1 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Novel. 2 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 2: Hey listener, In this episode, we'll be talking about acts 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 2: of violence and murder, as well as the loss of 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 2: a child. After the second break, there's one particular scene 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 2: of extremely intense emotional distress which you may find hard 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 2: to listen to, but at the same time we get 7 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 2: to see doctor Mindy Shapiro reconnect with her New York roots. 8 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 3: If you feel. 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 2: Impacted by any of the themes while listening, I encourage 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 2: you to check out our charity partner, DNA DOE Project. 11 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 2: They work with law enforcement to identify Jane and John does. 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: They use genetic genealogy in the hopes of reuniting the 13 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 2: bodies of unidentified people with their families. You can find 14 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 2: them at DNADO project dot org. And you guessed it. 15 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 2: You're probably going to hear a few swears too, so 16 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,320 Speaker 2: sue me. I've got a dirty mouth. Before we get started. 17 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 2: There's something doctor Mindy Shapiro, my good friend and our 18 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 2: lead investigator, would like to be formally struck from the record. 19 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 2: At one point in season one, when she was deep 20 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 2: into her obsession with Gail's case, I described her in 21 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 2: a way that she was well, not real happy with. 22 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: A dog with the bone not. 23 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,959 Speaker 4: I'm still angry about the dog with her bone, and 24 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 4: I'm not going to get over it. 25 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 5: Why would you. 26 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: Take offense for a dog with the bone. 27 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 4: It just gives me the image of this little white 28 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 4: terrier biting the ankle of some pants leg of some 29 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 4: person who's. 30 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 3: Just trying to kick me off. That's why. 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 2: So, Mindy, let me say this, hand on heart. I 32 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 2: apologize for referring to you this way, but I think 33 00:01:58,480 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 2: you would agree. 34 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 3: Though, that you were a little obsessive. And don't get 35 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 3: me wrong, that's what we love about you. 36 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 2: It's that very quality that makes you such a great 37 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:13,079 Speaker 2: amateur detective. Instead, I'll just describe you as you truly are, 38 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 2: my unsquashable, tenacious, and relentless friend, Mindy fucking Shapiro. Doctor, 39 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 2: Mindy fucking Shapiro, doctor Detective, Mindy fucking Shapiro. I know 40 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 2: there's no mystery, medical or otherwise that she can't solve. 41 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 5: I like a puzzle about the puzzle. 42 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:35,399 Speaker 3: I make puzzles. 43 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 6: Wait, they don't. 44 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 2: Said, but this thirty five year mystery of our lost 45 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 2: sister's identity. It's her biggest and most important puzzle yet. 46 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 2: If she's gonna bust this case wide open, like I 47 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 2: know she can. This New York broad is gonna need 48 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 2: to kick down doors and find the answers no one 49 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 2: else could. Okay, Okay, I'm sorry that was the last 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 2: dog joke. 51 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 3: I promise. 52 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 2: I'm Carol Fisher and from the teams at Novel and 53 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 2: iHeart Podcasts. You're listening to The girlfriends Our Lost Sister, 54 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:25,680 Speaker 2: Episode two, Mindy Goes Undercover. 55 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: Got you. 56 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 3: T t to speak with the librarian. We're helping you 57 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 3: get some research. 58 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 6: Great a welcome, thank you, thank you. 59 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 2: When I first met Mindy in Las Vegas thirty something 60 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 2: years ago, she'd only just moved from the East Coast, 61 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 2: and you could tell. I mean, she was fast talking, 62 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 2: fast walking, and she got shit done. And with every 63 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 2: minute we spend in New York investigating the case of 64 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 2: our lost sister, I can see that old East Coast 65 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 2: attitude coming back. I mean I literally witnessed her jumping 66 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 2: at turnstile on the subway. 