A letter, a strange woman, and a missing sister | Forensic Files

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our website [Music] on thursday july 19 1990 florida resident steve mcgowan received
a letter in the mail from his 34 year old sister beverly the siblings had last spoken on sunday
july 15 when steve called beverly to see if she would like to drop by for a visit
she had declined saying that she was too busy their conversation was pleasant and
ordinary now four days later steve was mildly surprised to find beverly had sent him a letter
out of the blue the brief note contained the following message i just want to say goodbye to you and
the kids and to let you know that what i am doing is the right thing this is what i need at this point in my
life so don't worry when i come back i will be a much better and happier person [Music]
[Music] beverly was the youngest of the three mcgowan children the family hailed from philadelphia but
had all relocated to florida a little over a decade earlier beverly lived on the coast in pompano
beach her sister jane lived 11 miles north in boca raton steve resided in central florida
[Music] like her brother jane also received a cryptic farewell letter from beverly it detailed
her decision to make some big life changes in order to go travelling she rode of quitting her job and selling her
condo as she had to leave right away the letters made little sense to steve and jane after
working hard for a long time beverly finally seemed happy with both her career and home life she had recently purchased
the condo and was working two jobs to pay off the mortgage they couldn't understand why she would
suddenly give up everything and to leave without a proper goodbye the letters were written in beverly's
handwriting from a notepad she kept in her home both were postmarked wednesday july 18
and was sent from the city of miami about 37 miles south of pompano beach when calls to beverly's home phone
failed to connect jane visited a police station to report her missing there was little they could do as the
letters indicated that beverly had left of her own accord that night steve and jane headed to
pompano beach to investigate the matter for themselves they arrived at beverly's home an upper
level apartment in a two-story condominium building it was one of many similarly designed
complexes that lined south flagler avenue the long quiet street was situated on the cusp of
a dense neighborhood beverly's condo was compact it featured two bedrooms and a balcony that overlooked at the
residence car park upon arrival steve and jane noticed beverly's red volkswagen fox wasn't in its usual
parking spot she wasn't home but it didn't appear as though she had packed up and
left for good there were dirty dishes in the kitchen sink a nightgown had been left on her unmade
bed clothes were in the closet and strewn on the floor although there were also signs
indicating that beverly had no intention of returning the telephone had been disconnected
the answering machine kept alongside it was gone and there was no trace of beverly's two
pet cats steve and jane rummaged through some drawers and discovered beverly's address
book passport and birth certificate were also missing steve contacted beverly's employer at
glendale federal bank to see whether they could shed any light on the situation beverly worked monday to friday in the
bank's loans department but also had a second part-time job at goodwill a non-profit organization
steve was told that beverly called in sick on wednesday july 18 the day before he received her goodbye letter
this was unusual given beverly's reputation as a responsible and reliable employee during the call
she had also asked to speak to someone in the bank's mortgage department after she was transferred through
beverly said she no longer wanted her condo and requested to fork clothes on it she was told that she would have to send
a telegram to verify her request a telegram was subsequently received it also gave the bank permission to
dispose of the personal belongings left in her home although the circumstances were strange
steve began to believe that his sister had just left without a proper explanation
he lodged a missing persons report with the local authorities and also had beverly's credit cards
cancelled he hoped that cancelling the cards would hinder her travel plans and make her angry enough to reach out
to her family on the evening of thursday july 19 31 year old jesse moorhead and his niece
went out to catch bait for bass fishing they arrived at a wide irrigation canal located 100 miles north of pompano beach
in a remote area of saint lucie county the canal is raged via a dirt track and is bordered by an uncamped grassy
embankment one side of the waterway empties out into the saint lucie river estuary
the other leads south to the state's sprawling tropical wetlands the florida everglades
just after 7 pm jessie was walking alongside the canal while his niece waited nearby in his car
on the embankment he spotted what appeared to be a bag of rags and went over to inspect them
upon realising what he had actually discovered jesse raced back to his car and contacted the police
investigators from st lucie county sheriff's department arrived at the canal and headed to the location described by
jessie there they found the mutilated remains of a female adult she was dressed in jeans a single white
sandal and a pink floral shirt that was bunched up around her neck she had been killed elsewhere before her
body was dumped at the site there was a gaping wound on her abdomen though its cause was unclear
it could have been a deliberate injury or the result of post-mortem trauma to the body
as alligators populated the canal the killer had gone to disturbing lengths to prevent the victim from being
