Cold and Missing: Christine Cole

100:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.200:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.300:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.400:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560Listener discretion is advised.500:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.600:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.700:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,560And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.800:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,280Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.900:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,480I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.1000:00:40,480 --> 00:00:45,880And I'm so sorry, I just need to have an apology right at the top here.1100:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,680There was no new episode last week, which I was not happy about.1200:00:50,680 --> 00:00:55,680I was having technical difficulties with the new Apple updates.1300:00:55,680 --> 00:01:02,320But then later in the week when I wanted to get the episode out, I truly was just having1400:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,640a really rough mental health week.1500:01:04,640 --> 00:01:12,440My anxiety was through the roof and I was having like daily panic attacks.1600:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,000If you're somebody who struggles with anxiety, maybe you can relate.1700:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,880And I'm just so sorry I couldn't get the episode out.1800:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,280I had a really difficult time concentrating.1900:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,560But, you know, I have a lot of good things in place.2000:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,720I have a very supportive family.2100:01:27,720 --> 00:01:29,760I have a wonderful therapist.2200:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,240I do have medication that I take for it.2300:01:32,240 --> 00:01:37,160So I was able to reach into my tool bag and take care of myself.2400:01:37,160 --> 00:01:42,960But unfortunately, that took up most of my mental space and just taking care of myself2500:01:42,960 --> 00:01:48,120and taking care of my husband, who is also grieving his mother.2600:01:48,120 --> 00:01:52,360So I just needed to take last week off.2700:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,000And I am so thankful that you're back, that you're here.2800:01:56,000 --> 00:02:01,000I hope you can give me the grace and understanding that it just happens sometimes.2900:02:01,000 --> 00:02:08,560But I intend to be here and to keep putting out new episodes every week, just as often3000:02:08,560 --> 00:02:09,560as I can.3100:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,440So thank you for sticking around.3200:02:11,440 --> 00:02:16,040Thank you for downloading again, even though last week was an unexpected break.3300:02:16,040 --> 00:02:17,240I appreciate you being here.3400:02:17,240 --> 00:02:18,560I really do.3500:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,940So with that, I think we should just get into the case.3600:02:22,940 --> 00:02:25,920So today we are covering a cold case.3700:02:25,920 --> 00:02:31,180And just as a content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person.3800:02:31,180 --> 00:02:35,080And there will be some brief mentions of sexual assault throughout the podcast.3900:02:35,080 --> 00:02:38,320So please take care of yourself.4000:02:38,320 --> 00:02:43,200But today we are talking about the cold case of Christine Cole.4100:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,840And this takes place in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.4200:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,200In January of 1988.4300:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,560But first, a little bit about Christine.4400:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,880Christine is 10 years old in 1988.4500:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,480She was a third grader at Baldwin Elementary School.4600:02:59,480 --> 00:03:04,520She lived with her mother, her mother's boyfriend, and three half siblings.4700:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,040Her three younger siblings were all under the age of four.4800:03:08,040 --> 00:03:15,000So Christine was the oldest by a lot and also left to her own devices most days.4900:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,360Christine was known to roam the neighborhood and her house wasn't too far from a strip5000:03:19,360 --> 00:03:20,980of businesses.5100:03:20,980 --> 00:03:25,040Even after the streetlights came on and more seedy characters started to take over the5200:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,600street, Christine would still walk around.5300:03:27,600 --> 00:03:32,440The owner of the little general store, Marie Mayer, said, quote, Christine would always5400:03:32,440 --> 00:03:37,360come in no matter how cold, no matter if it was pouring rain out at night.5500:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,600Sometimes we'd ask someone in the store to take a few extra minutes to walk her home.5600:03:41,600 --> 00:03:46,600End quote, her mother, Margaret, believed the neighborhood was safe and would often5700:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,360send Christine