Murder: True Crime Stories - MYSTERY: Disappearance at the Vatican

Episode Date: February 27, 2026

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy is joined by Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole from Crime House's new show, The Final Hours. Carter examines the disappearance of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, a Vatican citizen who vanished after a music lesson in Rome in 1983. What began as a missing-person case quickly spiraled into one of the most complex and disturbing mysteries in modern history, involving anonymous phone calls, audio recordings, international terrorism claims, the mafia, and alleged Vatican cover-ups. As decades pass, new witnesses, secret documents, and shocking accusations raise a haunting question: did the Vatican know where Emanuela was all along? Her case remains unsolved—and uniquely chilling—as the only disappearance of a Vatican citizen in history.Listen to and follow The Final Hours with Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole wherever you listen to podcasts: https://play.megaphone.fm/zl8pwmgtteoqb01h_o7oww If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Murder True Crime Stories to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social Instagram: @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios YouTube: @crimehousestudios To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Carter. If you're enjoying murder, true crime stories, there's a new crime house show for you to check out. It's called The Final Hours hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Sarah is an advocate for missing and murdered victims whose own sister disappeared in 2001. And Courtney is a true crime storyteller who has seen firsthand how crime can change a family forever. Together, they bring lived experience to every case, examining the moment. moments just before a person disappears, the routines, the timelines, the small details that often get overlooked, because every disappearance has a moment where everything still feels normal until it doesn't. Listen to and follow the final hours on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon music, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday. This is Crime House.

mysterious phone calls, an ominous recording, ancient tombs, and a teenage girl who never came home. There are some places that just feel mystical, where history, religion, and politics collide to create something unique. The Vatican is one of those places. Starting in 1929, it became the spiritual and administrative. administrative center of the Catholic Church. And to keep things running, people besides the Pope had to actually live there. One of those citizens was a 15-year-old girl named Amenuela Orlando, whose father worked for the church. Amenuela had an idyllic childhood, safe behind the gates of the Vatican, but one day in 1983, she walked out and was never seen again. That wasn't the end of her story, though. Not even close.

In 2017, an Italian reporter got his hands on a series of documents that were stolen from the Vatican. They were titled, A summary of expenses sustained by the Vatican City State for activities relating to the citizen, A. Manuela Orlando. According to that list, the Vatican's government had, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on her over the course of 14 years. There were payments for transportation, housing, and medical care. Strangely enough, those expenses started the same year Emanuel went missing. For her family, this revelation confirmed what they'd suspected for decades. Not only did the Vatican know where Emanuel was,

but they had something to do with her disappearance. This is the story of Emmanuel LeMorlandi. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is murder, true crime stories.

a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. New episodes come out every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Thank you for being part of the Crime House community. Please rate, review, and follow the show. And for early, ad-free access to every episode, subscribe to Crimehouse Plus on Apple Podcasts. Welcome back to another episode of Murder Mystery Fridays, where I'm covering unsolved cases with questions that I can't get out of my head.

the ones where the evidence points in multiple directions, and every theory feels like a possibility. And today, I am joined by two very special guests, Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole, the hosts of Crime House's newest show, The Final Hours. Hi, thank you so much for having us, Carter. Yes, thank you so much. We're so happy to be here. Oh, of course, so glad you guys are here. Sarah and Courts have lived through their own true crime experiences and have been. become incredible advocates for justice. And every Monday, starting February 23rd on the final hours, they'll dive into some of

of true crimes most gripping cases, examining the smallest details and asking, could something have been overlooked? Sarah and court will introduce this episode for me, then stick around afterward as I talk to them more about the final hours and why it's an instant follow for fans of murder true crime stories. Sarah, I'll hand it off to you. Thanks, Carter. We're so excited to talk to you more about this, especially because this subject is something I feel would be right at home on the final hours. Absolutely. So today, Carter is discussing one of the most tragic and confusing cases in Italian history, the disappearance of 15-year-old Vatican citizen, A. Manuela, Orlando.

