Dark Downeast - The Disappearance of Russell Bean (New Hampshire)

Episode Date: March 7, 2022

NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1978: When State Police investigators started digging in March of 1988, it had been 10 years since anyone had seen Russell Bean. An investigation followed his disappearance, but foul play wasn’t suspected. Not until a deathbed confession and shocking accusation sent investigators to the site of an old pig pen on the property of Marlow, New Hampshire’s Police Chief, Robert Chambers Sr.If you have information regarding this case, contact the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit at [phone], [e-mail], or leave a tip. View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/russellbeanFollow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.

They were standing knee-deep at the site of an old pig pen in Marlow, New Hampshire. It was March of 1988 and the beginning of New England's fifth season, mud season. This was a particularly thick kind of mud, too, the stuff that would pull your bean boots straight off your foot if you didn't step just right. But a tip told them that this was the exact spot they needed to dig. It had been ten years since anyone had seen Russell Bean. He was reported missing in 1979, and an investigation followed, but foul play wasn't suspected. Not until a deathbed confession and shocking accusations sent investigators to this very spot, a muddy pig pen in small-town Marlow, New Hampshire.

A muddy pig pen on the property of Marlow, New Hampshire's police chief. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is theing of secrets kept for a lifetime as that life comes to an end. They hold a prominent place in religion and spirituality, as well as the legal arena. In the right circumstances, this end-of-life testimony is admissible evidence in a criminal trial. Deathbed confessions have given us answers to questions left lingering for years, reigniting cold investigations, closing out some high-profile and lesser-known cases, and giving closure to families, however long overdue it may be. In early March of 1988, as Clifton Chambers neared his final days on this earth, his family was by his side. I don't know the specific circumstances of the conversation,

the way Clifton may have waited for a private moment with his daughter, asking her to come closer and speaking in a whispered voice so as to prevent any eavesdropping on the information he was about to share, the secret he'd been keeping for a better part of a decade. But thanks to court records, I do know this. Clifton Chambers uttered his deathbed confession with one last request. Melissa was not to say a word to anybody until he died. One week later, on March 9th, 1988, Clifton Chambers suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, passing away at 61 years old. That same day, Melissa Chambers went to the police in Keene, New Hampshire, and what she told them began an investigation and discovery that no one in the town of Marlow, New Hampshire, saw coming.

New Hampshire State Police obtained search warrants for a plot of land once owned by Clifton Chambers. On the same day Clifton was laid to rest in a carefully dug plot, another dig for answers began. The information indicated a portion of the land that was once a pig pen, and this wasn't going to be a job for just manpower and shovels. The Brattleboro reformer reported that mounds of dirt towering at least eight feet high surrounded the dig site, as backhoes and other heavy equipment dug deeper into the earth. A late-season snowfall blanketed the area, but by the end of the three-day dig, the hole was about 30 feet wide and 20 feet deep. As investigators reached that considerable depth,

they found exactly what Clifton said would be there. Skeletal remains. Investigators began the tedious process of collecting each bone and fragment that likely had spent a decade encased in mud, silt, and dirt. This was going to be a difficult investigation, and it was only just beginning. News of the discovery almost immediately permeated the conversations of Marlow residents. With just about 600 people calling the small town home, news traveled fast. Though police declined to comment on why they decided to dig in that spot, whose remains they were, how they came to be in that location, or whether charges would be filed, they couldn't keep one of the biggest details from Marlow locals. Everyone knew who now owned the land and lived on the property where the remains were found.

It belonged to Clifton Chambers' son, who was also the chief of police in Marlow and nearby Gilson, New Hampshire. His name was Robert Chambers Sr. Local newspaper reporters were quick to do some figurative digging of their own, trying to suss out what police weren't saying about the unbelievable discovery. Reporters from the Keene Sentinel approached the police chief at his home, prying for answers. He told them, quote, I'd like to comment, but I can't right now, end quote. With the discovery of the skeletal remains in his yard, 36-year-old Bob Chambers asked for an indefinite leave of absence from the Marlow Police Force. At first, he was suspended with pay, pending the results of the state police investigation. Medical examiners performed an extensive autopsy on the skeletal remains, which had clearly been in the ground for several years. The bones were coated in mud, making the autopsy and collection of any usable data or material from the bones themselves extremely difficult.

