Episode 66: The Fall River Cult Murders
The 1970s and 1980s in America were plagued with a fast-spreading panic that captured the minds of everyone and brought fear into small towns. Satanism seemed to suddenly blow up in the rumor mills, and all over there were stories of alleged cults and human sacrifice. People began to fear the worst- were they next?
Unfortunately for Fall River, Massachusetts, the townspeople would have their fears elevate to the highest level when the death of a teenage girl and two young women rocked the town. Between the end of 1979 and 1980, the town was horrified to hear that these three young ladies were killed, and it was probably due to a cult. Probably.
17-year-old Doreen Levesque and 19-year-old Barbara Raposa were both found sexually assaulted and murdered, with their hands bound behind their backs and their heads caved in from being smashed with rocks. Two young women came forward and pointed a finger at Carl Drew, a local pimp and self-proclaimed leader of a satanic cult. Referring to him as Satan himself, one of the whistleblowers began to fear for her life, because she was so sure she would be sacrificed. And she was right, in a way.
In February of 1980, 20-year-old Karen Marsden was reported missing, and two months later, fragments of her skull, a clump of her hair, and some jewelry she owned was discovered in the nearby Freetown State Forest. Eventually, Karen’s lover admitted to her extremely brutal and violent murder, claiming she was helped by Carl Drew and some others in a satanic ritual, where they sacrificed Karen. In the end, this aforementioned lover came forward and confessed she made up the entirety of the story, and that satanic rituals had no part in her murder.
Image Sources:
bostonherald.com - “‘Fall River’” doc sheds new light on notorious prostitute murders
fallriverreporter.com - “Bristol County Cold Case Prequel: Fall River cult murders set for Nov. 5 on Fall River Reporter”