This New True Crime Podcast, Hosted by a Mother & Daughter, Seeks to Find Out What Really Happened to Marsha “Mudd” Ferber
When Marsha “Mudd” Ferber disappeared without a trace 34 years ago from Morgantown, West Virginia authorities could not solve the case even though she was a beloved member of their small town community. “I Was Never There” is a new crime/thriller podcast hosted by mother-daughter duo Karen and Jamie Zelermyer and it is as much a true crime show as it is an ode to Appalachian counterculture movements of the 1970s and 1980s. In the first episode, we learn how Karen raised her daughter Jamie in a communal community. Karen and others believed that they knew Marsha very well…or at least they thought they did.
Named a 2022 Tribeca Film Festival Audio Selection, “I Was Never There” focuses on those who knew Marsha best and seeks to put together what really happened to this beloved member of a tight knit alternative community who vanished without a trace on the first weekend of April in 1988. Karen and Jamie interview many people who knew Marsha, former and current law enforcement and musicians who were well acquainted with Marsh’s love of social activism, cannabis and other recreational drugs. Marsha owned a bar called The Underground Railroad and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind or fight for what she wanted, even as West Virginia’s residents became more conservative.
As the podcast goes on it delves into the relationship between Jamie’s mother Karen and Marsha. The two became close while living in communal housing together at the hippie homestead that Marsha owned and ran with a group of like minded individuals and their families. Their goal was to live off the land, grow their own food and raise their families in this setting. During this time Marsha worked as a typist who sold weed as a side hustle in order to keep her various businesses and interests afloat.
“She was one of my best friends, but she was way more complicated than I realized.”
- Karen Zelermyer
Marsha ran two bars in town in Morgantown, WV that were known for being the “IT” place for the punk rock scene. The bar/music venue “The Underground Railroad” and the teen alcohol free space “The Dry House” both known as havens for those into alternative music and living. Marsha had a knack for bringing together community and believed in music, magic and marijuana as the podcast’s tagline tells us. The story begins into the time when Karen and Jamie lived in Morgantown where Marsha was a pillar of the WV counter culture unafraid to voice resistance to the war and wanting equality for all. Touring bands knew that The Underground was the place to be seen. The Dead Kennedys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Flaming Lips (just to name a few) made stops at Marsha’s bar because they knew the music scene was authentic to their audience.
Listeners of the podcast quickly learn there are many more sides to Marsha that not everyone was privy too. As Karen puts it, “She was one of my best friends, but she was way more complicated than I realized”. Jamie and Karen start to reach out to friends and people who knew Marsha before she disappeared to get to the bottom of what exactly happened to Marsha when she went missing all those years ago. Most of the interviewees have their theories which range from her simply going off on the grid on her own accord, to being killed, to being a target of law enforcement or the KKK, to her dealing weed and having something go very wrong.
As mother and daughter venture deeper into the mystery of Marsha’s disappearance, the two process their own history: Jamie reflects on her nontraditional upbringing and Karen reckons with the joyful and complicated consequences of her decisions. The twists and turns in this podcast are many, and I really enjoyed learning more about the counter culture movement of the 70’s and 80’s. They make for a vivid backdrop in the story telling, which is expert level thanks to Jamie’s experience in the TV/Film world. Archival audio recordings and interviews with those who knew Marsha work beautifully here to fill in the gaps and help us find out more about really happened.
So far there are six episodes of the podcast available, with new ones dropping every Thursday. The story starts off slow, but has really built up into an enticing mystery and after episode five titled “Yacht Babes”, I can’t wait to hear what else this mother and daughter team uncover about the unusual circumstances surrounding Marsha’s disappearance. This week’s episode titled “The Magic Veil” explores the cannabis grow that Karen was working on when they were busted by state police. If you are a fan of true crime and mystery podcasts, we highly recommend this one which has more twists than a rotini noodle.
