Woman's Post Online Helps Crack Her Missing Sister's Case Decades Later
May 17, 2001 — the last time Sarah Turney saw her 17-year-old half-sister Alissa alive. For years, the circumstances surrounding Alissa's sudden disappearance haunted Sarah day and night, leading her on a desperate search for answers in the hope of finally uncovering the truth. But as Sarah dug deeper into Alissa's mysterious fate, she discovered that the one person she spent years protecting was actually the one she should've feared most.
Runaway
Strangely enough, her sister's disappearance didn't faze Sarah much at first. Alissa would talk openly and often about her desire to run away to California, so when the high schooler vanished on that May morning, 12-year-old Sarah wasn't surprised.
She'll Be Back
In fact, Sarah even found a note left behind in Alissa’s room seemingly confirming that she was headed for the Golden State. It still hurt to be without her, but at least Sarah could rest assured that her sister was safe and chasing her dreams. Surely she'd have to come back eventually.
No Worries
"I wasn't worried," Sarah told People. "I was under the impression she was going to be back. I don't think her being gone forever was anything that ever crossed my mind." After all, Sarah had already seen enough tragedy for one lifetime.
Tragic Loss
When Sarah was just four years old, her mother, Barbara Strahm, died from lung cancer. The Turney family vowed to stick together in the wake of their tragic loss — following Alissa's disappearance, however, this pact suddenly seemed to lose its meaning.
Accusations Begin
That's because before long, strangers and friends alike begin accusing Sarah's father and Alissa's step-father Michael of having a hand in his step-daughter's disappearance. Sarah was quick to defend him: after all, what kind of person would dare harm their own child?
Something's Off
Sarah's confidence combined with Michael's standing as a former sheriff's deputy helped shift some of the suspicion, though even his fellow officers couldn't help but feel something wasn't right. For a man who insisted he had no idea what happened to his step-daughter, there sure were a number of clues to the contrary.
Never Showed
For starters, on the day Alissa vanished, Michael told police he'd taken her out for lunch, though he dropped her back home after the two had an argument. He then claimed that, fuming from their fight, Alissa had run off to stay with an aunt who lived in California — when police contacted the aunt, she said her niece never showed.
Strange Behavior
A week later, Michael reached out to police again, telling them Alissa had called him from a payphone in Riverside, California — before the officer could ask him any follow-ups, he immediately ended the call. Was this the erratic behavior of a grieving father, or was there perhaps something more?
Taking Over
With no formal evidence against Michael the police began pursuing other leads, though these too failed to turn up anything on Alissa's whereabouts. Frustrated, Sarah decided there was no point in waiting around any longer — it was time to take matters into her own hands.
Private Eye
And so, Sarah became her own private eye, creating a website dedicated to finding justice for Alissa and searching for answers however she could. Yet time and time again, her findings only seemed to add more weight to the whispers she'd been denying for years: maybe her father had done something to her sister after all.
Grim Realization
In her late 20s, following years of investigation, it finally became clear to Sarah that her father was, in fact, capable of this crime: "For me, it was kind of like a switch." But if she was going to prove Michael's guilt, she knew she couldn't do it alone.
Internet Help
That's why along with a podcast called "Voices for Justice," Sarah began making TikToks to help bring her investigation to a wider audience. To her surprise, the videos soon went viral — including one that actually got local officials to reopen Alissa's case.
Disturbing Rumors
In a disturbing home video snippet from 1997, a 13-year-old Alissa can clearly be heard telling Sarah that "dad is a pervert." Authorities were quick to follow up on these claims with some of Alissa's friends, who revealed a sickening truth.
Shocking Allegations
In addition to verbal abuse, Alissa's friends alleged that Michael had been sexually abusing her for years as well. Finally, officers decided it was time to seek a search warrant, though what they found inside his home was far more sinister than they ever expected.
Murderous Intent
Along with dozens of homemade bombs, officers discovered a 97-page manifesto detailing a plot to commit mass murder at the headquarters of a local electrical workers union. Michael was convicted of possession of unregistered destructive devices and served seven years in prison, though for Sarah, this wasn't enough.
