1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,520 Speaker 1: Oh. Before we begin, please note this series includes talk 2 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:08,560 Speaker 1: of suicide and sexual violence. Please take care while listening. 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: Do you remember this letter? I think I do. Mm hmm. 4 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:28,319 Speaker 1: What do you want me to start? I'm writing to 5 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:33,960 Speaker 1: you to request the following information in regards to the untimely, violent, 6 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: and unwitnessed death of my daughter Sanda and Bill. There's 7 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 1: not a day that goes by that I don't think 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: of her. This marks forty one years without her, with 9 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: no answers. A few years ago, Joanne Biale sent this 10 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: letter to the Maryland State Police. It was later given 11 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: into me by her distant cousin, who have since gotten 12 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: to know very well. I'm a reporter who covers violence 13 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: against women, and I get a lot of tips about 14 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,400 Speaker 1: stories emails from people who were desperate for a journalist 15 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: to dig into what they believe to be the greatest 16 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 1: injustice of their lives. When this letter came into my possession, 17 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: I knew there was something important about it. It's kind 18 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: of weird in retrospect, but I immediately began storing it 19 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: next to my passport alongside all my most important documents. 20 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: This letter is the reason why I found myself sitting 21 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: beside Joanne in her living room a year into the pandemic, 22 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: talking about Sandy. And I haven't gone over any of 23 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: this because I figured was starting new here. So we'll 24 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: just go ahead and throw out the questions and I'll 25 00:01:55,320 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: give you what I can for the answers. Joanne is 26 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: eighty two and lives in rural Maynell, near the coast, 27 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: in a tidy house surrounded by wild blueberry fields. She's 28 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,519 Speaker 1: short and sturdy, with thick white hair cropped around her ears, 29 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: and shiny blue, almost mischievous eyes. I come from a 30 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: long line of short, sturdy women, and I was immediately 31 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: at ease talking to her. These days, Joanne goes to church, 32 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: shops for clothes, visits with her family. Maine is where 33 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: she grew up, the place her family is from, but 34 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: back in the seventies she lived in seat Pleasant, Maryland, 35 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,119 Speaker 1: in Prince George's County with her husband, Ronald, and their 36 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: four kids, Sandy, Michael, Stephen, and Ronnie. Caperani home from 37 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: school that day because he had a sore throat and 38 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: he didn't you know, And that's when the detective came 39 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: to the door and told me what what what happened? 40 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: He said, I've got some uh news that I don't 41 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: think the little fella should know, He said, could you 42 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: send him to your neighbors? And so he proceeded to 43 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 1: tell me. But where where? They found her? In this polelyard. 44 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: On the morning of February eleven, Frank Middleton arrived at 45 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: a utility pollard about twenty minutes away from Joanne's home. 46 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: To give you some context, pollards are where energy companies 47 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: store those tall wooden poles that are used to support 48 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: power lines. This yard was in a somewhat secluded spot 49 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: off the highway and surrounded by woods, which is why 50 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: it was odd that there was a car parked in 51 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:47,280 Speaker 1: the lot when Frank arrived around nine am. And this 52 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: this fella had gone to work and found her, and 53 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: he thought she was asleep until he walked up to 54 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: the car and noticed that her glasses were up here 55 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,080 Speaker 1: and she was disarrayed, and um, he knew that she 56 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: was gone. Sandy's car, one blue Ford Pinto, appeared to 57 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: be stuck in the mud. Cardboard had been shoved under 58 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: all four tires, and there were tire tracks all around 59 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: her car like she had been trying to drive away. 60 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,599 Speaker 1: Sandy was in the driver's seat with her keys still 61 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: in the ignition. She had been shot in the right 62 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: side of her abdomen, with an exit wound on the 63 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 1: left side of her back. She was eighteen years old, 64 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 1: just a month shy of her nineteenth birthday. You know, 65 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: