The Yellow Lunchbox, a Missing Hand, and a Secret Witness

The Yellow Lunchbox, a Missing Hand, and a Secret Witness

A woman's amputated left hand was found inside a yellow barn lunch box left on a back step at 6:47 AM on May 14, 2001, while her body lay behind the hedgerow - what happened in the dark hours between her shift and sunrise? Who kept quiet for twenty-two years, and why did a pawn shop ledger and a notebook with Sharon's name resurface only after decades?

In this episode, we present the sequence of events and the objects that shaped a two-decade investigation, tracing Sharon Donnelly's daily routine, the initial suspects, and the evidence that went cold until it was digitized and rediscovered - can the three odd, unresolved details finally be made to fit?

Person: Sharon Donnelly Date: May 14, 2001 Location: 412 Dallow Street, Harwick Cause of death: Strangulation; left hand amputated at the wrist postmortem Investigator: Detective Carl Beasley

- The lunch box was found open on the back steps at 6:47 AM on May 14, 2001. - Sharon worked 5:30 AM-2:00 PM at Harwick Weave and Finishing and walked the same route daily. - Her left hand was amputated at the wrist with a tool consistent with a pruning blade or short-handled garden saw. - Denny Falk, sleeping under the Kessler Creek bridge less than 400 meters away, was held for nine months then released in 2002. - A notebook with Sharon's name and daily schedule was recovered from a drainage area and a pawn shop ledger was digitized after sitting in boxes for years.

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