In an riveting and exclusive followup to a recent episode of After Hours AM/America’s Most Haunted Radio — Thursdays 9-11pE with hosts Joel Sturgis and Eric Olsen — we talk with documentary filmmakers Josh Zeman and Rachel Mills about new evidence that has come forth since the recent airing of their true crime documentary series, THE KILLING SEASON. Josh and Rachel will break new developments in the Long Island Serial Killer case in the 10pE hour, when we also be joined by forensic psychologist Dr. Clarissa Cole. In the 9pE hour, Joel and Eric will delve the week’s paranormal news and give thoughts on the new year.
True crime documentaries often shed new light on old cases, sometimes they even turn up new evidence, but rarely does an investigative documentary become the impetus behind the reexamination of a whole category of unsolved cases across the nation, turn up significant new evidence, and get at least one case officially reopened. Such is the case with Josh Zeman and Rachel Mills’ THE KILLING SEASON, which just ran in eight one-hour episodes on A&E.
We talked with Josh and Rachel back in November before the show premiered and were astonished with what they accomplished in the course of the series, which began with a fresh look at the unsolved Long Island Serial Killer series of murders and broadened out to include a possible network of serial killers of young women across the nation. Most of the women were involved with drugs and the sex trade and not necessarily high on law enforcement’s list of priorities, but every person counts — or should count — and a rash of unsolved serial killings is a rot that goes to the very core of the nation’s moral fabric, and a network of serial killers in communication with each other should strike terror in every heart.
“Peaches” killing evidence courtesy Long Island Press
What even more astonishing, though — and why we have brought Josh and Rachel back to the show so quickly — is what has happened since the show aired. Rachel gave us taste of what’s to come in tonight’s episode. “Though the show in its first iteration is done, we are still invested in the cases, especially the Long Island case since it’s in our own backyard. We continue to work closely with Todd Matthews of NaMus [National Missing and Unidentified Persons System] who assisted with putting the pieces together to show that ‘Peaches’ is the mother of the toddler whose remains were also found in the area. Continuing our work with Todd, we are anticipating more developments to occur over the coming months. We also have people continuing to reach out to us after watching the show and feel a responsibility to follow up on leads which we feel we can be service to or turn leads over to Law Enforcement.
THE KILLING SEASON is a riveting documentary series digging very deeply into a succession of murders on Long Island, attributed to the Long Island Serial Killer (LISK). The eight episode series from executive producers Alex Gibney (Enron, Going Clear, Taxi to the Darkside) and Josh Zeman (Cropsey, Killer Legends) follows documentarians, Zeman and Rachel Mills as they investigate one of the most baffling and intriguing unsolved serial killer cases of our time — ten dead sex workers discovered on Gilgo Beach, Long Island, four laid out along Ocean Parkway like trophies.
Authorities believe these killings are the work of the Long Island Serial Killer, who after five years remains at large. Many of the victims, often referred to as the “Missing Missing,” are never accounted for and their murders are far less likely to be solved. Forging relationships with a motley alliance of cyber-sleuths, journalists and victim’s families, Zeman and Mills uncover connections that suggest Long Island is just the beginning. Zeman and Mills uncover a web of eerie connections to unsolved murders from Atlantic City to Daytona Beach to Albuquerque and beyond — revealing that serial killers are targeting sex workers in record numbers, using Craig’s List and similar listing sites on the Internet as their virtual hunting ground.
Joshua Zeman
Joshua Zeman has been at the forefront of the true crime genre for the past decade. His critically acclaimed horror documentary CROPSEY, a critic’s pick with The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Roger Ebert, was called “one of the year’s best documentaries” and “one of the scariest films of the year” in 2011. Off the success of CROPSEY, Zeman created KILLER LEGENDS for NBC Universal, an anthology series that examines true crimes that have inspired our scariest urban legends. Premiering as both the #1 downloaded documentary and horror film on iTunes in July of 2014, KILLER LEGENDS has since become one of the most watched true crime documentaries on both Netflix and Hulu.
Rachel Mills
Rachel Mills began her career in filmmaking at the much-lauded Edit Center, in New York City. As Director of The Edit Center, Mills selected and shepherded such documentary and narrative films as: WINTER’S BONE, GREGORY CREWDSON: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS, and GARBAGE DREAMS. In 2010, Mills moved into producing with A MATTER OF TASTE, a feature documentary profiling famed chef Paul Liebrandt, which premiered on HBO. TASTE won a James Beard Award and also garnered an Emmy nomination.
In 2013, Mills partnered with award-winning filmmaker Joshua Zeman to produce and co-star in KILLER LEGENDS, a documentary investigating true crimes that have inspired our scariest urban legends. Most recently, Mills produced MAVIS!, a documentary on gospel/soul music legend and civil rights icon Mavis Staples and her family singing group, the Staple Singers. The film received critical acclaim after its SXSW premiere in 2015, being named “one of the best music documentaries of this decade” by Paste Magazine. HBO picked up the film soon after and in February of 2015, MAVIS! had its broadcast premiere.
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