EP 55 | The Suspicious Disappearance of Debra Melo, Taunton, Massachusetts (part one)

With Steve Demoura, Debra's brother-in-law and dedicated advocate to get justice for Debra and her family.

In June 2000, Debra Melo was a young mother trying to navigate the end of the only relationship she knew. She'd gotten married at 16, had two kids, and found that life was very different by age 30. She was making her way out and finally taking steps to get away from the person who'd been suffocating her for so long, a controlling and domineering man. But she disappeared before she could do any of that. 

On the afternoon of June 20, 2000, her husband, Luis Melo, drove her to her doctor's appointment in Weymouth, 30 miles from their home in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Her husband's account of that day is all we have to go on. His claim is they had an argument on the drive home and Debra demanded he let her out of the car at a busy part of Route 18 in Weymouth.  According to Luis Melo, he went back to get her but she was gone. This is the first of many red flags in this case. Debra left her pocketbook, wallet, identification, and cell phone in the car. That by itself is suspicious.

In this first part of a two-part series, I talk to Steve Demoura, brother-in-law of Debra and former husband of her sister, Patricia, who has been an integral part of her case and the investigation into her disappearance. We talk about the challenges of her disappearance and the timing of it - exactly one week before teenager Molly Bish went missing in Warren, Mass. We break down the fabric of a family and their relentless search for justice and the toll her disappearance has taken. 

Plus we take a closer look at The Silver City, walking through the places that once sparkled with life in Taunton, through landmarks like the famed Silver City Galleria Mall where Richard Simmons shot one of his legendary infomercials (and meet Joanie!) and darker moments that mark its history and the weight of its memories.

*Correction: Louis A. Melo Jr passed away on Dec 13, 2023

Crime of the Truest Kind
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hosted by Anngelle Wood
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Transcript

Anngelle Wood: 0:00

Well, hello, my name is Anngelle Wood and this is Crime of the Truest Kind. Seasons Greetings. This is the last episode, mmm episodes, of 2023. Thank you for being here. I have news on live events to share with you. I am using my brand new headphones. My Sennheisers, my Sennies, that I loved very much and had for about a dozen years have been sidelined because dear Poppy the puppy bit through the cord and I need to have them repaired, such as life. I look forward to the new year and how Crime of the Truest Kind will grow, reaching new listeners, more live events, advocacy and action, new collaborations, monthly minis for patrons on Patreon. So please share the show, post about it in your forums and your Facebook groups, share it on social media and tag me. Tell your friends and colleagues. Drop a great review. Tell me what you like about the show and what you would like to see in the year ahead.

Anngelle Wood: 1:30

This episode is about a missing woman who disappeared from her friends and family 23 years ago, a woman who was in an abusive relationship. This is about domestic violence, about a woman trying to end her marriage. It's also about a family that has never stopped trying to find out what happened. In the second half of this episode I talked to Steven DeMoura, Debra Melo's brother-in-law and a familiar face in the family's fight for justice for Debra. This is episode 55, part one, The Suspicious Disappearance of Debra Melo, Taunton Massachusetts. For the entire time, I was aware of the disappearance of Debra Marie Melo, the 30-year-old mother of two children from Taunton, Massachusetts, who went missing on June 20th, 2000, I thought the last place she was seen was on the side of Route 18 in Weymouth. On the surface, we could believe the story that she and her husband of 14 years, Luis Melo Sr, got in a fight about spending money on face cream after she visited the doctor's office and she demanded to get out of the car and walk, leaving all of her possessions back in the car. That is only a part of this story.

Anngelle Wood: 3:04

Taunton, Massachusetts, where Debra Marie Whalley, as she was known for the first half of her life, is a town in the south shore of Massachusetts, pronounced Taunton Taun or Taun, as I've heard over the years, but not Taunton. The Taunton is a species of snow lizard found roaming the snowy plains of Hoth. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River, which winds its way through the city. According to the World's Population Review, as of 2023, taunton has a population of 59,945, up slightly from the 2020 census, with a recorded population of 59,428.

Anngelle Wood: 3:50

Known as the Silver City, it was the historic center of the silver industry, beginning in the 19th century, producing lots of fine quality silver goods. In fact, silver might still be the biggest part of the city's identity. The Reed and Barton Company produced Olympic medals and silverware used exclusively for the White House. The anchor for the USS Constitution was made there. That's two mentions of old iron sides on this show. Just this month there was the Silver City Bulletin. Taunton native and touring musician, Sarah Borges named her 2005 record, Silver City. Now, what doesn't resonate with the kid growing up like their hometown mall, the Silver City Galleria, the state-of-the-art shopping metropolis, when it opened on March 1st 1992. A reported 12,000 cars descended on that new mall two levels and 1.1 million square feet.