In 1983, A. Manuela left home for a music lesson and never returned. During the decades-long search, A. Manuel's family became convinced it was. is more than a simple kidnapping. Over the years, various organizations have been implicated in her disappearance, from the Mafia to Vatican Insiders. A. Manuel's story is shrouded in mystery and countless theories have sprung up over the years,

from malevolent conspiracies to shadowy cover-ups. But one thing is certain, her story isn't just a cold case. It's a warning to be careful who you trust, because sometimes the people we count as friends turn out to be our worst enemies. All that and more coming up. On October 16th, 1978, John Paul II became the Pope at just 58 years old. To many, it felt like the start of a new era, like there was never a better time to be Catholic.

And some people got to experience that excitement firsthand, those living inside the Vatican. Although the Vatican is located in Rome, Italy, it's actually an entirely separate country and the home of the Pope. It's also tiny. At less than 0.2 square miles, it's the smallest sovereign nation in the world. When John Paul II took over, the Vatican was home to just about 100 secular people. That included the Orlandi family, who had served under the last seven popes. By the early 1980s, 53-year-old Air Colet Orlando was working there as a clerk. Mostly he managed Pope John Paul the Second's calendar. When Ercole wasn't managing the Pope's busy schedule, he spent time with his family,

his wife, Maria, and their four children. They had a son named Pietro and four daughters, Natalina, Federica, Christina, and Emanuel. For the Orlando kids, growing up inside the Vatican was a double-edged sword. most of the time they enjoyed it. The younger siblings loved to play in the Vatican's lush gardens, kept safe by its gated walls, but not everyone was content to stay within the city's confines.

Fifteen-year-old E. Manuela was a free spirit. While many of the other Vatican children were happy to stay put, she wanted to see what the rest of the world had to offer, or at least what Rome had to offer, and luckily she had a good excuse to get out there. A. Manuela loved music, and on the evening of June 22nd, 1983, she had a flute lesson in Rome. She usually took a bus to get there, but it was scorching hot that day, so she asked her older brother for a ride. Pietro was busy, though, so A. Manuela grabbed her leather shoulder bag and stuffed her flute inside.

Then she rolled her eyes at her brother and walked out the door. A few hours later, around 6 p.m., the Orlando's phone rang. Federica picked up. It was E. Manuela. She told her sister that a man had approached her after class. Apparently, he worked for the makeup company Avon. He'd offered her a job passing out samples at a fashion show the following weekend. He told E. Manuela he'd pay her over.

350,000 Italian lira. Today, that's almost $750, a lot of spending money for a teenager. When Federica heard that number, she thought it sounded too good to be true. She told Aminuela to turn them down. If anything, they could talk to their parents about it once she got home. A. Menuela seemed to agree, and before hanging up, Federica said their other sister Christina would come pick her up. A little while later, Christina pulled up outside the music school, but she didn't see A. Manuela. She assumed her sister had wandered off with her friends. Christina waited for another 30 minutes or so. When A. Manuela still didn't appear, she

figured someone else had given her a ride and left. Once Christina returned home, the Orlando's got ready for dinner, and they expected A. Manuela to walk through the door any minute. But an hour passed, and then two, before long, they were starting to panic. It wasn't like A. Manuela to go, M.I.A. like this. If she were running late, she would have called to let her parents know. The Orlandis knew something must have happened, and by 9.30 p.m., they were done waiting. They scoured the Vatican and the area near her music school. Still, there was no sign of A. Manuela. Eventually, A.Cole went to the local police station in Rome.

