Pembroke, NH 1875: Authorities working the murder of 17 year-old Josie Langmaid had reached an impasse in their investigation when the alibis of all of their local suspects checked out. They were wondering where to look next when they got a telegram from officials in St. Albans, VT, a town near the Canadian border. St. Albans reported that a little over a year before, there was a similar murder in their town, of a school teacher, Marietta Ball, and the man they felt was responsible, Joseph LaPage, was now living in Suncook/Pembroke, NH. Police found LaPage, arrested him, and took items from his house and had them tested against evidence gathered from the crime scene. The State of NH assembled quite a case against LaPage but we are left to wonder, 140 years later, how accurate were their scientific findings?
*A reminder: just as in Part 1 of Episode 4, Part 2 contains descriptions of assault, sexual violence and murder and may not be suitable for all listeners. Parts 3 and 4 of Episode 4 put us past those topics, so please, come back for the rest of the story.