Crimery
CRIMERY is a long-form true crime podcast that goes beyond headlines to examine the people, psychology, and systems behind some of the most disturbing crimes in American history.
Each episode is built from original research, police records, court documents, and contemporary reporting — presented with narrative restraint and respect for victims and their families. CRIMERY focuses not just on what happened, but how it was allowed to happen, and why certain cases continue to haunt communities decades later.
From unsolved disappearances and cold cases to infamous crimes hidden behind public personas, CRIMERY strips away myth, rumor, and sensationalism to reveal uncomfortable truths — about power, violence, silence, and the cost of looking away.
This is not fast crime.
This is not speculation disguised as storytelling.
These are carefully constructed investigations into crimes that still matter.
Crimery
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JOLENE LAKEY: ONE BLOCK FROM HOME
An 11-year-old leaves Mercy Hospital in Scranton with a stuffed animal for her mom and starts the short walk home—broad daylight, one block to go. Witnesses see a girl matching Michelle “Jolene” Lakey get into a light yellow car near North Washington Ave. She is never seen again.
This episode of CRIMERY traces the chilling threads that still haunt Northeast PA: the three-day ransom call that named Nay Aug Park, the unexplained purse found on Jolene’s dresser, and years of scrutiny around a familiar adult she called “Uncle Frank”—later convicted in a separate child-murder case. We follow renewed leads sparked by a 2020 anonymous letter about screams and fire along I-81, and the annual August 26th walk that retraces Jolene’s final route, feather and purple ribbon in hand.
You’ll hear:
- Timeline: Mercy Hospital → Myrtle St. → North Washington Ave. → the light yellow car
- Why the “purse on the dresser” detail fractures the case narrative
- Known persons of interest and what’s confirmed vs. unresolved
- How modern re-checks (letters, searches, community memory) keep the case alive
Content warning: missing child, potential child homicide.
Know something? Tips can be anonymous.
Scranton Police: 570-348-4139 • PA State Police: 570-963-3156 • NCMEC: 1-800-THE-LOST
Reward: $5,000
Host: Jennifer Novotney • Show: CRIMERY – True Crime Uncovered
CRIMERY
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Legal: Everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Content may include descriptions of violence. Listener discretion advised.
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