I asked that detective. I said, why wasn't Ronald and 66 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: I called to identify her? He said, but there was 67 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: Streem policeman there that knew who she was. And I said, well, 68 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,719 Speaker 1: isn't that lovely? I'd like to know who the three 69 00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: cops were at the at the scene, because when that 70 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: detective told me that, I was furious that we were 71 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: not called immediately to claim her in any way shape 72 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: of fall. We didn't get a chance to see her 73 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: until she was in the funeral Paba. I've never gotten 74 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: over that, and I was really rip shit about that. 75 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: Just a few hours after Sandy's body was discovered, Joanne 76 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: got a knock at the door. A detective told her 77 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: that Sandy was dead and that it appeared she had 78 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,840 Speaker 1: taken her own life. In the short time between finding 79 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: Sandy's body and notifying her family, the cops had already 80 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: developed a working theory Sandy had died by suicide. I 81 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: didn't take any of their crap because I could tell 82 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: that they were hiding something. I says, you know something, 83 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: you can put any damn thing you want down. That 84 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that happened that way. And I said, you 85 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 1: will never make me and my family and my friends 86 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: believe that. So I said, get the hell out of 87 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: my house. And uh. And I wasn't very nice to 88 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: him because I think they were skunking us all the 89 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:30,279 Speaker 1: way around. From my Heart Radio, I'm Melissa Jolson, and 90 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: this is what happened to Sandy Beale an I Heart 91 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:42,840 Speaker 1: original podcast, Chapter one, The Girl in the Pollard. This 92 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: is Michael. Yes, hi Michael, This is Stephen. Hi, Stephens, 93 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: how you going to hie? I wanted to meet with 94 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: the Beal family as a whole to learn more about Sandy. 95 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: When we first sat down, I didn't really know anything 96 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: about Sandy's case except for what was in Joanne's letter. 97 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,479 Speaker 1: But I soon learned that the entire bill family shared 98 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: Joanne's suspicions. None of them believed Sandy had died by suicide, 99 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: not back then and not now. I met them at 100 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: Michael's house in the summer of to give you a 101 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: quick sketch of the family tree. Sandy was born first, 102 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: then a year later Michael, then Stephen. A year and 103 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: a half after that, Bang bang bang, as Joanne described it, 104 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 1: six years later, baby Ronnie was born. Joanne later asked 105 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: her husband Ronald, to get a vasectomy. All three of 106 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: Sandy's brothers live in Maine, within a thirty minute drive 107 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: of Joanne. Still, it's rare for them to get together 108 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: to talk about Sandy. What do we hope to gain 109 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,560 Speaker 1: from all of this? I mean, I think that is 110 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: the question everyone might have. I'd love to hear your 111 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: own answers for it. Well, personally, I have no expectations. 112 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 1: These are people that's waiting on the sands of time 113 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: to run out on us. I don't expect anybody's gonna 114 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: serve it a day in jail, not even five minutes. 115 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: That's Sandy's youngest brother, Ronnie. He was only nine when 116 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: Sandy died, with almost a decade between them and age. 117 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: They had a special relationship. Sandy doated on Ronnie, buying 118 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: him presence and indulging him in games. In turn, he 119 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: idolized her. Now Ronnie is in his early fifties, and 120 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: he told me his recollections of her were beginning to fade. 121 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: She was wicked smart. I mean, you know, he can 122 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,199 Speaker 1: do anything she wanted, as as you got, always got 123 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: a good grades. David, that's Stephen, Sandy's middle brother. He's 124 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: sixty and runs a printing press for the local newspaper. 