67 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 3: For crying out loud. 68 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 2: This woman is sixty seven years of age. But who 69 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 2: am I to question our chief investigator. First up on 70 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 2: Mindy's tour of NYC, her and producer Anna Head to 71 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 2: the New York Public library. 72 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 1: It's a very ostentatious library. They didn't need to make it. 73 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 4: This prect you know, they renovated it a while ago. 74 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 2: Libraries are often described as one of the last bastions 75 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 2: of democracy. They don't or if you have money or 76 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,239 Speaker 2: what your background is, you can go there and access 77 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 2: the same information as anyone else who comes looking for it. 78 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 2: So it feels like a good place to start our 79 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 2: investigation to see what's already out there. Newspaper articles about 80 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 2: the torso washing up on Staten Island in nineteen eighty nine. 81 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 2: Any killers who are in the news at the time 82 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 2: missing person notices that kind of thing. Because something we 83 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:32,280 Speaker 2: discovered in season one when we first attempted to identify 84 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 2: this Jane Doe, is that accessing official information about missing 85 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 2: or unidentified people is, to put it mildly, no easy task. 86 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 2: Hopefully you won't have experienced the pain of a loved 87 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 2: one vanishing without a trace, but for those who have, 88 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 2: who spend their lives searching through a labyrinth of police, 89 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 2: medical examiners, media and other systems, it's often near impossible 90 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 2: to find any answers. You'd probably think that our team 91 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 2: would have better luck with our resources After all, we've 92 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 2: got me a relentlessly nosy person, Mindy the brain box 93 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 2: doctor turned sleuth, Elaine Katz, the accomplished family lawyer, and 94 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 2: my producer turned adopted daughter Anna who just so happens 95 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:23,919 Speaker 2: to be an investigative journalist. Plus there's multiple people working 96 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 2: full time behind the scenes who you haven't even met. 97 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,359 Speaker 2: So if we're struggling to get answers, what kind of 98 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 2: chance to everyday people have when a loved one goes missing, 99 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,559 Speaker 2: maybe this could explain why our Jane Do has gone 100 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 2: unidentified for thirty five years. Mindy waste no time getting 101 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 2: the librarian's attention. 102 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 6: Okay, are you ready for the query of the day? 103 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 3: Right, I'm not sure? You better sit down. 104 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 4: I am interested in fundamentally two things. Is a torso 105 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 4: watched upon the shores of Staten Island on May twenty first, 106 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 4: nineteen eighty nine, and I'd like all information that I 107 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 4: can find about that torso. 108 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 3: The next thing is. 109 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 4: I would like any and all information on the psychopathology 110 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 4: of pillers that dismember their victims. 111 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 2: The librarians on the other side of the desk shoot 112 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 2: a raised eyebrow in Mindy's direction. 113 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 4: Right, you know, I look like clearly someone who was investigating. 114 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 3: Do I look like all murders in the building? 115 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 4: Do I have that vague resemblance to Suna, no miss thanks, 116 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 4: that's familia. 117 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 2: But unfortunately, not only does Mindy struggle to get a 118 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 2: compliment from these librarians, they also can't find any relevant information. 119 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 2: In fact, she and Anna aren't making much progress in 120 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 2: Manhattan at all. Maybe we're finding it hard because what 121 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 2: we really want, what we need is more information from 122 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 2: the time when the torso was discovered on Staten Island. 123 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 2: We should be able to get that kind of stuff 124 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 2: from the original police reports, something we're not going to 125 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 2: find in the library. 126 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 3: So we decide, fuck it. 127 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,440 Speaker 2: Why don't we just turn up at Staten Island Police 128 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 2: Department and ask for the reports ourselves? 