The Marshland Murders of Massachusetts | Forensic Files

Hi Crime Junkies, I'm your host Ashley Flowers. >> And I'm Brit. >> [music] >> And this is a story about what can
happen when a case feels solved, even when it may not be. In Massachusetts, [music] two women from
very different worlds disappeared within a few years of each other. One was last
seen leaving a bar. >> [music] >> The other vanished after stepping out of Logan Airport.
Police would eventually say that these two cases were connected and that they had found the man responsible.
But after spending more than a year reporting on this case, interviewing witnesses, tracking down survivors, and
reviewing thousands of pages of records, we found a story that doesn't quite [music] sit right. And our question is,
was the wrong man blamed for these crimes? And if so, then is the person or people who actually committed these
murders still walking free? These are the stories of Joan Webster and Marie [music] Iannuzzi.
December 1st, 1981 is a Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving break, and the day that
Terry Webster really starts feeling anxious about not hearing from her youngest daughter, Joan. Their whole
family had been together for the holiday weekend at their home in New Jersey, but
instead of driving back to college in Massachusetts with her older sister as planned [music]
on Sunday, 25-year-old Joan left on Saturday night because she wanted to make it to a study group. So, her dad
booked her a flight to Boston Logan Airport. >> And she's at Harvard, I assume? Yeah, so
she is in grad school there for architecture. And girl works hard, hence [music] ending her break early just to
go home and study, which is probably part of the reason Terry didn't stress out at first when she didn't hear from
her daughter on Sunday. Like, you know, that's study group day. Whatever, yeah. Didn't hear from her on Monday. Maybe
she's just getting settled. But still not hearing a word from her by Tuesday morning, now she knows something is up.
And almost at the same time Terry's starting to spiral, the phone rings. It's one of Joan's friends from Harvard,
and right away Terry knows something is wrong because the friend tells her that Joan missed that Sunday study group, and
she didn't show up to class on Monday, either. So, Terry hangs up and calls Joan's older sister. She lives close to
campus, and Terry asked her to go check Joan's dorm room. But what her sister finds doesn't ease anyone's concerns. I
mean, before she even goes into Joan's room, she sees notes on her door from friends. And inside there is unopened
mail, and no sign that Joan's even been in the room since before break. Now, Terry is the one to file a missing
person's report that same day. And by the next morning, Joan's family has their first clue. Because a call comes
into Joan's dad's office from a fisherman. Apparently, he was walking near the marshes in Saugus,
Massachusetts, which is like 6 mi north of Logan Airport. And the guy says he found Joan's wallet on the riverbank.
And inside was a driver's license, credit cards, no cash though, but there was this like card instructing whoever
finds the wallet to call Joan's dad's [music] office. So, they call him, he calls the police. And when they hear
about this, they're worried right away because this marsh area where her stuff was found, it is a known dumping ground.
Like, for trash, for stolen stuff, and for bodies. So, they go out to meet this fisherman, and they search the area. And
not too far from where he had found the wallet, they find Joan's red leather pocketbook with her checkbook inside.
And this is a bad sign. Because of the location, because of how the items were scattered, police wonder if someone
could have thrown Joan's things out the window of a moving car as they passed on
this highway that runs right over this area. And if that's what happened, >> [music]
>> finding Joan and whoever took her might be even harder than anyone thought because they're now four days out from
anyone last seeing her and who knows where she could be now. I mean, at least they know that she made it onto her
flight and to the Boston area. >> her stuff to be there, yeah, exactly. And they focus a lot of their attention
and early searches around the airport specifically and that marsh area. And they really do pull out all the stops.
We're talking officers, dogs, helicopters, even scuba divers to comb the river by the marsh, but there is no
sign of Joan or anything else. >> And is the marsh area like on the way to campus from the airport? Is like on that
route? >> No, that's the thing. So, this is like in the complete opposite direction,
which is what I think makes people even more certain that if someone intercepted
Joan, it was more likely at the airport than anywhere else because they also start finding witnesses who say that
they saw her there. Passengers on the flight confirm that Joan definitely made it onto the plane. They say she seemed
relaxed for like the whole flight which landed at Logan Airport around 10:30 p.m. And then a few Harvard students who
flew that same day tell police they saw Joan in the terminal, too. One friend even remembers talking to her at baggage
[music] claim. Joan had this like carry-on tote, she had her purse, but she was also waiting on a bag, this like
dark suitcase with unique striping. Now, when the bag comes, she just grabbed it
and headed out to ground transportation [music] and she told at least one person
at the airport that she planned to take a cab straight to her dorm, which is what her family knew her plan to be,
too. Her dad had even given her 70 bucks in cash for the cab ride back to her dorm. So, Joan walking to the exit is
the last confirmed sighting of her by anyone who knew her. But the best lead that police get is
actually from someone who doesn't even know her at all. Sometime in the first week of the investigation, this cab
driver comes forward and says that around 10:45 p.m. that night, a woman matching Jones' description came up to
his cab outside the terminal, like knocked on his window, and asked Cambridge, right? That's where Harvard
is. Feels a lot like Joan. >> Yeah. But the woman wasn't alone. According to the driver, an older man
was with her. Not like old old, but like older than the 25-year-old Joan, right?
And the driver thought maybe this guy's like in his 40s. He's a white guy, about
5'7" with curly hair and a beard, and he was wearing these like round glasses, which is like I think pretty common for
the time. Now, this matches no one that Jones' family claims to know. But the driver said that the woman
seemed [music] to know this guy. >> like familiar. Yeah, or the woman who we think is Joan. But here's where I think
start to get really weird. So, this driver's like, yep, Cambridge, I got you. [music] So, the driver goes to pick
up the guy's suitcase, and it is super heavy. So, he makes a comment to the guy about how heavy the suitcase was.
And all of a sudden, the man gets really aggressive. He told the driver he didn't
like the way that he was handling his luggage, and he told the woman, you know what, we don't even need this cab after
all. So, he pulls the luggage back out of the trunk and leads her away toward another cab, this blue one. And this cab
driver just kind of like watches as they drive off in this blue car. So, this wasn't like someone grabbing her and
forcing her into a car. This is presumably another passenger, maybe even like another student if they were both
going to take a cab together to Cambridge. >> Could be, or at least somebody who
worked at the college or was affiliated with it in some way. His age is what makes me think you got to like broaden
the scope, but yeah, like someone going where she was going. And it's not like she had to bum a ride, like she had her
own money. She like could get her own cab. So, if this was Joan, [music] it seems to me like this guy was someone
she recognized from the school or someone she planned to meet up with. But, that's the catch. This is the last
possible sighting of Joan. If that was her, why hasn't that man come forward? For that matter, why
hasn't the cab driver who took them come forward? >> Wait, they never found the other cab
driver, like the one that that was like in a blue car? >> Nope. The guy who saw them get into the
car clearly. Yeah, he couldn't tell which company the cab that cab was with or who was driving
it. Just that the cab was like blue in color. But, did did Joan say anything about meeting anyone when she was home?
>> No, I know a guy that she was seeing planned to visit her over Thanksgiving break and they ended up canceling. But,
like her parents knew about that guy, like that didn't seem like a big deal. Also, that guy was closer to her age,
wouldn't be mistaken for 40-something like this other guy. And I assume no one else they know fits this
40-something-year-old guy's description. >> Well, I don't know for sure because the
strangest thing happens. So, police take this account from the cab driver seriously enough to make a composite
sketch of the man described. But, as far as we can tell, that sketch was never publicly released. We actually
spoke to one of Joan's professors and even other students who were at Harvard at the time with Joan, none of them knew
that this sketch even existed all these years later. Yeah. And it's not really clear why. But, Joan's [music] professor
told us that early on, it felt to him like police just assumed that Joan left and that she was going to come back on
