Who Was Responsible For The Bear Brook Murders?

Almost 40 years ago, in the woods near Bear Brook State Park, a young boy by the name of Jesse Morgan came across a barrel. Jesse kicked the barrel over, saying it “smelled like rotten milk” – but it took another five months for someone else to find the barrel and actually look inside.

The discovery of the barrel, a subsequent second barrel and the human remains inside, kickstarted a decades-long hunt for a killer and forever changed the way that murders would be investigated. The Bear Brook murder victims, two discovered in 1985 and two in 2000, ranged in age from 24 years old to 11 months old; despite facial reconstructions and country-wide publicity, it took close to 35 years for any identities to be confirmed.

It took almost as long for a suspect to be named as responsible for the Bear Brook murders.

The Bear Brook murders – also known as the Allenstown Four – are the subject of season one of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Bear Brook. The six-part series tracks the lengthy journey from the summer of 1985 through to the bittersweet press conference announcing the identities of the victims in 2019, and includes the chilling search that lead authorities to the basement of a man with multiple identities.

You can jump into the first episode HERE.

You can hear all six episodes of season one now on the LiSTNR app HERE.

We’ve also put together a list of five other “solved” crime podcasts for anyone who craves closure after a true crime story, which includes the disappearance of Mary Louise Wallace.

Police worked around the clock to find any sign of the missing 33-year-old nurse but came up empty handed. It would take investigators another 33 years before they found out exactly what happened to Mary on that fateful night. 

In this episode of Crime Insiders: In Focus, Adam Shand tells the story of Mary Louise Wallace, missing and presumed murdered in 1983. Shand details how Homicide investigator Nicole Jones got to the bottom of the cold case in this three-part story.

Delve into more episodes like these by downloading the LiSTNR app! Enjoy a new world of audio with all your favourite shows and stations in one library.