The Hand in the Window: 'Dana'
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How did investigators first learn about the victim named Dana?
This is Debra Roberts. I'm here with another weekly episode of our latest series from 2020 and ABC Audio, The Hand in the Window. Remember, you can get new episodes early if you follow The Hand in the Window for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or your favorite podcast app. Now, here's the episode.
Loman loppuminen ja pakkaaminen voi tuntua ikävältä. Jopa niin ikävältä, että laukkujen kasaaminen oven eteen tuntuu hyvältä ajatukselta. Säärepori. Lomia, joiden et soisi loppuvan.
Hey, I'm Brad Milkey. I'm a reporter at ABC News. I host our daily news podcast, Start Here. And today, we've got a special edition of The Hand in the Window for you. I'm sitting here with our host, John Quinones, for a really interesting bonus episode.
What challenges did police face in identifying Dana?
So by now, you've heard the series. You know the chilling story of Sean Great, a serial killer in rural Ohio. Over the course of more than 30 hours of police interviews, Great confessed to the murders of five women. Now, you might remember, Great did not remember the full name of one of these women. He said it was something like Dana McClure. He said he killed her in a county that neighbor to Ashland. We did not have time to include this in our other episodes, but there was a whole investigation to discover who this woman was. Police were following tips from multiple counties. Forensic experts were involved. There was cutting edge technology. Well, today we're going to dive into the tale of Dana. John Quinones, thank you so much for being here.
Good to see you, Brad.
What forensic techniques were used to reconstruct Dana's identity?
It's good to be here. I mean, part of what made this whole series so chilling was the idea that someone can be like, oh, yeah, you know, I killed this person. I assaulted this person. Like, it's just another chapter in this story. So I would like you to take us back to the fall of 2016 when Sean Great first mentions this unidentified victim. He's in jail after being arrested for kidnapping, rape, two murders. And Detective Kim Major asked Great if there's anything else he wants to get off his chest. And he says there is.
I'm thinking her name is Dana. I totally forget her name after a while.
Dana. I think her name is Dana. So chilling to hear. I guess what else came out in this interview?
How did isotope testing help in the investigation?
You know, Brad, it's a riveting series about a vicious serial killer in Ohio and a female detective, a woman detective, who got him to confess. Detective Kim Major, as you mentioned, spent hours confessing. with the killer, Sean Gray, trying to get to the details of who the heck this woman, Dana, was. It turns out she was a traveling salesperson, sold magazines door to door, and had gone to his house and had promised to sell, he says, his mother some magazines, but never delivered them, right? So Sean Gray is very angry and upset. Later, he's at another house, his grandparents' house. And here comes the saleswoman again selling magazines. And he invites her into this house. He invites her in. There's a conversation about magazines.
And then he strangles her. She falls. And then she wakes up again. He panics.
What role did genetic genealogy play in identifying Dana?
And he stabs her. Now, Great winds up dumping her body. and eventually setting it on flames. He set it on fire. This was back in 2006 in Marion County, which is a neighboring county next to this town where other murders had happened, Ashland, Ohio.
What did investigators know about this victim? Because he's saying somebody named Dana. I guess, what did they know about her as this starts unfolding?
Well, her body was found in 2007 on the side of the road. No clothing. There was no jewelry on her. Nothing to identify her with. And her remains were partially burned because he had set the body on fire. So it was hard to find out anything about this woman.
What were the findings after identifying Dana Lowry?
What they did know was that she was white. And she was somewhere between 5'3 and 5'9". About 15 to 22 years old. But they were never able to identify her. It's not a ton to go on. No, no. This became a cold case.
So what do you do if you're the police? I guess, you know, what happens after Sean Great says, yes, I'm confessing to this murder of somebody named Dana.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did investigators first learn about the victim named Dana?
0:00–0:59
2
What challenges did police face in identifying Dana?
0:59–1:41
3
What forensic techniques were used to reconstruct Dana's identity?
1:41–2:25
4
How did isotope testing help in the investigation?
2:25–3:24
5
What role did genetic genealogy play in identifying Dana?
3:24–4:08
6
What were the findings after identifying Dana Lowry?
4:08–4:49
7
How did Sean Great's confessions impact the investigation?
4:49–5:58
8
What are the implications of Dana's story for future investigations?
5:58–19:06