MFM Minisode 375

[0] This is exactly right.

[1] Welcome to my favorite murder.

[2] That's correct.

[3] The minisode.

[4] We read you your stories, right back at you.

[5] These are your emails, and we can prove it.

[6] And we have the emails to prove it.

[7] To prove it.

[8] Receipts.

[9] Okay, I want to go first.

[10] Sure.

[11] All right.

[12] I'm not going to tell you the line, the name, the subject line.

[13] Here it goes.

[14] Hi, everybody.

[15] I've been doing some genealogy recently to try to learn more about my dad's mom and her family history.

[16] Her name is Ellen, but we call her Kiki and she is our matriarch.

[17] We knew that she was orphaned at a young age and adopted by her uncle, or so we thought.

[18] It turned out that her mother died tragically in childbirth along with her baby brother.

[19] Her father, who was from a small island in Greece, called Simi, couldn't care for her and had put her in her uncle's care.

[20] She never saw her father again, despite the fact that he was alive until she was in her 20s.

[21] Like the grief, can you imagine?

[22] In the 90s, when Kiki was in her 60s, she learned that it wasn't only her mother and brother who died when she was young.

[23] She had also had a twin sister.

[24] Her twin died just before their second birthday and never had a gravestone.

[25] Kiki dug through old records to find where her twin, Eda, was buried.

[26] She had a gravestone made more than 60 years later that reads Edda, twin sister of Ellen.

[27] I'm still entangling her family history.

[28] She has at least eight half siblings, all of whom have passed away by now, but their children and grandchildren are out there.

[29] I traveled to Greece to see her father's birthplace and found a huge extended family on Simi.

[30] The story of exactly how I found them is another email, but it felt like a miracle to meet her relatives who were nearly lost to us forever, Catherine.

[31] Wow.

[32] I know.

[33] Family secrets, man. That's so much grief and loss for one person and kind of maybe displacement, although maybe she was young enough that she didn't really realize it, but God, that's so heavy.

[34] So much, so much stuff.

[35] Sorry, starting out resting.

[36] Here we go.

[37] I mean, I feel like this is what we do, though, right?

[38] It's like there's so many families that could tell a story that is similar, parallel.

[39] This is the human condition.

[40] Let's email about it.

[41] Yeah.

[42] And let's share it so that the burden is lighter.

[43] Yes.

[44] I love it.

[45] Seems to me that's our plan.

[46] Yeah.

[47] Okay.

[48] And so I was going to say along that note, but this is different and yet the same.

[49] Hi, ladies, every time I listen to Hometowns, I imagine writing in to tell my tale, so when you asked for dad lore or mom lore, I knew my time had come.

[50] This story is the first I can remember overhearing my parents tell to their friends, acquaintances, and really anyone who would listen because it's so terrifying.

[51] Unfortunately, as I heard this story in great detail and frequency at such a young age, it stuck with me and I was paranoid throughout childhood that I, too, would be chased.

[52] kidnapped or murdered by a serial killer.

[53] It's also likely the reason that I became a murderino at such a young age, and now in my old age, require listening to the sounds of your voices echoing in my earbuds, sweet bedtime tales of terror and murder to put me to sleep every night.

[54] Here's the story.

[55] Enjoy.

[56] It was the first week of January, 1979, in Bellingham, Washington.

[57] My parents had just finished building a house and had invited friends over after the holidays to see the house for the first time.

[58] It was a Sunday afternoon and a typical chilly Pacific Northwest winter day.

[59] Our house was near a pond that had a walking trail around it, and next to the pond were newly constructed vacation apartment rentals.

[60] My mom and her girlfriend decided to go for an afternoon walk around the pond to take a little break from baby caretaking.

[61] And then in parentheses, it says, I was nine months old at the time, and have some girl time.

[62] My dad and his friend stayed home with me to throw back some rainiers, the best Washington beer, it says in parentheses.

[63] and reminisce about their college days.