identified her hands had been removed and she had been crudely decapitated the missing body parts were not found at
the site despite this a pivotal clue had seemingly gone unnoticed by the perpetrator
on the victim's right ankle hidden under the cuff of her jeans was a small tattoo of a yellow rose
a description of the tattoo was released to the local media and featured in news reports on the
crime steve mcgowan was at home when his telephone rang at around 10 pm on the other line
was a friend of his missing sister beverly she'd just heard the news of the woman's
body found in st lucie county the victim had a tattoo of a yellow rose on her right ankle
just like beverly the following day steve and jane drove to st lucie county to speak with investigators
they provided a photograph of beverly's rose tattoo but declined to view the mutilated body
as they found the prospect too distressing the pair were nevertheless certain the woman
was their sister they told investigators that beverly had another tattoo just above her waistline of a rabbit
from the animated disney film bambi this tattoo's location matched the victim's abdomen wound
it appeared as though the perpetrator had cut out the rabbit tattoo to hinder the identification process
but had missed the rose tattoo the decapitation was also imperfect as a portion of the victim's lower jaw
still remained a dental expert compared a tooth and filling from the remains to beverly
mcgowan's dental records four days after beverly siblings received her goodbye letters
she was officially identified as the woman found by the st lucie county irrigation canal
a medical examiner struggled to establish a cause of death due to the severe mutilation
beverly's abdomen tattoo had likely been cut out with a knife while a chainsaw was used to remove her
hands and head it appeared as though her throat had been cut but it couldn't be ruled with absolute
certainty that this was what killed her there was also a possibility that she had been bludgeoned
or shot in their head there was no evidence of sexual assault the last time beverly was seen alive was
at work on tuesday july 17. she hadn't mentioned anything to colleagues about going away on a trip
that evening she phoned a friend for a chat they had every tuesday the next day her employers received the
call from someone they believed to be beverly stating that she was unwell and wouldn't
be coming in an examination of beverly's condo failed to uncover blood or any suspicious fingerprints fibres or
hairs there was no sign of a struggle having taken place the farewell letters to her family were
puzzling as they were in beverly's handwriting there was no sign that they had been
coerced yet they ended with the words goodbye bev her siblings said that beverly would
typically sign off letters by simply writing her name they had no explanation as to who would
harm beverly or why she was quiet independent and mostly kept to herself she loved and doted on her nephews and
they depended on her she wasn't wealthy and she didn't have any problematic relationships
[Music] beverly's life had been marred by tragedy her first two boyfriends were killed in
separate car accidents she started dating again to move on but would end relationships when they became
serious steve later heard rumors of his sister exploring her sexuality during her early thirties he described
her as someone who traveled to the bead of a different drummer and believed she was only ever looking
for love despite her traumatic past steve was clear that beverly had recently been at her
most content he did report one concerning incident a week before beverly disappeared she
told steve about an unsettling message left on her answering machine she didn't recognise the mail caller's
voice he was recorded saying i know where you live and i can't wait for us to be together
troubled by the message beverly took her answering machine into work and played it to her colleagues
curiously the machine was missing from beverly's abandoned condo beverly valued her privacy but working
two jobs wasn't enough to pay off her mortgage to supplement her income she'd rented
out her spare bedroom on two previous occasions neither roommate worked out in the long run
the first a woman named brenda had clashed with beverly over lifestyle differences she was
replaced by a man named george beverly liked george but he left after several months to get
his own place both brenda and george were questioned in relation to beverly's murder
but were ruled out as suspects investigators also spoke with a painter named mike who lived in beverly's
apartment complex the pair had struck up a close friendship and caught up for dinner
several nights a week mike was adamant that he would never harm beverly he said he was out of town at the time
of the murder preparing for a gallery exhibition his alibi checked out and mark ii was
ruled out he said he had spoken to beverly two days before she disappeared mike called to ask if she wanted to have
dinner with him that night beverly typically accepted spontaneous plans but not on this occasion she rejected
mike's offer explaining that she was going to spend a time with a potential new roommate
named dallas in early july beverly told several acquaintances that she'd placed an
advertisement for a new roommate in the fort lauderdale sun sentinel newspaper applications came
through and beverly interviewed several candidates in the week prior to her murder
when searching her home investigators found a notepad with a list of applicants details
each entry featured a full name a phone number and an appointment time to view the
condo there was one exception one entry only included a first name it read alice tuesday
6 30. [Music] after meeting alice beverly spoke about her enthusiastically to others she was from london was well