Multiple medical examiners and forensic experts partnered on the autopsy, and portions of the remains were even flown to Maine for advanced study. The Brattleboro reformer reported that, for the first time, computerized x-ray machines were used to determine if damage to the bones was from injury just prior to death or the result of 10 years under 20 feet of dirt and mud. The skeletal remains were processed with a CAT scan, allowing forensic experts to see deep injuries and fractures to the bone that would otherwise be missed by normal x-rays. The autopsy took several days to complete, but when the medical examiner filed his report, the conclusion set forth an even deeper investigation. Dental records confirmed what authorities already believed to be true, as well as the rumors around town. The remains

belonged to Russell Bean, who had disappeared in 1978. Russell Bean's cause of death was listed as traumatic injuries to the head and chest, with the manner of death ruled a homicide. Russell Bean married his wife Sylvia in June of 1974. They had a baby and lived in Marlborough, New Hampshire together until one day in 1978, 25-year-old Russell didn't come home. I loved him, and I knew he loved me, Sylvia told the Rutland Daily Herald in 1988 after Russell's skeletal remains were discovered. Quote, I knew he would never walk away.

I knew something bad must have happened to him or he wouldn't be gone. Sylvia had left notes all over their home, hoping that Russell would one day return and see the messages and decide to stay. According to reporting by Mike Recht for the Brattleboro Reformer, Sylvia Bean reported Russell missing in early 1979. In a move I found quite different from other missing persons cases, police issued a warrant for Russell's arrest on the grounds of abandoning his wife and child. There was a brief search for Russell, according to the Rutland Daily Herald, but Sylvia was told, quote, some people disappear because they want to be gone, end quote. A year passed without any sign of Russell. He didn't come home to his family,

and there was no hint that he might return anytime soon. On April 17th, 1979, Sylvia filed for and was granted a divorce. She'd always wondered about Russell, why he hadn't come back, and where he might be if not at home with her. As a matter of necessity, Sylvia moved on. She was a single mother with no money, raising her child with Russell Bean and other children from a previous relationship all on her own.

Sylvia needed someplace to go and soon moved in with a friend of Russell's, who would later become her third husband. Sylvia Bean was then Mrs. Robert Chambers, Bob Chambers, the prime suspect in Sylvia's ex-husband's disappearance and death. State police expanded their investigation now with the homicide ruling by the medical examiner. Meanwhile, a local newspaper called the Keene Sentinel began pressuring the Attorney General's office to unseal the information and documents used to obtain the search warrants on Police Chief Robert Chambers' property.

The AG wanted those warrant files to remain confidential. Assistant Attorney General Kathleen McGuire argued that, should the files be released, information prejudicial to the accused's right to a fair trial could reach potential jurors. Basically, if this gets out, the whole case against their prime suspect might crumble. But the matter was of particular public interest, given the police chief was now at the center of a homicide investigation. When the Keene Sentinel brought their petition to district court, Judge Richard Talbot ordered the search warrant files be made public. The AG's office fought the order, appealing the decision with the state Supreme Court.

The appeal tied the files up in legal limbo, buying the AG's office some time. However, the Court of Public Opinion had a lot to say about Bob Chambers, much of it favorable. Prominent members of the town were quick to defend Bob. Selectman Ross Potter told the papers, quote, I only hope that everybody searches everything for the bottom line so we don't ruin a young man's life, don't ruin a family. I don't want to see Bob Chambers hung out to dry, end quote. Someone else commented in the paper, quote, we've been giving him the benefit of the doubt. I was shocked when they found this on his property, end quote. Another selectman and friend to Bob Chambers was clear, quote, I believe he's innocent, end quote. Others weren't as complimentary of the police chief,

