Melissa Jeltsen

Hello, I’m Melissa Jeltsen, a freelance journalist living in Brooklyn.

I’m the host of ‘What Happened To,’ a limited series investigative podcast from iHeartMedia.

Season one, “What Happened To Sandy Beal,” centers on a woman who was training to become a cop in the 1970s before her mysterious death.

Season two, “What Happened To Libby Caswell,” explores the role of domestic violence in the death of a woman in Missouri in 2017.

I’m also a freelance investigative reporter who covers the intersection of gender, the criminal justice system, trauma and reproductive rights. I’ve written for Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan and others.

I was the recipient of the 2015 Newswomen’s Club of New York award for reporting on mass shootings and domestic abuse. My 2016 profile of Lorena Bobbitt helped to inspire an Amazon docu-series re-examining her case. My feature story on police officers who abuse won the 2018 Writers Guild award for digital news.