dressed drove an impressive car and worked for the multinational technology company
ibm alice was moving to the area because she had been placed on temporary work duty at the company's fort
lauderdale office beverly chose alice as her new roommate she told a friend that alice was moving
in around friday july 20. beverly's brother steve also knew about alice although he hadn't met her beverly
reassured him that she was trustworthy beverly was not the type to be suspicious of others
and gave everyone she met the benefit of the doubt beverly also mentioned that alice had
introduced her to numerology followers of this belief assign numerical values to letters
names and birth dates they use these values to calculate when certain events might occur for an
individual alice offered to predict beverly's future using numerology and created a rudimentary chart for her
to complete it alice required various numbers significant to beverly's life beverly reportedly supplied them
they included her birth date as well as her social security passport and a driver's license numbers
alice ascertained that beverly would meet a man she would marry at the age of 40 and would come in to
great wealth she also provided a warning there was a man and a woman in beverly's life
who were going to deceive and hurt her overall beverly was pleased by alice's predictions
and shared them with some of her friends alice's full identity remained a mystery
beverly hadn't kept note of anything other than her first name furthermore there was no evidence
indicating that alice had moved in or even visited beverly's condo investigators reached out to ibm and
were told that the company had no english employees working in the south florida area
they didn't even have an office in fort lauderdale examination of beverly's financial
statements revealed that on the same day her body was found someone withdrew 795 dollars
from the 800 in her bank account her visa credit card was then used 22 miles from her home
to purchase women's clothing and books from the upscale aventura mall in miami the retail assistants who served the
customer using beverly's card described her as a striking blonde woman with an english accent
the description conjured images of a tall blonde woman who was currently at the center
of a national media spectacle eight years earlier in 1982 laurie bambenick was sentenced to life
in prison for the shooting murder of her husband's ex-wife the dramatic case became a tabloid
sensation benbenic's glamorous appearance and status as a former model made her something of a celebrity
days before beverly mcgowan was killed ben bennick had escaped her wisconsin-based prison
when shown a photograph of laurie bambenick the retail assistants at aventura mall
identified her as the woman who had shopped using beverly's credit card but theories that beverly might have
crossed paths with the convicted killer were soon dashed benbenec had actually fled
north to canada she was not in florida at the time of beverly's murder the identification of bambanic at
aventura mall was declared a mistake and the lead dismissed on friday july 20 the day after
beverly's body was found her credit card was used again in miami this time at a travel agency called
thunderbird travel the cards holder appeared to be a man dressed as a woman they wore oval shaped eyeglasses and a
cheap looking short black wig with a fringe described as a cleopatra style cut they spoke with an english accent
and introduced themselves as sam apparently sam claimed to be headed to london in two days time on british airways
flight 292 and used the beverly's credit card to buy an avis car hire voucher for
heathrow airport records from beverly's home phone number revealed that someone had called avis
heathrow office the day before the voucher was purchased investigators were unsure whether this
sand person was the blonde suspect's accomplice or the same person wearing a disguise then there was
alice beverly's mysterious roommate it was believed she had played a role in the plot
her numerology exercise was thought to be a scam to obtain beverly's personal details and
steal her identity this theory was supported by the killer's efforts to prevent beverly's
body from being identified sam the wig wearing man in possession of beverly's credit cards
had said he was flying to london on july 22. if he'd caught the flight then he'd
already escaped overseas by the time investigators uncovered his involvement in the crime
sergeant dave brooks of the saint lucie county sheriff's department later described the rapid pace at which
the bizarre investigation unraveled he said it felt as though police were just a step or two behind
the killers detectives pursuing the sam lead obtained passenger logs from british
airways flight 292 as well as other flights on route to heathrow on july 22. beverly mcgowan's name wasn't listed on
any confirming sam hadn't used her passport to board a search of the surrounding area led to
the discovery of beverly's red volkswagen fox in the parking lot of a nearby motel it had been there for five days
fingerprint powder failed to uncover anything worthwhile but four hairs from a synthetic black a
wig were found inside british airways flight 292 arrived at heathrow airport on monday july 23 london time
after the plane landed a passenger with short black hair and oval-shaped eyeglasses approached
the avis hire car service counter they had reserved a car under the name beverly mcgowan
and handed over beverly's driver's license to confirm the booking beverly had dark shoulder-length hair
and wore glasses the person standing at the desk looked like her the avis clerk requested a credit card to pay for a
fuel deposit on the vehicle the customer handed over beverly's visa but the payment failed and the card was