her own eventually. Which like I don't even know where that assumption comes from because to me, all of the signs
right from the jump are pointing to some kind of foul play. Like it's not like they were hearing things from like the
family that would make them think she walked away. Everyone who actually knew Joan didn't believe that for a second.
They know that she's a good student. She was a resident advisor. She's super responsible.
>> And look at how you found her stuff. Like why would she walk away and dump her stuff in this marshy area off of an
overpass? >> Exactly. I don't know if it was ignorance, if it was negligence, or
something [music] else entirely. But there is something so wrong about the way this investigation was run. Like I
said, we spoke to one of Joan's professors and they told us that police were coming around at first. They were
meeting with students. They were meeting with faculty. >> They were not showing them the sketch.
Not showing them the sketch. Yeah, to see if they recognized this man who also wanted to go to Cambridge.
But also, they were telling everyone that interviews are happening. They were telling everyone that leads are being
followed. But here's the wild thing. During these like meetings where they were like
talking to people and bringing people together, they caught the officers in a straight-up lie.
So police are in this meeting. They're saying they're interviewing everyone. They're specifically saying that they've
interviewed everyone who was on Joan's flight. But then someone in the room is like, "Um hi. Uh
I was on Joan's flight and you never talked to me." Oh. Like egg on the face, right?
But even if this was like a simple slip-up, it was a big Yeah. Like if investigators
missed someone that obvious, it raises a bigger question. What else could they be missing?
>> Mhm. So this is why when Joan's classmates start getting the feeling that police think she just like ran away
on her own, they get right to work. They start calling newsrooms all over New England.
They contact local papers. They work the phones non-stop. They're passing out flyers. They're just trying to keep
Joan's story in the public [music] eye. It would have been real nice to include a suspect sketch in those appeals to the
public. >> the life of me, I cannot figure out why this wasn't widely distributed.
>> or distributed at all, widely or not. Like this Even if you don't want to call
this guy a suspect, even if you think there is a chance that that might not even have been Joan, until you can say
"We know it's >> we found this guy, we talked to him, we know it's not him." >> that wasn't Joan or whatever. Like I
feel you have to show it. Like you have to find the guy who has this unusually heavy suitcase, last seen with a woman
who looked like your missing person. But they don't seem to do anything to find that
guy. Instead, most of the press pick up just features Joan's family, who by this
point have flown to Boston themselves to help out with searches and speak to the
press. By January, even with a $10,000 reward offered for any information, no one
knows where Joan could be. She and all of her luggage are still missing. But little did anyone know, Joan's
luggage had actually been hiding in plain sight since just [music] hours after she walked off that plane.
And where it's found could be the biggest clue in this case. In the parks and forests you love, there
are stories waiting to be told. I'm Delia D'Ambra, the host of Park Predators, [music] a true crime podcast
that reminds you sometimes the most beautiful places [music] hide the darkest secrets. Listen now wherever you
get your podcasts. On January 29th, 1982, [music] police get word that Joan's missing
luggage has been found, but in the strangest of places. Her suitcase is found at a Greyhound bus terminal in
downtown Boston. This is around 5 miles from both Harvard and the airport and about 10 miles from that marsh area
where her wallet and purse was found. And this is how they find it. So, this employee was working at the bus terminal
said that they found the suitcase when going through all of like the lost and unclaimed luggage that they had in their
storage. Basically, it was their job to take everything that had been sitting there like, you know, piling up for a
while and they were supposed to take it to a warehouse in New York. Now, I don't
know how they made the connection for sure, but I assume that there was like, you know, those tags or whatever
>> Yeah. and that they recognized her name from the news because they knew to call
police when they came across her back. And what police learned when they had the facility really dig into their
records is that the locker that her suitcase was found in was rented about 12 hours after Jones flight [music]
landed. So, like right around 10:30 in the morning on Sunday. Now, those temporary lockers are rented for 24
hours. So, the way it works is basically like when the time is up and no one came back for
it, like >> gets opened, you take the stuff out of it, it goes into storage or whatever.
>> Right. Where it had been sitting for [music] two months. And does anybody remember who rented that locker by
chance? From the records it doesn't seem like it, but I don't think this is a place
where you like go and like pay someone. It's It was one of those places where you like go and you just like put 50
cents in and you like get a little key and you come back for it. If you're not back in 24 hours, the lock basically
turns red, employees know that they can use their master key to open it, take all the unclaimed stuff out. [music] And
if it's Joan who rented it, that doesn't make sense because we know she planned to go
straight to campus >> Right. Also, why store your suitcase, but then like toss your purse and your wallet?
>> And was this like her big checked luggage, like the one with the stripes or was it her carry-on?
>> It was the checked one. The carry-on actually has never been found. >> Oh. I mean, I guess you could make an
argument that like if this was her, wherever she's going, she's just like traveling light.
>> Okay, but why check the bag and just like not ditch it once you get to wherever you you need
it? Like Like I don't understand why you take it you take the checked bag to like
the storage area. And then you're like again tossing the wallet and purse. Right. And this is like the weird thing,
too, is like it doesn't seem like anything was taken from the checked luggage. Like all of her clothes are
still in it. So So someone else had to have checked it in at the bus terminal. You would think,
but why? Why run the risk of being spotted? Just like dump it somewhere, burn it. Like I mean like this clue is
so confounding to me because like did they want to keep this for some reason, but then they couldn't come back for it
cuz there was too much publicity around Joan's case by then? Or was this some kind of like sick game they were playing
hoping that someone would find it half a century later and reporters and podcasters would be speculating about
what it means? Like I think what really gets me >> [music] >> is that Joan wasn't reported missing for a
few days, right? >> was like Tuesday and this was checked on Sunday morning. They could have gotten
it by like Monday morning. >> That's what I'm saying. So So someone, Joan or someone else, they would have
had time to anonymously come back, get the stuff, even if they had to go ask staff for it. Nobody knows Joan is
missing in that first 24 hours, like what before the locker turns to red. But no one comes back for it. So if you're
trying to get rid of the luggage, again, why not just dump it with the wallet and purse? Why not just dump it
anywhere else? >> it like the wallet and purse, not even in the same area. Yeah. Trying to like
figure out the plan or like the logic behind this, like it makes my head spin. And it's why I keep coming back to like
this was some kind of game. Mhm. And in the end, this mysterious clue doesn't actually bring police any closer to what
happened to Joan. And they do even try testing the luggage for prints and get some.
But without anyone to compare them to, like back in the day, like it doesn't mean much. So, despite having local,
state, and federal authorities all circling this case and following leads, each working off of slightly different
theories, nothing is paying off. But then, like manna from the heavens, that same year, in 1982, [music]
the Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney, this guy Tim Burke, he's the one who is assigned Jones' case.
He gets this out of the blue call about a totally different case that changes the trajectory of Jones. Now, this call
that ADA Burke gets isn't even about a case in his jurisdiction. [music] This woman is calling from the next
county over hoping that someone in the DA's office in Boston can give her the help that she isn't getting on her
sister's case. And her sister is Marie Iannuzzi. She was murdered about 3 years before Jones, but her case has never
been solved. And listen, she doesn't even know if she's calling the right guy, but someone suggested to her like
she just try. [music] And her ask is simple when she calls the ADA, "Will you at least take a look and help
me, please?" So, even though it's kind of a side quest, the ADA does a preliminary look into
[music] Marie. And so, he has the lead detective in her case walk him through some of the basics. And as they did,
both of them were struck by one aspect of the investigation. >> [music] >> Marie's body was found in that same
marshy area where Jones' [music] things were dumped. And I don't know if it was just that one detail or if they
