Welcome to episode 2 of A Closure Denied. My cold case true crime podcast. Happy New Year Everyone. I wanted to get my first podcast out to correspond with the anniversary of the cold case murder of Dana Bradley. Going Forward, there will be a new show every Monday. Today I will be discussing the cold case disappearance of Jennifer Hillier Penney.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll be down tomorrow evening.”

This was the last thing that Jennifer Hillier-Penney ever said to her sister, Yvonne Hillier-Decker.

An alleged kidnapping and murder haunts a remote Newfoundland town.

The small, remote town of St. Anthony, N.L., located on Newfoundland's northern peninsula, was cold on a Wednesday night in November 2016.

This town certainly has a sense of tension. Over the past 15 years, four people have disappeared from this community of over 2,000. They have never been found. According to the police, Hillier-Penney's disappearance is different from the three other cases that were chalked up to misadventure. Hillier-Penney’s friends say she’d been willing to stay with her daughter at her estranged husband’s house that week because he was out of town, though she still had lingering fears that Penney might stop by the house. Her estranged husband's home was the last place she was seen after she spent the night caring for their youngest daughter.

She discovered her mother's coat, keys, and passport were still on the ground after waking up the next morning.

Jennifer told Deana she was going to lie down because of a headache and to call her when she needed to be picked up.

She came home after her curfew of 9:30 p.m. so she crept into the house so her mother wouldn't know she was late. She went to her bedroom without seeing her mother that night.

Six years ago, Jennifer Hillier-Penney disappeared without a trace, and her brother fears the police will soon declare the case a cold case, leaving the family without closure. Listen on your favorite podcast platform.

The RCMP encourages anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact the RCMP Major Crimes Unit West 709-637-4420. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit www.nlcrimestoppers.com or use the P3Tips app.

Notes/Sponsor

Sponsor 1

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/evidence-dean-penney-jennifer-hillier-1.5398939

https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2022/rcmp-continues-investigation-disappearance-jennifer-hillier-penney-missing-2016

https://vocm.com/2022/11/30/rcmp-missing-person-jennifer-hillier-penney/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/hillier-penney-disappearance-five-years-1.6264257

Greetings and welcome to the first episode of A Closure Denied Podcast. During today's show, I will discuss Dana Bradley's cold case murder. It has been 41 years since this terrible crime occurred. On December 14, 1981, this case occurred in my hometown of St. John's in Newfoundland, Canada. I was nine years old. Where I live, murder is still a rare occurrence even in 2022. The event occurred 41 years ago, and it was very shocking. My first episode is based on this cold case.

Introduction

Dana Bradley was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, on July 24, 1967. Patrick Street was where she lived with her family. Described as being bright, an excellent student, and passionate about art, she was a ninth grader at I. J. Samson Junior High School. Besides being an artistic student, Dana had a lot of friends. She had lived with her mother, Dawn, and stepfather, Jeff Levitz. An unknown murderer took her too soon when she was just 14 years old.

The disappearance

Her mother's birthday celebration was around 5 pm, so she hitchhiked home from a friend's house along Topsail Road. She was last seen entering a four-door 1973 to 1976 Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant by two brothers. Other witnesses also provided the driver's description.

The Discovery

Dale Smith and his family were out on December 18. A Christmas tree was on their wish list, but they decided not to go to the lot to buy one. In Maddox Cove, they hiked into the remote woods. It was also a place where people disposed of items, and it was littered with garbage.

As soon as Dale looked at the snow, he noticed footprints. Then he saw what appeared to be a mannequin. The body was not that of a mannequin, but of Dana Bradley. The police were notified after Dale returned the family to the car.

The Autopsy

An autopsy revealed that Dana died of blunt force head trauma. On the day of her disappearance, Dana's skull was fractured, and the medical examiner confirmed that she was probably killed on the same day that she disappeared.

Possible Suspects

The chief inspector in this case received a note in 1986. An ex-convict named David Somerton killed Dana, according to the note. David admitted killing Dana when he was confronted. As a result of being held for 18 hours, he later claimed they forced him into confessing. A two-year prison sentence was imposed on him for public mischief and for wasting police time and resources.

In 1982, a man made cruel, harassing phone calls to the Bradley family and was sentenced to nine months in prison.

It wasn't until 2014 that another suspect was raised. A man named Robert, who came forward, claimed that he witnessed the death of Dana. Despite repressing the memory of that day, Robert wanted to speak out.

He identified the killer as a family friend, Thomas Cary.

Anyone with information about Dana’s murder should contact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at 709-772-5400, or call the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-222-8477.

Thanks so much for listening. We will be doing cold cases from around the world but the next will be a 4 part series of 4 people who went missing over the years in St. Anthony Newfoundland never to be seen again. For more information check the show notes.

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If you would like the text version of the podcast check out https://robertjglasco.medium.com/the-cold-case-kidnapping-and-murder-of-dana-bradley-1378799fd1ac

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A quick introduction to my new True Crime Podcast and a bit about myself. Hope that you enjoy