Walk Softly Children

Jessica Fritz-Aguiar

Attorney Jessica Fritz-Aguiar continues the investigation of the Doreen Vincent case featured on Season 2 of the podcast Faded Out. Fritz-Aguiar was the lead investigator on that podcast, and has filed a FOIA request against the Wallingford CT police, to get to the bottom of this 32 year old missing persons case. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Walk Softly Children podcast is a passion project by attorney Jessica Fritz-Aguiar. For three decades, police considered Doreen Vincent a runaway despite evidence to the contrary. Jessica began researching the case for season two of the Faded Out podcast. She continues her investigation with this show.

The podcast's name comes from a song by a friend of Doreen's father. He visited the singer after Doreen vanished but didn't mention her absence. The show's original title was Sticky Beak, an Australian phrase for an inquisitive or prying person. Jessica is the stickiest beak on this case. Her listeners are also invested. The prime suspect goes to jail during season two. It's not his first time behind bars. Is he the killer?

Jessica pursued this case because it resonated with her. Doreen went missing at age 12 in 1988. Jessica was 10 and lived ten miles away. It was a fear-filled year. A classmate's father stabbed his child to death when she asked him to cut her chocolate Easter bunny. A rapist pulled a young girl into the bushes at a park near Jessica's home. She also learned that her cousin's stepfather beat and sexually assaulted her. These factors made Doreen's story more haunting for Jessica. What compelled her to start the podcast is that it remains unsolved.

Jessica compiles copious data on the podcast. She hears from relatives, friends, psychics, and detectives. Jessica discovers significant incriminating evidence. Doreen's dad and stepmom disagree about whether they have an interior deadbolt. There are indications of sexual abuse. A detective reveals that Doreen went to a juvenile correctional institute. Jessica finds police correspondence suggesting Doreen became a street worker with a pimp. Why did the note end with "HAPPY HUNTING" and fifteen exclamation points?

Victims don't get to tell their stories, so Jessica tells Doreen's. She reads from yearbooks about things Doreen loved. These include purple, roller skating, Amy Grant, and George Michael. She shares relatives' memories and describes photos of Doreen with friends. The Walk Softly Children podcast provides a combination of legal expertise and compassion.

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Jessica Fritz Aguiar Radio Interview on WICC 600am Bridgeport, CT with Joe Aguiar

Jessica Fritz Aguiar Radio Interview on WICC 600am Bridgeport, CT with Joe Aguiar

Jessica Fritz Aguiar was a guest on WICC 600am Radio in Bridgeport/Milford CT. The host of the show is also the producer of Walk Softly Children, Joe Aguiar. Jess gives a synopsis of the case of Doreen Vincent, and an update on the status of her father, and the prime suspect in her disappearance 34 years ago, who was just released from a halfway house on a gun charge.

Episodes

Jessica Fritz Aguiar Radio Interview on WICC 600am Bridgeport, CT with Joe Aguiar

Jessica Fritz Aguiar Radio Interview on WICC 600am Bridgeport, CT with Joe Aguiar

Jessica Fritz Aguiar was a guest on WICC 600am Radio in Bridgeport/Milford CT. The host of the show is also the producer of Walk Softly Children, Joe Aguiar. Jess gives a synopsis of the case of Doreen Vincent, and an update on the status of her father, and the prime suspect in her disappearance 34 years ago, who was just released from a halfway house on a gun charge.

Jessica Fritz Aguiar Radio Interview on 960am WELI with Vinnie Penn

Jessica Fritz Aguiar Radio Interview on 960am WELI with Vinnie Penn

Host Jessica Fritz Aguiar was invited onto the Vinnie Penn Project to discuss the Doreen Vincent case as part of National Missing Children Week. Vinnie had not heard of the case and questions how an obvious crime could have gone so cold.

Update on Mark's Release from Prison/FOIA Request/Billboards

Update on Mark's Release from Prison/FOIA Request/Billboards

Executive producer Joe Aguiar joins host Jessica Fritz Aguiar to update you on the case of Doreen Vincent. Her father, Mark Vincent, has been released to a halfway house in Bridgeport, CT. Mark will be greeted each day with a billboard about Doreen's case just outside of his window. We are doing a GoFundMe to produce the $8700 dollars needed for two billboards in CT. Jess and Joe also discuss the status of their FOIA request, and the illegal way the Wallingford PD responded to it. Is another hearing coming soon?

Mark Vincent Parole Hearing Update

Mark Vincent Parole Hearing Update

BONUS EPISODE: Listen to Jess and Joe discuss Mark Vincent’s parole hearing on April 26, 2023, and hear Jess’s plans for new episodes and new moves to find justice for Doreen and the alums of Milford Christian Academy, including new material being uploaded to Patreon.