More Evidence
That's why following her father's release, Sarah only continued to press onward with her mission, eventually leading police to even more incriminating evidence. Officers discovered that Michael had actually installed surveillance cameras throughout his home during the time Alissa was living there, and he even monitored all calls going in and out of the house.
Chilling Contracts
But perhaps the worst discovery of all was that of a number of homemade "contracts" between Michael and Alissa, including one from 1999 that stated Michael had never molested her. After years of uncertainty, law enforcement — and Sarah — finally had all they needed.
Second-Degree Murder
On August 19, 2020, a grand jury indicted 72-year-old Michael Turney on one count of second-degree murder. The case is set to go to trial sometime in 2021, though Michael, just like always, still maintains he's innocent.
Obsessed
Authorities, however, believe Michael was "obsessed" with his step-daughter, with even close relatives saying he treated her far different than other children — even Sarah. He'd even confessed to spying on Alissa at work using a pair of binoculars on multiple occasions.
Justice For Alissa
As for Sarah, she remains optimistic that Alissa will soon have justice, and she even believes she's found a calling in helping to solve cold cases. In all her research she came across quite a few of these, but there was one so shocking that she just couldn't get it out of her head: the Sodder family. It all began on Christmas morning.
An Unimaginable Loss
On December 25th, 1945, the family's Fayetteville, West Virginia, home went up in flames, leaving five of their nine children unaccounted for: Maurice, Martha, Louis, Jennie, and Betty. All signs pointed to them perishing in the fire, but even in their intense grief, the facts just didn't add up for George and Jennie Sodder.
Not So Faulty After All
For starters, the cause of the fire — deemed "faulty wiring" — was suspect, as shortly before the blaze broke out Jennie had come downstairs to find all of the lights on. If the fire had been electrical, the power would've been dead.
I Smell Sabotage
Another red flag arose when a repairman came to asses the damages to their telephone lines. To their shock, the handyman relayed that their lines hadn't been burned like the fire report had stated; they'd been cut.
A Little Too Inconvenient
More inconsistencies only continued to pop up. The ladder that George kept behind the house had been mysteriously absent the night of the fire, and when he'd tried to move his trucks as a means of climbing to the upstairs windows, they wouldn't start despite working fine the day prior.
The Threat is Real
Even Jennie recalled hearing something rolling on the roof shortly before the fire started, and George later found a small rubber object in the yard that looked suspiciously like a napalm grenade. But had someone really intended to harm the Sodders? George had made his fair share of enemies over the years.
Not a Fan
A native of Sardinia, George was an outspoken opponent of Benito Mussolini, a stance that sometimes ruffled a few feathers in his Italian community. He'd gotten into plenty of heated arguments over the years, though as he looked out over the charred ruins of his home, one particular exchange returned to him.
Shape of Things to Come
A few months prior, a salesman had threatened George after he refused to buy insurance. At the time, his words seemed silly — now, they were eerily spot-on: "Your house is going up in smoke, and your children are going to be destroyed. You are going to be paid for the dirty remarks you have been making about Mussolini."
No Trace
Foul play clearly wasn't out of the question, though George's concerns were quickly overshadowed by another discovery — or lack thereof — at the site. Despite all five children supposedly having died in the fire, no remains were found.
Doesn't Add Up
Fayetteville fire chief F.J. Morris attributed this fact to the intense heat of the blaze, though, strangely, none of the home's appliances were burned beyond recognition. Doubting the authorities, Jennie went elsewhere for answers.
The Crematorium's Answers
Jennie consulted a local crematorium, learning that bones typically remain even after bodies are alight for two hours at 2,000 degrees — the Sodder home had burned in just 45 minutes.
A Flicker of Hope
With evidence mounting, George and Jennie resolved that until the bodies were recovered, there was still a chance that their children were alive. They began canvassing nearby towns, soon discovering that there had been a handful of "sightings" of the missing five in the days after the fire.
Was It Really Them?
One woman claimed to have seen the children peering from a passing car while the fire was still in progress, and another said she actually served them breakfast at a rest stop some 50 miles west of Fayetteville. The most convincing account came from a guest at a hotel in nearby Charleston.
