Talking Dateline: Unmasking the Monster

Andrea Canning sits down with Blayne Alexander to talk about her episode “ Unmasking the Monster." In 1989, Dana Beatty, a successful young businesswoman, was sexually assaulted in her Cincinnati home by an unknown masked man. Even with several leads, investigators could not find the man responsible for the violent crime. Decades later, Dana’s daughter, Andra Beatty, reignited the investigation in the hope of getting justice for her mother. With advances in DNA technology, investigators had evidence from the scene retested and, through forensic genetic genealogy, learned that Dana’s attacker was someone she knew. Blayne and Andrea discuss the impact violent crimes have on families and dive into laws surrounding sexual assault and statutes of limitations. Blayne also shares an extra clip from her interviews with Dana and Andra about generational trauma and how it affected Andra growing up. Plus, Blayne and producer Brenda Breslauer answer your questions from social media. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or go to rainn.org. Find out if there’s a statute of limitations on sexual assault in your state: https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/statutes-limitations-rape-sexual-assault-rcna601009 Listen to the full episode of “Unmasking the Monster”: https://swap.fm/l/dl_unmaskingthemonster Listen to Andrea’s episode, “Evil Paid a Visit,” about Donna Palomba’s decades-long fight for justice after being raped in her own home by a family friend: https://swap.fm/l/dl_evilpaidavisit Have a question for Talking Dateline? Send us a DM @DatelineNBC or leave a voicemail at (212) 413-5252. Your question could be featured in an upcoming episode.