0:02

Well, welcome back to Media Pressure. I'm

0:04

your host, Julie Murray, and

0:07

today we are giving you a

0:09

bonus episode. We're going to answer

0:11

some of the questions that people

0:13

have sent in. There

0:15

was no way that I was going to be

0:17

able to get to

0:19

every detail and cover 20 years of

0:23

an investigation. So I knew

0:25

that there would be questions, and I thought this was a

0:28

cool way for some listeners to answer

0:30

interaction. But most

0:32

importantly, I want to thank

0:34

all the listeners for liking,

0:36

sharing, listening, telling

0:38

a friend about

0:40

the podcast. The response

0:43

has been overwhelming, and

0:45

I didn't really know

0:47

what to expect going in to

0:49

this. I just knew I wanted

0:53

to do a good job for

0:55

Maura. I wanted to eliminate some

0:57

of the speculation, which I think

1:00

I have done. And I

1:02

really wanted to just put Maura

1:04

back at the center of her own

1:06

story. And after

1:08

seeing all the responses and

1:11

comments, I think

1:14

we did that with this. So

1:19

let me introduce Sarah Turney.

1:21

She is the executive producer

1:24

and mastermind of media pressure.

1:27

And thanks to her, this was possible.

1:30

So I just want to kick it over to you,

1:32

Sarah, and ask, what did you

1:34

expect? And what is your

1:38

response to the support

1:40

that we've gotten? Oh, my goodness.

1:42

Well, hi. First, I wasn't

1:45

exactly sure what to expect. I'm

1:47

not going to lie. I was a little nervous in

1:49

putting this out because I know that this

1:52

case in particular has such a target on its

1:54

back, for lack of a better word. But

1:57

the response, and really, let me go

1:59

back because I was... nervous for you. I

2:01

didn't want this to cause any more pain

2:04

or any more hurt for your whole family.

2:06

So that was my biggest concern. I had

2:08

no concerns about the content, obviously, but

2:11

I was so excited and so happy when

2:14

the overall response was so overwhelmingly

2:16

positive. People were cheering you on.

2:18

People were cheering your dad on,

2:20

cheering your whole family on. And

2:22

that made me so excited for

2:24

you because that was a

2:26

similar experience to what I had in season one

2:28

of Voices for Justice. And my

2:30

best hope for you and your whole family

2:33

was really just for you to be surrounded

2:35

by that same love that I was and

2:37

you definitely were. So I am

2:39

just over the moon, so excited and so

2:41

grateful to you, your whole family, and to

2:44

everyone who listened. Yep, I agree.

2:46

I agree. And one

2:48

of the hard things was, you know,

2:51

my dad has a lot to say. And

2:53

I recorded

2:56

eight hours with my dad

2:58

and I couldn't possibly fit

3:00

all of that into the

3:02

podcast, but it gave him

3:04

an opportunity and also everybody else in

3:06

my family and everybody that came on

3:08

the show, just a

3:10

chance to tell their

3:13

experience, their story in this

3:15

because most of the people

3:17

I interviewed either knew Mara or

3:19

had a hand in

3:21

the investigation. And we've

3:23

never had a podcast put together

3:26

that kind of gave them space

3:28

to tell their story

3:30

and their experiences. And so

3:32

although I didn't use all of the

3:34

eight hours that my dad provided

3:38

me, it was a

3:40

good outlet for him to get all of

3:42

that off his chest. And of

3:44

course I have it all still

3:46

and there were points early on

3:48

in the first couple hours of the interview

3:50

with my dad where I would hit pause

3:53

and kind of be like, dad, stay

3:56

on track. Like, you just

3:58

answer the question. But then

4:01

as it went on I stopped I

4:03

stopped pausing and I was like I'm

4:05

gonna let him say what he what he wants to Say

4:07

and whether I use it or not. It doesn't matter

4:10

and that was very

4:12

very therapeutic for him to do that

4:14

and He's

4:16

just so proud and everybody in my family

4:18

is so proud and You

4:21

know once once we finished it, you know

4:23

right before launch we

4:25

kind of all got together and We're

4:28

like we looked at each other and we

4:31

thought Mara would be proud of us for this

4:33

and that's the most important thing and that's really

4:35

what I wanted to Convey

4:38

and you know, I didn't know that it

4:40

was gonna be top of the charts I

4:43

didn't expect that and to be honest that

4:46

wasn't the point. Yeah, I'm very

4:48

very happy that people Listened

4:50

and it did hit top of the charts

4:52

and it's still on the charts now

4:55

but the overall point was do

4:58

right by Mara and Everybody in my

5:00

family feels feels that so it's like

5:02

we did a good job. I Love

5:05

that so much I had the chance to

5:07

meet your family at the 20 year vigil

5:10

and that was one of the coolest Experiences

5:12

for me because I've heard about

5:14

all these people for so many years I've

5:16

seen how absent your family has been in

5:18

the media in this story and not by

5:20

any fault of your own but

5:23

just in general so getting to meet everybody and Being

5:25

there and feeling that energy and meeting all these people

5:28

who have been with the case long before I have

5:31

Was so magical and so special and really

5:33

just solidified everything

5:35

we're doing here today and I'm I'm

5:37

just so glad that you were able to Put

5:41

this together and kind of let me handle

5:43

that piece of worrying about how popular it

5:45

was in the charts or the marketing behind

5:47

it Because you've

5:49

already done so much You've had to deal with

5:51

so much in terms of just making this podcast

5:53

that I just really wanted to play that support

5:55

role for you So I'm like so glad that

5:57

you said that and you can just take it backseat

5:59

and I can worry about all the super

6:02

high pressure items that go into

6:04

marketing a podcast. And yeah, I mean, I was

6:06

thrilled. When we hit number one, I

6:08

was shocked because I don't think people realize

6:10

that our biggest contender was really

6:13

call her daddy, right? She had just gone

6:15

exclusive, or I'm sorry, she just broke her

6:17

exclusivity with Spotify and came over to Apple.

6:19

And I was like, I don't know, Julie, I don't know

6:21

if we're gonna call her daddy. That's such a tall order.

6:24

And then we did, and it was just fantastic. And

6:27

again, that wouldn't have happened without all of

6:29

you guys listening out there today. So

6:32

I just wanna say thank you for believing,

6:34

one, in this concept, two, in

6:36

family-led true crime content, and three, just

6:38

for believing in Julie as much as

6:40

I did. So thank you, and thank

6:42

you, Julie. We could sit here and thank each other all

6:44

day. We're really crazy. Yeah, but

6:47

it's not exactly. Yeah,

6:49

so I mean, with that being said, why don't

6:51

we just go into the Q&A and

6:53

I can kind of outline it for everybody. So

6:56

there were about 200 questions that

6:58

were submitted. And of course, like Julie said, we

7:01

just can't get to them all. So

7:03

we try to outline this to make sense

7:05

for everybody. The first set

7:07

of questions is going to be related to

7:09

the investigation, the second to series, the

7:12

third to the media impact of everything,

7:15

four with the resolution, where things

7:17

are today, next steps, and final

7:19

words. And then we are

7:21

ending with something very special that

7:24

until this episode was only heard

7:26

by a handful of people. So

7:28

definitely stay tuned to the end.

7:31

And Julie, are you ready for questions? I'm

7:34

ready, let's do it. All right,

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9:44

right, so we're in section one,

9:47

investigation. Question number one, were

9:49

the calls for Mora's dorm ever

9:51

traced? This is a great

9:53

question, and it's something that I

9:55

brought up to the former lead

9:57

detective who had since retired. and

10:01

his response to me was we

10:04

looked into that. I

10:08

certainly hope that those records were

10:10

looked at because I think there

10:12

could be some potential value in

10:14

the dorm records because that's just

10:17

a total unknown. But sitting

10:20

here today, I don't know whether they

10:22

have. Yeah. Question

10:25

number 2. Who was slash

10:27

is the contact that Mora had written down

10:29

on a note in her car with their

10:31

phone number. Do police have an explanation as

10:33

to why they didn't look into that lead

10:35

20 years ago? Another

10:38

great question. Obviously,

10:40

it would be irresponsible for me

10:42

to name that person publicly, and

10:44

I didn't in the podcast, so

10:46

I won't do that. But

10:50

authorities did tell me that they are

10:52

aware, which is

10:54

frustrating because I don't know whether

10:57

they're aware because I made

10:59

them aware or that they were

11:01

aware back in 2004. There's

11:05

still some gray area as

11:07

to when they were

11:10

aware, and I can't answer why

11:12

they never called this person, whether

11:15

it be back in 2004 or over the course of 20 years. Because

11:20

when I spoke to the person, that

11:22

was the first time that anyone

11:25

had reached out to them. I

11:27

asked them, has law enforcement ever reached out

11:29

to you? They said, no. That

11:31

was huge, huge point

11:34

of frustration for my family. It

11:38

also reinforces the reason

11:41

why it's important for

11:43

my family to

11:45

trace all leads. Because we

11:47

just don't know sometimes, but

11:50

law enforcement is aware at this point. Next

11:53

question, Maura's gas tank was nearly full when

11:55

her car was found. Do you have any

11:57

idea what gas station she may have stopped

11:59

at? Do you believe cash was used?

