In 2009, for a new generation of tweens, teens and young adults, the boogeyman was given a face… sort of… and a name… Slenderman. By 2014, it was part of the public lexicon, but tragically, although it had been debunked, two young girls in Wisconsin believed this fictional horror story to be true. And the outcome was devastating for everyone involved.

This is Part 2 of our three-part series that delves into the challenges and risks facing females in the foster care system. We continue to speak with Monique, who is the founder of Arise for Girls, a non-profit that was established to provide girls in foster care with the skills and resources needed to become successful and productive adults. We also continue speaking with Marina, who was a teenager in foster care and became a victim of the trafficking that is so prevalent among these girls. In this episode, she’ll finish her story.

May is National Foster Care Awareness Month and this week we are releasing three special episodes about the challenges facing females in the foster care system. Abuse and trafficking are very real experiences, and we speak with two women who are bravely sharing their stories. We also talk with a woman who founded a nonprofit called Arise for Girls, which was established to provide a safe place, loving homes and promising futures for abused and neglected children, teens and young adults.

In 2008, the unbelievable story about a chamber of horrors in the small town of Amstetten, Austria made international headlines. For decades, a young woman had endured unimaginable abuse and terror at the hands of someone very close to her. But family secrets can’t stay hidden forever.

In 2015, a young man arrived at his girlfriend’s house and found a horrifying scene. Allison Feldman was lying on the floor with a cloth wrapped around her head. It was obvious she was gone. After two years with no solid leads, Scottsdale PD decided to use genetic genealogy to help their case, the first time it was used by Arizona law enforcement. They got a match, but the case has been appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court. And just last week, the Court reached a decision.

In 1985, police responded to a 911 call to find a woman deceased in the bedroom, and a young teenage girl unconscious in the backyard doghouse after an overdose. The frantic husband of the woman was able to identify the teenage girl – and purported perpetrator of the crime – as his own daughter. And the truth was a story worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy.

It was called the “Roaring 20s” for a reason… in 1918, Fred and Dolly Oesterreich moved to Silver Lake, CA – an upscale neighborhood in Los Angeles – for a fresh start after tragically losing their 9-year-old son. But just four years later, in 1922, another death in the family proved the adage that while home is where the heart is, home is also where our secrets are.

In late 1985, newlyweds John Ruetten and Sherri Rasmussen were looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together. But just months into their wedded bliss, Sherri’s life was tragically cut short after an intruder broke into their home and brutally ended her life. What kind of monster was behind the attack? And could detectives find them before the case went cold?