to the store to grab groceries or diapers.5800:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,980But she would, quote, always come home.5900:03:52,980 --> 00:03:55,440So they never worried about it.6000:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,520And unfortunately, that leads us into the timeline of events.6100:03:59,520 --> 00:04:07,160So on Wednesday, January 6th, 1988, at around 5 p.m., Margaret, Christine's mother, sends6200:04:07,160 --> 00:04:12,700Christine out of the house with $10 in food stamps to go get clams from Red Seafood, which6300:04:12,700 --> 00:04:14,400was near their house.6400:04:14,400 --> 00:04:19,840It was about five blocks from their home on West Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.6500:04:19,840 --> 00:04:23,280Christine gets to Red Seafood and gets the clams.6600:04:23,280 --> 00:04:27,760But instead of heading home, she goes to a friend's house on Wilmarth Court.6700:04:27,760 --> 00:04:33,120Her friend's house is only about a block from her home, so it is on her way home.6800:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,800She stays there until about 6.30 that evening.6900:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,520According to Captain Carl Benson with the Pawtucket Police, quote, she told her friend's7000:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,740mother that she was walking home.7100:04:43,740 --> 00:04:48,320But once Christine got out of the house, she walked in the opposite direction away from7200:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,280her home, according to her friend's mother.7300:04:51,280 --> 00:04:52,280End quote.7400:04:52,280 --> 00:04:56,800Christine ends up back into the business district near her home.7500:04:56,800 --> 00:05:03,600So Christine ends up heading to the market and gets there around 7 o'clock in the evening.7600:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,880Once there, Christine buys 10 gumballs and a quart of milk.7700:05:07,880 --> 00:05:13,240Nellie Siriva was working the register that evening and saw Christine come in.7800:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,600It was a cold night and she noticed that Christine didn't have any gloves on.7900:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,520Nellie looked in the lost and found, but there was only one mitten in there.8000:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,960She said, quote, it's so sad.8100:05:23,960 --> 00:05:28,440I wanted to help the little girl because I see the hand so cold.8200:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,080The mitten was all I had, so I put it on her.8300:05:31,080 --> 00:05:32,080End quote.8400:05:32,080 --> 00:05:36,180Nellie gives Christine the blue mitten to wear on her walk home.8500:05:36,180 --> 00:05:39,680At this point, Christine is about 10 blocks from her home.8600:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,120This was the last positive sighting of Christine.8700:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,080Captain Carl Benson says, quote, that was the last positive sighting of her.8800:05:47,080 --> 00:05:52,520Although a manager of a star market on Barton Street reported two girls coming into a store8900:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,680and having to be escorted out at 10 because they were acting up.9000:05:56,680 --> 00:05:57,680End quote.9100:05:57,680 --> 00:06:03,240The manager of star market tentatively ID'd one of the girls as Christine, but he couldn't9200:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,280be positive that it was her.9300:06:05,280 --> 00:06:10,880So truly the last sighting comes from that market where she gets the mitten.9400:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,160Back at Christine's home, when she hadn't returned with the clams that she was tasked9500:06:15,160 --> 00:06:20,680with getting, Margaret calls the police to report Christine missing at 8.44 p.m. that9600:06:20,680 --> 00:06:21,680evening.9700:06:21,680 --> 00:06:28,760It's unclear what, if any, action is taken that first evening in the search for Christine.9800:06:28,760 --> 00:06:33,400But by the next day, Thursday, January 7th, police begin to look for Christine and they9900:06:33,400 --> 00:06:38,280go door to door around the neighborhood and store to store along the businesses that she10000:06:38,280 --> 00:06:39,700visited.10100:06:39,700 --> 00:06:44,440During their search, police do find the mitten that Christine was given by Nellie just outside10200:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,800of the store in front of the garage.10300:06:46,800 --> 00:06:52,040From Saturday, January 9th, 1988, so Christine has been missing for three days at this point,10400:06:52,040 --> 00:06:57,760the community had come together and donated $12,000 for information leading to Christine's10500:06:57,760 --> 00:06:59,120safe return.10600:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,720Police continue to go door to door to canvas the area.10700:07:02,720 --> 00:07:07,880Captain Carl Benson says, quote, A major concern is how she'll do in this weather.10800:07:07,880 --> 00:07:12,200Wednesday night it was a very cold night here and today we're getting snow.10900:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,880Wherever she is, we hope she was able to get inside somewhere, end quote.11000:07:16,880 --> 00:07:22,400So if it's not obvious from that quote, police are not overly concerned at this