152: Still Missing: The Disappearance of Irene Silverman, Pt 3
She Goes by Jane: A True Crime PodcastShow Notes
Irene Silverman was missing. And by the time Sante and Kenneth Kimes went to trial for her murder, there was still no body, no murder weapon, and no definitive account of what happened to her the day she was last seen.
The prosecution was face with building a "no body" murder case, a tricky proposition even with the mounting evidence against Sante and Kenneth. So they carefully assembled a slate of witnesses and evidence: Sante's notebooks, a forged deed, wigs, and testimony from friends and staff who could attest to what had been happening in Irene's mansion in the days leading up to her disappearance.As the lead up trial heated up, investigators around the country started scouring their own records intent on answering one question: what other crimes might the mother and son duo have committed. And as they dug, the list of crimes grew.But back in New York, those who loved Irene were faced with a question they still don't have answers for today: where was Irene.In Part 3 of our three-part series on Irene Silverman, we share the trail of devastation the Kimses left and just what questions are left in Irene’s disappearance.📍 Manhattan, New York | July 5, 1998
📖 Featuring an original poem written and read in her honor by Kate Hewlett. ➡️ Help bring attention to missing and unidentified women—subscribe and share this episode.
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More about Kate Hewlett:
Kate is a screenwriter, actor and songwriter from Toronto, Canada. Her feature film based on her play The Swearing Jar premiered at TIFF in 2022 and received both a Canadian Screen Award and a Writer’s Guild Award nomination. Kate’s favourite TV-writing credits include: Malory Towers, Corner Gas Animated, The LA Complex, Backstage and InSecurity. As an actor, Kate currently has a recurring role on The Testaments and select screen credits include: The Girlfriend Experience, Degrassi, Stargate Atlantis, Holly Hobbie, Murdoch Mysteries as well as upcoming seasons of St. Pierre, Hudson & Rex and Law & Order Toronto. Kate is a graduate of the National Theatre School (Acting), Queen’s University (BA) and the Canadian Film Centre (TV writing).
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On a June night in 1950, seventeen-year-old Barbara Kelley left home for a date with Henry Baird, a 28-year-old World War II veteran she had been seeing for several months. Barbara told her parents she would spend the night at a friend’s house in nearby Eureka. There was no reason for them to worry. The next morning, Henry was found nude on a remote beach along the Northern California coast. He had been shot to death. His companion, Barbara, was nowhere to be found.Henry had been shot in the back of the head. Nearby, his clothes were found neatly stacked. With them were Barbara’s clothes. But there was no sign of Barbara. Within hours, police began to investigate the theory the teenager had been involved in Henry’s death. In the years since the murder and disappearance, speculation has run rampant including false confessions, searches through the woods, and a connection to an eerily similar case in another county.But at the heart of it all is Barbara Kelley, a seventeen-year-old girl who went on a date and never came home.📍 Humboldt County, California | June 17, 1950
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