The Alphabet Murders — an In-Depth look by The Veritas 7

Summary

The Veritas 7 — True Crime Podcast delves into the unsolved Alphabet Murders, discussing the tragic deaths and mishandling of the case involving three young girls in Rochester, New York, between 1971 and 1973.

Abstract

In the inaugural episode of The Veritas 7 — True Crime Podcast, the panel examines the Alphabet Murders, a series of unsolved crimes where three pre-teen girls—Carmen Colon, Wanda Walkowitz, and Michelle Maenza—were abducted, assaulted, and murdered, with their bodies dumped in locations that shared the same initial letter as their names. The discussion includes the investigative blunders, evidence mishandling, and the impact of these errors on the victims' families. The panel also critiques the statistical theories and media coverage that have complicated the case over the years. The episode serves as a prelude to a deeper exploration of the case in the upcoming full episode.

Opinions

The panel views the investigations as botched, highlighting significant errors and mishandling of evidence.
There is a sense of injustice regarding the treatment of the victims and their families by both the investigators and the media.
The panel criticizes the introduction of absurd statistical notions that they believe are unrelated to the case.
Overzealous and irresponsible journalism is seen as having negatively affected the case's progression.

In this, the very first episode of The Veritas 7 — True Crime Podcast, the panel looks extensively into the tragic case that has lingered for over half a century

The Alphabet Murders is one of the monikers given to the still unsolved case of three pre-teen girls who were each abducted, sexually assaulted, murdered by strangulation, and then unceremoniously dumped like pieces of trash along various roadways in and around Rochester, New York, between 1971 and 1973.

The name was chosen because investigators quickly realized that each of the girls; Carmen Colon, Wanda Walkowitz, and Michelle Maenza had both first and last names that began with the same initial.

10-year-old Carmen Colon the first victim — image acquired through FOIA request by Wild Orchid Media — a company wholly owned by author Kurt Dillon and published with permission by The New York State Police

11-year-old Wanda Walkowitz the second victim — image acquired through FOIA request by Wild Orchid Media — a company wholly owned by author Kurt Dillon and published with permission by The New York State Police

11-year-old Michelle Maenza the third and final known victim — image acquired through FOIA request by Wild Orchid Media — a company wholly owned by author Kurt Dillon and published with permission by The New York State Police

What’s more, they also realized that each of the locations where the girls’ bodies were dumped, also began with the same letter, respectively.

In this round table-only prelude to Episode 1, four members of the panel of 7 conduct a very candid, round table discussion about the evidence of the case as well as the apparent injustices imposed upon these three young victims and their families at the hands of botched investigations, mishandling of evidence, absurd statistical notions that are most likely unrelated to the case, and more than few overzealous and irresponsible journalists.

That’s all for now. Until next time, we hope you enjoy the show, and look forward to seeing you on our website at www.theveritas7.com and interacting with you in the Facebook chats, on our official Facebook fan page, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok!

The Alphabet Murders — an In-Depth look by The Veritas 7 — True Crime Podcast

In this, the very first episode of The Veritas 7 — True Crime Podcast, the panel looks extensively into the tragic case that has lingered for over half a century