He told the officers about the strange man who'd offered A. Manuel a job with Avon. Ercole was worried he'd done something and wanted to report his daughter missing. But the police said it was too soon. It hadn't even been 24 hours since A.m. Emmanuela disappeared. This happened a lot with teenagers most of the time they came back. It was a hard pill to swallow for Air Colet and the rest of the family. The Vatican gates closed at midnight. They needed to hurry home or they'd be locked out, but they couldn't just abandon the search for Emmanuela. They decided that Pietro would stay in Rome with his uncle and keep

looking. Meanwhile, the others headed back. Pietro and his uncle spent the night walking around the city showing people photos of Emmanuelella but by the following morning June 23rd 1983 they still weren't any closer to locating her at that point the orlandies knew something was very wrong and they were determined to get the authorities involved and this time Christina went to the police station but they still didn't want to help. They told Christina not to worry because A. Manuela probably chose to leave home. They said she, quote, wasn't pretty enough to get abducted. Christina was stunned, but she was also stubborn. She kept pushing and eventually the police agreed to officially open an investigation.

Before long, they turned up a promising lead. The night before before, A traffic warden near A. Manuela's music school had seen a girl who looked like A. Manuela. She was talking to a man in a green BMW. The warden said the man looked to be about 35 to 40 years old. The police wondered if this was the person who'd offered A. Manuela a job. But at that point, they still believed A. Manuela had left by choice. Because of that, they didn't follow up on the tip. Once again, the Orlandoes were forced to do what the police wouldn't.

That same day, they took out a newspaper ad asking for help finding Ammanuela. They provided her home phone number so that anyone with information could contact them. Pretty soon, the phone was ringing off the hook. Most of the calls were pranks, but one stood out among the rest. The caller introduced himself as Pierre Luigi. He said that the day before, he and his girlfriend were at the Campo di Fiore, and that was a shopping plaza in Rome near A. Manuela's music school. While there, they'd run into a girl who looked just like Amanuela. She was selling Avon products, and she was carrying a leather bag with a flute inside.

If Pierre Luigi was telling the truth, the girl he'd seen must have been A Manuela. The Orlando's rushed to the Campo di Fiori, hoping she was there again. Sadly, she wasn't. All the family could do now was wait for another lead. But in the meantime, they finally got some backup. By then, local media had picked up the story of A. Manuel's disappearance. The Italian public was shocked. The Vatican was supposed to be safe.

heavenly. Girls who live there didn't just suddenly disappear. All the attention seemed to light a fire under the authorities. On Sunday, June 26th, four days after A. Manuela was last seen, two members of the Italian Secret Service showed up at the Orlando's home. They wanted to install a recording device on the family's phone. If A. Manuela's abductor called, they'd be able to monitor it. Sure enough, days later, on June 28th, another call came in. This time, it was someone calling himself Mario. According to him, A. Manuela was living with a man and a couple of other girls. He said they all sold clothing and makeup. He claimed that while A. Manuela did voluntarily leave home, she had one regret. She was missing her upcoming choir concert. The Orlandis were floored.

A. Manuela did have a concert soon, but they hadn't shared that with anyone. There was no way the general public would know about it. They believed Mario was being honest. They tried pushing for more information, but he wouldn't budge. Still, knowing A. Manuela was alive was all the motivation the Orlando's needed. For the next five days, they continued the search. They plastered missing person posters all over Rome and asked the public for help. Before long, they got another vital piece of information about A. Manuela.

The source? The Pope himself. On Sunday, July 3rd, 1983, about two weeks after 15-year-old A. Manuela Orlando went missing, Pope John Paul II made his weekly address. He stood in front of a large crowd in St. Peter Square and asked his followers to pray for her family. He told Emmanuel's story and said he shared the Orlandi's pain. Then he asked those responsible for Emmanuel's disappearance to bring her home. The Orlandes were caught off guard, and they were grateful.

The Pope was raising awareness, but his comments also seemed a little suspicious. The police hadn't even called Amenwell's disappearance a kidnapping. So why would the church? Soon, the Orlandis would find out exactly why the Pope had spoken out. Two days after his address, the family received another phone call. The man on the other line didn't give his name. Instead, he asked to be called the American. He said he had something to share with them.

He hit play on a tape recorder and held it up to the receiver. The Orlandoes heard the voice of a teenage girl. She was talking about school and about how she was about to start her junior year. There was no doubt it was Emanuela. When the recording ended, the American said he'd already called the Vatican's press office and played them the same tape. And that wasn't all. He claimed that he and the record.

