MISSING: Dawn Mozino

Summary

Crime Junkie — MISSING: Dawn Mozino

Date: September 8, 2025
Host: Ashley Flowers
Co-host: Brit Prawat
Case: The mysterious disappearance of Dawn Mozino, 23, from southeastern Pennsylvania in May 1989.

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Overview

In this detailed episode, Ashley and Brit dig into the baffling unsolved disappearance of Dawn Mozino. While law enforcement has long focused on a convicted killer in her orbit, new evidence from Dawn’s own diary suggests that two concurrent love triangles could point to entirely different suspects—and perhaps the real answer behind the case.

The episode blends narrative storytelling with primary-source insights (including excerpts from Dawn’s diary, read by her sister, Kath), interviews with family, and the hosts’ signature theorizing. This is a must-listen for those who love cold cases, shifting police theories, and the personal voices that drive true crime.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Disappearance: Timeline & Witness Accounts

• Dawn disappears on May 22, 1989 after leaving her food service job at Bryn Mawr Hospital, scheduled to return home and then head to her boyfriend Dan’s apartment for Special Olympics practice.

• Witness account: Kathy, a local woman, remembers seeing Dawn at a bus stop near the hospital, talking to a Black man in his 30s (04:44).

  "She specifically remembers seeing Dawn in that group of young women. But Dawn wasn't talking to the other women. She was talking to a man standing nearby." (04:44 – Britt)

• The witness is uncertain about the exact date but reports this sighting to police, narrowing it to “around” May 22.

The Early Investigation: Spotlight on Thomas Hawkins, Jr.

• Police quickly focus on Thomas Hawkins, Jr., a twice-convicted murderer (05:52).

  “Now, his full name was Thomas Hawkins, Jr. And Thomas Hawkins, Jr. is a convicted murderer. Nine years before, he sexually assaulted, stabbed, and strangled a 15 year old girl... He only served six years for that.” (05:52 – Britt)

• Connection: Dawn and Hawkins had worked together previously; Hawkins had bullied her at work.

• Hawkins lies: He tells police Dawn tried to help him get a hospital job and that he missed an interview, but the hospital says no such interview was ever scheduled (07:37-08:12).

  "They came to learn that that story was BS. The hospital had no record of an interview even being scheduled..." (08:12 – Britt)

• Photo ID: Kathy identifies Hawkins as the man seen with Dawn at the bus stop.

Escalation: Hawkins Murders Again

• Days after initial questioning in Dawn’s case, Hawkins murders his niece, Andrea Thomas, in a brutal attack (09:15).

  “Hawkins sexually assaulted, strangled, and stabbed his niece, Andrea Thomas, with a meat fork and staged the scene to look like a burglary.” (09:15 – Britt)

• He’s later convicted and sentenced to death for this murder.

Family & Police: Still Focused on Hawkins

• Dawn’s family is convinced Hawkins is responsible, noting her learning difficulties—a highly structured life, always kept family informed of her whereabouts (09:51-10:14).

• Detective “Lucky” Layton wants a confession and even offers to take death penalty off the table for information about Dawn—Hawkins never budges (13:11).

  “But he says he has no information to give because he had nothing to do with Dawn’s disappearance. He’s sticking to that.” (13:11 – Britt)

• Crucial difference: Unlike Hawkins’s other victims—both killed in their homes and found quickly—Dawn has never been found and her home showed no evidence of a crime (14:24-15:17).

Alternate Suspects: Unraveling New Leads

Gerald Bennett’s False Confession

• In 2001, a different convicted killer (Gerald Bennett) sends a letter confessing to Dawn’s murder (18:22).

  "A guy in prison named Gerald Bennett had written a letter to the paper confessing to Dawn’s murder...but he can't really even give them any verifiable information..." (18:22, 20:17 – Britt)

• Investigation finds Bennett was in another state when Dawn disappeared; he likely lied hoping for leniency in his own case (20:47-21:11).

The Secret Diary: Love Triangles and “Nick”

• Police had Dawn’s diary from the start; it never once mentions Hawkins or Bennett, but focuses intensely on romantic struggles (21:16).

• Excerpts reveal that Dawn was cheating on her boyfriend Dan with Nick Katona, an unreliable man who often stood her up and took her to hotels for sex (22:31-25:29).

  “He stole my heart and now I want it back. If he’s going to keep on doing this…” (24:19 – Kath, reading Dawn’s diary)

• Police minimally investigated Nick, only interviewing him once (25:53), specifics unknown.

• Dan is quickly cleared: solid alibi, corroborated voicemails, attendance at Special Olympics, and—touchingly—still calls Dawn’s mom every night to this day (26:39-27:19).

Nick Katona’s Later Life

• When Dawn’s sister, Kath, pushes police to look harder at Nick, she learns that Nick died by suicide in 2011—20+ years after Dawn went missing (29:50).
• Nick’s family claims he never mentioned Dawn, not even as a friend, despite her disappearance (31:40).
• Nick’s criminal record includes a DUI (1992) and violence-related charges (1996).

Dawn’s Best Friend Carol, Hampton, and Another Triangle

• Dawn’s diary details her involvement in another love triangle: her best friend Carol is having an affair with a married man, Hampton. Dawn, highly religious, tells Hampton’s wife about the affair (36:14).