got further in, but pretty quickly ADA Burke has kind of married this random case that he got a call about to the
white whale case that he is already working. Maybe they're connected. And from that point on, that becomes almost
like fact. And I want to pause here because the way that this case, this story gets told even now says a lot
about who gets centered and who doesn't. Joan was a wealthy Harvard student who got immediate attention from the media
and [music] from the public and from powerful people who made noise. Marie was working class. She was from East
Boston. She didn't have an Ivy League school behind her or a dad in the CIA. >> Whoa, Jones' dad was in the CIA?
>> Yeah. Yeah, so like the big guns were on her case and I think that's part of why
it got so much attention. But while Jones' case had been everywhere, Marie's case only got attention because of
Jones. >> [music] >> And even then it sort of faded into the background. And they're just connected
because of this like known dumping ground area. Well, well that's the thing that grabs Burke's attention, right? ADA
Burke. But there is another big thing that actually links the two forever. But let me lay out a little bit more about
Marie's case [music] so you'll hopefully see what they did. 20-year-old Marie Iannuzzi's last day was Saturday, August
11th, 1979. Again, this is 3 years before Joan. That was her dad's birthday. And Marie's sister told us that they
grew up in East Boston in this like big close-knit Italian family. And even though their parents tried to shelter
their kids, like they'd really been through a lot. Like Marie's brother had actually been murdered, too, in like a
totally unrelated way. But Marie was still trusting and loved to have fun. So she wasn't suspicious of the world
around her. And nothing about the day that Marie died tells me that she thought she was in danger.
She spent the morning with her parents [music] and after Marie went with her boyfriend David to his cousin's wedding.
Now, at the reception, David ripped his pants, [music] which is like what good wedding reception doesn't have ripped
pants. But he at that point was like, I want to go home. But Marie wanted to go to this after party at the groom's
family's house. So, her and David end up having this argument about this. Witnesses we talked to who were at the
wedding [music] didn't describe anything violent, just this like disagreement. David ends up leaving and Marie finds a
ride to go to this after party. This is like around 5:30 that evening. Now by 10:00, the after party was winding down.
So, another guest named Candy agreed to take Marie home. But on the way, Marie asked Candy to just drop her off at a
bar instead, one near Logan Airport, which Candy did at around 10:30 p.m. Then Candy went back to the after party
where her boyfriend Lenny was waiting for her. Now at some point, I guess Marie had supposedly left some things in
Candy's car and so Candy and or Lenny delivered those things back to Marie at the bar. And they were like two separate
trips where they saw her. And the last time was after midnight. So, it would now be August 12th. And that was their
story at least. Lenny says that the last time he ran in to give her a set of keys, he offered to give her a ride
home, but she said no because she was meeting someone. He said they walked out of the bar, he went to the car where
Candy was waiting, and Marie walked around the corner and that is the last that he saw of her. [music] And a
girlfriend who had met up with Marie at the bar backs some of this up. She says that Marie was like making a phone call
right before Lenny showed up for the last time. And as Lenny was leaving, so was Marie. But Marie told this friend
not to leave because she was going to be right back in like 30 minutes. Though this friend's like, I you know, I don't
know where she was going. It wasn't totally clear. But this woman confirmed that she saw Marie walk out of the bar,
same as Lenny, but then she never came back. That was the last they saw of her. So, her family
reported her missing quickly, but it was already too late because a A on August 13th, that's when her body was
discovered in the marshy area behind this lobster company. Now, when she's found, she's fully clothed with all of
her jewelry on. The only thing missing were her shoes and stockings, which were never found. But everything else was in
place, even her body suit that she was wearing. Now, an autopsy determined that she died from ligature strangulation,
probably about 12 hours before her body was found. And there were signs of a struggle, bruises and scrapes like on
her face and her arms, her legs. And the medical examiner said there were no clear signs of sexual assault, but it
was obvious that there had been some kind of sexual activity between the night that she went missing and when she
was killed, because the ME found sperm after doing a vaginal smear. So, after she's found, like in the first
like, you know, early days of this case, there were basically two suspects. >> [music]
>> And that was Marie's boyfriend, David, and Lenny. But investigators had quickly
zeroed in on Lenny, right? I mean, he is the last person seen with Marie. He would have known the marsh area because
turns out he's a fisherman by trade, actually sold fish to the very lobster company near where she's found.
>> Oh. And Lenny had a pretty long rap sheet, including the abduction of a 16-year-old girl and attempted rape of a
college student that he offered to drive home. Now, he served prison time for that second crime. And Burke told us
[music] that to him, past behavior, especially sexual violence against women, is one of the best indicators of
future behavior. He thinks Lenny got bolder in his crimes as the years went on, and that his psychology lined up
with the type of murder or murderer in Marie's case, a murder that was sexually motivated. Now, when police originally
interviewed Lenny and Candy, their stories stood out to them. I mean, they both had the same story that when Lenny
and Marie walked out together, Candy was waiting in the car, Lenny offered Marie
a ride home, but she said no, she's meeting someone, and she walks off around the corner. But, police noted
that like Lenny and Candy's stories matched up almost too perfectly. Like, the case file says word for word. I
mean, I I get what they're like wink wink nudge nudging at here, but if their stories didn't match, I think that would
look bad, too, right? >> Totally. Again, I think it's like the word-for-word part. Like, I To them, it
seemed rehearsed, I guess. And in the report, it says that Candy was really nervous, like she was shaking when she
talked to the police. Now, she'd been with Lenny for around 8 years, since she was 18, and people we talked to who knew
them said that she would do anything for [music] this guy. And he would push her
to do a lot. Because, guess who was his alibi witness for the attempted rape case that he ended up being convicted
of? Candy. Candy. Problem is, there was nothing here in Marie's case to disprove
their story, and nothing else to really go off of. So, the case went cold for nearly 3 years.
Which brings me back to 1982 and this call from Marie's sister to ADA Burke. So, now that he has gotten up to
speed on the details of Marie's case, and he's wondering if he could be looking for the same perp,
he goes to Jones' case file looking to see if there's anything that might tie Lenny to her disappearance. And sure
enough, what do you know? Burke learns that a tip had come in January that ties everything together for him.
In January of 1982, a week before they found Jones' luggage, a woman had called police to tell them about this scary
incident that she had with a man years before. She never reported it and admittedly
there are >> [music] >> plenty of differences, right? Like but when she heard about the circumstances
of Joan's disappearance on the news, she felt like she needed someone to know about this thing that happened to her.
Our reporter Malika Dollywall actually tracked this tipster down back in 2025 so we could hear her story firsthand.
And this woman claimed that years before Joan disappeared, when she was in her 20s, she had been out at a club one
night and this guy that she knew from her neighborhood was there. And when she was going to leave, he convinced her to
give him a ride saying that he was like sick, he needed help getting to the hospital. But once she was in the car,
he told her to go somewhere else, like somewhere out by the water. And when she realized that they weren't going to the
hospital, he pulled out a gun and tried to assault her. Now, she said that she was able to talk her way out of this
situation, reminding him that people had seen them leave together. So, like they
knew she would be with him. But she said this was the most terrifying moment of her life and she just could not shake
this overwhelming sense when she saw Joan's story on the news, like what if it was him? What if he
wised up over the years, went after someone that, first of all, he wasn't as closely tied to
>> one could like confirm that he had been with another person that night. >> at a place, right? But the airport where
so many people are coming and going, they might not remember who left with whom. And here's the real thing that
made her sure she had to call police. She'd heard rumors that the guy who pulled a gun on her was now driving
[music] a cab around Logan Airport, not through a company or anything, just kind
