← Dark Downeast
Dark Downeast
The Murder of Ashley Ouellette (Maine)
00:49:33
Ashley Erin Ouellette was just 15 years old when her body was found placed in the middle of Pine Point Road in Scarborough, Maine, just before dawn on February 10, 1999. The investigation led police to the place Ashley was last known to be alive, but it has not been able to move past that location in more than 25 years. Ashley Ouellette's sister, Lindsey Ouellette, and her mother, Lise Ouellette, are on Dark Downeast to share her story.
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- [00:01]
Kylie Lowe
Hey everyone, Kylie Lowe here, and if you love delving into mysteries from New England with me here on Dark Down East, I'd like to invite you to explore even more of the world and its haunting cases on Park Predators. Every week on Park Predators, host and my friend Delia D'Ambra takes us deep into the heart of some of the most beautiful locations across the globe to uncover the darkness that even serene landscapes can hold. Every episode approaches these cases, from murders to disappearances and mysterious deaths, with the same dedication to research and heartfelt storytelling that you appreciate here. So lace up your hiking boots and join me in listening to Park Predators wherever you listen to podcasts. Dark down east is proudly sponsored by Amica Insurance. The unexpected can happen at any moment and Amica knows how important it is to be prepared. Whether it's auto, home or life insurance, Amica has you covered. Their dedicated and knowledgeable representatives will work with you to make sure you have the right coverage in place to protect what matters most. You can feel confident that Amica is there for you. Visit ameca.com to get started.
- [01:14]
Unknown
Now streaming on Hulu A wicked true crime. It was a kidnapping torture case, a.
- [01:20]
Crime of greed and cruelty.
- [01:22]
The men tortured the victim by beating.
- [01:24]
Tasing and burning him.
- [01:25]
But it didn't end.
- [01:27]
And this is where it gets really horrible. The guy was cutting off my roommate's penis. It was like a bad dream.
- [01:34]
This crime was horrific.
- [01:35]
This is Psychopath Wicked game Devil in the Desert.
- [01:39]
Kylie Lowe
This was a story about greed, sadism, evil.
- [01:42]
Unknown
Now streaming only on Hulu.
- [01:46]
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- [02:17]
Kylie Lowe
We all have cases from our hometowns and local communities that will stick with us forever. This is one of those cases for me and for countless others across the state of Maine. I'm Kylie Lowe and with the help of her sister and mother, this is the case of Ashley Willette on Dark Down East. It was just before 4:00am on Wednesday, February 10, 1999 and Michael Lopez was sitting passenger side in his mother's vehicle on his way home from work. It was quiet in the cab as they approached the marshlands that flank Pine Point Road in Scarborough, Maine. According to reporting by David Conerty Marin and Sarah Ragland for the Portland Press Herald. It was almost pitch Black. As the mother and son rounded a slight curve into the Scarborough Marsh Audubon area. But their headlights illuminated something on the road ahead. Not a moment too soon. Michael's mother swerved fast to avoid whatever it was. Michael did a double take, Realizing the shape was distinctly human. He told his mother to turn around. Michael's eyes hadn't deceived him. There was a person lying there in the middle of Pine Point Road, almost perfectly lined up with the center lines painted on the pavement. As Michael turned the body over, it didn't register at first if he was looking at a man or woman, boy or girl. He only noticed that the person's skin was blue and there was no pulse. But their body was still warm. Michael was trained in cpr, so in the yellow beam from their headlights, Michael began chest compressions as his mother called 911 from her cell. The body, in fact, was that of a young girl. Michael thought at first she had been hit by a car. But as he told David Hench and Kelly Bouchard for the Portland Press Herald, he didn't see any bruises or scrapes, just a little bit of dried blood near her nose and mouth. Her hair was combed, her hands were by her side and her legs were out straight. Almost as if she'd been placed right there at that spot for him or some other unsuspecting driver to find. When first responders arrived and continued attempts at life saving efforts, they realized it was too late. No amount of CPR would have saved her. The unidentified victim was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead. The girl had no identification on her when she was found. Police called local schools to see if any students matching her description had been marked absent. They checked recent missing persons reports and they talked to people in the Pine Point neighborhood, trying to track down anyone who might be able to identify her. Early that afternoon, still without an identification, the description of the girl was broadcast on local news. She was wearing two lightweight shirts, black leggings and platform shoes. They showed photos of the girl's tattoos. Lindsay Willette was 12 years old at the time and playing hooky from school that day when she saw the news broadcast.
- [05:24]
Unknown
Said I didn't want to go to school and I pretended to not feel good and I convinced my mom to let me stay home from school that day. And I was flipping through the channels on sitting on the couch watching tv and some news channel was posting pictures of tattoos of a body they found. And then literally like five minutes later, one of her friends starts calling, freaking out. Her friend was like Those are your sister's tattoos and nobody can talk to her. Where is she?