• Dawn’s very last diary entry (five days before she vanished):

  “Well, these few days have been hell with Carol and Hamp. They’re getting more in trouble. Plus, his wife is asking for things...” (36:58 – Diary quoted by co-host)

• Carol and Hampton were interviewed by police on multiple occasions; Hampton fits the physical description of the witness’s “black man in his 30s” (37:18).

  “If the witness, Kathy, really did see dawn on the 22nd, and she really was talking to a black man ... could it have been Hampton?” (37:18 – Britt)

Other Theories and Persons of Interest

• Maurice Beal: An acquaintance in Dawn’s social circle with a violent criminal record, including charges for sexual assault—a possible suspect considered recently (41:15-42:42).

The Case Today: New Eyes, Fresh Leads

• After decades of focus on Hawkins, a new detective, Brian Bell, is exploring all possible angles, not just Hawkins (42:47).

  "[He] is also trying to come at this from like a very different angle and explore the unexplored..." (42:47 – Britt)

• The Mozino family continues to seek answers; Kath (Dawn’s sister) remains a determined advocate, urging that every lead be followed.

• Remote viewer/psychic tip (45:01) pointed to a park Dawn commonly used—a location now on Kath’s radar, described as central to her routines and between relevant homes.

The Lasting Toll

• The Mozinos “know nothing more today than the day she stepped out of work and vanished”—after 36 years, Dawn’s fate is still a mystery (42:47).
• Kath’s recurring dream, of seeing and trying to talk to Dawn in their old neighborhood, underscores the family’s heartbreak and relentless hope (45:24).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On early police focus:

  “What are the odds that she knew a now twice convicted killer and he didn’t have anything to do with it? But like, what if they were right and wrong?” (15:37 – Britt, 16:03)

• On Dawn’s learning differences:

  "...even though dawn was 23, she had some learning differences. She actually lived at home with her mom and her sister. Now, she's described as high functioning but developmentally delayed.” (09:51 – Britt)

• On family conviction:

  “The old timers still have their money on Hawkins. And I get why. Because if Kathy’s ID really was right...he is one of the last, if not the last, person to see Don alive." (42:47 – Britt)

• On the cold case detective’s approach:

  “Detective Bell ... is trying to come at this from Like a very different angle and explore the unexplored...” (42:47 – Britt)

• On Kath Mozino’s dream:

  “She’s driving through this neighborhood in Wayne... there, walking up the hill is Dawn. Kath pulls the car over, tells her sister to get in, but for some reason dawn won’t answer. Won’t even, like, look at her. She just keeps walking up the hill. And then Kath wakes up.” (45:24 – Britt)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Dawn’s disappearance & witness sighting: 02:44–04:44
• Thomas Hawkins’s criminal past and connection to Dawn: 05:52–08:12
• Photo lineup and Hawkins’s false alibi: 08:54–09:43
• Hawkins’s second murder, police focus: 09:14–13:11
• Contrast with other Hawkins victims: 14:24–15:17
• Alternate suspect: Gerald Bennett’s confession: 18:22–21:11
• Dawn’s diary, secret relationship with Nick: 21:16–25:29
• Dawn’s best friend Carol, Hampton, and final diary entry: 35:33–37:18
• Other suspects (Maurice Beal): 41:15–42:42
• New detective and current status of the case: 42:47–45:24
• Kath’s dream, contact info for tips: 45:24–47:15

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Case Status & Call to Action

• There is still no closure for Dawn's family after 36 years.
• If you have information on the disappearance of Dawn Mozino (May 22, 1989), contact Radnor Township Police: 610-688-5600.

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Final Thoughts

This lengthy, engrossing episode highlights how tunnel vision can hobble investigations—and how critical it is to listen to those closest to the missing, as well as following the threads they themselves left behind. Ashley and Brit’s narrative thoughtfully balances empathy for Dawn's family and a rigorous challenge to established theories, suggesting that justice for Dawn Mozino might still be found if every avenue—obvious and overlooked alike—is explored.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Britt]

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[Britt]

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[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

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[Britt]

Yeah, most of these items sold out.

[Ashley Flowers]

Pretty quick when they were originally released. So this is your reminder that Crime Junkie Fan Club members get first access to shop merch stores.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

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[Britt]

Exactly.

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Britt]

Should be an expression of who you are. The couch I bought for my first home was from Ashley. It was this little cream sectional that I sat on and wrote 12 different drafts of the very first Crime Junkie episode. I am still writing scripts on a couch from Ashley. This time it's the Alyssa Court sofa, the machine washable. Cushions are clutch and no matter how many times I wash them, they look great. So trust this Ashley and get furniture from Ashley, visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley.com to find your style. Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

And I'm Britt.