point.11100:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,960They believe that Christine is a runaway.11200:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,480She had run away in the past, but it had been nearly three years since the last time she11300:07:29,480 --> 00:07:30,480had done that.11400:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,740And she was always found very quickly near her home.11500:07:34,740 --> 00:07:39,440Police had hopes that since the news was covering Christine's disappearance, that some tips11600:07:39,440 --> 00:07:44,440and leads would develop, but nobody had really called in and they still didn't have a clue11700:07:44,440 --> 00:07:46,800as to what happened to Christine.11800:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,680On Sunday, January 10th, Christine has been missing for four days.11900:07:50,680 --> 00:07:55,920Lieutenant Norman Maru of the Pawtucket Police says, quote, Nothing turned up overnight and12000:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,920we went out trying to get interviews with people near where she was last seen alive12100:07:59,920 --> 00:08:03,900to see if and when they might have seen her, end quote.12200:08:03,900 --> 00:08:08,440Police are focusing heavily on the area where Christine was last positively ID'd, where12300:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,320she got that blue mitten.12400:08:10,320 --> 00:08:14,720Police spent the weekend looking for Christine through cellars, vacant buildings, and empty12500:08:14,720 --> 00:08:20,120railroad cars, truly thinking that she had run away and was just hiding out.12600:08:20,120 --> 00:08:25,880With no sign of Christine over that weekend, by Monday, January 11th, so just five days12700:08:25,880 --> 00:08:30,000she's been missing, police do believe that Christine is dead at this point.12800:08:30,000 --> 00:08:35,400Again, Lieutenant Norman Maru says, quote, We believe she crawled into an abandoned car,12900:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,360shed, garage, or dumpster Wednesday night.13000:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,200Fell asleep and died before morning.13100:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,440We don't suspect foul play.13200:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,880We don't think she could have survived the night, end quote.13300:08:46,880 --> 00:08:53,280So during that time of year in 1988, it's very cold in Rhode Island and the temperatures13400:08:53,280 --> 00:08:58,080dipped below zero degrees Fahrenheit the night that Christine disappeared.13500:08:58,080 --> 00:09:03,960Christine's family, however, are not buying this runaway she's died from exposure.13600:09:03,960 --> 00:09:08,280They believe that she has been abducted and that she could still be alive.13700:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,820Margaret pleads with the kidnappers through the local media saying, quote, Whoever has13800:09:12,820 --> 00:09:15,040my daughter, please just let her go.13900:09:15,040 --> 00:09:18,280I just hope she's not being hurt, end quote.14000:09:18,280 --> 00:09:22,920Even though the police do believe that Christine has died from exposure at this point, they14100:09:22,920 --> 00:09:25,960continue to search for the missing 10 year old.14200:09:25,960 --> 00:09:32,080By January 14th, so Christine has been missing for over a week and police have come out publicly14300:09:32,080 --> 00:09:36,200and say that, you know, they believe that she ran away and died from exposure.14400:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,680However, the FBI is now involved in Christine's case.14500:09:40,680 --> 00:09:45,840Why exactly they got involved is not clear in the reports that I found.14600:09:45,840 --> 00:09:52,280But both the police and the FBI asked the girl who was in the supermarket at 10 p.m.14700:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,140to please come forward.14800:09:54,140 --> 00:10:00,000So if you remember, this was kind of the tentative idea of Christine and she was with another14900:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,000girl.15000:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,720So police FBI are asking this girl to come forward and they hope that she might be able15100:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,080to shed some light on what happened to Christine.15200:10:09,080 --> 00:10:14,860About a week passes and on January 21st, the weather had warmed up a little bit enough15300:10:14,860 --> 00:10:16,120to make the snow melt.15400:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,920It was still very cold in January in Rhode Island.15500:10:19,920 --> 00:10:25,720But with the melting snow, police were able to coordinate a large volunteer search.15600:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,020But still from the search, there's no sign of Christine.15700:10:29,020 --> 00:10:34,440And police basically say that at this point, it's a wait and see game just three weeks15800:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,680after she disappeared.15900:10:36,680 --> 00:10:41,120On Sunday, February 28th, 1988.16000:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,580So it's been 53 days since Christine disappeared.16100:10:44,580 --> 00:10:49,840At around 8 a.m., a man was walking on the Cumnacut beach when he found the fully clothed16200:10:49,840 --> 00:10:51,640body of a young girl.16300:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,840According to the man, the