The two other men who'd called the Orlando, Pierre Luigi and Mario, were part of the same organization. They'd kidnapped A. Manuela and were willing to let her go. But they wanted something in exchange. A prisoner named Mamet Ali Ajah. The Orlandoes recognized Ajah's name right away because two years early, you know, In May 1981, he'd tried to assassinate the Pope. John Paul II had been badly wounded but survived.

Afterwards, a Jha was arrested and identified as a member of a Turkish anti-Christian group known as the Grey Wolves. Since the 1970s, the Grey Wolves had carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Turkey, resulting in about 5,000 deaths. This was the man the American wanted to set free, and the Orlandoes didn't have much time to make it happen. At the end of the call, he said they had until July 20th to convince the Italian government. If a jaw wasn't released within those 15 days, Emmanuel would die. The Orlandoes were terrified and confused, and they weren't alone.

After learning about the phone call, the authorities started to wonder who the American really was. He'd suggested that he, Pierre Luigi, and Mario were all part of the gray wolves, but they were a Turkish organization with no known ties to any other countries. Why would an American and two Italians be involved? And they figured the only person who would know was Ajah himself, On July 8th, three days after the American's phone call, Ajah was questioned by detectives. During the interrogation, he swore he had no idea who the American was

or why he'd want Ajaa released. It seemed like Ajao wasn't telling them everything, though. Maybe he wasn't allowed to. But when it came to the American, he had a lot more to say. With less than a week till the deadline, he contacted an Italian news agency. He said he'd left a package in a trash can near a parliament building. Apparently, it contained proof that he was holding A. Manuela hostage.

When reporters searched the trash can, they found the package just as described. Inside were three photocopied documents. A. Manuela's music school ID, her tuition receipt, and a copy of a handwritten note that said, quote, with much affection, you're a Manuela. The reporters showed the items to the Orlandoes, who confirmed the handwriting was their daughters. Still, it wasn't enough to sway the authorities. In their opinion, none of it proved he actually had a Manuela. They refused to release Ajah. Even then, the American didn't give up. On July 17th, he, he, contacted the press again. He led them to another trash can in a different part of Rome.

This time, reporters found a package with a cassette tape inside. It was a recording of a girl in distress. She sounded in pain. However, the Orlandoes didn't think the voice sounded like A. Manuel's. And by that point, the Orlandoes and the authorities were ready to write off the American. But that wasn't the last time they heard from A. Manuela's alleged captors. On July 20th, someone claiming to have A. Manuela called a Catholic priest based outside the Vatican. They said the authorities had just a few more hours to free Mamet Ali Ajah. Once again, the caller didn't provide any proof that they actually had A. Manuela or that she wasn't already dead. And so, Ajah remained behind bars. After weeks of back and forth, the Orlandis were

right back where they started, with no leads and more questions than answers. A few days later, members of the Italian Secret Service returned to the Orlando's home and removed the recording device from their phone. They said that from now on, any calls from A. Manuel's kidnappers would be routed to a lawyer hired by the government. That was the last time the Orlandoes heard from the Secret Service. And before long, A. Manuel's family realized they were intentionally being kept in the dark. On Christmas Eve, 1983, about six months after A. Manuela was last seen alive, Pope John Paul II visited the Orlandis. He told them he shared their pain. He also said the situation was particularly difficult because it was connected to, quote, international terrorism.

The Orlandoes wanted to believe the Pope that this all had something to do with his attempted assassination. But after the strange saga with the American, something didn't seem right. And soon they found out why. Around that same time, a reporter received a book. bombshell tip from a member of the Italian Secret Service. The anonymous officer claimed that the Vatican was using terrorism as a cover story, that the tale of some mysterious organization trying to free Mamet Ali Ajah was all just a ruse, a way to distract from who really took Emanuela. He didn't know what they were trying to keep hidden about Emanuel's disappearance, but it must have been something

that could seriously damage the Vatican's reputation. There was no reason for this anonymous tipster to lie. If anything, he was taking a huge risk by going to the press. Unfortunately, not everyone was as brave. Shortly after the reporter published that story, his editor told him to stop investigating A. Manuel's disappearance. The journalist had no choice but to follow orders, However, he did relay this to the Orlandes.

