Buried Bones - a historical true crime podcast with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes · Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

The Murder of Maria Buel

January 28, 2026·54 min·2 clips

A shocking public murder at City Hall with gunshots fired in the chamber during a political event.

Buried Bones hosts Kate Winkler Dawson, a journalist who has spent 25 years writing about true crime, and Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator responsible for solving some of America's most complex cases, continue their examination of historical true crime through a modern forensic lens. The show's format pairs historical narrative, Winkler Dawson's specialty, with forensic analysis, Holes's contribution, to approach old cases with tools and knowledge that were unavailable to investigators at the time. This episode opens with characteristic warmth and humor between the hosts, with Winkler Dawson describing cold winter weather in the northeast while Holes enjoys significantly warmer conditions, before pivoting to the case at hand. The case this week is the murder of Maria Buel, a historical case that Winkler Dawson has researched and presents in its period context before Holes analyzes what modern forensic techniques might have revealed or changed. The episode covers the specific circumstances of the crime, the investigation as it was conducted at the time, what the limitations of contemporary forensic practice meant for the case, and what a modern investigator like Holes would do differently with today's tools including DNA analysis, digital forensics, and behavioral profiling. Holes brings his characteristic forensic precision to the analysis, discussing specific evidentiary questions and what patterns of behavior the case exhibits that resemble solved modern cases. The tone is collegial and intellectually engaged, with genuine interplay between the hosts rather than a scripted presentation. The audience is true crime enthusiasts and history lovers who want to understand both the cases and the evolution of forensic science.

As heard by us

A tense farm visit follows Maria trying to reclaim her belongings as Ira's threats and a recovered handgun raise the stakes.

The episode centers on a tense visit to Ira's farm, where Maria arrives with two men to collect her belongings after placing trust in Rivera as a go-between.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when a visit to collect belongings turns into a tense confrontation over control and safety.

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