125 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: In his spare time, he plays the drums, though he's 126 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: had a hard time finding bandmates who want to play 127 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: heavy metal. When he thinks back to his time with Sandy, 128 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: he remembers himself as a typical, annoying young her brother 129 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 1: always butting heads with her. It's something that pains him now, 130 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: that wasted time spent fighting. Yeah. I always look at her. 131 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: Is you know the big sister is you know, which 132 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: is kind of weird. I mean because Sandy he was 133 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: she was no about five five something. Yeah, but the 134 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: mental image is larger than life. Yeah, Sandy seemed to 135 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: get along, Okay, I mean she for whatever reason, you know, 136 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,760 Speaker 1: she I don't recall of her getting picked on or 137 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:42,439 Speaker 1: whatever during that time frame. But then again, she regularly 138 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: kick my ass anyway. So lots of people I spoke 139 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 1: to about Sandy mentioned this element of her personality. She 140 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: was plucky, tough, and Sandy's toughness was an asset in 141 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: her community. Prince George's County, where the Beals lived, is 142 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: located just outside of Washington, d C. If you're in 143 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: downtown d C, all you have to do is drive 144 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: east along Pennsylvania Avenue and you'll eventually cross into Peg County. 145 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,560 Speaker 1: Keep driving for about twenty minutes, and you'll find yourself 146 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: at the Bell's former house in seat Pleasant. A white, 147 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,199 Speaker 1: lower middle class family, the Beals lived in a modest 148 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: home in a less than desirable part of town. The 149 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: family described the neighborhood as sometimes chaotic. Crime and poverty 150 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: were concerns for residents of Seat Pleasant, and you had 151 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: to keep your wits about you, they explained. Joanne stayed 152 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 1: home with the four kids, and Ronald supported the family 153 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: working as a long haul trucker and doing construction. He 154 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: was often away from home and money was pretty tight. 155 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 1: He had two jobs. Sometimes he went out he had 156 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: a long haul and the other job was construction. So 157 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: he was pretty busy, and so he did the work. 158 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: He paid the bills. I was to go grocery shopping, 159 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 1: and I was to take care of the kids in 160 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: the home, and that was it. Sandy, an outgoing girl 161 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: with a knack for making friends, navigated the streets of 162 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: seat pleasant with relative ease. But make no mistakes, she 163 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:21,360 Speaker 1: would not suffer somebody being wrong to her or messing 164 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: with her. And then you know she was, you know, 165 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: very smart, very pristine in her own way. But you know, 166 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: she was very fierce. I guess it was the best 167 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 1: way to put it. She didn't like me trying to 168 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: break her hair. She hated that. And even when a 169 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: little girl, and I was so happy because I had 170 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: a little girl, like a bridge, you know, and she 171 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: would take it out and I'd take it back and 172 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,439 Speaker 1: I so after a while, I just let it be straggling. 173 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,679 Speaker 1: She was a queen. She was the oldest and she 174 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: lets you know about it, and she was the boss. 175 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: We all shared one room, but Sandy had her own room, 176 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 1: and no one was loud in her room but her, 177 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: and unless you had a special permission to get in there. 178 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: That's Michael, Sandy's oldest brother and the sibling who was 179 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: closest to her. He's in his early sixties now and 180 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:13,400 Speaker 1: lives near the coast with his wife, Becky. When you 181 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: get to know Michael, he has a really gentle demeanor, 182 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: but from the outside he looks tough, like the kind 183 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: of guy whose foot you wouldn't want to accidentally step 184 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: on in a bar. I do remember she like an 185 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 1: easy bake oven, and we used to make a bunch 186 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: of junk and eat it. And she had a makeup 187 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: mirror and you know, different things as you know, as 188 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: a young girl, stuff like that. We really seldom ever 189 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: thought about anything. I mean, we were just really connected. 190 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: And actually when we were I think I was fifteen 191 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: or so, she might have been sixteen when we found 192 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: out she was actually adopted. Joanne got pregnant with Sandy 193 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: Young around her eighteenth birthday. Sandy's biological father wasn't interested 194 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: and become a dad, but Ronald, a suitor of Joanne's 195 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: who should written letters to while he was deployed overseas, 196 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 1: was up for the task. He married Joanne when she 197 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: was eight months pregnant and raised Sandy as his own child. 