Presenting True Crime News: The Podcast

Summary

Podcast Summary: Heart Starts Pounding x True Crime News

Episode Title: Presenting True Crime News: The Podcast
Air Date: March 27, 2026
Host: Heart Starts Pounding
Featured Host (True Crime News): Ana Garcia
Guest: Patricia E. Gillespie (Director, The Secrets We Bury)

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Episode Overview

This crossover episode of "Heart Starts Pounding" features an engrossing segment from "True Crime News, the podcast." The focus is the haunting true story of the Carroll family: a seemingly ordinary Long Island family concealing a deadly secret in their basement for over five decades. The episode also explores the making of the new documentary "The Secrets We Bury," now streaming on HBO Max, with director Patricia E. Gillespie.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappearance of George Carroll (00:00–03:20)

• Ordinary Family, Extraordinary Mystery (00:00–01:01)

  • The episode begins by underscoring how the most chilling cases are often close to home, hinting at the lurking horror beneath a façade of normalcy.
  • Host introduces the George Carroll story: a father who vanished, leaving behind a family and a legacy of questions.

• Case Background (02:00–03:20)

  • In 1963, George Carroll, a Korean War veteran and father of four, disappears from his Long Island home.
  • The family, including wife Dorothy, is left with only a vague story: George “went to get a packet of cigarettes”—despite leaving behind his car, wallet, and personal effects.
  • Notably, George’s disappearance is never reported to the police, and his last paycheck remains unclaimed—a huge red flag for the guests and hosts alike.

“He left behind his wife and four children and a lot of unanswered questions. For years, the family lived with the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to their father.” — Host Heart Starts Pounding (00:28)

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2. Family Secrets & Unanswered Questions (03:20–05:00)

• Red Flags & Family Mysteries (03:20–04:43)
  • Patricia E. Gillespie highlights how the Carroll children only started to question their father’s disappearance as adults.
  • Mike Carroll, the youngest, recalls a watershed moment: discovering that the man whose house he delivered papers to for years was actually his grandfather—a secret kept by his mother.

“He ended up hearing a knock at the door and seeing his mother go out, and it was the man from that yellow house delivering to his mother a box of possessions. Mike said, ‘what’s that?’ And she says, ‘that’s your father’s stuff.’ … She says, ‘that’s your grandfather.’ And no one had ever told Mike.” — Patricia E. Gillespie (03:40)

• Perpetuating Silence (04:43–05:00)
  • Gillespie reflects on the palpable "energy of secrets" within the family, lingering and festering over the decades.

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3. Grandparents & Fractured Families (05:00–05:42)

• A Family in Isolation (05:00–05:42)
  • Further revelations: George's mother (Mike’s grandmother) reportedly hired a private detective, who suspected foul play and took photographs of the basement. However, George's mother died long before the truth emerged, and her suspicions went unresolved.

“There had been stories and rumors of George’s mom actually hiring a private investigator who broke into the house and took pictures of the basement and had serious questions about it. So… But none of that ever came to bear fruit because she passed away long, long before this crime was ever solved.” — Patricia E. Gillespie (05:19)

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4. The New Man in the House (05:42–06:54)

• Shifting Family Dynamics & Motive (05:42–06:54)
  • Shortly after George’s disappearance, Dorothy Carroll begins a relationship—and later marries—a local man who had been helping George with home renovations.
  • This man was once a friend of George’s and had stayed at the house. His increased prominence in the family raises deep suspicions about his involvement.

“When George disappeared, he [the handyman/friend] ended up marrying Dorothy, George’s wife.” — Patricia E. Gillespie (06:42)

• Host’s Reaction (06:54)
  • Ana Garcia candidly calls the situation “fairly suspicious,” highlighting the emerging web of betrayal and secrecy.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “It’s shocking to believe that… George Carroll, the patriarch of this family, the entire time had been in the basement of the home.”
  — Ana Garcia (02:00)
• “There was an energy of secrets around that whole thing, and he couldn’t really get a straight answer.”
  — Patricia Gillespie (04:43)
• “When George disappeared, he ended up marrying Dorothy, George’s wife.”
  — Patricia Gillespie (06:42)
• “Well, that’s fairly suspicious.”
  — Ana Garcia (06:54)

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Memorable Moments

• Revelation of the Hidden Grandfather (03:40): Mike discovers his grandfather’s identity after years of unknowingly delivering papers to his house—a poignant example of “normalized” family secrets.
• The Psychic's Role (00:45): The turning point in the case comes after a visit with a psychic, which prompts the Carroll children to literally dig deeper, leading to the discovery in the basement.
• Basement Revelation (02:00, implied in segment): The entire time, George’s body was hidden in the basement, a chilling fact tying together decades of unanswered queries.

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Introduction and premise (00:00–01:01)
• Summary of case and introduction of guest (01:01–02:23)
• Case background: Disappearance and immediate red flags (02:23–03:20)
• Mike’s recollection of the secret family connection (03:20–04:35)
• Discussion around grandparents and investigations (05:00–05:42)
• Revelation about Dorothy’s remarriage and suspicion (05:42–06:54)

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains a quiet, suspenseful tone, appropriate to the topic of hidden family trauma and chilling secrets. Both hosts and guest speak measuredly, with moments of genuine shock and empathy.

