Talking Dateline: Unmasking the Monster

Andrea Canning (0:05)

Hey, everyone, I'm Andrea Canning and this is Talking Dateline. And today we are here with Blayne talking about her episode called Unmasking the Monster. Hey, Blayne.

Blayne Alexander (0:16)

Hey, Andrea.

Andrea Canning (0:17)

This was such a powerful episode. It's the story of a successful young business woman's brutal attack inside her home back in 1989, and how 30 years later her daughter set out to find the person who did it. But before we get to all of that, if you haven't listened to the episode yet, you can find it right below this one or stream it now on Peacock. We'll have more from Blayne's interviews with Dana Beatty and her daughter, Andra, who described the ripple effect of the crime from one generation to the next. And later Blayne will be joined by Dateline producer Brenda Breslauer to answer your questions from social media.

Okay, let's talk Dateline, Blayne.

Blayne Alexander (0:54)

Let's do it.

Andrea Canning (0:55)

So, as I said, extremely powerful episode.

And, you know, even though this is airing because there was a crime, it's really the mother-daughter relationship that I ended up taking away, you know, mostly from this, like, just how special that was and how the daughter fought for the mother and how the mother's experience affected the daughter. And, you know, it's very complex, but really leaves you so uplifted in the way that they handled this. Yeah.

Blayne Alexander (1:34)

I'm glad that you walked away feeling uplifted because that was kind of the hope, right? I mean, these two, their bond, their love for each other, their determination is unbelievable and it's inspirational. And I also think that it's so striking that all of this happened years before Andra was even born, before she was even a thought, right? I think that it underscores just how much of an impact crime has on everyone in the circle, even those who haven't made an appearance in this world yet.

Andrea Canning (2:03)

Absolutely. And I loved how you started the episode, you and your producing team, Chetna and Brenda, which did such a good job. The home video of Dana and Andra, you just felt that mother-daughter bond right out of the first second of the show.

I agree.

Blayne Alexander (2:23)

And I'm glad you named Brenda and Chetna because they are amazing. I have to give a big shout out to them. But yeah, I mean, talk about that bond, Andrea. Both you and I are girl moms, right? Like we know what the mother-daughter bond feels like. Of course, we're daughters ourselves. And I think that I, while putting the story together, while researching it, while doing the interviews, was thinking about it from both perspectives. I was thinking, and I know how Dana felt it was a difficult thought of, gosh, might this impact my daughter in some way? Like kind of living with that truth is difficult. And then for Andra, I mean, she was very perceptive from a very young age. She was young when she kind of started thinking, okay, something's not right. There's something different about my family and the way that we do things than all of my other friends. And then as she got older, she became more and more curious. But I was just really amazed by the fact that that's the type of thing that could drive a wedge between mother and daughter. If you think about some of the difficult conversations, if you think about maybe there's more protection, and I don't know why, but Andra had this sense of determination to the point that she really went into listening to True Crime Podcast and said, what can I do to solve this?

Andra Beatty (3:27)

Which was just an amazing time for her.

Andrea Canning (3:29)

So let's get to Dana and this crime. I mean, this is the ultimate cliche, right? It's the woman's worst nightmare, but it's a cliche for a reason. It truly is a woman's worst nightmare. I mean, my heart just went out to her and that traumatic experience that she had, so horrible.

Blayne Alexander (3:52)

You know, I want to say a couple of things about Dana's interview that will always stick out to me.

Typically in our Dateline stories, it's rare that we get to sit down and speak with someone who actually had the crime inflicted upon them. This was my first time having an interview like this for Dateline. Sitting down and listening to Dana for hours, recounting in a staggering detail what happened to her more than 30 years ago was just a stunning experience and one that I will never forget because she remembers every single moment. She remembers every single detail.