198 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: When my mom told us that, and I was like, 199 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:18,320 Speaker 1: at first, I didn't believe it. I was like, what 200 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: are you kid me? All this time my dad treated 201 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: everybody equal. And then after that, I when I found 202 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: that out, I was just even more in love with her, 203 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 1: and you know, as a sister type, you know, it's like, 204 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: you know, wow, um. She She asked a lot of 205 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,320 Speaker 1: questions like what happened, why, and different things like that, 206 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: but the answers she got were it was enough to 207 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: satisfy her. Is like, Okay, Well, I mean, you know, 208 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 1: I'm never gonna stop loving my dad. You know, whether 209 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: or not he's my real dad or not, he's He's 210 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: always been my dad and he always will be my dad. 211 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: So I think we kind of got tighter. If anything, 212 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: We've been through a lot in this family. I say, 213 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 1: the Good Lord was good to me to give me 214 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: a life to live this long. We know what we've 215 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: been through and it's been hell. I hope they we 216 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: find out something. For over forty years, the Beal family 217 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: has believed that Sandy was a victim of a violent crime, 218 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: a belief fueled by the suspicion that her death was 219 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: covered up. Here's Stephen, the guilty carry around over time 220 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: that ship turns a fucking anger. You passed you son 221 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: him a bit, she stole from me, You sold my family. 222 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: That's since it's put that category unforgivable ship, Sandy's sudden 223 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 1: death was disorienting to her family. She lived at home 224 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: and her family saw her every day. They were intimately 225 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 1: familiar with her behaviors, her moods, and her values. The 226 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: Sandy they knew was optimistic and ambitious, and, like many 227 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:14,440 Speaker 1: teen girls her age, eager for her real life, her 228 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 1: adult life to begin. She was popular, she worked part 229 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: time at the mall. She didn't appear depressed or withdrawn 230 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: or hopeless. Suicide it didn't align with her personality. And again, 231 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: she had being you know, as passionate as she wasn't 232 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: fierce as she was. I just would not have thought 233 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 1: that she would want to do something like that, you know, 234 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 1: I just never got it. Could not wrap my fucking 235 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: head around her doing it. Suicide seemed completely out of 236 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: character for Sandy, and the crime scene, instead of bringing closure, 237 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 1: just raised more questions. Police said Sandy had shot herself 238 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: in the right side of her abdomen, but the teen 239 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: was left handed. The family told me how they tried 240 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: to put themselves in Sandy's shoes, imagining how she would 241 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: have shot herself. Sitting in the front seat of her 242 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: subcompact Ford Pinto with a steering wheel in front of her, chest. 243 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: The gun would have been too heavy for Sandy to 244 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: hold and fire with her non dominant right hand. Instead, 245 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: she would have had to reach across her body with 246 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: her left hand to aim the gun at her right side. 247 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: It seemed like a clumsy way to shoot oneself. When 248 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: I was told what was happening, what had happened, I 249 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: was like, it's no way. It's just it's just no 250 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: way that it's gonna be. I couldn't believe it. Michael 251 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: was familiar with the gun found in Sandy's car. In fact, 252 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: all the kids in the Beale family knew about the gun. 253 00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: It was owned by Sandy's father. Was a long barrel, 254 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 1: chrome black handle, black Hawk model. Very nice looking gun, 255 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: you know, like I said it was. It was long, 256 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: and it was always loaded with hollow point bullets. It 257 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: was actually white something to shoot. It was so powerful 258 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: that when I first shot it, had to hold it 259 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: with both hands because I didn't know what to expect 260 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,439 Speaker 1: out of it. It was because of their strong familiarity 261 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: with the gun and it's large Cumberson quality that the 262 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: Bills were convinced Sandy could not have used it on herself. 