of like picking up rides unlicensed. So, that is what made her pick up the phone and give police the man's name.
Leonard Lenny Paradiso. Now, that tip didn't seem to go anywhere at the time. But now that ADA Burke sees it, it means
everything. This is the same Lenny from Marie's case. So, he kind of strong-arms his way into
Marie's case and takes over even though it's outside of his jurisdiction. Cuz if
he wants to get Lenny, he has a much better chance of nailing him for Marie's homicide. Mostly because Jones' case
isn't a homicide. They still haven't found her. So, he throws himself into that one. And
listen, this isn't a slam dunk by any means. It's mostly circumstantial. Even the car that Candy and Lenny say that
they drove that night is long gone. >> Was it a a blue car by chance? No, it wasn't. [music] And it doesn't even
matter. I highly doubt he even had the same car years later when Joan went missing because over the last like three
or four years, Lenny and Candy reported eight cars and like two boats stolen, damaged, or sunk for basically insurance
claims. So, I don't think it was and the same one blue or not, but it wasn't blue. I know that. Now, one of the
things that Burke finds to help his case is a set of notes from Lenny's parole officer. According to the notes, on
August 13th, 1979, at around noon, this would have been a few hours after Marie's body was ID'd. Lenny told his
parole officer that he was worried about police questioning him about her. Which
is like not something I worry about when body turns up. >> Same. But, I mean, I might be if I was
the one last seen with her or seen with her the day before. I mean, it's not like it's some random person. He had a
connection to her. So, I don't know. Of everything that Burke's got against Lenny, this is kind of like the least
concerning to me. Now, there is one problem standing in the way of bringing charges against Lenny.
And that is David. Which is Marie's boyfriend. Yeah. A good defense attorney would offer up
the boyfriend. Right? Like remember, he was an early suspect. They were fighting
that night. He still hadn't been ruled out. And actually, there was a lot of suspicious stuff around him, too.
According to police reports, David and Marie argued the day that she's last seen alive. [music] Apparently, she was
seeing someone else, so there was motive there, too. And he had been abusive to her. He'd even strangled her just a few
months earlier. And it left her so scared that she moved out of his place [music] and stayed with a friend. Not to
mention, the morning after that wedding they were at together, David called Marie's family saying that she didn't
come home and asking if she was with them. And that even struck them as odd because he didn't usually check in like
that. Ultimately, ADA Burke decides to put this all to a grand jury. And he does this in March of 1982. He's going
to present what they have in Marie's case and let them decide whether to bring charges against David or Lenny.
And in his opinion, David was a sympathetic witness. He answers [music] every question. He owns up to what he
did. And he claims that he cried for Marie when he was alone. And most importantly, according to Burke, David
didn't have any connection to where Marie's body was found. [music] But Lenny did. Again, he sold fish to that
lobster company. And I guess [music] the grand jury agrees because they chose to
indict Lenny. And on July 6th, [music] 1982, he's arrested for Marie's murder and remains locked away until his trial
is set to begin. [music] And that time between arrest and trial proves to be invaluable [music] for ADA Burke because
an inmate named Robert Bond comes forward in early '83. And he tells Burke that Lenny had been doing some talking
in jail. Bond said he got close to Lenny when he was moved into the same jail cell as him. And they'd actually serve
time together at the same prison before. And they got so close that Bond claims Lenny confessed not to just one murder,
but two. Both Marie's and Jones. In a letter to Burke, Bond writes that Lenny told him that he drove back to the
bar Marie was at without Candy and convinced Marie to get in Candy's car by telling her he needed to pick Candy up.
But instead, he drives her to the marshes, sexually assaults her, and he says that during a struggle Marie
scratched Lenny. And so he made this like specific comment that he didn't want investigators scraping under her
fingernails for skin cells. Now, as for Joan, Bond claims that Lenny told him that on the night Joan disappeared, he
was doing his unofficial cab thing, picked her up at Logan Airport after she got off her flight. And Bond says that
Lenny claimed he told Joan he needed to stop by his office to like pick up some papers [music] or something and that
after that he'd take her to Cambridge. But he didn't. He drove Joan to this pier where he kept his boat, the
Malafemmina, which means evil woman in [music] Italian. And Bond says Lenny took Joan onto the boat, offered her
drink, and when she said no and rejected him, he hits her in the head. Specifically on the right side of the
head with a whiskey bottle and sexually assaulted her. And that is when he took the boat way out and dumped her body in
the water. So, he tells investigators that Lenny claimed there was a lot of blood on the boat after this. And so two
days later, he took the boat out again and just sank it. Bond says that Lenny showed him pictures of the boat on his
like wall that they had. And he said there were two. There's a smaller one and there's a larger one. And the larger
one is the one that he sank. He even describes the registration numbers. And this all feels like ultra specific and
provable if it's true. Yeah. And around this time, another inmate comes forward and backs up Bond's statements. He
claims that Lenny confessed to him, too. So, if investigators can find this sunken boat, they might have a real
case. So, in the summer of '83, Jones' parents announce this reward for any tips that will lead to its location, and
investigators are searching the harbor. They're bringing in divers, and it takes
till September 27th, but that's when they find the Malafemmina. They raise it from its watery grave, but there's no
evidence [music] found. Now, I don't think this makes anyone believe the story isn't true. I mean, like, the
thing's been underwater for almost a year at this point. Like, I don't know that you would still see a bloody crime
scene. So, unfortunately, without anything to strengthen Jones' case, Burke has to like just focus on getting
justice for Marie. And Lenny's trial for her murder begins on July 9th, 1984. By
then, Burke had secured another inmate who says that Lenny confessed to them. And even though he doesn't have any
physical evidence, he argues that the similarities and consistencies [music] between the two informants' statements,
the two people who said that he confessed to them, he says like because they're so similar, it it makes them
more credible. So, did they end up not doing anything with the vaginal smear from her case? So, on the stand, the
lead detective says that the slide wasn't refrigerated. And when the bodysuit was tested, there was no like
seminal residue on that. So, that was all [music] a bust. Wait, did they ever test her fingernails then? Cuz isn't
that what Lenny told Bond he didn't want them to do? No, they didn't, which for me would have been like the first thing.
They'd go straight to the fingernails. Yeah, but for some reason, they didn't. I don't know if they just like thought
they didn't need it or what, but they don't test that. [music] And maybe they were right, because on
July 21st, the jury comes back with a verdict, and Lenny is found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of
Marie Iannuzzi. He's also convicted of assault with intent to rape and sentenced to life in prison. And for
Marie's family, there is relief, but it is complicated because while there's a conviction, they can't help walking away
feeling a little used [music] because the way it all played out, they never really felt like it was about Marie.
They always felt like Marie's case was just a way to get Joan justice. >> stepping stone. It wasn't justice for
Marie, it was justice to find Joan justice. Like they they they they could use this to put this guy away while they
look for the smoking gun in the case that like really mattered to them all along. Now, ADA Burke told us that
Marie's trial focused on her case and he avoided bringing Joan's case into that trial beyond like the cross-examinations
involving Lenny's girlfriend or whatever, but >> But still, that's how Marie's sister
feels. And that's like a pretty yucky feeling to walk away with. >> It is, right? And I don't know if it's
the trial she's just talking about or even the fact of like how the like the fact that the case got taken on it all,
but I agree like that was their experience walking away and that's a terrible feeling [music] and
complicated. Like would her sister do anything differently? No, probably not because Marie had long been forgotten
like altogether before this, but it still sucks. And at the end of this, it's not really like they got Joan total
justice because Joan's family is kind of in limbo and no amount of media coverage
or attention from the prosecutor's office is changing things. They're basically told that until we have a
body, we have nothing. So, that is the thing they have to hope for now, but everyone knows that chances are slim. I
mean, per the confession, Joan is like out at sea somewhere and the reality is they may never be able to properly lay