sharing their two cents anonymously in the Rutland Daily Herald. They feared the consequences of landing on Chambers' bad side. He had a temper, one woman claimed. Others said his relationships with the kids and teens in town was, quote, overbearing and harassing, end quote. But the source material really does paint the picture of a man who was respected, albeit a little cocky over his accomplishments. He was moving up the ladder in his new law enforcement career, building a better life for himself and his family. Before Bob Chambers was the police chief in Marlow and Gilson, New Hampshire,

he was a logger and worked in factories. That's actually how he met Russell Bean, at a factory in Keene, New Hampshire. They were friends, drinking buddies, as described by reporting in the Brattleboro Reformer. Bob Chambers and his then-wife Deborah Chambers became good friends with Russell Bean and his wife Sylvia. Good enough that Russell even helped Bob build their one-and-a-half-story cabin on Bob's two acres of land that he'd received from his father. The same cabin and the same land where Bob would live with his new wife Sylvia in March of 1988.

Bob Chambers' lawyer, a public defender named Mark Sisti, is quoted in the Rutland Daily Herald saying, My client had nothing to gain access to the same records that the Keene Sentinel newspaper wanted made public. Quote, A lot of reports have been generated through rumors and speculation and we'd like to see exactly what's in there. End quote. Rumors indeed. The public and the press were still waiting for those search warrant records to be released, but on March 25th, 1988, they finally came to light. The details were inflammatory and further narrowed the gaze of investigation

on Robert Chambers. The affidavits are low-quality, unsubstantiated hearsay. That's what Robert Chambers' lawyer told the press after the contents of the search warrant files were spilled out for the whole world to see. What the documents revealed was alleged domestic violence and, quote, wife-swapping. Headlines couldn't help but latch onto this salacious detail that Bob Chambers and his then-wife were in some sort of arrangement with Russell Bean and Sylvia. These allegations, reported by Melissa Chambers and two other of Bob's family members were later adamantly denied by Sylvia herself. Bob Chambers did not comment on any of the allegations. The affidavits also revealed in greater detail the contents of

Clifton Chambers' deathbed confession. According to what Melissa reported to Keene Police, this was the story she heard from her dying father. In September of 1978, Bob Chambers and Russell Bean were drinking together in an abandoned quarry. An argument sparked and things escalated. They started fighting and, allegedly, Bob pushed Russell. Russell fell and hit his head on a rock. As the story goes, Russell died instantly. Later that night, Robert turned to his father for help. He told Clifton that he'd just killed Russell and wanted to know what to do. Together, they dug a hole on Clifton's land with a backhoe.

That's where state police detectives would find Russell's body ten years later. There were also two letters in the search warrant documentation written by Sylvia Chambers when she was still Sylvia Bean. She'd written to Russell's mother, expressing concern that Bob might have done something to Russell. Bob told her that Russell had owed him money, and he gave Russell a ride to the Vermont state line and dropped him off. These letters were turned over to police. However, they did not seem to spark any fears of foul play when Russell Bean went missing.

But members of Robert Chambers' family challenged the information in the affidavits, saying that there was bad blood between Melissa Chambers and her now-accused brother. One family member claimed that Melissa Chambers was, quote, very bitter against Bob. It built through the years. They'd always fought back and forth, end quote. The documents and the information they contained caused a strain on Sylvia and Bob's family. Sylvia told the Rutland Daily Herald that her 18-year-old son wouldn't speak to her, despite her reassurances that the stories of wife-swapping were all rumors. As the investigation into her husband deepened, Sylvia Chambers filed for formal separation from Bob. One month after Russell Bean's body was discovered in his front yard, New Hampshire State Police arrested Robert Chambers

on charges of second-degree murder. Bob surrendered himself to the state police station in Keene, New Hampshire on April 15, 1988. His bail was set at $200,000, which he was unable to post for himself. He was transferred to county jail to await his arraignment and further legal proceedings. Bob was charged with second-degree murder, meaning there was no evidence of premeditation or planning. At his arraignment, the police chief did not enter a plea, though his attorney Mark Sisti said that this was an error. His client planned to plead innocent to the charge. Following the arraignment, Bob was held at the county jail, and given his career in law