[64] As my mom and her friend started down the trail around the pond, they noticed a guy behind them about 200 feet back, who had come onto the trail from the empty vacation complex.

[65] That alone is bone -chilling.

[66] My mom and her friend were both in their early 20s, very cute and also fairly naive from growing up in a small town.

[67] Not thinking anything of the guy behind them, they continued along the path next to the pond, getting farther away from the neighborhood and nearing the more secluded back end of the pond.

[68] As they were walking and talking, they started hearing the sound of footsteps on the gravel path coming increasingly closer.

[69] My mom turned around and locked eyes with a tall man who looked to be of similar age coming closer behind them.

[70] My mom grabbed her friend's arm and told her that she had a really bad feeling and that they should run home.

[71] They locked arms, picked up their pace, and started sprinting around the pond and back towards the apartment complex and street leading to our house.

[72] as they ran, they could hear the man running behind them trying to catch up to them.

[73] He never said a word, but they could hear him breathing heavily and inching closer toward them.

[74] Oh my God.

[75] By the time they made it off the trail and back to the road, their adrenaline had fully kicked in and they managed to outrun the terrifying stranger.

[76] Getting back inside the house, they locked the front door and frantically told their husbands would have just taken place while trying to catch their breath.

[77] My dad and his friend feeling increased courage from their beer, decided to go try to track this creep down and tell them to stay away from their women.

[78] They walked down the street and looked around the empty newly constructed apartment complex next to the pond and walked around the pond but saw no one.

[79] They headed back home and chocked it up to a creepy event in their new neighborhood and maybe my mom shouldn't take walks by herself or with the baby alone.

[80] A week later, my mom almost passed out as she glanced at the newspaper and recognized the face of the man plastered across the front page.

[81] It was the man who had chased her the weekend before.

[82] His name was Kenneth Bianchi.

[83] And he had just been arrested for the brutal rape and murders of two young women found near a vacant home where Bianchi was patrolling as a security guard.

[84] He had gone back home to Washington, right?

[85] Oh, my God.

[86] Okay.

[87] As Bianchi's apartment was later searched and a myriad of incriminating items were found, it was apparent that Bianchi was involved in the Hillside Strangler murders, which he admitted to and named his sadistic cousin, Angelo.

[88] It was also revealed that Bianchi had been the patrolling security guard for the vacation apartments down the road from my house.

[89] Thanks for reading and being two of my favorite people that I don't know.

[90] Stay sexy and please be mindful of the terrifying true stories you tell around your children.

[91] I think that should have been put at the top.

[92] We should say that at the top of every single show we do.

[93] Don't let your kid hear this.

[94] Please.

[95] Amber.

[96] She her.

[97] How ampercent is that?

[98] Unbelievable.

[99] Those like brushes with, you know, whatever it is, bait, I don't know, creep me out so much.

[100] The fact that he was a security guard is just so unsettling.

[101] And then that thing of like the confirmation that something's wrong when you start to run and without a word, they start to run after you.

[102] It's like, yep, you were right.

[103] You're right and now you're in it.

[104] Like the thing that you feared that you hoped was just like, hey, let's get out of it.

[105] here.

[106] It's like, now you're in it.

[107] Yeah.

[108] Wow, that was a great one.

[109] Thank you for sending that one in.

[110] Karen, you know I'm all about vintage shopping.

[111] Absolutely.

[112] And when you say vintage, you mean when you physically drive to a store and actually purchase something with cash.

[113] Exactly.

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[127] Important note, that promo code is all lowercase.

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[129] That's Shopify .com slash murder.

[130] Goodbye.

[131] All right.

[132] Let's think a you'd love turn or a U -turn.

[133] 90s kids.

[134] Hi, Karen, Georgia, and all the people and pets of MFM.

[135] I'm a longtime listener, but also a busy mom, so I'm catching up on old episodes.

[136] On a recent minisode, you told a story about kids playing in a running dryer and jogged a repressed childhood memory.

