Into the Silent Land Movie

Portrait of Tracy Kirkpatrick
Coming Soon Watch the Trailer
Downtown Frederick Bell Tower in Baker Park

The Story

On March 15, 1989, the lifeless body of a seventeen year old girl named Tracey Kirkpatrick was found lying in a pool of blood at her job. To this day, her brutal murder remains unsolved. No arrests were ever made. No motive was ever determined. She was only minutes away from going home on a slow Wednesday night in the quiet town of Frederick, MD.

Bizarre circumstances have swirled around Tracey’s murder for decades. Rumors of a botched crime scene soon spread. The security guard who found Tracey’s body that night was the son of a former sheriff. A confession was made to a hotline in Las Vegas. A psychic located in Massachusetts was contacted with case information by a mysterious man. On more than one occasion, Tracey made cryptic comments about her own death. One detective is convinced he solved the case in 1994. Another detective disagreed. In the vacuum of answers throughout the years, the court of public opinion has tried to fill in the gaps.

Tracey was an advocate for those in need since childhood. She was known as a kind and quiet girl who loved helping people and animals. She was strong-willed and insisted on putting herself through college. She worked multiple jobs and was focused on reaching her dream of becoming a lawyer for those who couldn’t afford one. She was only months away from graduating high school and setting out on her bright future. But she walked into the back room of aileen’s Ladies Sportswear in Frederick and didn’t come out alive.

Her horrific murder shocked the entire Frederick community. Nothing like this had ever happened there. As time went on, the small town grew into one of the largest cities in Maryland, and the memory of Tracey has faded. But her family has never stopped looking for justice. They want an answer to the question that has haunted them since 1989… “Why?”

“This was heinous. The girl died several deaths that night – to be stabbed a multitude of times, she suffered.”

—J. Scott McCauley, Trooper First Class, 1989

About the Film

Paul Puglisi, the Producer/Director of Into the Silent Land, remembers when he first heard the name Tracey Kirkpatrick. In 1989, he was a kid living in Frederick, MD where she was murdered. Decades later, he was stunned to learn that her killer was never found and wanted to bring attention back to her case. He started conducting extensive research in 2018 and has since filmed in-depth interviews with lead investigators who have worked on Tracey’s case, her family and friends, first responders who were there at the crime scene, journalists who have covered her story from the beginning, former and current local politicians, forensic experts, classmates, and neighbors.

This eight part documentary series is currently in post-production.

Bios

Paul Puglisi

Producer/Director

Paul planned to be a fine artist with a focus on painting and sculpting, but found his passion after taking a news production class during his last semester of high school. After working in video production and directing short films, his first feature length documentary, Columbus in America, challenged the heroic symbolism of Christopher Columbus in US culture through Native American perspectives. The film won the 2018 Best Documentary Feature Award at the Colorado International Film Festival.

Sarah Puglisi

Co-Producer

Sarah is the better half of her marriage to Paul, which can be said of her role as Co-Producer too. As the main collaborator, Sarah also wears many hats, coming to the rescue with wardrobe, hair and makeup, research, props, production design and location scouting. She creatively tackles many day to day obstacles, keeping operations moving forward for everyone involved in this film.

Catherine Enslen

Actor

Catherine is a junior at Ursuline Academy. She has been involved in theatre since she was 8 years old. She has performed in over 60 productions and plans on moving to New York after high school to pursue a career in performance. Some of her most recent credits include Alice Murphy (Bright Star), Wednesday Addams (The Addams Family), Eponine (Les Miserable), Evelyn Nesbit (Ragtime), and Sugar Plum Fairy/Dance Captain (Shrek the Musical). In her time off the stage Cat loves to write, cook, and spend time with friends and family.

Braedon Carney

Actor

Braedon is a senior at Salesianum School in Wilmington, DE. Credits include Jimmy Ray Dobbs in Bright Star (Ursuline Academy), Moonface Martin in Anything Goes (Padua Academy), and Judas in the Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Salesianum School).

Lisa Banbury

Actor

Lisa is a mom and teacher from Delaware. Originally from PA she often performed in plays and musicals when she was younger. She enjoys crafting and spending time with her family in her spare time.

Jeffrey Chase

Actor

Jeffrey is an artist, designer and musician who has stitched together a creative existence from freelance jobs, art exhibits, teaching gigs, various recording projects and numerous trips to Wawa. He lives with his wife and two kids outside Newark, DE.

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