Anngelle Wood: 4:51

The Galleria was one of the largest malls in New England and mall marketing was a thing. I think the singer Tiffany became famous solely based on the mall gig she did, bozo the Clown appeared at Silver City. Richard Simmons taped his farewell to Fat Infomercial there, where he inspired Joni from time to his way.

Richard Simmons: 5:12

I know some of you want this very bad. I know some of you are living in a body that you don't want to live in anymore. I want some people to come up who promised that they're going to start now. Let tonight, let right now, be your starting day. What's wrong? Come here. Come here. What's wrong? Nothing, great fun.

Joanie from Tauton: 5:41

I always loved you and I always admired what you've done for so many people and I just lost my husband at Christmas time and I've been so sad and all I do is eat and this is my last chance. I really wanted you to try to help me and I know I can do it now.

Richard Simmons: 5:59

We're all here to help you. We're all here to help her, aren't we, aren't we?

Infomercial Guy: 6:09

Thank you. Richard met Joni that night for the first time, but he never forgot her. Did Joan start that day? Richard had to know because he could not forget her commitment, so he launched a search to find her. Richard believes if you're committed you cannot fail, and Joni proved him right.

Joanie from Tauton: 6:30

When they called me on the phone, they said that Richard had been touched by what I had said at the mall and that he wanted to find out who I was and how I was doing. Since I saw Richard Simmons in Tartan, I've lost about 32 pounds and it's exciting for me because it's only been a couple of months since then and if I can do this now and lose the 30 pounds, I know I'm well on my way and I know that I can keep continuing. He is a caring person and an inspiration to all people. Whether you have a weight problem or not, he gives you the will to go on.

Anngelle Wood: 7:10

That is Joanie in 1996, after meeting Richard Simmons at Silver City Galleria in Taunton, a true inspiration. Even Marky Mark and some of the Funky Bunch made an appearance at Silver City. It is also the same mall that made headlines in 2016. A man drove his car into the mall entrance and attacked shoppers. We learned that he caused an accident by crossing into the path of another car, then entering the home of two Taunton women, attacking them and killing one. 80-year-old, Patricia Slavin, died from her wounds. Kathleen Slavin was seriously injured.

Anngelle Wood: 7:52

The man fled, drove his car to Silver City Galleria, crashed into Macy's front entrance and physically assaulted several women there before moving into the Bertucci's restaurant, where he attacked staff and customers, one of whom was a pregnant server named Sheena. Sounds like he was targeting women. A man named George Heath, who was in the restaurant eating, saw Sheena's attack and came to her aid. George Heath was also stabbed. Plymouth County Sheriff's Deputy, J immy Creed was off- duty in there having dinner with his wife that night. Deputy Creed saw the assaults taking place. He approached the man, ordered him to drop the weapon. When he did not, he shot him, very possibly saving more lives. That man, Arthur DaRosa, murdered Patricia Slavin in her home and George Heath in the restaurant that night. Darosa, who was 28 at the time, was later described as mentally disturbed, visiting Morton Hospital in Taunton to receive psychiatric help the day before the attacks, but they released him. Arthur DaRosa was shot and killed by the Deputy that night.

Anngelle Wood: 9:06

Silver City Galleria served the people of Taunton and the surrounding area for close to 30 years. Closing on February 29, 2020, the mall was demolished on May 9, 2021. There is a site dedicated to the mall SilverCityGalleriaorg. Now. I bet local kids will have a ton of nostalgic feelings looking at that. I mean, I did, and I didn't even live anywhere near Taunton, but I do remember when my old timey mall was redeveloped. I was a little sad about it, of course. I rabbit-holed for a minute and did find a terrible video of the old Nashua mall, shot sometime in the 1980s. It had a Bradlees store.

Anngelle Wood: 9:48

I stole a pack of CoverGirl blush from one time because my best friend at the time turned out to be an ardent shoplifter and sort of dared me to nab something. She and another girl later got caught stealing from a few stores in that mall. They got really brazen about it. I guess I wasn't that much fun to her, seeing as I didn't want to participate. I didn't get any kind of rush from stuffing things that didn't belong to me into my pockets and I don't really remember what happened to them. If they got the police involved, no idea. Crime of the unknown kind. I think we were maybe 15. I do remember the Nashua M all had a Nugents. It was a trendy clothing store at the time and remember we were 15. I also remember around that time that you had to pay a dime to use the bathroom stall. One last memory about the Nashua M all, okay, maybe two. We used to sneak into Rated R movies and I think my first real job was bagging groceries at Alexander's. Remember that. Alright, back to Silver City Galleria for a minute. So the mall was decimated, flattened, razed completely, and there was a proposal to build like a ginormous FedEx distribution center there. Well, they turned tail. That proposal was kibosh. Now three mega warehouses will be built on that site.

