184 - Weighted Blanket

[0] This is exactly right.

[1] Oh, you drink me. I surprised you.

[2] Welcome to my favorite murder.

[3] The podcast.

[4] Where we go over true crime cases that have happened in the history of man. Uh -huh.

[5] And starting from the cromagnin period.

[6] That's right.

[7] All the way up through the Bible and beyond.

[8] You know the important parts.

[9] You know those ones you like.

[10] Yeah.

[11] That's what we're here to talk to you about and teach you.

[12] Yeah.

[13] Yeah, we teach you.

[14] There's so much teaching.

[15] Get your notepad out.

[16] There'll be a quiz on this.

[17] Oh, my God.

[18] Write down this info.

[19] We call it quote unquote information.

[20] Because who knows if it's true or real.

[21] We don't for sure.

[22] You know what's funny the other...

[23] We're not going to check.

[24] Why would that be a part of it for us?

[25] I actually had kind of like a weird recovered memory the other night of the live show where I talked about the murderer who was keeping all the bags of leaves in his house And when you were like, how come I didn't read this one?

[26] I'm like, I don't know, because it's brand new, like, full confidence.

[27] And it was like a 12 -year -old story.

[28] There's those ones that I think about sometimes.

[29] Yeah.

[30] The mistakes we've made and the paths we've traveled.

[31] But we just keep tripping.

[32] Because guess what?

[33] You're my favorite mistake.

[34] Thank you.

[35] You're welcome.

[36] No. Oh.

[37] What else do you need to know?

[38] Me?

[39] Nothing.

[40] No, not you?

[41] I look at you, but I'm asking America.

[42] I get how this works.

[43] And beyond.

[44] Oh.

[45] Damn it.

[46] Not one thing.

[47] I can't figure this out.

[48] Our improv is off this week.

[49] We haven't been rehearsing.

[50] No, but still and.

[51] We're no budding instead of a. I'm still anding.

[52] Isn't it still and?

[53] I'm still ending.

[54] Yeah.

[55] Can I just say?

[56] This is the episode where we get sued for too many music.

[57] Did you watch the?

[58] touching your hand.

[59] Did you watch the Elton John biopic?

[60] I have not seen that movie yet.

[61] Okay, you know I hate movies and I'm a bad person to watch TV with because I yell.

[62] Right.

[63] I fucking loved it.

[64] And I loved the biopic of Freddie Mercury with What's His Face.

[65] Yeah, Ramey Mellick.

[66] Ramey Mellick.

[67] And I hate movies and I hate biopics because they're so easy to make fun of.

[68] Yeah.

[69] But I was engrossed.

[70] You know, it's funny, my sister who never gets to see anything because she's a single parent and a full -time teacher.

[71] She actually, the first time she got a chance to go see a movie, she went to see the Elton John biopic, loved it and has basically yelled at me every day since that I haven't yet seen it.

[72] I'm shocked you haven't seen it.

[73] Did you see the queen, the Freddie Mercury one?

[74] Yes, I did see that one.

[75] I was ready to fucking tear it apart.

[76] And I loved it.

[77] Yeah, it's great.

[78] I feel like any of those stories, what's more fascinating than watching someone become a mega rock star?

[79] Yeah.

[80] That's a great story.

[81] Yeah, but it's an actor with fake teeth doing it.

[82] So it's not that great.

[83] It's not a biography.

[84] It's not like a, you know, it's not real.

[85] I thought you liked it.

[86] I did.

[87] It's not documentary.

[88] I usually hate that shit.

[89] Oh, got it, got it.

[90] Because in the beginning, I was like, those teeth.

[91] I bet that wasn't even how it really was.

[92] And I was like, what's he going to do next?

[93] Yep.

[94] Yeah, very compelling.

[95] Well, I think that guy from Mr. Robot is a great actor.

[96] Yeah, he was great.

[97] Yeah.

[98] But I'm very excited to see Rocket Man because I hear everyone I know that's gone to see it was surprised at how much they loved it and how much they, how true and honest it was on Elton John's part, like how honest he was about being a diva and a dick sometimes and all the different things that he was honest about.

[99] Yeah, I loved it.

[100] I think a lot of those times when you're on that level of superstar, like kind of Mount Rushmore style, you don't, you're like, yeah, it was the best to everybody all the time.

[101] Well, that's why we wrote Stay sexy and don't get murdered.

[102] And we got real, real about it.

[103] So we could remember.

[104] later in the future when we're fucking cunty divas which is two months from now yeah which is now now it's now Stephen will tell you it's right we're already working on our next book country divas so many asteris on the cover of that book also just speaking of which in the spirit of our strong improv skills if you've ever listened to there is a I was call it a podcast, but it's not.

[105] It's just this weird radio channel on my Apple music.

[106] And it's Elton John's Rocket Hour.

[107] And he basically is the DJ for an hour and plays you all the new music he loves and old hits he loves.

[108] Is Henry Rollins the sidekick?

[109] Because I feel like Henry Rollins is by law required to be part of something like that.

[110] No, it's all Elton all by himself going.

[111] And he basically is just like loves new music and loves breaking like new bands.

[112] And it is awesome.

[113] And it is awesome.

[114] And then he'll remind you of like, here's an old great hit.

[115] Yeah.

[116] Remember this one?

[117] Yeah.

[118] He says.

[119] And then he'll say, you don't remember this one because it just came out.

[120] Stop being a poser.

[121] Yeah.

[122] Here's this band.

[123] Remember it now because you're listening to it for the first time right now.

[124] Yeah.

[125] Do you have anything?

[126] Oh, I do.

[127] Okay.

[128] Kind of an important thing.

[129] Do you have anything related?

[130] Yeah.

[131] Do you have anything from the podcast?

[132] Yeah.

[133] Listen.

[134] Look.

[135] Last week in my spirited.

[136] Yeah.

[137] And.

[138] Totally enthusiastic excitement to talk about season two of Dairy Girl.

[139] You can't you can't discount your excitement over it and enthusiasm.

[140] Like that needs to be part of it.

[141] No, it is.

[142] And really, it's that I wanted to get the information right, knowing I had messed it up once before when I said the dairy girls took place in Belfast, as if there's only one major city in Northern Ireland.

[143] Last time, last week, when I talked about Dairy Girls, I said what I'll call now, I'll call it the map name of Derry, because that's what I saw.

[144] So you're not wrong, wrong.

[145] Not technically, but culturally very wrong.

[146] In America, you're not wrong.

[147] Well, on maps, but I mean like if you pay attention to Dairy Girls, which is essentially look at the title.

[148] The basics of paying attention.

[149] the town London Derry is referred to as Derry.

[150] And so last week I again called it London Derry, having been corrected, having apologized.

[151] But I'd only forgotten my one mistake about talking about that show and not the second.

[152] Arguably could be more important.

[153] There's, they're equal mistakes maybe.

[154] So anyway, I got one tweet that was very, very Irish and very guilt ridden or guilt.

[155] inducing where it was just like basically like ah you did it again and you don't seem to care you don't care about anything but then uh i got another tweet that made me laugh really hard from nini p n e e n y p she wrote in and said um or sorry they wrote in and said as my dad always says londondon dairy is the only town in ireland with six silent letters so that's how in the future we'll remember to call it only dairy it's just dairy just like we're locals um yeah and really I'm going to take this contrition and this new information, this learned information right into our UK and Ireland tour.

[156] You're good, dude.

[157] You're on it.

[158] I'm on it.

[159] We're coming to you, Ireland, to apologize to your face.

[160] That's right.

[161] I think Dublin on November 25th, that show isn't sold out.

[162] And London on November 28th, that show just got posted and it's not sold out yet.

[163] So sell it out and yell dairy at us.

[164] Don't do that.

[165] No, that'll be super irritating.

[166] And you don't care.

[167] We'll discuss it.

[168] You don't care.

[169] Right.

[170] Can I do a, what's it called corner when I suggest something?

[171] Suggestions Corner.

[172] Is that what you're calling it?

[173] Did you watch, like I asked you to, jailbirds on Netflix?

[174] Nope.

[175] Can we all mean to talk about it now?

[176] Yes.

[177] Because it's the Sacramento jail.

[178] And it's just the stories, it's like Orange is the New Black.

[179] It's on like the Sixth Floor, which is the Women's Ward.

[180] It's like Orange is the New Black, but real and terrifying and fascinating and wonderful and awful and amazing.

[181] They talk through the toilets.

[182] What?

[183] Yeah, like there's a way to knock to, because the plumbing is such that it just goes all the way down so you can talk to the dudes and like form relationships.

[184] It's like Twitter through the toilet.

[185] Oh, my God.

[186] And people fall in love.

[187] They send messages through the toilet.