her to rest. And I don't know if that reality gets harder or easier to accept as time goes on, but I imagine either
way their world gets flipped upside down when Joan is found in April of 1990 and
not in deep waters or washed up ashore. Where she's found calls into question the entire confession that their theory
has hinged on for the last eight years. Joan's remains end up being found by a woman walking her dog in Hamilton,
Massachusetts. [music] Now, she initially spotted what she thought was this deflated volleyball in a drainage
ditch, but it was a human skull. And after an extensive search by police, they end up locating more bones and a
shallow grave buried beneath a pile of logs. Dental records are what confirmed that it is Joan that they found. [music]
And it's so weird because there were at least two layers of logs and debris that
were laid on top of her body at two different times. >> Which means someone's been like coming
back and checking on things. Making sure that she stayed hidden. Now, the glaringly obvious thing here is that
Joan, in fact, had not been dumped in the ocean off a boat like Robert Bond said Lenny confessed to. But, I will say
there is a large fracture on the right side of her skull. Which does match what Bond said.
>> Right. Was that a lucky guess? Was Bond lying? Did Lenny lie to Bond? I don't
know. What I think is so interesting is [music] the area where she's found and what that could tell us.
Hamilton is about an hour northeast of Logan Airport. The marsh area where her purse and wallet were found is like in
that general direction. >> Oh. So, it could make sense that someone dumped those things as they were driving
to Hamilton. And someone, Lenny or otherwise, clearly had this Hamilton, this like specific place in mind because
where she was found was this quiet rural road that winds through the woods. I mean there were houses, but it's like
the kind of road that locals use because they live there or because someone knows
it well enough to feel okay stopping there without being seen. Like enough time >> this. You have to go out of your way to
find it. >> cuz you cuz you also know that you can have time to like dig a shallow grave,
right? Come back and like and nobody's going to spot you. Like you're not going to be seen.
But here's what's really odd. We found [music] out that there was a massive fire in the area around the marshes that
caused roadblocks and evacuations on the night that Joan went missing. So like [music] even getting to that place would
not have been an easy path. I mean it clearly didn't stop someone though. No, but I think my question is like
was that someone really Lenny? The location of Joan's body doesn't seem to change much for investigators though.
Like or for 88 Burke. I mean it changes his plan probably. Like he can't take this to trial because the only thing he
had to go on were the stories from these jailhouse informants. >> Which don't match.
>> No, but like oh well. In his mind the case is already closed. Now they've at least found her. I mean truthfully
people probably could have seen this coming because he seemed to be disregarding anything he considered bad
facts along the line. Bad facts being those things that didn't fit his like Lenny did it theory. I mean at one point
it's realized that the night Joan went missing was super stormy by like the harbor. Like there's no way anyone could
have gone out on a boat that night. [music] And Burke had to even publicly admit that. Also, plot twist, Lenny
didn't even have his boat when Joan went missing. What do you mean he didn't have his
boat? >> And this is what I'm saying like before So they were like disregarding the stuff
before Joan's even found. He told investigators this early on. He said that the rudder was broken and it had
sank. He even filed an an claim like he was known to do for it. And court records for a federal bankruptcy trial
show that the judge in the case believed that the boat was sunk by August of 1981. This is months before Joan went
missing. But like was it actually though? Because insurance claims on cars and boats and things like that was kind
of his his racket with Candy, right? >> Yeah, but when they recovered his boat like it it the story lined up. The
rudder was broken just like he said and it was found right where he said it would be. And either way we know nothing
is actually found on the boat. Like it's [music] >> No. Like finding the boat is like okay
cool. >> It doesn't even matter because now everyone agrees that he didn't kill her
on the boat. So they say like oh so sorry we got that part wrong, but everything else is still right. Okay,
what is everything else though? No one can really say for sure, but Burt continues to publicly insist that Lenny
is responsible for Joan's murder even though he's never been charged. Honestly, this insistence might help
explain why the suspect sketch in Joan's case never became more publicly tied to
the case. I mean it doesn't explain to me like the first month or so. >> Wait like like the initials like
searches and interviews and stuff. >> after they lock in on Lenny it feels like they just like write this guy off
completely because it like it doesn't look like Lenny, right? Sketch is a white guy curly hair, beard, 5'7", he
was in his 40s. Lenny is 6'2", he's heavy set, didn't have curly hair, didn't wear glasses. Like dude's a hard
guy to miss. He could have been the other cab driver though. Maybe, but even that gets a little murky when you dig
in. So the tipster who called and had that bad experience with Lenny told us that she heard word on the street was
that he was driving that unlicensed cab, right? We couldn't find any evidence of
that. When he picked up the hitchhiker that he assaulted, he didn't introduce himself as a cab driver. And in Bond's
statements, he never claims that Lenny drove a cab either. Wait, then what's the story of how he got Joan in his car?
>> Just that Lenny picked her up at the airport. But like he doesn't specifically say like he was driving a
cab or pretended to be a cab driver or whatever. As far as I can tell, he didn't really give other specifics
around that. And like it is a big question for me, too. Like well, how would Lenny get her in the car? But I
don't think anyone was pressing him for those details. So, I don't [laughter] know. Okay, so say Lenny was doing this
like unmarked cab thing. >> Mhm. There's something that I just I cannot make sense of. Her luggage. Like
if he's pretending to be a cab driver, I don't think he convinces her to Check her luggage or like gets out and
does it and leaves her in the car. Like instant red flag. >> It would have been. And like here's I
mean we know whoever checked it didn't do it right away, right? Like it happened the next day at 10:30 a.m. So,
theoretically, like one scenario could be like someone picks up Joan, they kill her either in Hamilton or then they take
her thereafter. And whether she's already buried or not, her luggage is driven back. Like back south to downtown
Boston and then left at the station. Or Joan is still alive at 10:30 and she did
it for some unknown inexplicable reason. And if that's the case, then she's not with Lenny. Like she had zero ties to
this man. He would have been a stranger to her. So, I I really believe someone else did it. And the more I think about
[music] it, I keep coming back to I think whoever did it wanted it to be found, but maybe not to play with
people. Maybe they wanted it to look like Joan was got like caught a bus somewhere.
Like think about it. Like earlier I said that her wallet could have easily been tossed on the way to Hamilton. But what
if it was on the way back? Say Joan's killed in Hamilton, just like ditch her stuff, right? Why drive all the way
back? And if you're going to, why not put all her stuff together? They separate the purse and the wallet from
the luggage because that kind of makes it look like she took those things with her. And why would you need to make it
look like she took off if you have zero ties to her? If you knew her. Especially if you were
last seen with her. Wait, didn't you say they got fingerprints from her suitcase?
Like do we know whose those are? Oh, so here's another thing. Those are not Lenny's. They tested him against those
right away in 1982. Not a match. I don't know if they've ever been entered into a
modern database. We would have loved to ask but the Essex County District Attorney's office didn't respond [music]
to our requests for comment. But I know they tested them against at least one other person over the years. But whoever
that was, that wasn't a match either. I mean, I say start there, right? Like it it seems like it could be pretty
freaking important. Could be. I mean like at the same time it also came from an airport where it's being handled by
other people. A stranger could have touched it thinking it was their bag. Like it might not be the thing.
>> even like someone put it in the locker but then someone had to take it out of
the locker, put [snorts] it into storage and they were sorting it in like in storage to put into further storage.
>> where I'm like, I pray to God they like checked the people who worked at the Greyhound bus or whatever. But like I
don't know. Like yes, it might not be connected but like that sure feels like something
>> Yeah, it feels like something you want to like know or rule out. Did they get
anything usable when they found her remains? Like was there anything other than her remains with her?
>> By that point, it had been so long. I don't think they got much. I mean, I know there were like a few hairs found
