Harry Kirby, Part One: The Killer Amongst Them

Murder, She Told

Kristen Seavey

True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2022

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

1925 - Winthrop, Maine. By the time firefighters made it to the blaze on Lake Maranacook in Winthrop, ME, the fire had consumed the once beautiful Hayward cottage. Nearby, 60-year-old Emma Townes crawled on the forest bed, escaping the home; she was in bad shape, but she was alive. Neighbors were horrified to learn that Emma hadn't just escaped the flames; she was shot by a mystery man who tried to kill her before setting the cottage on fire—and when he left, he had taken her niece, Aida Hayward with him. The news that there was a killer on the loose and a beloved young woman to rescue spread like wildfire, and launched one of the biggest searches in Maine state history. Everyone in town stopped to pitch in and help in the search for Aida, hoping she would turn up safe... everyone, including the killer himself. This is part one of the Harry Kirby Story, and the tragedy in Winthrop. Detailed sources can be found on murdershetold.com Connect on Instagram @murdershetoldpodcast Support the show here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Murder She Told, true crime stories from Maine, New England and small town USA.
0:19.1	I'm Kristen Ceevy.
0:21.1	You can connect with me at murdersheetold.com or on Instagram at MurderSheToldPodcast.
0:30.0	Outside of the cottage, a chorus of spring peepers counted the passing seconds in their
0:39.4	rhythmic chant in the rushes of Lake Marana Cook, as Emma Towns lay dying on the couch
0:45.2	in her living room.
0:46.8	Emma could hear their piercing cadence as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
0:51.4	She figured it had been two or three hours since she last saw her killer, and she looked
0:55.7	down at the upholstery and saw the life slowly spilling out of her.
1:00.2	She had been shot twice.
1:02.0	One bullet struck her in the face and lodged itself in her neck near the spine, and another
1:06.8	struck her in the right arm.
1:08.6	The arm she raised to shield herself from the revolver.
1:12.0	It had all happened so quickly.
1:14.1	She was deep in the woods of Maine near the town of Winthrop, and her cottage was purged
1:18.7	just off a train line that ran from Winthrop to Augusta up the eastern side of Lake Marana
1:24.2	Cook.
1:25.2	There was no road that went to her summer cottage.
1:28.0	Access was either by train or by water, and at this hour, 2.30 a.m., there were no
1:34.3	trains nor boats passing by.
1:37.8	Hope was draining out of her when she heard a noise at the window.
1:41.6	She prayed that it was someone to help her, but she dared not make a noise.
	...

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