02 Feb Stop Looking for Amy

Evidence #005678 and #073812 in cases #MPD-5609 and #MPD-6491 respectively for the Medford Police Department.

The following interviews were transcribed shortly after the death of Detective Octavia Allen. Detective Allen was investigating the disappearance of Amy Wolgast when she was found dead in her home. The cause of death was asphyxiation, and while there is little evidence showing foul play, a case has been opened to look further into Detective Allen’s death. The following interviews are not only to help find Amy Wolgast, but to also further investigate Detective Allen’s death. The last interview was conducted less than 24 hours before her death.

* * * * * *

Detective Octavia Allen: Recording on November 16, 2019, at 9 a.m. at the Three Rivers Fellowship Church with Pastor Rick Q. Moody. Can you please state your name clearly for the recording?

Mr. Moody: Richard Quentin Moody.

Det. Allen: Thank you for answering these questions again, Mr. Moody. I shouldn’t be taking much more of your time.

Mr. Moody: No problem. Anything I can do to help.

Det. Allen: Amy and Hank Wolgast scheduled a meeting with you on October fifth, is that correct?

Mr. Moody: Just Hank scheduled the appointment actually. That was pretty clear when they showed up.

Det. Allen: You mentioned before this recording that the Wolgasts no longer attend Three Rivers Fellowship Church.

Mr. Moody: They’re still church members, but they haven’t attended a Sunday service in some time. Their little girl Marie died almost four months ago now.

Det. Allen: Four months and six days.

Mr. Moody: Over four months now, I guess. I’m still in shock about it all. Um, it’s not unusual for members who recently lost a loved one to dip out of regular services for a season. Especially with how tragic Marie’s death was. We check up on them at least once a week with a casserole or a phone call. They’re still part of the church family.

Det. Allen: Switching to the day the Wolgasts met with you on the fifth of October—

Mr. Moody: Sure.

Det. Allen: What did they meet with you about?

Mr. Moody: Um, well, the short answer would be grief counseling.

Det. Allen: But the thorough answer?

Mr. Moody: As soon as they entered my office, I could tell Hank dragged Amy to our meeting. I wouldn’t exactly say he brought her against her will, but she hardly seemed willing to be sitting where you are right now to talk to me. They had met with me several times since their daughter’s death. I helped them with the funeral arrangements, but also answered some spiritual questions they had.

Det. Allen: Like if Marie was in heaven?

Mr. Moody: That was one of their questions, yes. Amy was concerned that Marie’s soul was lost between heaven and hell because of how she died.

Det. Allen: Did Amy talk during this meeting on the fifth?

Mr. Moody: She barely said a word. Hank told me he discovered Amy had met with a medium to try and contact her daughter.

Det. Allen: Do you know the name of the medium Amy met with?

Mr. Moody: I’m sorry, no. I didn’t ask. She isn’t the first person in our congregation to try and contact a lost loved one. It’s risky business. Dangerous business, really. I asked Amy what had happened during that meeting, but she wouldn’t even look at me. She just sat there with her arms crossed and her head down. There was a shadow on her face. Honestly, she looked like she was barely awake. Hank said the medium showed up at their house demanding money.

Det. Allen: Do you know the date of when Amy met with this medium?

Mr. Moody: I’m pretty sure I remember Hank saying the medium showed up on their doorstep the day after Amy went to see her. And they came to me the day after the medium showed up. So it was two days before our meeting.

Det. Allen: October third.

Mr. Moody: That must be when.

Det. Allen: What else did Hank tell you about the medium showing up at their house?

Mr. Moody: Hank said the medium claimed that Amy invited a demon into our world. The medium told him there was a Cauchemar following her.

Det. Allen: Can you say that name again? A little clearer for the recording.

Mr. Moody: I’m pretty sure he said Cauchemar. I looked it up after they left and read about it. In Creole folklore, it’s a demon that sits on your chest while you’re sleeping. It’s like an explanation for sleep paralysis, I guess.

Det. Allen: Did Hank say what happened after the medium told him this?

Mr. Moody: He said he paid her the money she was demanding and then she left. I guess she sat on their porch for over an hour waiting for the money. Hank was furious, I could see it in his eyes. But he looked more exhausted than anything. I think Amy visiting a medium scared him.

Det. Allen: Why would that scare him, Mr. Moody?

Mr. Moody: Because he knows trying to contact the dead can invite other things into our world. Bad things.

