Episode 219: The Murder of Kerry Munger

Join Katie and Liz for another installment of their case profile mini-episode series! This week, Katie starts the show by telling of the tragic murder of Bruno “Papote” Lugo who was shot and killed in Hartford, Connecticut on October 23rd, 2011. His death still remains unsolved. Then, Liz talks about the murder of Cecil Lopez III out of New Bedford, Massachusetts in October of 2004, and how his death is related to the random and senseless murder of Dana Haywood just a few months later in 2005.  Anyone with any information on the murder of Bruno Lugo is asked to please contact the Hartford Police Crime Stoppers tip line at 860-722-TIPS. If you or anyone you know has any information of the murder of Cecil Lopes III, please call the Massachusetts Unresolved Crimes Unit at 1-855-MA-SOLVE.

On this week’s episode of True Crime New England, Katie and Liz touch upon the upsetting story of the murder of 52-year-old Kerry Munger in Rutland, Vermont. On April 20th, 2009, Kerry met up with his estranged wife’s lover, a young man named Trevor Herrick, in the parking lot of a mall. After a nasty verbal altercation occurred, Trevor ended up fatally stabbing Kerry twice. Trevor later claimed self-defense in his trial. In March of 2010, Trevor was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 22 years to life in prison, however a petition filed in 2014 had the sentence reduced by nine whole years. 

It’s another Sunday with another case profile mini-episode installment from True Crime New England. On this week’s episode, Liz starts off by telling the horrible story of the murder of Tyshaun Hargrove, a 14-year-old father out of New Haven, Connecticut who was murdered in August of 2021. Then, Katie gives the details of the brutal murder of 32-year-old Olga Maria Cornieles-Ubiera, who was found stabbed and possibly hit by a car in Bridgeport, Connecticut in October of 1994. Both murders remain unsolved.Anyone with any information on the murder of Tyshaun Hargrove is asked to please call the New Haven Police Department at 203-946-6333. Anyone with any information on the murder of Olga Maria Cornieles-Ubiera is asked to please call the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad at (800) 203-0004.

On this week’s episode of True Crime New England, Katie and Liz discuss the tragic and suspicious death of the talented Eduardo Tirella out of Newport, Rhode Island in 1966. Eduardo possessed many talents, mostly for the arts and performing. He was employed by the insanely wealthy tobacco heiress Doris Duke, who also had an interest in fine arts. One fateful day at Doris’ oceanside mansion, when Eduardo was planning to leave his position with her, he ended up being run over by her car, pinning him underneath and killing him. To this day, his manner of death is hotly contested… was it an accident, or did Doris kill her trusted employee and friend?

Another week, another installment of True Crime New England's case profile mini-episode series! This week, Katie starts us off by sharing the extremely depressing case of the murder of 29-year-old Jephthe Chery, who was shot on Thanksgiving day of 2015 in Boston. Then, Liz tells the partially solved story of the murder of John Lima, an 18-year-old who was shot an killed in Brockton, Massachusetts in May of 2007. Anyone with any information on the murder of Jephthe Chery is asked to please contact Boston Police homicide detectives at 617-343-4470 or anonymously through the Boston Police CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS. 

On this week’s episode of True Crime New England, take a trip back in time to 1850's Maine where Katie and Liz share the infamous story of Mary Bean, “The Factory Girl.” This tale involves a young woman from Quebec named Berengera Caswell, who left home with her sisters to work in the ever-expanding textile mills in New England. After she met a young machinist at the same mill she was employed at, she became pregnant. As premarital sex was harshly stigmatized in society in the 19th century, Berengera and her partner sought out a locally known abortionist to help remedy their problem. This turned out to be fatal, leading to a trial that became widely publicized in the region. Tune in to hear the details of navigating this unnecessary death and how society viewed such a case.

On this week's installment of True Crime New England's case profile mini-episode series, Katie and Liz cover two solved murders from New Haven, Connecticut. First, Liz shares the troubling murder of 18-year-old Tashawn Brown, who was killed after an argument at a family gathering in May of 2021. Then, Katie discusses the upsetting murder of 29-year-old Dwaneia Turner, who was shot and killed by her girlfriend in March of 2021. 

On this week’s episode of True Crime New England, Katie and Liz dive into a relatively well-known case in recent Massachusetts history. In February of 2021, 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, who was 3 months pregnant, was found dead in her Canton apartment. She had recently found out she was pregnant and was so excited to be a mom. Her body was found with a duffel bag strap around her neck and tied to a doorknob, appearing as if she had committed suicide. It took three years for her death to be ruled a homicide, and this resulted in the subsequent arrest of former Stoughton Police Department officer Matthew Farwell, a man who had been grooming Sandra for almost a decade. While his trial is set to occur in October of 2026, the evidence mounting against him is damning as Sandra’s family waits for justice for their loved one’s murder. 

Would you look at that... another mini-episode from True Crime New England's case profile series! This week, Katie talks about the very suspicious homicide of 63-year-old Jake Keels out of Norwalk, Connecticut in August of 1996. Then, Liz talks about the puzzling disappearance and eventual unfortunate discovery of Jerry Riley in October of 1993 out of Epsom, New Hampshire. Anyone with any information on the murder of Jake Keels is asked to please call Lieutenant Weisgerber of the Cold Case Unit at 203-854-3028 or by emailing [email protected].

On this week’s episode of True Crime New England, Katie and Liz take a look at the mysterious murder of Barbara Beach Hamburg. Barbara, a mom of two living in Madison, Connecticut, was found beaten and stabbed to death on her lawn on March 3rd, 2010. She hadn't answered her teenage daughter’s calls about picking her up from school, and had also failed to appear in court that morning for a scheduled appointment against her ex-husband, Jeffrey Hamburg. Her murder immediately went cold, but her son, Madison Hamburg, began investigating his mother’s murder through a film school project that developed into a docuseries that aired on HBO in 2020. Madison spends over a decade looking through the facts and files of his mother’s case, interviewing family members and friends, meeting with police, and even filing appeals for documents to be sent to him. His docuseries, Murder on Middle Beach, showcases the intricate details of his mother’s murder investigation and how he became obsessed with the who and the why. If you or anyone you know has any information regarding the murder of Barbara Beach Hamburg, please go to barbarahamburgtips.com where you can leave an anonymous tip by submitting on their website or by calling their confidential tip line. You can also call the Madison Police Department at 203-245-6500.