One ordinary day during August of 1983 in a quiet patch of parkland just off the road in Pentecook, New Hampshire, a teenager found something that did not belong.

What followed rippled through the small community for years.

Interviews, rumors, and timelines never quite fit together.

Voices clashed over what was seen, what was said, and what couldn't be proved at all.

This is a story about how quickly attention can settle on one person and how hard it can be to find the truth once it does.

I'm Kylie Lowe and this is the case of Bernard Egonus on Dark Down East. It was August 13, 1983, when a young man named Melvin was taking a casual stroll through a park in

Pentecook, New Hampshire, overlooking the Contacook River. The low hum of the nearby hydroelectric site blended with the

steady rush of water over the dam. It was a familiar soundtrack in this small mill town,

but beneath a park bench, just 20 feet from the road, Melvin noticed something unfamiliar

that didn't belong in the park at all. A man lay face down on the ground, wearing nothing but his underwear.

There was blood pooled beneath his body.

Melvin froze, whatever he'd found, he wanted no part of it.

Instead of calling police himself, Melvin waved down his friend Paul and asked him to handle it.

When Paul returned with

Concord Police to the scene, they found the man lying near the corner of East and Bridge

Streets, very close to the Boscoen town line. The spot was quiet and shaded, tucked into a small

grove of trees, a place locals might pass every day without a second glance.

That's when Paul realized he knew the guy.

He babysat for Paul when he was a kid and painted their family's fence once.

The victim was 53-year-old Bernard Agonis.

What began as an ordinary Saturday morning was suddenly the start of a case that would

haunt the community for years to come. Bernard was a familiar face around Pentecook and the

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