A Potential Lead
According to the woman, she spotted four of the children alongside two men and two women of "Italian extraction" as they checked into the hotel around midnight. She'd tried to approach the children in a friendly manner, though the four adults refused to let them speak. Early the next morning, they were gone.
Blocked At Every Turn
George and Jennie decided to contact J. Edgar Hoover at the FBI for help with the investigation, though when the bureau offered to send agents, the local authorities refused. There seemed to be a strangely dismissive pattern among Fayetteville's law enforcement — was there a conspiracy afoot?
Can't Trust Anyone
Suspicions grew after a private eye informed the couple that the insurance salesman that'd threatened George had also been a member of the coroner's jury that deemed the fire accidental. They also learned chief Morris had hidden fake remains in the rubble in the hope of placating the Sodders into calling the investigation off.
Hitting the Road
The prospect of the supposed conspiracy only seemed to confirm that the children were alive, spurring George onward as he traveled across the country chasing one lead after the next. But each time he arrived in a new city on a new tip, the missing Sodders were nowhere to be found.
Years Later, A Breakthrough
Yet George and Jennie remained undeterred, erecting a billboard and offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of their children. The Sodders sifted through countless dead ends for years, though in 1968 — more than 20 years after the fire — they received a letter that changed everything.
Could it Be?
The envelope, postmarked in Kentucky and bearing no return address, contained a photo of a young man and a cryptic note: "Louis Sodder. I love brother Frankie. Ilil Boys. A90132 or 35." His resemblance to Louis — who was nine when he disappeared — was uncanny, though upon sending an investigator to track the man down, he never returned.
Needing Closure
"Time is running out for us," George said in an interview. "But we only want to know. If they did die in the fire, we want to be convinced. Otherwise, we want to know what happened to them."
An Unfulfilling End
But George died a year later, and after two more decades of fruitless leads, Jennie passed as well. The surviving Sodder children took up the search in their stead, devising their own theories for what happened to their siblings on that fateful night.
Sleeping With The Fishes
Trouble with the Mafia was floated as a plausible motivation behind a possible abduction, as George very well could've provoked the mob with his outspoken nature. If their siblings were still alive, there's a chance they never reached out in order to protect the family.
Hope Lives On
Yet death ended this new wave of inquiry, as Sylvia Sodder — who was just two years old the night of the fire — is now the only surviving child of George and Jennie. She still continues to tell the story of that tragic Christmas Eve in 1945, hopeful that even 75 years later, her brothers and sisters may still be alive.
New Technology
And Sylvia is not hopeless in her search. With advances in investigation technologies, authorities are now regularly solving centuries'-old crimes. Even masterful coverups are being exposed. Ones that hit a little too close to home, as in the case of Sherri Rasmussen.
Innocent Beginnings
Until recently, the Sherri's case — like the five missing Sodders — was impossible to solve. She started college at age 16, and she became director of nursing at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center near her California apartment. Life was good — then she met John Ruetten.
Love At First Sight
John was a handsome and successful guy, and Sherri was immediately enamored with him. They started dating and, soon after, walked down the aisle together. Not long after their wedding, though, the honeymoon phase came to an abrupt end.
Initial Signs Of Trouble
It was February 24th, 1986. The newlyweds had celebrated Valentine’s Day only weeks before. Returning from work, John couldn’t wait to see his blushing bride. However when he entered the garage he was met with a puzzling sight: Sherri’s BMW was missing.
A Shocking Discovery
Continuing into the living room, he turned the corner. A horrifying scene awaited him. Furniture was everywhere, a clear sign of a struggle. Someone had attempted to push the panic button unsuccessfully. Then he saw it: Sherri's body.
Panic Sets In
His beautiful wife was lifeless on the floor, covered in a blanket with a bullet wound through her chest and a clear bite mark on her body. He called the police, never anticipating that it would take nearly three decades for her killer to be brought to justice.
Hasty Findings
But the Los Angeles Police Department wasted no time launching their investigation. Officers' early conclusions were that her death was the result of a botched robbery; the killer, they said, had intended on simply taking electronics and leaving. There were major problems with this theory.