12:02

Well, we do know from the

12:04

vehicle forensic report that her tank

12:07

was nearly full So

12:09

we know that she must have stopped to get gas

12:12

so There's right

12:14

off exit 91, which is the route

12:17

that Mara would have taken to go

12:19

up north The exit that

12:21

she would have gotten off at there's a

12:23

truck stop there It's called P and H

12:25

truck stop and that's just

12:27

one potential spot There

12:30

are a handful of other Convenient

12:33

stores last gas stations between

12:35

that point and where her

12:37

car was found so

12:39

my family has gone to these locations

12:42

and tried to speak with people

12:45

that work there and police

12:48

have told us that they Also

12:50

went to those gas stations and

12:53

some of them they pulled security

12:56

Footage the next one is

12:58

why was that extra Chrysler part in

13:00

her vehicle? Was it the same model

13:02

of the suspicious vehicle that was reported?

13:04

This is a great question and I

13:08

Don't know the answer. So

13:10

when I was Aware

13:12

that there was this random Chrysler

13:14

part found in her car that

13:17

was from looking at the vehicle

13:19

forensic report and The

13:22

piece it kind of looks like a

13:24

mirror But it doesn't

13:26

have a part number so we

13:28

can't tie it to a particular

13:30

vehicle We just know it's from

13:33

Chrysler. It had Chrysler Stamped

13:35

on the back of it. So that's

13:37

all we know were scent dogs ever

13:40

used on suv-001 I don't

13:42

believe the dogs searched

13:46

Suv-001 no has Sarah ever

13:48

explained why she refuses to speak with you

13:52

No And I Just

13:54

want to say right here that in this

13:56

Q&A and for families in general. We're going

13:58

to accept No as a. For

14:00

answer. There are some

14:02

times in any case questions that

14:05

families. Won't or can't answer for

14:07

a variety. Of reasons I'm just throwing

14:09

out there now know is a complete

14:11

answer. Is there any

14:13

answers? Land near the crash site. There.

14:16

Is some private lands that has

14:18

not been searched and there's a

14:20

number of different reasons for that

14:22

but mainly some of those land

14:24

owners to not give us permission

14:27

but the areas that are public

14:29

of course the road and all

14:31

the public areas those have all

14:33

been searched. Probably. At

14:35

this point, hundreds of times and

14:37

then. There's a

14:40

lot of the neighbors right air

14:42

that were kind enough to grant

14:44

my family permission to search, and

14:46

we've done that as well, so

14:49

I feel pretty confident that areas

14:51

that were able to get to

14:53

have. Been. Exhausted.

14:56

Know. This. Next question,

14:58

I was actually. Really curious about it

15:00

when it came. Through because I thought it

15:02

was fantastic. More the serial numbers from

15:04

the cash, more into account the A T

15:06

M ever looked into to see if they're

15:09

back in circulation. That I

15:11

also agree that is a great

15:13

question and it's questions like those

15:15

that get people talking and thinking

15:18

Because and twenty years I don't.

15:21

I don't recall ever being asked

15:23

that are ever even thinking about

15:25

that myself And. That's. Happened

15:27

more than once since the

15:30

launch of media pressure. Sadly,

15:32

I don't know so. I

15:34

don't know thus far along how you could.

15:37

Do. That, but. I love

15:39

those questions thinking outside the box.

15:42

Near. of course give you for future

15:44

meanings and i actually i did look

15:46

this one out because i was like

15:48

is this even a thing and it

15:50

is i think it as far back

15:52

as was it a thing back then

15:54

in that specific area but you can

15:56

you can tracy's build coming from a

15:58

t m's which was news to me

16:00

so very interesting, we will be waiting

16:02

for hopefully a new answer in the

16:04

future if you can track it down.

16:07

This was also a really excellent question.

16:09

Did your dad, Mr. Fred Murray, notice

16:12

any odors in Maura's car when he

16:14

drove it? Well, I just asked

16:16

my dad to reconfirm and he

16:18

said no. But I

16:20

think it's important to note that when my dad

16:22

saw the car, it was on Friday. And he

16:25

was sleep

16:28

deprived. He was still

16:30

in shock and panic

16:32

mode. So there's a lot

16:34

of things that he

16:36

doesn't remember. I know somebody asked,

16:39

what was the seat position of the

16:41

driver's seat? Was it further

16:44

up as if Maura was driving or

16:46

back? And those are things he just,

16:49

he doesn't remember. Yeah, I

16:52

mean, of course, who remembers what something smells like 20 years

16:54

ago or what position a seat was in.

16:56

I think a lot of people don't understand

16:58

that when you actually go through something like

17:00

this, especially 20 years ago,

17:03

like both of us have, true crime

17:05

wasn't really as prevalent. And we didn't really

17:07

have those true crime brains, if you will.

17:09

So I don't think that anybody was like,

17:12

I need to track every single aspect of what's

17:14

going on because 20 years from now,

17:16

this will be unsolved. I don't think anybody

17:18

had that mindset. So that makes total sense

17:20

to me. If somebody asked me

17:22

what my sister's room smelled like 20 years ago

17:24

when she went missing, I have

17:26

no idea. Absolutely no idea. Our

17:29

next question is probably one of the most

17:32

asked. Can you discuss

17:34

Bill's absence from the podcast and what

17:36

your family's relationship with him is today,

17:38

if any? Well, I

17:40

did speak to Bill and asked

17:43

him some questions for the podcast.

17:46

Yeah, perfect. Period. Yeah,

17:48

period. Full sentence. I respect it.

17:51

So in putting together the

17:53

podcast, obviously, I wanted to

17:55

and needed to fact check

17:57

myself because there's so many.

18:00

facts and figures and names and

18:02

locations in my

18:04

brain and I did my best to

18:06

make sure what I

18:09

was putting out was the truth,

18:11

the factual. But I am

18:13

a human and I do

18:15

make mistakes and I phrased

18:18

something that caused some confusion and

18:20

I can see why it did

18:22

that. So I just kind of

18:24

want to take accountability and

18:27

give some clarification. So

18:29

at one point in the podcast

18:31

I said that Mara looked up

18:33

directions to Vermont and New Hampshire

18:36

and the phrasing

18:38

with that kind of gave people the

18:41

impression that I didn't want for them

18:43

to have. So

18:46

what we do know is that

18:48

Mara looked up directions to Vermont

18:50

and the Burke shares. So

18:53

when I saw Burke shares I was

18:55

like, oh, the Burke shares, but that's

18:57

in two states. So I asked detectives

19:00

which Burke shares, Vermont or

19:03

Massachusetts and they

19:06

weren't sure. So then

19:08

I asked them how did Mara

19:10

get the condo owner's number to

19:13

call the condo in Bartlett?

19:17

And the way that I

19:19

interpreted their answer was that

19:22

she looked up the Seasons

19:24

Resort in Bartlett, New

19:26

Hampshire. And so that's

19:28

why I phrased it that way. So

19:31

she didn't necessarily look up directions

19:33

to New Hampshire. She looked

19:36

up the Seasons, if

19:38

that makes sense. So it wasn't directions per se.