- [05:54]
Kylie Lowe
Lindsay didn't know yet that her older sister had tattoos she'd kept hidden from her family. Lindsay didn't know that her parents had already received an urgent message on their beeper and they were speeding to the Scarborough Police Department, about to receive news that no parent should ever have to hear. Police showed Bob and Lisa Willette a photo of the girl found in the road that morning. The mother and father positively identified the girl as their oldest daughter, 15 year old Ashley Erin Willette. Her cause of death was manual strangulation. Ashley was murdered. From the beginning, Ashley's parents, Lisa and Bob, have been the voices telling Ashley's story and fighting for her case. After Bob's passing in 2001, Lisa continued to show up for her daughter's case at every turn, amidst her own grief and loss, in hopes of someday learning the truth. Lisa has also been a dedicated supporter of causes and initiatives to help other families in Maine who are navigating the challenges of their own unsolved cases. I sat down with Lisa and Ashley's sister Lindsay on a fiercely cold but bright winter morning in York County, Maine, at the brewery Lindsay opened last year. You might notice the sound of the equipment starting up or the hum of the H VAC system as we talk. The love and warmth radiating from these two women was palpable. Lindsay has three children of her own now and Lisa cherishes her role as mother and grandmother. She will never forget the day she became a mother, the day Ashley was born.
- [07:33]
Unknown
First time I held her, I just remember holding her and touching, holding her little hands and saying to myself, now I see when a parent says they would walk in front of a train for their child, I got it, you know, and I said to myself, I wouldn't want anybody to hurt her. She was just so precious.
- [07:52]
Kylie Lowe
Lisa and her husband Bob would do anything for their daughters. If Ashley called for an after school Oreo Blizzard from Dairy Queen, Lisa would pick it up. Either daughter needed a ride to or from a friend's house or the mall or anywhere at all. Bob and Lisa chauffeured. They had rules, no doubt. And Lisa described herself as being more strict than some of the other parents in Ashley's friend group. But above all, Lisa believed in letting her kids be just that, kids.
- [08:22]
Unknown
But you know, as a young child, I mean, I just loved watching them play and made sure I used to tell them all the time, you're going to be an adult for a long time, go out and play. This is your time to be a child, you know? And I used to just sit there and watch them outside playing. See, they were close with their cousins. They were either at our house. We were at their house on weekends. It just was great. I mean, to me, it was a great. I hope you had a great childhood. Yeah.
- [08:51]
Kylie Lowe
Lindsay is almost four years younger than Ashley, and she said with a smile that in true big sister fashion, Ashley picked on her sometimes. But they were starting to enter a new stage of their sisterly relationship.
- [09:05]
Unknown
I mean, there were fun times not long before she passed where she'd come home from her friend's house, and then she'd call me into her room to just come watch I love Lucy on TV and, like, snuggle with her. Yeah. But she was. She was the typical big sister at school. Wouldn't let kids pick on me when we, you know, it was her. And her friends would come over, and I was the little doll they played dress up with.
- [09:33]
Kylie Lowe
Ashley was a good kid. Responsible, bright, meticulous. She loved a clean, organized space and having her things just so.
- [09:45]
Unknown
She was in fifth grade. I remember she called me and said, mom, I want to do laundry. How do I do it? So I explained to her how to separate the whites from the colors, not put too much bleach, you know. And from that day on, she did a laundry. She wouldn't let me touch her clothes.
- [10:02]
She was a neat freak.
- [10:04]
She was very neat.
- [10:05]
She had this carpet in her room, and she'd move it a certain way that if you tried to walk in, it would leave foot, and she'd know you were in there. So you could not sneak in and.
- [10:12]
Kylie Lowe
Like, borrow her clothes. Sisters will get it. The clothes stealing struggle is real.
- [10:19]
Unknown
I've had people tell me she. Even when she was young, she was like an old soul. And she cared about people, her friends, and she also cared about her friends, parents, Because I remember one parent telling me one time, she walked in the house after working, the house was all clean, and this would be Ashley. Yeah. She said, come on, we're going to clean the house for your mother. We're going to do the dishes, do this. She had them all working. She had all her friends working, cleaning the house. And she said, oh, my gosh, I came home. She goes, they said, yeah, Ashley made us do it.
- [10:53]
Kylie Lowe
That was Ashley's truest form, Helping and caring for those she loved. Ashley hit a rough patch in middle school and into her freshman year at Thornton Academy. She attracted the attention of older kids, which introduced her to older Kid activities. She started staying out late, partying, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. She was defiant in the face of rules and boundaries her parents tried to enforce. Lisa and Bob's attempts to reason with her erupted into arguments.
- [11:24]
Unknown
Couldn't figure out what she was angry about. And we did go to counseling. We tried family counseling, but she would just walk out. She wouldn't communicate. She. Whatever it was that was bothering her, she kept it bottled up inside.
