Episode 97 | Where Is Amy Sher? Billerica, Mass (part two)
- Anngelle Wood
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Billboards of Billerica: A Family's Grief On Display
In part two of Amy Sher's story, I share how the abuse she suffered at the hands of husband went on for years as everyone around her tried desperately to reach her.
Inspired by the award-winning film, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri--about a mother's grief and a town's apathy--Amy's family made a public plea for answers, unveiling billboards in the area she was last seen that asked one question: “What happened to Amy?” Learn the real life story that inspired "Three Billboards," and a father's mission to hold the man he believes killed his daughter to account.
This episode deals with violence against women and domestic abuse. Please listen with care.
Amy's case highlights the devastating impact of isolation, coercive control, gaslighting, inaction on the part of authorities, and the resilience of families who continue to fight for answers, even when justice feels so out of reach. With hope, they ask for anyone who may remember something from those days in the fall of 2002 when Amy was last seen. When her husband Robert J, Desmond, Jr was known to be abusing Amy, and what neighbors saw and heard.
We explore how Amy’s disappearance became both a true crime mystery and a community call to action, connecting her story to cultural touchstones like award-winning films, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and the 1944 classic, Gaslight.
Episode Guide:
Abuse and Isolation: How coercive control shaped Amy’s life and cut her off from her family.
The Disappearance: The events of October 14, 2002, when Amy left work and never returned.
The Family’s Plea: In May 2018, the Sher family unveiled billboards in Billerica to demand answers.
Legal Battles: How Sher v. Desmond (2007) set precedent for grandparent visitation rights in Massachusetts.
Cultural Connections: Billboards as protest (Three Billboards) and gaslighting as abuse (Gaslight).
Community Advocacy: How remembrance and visibility keep victims’ stories alive.
This episode blends true crime storytelling, legal precedent, and advocacy for survivors of abuse. It’s about an abused woman who goes missing, and how families and friends reconcile watching that abuse in real time, and the helplessness they feel, how families fight for justice and how culture reflects our deepest struggles with grief and inaction.
Images from episode 97: Resources for support TheHotline.orf, Jane Doe Inc, Amy Sher after years of abuse, the once-vibrant Amy, Billboards of Billerica,
SOURCES
AMY B. SHER (DESMOND, POMERANTZ)
Public Records - Robert J. Desmond, Jr https://www.truepeoplesearch.com/find/person/pluu420nnun0664r64rn
Amy Sher
Respond Inc on Gaslighting
New York Times - Gaslight, the movie
Psychology Today -
How To Support A Loved One In An Abusive Relationship
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-dating/202410/how-to-support-a-loved-one-who-is-in-an-abusive-relationship Coercive Control, Gaslighting, and Recovery Abusive partners use insidious means of manipulation to control their victims
JBWS - Supporting Someone In An Abusive Relationship https://jbws.org/supporting-someone-impacted-by-abuse/
Healthline.com - Coercive Control
CDC.GOV - Intimate Partner Violence
Catholic Conversion
LifeSiteNews.com - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/adult-conversions-to-catholicism-in-us-estimated-to-be-at-20-year-high/?utm_source=featured-news&utm_campaign=usa Pew Research - Factors Driving Religious Change https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/06/09/factors-driving-religious-change-2010-2020
New York Times - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
People.com - The Real Three Billboards story
KFDM.com - Kathy Page case, Vidor, Texas https://kfdm.com/news/local/gallery/unsolved-setx-vidor-police-chief-says-its-time-for-closure-in-kathy-page-homicide?photo=7
Unsolved Mysteries - Kathy Page https://unsolved.com/gallery/kathy-page
National Library of Medicine
28 Andover Road, Billerica
Wicked Local - Deadly Fire at 29 Andover Road Billerica
Nextdoor.com - Billerica Police Press Release - Fatal Residential House Fire Under Investigation
WCVB - Body of Romolo Capobianco, 78, Recovered In Billerica House Fire
Boston Globe - Firefighters Hampered By The Cold In A String Of Blazes
Marjorie Sher obituary
Case Law - Marjorie Sher v. Robert Desmond, Jr (2007)Appeals Court of Massachusetts, Middlesex
Linda Carol Sher obituary
National Domestic Violence Hotline - Escalation
The Charley Project - Amy Sher
NAMUS - Amy Sher
Doe Network - Amy Sher
Lowell Sun - Search for Billerica woman appears to have gone cold, 2011
Lowell Sun - For 16 years, Billerica Woman’s Disappearance Haunts Her Family
CBS NEWS - Inspired By Movie, Family Hopes 3 Billboards Solve Cold Case, AMY SHER
WHDH - Family of Billerica Woman Missing Since 2002 Puts Up Billboards Seeking Information
WCVB Channel 5 - What Happened To Amy Sher, Family Still Searching For Answers, 2011
Robert J. Desmond, Sr obituary, Acton, Mass https://www.chapmanfuneral.com/obituaries/Robert-Joseph-Desmond?obId=20632475
Joanne Desmond Jenkins obituary
JaneDoe.com - Massachusetts Coalition