Sep 28, 2026 · 5 min · 5 segments
Lauren Malloy was a baby when her mother, Lori, was murdered in East Providence, Rhode Island. For thirty years, no one told her. Everyone said Lori died of natural causes. Then a stranger sent Lauren…
Then, in June of 2020, a few months into the global pandemic that had us all in lockdown, something happened that changed my life forever.
I got this Facebook message from a woman asking me if I was the daughter of Lori Malloy, if I had an Aunt Allison from East Providence, Rhode Island.
And I was like, sorry, but who are you? And like, what is this? She tells me her name is Louise and some info about my family that I don't understand how she knows.
She keeps messaging me and tells me she and my mom were so close that she knows I'm named Lauren after my mom's favorite perfume.
She even says I was almost named Louise after her.
She tries to call me on Facebook Messenger, but this is still all too strange, so I don't answer.
Who is this woman? If she was my mom's best friend, why have I never met her, let alone heard of her? But then, a couple of days after I received the message, I remember something.
I have a photograph of my mom smiling and posing with another woman.
They're standing side by side in someone's kitchen.
My mom looks like she's in her early to mid-20s and is wearing a blue dress.
The other woman is wearing a skirt and a white sweater with a heart on it.
On the back, my mom had written, "'Me and Louise on our way to a busy town.'" I send the photo to Louise and she confirms that it's her.
Then she sends me a couple pictures she has of my mom, including one from her wedding day to her ex-husband.
I mean, how would she have gotten that if she hadn't actually known my mother? So I finally get Louise's phone number and agree to talk to her.
When I get on the phone with her, Louise tells me she was my mom's best friend from middle school.
But the interesting part is what she says next.
Louise tells me that my mom hadn't died from heart disease.
She'd been murdered.
Then, in June of 2020, a few months into the global pandemic that had us all in lockdown, something happened that changed my life forever.
I got this Facebook message from a woman asking me if I was the daughter of Lori Malloy, if I had an Aunt Allison from East Providence, Rhode Island.
And I was like, sorry, but who are you? And like, what is this? She tells me her name is Louise and some info about my family that I don't understand how she knows.
She keeps messaging me and tells me she and my mom were so close that she knows I'm named Lauren after my mom's favorite perfume.
She even says I was almost named Louise after her.
She tries to call me on Facebook Messenger, but this is still all too strange, so I don't answer.
Who is this woman? If she was my mom's best friend, why have I never met her, let alone heard of her? But then, a couple of days after I received the message, I remember something.
I have a photograph of my mom smiling and posing with another woman.
They're standing side by side in someone's kitchen.
My mom looks like she's in her early to mid-20s and is wearing a blue dress.
The other woman is wearing a skirt and a white sweater with a heart on it.
On the back, my mom had written, "'Me and Louise on our way to a busy town.'" I send the photo to Louise and she confirms that it's her.
Then she sends me a couple pictures she has of my mom, including one from her wedding day to her ex-husband.
I mean, how would she have gotten that if she hadn't actually known my mother? So I finally get Louise's phone number and agree to talk to her.
When I get on the phone with her, Louise tells me she was my mom's best friend from middle school.
But the interesting part is what she says next.
Louise tells me that my mom hadn't died from heart disease.
She'd been murdered.
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