- [11:37]
Kylie Lowe
During her freshman year, Ashley left home and wouldn't come back for over a week. Bob and Lisa couldn't find her. They heard she was staying at friends houses and wasn't going to school regularly. But no one would tell Lisa where Ashley was staying. Lisa told Ashley's friends that if they didn't want to tell her, to please tell the police where Ashley was so they could bring her home where she was safe and loved. Police eventually helped locate Ashley at a friend's house and brought her home. After seeking advice from a mental health care nonprofit organization called Sweetser, Bob and Lisa enrolled Ashley in a week long inpatient counseling program. Lisa told me that although it was difficult for her as a parent to place Ashley in the program, that week of counseling was transformative. They started to see glimpses of their warm, happy and caring daughter again. Back at school, Ashley enrolled in what was described as Thornton Academy's alternative program for students who did not do well in mainstream classroom settings. Ashley was making great progress in seeing success.
- [12:42]
Unknown
I was so proud of her and I used to tell her that, you know, I'm not afraid to tell my children that I'm proud of him or I'm disappointed or. And I never once ever dropped her off at school and not tell her I loved her. And she always said, I love you too, Mom.
- [12:58]
Kylie Lowe
The news of Ashley's death, her murder, came as a wrecking ball of shock to the cozy coastal communities of Scarborough and Saco. The halls of Thornton Academy were a mix of stunned silence and sobs. And soon the hushed rumors of what could have happened on the night Ashley died. Investigators with the Scarborough Police Department and main State Police would pay several visits to Ashley's school in the coming days as an intense investigation unfolded. Police conducted at least 150 interviews in the first 48 hours of the investigation. Those conversations helped to piece together a working timeline of Ashley's whereabouts prior to 3:57am when her body was found. Investigators learned that Ashley had attended school on Tuesday, February 9th. As usual that evening, she asked her parents if she could spend the night at her friend Aliyah Page's house at 57 James street in Saco, only about a mile from Ashley's own home. At first, Lisa hesitated. It was a school night, for starters, and past behavior hadn't exactly earned Ashley a ton of autonomy when it came to her social life. But Ashley reminded her mother that she'd been doing so well. Lisa relented and agreed to let Ashley go. She drove her to Aaliyah's herself, under the impression that Aaliyah's parents were home that night.
- [14:23]
Unknown
So I think I dropped her off, I don't know, maybe 6:37 at 10:00 she called me and I could hear in the background, you know, just the girls talking. And she goes, mama, how you doing? I said, I'm doing good, you know. I said, how about you? How are you doing? And she said, oh, we're just doing our nails. She says, we're painting our nails and our toes and. And I said, okay, well, you make sure you get up, you go to school, you know. Oh, yeah, yeah, we're all going, Mom. You know, there were three, four of them, some of her best friends. And that was it. That was the last conversation I had with her. And I told her I loved her. And she goes, I love you too, Mom.
- [14:58]
Kylie Lowe
The truth about what happened after that phone call is exactly what investigators and the Willett family have been trying to decipher for over two and a half decades.
- [15:16]
Unknown
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- [16:24]
Kylie Lowe
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- [20:40]
Unknown
Understand from the kids. Not too long after I hung up, there was a knock on the door and it was the boys.
- [20:48]
Kylie Lowe
The group of boys, which included Daniel Sanborn, told the girls at the sleepover there was a party going on at the Sanborn house and asked them all to join.
- [20:59]
Unknown
That's where instead of saying, no, I'm going to go home. I'm going to have my dad come get me. They all went, because you know how teens are. Come on, you got to go. Let's go, you know? And that's where everything happened.
- [21:13]
Kylie Lowe
Maine State Police had zeroed in on the Sanborn residence within hours of identifying Ashley's body, and a detective was there shortly after to secure the home in anticipation of obtaining a search warrant. When the detective arrived, he saw what appeared to be blood droplets on the kitchen floor leading to the living room doorway. Another state police detective had located the car that Daniel Sanborn usually drove, a 1991 Blue Eagle Summit, and shined a flashlight in through the windows. The detective could see dry brown grass on the floorboards. The car was later sent to the Maine State Crime Lab for processing. Meanwhile, police interviewed Daniel and Steven's mother, Muriel Sanborn. According to her statements, Daniel entered her bedroom sometime after 12:25am on February 10th to ask if Ashley could spend the night. And she said yes. As Muriel gathered up bedding for Ashley to use, Ashley told her that she'd gotten into a fight with her parents and they kicked her out. Muriel watched as Ashley went into the basement to sleep on the couch outside the bedrooms of Daniel and Stephen. About 15 minutes later, Muriel heard something in the kitchen and she found Daniel in the fridge getting an orange soda. He said it was for Ashley and he went back downstairs. Around 6:45 that morning, Muriel went to wake Daniel up for school. Ashley was gone. Daniel told her Ashley must have left sometime in the night. Now, whether Ashley really said it or not, Lisa told me that she did not kick Ashley out that night. Lisa has heard another version of Muriel's story too, one that definitely doesn't add up.