[Britt]

And the story I have for you today is the truly mysterious disappearance of a 23 year old woman from southeastern Pennsylvania. And if you just skim the headlines, you would think that police have had a strong suspect in this case for decades. A twice convicted killer who actually knew our victim. However, we got our hands on this woman's diary and she wrote of not one, but two love triangles that might actually lead to a break in the case. This is the story of Don Mozino. One day in June 1989, a woman in the Philly suburbs named Kathy sees a report of a missing young woman. And Kathy studies the picture of a girl with curly brown hair. And something about her is so familiar. Her name is Dawn Mozino. And apparently, per this report, she's been missing since May 22. Dawn's last known to have clocked out of her shift at Bryn Mawr Hospital, where she serves food to patients. And it would have been sometime at around 3 or 4pm that day. And Kathy, like, can't believe what she's seeing because never in a million years does anyone expect that they might have information on a case. Right? She doesn't know dawn at all, but she does remember seeing a girl who looked just like her at a bus stop near the hospital a few weeks ago. At the time, she was driving her two boys home from school. And one of them actually pointed to this group of women waiting for the bus who were all dressed the same, gray skirts, maroon vests and a black bow tie. And that is actually one of the hospital's uniforms. And here is the kicker. She specifically remembers seeing dawn in that group of young women. But dawn wasn't talking to the other women. She was talking to a man standing nearby. Now, Kathy isn't 100% positive of the date that she saw Don, because the days can totally, like, bleed together if you have the same routine, like picking up your boys from school and driving them home. But she doesn't want to risk not giving the information to police, especially if it could be valuable. And she definitely does know it was at least around May 22. So she tells police about seeing Don, gives them the vague description of a guy that she thinks she was talking to, this black man, maybe in his 30s. Detective Luther Layton, who everyone calls Lucky, is the lead on Don's case. And so he wants to ask Kathy if she'll identify him in a photo lineup. And she's like, absolutely.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Wait, how?

[Britt]

Well, because a couple of weeks after Don had gone missing, police already had someone on their radar. Through their investigation, they came to realize that in Don's address book, there was an entry that said Tom Hawkins with a number beside it. Now, his full name was Thomas Hawkins, Jr. And Thomas Hawkins, Jr. Is a convicted murderer. Nine years before, he sexually assaulted, stabbed, and strangled a 15 year old girl named Karen Stubbs. This was in 1980. And Brit, he only served six years for that.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Six.

[Britt]

I know it seems like prosecutors couldn't prove premeditation for first degree murder. Like, that's why they ended up offering him, like, a deal for third degree in exchange for a guilty plea. But still, six years is astounding to me. Like, this man is clearly dangerous.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

So, okay, did dawn just run into this guy once or did she, like, know him?

[Britt]

She knew him. I mean, at least that's what her mom said. Like, they actually worked together three or four years before at a local rehabilitation center. And what's wild is, like, when they worked together, this dude bullied her. Like, one day, Dawn's sister Cath had to come pick dawn up from work because someone was being nasty to her. Turns out it was this guy. After this, Cath, like, went and gave Hawkins a piece of her mind. And then shortly after, dawn left that job to go work at the hospital. So before this witness, Kathy, even called the police, they had already brought Hawkins in. And his story was weird because he says that two months before Don went missing, she had offered to help him get a job at the hospital.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

She worked at him. The guy who bullied her at their last job together?

[Britt]

Yeah, he says that she had even set up an interview for him on May 12, which would have been 10 days before she goes missing. But he says that he never actually showed up for that interview and that Don was really angry with him about it. But other than that, when they talk to him, he's like, listen, I have not seen or heard from her since that whole thing, like, again, weeks before. But guess what? They came to learn that that story was bs. The hospital had no record of an interview even being scheduled for Hawkins.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

Why would he even lie about the interview?

[Britt]

Well, that's a good question, right? Like, I'm thinking maybe he was actually near the hospital like Kathy, the witness said, and he wanted to have a reason for that. If police ever figured it out. But I also don't know because it wasn't even on the same day. So I don't know. Like, if you're gonna make up a lie, why make up one that's so easy to dispute and also doesn't even make any sense or actually explain anything away?

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

I mean, I could see him probably trying to, like, distance himself from her and specifically from her on that date. Because the interview that he missed was 10 days earlier, right?

[Britt]

Maybe. But, like, they didn't know it was a lie at the time, and then they didn't have anything on the guy, so at that time, they had to let him go.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Okay, so this guy is already on the radar. When Kathy calls, they offer this, like, photo lineup. Does she recognize him?

[Britt]

So she agrees, like, yes, let's do this photo lineup. But by the way, just three days after police had originally talked to him about Don, this guy actually committed another murder.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

What?

[Britt]

Hawkins sexually assaulted, strangled, and stabbed his niece, Andrea Thomas, with a meat fork and staged the scene to look like a burglary. Now, what is interesting is police did not know that it was him who did this at the time. Like, it ends up taking several months for him to get arrested for that. But I just wanted you to know, like, we're talking about a bad, bad guy here. A bad guy that Kathy does ID as the one she said was talking.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

To Don, which if, like, that's the guy that she saw, then Don probably isn't just a missing person at this point.