[188] it they've like tricked the system and it's fascinating got it that what else you're going to do if you're just sitting in jail yeah jailbirds on netflix i highly recommend it well if we're going to do this and we might as well then i will say the reason i haven't watched jailbirds and i do have it on my little list yeah yeah when people recommend something to me i definitely write it down because i can't find anything ever ever you know i always get baffled but season two of mind hunter came on netflix and that's what i've been binging um and it is i loved it so much I watched it all in like basically two days under my weighted blanket and I will tell you this and it's not a spoiler because they talk about it in a lot of the articles but among the cases that they address a big chunk of the back half of the series is spent in the time in in the case of the Atlanta child killer that's right they handle it so perfectly they handle it because I got super nervous I was just like this is going to be the diversion that we've always gotten and whatever and it's as if they've listened it's like they listened to pain lindsay's yeah Atlanta child killer it's uh it's so well done because it's of course from the point of view of these the FBI men that went in but then it gets turned and the women playing these mothers of the murdered children oh my god get their time in a way they never have in reality yeah and as I was watching it I was just like this is beautiful and important because these are the things they were saying to anyone who would listen and no one was listening and no, you know, like, it gave me that that feeling of like the kind of justice where at least they got to say.

[189] Right.

[190] These beautiful and important things about that kind of, that kind of murder and the kind of failure in the justice system for at -risk kids, like the kids that were.

[191] below the poverty line in Atlanta in the early 80s.

[192] It was unbelievable, yes.

[193] And when the white majority of people who were white in law enforcement would come in and be so fucking condescending and everything was about you need to take care of your children.

[194] So like on the insult on top of the injury, it was unbelievable.

[195] As if they don't love their kids and are worried about their kids as much as those, you know, as anybody else in that city.

[196] There's a couple really, moving beautiful moments and I just think it's I think they did a great job I love it I can't wait to watch the rest of it yeah um if we're fucking keeping with the suggestions corner confronting OJ the podcast okay so I was like I'm done I know everything there is to know about the OJ case we've all watched the Simpsons like we all know we know but then this one is hosted by Kim Goldman who's Ron Goldman's sister and it's really moving and really beautiful and it's about uh loss and tragedy and going through this thing that she went through as a young woman and it's it's really well done and beautiful that's great i've been listening to um i've already talked about listening to the rom -doss podcast here and now oh um a couple times and but i've listened to almost all of them and i've transitioned over to a podcast by a woman named tara brock who is an unbelievably amazing um teacher and she's um i don't even know what what the correct terminology is but it's all it's basically kind of like she's a meditation teacher but it's very it's kind of like what we do how we use our own minds against ourselves and how to get out of the ruts and habits of of being in the mind um and it's really good it's that kind of thing we're like the way she talks you through the stuff it's not too woo -woo it's not too out there and you don't have to know or have studied a bunch of stuff like it's just it's very basic like she reminds a lot of the stuff she says reminds me of the stuff my therapist says yeah it's really good and it's just how it's you know i don't know i've just been i've been listening to it a lot like you know sitting out in the sun and it's just that kind of thing like you go oh yeah that's true just this when you when you when you give your mind too much credit and then you get stuck in these patterns and how to get out of them anyway if you're interested in hearing about any of that Tara Brock, I think that's her podcast.

[197] Yeah, I looked it up and it's like literally just her name, Tara Brock.

[198] Tarra -B -R -A -C -H.

[199] Oh, like the candies.

[200] I wouldn't have known that.

[201] Yeah.

[202] Hold on.

[203] There's one other one I want to suggest.

[204] Carrier.

[205] And it's a really cool, like it kind of reminds me of Night Vale.

[206] It's like an audio book, but it's not.

[207] And it's really well acted.

[208] And it's, uh, Cynthia Arrivo is the main character and star.

[209] And she's incredible.

[210] And it's just a really fun.

[211] But it's a podcast?

[212] Yeah.

[213] And it's like to get.

[214] out of your head.

[215] It's creepy.

[216] Oh, that's cool.

[217] It's good.

[218] Nice.

[219] Oh, that's our recommendations.

[220] There you go.

[221] That took 45 minutes.

[222] Go to My Favorite Murder .com, join the fan cult.

[223] Have fun with it, you guys.

[224] That's all we have.

[225] Oh, were you going to do your TV guide for the Exactly Right Network?

[226] That's right.

[227] This podcast will kill you.

[228] This week, their episode is about cystic fibrosis, which I find really interesting.

[229] And I'm sure a lot of people out there want to hear about it.

[230] Purrcast has Lucy from Wine and Crime.

[231] Nice.

[232] Murder Squad, Billy Jensen, and my alcohol supplier, Paul Holes.

[233] Murder Squad is Owls, Headman.

[234] And there's a bonus episode of you and Billy Jensen at the Skylight bookstore.

[235] That's right.

[236] And Fall Line.

[237] Good surprise guest, Paul Holes.

[238] Oh, right.

[239] Yeah.

[240] Drinking my alcohol.

[241] What if he drank my alcohol?

[242] He said he has.

[243] He's had a couple cans of wine while he's here.

[244] Oh, then I feel good.

[245] Okay.

[246] The Fall Line, Season 5 is out, and it's incredible.

[247] Yeah.

[248] And then what about this week on your podcast, your other podcast?

[249] Do you need a ride?

[250] Yeah.

[251] The other podcast.

[252] Is Stephen, is this week, do you need to ride just me and Chris?

[253] Yes.

[254] Last week was too.

[255] No, no, it's because it's every other week.

[256] So, yeah, this Monday was the ghost, the swan lake lights and everything.

[257] So that's just Chris and I basically driving around and, yeah.

[258] I'd listen to that, the two are you just talking.

[259] It was fun.

[260] It was one of the first ones we've ever done at Ractual Night.

[261] That's right.

[262] Like, we usually do it during the day.

[263] Cool.

[264] And at one point, we drove by Echo Park Lake, and all the swan boats had Christmas lights in, like, on, in the shapes of swans.

[265] So it looked so beautiful.

[266] It was really cool.

[267] Love it.

[268] And that's just one of the things that happens.

[269] One of the many things.

[270] And you two can listen along.

[271] We look at things.

[272] Can you fucking believe that?

[273] They comment on them.

[274] Yeah.

[275] In real time.

[276] And Riff.

[277] That's right.

[278] And they don't let Stephen wear a seatbelt in the back.

[279] so it's real exciting forbidden you hear him whimpering the entire time what if he's you make him sit in a baby seat all day no he'd like it it it's like a baby seat but with all kinds of podcasting equipment around it and attached to it yeah and a Starbucks just right next to him in case he gets antsy actually a Starbucks opened in my backseat did you hear a Starbucks store opened a new location in your backseat yeah that's crazy it's a joke oh I guess You're just trying to piece through it.

[280] I don't know.

[281] So what you're saying to me is.

[282] Let me explain this joke, too.

[283] Please, that I don't understand.

[284] Look and listen.

[285] I don't want you to be upset.

[286] This joke I don't get.

[287] There's no Starbucks in the backseat of my car.

[288] I thought you meant one.

[289] Let me tell you what I thought.

[290] I thought you went when opened and spilled.

[291] Shit.

[292] I didn't even think about that.

[293] That's, ladies and gentlemen, what we call, what is it, a homonym.

[294] Oh, confusion.

[295] That's called.

[296] Huh?

[297] Huh?

[298] Are you what?

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

[300] Absolutely.

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[320] Goodbye.

[321] You're first this week.

[322] Is it me?

[323] It's you.

[324] Okay.

[325] So this, I got the idea to do this case because when we went to San Francisco to do the Custer Fest Festival, which was an amazing show.

[326] We had the best time.

[327] And at the end, our good friend front of the show, Pat Nosswald, I was going to call him podcast.

[328] Podcast Oswald.

[329] Why doesn't he have a podcast called that?

[330] I think we're going to pitch it to him.

[331] Podcast Oswald came on and he came and did his hometown from when he lived in San Francisco, which was the serial killer, the doodler.

[332] And I was just flipping out because I'd never heard of this serial killer before.

[333] I mean, I think it was like maybe in lists and I kind of looked at it.

[334] But it was not anything that growing up in that.

[335] the Bay Area that I was familiar with, which freaked me out.

[336] And Patton went over it.

[337] It kind of, it was very quick.

[338] You know, he couldn't get super detailed into it.

[339] So I figured that's what I would do this week.

[340] So this week I am doing San Francisco's The Doodler.

[341] Yes.

[342] There's an incredibly great article from the website, The All, A -W -L, which was written by someone named Elon Green, that had very good detail stuff about the victims of these crimes.

[343] also used USA Today, The Washington Post, and, of course, All -American Wiccapedia.

[344] And this starts in 1974.

[345] And what is mind -blowing is that 1974 is that 1974 is also the year that John Wayne Gacy began killing teenage young boys, that Ted Bundy began killing young women, that Coral Watts began killing fucking everybody and that BTK began killing 74 get your shit together it was nutso it was the it was a time and a place it was there was all kinds of murdering happening all across the United States and San Francisco was no exception and the city had already been plagued for five years by the now very infamous and yet still yet unidentified killer the Zodiac crazy do you think that's going to be solved anytime then Did he leave DNA behind?