body was on the riverbanks.16400:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,840She was found near a little cove near a boat ramp.16500:10:57,840 --> 00:11:04,040The body is fully clothed, but her shoes and underwear are missing and there is blood on16600:11:04,040 --> 00:11:05,560her pants.16700:11:05,560 --> 00:11:09,100The blood is on the inside of her pants.16800:11:09,100 --> 00:11:14,640And police noticed that her pants had been put back on her, but kind of in a weird way.16900:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,260Like it's described as a half hazardous way.17000:11:17,260 --> 00:11:21,300So there's something askew about how her pants are on her.17100:11:21,300 --> 00:11:27,440The blood on her pants, ultimately, is not a match for Christine.17200:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,220Police are not able to ID the girl right away.17300:11:30,220 --> 00:11:35,260But her clothing is a match for what Christine was last seen wearing, so police call Margaret17400:11:35,260 --> 00:11:39,160to try and confirm the clothing is Christine's.17500:11:39,160 --> 00:11:44,680When Margaret leaves the police station, she's reported as in tears and she does confirm17600:11:44,680 --> 00:11:47,440that those clothes are Christine's.17700:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,820She says, quote, I don't know what happened or who did this, but I hope they find the17800:11:51,820 --> 00:11:53,960person who did this to my daughter.17900:11:53,960 --> 00:11:59,040I think somebody else was involved in her death because my daughter being in the water,18000:11:59,040 --> 00:12:00,640someone had to get her that way.18100:12:00,640 --> 00:12:04,880They must have picked her up, did whatever they did and threw her in the water.18200:12:04,880 --> 00:12:05,960End quote.18300:12:05,960 --> 00:12:11,000So the next day, Monday, February 29th, police at this point are still waiting for autopsy18400:12:11,000 --> 00:12:16,400results to determine if a crime had even taken place and if they should treat the case as18500:12:16,400 --> 00:12:18,060a homicide.18600:12:18,060 --> 00:12:22,440Police do mentioned that through the course of their investigation, they have polygraphed18700:12:22,440 --> 00:12:29,920several people, including Margaret, Christine's mother in this case, and all have passed.18800:12:29,920 --> 00:12:35,240On March 1st, just two days after the body was found, the autopsy is complete.18900:12:35,240 --> 00:12:40,360The medical examiner rules that Christine died by asphyxiation, but the body was in19000:12:40,360 --> 00:12:46,120the water too long to determine if that happened in the water or before she was put in the19100:12:46,120 --> 00:12:47,120water.19200:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,800Now I found two different reports here and I have to believe that she was in the water19300:12:51,800 --> 00:12:53,400for a long time.19400:12:53,400 --> 00:12:58,440But there was a newspaper report saying that police believe that she had been in the water19500:12:58,440 --> 00:13:05,240for two hours, which after 53 days of being missing, only being in the water for two hours19600:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,520is highly, highly suspicious, right?19700:13:08,520 --> 00:13:13,400But I think the newspaper might have been alluding to the fact that after her body was19800:13:13,400 --> 00:13:18,200found, it was about two hours before she was removed from the beach.19900:13:18,200 --> 00:13:24,200So I think that might be the two hours she's referring to there, but police are never able20000:13:24,200 --> 00:13:28,480to determine how long Christine is in the water for.20100:13:28,480 --> 00:13:35,440But they do mention that because she had been in the water for however long she was, that20200:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,940they were unable to determine a lot about her death because of that.20300:13:39,940 --> 00:13:44,960So that's why I tend to lean towards that she was in the water for a long time.20400:13:44,960 --> 00:13:49,400Either way, the medical examiner doesn't immediately rule this as a homicide.20500:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,040She rules it as a suspicious death.20600:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,240Police tell media that they are determined to figure out how Christine got in the water20700:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,120because that would solve everything, right?20800:13:59,120 --> 00:14:04,000But it will take months before police start to call her case a homicide.20900:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,360And it's never really clear what that shift is.21000:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,320I think it's, you know, some of this evidence that I've already mentioned about how she21100:14:11,320 --> 00:14:16,120was found that shifts them, but I still think that there is more that we don't know that21200:14:16,120 --> 00:14:21,080shifts them to believe firmly that it is a homicide and not a case of Christine running21300:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,400away and accidentally drowning and ending up in this river.21400:14:25,400 --> 00:14:31,840The first suspect in this case comes to police attention in May of 1988, so that's about21500:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,360five months since Christine had vanished.21600:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,840But the way he gets on police radar is