Anngelle Wood: 11:15

Debra Melo grew up Debra Marie Whalley, in Taunton. She had a sister, Carol, a sister Patricia, and her brothers Richard and Steven, both of whom have passed away. Her mother, Marilyn, also passed in 2020. I know that Debra's father passed away when she was very young and I learned about her stepfather, Joe Gagnon, who we will talk about c oming up, Debra and her sister, Patricia, were very close and just 18 months apart, Patricia would go on to marry Steven DeMoura and Debra would marry Luis Melo. He was the boy two years older and had pursued her since middle school and soon Luis wanted to marry Debbie, as she was sometimes called. So she needed to convince her mother, Marilyn, to sign papers that would permit a 16 year old to be married in Massachusetts. Now, given this timeline, that would be 1985. Debra had her first child, a daughter, in 1986. They had a second baby, a boy, Louis Jr, in 1990. They lived in Taunton and worked for a local Dunkin Donuts franchise. At the time of Debra's disappearance they were running a store in Braintree, about 30 minutes away, and, as I understand it, they worked for someone who owned a number of Dunkin Stores.

Anngelle Wood: 12:38

Something occurred to me when I was going through the documents that Steve DeMoura sent the protection order she filled out on March 11, 1996, and signed Debbie Melo, not Debra. In it she states, "he makes threats to do bodily harm to himself and me if I leave. It would be better if we try to resolve this while he is out of the home. I am in fear of him and my safety. The date of the order is March 15, 1996. With the names of her two children listed, they were so young. Her daughter was nine and her son was just five at the time and there is a hearing date and time listed 10 am March 29, 1996, signed by a judge, Andrew Dooley. I wondered if there was ever a hearing. I wondered if Louis Mello left the home. According to Steve DeMoura, Luis Melo was allowed back into the home and that emergency order against him was lifted. Nobody went before the judge but it is documented the emergency order from 1996 stating that she was afraid for her safety.

Anngelle Wood: 14:03

What we do know about their relationship by all accounts, Debra's friends and her family. Luis Melo Sr was very controlling. Remember he married a 16 year old. He was only 18, but he was able to manipulate her before she could understand what was even happening. Remember, being 16, we didn't know shit and I regularly tell you about my stupidity in those days. Thank God I never got married. But what we know about this textbook, coercive control and this is not an indictment of Debra Melo. She was very young. He took advantage of that. Debra had her first baby a year later. She wasn't even 17 when her daughter came.

Anngelle Wood: 14:50

Luis Melo did not like her to be out. He showed up places she went and he often followed her. When she went to meet her sister or a friend, it would be there watching. If she was gone, even for a short time, he would call looking for her. I have heard people use the word protective when referring to his behavior. This is not that this is oppressive. This is manipulative and this is abusive. And Debra wanted out. She'd had it by 2000, she wanted a divorce. She was 30 years old, her kids were no longer little babies and she now had a chance to find out who she was and what the next phase of her life would be like. But it was not to be. June 20, 2000 was the last day anyone had seen or spoken to Debra Melo.

Anngelle Wood: 15:48

Luis Melo's account, which is all we have to go on, was that she demanded to be let out of the car because they were arguing about money and a purchase that she had made at her dermatology appointment that day. Again, his account is all we have. It was sometime between 3 and 4 pm when he allegedly let her out on the side of the very busy route 18 near the old South Weymouth Naval Air Base, which is, by the way, about 30 miles from where they lived in Taunton. Luis Melo said that he let her out of the car, drove away, turned around to come back and find her, but that Debra was gone. She had left all her personal belongings in the car Her pocketbook, her wallet, her ID, her cell phone. Nobody does that. By now you have probably deduced that there is a lot about the story that doesn't add up, and here's my thought on this. If I'm telling you to go fuck yourself, I'm taking all my shit. I'm not leaving any of that with you. Deborah Mello's husband, Luis Melo, made the claim that he went back to find her. She was not there, so he drove home to Taunton and made the trip back to Weymouth. This is story number one. More on that, stay with me.

Anngelle Wood: 17:13

A listener of this show emailed me about the Debra Melo case asking if I would cover it. I was familiar with Debra's case and Debra's case was on my list stories to research, I connected with Steve DeMoura. Steve is Deborah's brother-in-law. He was married to Deborah's sister, Patricia. The two have children together and have remained involved over these years. Steve knew Debra. They all went to school together in Taunton and Steve has been such an important part of telling Debra's story since 2000.

