In 2016, the disappearance of Valerie Tieman became one of the most talked-about cases in Maine in the last decade. At first, there was room for hope, and maybe even a version of the story where Valerie had simply walked away from a life that had become too painful.

Her husband, Luc Tieman, was a wounded military veteran, a man whose service and struggles shaped how people first understood him. But as investigators followed the trail from a parking lot to a wooded property in central Maine, the story Luc told evolved. Each new version raised a darker question: what happened to Valerie, and why were the people who loved her the last to know she was gone?

If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic violence, support is available. Visit the hotline.org or contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE. You can also text START to 88788, to speak with someone who can help you make a safe plan.

View source material and photos for this episode at: https://darkdowneast.com/valerietieman

Dark Downeast is an Audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

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On a Friday afternoon in July of 1991, Martha Brailsford told friends she was going sailing.

In coastal Massachusetts at what is often the peak of summer heat and humidity, that wasn’t unusual. Martha knew the water, and in Salem Willows, boats were part of the everyday landscape. There was no reason to think a simple afternoon sail would become anything else.

But when Martha didn’t come home that night, the search for her would expose a man whose stories kept changing, a familiar coastline that suddenly felt unknowable, and a truth hidden somewhere beyond the shoreline.

View source material and photos for this episode at: https://darkdowneast.com/marthabrailsford

Dark Downeast is an Audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

Did you know you can listen to Dark Downeast ad-free? Join the Crime Junkie Fan Club! Visit https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/fanclub/ to view the current membership options and policies.

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Estella Brantley’s murder should have been urgent from the beginning.

She was found in one of Bridgeport’s most visible public places, around witnesses who may have heard her final moments, with evidence that would one day matter more than anyone could have known when it was first collected. But for years, Estella’s case stayed unresolved, folded into a larger city-wide pattern of deadly attacks on women and families left wondering whether anyone was really fighting for them.

Then, decades later, science brought the case back to life. But Estella’s family was still left asking whether DNA told the whole story.

View source material and photos for this episode at: https://darkdowneast.com/estellabrantley

Dark Downeast is an Audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

• Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
• To suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

Did you know you can listen to Dark Downeast ad-free? Join the Crime Junkie Fan Club! Visit https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/fanclub/ to view the current membership options and policies.

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