Something Fishy
First off, Sherri’s car was found a mere week after her body, ditched on the side of the road. In fact, the only item police could say with certainty was taken from the home was her marriage license. This just didn’t add up. Then there was the bite mark.
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What Gives?
While lead detective Lyle Mayer staunchly insisted it had been a robbery, his partner Steve Hooks wasn’t so sure. He knew that most burglaries are perpetrated by men, while women are far more likely to bite their victims. Then, Sherri’s parents dropped a bombshell.
The Woman In Blue
Desperate for answers, the Rasmussens asked Mayer to train his efforts on Officer Stephanie Lazarus, below. Sherri had evidently expressed a fear of this law enforcement agent in the time leading up to her murder.
A Secret Affair
But Mayer refused, and the case went cold. What the police didn’t know was that the grieving parents were on to something. See, John came with some little-known baggage. Before meeting Sherri, he'd been in a passionate romance with Stephanie.
Warning Signs Abound
When Stephanie and John first met, their relationship was normal. However, Stephanie soon started leaving him deeply unsettled. She took pictures of his naked body as he slept and took clothes from his apartment. If that’s not a red flag, what is?
'A Deep Obsession'
John tried to cut things off with his lover after meeting Sherri, but her actions only escalated. It was clear that she carried a deep obsession for him, and perhaps an even deeper contempt for his wife. Soon, the wrath would be projected onto Sherri as well.
Stalk Me Once, Shame On You
Stephanie started showing up at the young bride’s apartment when she was home alone, often armed and in uniform. Sherri told her father about an incident in which Stephanie showed up at her job, allegedly threatening her, “If I can’t have John, no one else will."
A Sudden Breakthrough
Despite this alarming evidence, the case sat in its file until 2004, when LAPD criminalist Jennifer Butterworth noticed items had gone “missing” from the case's evidence bag. Thankfully, one crucial piece still remained.
Data Doesn't Lie
Saliva extracted from the bite mark on Sherri’s body all those years ago was perfectly preserved. By 2004, DNA testing had already been popularized as a method for solving crimes, so Jennifer went straight to work. Could she land a DNA match?
Hidden In Plain Sight
Results showed the DNA belonged to a female. Curious, Jennifer kept digging. She came across notes from the decades-old file mentioning a “third-party female” that had allegedly been harassing Sherri prior to her violent death. Her superiors needed to hear this.
Resistance
But, astoundingly, Jennifer was met with more denial. It was a robbery, the LAPD detectives insisted. There was nothing more to discuss, and the case went cold for five more years.
Third Time's The Charm
Finally, in 2009 — 22 years after the murder — Detectives Jim Nuttall and Pete Barba took another look at the case. The robbery evidence didn't add up, so they trained their focus on Stephanie Lazarus. One unfortunate detail made their jobs seriously difficult.
Number Five
Stephanie and her husband both worked directly across the hall from them, so Nuttall and Barba had to be surreptitious in their efforts to catch her. They used only the code word “No. 5” when referring to her, and worked after hours or with the door locked.
Caught Red-Handed
Finally, they secretly secured a sample of Lazarus’s DNA and tested it against the saliva found at the scene. Bingo: it was a direct match. Still, they weren’t yet ready to make an arrest. The detectives needed a genius plan to nail her.
Cracking Under Pressure
Nuttall and Barba lured Stephanie to a site where she was forced to disarm herself. Then, they caught her off guard with an interrogation. It didn’t take long for her to crack under pressure and reveal that she knew more than she was letting on.
You Have The Right To Remain Silent
The second Stephanie left the interview room, she was handcuffed and arrested on charges of first degree murder. After a couple days of jury deliberations, she was sentenced to 27 years to life in 2012.
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Taking On The Cops
The case meant a lot to Nuttall and Barba, who wanted to hold America's authority figures to a higher standard. Taking down a crooked cop was never easy, but they knew from past murder cases that it wasn't an impossible feat.
Autumn In New York
It was a chilly day in October when Louise Pietrewicz, went missing. At first, no one in Cutchogue, New York, knew anything was awry. However, after hours passed, and she didn’t return home, her daughter really started to worry.