19:41

Yeah, that makes sense to me. And I mean,

19:43

it's no secret that this is a case where

19:45

the internet will pick every single

19:47

thing apart. So I completely understand you

19:49

wanting to clarify a few things. And

19:52

there's just been so much that over the years that it's,

19:54

I think at this point, even for me sometimes, it's

19:57

hard to get the facts straight because I've heard a

19:59

million different over the years, so

20:01

I appreciate all the clarification. All

20:06

right, we're moving on to theories,

20:08

which, my goodness, the amount of

20:10

questions where people wanted answers on

20:12

specific theories or what you thought,

20:14

which was answered in Episode 8.

20:17

Please go back and listen to that if you haven't already. But

20:20

let's get into theories. Is

20:23

it possible that Maura's trip was completely spontaneous,

20:25

and that's why no one knew that she

20:27

was going? Maybe she was going to search

20:29

for a car on her own. Yeah,

20:31

this is another great question. And

20:36

by all appearances, her quote

20:38

unquote plan seemed to

20:40

very last minute,

20:42

very spontaneous. She

20:45

didn't tell anyone. And

20:47

I mentioned that in the podcast. And

20:50

if she did tell anyone, hey, Julie,

20:53

Kathleen, Dad, Freddie, Curtis, I'm going to

20:55

take this car and drive to New

20:57

Hampshire, we would have immediately said, that's

20:59

a terrible idea. It's not safe. Do

21:02

not do that. So

21:04

I think she knew that,

21:06

that it wasn't a good idea. And

21:09

maybe this is just me thinking maybe

21:11

that's why she didn't tell anybody. But

21:14

again, until we find Maura, I don't

21:16

know. In terms of her

21:19

potentially going to New Hampshire to search for a

21:21

car, I don't

21:23

see that because that's a long way to

21:25

go. And the location that

21:27

she was in is, you

21:30

don't need to travel two plus hours to go

21:32

find a car, you can go right down the

21:34

street in Massachusetts. But what

21:37

I will say is we do know based on

21:39

her phone records, that she was calling

21:42

classified ads for

21:44

used cars. So she

21:46

was trying on her own in

21:48

some capacity to find a new

21:50

car, as well as going

21:52

car shopping with my dad. That

21:55

was my first thought is maybe she saw Craigslist

21:57

ad for maybe her dream car or something that

21:59

was more of or even maybe just something that

22:01

was like cooler than what she had and she

22:03

was going to meet with somebody. Yeah,

22:05

I mean that that's

22:08

possible too. I mean, there's

22:10

so many possibilities and that's part of

22:12

the draw of Mara's case is until

22:15

we find Mara, it's hard to

22:17

rule out anything and it

22:21

seems like a terrible idea, but she

22:23

was also making poor decisions

22:26

leading up to her disappearance.

22:28

Her behavior was not characteristic

22:30

of her. I'll be

22:32

the first to say that and for her to

22:35

get in that car and drive all that way

22:37

to New Hampshire was a

22:39

bad decision and I just

22:41

don't know what her mindset

22:43

was and why she would do

22:45

something like that. She was too smart for that.

22:48

So she was human

22:50

and she was very flawed as

22:52

we all are and young and

22:55

no made made some poor decisions.

22:57

Oh, absolutely. I am so

22:59

happy that nobody had a microscope on my life when

23:01

I was 21, my goodness. The

23:04

next theory question is how do you

23:06

feel about the tandem driver theory? Well,

23:09

there's no evidence to suggest a

23:11

tandem driver. Mara

23:13

didn't call anybody

23:15

to coordinate that we

23:17

know of on her cell phone because we have her

23:20

cell phone records and to

23:22

my knowledge, she didn't email or

23:24

instant message anybody to put together

23:26

a plan. So how

23:29

would she have coordinated that?

23:32

Yeah, throw it in the

23:34

bucket of so many theories that we

23:36

just can't answer, right? I mean, to your

23:38

point, there's so many possibilities. Now,

23:41

we did get some more pointed

23:43

questions about specific theories, specific people.

23:46

Why do you think Mara turned down Butch's

23:48

offer for help? Do you think she would

23:50

have been hesitant to call your family, her

23:53

family, for help? Yeah, well,

23:55

there's my thought process

23:57

is she could have still

23:59

been. in shock from the

24:01

accident. And, you know, we know

24:03

the airbags deployed. We know

24:05

the windshield was cracked. She may or

24:08

may not have been drinking. So I've

24:11

always thought she probably didn't have

24:13

a plan formulated yet when Butch

24:15

came upon her because it was

24:17

pretty quick after the first 911

24:20

call that Butch was there on scene.

24:24

And the other thing

24:26

I've thought about is maybe she

24:28

didn't realize she didn't have cell service.

24:30

So if Butch came before she opened

24:33

her phone and realized, I have

24:36

no communication, it's

24:38

a hard one because, you know, I don't

24:41

know if she already knew she didn't have

24:43

cell service, because that doesn't make sense. If

24:45

she knew she had no communication and then

24:47

turned down help, that doesn't make sense to

24:49

me. But if she didn't

24:51

know, then that makes a little more sense

24:53

where she declined his help and was like,

24:55

Oh, I'll just get out

24:58

of this situation myself. And

25:00

then realize, Oh, I'm stuck. I have

25:02

no way out. And then accept the

25:04

next offer of help. Yeah,

25:07

that makes total sense to me. Next

25:10

question, were the Loon Mountain Three ever

25:12

questioned? I know

25:14

that the Loon Three were

25:17

questioned by law enforcement.

25:21

Or they said they looked into it. So

25:24

yes, that avenue has been explored. We

25:27

also got an overwhelming amount of

25:30

questions about psychics that it was on

25:32

social media that I mean, I feel like I'm seeing

25:34

that pop up everywhere. So for

25:36

the record, have you or your family ever gone

25:39

to a psychic? And what was the result? Yes,

25:42

when you're in a situation like my family

25:45

has been in, nothing's off the

25:48

table. So we did consult with

25:50

several different psychics over the years.

25:53

But the bottom line is Mars

25:55

still missing. I feel the same way I went

25:57

to like a million psychics. And I feel like you get a ton of

25:59

different answers. And in the end to

26:01

your point you're like, well my person is still not

26:03

out there or they are out there But we

26:05

don't have the answers, right? So

26:08

I feel it I think people want The

26:11

the psychics to come through with some solid answers

26:13

and I totally get it but I think that

26:15

this is just the reality of family-centric crime is

26:17

like most of us are super open to it

26:20

we've tried and just Having

26:22

gotten the answers that we were seeking if you

26:25

could have one question answered 100%

26:28

truthfully based on all current available

26:30

evidence. Who would you ask and

26:32

what would you ask of them? This

26:34

is probably up there

26:37

in my top favorite questions because

26:39

I know the answer and I

26:41

want to ask Mara Where

26:44

was she going? If

26:46

I could get that answer You know,

26:48

you don't I can't tell you how many

26:51

nights I've just sat there staring at the

26:53

ceiling thinking What the

26:55

heck Mara? Why were you doing

26:57

that? Why were you in, New Hampshire? What

26:59

was your plan? Where were you going? so

27:02

I Want

27:04

that question answered. Yeah, I think that would

27:06

give us all the answers. Absolutely All

27:11

right. Last theories question. Do you

27:14

think Maura is still alive and in

27:16

Canada? No

27:20

All Right,

27:22

let's move on to the media impact because

27:24

of course, that's what media pressure is all

27:26

about That's why the podcast is named media

27:28

pressure It was designed to feature cases as

27:31

told by those who know them best who know

27:33

the victim or survivor at the center of the

27:35

story And discuss the media pressure

27:38

one way or the other right? They either have

27:40

had extreme media pressure like in your case

27:42

or they're in need of media pressure because

27:45

these things Dramatically change

27:47

the way that cases go in my

27:49

opinion and as we know media

27:51

pressure can move mountains And I think we've

27:53

seen that we'll get to Tips

27:56

being generated from the podcast, but we have to

27:58

go one question at a time time. So

28:01

let's get into the media impact. Maura

28:03

has one of the largest dedicated group

28:06

of followers. What are the highs and

28:08

lows of this and how do you

28:10

navigate such attention? So it's,

28:13

it's a balancing act, right? On

28:16

the one hand, we are

28:18

screaming for that media attention

28:20

so that Maura's not forgotten

28:22

about, but on the other hand, you

28:26

get a scrutiny from people online and people

28:28

become obsessed and they want to

28:32

just tear apart anything

28:35

that you say and try to catch you in something when you

28:42

know, once you hear the podcast, it's very

28:44

evident that my family is just trying

28:46

our best to find Maura and to have

28:50

every little thing that we

28:52

say come under a microscope

28:54

is, hurtful, some of it an

28:57

unfair, but it, it

28:59

comes with the territory because we're going

29:02

to have to expect some of that if

29:05

we put ourselves out online

29:07

and if we continue to advocate for our missing loved

29:12

ones and it's just

29:16

the price that you have to pay. And

29:19

I guess, you know, it's just hurtful.