declined she explained that she must have over extended her limit and paid for the deposit with cash
instead in actuality steve mcgowan had cancelled beverly's credit card by this point
by the time detectives in florida learned of this failed transaction the customer pretending to be beverly
was long gone as the credit card was no longer functional its transactions couldn't be used to
track them investigators were certain that the customer was the suspect from the miami
travel agency going by the name sam though there were discrepancies between witness reports
as to whether sam was a man or woman sam's arrival in the uk meant they were out of the jurisdiction of american law
enforcement the florida detectives phoned the london metropolitan police's criminal
investigation department for help detective john cornish agreed to assist with the foreign investigation
he spoke with avis and ordered staff to direct the suspect to their nearest office
should they get in contact police would then be dispatched to the location to await their arrival
later that week sam contacted avis they requested to extend their lease and were told to visit a nearby avis office
police staked out the location but sam never showed a backup plan was devised wherein officers would lie in weight at
heathrow airport on the date the car was due to be returned the day arrived and metropolitan police
waited in position once again sam didn't appear around mid-morning sam's hire car was
discovered abandoned several miles away from the airport it had been wiped to fingerprints
the police realized they were dealing with a criminal who knew exactly what they were doing
suspecting that sam was fleeing back to the states detective cornish ordered his team to
board every america-bound flight that day to inspect the passengers no one matching sam's description was
cited they had lost their only lead little progress was made in the case over the following year
on november 13 1991 beverly's story was featured on an episode of the nbc television program unsolved mysteries
steve mcgowan appeared on camera and made a personal appeal for information the unsolved
case was taking its toll on everyone involved sergeant dave brooks had been investigating beverly's murder from the
outset he went out of his way to keep beverly's loved ones updated on the investigation
status but was burdened by its roadblocks one night he visited steve mcgowan and
broke down in tears the languishing investigation was eventually scaled down some of those involved continued to look
into the case whenever possible to try and develop new leads the biggest clue to date was the
passenger manifest from british airways flight 292 which left miami on july 22 1990
at 6 30 pm the suspect known only as sam had not used the beverly's passport to board
the flight so must have booked a ticket under a different name investigators looked into the flight's
248 passengers but ran into jurisdictional issues when examining individuals who did not reside
in florida they sought assistance from the u.s state department in washington d.c
to identify the non-florida passengers every passenger name that couldn't be traced was submitted to be run through
their system they had to be compared with passport details and the process would take years to
complete five years after beverly mcgowan's murder a florida detective named reina crowningshield was assigned
to the case she continued to look into the passenger manifest alongside nora pfeiffer an investigator
for the state's attorney nora had been involved in the case for years and remained
motivated to see it solved in january 1996 the women received a name from the u.s
state department that they had identified as significant sylvia ann hodgkinson was a british
citizen who occupied seat 18c on flight 292. her passport photo showed an adult woman
with dark hair and eyebrows her birthday was listed as july 22 1964 sylvia's origins were traced to lewisham
a borough in southeastern london her beginnings were humble and she had received very little education
she later married a dairy worker but he passed away in 1985. sylvia then lived in a shelter
for women experiencing homelessness less than a year after her husband's death a passport was issued in her name
investigators suspected that someone else applied for the passport after stealing sylvia's identity
as they were unable to find sylvia's current whereabouts they feared that she had been killed as
well the state department determined that the alias sylvia hodgkinson was associated with two other names
charlotte ray cowan and elaine antoinette parent the three identities were tied together
following an incident that occurred almost one year after beverly mcgowan's murder
on wednesday may 22 1991 police in north miami approached a woman in a rental car
the vehicle had been laced more than six months earlier in los angeles california
it was flagged as overdue for return and was fixed with a stolen license plate to
conceal its origins the car's female occupant was a tall redhead she identified herself as charlotte ray
cowan she provided officers with official documentation to verify her identity it was clear charlotte had been sleeping
in the car with her two dogs there were several wigs in her possession as well as a diary
she also carried multiple id cards they displayed her photograph but featured the names
sylvia hodgkinson and elaine parent police took charlotte into custody on the charge of failing to return
at least a vehicle she was held overnight and posted bail the following day a court session was later held on the
matter one of the arresting officers was in attendance when it came time for charlotte cowen to
face the judge a woman stood she had short straight red hair and was aged in her 30s
the arresting officer was stunned the woman answering the summons was not the same person he had taken into