129 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: Well, right under the sign twenty more Yeah. 130 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 2: The one hundred and twenty first Precinct in Staten Island 131 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 2: is a big concrete building with a long line of 132 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 2: steps leading up to the entrance. 133 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 3: It's intimidating. 134 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 2: We stagger up the stairs and we go through the 135 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 2: tall glass doors and immediately we look out of place. 136 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 6: What's happening at. 137 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 3: Typical? 138 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 2: Mindy charges ahead while I hide behind producer Anna, who's 139 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 2: concealed her microphone and a pair of fluffy gloves. 140 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 3: It's all very covert. 141 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 2: When we get to the front desk, we're greeted by 142 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 2: this really sweet Officer's. 143 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,839 Speaker 4: Interested in if I can get some old record it's 144 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 4: from nineteen eighty nine. 145 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 7: What kind of records? 146 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 2: At first, understandably he doesn't know what to make of 147 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 2: this strange, multi generational group of women digging into a 148 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 2: cold case. 149 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 3: He seems pretty suspicious. 150 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 2: Luckily, we've got Mindy's New York charm to win him over. 151 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 4: And could you just jimmy one huge phavor because I 152 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 4: grew up in New York. Could you say perpetrator for me? 153 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 3: Perpetrator. 154 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 2: But we're here on business, so we asked the officer 155 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 2: to check the records for anything connected to the Torso. 156 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 8: When you find some baits here, let's say how far. 157 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 5: We go from? 158 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,719 Speaker 2: But it doesn't go very far. When he types our 159 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 2: case number into his it draws a blank. The case 160 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 2: is too old and the files have likely not been digitized. 161 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 2: But the suite officer, he does give us something. 162 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 8: Let me search for a cold case health album. 163 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 4: Okay, that would be great. 164 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 2: A phone number that we can call for information on 165 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 2: cold cases. 166 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 9: You know, hopefully they'll be able to help you navigate 167 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 9: through this journey. 168 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:24,680 Speaker 6: Do you think that records? 169 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 2: So it's looking like we won't quite get what we 170 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,320 Speaker 2: came for, but we're not going to be leaving empty 171 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 2: handed either. We've got a brand new cold case number 172 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 2: to call and a new friend. It's dat n Island pd' from. 173 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 1: I'm from England's okay, not live England. 174 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 10: I'll never visited, but I always wanted as a teenager, 175 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 10: but then I grew up. 176 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 9: Now I'm in my forties, I'm a grandfather. 177 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 4: Wow, you're a young Congratulations muscle us. 178 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 2: It seems we've garnered all the information we can and 179 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 2: Mindy's also got her eye on an iconic Staten Island 180 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 2: pizza joint for lunch. So, with stomachs rumbling, we exchange 181 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 2: goodbyes with our new friend and make our. 182 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 3: Way out of the police station. 183 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 7: We got a number that we haven't had with goal, 184 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 7: so tomorrow. 185 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 1: We're gonna call. 186 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 3: What do you mean we're calling in the car? 187 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 6: All right? 188 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 2: We jump in a taxi and have barely got our 189 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,600 Speaker 2: seatbelts on before Mindy starts dialing. We're hoping to find 190 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 2: out if our Jane Doe is connected to a registered 191 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 2: cold case, and if there's any information that can help 192 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,599 Speaker 2: us continue the story beyond nineteen ninety eight, which is 193 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 2: when Elaine Kats's files end. 194 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 6: All right, we're calling. 195 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 5: Thank you for calling the New York City Police Department. 196 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 9: The party you are trying to reach is unavailable at 197 00:11:58,320 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 9: this time. 198 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 3: Please goal again, goodbye. 