It only made them more convinced the Vatican knew more than they were letting on. However, they had no way of knowing for sure. For the next two decades, the Orlandis continued to hope that Emmanuel would reappear, but it was hard to keep faith. In 2004, Ercole passed away at 74. years old without ever knowing what happened to his daughter before his death he told his family quote i was betrayed by those i served a year later pope john paul the second died after he was laid to rest a mysterious new informant came out of the woodwork they said they knew what really

happened to amenuela and it was a bombshell. People who didn't do what John of God wanted them to do, they usually disappeared. John of God was once Brazil's most famous spiritual healer. But in this limited series podcast, we uncover the darker truth behind his global empire of faith and fear. From exactly right and Adonde Media,

this is Two-Faced, John of God. Listen on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. By 2005, over two decades had passed since 15-year-old A. Manuela Orlandi went missing. In the wake of her disappearance, her family was left with a dark possibility. They believed the Catholic Church knew what happened to A. Manuela and had helped cover it up.

But the Vatican was incredibly secretive, and the Orlandis might never know for certain. However, that year they got a little closer to the truth. One day, an Italian reporter named Rafaelna Notariali received a phone call. The person on the other line told her to visit the crypts at the Basilica of Saint Apollinari. There, Raphaelah would learn what happened to A. Manuela. The basilica was a Vatican church. only the most important members of society were allowed to be buried there. Raphaela knew her anonymous source was pointing her towards someone powerful.

She went to the basilica. And when she entered the lower level where the crypts were located, a large marble tomb caught her eye. The engraving on it read, Enrico D. Padized. Raphael was shocked. Enrico di Paris had been one of Italy's most notorious mafia bosses. Raphael was certain the tipster had led her towards his tomb.

It seemed strange that he was laid to rest at a Vatican church. Raphaelah wondered if he'd pulled a favor to be buried there. Obviously, Enrico couldn't tell her anything himself. He died eight years earlier. but his mistress was alive. Her name was Sabrina Medardi. Forty-five-year-old Sabrina lived in Rome, and she was willing to talk, although it took about a year to piece together her entire story.

It all started back in 1981 with a man named Roberto Calvi. He ran one of Italy's largest private banks. He was also part of an organization known as Propaganda Duet, or P2 for short. Based in Rome, P2 was an offshoot of the Freemasons. The Freemasons are one of the oldest and most controversial secret societies in history. As for P2, its members had allegedly infiltrated major sectors of Italian society, including the military, the media, and banking. They also worked with the mafia to arrange shady business deals.

And even though Colvey was one of the group's most prominent members, his customers seemed to turn a blind eye. In fact, one of his biggest banking clients was the Vatican. At the time, American Archbishop Paul Marcinkus ran the Vatican Bank. He and Colvey were close. so close that Marcinkus allowed him to funnel the Vatican's money into P2. But that wasn't the only scheme the two men cooked up. Colvi also laundered money through the Vatican Bank for the mob.

Basically, mafiososos delivered him cash, which he ran through the Vatican Bank to offshore shell companies. Then the mob could access it without the Italian government knowing. According to Sabrina Menardi, she was one of the people who delivered duffel bags full of cash to Colvey's doorstep. She did it as a favor to her mobster boyfriend Enrico D. Pedes. But before long, the whole operation crumbled. In June of 1982, Colvey's bank collapsed. He was left with millions of dollars in debt, and then he went on the run.

He didn't make it far. A few days later, on June 18th, Colvey's lifeless body was found hanged from a bridge in London. His death was initially ruled a suicide. However, prosecutors suspected the mafia had actually killed him because it turned out he still owed them laundered money. The story doesn't end there, though. According to some, the mob wasn't just looking for revenge on Roberto Calvi. They were also looking to send a message to the Vatican. Colvey was hanged from the Blackfriars Bridge.