[137] As is well known, childhood in the 90s, especially summer, was a lawless, parent -free existence where kids were left mostly to their own devices.

[138] My story began one hot summer day when me, my brothers, and my cousins were in search of something to do.

[139] It dawned on us that the construction site next door where a house was being built seemed like a great option for mischief.

[140] We found a huge piece of black.

[141] plastic pipe, five orange cones, and human bowling was born.

[142] Oh, uh -oh.

[143] The objective was simple.

[144] Sit inside the piece of pipe, which was conveniently just large enough to fit a crouched middle schooler, position yourself at the top of the hill, and then catapult yourself towards certain death, ideally knocking some traffic cones over on your way.

[145] So they got in the pipe and rolled in the pipe towards the cones.

[146] Down the hill towards some cones.

[147] There was one large caveat.

[148] My yard was a hill, then a plateau where the cones laid in weight, then another hill directly into a thicket of thorn bushes.

[149] When it was your turn, the other five were the stoppers and would tackle the pipe with all the strength of a sixth grader, so you stopped before the second hill.

[150] So they just also became the bowling pins, essentially.

[151] Right.

[152] And then I'm imagining that second hill, they mean downhill.

[153] So it's like, if the stoppers don't stop you, you are on your way.

[154] Well, guess what?

[155] Oh, shit.

[156] When my turn came, I launched myself down the hill, hoping for a strike.

[157] When I reached the plateau and took down some cones, it became very obvious that my brothers had hatched a scheme not to catch me. I continued downhill number two, finally coming to a stop when the pipe tipped me over in the thorns.

[158] I stood up, legs covered in tiny dots of blood, and looked up to see the terrified looks on my brother's faces.

[159] The we fucked up, look.

[160] After threatening them with all sorts of older sister violence, we all moved on and, of course, kept right on playing.

[161] When our parents came home, they took one look at our setup and said something along the lines of, Looks fun, don't track mud into the house when you're done.

[162] We played human bullying that whole summer, and I consider it well worth the brain cells we undoubtedly lost in the process.

[163] Stay sexy and never trust little brothers, Carl, she, her.

[164] Wow.

[165] Did they say at the beginning it was like the era?

[166] that that was in.

[167] The 90s, the 90s, which I think we're still tracking in the 80s a little bit.

[168] Yes, for sure.

[169] Well, because those kids got the full parental approval of this game.

[170] Right.

[171] Parents are like, you're distracted and busy and outside?

[172] Great.

[173] Do it.

[174] Tire yourselves out and then be quiet at dinner.

[175] Yeah, there's no such thing as screen time.

[176] It's just television.

[177] So get the fuck out of the house.

[178] Yeah, that's right.

[179] Because we're going to watch the news constantly.

[180] Okay.

[181] Another left turn.

[182] The subject line of this email is my superhero firefighter dad.

[183] And then, For some reason, in parentheses, it says revised version, which I guess is a personal note for the person who wrote this.

[184] Hello, Al, long time listener, first time writer, inner.

[185] Let's skip the antics and get straight into it.

[186] No problem.

[187] So I grew up in Florida with the most badass parents around, but don't get me started on my governor who is completely ruining mine and so many queer people's lives.

[188] But that's not what this email is about.

[189] My dad is a firefighter here.

[190] And just let me tell you, the world.

[191] truly wouldn't be the same without him in it.

[192] The Orlando nightclub pulse shooting happened on June 12, 2016.

[193] The city was dim following the aftermath of that shooting.

[194] However, something that often isn't talked about is the toll it took on the first responders.

[195] Many of the first responders that night still struggle with PTSD.

[196] My dad watched as his peers tried to fight this internal battle alone and decided that something needed to be done.

[197] He was already working on the peer support team However, he kicked it into high gear after this tragedy.

[198] So let me tell you a little bit about the peer support team and the work my dad has done.

[199] The peer support team is a volunteer -based program run by firefighters made to help firefighters.

[200] He has dedicated the last 11 years of his life to this program, and it's been the blueprint for programs like this across the country.