custody he immediately informed the judge charlotte was confused she had received
the summons to appear in court that day but was not responsible for the crime it
alleged she had committed charlotte asked the police officer if the person he had originally arrested
for the offence was a tall redhead when he replied yes she said she knew exactly who it was
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mid-80s charlotte cowen was drinking at a bar in the city of orlando an immaculately dressed woman with an
english accent approached her she had short straight red hair like charlotte's and striking blue eyes
the woman introduced herself as in tremont and offered to buy charlotte a drink ian seemed too sophisticated for the bar
they were in and charlotte was surprised that she caught the attention of such a glamorous
person nevertheless she accepted the drink the pair chatted and after a while anne
raised the subject of numerology she told charlotte that she would love to create a numerology profile for her
then asked for charlotte's birthday charlotte supplied the information she also provided her time of birth
her social security number and her driver's license details anne wrote everything down on a napkin
and made positive predictions about charlotte's future in an interview with british newspaper
the guardian charlotte later stated she had the most sophisticated manner she was so
persuasive [Music] anne didn't talk about herself much she did say she was mending a broken heart after a
relationship with a former girlfriend ended badly at one stage a blond-haired man entered the bar
anne told charlotte that he was her brother and said she had to go before leaving
she asked for charlotte's phone number anne called the next day and the pair arranged to meet up for lunch
charlotte's mother was present for the meal and was equally impressed by anne several dates followed and
charlotte eventually met anne's brother he was as nicely dressed and well-mannered as his sister
over time contact between the women faded until they fell out of touch altogether
a couple of months later anne called charlotte to say that her aunt died and had left her a significant
inheritance ann was required to split the money with her brother she claimed that he'd had her committed
to a mental health hospital so he could keep the entire amount approximately a month after this call
ian appeared on charlotte's doorstep at 3am she was wearing a fake mustache a wig
and a man's shirt and tire distraught and sobbing anne explained that she escaped from the
hospital where her brother had her admitted she was now on the run from her family
and needed charlotte's help to get away ann begged to borrow charlotte's birth certificate
so she could create a new identity for herself charlotte initially refused but relented
when ian grew increasingly distressed and promised to return the certificate soon
several weeks passed with no word for man charlotte began to worry then a letter
arrived with her birth certificate enclosed and a note from anne apologizing for the
delay charlotte never heard from her again a few years later in mid-1991 charlotte received a summons regarding a
traffic violation in miami baffled she went to court to resolve the matter it was quickly discovered that the error
was due to the actual perpetrator stealing charlotte's identity charlotte knew the person responsible was the woman she
knew as in tremont now that two of their suspects identities were found to be stolen
investigators turned their attention to her third alias a lane antoinette parent like the others
parent was a real person though little could be found about her early life she was born in the new york city
borough of the bronx on august 4 1942 her mother was french-canadian while her father was american the couple
had no other children by the time she was an adult a lame parent was five foot seven inches tall
with naturally dark hair and blue eyes her weight varied between 140 and 150 pounds
at age 30 she relocated to florida where she initially lived in an apartment in the village of bell harbour
she later moved into a house in dade county for a time parent worked as a registered
real estate agent in 1976 parent was arrested in fort lauderdale for shoplifting
as a result her fingerprints were collected and stored on the police system then in 1985 she stole approximately
forty thousand dollars worth of jewelry from an elderly woman she knew this was around at the same
time parent became acquainted with charlotte cowan parents fingerprints were compared to
those taken from the woman apprehended in 1991 for failing to return the hire car
they were a match the woman pretending to be charlotte cowan was indeed a lame parent she was
released on bail but never appeared for her day in court there was nothing to indicate that a
lame parent was a stolen identity like sylvia hodgkinson and charlotte cowan investigators believed parent was the
true identity of the elusive suspect in the beverly mcgowan case known previously as sam
parents criminal history aligned with the circumstances leading up to beverly's murder
the numerology scam the stolen personal documents and the use of a disguise yet beverly's case was the only known
instance in which parent had apparently killed the person whose identity she stole
investigators were confident parent was the woman named alice who beverly accepted as her
roommate days before her death but they had yet to directly link parent to beverly's murder
the evidence in the mcgowan case file was re-examined to find a connection to parent
this included the farewell letters beverly had sent her siblings they were penned on a notepad from her
condo the handwriting was hers and they didn't appear to have been written under duress