[346] I don't know.

[347] I bet it is.

[348] I mean, I hope so, but it's like, he started in 68.

[349] Yeah.

[350] So, like, that DNA is like 60 years old.

[351] Yeah, but I bet there's more than you think because it didn't cross his mind that we'd be a touch DNA at this point or whatever.

[352] I mean, I hope so.

[353] And I hope it was saved.

[354] You know, those, when these crimes come up or you listen to a thing and they're like, and then all the records were destroyed.

[355] Someone went Maria Kondo on the fucking, on the evidence.

[356] room.

[357] And now there's nothing left.

[358] We need space.

[359] Get rid of all this evidence.

[360] Yeah.

[361] So who knows?

[362] I mean, that would be an incredibly, it would be so exciting and yet it would be also so anti -climatic at this point.

[363] Because it'd just be some dick.

[364] It's always just some dick.

[365] Well, and based on the legendary David Fincher movie, the zodiac.

[366] Oh, no, I'm sorry.

[367] Zodiac.

[368] Plain Zodiac.

[369] The Zodiac is the porn that was made based on the zodiac.

[370] The Zodiac.

[371] and it's all the astrology signs fucking sexy um that is sexy but in the movie the guy that they interview at the end yeah I feel like that oh for sure it just really felt like it but then again the movie wanted you to think that yeah but in real life that guy totally seems like the guy yes and he lived right near petaluma yeah I need a fucking zodiac watch zodiac watch and also squirrels in your mobile home the end yeah the end butterflies in your van as we learned from last minisode Last mini -s -out and then squirrels in your...

[372] Squirrels in your mobile home.

[373] Stop it.

[374] Get out of here if you're double -wide.

[375] So...

[376] Okay.

[377] So he had...

[378] The zodiac had been taunting SFPD and the SF media with a constant stream of cryptic threatening letters for five years at this point.

[379] The last verified letter ever written by the Zodiac, this was verified.

[380] They'd received other ones after that, but they were all kind of...

[381] Yeah.

[382] They weren't sure who wrote them.

[383] The last verified one was written by the Zodiac on January 29th, 1974.

[384] But what the city didn't realize was that just as a Zodiac's reign of terror was beginning to wane, a new killer's was just beginning.

[385] Because five days before the last Zodiac letter, on January 24th, 1974, at just around 2 o 'clock in the morning, the fully clothed body of a man is found lying face up at the waters.

[386] edge on San Francisco's ocean beach.

[387] He'd been stabbed multiple times on the front and back of his body.

[388] And investigators determined he died only hours before he was found.

[389] And based on the defensive wounds on this left hand, he was believed to be conscious and put up a fight during his attack.

[390] No identification was found on the body, but the man was eventually identified as 49 -year -old Gerald Kavanaugh, who's Canadian -born, born in 1923.

[391] He had emigrated to America, now worked at a mattress factory in a Bay Area.

[392] He was single, and no one else that they interviewed really knew that much about this man's personal life.

[393] So six months later, on June 25, 1974, a woman walking along Stowe Lake, which is now called Spurkel's Lake in Golden Gate Park, discovers the body of a man who'd been stabbed five times, again on the front and back of his body.

[394] and he'd also died shortly before his body was found and investigators notice there are also defensive wounds on this body and he also had no idea on him when he was found this victim is identified as 27 -year -old Joseph J. Stevens and Jay Stevens was a popular female impersonator and gay comedian who'd worked at San Francisco's World Famous Club Fanocchio's.

[395] Yeah, so...

[396] 27.

[397] seven such a baby and he when he made his debut the all article talks about it he was like he really he was this really gorgeous drag queen who um really made a splash got to work at finocos which is a very big deal yeah but then eventually stopped doing drag and started just doing gay stand -up comedy and yeah and and so young i mean like really just kind of starting future there yeah yeah um witnesses say that the night um um of of his murder, or, you know, the evening before, they saw Jay leaving the cabaret club in North Beach, and the police theorized that Jay himself had driven with his murderer to the park and actually given him a ride.

[398] So, less than two weeks after Jay's body is found, on July 7th, a woman's walking her dog discovers the body of 31 -year -old, German -American immigrant, Klaus Christman.

[399] He had been stabbed 15 times on the front and back of his body, more than the first two victims.

[400] And his throat had been slashed three times across.

[401] Inspector Dave Tashi of the SFPD described it as one of the most vicious stabbings he'd ever seen.

[402] That name might sound familiar to you because Inspector Dave Tashi was the lead detective on the Zodiac.

[403] That's who Mark Ruffalo played in Zodiac.

[404] That guy made with some serious therapy probably when he retired.

[405] He was in it deep.

[406] And so he was one of the detectives on this case as well.

[407] Klaus Christman was wearing a wedding ring.

[408] But when investigators searched his body, they find a tube of makeup in his possession, leading them to believe that Christman was a closeted gay man. And later, witnesses report seeing him at a gay bar in the tenderloin called Bojangles.

[409] and this was the last place Christman was seen alive.

[410] Wow.

[411] So the police see that there could be a connection from this stabbing to the other stabbings that have been happening.

[412] Okay, so then 10 months later on May 12th, 1975, so this is almost a year later.

[413] A fourth body is found stabbed to death beside the highway running parallel to Ocean Beach.

[414] So he's identified through fingerprints as 32 -year -old registered nurse Frederick Capin.

[415] And Capon had also served in the Navy.

[416] he was a decorated soldier for his service in the Vietnam War he'd actually won a commendation medal for saving the lives of four men under fire he had also been stabbed in the heart and there were markings in the sand indicating that his body having dragged about 20 feet from the place he was killed and then less than a month later on June 4th, 1975 a 67 year old Swedish sailor named Harold Goldberg is found by a hiker in the bushes near the 16th T of the Lincoln Park Golf Course which is just northeast of Ocean Beach so it's around basically the same area and Harold's pants had been unzipped his underwear were missing and the body had been there for over two weeks Holy shit.

[417] Yeah and it was basically a hiker went like 10 feet off the trail and then found this body that had basically been hidden there So all five of these victims were found within four miles of each other and all within the span of 18 months and because all of the victims were seemingly connected somehow to the gay lifestyle or scene of course the gay community is gripped by fear because clearly there is someone who is attacking predator yeah there's a predator in their midst and of course many people in the gay community We felt like the police were not only not empathetic to the situation, but they actually blamed the victims and blamed gay men for putting themselves into vulnerable positions when they went somewhere with a stranger.

[418] So there's a lot of mistrust and animosity coming from both sides.

[419] And then in July of 1975, there are two separate attacks on gay men at the Fox Plaza apartments on Market Street within two weeks of each other.

[420] So both victims are able to escape with their lives.

[421] This is the first time people are coming into contact with who they think this person who's killed these other people might be.

[422] And they, both of these men give the same description of their attacker.

[423] He is a tall, young black man with very smooth skin.

[424] So when a third man is assaulted around the same time and provides a similar description of the attacker, the police are starting to feel very confident they're going to be able to catch this guy.

[425] Yeah.

[426] The problem is this man, this third man who was assaulted, quickly leaves the city after the attack and will not answer phone calls from the police.

[427] Right.

[428] And so essentially, this is what they come up against is it's the 70s, early 70s in San Francisco, mid -70s in San Francisco, where a lot of the people, some of the people will say that frequented gay bars were not out to their families.

[429] Right.

[430] And there was a ton of risk of being outed as a gay person in the early to mid -70s.

[431] Totally.

[432] Because this is 1974, 75.

[433] In 1978, and this still blows my mind, I learned about this by watching the mayor of Castro Street, which is that amazing documentary about Harvey Milk.

[434] He's amazing.

[435] It's such a good documentary, if you haven't seen it.

[436] I highly recommend it.

[437] In 1978, conservatives tried to pass this thing called the Briggs Initiative, where they were trying to ban gay people from teaching in California public schools.

[438] Holy shit.

[439] That was 1978, which you would think, oh, no, we're almost to the 80s.

[440] Like, everything's fine.

[441] That's just an indicator for, you know, if you don't know or remember of the serious, like, oppression that was actually really happening.

[442] And that's, it's an amazing part of the mayor of Castro Street when they go on and they basically debate the two people that brought this initiative forward.

[443] And Harvey Milk and that amazing female lawyer, I don't know her name.

