Murder, She Told

1977 - Elwood, Illinois.

In September 1977, 84-year-old Alice Sturm was murdered in her bed inside her home in Elwood, Illinois. Suspicion quickly fell on Alice’s live-in granddaughter, Sheila, and her friend, Ernest Stanberry. But almost as quickly as the charges were filed, they were dropped — and Alice’s case quietly faded into obscurity for decades.

What investigators didn’t know at the time was that Ernest Stanberry was also a suspect in another murder: the 1975 killing of Judy Lord in Concord, New Hampshire, a case that remained unsolved until 2025.

It wasn’t until 2026 that our research uncovered the connection between these two cases—linking a decades-old Illinois murder to a cold case hundreds of miles away.

For nearly fifty years, Alice Sturm’s murder sat collecting dust… Until now.

This is the story of the murder of Alice Sturm.

If you have any information on the murder of Alice Sturm, please reach out to Sgt. Mike Earnest at the Will County Sheriff’s Office at (815) 727-8575 ext. 4943.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/alice-sturm

Revisit The Murder of Judy Lord, published on 2/25/26: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/judy-lord⁠

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1987 - Westbrook, Maine.

In October of 1987, 23-year-old Alice Hawkes was brutally murdered inside the apartment she shared with her boyfriend in Westbrook, Maine. Her killer left her dying on the bathroom floor, locked the door behind them, and disappeared into the night.

For nearly four decades, Alice’s case remained unsolved.

But now, after 39 years of unanswered questions, there has been an arrest. This is a short need-to-know update in the recent major developments in the unsolved case of Alice Hawkes.

The work isn’t done! If you have information related to the death of Alice Hawkes, now is the time to come forward. Please contact the State Police Major Crimes Unit at (207) 657-5710

Revisit the original Alice Hawkes Episode from 2021


Part One: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/alice-hawkes


Part Two: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/alice-hawkes-2

Find your platform for the original episode:

Part One

Part Two

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1990 - Springfield, Massachusetts.

On the morning after Christmas in 1990, a parks employee at Blunt Park in Springfield, MA, made a grim discovery: the body of 17-year-old Shana Renee Price. Initially, police suspected she had been shot, but an autopsy later revealed the brutal truth behind her death.

Shana was a young mother to a baby boy, living a vibrant life surrounded by her friends and family.

Her case received little public attention until 2022, when Springfield Police and the Hampden County DA released a phenotype composite sketch developed by Parabon Nanolabs. The sketch, created using DNA evidence found on Shana’s body, reignited hope that her tragic murder might finally be solved.

However, police still need the public’s help to bring her killer to justice.

If you have information on the murder of Shana Renee Price, please call or text her tip line at the Hampden County DA’s Office at (413) 432-9881.

This episode was originally published in December 2024.

If you are a current or former Hampden County resident, get a free DNA ancestry kit to help solve cold cases: ⁠https://hampdenda.com/news/forensic-genetic-genealogy/⁠

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/shana-renee-price

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Learn more about Investigative Genetic Genealogy: https://murdershetold.com/episodes/investigative-genetic-genealogy⁠


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1984 - Windham, New Hampshire

25-year-old Chris Bird was missing. According to his friend, Richard Brunt, he was last seen at DQ Stables after the pair returned from a camping trip in July of 1984. Days later, Chris's car was found abandoned at a nearby mall. Chris was nowhere to be found.

But Richard Brunt was hiding a violent past.

Years earlier, he had been convicted of murdering his partner in Florida before relocating to New Hampshire, where he attempted to build a new life. As Chris's disappearance deepened, attention turned to the last person known to have seen him, and investigators soon began to question whether the same dangerous patterns that marked Richard Brunt’s past had followed him north.

If you have any information on the disappearance of Chris Bird, please contact the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit at (603) 271-3658 or email [email protected].

Episode sources and photos: ⁠https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/christopher-bird⁠-2

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1984 - Windham, New Hampshire

1975 - Plantation, Florida

When 25-year-old Chris Bird didn't return home after a camping trip in New Hampshire with a friend in July of 1984, alarm bells began to ring. Days later, his car was found abandoned at a nearby mall with a flat tire-Chris was nowhere to be found.

Nearly a decade earlier, on New Year's Day in 1975, the Broward County Sheriff's Department in southern Florida received a call from New Hampshire authorities: someone had confessed to a murder in their area. When police arrived at the home, they found 28-year-old George P. Long dead on the floor.

Two cases, seemingly unrelated. Different states. Years apart. But when a newspaper article exposed a troubling past, the connections became impossible to ignore—leading investigators to focus on the one person both cases had in common.

If you have any information on the disappearance of Chris Bird, please contact the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit at (603) 271-3658 or email [email protected].

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/christopher-bird

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