The Most Macabre Discovery In A NY Home _ The New Detectives

Cleaners noticed a wall that sounded hollow. Behind it, a barrel. Inside the barrel, a black rubbish bag tied with rope. And inside the bag, skeletal remains of a woman missing for nearly three decades.In this episode, I uncover one of the most macabre discoveries ever made in a New York home — a case featured on The New Detectives, the groundbreaking Discovery Channel series that aired from 1996 to 2004 and inspired the creation of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation [citation:5].In December 1985, JoAnn Nichols disappeared from her home in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her husband James reported her missing, claimed she left a typed note, and continued living in the house for 28 years [citation:4]. Neighbors described him as "the coldest individual" they ever dealt with. He showed guests the frozen carcass of a pet cat kept in a basement freezer. He once killed an injured squirrel with a hatchet in front of screaming children [citation:4].When James died of natural causes in 2013, cleaners hired to clear the hoarded rubbish discovered the hollow wall. Inside, JoAnn's skeletal remains showed blunt force trauma to the head. The man who lived with his wife's body for nearly three decades had taken his secret to the grave [citation:4].Turn down the lights, put on your headphones, and press play — because the wall was silent for 28 years. But it finally spoke.