at the scene but like I mean, those may have been Jones. We couldn't confirm if those have ever even been tested. I
mean, it was 1990 when she was found and they had a suspect. >> So they didn't compare the hair to Lenny
even? Oh, no, they did that. It wasn't his. That's why like >> That's where the answer is like who
knows? Probably Jones. >> Yeah. So It's like giving tunnel vision for me. Like I assume no one's racing to exhume
her to see if there is anything else they could use. There is not even an option to do that because after Joan's
body was found, her family quietly and quickly cremated her. Which actually, technically, is illegal. I was actually
about to say that. Like, cuz the case is open. >> Yeah, it's technically still open. And
according to Massachusetts law, you can't cremate a body that's part of an open investigation. And I listen, I
don't say that to insinuate anything shady. They had been grieving her loss for a very long time. Like, they
probably didn't even know that. But, it seems like something the investigator who was working her case should have
known. But, I think they were so set on their theory that like when they're like, "We're going to have her cremate."
Nobody stopped them. Does Joan's family believe that it was Lenny? Well, we couldn't talk to any of her immediate
family. So, her parents have passed and we reached out to her siblings, but they
haven't gotten back to us. But, we did talk to Joan's former sister-in-law, Eve. So, she was married to Joan's
brother back in 1981 when Joan went missing and they were still married when she was found in 1990. According to her,
Joan's parents and brother kept telling the same story. Lenny killed [music] Joan. But, that's a story that she never
really believed. I mean, so much so it's part of what caused a rift with her and
her husband. And they've since [music] divorced and she's like made it her life's mission to get people asking
questions about Joan's case again. And she's been doing her own investigation. Even hired a PI to help her pull records
and interview witnesses and review trial transcripts. And she sees a lot of the tunnel vision I think that we do. And
she validates the way that Marie's family feels. That her case was a lot about Joan. Like, apparently, they even
did a search of Candy's place. [music] Again, Candy's related to Marie's case, but the items that investigators hoped
to find were ones tied to Joan. So, what's Eve's stance on Marie's case? Does she think Lenny did one but not the
other or >> Well, she feels like both investigations left loose ends, albeit a lot more in
Jones. But even in Marie's case, she still has questions, mostly about David, the boyfriend. And I wish I could tell
you a lot about the conversations police had with him. I should be able to because they did over 20 interviews with
the guy. >> Oh. But when the lead detective took the stand in Lenny's trial, he admitted that
he didn't take any reports on any of those 20 interviews. What? But I bet they were illuminating because he was
just acting straight-up odd after her murder. Like on Monday morning, shortly after Marie's body was
identified, family members went to David's house to pick up a dress for the wake. And according to court documents,
they found Marie's belongings all packed up, and what they believed was blood on
the stairs. Now, ADA Burke told us that he doesn't believe that David's home was
processed at the start, but he says once he learned about the staircase that he had a lead detective inspect it, and
they determined that it was paint, not blood. But Marie's family also testified in front of the grand jury that they
noticed scratches on David's hands. And the explanation for the scratches kept changing over time. Like first, he said
it was a cat, and then it was like work, and then it was a car accident, then a bar fight. And we're not talking like
small marks. These were like deep gouges, and Marie had long fingernails. Now, as far as we know, just like Jones'
family, Marie's family believes that Lenny was her killer. Still, one family member remembered something else that
stuck out with them. On the drive to Marie's wake, David asked if he should start dating again. What timing. And
when he got there, Marie's family member claimed that David threw a joint into Marie's coffin, which like just felt out
of place to them. Now, David said in his grand jury testimony that he struggled with substance use, though. So, that
might explain some of this behavior, but it doesn't make it any easier to understand for Marie's family. And then,
there's what happened just before Marie's funeral. David never showed up to the funeral because he had flown to
New Jersey under Marie's stepbrother's name, and he ended up getting arrested in Newark Airport for stealing luggage.
What? It's weird, right? Like yes, but I don't even know what to like make of it.
>> Like what does it even I don't know. It only stands out in my mind because of
Joan's case. But, if you divorce the two, like what the hell was he doing? Yeah, like I'm
trying to even come up with something that makes sense if you don't divorce the two. Like it still doesn't really
work for No. Joan's case. >> No, it doesn't really make sense. >> And if he didn't have any connection to
Joan, the only thing tying them together was Lenny. Well, so here's the thing. So, he didn't know Joan personally, but
guess what a local newspaper reported. David worked as a shuttle bus driver at Logan Airport. So, he has a connection
to the airport. Yeah, a loose connection. But, to me, about as loose as the idea that Lenny just like swung
by the airport and picked Joan up. >> Right. Does he look like the sketch? So, not to me. That's a good point. So, he's
in his 20s at the time. Which is younger than like >> Yeah, the 40-year-old guy they saw her
with. And listen, I know that they looked at David for Joan's case at least a little bit, but investigators say that
he was ruled out. They just don't say how he was ruled out. And I need to say David did have an alibi for Marie's
murder. He lived with his mom, who told police that he came home from the reception without Marie around 4:30 p.m.
He went out briefly that evening, was back by 9:00. The issue all these years later is we spoke with wedding guests
who remembered David returning to the party later that night. And no one ever placed David inside the bar where Marie
was last seen, but his house was only a few blocks away. You know, if you were just going to like walk over and be
right back in 30 minutes? Totally doable. Could have been who she called from the
bar to see if she he was home. >> Would have been nice to know, but those records were never pulled or not in the
files that we have today. But I didn't see anywhere where David admits to getting a call from Marie. He said that
he didn't think he was going to see her that night at all because Marie told him
that she was going to go like stay at her parents. But apparently she told her parents that she was going to stay at
David's. But at the end of the day, she's still last seen leaving with Lenny, who was already a bad dude before
this. For sure. Her friend last saw her leaving with Lenny. But apparently one of the bar owners told police that he
remembered Marie being there like near closing time at around 1:45 in the morning. Then another person we spoke to
who was at the bar that night remembered that last call was around 1:25 and Marie
was still there. And he doesn't remember seeing Lenny at that time. And if Lenny
and Candy were telling the truth, that might make sense. So, if she maybe came back after leaving
with him, then really all investigators have is jailhouse confessions and the fact that Lenny knew the Marsha's. And
like jailhouse confessions by the way, that like don't always add up. Yeah, and by the way, turns out you could say the
same thing about David. One man told police and later testified that David confessed to killing Marie at some party
in 1981, saying that Marie was seeing someone else and he, quote, did what he had to do. And that same witness also
claimed that David tried to kill him twice after he went to police. And it turns out that those marshes where she's
found is near a trash dump site, like this local landfill. And David worked in garbage collection at the time. ADA
Burke told us that he asked the lead detective to follow up on the allegation that David confessed, and [music] that
witness was determined not to be credible. But I have real concerns when I look at
the documents in Lenny's case. Because after his conviction, there are a series of sworn affidavits submitted alleging
that witnesses who testified in front of the grand jury were pressured to change
or soften their testimony about David before the trial and even threatened with arrest or losing custody of their
children. So like this idea of like, oh, I put both of them in front of the grand
jury and the grand jury is who chose Lenny. Was it? >> Based on the testimony of
coerced people. >> Yeah, and listen, Lenny's defense lawyer told us that he could imagine pressuring
or at least like them changing witnesses' minds. Like telling them that like >> want to do the right thing?
>> don't you want to get like a bad guy off the streets? ADA Burke told us that the
safeguard against witness intimidation at the time was the court. He said that any witness who felt pressured could
just like bring it to a judge. >> Oh, okay. But I ask, could they really? Like I get it, on paper, yes, but in
practice? >> Yeah. Cuz according to an investigation by the New England Center for