29:22

Some of, some of the things that have been said.

29:25

Yeah, absolutely. And you guys are so

29:27

open. You know what

29:29

I mean? It just, it surprises me

29:31

knowing your family now. It's just, it's

29:35

so sad, but I do think that the podcast

29:37

is changing things and we'll get into that, which

29:39

is so exciting. The next question,

29:41

which I think is a great question and kind

29:43

of kind of hard to answer. If there was only one

29:46

thing you could clear up about Maura's case, what

29:48

would it be? Well, there's been

29:50

a lot said over the years, but

29:53

I think probably the most

29:55

egregious, hurtful thing that's been

29:57

said is that Maura was.

29:59

is running away from her

30:01

family. And

30:03

if you listen to the podcast,

30:05

you can see how ridiculous that

30:08

statement is. And it's

30:10

just so hurtful because that's so

30:12

far from the truth. And I

30:16

could go on and on about all the things

30:19

that have been said, but I think that one is

30:21

the most hurtful. Yeah.

30:24

I mean, I understand that you

30:26

guys had these really high expectations, or

30:29

I should say, your dad had these

30:31

really high expectations for you guys in

30:33

terms of sports and trying your best

30:35

and being upstanding citizens. But it's so

30:37

clear that he was so supportive of

30:40

you guys, and especially Maura, you know,

30:42

after all she was going through for

30:44

her to crash the car and him be like, no problem,

30:47

we're gonna figure it out as long as you're safe. Like,

30:50

that is such a kind,

30:52

wonderful response to what happened,

30:54

that I'm right there with you. I try

30:56

not to theorize on cases, but

30:58

I don't see why she would run from you guys, especially

31:00

when your dad was so willing to

31:03

do everything in his power to help her

31:05

clear these problems for her. So

31:08

I just wanted to throw that in there. Yeah.

31:11

And I think that's another aspect of

31:13

the podcast that's really illuminating for some

31:15

people because it is

31:17

like inviting the public

31:20

into our living

31:22

room. And you get

31:24

a glimpse of our family dynamics,

31:26

and there's always banter, and we

31:28

disagree on a lot of things,

31:31

but we're real. We're real people, we're

31:33

humans. And like I said in the

31:36

podcast, we're not these monsters or characters

31:38

that people have painted us out to

31:40

be online. And listening

31:43

to the conversations between my brothers

31:45

and my dad, you can see

31:48

that. That's evident. Yeah, a

31:50

thousand percent. And from somebody on the outside looking

31:52

in, I mean, I know that we've been friends

31:54

for quite some time now, but going

31:56

to that 20-year anniversary, I will

31:59

say selfishly. that there were points during that

32:01

that I was like, wow, I

32:03

wish this was my family. I

32:06

wish I had what Maura had for

32:08

my sister, Alyssa, and I was jealous and I

32:11

was envious and it made me

32:13

really, really sad at certain points. Of course,

32:15

that was all bundled with being happy for

32:17

you and happy to be there and happy

32:19

to meet everybody. It's just this calamity of

32:21

feelings. But overall, I was like, wow, this

32:23

family cares. And if every family operated

32:26

like this in true crime, I think

32:28

that these cases would be forever positively

32:30

impacted. So for whatever that's worth, I

32:33

just wanted to let you know that. I've never told you

32:35

that before. Oh, well, thank

32:37

you. I appreciate that. And

32:39

don't get me wrong. Within

32:42

my family, we disagree on a lot of

32:44

things. We definitely disagree. I

32:46

mean, I disagree with

32:49

some of the things my dad wants to

32:51

do or approaches, but at

32:53

the end of the day, we're all there

32:55

for one reason and that is Mara.

32:57

And so we disagree, we have a

33:00

little argument and then we move on

33:02

because we can't dwell in our disagreement.

33:04

And who cares about

33:06

being right or wrong? It's

33:09

just, we need to find

33:11

Mara still. And so having

33:13

that strong family bond

33:16

and that dynamic is helpful

33:18

too, because I've been able

33:20

to persuade my dad out

33:23

of certain approaches. And

33:25

I've also been able to listen to

33:27

why he wants to

33:30

go about something or pursue a

33:33

certain lean a certain way. And

33:36

it strengthens us as a

33:38

team. And we can't all

33:40

just be, yes, dad, yes, dad.

33:44

I hardly ever say yes, dad, that's a

33:46

good idea. So obviously from

33:49

the podcast, you can hear that I

33:51

love my dad and so did Mara.

33:54

And so does everybody else in my family. But

33:56

that doesn't mean that we always have to agree

33:58

and we don't. So

34:01

the next question is something that I

34:03

grabbed from the deep pits of the

34:05

internet because I kept seeing this come

34:07

up again and again and again because

34:10

I have absolutely monitored conversations about the

34:12

podcast about the case because I am

34:14

just forever interested in one knowing the

34:17

public's reaction to families in true crime

34:19

and specifically this podcast because I'm extremely

34:22

invested in it. But one

34:24

of the things that I kept seeing come up

34:26

again and again and again that I thought we

34:28

should just address head on because I know how

34:30

you feel about this is

34:32

that this accusation that you

34:35

and other members of your family are

34:37

just sugarcoating who Mora was that you're

34:39

not able to see her flaws that

34:41

you can't understand how deeply troubled she

34:44

was. So I just wanted to

34:46

talk about that. Like how do you feel

34:48

about that? Because I feel that you were

34:50

extremely fair in the podcast. But of course

34:52

I'm the executive producer and I'm a little

34:54

biased. How do you feel about that? I

34:57

thought it was very important to talk

35:00

about some of her mistakes. I

35:03

tried not to sugarcoat it. I'm

35:06

her sister. Of course I'm

35:08

a little biased. That

35:10

comes with being her sister. But

35:14

I'm not going to tell you that Mora

35:16

was perfect and she made mistakes and

35:18

she had flaws and I wanted to

35:20

highlight some of those to kind of

35:23

get people to be able to understand

35:25

her more and relate to

35:27

her. I can't tell you

35:29

how many messages I got saying I

35:32

struggled with the same thing. I

35:34

also went through a difficult time where I

35:36

just needed to get away and I

35:38

drove somewhere and I didn't tell anyone.

35:41

Or I also had an eating disorder.

35:44

Or I also knew what it

35:46

felt like to be in a competitive nursing program.

35:49

Just like those, it just

35:52

overwhelmed me because that is kind

35:54

of what I talked about in

35:56

episode 8 was empathy.

36:00

hearing other people be able to relate

36:02

to this person who they otherwise saw

36:04

as a character, now being

36:06

able to relate to her as a fellow

36:08

human being who made mistakes

36:10

and had flaws, I think

36:12

that was powerful. I didn't want to

36:14

sugarcoat her at all.

36:17

And I tried to just

36:19

put it out there and be

36:22

vulnerable and talk about some of

36:24

these things that are, you know,

36:26

some of them are her, were her

36:28

private struggles, but in order to fully

36:30

understand Mara as a human being, it

36:32

was important for me to talk

36:35

about those things. And I did. Yeah, I

36:37

thought you addressed them pretty head on. And

36:40

I think that that's what makes this

36:42

podcast so special, right, is that it's

36:44

finally for the first time ever from

36:46

you and your family's perspective. If

36:48

you want to go hear what somebody

36:50

else thinks from somebody who never met

36:53

Mara, go listen to any other production

36:55

about her. That's not what this podcast

36:57

is about. And you and I talked

36:59

about that really early on, right? That

37:01

basically the entire concept is the case

37:03

from your point of view as

37:05

you experienced it and all the repercussions

37:08

that come with that. So

37:10

we are not saying that this podcast, that

37:12

this season about Mara or any future season

37:14

of this podcast is going to be completely

37:17

unbiased. That's not the point. You've

37:19

heard these stories from absolutely everyone else.