[444] the top of my head basically decimate these people on the live news like on the seven o 'clock news and it is it is a beautiful thing to behold yeah because it's basically two people going yeah you you guys like to stand up and talk about like that we're pervert perverted or we're right you know automatically bad people or whatever and it's like once you see two people who are just like out and queer and proud going you can't do this to us yeah the other two look like dipshits and and assholes like it's just such a telling moment and that initiative of course does not get past and it basically kind of they you know Harvey milk got out into the street and started talking to people and having people um really doing like pounding the pavement and saying to people like if this initiative passed you understand that like you could be next whatever group you're in right if you are not like the white majority yeah you're also in danger like we can't start picking people off in these, like, in these minority groups and saying that that's fine.

[445] Yeah.

[446] And you watch people have this conversation with, with people on the street, and you watch their faces realize like, oh, yeah, this can't happen.

[447] Right.

[448] It's really amazing and beautiful.

[449] But we're still, so this is, we're now three years before that.

[450] Holy shit.

[451] So people who are being attacked because they were at a gay bar are like, there's no way they're, they can't come forward and have your face on the nude.

[452] San Francisco, which everyone thinks of as a progressive city, it's like, there's only parts of it that are.

[453] That's right.

[454] Yeah.

[455] And it doesn't mean that the people at your job will understand or your boss will understand or, you know, there's everything.

[456] Yeah.

[457] There's a ton of risk.

[458] So anyway, that became a big problem with this.

[459] And of course, the narrative became they, like, they won't do anything about it.

[460] Like, it was really victim -blame.

[461] We can't help you because you're not doing anything to help yourself.

[462] Well, you're not going to come forward too bad for you and, like, throw it all.

[463] Over your shoulder.

[464] So by the assault victims and other witnesses' accounts, the police put the killer's M .O. together.

[465] And basically what would happen is this guy would go to gay bars, nightclubs, 24 -hour diners.

[466] And he would sketch the faces of basically his victims.

[467] And then he'd come up to them, tell them that he was a cartoonist.

[468] He'd show them the sketch that he'd drawn of them.

[469] It'd start up the conversation.

[470] And all the witnesses and the victims said he was.

[471] a very talented person, a very talented illustrator, really intelligent.

[472] He clearly had like an upper middle class education.

[473] He was very charming, a smooth talker, and he had a big smile, which I always say, you know I say.

[474] The smiley or someone is to get away from that person.

[475] Yeah.

[476] What are you trying to prove?

[477] Yeah.

[478] Now I'm like, am I smiling too much?

[479] I guess I do.

[480] I want to kill everybody.

[481] I just have a lot of teeth.

[482] And not a lot of lip.

[483] And it's just, it gets me, and people think I'm psychotic because of it.

[484] I just want you to get huge collagen injections into your lips.

[485] In my teeth?

[486] Straight into the teeth.

[487] Okay.

[488] But lip shaped.

[489] For you.

[490] So it's like your lip.

[491] Inception.

[492] Don't worry about it.

[493] Okay.

[494] So essentially, he was, he was intelligent, charming, and smooth enough that he could lure people to a private, secluded second location.

[495] Yeah.

[496] to hook up and people felt very safe doing that with him.

[497] And because all of these attacks happened on or around the weekends at night, police suspected that he could live in the barrier but not in the city and then drive into the city on the weekends to do that and then leave.

[498] Smart.

[499] I mean, they're smart to figure that out.

[500] Right.

[501] That he's smart.

[502] Correct.

[503] You know what I mean.

[504] Yeah, I do.

[505] Five months after these, the July Fox Plaza apartment attacks, police release a composite sketch of this suspect based on the assault witnesses.

[506] descriptions.

[507] It shows a man who is between 19 and 25 years old.

[508] He's African American medium complected.

[509] He stands between 5 -11 and 6 feet tall and he is lanky.

[510] The suspect is reported to have, quote, sexual identification problems.

[511] This is from the police reports.

[512] Yeah.

[513] And is or was seeing a psychiatrist on an ongoing outpatient basis.

[514] I don't know if that's from the like conversations that the witnesses and victims had with him or what or if it was the investigation that basically brought brought the cops to those people I do know that there was a they did discover or there is in it one police report it says that there is um a psychiatrist that came forward that said they had a patient who admitted to being the doodler but they can't say who it is right no no no that's not true because if it's you're hurting someone else or yourself you can break doctor -patient confidentiality.

[515] Is that true?

[516] Yeah.

[517] Immediate danger to yourself or others?

[518] That's what they tell you when you first go in as if it's your, yeah, to yourself or others or they think you're being hurt.

[519] They can break it.

[520] Does your therapist say that to you?

[521] I think every therapist I've ever had is said that the first.

[522] Do they really?

[523] Yeah.

[524] I'm going to confront Michelle next week.

[525] I guess she's telling everyone about your shit.

[526] Everything we talk about is on her blog.

[527] Okay.

[528] So the composite goes out and it's a very detailed and specific picture and all the identifying details are very specific, but nothing comes of the release of it.

[529] And then in January of 1976, the San Francisco Chronicle runs an article about the Doodler murders.

[530] It includes one story from an unnamed witness, a European diplomat who met the suspect in a restaurant in the upper market.

[531] which also could be considered the lower Castro.

[532] That's right where my gap was when I used to work at the gap.

[533] Oh, I know that one.

[534] Yeah, I worked over there too.

[535] So the suspect asked the diplomat if he had any cocaine.

[536] They went off to the diplomat's apartment and they took party and chit -chat or whatever.

[537] And while they were in the diplomats apartment, the suspect proceeded to stab him six times.

[538] But the diplomat managed to get away.

[539] and he and he survived to basically make this police report he claims to the police that he and the suspect did not have sexual relations and that person remains unnamed there's also there's stories about a famous and still living a Hollywood celebrity that also was attacked by the doodler could be one of these three men that were in this apartment building and that name people have been trying to figure out who that person is for years for a long time they suspected it was Rock Hudson because he was shooting McMillan and wife in San Francisco at the time but they say this celebrity is still alive so it can't be Rock Hudson that's what that's you know rumor mill stuff yeah reading the story in the Chronicle people start calling in tips to the SFPD leading police to finally arrest a suspect based on the description and people seeing this person in different places.

[540] They, he had been seen in a tenderloin bar, perhaps Bojangles, and that is Bojangles with a hyphen.

[541] There was no Bojangles fast food restaurant in San Francisco at the time.

[542] So it's not a Bojangles fast food.

[543] Yeah.

[544] It's a bar.

[545] So there had been a guy in a tenderloin bar offering to draw some of the customers.

[546] Dude.

[547] They go.

[548] They arrest a man. And when they do, they find a sketchbook on him and a butcher knife.

[549] No. Yes.

[550] Guilty.

[551] They, when they bring him in for questioning, he is very cooperative.

[552] Um, he never admits to murdering or attacking any of these victims.

[553] Yeah.

[554] But the police feel very strongly that this is their man. And at one point, he snaps and tries to attack the interrogating detectives.

[555] Holy shit.

[556] And he is.

[557] arrested for like attempted assault or whatever um but when it comes time to press charges about the murders with this guy the three surviving victims refused to testify against him in court fearing that it would out them and destroy their lives and as a result the police are forced to release this suspect and that suspect's identity has never been released to the public despite this setback in the case when that like basically when that piece of the story comes out to the public Harvey Milk immediately steps forward to defend the surviving victim's decision not to testify saying quote I understand their position I respect the pressure society has put on them and Harvey Milk also cited that 20 to 25 % of the 85 ,000 gay men in San Francisco are closeted about their sexuality at this point in time showing a white reluctance of gay men to share their personal lives publicly.

[558] Understandable.

[559] Understandable because the fallout was so much greater than we can understand today that anyone really understands.

[560] It was a big part of that culture.

[561] I just can't, I just can't get over when I, because remembering the, the Briggs initiative from the documentary I watched, I was like, oh, that must have happened a couple years before.

[562] And the fact that it happens after the fact in 1978 is so shocking to me and so justifying in that in that risk that he's talking about yeah you know totally just like it's like still coming at you yeah and and actually when the killings began it had only been a year since the american psychiatric association board of trustees had stopped classifying homosexuality as a disorder holy shit it had only been a year so it was very you know the stigma was not gone right in any way so that was 40 years ago the case still remains unsolved but this past February 2019, police released new information about this case.

[563] And I think Patton talked about this a little bit.

[564] Yeah.

[565] But since the capture of the Golden State killer through use of DNA, detectives' interest in the doodler was reinvigorated because all those big cold cases that seemed so mystifying back then are all, I think, being looked at.

[566] I think so, yeah.

[567] So the advances in DNA forensics lead detectives to believe their chances of catching the killer are now much higher.

[568] In the past year, investigators have submitted DNA evidence to the police's crime lab and are still awaiting results.

[569] In early February 2019, San Francisco Police released an updated sketch of the original suspect to reflect how he may appear now 40 years later.

[570] And it essentially is a bald black man. Yeah.

[571] Basically.

[572] It looks just like the original picture, but he's bald and like heavier, essentially.

[573] So authorities have released the recording of the 911 call that reported the discovery of the first victim, Gerald Kavanaugh's body.