* * * * * *

Detective Octavia Allen: Recording on November 16, 2019, at 2 p.m. at the residence of Lily Bineau. Would you mind saying your name into the recorder so the pronunciation is correct?

Ms. Bineau: Lily Bineau. [Cards shuffling]

Det. Allen: Thank you. Can you tell me again the date Amy Wolgast came to your residence?

Ms. Bineau: October third at 8 p.m.

Det. Allen: And can you tell me again why she came to your residence on that date?

Ms. Bineau: She scheduled a seance with me.

Det. Allen: And why did she schedule a seance with you?

Ms. Bineau: You know why. She wanted to contact her dead daughter. [Cards shuffling]

Det. Allen: I just need to get it on the recording.

Ms. Bineau: Have you found her body yet?

Det. Allen: Why are you assuming Mrs. Wolgast is dead, Ms. Bineau?

Ms. Bineau: Because of the Cauchemar she brought into our world. So you haven’t found her yet?

Det. Allen: What does a seance entail, Ms. Bineau?

Ms. Bineau: Why does a detective care about what goes on during a seance? Do you believe in communicating with the spirit world?

Det. Allen: Even if I don’t believe in it, it doesn’t mean the seance you shared with her on October third might not have something to do with her disappearance.

Ms. Bineau: Closed-minded, that’s what you are. You might have family or friends who have passed on who want to speak with you. But you’ll just keep them waiting and never even consider it.

Det. Allen: I’m here on an investigation into the disappearance of Amy Wolgast. I’m not here to be convinced of life after death.

Ms. Bineau: Oh, shit. Your investigation is gonna go nowhere if you’re not even willing to let your mind go far enough to consider there’s something out there after you’re done in this world.

Det. Allen: Ms. Bineau—

Ms. Bineau: Okay, fine. I’ll answer your question now, okay? My seances take place at this table we’re at right now. Sometimes I have the cards with me, but with Amy there was nothing on the table except for our hands.

Det. Allen: Was it just the two of you?

Ms. Bineau: Mhmm. She said she almost invited her husband along with her, but felt like it was better he didn’t know she was here.

Det. Allen: So, what happened?

Ms. Bineau: We found a Cauchemar, is what happened. [Cards shuffling]

Det. Allen: Can you elaborate?

Ms. Bineau: Let me put it in words you might understand, okay? Amy came to me looking for answers. She was looking for her daughter just like you’re looking for Amy. I told her I don’t know where her daughter is, but I can look for her. Except I didn’t roam the streets questioning the living. I was questioning the dead. I was looking for a little girl named Marie who died in a swamp, eaten by animals. And you know what the dead told me?

Det. Allen: No, I haven’t the faintest idea.

Ms. Bineau: The dead told me she wasn’t around. You see, when I reach out to the dead, I’m going into the in-between world. Not heaven or hell, but a space where the dead go when they aren’t ready to move on to the next place, or they don’t know the way. If Marie wasn’t there, then that meant she had moved on. Hopefully to heaven, I pray to God.

Det. Allen: Can you not communicate with spirits that go to heaven or hell?

Ms. Bineau: No one can. And anyone who claims they can is a filthy, dangerous liar. When I told Amy her daughter wasn’t around, she told me to keep looking. Told me she’d pay me double my asking price. Eventually she said she’d triple it, as long as I keep looking. I wanted for the extra money because my little boy needs braces and this job doesn’t allow for good dental insurance. I knew I should’ve quit looking once I couldn’t find her in the beginning. The longer you stick around in the in-between, the door you opened to get there gets bigger. No, it gets brighter. Like a neon sign telling customers business is open and it’s booming. That’s how it found me.

Det. Allen: The Cauchemar?

Ms. Bineau: You’re following. That’s good. I tried closing the door before it reached me, but I blacked out. When I woke up, Amy was long gone and the money she left was not even close to triple what I was asking.

Det. Allen: That’s when you tracked her down.

Ms. Bineau: I knew where she lived before she even called me. Everyone does. That little girl died in a swamp on their property. That’s only on one side of town, and there are only a few houses near it. Any house near the swamp is lucky to have a lawn. Most people who try to have a lawn over there just end up getting mud. But the Wolgasts had a lawn. Don’t know how. They must treat it with chemicals multiple times a day, but because of seeing that lawn on the news, I knew exactly where they lived.

Det. Allen: How did Amy seem to you when you showed up at their house?