263 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: It's got a lot of those three seven. Uh, you 264 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:46,640 Speaker 1: know they have a lot of recoil, a lot largest 265 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: handguns you're gonna get. Yeah, you think dirty Harry mag 266 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:53,640 Speaker 1: You know the old movie is like how pulls out 267 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: that it's about that length gun recoil with a senate fly. Yeah, 268 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: it's just physics and her left hand have never gone 269 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 1: over that far to be able to do that, And 270 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,199 Speaker 1: the unbelievable part about her and committing suicide was just 271 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 1: too far out. The family also thought the location of 272 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:16,440 Speaker 1: the wound was strange. Why would someone intent on suicide 273 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: shoot themselves off center in the stomach and as small 274 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:23,600 Speaker 1: as she was in the in the size of that 275 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: gun on her non dominant hand would have been would 276 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: have been really hard. I mean, if if that's what 277 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 1: you plan on doing, was was killing yourself, that was 278 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: certainly you know, why don't you just slowly walk through 279 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,400 Speaker 1: a fire and see if you'll eventually, you know, burn 280 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: the death. We don't know why Sandy had her father's 281 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,919 Speaker 1: gone with her that evening, but her family is convinced 282 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: that whatever she was doing, she wasn't alone. When the 283 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,679 Speaker 1: Bill's got her clothes back from police, they noticed that 284 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: she dressed up nicely, wearing brown gaucho slacks, a white blouse, 285 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 1: and calf high black suede boots that her mom had 286 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: given her for Christmas. Sandy's nails were recently manicured, painted 287 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: with pale pearlyzed nail polish. To the family, her choice 288 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:22,680 Speaker 1: of outfit suggested she was meeting someone that night who 289 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: else they wanted to know could have been in the 290 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:32,159 Speaker 1: Pollard with Sandy. Here's what they think happened. Sandy was 291 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: shot by someone else sitting beside her in the passenger seat. 292 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,199 Speaker 1: This would explain the location of the gunshot and the 293 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: trajectory of the bullet from the right side of Sandy's 294 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 1: abdomen to the left side of her back. It was 295 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,119 Speaker 1: the cardboard found under the wheels of Sandy's car that 296 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: solidified their doubts. The cardboard told a story of a 297 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 1: girl who was trying to leave the Pollard that night, 298 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: not one intent on suicide. My name is Kim Parmer. 299 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: I am a second cousin of Sandy Belle, and we 300 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: are in the home of where the origin of all 301 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: of our family began, and John's Port, Maine. I met 302 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 1: Kim at a hotel just up the street from Joanne's house. 303 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,399 Speaker 1: Kim is a licensed therapist, and it comes through and 304 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: the way she communicates. She makes good eye contact and 305 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,959 Speaker 1: speaks carefully, with kindness and warmth. She's the type of 306 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 1: person who makes you feel like you could tell her 307 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:49,480 Speaker 1: anything and she'd never judge you. These days, Kim now 308 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: sixty four, lives in Texas and she's got a solid 309 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: tan to show for it. But she comes to Maine, 310 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,200 Speaker 1: the place of her birth, whenever she can to see 311 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: the bells. See Andy has a grave marker here too, 312 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: and she visits it when she can. So this is 313 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,399 Speaker 1: a map of um just Prince George's county, in the 314 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: area where she lived, and based on all the information 315 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: that I have of her date books or letters or 316 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: anything that had an address on it or that I 317 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: could identify, I plotted it onto the map. Where she lived, 318 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: where she went to school, where she died, where she worked. 