Every day we hear the stories of another anniversary in a longstanding cold case.

One more year gone, another 365 days passed without answers for the surviving family members or the community they called home.

But in the fall of 2020, the story about one of Maine's unsolved was different.

Headlines announced that after 36 years, Maine State Police arrested their suspect in the unsolved 1984 murder of Dorothea dot Burke in Stockton Springs, Maine.

In early 2022, Kurt Damon Sr. entered his plea and a Waldo County Superior Court judge convicted him of manslaughter.

Nearly four decades is a long time to wait for justice. In the case of

Dot Burke, time proved to be exactly what detectives needed to secure that

justice because time is what brought key witnesses forward

to tell their story. You might think DNA is the answer to closing out these

cold cases.

But more often than not, it's all about getting people talking.

A 36 year-long investigation into Dot's death,

and I've got it all right here. I'm Kylie Lowe and in

collaboration with the main state police unsolved homicide unit and with the

consent of the immediate family of Dorothea dot Burke, this is her story on

Dark Down East. The first thing I did when I received my self-addressed overnight envelope back in the mail from

Waldo County Superior Court has grab a highlighter, a pencil, and a cup of coffee.

It's not often a 30-plus-year-old cold case is brought to closure,

and I knew that this document would help me understand in greater detail

just what goes into investigating and solving a

murder that happened decades in the past. Main State Police Detective Jay Pelletier

filed the affidavit of probable cause with the court in Police Detective

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