the decision was made to carry out forensic testing on the notepad itself an electrostatic detection device also
known as zesta is a piece of equipment that can reveal indentations in paper that may not be visible or legible to
the human eye these indentations are made when someone has written on another piece of paper
that was previously on top of the paper being examined esther testing of beverly's notepad
revealed that it had been used to compose other pieces of writing the hidden messages were painstakingly
replicated revealing handwriting that was not beverly's it appeared as though the author was
writing to a woman whom she'd been in an intimate relationship with but they had since parted the messages
were hostile in nature with one excerpt reading you will feel the repercussions i
guarantee it after your treatment and abandonment of me i have no remorse in tearing down
what in truth i created anyways give me back my life the letters were compared to samples of
a lame parent's handwriting and they matched a forensic psychologist named dr barbara kirwan profiled parent
for law enforcement she later told the makers of the documentary the world's most wanted woman
that the letters were consistent with a rage-filled and highly manic psychiatric state
the letters parent wrote were addressed to a woman in london she was the senior executive for an
international blue chip company upon this discovery detective john cornish of the london metropolitan
police rejoined the investigation it had been about six years since cornish had tracked the suspect
now known as a lame parent after her arrival at heathrow airport he'd almost intercepted her but she
managed to evade his capture detective cornish interviewed the woman parent had sent the scathing letter to
in order to protect her identity she was given the pseudonym witness x witness x
said she'd met parent on a trip to miami during the 1980s and the pair had struck up a romantic
relationship in 1985 after parent was sought by police for stealing jewelry she fled to london and moved in with
witness acts the couple's relationship soon deteriorated parent was prone to aggressive mood
swings she could quickly change from being calm and easy going to violent and temperamental
she threatened witness axes life and attempted to emotionally blackmail her the couple broke up in 1990 and parent
returned to the united states to witness x's surprise parent returned to london a short while
later at the end of july she was driving an avis hire car parent persuaded witness x to rekindle
their relationship but things quickly soured again when they split for a second time parent
placed an advertisement in the personals column of london's timeout magazine she wrote that she loved wine and was a
gourmet cook who owned an excellent collection of copper cookware three months after returning to london
parent kidnapped witness x's two dogs and flew back to the u.s back home parent sent witness x a death threat
made of letters cut out from newspaper articles she also tried to demand a ransom for
witness x's two dogs these were believed to be the same dogs found in her possession when she was
arrested in miami in may 1991 witness x's information allowed investigators to fill in numerous gaps
in parents history investigators now understood that she must have met sylvia hodgkinson within
her first year of living in london somehow she managed to obtain enough information
about sylvia that she could take out a passport in her name it was suspected that parent had stolen
the identities of other vulnerable and unsuspecting persons she had also learned to imitate a convincing english
accent allowing her to trick people into thinking she was british by the end of 1996 florida's state
department had filed charges of passport fraud against a lame parent but they had no idea where she might be
hiding her name was released to the media in an effort to generate leads though investigators stopped short
of naming her as a suspect in beverly mcgowan's murder st lucie county sheriff bobby knowles
told journalists the sheriff's office believes she may have vital information about the
disappearance and the murder she may even have first-hand knowledge no viable tips emerged but investigators
were still managing to unravel parents history there was evidence that she had moved to the state of new mexico
in 1991 and worked there as a restaurant manager afterwards she moved to tennessee with a
female friend and got a job at a seized department store the last confirmed sighting of parent
took place around easter in 1994 a former colleague from sears spotted her on a road just south of
nashville in 1998 the television program america's most wanted aired a segment about a lame
parent it was accompanied by a photograph of her with short black hair she was dressed in a crisp white shirt
and fine gold jewelry a resident from the florida city of saint petersburg was watching television at home when the
show aired the moment she saw a lame parent's image she immediately recognized her
patricia nevins was a church minister her new parent has a bleached blonde by the name of sandra little
although the woman shown on america's most wanted looked quite different to the person
patricia knew she had the same chic sense of style patricia madelaine parent masquerading
as sandra little in 1992 parent was destitute and living in a saint petersburg shelter for
people experiencing homelessness the city of saint petersburg is on the opposite side of the state from the
atlantic coast where parent had previously lived patricia offered to let parents stay in
her spare bedroom and the pair lived together for almost a year and a half during this time parent as sandra little
filed a civil negligence lawsuit against the state after she slipped in a restaurant and