S3 EP11 All Things to All Men

S3 EP11 All Things to All Men

At Milford Christian Church, Pastor Jim Loomer likes to portray himself as “All Things to All Men,” as putting aside his own desires, comfort, and pride so that he can bring people to Jesus as envisioned in First Corinthians. In doing so, Jim portrays himself as an average Joe, a man of the people, a happy go lucky man of God. But underneath that mask lies a craven soul marked by a penchant for twisting God’s words to serve his purposes, and using his church as a weapon to harm those who would expose him. Discover Jim’s history as a young Christian new to the pulpit, and follow him as he branches out into the realms of education and politics, where his hypocrisy is on full display. Jim’s sins were so blatant, in fact, that this episode had to be split in two, with the second half – containing a look at how Jim uses the church as not only a sword, but also as a shield to protect those who would hurt children like Doreen Vincent and Emily Martin – coming shortly. #pastorloomer #milfordchristian #allthingstoallmen #doreenvincent #justicefordori #emilymartin #justiceforemily

S3EP10 Above Rubies

S3EP10 Above Rubies

The children of Milford Christian never had it easy. But after everything else – after isolation from the outside world and the insistence on conformity, after the humiliation, the beatings, the terror – the strict, draconian rules on appearance, relationships and sex took the largest toll. Learn about a different kind of abuse to which they were subjected, and the shame and scars it caused.

Special Announcement from Jessica

Special Announcement from Jessica

Surprised by what just popped up in your feed where Sticky Beak should be? Listen to a special announcement from Jessica Fritz Aguiar about a whole new phase to finding Justice for Doreen Vincent and the escapees of Milford Christian. Make sure you subscribe to my Patreon and leave a review wherever you find your podcasts! https://www.patreon.com/stickybeak

S3 EP 9 Paideia

S3 EP 9 Paideia

While Connecticut banned corporal punishment in public schools in 1989, it’s alive and well at Milford Christian Academy. Under Pastor Jim Loomer and headmistress Susan Martin – who has her own personalized paddle – the school sought to impose paideia, or nurture from strike or sting, on its students to keep them in line, just like when Mark Vincent paddled Doreen on the day she disappeared. Get the latest update on Mark’s gun charge and learn another secret about Susan that binds her to Doreen’s father. Content warning – this episode contains descriptions of the physical abuse of children.

S3 EP 8 Child Of Destiny

S3 EP 8 Child Of Destiny

Learn more about not only Susan Martin’s culture of fear and cruelty at Milford Christian Academy, but also the shocking secrets of what makes the woman herself tick. Hear how parents and teachers felt powerless to stand up in the face of Susan’s methods – especially with Pastor Jim Loomer in her corner. Learn a bit about what Mark Vincent has been up to all these years, and how Milford Christian escapees bear the scars of the church they left behind. Discover the first of many disturbing skeletons in Milford Christian’s closet. Trigger warning: this episode features graphic depictions of child abuse and references to suicide.

S3 EP 7 You Became Mine

S3 EP 7 You Became Mine

Dividing Milford Christian children from their parents was only the first part of Susan Martin’s plan. Next came a personality that ruled with fear, didn’t take no for an answer, was not afraid to lie to your face with a sweet smile. Come deep into the dark culture of Berean Academy and Church, a place where Jim Loomer felt free to not only allow, but foster, a man like Mark Vincent in his lair. Learn about a culture that - on top of the Wallingford Police Department, the Meriden Wallingford Record Journal, and Teen Challenge - has held up Justice for Doreen Vincent for decades.

S3 EP 6 MATTHEW 18:15 AND MRS. MARTIN’S DOGFIGHT

S3 EP 6 MATTHEW 18:15 AND MRS. MARTIN’S DOGFIGHT

Continue your journey into the dark heart of Susan Martin, Pastor James Loomer’s right hand woman. Learn how, as Milford Christian Academy’s headmaster and head disciplinarian, Susan used spying, emotional humiliation, and the power of Matthew 18:15 – a Bible verse meant to help Christians lead their brothers away from sin – to weaponize children against each other.

S3 EP5 DONKEY SOULS ZIG ZAGS AND MRS MARTINS DREAM

S3 EP5 DONKEY SOULS ZIG ZAGS AND MRS MARTINS DREAM

Mark Vincent isn’t the only friend of Pastor James Loomer’s who’s got a questionable past. Get to know Milford Christian Academy’s headmaster and head disciplinarian, Mrs. Susan Martin. Listen to audio from students who survived Berean on how Mrs. Martin cultivated and perpetuated her power over the children with the fear of hell.