[574] The caller was anonymous at the time, but they're asking whoever that color is to come forward so they can re -interview them and see if there's any additional information that they can get from that person if they're still alive, which is the weirdest part of it is it's long ago enough that that's a big, that's a big issue in this case.

[575] It's possible that the doodler may have been responsible for as many as 14 murders that took place in San Francisco's gay community during that stretch of time between 1974 and 1975.

[576] And if the doodler is still alive today, he would be in his mid -60s.

[577] So I said I was always so curious as to how I didn't know about this kind of famous San Francisco serial killer.

[578] And then I read this paragraph from the Elon Green's article in the All, which kind of like took my breath away because he says, and then four and a half years, After the killings ended, San Francisco's own Ken Horn, a ballet school dropout, was reported to the Center for Disease Control with Kaposi's sarcoma.

[579] And five murdered men would become relative to what followed, a statistical blip.

[580] Yeah.

[581] So essentially, these murders happened a little bit of time passed, and then the AIDS crisis began.

[582] And basically, everything changed permanently in San Francisco and obviously.

[583] in the world.

[584] And so that is the hopefully soon to be solved case of San Francisco's The Doodler.

[585] Dude, that is emotionally charged.

[586] Isn't that nuts?

[587] And crazy.

[588] It's so like when you, when we start pulling apart these old cold cases where it's just like all the reasons and the reasons are more injustice.

[589] It's like victims being victimized basically just because of who they are.

[590] Yeah.

[591] It's always just like it's it's the case, but then you you also have to factor in and all of these the time and place.

[592] Yeah.

[593] Which really affect it more than, you know, then you would think it.

[594] When you hear the story and you're like, well, let's just solve it.

[595] And it's like, no, you don't understand what was going on at the time, you know, how horrible things were or how, you know, racist and how sexist and how, you know, homophobic things were back then in all these cases.

[596] And it wasn't back then that was just regular life.

[597] Right.

[598] Everyone was supposed to shut their mouth and try to be, you know, like, keep your place and keep your mouth shut and not speak.

[599] And if there was a message to be said, some white man was going to say it for you.

[600] Some straight white man, I should say.

[601] So, yeah.

[602] All right.

[603] This is one of these disappearances and these mysterious circumstances cases that I've been following for a while.

[604] Okay.

[605] So I thought I'd finally do the mysterious disappearance and death of Chris Cromwell.

[606] and Lysand Froon.

[607] Get ready.

[608] Get.

[609] Okay.

[610] Got a ton of information.

[611] There's like all, there's like three part article and follow up from the Daily Beast from 2017.

[612] They do an investigative piece is on this called Lost Girls.

[613] It's a whole series by Jeremy Critt.

[614] Also, all that's interesting .com.

[615] There's an article by Katie Serena.

[616] There's a blog called Scarlet Letters that has a really great article about this.

[617] And the crime blog, mostly mystery .com, has some good info, too.

[618] So I've never heard of this.

[619] Okay, I think you will once you hear about it.

[620] The detail right now.

[621] As I say it.

[622] Okay.

[623] Vomit this out of my mouth.

[624] Okay.

[625] Here we are.

[626] In the spring of 2014, Chris Kremers, and that's female K -R -I -S, and Lysan, their students, they're from the Netherlands, and they're planning a trip together to go to Panama.

[627] Lussanne is 22.

[628] She had graduated with a degree and applied sciences from DeVinter, which I don't know if I said that right.

[629] It seemed like you had a good kind of, there's a bit of an accent there.

[630] I liked it.

[631] Netherlands -ish, right?

[632] You know.

[633] I've been to Amsterdam.

[634] Yeah, you're all over it.

[635] She had just graduated.

[636] And Chris, who was 21 and just completed her studies in cultural, social education, specializing in art education at the University of Utrecht.

[637] They had met with working in a cafe together and had become close friends, and they had recently moved into the same student housing in its Amherst Fort is where it's called in the Netherlands.

[638] So they were planning to go to Panama as like their in -between year.

[639] They were fucking stoked.

[640] They had spent six months saving up money and planning, like meticulously planning this trip.

[641] It was going to be part vacation, but then the other part of it was going to be a service trip.

[642] They plan on spending some time hiking and tour.

[643] tourisming, which is my new word.

[644] And then they were also going to be learning Spanish.

[645] And then following that, they would be volunteering at a school, teaching arts and crafts to local kids while staying with a host family.

[646] Nice.

[647] So it's going to be like their, what's it called, bumpier?

[648] Is it bumpier?

[649] It's absolutely not bumpier.

[650] But it's gap year.

[651] Gap year.

[652] Yeah, yeah.

[653] There it is.

[654] You had a gap year working at the gap.

[655] Right in my front teeth.

[656] I had gap year from age zero to 17.

[657] So Lysanne, she's six feet tall and athletic.

[658] She'd been a volleyball star in college and was into extreme things like skydiving and mountaineering.

[659] She had done alpine hiking, you know, in the Netherlands.

[660] So she was an experienced hiker and mountain nearer.

[661] She was, she's described as thoughtful, intelligent, empathetic, and she kept the diary and brought it along with her to Panama.

[662] So Chris Kremers was described as creative and intelligent.

[663] She's outspoken, responsible.

[664] She had this beautiful long, strawberry blonde hair.

[665] She had less outdoor experience, but she was young and healthy and, like, ready to fucking take on the world.

[666] She planned to go to graduate school for art history after their trip to Panama, after their bump year.

[667] They both grew up in Amherst Fort, a town in the Netherlands, about 45 minutes from Amsterdam, where we had so much fun.

[668] Yes.

[669] What a time.

[670] What a time.

[671] I'll never forget that hotel room.

[672] It was like my dream apartment hotel room.

[673] It was so beautiful.

[674] It was.

[675] Okay.

[676] I was going to talk about Vince's snafoo at the airport, but maybe I shouldn't.

[677] I don't think you should.

[678] I won't.

[679] Tour stories.

[680] That's the new podcast.

[681] That's right.

[682] Okay.

[683] On March 15th, 2014, the women flew to Amsterdam from Amsterdam to Panama City, then took another flight to Boca del Toro, then a boat to the Panamanian Island of Ila colon and then the archipelago that's probably not right look do you pronounced it archipelagio archipelagio is there an eye in there somewhere archa no not anymore archi palagio so they adventured in town and around there until march 29th and they arrived to bouquette that's the small town on the Caldera River in western Panama where they're going to stay in the host family's house and teach children.

[684] And this town, Bocete, is something like, it's like a fairy tale.

[685] It's in the bottom of this valley and it's surrounded by like rainforests and there's a volcano.

[686] It's gorgeous.

[687] And there's a lot of expats and tourists that go to this place specifically.

[688] And of course, you and I remember Panama in the 80s.

[689] It wasn't a fucking safe place to be.

[690] Crazy.

[691] Yeah.

[692] So not.

[693] But now it's actually one of the safest countries in Latin America.

[694] And Bochete is thought to be even safer.

[695] It's popular with retirees and expats and has just one paved street and fewer than 10 ,000 residents.

[696] It's known as Little Switzerland for its resemblance to the Alps.

[697] Wow.

[698] Yeah.

[699] That's cool.

[700] Yeah.

[701] But when they arrive there, and they go to where they're supposed to start work at the school, they're disappointed to find out that they are turned away.

[702] the people say that they're too early and there's like a whole mix up with their schedule but they were able to find their host family these two young women and they checked in there and they planned to do some sightseeing while they figured out what the problem was.

[703] So on April...

[704] I'm sorry, but that gives me this uncomfortable feeling like it's starting already.

[705] Yeah.

[706] Because when you travel that much and you're saying they took a plane and then they took a boat and they had to do it.

[707] They're like clearly going to a slightly remote location.

[708] Yeah.

[709] And not knowing the language completely.

[710] Right.

[711] And then people are like, oh, no, no, you're not supposed to be here.

[712] Like even if it was a hotel in the United States, I'd be like, uh -oh.

[713] Yeah.

[714] So imagine you're so far from home.

[715] Totally.

[716] But you have your best friend with you.

[717] And like, so that's comforting.

[718] But you're also two women in a foreign country, which is just scary to begin with.

[719] Yeah.

[720] So they find their host family.

[721] They check in there and they're going to do some sightseeing.

[722] On April 1st, 2014, Chris and Luzan, they take a taxi from their host family.

[723] home and dropped off at the famous Pianista Trail.

[724] It's a trail that leads them to the Continental Divide, which is like that saying, the Continental Divide gives me like goosebumps, doesn't it?

[725] Yeah.

[726] It feels so huge and like a cool indie band name, doesn't it?

[727] Oh, that would be a good name.

[728] By the way, all these pronunciations are really A plus.

[729] Thank you.

[730] I'm trying.

[731] Yeah, you're doing great.

[732] Thank you.

