The Man in the Dunes

The Cold Cape: Cataumet’s Angel of Death

Jolly Jane Toppan is regarded as one of the worlds worst serial killers of all time. Her body count? Over 100. She was a nurse at the prestigious Mass General Hospital before like many of us making her way down to Cape Cod for the salt air and euphoric Summers. She was a world famous deadly force of nature and at one point did her worst killing right in your backyard.

The Man in the Dunes

Not far down Tupper Rd in Sandwich, Massachusetts you’ll find history carved into a local landmark, literally. From children wading in their soggy diapers in the tidal pools, to the partying teenagers and bonfires or school kids jumping off the boardwalk at high tide (or low tide if they have an aptitude for spinal injuries). Even the influx of tourists from the tri- state and Connecticut in the heat of Summer cannot deny the oasis this local treasure is to people of all ages. In June 2014, however, it was instead the scene of a horrific and murderous afterthought. When two local Sandwich men found a dolly with a duffel bag and inside was the mutilated body of an unknown man, a man whose identity eludes law enforcement to this day. Head, legs and arms all cut off. Who was he? And how did he get there? Who put him there? We ask these questions and more when we’re joined by Barnstable County District Attorney Michael O’Keefe and talk to local Sandwich residents as we to try and breakdown the case of the Man in the Dunes.