were in deep grief at the time, wanted absolute 285 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 2: proof that the torso belonged to Gail, which meant DNA testing, 286 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 2: and they weren't the only ones with doubts. 287 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:29,199 Speaker 1: The police had them too. 288 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 2: So with growing pressure from all sides, in nineteen ninety, 289 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:38,920 Speaker 2: the medical examiners decided to proceed with DNA testing. They 290 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 2: first asked the Catses if they could exhume the body, 291 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 2: but then they go back on themselves and they say 292 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 2: that actually they may not need to exhume the torso 293 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 2: because they kept some bone fragments. 294 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 4: Without my knowing, they kept a piece of her for 295 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 4: further testing without our permission. I had a little enough 296 00:19:57,640 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 4: piece to start with, and you took a piece. You 297 00:19:59,520 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 4: kept a peace. 298 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:06,639 Speaker 2: Yes, the DNA testing was inconclusive. The science just wasn't 299 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 2: there yet. We find a handwritten note in the box 300 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 2: of files that says, if DNA cannot be done, we'll 301 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:18,920 Speaker 2: stand by ID. And so that's how our lost sister 302 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 2: continued to be known as gael Cats for eight more years. 303 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 2: So what evidence did they have to make such a 304 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 2: big call will it all seems pretty thin to me. 305 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,439 Speaker 2: Both women were light skinned and slim, and each of 306 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,680 Speaker 2: them was around thirty years old. They also both had 307 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 2: similar back injuries, which the medical examiner highlighted by comparing 308 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 2: an X ray of the torso with an old X 309 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 2: ray of Gales. 310 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: According to the medical examiner, this. 311 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,879 Speaker 2: Was the most persuasive piece of evidence they had to 312 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 2: suggest that this torso belonged to Galecats, But even the 313 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 2: radiologists at the time said that definite idea is not possible, 314 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 2: but that it was probably the same patient. Probably really, 315 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 2: but there's one major fact that they seem to have 316 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 2: totally overlooked in all this. In nineteen eighty nine, Gale 317 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,280 Speaker 2: had been presumed dead for four years, yet according to 318 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,120 Speaker 2: the Medical Examiner's own autopsy report, the tourists who had 319 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 2: only been in the water for about two to three months. 320 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,880 Speaker 2: We could spend a lifetime trying to understand why these 321 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 2: decisions were made. We already spent the whole first series scratching. 322 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: Our heads about it. We'll have to add this. 323 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 2: To our long list of questions for the medical examiner. 324 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 2: But it's getting late, and that's a job for another day. 325 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 2: In the taxi home, Mindy and Anna are chatting away, 326 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,640 Speaker 2: excited to see what more they can learn from the files. 327 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 2: But I just keep hearing that phrase go around in 328 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 2: my head. Probably the same patient that Probably it didn't 329 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 2: just mess up Gail's case, it also stopped any further 330 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 2: investigation into our lost sister's true identity for years. There 331 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 2: could be a family out there looking for her and 332 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 2: a killer getting away with it. These mistakes have real 333 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 2: life consequences, and if you can't rely on the authorities 334 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,639 Speaker 2: to get it right, then you should probably. 335 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 6: Do it yourself. 336 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 2: It's the morning after Elaine gave us the files, Anna 337 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 2: and Mindy are riding on the New York Subway, each 338 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 2: of them nursing a slight red wine hangover. So what 339 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:08,560 Speaker 2: better time to read an autopsy report. These documents obviously 340 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 2: don't make for easy reading, not least because doctor Mindy's 341 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 2: getting a taste of her own medicine. 342 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:20,720 Speaker 5: This is not fair making me read another doctor's writing. No. No. 343 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 2: Eventually, Mindy manages to decipher the reports. They're from June 344 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty nine, one month after the torso washed up 345 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 2: on Staten Island and was first investigated by the medical examiners. 346 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 5: I'm reading that autopsy report. It was pretty futrip, was it. 347 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. We're not going to share the more sensitive details 348 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,679 Speaker 2: about her remains, because our girl has already had so 349 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:52,679 Speaker 2: much taken from her. But there's one important detail we 350 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:53,680 Speaker 2: can share with you. 351 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: Just a heads up. 352 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,920 Speaker 2: The next section contains some details that might be hard 353 00:23:58,960 --> 00:23:59,560 Speaker 2: to listen to. 354 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,639 Speaker 1: It was clear that both. 355 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 2: Her limbs and head had been deliberately cut off, meaning 356 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,520 Speaker 2: the end of her life was a violent, horrible act. 357 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,720 Speaker 2: She didn't just fall off some boat into shark infested waters. 358 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 1: And there's more. 359 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,159 Speaker 5: So we're looking at the toxicology report from the New 360 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 5: York City Medical Examiner's data. 361 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 2: It's important to note that her torso has been in 362 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 2: the water for a while, so not everything will show up, 363 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 2: but they do detect something something that showed that our 364 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 2: Jane Doe had recently taken cocaine. But it's New York 365 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 2: in the eighties, so a bit of cocaine in the system. 