Ms. Bineau: I only saw her for a second. I screamed at her, “You bitch, you owe me two hundred dollars!” But she didn’t hear me. She had this shadow over her face, and that’s when I knew.

Det. Allen: Can you tell me what you knew when you saw her?

Ms. Bineau: The Cauchemar was attached to her, and it wasn’t leaving.

* * * * * *

Detective Octavia Allen: Recording on November 17, 2019, at 8 p.m. at the residence of Herkus Aldona. Can you please state your name clearly for the recording?

Mr. Aldona: Herkus Aldona.

Det. Allen: Mr. Aldona, when was the first time you heard the name Amy and Hank Wolgast?

Mr. Aldona: It was on the 11 o’clock news. It was the story about their missing daughter. She’s dead now. She got stuck in the swamp and was picked apart by crows.

Det. Allen: Have you ever met either Amy or Hank Wolgast?

Mr. Aldona: I met the woman. Amy.

Det. Allen: When did you meet Mrs. Wolgast?

Mr. Aldona: She came here to reach her daughter’s spirit.

Det. Allen: Mr. Aldona, I have phone records with me. Can you look at the highlighted dates and times of these calls? Okay, can you tell me whose phone number that is on the right?

Mr. Aldona: Yes, it is my phone number.

Det. Allen: Do you see the date and time of when the first call was made?

Mr. Aldona: August 29 at 11:15 p.m.

Det. Allen: If I had to guess, I would say that was the same night you saw the Wolgasts on the news?

Mr. Aldona: Yes, yes. I called them once the news switched to the weather report. I got their number from Amy’s Facebook page, in case you are going to ask.

Det. Allen: Why did you call them?

Mr. Aldona: I wanted to tell them I could find their daughter.

Det. Allen: So they didn’t answer the first time you called them?

Mr. Aldona: No.

Det. Allen: Mr. Aldona, did you have anything to do with Marie Wolgast’s death?

[Laughter] Mr. Aldona: Me? Herkus? No, I had nothing to do with that! If you need proof, I was out of the country visiting my family back home. Do you need more proof? I still have my plane ticket in my jacket pocket.

Det. Allen: No, I already looked into that and confirmed it with your family.

Mr. Aldona: Then why ask such a question?

Det. Allen: I’m just covering all my bases. On the phone records I handed to you, do you see the next highlighted phone call on that sheet?

Mr. Aldona: Yes, I see here. I called them September 5th at 11:15 p.m.

Det. Allen: I’m assuming you saw them on the news again.

Mr. Aldona: I did. they found the girl. Their daughter. Found her dead.

Det. Allen: Why did you call them a second time?

Mr. Aldona: I wanted to tell them I can find their daughter in the afterlife. But your phone records probably told you they did not pick up that time either.

Det. Allen: Did you leave a message after either of these phone calls went unanswered?

Mr. Aldona: Yes, both times. When I called a third time, I was leaving a message too when the woman picked up the phone.

Det. Allen: And that third call was on October tenth at 11:15 p.m.

Mr. Aldona: The time is just a coincidence. The news was no longer interested in their story. A dead girl is too bad even for the news.

Det. Allen: Why did you call the Wolgasts a third time?

Mr. Aldona: I wanted to tell them that I had spoken to their daughter in heaven and she was looking for them.

Det. Allen: Is this what you told Mrs. Wolgast?

Mr. Aldona: Yes, exactly that.

Det. Allen: And what was her reaction?

Mr. Aldona: She cried right into the phone. It was a loud wailing that hurt to hear. I invited her over to my house so she could speak with her daughter and she was over within the hour.

Det. Allen: Were you actually communicating with their daughter Marie?

Mr. Aldona: I can tell you do not believe this spiritual stuff. But this is an easy business. Sad people are desperate to find those they have lost. Very desperate.

Det. Allen: Did you lie to Mrs. Wolgast about communicating with her daughter in heaven?

Mr. Aldona: What I will never admit to Amy I will admit to you, detective. Because I know whatever I say you will not believe anyway. I am not sure who I was talking to in heaven, but it told me it was a little girl who had died in the swamp. The spirits communicate to me in the fire.

Det. Allen: What do you mean?

Mr. Aldona: You see my fireplace, yes? When it is lit, I can hear voices, like when Yahweh spoke to Moses in the burning bush. That is why I believe it is heaven, because of the fire. Their voices fly off the tongues of the flames. This little girl’s voice flew off the flames when I asked for those who arrived in heaven not long ago.