199 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 2: Of course not that would be too easy. We keep trying, though, 200 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 2: But when we eventually get through, it turns out that 201 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 2: sweet officer point portrayer, he gave us the wrong number. 202 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 2: I mean, can we catch a goddamn break? We still 203 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 2: don't give up. Mindy is soldiering on, unperturbed. Through some digging, 204 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 2: she manages to find the correct number. But dear listener, 205 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 2: don't hold your breath. 206 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: Or more ontion. 207 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 4: Hi, my name is Mindy Shapiro, and I am calling 208 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 4: about a cold case from nineteen eighty nine. 209 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 2: If you're exasperated just listening to this, imagine how we feel. 210 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,839 Speaker 2: It's like we're constantly hitting a wall, being sent around 211 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 2: in circles from one agency to another. Maybe we're out 212 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 2: of our depth here, even with Mindy on the case. 213 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:07,560 Speaker 3: Maybe we need some advice. 214 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 2: From someone who's actually solved a cold case, and not 215 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 2: just any cold case, but one that's very close to 216 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:49,439 Speaker 2: our hearts, the murder of gailcats. 217 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: Hi. Wo you good, thank you. 218 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,200 Speaker 3: Anna just arrived at the office of Dan Bibb. He's 219 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 3: a DA. 220 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,679 Speaker 2: Prosecutor who put my ex Bob Bernbaum away for twenty 221 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 2: to life. He's also the guy who helped prove instant 222 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 2: for all that our Jane Do's torso did not belong 223 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 2: to Gail Katz. He's eager to know the latest on 224 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:07,960 Speaker 2: our investigation. 225 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 9: So what's been going on? 226 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 8: So we're trying to identify this torso, which is maybe 227 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 8: a fool's. 228 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 9: Errand I don't think it is. I remember we notified 229 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 9: the precinct or whoever was in charge, that this is 230 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,720 Speaker 9: now an open case again because it's not Gail Katz. 231 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 9: What happened to the investigation after that? I have no idea. 232 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 9: You know, in ninety eight, did missing persons really want 233 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 9: to deal with a nineteen eighty nine torso that washed up? 234 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 9: I don't know. I mean, could it have fallen through 235 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 9: the cracks? Yes? How is it dealing with the m's office. 236 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 2: Dan is talking about the Medical Examiner's office. 237 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 3: You already know that Mindy has put. 238 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 2: In a freedom of information request to them, so is 239 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 2: Gail's sister Elaine, and they're not the only ones. 240 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 3: All the way back. 241 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,600 Speaker 2: In the first series of The Girlfriends, Madeline parr Our, 242 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 2: assistant producer and research Queen, reached out asking for any 243 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 2: documents relating to the Torso. 244 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 11: Fifth of December twenty twenty two. Hither, I'm a journalist 245 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 11: from the UK and I'm wondering if you might be 246 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 11: able to help me find out some information about a 247 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 11: body that was discovered in nineteen eight. 248 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 2: We get a response saying they're going to look into 249 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 2: it for us, which is great news, and then a 250 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 2: few weeks go by we haven't heard anything, so we 251 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 2: decide to check in. 252 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 11: Fourth of January twenty twenty three. Hi, I hope you've 253 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 11: had a lovely holidays and a happy new Year. I'm 254 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,359 Speaker 11: just wondering if you've got anywhere with tracking down those records. 255 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 2: Months go by, still nothing. Eventually we just get plane 256 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:54,080 Speaker 2: pissed off. 257 00:15:55,080 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 11: Ninth of January twenty twenty four, did happy New Year again? 258 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 11: I'm writing to let you know that it has now 259 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 11: been over a year since My initial request was sent 260 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 11: to you on the fifth of December twenty twenty two, 261 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 11: and we are yet to receive any progress a tool 262 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 11: on these records. 263 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 3: Nothing's worked. 