- [23:04]
Unknown
Her story was that Ashley left the house at 2 o'clock and started walking home. Well, if you knew Ashley, she was deathly afraid of the dark. There was no way she walked home that night. There's no way that girl would have called us before she would have walked outside that door in the dark to go for a walk. It's just not her.
- [23:25]
Kylie Lowe
According to Daniel's statements that have been made public throughout the years, he told police that Ashley was at his house and in the basement. But around 12:45am she complained that it was too hot down there, so she went upstairs to sleep on a different couch. He says that was the last time he saw Ashley. Lisa doesn't believe his story either.
- [23:51]
Unknown
The girls have told me that nobody was ever allowed upstairs, so there's no way she went. She would have had to still be in the basement. She didn't go upstairs. They're not, as you know. So I think that's a lie.
- [24:03]
Kylie Lowe
Police caught Daniel in at least one lie about his whereabouts on the morning of February 10th. He said he went to school, but Thornton Academy attendance records show that Daniel was marked absent. Investigators challenged Daniel on this and he changed his story. He said he actually skipped school and later blew off his shift at Pizza Hut to hang out with friends in Old Orchard Beach. Now, as for Steven Sanborn, who was home on the night Ashley showed up there, reportedly hoping to see him. He told police that he and Ashley previously had a brief relationship that was sexual in nature, but it was over and they were no longer involved with each other. He said he woke up on the morning of February 10th and saw that the couch was empty, but Daniel's door was closed, so he just Assumed Ashley was asleep in there with him. Stephen went to school that morning and heard the rumors that a body was found and that it might be Ashley. Summaries of Muriel, Daniel and Stephen's witness statements were part of a search warrant application filed in Portland District Court by Maine State Police, which was granted in the first few days of the investigation. According to that search warrant application, the jewelry Ashley was known to be wearing when she arrived at the Sanborn Home, mainly bracelets, a necklace and earrings, those were all missing from her body when she was found. None of her belongings, not even her backpack and books she needed for school, have ever been located, despite efforts to find them. On March 3, Maine State Police divers took to the Nunsuch river and spent about an hour in the fast moving 33 degree waters downstream from a bridge on Watson Mill Road across Nunsuch. Now, police wouldn't disclose what they were looking for or what directed them to that waterway other than it was related to Ashley's case. Maybe it was the proximity to the Sanborn Home, though, which was about a half mile through the woods from there. But whatever the significance, the effort did not turn up any items, and there were no plans to return to the river. What investigators did find with Ashley's body, though, was some dry brown grass and gravel on her pants. Grass that kind of looked like the stuff they saw in Daniel's car. When results of the testing on his car came back, it showed that the dry brown grass on the floor inside the Eagle Summit was similar to the grass with Ashley's body. Also inside the vehicle was a gold ring, a black shirt, fingernail particles, a scarf, and hair. It's unclear if investigators have determined who those items belonged to. Investigators collected numerous items of potential evidence from the Sanborn Home as well, including carpet and upholstery samples, a purple cord, a bedspread, jewelry, a condom, and a stained pillow. In addition, investigators collected samples of Daniel Sanborn's tissue, hair and fingernails, as well as items of his clothing. As for any testing and results on those items, the only thing I've seen in the source material I have access to relates to the droplets of what a detective believed to be blood on the kitchen floor at the Sanborn residence. The Boston Globe reports that the possible blood was determined to be not of human origin. The question of physical and biological evidence is a big one here. Could a suspect or suspects be linked to Ashley's murder that way? Does that evidence exist and we just don't know about it? Because if someone attacked Ashley and was within close enough proximity to manually strangle her to death. You gotta assume she was trying to claw at the hands of her attacker. Swatting and punching and kicking, doing anything within the power of her tiny frame to get away from that monster.
- [28:07]
Unknown
And I'm sure she fought, because I know her. She would have fought. And then, of course, knowing that they didn't find anything under her nails, and I don't know if you know that section of the story.
- [28:18]
Kylie Lowe
That section of the story Lisa is referring to is a theory that after someone killed Ashley, her body was cleaned. Because in the place where you might expect to find something under Ashley's fingernails was nothing. Also remember, Ashley's hair was combed when she was found. That doesn't make any sense given the circumstances of her death either. Lisa told me that the investigation has led to a person and location possibly involved in cleaning Ashley's body before she was left on Pine Point Road. That person had a family member who was in the medical field. That person's home was searched. That person is now deceased. Wherever that theory and investigative lead stands now, it hasn't produced an arrest. Ashley's Sweet 16 birthday passed without her on March 29th. Police simply could not establish enough probable cause in the case. According to reporting by Sarah Ragland for the Press Herald, police were not calling either Sanborn brother or their parents suspects in Ashley's death At that time. However, the investigation was, quote, unable to place Ashley alive outside the Sanborn residence. End quote. As the weeks went by, investigative power was downgraded from the original 30 detectives who started with the case down to just two. And even those two detectives were not exclusive to Ashley's case. Six other homicides were committed in that area in the span of time since Ashley's killing. And soon there was a suspicious missing persons case demanding the attention of Maine State Police 2. A case that would later be inextricably linked to the murder of Ashley Willette.