The name Blackfriars refers to an order of Catholic monks. Some people believe that specific detail was meant to catch the Vatican's attention. At that point, the church was still in possession of some of the mob's money. People theorized that killing Colvey was their way of demanding it back. And when that didn't work, they found another way to get the Vatican to repay them. By holding A. Manuela or Landy hostage. According to Sabrina, her boyfriend Enrico had kidnapped A. Manuela. Then he'd asked Sabrina to bring the girl to a house on the outskirts of Rome.

Sabrina said a woman named Adelaide, met them there. Apparently, Enrico had hired Adelaide to take care of A. Manuela, but she wasn't exactly nurturing. For the next few days, Adelaide kept A. Manuela in a locked bedroom. She only let her out to eat and bathe. She also dosed A. Manuela with drugs that left her barely conscious. After ten days in the house, Enrico moved Amanuela to another location, Shortly after, he asked Sabrina to pick her up from an apartment building in Rome and drive her to a gas station inside the Vatican.

In the car, Sabrina tried to talk to A. Manuela, but the 15-year-old was still heavily drugged and could barely speak. When they arrived at the gas station, Sabrina saw a black Mercedes with Vatican license plates. A man got out. He was dressed like a priest, though Sabrina wasn't sure he actually was one. He pulled A. Manuela out of Sabrina's car, put her in the back of the Mercedes, and drove off. Later, Sabrina asked Unrico why the mob was doing this to A. Manuela. He said it was a power play. In 2008, 25 years after A. Manuela vanished, Rafael No Toriali published Sabrina's story.

unsurprisingly, the Vatican denied everything. Church officials said Sabrina's claims were, quote, highly dubious, but not everyone agreed. By then, A. Manuel's brother Pietro had lost a lot of faith in the church. When he saw Sabrina's story, he wanted more than just their word against Sabrina's. He wanted proof, so he turned his attention to the original tip, the one that led Raphaela to Sabrina in the first place. He wanted to know why a notorious mobster was buried in a Vatican church. After reading the article, many Catholics had the same question. For the next few years, they stood behind Pietro as he demanded answers. Finally, in 2012, Italian police investigated a

priest at the Basilica of Saint Apollinada. Apparently, he was the one who had allowed Enrico deep at ease to be buried there. The priest insisted he wasn't involved in Enrico's criminal dealings and had nothing to do with A. Manuel's kidnapping. According to him, Enrico had been granted the burial site because he donated a lot of money to the church, plain and simple. And while the investigation didn't reveal any valuable information about what happened to A. Manuela, it did spark a new morbid rumor that A.

Manuela was dead and she was buried with Enrico. It seemed like the public came up with this theory on their own, but it gained so much steam that the Vatican gave the Italian police permission to open Enrico's tomb. Unfortunately, there was no trace of Emanuela. Her remains had yet to be found. But that didn't seem to matter to the Vatican. In 2013, the Orlando's attack. Sunday Mass led by the newly elected Pope Francis.

When he saw the family, the Pope told them, Emmanuelo is in heaven. Pietro responded that he hoped she was still alive, but the Pope only repeated himself. Pietro felt like the church was trying to send a message to the family, that they should move on and stop probing. To him, it was further evidence that the Vatican was hiding something. something. He was right. About a year later, on March 29th, 2014, an unknown person broke into a

Vatican administrative building and stole multiple documents from a locked safe. They revealed years of financial misconduct. The documents were sent to various Italian reporters who spent years coming through them, but something wasn't adding up. They were missing pages. Then, in 2017, a major puzzle piece fell into place. That year, a journalist named Emiliano Fittapaldi received a phone call from a prominent member of the church. The clergy member's identity has never been revealed, but the man asked to meet with Emiliano. When they sat down, the man gave him a folder with a few photocopied papers inside.