Anngelle Wood: 17:50

Almost all of the news coverage about Debra's case has an appearance by Steve DeMoura. We had been in touch for weeks leading up to this initial conversation and he recently shared with me the news that Debra's son Louis, who was just nine when his mother disappeared, that Louis passed away. Louis A Mello Jr, age 34 of Taunton, passed away on December 13, 2023. Children who have their mothers taken away from them the way he did, the way his sister did, well, that is a lot to take and my heart goes out to his sister and his close friends and family, and this is a family that has seen a lot of loss. This is part one of my conversation with Steve DeMoura about the suspicious disappearance of Debra Melo in June 2000. I know that the news of Debra's son dying has to be terrible, so I'm sorry to hear that news.

Steve DeMoura: 19:05

I received a phone call from Debra's daughter because recently, a few months back, he got into some trouble. He was acting up, ran from the police and went through a few different towns and had a few different charges from a few different places on him.

Anngelle Wood: 19:21

I've been communicating with him quite a bit over the phone so I really didn't think that he was going to be out right away, and actually he was released to a friend of his and yeah, this is an unfortunate byproduct of many of I can't say all of these cases, because that's not true, but many of these kinds of cases that I research and do stories about, children so often suffer as a result.

Steve DeMoura: 19:53

And it's really not just the children. It's just because of one person's decision to take care and do whatever they had done to Deborah. It affected her mother, you know, her sister, her kids and when you think about, this was 20, over 23 years ago. I'm 52 now, so like this was half of my life. Deborah's kids were 10 and 14. And as we can see about Louis, little Louis, the son, he was a mum, his boy, you know, he just didn't click with the father and things went bad and he was asked to leave the house and he just hung around with the wrong crowd for a long time. The daughter she's a beautiful girl, looks just like Deborah and you know she has, you know, a few kids living in town. But one of her replies to me she's I'm just broken, I can't be fixed, there's no therapy, there's nothing that can fix me. Like she went through a lot going through that. What in a small community that everybody knows your name, everybody knows who you are.

Anngelle Wood: 21:03

Well, here we are 23 years later, 23 and a half years later. Let's go back in time. There's a lot of history between Deborah and her husband. She was very young when they met.

Steve DeMoura: 21:17

The story, which is what I will explain, like even coming from her sister, patty. Patty and Deborah went to a middle school together and that's where Louis went Right away. He was, you know, going up to her saying that you know, we're going to be boyfriend, girlfriend and I'm going to marry you. Fast forward a little bit still in middle school. You know they started dating and freshman in high school I was a freshman at the time, in 86. Deborah was 16. She had to get signed papers from her mother to get married. I was actually dating Patty, which is Deborah's sister. We were dating at the time and I went to the wedding when Deborah was 16. Yeah, it was. They've had a long history, for sure. And he dropped out of school and they've been working for Dunkin Donuts same owner since that day one.

Anngelle Wood: 22:15

And still today does Louis Mello work for the Dunkin Donuts company. Now.

Steve DeMoura: 22:20

I believe so yes.

Anngelle Wood: 22:22

So you don't have any kind of relationship at all with him anymore. I imagine that ship sailed a long time ago after Deborah disappeared.

Steve DeMoura: 22:32

Yeah, I did have a civil relationship while this was going on at first. Louis has a couple of sisters and a brother and the main thing was, you know, making sure that you know, the kids were taking care of while this was going on, because he never missed the day of work. So in the time, you know, you got these younger kids 10 and 14, and you know we're trying to support them and try to be with them, to give them like guidance on, like you know, they had nobody to talk to, like their mother just one day is just not there anymore. The in-laws you know his sisters, were there and one of them, like me, one of them didn't the brother I got along with fine, but and I had always spoke my mind, I said if right is right, wrong is wrong. We know that Deborah just didn't leave. Something's going on and there's a lot that just shows something's wrong here with you know, with Louis.

Steve DeMoura: 23:31

He took a lie detector test with the Taunton police. He failed that. The verbiage that they used was the failed miserably. Then, a short time has passed, things were still after we being, you know, investigated and he changed his alibi. We can get into that. But after he changed by. They gave him another lie detector test and he failed that one. So it was around that time when I was over the house and I kind of had a few choice words and spoke my mind a little bit, and that's when I was invited to leave.

