Holly Bartlett's Death: The Unanswered Hours Beneath Halifax's MacKay Bridge

Holly Bartlett's Death: The Unanswered Hours Beneath Halifax's MacKay Bridge

Author: Moms and Mysteries Podcast August 13, 2026 Duration: 57:32
In March 2010, Holly Bartlett, a 31 year old blind public servant and graduate student, left a party in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and took a cab toward her condo. Seven hours later, ironworkers found her critically injured inside a fenced area beneath the MacKay Bridge, less than 1,000 feet from her home. Police concluded Holly became disoriented after leaving the cab, entered the restricted area, climbed a steep concrete abutment, and fell. But the people who knew Holly best struggled to accept that explanation. Holly had spent years mastering the orientation and mobility skills that allowed her to live independently. Her cane was later found leaning against a fence after police and a search dog had already searched the area. Her phone and wallet were discovered scattered in her condo parking lot. The cab driver, Paul Fraser, gave changing accounts of what happened after he dropped her off. A 2014 independent review upheld the accidental death finding, but criticized important parts of the original investigation, including delayed neighborhood canvassing and the brief initial interview with the last person known to see Holly alive. We cover Holly's life, the final night that cannot be fully reconstructed, and the questions her family still carries. Thank you to this week's sponsors! Sleep cooler this summer with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/moms with code MOMS. Exclusions apply.  It’s not too late to enroll for this fall… see how K12-Powered Schools can help your child thrive, this year and beyond! Enroll online today at K12.com/moms. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you visit Nutrafol.com and enter promo code MOMS. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between school drop-offs and grocery runs, Mandy and Melissa found a shared obsession with the unanswered questions lurking in the shadows. Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast is the result: a conversation that feels like sitting at a kitchen table with two friends who are deeply curious about the human condition. Their perspective is uniquely grounded, examining each story not just for its shock value, but for the societal threads and personal tragedies that weave it together. You’ll hear them discuss everything from the strangely specific weirdness of a Florida crime to a globally known cold case, always with a blend of empathy and a dash of necessary, dark humor. This isn't a clinical report; it's a twice-weekly deep dive fueled by a lifelong fascination with mysteries, both big and small. The tone is warm, the research is thorough, and the conversation is the kind you get hooked on. New episodes of this true crime podcast arrive every Tuesday and Thursday, ready to be your companion during a commute or while folding laundry. They’ve been asking "how did this happen?" since they were kids, and now they’re pulling up a chair for you to join that ongoing, compelling discussion.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast
Podcast Episodes
The Nightmare in North Dakota: The Murder of Angila Wilder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:41
On a freezing November night in 2015, 30-year-old nursing student Angila Wilder was stabbed 44 times inside her home in Minot, North Dakota. The brutal attack happened while her two-year-old son slept safely in the very…
The Mystery of the Missing DA: The Disappearance of Ray Gricar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:04
On April 15, 2005, Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar left his office for a routine afternoon drive through central Pennsylvania. He was 59 years old, highly respected, and just months away from a planned retirem…
Sarah Jo Pender: "The Female Charles Manson" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:24
In October of 2000, the bodies of Andrew Cataldi and Tricia Nordman were found inside a dumpster behind an Indianapolis Teamsters building. The discovery quickly led police to the home the couple shared with Richard Hull…
The Mackenzie Shirilla Case & Netflix's "The Crash" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:18
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The Disappearance and Murder of Maya Millete [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:31
On January 7, 2021, Maya Millete took the first steps toward ending her marriage. She scheduled a consultation with a divorce attorney, planning to wait just a few more days to get through her daughter's birthday weekend…
The Mystery of Sneha Philip [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:51
On the evening of September 10, 2001, 31-year-old physician Sneha Philip walked into her Lower Manhattan apartment building carrying shopping bags. It was the last confirmed sighting of her. By the next morning, planes s…
The Hawthorne Hill Shooting & The Fall of Michael Barisone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:05
Hawthorne Hill was supposed to be a dream. An elite equestrian facility, an Olympic coach, and a student willing to do whatever it took to make it to the top. But what started as a $5,000 a month training arrangement bet…
The Bennington Triangle: 5 Vanished in Vermont's Quiet Woods [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:57
Between 1945 and 1950, five people vanished without a trace in a remote, rugged stretch of southwestern Vermont. The area, later dubbed the Bennington Triangle, was once home to the booming logging town of Glastenbury, b…
The Vanishing of Tony Parsons [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:44
On a cold September night in the Scottish Highlands, a 63-year-old grandfather set out on a solo cycling journey that he never returned from. Tony Parsons was an experienced endurance athlete riding 104 miles to raise mo…