[201] His team has traveled to the Vegas shooting, parkland shooting, and the tragic apartment collapses in Miami to make sure that the first responders had people to talk to.

[202] Not only does he help the first responders, but he also makes sure that the 911 operators are taken care of as well.

[203] They have a difficult and thankless job that doesn't get enough recognition, but they are a key component in making sure that this country's safe.

[204] People like my dad don't get talked about enough.

[205] Not only does he put his life on the line to save people's lives, which is heroic in and of itself, but he takes care of the people that usually aren't the ones getting taken care of.

[206] My parents have done so much for me. I've been in and out of mental health facilities my entire adult life.

[207] I don't know where I would be without their unconditional love and support through some of the hardest battles of my life.

[208] My dad calls me every day and asks, has anyone told you you're awesome today?

[209] I'm proud to call this man, my dad, and I brag about him every chance I get, which is partially why I'm writing in today.

[210] Anywho, thank you both so much.

[211] That's my favorite.

[212] Anywho, thank you so much.

[213] Thank you both so much for the amount of peace you have brought me in these chaotic last few years, thank you for making me feel not so crazy and taking the stigma out of these hard conversations.

[214] It's brought me so much peace and comfort to hear your voices.

[215] Keep being badasses and remember, stay sexy and always check in on your people even if they're the strongest people you know.

[216] And that was from Dylan, they, them.

[217] Wow.

[218] Dylan, thank you.

[219] That was a really important and great email.

[220] Yeah, thank you for writing that.

[221] I'm so sorry.

[222] I needed to scroll up one.

[223] It says, Yes, my dad's name is Jeff.

[224] Oh.

[225] Dylan's dad, Jeff.

[226] Thank you for everything you're doing.

[227] Oh, my God.

[228] Amazing.

[229] Okay, this one's called anti -hero assistance dog story.

[230] Photo included.

[231] Dear Karen and Georgia, you asked for hero pet stories.

[232] I'm going to tell you about my guide dog and all the times she's nearly killed me. I'm legally blind.

[233] I got my first guide dog, Lola, back in 2013.

[234] She was a smaller than average black Labrador, so people often assume she was a puppy in training, particularly because she was so badly behaved.

[235] Lola was incredibly friendly when she wagged her tail, her whole body wiggled, and she had a fantastic memory for people who had shown her attention in the past.

[236] There was a coffee shop near my old workplace that I only went in once, but she tried to take me in every time we walked past it, just because the owner gave her a treat the one time we'd been there.

[237] And on more than one occasion, she would try to cross straight over the road without stopping because she spotted someone we knew on the other side.

[238] Oh.

[239] You're supposed to not do that, Lola.

[240] No, you can't be doing that, Lola.

[241] That's like against the rules.

[242] She was also an absolute diva and did exactly what she pleased, regardless of what I told her to do.

[243] She'd walk around puddles when it rained, even if it meant I walked through them or even into obstacles, just so she didn't get her precious feet wet.

[244] She's like a reverse guide dog.

[245] I know.

[246] She'd bark at me and my husband if we dared to hug each other without involving her.

[247] And when she decided she'd had enough of working life, she'd just lie on the sofa and sigh at me when I got her harness out.

[248] Lola drove me crazy almost every day, but we also had some wonderful adventures together.

[249] And I could honestly say that getting her is the best thing that ever happened to me. Before I had a guide dog, I had a lot of internalized ableism and self -hate.

[250] I couldn't leave the house without help, and I felt so isolated and afraid.

[251] Lola was always joyous and confident and having her by my side made me feel like I could take on the world.

[252] She was my constant partner for nearly eight years and so important to my sense of self and identity that I included her in the intro of my own podcast, a la Elvis and his cookies.

[253] We were fortunate enough to keep her after she retired and she became besties with my new guide dog, Dora, when she joined the family in 2021.

[254] Lola became ill just a few days after her 12th birthday, even losing her own eyesight, and we had to make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to her a week later.

