NEWPORT, Maine — Maine-based podcast "Murder, She Told" has grown in success, telling the stories of cold cases in the state and across New England.
Creator Kristen Seavey has lived in Maine the majority of her life and has always been interested in true crime, often leaning toward the genre as an avid-podcast listener herself.
"Ever since I was a kid, I grew up watching unsolved mysteries and reading Nancy Drew ... so it only felt natural that I wanted to start a true crime podcast," Seavey said.
After moving back to Maine from New York City during the pandemic, Seavey jumpstarted the podcast.
"I wanted to give those stories a voice, the stories that happened in the next town over or this town that are still unsolved," Seavey said.
Today, she has nearly 100 episodes in her roster, all of which require hours of sleuthing, research, interviews, and editing.
"There's a lot of pots on the stove, you know, hands-on-deck kind of thing. ... Probably the average amount of time is about 80 hours for one 45-minute episode," Seavey said.
Just last year, the show hit the top of the charts on Apple and Spotify podcasts.
In a sea of at times sensationalized true crime shows, Seavey said the podcast's change in focus is what she and the families she speaks with value the most.
"It's focusing on what we should be focusing on, which is the victims and their families. When people choose a show like 'Murder, She Told,' they are helping to shape the future of true crime," Seavey added.
One of Seavey's first stories she helped tell was the one of Danielle Bertollini, who died unexpectedly from an alleged murder in 2014.
Her mother, Billie Jo Dick, has adamantly been fighting for answers for her daughter and even launched the group Nellie's Army for the cause.
"It's my daughter, and I want her justice. ... Anything that we can do, we're going to do it," Dick said.
Dick said interest in telling her story, like Seavey's, can mean the world for families still searching for justice.
"Even when I do get justice, I'll still never give up fighting for others, because they need to be heard," Dick said.