MFM Minisode 254

[0] This is exactly right.

[1] Hello.

[2] And welcome.

[3] To my favorite murder.

[4] The minisode.

[5] That's scaring Kilgara.

[6] And that's Georgia Heart Stark.

[7] Hi, hi, hi.

[8] Hi.

[9] We're getting so good at those intros.

[10] We're getting great in our names.

[11] I hate to be intimidating to people, but it's powerful those first 15 seconds.

[12] Yeah, it does.

[13] It does a lot of good.

[14] So we're about to read you your emails.

[15] Mm -hmm.

[16] Your hometowns.

[17] We're going to get through 2021.

[18] We're going to survive it and we're going to get through it.

[19] We're so close.

[20] We're on the verge.

[21] Yeah.

[22] Just keep going.

[23] Just keep going.

[24] And here's something that might help some stories.

[25] Do you want to go first?

[26] Do you want me to go first?

[27] I think that was the perfect segue right into an inspirational hometown.

[28] Oh, shit.

[29] Or whatever you have.

[30] We can edit that part out.

[31] Let's not, but this isn't inspirational in any way, shape, or form.

[32] This one's called your friendly neighborhood chalk outline.

[33] Hi, MFM crew.

[34] Let's get into it.

[35] I grew up in Park City, Utah, a town known for its picturesque ski slopes and for hosting Hollywood's debauchery every January during the Sundance Film Festival.

[36] While Park City has a pretty toony reputation these days, when I was growing up, it was a small, sleepy town filled with ski bums and nature -loving hippies.

[37] Because it was very safe and small, my parents worked two jobs each.

[38] My sister and I were allowed to roam our neighborhood unsupervised for hours a day.

[39] One summer day, my sister and I were riding our bikes from our house to a duck pond up the road.

[40] We lived in a condo community at the base of Park West Ski Resort known as the Canyons today, and it only took us two minutes to get from our house to the pond.

[41] On this particular day, however, we couldn't get all the way to the duck pond because there were police cars everywhere.

[42] We had never seen something like this.

[43] So we ditched our bikes and walked around the condos to the parking lot where it seemed like most of the action was happening.

[44] I just love the kids We're like, I know how to get to that spot, let's go Yeah, we cut over here We can get right front and center That's right Despite being unable to get very close We saw something our eight and five -year -old eyes Had never seen before Oh no Lots of police tape and a real -life chalk outline Our minds were blown I didn't know they really did that For some reason I guess they did Word spread quickly that there had been a murder Related to some patrons of a bar At the ski resort and the murders were quickly arrested by police.

[45] The victim was a gay man named Doug Kohler who had been playing pool at the bar the night before and had befriended two straight men over the course of the night.

[46] The night ended and the men went their separate ways before the straight men returned to Mr. Kohler's home, lured him out of the house, and shot him in the parking lot.

[47] Oh my God.

[48] I know.

[49] The motive for the killing was determined to be Mr. Kohler's sexual orientation and the homicide was labeled a hate crime.

[50] Most of these details didn't make it to my eight -year old ears until the next year, however, when my mom sat me down to watch the 2020 episode about the murder.

[51] Totally appropriate, mom.

[52] I will never forget the site of the chalk outline in our neighborhood's parking lot, both because it was one of the first times that my naive childhood worldview had been rocked and because my dad continued to drive us by the outline long after the police had cleared the crime scene.

[53] I think the outline stayed there for a full month.

[54] Knowing the horrible and heartbreaking reason Mr. Kohler died has always stayed in my memory right along side the visual.

[55] And I truly believe it was in this instance that my murdering no self was born.

[56] Stay sexy and maybe don't drive your kids by the chalk outline over and over again, Sydney.

[57] Wow.

[58] I know.

[59] I don't think I knew that one.

[60] That's awful.

[61] Yeah, that's really horrible.

[62] I feel like those ones you don't hear about.

[63] I mean, it's just, it's a classic example of like crime against marginalized people where it doesn't get talked about.

[64] Right.

[65] But the idea, I know that like on first glance it's like oh that's gross or bad of the parents or whatever i totally think when something like that happens like in your neighborhood that it's oh it's almost like people processing it of like this thing happens yeah this really horrible thing and i don't know i feel like it was like the dad going and looking at it right yeah you think it's that it's that kind of like processing i think so i don't know yeah or just one way to look at it totally i think because it's like that's why people gather around a crime scene.