The papers were titled. A summary of expenses sustained by the Vatican City State for activities relating to the citizen, A. Manuela Orlandi. There, in writing, was a list of various payments the Vatican had made. The first was in 1983. The same year A. Manuel vanished. There were hundreds of thousands of dollars accounted for, but the amount was less shocking than the story the document. told. A line item suggested the Vatican had investigated A. Manuel's disappearance and found her almost right away. But instead of

bringing her home, they'd brought her to a girl's hostel in London. It was run by Catholic priests and A. Manuela stayed there for two years until 1985. Her whereabouts for the next three years were a mystery, but then starting in 1988 until 1993, payments were made to a hospital in London. Not only that, but they also showed direct payments to a woman named Leslie Regan. She'd been a senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynecology at the hospital since 1990. After that, there was another gap until one final expense was made in 1990. According to the transactions, that's when A. Manuel's remains were moved from London to the Vatican.

If that's true, she would have been 29 years old at her time of death. When the people of Italy learned about the documents, they were livid and convinced the church was still hiding her body. Over the next few years, Italian authorities exhumed more burial sites on Vatican ground, they found that one tomb was filled with thousands of scattered bones belonging to at least a dozen different people. Another one that was supposed to contain the remains of two 19th century princesses was completely empty. The Vatican said the remains must have been misplaced during renovations in the 1960s and 70s, but neither princess has been found, and neither has A. Manuela. By then, it seemed like the search for her body had run its course.

If those stolen documents didn't solve the mystery, it seemed like nothing would. In 2020, the Vatican officially closed its investigation. But that still wasn't the end of the story. In 2022, one of A. Menloa's childhood friends spoke anonymously to Netflix for their documentary about A. Manuela's disappearance. According to this source, A. Manuela was walking in the Vatican Gardens one day about a week before she disappeared. Allegedly, that's when someone close to the Pope sexually assaulted A. Manuela. Afterwards, A. Manuela told her friend about it. However, she didn't say who the person was. the girls didn't think anyone would believe them, so they kept the abuse quiet.

But when the documentary aired, people started to wonder if church officials kidnapped and possibly killed A. Manuela to cover up the scandal. In response, the Vatican reopened its investigation into a Manuel's disappearance in 2003 under Pope Francis. As of this recording, the investigation, is still underway. The Vatican, now under Pope Leo, has confirmed that they kept a confidential file on A. Manuela's disappearance. They still claim the list of expenses was faked, but clearly there's something they wanted to hide. To this day, A. Manuela Orlandi is the only Vatican citizen

to ever go missing. Her family still believes the Vatican. Vatican knows more than they're letting on, and Pietro has made several public pleas for the truth. Until that happens, he's vowed to never stop looking for his sister. Her disappearance remains one of the Vatican's most enduring and haunting mysteries, but that doesn't mean it can't be solved. Someone out there knows what happened to A. Manuela, and it's not too late to find them. In fact, the investigation was reopened thanks to an anonymous tip. So, if you feel like you don't have the power to help, think again. If you have any information that might be useful to the case,

reach out to the public prosecutor's office in Rome. You can call their public line at 3906-38761. In cases like this, it may seem like, justice will never be served. But if we work together, there's nothing we can't overcome. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder, True Crime Stories. Come back next time for the story of another murder and all the people it affected. And now I'm welcoming Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole back to talk all about Crime House's newest show, The Final Hours. Thank you, Carter. So excited to be sitting down with you. Same here. Thank you so much for having us on.

Absolutely. There's so much to go over from your personal connections to true crime and the nuances of this show. I know you sat down with some of our other crime house hosts. So for those listening, be sure to check out these special episodes of serial killers and murderous minds and conspiracy theories, cults and crimes where you can learn even more. Okay. I would love to hear more about how your lives intersected with, true crime, and what drew you to the final hours? Sarah, I'll hunt it off to you. Yeah, I mean, for me, this whole journey started with the disappearance of my sister Alyssa. And in the wake of the tragedy, you know, I was compelled to get media to do more for her to get justice. So I took the fight myself and started the Voices for Justice podcast in 2019. One of the reasons that the final hours is so fascinating to me is the deep dives we do into the victim's lives and really

digging into who they were as people. Having lived through this myself, I do know how important it is to humanize them and remind the listener why it's so important to tell their stories. Absolutely. You know, we think it's so important to go beyond the headlines and take the time to get a glimpse into a person's actual life, which is also where you can pick up on a lot of details that may have been skimmed over in the initial investigation.

