Since the moment her death was discovered, in April of 1993, the family of Valerie

Fiorenza has doubted that she got a fair and thorough investigation.

Her boyfriend was a cop.

Their relationship was tumultuous, and Valerie had even made claims of abuse in court.

But when her body was found in that boyfriend's basement, investigators decided that the

circumstances could only point to one conclusion, and it wasn't murder. So what really happened

here? Despite the official ruling, that question still

lingers. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is the case of Valerie Fiorenza on Dark Down East. This episode contains discussion of suicide.

Please listen with care.

If you need someone to talk to, call or text 988.

Free, confidential, and judgment-free support is available.

Thank you. Free, confidential, and judgment-free support is available. It was around 10.15 p.m. on April 15, 1993, when Massachusetts State Police were called to 28 Fairchild Avenue in the town of Saugus, where local authorities were already on the scene.

According to a state police

incident report completed by Trooper Norman C. Zuck, Saga's police had responded to the residents

that night after they received a concerned phone call. The caller reported that he hadn't been

able to reach his ex-wife, 30-year-old Valerie Fiorenza, for almost two days.

Though they were divorced, Valerie and her ex-husband, Larry Cassidy, had stayed friends,

and Larry even described their relationship as best friends. So it was Larry who got a phone

call from Valerie's manager at work when she didn't show up for her shift on the 14th.

Larry tried paging Valerie all day but never got a call back, so he stopped by her boyfriend's house

where she was living to check in. Valerie's dog was outside barking in the backyard, a car

was parked in the driveway, and Larry could hear

...