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Summary

This episode offers a deeply unsettling look into how secrets can fester within families for generations. The Carroll case—a man who vanished, the children kept in the dark, and answers buried (literally and figuratively) in the basement—reminds listeners that sometimes, the darkest crimes aren’t committed by strangers, but by those closest to home. Director Patricia E. Gillespie’s insights into the making of “The Secrets We Bury” elevate the discussion, exploring themes of family silence, denial, and the relentless pursuit of truth.

The podcast is highly recommended for fans of true crime, family mysteries, or anyone fascinated by the psychological complexities of buried secrets.

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For more chilling cases and discussions, follow @heartstartspounding and check out “The Secrets We Bury” on HBO Max.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, everyone. As part of the true crime community, we know the cases that really stay with us aren't always the loudest or the most sensational, but the ones that happen inside families who, from the outside, look completely ordinary. The ones that make you wonder how something so dark could stay hidden for so long. Today I'm going to share with you an episode from True Crime News, the podcast. It's a show that digs into some of the most shocking cases and the investigations that slowly unravel them. This episode focuses on a haunting mystery that lingered for decades. It's one that I remember following as it unraveled. When George Carroll suddenly disappeared. He left behind his wife and four children and a lot of unanswered questions. For years, the family lived with the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to their father. Then, after a chance visit with a psychic, they began digging into the past and uncovered a deadly secret that had been hidden in their own basement all along. It's a case that's both heartbreaking and deeply unsettling. And I think you guys are going to get a lot out of it.

[B]

Hello, and welcome to a special edition of True Crime News, the podcast. I'm your host, Ana Garcia. Everyone in the world of true crime has a story to tell about a case they worked on or they lived through. Some are high profile, some you have never heard of, but they are all fascinating. Today's case is about a deadly family secret hidden in in the basement. Generations of the Carroll family lived in the home, wondering whatever happened to the patriarch. The story was he just walked away from the family. Well, following a hunch and guided by a psychic vision, we now know what happened. His murder and the secrets surrounding it are the subject of a new investigation discovery documentary called the Secrets We Bury, streaming on HBO Max. Our guest today is Patricia E. Gillespie, the director of the Secrets We Bury. Trish, welcome to the program.

[C]

Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

[B]

So this is a fascinating case. I must be honest, I haven't seen it yet. I've only seen clips of it, but was reading some of the research on this, and it's shocking to believe that, you know, George Carroll, the patriarch of this family, the entire time had been in the basement of the home.

[C]

Indeed, yes. I think it came as quite a surprise to everyone in the film.

[B]

Oh, my goodness. So this, you know, it goes back to 1963. Just a little bit of background here, and then you'll lead us through this. George Carroll of Long Island, New York, vanished. Right. He just left behind his wife and four children. The kids have always had questions. Obviously, when people just disappear and people just don't disappear. A few do want to, but that is in the minority. And so, you know, his wife Dorothy, having to take care of the four kids. Her story was to the children that he simply went to get a packet of cigarettes, which, of course, didn't make sense since he left, what, his car, his wallet, it just. I just find that. And that no one reported him missing to the police.

[C]

No one picked up his last paycheck. You know, there were a bunch of things that didn't totally make sense, but when you're young, you. You know, whatever you hear from your mom is what you believe. And it wasn't until the Carroll children were older that they really started to ask questions. And I think one of the watershed moments for Mike. Mike had been. Mike's the youngest of the Carroll children, and one of the big moments for him was he'd been a paper boy growing up, and he delivered in the block surrounding his home, and there was this one yellow house that always sort of stood out to him, and he couldn't figure out why. And then when he was about 17 or 18, he ended up hearing a knock at the door and seeing his mother go out, and it was the man from that yellow house delivering to his mother a box of possessions. And Mike said, what's that? And she says, that's your father's stuff. He says, well, why does he have it? And she says, that's your grandfather. And no one had ever told Mike that he'd been delivering papers to his grandfather for, you know, seven or eight years. They had been kept totally separate. So I think at that point, he knew something was going on.

[B]

Okay, well, that is just bizarre. How. How would you not know that your grandparents. How do you not know that. That these are your grandparents?

[C]

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think there was an energy of secrets around that whole thing, and he couldn't really get a straight answer. And so that sort of lingered in his brain for the rest of his life there, and he started to put the pieces together over the ensuing decades.

[B]

So these grandparents, I'm just curious, are they George's parents? George's missing?

[C]

George's mom and stepfather, yeah.

[B]

Now, one would think, Trish, that they would have called the police. I mean, if their son is missing, like, how did they not get involved in an investigation?

[C]

Yeah, I mean, there had been stories and rumors of George's mom actually hiring a private investigator who broke into the house and took pictures of the basement and had serious questions about it. So. But none of that ever came to bear fruit because she passed away long, long before this crime was ever solved.

[B]

How bizarre. Okay, so let's. Can you walk us through here? And really, the main people involved here. So the story is that George Carroll walks away in 1963, last time that he is seen alive. Okay. After he disappears, there is a man who becomes prominent in this family. Who is this man? What role does he play?

[C]

Yeah, so George had come home from the Korean War. He was a Korean War veteran. And, you know, in making the adjustment, coming back home with, you know, four kids, he decided he wanted to add an extension onto the house, do some work onto the house for Dorothy and the kids. And he hired a local man to help sort of do this extension and do some work. And this guy ended up becoming a good friend of George's and staying at the house when he had nowhere else to stay. And when George disappeared, he ended up marrying Dorothy, George's wife.

[B]

Well, that's fairly suspicious.

[A]

If you want more cases that go beyond the headlines, be sure to follow True Crime News, the podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.