injured herself she won and was awarded an undisclosed amount in damages parents evenings were spent watching
both the local and international news once a week she watched the latest episode of
america's most wanted patricia described several peculiar incidents that occurred
during her time living with parent to the makers of the documentary the world's most wanted woman
parent had once told her that the only way she could have a proper life would be if she had another identity
then during a dinner party parent mimed cutting off a guest's hand to obtain his
gold bracelet patricia arranged for parent to speak with a psychiatrist he later informed patricia that parent
was an extremely intelligent budding sociopath who would leave patricia's life as quickly as she arrived this
prediction came to pass when the two women parted ways in 1993 five years later patricia saw a lame
parents photograph on america's most wanted following the television appeal a strange letter was delivered to the st
lucie county sheriff's office its envelope bore a london post stamp and it contained a postcard
the image side featured a print copy of an oil painting it depicted an older version of a laying
parent she was wearing a blue and green one piece bathing suit and pearl earrings her hair was grey
and styled in the same short quaffed manner that parent often chose she was shown climbing out of a swimming
pool the back of the card featured a typed message that read your chameleon an oil sketch by piper
best wishes an illegible signature was scribbled alongside the message the postcard coined the title a lame
parent would come to be known as the chameleon killer forensic psychiatrist dr barbara kirwan
later told the telegraph newspaper that parent craved the attention of the authorities
as much as she feared it quote the oil painting is very theatrical i believe she sent it to law enforcement
as a way of thumbing her nose at them of sort of teasing them by saying i'm alive i'm well look out for me
but you'll never find me in february 1999 the case featured on the television show
world's most wanted and it soon garnered international attention unconfirmed sightings of parent were
reported across the world in places like turkey france australia and south africa the press dubbed the
fugitive the world's most wanted woman in april of 2001 saint petersburg resident patricia nevins was preparing a
special dinner to celebrate the easter holiday she headed out to a sam's club supermarket in the nearby town of
clearwater to purchase ingredients the store was part of a members-only chain that required customers to register
their details in order to shop there as patricia made her way through the store she spotted a woman she recognised
it was her former roommate a lame parent she had gained weight since patricia had
last seen her almost a decade earlier and her hair was longer and darker aware there was a global hunt underway
for parent patricia's heart began to race she drew closer to parent and for a moment
patricia quickly looked away when she turned back parent was gone [Music] patricia reported the sighting and that
the supermarket's member database was examined for elaine parents details the information didn't exist and parent
alluded investigators once again one year later in april 2002 parent featured on another episode of
america's most wanted after the program aired a number of calls were made to the
show's tip line from panama city in far northwest florida multiple callers claimed that parent was
living in panama city's affluent neighborhood of saint andrews bay they identified themselves as neighbours
of hers and were able to provide her address a representative from america's most
wanted promptly informed authorities three police officers headed to the address
they arrived at a modest single-story house and knocked on the front door a middle-aged brunette woman answered
she was dressed in silk beige colored pajamas the officers provided a cover story
telling the woman that they'd received a 9-1-1 call from the address and were following up to make sure
everything was all right the woman introduced herself as darlene thompson and provided a military id that featured
her headshot she looked nothing like the photographs of a lame parent that the officers had
seen they thought that the tipsters might have been mistaken she was asked to accompany them to the
station for questioning anyway just to be certain darlene agreed and asked if she could get changed first
the three officers waited outside her bedroom as darlene headed inside while she was gone one of the officers
examined darlene's id more closely p had a military background and was familiar with the appearance of their
identification cards darlene's id was missing a crucial stamp to verify its legitimacy
the officer knocked on darlene's bedroom door to address the matter and she called out i am getting dressed
suddenly a gunshot rang out the officers raced into the bedroom and found darlene lying in a pool of blood
there was a wound in her chest and a 357 magnum revolver in her hand she died at the scene
darlene's fingerprints were collected and on monday april 8 it was confirmed that she was
indeed a lame parent it emerged that the house where parent had been living belonged to another woman
parent had been renting her spare bedroom since august 2001. her roommate described her as somewhat
hyper with a passion for cooking gourmet meals parent had told her that she worked at a
telecommunications company downtown the roommate had a pekingese poodle cross named molly
that parent walked twice a day she said parent would take the dog to nearby parks and chat to other women
as she strolled in contrast to this description a neighbor told reporters that parent