[733] So just in case we're all wondering, like I was earlier, the Continental Divide is the crest that marks the spot where the, where the country's water breaks for the Pacific Ocean in one direction and the Caribbean in the other so it's like dividing the two oceans They both go at either direction Look at this way, look at that way Got it.

[734] Here you are.

[735] East West?

[736] Okay.

[737] Didn't get that far.

[738] Sorry.

[739] I'm pretty sure we had a book Oh yeah?

[740] Like in the National Geographic series style and it was called the Continental Divide and I would look at it but not read it That was my big thing.

[741] Like, pictures only and I'm out.

[742] You and I know, words are overrated.

[743] God, information is dumb.

[744] I can't read.

[745] Okay.

[746] So this hike that they were going to take, which goes up and back, the Pianista Trail, it's like a famous trail.

[747] It should just take four or five hours to get there and I'm back.

[748] And if they had gone further, it turns into kind of like wild terrain and they don't suggest you go that way.

[749] So even though this is a train.

[750] trail that's famous, it wouldn't have been suggested that two foreigners take that trail themselves.

[751] And they'd actually met with a potential guide earlier in the day.

[752] And this guide had suggested that he'll take him on the trail.

[753] They can spend the night at his ranch and then come back.

[754] They had turned him down for some reason, but it agreed to come see him the next day.

[755] So it's kind of weird that they were then just like, but let's go on this.

[756] I think they were expecting it to be just a small casual hike.

[757] Okay.

[758] So I think they're smart to not.

[759] spend the night at just a stranger's ranch.

[760] Right, that's probably what they were thinking, and they'll take a regular hike the next day.

[761] So it seems like they just wanted to take a nice hike and kill some time.

[762] So they planned to hike through the scenic forests around the Baru Volcano, which is an active volcano, and that would bring them through the cloud forest, which is because the height is so fucking heighted, it's through the clouds.

[763] Yeah.

[764] And there's also waterfalls and shit.

[765] Amazing.

[766] Yeah.

[767] Judging by their clothes and what they brought with them, they obviously didn't plan on being there long.

[768] They dressed in just shorts and tank tops and only brought a light backpack, one of their passports, a little bit of money, their cell phones, and a digital camera.

[769] Like they weren't planning to need more than a snack and some water, nothing more than that.

[770] This was not a long -term hike.

[771] Not at all.

[772] They were never seen alive again.

[773] Okay.

[774] So there's so much, one of the mysteries about this case is that there's so many different.

[775] versions of it, of, you know, who this belonged to, what happened here.

[776] One of those things is that there was a dog that had started the hike with them, a dog named Blue.

[777] It might have belonged to the host family.

[778] It might have belonged to the restaurant that they had had lunch at family, but the dog had gone with them.

[779] And when the dog returned that evening without the girls, the family who the dog belonged to and the host family began to worry about where the girls were because the temperatures at night in the cloud forest would have been in the 50s and 60s at that elevation, which means hypothermia would have been a risk, especially since they were dressed so lightly.

[780] The host family searched around the area, around their home and, you know, just some light searching, but decided to wait until morning to authorities not really knowing.

[781] I don't think they, you know, the girls haven't left behind a note saying where they were going.

[782] I don't think they knew that they were going just for a hike.

[783] So they could have been anywhere.

[784] Right.

[785] And they probably didn't, they didn't want to raise an alarm immediately.

[786] Right.

[787] But by the next morning on April 2nd, The women hadn't shown up to their appointment with that local tour guide we had talked about, who was supposed to show them around.

[788] And so the teachers from the language school reported that women missing to police.

[789] So the locals began to search for the women on foot, but the authorities, thinking the girls were just probably out partying or something and not actually missing, didn't begin the search until April 6th.

[790] Oh, no. So they had left on the first, and it wasn't until the 6th that they began to actually search.

[791] But the locals had been searching.

[792] And at that point, the authorities asked the locals to stop searching so they could take over.

[793] And a local named John Tornblum, he was a guide with more than 10 years of experience who had been looking for the girls.

[794] He said that, quote, the rescue operation was a total cluster fuck.

[795] Oh, no. Yeah.

[796] So when the families of the women found out that they were missing, and these were two really reliable girls, when they found out that their reliable daughters were missing, they flew straight to Panama.

[797] and they brought with them detectives from the Netherlands.

[798] So along with the local police, they searched the forest for 10 days using dogs, helicopters, and ground teams.

[799] The parents offered a $30 ,000 reward, but there was no sign and no trace of the women at all.

[800] Wow.

[801] Like they had disappeared.

[802] After a 10 -day search without any leads, local authorities called the search off.

[803] I know.

[804] Then about 10 weeks later, after the search was called off, in mid -June, 2014, an indigenous woman from the Nobi tribe brought Lizanne's blue backpack to the police.

[805] She was like, yo, I fucking found this in a rice paddy and the banks of the river.

[806] The river was so powerful that the locals called it the serpent.

[807] So it was like our crazy river.

[808] She's like, I fucking found it near a rice paddy near her village of Alta Romero.

[809] It was at least an eight hour walk from where the girls had last been seen.

[810] But the woman, the indigenous woman was like, it was not there the day before, I'm sure of it.

[811] So she brought it in.

[812] And I think everyone must have known at the time that they were looking for these two missing tourists.

[813] Yeah.

[814] Inside the backpack were two pairs of sunglasses, $83 in cash, Lysanne's passport, a water bottle, Lysan's camera, because she had brought a separate camera, two bras and the women's phones.

[815] So I'm assuming that women were like, you know, when I got home today after our lunch, I took my bra off.

[816] That's the first thing I fucking did.

[817] Yeah.

[818] It's just FYI.

[819] Sure.

[820] So I'm assuming that's why they were in there.

[821] Yeah.

[822] the police assumed they were like oh it must have traveled up the river and gotten caught in branches and shit but here's the thing the backpack was totally dry and everything in it including the camera was in working order okay right so it was not probably not in water no yeah so both the info from the phones that were in there and the camera were able to tell like somewhat of a story of where the girls had traveled in their days following the disappearance so of the with the phone the first emergency call had been attempted from chris's home the night the girls were last seen on the first.

[823] So that night, they had left around 11 o 'clock in the afternoon to go hiking on what was supposed to be a four or five hour hike.

[824] And at 9 .39 p .m. on April 1st, someone tried to call emergency services from one of their phones.

[825] But there's no signal.

[826] Right.

[827] They're in the fucking rainforest.

[828] They're in the cloud forest.

[829] That's right.

[830] Then over the next four days, 77 attempts are made to call the authorities, the police, both using 122, which is the emergency number in the Netherlands, and 911, which is the emergency number in Panama.

[831] So it's like, can you, like, who do you, if you end up, I call 911, right?

[832] Yeah.

[833] But I think it, I think in any state now or any country now, you press 911 and it would go to emergency services.

[834] Right.

[835] That might not be true.

[836] I mean, if only, I think there's, yeah, there is, I remember this, but there was a story of like people trying to do it and it not going through because they didn't have coverage or whatever where it's like if this is what you're trying to do it'll go through no matter what yeah and there's another thing like it's 2014 which seems like not that long ago but it is five years ago yeah it digitally and technically it's right 10 years ago yeah so using the call logs police were able to come up with an outline of the time the girl spent missing in the forests can you fucking imagine being so scary this is why stay home at all times um because they were in the jungle out of the 77 calls that they made, only one managed to make contact with a signal, but it broke up between like one or two seconds later, which is like even worse that they're like, oh my God, it's a signal, and then it fucking goes away.

[837] What a nightmare.

[838] After April 5th, Lisanne's battery dies and the phone's not used again.

[839] But Chris's phone would not make any more calls either, but was intermittently used to search for reception.

[840] So there was no more like emergency calls put out, but you could tell it was open and turned on.

[841] Then on April 6th, a bunch of unsuccessful attempts were made to unlock Chris's phone because she had a PIN number to unlock the phone.

[842] So someone got the phone and was trying to put the PIN number in, but they put the number in wrong.

[843] So it probably wasn't Chris, or she was dehydrated and...

[844] Like, couldn't think of the correct one.

[845] It never received the correct number again.

[846] So it was never able to open again and try to reach emergency services.

[847] By April 11th, both phones were.

[848] were dead.

[849] All right.

[850] Now let's talk about LaSanne's camera.

[851] A Canon Power Shot SX 270.

[852] I know it well.

[853] promo code murder.

[854] So the digital memory card had over 100 images found and strangely the battery is still half full when the investigators get to it 10 weeks later.

[855] Whoa.

[856] So shout out to the Canon Power Shot.

[857] That's a good battery ladies and gentlemen.

[858] Yeah.

[859] But it also means that they hadn't been really using the camera that much.

[860] Right.

[861] And there was no, like, signal on it so they couldn't track it with GPS on the camera itself.

[862] Right.

