The creators of the Irish podcast Runaway Joe wanted to track down Joe Mahoney, who fled to Ireland after allegedly poisoning his wife in Rochester in 1967.
As investigative reporting built an extensive and compelling nine-episode podcast, the “Runaway Joe” team learned that Mahoney likely died instead. But they also discovered something else. He had six children, many of whom he didn't know about.
“This was a very happy outcome for the series as a whole,” said Pavel Barter, one of the RTÉ investigative reporters who created the podcast. “…Indeed, we had no idea that Joe Mahoney had more than one child.”
They were Joseph Mahoney and Patricia Mahoney, the children of Joe Fisk Mahoney and June Fisk Mahoney.
It's the fifth birthday party for Mahoney's son, Joe Jr., in Rochester, and Mahoney is suspected of poisoning June's drink. He was then separated from her. Their daughter Patricia was 18 months old at the time.
“It turns out I have two half-brothers and two half-sisters,” Joe Jr., who now lives in Florida and asked that his last name not be used, said in a phone interview.
He is reaching out and talking to his half-brothers, he said. Some I hope to meet in the future.
One of his half-brothers, Joe, said, “I told my wife we could stay together. He likes rock concerts and craft beer just like I do.''
Mr Mahoney had two children from another marriage while married to June, and two children with a local woman. These women, like June, were nurses. He led them to believe that he was a doctor, when in fact he was not.
The podcast led some of the children to submit their DNA to genetic matching companies, which led to the discovery of their half-siblings.
more:Did you solve the mystery?Irish podcast reveals fate of Rochester man charged with murdering his wife in 1967
more:Rochester man evades arrest for decades after killing wife: Podcast aims to find man
What will be the fate of “Runaway Joe”?
While preparing for his murder trial, Mahoney was able to convince the judge of the need for a psychiatric evaluation. He then fled Rochester State Hospital, where he was being held.
Mahoney fled to Ireland, where he lived under the name Michael O'Shea. His identity was discovered in the mid-1980s, but extradition was temporarily blocked and he disappeared again.
The podcasting team tracked him to pre-unification East Germany and North Cypress, a notorious location for fugitives trying to evade arrest and extradition. There, Mahoney apparently suffered from Alzheimer's disease and died in 2005.
“Runaway Joe” revealed this in its final episode, and we later received more information that further confirmed Mahoney's death. His burial place, if there was one, was never found.
The woman he married in Ireland and was traveling with to avoid police and prosecution also died.
“There are still questions,” Barter said. “Where was he, what was his name, who diagnosed him with Alzheimer's disease, and what did[the couple]do for the money?”
Find out about your father's crime
Joe Jr. learned about the podcast from a February article in the Democrat and Chronicle and from Evan Dawson's talk show “Connections” on WXXI Radio, which aired an episode focused on “Runaway Joe.”
Joe said he had long wondered if his father had reacted in a “crime of passion” after an argument in 1967. There was little evidence, but it seemed like a less vengeful story.
Instead, he learns from a podcast that his father is an abusive and controlling man who is perfectly capable of premeditated murder.
“He was a total badass,” Joe said. “…He was clearly a funny and smart guy.”
Still, Joe said he wanted to see his father again.
“I had a life before 1967 and a life after 1967,” he said. “I have never forgotten my life before 1967 because I remember it vividly. But I have moved on.”
Among her memories are the family home “that Joe built for me” and his tree swing in the front yard.
After the murder, Joe and Patricia were placed in foster care and then adopted by a foster family. They remain close.
The Democrat and Chronicle contacted other half-brothers who did not wish to be interviewed.
Barter said the podcasters didn't want to create a sordid true crime story that would “exploit the people involved.” He wanted to honor the survivors and June's memory, he said.
“It was almost an accident, but it helped bring the family together,” he said.
“We never expected it to end on such a hopeful note.”
Gary Craig is a veteran reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts, crime and more. He is the author of two of his books, including Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and The Unsolved Rochester Brink Robbery.. ” The robbery was the focus of a previous RTÉ podcast, The Seven Million Dollar Man.
