The Tape Room Podcast

Woman in a Box: The Brushingham Murder

Manhattan, 1990. It was different back then. Crime was more prevalent. There were more than 2,000 people killed in NYC that year. Much of it related to the crack epidemic. Still, the box at the corner of west end avenue in the Upper West side didn't seem out of place. The crate was well constructed. The dimensions and even the sanding showed top notch craftsmanship. After a day or so neighbors started to wonder though. A sanitation crew tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. Finally they opened it. Inside, they found the body of  Marcia Brushingham. It turns out her killer is someone she knew very well.

The Tape Room speaks with Thomas Hyland, former NYPD Homicide Detective and current John Jay College professor.

13. Remembering Sarah Fox: extended interview

From our first podcast episode;Sarah Fox, 21, vanished after going out for a run in upper Manhattan in May of 2004. A few days later her body was found inside Inwood Hill Park. Her murder has never been solved and some investigators describe this case as one the City's most unusual crimes in recent history. In this episode Dan Bowens talks with a friend of Sarah Fox who wishes to remain anonymous because the killer has yet to be found. This is the extended phone interview. A portion of this interview was used for TV special which will soon be available on our youtube page www.youtube.com/fox5ny

Wrongfully Convicted?

In 1985 a senior citizen was killed inside his home in New Milford, Connecticut. It was a brutal crime that shocked this suburb.Two men eventually convicted of murder have maintained their innocence for 30 years. Now the Connecticut State Supreme Court is taking a second look at the case. There are serious questions about decades old testimony from a world famous criminologist.

11: Tape Room Extra: The Ralph"Ricky"Birch Interview

It happened in December way back in 1985.  A 65 year old man named Everett Carr murdered. A burglary gone wrong police said. Police zeroed in on two local teenagers Sean Henning and Ricky Birch who were eventually convicted of the murder. The testimony from Forensic Expert, Henry Lee, helping to put them away.  But did they do it?  Ricky Birch incarcerated at the Osborn Correctional Institution sent a letter to Dan Bowens at Fox 5\. Here is a portion of our interview with Ricky Birch.

10: The Unidentified

Thousands of men and women have passed away without anyone being able to identify them. They are known now only as John and Jane Doe in the national cold case database of unidentified person. Dan Bowens talks with Rebekah Turner creator of [theunidentified.org](https://www.theunidentified.org/) a website dedicated to cold cases to identify those who have passed by accident or by the hand of another.

9: Mt. Vernon's Jane Doe

She was someone’s daughter, sister, friend. Whoever she was… … she wasn’t supposed to be here. If you have any information regarding this case:  Mount Vernon Police Dept  Detective Chris DiMase / 914-668-6841  Or Anyone with a cell phone may send an anonymous tip to us by texting MVPD and their message/tip to 847411 (tip411) 

8: Sneakerhead Part II: The Death Of Jamal"Mally"Gaines

Jamal Gaines was killed defending his dream. Jamal had a love for sneakers and he turned that passion into his own store. His shop in Rahway, NJ had some of the rarest and most popular sneakers on the market and people came from all over the world to have a look. Two years after his death, the case remains unsolved. In this episode ( Sneaker head Part Two ) Dan Bowens speaks with friends and family about the night Jamal"Mally"Gaines lost his life.

7: Sneakerhead Part I : The Life of Jamal 'Mally' Gaines

He was a young entrepreneur living his dream. Jamal Gaines had a love for sneakers and he turned that passion into his own store. His shop in Rahway, NJ had some of the rarest and most popular sneakers on the market and people came from all over the world to have a look. Then one night... it was all gone. He was killed defending his store. His dream. Two years after his death, the case remains unsolved.

6: Murder In The Bronx

In February of 1985, Steve Mason and his half brother Charles Taylor left their Bronx apartment for a short walk to school. Hours later their bodies were discovered in a dark stairwell of their apartment building. They were only six and eight years old. Three decades later the killing remains unsolved and one of the most disturbing for an NYPD detective who worked the case.

5: Karina's Law

It was a brutal killing.Karina Vetrano was raped and murdered after she went out for a jog in the summer of 2016.Police didn't solve the crime, that came to be known as the case of the Howard Beach jogger, for months. During that time her father, Phil, became a leading advocate for a new crime fighting tool known as familial DNA testing. In a candid interview about his daughter's death he tells the Tape Room why he thinks the new method will help other families who know his pain.