[863] Which I think you can now.

[864] Can you?

[865] Yeah.

[866] Well, also, you have to think, like, what they would, if they were panicking and walking around, lost in the forest, they're not going to be like, hold on a second.

[867] Yeah.

[868] What's a camera going to do for you?

[869] Right.

[870] Nothing.

[871] And you would like to think that they would then start taking pictures to tell the story, but that's a very dark concept.

[872] It is.

[873] And then also they say that, like, a lot of people will use it to leave messages for their family or they'll leave a message as to where they're going and how to find them, but those aren't found.

[874] However, there are some photos found.

[875] Oh, 100.

[876] The first of the photos on the camera are taken the morning that they left April 1st, that women are shown on the beginning of the trail towards the continental divide.

[877] There's nothing strange about them.

[878] They're fucking selfies.

[879] There's shit that 21 and 22 -year girls would take scenery.

[880] You know, I'll take a photo of you, of me, selfies together.

[881] together.

[882] They look happy and normal.

[883] All is going well.

[884] But in the last few shots from that day, it looks as though the women are following an indigenous trail down the opposite side of the crest.

[885] And it places them about an hour from the top of the divide.

[886] So that's part of where, you know, the indigenous people won't even go during the rainy season themselves.

[887] Like it's just these, you know, weird trails.

[888] And you're supposed to, I feel like a lot of people when they take a hike, they think the trail wraps around back to where they were going.

[889] But this is one that you have to turn around and go back the other way, but there was no sign saying, don't go further than this at the time.

[890] Right.

[891] So, they're still heading downhill away from Bukete.

[892] The last image that we have of Chris Kremmer's face is her turning to look back to the camera.

[893] And at this point, she seems pissed off.

[894] She seems upset and distressed and like, where the fuck are we going and why the fuck are you taking a photo of me right now?

[895] like we need to concentrate.

[896] She seems upset.

[897] Yeah.

[898] Then things get strange.

[899] On April 8th, so they went missing on the first, April 8th, 90 flash photos were taken between 1 a .m. and 4 a .m. Uh -huh.

[900] I don't like that.

[901] Apparently, they, and I've seen the photos.

[902] It reminds me of that one crazy story with the snowstorm and the avalanche and like what happened to those people.

[903] Oh, the Dilotov Pass?

[904] Thank you.

[905] My God.

[906] It's just like that where there's like weird photos that don't mean anything to us, but have to meet something.

[907] Right.

[908] So you can tell they're deep in the jungle.

[909] Like, some of them, there's nothing in focus.

[910] You can just see the rain coming down and some rocks and trees and stuff.

[911] It's in near complete darkness.

[912] So the timing between photos is also interesting because they vary from just a few seconds as fast as the camera could take them or 15 minutes apart and more.

[913] So it shows that it was already raining pretty hard.

[914] And a few photos showed that they were possibly near a river or ravine.

[915] and some photos show a twig.

[916] So it looks like they're taking photos of markers that they're setting up to remind themselves either of where they have already gone through.

[917] So maybe they're making circles and are freaking out about it and like, we've already been here.

[918] Let's take a photo.

[919] Yeah.

[920] So they put a marker up with a twig with plastic bags and candy wrappers on top of a rock.

[921] And they also use a roll of toilet paper to spell something out on a boulder and put a rusty mirror in the center of the letters.

[922] maybe it was to reflect the sunlight the next day and flag a passing helicopter but it speculated that maybe these photos were taken as a reference point in an attempt to mark where they were like I said so to make sure they weren't going in circles right yeah or they were using the cameras flash to get light to see the path in front of them yes because the thing I keep thinking of because that's what I thought of first yeah because of rear window where you're like you feel because you're also in the the jungle.

[923] Just the spiders alone.

[924] You don't even have to get into snakes.

[925] Spiders alone.

[926] Dude.

[927] So you and I are walking in the blackness of the jungle.

[928] They said something about jumping venomous snakes.

[929] No. So if you feel anything, then you're like, what's on me?

[930] And then that's the only way you would be able to see things.

[931] Oh, I don't like that.

[932] Like what did I just walk into?

[933] What did I just hit?

[934] Like you can't see in front of you.

[935] Yeah.

[936] You're lost in the jungle.

[937] It's horrifying.

[938] Or is it to.

[939] help searchers locate them with the flesh.

[940] They think someone's trying to find them, so maybe they'll see the flash.

[941] Oh, yeah.

[942] Can get them.

[943] The timestamp on these photos means that one of the women, so it's the eighth at this point, which means that the women, one of them or both of them, had already managed to survive more than a week without food or shelter in the wilderness.

[944] Wow.

[945] It's speculated that perhaps by now one of the women was badly hurt or perhaps even dead at this point.

[946] Most likely that was Chris based on the photos.

[947] And also, So she couldn't get into Leanne's phone.

[948] Oh, right.

[949] Or, no, wait.

[950] Leanne couldn't get to her phone, so, you know, because she couldn't ask her about it.

[951] Yeah.

[952] And there's also a single close -up photo that shows, it looks like it shows a wound to the right side of Chris's head in the temple area and blood matting her distinctive strawberry blonde hair.

[953] So, I know, it's fucking awful.

[954] It's horrible.

[955] It's so sad.

[956] When the backpack is turned in, there's a new search put together.

[957] along the serpent river where the backpack was found there Chris's jean shorts are found zipped up and folded neatly on top of a rock near where the backpack had been found so some say that maybe that was a marker where they were you know had been like let's put a marker here we've run out of stuff to put down others say that the shorts were actually found in the river and someone else took them out and folded them up like thinking they were being helpful in some way or maybe the I was thinking maybe you know in hypothermia when you start taking your clothes off, but they were zipped up and, like, folded and put down.

[958] Yeah, it wasn't like, you'd be tossed it off and walk away.

[959] Right, exactly.

[960] So it was probably, yeah, who knows?

[961] So two months later, after this is found, this time even closer to where the backpack was discovered, a skeletal part of a pelvis, as well as a boot with a foot and still inside were found.

[962] I know.

[963] Soon, at least 33 scattered bones were discovered along the same river.

[964] bank.

[965] DNA tests confirm that they belong to the girls.

[966] So Lysanne's bones looked as if they had decomposed naturally because there was still bits of flesh attached to them.

[967] But Chris's bones were stark white and looked as if they had been bleached.

[968] So like maybe she had died and the sun had bleached her bones.

[969] But it was only two months later.

[970] So a Panamanian forensic anthropologist said that under magnification there was no marks on the bones at all.

[971] So this means, so I was like, okay, then they hadn't been stabbed.

[972] That was my first thought.

[973] But then I realized it also means that there is no claw marks or bite marks that would suggest scavengers, you know, tossing these 33 bones all over the fucking place.

[974] Right.

[975] So that's actually suspicious.

[976] Yes.

[977] Right.

[978] And so, and no marks would also indicate that they hadn't been broken up on the river rocks either.

[979] Like they hadn't been, you know, taken down the river.

[980] Exactly.

[981] Yeah.

[982] So the other thing is the scattered bones being found is weird.

[983] because most drowning victims, as the locals will say, are usually found in one piece further downstream, or they get stuck in like the rocks and are found later.

[984] And sometimes they drag the river.

[985] Even a year later, the bodies are found intact.

[986] So it's weird that they are found.

[987] Skeletal and little pieces like that as well.

[988] Yeah.

[989] A former cadaver lab supervisor said it's almost unheard of for drowning victims to break.

[990] up into tiny fragments and quote almost impossible for it to happen in less than two months which is the time between the one and the girls went missing in April when their their bone shards were recovered in June yeah at the stage of the search proper police procedures and so of course these are totally you know everyone is saying that they weren't followed and the police fucked up on this and police procedures were largely were largely ignored no search grade was made at the time and no soil samples were taken like from the backpack and from where they said it was found or from the boots to where they had left to kind of just see where, you know, what was their route and where they gone?

[991] Maybe we can find more info.

[992] None of that was done.

[993] And when the backpack was finally fingerprinted, over 30 different unidentified fingerprints were lifted from it.

[994] There were 13 on the backpack.

[995] This is according to the Scarlet Letter blog that she wrote that 13 were on the backpack, 12 on the phones and camera as well as six different ones on the bras.

[996] But see, there's no chain of command.

[997] So it could have just been like people freaked out at the police.

[998] They pulled stuff out and there was no fingerprints, you know, no one's fingerprints.

[999] So no one went back over and said, no, no, no, this is the, this is the woman who actually brought this in.

[1000] Exactly.

[1001] This is her family member.

[1002] Right.

[1003] Exactly.

[1004] Okay.

[1005] When forensic examiners couldn't decide if there was foul play or if it was an accident, the Panamanian government simply decided that the case was closed, thinking it was just a drowning.

[1006] By November, the Attorney General publicly announced that the women had died of a hiking accident after having been, quote, dragged to death in the river system.