- [30:21]
Unknown
Now streaming on Hulu. A wicked true crime.
- [30:25]
Kylie Lowe
It was a kidnapping, torture case.
- [30:27]
Unknown
A crime of greed and crime.
- [30:29]
The men tortured the victim by beating.
- [30:31]
Tasing and burning him.
- [30:32]
But it didn't end there.
- [30:34]
And this is where it gets really horrible. The guy was cutting off my roommate's heat. It was like a bad dream.
- [30:41]
Kylie Lowe
This crime was horrific.
- [30:42]
Unknown
He's a psychopath.
- [30:44]
Wicked game. Devil in the desert.
- [30:46]
Kylie Lowe
This was a story about greed, sadism, evil.
- [30:49]
Unknown
Now streaming only on Hulu.
- [30:52]
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- [31:02]
How did I not know Rack has Adidas.
- [31:04]
Kylie Lowe
Why do we rack for the hottest deals?
- [31:06]
Unknown
Save on Madewell, Vince, Kate Spade, New York, Sam Edelman, Joe's and more. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.
- [31:23]
Kylie Lowe
You may have heard the story of Angel Tony Torres already here on Dark down East. In 2021, I released a two part episode covering his story with the help of his mother and father, Ramona and Narciso Torres. I'll link both episodes in the description of this episode so you can hear the full timeline and circumstances of his disappearance and presumed death. But for now, here's what you should know in the context of Ashley's case. The last time Ramona and Narciso heard from their son angel, who also went by Tony among friends, was May 19, 1999. He called to wish his parents a happy anniversary and to give them an update on something he'd told them about when he was home visiting from college about 10 days earlier. He and his girlfriend were planning to move in together, but their new apartment wasn't ready yet, so angel was going to be staying with his friend Irvin, also known as Cash. In the meantime, sometime around May 21, the phone rang at the Torres household. It was Angel's friend Cash. He was looking for Angel. Cash told Ramona that Angel's girlfriend was upset. She thought maybe he got cold feet about moving in together because she hadn't seen him. Ramona hung up the phone and called Angel's girlfriend herself. Same thing. No sign of angel, not since she drove him to the bus station on May 19. As far as she knew, he was heading to Maine but didn't know where he was. Now. Ramona and Narciso knew at that moment something was wrong. Angel always kept his parents informed. If he had a change of plans or was going somewhere, it was unlike their son to go no contact. So they called police to report angel missing. Angel was 21 years old at the time, an adult, so they were told to wait a few days to see if angel turned up. I'm here to tell you almost 26 years later, angel still has not returned home. Once the initial investigation into Angel's disappearance finally began, police learned that on the night angel called home to talk to his parents May 19, he was in Biddeford, Maine. Unbeknownst to his parents. According to reporting by David McQuarrie for the Boston Globe, angel may have traveled to the Old Orchard beach and Biddeford area that night to visit friends and possibly sell drugs. Reports indicate angel was alive and with an acquaintance on south street in Biddeford as late as 2am on May 21. The acquaintance we know now was a man named Jason Carney, who went by Jay. Eric Russell reports for the Portland Press Herald that Jay told police that on the night of May 21, he and angel were together at a friend's apartment in Biddeford, and then they left to go meet with individuals who were unhappy with drugs they'd bought from them earlier in the day. Police say that Jay returned to the apartment later that night without angel, and he was noticeably upset and disheveled. Jay told police that angel was supposedly getting picked up by someone at a convenience store for either a ride home to his parents house in Denmark, Maine, or to North Conway, New Hampshire. And that's kind of where the timeline ends. So where does Angel's case intersect with Ashley's? Well, Lisa learned that Jay Carney, the last person seen with angel, was among the group of people who were with Ashley on the night she was killed. It's a detail that has not been confirmed by investigators as far as anything I've been able to uncover. However, Maine State Police Sgt. Matthew Stewart told Gregory Kisick of the Portland Press Herald, quote, a number of individuals are common to both cases, particularly because of the age and peer group involved, end quote. But that's not the only reason. There's a rumored connection between the disappearance of Angel Torres and the murder of Ashley Willette. On Angel's last visit home before he disappeared, just weeks after Ashley was murdered, angel and his father were watching TV together when a photo of Ashley flashed on the screen. Seeing her face, angel turned to Narciso and he said he knew who was involved with Ashley's death. Narciso wishes he had taken angel to the police station to give a statement that very night, but he didn't. Angel didn't say anything else. I don't know if police ever interviewed angel or if the investigation had even directed their attention towards him before he disappeared. But with Angel's disappearance, any knowledge he had disappeared with him. It's long been a rumor that what angel knew about Ashley was the precise reason angel was missing in the first place.
