What Happened To Sandy Beal

A year-long investigation into the death of a young woman in 1977.

A few years ago, at a domestic violence conference in Texas, I was approached by a woman named Kim. She thrust a packet of papers into my hands and asked me to look into her cousin’s violent death in 1977. And then she was gone. We must have interacted for less than 30 seconds, but something about her — and the unusual details of the file she gave me— lingered with me.

And this is the short story of how I came to spend the last year of my life, digging into her cousin’s case, for my new podcast ‘What Happened To Sandy Beal.’

The trailer is out today and the show launches in a week - on March 9. Please listen.

I don’t want to give too much away, but Sandy was a ‘disobedient woman’, in keeping with the theme of my newsletter. The Maryland teenager dreamed of being a police officer at a time when women were all but shut out of the profession. She was an ambitious student, a loyal friend, a fighter and a caretaker. She had big plans for her future that never came to fruition.

Instead, she was found shot to death in her car at age 18.

I can’t wait for you to listen to the whole series.

And if you’re a reporter and want to interview me about the podcast, hit me up.

Melissa