[1007] People theorized that they rushed to wrap these cases up to protect tourism, which is a huge part of the Panama economy.

[1008] So further investigation by the Daily Beast.

[1009] And so they got all these fucking unclassified documents somehow, like all the photos and the autopsy reports and all this shit they got a hold of, which is crazy.

[1010] And Daily Beast gets on it.

[1011] Yeah, dude.

[1012] I couldn't have written this whole piece without the investigation they had done.

[1013] So further investigation by the Daily Beast writer into the case in 2017 uncovered enough new evidence to suggest foul play, as well as possible link to other murders in the area, including the Dutch girls.

[1014] There have been at least 25 unsolved murders and disappearances in this remote rural area.

[1015] Since 2009, victims include many locals, the majority of them are women and children, as well as tourists, including an American woman named Catherine Johanett, who was 23, who was murdered in February 2017.

[1016] Some sources say the real number of disappeared could be higher.

[1017] And there's, I mean, there's so many, I've stayed up all night, fucking reading about this shit before.

[1018] There's so many theories out there that maybe the government ignored or there was a cover -up or there were.

[1019] or the remains were thrown in the river to get rid of them or deliberately planted.

[1020] And there's all this like cartel, hitmen and cannibals and, you know, some slightly fucking racist shit happening.

[1021] Sure.

[1022] Supernatural forces, Oregon traffickers, like this kind of thing.

[1023] And the local guide who was the last person to see them, remember who they turned down.

[1024] Of course, he's become a suspect in a lot of the minds of people who are trying to figure out what happened.

[1025] And he's fucking going crazy about it.

[1026] Yeah.

[1027] So, but to this day, the disappearance in deaths, as well as the mysterious weird fucking clues left behind make the death of Chris Kremers and Lysand Froon still a mystery.

[1028] And that is the disappearance and death of Chris Kremers and Lysand Froon.

[1029] Wow.

[1030] We'll put the photos up because they're creepy.

[1031] And it's just so sad, these two girls in the prime of their life, you know, going to try to make a difference and to, you know, start the beginning of the rest of their lives.

[1032] and imagine no matter what happened what they went through is a horrifying that's right it did yeah it's not it's not always like they were it's not always just because it's a murder it's like it could just be you take a wrong turn i personally i think that that's what happened yeah i personally think that they got lost and everything that happened from the first on is to panicked women you know trying trying to get home just trying to get home just trying to get home It makes me think of, you know, that happens in the Angeles National Forest a lot.

[1033] And you couldn't be closer to a major U .S. city.

[1034] That's right.

[1035] And people constantly are like, take a wrong turn and have to get helicoptered out of the.

[1036] And like also thinking of that as a forest when it's like there's not that much.

[1037] You know what I mean?

[1038] It's like we're not talking about, you know, the black forest in Germany or something.

[1039] It's like it's pretty sparse.

[1040] But it's nature.

[1041] It's like it's unpredictable.

[1042] And you don't know what to do in an emergency half the time.

[1043] Like, this is why I stay home.

[1044] It's all.

[1045] And it sounds like if they were like, oh, we're going to go for like a four hour hike, they're not going to have flashlights.

[1046] They're not going to have batteries of any kind.

[1047] And they don't think they're going that far.

[1048] They think they're following a well -known trail.

[1049] But I was looking at the photos.

[1050] And some of it just looks like riverbeds, you know, when it looks like a trail, but it's actually not.

[1051] Yeah.

[1052] It's just, some of it's crazy that the like the walls of this trail go up around you.

[1053] It's beautiful.

[1054] It's gorgeous.

[1055] Go fucking adventure and have fun.

[1056] But take a battery, a flashlight, a bunch of stuff.

[1057] Know your friend's password for their phone.

[1058] Luna bar.

[1059] That's crazy.

[1060] Isn't that crazy?

[1061] Yeah.

[1062] Wow, good one.

[1063] Thank you.

[1064] Do you have a fucking hooray?

[1065] Absolutely.

[1066] Good.

[1067] All right, mine is simple.

[1068] Vince showed it to me last night.

[1069] It's my new favorite Instagram.

[1070] It brings me so much joy.

[1071] It's just UPS dogs.

[1072] And it's fucking UPS workers.

[1073] On their route and the dogs, they mean along the way.

[1074] Oh, my God.

[1075] And a lot of them are like, like they show at the foot of their truck, the dog that they always see waiting for a treat.

[1076] Look at that.

[1077] Oh, my God.

[1078] And then sometimes it's a deer and sometimes it's more dogs and there's one with a squirrel.

[1079] And it's just like this, it's just dogs being happy to see the UPS drivers.

[1080] There's a couple dogs dressed as UPS drivers.

[1081] That's the cutest.

[1082] It's the most brilliant marketing.

[1083] fucking thing I've ever seen in my life.

[1084] It's so good.

[1085] Also because those people really have to.

[1086] There's I can't remember, oh no, I can't remember if it's FedEx.

[1087] If the guy that comes and brings stuff to me is FedEx, I think he's FedEx actually.

[1088] Because George, my dog sounds like a monster when she's in like an echoey hallway barking to make sure that the person doesn't come in the door.

[1089] She's scary sounding.

[1090] And then I open the door and there's people who are like, you know, flinch or whatever.

[1091] And And she got past me and got out, and the guy was so sweet because I was like, here's the lawsuit, here it comes, or this lunatic dog.

[1092] But all she wants to do is, like, scare the people.

[1093] And then the second they pet her, she doesn't care what they do.

[1094] It's so smart.

[1095] It's so, I mean, it must be so terrified to be a male person or a fucking, you know, delivery driver.

[1096] And you just don't know how the dog's going to react to you.

[1097] Also, just.

[1098] Yeah.

[1099] This is a great, yeah.

[1100] I just think it's brilliant and it's incredible photos.

[1101] It's so good And I just was stressed out last night And just scrolled through it going Look at this one He was one who showed it to me Look at this one It's really cute There's one with a raccoon Who's just like stoked It's like they know their drivers You know Is the driver giving the raccoon A tiny package Here's your pine cone Sir And he takes it up to his house Oh And then he writes a review On Amazon of his pine cone This pine cone is a little sappy Three and a half stars Out of five Sappy definitely disappointed and heartbroken.

[1102] That's awesome.

[1103] Mine is equally as simple, but it's just that I have begun a swimming regimen that is saving my life.

[1104] Because, you know, I overthink everything.

[1105] So when I try to get active and do make adjustments, I'm always like, yeah, but it's going to be this.

[1106] Hi.

[1107] Nice to meet you.

[1108] Yeah.

[1109] Hello.

[1110] Hello, twin.

[1111] But I've just been getting in that pool every single day.

[1112] Because also it's been boiling hot in Los Angeles, luckily.

[1113] But the way it feels afterwards, it's just like, ah, I get it.

[1114] I get exercise now.

[1115] I love it.

[1116] It makes sense.

[1117] So it's just very, like, calming, and it makes me chill out, and it makes me feel like I've done something good.

[1118] So I don't have that, like, creepy, self -loathing thing that I think I'm just a touch addicted to.

[1119] Well, we're attuned to it.

[1120] Yes.

[1121] Because it's what we're used to.

[1122] Yeah.

[1123] Yeah.

[1124] So it's been really nice.

[1125] And also then I can see the difference in the tone in my legs.

[1126] Amazing.

[1127] Like I can just, I can feel my clothes being slightly less tight.

[1128] And it feels great.

[1129] So should we do what we did a while back of like do yoga once a week?

[1130] Yeah.

[1131] Like what do we do?

[1132] Like everyone pick your one thing and do it once a week.

[1133] Yeah.

[1134] You don't have to do it every day.

[1135] All of the listeners are like, yeah, we've been doing it.

[1136] Oh shit.

[1137] But no, let's do it.

[1138] I mean, I haven't.

[1139] I mean, I don't.

[1140] Yeah, let's do it.

[1141] It's hard.

[1142] Let's re -approach it.

[1143] Okay.

[1144] It's the, like, for me, exercise is hard because it makes me feel humongous and sweaty and, like, all my bones are going to break.

[1145] Yeah.

[1146] But, of course, swimming is zero impact and feels great and feels like you're really getting something done.

[1147] Yeah.

[1148] Everything counts.

[1149] So, yeah, we just build on, we take our small pieces and build.

[1150] Yeah.

[1151] That's the idea.

[1152] Let's do it.

[1153] Let's do it.

[1154] Yay.

[1155] Thanks for listening, guys.

[1156] Guys, thanks for being here with us.

[1157] Again, one more week.

[1158] That's right.

[1159] we love you.

[1160] We do.

[1161] We appreciate you.

[1162] We definitely do.

[1163] And stay sexy.

[1164] And don't get murdered.

[1165] Goodbye.

[1166] Elvis, you want a cookie?

[1167] Good boy.