[Britt]

No. Everyone kind of fears the worst. But honestly, Hawkins or no Hawkins, the worst case scenario was already playing out in the minds of Dawn's family, because they know it's not like her to just disappear and not contact them. I mean, it took them only hours to report her missing, because even though dawn was 23, she had some learning differences. She actually lived at home with her mom and her sister. Now, she's described as high functioning but developmentally delayed. And her sister Cath told us that because of this, dawn followed a pretty strict schedule, and if anything changed, she would always, always let her mom or her sister know. So that day that she went missing, her sister Kath said that dawn was supposed to come home after work, let the dog out, and then her plan was to either walk the 20 minutes to her boyfriend Dan Kolb's apartment in Wayne, Pennsylvania, or maybe just hop on, like, another bus over there. Now, Dan also had some learning differences, and the two of them had been dating for, like, three years. They were both super dedicated to the Special Olympics. Dawn actually won medals in, like, all these different events. And the Special Olympics was something that she really took seriously. So when she was going over to his place, the two of them were supposed to be, like, getting together so that they could go to a practice together down at the local ymca. But when Cath got home from work early that evening, she noticed that the dog had not been taken out. And there were like, half a dozen voicemails from Dan asking why Don hadn't met him, why she hadn't come to practice. So all that to say, Dawn's family was adamant that something was wrong when they filed a missing persons report and police actually heard their concerns. They took the report and then immediately started looking into where she could be, who she could be with all of that, which is how they. They wound up at Tom Hawkins. And now that he has been ID'd by their witness, the detective on Don's case gets a search warrant for his apartment in Philadelphia. Now, there's nothing they find there that directly ties him to Don, but they do seize a stack of detective magazines. And it's interesting because they say that they're all underlined and, like, dog eared on articles about new police practices and tactics, stuff like that. So Detective Lucky thinks that maybe this guy was, like, making notes on how to get away, studying with murders, right? Now, fast forward a little bit. They end up connecting Hawkins to the murder of his niece, and he finally gets arrested and taken to trial on that, which only makes everyone more suspicious of him in connection to Don's disappearance. So much so that Don's family attends every single day of the court hearings because they are fully convinced that Hawkins did something to donate. And if police can't get him on that, at least they hope he'll go away and pay for this crime. Right? He'll be off the streets, which he does. The jury convicts Hawkins of first degree murder, which, like, in my mind, you must have been a terrible study of those magazines, which, by the way, they fully brought up at trial because his DNA and fingerprints were all over the crime scene. And so after the verdict, Hawkins is sentenced to. To death. And this gives Detective Lucky an idea. He sees this as kind of a unique opportunity. He basically goes to the prosecutor, Bruce Castor, and says, look, I think this is our guy, but I got nothing. Would you be open to taking the death penalty away if he gives us information about Don? Like, her family just wants some closure. And Bruce agrees, which to me, like, this is an offer that even the dumbest criminal would Take if they could. Like, if I was facing the death penalty for a case where they have me dead to rights. Like, forget appeals, like, I tried to be confessing to anything. But I don't think it's just like a confession they want. Right. What they said is they want information. I think they want to know, like, where she is, what happened. But he says he has no information to give because he had nothing to do with Don's disappearance. He's sticking to that. Now, Hawkins, to this day is still sitting on death row because Pennsylvania's governor put a moratorium on the death penalty. But in all this time, he has never come close to confessing to anything relating to Dawn's disappearance.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

You know, it is interesting to me that Dawn's case seems to be so different. And I say seems because I guess we don't really know what happened to her. Right. She's never been found. We can't say that. It's like not the same M.O. but his other two victims, like, they were found quickly. Yeah, found quickly, not even hidden, like.

[Britt]

And you're right, so I know we don't know what happened to Don, but we do know a lot about his other crimes. And what we know is, like, he knew both of the victims, which is the same for Don. Right. And like his first victim, Karen, she lived in the same apartment complex as his parents. And so, like, they met each other on a few different occasions. And then obviously Andrea was his niece. We know that he sexually assaulted and killed both of them in their homes and then staged both crime scenes to look like robberies. And so like I said, while he knew Don and that piece is the same, her home doesn't appear to be any kind of crime scene.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Hint, as far as we know, he didn't stage anything. Yeah.

[Britt]

Honestly, it seems like she never even made it home afterward.

[Kath (Dawn's sister)]

Right.

[Britt]

And interestingly, dawn is about a decade older than his two other victims, which I think could factor in if Hawkins crimes are sexually motivated toward adolescent girls.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

But is that enough to rule him out for Don?

[Britt]

Not to Detective Lucky, he is still convinced of Hawkins guilt. But what if he didn't do it? I mean, I get why they would think that. What are the odds that she knew a now twice convicted killer and he didn't have anything to do with it? But like, what if they were right and wrong? What if a convicted murderer did have something to do with her disappearance, but they were just looking at the wrong one?

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[Britt]

Detective Lucky gets the shock of his career when he reads the front page headline of the Delaware County Daily and it says Did Bennett Kill Don? Now, per this article that he's seeing for the first time, the detective yes.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Cool.

[Britt]

It's basically saying that a guy in prison named Gerald Bennett had written a letter to the Paper confessing to Don's murder. And let me preface this by saying Gerald is the actual worst. He's in prison for strangling his 33 year old girlfriend, Roxanne Carolyn Lydy to death and then sexually assaulting her 13 year old daughter at knifepoint for nearly five hours right after. And this was in 1999, so like 10 years after Dawn's disappearance. And this, I don't know that I've ever dropped an MFER like on an episode, but this man even self published a book arguing that he is innocent of the crime and accusing the 13 year old of a literal child of killing her own mother.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Okay, when you said the actual worst, I thought that was hyperbolic, but the actual worst.