Anngelle Wood: 24:09

His story from the beginning was and please clear up any misconceptions or things that aren't true that you are aware of His story was Louis Mello. Deborah Mello's husband was that they drove from Taunton. They went to Weymouth to a doctor's appointment. They got in a fight. Deborah wanted to get out of the car. He reportedly left her in a very high traffic area where she was never seen or heard from again. He claimed he drove back to get her and she was gone. He thought, oh, she'll just come back home to Taunton, which is far from Weymouth for people who aren't from our area in Massachusetts. Is that the story he stuck with?

Steve DeMoura: 24:56

Partially, yes, and then some things did change. A quick summary of that was they worked together in Braintree on Ivory Street at a Dunkin Donuts. Deborah actually told the owner's daughter hey, I want to leave, I want a divorce, we're going to leave, we're going to separate, I want you to transfer me to another facility, another Dunkin Donuts, where I can run the front and not be working with him. So, aside from that, on June 20th after work they left. They went to a doctor's office where Deborah went in to the doctor's office and I do know people that work at the doctor's office in Weymouth and she absolutely did go into the office. She got some facial products, some skin care products. She bought and paid for them. Didn't appear to be in a rush, she wasn't in a hurry, and when she left she had the bag that had the purchased products in there with her belongings and she went into the car. That's kind of where everything stops. His first story was we got into a fight. I let her. Well, she got out of the car after the fight, right before the overpass of the T on Route 18. He went up over the overpass, turned around, came back. She was nowhere to be found. So he left Weymouth and went to Taunton where the kids were. Now she was 14, so she could be home along with Lutaluwe. They went home. Lutaluwe drove home, went to the house and said we got into a fight and your mother's not here, so I'm gonna go back to look for her. And that's what his first story was. He ordered pizza from a Papa Geno's in Rainham. The first story again was he was home, confirmed he was home. He ordered pizza. That was confirmed, time stamped and everything had pizza delivered to the house. He said I went back to Weymouth to look for her and he didn't come home until late hours. That was story A.

Steve DeMoura: 27:14

After talking to family and friends and trying to figure this out, somebody and I'll just say somebody that I know, whether it was a friend, family or whoever, but someone that we know saw him in Tartan at the time where he definitely should have been in Weymouth. So the police brought him in, questioned him and then he says, yeah, you're right, I didn't go back to look for her, I was in Taunton. So I'm like, damn now, what do we do with that If all our eggs were in one basket and she was supposed to be in Weymouth? Well, that's where everything needs to be, that's where all the attention is supposed to go, is in Weymouth. But now he's saying you're right, I was in Tauton, I didn't go back.

Steve DeMoura: 28:02

So like that's a catch, like what do you do If he's throwing a bluff and saying, yeah, no, I never went back and maybe he did go back? But if he's saying that I never went back, now he's thinking they're not gonna look in Weymouth because I told him I was in Tartan, so Weymouth is clear. But then we do have evidence in Taunton that he was here. So if something is in Weymouth now he's telling us, yeah, I'm in Tartan, I never went back. So like he's kind of like covered either way.

Anngelle Wood: 28:32

When was Debra officially reported missing, and by home?

Steve DeMoura: 28:38

On June 21st, which was the following day, alyssa called my wife at the time, patty Deborah's sister, and said hey, auntie, mommy never came home last night. What do you mean? She's like? Dad said that she's not home. So he said can you send me your father's? Where's your father now? He said who's at work? Do you know the number to his work? She said yeah. So Patty got the phone number to the Dunkin Donuts and Braintree. She called him, said Louis, where's my sister? And he had a little bit of a not a stutter all the time, but he kind of spoke broken English with Portuguese and stuff.

Steve DeMoura: 29:19

But when he was nervous, I you know, I you know, it's kind of one of those things and she's like did you do anything to my sister? And no, no. So I found out and I was working construction at the time and when I came back to the place where we had all the trucks and everything, I got the notification that I got a phone call. So I called Patty and she said something's up with Deborah. I don't know where she is. We were in Taunton, so we drove from Taunton to Weymouth and by the time we got to Weymouth that was around 2 30 in the afternoon on the 21st and Patty advised Louis like you need to go to the police station and report her missing.

Steve DeMoura: 30:08

So we talked to a detective Javazi in Weymouth and clearly stated how we felt and what was going on. And they did do a good job. They had, you know, some aerial searching right across the street from this doctor's office. It was the old military base, kind of deserted for quite some time. So that was like jeez. Well, this is a perfect area if you're gonna put somebody. You know. But they did have you know police in. You know searches up and down Route 18, absolutely Because I took quite a bit of time off of work after that. So everything in the first I'd say I don't know four or five days, everything led us to Weymouth nowhere else.