[66] It's because it's like what just happened among us.

[67] Right.

[68] It's the same with a car accident.

[69] When you're driving by, people stop and gawk because they want, they want information.

[70] Right.

[71] I'm from Bellingham, Washington, and boy, do we have it all.

[72] Make sure I didn't lose the second page.

[73] I love it.

[74] No, just go with it.

[75] Oh, it just started high there.

[76] I only missed high there.

[77] I really like the other one.

[78] Like they work for the tourism board or something.

[79] Since we are close to the Canadian border or perhaps just the creepy Pacific Northwest vibes, we get a lot of serial killers who see it as a good spot to lay low in case they need to flee the country.

[80] That means Ted Bundy, the D .C. sniper and the Hillside Strangler have all hung out here.

[81] My personal connection is to the Kenneth Bianchi, aka the Hillside Strangler case.

[82] During the late 70s, he was a manager for a security company.

[83] up here and my mom's brother's boss who is your uncle just to break it to you lightly because of this he came and had dinner at my grandparents house with their whole family several times all while my mom was in her late teens since he was a trusted member of the community he also gave several of her kids oh my god because he was a trusted member of the community he also gave several of her friends rides home from parties.

[84] A few months later, Bianchi was arrested for the murders of Karen Mandik and Diane Wilder, two university students in our town.

[85] Though my mom often describes Bianchi as good looking and charming, there was something about him that was off just enough so that no one was surprised when they found out he was the hillside strangler.

[86] Holy shit.

[87] Plus, my uncle was promoted into his role at the company, way to climb the ladder.

[88] Holy shit.

[89] Whenever I encounter other Bellinghamsters, who could that be the real name, who have been here for a generation or two, I always share this story to get some bonus points as everyone in the Pacific Northwest is a Mordorino.

[90] That's a bold statement.

[91] Many times the person I'm talking to will reciprocate their connection to Bianchi and expand my database of his character.

[92] For example, one of the places he did security at was our local sportsplex, a former coworker of mine used to smoke outside the place with her fellow 12 to 14 year olds and Bianchi an adult would join them and invite them to party 12 to 14 year olds he even told my coworker that she had a nice neck more heartbreaking examples yeah it's horrifying more heartbreaking examples occur when someone had a connection to the victims in sharing my mom's story with another acquaintance she shared that her now husband had been dating one of the victims when she was murdered He truly loved her and is in several courtroom photos as he went to Bianchi's trial every single day to ensure that she received justice.

[93] She did receive justice, but her murder left a huge hole in the lives of those around her.

[94] I hope sharing this helps bring perspective that some people's fascination is other people's heartbreak.

[95] Stay sexy and don't accept compliments about your neck, Grace.

[96] Wow.

[97] That was a great, great, well -written hometown.

[98] Beautifully put together.

[99] Yeah, exactly.

[100] Wow.

[101] This one's called a murder trial and a badass doctor.

[102] Greetings to the MFM family members of all kinds.

[103] I love the show, never stop.

[104] Moving on to the hometown story.

[105] This story shared with me by my mom comes from my hometown of Roseburg, Oregon, a town that's small, conservative, and dull as hell.

[106] In July 1990, the body of traveling photographer Donald Fish was found by the South Umpqua.

[107] River in Roseburg.

[108] It was discovered that he had met a couple, Tamara Upton and Tracy Poirier, at a local tavern the evening before.

[109] The women then robbed fish and beat him to death with stones on the riverbank.

[110] Oh, shit.

[111] I know.

[112] And then flooded a car they had stolen in Salem, Oregon and were caught and arrested driving on the I -5.

[113] During this time, my mom was pregnant with my older brother, and she was selected to be on the jury for this trial.

[114] My mom's not a huge murdererina, but she thought it was a super interesting opportunity to be part of a murder trial, so she was looking forward to the experience.

[115] However, because she was pregnant and had had a miscarriage the year before, which affected her mental health in ways that persist today, her OBGYN advised her that she should not be part of the jury and wrote her a letter of medical excuse.

[116] Ultimately, both Upton and Poirier were convicted of aggravated murder in 1991 and each sentence to life in prison.

