Episode 43 – Originally Published 2017
Content warning: This episode contains adult subject matter, including the story of missing persons and descriptions of murder, which may be upsetting to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.
On July 11, 1972, 17 year old Dolores DellaPenna disappeared from her Tacony, Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood. It was midnight, and she was mere feet from her home. Dolores was a recent high school graduate who just returned from a trip to Disneyworld with her family, after spending a few weeks in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, after graduation. Dolores planned to become an x-ray technician and was excited about spending the summer with high school friends before beginning her studies at Nazareth Hospital in the fall.
Eleven days after Dolores disappeared, her remains were found in a desolate section in the New Jersey Pine Barrens in Tom’s River, New Jersey. Philadelphia police worked around the clock to solve Dolores murder yet it took over 20 years to identify multiple suspects. Today, 45 years after Dolores DellaPenna’s murder, no one was ever charged.
Thank you to Margo D, co-host of Book vs. Movie podcast, What a Creep and Dorking Out podcasts, and Jeremy Collins, host of Podcasts We Listen To, for their voice over work n this episode.
TwistedPhilly is researched, hosted, and produced by me, Deana Marie, and available biweekly wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Tiktok and Instagram at twistedphilly to see many of the locations and histories I discuss in the show.
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