319 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:33,119 Speaker 1: This was just her little world. Kim showed me the 320 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: material she's gathered over the years, medical records, court documents, 321 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,159 Speaker 1: freedom of Information Act requests, spreading them out on a 322 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: hotel bed for me to look through. She's the detective 323 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:49,000 Speaker 1: of the family, inquisitive, diligent, and fixated on this idea 324 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:53,680 Speaker 1: of justice. Joanne and I just stayed in touch intermittently 325 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,919 Speaker 1: over the years, and they started sending me stuff. I 326 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,440 Speaker 1: started I was asking so many questions there, like here, 327 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: just take it. And so that's you know, these files 328 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,720 Speaker 1: of stuff that I have now. Kim is the entire 329 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,679 Speaker 1: reason why I started looking into the story, why I 330 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: learned the name of Sandy Beale in the first place. 331 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,959 Speaker 1: She's the one who gave me Joanne's letter, and I 332 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: just learned to keep Sandy's summary with me. I carried 333 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: it with me all the time, so if I ever 334 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: met anyone an investigator, whatever, I I just passed them out. 335 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: I first met Kim at a domestic violence conference in Texas. 336 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 1: I was there to moderate a panel with Lorraina Bobbitt, 337 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 1: whose experience of domestic abuse and marital rape had been 338 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 1: badly overshadowed by the act that had made her infamous. 339 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,159 Speaker 1: If you don't know her story, I encourage you to 340 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,199 Speaker 1: look it up. Something I said that night must have 341 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 1: resonated with Kim, because immediately after the panel she approached me. 342 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: Remember going up to you afterwards and almost running up 343 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 1: there and trying to get there before other people because 344 00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: I knew you were going to get bombarded with people 345 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:03,639 Speaker 1: asking questions, and I thought, well, who knows, maybe maybe 346 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: she would find this intriguing. I did. As a reporter, 347 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,080 Speaker 1: I've written more stories than I can count about women 348 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: who have died violent deaths, and I've spent time with 349 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: their families as they've begun the grieving process. But usually 350 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: those cases had answers, however unsatisfying, they might feel. This 351 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: was a true mystery, one that had persisted for over 352 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: four decades. The Bell family was stuck in the unknown. 353 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: I kept finding myself looking at a photo of Sandy 354 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 1: that Kim gave me along with Joanne's letter. It's a 355 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:44,359 Speaker 1: black and white portrait Sandy's high school graduation photo. She 356 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 1: has long, blonde, feathered hair with a middle part that 357 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: makes you think a fair faucet. Her mouth is poised 358 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 1: into a half smile, and she stares off camera like 359 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: something in the background amuses her. Almost everyone I spoke 360 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: to about Sandy mentioned how pretty she was, especially her 361 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 1: long blonde hair, and while she got attention for her looks, 362 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,600 Speaker 1: it didn't seem to give her a big head. She 363 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: was just genuinely nice and friendly to those around her. 364 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:19,160 Speaker 1: That's the Sandy Kim remembers. We didn't meet until we 365 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 1: were fourteen. The two girls were only six months apart, 366 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 1: and their friendship was a defining one. And we headed 367 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: off and went back to her bedroom like teenagers do, 368 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 1: and we sat on her bed and we just started 369 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: talking and just loved her from the start. Kim and 370 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: Sandy met for the first time shortly after Kim moved 371 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: to Maryland, to a neighborhood about an hour from the Bells. 372 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: The two girls spent their early teenage years going back 373 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: and forth to each other's houses and trading worlds. Living 374 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,640 Speaker 1: in Maryland was you know, you would think that it's 375 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: this preppy, kind of wonderful place with Annapolis and preppy 376 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,160 Speaker 1: clothes and everything. But I look back now and those 377 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: are some of the most traumatic, scarious times of my life. 378 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 1: The thanks I got exposed to it at that age. 379 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: While Kim was technically older by a few months, Sandy 380 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: often played the role of protector. And I'm like trying 381 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:30,879 Speaker 1: to avoid it right now because i don't want to cry, 382 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 1: but I'm going to okay. Um. So, at fourteen, I'm 383 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: in this new school and it was exciting and everything, 384 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: and that um, my mom had to come pick me 385 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,119 Speaker 1: up one night because I was at a friend's house 386 