[255] However, she did manage to hold on long enough to meet our son who arrived just eight days before she passed.

[256] I wanted to share this picture of Lola with you, taken whilst on a walk with some non -guide dog friends.

[257] Guess which one she is?

[258] And we'll put it on the Instagram.

[259] There's like, poor dogs, three are sitting nicely.

[260] One is leaping towards the camera with all its excited might And it's clearly Lola.

[261] Oh, LeHanra just put it up in the chat.

[262] It is so funny.

[263] There's three perfectly behaved dogs looking like a hallmark card.

[264] And then Lolo's just like, what's up?

[265] I love it.

[266] Stay sexy and don't distract guide dogs.

[267] They're easily distracted enough as it is.

[268] Alice, she, her.

[269] Wow.

[270] That one got me. That one got me. I love that.

[271] Also, that's a very cool, like, I always imagine.

[272] guide dogs being like these perfect almost robotic you know like but it's like no they're animals with their own personalities right it's like a real challenge yeah it's like you know you can pass a class by getting straight Cs I wonder if a dog can pass the training course with a C you know yeah not an A plus maybe Lola was like you know what I'm not going to make this easy for you like I'm helping you but I'm also definitely forcing you to stand on your own which is like right right great in a way Okay.

[273] So excited to read this email.

[274] Okay.

[275] It says the subject line of it is house bar in Philly.

[276] Ooh.

[277] Hey kids.

[278] In episode 412, you asked if anyone knows of any house bars where we live, and I'll do you one better.

[279] I used to rent a place in East Falls, which is a neighborhood in Philly, that was a house bar in the 80s.

[280] My landlord bought the place from his aunt and loved to tell the story of all the businesses she ran out of it, and this woman sounds like a badass.

[281] She and her wife, and then in pretheses, it says, it wasn't legal then, but they were married.

[282] Wow.

[283] Operated a speakeasy out of the kitchen and had a pool table in the middle of the dining room to entertain guests.

[284] No place to sit and eat, just a pool table.

[285] The second floor bathroom was a hair salon with carpet covering most of the room.

[286] Yes.

[287] The original pictures of this house are a trip, it says in parentheses.

[288] And they also babysat most of the neighborhood kids, including my landlord, so it was kind of a date.

[289] care.

[290] A real one -stop shop.

[291] That's incredible.

[292] Incredible.

[293] That's amazing.

[294] It's just a normal three -bedroom house now, but I always felt a real connection to it.

[295] And it's rich queer history as a queer woman myself.

[296] Just as an added bonus, there were beer caves at the end of the street where the local brewery kept its stock before fridges were a thing.

[297] How fun.

[298] That's all, folks.

[299] Thanks for being the soundtrack to my long ass walks with my dog.

[300] And then it just says, K, she, her.

[301] Wow.

[302] That'd be so cool to live in a house or like, you know, that has had so many people, like, have experiences there.

[303] You know what I mean?

[304] Like, yeah, the like interior energy would definitely probably reflect that of like, you're having some nice cocktails in the front room, maybe playing a couple games at pool.

[305] Then you go up and get your roots done.

[306] And then you take your kid home from daycare.

[307] And then you try to go find your kid among the other kids, but you're a little drunk.

[308] So you can't recognize.

[309] them.

[310] Guys, thanks for writing in.

[311] Please write your hometowns, whatever they may be, to my favorite murder at Gmail.

[312] We really appreciate it.

[313] And we love your stories.

[314] Thank you for sharing your personal family, everything stories with us.

[315] We love it.

[316] Stay sexy.

[317] And don't get murdered.

[318] Goodbye.

[319] Elvis, do you want a cookie?

[320] This has been an exactly right production.

[321] Our senior producer is Alejandra Keck.

[322] Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[323] This episode was mixed by Leanna Squalachi.

[324] Email your hometowns to My Favorite Murder at gmail .com.

[325] And follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at My Favorite Murder and on Twitter at MyFave Murder.

[326] Goodbye.