Early Signs Of Trouble
Something was very amiss, and the local cops immediately launched their investigation. However, anyone looking for an easy answer would come to be severely disappointed.
A Discovery Decades Later
This is because it wouldn’t be until more than half a century later, in March of 2019, that the townspeople finally got some clarity on what had happened to Louise. It all started with an exposé in the Suffolk Times that made some pretty damning allegations.
Shocking Accusations
The paper claimed that William Boken, a man who had been a local police officer in the area but had since died, was responsible for Louise’s murder. So, officials reopened the case.
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Searching For Answers
The first person investigators went to question was the person closest to Boken: his former wife, Judith Terry. However, there was one less-than-minor problem that made it difficult for authorities to interview her.
The Major Road Block
The issue was that Judith had dementia and was in an assisted living home. Still, police knew that if they were going to get to the bottom of the decades-long mystery, they had to be able to extract information from her.
Lending Credibility
Detective Richert, who interviewed Judy in the home, stated that while at times the elderly woman got confused, she was still credible, capable of identifying her current husband and others by name. Richert remembers asking her one crucial question.
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The Fateful Inquiry
Did Judith remember telling anyone that she’d witnessed her husband, the late Officer Boken, burying a body in their basement? Her answer made his whole body go cold: Yes, she said. She did. But only one person.
The Man At The Center Of It All
Amazingly, the 83-year-old admitted that she had indeed confided in someone about the crime: her neighbor, Joseph Sawicki, who lived across the street. Hearing this name made the interviewing detective stop dead in his tracks.
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Shady Dealings?
Why? Because it was well known that, in 1966, Joseph Sawicki — pictured below at his retirement — had been the town police chief! And Judith went on to reveal that the two families had shared a particularly intimate relationship.
Moving In On The Killer
“She was very close with him and his wife and was godmother to one of their children," Richert added, and "because he was a police officer" this was starting to seem more and more like a cover-up. Officials still had no concrete evidence. Where was the body?
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A Daughter's Life Ruined
Upon hearing about Judith’s statement to authorities, Louise’s only daughter, Sandy Blampied, was indignant. “She told the police chief about the murder?" she asked. "What did he do about it?” Well, the story only became more nefarious from there...
Process Of Interrogation
Because of Judith’s compromised mental condition, authorities needed several interviews for her to reveal all the information that linked Boken to the crime. Then, one day, the case abruptly reached a key turning point.
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The Story Worsens
Judith Terry had a mental breakthrough, and unveiled even more upsetting and incriminating news: not only had she been aware of the body in the basement, but she’d actually seen her husband carry Louise’s lifeless body into the house! She went into detail.
'I Would Assume She Was Dead'
“I was there when he brought her into the house,” she told the detective, continuing, “He laid her on the cement floor. I don’t know if she was dead or alive. I would assume she was dead because she was wrapped in burlap or something.”
The Map That Unraveled It All
Judith said Boken had indeed stowed Louise’s body in their basement. She then drew a diagram from memory, including what she could recall about how deep the hole was. This would lead to a horrifying discovery that no one could have anticipated.
At Last, Some Closure
After following Judy's diagram, officials found Louise’s remains buried 7 feet below the ground in the exact spot she'd pointed out. However, they also found something else: one crucial piece of evidence that fingered the real killer.
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Incriminating Finds
Along with Louise's remains, .38 caliber bullets were found in the hole. Records stated officers at the time were mandated to carry .38 revolvers. Reports also indicated Boken had used 3 sick days immediately leading up to Louise’s vanishing — and resigned the day after she went missing.
Searching For Peace
The only thing left to do was try and give some semblance of closure to Louise’s daughter Sandy. Officials sent her the shirt, slip, and garter found in the hole next to her mother’s remains, as she’d asked for. Naturally, Sandy had a lot to say about the tragedy that shaped her life.
'There's No Doubt In My Mind'
“It’s like she wasn’t even a person. It was a cover-up. There’s no doubt in my mind," she said. The twisted nature of this murder investigation is reminiscent of other crimes that aren't immediately what they appear on the surface.
