Appalachian Mysteria Jam Street Media

This two-part special introduces the life and death of Arthur Bagenda, an international student at WVU who drowned in a ditch within sight of the Morgantown Police station.
In this first episode, we visit the Walnut Street bridge, where a long-time local explains her problems with hard drug users at the site of Arthur's death. We review forensic photographs from the scene, hear from Arthur’s mother about the 19-year-old son she lost, and explain the first 72 hours following the discovery of his body.
Over the course of two episodes, Unattended Death will examine police reports, drone footage, forensic photographs, surveillance video, audio of police questioning, and interviews with those involved to craft a previously-untold West Virginia story.
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We have been trying to report this story for a long time. After covid interrupted our interview process, we decided to focus on other work, but three years later we’re finally ready to share the case of Arthur Bagenda.  
Unattended Death is the third Morgantown-centered story produced by Appalachian Mysteria (WVU Coed Murders / Cradle Will Rock).
The last known sighting of Arthur Bagenda was made by a video surveillance camera mounted in front of the Morgantown police station. He would be found drowned alongside Morgantown’s recreational Rail Trail – within sight of the MPD building – a few hours later.
The group of people who appear on camera seconds before Arthur seem to be carrying items found at the scene of his death, but were they involved? A private investigator hired by Arthur’s mother thinks so, but police have ruled out foul play. Like all the stories we cover, a definitive truth seems just out of reach.

[00:03:14] A WVU student's death.
[00:07:19] Under the Walnut Street Bridge.
[00:08:15] Arthur's body found beside pipe.
[00:14:01] Homelessness and drug addiction.
[00:18:00] A suspicious backpack.
[00:21:33] Crime scene photographs.
[00:23:28] The pain of losing a son.
[00:27:13] Meth-making materials found.
[00:32:28] Cause of death was drowning.

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This episode contains detective interviews with three students who headed out on the town with Arthur the night he died. After speaking to each of them, a Morgantown detective feels confident that Arthur’s death was primarily due to his intoxication.
Two months later, Arthur’s phone turns on. After tracking the GPS coordinates, police arrive at the home of a bouncer who threw Arthur out of a club just before his death. While the detective tries to figure out whether this was a coincidence, Harriet decides she is unsatisfied with the work being done by police, and hires a private investigator.
The investigator has questions about the five people who walk by the police station surveillance camera just before Arthur. One of them appears to be carrying the backpack full of meth-making equipment found under the bridge, but the detective and prosecutor don’t agree.
We delve into the details of all these issues in this hour-long episode of Unattended Death.
Resources and Links:

Appalachian Mysteria Facebook Page -- Here you can find the video and images that accompany this episode, including the backpack comparison photo made by Larry Peters, and the police surveillance camera footage of Arthur (and the group of people with the backpack) the night he died.

“Strange Creatures” – The book/zine by Larry Peters about his unusual experiences decades ago.

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A lesbian couple is found brutally murdered near the Appalachian Trail. As authorities build the first federal hate crime prosecution in the nation's history, a web of horrific crimes creeps down the Blue Ridge mountains into the heart of Virginia. A special agent who has been on the case for twenty five years uncovers details. Season 3 of Appalachian Mysteria explores the terrifying characters and narratives that weave through these stories, culminating in the violent death of a serial killer.
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The unsolved murder of a young couple in Shenandoah National Park shakes the gay and lesbian communities. One year later, a bicyclist is assaulted in the same area, and authorities begin to suspect him of serial murder.
Resources and Links: "Murder on the Mountain" (1996) — Barry Yeoman's article quoted and discussed in this episode. Trail map of Shenandoah National Park — Julie and Lollie were killed just off the Skyland / Big Meadows Horse Trail, not far from Skyline Drive.
Interviewees: Yvonne Malbasha — A Canadian paramedic and cyclist, enjoying a ride along picturesque Skyline Drive in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park. Yvonne does not realize she is being stalked by a man named Darrell Rice, who eventually tries to abduct her. Yvonne tells a harrowing story about the man who will soon become a suspect in multiple homicides. Barry Yeoman — A journalist teaching at Duke and Wake Forest universities. Barry wrote the best existing article on the lives of Julie Williams and Lollie Winans, the lesbian couple whose murder this whole season revolves around. Barbara Nordin –– A former reporter for The Hook who covered the Shenandoah murders and their aftermath, as well as Malbasha’s case against Rice.
06:05 – Canadian Bicyclist — Yvonne Malbasha
09:56 – Former Reporter for The Hook— Barbara Nordin
17:46 – Former Special Agent — Tim Alley
26:14 – Journalist Professor — Barry Yeoman
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A massive hunt for Julie & Lollie's killer begins. Some demand a hate crime investigation, drawing parallels to the attack of another lesbian couple hiking the Appalachian Trail. A lesbian defense lawyer finds herself arguing for the prosecution.
Resources and links: "Panic Defense" — Podcast episode from Criminal with Phoebe Judge explaining the fascinating history of the gay/trans panic defense. "In the Hollow" — 15-minute documentary/short film featuring Claudia Brenner returning to the scene of Rebecca Wight's murder for the first time in decades. Supplemented with scene reenactments. The Claudia Brenner Papers — Tons of resources on the Brenner/Wight story from the Cornell University Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Interviewees: Abbe Smith — Director of the Criminal Defense and Prisoner Advocacy Clinic, Co-Director of the E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship Program, and Professor of Law at Georgetown University. (Importantly for our story, she was also the personal lawyer for Claudia Brenner during the prosecution of Stephen Roy Carr.)
3:25 – New evidence on Lollie & Julie case
13:00 – Steven Roy Carr’s arrest
16:30 – Claudia Brenner explains the encounter with Steven Roy Carr
21:00 – Abby Smith: personal lawyer of Claudia Brenner
26:40 – Trial in court
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Someone is pulling over dozens of women on a road just 15 miles from Skyline Drive. Alicia Reynolds disappears. At least three bodies turn up in a small hamlet nearby. The Innocence Project fights to free a man convicted of murder.
Resources and links: Rt 29 Stalker — Unsolved Mysteries Wiki Twenty Years Later — Article by Scott Shenk on the 20th anniversary of the murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds.
Interviewees: Scott Shenk — Reporter with the Fredericksburg Freelance-Star.
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