enforcement, it was determined that Robert Chambers would need to be housed separately from other inmates, should he come in contact with anyone he'd arrested when he was a police officer. Meanwhile, the state was working to solidify their case against Robert Chambers. Dying declarations, so-called deathbed confessions, aren't always admissible as evidence in a criminal trial. But prosecutors told the Associated Press that even if a statement from Robert's late father Clifton wasn't available to them at trial, they had witness statements from 15 to 20 other people that only confirmed their allegations against Bob. The whole case seemed to weigh on whether that confession made by Robert Chambers' father would make it into the courtroom. But what would make the case

even stronger would be locating a murder weapon, the blunt object that inflicted those fatal wounds on Russell's head and chest. The AG's office wouldn't say if they'd recovered the murder weapon, the blunt object that inflicted those fatal wounds on Russell's head and chest. The AG's office wouldn't say if they'd recovered the murder weapon, or if they had any reason to believe that they would find such a weapon. A concentrated search for a murder weapon in the case of Russell Bean wouldn't begin until after the grand jury convened to consider the charges against Robert Chambers. On Friday, May 4th, 1988, Assistant Attorney General Gregory Swope presented the second-degree murder case against Robert Chambers to a grand jury. After sharing the scope of the investigation, the deathbed confession, the witness statements, including testimony from Bob's first wife, Deborah, and the other evidence in the case, the state waited to hear the jury's decision.

In a stunning turn of events, the grand jury did not return an indictment for Robert Chambers. He was a free man. Assistant AG Swope commented on the decision, saying, The case is back to square one. It's as if he'd never been arrested, and we're still investigating. Prosecutors could still bring charges against Chambers if new charges were warranted. Though grand jury proceedings are kept secret and the jury did not return a reason for their decision, it's assumed that they ultimately decided that the state's case against the defendant was not strong enough to support the second-degree murder charges. They needed more evidence, more reliable evidence, to bring to trial.

Though he was technically a free man, pressure to remove Bob Chambers from his posts in Marlow and Gilson was mounting. Ultimately, Chambers resigned from two out of the three law enforcement posts he held at the time of the investigation. He held onto one possible employment opportunity in Winchester, where he was a full-time trainee, but stepped away from the police chief positions in Marlow and Gilson. On the day the dig for Russell's body began, it would have been Bob Chambers' graduation day

from the police academy in Concord, a required course for full-time officers. His diploma was withheld. In the days following Chambers' release, state police said that the investigation remained on the front burner and was a top priority. In June of 1988, authorities began another dig, this time at a quarry about three-quarters of a mile from Robert Chambers' home. They planned to drain the water from the pond at the quarry in search of a murder weapon. It would take five days to drain the pond and sift through the garbage-filled mud that remained after the last drop of over two million gallons of water trickled

out? The Associated Press reported that layers of scrap metal, beer cans, and other trash needed to be sifted through and carefully considered. Was the murder weapon hiding amongst all that junk? The Keene Sentinel had reported that a new axe, once belonging to Clifton Chambers, Bob's dad, had disappeared around the same time that Russell himself disappeared. But police would not comment on that rumor or if they were looking for an axe at the bottom of that pond. At the end of the search, authorities had nothing to show for their efforts. No murder weapon. Robert Chambers' first wife, Deborah Wentworth, came forward in the days following the grand jury proceedings and decided to publicly share her testimony that was previously kept sealed.