264 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 2: We've always been met with a wall of silence, and 265 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 2: to be honest, we're starting to take it pretty personally. 266 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 9: I mean, why wouldn't they just tell you you could 267 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 9: appeal to their foil officer and then you could chew. 268 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 9: But why wouldn't they just tell you that instead of 269 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 9: stringing and off for a year. 270 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 2: We don't want to get to the point of suing 271 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 2: the Medical Examiner's office. We just want them to respond 272 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,360 Speaker 2: to us. We want to know what information they have 273 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 2: on the Torso after nineteen ninety eight, which is a 274 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 2: year she was exzumed from Gail Catt's grave. We want 275 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 2: to know where she went and crucially, if she was 276 00:16:54,120 --> 00:17:00,200 Speaker 2: ever identified. Our mission isn't about pointing the finger or 277 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 2: assigning blame. What we want to do is fill in 278 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 2: the gaps of our lost sister's journey, to find out 279 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 2: her name, to give her back her own story, not 280 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 2: just make her a footnote in Gail Kata's case. And 281 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 2: above all, we hope that in uncovering this mystery. We 282 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,840 Speaker 2: can bring closure to a lane and possibly to our 283 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:26,400 Speaker 2: Jane Doe's family, wherever they may be. But maybe it's 284 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 2: time for a more direct approach. Next up, doctor Detective 285 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,400 Speaker 2: Mindy Shapiro heads to the Medical Examiner's office to get 286 00:17:36,480 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 2: some goddamn answers. 287 00:17:55,520 --> 00:18:10,680 Speaker 8: At the age of sixteen, I was busy swooning over boys. 288 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 2: In fact, that was the first year I fell in love, 289 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 2: the first and a long run of terrible boyfriends. But Mindy, well, 290 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,879 Speaker 2: she was far too ambitious to be distracted by something 291 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 2: as silly as boys. 292 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 3: At sixteen, she. 293 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,240 Speaker 2: Was busy lining herself up to get into a good 294 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 2: medical college, which meant internships. And where, you might ask, 295 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 2: did she intern in the summer of nineteen seventy three, 296 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 2: the Manhattan Medical Examiner's Office. 297 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:43,920 Speaker 3: You just can't make this shit up. 298 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 5: I would get on the bus from my parents' apartment 299 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 5: to the Medical Examiner's office, and I'd watched them do autopsies. 300 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 5: And then one week I worked in the lab with 301 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:01,679 Speaker 5: the stomach contents. One week I worked in the bones, 302 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 5: and it was like Wayne Heart. 303 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 3: Does something delivers. 304 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 2: And now, about fifty years later, Mindy's back at her 305 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 2: old office, she wants to find out where our Jane 306 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 2: Doe went after she was exhumed from Gail Kata's grave. 307 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,119 Speaker 4: Hi, it's tact to Shapiro, and I'd like to speak 308 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,640 Speaker 4: with the deputy medical Examiner. 309 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 9: Oh, thank you. 310 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 3: To get us in the door. 311 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 2: And because we're getting kind of desperate here, we've decided 312 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 2: to act like Mindy is simply stopping by to see 313 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 2: an old colleague. 314 00:19:55,640 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 4: I worked here a billion years ago, and the entries good. 315 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 10: Never change. 316 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 2: Mindy's asking to meet with the deputy medical Examiner, not 317 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,399 Speaker 2: the chief. We decided that be too suspicious, and it 318 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,639 Speaker 2: seems to be working. The receptionist gets on the phone 319 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 2: and says that the deputy is in a meeting but 320 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 2: will be free in just thirty minutes. 321 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:27,360 Speaker 7: Oh well wait, we've been waiting for over a year already, 322 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 7: so what's another thirty minutes. 323 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:33,560 Speaker 3: But it's nerve wracking. 324 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 2: For the first time, we're coming face to face with 325 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,120 Speaker 2: the people who've been avoiding us for so long. And 326 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 2: it's not just that so much has happened under this roof. 327 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 2: It was in this very same building where Elaine was 328 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 2: first told that the torso was not her sister Gail 329 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 2: after all, it's a lot for Mindy to take in. 330 00:20:55,600 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, I'm just persons and processing in anticipating. 