[117] However, once there, Poirier befriended a prison who helped her escape from the prison in 1998 and the two fled to Rhode Island, where they were caught and extradited back to Oregon.

[118] This case has been featured on episodes of the show's killer couples, wicked attraction, and the most recent update on the cases that Upton passed away in prison in 2019 of an undisclosed illness.

[119] My mom shared this story with me only in my teenage years.

[120] I'm approaching 30 now and handling it just fine, thank you.

[121] and I've been fascinated ever since that this murder took place only a few miles from my childhood home.

[122] SSTGM and fucking hooray for doctors who put mental health concerns first Katie, she, her.

[123] Whoa.

[124] I know.

[125] I swear my last one isn't as intense.

[126] Well, also just like the idea killing someone with a rock like that is so intensely violent and horrible.

[127] And I mean, what in that?

[128] the hell.

[129] After robbing them, it's just so depraved.

[130] It's horrible.

[131] God.

[132] All right.

[133] Well, this is slightly more uplifting.

[134] Hi.

[135] To begin, I live in a very small town in very rural Iowa, so there's nothing to do ever.

[136] Because of that, during the summers, we often spend a lot of time in the river.

[137] Yes, it is pretty gross.

[138] And you definitely have to be up to date on your tetanus shop.

[139] One summer, my cousin was in the river with her boyfriend and came across an object buried in the sandbar.

[140] At first they thought it was a bone from a deer, but my cousin's boyfriend is a hunter and recognized that it was not from a deer.

[141] It was in fact a human jaw bone.

[142] Here's the story.

[143] What?

[144] There was a huge flood a few years before, and the river was meters higher than it normally is.

[145] A family was stopped on the bridge on the highway at the crest of a hill out of their vehicle looking at the floodwater.

[146] A semi -traveling at about 55 miles an hour came over the crest of the hill, and because 18 -wheelers can't just stop at the drop of a hat, the driver had very few options.

[147] The semi -driver, with his wife as a passenger, made a decision to sacrifice himself and his wife in order to not hit and inevitably kill the people standing outside of their vehicle on the bridge.

[148] The semi -driver swerved and went plummeting into the river.

[149] Both he and his wife died.

[150] Most of the semi -driver's body was never recovered until my cousin found the jawbone buried in the sandbar, and it was identified as his using his dental records.

[151] Stay sexy and watch out for semis.

[152] They have a job to do, J .C. Oh, my God.

[153] That is heartbreaking.

[154] This is an intense episode of this show.

[155] Every single one.

[156] I mean, but it's like, it's, you know, that's an unbelievable story.

[157] That truck driver and his wife, like, sacrifices themselves for a family.

[158] What an, that's like the end of a movie.

[159] Totally.

[160] Totally.

[161] Totally.

[162] Like, ugh, what heroes.

[163] It's crazy.

[164] Well, I do have a light -hearted one now.

[165] Thank fucking God.

[166] Okay, great.

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

[168] Absolutely.

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

[170] Exactly.

[171] And if you're a small business owner, you might know Shopify is great for online sales.

[172] But did you know that they also power in -person sales?

[173] That's right.

[174] Shopify is the sound of selling everywhere.

[175] Online, in -store, on social.

[176] media and beyond.

[177] Give your point -of -sale system a serious upgrade with Shopify.

[178] From accepting payments to managing inventory, they have everything you need to sell in person.

[179] So give your point -of -sale system a serious upgrade with Shopify.

[180] Their sleek, reliable POS hardware takes every major payment method and looks fabulous at the same time.

[181] With Shopify, we have a powerful partner for managing our sales, and if you're a business owner, you can too.

[182] Connect with customers inline and online.

[183] Do retail right with Shopify.

[184] Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify .com slash murder.

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

[186] Go to Shopify .com slash murder to take your retail business to the next level today.

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

[188] Goodbye.

[189] Here we go.

[190] All right.

[191] This is called Chippendales for Mothers.

[192] Yep.

[193] Two days.

[194] It just starts.

[195] Two days ago, I, 25 -year -old female, purchased.

[196] tickets for my mom and I to go see the Chippendales for her 60th birthday in December.

[197] What's up?

[198] I purchased them while I was at work and came home and my mom watching the Dateline episode about the Chippendales murder.

