Jan. 16, 2024
Virginia Pictou Noyes: The Vanishing That Highlights Hidden Domestic Violence I Ep. 29
On the night of April 23, 1993, Virginia Pictou Noyes vanished in Bangor, Maine, leaving behind a chilling story that remains unresolved.
In this episode of the 1 in 3 Podcast, Ingrid unpacks Virginia’s life — from a turbulent upbringing to the complex dynamics with Larry and Roger Noyes Jr., men with a history of violence — culminating in a tragedy that underscores the hidden victims of domestic abuse.
Virginia’s story is more than a mystery; it is a reminder of the countless people who suffer in silence and the urgent need for awareness, support, and action. By exploring the events leading up to her disappearance, this episode highlights warning signs, risk factors, and the systemic gaps that allow domestic violence to persist.
🎧 In this episode:
- The life and challenges of Virginia Pictou Noyes
- Warning signs of domestic violence and abusive relationships
- The impact of violent family dynamics
- How society often overlooks victims of abuse
- Resources for survivors, including the Strong Hearts Native Helpline
This episode honors Virginia’s memory and sheds light on the hidden battles waged behind closed doors.
Sources:
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1430dfme.html
https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/virginia-pictou-noyes
https://uncovered.com/cases/virginia-sue-pictou-noyes#timeline
https://thecounty.me/2018/04/24/news/family-of-missing-easton-woman-seeks-closure-after-25-years/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/missing-mi-kmaw-woman-murdered-claims-nephew-1.4419155
https://www.facebook.com/groups/147682878645011
1 in 3 is intended for mature audiences. Episodes contain explicit content and may be triggering to some.
If you are in the United States and need help right now, call the national domestic violence hotline at 800-799-7233 or text the word “start” to 88788.
Contact 1 in 3:
- Send your emails to 1in3podcast@gmail.com
- Follow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @1in3podcast
- Check out the website https://www.1in3podcast.com/
Thank you for listening!
Cover art by Laura Swift Dahlke
Music by Tim Crowe
WEBVTT
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Hi Warriors, welcome to 1 in 3,.
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I'm your host, ingrid.
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Whether triumphant or devastating, sometimes domestic violence stories have a clear ending.
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Sometimes the abuser even receives a proper consequence.
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However, sometimes neither happens.
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The victim ends up missing and the perpetrator never sees justice served.
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Such is the case today.
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This is the story of Virginia Picto Noise.
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Virginia Picto was in Bangor, maine, visiting her father-in-law, with her husband, larry Noise, and his brother Roger Noise Jr.
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The three were in a bar the evening of April 23, 1993, when Virginia attempted to leave after a dispute broke out.
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As she walked toward the door, larry ran up and physically kicked her out.
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After she fell to the concrete outside, he used his knees to pin her arms down and began to beat her in the face.
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Roger Jr quickly ran outside, not to help Virginia but to join Larry.
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He also continued to punch Virginia in the face.
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The brothers dragged Virginia around to the back of the bar.
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When bartenders called the police.
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There they continued to beat her.
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Police arrived to find a defeated and terrified Virginia.
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Larry was charged with domestic assault, arrested and taken to jail where he later posted bail.
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Roger Jr was charged with the same and given a summons to appear in court.
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Virginia was taken to a hospital to tend to her wounds.
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While receiving medical treatment, virginia continued to voice concern over her children.
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She was desperate to return to them, so much so she left the hospital against medical advice at approximately 1 am on April 24.
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Medical personnel had turned their attention to a shooting victim and did not see her leave.
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The last reported sighting of Virginia was in the early hours that morning at a truck stop near Holton Maine.
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She apparently made some calls looking for a ride home.
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These reports, however, were never verified.
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Larry stated he initially returned to the bar looking for Virginia after leaving the jail.
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He left the bar once he verified Virginia was not there and drove home at 4.30 am.
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He checked all the rest stops along the two-hour drive, continually looking for Virginia, and arrived home to the kids and a babysitter at 6.30 am.
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Within the next few days Larry reported Virginia as missing.
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She was never seen again.
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The domestic assault charges against Larry and Roger Jr were dropped, since a key witness was missing.
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Larry denied any involvement in Virginia's disappearance.
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Now let me take you to the beginning, because we all know domestic violence doesn't start at this level.
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Virginia Sue Picto was born in Fort Fairfield, maine, on April 2, 1967, to Robert Picto Sr and Susanna Picto.
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Both parents were full-blooded MiGMA and originated from Nova Scotia, canada.
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Virginia was the second youngest of the family of 12.
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Robert Sr and Susanna had three children each from previous relationships and the couple had four children together.
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The parents and seven of their children lived in Fort Fairfield.
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Their home was quaint and there were two to three children per room.
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During the summer, the entire family would work in the blueberry fields while a bus took the kids to public education.
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During the school year, robert worked hard as a farmhand.
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Considered poor financially.
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Virginia and her siblings had a rich upbringing, free to explore fields and forests.
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There was always a new discovery waiting for them.
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The winter brought snow forts and sledding down endless hills.
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When temperatures would not allow for outdoor play, susanna would bring the family together for beating.
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Still, tobacco, alcohol and even violence were well known within the Picto home.
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Virginia siblings describe her as smart, attractive, nurturing, protective and resourceful.
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She dropped out of school when she was only 14 years old.
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She had her first son, randy Picto, when she was 15 years old and her second son, christopher Picto, when she was 17 years old.
