258: The Massie Affair & a Disappearance

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One thing is certain: *Something* happened to Thalia Massie on the night of September 12, 1931. She’d stormed out of a party at the Ala Wai Inn alone, annoyed with her husband and his Navy friends. Later, when a car stopped to pick her up, Thalia had injuries to her face. She said she’d been assaulted and robbed. When her husband came home that night, she told him that she’d been beaten and raped by a group of Hawaiian men. Police quickly rounded up five young men.

Then Brandi tells us about the disappearance of Katherine Heckel. When Katherine never returned from her lunch break on July 15, 1991, her friends and family were concerned. She had two young children at home – she wouldn’t leave them voluntarily. Naturally, investigators looked into her husband, John. He had an airtight alibi. So, suspicions turned on other men in Katherine’s life. Police discovered a good suspect, but the case stalled out.

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
An episode of American Experience, titled, “The Island Murder”
“Massie Trials,” entry on Famous Trials by Douglas O. Linder
An episode of the podcast Crimes of the Centuries, titled, “The Massie Affair”

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“She Didn’t Come Home” episode Dateline
“Katherine Heckel” chillingcrimes.com
“Groves’ ex-wife talks about case after 27 years” by Lana Muthler, Williamsport Sun-Gazette
“Timeline of cold case that endured 'bumps and bruises' over 27 years” by John Beauge, PennLive.com
“Pa. man found guilty of third-degree murder in 27-year-old case where no body was found” by John Beauge, PennLive.com
“Pa. man gets maximum penalty for death of woman whose body was never found” by John Beauge, PennLive.com
“Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Loyd Waitman Groves” justia.com

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