[Britt]

Now in this letter that he writes to the paper, he says that he met Don in May of 1989 while he was applying for a job at the hospital where she worked. Which is eerily similar to Hawkins story. Yeah, I don't know what to make of that. It's seems like just a weird coincidence. Now there aren't a ton of details in the letter and even though they clearly didn't reach out to Lucky the detective, the paper did get Bruce Castor, the prosecutor, responding on record saying, quote, if Bennett takes authorities to the body, then I will publicly apologize to Tommy Hawkins for indicating that I think he's the killer of Don Mozino.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

That's end quote, pretty bold.

[Britt]

Yeah, especially for a guy who like would go on to ascend the political ladder. I mean, he eventually became the acting Attorney General of Pennsylvania. And it turns out Bruce called this guy's bluff. Gerald isn't able to lead them to Don's remains. He can't really even give them any verifiable information on what he says happened. So according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, police determined that he was in an entirely different state when Don disappeared.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Then why lie out of the blue like that?

[Britt]

He was looking at life in prison or the death penalty and I think trying to save his skin by giving false information in a high profile missing persons case. The judge in Gerald's case called him, quote, the most dangerous, remorseless, callous defendant I have seen in my 20 years as a judge, unquote, which I feel.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Like I can't disagree. But now with Don's case, they're both back to Hawkins.

[Britt]

Honestly never really got off him. And again, I get why. But I also again, ask, what if the obvious thing distracted police from the real thing? What if for all these years, people ignored the one clue that dawn herself left behind her diary. In this diary, which she seems to have started just three months before her disappearance, dawn doesn't mention Hawkins once. She certainly doesn't say anything about Gerald Bennett. What dawn does write about is cheating on her boyfriend Dan. From her writings, it seems like dawn had been getting a little bored in her relationship with Dan. And somehow, while in this unsatisfied state, she meets this guy named Nick Katona. I don't really know how, but she devotes most of the pages of her diary to venting about her complicated feelings for Dan and Nick. We actually have a copy of Dawn's diary, which we're going to put in the fan club app if you want to see it. But Dawn's sister Cath actually read some parts of her diary aloud for us to share.

[Kath (Dawn's sister)]

Wednesday 22nd March, 1989. The day after I saw Nick. I like him so much. The only thing is, I still have feelings for Dan. I Love him. Tuesday, 25th April, 7.51pm but really, what do I do? I'm lonely. Dan will never come up here. I know now. He said he will, but I know he won't. And I feel so bad when he finds out that all this time I've seen Nick, he'll be so angry. Oh, well, he won't find out. I'll keep it from him, no problem. As long as he doesn't see this diary. Wow. Look at how many entries I've made.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Did her sister know about Nick?

[Britt]

No one in her family really knew about Nick. I mean, Cath said that, like, they knew who he was. He came to the house a couple of times. She knew Don was friends with this guy, but she had no idea that Don was involved with him romantically. Here's the catch, though. Police did. They had this diary from the jump and sometime in the 2000 and tens. So this is after Detective Lucky had retired and this new guy was on don's case, Detective McGuire. He lets Cath see the diary. That's how she found out for the first time.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Wow.

[Britt]

Which I'm sure was like, so disorienting for her because for as long as she remembers, she believed the same thing as police, that Hawkins probably did something to her sister. But these writings, I don't know, she sees something more in them than police clearly do. Like, call it a sister's intuition, whatever. But she saw that Nick was clearly dominating Dawn's thoughts from March 1989 right up until her disappearance in May. And it's clear from her entries that Nick did not treat her very well.

[Kath (Dawn's sister)]

Wednesday, 12 April 1989 9:38pm hi. Well, now Nick is on my sh. T list. He told me he was going to see me and he didn't call me or stop by. He had done this I don't know how many times. He stole my heart and now I want it back. If he's going to keep on doing this. I mean, I really liked him and so he has to do. April 1989. Nick called me at 9:30am this morning and told me he was going to call me later, but he. Of course not. It pisses me off so much.

[Britt]

It seems like dawn would drop everything to be with Nick. And Nick kind of just kept stringing her along, basically like booty calling her. He's not taking dawn on wholesome dates. He's taking her to hotels to have sex. So dawn talks in her diary about how she's getting frustrated. Like she is clearly infatuated with Nick, but she knows that she shouldn't be treated like this. She also can't stop. There's this moment where dawn writes that she's listening to the song Every Rose has its Thorn by Poison on repeat, which is like a tape she said she bought because it reminded her of Nick, which just like sends me back.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

I would say it's such a relatable moment.

[Britt]

I mean, it's like you and I, like in middle school, and we'd like lay in your guest room and just sing. Carolyn Don Johnson.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

I say complicated.

[Britt]

Gay. Yeah. Anyway, so after who knows how long of this, but at least three months of entries, she and Nick seem to be on the fritz come May when she disappears.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

And police never talk to this Nick guy.

[Britt]

No. Here's the thing. They did once Radnor police confirmed to us that they brought Nick in for an interview, but they wouldn't tell us when that was or what was asked or what was answered or not answered or anything. Yeah, and we tried to get the case file for Don's case, but our FOIA was denied because police said that it is an active investigation.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Okay, then what about Dan? Like, did they look at him at all? Like, maybe he found out about Nick, confronted Don, things got out of hand?

[Britt]

No. So Dan isn't really considered a suspect at all, like by anyone, including Kath. He has a solid alibi. I mean, a. There are all those voicemails that he left on Don's answering machine. Keep in mind, this is the 80s. So they're either coming from his apartment or payphone landline.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Yeah.