She told the press her version of events, that she was actually there and witnessed Bob kill Russell. Her story included other details of the interaction, and it's reported in several local papers. I'll link those news sources in the show notes, but I won't expand on Debra's version of events here because, just a few days later, she recanted her statement and said she was lying about the whole thing. Media outlets pointed to Debra's mental health and history of psychiatric care, but Debra also alleged that Robert Chambers physically abused her during their marriage. We can't be sure if her story really was a fabrication created for unknown motivations, or if she recanted her testimony for some other reason, maybe even fear. In October 1988, Robert Chambers sat at a

restaurant in Swansea, New Hampshire, when newspaper reporters from the Keene Sentinel approached him for yet another comment on the case. His first ex-wife, Deborah Wentworth, had just recanted her statements and grand jury testimony against him, admitting she'd lied about witnessing Robert kill Russell. Robert refused to comment on the latest development, but he asked the reporter to take his picture. He's turned slightly away from the camera, smirking. Robert had since ended his pursuit of a career in law enforcement and returned to working as a logger. He had moved out of his cabin in Marlow and settled in Swansea, about 30 minutes from Marlow in the fall of 1988. That November, Swansea police arrested Robert on simple assault charges for punching a woman in the face.

He confessed to the charges a month later and was fined $50 and given a 60-day suspended sentence. Leeds fizzled out in the case of Russell Bean. One year after the shocking discovery in the police chief's front yard, the case remained unsolved, while Robert Chambers remained the only suspect. In 1992, Russell Bean's sister, Doris Corliss, announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for her brother's death in 1978. Their family felt police weren't doing enough to solve the case and believed that Robert Chambers knew what happened. They hoped a reward

would dredge up new leads to move the investigation forward, But if any new information did come in, it didn't appear to lead anywhere. Russell Bean's murder is still unsolved as of March 2022. It'll be 34 years this month since his remains were dug up on Bob Chambers' property. The burial site kept a secret until a deathbed confession set everything into motion. Without that deathbed confession, Russell Bean may have never been found. Russell's name remains on the New Hampshire State Police Cold Case Unit's list of unsolved cases. If you have any information to share, please contact the New Hampshire State Police. 29 years after he was first named a murder suspect, Robert Chambers sat in a courtroom

on trial for a different crime. He was charged with four counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. His victim was just seven years old when the abuse began in 1994, and it continued for nearly seven years. Chambers denied the allegations. But in July of 2017, Robert Chambers was found guilty of three of the four counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault,

and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He is 70 years old and remains in prison to this day. When his remains were finally released by the investigation, the family of Russell Bean held his funeral at Pine Grove Cemetery. Russell's brother Alan said, It is good we took care of our brother and buried him properly. My brother was not a piece of garbage to be thrown in the ground. He was a human being." end quote. Sylvia attended the service for her late ex-husband, feeling a sense of relief that

she now knew what happened to the man she loved, that she couldn't fathom would leave her and their children without looking back. I don't feel his body was at rest until we had the funeral, Sylvia said in the Brattleboro Reformer. Quote, It was a very beautiful funeral. It brought a lot of family members back together. End quote. Russell's sister Doris described him as the most lovable of all their five siblings, and his disappearance and murder weighed heavily on their family. Doris told WCVB,

quote, the only thing I could do for Russell now is help bring his killer to justice. It's a matter of somebody doing the right thing. And sometimes it takes time for the person to be strong enough to do that. End quote. You can leave a tip for this case and other unsolved New Hampshire cases via the state police tip form.

It's linked in the show notes of this episode and at darkdowneast.com. Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. Sources for this episode, as always, are listed at darkdowneast.com. This week for Missing New England, I want to bring your attention to the case of Precious Neon. 14-year-old Precious Neon left her home in Manchester, New Hampshire, possibly following an argument on October 31st, 2021. She has black hair and brown eyes and is about 5 feet tall and 125 pounds. If you have any information regarding Precious Neon's whereabouts,

please contact Manchester Police. Contact information is listed at darkdowneast.com slash missing. Thank you to all the new Dark Down Easter's who are here, leaving reviews, supporting the show, subscribing, listening as each new episode comes out, and binging the lineup from the beginning it's been incredible to see this community grow over the last few weeks and i promise to keep creating and telling these stories and supporting these families if you promise to keep listening thank you for supporting this show and allowing me to do what i do i'm honored to use this platform for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones, and for those who are still searching for answers in cold missing persons and homicide

cases. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East.