That's something I've had personal experience with as well. When I was young, I found out that someone in my own family had committed a violent crime. But nobody really wanted to talk about it, So when I got older, I dug into it, looking at case files and searching for the truth. That journey had a huge impact on me, and I've dedicated myself to shedding light on stories that deserve more attention and making sure the victims and their families are never forgotten. Yeah, I completely agree.

I know for me, I have my own intersections with true crime, and I always like to keep in mind that the family is maybe listening or just the thought of them listening is something to always keep in heart and something to emphasize. And having listened to your show, the Karen, empathy you have really shines through. And on that note, why don't you tell me a little more about the final hours and what sets it apart? Thank you for the kind words, Carter. And like we mentioned in the intro, each episode of the final hours focuses on the tiny details from an investigation. And as the name tells you, we're putting a magnifying glass to the victim's last known actions. Whether it's a

final shopping trip, a change in their morning routine, or a strange phone call, we're looking at it all to see where things went wrong. But it's also about so much more than that. that. Yeah, Sarah said it perfectly. You know, we're not looking at what these people did. We're diving into who they were, what they loved, what they dreamed, and trying to do our small part to help them get the justice they deserve. I love that. So many true crime shows are about the big, flashy moments, but what I appreciate about the final hours is how you focus on picking apart the smallest details to see if there's something that was overlooked. Yeah, in court, I'm sure you'll agree. Having a lived experience with this, I feel like it's so much.

much more accurate to how it feels to be going through it. You find yourself going over the littlest things, hoping you'll come across something new. I think listeners are really going to connect with that and experience these cases in a way that you can't get anywhere else. 100%. That's what drew me to this show. It's the chance to tell the whole story through the micro moments. It's kind of like an investigative connect the dots. At first it might seem like these random, unconnected pieces, but then when you step back and look at it, it's this fully realized picture that you just did. didn't see before. I love a good analogy, and I think you nailed that one.

You've both said it so perfectly, but I'll say it again. The final hours bring such an exciting perspective, and it's an incredible addition to the crimehouse lineup. Before we get out of here, do you want to give a little preview of what listeners can expect in the first episode? Yeah, absolutely. Our first episode is about the disappearance of Jennifer Kessie. She's a young woman from Orlando, Florida, who went missing in January of 2006.

And this one is especially heartbreaking, because just... Jennifer had so much ahead of her. She had plans in life. She'd just bought her own condo. She'd gone on this amazing vacation, and then she just vanished. Right, and there's these seemingly innocuous details that end up having so much meaning. Without giving away too much, it's things like the outfit she'd left on the bed, certain elements about her condo complex, and certain items that were found in her car.

Yeah, this episode is such a roller coaster. I couldn't stop listening once I started. Can you tell us where to find the show? The Final Hours is audio only for now. So find us on your favorite podcasting platform. Just search The Final Hours, new episodes out every Monday starting February 23rd. And of course, be sure to like, follow, and review. It really helps us build the community so we can bring awareness to as many cases as possible.

Sarah, Cort, thanks so much again for joining me, and I am so excited for the final hours. You know, I'll be listening, and I hope we can collaborate again soon. Will you do me the honor of taking us out? Absolutely. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crimehouse original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts.

Your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience and the final hours, subscribe to Crimehouse Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode early and ad-free. Carter will be back on Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crimehouse original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team,

Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benadon, Natalie Pertzowski, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Bachelor, Sarah Camp, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. Hi, it's Carter. If you love murder, true crime stories, check out the new Crime House original about disappearances. The Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Listen and follow The Final Hours on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.