Steve DeMoura: 31:00

Weymouth. So we were hanging posters and you know into, you know talking to people trying to, you know work with the police, everything. Then, just about a week later, we had some stories changed by Louis and then the whole alibi changed and now we're okay, now we gotta start going in Taunton. I start going over the routes. This is the way that he goes from point A to point B. If he was followed. I found that out and now again, this is 23 years ago. So a lot of the Dunkin Donuts back then they all had kitchens or whatever, if you will. He was working at another one at nighttime and he'd worked the other one like sometimes during the day and you know, not like full shifts, but he worked a lot, absolutely worked a lot. So he was doing both. He was followed to both to try to see, okay, where are the routes that he takes, what's by there. I hide it in a private investigator to follow him and see what they could find. Obviously, in the end, nothing became of it.

Anngelle Wood: 32:09

What did they present to you, the investigator?

Steve DeMoura: 32:12

I have a bunch of different papers from them not a whole lot, nothing crazy. I mean it was tough because I actually had a fundraiser shortly after to try to raise money to pay for these, because at the time I had three kids and trying to deal with the family and having Patty, deborah's sister, take care of the kids while I'm out night and day. And I've talked to hundreds of people that are psychics mediums, agritas, people that think they're psychics, everybody you know Maureen Hancock, john Edwards, like we've seen them all and this for every one person that has you know credentials where they see something or know something or hear something. I have 30 of them that are just hey, I'm not a psychic, but I think she's over here. I had to follow every lead that I thought was a possibility.

Anngelle Wood: 33:06

What was the Taunton Police Department? What was their behavior like when this is all going on?

Steve DeMoura: 33:12

Chief Oberg was actually one of the first people to say that he had suspicious activity and he's a person of interest because otherwise. So we had Waymyth and Braintree police in on this whole investigation because you know, somewhere along this story we may touch a base. Everybody's first rumor was, across the street from the Dunkin Donuts in Braintree was the landfill where the incinerators were and what time they pick up the trash on the dumpster and have that emptied. It's certainly not like it was just in this story where he took care of his wife and put her in different places recently found, you know, like some clothes, a saw blade and all that stuff. The police work that they did. I do believe that they did the best that they could, you know.

Steve DeMoura: 34:11

But again, 23 years later, I was just speaking to the state trooper who's now not in the original people of that were working on it. Because 23 years later, you know, I've seen a couple of you know troopers that have passed away. They moved, they retired If they were close to retirement, and then now we're here. We had, 23 years later, they're going on the notes from every department. But we had Norfolk County DA's office, we had Bristol County DA's office, we had Tom, a little bit of Rainham involvement, waymouth, braintree.

Steve DeMoura: 34:50

So it's one of those things where people that my age, if you were to say to them like back in the day, 23 years ago, the state police did not work with local police, they were higher above them. They really didn't work local police. They had their own duties, they had their own jobs. Now the state police is all over the place and they work well, you know, with the local police departments. And at first, nope, she was reported missing in Norfolk County. This is Waymouth case, it's not us, she just lives in Taunton. Then Louis changed the alibi. All right, now you don't have a choice. Now you got to take this because now Norfolk County is involved, very much involved, but because he changed his alibi, now Bristol County state police has taken the lead.

Anngelle Wood: 35:39

So when you say he changed his alibi, does that mean she got out of the car and Waymouth? He left and never went back? He stayed in Taunton the whole time. Is that what you mean by changing his alibi? That he never actually went back to look for her?

Steve DeMoura: 35:52

Correct. So I myself can just think of a hundred questions. Why would he do that? Why would he say that? Is it true, is it not true? Does he want us to believe he was in Taunton, or does he want us to believe that he was in Waymouth? That's the $100 question, you know.

Anngelle Wood: 36:13

You know she disappeared. The last time anybody saw Jebramelow, june 20, 2000. For a little bit of perspective, jebramel went missing on the 20th. Molly Bish went missing seven days later. Yeah, so that had to affect the search quite a bit in the attention.

Steve DeMoura: 36:35

It did so seven days later. That was a huge story that hit, and because she was a child right away, state police and FBI can get involved into this. A thousand times back in the day, the only reason why FBI could get involved is if number one they were asked by another agency if they're under the age of 16, if they're went out of state lines or if there was a ransom note.

Steve DeMoura: 37:03

So yes, Molly Bish went missing seven days later and that was around the time when Louis changed his alibi. So I started making all kinds of searches and I was looking all around Taunton. He still lives in a house that's a stone throw from some wooded areas where the Taunton River is and he lives a stone throw from Taunton High School, which has a bunch of wooded areas behind it. So that was a very convenient place to look. So we went there and it was at the time shortly after I have all my notes documenting I said I'm not getting anywhere, like I need to have law enforcement helping this search. So I went to the mayor's office, spoke to the mayor and I said, listen, I get it, but I named the woman that was the canine officer for Bristol County. We had one real good canine dog and he was in Warren Mass at Molly Bish, I'm like you got to be kidding me.