331 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 2: Then the strange silence is punctured by a woman a 332 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:14,440 Speaker 2: little waist down the hall, screaming. 333 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 3: Piece somebody, identify somebody. She has just identified the body 334 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 3: of her son. Oh. 335 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 2: After a tense minute, the whales draw closer. The woman 336 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 2: with someone we assumed to be her husband, burst into 337 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 2: the lobby. We're not going to play any tape of her, 338 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,080 Speaker 2: out of respect for such an intimate moment. But all 339 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:49,919 Speaker 2: I can say is it's the rawest expression of grief 340 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:54,959 Speaker 2: that you can possibly imagine. This experience is one that 341 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 2: no mother, including this one, should ever have. 342 00:21:58,080 --> 00:21:58,680 Speaker 3: To go through. 343 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 2: And yet here's she is, in the lobby of an 344 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,679 Speaker 2: office building on what should be a normal Wednesday afternoon, 345 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:11,920 Speaker 2: screaming into the void. That's not my son. My son 346 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:16,200 Speaker 2: had a home, my son had a family. He told 347 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:26,199 Speaker 2: me he was safe. Anna, Mindy and the security guards 348 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,840 Speaker 2: are all sitting in silence, trying not to intrude on 349 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 2: the woman's grief or make her feel self conscious, but 350 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,399 Speaker 2: they also feel this pull to just jump up and 351 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 2: give her a hug. What do you do when face 352 00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 2: was something so unimaginably awful, how do you even begin 353 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 2: to help? Before they can try a different tac the 354 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 2: woman and her husband leave, her cries spilling out into 355 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 2: the faceless Manhattan street. 356 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 6: And that's why we're doing this. It's horrible. 357 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:09,080 Speaker 1: It's horrible. 358 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 6: You know, it's hard enough for me watching you with 359 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:23,440 Speaker 6: like your Facebook. 360 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 10: But this is all normal for you. But it's not normal, 361 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:37,680 Speaker 10: you know it. Yes, it is. It is very very normal. 362 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:45,920 Speaker 4: And they are experiences that you hope you never have, 363 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,119 Speaker 4: or if you have them, you only want them once 364 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:52,119 Speaker 4: and then you don't. 365 00:23:51,880 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 6: Talk about them. And what makes them tell is that 366 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 6: we don't. 367 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 4: They're just not discussed. 368 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, as much as that was a tough thing to 369 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,639 Speaker 2: bear witness to, it just brings it all home. 370 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:22,880 Speaker 3: Our Jane Doe. 371 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,400 Speaker 2: Get of a mother out there who hasn't even been 372 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,879 Speaker 2: gifted the opportunity as brutal as it is to know 373 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 2: the truth about what happened to her daughter, bereft of 374 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 2: the opportunity to wail and scream in public, to show 375 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 2: the depths of her pain to the world and make 376 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 2: them look. Five minutes pass and the deputy medical examiner 377 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 2: walks out of some heavy double doors. Anna and Mindy 378 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:04,800 Speaker 2: had rehearsed what they were going to say to her, 379 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:08,560 Speaker 2: but the tones changed. Now they're more desperate for answers 380 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:10,880 Speaker 2: than ever, so they're pleading with her. 381 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 4: I'm a physician, I retired, and I'm here on actually 382 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:18,679 Speaker 4: an act. 383 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 6: Of mercy for a friend of mine who has. 384 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 4: Had a remote tragedy. 385 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 6: Nineteen eighty nine, and I'm trying. 386 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 3: To get some closure the case for her. 387 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:34,760 Speaker 2: Basically in nineteen eighty five, Mindy runs through the whole 388 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 2: complicated story once again, and at first it seemed like 389 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 2: we might finally be getting some answers. 390 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,399 Speaker 4: You have like case number yes, yes, the Emmy case 391 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 4: numbers eighty nine, five, six three. 