37:21

Now it's time to hear it from

37:23

people who know it best, who lived

37:25

it. So that's the entire point of

37:27

the podcast. And I think that

37:29

you did a good job addressing really both

37:32

sides of that, because of course it's your

37:34

sister. You see things so differently. And I

37:38

don't know, it just, it drives me a little

37:40

crazy. So I really wanted to just

37:42

address it head on, because I think people are almost

37:45

thinking that you're avoiding that question when I

37:47

see it as you addressing it head on. Yeah,

37:50

and it gives credibility to the

37:53

podcast and to the story

37:55

for me not to highlight

37:57

some of those mistakes and

37:59

some. of those struggles wouldn't

38:02

be telling the full story.

38:04

And so I think

38:06

people, the majority of people see

38:08

that. And that's why

38:10

I got all of those messages. Yeah,

38:12

those messages are the best. It's one of

38:14

the best parts of this whole process. And

38:17

so I have a few questions I'm inserting

38:19

here because I wanted to talk to you

38:21

about it. So one of the

38:23

reasons that I wanted to feature Maura's case in

38:25

this podcast really first too is specifically

38:28

because of all the hate that you guys

38:31

have gotten. I mean, it breaks my heart

38:33

and I've seen it unfold over years now.

38:36

And so thinking of just what

38:39

are powerful stories to tell in true crime

38:41

about the impact of media pressure, positive and

38:43

negative on these cases, you were the first

38:45

one that came to mind. And

38:47

I wanted to ask too, because

38:49

the podcast has been so extremely well received.

38:52

I think more than we expected to be

38:54

totally honest, I think we were both a

38:56

little afraid, but it was so well received.

38:58

And I want to ask one, how does

39:01

that make you feel? Because I

39:03

have seen you change so much in

39:05

this process, at least I think so. I think

39:07

that you've changed. I think that you've blossomed

39:10

because I know that you were

39:12

scared to put this out. So these are a

39:14

lot of questions piled together, but like, how does

39:16

it make you feel that it was so extremely

39:19

well received? You know, with you

39:21

being scared in the beginning, has that changed?

39:23

Are you still scared? And how does it

39:25

feel to finally just get all this out?

39:28

I mean, it feels amazing

39:30

to have that support because like

39:33

you, when you first approached

39:35

me, I was like, are you sure you

39:37

want to cover Mara? Like, are you sure

39:39

Mara should be the first season because you

39:42

know, you know, as well as I

39:45

what happens whenever somebody

39:47

talks about Mara. And

39:50

so I was I

39:52

was scared. I I knew that

39:56

there are people out there that want me and

39:58

you to fail. Yeah. Absolutely.

40:00

They want us to fail. They don't want us

40:02

to Not so

40:04

much not have a voice but they

40:07

don't want us to be

40:09

validated and that's kind

40:11

of crazy to me because all I'm

40:13

doing all I set out to do

40:15

was to talk about my experience and

40:18

to talk about this this sister

40:20

that I knew and I

40:23

didn't know how people would receive it I

40:26

you know, I thought that there would be

40:28

negative comments for all kinds of reasons and

40:30

not the typical Negative comments

40:32

that you're gonna get for any podcast or

40:34

you know Your monotone

40:36

or your boring or your voice is

40:39

horrible, you know I knew I'd get

40:41

some of that but I don't care

40:43

about that I was more concerned about

40:46

how was the content gonna be received

40:49

and to have that reception it

40:51

just made me so proud and Since

40:54

we launched it I've

40:57

just kind of every day taken a

40:59

big breath of air

41:02

and just let it out and I

41:04

feel so relieved like I

41:06

did it we did it and now

41:08

it's out and That's

41:11

kind of the wave that I've been riding

41:13

for the past eight weeks is just like

41:15

wow It's finally out there

41:17

because of course I worked on it

41:20

for a long time and there was that anticipation

41:22

that built up and me

41:25

nitpicking myself like crazy

41:27

and even when I listened back to

41:29

some of the Episodes I'm like, oh

41:32

I screwed up here there there, but

41:34

nobody cares about that and I'm the

41:36

only one that cares So that was

41:38

a concern for me, you know, I

41:40

wanted it to be really really well

41:42

done really well written So

41:45

that it was something that I could be proud

41:47

of and my family to be proud of and

41:49

what I can say Now

41:52

is that we accomplished that we're

41:54

proud of this product that we

41:56

put out. Yeah, that makes me so happy I'm

41:58

like, I'm on the verge here's right now

42:00

because it's like all I ever wanted for

42:03

you and your family is to have your

42:05

own space carved out here and a

42:07

space full of love and people supporting

42:09

you and not being awful to you.

42:12

Yeah. And one thing I'll add

42:14

is if it isn't glaringly

42:17

obvious, I am an

42:19

introvert. I don't like to

42:22

do all these interviews and podcasts and

42:24

all of the stuff that I've had

42:26

to come out of my comfort zone

42:28

to do because I am

42:30

a private person. I'm introverted. I get really

42:33

anxious and stressed out.

42:35

I mean, nervous to talk to you. Before this, I

42:38

was nervous to talk to you and

42:40

I'm like, it's Sarah. But it's just

42:42

because I put a lot of

42:44

responsibility on myself because I want

42:47

and knew that if Mara was going to

42:49

be the first season, not only

42:51

did I have a responsibility to do right

42:53

by Mara, I also had

42:55

a responsibility to make sure

42:58

the first season of media pressure

43:00

was set up for success so

43:02

that other victims and families could

43:05

have the space and the comfort level

43:07

to tell their stories and

43:09

not be afraid and not look at

43:11

what Julie did or what the Murray's

43:14

did and how much they

43:16

got attacked for whatever they said. And

43:18

so that's why the writing

43:22

and the scripting, I spent hours

43:24

and hours toiling over

43:26

each word to make sure it

43:28

was right. And I made so

43:30

many changes throughout the process, but

43:32

that was that double responsibility that

43:34

I felt. Yeah. I

43:37

mean, I'm like, I'm going to cry. I knew it was going

43:39

to happen. It's

43:42

just, I'm so happy for you,

43:44

to be totally honest. That's all I ever wanted for

43:46

you guys was to be able to stop getting

43:49

the hate 24 seven and having

43:51

everything nitpicked apart. And I think

43:53

that you just telling this story

43:55

has really quelled people down, but

43:58

that's how I see it. So

44:00

I wanted to ask you, do you think that

44:02

you finally coming out and saying this and your

44:04

dad and your brothers being involved? Do

44:06

you think that it's kind of calmed people down a

44:09

little? Absolutely. Absolutely. I

44:11

mean i'm i'm seeing it i'm

44:13

seeing people make

44:15

comments saying That

44:17

they think that part of their

44:20

engagement online and on social media

44:22

has been negative because they did

44:24

see My family as

44:27

these characters and they

44:29

finally realize They're we're just regular

44:31

humans like you trying to do the best that

44:33

we can in a tragic situation and

44:37

a lot of the trolling

44:39

and just Harassment

44:42

has really really eased up

44:45

And i'm hoping it's not just

44:48

this window of time. I hope

44:50

that continues going

44:52

forward, but it's It

44:55

has given my family some peace I

44:58

love that. I love that so much Now

45:02

I put it under this media impact section This

45:05

next question because it was it's a popular question

45:08

that's coming up a lot Julie

45:10

people want to know are you ever

45:12

going to write a book about mora?

45:14

I have seriously

45:17

considered it Stay

45:20

tuned Okay, we're gonna stay

45:22

tuned we are gonna stay tuned And

45:27

now we will move on to our resolution

45:30

Section so people want

45:32

to know could you file a civil suit against

45:34

the new hampshire pd? That's

45:37

a good question. I mean potentially I

45:39

guess we could of course I talk

45:41

about the court case in

45:43

the podcast episode seven So

45:45

that is an avenue that we

45:47

we pursued in the past but

45:50

right now People

45:52

need to remember that mara is still missing

45:55

And so there's still leads coming

45:57

in. There's still an investigation that

46:00

needs to be done and carried

46:02

out. And so that's our main

46:04

focus. And the other part to

46:06

that is my relationship

46:09

with the new law

46:11

enforcement team has improved

46:13

significantly and we're sharing

46:15

information, they're returning

46:18

my calls and emails, I mean

46:20

small little things like that. So

46:22

I'd rather work side by side.