00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 1: at a playground in the middle of a cold a 387 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 1: sack and I'm just like waiting for my mom and 388 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 1: this guy walks up and I recognize him because he's 389 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: on the football team. He's a senior on the football team. 390 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,360 Speaker 1: And I, to this date don't know how it unfolded, 391 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 1: but before I knew it, he had his hands down 392 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:16,960 Speaker 1: my pants and I I just remember freezing. I mean, 393 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,720 Speaker 1: I hadn't even been kissed yet by a boy at all, 394 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: and I'm thinking all these people they're looking out their 395 00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: windows watching this guy do this to me, and I 396 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,560 Speaker 1: just associated. And so that weekend I went to go 397 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 1: see Sandy and I was telling her about it, and 398 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:36,400 Speaker 1: I was really upset about it, and she got pissed 399 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: and she's like, I'm going to take care of this 400 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: for you. Kim told me that A few days later, 401 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,280 Speaker 1: Sandy appeared out of the blue. She had driven an 402 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,320 Speaker 1: hour to Kim's neighborhood to confront the football player who 403 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: sexually assaulted Kim. Sandy was ready for a fight, but 404 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: he was nowhere to be found. It didn't matter to 405 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,400 Speaker 1: Kim though, the fact that Sandy showed up for her 406 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,760 Speaker 1: it was enough. That's the part that I remember the most, 407 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:07,119 Speaker 1: And I'm just I never had been around anybody like 408 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,159 Speaker 1: that that protected me like that. She I knew she 409 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:15,399 Speaker 1: was going to take care of me. It was a 410 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,600 Speaker 1: very short relationship because she lost her life. A few 411 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:25,439 Speaker 1: years later. Kim left Maryland to go to college in 412 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: Illinois while Sandy was still in high school. The distance 413 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: led the two girls to fall out of frequent contact. Still, 414 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: after police found Sandy's body, Kim was one of the 415 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:39,919 Speaker 1: first people that joined called to let her know what 416 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: had happened. I just remember getting that call from Joanne 417 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:47,400 Speaker 1: that Sandy had died, and I just remember being shocked 418 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: and like, what do what do you mean? You know? 419 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,680 Speaker 1: Eighteen year olds don't die from a gunshot wound. Kim 420 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,400 Speaker 1: tried desperately to get back to Maryland for the funeral, 421 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 1: but couldn't afford the journey. I remember looking into the 422 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: flights and they were way too expensive. So I looked 423 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,200 Speaker 1: into the train, but it was ninety dollars from Chicago 424 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 1: to Washington, d C. And it should have it could 425 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,159 Speaker 1: have just been ten thousand. I didn't have it She 426 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: missed the funeral, but kept in regular contact with Joanne. 427 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: She died on the eleventh, on a Friday, very early 428 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: in the morning. But she had gone out the tenth 429 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: Thursday night, so something happened like right at midnight. She 430 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: was probably alone for eight or nine hours, hurting and 431 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: shot and dark. She had to be scared to death. 432 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:48,200 Speaker 1: Just that should matter happen to anybody. Joanne was notified 433 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: of Sandy's death when a detective came to her house. 434 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 1: He asked if she and her husband, Ronald could come 435 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: to the precinct later that day see when he came 436 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: into tell us, tell me what happened. He said, when 437 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: your husband gets home, will you guys come over to 438 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: the barracks. And everything was laid out on the table. 439 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:15,959 Speaker 1: Sandy's personal belongings, items collected from her car were spread 440 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 1: out like evidence for her parents to see. And among 441 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 1: her things was a letter. It was written to a 442 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: man named Doug and addressed to his place of work, 443 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:31,040 Speaker 1: the Maryland State Police Department. He had a uniform on. 444 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: He gave her a sweet talk, and it went to 445 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: the surprise of her family. Sandy was in a relationship. 