kept to herself and made no effort to be friendly quote i would greet her and she acted
like she wouldn't acknowledge me i knocked on her door one time to warn her about a man
wandering around offering to do people's yards and she wouldn't come to the door
a search of the saint andrews bay house uncovered a counterfeit florida driver's
license with parents photo but the name of the woman she was living with investigators also found her number of
passport applications [Music] parents closet was packed full of wigs and both men
and women's clothing there was a book on learning french and another about stage makeup
some of parents acquaintances mentioned that they often saw her working on a laptop but the device was
never recovered nor was the diary that parent had in her possession when arrested more than a decade earlier
as charlotte cowan in 1991 a notepad contained information about a man from the nearby city of lynnhaven
including his social security number and credit card details a desktop computer contained a data
useful for making fake ids there was also an fbi most wanted poster that parent appeared to
have crafted herself it showed her passport photo with the name antonia reece ormond
it noted that she was wanted for murdering a government official in a washington dc hotel room
panama city police commander mitch pitts later speculated that parent created the poster to
intimidate someone many unanswered questions remained following the death of a lame parent
law enforcement agencies believe she had up to 20 different identities that she used
around the globe including the united states the uk turkey israel france and south africa
some suspect she murdered more than once though no victims aside from beverly mcgowan have ever been named
three years before parents death investigator nora pfeiffer told the guardian the brutality of the miguel and murder
and the way in which the body was cut up leads me to think that a person capable of committing something like
this has already done the same thing in the past or may do so in the future a birth certificate for a lame parent
has never been found suggesting that a lame parent could have been another fake identity
opinion has been divided as to whether parent worked alone or with an accomplice some
speculated that parent could not have killed beverly then mutilated and disposed of her
remains without help charlotte cowan met a blonde man who parent had introduced as her brother
in the days after beverly's murder her credit card was used by an individual in a black wig and eyeglasses
some witnesses described this person as male while others thought they were female
others were certain this individual known initially as sam was a lame parent donning a disguise
to look similar to beverly a number of investigators who have studied parents actions
don't believe she would ever collaborate with another person harvard psychologist maria konakova has
written extensively about con artists and says that they commonly exhibit psychopathic and
narcissistic traits this analysis is consistent with forensic psychologist dr barbara kirwan's profiling of parent
she has theorized that parents stole identities to quote fill up the emptiness of her
own personality she described parent as a consummate con artist highly adept at reading her victims and
targeting their individual and personal vulnerabilities elaine parents living victims expressed
relief upon hearing of her death for almost two decades her former partners witness x and charlotte cowan lived in
fear that parent would harm them investigators couldn't say why a parent killed beverly mcgowan
and none of her other known victims in the documentary the world's most wanted woman
beverly's brother steve explained that he carried a guild for cancelling her credit cards
before her body was found at the time he believed that he was doing the right thing
thinking it would prompt his sister to reach out yet he inadvertently cut off a viable
means of tracking her killer [Music] occasionally steve's grief would overwhelm him
it could be brought on by minor things such as hearing a particular song on the radio while driving his car
[Music] this sorrow and the lack of closure remained long after beverly's murder
quote it's been 11 years of wondering why i mean you do see stories in the newspaper and you read them
and think what a tragedy but that would never happen to me it could never happen to my life and
then it does and boy does it wake you up [Music] you

Case 160: Beverly McGowan

On Thursday, July 19 1990, Florida resident Steve McGowan received a letter in the mail from his 34-year-old sister, Beverly...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-160-beverly-mcgowan

Brief Summary

Beverly McGowan's mysterious disappearance leads to a shocking murder investigation linked to identity theft and a suspect named Alice.

Key points

Beverly's Farewell Letter. Beverly sends a cryptic goodbye letter to her brother, hinting at a major life change.
Discovery of a Body. A fisherman discovers a body in a canal, leading to a chilling investigation.
Mysterious Roommate Alice. Beverly's new roommate Alice becomes a person of interest in the investigation.
Beverly's Case on Unsolved Mysteries. Beverly's story was featured on NBC's Unsolved Mysteries, highlighting the ongoing investigation.
Identity Theft Uncovered. Investigators discovered that the suspect had stolen multiple identities, complicating the case.
A Shocking Discovery. Detective Cornish rejoined the investigation after a six-year hiatus, tracking Parent's movements.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just want to say goodbye to you and the kids.

Beverly's farewell letter to her brother Steve.

2:42WatchOct 24, 2020

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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