Investigative Reporting, in the years surrounding Lenny's prosecution, Massachusetts prosecutors were
repeatedly found by the state's appellate and supreme court to have violated defendants' rights to a fair
trial. Judges overturned at least 120 convictions since the mid-1980s in part or entirely because of prosecutorial
misconduct. Things like withholding evidence, >> [music] >> failing to disclose information that
could undermine witness credibility, or misrepresenting evidence to juries, which makes you call into question even
those supposed confessions. Those [music] two informants may have had something to gain. Like when it comes to
Robert Bond, in one sworn statement, another inmate says that he personally saw Bond with Lenny's court papers,
copying information into a yellow legal pads. And then after that, the inmate says that Bond started talking openly
about how police were trying to tie Lenny to the Marie Iannuzzi murder and Joan Webster's disappearance. And that
he planned to write the district attorney claiming that Lenny confessed. He says that Bond talked about money,
talked about legal help, and getting his own case overturned, and even asked this
guy to like go along with the story, but the inmate said no. And then there's a whole another story from a different
inmate that's like very similar to that one. The other guy who snitched on Lenny
had an even fishier story. Like I won't bog you down with all the details, but basically the inmate helped a lawyer
with some like legal work, and the lawyer that he worked for represented Lenny. And court records and that
inmate's sworn affidavit show that after he cooperated with prosecutors, including testifying against Lenny, he
was allowed to plead to a lesser charge in his own murder case, and he was released after about 14 years, even
though he originally faced a life sentence. None of that context was shared with the jury at Lenny's trial.
So, does Lenny have a lawyer fighting all of this? He did for many years, but it didn't get anywhere. And in 2008,
Lenny died in a prison hospital, maintaining his innocence. You know, he had a daughter, and she told us that she
knows her dad hurt women. Like that's not like up for discussion. She doesn't excuse that. But what she does push back
on is the idea that he committed these murders. And she says that once police zeroed in on her dad, their minds were
made up. In the months after Lenny's arrest, she told us that she was followed and questioned by undercover
officers. She was approached at Logan Airport and then later at her workplace. And they were pressing her to say that
she knew something about her dad. And she said it got so overwhelming she left the state for more than a year
just to like get away from [music] it. But it seems to her like it is just her and Eve who believe that Lenny didn't
get a fair shake. To them, the rest of the world seems satisfied that the right man was put behind bars.
ADA Burke actually published a book expanding [music] on the case that he won at trial. And in it, he claims that
Lenny wasn't just responsible for Marie and Jones' murders. He suggests that Lenny was a serial killer who committed
more murders than he was [music] ever charged with. And listen, in a courtroom, a prosecutor is bound by
rules. Like there's the standard of proof. Outside of court, those standards don't really exist the same way,
especially when you're talking about a convicted murderer. About 20 years earlier, Lenny tried to sue Burke for
libel in connection with an article he published calling him a suspect in Jones' murder. But Lenny lost. Not
because the claims were proven true, but because the court ruled that Lenny didn't have any reputation left to
protect. Now listen, I don't know if Lenny was innocent, but I do see real problems with his trial
and the investigation, especially the investigation into Jones' case, which got no trial.
>> So, if not Lenny, then who? I don't have an answer to that. I can tell you where
I would start looking if like I had the badge, though. First of all, I'm not convinced these cases are connected. So,
first things first, I would treat them as two distinctly separate cases. In Marie's case, I would want to know a lot
more about David. I would want to know if Marie really was seeing someone else. I would want to know who did she call
from the bar that night? For Joan's case, I would be looking close to Harvard. Someone she knew. That area
where her body was found, where someone visited to make sure that her remains would stay buried. Like you had to know
it. And guess what we found out? The area where Joan was found was actually close to Harvard-owned property. And the
woman who found Joan's skull was married to a man [music] who had connections to Cambridge. I'm
sorry. That seems super relevant here. Yeah. Now, according to Eve, that guy was cleared. But like
knowing how hard they focused on Lenny, I'm like, you know, let me just like >> mean?
>> Yeah. Let me just see who this guy is and if he's done anything wild or committed any crimes in the last 50
years, you know? This is like I usually do this in a lot of our cases. I'm like I just like do background checks on like
the people involved. >> yeah. You'll get surprised. So like I was fully ready to go down a rabbit hole
on this one. >> are. But this is where it got stranger for me. So the man who lived near the property
owned by Harvard was this guy named Dr. Jonah Turken. He was a social sciences professor at a college in Maryland in
the 70s, even ran for mayor of the college town at some point before he resigned without really any statement or
explanation in 1974. By the time Joan was at Harvard in 1981, he was working there as an administrator, not in Joan's
school and no connection between them as far as we know. But this is what's so weird. There is like
nothing on this guy online. I mean, not nothing. Like I found a book written by him that
only existed on eBay. So like I bought it. It just came in. I haven't even got to read it yet. We'll report back. And
there were like a couple of old newspaper articles about his early career. Like a few blips in 1978, maybe
one thing I found in '86, like some property sale if it's the same guy in Florida. But then this dude just does
not exist. And I'm not just talking about on Google. When we searched databases, this guy
does not come up, which I hardly ever see. Now, maybe he went off the grid, he and his wife, cuz by the way, I
couldn't find anything for her, either. And I think this is extra weird because like there were in in the few articles
I've seen about him, it talks about how he has like all these academic accolades, these multiple degrees, that
he was, you know, wrote that book, he was like publishing a paper that people were talking about. And then just like
poo, nothing. And so I like I had this weird, probably wrong idea. But listen, call me crazy, but it's 2026
in a world where we still aren't getting everything in the Epstein files, and there have been zero arrests, and I
trust the government about zero percent. Here are the things I know, and the things that I find strange
when you put them all in one pile. Yes, yeah. Jones family had confirmed ties to
the CIA. Mhm. It is pretty well documented that during the Cold War and into the 1970s and
'80s, the CIA recruited on college campuses through academic departments, through research programs, and
administrative roles. And to me, it's like when you dig into this case, Jones case, you keep just
like running up against dead ends, just like missing records, unanswered questions, and entire chapters of
people's lives that just stop. Like Jonas. And that kind of murkiness makes it harder, not easier,
to ever be certain about what really happened. Now, even though he was in his late 30s when Joan
went missing, I don't know that Jonas looked much like our sketch. Based on at least like the two pictures I could find
of this guy online, which notably are from years before. >> Not from like around the time
>> Yeah. Joan was murdered. Yeah. And again, to be extra clear, police later told a private investigator that Eve
hired that this guy was ruled out as a suspect in Joan's case. But like Jonas, Jonas' family, if you are out there,
like send me a smoke signal. Like let me know you're real. Let me know you're alive. I would love to talk to you about
who else was on that like property, knew that property by where you lived. Like who would come and go? I have all of the
questions. So, Joan Webster's murder is still unsolved and open. Marie Iannuzzi's case
is considered closed. And the man convicted of her murder has passed away. Is that the truth of what happened to
her? Maybe. But I don't know because of how both cases were handled. Joan and Marie both deserve investigations based
on evidence, not assumptions. So, my question isn't just who killed Joan and Marie, it's why didn't anyone want the
truth? But I think someone out there knows what happened. Maybe the man who drove that blue taxi that Joan got into.
Or maybe it was someone who was at the bar the night Marie was last seen alive. Just because this episode ends, doesn't
mean we stop. We never stop. Like you know that. So, if there's anyone out there who might
have any bit of information to share about the cases of Joan Webster or Marie Iannuzzi, email us tips@audiochuck.com.
[music] You can find all the source material for this episode on our website crimejunkie.com.
And you can follow us on Instagram at crimejunkiepodcast. [music] And we'll be back next week with a brand
new episode.