[Britt]

And then someone at the YMCA confirmed that Dan did attend the Special Olympics practice that night. And Kath told us that she knows Dan really well. He is this really sweet man who, get this, still calls Dawn's mom every single evening for the past 36 years to say goodnight. And the thing that really sticks with me that I was so surprised by is he wouldn't even have a motive because Cath says that to this day, Dan still doesn't know that Don was cheating on him, as Cath told us, like, they didn't want to break his heart. And I, like, when I heard that, I was like, we're putting this out.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

I was going to say, like, should we be saying this right now?

[Britt]

I checked with our reporter and she checked with the family. I was like, listen, like, someone needs to tell him before this episode comes out.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Yeah.

[Britt]

But we talked this up and down with Kath and she said she's confident that he is not gonna hear this and it's not going to get back to him. She says he doesn't even know what a podcast is. He doesn't have a smartphone, so he is living in a very, like, sheltered bubble. So all this to say that Dan was and is quickly ruled out. Nick, on the other hand, is a different story.

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[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

The stories we cover.

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[Britt]

This episode is brought to you by Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks Fifth Avenue makes it easy to shop for your personal style. Fall's here and there are so many new arrivals you'll want to wear again and again. Like a relaxed Prada blazer and Gucci loafers you can take from work to the weekend. Saks makes shopping feel customized to you. From the in store stylist to Saks.com showing you only what you like to shop. Find inspiration for your personal style every day at Saks Fifth Avenue. After Kath reads her sister's diary, she really pushed police to explore the lead on Nick. More like, in all this time, things with Hawkins hadn't progressed at all. And it's not like he was going anywhere. So, like, let's just be sure, right? Make sure every other avenue is explored to ensure nothing was missed. And that if Hawkins is still where we end up, like, in the end, so be it.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Yeah, he's right here. We know where he is.

[Britt]

Yeah, but like, might as well, right? But when she's pushing for this, Detective McGuire drops a bombshell. He tells Kath that Nick had actually taken his life in September 2011, which is before she is now coming to him asking for this. So now they're like, there's nothing we can do.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

I mean, that seems like it might be like, relevant information to have before now.

[Britt]

At the time, they didn't have any details for Cath about the circumstances around or leading up to his death, which, mind you, was over 20 years after dawn disappeared. But yeah, I mean, to say that Kath didn't have some follow up questions like that seem to have not been asked, like, that's an understatement. And so this, in 2013, is where she kind of becomes at odds with not just police, but her own family a little, because Dawn's mother is still in the Hawkins camp with police. And Kath thinks that they've been so focused on Hawkins that they've been neglecting to follow up on other important leads like this one. So by 2023, Kath ends up working with a former social worker turned civilian criminologist named Clark Williams, who's pretty legit, like he's helped solve some cold cases. And Clark starts his investigation with Dawn's diary and methodically tracks down almost everyone dawn ever mentions, including Nick's family, since Nick isn't around. And really he was reaching out to them most of all to find out what contributed to Nick's death. And his family told Clark that he was in love with a woman who had a serious illness. And when that woman died Nick just couldn't go on. They also say, and I find this part real interesting, that he never mentioned anyone named dawn to them, ever.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Okay. I mean, even if Nick didn't want to get into, like, his sex life with his parents, you're telling me someone you know goes missing? Yeah, they're all over the news.

[Britt]

Didn't even mention her as, like, a friend.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

And you don't say anything.

[Britt]

It makes you wonder. Yeah, right. Like, why wouldn't Nick go to the police when his friend goes missing? Like, why not tell your family that your friend is missing? Like, you were clearly, like, in the same orbit, even if you didn't do anything, like, could you offer information?

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Yeah, I mean, it doesn't sound like from the dire, at least Nick was taking the relationship seriously. So maybe he wasn't taking it seriously at all. Like, he didn't think that it mattered.

[Britt]

Yeah, maybe. But it also makes me think about the fact that Nick would sometimes randomly, like, show up at her house unannounced when it was convenient for him. So, like, I don't know, maybe he showed up at the hospital or the bus stop and picked her up that day she disappeared. And, you know, because of her strong feelings for Nick, it's possible that dawn might blow off other plans to hang out with him. And then maybe something happened between them. They got in a fight or Don confronted him about, like, being a total flake. I mean, all of these are just, like. I'm just, like, spitballing. These are theories, but, I mean, as we know, theories that no one even looked into by this point point. And it's all speculation. There's nothing to suggest that's what actually happened. But again, we have to speculate because police did not do the legwork that we can actually, like, cross any of this off. Did they search his car? Did they search his place? Did they do anything but talk to him? One time, tbd, who knows? When.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

I mean, did Nick have any kind of record over the years, anything that would indicate he was capable of doing something to Don?

[Britt]

We. Look, we tried looking it up. So I don't know a whole lot about Nick or who he was in the years after 1989. On his official record, we found that he got a DUI in 1992, which is three years after her disappearance. And then in 1996, Nick's charged with reckless endangerment, simple assault, and terroristic threats. I'm not sure what the story is behind these charges because our attempts to get the records were denied, and Nick's father has passed away. His mother didn't respond to our request for comment. So we're here. We were here. So actually, I mean, this is a good point to call out, like, if anyone out there listening knew Nick Katona in Coatesville, Penns, in 1989, like, would love to hear from you. Tipsaudiochuck.com now, the one problem I have with this Nick angle is motive. I mean, he seemed like a kind of grade A, A hole, right? Like, who I wouldn't want my sister to date. But I mean, like, everything we know just kind of makes it seem like, like you said, he didn't care about Don.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Yeah, almost to the point where he wouldn't have done something like this because he didn't care about her enough to act on anything. Does that make sense?