Det. Allen: Did you demonstrate this in front of Mrs. Wolgast?

Mr. Aldona: Oh, yes, the fire was lit by the time she arrived. She sat in the same chair you sit in now. She was dark, like the fire’s light could not touch her.

Det. Allen: Would you describe it as a shadow?

Mr. Aldona: Yes, a type of shadow. One that cannot be cast away by light. When I called for the little girl in the fire, she spoke so loud even Amy heard her.

Det. Allen: What did she say?

Mr. Aldona: Ah, you are beginning to believe, yes? [Laughter] The spirit of the little girl talked about a deal it had made with Amy. It said she needed to honor the deal.

Det. Allen: What deal?

Mr. Aldona: The spirit did not say more than that. Amy wailed at this. She even screamed. She said, “Give me my daughter!” I told her, “Amy, this is your daughter you are speaking to right now.” The spirit in the fire said back, “If you do not honor this deal, I will kill him.” It said, “I will take him too.”

Det. Allen: Was it referring to you?

Mr. Aldona: I thought it was, yes. At first. When Amy went on wailing and telling it to go away, I was afraid the flames would come out of the fireplace and consume me. I thought it was God that would take me from this life in that moment. But then the flames became small until they were put out by a cold draft.

Det. Allen: Did Amy say or do anything after that?

Mr. Aldona: Not at first. she just sat there, staring into the fireplace like she was seeing someone. Whoever it was, it was not her daughter. I am not so sure the voices are from heaven anymore. I have never seen such terror in a woman’s face.

* * * * * *

Detective Octavia Allen: Recording on November 18, 2019, at 12 p.m. at the residence of Victoria and Bohdana Chovnyk. Victoria, would you please state your name clearly for the recording?

Ms. Chovnyk: Victoria Chovnyk. [Glasses clinging together. Water running.]

Det. Allen: Thank you. Also for the recording, Bohdana, Victoria’s mother, was questioned one week ago but is at this time unable to participate in another interview. Thank you, Ms. Chovnyk, for meeting with me again.

Ms. Chovnyk: Please, it’s Victoria.

Det. Allen: All right. Can you tell me how you first came into contact with Amy Wolgast?

Ms. Chovnyk: Amy called me. She said she had recently lost a daughter and needed to speak with her. She said she needed to apologize. Many people who use my mother’s services are looking for forgiveness.

Det. Allen: So, your mother is the medium? Not you?

Ms. Chovnyk: Yes, that is correct. I am more like a secretary. I make the appointments and I translate for my mother because she does not speak English. I also complete the circle.

Det. Allen: Can you explain what you mean by completing the circle?

Ms. Chovnyk: [Tea kettle whistling] Many of the people who call come alone. You need at least three to make the circle for the journey. I complete that circle as the third person. If there is more than one person who comes, I still participate because I translate.

Det. Allen: I was told that when a spirit possesses your mother, you don’t need to translate for her anymore.

Ms. Chovnyk. That’s because my mother invites the spirits to enter her body to communicate with those who are calling.

Det. Allen: What happens to your mother’s spirit?

Ms. Chovnyk: Her spirit is still there. She journeys to the middle—where the spirits are. As someone inhabits her body, she keeps the door open. She is like a phone operator, connecting the two lines.

Det. Allen: Did Mrs. Wolgast’s daughter Marie possess your mother when she summoned her on October eleventh?

Ms. Chovnyk: [Glasses clinging together] No. My mother did not find the girl. Marie had moved on.

Det. Allen: Victoria, can you tell me why your mother is unable to be interviewed today?

Ms. Chovnyk: My mother is sick.

Det. Allen: We have reports from neighbors of shouting coming from your home a few days ago. The report also says it was just you and your mother in your home that evening, and there was no sign of any third party or intruder.

Ms. Chovnyk: Someone tried entering our world through my mother.

Det. Allen: What does that mean?

Ms. Chovnyk: It has happened before. Sometimes when I am talking to my mother, she becomes a different person. I like to think that my mother’s door to the middle is always cracked open. She tells me she always has to be open to the middle. Once she closed herself off to it and she was unable to reach the middle for many years. She was a child. She thought she had been talking with a girl her age, but it was a demon. It tricked her. It wanted to come into our world through my mother, so she closed herself off. Slammed the door shut. My mother had to do this a few nights ago. Something was trying to come through her. Something strong.

Det. Allen: Do you believe this has something to do with Mrs. Wolgast’s appointment with your mother on October eleventh?