- [36:28]
Unknown
And I really do believe that it's related. They thought he knew who had done it and he was going to go tell the police. And then, you know, the last person he was seen with was Jay Carney.
- [36:41]
Kylie Lowe
You know, Lisa told me that before Ashley's death and Angel's disappearance, they had crossed paths in life.
- [36:50]
Unknown
She knew our Angel Torres because she had asked me one time, and you know, she said, like, how would I feel if she. If she was to date him? And, you know, I always said to my girls, they gotta be as good your father. Cause my husband was a sweetheart. He respected women. He treated them like gold. He was. He was a great, you know, gotta have respect and that type thing. But that was the only thing that she ever asked me about that was the end of that thing. You know, she never went on any further. But I think she had met him someplace they might have connected in conversation. Nothing ever came out of it that I know of. But I really believe that, again, he knew something and was gonna say something. And I just feel so bad about that.
- [37:35]
Kylie Lowe
Jay Carney died in 2015. So that witness can't share what he knows. Police have not confirmed a definitive connection between Ashley and Angel's cases either way. In November of 1999, with traditional investigative measures not leading to any real results for Ashley's case, Bob and Lisa Willette decided to play an active role in finding answers. They offered to act as a go between for any witness who was afraid to come forward. They would accept phone calls at their business during work hours for anyone who wanted to anonymously communicate tips or information about Ashley's murder. By then, the reward for information had increased to $20,000, thanks to community donations to the Ashley Willett Justice Fund. And Ashley's parents said they'd see to it that anyone who came to them with useful information would qualify for at least a portion of the Reward Fund. The $20,000 reward for information, by the way, remains today. A few months after the reward increase, Bob and Lisa took to national television alongside other families still waiting for answers in unsolved cases. Psychic Sylvia Brown performed readings and gave the Willettes her prediction. Ashley's case would be solved within a year and two months. The psychic's prediction didn't come true, but again, Bob and Lisa took matters into their own hands and turned to civil court. They wanted the Sanborns to speak about what happened inside their home on the night Ashley died.
- [39:17]
Unknown
Now streaming on Hulu. A wicked true crime.
- [39:21]
Kylie Lowe
It was a kidnapping torture case.
- [39:23]
Unknown
A crime of greed and cruelty.
- [39:25]
The men tortured the victim by beating.
- [39:27]
Tasing and burning him.
- [39:28]
But it didn't end there.
- [39:30]
And this is where it gets really horrible. The guy was cutting off my roommate's heat. It was like a bad dream.
- [39:37]
This crime was horrific.
- [39:38]
He's a psychopath.
- [39:40]
Wicked game. Devil in the desert.
- [39:42]
Kylie Lowe
This was a story about greed, sadism, evil.
- [39:45]
Unknown
Now streaming only on Hulu.
- [39:48]
Just in and so good. Thousands of spring finds up to 70% off are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. And that means thousands of fresh reasons to rack.
- [39:58]
How did I not know Rack has Adidas?
- [40:00]
Kylie Lowe
Why do we rack for the hottest deals?
- [40:02]
Unknown
Save on Madewell, Vince, Kate Spade, New York, Sam Edelman, Joe's and more. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.
- [40:21]
Kylie Lowe
Within days of the second anniversary of Ashley's murder, Bob and Lisa filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Ashley's estate against Earl and Muriel Sanborn, alleging that they were negligent and that Ashley's death was caused in their home. The lawsuit accused their son, Daniel Sanborn, of assaulting Ashley and causing her death.
- [40:46]
Unknown
And I just wanted to sit across the table from him and look straight them in the eye and just, you know, I didn't give a. What it cost. Excuse my language. And I was angry. I'm still angry sometimes, you know, So I just. That's why I did it.
