The Disappearance of Joan Risch, Part One
Joan Risch and the Risch home, edited by Murder, She Told
Joan Risch Disappears
On the afternoon of October 24, 1961, a quiet suburban neighborhood in Lincoln, Massachusetts became the setting for one of New England's most haunting mysteries.
When neighbors realized something was wrong at the home of 31-year-old Joan Risch, they stumbled on a scene that has puzzled investigators for more than six decades.
Bloodstains marked the kitchen floor, with smears suggesting someone had tried to wipe them away. Joan's 2-year-old son was found crying upstairs, while her young daughter wandered outside looking for help. But Joan herself was gone.
For investigators, the evidence painted an unsettling picture—but not a clear one. As witness accounts emerged and detectives began piecing together the day's events, each new clue seemed to raise more questions than answers. More than six decades later, one question still remains: What happened to Joan Risch?
Check back later for updated blog post. In the meantime, listen to Joan’s story free on any podcast platform.
Continue Joan’s story: Listen to the podcast episode. This text has been adapted from the Murder, She Told podcast episode, The Baffling Disappearance of Joan Risch.To hear Joan’s full story, find Murder, She Told on your favorite podcast platform or listen on the player at the top of the page.
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Joan Risch (joanrisch.com)
Joan Risch, ~29 years old, from Nov 1960, with son David (Boston Globe)
Joan Risch, ~29, from Nov 1960 (Boston Globe)
Joan Risch, ~31 years old, in 1961, with Douglas and Lillian (Boston Globe)
Joan Risch, glamour portrait
View looking down Old Bedford Rd (Stephen Ahern)
Risch house, view from driveway (Stephen Ahern)
Risch home, view from driveway (Boston Globe)
Risch home, view from driveway (Boston Globe)
Front yard of the Risch home (Stephen Ahern)
Crime scene, view of the Risch kitchen (Stephen Ahern)
Crime scene, view of the Risch kitchen (Stephen Ahern)
Crime scene, view of the Risch kitchen (Stephen Ahern)
Crime scene, view of the Risch kitchen, door to the exterior breezeway (Stephen Ahern)
Crime scene, view of the Risch kitchen (Stephen Ahern)
Crime scene, view of the Risch kitchen (Stephen Ahern)
View from the Risch living room into the kitchen (Stephen Ahern)
View from the Risch living room (Stephen Ahern)
Diagram of the kitchen, created by Murder, She Told
Diagram of the ground level of the Risch home (Stephen Ahern)
Back of the Risch home (Stephen Ahern)
An old map showing the former location of Old Bedford Rd (Stephen Ahern)
Lot boundaries on Old Bedford Rd; #3 is the Risch home; #2 is Barbara Barker’s home (Stephen Ahern)
Barbara Barker (Boston Globe)
Barbara Barker (Boston Globe)
Martin Risch (Boston Globe)
Martin Risch (Boston Globe)
Sources For This Episode
Newspaper articles
Various articles from Fitchburg Sentinel, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, The Berkshire Eagle, Boston Globe, and Boston Herald, here.
Written by various authors including A. Raymond Doherty, Charles E. Claffey, Charles L. Whipple, Doug Fletcher, Frank Mahoney, James Stack, Jane B. White, Jeremiah V. Murphy, Jerome Sullivan, Joe Heaney, John Filger, Leonard Lerner, Matt Bai, Patricia Walsh, R. Marc Kantrowitz, Raymond Doherty, Robert J. Anglin, Robert M. Kenney, Sabra Morton, and William Buchanan.
Books
A Kitchen Painted in Blood: The Unsolved Disappearance of Joan Risch by Stephen H. Ahern
Photos
As credited above.
Credits
Research, vocal performance, and audio editing by Kristen Seavey
Research, photo editing, and writing by Byron Willis
Written by Morgan Hamilton
Research by Samantha Coltart
Murder, She Told is created by Kristen Seavey.