S3 EP 4 FATHER FIGURE, FAITH, AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

S3 EP 4 FATHER FIGURE, FAITH, AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

Learn the history of Milford Christian Church, formerly known as Berean Assembly of God, its Pastor, James Loomer, and their connections to Mark Vincent. Explore the academics offered by Milford Christian Academy, or Berean Academy, as offered by Pastor Loomer and his team of teachers, including his right-hand woman Susan Martin, according to the Principle Approach. Hear the voices of former Berean students and begin to understand how their present might echo Doreen Vincent’s past, in a reflection of what Dateline’s Josh Mankiewicz calls The Ripple Effect of Murder.

S3 Episode 3: Learning Patience

S3 Episode 3: Learning Patience

Join Jessica Fritz Aguiar and Joe Aguiar for an update session on the status of Mark Vincent’s gun charge, including news from his last hearing and what we can expect from the next, information on his attorney Michael Boynton, news on how Mark’s wife Kathy feels about recent events, and some good old-fashioned letters from Brad Vincent to his brother. Plus some spoilers for upcoming new episodes, dropping soon.

The Devil Goes to Church

The Devil Goes to Church

Follow Jessica Fritz Aguiar as she details Mark Vincent’s February 16, 2022 arrest at Milford Christian Church, the events surrounding it, and its potential implications for Doreen Vincent’s case.

An Interview with Josh Mankiewicz from Dateline NBC

An Interview with Josh Mankiewicz from Dateline NBC

In her quest to find justice for Doreen Jane Vincent, Jessica Fritz Aguiar has talked to and interviewed experts in all fields related to this case. When it comes to True Crime, Josh Mankiewicz of Dateline NBC is one of the best known voices. Jessica and Mank discuss the case and the possibility of being featured on Dateline should Mark Vincent for be arrested for murder.

S3 E1: Asking The Lord What’s Next

S3 E1: Asking The Lord What’s Next

Join Jessica Fritz Aguiar on a brand new season of Sticky Beak, as she uncovers more stories of Mark Vincent’s criminal past and explores his life at Teen Challenge’s campuses in New Haven, Connecticut and Johnson, Vermont, as well as his history with Pastor Rick Welch, all leading up to his recent arrest on gun charges in Milford, Connecticut, on February 16, 2022.

Breaking News: Mark Vincent Arrested On Gun Charge

Breaking News: Mark Vincent Arrested On Gun Charge

Police Officers went to Milford Christian Church on Feb. 16th, 2022, to investigate a "suspicious incident." They found that Mark Vincent, who was recently asked to leave Teen Challenge Vermont, was in possession of a stolen firearm. Mark was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a firearm and one count of stealing a firearm, and his bail was set at $250,000.

S2 EP 12 From Hawleyville to Whirlwind

S2 EP 12 From Hawleyville to Whirlwind

For more than three decades, Sharon Rockwell Vincent and the choices she made, forever shaping the way the Wallingford Police Department and the media have approached the Doreen Jane Vincent cold case, have remained a mystery. Suddenly, the dam broke, with Sharon’s relatives getting in touch with Jessica Fritz Aguiar to reveal new information about Sharon’s family history, beginning with her father Jim Rockwell in Hawleyville and extending through to Sharon’s time in Danbury, New York, Bridgeport, Wallingford, and Ohio. Gain insight into how Sharon’s background shaped both her marriage to Mark Hunter Vincent and her reaction to her stepdaughter’s 1988 disappearance. This is the final episode of a special three part series, beginning with Episode 10, All the Rockies. Episodes 11 and 12, Good and Faithful Servant and From Hawleyville to Whirlwind. This is also the end of Season 2, for more content, including Joe rants, evidence and pictures, and a chance to sit in on a live Q&A with Jess and Joe, please become a Patron with a pledge of $5 or more at www.patreon.com/stickybeak.

S2 EP 11 Good and Faithful Servant

S2 EP 11 Good and Faithful Servant

For more than three decades, Sharon Rockwell Vincent and the choices she made, forever shaping the way the Wallingford Police Department and the media have approached the Doreen Jane Vincent cold case, have remained a mystery. Suddenly, the dam broke, with Sharon’s relatives getting in touch with Jessica Fritz Aguiar to reveal new information about Sharon’s family history, beginning with her father Jim Rockwell in Hawleyville and extending through to Sharon’s time in Danbury, New York, Bridgeport, Wallingford, and Ohio. Gain insight into how Sharon’s background shaped both her marriage to Mark Hunter Vincent and her reaction to her stepdaughter’s 1988 disappearance. This is a special three part series, beginning with Episode 10, All the Rockies, and continuing through Episodes 11 and 12, Good and Faithful Servant and From Hawleyville to Whirlwind, will be released on February 14. To get all three immediately, please become a Patron with a pledge of $5 or more at www.patreon.com/stickybeak.