46:25

I'd rather work collaboratively than go

46:28

after them and have them spend

46:30

time not focusing on

46:32

the 130 plus unsolved

46:34

cases in the state of New Hampshire.

46:37

So it's kind of my mindset right now with that.

46:39

Yeah, things are good. You just want to keep going

46:41

how it is. That makes total sense to me. We

46:44

had a question about what is the status

46:46

of the blood found in the A-frame house

46:49

closet? Another good question.

46:51

The samples that were taken

46:53

from the A-frame closet were

46:55

too degraded to

46:57

pull any DNA off of

46:59

and there was multiple different

47:01

groups that have gone into

47:04

the A-frame because the owners

47:06

were gracious enough to let us go

47:08

in. And at

47:10

one point some wood paneling got

47:13

taken from the inside downstairs

47:15

closet under the stairwell and

47:18

that wood paneling is what was

47:20

tested in the oxygen series that was

47:22

put out in 2016-17. And

47:26

they actually show it in the

47:28

lab where they were able to identify

47:30

it as positive for human blood but

47:33

it was too degraded to link to

47:35

one individual. But they did say it

47:38

was blood from a male and

47:40

a female which I

47:43

mean it just

47:46

makes my head spin that there's blood in

47:48

this closet but that's kind of where we

47:50

are with that. Yeah,

47:53

yeah. It's so many possibilities.

47:56

Now we did get a lot of questions about the

47:58

20-year vigil and how that was because that The

48:00

20-year vigil happened while the

48:02

podcast was coming out, which was insane. Of

48:05

course, I already talked about how I went,

48:07

but how did you think the 20-year vigil

48:09

went after going to every other vigil and

48:11

planning all those other vigils? Well, I thought

48:14

it was just absolutely beautiful from

48:16

the setup to the people that

48:18

were there in that room. Everything

48:21

went smoothly to see all

48:24

those different people just... I

48:27

loved to see the interaction between

48:30

the people that attended because some

48:32

of them had never met the

48:34

other people that they communicate with online

48:36

and have done so for years. To

48:39

see people interact and just

48:41

to feel the love in

48:44

that room was something

48:46

that I will never, ever forget. Yeah.

48:50

It's fantastic. I've been to a lot of vigils for a

48:52

lot of families, and the turnout was the

48:54

biggest I've ever seen. It's

48:56

just incredible, the support

48:58

that surrounds you guys. Yeah. I

49:01

do have to do a shout out to

49:03

Light The Way, who are amazing

49:06

advocates. They helped me every

49:08

step of the way to plan that

49:10

vigil and make sure everything

49:12

was just perfect. Then

49:14

Curtis' partner, Sarah, she stepped up

49:16

in a big way and served

49:18

as emcee when I was freaking

49:22

out or being anxious about something.

49:27

That was awesome. Everybody

49:29

else, there's too many to thank, but

49:32

the people that showed up and the

49:34

people that helped, it was

49:36

just an amazing event. I

49:38

was so happy that my dad was

49:41

able to feel that love because he is 81

49:43

now. I

49:45

never want him to think that

49:47

people have forgotten about Mara and

49:51

don't care. For him

49:53

to be in that room and feel that was

49:56

so, so powerful. He

49:59

and I discussed it. The afterwards and

50:01

I got the sense that

50:03

he left the vigil feeling.

50:06

Like this is the most support that

50:08

we've ever had. Well. Yeah.

50:11

And so to have that vigil

50:13

just go so smoothly. There was

50:15

no issues with the neighbors. there

50:17

is no issues with anybody going

50:19

on private property. It was just.

50:22

It. Was just for Mora and. I'm

50:26

just. I'm just overwhelmed. I'm about to

50:28

cry because Emily's have a talk about

50:31

my dad. I cry because I love

50:33

him that months since about money. And

50:35

that's clear from the feedback on the

50:37

podcast. Everyone loves her dad. So understandable.

50:40

They are in Mara did to Mara.

50:42

Love them in yeah so is It

50:44

was is an amazing than I can

50:47

go on and on and on about

50:49

it but. The the

50:51

launch of the podcast leading right

50:53

into the vigil and then all

50:56

the news media just gave my

50:58

family does this feeling of we

51:00

are supported. And. That

51:03

is so that the so impactful is

51:05

what I'm from his and. Yeah,

51:07

really a shout out to all the creators

51:09

of Covered More as case and were kind

51:11

enough to promote is so I think that

51:14

that's really cool. I was really excited to

51:16

see just how many creators wanted to support

51:18

us. Support me like that's what it's all

51:20

about. See that know who you are Shoutout

51:22

You guys have seen them post about media

51:24

pressure it's assuming thing when we can come

51:26

together as a true crime community to support

51:28

these cases and kind of teach that personal

51:30

stake out of it a little bit. like

51:32

you know, I know I have an episode

51:34

and more. Ah, here's a new show from

51:36

her sister. I'm. Going to promote it.

51:38

So I just love that! I think

51:40

that there were so much love in

51:43

this launch in so many unexpected promotion

51:45

so that we were so excited about

51:47

also be billboard and Time square. When.

51:50

You told me that there is a possibility

51:52

we could get a billboard a time square.

51:54

I was a. says says there's

51:57

no way how could that happen

51:59

and and I remember you

52:01

text me and you're like, it's happening

52:04

tomorrow. I was just like, what? How?

52:07

Surprise. Yeah, that was awesome.

52:09

Yeah, that was really cool. I

52:12

wanted that more so than even just

52:14

the promotion of the podcast, which of course

52:16

obviously we have to promote the podcast. I

52:18

wanted that for you and your family. The

52:21

whole world is seeing more right now. She's literally in

52:23

Times Square in New York. I

52:25

just wanted you guys to have that, to have

52:27

the picture in the video and just, I'm so

52:29

glad that that made you happy. Because

52:32

I feel like it's so hard.

52:34

All of us families are out there kind of

52:36

competing in this space, trying to make our loved

52:39

one the loudest. And it's an

52:41

exhausting, almost impossible race. So

52:44

I'm so glad that made you happy. Oh yeah. Oh

52:48

yeah. Getting back into questions.

52:51

So of course everybody wants

52:53

to know, where does the case

52:55

stand today? Well, the case is

52:57

still with the New Hampshire state

52:59

police and they're

53:01

treating it as a suspicious

53:03

missing person case. So that's

53:06

the classification. And I

53:08

reconfirmed that this past November, 2023,

53:12

when I met with the chief of the

53:14

cold case and the assistant attorney general in

53:16

New Hampshire. So that's where

53:18

it is. Mara was entered

53:21

into the FBI's BiCAB

53:23

program a couple of years ago. And

53:26

that's, that goes right along

53:28

with it being a suspicious missing person

53:30

case because not all missing people get

53:33

entered into BiCAB. So

53:35

that's another resource that

53:38

law enforcement is using as well

53:40

as on the 20th anniversary or

53:42

the 20th vigil, there

53:44

was an age progress photo released of

53:46

her. So it was just another tool.

53:48

It's more of a protocol at

53:51

this point. They did the

53:53

same thing for Brianna Maitland recently

53:55

on her 20th vigil. So,

53:57

I Feel good about where...? Or

54:00

the investigation is going. And I

54:02

so like I said before, I

54:04

feel good about my relationship with

54:07

one for Smith. Af Corse

54:09

and I think one of the most exciting

54:11

questions because I already know the answer to

54:13

add is have you gotten any new lead

54:15

Since the podcast came out. Oh.

54:18

Yes, Oh yes, we have

54:20

gotten so many. We.

54:22

Have a P I onboard

54:24

and he is overwhelmed. With

54:27

weeds and tips and so if

54:30

you're listening and you know something,

54:32

keep on coming. We can never

54:34

get enough. It only takes one.

54:37

To may be break this case

54:39

open so. That. Was another

54:42

reason for doing the podcast

54:44

is to generate a new

54:46

interest in a twenty year

54:48

old case. and it's certainly

54:50

certainly doing that. Yeah, I

54:52

mean I think some of the conversation as

54:54

all mine was, you know what more could

54:57

be said about More is T sir. What

54:59

could creating another podcast about More A possibly

55:01

do? And it's like this? This right here.