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Helen Hargan
Helen Hargan was beginning a brand new season of life in 2017. As a recent college graduate, she was looking for a safe place to land for a while, as she was waiting for the construction on her new home to be done.
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Someone At Home
Luckily, her mother, Pamela Hargan (left), owned a stunning colonial-style home in the cushy suburb of McLean right outside of Washington, D.C. Though her children were all grown, Pamela was not an empty nester.
Full House
Pamela lived with her niece and oldest daughter, Megan, who had a 7-year-old daughter of her own. So, the household would become five if Helen joined the four of them. It seemed like a perfect plan. There was just one problem.
The Hounds
Helen was the proud mom of three large dogs. Pamela said Helen was, of course, welcome to come live with them for awhile, but there would not be enough room for her dogs. Helen had a very tough decision to make.
Boarded
In the end she decided it would be best for her to board them. It would be a temporary measure, until she could move into her new house with her dogs by her side. The day she dropped her beloved pooches off, her heart broke a little.
Fighting for the Dogs
But Helen was compassionate and hard working, which meant that nothing could stop her from getting her dogs back and making a life for herself. In the interim, she was happy to spend time with her family after being away at college.
The Call
Except, only a few months into her stay with her mother and sister, the most unexpected tragedy struck. On July 14th, 2017 Fairfax County Police answered a call from the Hargan's neighbor. The aftermath rocked the suburban neighborhood and shattered a family.
A Fatal Wound
There were reports of gunshots from the Hargan home. When officers arrived on the scene, it was haunting. Pamela was found dead of a gunshot wound on the first floor. Officers began to search the house for other victims — or possibly a suspect.
The Scene
Upstairs they found Helen's body with a gunshot wound, which appeared to be self-inflicted. It was obvious to investigators that a murder-suicide had occurred: Helen had killed her mother and then taken her own life. But why? How?
“It didn’t make sense"
But when Tamara North, Pamela's sister, heard the news, she knew details weren't adding up. Helen was happily in love with her boyfriend and excited to move into her under-construction home with her dogs. “It didn’t make sense,” she said.
The Something Unsaid
“She was beautiful and smart,” North said. “She had everything to live for.” In order to uncover the truth, investigators had to look past the obvious and into the dark secrets of the Hargan family. It turned out, nothing was as it seemed.
Accounts
Detectives thought they had it all figured out. But then they learned the family had financial troubles. More specifically, they noted one very concerning disruption in the transaction history of Pamela's account.
A Large Sum of Dough
Exactly one day before her murder, one of Pamela's daughters had attempted to transfer money from her account, even going so far as to reach out to a bank. The case had just become a lot more complicated, so detectives dug deeper.
More Details
Because it wasn't Helen who made the call. Megan — the older sister with the daughter who lived in the household as well — attempted it, except Pamela rejected her transfer. Another unnerving detail soon emerged to turn the entire case upside-down, thanks to Helen's boyfriend Carlos.
A Second Call
On the day of the murder, he received a panicked call from Helen, in which she said that Megan had killed her mother. After that, the phone call abruptly ended. That was the last time anyone heard from Helen.
Not To Blame
With this new evidence, it became clear that Helen was not to blame for the death of her mother. Megan had staged the entire crime scene, blaming the murder of their mother on her sister after murdering her as well. But why?
For the Courts
Allegedly Megan was jealous of her sister because Pamela was purchasing her a home to live in, while Megan still lived with her mother. The whole ordeal left the family shaken. “I was absolutely horrified that Megan would do this,” said North. Still, there was a trial to come.
The Case
It was a full year before police built a strong enough case against Megan to make their arrest. For that entire time, Helen was blamed for the death of her mother. With the truth out, the narrative changed. “Helen didn’t deserve that,” said North.
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Thinking of the Dogs
Helen was taken unfairly and far too soon; she was full of potential, until it was all ripped away by her own sister. It's hard to imagine a more twisted crime. Sadly, the tragedy left Helen's beloved dogs without a home.
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Love and Care
Luckily, Tamara Belotti was in charge of boarding them when the dogs were dropped off, and she continued to care for them at her own cost. "She would do anything for these dogs," Belotti said of Helen.
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