odd.21700:14:38,840 --> 00:14:46,440The man, Richard Graves, in May of 1988, he was out on bail awaiting trial for sexual21800:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,760assault against a child.21900:14:48,760 --> 00:14:53,720While out on bail, another child came forward saying that the same thing had happened to22000:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,980them so additional charges were filed against Graves.22100:14:57,980 --> 00:15:03,280When police go to take him into custody and charge him with these additional charges,22200:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,360he's staying in a motel.22300:15:05,360 --> 00:15:10,760And in the motel room, they found several newspaper clippings related to Christine's22400:15:10,760 --> 00:15:11,760disappearance.22500:15:11,760 --> 00:15:17,360They also found a slip of paper with the telephone number of St. Anne's Cemetery, and this is22600:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,200where Christine is laid to rest at.22700:15:20,200 --> 00:15:27,220On the piece of paper, he had the words, quote, place flowers, regular or otherwise, end quote.22800:15:27,220 --> 00:15:34,120So that's why he gets on police radar, according to Christine, and also in his room, he has22900:15:34,120 --> 00:15:40,840stuffed animals, games, greeting cards for children, books about children.23000:15:40,840 --> 00:15:45,320So just really a nightmare of a motel room.23100:15:45,320 --> 00:15:49,460Police never publicly rule him out, but he's never really mentioned again in regards to23200:15:49,460 --> 00:15:50,560Christine's case.23300:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,140So I don't know if they were able to rule him out completely as a suspect or if he kind23400:15:54,140 --> 00:15:58,480of remains in the pool of people of interest.23500:15:58,480 --> 00:16:04,600Over the years, Christine's case will be brought up in other cold cases from Rhode Island.23600:16:04,600 --> 00:16:10,920And also, as we've seen before, and as I've mentioned before, in other cases, the Pawtucket23700:16:10,920 --> 00:16:19,120police do create a cold case deck of cards to put into the Rhode Island correctional23800:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,800facilities to try to, you know, generate a jailhouse informant and to keep these cases23900:16:23,800 --> 00:16:24,860alive.24000:16:24,860 --> 00:16:30,440So behind the scenes, the cold case unit in Pawtucket is working on this case, but we24100:16:30,440 --> 00:16:35,560don't really hear anything about the case again until 2019.24200:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,840So that's 31 years after Christine was murdered.24300:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,520Police announced that they've made an arrest in Christine's case.24400:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,720This comes as a surprise to everyone.24500:16:45,720 --> 00:16:51,520And unfortunately, this also comes as a surprise to the state's attorney's office.24600:16:51,520 --> 00:16:57,660Usually in murder cases, you know, this prosecutor and the police work pretty closely together24700:16:57,660 --> 00:17:03,800to make sure that they have a solid case before charges are officially brought against a suspect.24800:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,160You know, from the state's perspective, they want to make sure they have a really rock24900:17:07,160 --> 00:17:12,760solid case because if the suspect decides to go to trial, which is everyone's right25000:17:12,760 --> 00:17:18,600in America to have a trial, then they have to make sure that they have a very strong25100:17:18,600 --> 00:17:22,920case beyond a reasonable doubt to put this person in jail for murder because you only25200:17:22,920 --> 00:17:24,100get one shot at it.25300:17:24,100 --> 00:17:26,720You can't bring charges again later.25400:17:26,720 --> 00:17:31,240If you find more evidence later or technology advances, you get the one shot.25500:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,660So you have to make it count.25600:17:33,660 --> 00:17:39,440So the state prosecutor's office is really floored that these charges have come out and25700:17:39,440 --> 00:17:44,000they get the case that police have been working on and start to review it.25800:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,800And to them, it's not a slam dunk.25900:17:46,800 --> 00:17:51,680So this is the evidence that has come up for this case since then.26000:17:51,680 --> 00:17:56,120So they have a suspect and I'm not going to name his name here and I'll get into that26100:17:56,120 --> 00:18:01,080a little bit more as to why in a minute, but we'll just call him the suspect.26200:18:01,080 --> 00:18:07,860So the suspect in 1988 lived above the market that Christine was last positively ID'd at,26300:18:07,860 --> 00:18:09,680the one where she got the blue mitten.26400:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,700He lived above the market in an apartment.26500:18:12,700 --> 00:18:17,980The blood that was found on the inside of Christine's jeans, police were able to get26600:18:17,980 --> 00:18:27,840DNA tested and they were able to find a match, but it's not a positive match.26700:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,060It's a partial match.26800:18:29,060 --> 00:18:32,600So it doesn't exactly pinpoint to the suspect.26900:18:32,600 --> 00:18:37,260In fact, it pointed to somebody else altogether, but the person that it was pointing to wasn't27000:18:37,260 --> 00:18:39,120alive in 1988.27100:18:39,120 --> 00:18:45,760So because of the type of DNA profile they were able to develop, they looked at that27200:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,240person's father.27300:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,820But the DNA doesn't eliminate anybody in the family.27400:18:51,820 --> 00:18:57,800So it could be a father, a grandfather, an uncle, cousins.27500:18:57,800 --> 00:19:03,160Basically any guy in the family is a suspect in this because of the partial DNA match.27600:19:03,160 --> 00:19:07,160It's not enough to rule anybody is exclusively the DNA.27700:19:07,160 --> 00:19:13,400But because this man lived above the market and this kind of partial DNA match, the police27800:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,760arrested him for Christine Cole's murder.27900:19:16,760 --> 00:19:23,200Ultimately about 10 months after the arrest, the state drops the charges against him.28000:19:23,200 --> 00:19:27,800So they decide the case is not strong enough, so they drop it, but they do it in a way so28100:19:27,800 --> 00:19:32,840that way in the future, if they get more evidence against this person, they can bring the charges28200:19:32,840 --> 00:19:34,200again.28300:19:34,200 --> 00:19:41,420But the suspect is now suing the Pawtucket police and just this past week, it has been28400:19:41,420 --> 00:19:43,000cleared to go to trial.28500:19:43,000 --> 00:19:48,020So that's personally why I am not naming him here just because he is going to trial to28600:19:48,020 --> 00:19:49,680clear his name in this case.28700:19:49,680 --> 00:19:56,160So if you Google Christine Cole, you'll see a lot of news coverage about this specifically.28800:19:56,160 --> 00:20:01,600And it's actually why I wanted to cover her case because so much of the coverage that28900:20:01,600 --> 00:20:09,080I could find, especially just typing her name into Google, it's all about this false arrest29000:20:09,080 --> 00:20:13,120lawsuit that's coming before the Pawtucket police.29100:20:13,120 --> 00:20:17,200And it really seems like Christine is getting lost in this case, and it's really focusing29200:20:17,200 --> 00:20:22,480kind of on this blunder that the police made and kind of this premature arrest.29300:20:22,480 --> 00:20:28,200Or at least that's how it's being portrayed and how he's bringing it to court.29400:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,720But Christine is really getting lost in this case, so I just wanted to take this episode29500:20:32,720 --> 00:20:37,640to focus on her and her case and what we know and what we don't know.29600:20:37,640 --> 00:20:41,920But as of today, the case is still unsolved.29700:20:41,920 --> 00:20:47,280So with that, if you know anything about the disappearance of Christine Cole in January29800:20:47,280 --> 00:20:57,740of 1988, or her murder, please call the Pawtucket police at 1-877-747-6583.29900:20:57,740 --> 00:21:04,040And the sources, and the sources for the timeline today come from The Boston Globe, The Day,30000:21:04,040 --> 00:21:09,960The Daily Item, Evening Express, Transcript Telegram, Sun Journal, The Berkshire Eagle,30100:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,760Providence Journal, WPRI.30200:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,560So that is the case of Christine Cole.30300:21:15,560 --> 00:21:21,960And like I just mentioned, this case felt important to me to cover because there's30400:21:21,960 --> 00:21:28,040so much around this false arrest, which I don't, you know, if it is a false arrest and this person,30500:21:28,040 --> 00:21:34,260this man is innocent, like I don't blame him for wanting to clear his name, bring this30600:21:34,260 --> 00:21:41,280lawsuit against the police because from everything I read, when he was first charged with this,30700:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,140you know, he lost his housing, he lost his job, he ended up becoming homeless.30800:21:45,140 --> 00:21:50,720So I am all for closing cold cases and getting justice for these families.30900:21:50,720 --> 00:21:55,760But I deeply believe that we have to do it correctly and we have to get the right people31000:21:55,760 --> 00:22:01,680because when there's a, you know, a false arrest or, you know, someone who is innocent31100:22:01,680 --> 00:22:08,560is put into jail, like, it really becomes their story because it's, it is a tragedy.31200:22:08,560 --> 00:22:14,420You know, it is so scary to think about being pointed at and accused of murder when you're31300:22:14,420 --> 00:22:15,840completely innocent.31400:22:15,840 --> 00:22:23,040Like, that is a very scary thought, especially in America where we have more people incarcerated31500:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,160than any other first world country.31600:22:25,160 --> 00:22:30,440So you know, there are people in prison right now that are innocent of the crimes that they31700:22:30,440 --> 00:22:31,960have against them.31800:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,880That is the reality because the justice system is not perfect.31900:22:35,880 --> 00:22:42,160I start to feel really sad about these cases that are underneath them because while, you32000:22:42,160 --> 00:22:47,600know, that is its own tragedy, like Christine Cole is also a tragedy and her case still32100:22:47,600 --> 00:22:52,320deserves the coverage and she still deserves to have people working on her case.32200:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,680Like, I