366 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 2: Frankly doesn't really narrow down our list of potential victims. 367 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,120 Speaker 1: Our lost sister could still be anyone. 368 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 2: But if she was killed by someone or she's been 369 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 2: registered as a missing person, then we might be able 370 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:59,120 Speaker 2: to find her case online. And if there's one thing 371 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 2: Mindy's good at, it's going deep into dark corners of 372 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:03,359 Speaker 2: the web. 373 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 5: So I go to a site Unsolved the Murders. Oh god, yeah, 374 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 5: but you didn't give me anything to go on, baby, 375 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 5: I have. 376 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: Nothing nothing, I've got nothing. Okay, I got bupp Gus. 377 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:23,240 Speaker 1: I got buff gus here. 378 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 2: So, unfortunately, there's no huge, flashing website that says Staten 379 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:33,240 Speaker 2: Island Torso cold case solved. But Mindy's got a hunch 380 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 2: that a vital clue about our lost sister's identity could 381 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,720 Speaker 2: be sitting somewhere in the archives of the New York 382 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 2: City Medical Examiners, and I think it's safe to say 383 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 2: she's been pestering them. 384 00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 5: I have written about eighteen emails to the office of 385 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 5: the Medical Examiner, and they basically say, unless you're the family, 386 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:01,400 Speaker 5: you can't really get this information. I said, well, she's 387 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:06,879 Speaker 5: an identified how could there be any family And I 388 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,280 Speaker 5: don't know that I'm not. 389 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:13,399 Speaker 1: I don't know that I'm not the family. What is 390 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:14,480 Speaker 1: family really? 391 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 2: Because calling this Jane Do our lost sister is no accident. 392 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:23,880 Speaker 1: We've been thinking about her for a long time. 393 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 2: And at one point Elaine Kat truly believed she was 394 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 2: her sister. 395 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 1: She certainly feels like family to us. I told them. 396 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,880 Speaker 5: About Gail and how he got there, and they said, well, 397 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:40,000 Speaker 5: do you want to speak with media? And I said no, 398 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 5: I don't want to speak with media, and you go, well, 399 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 5: what are you going to do with this information. 400 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 2: Well, hopefully solve a thirty five year old cold case 401 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,520 Speaker 2: and talk about it on this podcast, and they. 402 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,800 Speaker 5: Go, well, you need to speak with legal. 403 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:56,920 Speaker 2: Okay. 404 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 5: So I'm waiting to hear from Lee. If I don't 405 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 5: hear from legal, because I'm pushing in. 406 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,440 Speaker 1: I'm a New Yorker and I know where they live. 407 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 5: I'll go and say I want to speak to legal. 408 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,640 Speaker 2: Guess what we never heard from legal. So we turn 409 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 2: up the heat and file a Freedom of information access request, 410 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 2: but we're still waiting to hear back. 411 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 1: It looks like if we're going to. 412 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,399 Speaker 2: Get anywhere, we're going to need to start knocking on 413 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:32,439 Speaker 2: some doors, whether people want us to or not. Coming 414 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,360 Speaker 2: up next on The girlfriends Our Lost Sister, Doctor Detective 415 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,920 Speaker 2: Mindy Shapiro takes to the streets. 416 00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 5: Hi, it's doctor Shapiro, and I'd like to speak with 417 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:46,480 Speaker 5: the deputy medical Examiner. I'd like all information that I 418 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:50,399 Speaker 5: can find about that torso. Could you say perpetrator for me? 419 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:56,040 Speaker 3: Perpetrator were trying to identify this torso, which is maybe 420 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 3: a fool errand I don't. 421 00:27:58,080 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 1: Think it is. 422 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 2: The girlfriends Our Last Sister is produced by Novel for 423 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 2: iHeart Podcasts. For more from novel, visit novel dot Audio. 424 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,639 Speaker 2: The show is hosted by me, Carol Fisher, and our 425 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,639 Speaker 2: chief investigator is Mindy Shapiro. To find me on social media, 426 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:28,960 Speaker 2: search Carol A. 427 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,080 Speaker 1: Fisher. That's Carol with an E. 428 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 2: The season is written and produced by Anna Sinfield and 429 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 2: Lee Meyer. Our assistant producer is Madeline Parr. The editor 430 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 2: is Joe Wheeler. 431 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: Max O'Brien is. 432 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 2: Our executive producer. Our fact checker is Dannia Suleiman. Production 433 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 2: management from Shurie Houston and Charlotte Woolf. Sound design, mixing 434 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 2: and scoring by Nicholas Alexander, Additional engineering by Daniel Kempson, 435 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 2: Music supervision by Anna Sinfield and Nicholas Alexander. Original music 436 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,840 Speaker 2: composed and performed by Luisa Gerstein and produced by Luisa 437 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,200 Speaker 2: Gerstine and Nicholas Alexander. The series artwork was designed by 438 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:15,600 Speaker 2: Christina Limpol. Story development by Anna Sinfield. Willard Foxton is 439 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 2: creative director of development. Our executive producers at iHeart Podcasts 440 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:25,200 Speaker 2: are Katrina Norvel and nicki Etour special thanks to Ali Canter, 441 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 2: Carrie Lieberman, and Will Pearson at iHeart podcast as well 442 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,160 Speaker 2: as Carly Frankel and the whole. 443 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 1: Team at w MEE and Especial. 444 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 2: Shout out to Vince Hayward, who's my life partner in 445 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 2: true Crime, for taking on the role of girlfriend's confidante 446 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 2: and lead tech support 447 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:11,479 Speaker 1: Novel