55:03

This is why we don't stop talking about

55:06

our people because these tips continued to come

55:08

in so it's late for me. That aside

55:10

from you know everything that your family's gone

55:12

through, you know this is the beauty of

55:15

it. To his retelling the story so many

55:17

times and so many different ways that you

55:19

get. New leads? Yep, exactly

55:22

Media pressure. Media. Pressure

55:24

Move Mountains and on to say it for

55:26

marketing accident Long before Ssh ever knew I

55:28

was going turn into a podcast. I.

55:30

Think another great question that people are asking

55:33

what can people do to help and especially

55:35

if they're local, What can they do to

55:37

help? This. Is probably the most

55:39

ask questions that I get.

55:41

one of the most ask

55:43

questions and the answer seems

55:45

a little underwhelming, but. I

55:48

tell people keep talking about

55:50

the cases. Keep talking about. Mara.

55:53

because we need that awareness

55:55

we need herds him be

55:58

in the public consciousness If

56:00

there is a perpetrator, we need them

56:02

to know that we are not stopping.

56:05

And by continually talking

56:08

about her, that is so, so

56:10

valuable. And it's easy to

56:12

do. And I think people are like, that's it,

56:14

I want to do more. But

56:16

that's huge. And you can

56:18

attest to that. Yeah. And

56:21

your advocacy for all of these cases. Oh, a

56:23

thousand percent. I mean, and I

56:25

get it. Sharing feels so uneventful and

56:27

so boring when it comes to a missing person case.

56:29

Like I understand, like people want to be boots on

56:31

the ground. They want to go out there helping. They

56:33

want to even like fold t-shirts for a vigil, right?

56:36

They want to be hands on. But

56:38

sharing is so, so impactful.

56:41

Because even major news outlets, they're going to pick up

56:43

these cases that are the most shared that everybody's talking

56:45

about. They want to pick up on what's trending because

56:47

they know that it's going to get clicks and shares.

56:50

So that's the value in sharing and

56:53

getting it trending and getting people talking about it

56:55

is every single case that has

56:57

blown up in the media started with a

56:59

single share. And I know that's kind of

57:01

like crazy to think about, right? If you

57:03

look at even your sister's

57:05

case, right? Gabby Petito, any case that

57:07

has become larger than life in the

57:09

media started with one share. And

57:11

you can be a part of that. And you know, and I

57:13

think that that is insanely impactful

57:16

and such a low lift that every

57:18

single person listening to a podcast can

57:20

do for every single case. I

57:22

couldn't agree more. I

57:25

feel like I talk about all the time, like I could sit here

57:27

and preach about sharing all day. Of

57:29

course, you know, people want to know, do you

57:32

think Mora will be found? Yes,

57:34

I do. And I

57:37

have to, because the minute

57:41

you lose hope, you

57:44

go into a dark place.

57:46

And I also owe

57:49

that to Mora. I cannot

57:52

just stop. I cannot continue

57:54

to advocate

57:57

for not only her, but for others. Because

58:01

we need to find her, we will find her, and

58:05

we're not gonna quit. Yeah. Do

58:08

you ever feel like what you've done for

58:10

Mora is kind of a form of active

58:12

grieving? That's how I felt with creating my

58:14

sister's podcast, was like, I

58:17

am so frustrated that there's nothing I can do about

58:19

it, that I'm gonna do something because it puts me

58:21

at peace. And for me, after all these years, I

58:24

don't, this could be a real term out there, but I

58:26

just kind of coined it active grieving. Just

58:28

doing something always made me feel a lot

58:30

better than just sitting there and being sad

58:32

about it. Yeah, I love that term. And

58:35

it is true. It's hard

58:37

for people to understand if they haven't been in

58:39

our shoes. But sometimes

58:42

when you're not

58:44

doing anything, you get this feeling of

58:47

guilt. And I think you and I

58:49

actually talked about that before, where you

58:52

constantly are thinking, okay, I need to be

58:54

doing more. I need to be doing something.

58:56

What can I do? I just can't sit

58:58

here. I just can't wait for

59:00

my phone to ring from law enforcement. I

59:03

need to be active in

59:06

trying to find answers. And that

59:08

motivates you. And it motivates other people

59:10

too. And it does,

59:12

in a way, kind

59:15

of help with the grieving

59:17

process because you're not sitting

59:19

there feeling sorry for yourself. Doing,

59:22

the act of doing

59:25

is really helpful. And

59:27

it has been for me in terms

59:29

of grieving Mars loss. Yeah, I

59:32

think of course, like both of us respect,

59:34

however, anybody wants to grieve in any way.

59:36

And I think we can both certainly understand

59:38

that this path is not for everybody. It's

59:41

extremely difficult. It's

59:43

weird, right? Because it's almost traumatizing and therapeutic at

59:45

the same time when you go through it, at

59:47

least that's how I felt. So

59:49

we are not, I think, shaming anybody for

59:52

how they handled their person's case. But I

59:54

know I think for both of us,

59:56

going through this extremely difficult process has been

59:59

healing. weird way that I certainly didn't

1:00:01

expect when I set out to make a podcast

1:00:03

about my sister. Yeah. And that's a great point.

1:00:05

I mean, look at just my own

1:00:07

family. There's my two

1:00:10

brothers who have not been as public and

1:00:13

that's their choice. And just

1:00:15

having them come on the podcast has

1:00:19

been therapeutic for them because they were

1:00:21

able to, you know,

1:00:23

tell their story. And do they

1:00:25

want to be on social media posting all

1:00:28

the time every day? No, but they don't

1:00:30

have to because there's usually, not always,

1:00:33

but there's usually someone that's better suited for

1:00:35

that. And I just happen to be that

1:00:37

person within my family and it

1:00:39

just works. It works well for us. Yeah.

1:00:42

Yeah. Usually I see families all the

1:00:44

time pick one person as a family

1:00:46

advocate or a media advocate, if you

1:00:48

will. So absolutely. Now, another

1:00:50

really popular question is people want to

1:00:52

know that after Maura is

1:00:54

found, because we are thinking positively,

1:00:57

we are manifesting that Maura will be

1:00:59

found. Will you continue to advocate

1:01:01

for other families? Absolutely. 100%.

1:01:04

And I still try to

1:01:06

balance as much as I

1:01:08

can an active investigation, social

1:01:11

media, my dealings

1:01:13

with law enforcement and

1:01:16

my job. I still try to do all

1:01:18

that, but I think it's part

1:01:21

of going through something like this is

1:01:23

finding meaning in

1:01:25

purpose. And I think obviously

1:01:28

I have 20 years of experience

1:01:31

and there are other families going through

1:01:33

the same thing that I have gone

1:01:35

through. And so I'm so happy when

1:01:37

I get messages from other family members,

1:01:40

you know, asking things like how to deal with

1:01:42

media or how do I know who to trust

1:01:44

and things like that. That

1:01:46

brings me so much joy. I know

1:01:48

it sounds cheesy, but it's so true.

1:01:51

I don't think it's cheesy

1:01:53

at all. Obviously. I love that.

1:01:55

And along that same vein, really

1:01:57

people want to know like what's next for

1:01:59

you. You've done the podcast, you

1:02:01

know, you've dove into the case now you

1:02:03

are not just an interviewee in

1:02:05

true crime You have created your own content.

