Content warning. This episode deals with the sexual assault and murder of a seven-year-old girl.

Please proceed with caution and take care of yourself.

Welcome back to True Crime Cases. I'm your host, Lainey. A few tragedies can shake a community to its core, quite like the

murder of a child. It's a nightmare scenario nobody anticipates in their neighborhood,

town, or even their state.

Despite the rarity of such events, the death of a child has become increasingly prevalent,

with a current rate of 29.5 deaths per 100,000 children, an alarming surge since 2008.

According to the CDC, the leading causes of death among children aged 1 through 19 in 2021 were incidents involving firearms, car

accidents, overdoses, and cancer.

Shockingly, approximately 20% of child deaths resulted from firearm-related incidents,

with a staggering 65% of these classified as homicides,

while the remaining 35% were categorized as accidental deaths or suicides.

Furthermore, 13% of total homicides were committed through methods so uncommon that they did not register in statistical analysis.

However, the case we delve into today occurred half a century ago in an era when the safety

of children was far less assured.

In 1979, the mortality rate stood at a chilling 58.9 deaths per 100,000 children.

It was in 1973, during this precarious period that Joan to Alessandro failed to return home becoming yet another tragic statistic.

Yet her mother refuses to let mere numbers to find Joan.

With each passing year, her short life gained significance.

Our heartfelt gratitude extends to Lauren of the True Crime BFF podcast, who brought this case to our attention and

facilitated our connection with Rosemary de Alessandro, Joan's mother.

We highly recommend listening to True Crime BFF's comprehensive two-part series, which will

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