- [41:04]
Kylie Lowe
I tried to get my hands on the records of this wrongful death suit. But after working with multiple very helpful clerks at York Superior Court in the main judicial branch service center, no one could find the case. Not that the files were missing or destroyed. There wasn't even a docket record, as far as they could tell. The last clerk I spoke to, who helped me search York county cases and then statewide for every combination of names potentially associated with the case, gave me the sense that it was odd he couldn't locate anything. That's not to say that something nefarious happened with the files or the docket record. It's just odd. Lisa and Lindsay were confused by this, too. But Lisa has copies of everything, so she knows the case was filed, that's for certain. Lisa and Bob's argument in the civil case was that the Sanborns had a duty to hold reasonable care. And by not calling them or police or social or human services that night and letting Ashley sleep outside the room of their sexually active sons, they did not hold that reasonable care. The duty of reasonable care extended to providing, quote, a reasonably safe premises and a duty to reasonably supervise the activities of minors in their home. The suit alleged that the Sanborns contributed to Ashley's death as a result of their negligence. A civil case has a different burden of proof than a criminal case. And there would be no criminal charges resulting from the civil case either way. But depositions taken as part of the wrongful death suit could potentially reveal information that would aid the criminal investigation. Earl and Muriel answered the suit in March, admitting that Ashley stayed at their house the night she was killed, but that they were not responsible because Ashley assumed the risk of her injuries or damages. They argued that they had no duty to call Ashley's parents. Depositions were imminent until the wrongful death suit screeched to a halt. A month later, the Sanborns filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which paused any civil proceedings. The filing was made just a few days before Earl and Muriel were supposed to be deposed in the civil suit. While the Sanborns attorney said it could be used as a tactic to avoid deposition, he noted that the bankruptcy case was in the works before the civil case was filed and believed the Sanborns would be deposed eventually anyway. But then, In May of 2001, the Willett family faced another devastating loss. Bob passed away from a sudden heart attack. No one saw it coming. But there's no doubt in Lisa's mind that the previous two years had taken a toll on him. Lisa forged ahead with the civil wrongful death case. It was eventually freed from the bankruptcy proceedings and a judge ordered it could proceed in York County Superior Court. Earl and Muriel Sanborn, as well as their sons were all deposed.
- [44:12]
Unknown
They're all three. All four of them sat right there. Stephen was a nervous wreck. Couldn't stop shaking. Cause Dan just stared at me and just stared right back at him. He was cold. He was very cold.
- [44:27]
Kylie Lowe
Clips of Muriel's deposition are shown in an episode of the show Crime Watch Daily. She was visibly upset at times and the interviewer asked why. She responded with a trembling voice, quote, a little girl got killed, end quote. The interviewer clarifies, saying that he thought she might be upset about her son Daniel being questioned. She responded, quote, she was just 15 years old, end quote. The civil case ended in February 2002 when a York county judge dismissed the lawsuit. A lawyer representing the Sanborns said that the case was resolved between the two families without a financial settlement. Lisa wouldn't use that word. There was no real resolution. She still doesn't have the truth. The Sanborn family, including Daniel and Steven, have remained central figures in this case. To be clear, no one has been charged with any crimes as they relate to Ashley Willette's death. However, Daniel and Stephen have had run ins with the law unrelated to the homicide case. In 2002, Daniel was arrested for using a home computer and high quality paper to make anywhere from 500 to $3,700 worth of fake money, which he tendered at fast food restaurants and clubs. He was charged with aggravated forgery, a class B felony for manufacturing and passing counterfeit $20 bills and later sentenced to 27 months after pleading guilty to federal counterfeit charges. Daniel's Trouble continued in 2005 when he was charged with a felony, aggravated assault for allegedly causing bodily injury when he stabbed someone in the throat with a knife on January 6, 2005. He also faced charges of possession of cocaine, but it's unclear if he was convicted of those charges. His main criminal history record shows a misdemeanor assault conviction in 2007 and several possession convictions, but nothing from 2005. There have been more charges for Daniel. Among the most recent was a 2018 conviction for trafficking a synthetic opioid called U47700, known by the nickname U4 or Pink. He was sentenced to a year in prison. I was unable to reach Daniel for this episode. His public comments about Ashley's case have been sparse throughout the years as it is, but in 2001 he said, quote, all I would like to say is those who know me know me well and those who don't know me get to know me before they pass judgment because I lost a friend, as did everyone else, end quote. Steven Sanborn has seen his own convictions throughout the years, too, including driving under the influence, drug possession, endangering the welfare of a child, assault and theft. In an ambush style interview with Crime Watch Daily that was released on YouTube about eight years ago, Steven Sanborn was asked why he doesn't help bring closure to the families of Ashley Willett and Angel Torres. The reporter encouraged Stephen to tell the truth, and Stephen responded, quote, there's nothing to tell. I don't have anything to hide. Where the did my friend Tony go? Answer me that. End quote. Stephen said that if he knew who killed Ashley, that person would be burning right now. He also defended himself against the suspicion the reporter raised, saying that he never lawyered up and claimed he took a polygraph test and cooperated with police. Stephen was tired of all the pain that he personally went through as a result of the suspicion that surrounded him and his family. When asked if his brother was involved in Ashley's death, Stephen said that Daniel wasn't that kind of guy, end quote. He didn't want to answer any more questions about his brother. Maine State Police are reluctant to call any case cold. That word conjures an image of a dusty old box lost and forgotten in a basement somewhere. Instead of that terminology, Ashley's case and dozens of other cases across the state of Maine are listed as unsolved homicides on the Maine Department of Public Safety website, and they are under investigation by the Unsolved Homicide Unit. Lisa had a hand in lobbying for that unit's creation in 2014 and 2015. Despite the dedicated unit for investigating unsolved cases. For more than two and a half decades, Ashley's case has remained open and investigators have not named any suspects or made any arrests. But that doesn't mean they don't know or have a strong hunch who might be involved in her killing. Maine State Police Lt. Mark Holmquist told the Press Herald in 2019 that the killer was, quote, quite intimate in their relations with Ashley, whether it was an acquaintance or deeper than that. In 2021, Maine State Police told Chris Costa of New Center, Maine that they had a pretty good idea who was responsible for Ashley's death. But proving it beyond a reasonable doubt is the challenge that remains today. Losing her big sister the way she did and the death of her father that followed soon after changed Lindsay's childhood in many ways.