446 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: Doug was ten years older than her and married with 447 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 1: a young child. This discovery agitated Sandy's grieving parents and 448 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: left them with a slew of questions, but at the precinct, 449 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: Joanna Ronald were left with the impression that the investigation 450 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: was basically complete, no more answers would be forthcoming. It's 451 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 1: calm for police to speak with the boyfriend in unnatural 452 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: deaths such as this. When women are murdered, it's far 453 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 1: more likely to be at the hands of a husband 454 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 1: or boyfriend than anyone else. But as far as Joanne knew, Dug, 455 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 1: the state trooper, was never interviewed in the course of 456 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: the investigation, which seemed particularly odd when you considered the 457 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: location of Sandy's death. The Pepco utility yard was only 458 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 1: a mile down the road from the State Police barracks 459 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:31,880 Speaker 1: where Doug worked, and as the family soon learned, the 460 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 1: Pollard was a popular State trooper hangout. And then the 461 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:40,000 Speaker 1: place where she died. Um, that was the most revealing 462 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: to see that literally there across the street from each other, 463 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: the Maryland State Police barracks of the man that she 464 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: was dating, and then the place that she died. That 465 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: was a well known place where police gathered to you know, 466 00:30:54,560 --> 00:31:04,560 Speaker 1: I guess have privacy for whatever reason. How police do 467 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 1: their jobs in the aftermath of an unexpected death can 468 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:11,360 Speaker 1: have a profound and lasting impact on the families of victims. 469 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,360 Speaker 1: Sandy's death was a defining moment for the Beal family, 470 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,120 Speaker 1: but what came next, what they feel was an absence 471 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 1: of a proper investigation, compounded their trauma. Without confidence in 472 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: the police, the Beal family suspected a conspiracy. A guide 473 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 1: for investigators published by the Department of Justice in explains 474 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,040 Speaker 1: how essential it is to ensure that the proper steps 475 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: and procedures are taken at the scene of a death. Quote, 476 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: A few things in our democracy are as important as 477 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: ensuring that citizens have confidence in their institutions in a crisis. 478 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,880 Speaker 1: For many individuals, the death of a loved one is 479 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:59,720 Speaker 1: just such a crisis. I wanted to understand how the 480 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: family and the police could have such starkly different interpretations 481 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: of the same events. This chasm, I felt deserved scrutiny. 482 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 1: One thing I was sure of the Bell family, even 483 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 1: after forty five years, was adamant that there was something 484 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 1: suspicious about Sandy's death, and because of that they had 485 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: endured decades of uncertainty, and to be honest, I sensed 486 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: it too. I thought it was strange that Sandy was 487 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: shot in the stomach, and I questioned whether she would 488 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,440 Speaker 1: have been able to kill herself the way cops said 489 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 1: she did. It seemed like there was more to Sandy's 490 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:42,360 Speaker 1: story than her family knew after so many years. I 491 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,880 Speaker 1: didn't know what kind of answers I'd find. But tucked 492 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 1: away in the tattered stack of papers Kim collected were 493 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,560 Speaker 1: clues to Sandy's past, clues that offered me a rare 494 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 1: glimpse into Sandy's private life, clues written by Sandy herself, 495 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 1: if she hadn't written that damn note to ship head. 496 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: On our next episode, we learned about Doug and his 497 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:21,600 Speaker 1: relationship with Sandy, and I speak to the detective in 498 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:27,280 Speaker 1: charge of Sandy's case. I would compare my skills as 499 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:33,520 Speaker 1: a homicide detective against anybody in the world. Scotland Yard, 500 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: New York City, anywhere, Fraud, Atlanta where they're loaded, rhythm, 501 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:46,080 Speaker 1: anywhere you go, there's nobody, there's nobody any better. It 502 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:56,360 Speaker 1: turns out he had a lot to say. What happened 503 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 1: to Sandy Beale is hosted by Me Melissa Jolson. It's 504 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,400 Speaker 1: written and produced by me and Katrina Norvelle. The podcast 505 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: is edited by Abu Safar. Sound designed by Aaron Kaufman. 506 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 1: Jason English is our executive producer. Research and production assistance 507 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,439 Speaker 1: by Marissa Brown. To find out more about my investigation, 508 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: follow me on Twitter at quasimato. That's qu A s 509 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,680 Speaker 1: I M A d O. Thanks so much for listening.