1:02:07

So what's next for you? Yeah. Well,

1:02:10

I'm gonna continue Tracking

1:02:13

down all the leads and tips and

1:02:15

continue to actively try to find

1:02:17

Mara Continue to help

1:02:20

other families and victims in any

1:02:22

way that I can Continue

1:02:25

to shine a light on

1:02:27

the need for empathy and true crime I

1:02:31

think the response from episode

1:02:33

8 was very eye-opening Because

1:02:36

I just assumed you know, I'm I'm

1:02:38

in this bubble and I just assumed

1:02:40

everyone knew that you know Everyone

1:02:42

knew about the lack of empathy but

1:02:44

people did not and in telling

1:02:47

the story It was really

1:02:49

eye-opening for some people and so that

1:02:51

motivated me to want to do more Because

1:02:55

there's more people that Can

1:02:57

be reached and I want to get that

1:02:59

message out to as many people as I

1:03:01

can because it's so so important for true

1:03:03

crime to have Empathy

1:03:06

in there and and we just we're not

1:03:08

there yet. We're definitely Trending

1:03:10

in that direction and so

1:03:12

I want to continue to promote that I

1:03:16

also have a couple of exciting projects

1:03:18

coming up in the future excited

1:03:21

to work on those and and

1:03:24

that goes back to Actively

1:03:27

grieving, you know after the end

1:03:29

of media pressure after it was

1:03:31

all wrapped up and All

1:03:34

the editing was done and everything. It was

1:03:36

like, okay, what next and it's

1:03:38

like, okay I need to do something else

1:03:40

So, of course, I've picked up other projects

1:03:43

and so that is what I will be

1:03:45

doing and I can't wait to

1:03:47

share That with the world. I

1:03:49

can't wait either I'm like,

1:03:52

I have no chill. I'm like, I can't wait. I'm

1:03:54

so I'm like legitimately so excited Shifting

1:04:00

gears, right? I mean, we're still in the

1:04:02

same vein here, but oh, and we're

1:04:04

gonna get into this because this is one of the

1:04:06

most emotional parts of the vigil for me. I was

1:04:09

bawling my eyes out. But people

1:04:11

want to know what's something you want to say

1:04:14

to Maura if you knew that she could hear

1:04:16

you right now. Well, I said

1:04:18

it in the last episode and

1:04:21

it's simple. I love you and

1:04:23

I'm not giving up and I'm

1:04:25

going to continue to work

1:04:27

towards finding you until I

1:04:31

don't have any breath. And

1:04:34

so that's what I'm going to do. And everyone

1:04:36

in my family feels the same way. We're all in

1:04:40

line with that as our motivation

1:04:42

and our guide. But

1:04:44

like you said, you know, I, I was

1:04:47

asked, I never thought

1:04:49

about addressing

1:04:51

Maura directly in 20 years.

1:04:54

And it terrified me, absolutely

1:04:57

terrified me because it's

1:04:59

scary. It's scary. You know, I've

1:05:02

had many silent conversations with Maura,

1:05:05

like thousands. But to

1:05:07

put it on paper

1:05:09

and to think about what I

1:05:11

would say, that terrified me probably

1:05:13

more so than doing the podcast.

1:05:16

So I'm

1:05:18

glad and I'm happy that it was

1:05:21

actually like the way that suggested I

1:05:23

do that and encouraged me. And so

1:05:26

that's what I did.

1:05:28

Yeah, we love light the way and I can tell

1:05:30

that it's still like so emotional for you, which is

1:05:33

why I wanted to ask you about it, right? I

1:05:35

was like, I went to the

1:05:37

vigil and you read this letter to Maura

1:05:40

and I was shaking,

1:05:42

crying, like it was the most impactful thing

1:05:44

I think I've ever heard you say. And

1:05:47

maybe that's just because I'm a big old softie and it's

1:05:49

all emotional for me. But to hear you read

1:05:52

this letter to her and address her

1:05:54

directly was just so emotional for me

1:05:56

that I knew that if

1:05:58

you were comfortable with it first, so that I wanted to

1:06:00

share it with the listener because I was like if they

1:06:02

feel a fraction of how I feel right now I just

1:06:06

I want them to hear it and not only humanize

1:06:08

more on all this but humanize you

1:06:11

after so many years of just Ups

1:06:14

and downs in the media and your family

1:06:16

being treated awfully at times I just wanted

1:06:18

people to hear it and I am so

1:06:20

so Gracious and

1:06:22

thankful that you agreed to that

1:06:24

so for some people that might be

1:06:26

confused right now That's what we want

1:06:29

to play for you. Is this audio

1:06:31

of Julie reading this letter directly to

1:06:33

Maura? Maza

1:06:37

today is February 9th 2024

1:06:40

on this day

1:06:42

20 years ago you disappeared We

1:06:45

still don't know how or why but

1:06:47

we have never stopped looking for you

1:06:51

I'm reading this letter to you publicly to

1:06:53

a ton of people who have grown to

1:06:55

love and support you Some

1:06:58

I've never even met Most

1:07:00

you have never met You'd

1:07:03

be amazed at how your smile has

1:07:05

united such a wide array of people

1:07:07

from all over the world You

1:07:10

would love them Some

1:07:12

started entire groups dedicated to finding

1:07:15

you others organized searches for you

1:07:17

multiple times a year every

1:07:20

year Some advocate

1:07:22

for you tirelessly online and in

1:07:24

the media others offer

1:07:26

us a sounding board to voice our

1:07:28

frustrations It truly

1:07:31

is an amazing diverse group all

1:07:33

relentless in finding you On

1:07:36

a personal level I broke up

1:07:38

with that guy. I told you about you

1:07:41

would have supported that decision I'm sure I got

1:07:44

out of the army and opened a

1:07:46

gym bought a house had a miscarriage

1:07:48

And spent a whole lot of my

1:07:50

time on this thing called social media

1:07:53

It's wild and I don't

1:07:55

think he would like it. I Still

1:07:58

hike and camp, but it's not that the same

1:08:00

without you. Nothing is

1:08:02

the same. No one gets

1:08:04

me quite like you did. My

1:08:06

quirks and sense of humor, dumb

1:08:09

jokes that you were always quick to point out.

1:08:12

No one gives me as much smack as you

1:08:14

did either. I miss

1:08:16

that. Probably the most. Both

1:08:20

mom and Kathleen passed away from cancer

1:08:22

way too young. Mom on

1:08:24

your birthday. She was on life

1:08:26

support for longer than the doctors anticipated.

1:08:28

I know

1:08:30

in my heart she was holding off until

1:08:32

May 4th. She never stopped

1:08:34

thinking about you. Kathleen

1:08:37

passed on Thanksgiving Day. Before

1:08:40

she passed, we looked at old photos

1:08:42

of you together. One of my

1:08:44

biggest regrets is not taking more photos.

1:08:47

Because 20 years later, that's all we

1:08:49

have. And you know as

1:08:51

well as I, mom and dad's camera skills

1:08:53

were terrible. So most of them

1:08:56

are blurry or off center. Curtis,

1:08:59

Sarah and Freddie are doing well. You

1:09:01

never met Sarah, but I know you'd love her.

1:09:04

This past Christmas, we listened to old songs

1:09:06

from one of your playlists. I

1:09:09

have to admit, and we all agree,

1:09:11

you had impeccable taste. Dad's

1:09:14

entire life has been dedicated to finding

1:09:16

you. We talk about you

1:09:18

every single day. He's

1:09:20

still stubborn as hell and pretends not

1:09:22

to know where the seatbelt is and

1:09:25

tells the exact same stories you've heard 8,000

1:09:28

times. I wish you were

1:09:30

here to help me give him the business like we used

1:09:32

to do. Recently

1:09:34

I hosted a podcast telling your

1:09:36

story. It was really difficult,

1:09:38

but we got through it. I

1:09:41

hope we did you proud. In

1:09:44

closing, I have so many questions

1:09:46

for you and so much to tell

1:09:48

you. But the most important

1:09:51

message I want to convey is that we

1:09:53

love you and miss you something terrible. We

1:09:56

will never stop fighting for you. Never.

1:10:01

My hope is that you, Mom, Kathleen, and

1:10:03

Nana are smiling down on us. For

1:10:07

one day we shall see each other again, perhaps

1:10:10

in a different universe.

1:10:15

Until then, you can count on

1:10:17

me. I promise

1:10:19

you that. If

1:10:25

you have any information regarding the

1:10:28

disappearance of my sister, Mara Murray,

1:10:30

please contact the New Hampshire State

1:10:32

Police Cold Case Unit at 603-223-3648

1:10:34

or visit maramurramissing.org. Special

1:10:41

thanks to my friend Sarah Turney, whose

1:10:44

trust and guidance made this project

1:10:46

possible. Media pressure is

1:10:48

a Voices for Justice Media Original

1:10:51

and is executive produced by Sarah

1:10:53

Turney. This series includes

1:10:56

original music from my brother, Curtis

1:10:58

Murray, as well as Blue Dot Sessions.

1:11:01

I'm your host, Julie Murray. For

1:11:04

more information about media pressure,

1:11:06

visit mediapressure.com. For

1:11:09

more information about my sister, Mara's

1:11:11

case, visit maramurramissing.org.