392 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:50,200 Speaker 6: Whereas yeah, think it's. 393 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:56,440 Speaker 5: The oh, okay, we have someone like our anthropologists probably 394 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 5: be able to I'm running. 395 00:25:58,400 --> 00:25:59,400 Speaker 4: At three o'clock. 396 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 5: If you want to leave your contact information with me. Otherwise, 397 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:04,439 Speaker 5: I mean we'll be out of a meeting probably at 398 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:05,160 Speaker 5: like four o'clock. 399 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:07,920 Speaker 4: I can't promise anything's going to happen if you do. Wait. 400 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,200 Speaker 3: Mindy and Anna sit back down to wait again. 401 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 2: But when the deputy pushes through the doors after her 402 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 2: three pm meeting, her expressions changed. 403 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 3: She's still smiling, but now it's guarded. 404 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,040 Speaker 5: The director of anthropology is in the meeting with me, 405 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 5: so I just briefly mentioned to him. 406 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: He's aware of it and they were planning on reaching. 407 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 5: Out to you. 408 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,400 Speaker 6: Oh, they're just finding out answers to your It's called love. Yeah. 409 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 4: Yeah, someone is aware of it and has an anthropologists 410 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:36,479 Speaker 4: have been working on it. 411 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 1: But someone will be in. 412 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 4: Touch with you. 413 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 10: Thank you. 414 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: That Phil's good. 415 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 6: Thank you. 416 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 2: Thanks. Anna and Mindy are getting the distinct impression that 417 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 2: they've overstayed their welcome, so they high tail it out 418 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,160 Speaker 2: of the Medical Examiner's office. 419 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 4: Well we waited. We got some very interesting experience out 420 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 4: of this. 421 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:57,240 Speaker 10: Oh my god, I need a drink. 422 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 4: I'll buy you a drink and can go down here. 423 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:08,920 Speaker 2: Spoiler alert, dear listener, we did not hear back about 424 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 2: the files. 425 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 3: So what next. Well, if you're looking to track. 426 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 2: Down a body, the next best place to go is 427 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:21,360 Speaker 2: probably a cemetery. And if you're looking to track down 428 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 2: an unidentified body in New York, then you're best head 429 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 2: to the city's largest public burial ground, Heart Island. Coming 430 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,119 Speaker 2: up next time on the girlfriends Our Lost Sister. 431 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 3: Oh my god, wait, Oh my god. 432 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:40,280 Speaker 11: Wait, look at what it says next to it. 433 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,239 Speaker 1: Look at the day what I can't believe this. 434 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 2: The girlfriends Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for 435 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:06,040 Speaker 2: iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit novel dot Audio. 436 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 2: The show is hosted by me Carol Fisher, and our 437 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 2: chief investigator is Mindy Shapiro. To find me on social media, 438 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 2: search Carol A. Fisher, That's Carol with an E. The 439 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,399 Speaker 2: season is written and produced by Anna Sinfield and Lee Meyer. 440 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 2: Our assistant producer is Madeline Parr. The editor is Joe Wheeler. 441 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:30,760 Speaker 2: Max O'Brien is our executive producer. Our fact checker is 442 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 2: Dania Suleiman. Production management from Shurie Houston and Charlotte woolf 443 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:41,440 Speaker 2: Sound design, mixing and scoring by Nicholas Alexander, Additional engineering 444 00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 2: by Daniel Kempson. Music supervision by Anna Sinfield and Nicholas Alexander. 445 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 2: Original music composed and performed by Luisa Gerstein and produced 446 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,720 Speaker 2: by Louisa Gerstein and Nicholas Alexander. The series artwork was 447 00:28:55,760 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 2: designed by Christina Limpool. Story development by Annason Filad. Willard 448 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:05,560 Speaker 2: Foxton is creative director of Development. Our executive producers at 449 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 2: iHeart Podcasts are Katrina Norvel and Nikki Etour. Special thanks 450 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 2: to Ali Canter, Carrie Lieberman, and Will Pearson at iHeart 451 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,320 Speaker 2: podcast as well as Carly Frankel and the whole team 452 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:22,360 Speaker 2: at w MEE and especial shout out to Vince Hayward, 453 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 2: who's my life partner in True Crime for taking on 454 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:57,600 Speaker 2: the role of girlfriend's confidante and lead tech support novel