[Britt]

Yeah, and that's what I'm saying. Like, I don't know if he had another partner, like, was he having an affair or like, you know, the way she had a boyfriend. But we don't see any evidence in her diary or anything that dawn was, like, threatening him in any way. So it doesn't feel like there's a real reason that he would need her out of the picture. But there was someone else mentioned in Dawn's diary who was having an affair, who dawn had threatened to expose and who really needed dawn to go away from her writings. It is clear to the criminologist Clark that for the most part, dawn lived out her life in, like, this five mile radius. She would hang out at the Kmart with a group of friends near Dan's apartment in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and at the local Wawa. Our reporter Jennifer Amell, even took a drive with Cath to all the areas that dawn would frequent. And they traced the route that dawn would usually take from her house, her short cut through the park past where Dan lived, and then to Kmart. And this was the hub of her social life. That is where she met her best friend Carol, who has a similar learning disability. Now, Carol is mentioned in Dawn's diary, and basically what happens is dawn finds out a few months before her disappearance that Carol is seeing a married man named Hampton. Now, one thing I haven't mentioned about dawn is that she was quite religious. She grew up Catholic, and she would go to church often and belong to a few Bible studies. And it's interesting because dawn never wrote about her own affair with Nick behind Dan's back as something sinful. But Kath thinks that Don would have probably viewed Carol's affair with Hampton as something more serious because he was married. So dawn actually had gone to, per her diary, gone to Hampton's wife and told her about the affair.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Oh, and I can't imagine Carol and Hampton were, like, thrilled about that.

[Britt]

No. I mean, dawn probably thinks she's doing the right thing here, but Terrell and Hampton are really mad at her for this. So Kath thinks that maybe there was some kind of confrontation about this between Hampton, his wife, and Dawn. But there is no solid evidence of this, and dawn doesn't write about any specific incident in her diary. We do know, however, that Dawn's very last entry before she disappeared is about this situation. Her last diary entry is on May 17, 1989. This is five days before her disappearance. And, Britt, I'm. Have you read it for me?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

Well, these few days have been hell with Carol and Hamp.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

They're getting more in trouble.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

Plus, his wife is asking for things.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

I know, which really isn't that much. Other than that, everything is okay. Dan is such a honey.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

Nick is a bastard.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

That's all it is.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

Well, I guess I'm going to go.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Talk to you later, Dawn.

[Britt]

So the literal last thing dawn writes is that Hampton's wife is trying to get more information out of dawn about her husband's affair. And by the way, it's worth pointing out that Hampton had an apartment right down the road from Dan and the Kmart, where we know she hung out. And Hampton is a black man. So if the witness, Kathy, really did see dawn on the 22nd, and she really was talking to a black man and it wasn't Hawkins, could it have been Hampton?

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Do they ever find out if Don got on the bus that day or, like, talked to any of the people who would have been waiting at the stop at the same time? They were all, like, in the same hospital uniform. I assume they knew each other.

[Britt]

We don't really know. So because we don't have the files, all we know is that police did interview the bus driver. Like, the guy who did that route, he didn't remember seeing Don get on. But, like, I mean, that's just relying on a guy's memory who sees probably hundreds of people passing each day.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

And would Hampton have known where dawn lived? Because if she did get on the bus and made it to Wayne, like, she could have been intercepted before she even gets home.

[Britt]

I. Here's the thing. I know Carol, who is best friends with dawn, definitely knew where she lived. So she could have told Hampton whether he knew outside of that or not. So, yeah, if dawn made it to Wayne, as she usually would after work, Hampton would know exactly when and where to, like, bump into her on her walk home. But, yeah, to your point, it would have had to have either been at the bus stop, like, before she got on or at the bus stop after she got off, before she got to her house. Because the consensus is she never actually made it back inside her house the day she went missing.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

Right. Cause the dog hasn't been let out, the voicemail, et cetera, et cetera. And did the police ever question Hampton?

[Britt]

So Cath told us that police have spoken to both Carol and Hampton several times over the years. Though, by the way, the two have long stopped seeing each other. But she told us that police recently interviewed Hampton and said that they are currently not looking into him any further, but have not officially ruled anyone out. Kath also tells us that Carol's brother is actually a detective in the next town over. So Carol would cooperate with police whenever they wanted to ask questions, but she would always bring her brother with her. And being a good and hip to police tactics and sensitive to Carol's disability, her brother has advised her to say as little as possible. Okay, I understand.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

And what about Hampton's wife? Like, we still have another player here. Did they stay together?