really hope that people don't back off of her case.32300:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,720But that was, these were just kind of some of the first knee jerk reactions I had as32400:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,120I was like learning everything.32500:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,800And then, you know, when I really dug into the case, I just felt so overwhelmingly sad32600:23:07,800 --> 00:23:08,800for Christine.32700:23:08,800 --> 00:23:13,880Like, it talked a lot about how she seemed to be scared to go home or didn't want to32800:23:13,880 --> 00:23:19,240go home and was kind of always out going into the markets and, you know, people in the neighborhood32900:23:19,240 --> 00:23:20,560were looking out for her.33000:23:20,560 --> 00:23:22,120Definitely, it sounds like.33100:23:22,120 --> 00:23:28,920But I feel sad that she wasn't getting that same care at home, it sounds like.33200:23:28,920 --> 00:23:34,080And that her case just like wasn't heavily investigated at the time.33300:23:34,080 --> 00:23:39,880It just feels like society really failed Christine Cole on a lot of different levels.33400:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,100They let her slip through the cracks.33500:23:42,100 --> 00:23:43,400And I feel sad for her.33600:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,520I feel sad for her memory.33700:23:45,520 --> 00:23:49,460There are obviously a lot of questions I have about the case and I kind of alluded to some33800:23:49,460 --> 00:23:51,540of them while I was doing the timeline.33900:23:51,540 --> 00:23:58,020But a big one is just how and when did Christine get into the water because that's a big hole34000:23:58,020 --> 00:23:59,640in the timeline.34100:23:59,640 --> 00:24:05,760Was she placed shortly after she vanished or, you know, is that one report where police34200:24:05,760 --> 00:24:08,040say, you know, she had been in the water for two hours?34300:24:08,040 --> 00:24:09,560Like is that is that true?34400:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,720Was she only in the water for two hours?34500:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,720So where was she for those 50 plus days beforehand?34600:24:15,720 --> 00:24:20,520There's just a lot of things that I would love to clear up in that that I never really34700:24:20,520 --> 00:24:26,280found answers for even in the more recent news coverage of her case.34800:24:26,280 --> 00:24:31,440They never really pinpoint, but it did seem to allude that it was a longer time she was34900:24:31,440 --> 00:24:32,440in the water.35000:24:32,440 --> 00:24:41,240I also am just so curious why they were so wishy washy on declaring her case as a murder35100:24:41,240 --> 00:24:45,560or a homicide investigation as opposed to a suspicious death.35200:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,640It really seems like it takes a while for them to officially rule her as a homicide35300:24:49,640 --> 00:24:52,320or classify her as a homicide.35400:24:52,320 --> 00:24:53,720And I want to know what shifted.35500:24:53,720 --> 00:24:55,520What was it for police?35600:24:55,520 --> 00:25:03,120Was it maybe them doing some, you know, more I don't want to say primal is not exactly35700:25:03,120 --> 00:25:07,040the right word, but like more infantile DNA testing?35800:25:07,040 --> 00:25:12,840You know, I believe the technology was around where they could test the blood type of samples35900:25:12,840 --> 00:25:13,840found.36000:25:13,840 --> 00:25:15,200So maybe it wasn't a match for Christine.36100:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,400So they knew it had to have been somebody else.36200:25:17,400 --> 00:25:23,400Again, her being found without her shoes and missing other parts, you know, her underwear36300:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,480was missing, her pants were haphazardly put on.36400:25:26,480 --> 00:25:30,960So like to me, that would all scream that this is foul play.36500:25:30,960 --> 00:25:36,320Foul play was absolutely involved in the disappearance of a 10 year old.36600:25:36,320 --> 00:25:42,520And this is another question that I had, which is so irrelevant, but I just like I was so36700:25:42,520 --> 00:25:47,440curious as to like, did they ever find those clams that she had?36800:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,440Because we know she had clams, 10 gumballs and a quart of milk.36900:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,240So was any trace of those items found?37000:25:56,240 --> 00:26:01,840I just think like those are things that like, I feel like would scatter kind of easily if37100:26:01,840 --> 00:26:07,780they were dropped, you know, like the milk could open and spill gumballs roll and scatter37200:26:07,780 --> 00:26:09,320like clams.37300:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,520I guess maybe those don't roll and scatter, but like, you know, you would notice clams37400:26:13,520 --> 00:26:14,520on the sidewalk.37500:26:14,520 --> 00:26:19,120So like, I always, I wonder was what happened to all those groceries?37600:26:19,120 --> 00:26:22,640Like was there any answer to that?37700:26:22,640 --> 00:26:27,400All that was found of her was that mitten that she was given just a few minutes beforehand.37800:26:27,400 --> 00:26:31,600It was found outside the store near their garage.37900:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,320That's all we know.38000:26:34,320 --> 00:26:39,000As far as evidence found in