- [50:05]
Unknown
It definitely changed the way my friends saw me. And we like, I definitely lost friends. Like, it became awkward for people to be around me.
- [50:18]
Kylie Lowe
One big important thing remained the same.
- [50:22]
Unknown
My mom and my family. We have a big family. So I was lucky. You know, my aunts were always there. You know, I grew up with them always being there even before all of this happened. So it was very easy to lean on them when I needed to. Or if mom was having a bad day, I'd call my aunts up. And it's like a whole team of people.
- [50:48]
We live with it every day. There's not a day that I don't wake up without Ashley and my husband and my family in my mind. And the same thing when I go to bed and say my prayers. I just want people to know that I love my daughter. I always did. I was always there for her. So was her dad and her sister. And the family was always there for her. And she'll always be in my heart. I'll meet her someday.
- [51:18]
Kylie Lowe
Around the 15th anniversary of Ashley's death, a cross with Ashley's picture and an inscription in her honor was placed on Pine Point Road. The plaque remains in place today. You might miss it if you're not looking for it. Countless cars travel that road in the summertime, making their way to OOB and the pier or veering left to Pine Point, maybe stopping at the clambake or the bait shed for a lobster roll first before heading to the beach, the occupants unaware of what transpired along that road more than 25 years ago. How many people miss that silver cross with Ashley's name and face, not knowing that her story is left without an ending. What this case needs is for someone to speak up.
- [52:09]
Unknown
I do believe there are people out there who know more than they want to say.
- [52:15]
Yeah, I definitely feel like there are people that know things that just don't or didn't come forward back then because they were young and scared and whatnot.
- [52:28]
And now they're pushing forward and they're in there for this and I feel.
- [52:30]
Like, you know, and most of them probably have kids and can understand things differently and I wish somebody would just come and say what they know.
- [52:40]
Kylie Lowe
To anyone who may be holding a vital piece of the puzzle in the unsolved murder of 15 year old Ashley Willette, Please don't let silence stand in the way of long overdue justice. If you've been holding back out of fear, uncertainty or doubt, know that it's never too late to do the right thing. Your courage could help bring healing to a grieving family and finally close a chapter that has been open for far too long. It could be the start of a new chapter entirely, one that is defined by justice and to the individual or individuals who stole Ashley's life and have continued to cover it up, your silence does not erase the devastation you caused. For more than two decades, an entire community has grieved with Ashley's family as they have fought to preserve her memory amidst the torment of unanswered questions. You have evaded justice so far, but make no mistake, you have not escaped the consequences of your actions. Though you may have told yourself that time has smoothed over your crime, know that we have not forgotten. There is still time to own what you have done, to step forward and speak the truth. Confession cannot undo the horror, but it can acknowledge the worth of a life that was unjustly taken. By continuing to hide, you prolong the suffering of those who loved Ashley, you also deny yourself the chance to confront the guilt that shadows you. It's time. Come forward. Bring even a shred of peace to the family you devastated. Until then, as you continue to cower in the shadows, just remember, justice is inevitable. When it arrives, and it will, you will answer for what you did. If you have any information relating to the 1999 murder of Ashley Willette, please contact the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit south at 207-624-7076 or use the tip form linked in the description of this episode. There is a $20,000 reward for information in Ashley's.
- [55:05]
Unknown
Foreign.
- [55:11]
Kylie Lowe
Thank you for listening to Dark Down east you can find all source material for this case@darkdowneast.com Be sure to follow the show on Instagram arkdowneast. This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe and this is Dark Down East. Dark down east is a production of Kylie Media and Audio Check. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?
- [55:52]
Unknown
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- [56:20]
Just in and so good. Thousands of spring finds up to 70% off are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. And that means thousands of fresh reasons to rack.
- [56:30]
How did I. No, no.
- [56:31]
Kylie Lowe
Rack has Adidas. Why do we rack for the hottest deals?
- [56:34]
Unknown
Save on madewell, Vince, Kate Spade, New York, Sam Edelman, Joe's, and more. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.