Steve DeMoura: 38:12

Like I got to have some type of a priority. I get it that she was an adult. So the first question is she's an adult, she can make her own decision. Would she just take off and leave? So I spoke to the mayor and the assistant and then I went to the police chief and I said, respectfully, I'm doing this respectfully, I'm not getting the help that I need and I need to stop making the higher up officials look bad because I'm not getting that help that Debra needs. I mean, there was no social media other than I can't remember the name. Now it was nothing like it is now. So I did it, like I said, respectfully, and I just kept it in house between the chief and the mayor and I got confirmation that the afternoon I named three different spaces, no places where I felt to be searched. They also agreed and we had a confirmation date and time when that search started and with the Molly Bish whole thing it was maybe a month and a half.

Steve DeMoura: 39:11

Two months went by. It was very stagnant. There was nothing going on. We were still investigating. It was not closed at all, but there was just no activity for law officials in the media.

Steve DeMoura: 39:25

If I had something, I still have all my connections to all the radio stations and television stations, but there was nothing happening and it was kind of stagnant as well for Molly Bish. Each thought to them and they came down and went to the appraisal that we had. We went there and supported them as well. And then that's when the media was like wow, look at this, we got two families a week apart and you know they're bonding together to try to get answers for their family. So that was another story and I didn't care what the story or how it got into the media, I just wanted to get into the media. I put some advertising posters on the back of the Gatred buses, which is a local bus that just takes you to local places. We did a lot of I don't know how do you say it trying to figure out how we can keep Debra's name in the media with different stories or doing things which shortly after coming up on a year now Molly Bish, the foundation, the family.

Steve DeMoura: 40:28

I called up originally to try to talk to John and Maggie and they're like, they're like the Wizard of Oz, you can't talk to them. They have a foundation, like right away, and it was like an organization that was handling all the publicity, all the media. They were handling, you know, all the police things you know, and they were just kind of like in the background. So I left my name and number and who I was. They reached out to me. We went up almost to the year after Debra's disappearance because it was one year. So we were pretty good with the community in the city of Taunton. She was front page still no answers, you know, for local missing woman. So myself, my ex-mother-in-law and my wife at the time, we drove to Warren Mass and we attended a prayer vigil that they had. And then when we came back I was living the life where I never knew who was going to be approaching me, who I was going to to ask questions. So it was just there was a surprise around every corner. So I was always kind of like on guard. So we came home that evening and it was already dark, out from attending the Molly Bishop's prayer vigil and there was somebody like walking in my front yard, like standing there. I'm like, all right, here we go, like what's going on now? So I get out and I started walking towards him and he kind of put his hands up and he says is your father Joe? No, my father's name is not Joe, but my father-in-law's name is Joe. I said, yeah, why? He said, dude, you need to go down to CB Billions. I'm like why he said you need to go down there now. So CB Billions was behind the old Taunton Mall. Cb Billions was like a pool hall, a stone throw from where I was living. So I drove down there and as I'm driving down, lights in the sky was like it was daytime, it was unbelievable. And I pulled up on the side street. There's fire trucks down there with the ladders extended, lights dropping down, lights everywhere, caution tape everywhere and I'm like what the hell is going on? So I walked over to the police line do not cross. And I was talking to the police officer I knew lifted up the caution tape. So I went under it and I looked at him. I'm like, am I supposed to be here? He said I think so. I'm like, are you kidding me, so Joe, which was my father-in-law, behind that CB Billions, there were train tracks and that's where some people just hung out, drink beers and there was like a little gathering area over there by the tracks.

Steve DeMoura: 43:02

Long story short. To sum up what happened there was Joe was there with three or four other guys all just sitting around just talking, because there was a liquor store right down the road so they could just walk there and hang out and no one really bothered them. There was a newspaper and they were talking about Deborah, and Stephen Kamara ended up having a few choice words, probably because of under the influence of alcohol, about what he thought or whatever to her F, her, whatever. Joe didn't like that. They got into a little fight so he took off. Joe stayed there with a couple other guys. Stephen Kamara came back. He picked up a steel pipe and hit him a few times and killed her father-in-law. Add that to my story.

Anngelle Wood: 43:45

Oh my gosh.

Steve DeMoura: 43:46

While I was there. That's when I needed to identify the body which they wouldn't actually let me see. I had to identify some tattoos in a description of my father-in-law protecting his step-daughter. He went to jail right away. He did like three and a half something years before we went to trial. Then he got 18 years plus the time served and he's out.