[Britt]

I actually want to talk to her more than anyone, since, like, she's the one trying to get dawn to give her more information right before she went missing. The thing is, she passed away in 2021. In her obituary, her family said that she was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 9. And it was like, she was in and out of nursing homes all her life due to that. And despite Hampton's unfaithfulness, they actually stayed together until her death. And we tried to get a hold of Hampton, of course, but we weren't able to. Kath also told us that over the years, she would run into Carol around town. One time, actually in the grocery store, Cath, like, turned into the aisle, saw Carol. Carol, like, stopped dead in her tracks, stared at Kath, and then, like, turned around, like, quickly to avoid her. I don't know what Cath makes of this, other than it was odd and it's, like, stayed with her, but, like, it was something that she brought up to us. So I just wanted to share and listen. I think these new lines of inquiry coming from the diary are really interesting, but Clark doesn't want to get tunnel vision, so he's still working on even more different leads. Like, he learned from Dan that he used to work at the Kmart they all hung out at and apparently there was this guy called Maurice Beal who worked there too and would hang around their group. Don knew him, but not super well. But it turns out that Maurice had a long criminal history. From 1990 to 1994, Maurice was convicted of drug possession, criminal conspiracy and assault. He also had reckless endangerment and false imprisonment charges, but those ended up getting dropped. And then in 2003, he's charged with the most serious crime. Sexually abusing his then girlfriend's 8 year old daughter and stabbing her big sister multiple times when she tried to escape him. Thankfully, big sister survived. Maurice went to court for these charges, but was never convicted because the judge declared a mistrial. And I find this interesting because on the surface, when you look at the victim type, you're like, oh, 8 year old girl, 20 something woman, very different, right? But I've seen in past cases that a certain type of predator preys on those who they deem weaker or like, easily manipulated. So you might see the same perp go after the elderly and children and those who are disabled. So what if Maurice thought that he could target dawn because of her disability and then maybe really underestimated her? I don't know. As of now, Maurice is incarcerated for another assault and harassment charge. We did reach out to him as well, but he hasn't responded. And we also sent a letter to Tom Hawkins in prison, but we didn't hear back from him either. Ultimately, there's no solid evidence tying any of these people to Dawn's disappearance.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

So where does that leave the case? Kath, her sister now?

[Britt]

Well, I mean, like I said, the old timers still have their money on Hawkins. And I get why. Because if Kathy's ID really was right and she really saw Hawkins on the 22nd, then he is one of the last, if not the last, person to see Don alive. Bruce, the prosecutor, even has a framed newspaper clipping of the Hawkins trial with the headline Hawkins sentenced to die. So it's not like it's water under the bridge for him. And Bruce told us that he is still convinced to this day that Hawkins abducted and killed Don. He is just confidently waiting to be proven. Right now. There is a new detective on Dawn's case now, Detective Brian Bell. And Cath tells us that this guy's finally going down all the rabbit holes that police should have gone down back when this was still fresh in people's minds. And though Detective Bell declined to comment on the record, my impression is that while he respects where the investigation has been, he is also trying to come at this from Like a very different angle and explore the unexplored, so to speak. And the Mozino family is thrilled to have a detective who is doing the hard work to look at past previous biases. The reality is, it's been 36 years, and the Mozino family still doesn't know where dawn is. They know nothing more today than the day she stepped out of work and vanished. So they're taking every tip that comes their way, even the ones that might seem far fetched to some people. Like one that came about two years ago. That's when Kath was contacted by what's called a remote viewer, which is a person who says they'll psychically find where missing loved ones are located and listen. Like, Kath was skeptical, but, like, what does she have to lose at this point? Well, this remote viewer zeroed in on one particular park and gave this very detailed description. And Kath thinks that the park that this remote viewer described was an exact match to the one that dawn would cut through to get to the Kmart or the Wawa, the park that's nestled between the apartment buildings where Dan and Hampton lived. It's also right down the street from the house that Carol lived in.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

And did they know anything about this park beforehand?

[Britt]

No, according to Kath, not much. Like, all she says the remote viewer was given was the FBI's ViCAP report, which had Dawn's name, picture, height, weight. That's it.

[Co-host (possibly Brit's co-host)]

And just to be clear, is the remote viewer saying that Dawn's remains are in this park or just something happened there? This is like an important part to the case. Like what?

[Britt]

She thinks that's where her remains are. And listen, I'm in the nothing to lose camp. If we can get a search done in this area, what would it hurt? I mean, the park isn't too big. There's like a playground and a baseball diamond, and it's a highly residential area. There are pockets of dense foliage where human remains could possibly be hidden. But also, like committing a crime here and not having anyone see or hear anything is pretty far fetched, unless it was in the middle of the night or it happened somewhere else. And maybe she was just disposed up there because whatever happened to dawn, we know, had to have happened in the late afternoon. For her part, Cath is a bulldog for her sister's case. She actually contacted us to cover this story, and I'm glad that we can do our small part to bring awareness to Dawn's case. Cath says that she has had this recurring dream. She's driving through this neighborhood in Wayne, just past the park and there walking up the hill is Dawn. Kath pulls the car over, tells her sister to get in, but for some reason dawn won't answer. Won't even like, look at her. She just keeps walking up the hill. And then Kath wakes up. If you have any information on the disappearance of Dawn Mozino on May 22, 1989, please contact the Radnor Township Police at 610 688-5600. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website crimejunkiepodcast.com if you want to listen to more episodes like this in all of our Episodes completely ad free, be sure to join our fan club. You'll also get early access to new.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice or Guest]

Episodes every week and you can follow us on Instagram rimejunkiepodcast.

[Britt]

We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. I think Chuck would approve.

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