Ms. Chovnyk: It had everything to do with her visit.

Det. Allen: Can you describe Mrs. Wolgast’s appearance when she arrived to your home that night?

Ms. Chovnyk: She was dirty. I couldn’t guess when the last time was she bathed herself or even ran a comb through her hair. It hung like rat’s nests from her head. She also looked like she hadn’t eaten for several days. It’s like there was something hanging over her. Like a dark cloud.

Det. Allen: Or a shadow?

Ms. Chovnyk: If that is how it has been described to you, then yes.

Det. Allen: What do you know about Cauchemar?

Ms. Chovnyk: It is French for nightmare. When I was a girl in Ukraine, my mother would draw a circle around my bed with a knife to keep Notsnitsa away. To this day my mother sleeps with a stone with a hole in the middle under her pillow. If she did not have that stone tied around her neck the night Amy was here, my mother would be dead.

Det. Allen: Did Amy bring this spirit with her into your home?

Ms. Chovnyk: I do not know where Amy found the demon, but someone let it into our world just enough to latch itself to Amy and come into our home.

Det. Allen: So when your mother searched for Marie Wolgast that night, she was nowhere to be found?

Ms. Chovnyk: Even if her daughter was in the middle, there was no chance to reach her. The Notsnitsa was waiting as soon as my mother opened the door.

Det. Allen: Did it possess your mother?

Ms. Chovnyk: Its voice was lower than any man’s I’ve ever heard. It was inhuman. It turned my mother’s eyes black. When I heard its voice coming from my mother’s mouth, I broke the circle. You have to hold hands during the journey no matter what. If anyone lets go, the journey is over. When I let go of my mother and Amy’s hands that night, the journey was not over.

Det. Allen: What did Amy do?

Ms. Chovnyk: She fell out of her chair and cowered in the corner of the room like a child. Right over there. She pleaded with the demon to go away. She said she didn’t sleep anymore. She can’t eat. She just wants it to leave. But you cannot get rid of the Notsnitsa by willing it. You must honor the end of your deal.

Det. Allen: What was this deal Amy made with it?

Ms. Chovnyk: The Notsnitsa promised to reunite Amy with her daughter if she switched places with it. You can guess that Amy had agreed to this deal when they met, but could not carry out her part.

Det. Allen: Do you know what Amy needed to do?

Ms. Chovnyk: In order for her to hold up her end of the bargain, Amy needed to die. She cannot be reunited with her daughter if she is alive. She must be with her in the middle. When I learned this, I told Amy that the Notsnitsa cannot keep its promise. It does not decide where someone goes after they die. I could tell Amy had been afraid of just that, but it was too late. The Notsnitsa had been let in, whenever that was, and I was then afraid it would kill my mother if it stayed inside her any longer. If I may ask, detective, how is Amy’s husband doing?

Det. Allen: Hank Wolgast died in his sleep on October eleventh. Sometime in the night.

Ms. Chovnyk: You might not believe me, and that is okay, but the Notsnitsa took him away that night.

Det. Allen: I haven’t been sure what to believe during this entire investigation.

Ms. Chovnyk: It was Amy’s husband who possessed my mother a few nights ago.

Det. Allen: What?

Ms. Chovnyk: He doesn’t know he’s dead. That’s what the Notsnitsa does. It takes the person away in his sleep, but he doesn’t know he has been killed. He believes he is dreaming. Always dreaming. Wandering the middle, never able to move on. He saw the crack my mother leaves open in the middle and tried coming back to our world through it. He was so strong, she had to close herself off completely. She will never open herself up to the middle again. Her days of reaching the dead are over.

Det. Allen: Did Amy mention where she was going when she left your home?

Ms. Chovnyk: Amy is no longer walking among the living.

Det. Allen: Are you saying she—

Ms. Chovnyk: She honored the deal.

Det. Allen: Is her body somewhere in this house?

Ms. Chovnyk: No. You will not find her, detective. She is gone. The vessel that is walking around that looks like Amy Wolgast today, you do not want to meet her. You might call me crazy and my mother delusional, but I cannot make myself more clear. Stop. Looking. For. Amy.

Det. Allen: What will happen to anyone who comes into contact with it in Amy’s body?

Ms. Chovnyk: I do not know, and I am not interested in ever finding out. I believe I have told you everything I know about the disappearance of Amy Wolgast, detective. If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on my mother.

[Footsteps. Heavy breathing. Click.]