The Murder of Dorothy Milliken, a book talk with Sharon Kitchens 

This program is part of our series Notorious: Maine Crime in the Public Eye, 1690–1940, and offered in conjunction with the exhibit of the same name.

On November 5, 1976, twenty-seven-year-old Dorothy Milliken left her rural home in Sabattus, Maine, to go to an all-night laundromat. The following morning, her body was found slumped against the outside wall.Despite various leads, there were no arrests for her murder. Dorothy Milliken became a name typed on an index card filed at state police headquarters, her crime scene displayed in grainy black-and-white photos in the evening newspapers. Nearly five decades later, author Sharon Kitchens examines the cold case, interviewing more than forty people, including Dorothy’s family, friends, former neighbors, law enforcement and forensic specialists. Who was Dorothy? Why has her killer never been found? Did she know her murderer, or was her death due to a random, frenzied attack?

About the presenter: Sharon Kitchens has lived in Maine for a few decades. Her first book, Stephen King’s Maine: A History & Guide, was published by The History Press in 2024. Every week, she can be seen carrying an armload of library books. She loves hanging out in cafés eating chocolate croissants and sipping lavender lattes. Her fondness for Patti Smith’s poetry is matched only by her love of Taylor Swift’s lyrics. She is a cat and dog person. Sometimes she writes at https://deliciousmusings.substack.com.