In Massachusetts, two young women vanished just two years apart, and police would ultimately claim the cases were connected. But decades later, serious questions remain about whether the truth was ever fully uncovered.

On December 1, 1981, 25-year-old Joan Webster, a Harvard graduate student, disappeared after landing at Logan International Airport in Boston. Witnesses saw her retrieve her luggage and walk toward the taxi area, planning to return to campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Days later, her wallet and purse were found discarded in the marshes of Saugus, Massachusetts. Joan was gone.

Two years earlier, on August 13, 1979, 20-year-old Marie Iannuzzi was found dead in those same marshlands near Logan Airport, after last being seen leaving a wedding and stopping at a nearby bar in East Boston. Investigators determined she had been killed elsewhere and left there deliberately.

Police would eventually focus on one man, Leonard “Lenny” Paradiso, and argue he was responsible for both women’s deaths. He was convicted in Marie Iannuzzi’s case and later publicly accused of killing Joan Webster as well, even though he was never charged in Joan’s case and no physical evidence tied him to her disappearance.

In this episode, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat re-examine thousands of pages of court records, trial transcripts, sworn affidavits, and firsthand interviews, including accounts from family members who believe key evidence was overlooked and alternative suspects were never fully investigated.

More than 40 years later, Joan Webster’s murder remains unsolved, and the conviction in Marie Iannuzzi’s case continues to raise troubling questions about how justice was pursued.

Key Episode Moments: 0:00 Intro 1:08 Joan Webster Vanishes 2:49 Discovery 5:38 The Airport Sighting & Blue Cab 12:54 Clue: The Greyhound Bus Luggage 17:38 Marie Iannuzzi 26:42 Suspect: Who is Lenny Paradiso? 32:51 The "Confession" 38:39 Joan Found in Hamilton 48:36 Tunnel Vision & Hidden Sketch 1:02:14 Outro -------- Follow Crime Junkie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimejunkiepodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrimeJunkiePodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CrimeJunkiePod Crime Junkie is created and hosted by Ashley Flowers.

About Ashley Flowers Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.

Follow Ashley: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ASHLEYFLOWERS/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ash_flowers TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyflowerscrimejunkie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleyflowers.af/

Check out these other great crime channels: @kallmekris The Disturbing Case of Junko Furuta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uNwWcavYm4 @annieelise Millionaire Husband Tries To Kill His Wife Multiple Times | The Case of Sergio and Tatiana Pino https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO6pSPH9RNI @rottenmangopod “The Healer” Helps Couples Get Pregnant Then Has Affair With Wives- Mysteriously Found Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZW02Mc1LY0 @bellafiori SOLVED AFTER 50+ YEARS | The Case of Felix Vail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk_q_kzztk4&t=6s

Brief Summary

Joan Webster and Marie Iannuzzi's disappearances are investigated, revealing connections and questions about the integrity of the cases.

Key points

The Disappearance of Joan Webster. Joan Webster goes missing after returning to Massachusetts, raising concerns for her family.
Mysterious Luggage Discovery. Joan's suitcase is found at a bus terminal, raising more questions than answers.
A Call That Changes Everything. A call about another unsolved case leads to new insights into Joan's disappearance.
The Disparity in Media Attention. Joan, a wealthy student, received immediate media attention, while Marie's case faded into the background.
The Last Night of Marie Iannuzzi. Marie spent her last night at a wedding reception, leading to a disagreement with her boyfriend.
Lenny's Confession. Inmate Robert Bond claims Lenny confessed to both Marie's and Joan's murders.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This is a bad sign.

Describing the discovery of Joan's belongings.

3:40WatchMar 2, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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