Steve DeMoura: 44:11

I got a phone call, in a letter maybe a year and a half ago two years ago saying that he's gonna be getting out, just to let us know he did try to go for early release five or six years ago on good behavior and everything. They got a hold of me and they said are you going to attend? And I was like I'd never done anything like this. I don't know what am I supposed to be doing? Magistrate or whoever has just basically said that he's gonna go to try to get out and I'm like I haven't even had a moment to even think about what's going on. So if I had to guess, just say that I'm gonna go. So soon as the magistrate heard that they went back and then they're like, okay, forget it, we're not gonna go. So we're not gonna go for the early release, because if they think that someone is gonna go to oppose what they want and there's a good chance they're not gonna get it and it's so tough because I know a few people that are related to that Stephen Camara.

Steve DeMoura: 45:08

I know my father-in-law. I mean, they were both drinking. Some of my good friends, when they drink they can be a jerk, nevermind my father-in-law or this other guy, stephen Camara. So who's at fault? Obviously he murdered them, so he's at fault. But was he in the right state of mind? I wanna be a good person and say I forgive, it's so damn hot.

Anngelle Wood: 45:29

It's really hard because you've seen all of this sorrow firsthand.

Steve DeMoura: 45:35

I'm 52 and she's been gone for 23 years, so I was just a young father trying to make ends meet and have a family and then I get handed all this. I had to get Joe's biological daughter to sign off because she didn't want anything to do with anything, so she was the only living heir that was his biological daughter, because Patty and Deborah were stepdaughters. So she had to sign some paperwork and then I took care of his remains and had the services for him. But it's just tough. It was just like one thing after another.

Anngelle Wood: 46:08

How did this all fall on you, Steve? It's a massive responsibility that you undertook.

Steve DeMoura: 46:15

I think some of that has to be with my father was full of Portuguese, so I'm half and us Portuguese people are just driven pretty hard Like we just determined. But I don't think it was an option. I've known Deborah since I was 16, 15, and she went missing. So I've known her for 15 years, like that little Louie. I was with my wife at the time, dating when little Louie was born and now he was 10 at the time.

Steve DeMoura: 46:47

So it was like I said it was never an idea that should I get involved, should I just kind of let the police handle this. I just have to do my thing, like if there's something that I know the police only can do so much, and that's been like the biggest kind of a catch from day one In order for the police to go investigate into your backyard and to physically walk in your backyard and start searching because a good source told them there might be something back there. He was friends with this guy and they were both over there. Maybe 23 years later it's a little bit different, but back then there's so many red line areas that just makes you go through in hoops and hurdles. So when I was talking to people I could walk into anybody's backyard and if you had a problem with me, then we would have words.

Steve DeMoura: 47:42

Or if I explained my story, I'm hoping that I would get the compassion from somebody and be like, oh my gosh, like let's go take a look. Oh, what are you looking at? I mean, I've been into vacant buildings, cemeteries, just everywhere, all hours of the night, all hours during the day, wooded areas. I had to not take the lead, but I would filter out because still to this day, 23 years later, I still have a ton of people that do not wanna be involved with the police, would rather send me an email, a Facebook message, or have a friend contact me. That happened three days ago and I believe something was here, or I believe this, or I believe this story, and then I would look into it and then I would give the police my notes.

Anngelle Wood: 48:39

There is quite a lot to this story and 23 years later, 23 and a half- years later, debra Mello is still missing.

Anngelle Wood: 48:49

There has been no conclusion. No remains have been found. No one held responsible for her disappearance. This is part one of two. I will share the second half of my conversation with Steve DeMora, debra Mello's brother-in-law and longtime friend. He first met Debra when he, too, was a teenager. A few important points to make before I wrap up this episode and prepare part two for release.

Anngelle Wood: 49:22

Two crime of the truest kind live events. One has been announced Thursday March 7th at Off Cabot in Beverly. The second one has not yet been announced. That is Thursday February 15th at Faces Brewing in Malden. I have a special guest for that one. I will be talking with author and Boston Globe crime writer Emily Sweeney. Emily Sweeney currently has a weekly column. You can sign up for their newsletter covering Massachusetts cold cases. We're gonna talk Massachusetts Unsolved. That will be announced next week. Tickets will be on sale. Pick one date. Come to both. Crime of the truest kind online crimeofthechuestkindcom. Follow @Crime of the Truest Kind. Be a buddy. Tell a friend. My name is Anngelle Wood. Thank you, Patreon supporters. Brand new Patreon content in January 2024. Thank you for your support and your patience. This has been quite a ride. Thank you for listening. Happy New Year.