8 episodes
The Long Dance Podcast Eryk Pruitt
-
- Society & Culture
-
-
4.5 • 362 Ratings
-
On February 12, 1971, in Durham, North Carolina, a 20 year-old nursing student and her 19 year-old boyfriend left a Valentine's Dance to park down a secluded lover's lane. They never returned. Two weeks later, their bodies were found deep within the Carolina pines. They had been strangled, tortured, and murdered.
Their murders have never been solved.
THE LONG DANCE is the story of the lives touched by the murders of Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane. Produced by crime fiction author Eryk Pruitt, investigative reporter Drew Adamek, and sound engineer Piper Kessler, it uses recorded interviews to tell the tragic tale of North Carolina's most baffling murder case. The eight-part true crime podcast is perfect for fans of SERIAL and S-TOWN.
-
The Long Dance Podcast Episode 1 - Pat and Jesse
Listeners are introduced to Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane through interviews with family, friends, and colleagues. We learn about their lives and the horrors they faced when the couple went missing, then their bodies are found. "Pat and Jesse" serves as an introductory overview of the case
Download Episode
-
The Long Dance Podcast Episode 2 -The Two Tims
The case is reopened forty years later by Captain Tim Horne of the Orange County Sheriff's Office. As he reassembles the case file, he guides the listeners through the early phases of the 1971 investigation, which was led by Sgt. Tim Bowers of the Durham Police Department, and begins to compile a list of suspects. Download Episode
-
The Long Dance Podcast Episode 3 - The Tangle of Jurisdiction
When Pat and Jesse's bodies were discovered just over the Orange County line, this began a long chain of events which challenged accountability, responsibility, and the tangle of jurisdiction. Six different law enforcement agencies were tasked with finding the killer, and this created more problems than solutions, possibly allowing a killer to go free.
Download Episode -
The Long Dance Podcast Episode 4 - Motive, Means, and Opportunity
Over the course of the forty-six-year investigation, many suspects were developed and ruled out. Three have never been eliminated. In Episode Four, Drew and Eryk discuss the first of those three, James Brannon Ray. Using interviews with original investigators, witnesses, and family members, the case against Ray is laid out for the listener.
Download Episode -
The Long Dance Podcast Episode 5 - The Curious Case of Dr. J**** W*****
The second of three suspects is presented. A doctor and textbook author at Duke lived a tormented and complicated life, striking terror and fear into all of those who came in contact with him. Could an innocent encounter with the young student nurse be the impetus for North Carolina's most baffling murder mystery?
Download Episode -
The Long Dance Podcast Episode 6 - Rule 404B
Episode Six reveals the identity of the only living suspect of North Carolina's Valentine's Day Murders. After forty-six years, every investigator expresses frustration that one man may have slipped through their fingers, thanks to his standing in the community, as well as a series of unfortunate factors. Interviews with original and current investigators, prosecutors, and even the suspect himself, highlight this installment of the mystery.
Customer Reviews
Great story, exceptionally well told
This ranks right up with the best true crime podcasts. The research is very diligent. The construction of the narrative is excellent. The reporting is high quality and objective with lots of first-hand sources interviewed. The information collected by this project significantly progressed the investigation.
Favorite podcast
This podcast is so haunting. I’ve listened to it more than once. I hope there is justice for the victims someday.
Promising but poorly executed
I am from NC and have affiliations with the modern inhabitants of Watts Hospital, so I was interested in this story. However, it was a slog to get through all the episodes. The producers’ inability to edit down Tim Horne’s interviews and or to pivot from the frequent melodramatic commentary made it a very tough listen.