this case.38100:26:39,000 --> 00:26:45,600But I just, I really hope that there is still an interest in the police and in the state38200:26:45,600 --> 00:26:51,800in closing this case with this lawsuit coming, you know, like, I imagine like the police38300:26:51,800 --> 00:26:58,920are like kind of embarrassed or, you know, they might not be as ready to bring forth38400:26:58,920 --> 00:27:05,040charges in the future on this case specifically, you know, it's just kind of like a black eye38500:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,400on the cold case department.38600:27:07,400 --> 00:27:08,920I really hope that's not the case.38700:27:08,920 --> 00:27:14,180I hope that like, whoever is the next person to pick up Christine's case is able to just38800:27:14,180 --> 00:27:22,760like look at it without prejudice, without like any tainted thoughts and just able to38900:27:22,760 --> 00:27:28,160like look at the evidence, look at the timeline, what does it tell us and hopefully bring some39000:27:28,160 --> 00:27:30,440answers for Christine.39100:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,320She just deserves it.39200:27:32,320 --> 00:27:38,360And I've said this before, I'll say it again now, but you know, I really believe as a society,39300:27:38,360 --> 00:27:45,360not even just America, I think like as a society, any society in this world, we owe our children39400:27:45,360 --> 00:27:46,360answers.39500:27:46,360 --> 00:27:51,480If a child does not make it to adulthood, we should have those answers.39600:27:51,480 --> 00:27:52,480Why?39700:27:52,480 --> 00:27:53,480Were they sick?39800:27:53,480 --> 00:27:54,480Did they not have enough food?39900:27:54,480 --> 00:27:55,920Did they not have enough warmth?40000:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,320Like we as a society should always have to answer that I think because these are our40100:28:00,320 --> 00:28:02,080most vulnerable.40200:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,960We should be taking care of them no matter what.40300:28:04,960 --> 00:28:09,240Yeah, a part of me just like wants to take care of Christine, I want to take care of40400:28:09,240 --> 00:28:14,160her story and I wanted to say it here because you know, there is a lot of news surrounding40500:28:14,160 --> 00:28:20,240her case, which is a good thing, but unfortunately, a lot of it doesn't really mention her or40600:28:20,240 --> 00:28:24,560it just mentions her in passing, which is unfortunate.40700:28:24,560 --> 00:28:30,120So I just wanted to put Christine's case out there again.40800:28:30,120 --> 00:28:35,880If you know anything about what happened to her or her murder, please call the Pawtucket40900:28:35,880 --> 00:28:42,920police at 1-877-747-6583.41000:28:42,920 --> 00:28:47,460And we will be posting pictures of Christine on our Instagram and please if you're not41100:28:47,460 --> 00:28:53,040following us there, I noticed we got a lot of followers this week, even though I wasn't,41200:28:53,040 --> 00:28:58,320you know, active, I was kind of in my mental health this past week, but thank you so much41300:28:58,320 --> 00:29:03,200if you're following us there, I will always post if an episode is not going to come out41400:29:03,200 --> 00:29:05,440on Mondays as normally scheduled.41500:29:05,440 --> 00:29:10,480If I'm not mentioning it here, I will always mention it on our Instagram.41600:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,320I want to try to keep you informed.41700:29:13,320 --> 00:29:17,640It's an honor to be a part of your week, so I take it really seriously and if you expect41800:29:17,640 --> 00:29:22,560me to be a part of your Mondays or whatever day you listen to this podcast, then I want41900:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,400to be there for you and I want to give you new content when you expect it.42000:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,380So thank you again for sticking with me.42100:29:30,380 --> 00:29:32,120You can always head over to our website.42200:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,320We have transcripts up there as well.42300:29:34,320 --> 00:29:38,220If you or somebody you love is hard of hearing, transcripts are there so you can follow along42400:29:38,220 --> 00:29:42,480with the podcast or read it if that is more comfortable for you.42500:29:42,480 --> 00:29:47,560If you could take a minute and rate and review us, especially if you're on Apple podcasts,42600:29:47,560 --> 00:29:52,680it helps others find us and then it just helps get these stories out there more and more42700:29:52,680 --> 00:29:58,840people listening, more people who know these stories, more people just like trying to be42800:29:58,840 --> 00:30:05,360part of the solution, which I'm so proud of this little community that we're creating42900:30:05,360 --> 00:30:09,840and that's passionate about these cases the way that I am.43000:30:09,840 --> 00:30:11,800So thank you for being a part of it.43100:30:11,800 --> 00:30:16,560If you could take a minute to rate, review or tell somebody that you know would be interested43200:30:16,560 --> 00:30:20,660in this to give us a listen, it would mean the world to me and I would appreciate it43300:30:20,660 --> 00:30:22,440so much.43400:30:22,440 --> 00:30:24,080But that's all I have.43500:30:24,080 --> 00:30:26,440Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing.43600:30:26,440 --> 00:30:28,500I'm Allie McLaughlin-Sylkowski.43700:30:28,500 --> 00:30:55,520Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.