A Cold Case That Haunts Cecil County, Maryland: A Thanksgiving Coffee Break!!!!

#RockStarLife: Coffee Break

In this caffeinated espresso shot of #RockStarLife: Coffee Break, I’m serving up something deeply personal from the archives for this Thanksgiving special. I’m taking you back to a college interview I did with my childhood nanny, Betty Earls (Caldwell)—or Babe, as I called her—who also happens to own the space my Havre de Grace art studio is in. Betty, who passed away this past June, was like family to me, and her story is one I wanted to share. I usually would stop in to see her thanksgiving night, and this feels like a continuation of those visits.

This interview was actually a project for my solo performing class, so bear with me on the rough audio quality—it’s not the best as it was recorded on my iPhone, but trust me, the story is worth it, and its my first ever attempt at podcasting. We’re talking about the chilling 1961 cold case murder and arson of Betty's father, James Caldwell, in an abandoned flour mill in Colora, MD, in Cecil County. The case remains unsolved, but Betty always believed she knew who did it. She never named the person, and had a run in with the man who she alleged did it in the early 1980s, that she details. In this episode, we dive deep into it all and get a first-hand experience of the details of this cold homicide case through Betty's eyes, as it happened when she was 10, and the candid emotional toll it had on everyone.

This episode is a tribute to Betty, diving into the story of her father—a mystery and traumatic event that stayed with her and shaped her life. Her and her husband have postively shaped my life with their love and support thoughtout the years, and I wanted to give thanks to them this thanksgiving. And for a little bonus content, check out my July 2024 art blog post on ZenobiaDarlingCreative.com titled The Folk Art of Havre de Grace: My Artistic Roots with Artist Floyd Earls, where I deep dive on how her husband, artist Floyd Earls, taught me most of my painting skills.

Grab your coffee (or a festive spiked apple cider) for this emotional and thought-provoking episode about tragedy, intrigue, and the ghosts of the past—because some haunting secrets should never be forgotten.

Cover Art
"Cecil County Cold Case"
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Season Two of #RockStarLife: Coffee Break begins beaming down on 9/26, new episodes drop Thursdays, with solo Espresso Shots beaming in whenever the mood strikes.

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