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When Virginia was 19, she lost her mother to lung cancer.
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Following Susanna's death on March 14, 1987, robert Sr returned to Canada.
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The rest of Virginia siblings also moved from the family home.
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At that time she was left with her two sons, roger Jr and Larry Noyes, who were white, grew up in a home of violence.
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The brothers were identified as troublemakers and throughout their lives would be known for arson, domestic abuse and other offenses.
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In just second grade Roger Jr broke his own brother's arms.
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Virginia's attractive appearance unfortunately gained the attention of both Noyes brothers.
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Later, in 1987, after her siblings had left her with a family home, virginia began spending more time with the brothers.
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In April 1988, virginia's third child, daughter, ashley Sue Noyes, was born.
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Four months later she was pregnant again and in May 1989, gave birth to Jesse James Picto, who was not Larry's child.
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Jesse had signs of fetal alcohol syndrome.
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Virginia and Larry were married August 12, 1989, when they were 22 years old.
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On June 10, 1990, she gave birth to her fifth child, another daughter, brittany.
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Virginia and Larry were fighting on a Friday night in October 1990.
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Alcohol was involved and she ended up kicking him out of the house around 10pm.
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Virginia and her children went to bed shortly after.
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Almost hours later, 8-year-old Randy woke up to the smell of smoke, he ran to alert his mother, but by that time the entire home was nearly engulfed in flames.
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Randy and his 6-year-old brother Christopher were able to get themselves out of the home.
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Newborn Brittany was co-sleeping with Virginia, so the two of them also made it to safety.
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That left two children, 2-year-old Ashley and 1-year-old Jesse, in the burning house.
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Virginia attempted to push through the smoke-filled hallway to Jesse's room but couldn't get through due to the heat.
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She ran outside and attempted to break into his room through his window, but with breaking the window, virginia unwittingly added an instantaneous draft of air to fuel the fire.
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The house immediately went up in flames as Virginia watched on in horror.
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While the post-fire investigation did not corroborate the Picto family's suspicion, they believed Larry had returned to the home that night and started the blaze.
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This idea was not far-fetched, given his history of arson and abuse.
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Virginia confided in her older sister, agnes, regarding multiple instances of abuse and she tried to leave Larry on several occasions.
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She would pack up her children and stay with her sister.
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After some weeks with Agnes, virginia would return to Larry following his apologies, but the cycle of violence always lingers and Virginia would continue to call Agnes, informing her of escalating aggression, and so it went on.
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Investigators were never able to prove either Larry or Roger Jr's involvement in Virginia's disappearance, but her family is certain of it.
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Also not proven, the Picto family and law enforcement who worked the case believe Virginia was killed either deliberately or unintentionally as a result of further abuse.
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Roger Jr's son had mentioned in a Facebook post that he knew three people involved in killing Virginia and that he believed an incinerated car may have contained her burned remains.
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He, however, did not officially go on record.
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Roger Jr died in 2009.
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Larry would go on to plead guilty to various domestic violence charges which were unrelated to Virginia.
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He suffered an alcohol-induced stroke in 2017 and was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis.
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Later that year, he was hospitalized for pneumonia and an infected leg wound.
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He was homeless and moved from motels to a homeless shelter and eventually was able to secure an apartment.
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Larry succumbed to his lifestyle and died in 2018 at the age of 51 years.
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Virginia's family continues to search for answers and is certain someone knows something.
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Even if that person feels the details are insignificant, they plead for them to come forward.
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Here is Virginia's description, in case anyone may have some information Her birthday is April 2, 1967.
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She was 26 years old when she went missing and today she would be 56 years old.
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She is a McMac native.
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She is a female.
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Her height is anywhere between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 6 inches.
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Her weight ranges between 115 to 135 pounds.
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Her hair color is brown.
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It's straight and it was shoulder length.
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Her eye color is brown.
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She has high cheek bones, a Playboy Bunny tattoo on her left shoulder, a tattoo with a name Larry.
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On her right ankle, a tattoo of a small cross between her right thumb and forefinger, a V-shaped scar on her right forearm muscle and scar tissue on her left elbow.
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If you have any information about the disappearance of Virginia Picto, please contact the main Major Crimes Unit North at 207-973-3750 or call toll free at 1-800-432-7381.
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Before I conclude this episode, I want to add in some additional statistics from VAW Net, which is a subset of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, or the NRCDV, and focuses on violence against women and other forms of gender-based violence.
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34% of Native women are raped in their lifetimes.
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39% are victims of domestic violence.
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According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office study, us attorneys declined to prosecute 67% of sexual abuse and related matters occurring in the lives of Native American women.
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Most violence against Native American women are perpetrated by non-Native men, except in the incidents of rural Alaska villages, where most remote villages are 90-95% Native.
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The Stronghearts Native Helpline is available to those experiencing domestic or dating violence and helps to address specific challenges to Native Americans.
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Please use the link StrongheartsHelplineorg which is found in the source material for this episode to access help now.
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Thank you for listening.
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Sources for this episode are in the show notes.
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I will be back next week with another episode.
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Until then, stay strong.
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Do wherever you are in your journey, always remember you are not alone.
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Find more information, register as a guest or leave a review by going to the website 1and3podcastcom.
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That's the number 1, i-n the number 3, podcastcom.
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Follow 1and3 on Instagram, facebook and Twitter.
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At 1and3podcast To help me out, please remember to rate, review and subscribe.
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1and3 is a.5 Pinoy production music written and performed by Tim Crow.
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