The Murder of Diane Drake, Part Two

Murder, She Told

Kristen Seavey

True Crime, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

1980 - Newport, Rhode Island. On the morning of March 22, 1980, the nude body of 19-year-old Diane Drake washed up on Easton’s Beach between Middletown and Newport, RI. She had vanished the night before on her way to work. Forty-five years later, her killer remains at large. Yet, despite the passage of time, Diane’s family continues to seek answers and keep her memory alive—though justice today may not look the same as it did in 1980. In Part 2 of Diane’s story, we explore the final hours before her disappearance, revelations from her autopsy, and the theories that could finally bring her case closer to justice. Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/diane-drake-2 If you have any information on the murder of Diane Drake, please contact the Rhode Island Cold Case Unit tip line at (401) 468-2233. You can also call the anonymous tip line at the Newport Police Dept at (401) 846-2606. Donate to the Diane Drake Memorial Scholarship Fund at Roger Williams University. Choose ‘Make a Gift to RWU’, select Other, and write in Diane Drake Memorial Scholarship: https://www.rwu.edu/giving/ways-to-give If you contribute to Diane's scholarship, please email me at [email protected] for a gift. Support Murder, She Told: https://www.murdershetold.com/support Learn more: murdershetold.com ----- Instagram: @murdershetoldpodcast Facebook: /mstpodcast TikTok: @murdershetold Episode Sponsors: HoneyLove: Get 20% OFF at honeylove.com/SHETOLD ZBiotics: Get 15% off your first order at https://zbiotics.com/MST with code MST. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.2	At any given moment, there are up to 3,000 people in witness protection in the UK,
0:36.4	giving up their life for a new identity in a safe
0:40.2	house. But what happens when it all goes wrong? Three shot, two male, one female. And the detective
0:48.1	inspector is Nile. It's a safe house. Sheltering, a protective witness and his family. Who did this?
0:53.5	I am going to find out
0:54.4	a promise. Protection starts Sunday the 16th of March on ITV1 and ITVX.
1:17.2	I'm Kristen Cevey. This is Murder She Told.
1:25.0	This is part two of the Diane Drake story. If you haven't listened to part one, I suggest going back and starting with that one first.
1:36.4	I remember going across to the beach and just screaming, like just screaming at God,
1:41.9	the universe, whoever, that, how unfair, like, I was in disbelief and I was crying,
1:45.3	like, I couldn't catch my breath crying.
1:48.7	It was just unbelievable.
1:54.5	And one of the most traumatic life-changing things that ever happened to me.
2:03.4	The following day, Sunday, March 23rd, 1980, Dr. Williams-Sterner began Diane's autopsy, examining her body and searching for clues about what had happened.
2:07.6	We have a copy of Diane's autopsy, and the report's conclusion reads,
2:11.9	It is my opinion that Diane Drake died from strangulation with submersion and blunt force trauma. The wording is a bit
2:19.9	mysterious. Strangulation, drowning, and blunt force trauma could all individually be a cause of death.
	...

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