[199] She's always had the horrible gift of reading my mind and spoiling surprises.

[200] So she bought her tickets and she just happened to be fucking watching the Dayline.

[201] That's hilarious.

[202] I love it.

[203] I tried to casually get a read on if she would be excited to go see them when she dropped the absolute bomb on me that she went to see them in the 80s.

[204] With my no frills, LDS raised, Reed Mormon, grandmother.

[205] Yes.

[206] She grew up in a small town and so what was that noise?

[207] Did I just honk?

[208] It was the greatest.

[209] She grew up in a small town in southern Utah and married my grandpa on her 18th birthday against my great grandma's wishes and ran away to Las Vegas to start their family.

[210] Hell yes.

[211] She was always quiet and never had anything bad to say no matter.

[212] how much she disliked something.

[213] You should really try it.

[214] It's really great just to talk shit.

[215] Like, God, please help me. When my mom was in her 20s, she won tickets to see the Chippendales on the radio.

[216] She invited my grandma to go since my grandpa was out of town with my uncles on a hunting trip.

[217] Yes.

[218] The perfect time for a girl's night out.

[219] Cats away, baby.

[220] That's right.

[221] I guess my grandma had the all caps time of her life.

[222] Yes, she did.

[223] It wasn't every day she was able to get dolled up and party it up with a bunch of gyrating, hairy, oiled up men.

[224] They were hairy.

[225] They were, there was like half of them were full on hairy bears.

[226] That's what was hot at the time, I guess.

[227] Yeah, it was.

[228] During the middle of the show, the MC said, hunting season is always our busiest time of year.

[229] And then it says, just traps.

[230] That's right.

[231] My, say my mom's so happy just thinking about.

[232] the memory of going with my grandma was so nice.

[233] And I hope that I'm able to recreate a version of that for her and I. I'm more excited than ever to go with my mom to see gyrating hairless oiled up men.

[234] Sign of the times.

[235] Yeah.

[236] My grandma passed away at the beginning of 2021, not COVID, after being sick for most of my life.

[237] When I was about five, she became super sick.

[238] I'm talking nonstop hospitals, couldn't speak, walk or feed herself.

[239] But thanks to my very stubborn and hard -headed grandpa.

[240] She was able to live another 20 years.

[241] She outlived all my other grandparents.

[242] She wasn't able to walk very well, but she did everything she could to keep her life as normal and routine as possible, even after my grandfather's passing in 2012.

[243] She loved to bowl, and I recently inherited her bowling gear, including her personalized ball and vintage bowling bag.

[244] Please send a picture of that to us.

[245] That's right.

[246] Please immediately send a picture.

[247] I love it.

[248] My mom.

[249] And any trophy, any trophy.

[250] Any trophy.

[251] she may have ever.

[252] Send us a trophy.

[253] We want a trophy.

[254] Yeah, we want bowling trophies of our own.

[255] Please.

[256] But then also if you have pictures of your grandma.

[257] My mom and I make it a point to go at least twice a month now.

[258] Yes.

[259] Grandma was my mom's best friend.

[260] Their relationship sets such an amazing example.

[261] My dad always tells me your mom is always going to be your best friend.

[262] Stay sexy and take your mom to see the Chippendales.

[263] Yes.

[264] Yes.

[265] What a beautiful family story.

[266] I was.

[267] I know.

[268] I absolutely.

[269] I absolutely love the idea of like an otherwise, because you know, I don't know if you've ever met like older Mormons, but they're so like Americana perfect.

[270] My friend Betsy that I used to work with, she invited me over to dinner one night and her parents came over and they were like, they were just perfectly put together and they were incredibly lovely people and they like the mother made this insanely perfect food.

[271] it was like and everything was just homemaking to the night I've never seen anything like it right that's like their focus in life is to make family happy it's family and like you know religious community whatever but then the idea that she's like right but I get to also one night of my go out and stick some dollar bills in this guy's underwear that's right I get to put on my clip on earrings and fucking party it up and spray on some of that white shoulders and just get out there with the gals Blue Eye Shadow Let's do this thing So sorry I really enjoyed that Because you know what It had like Badass Grandma Chippendales Like Chippendale's family Bowling Bowling I love bowling Oh it's been so long Since we've been allowed to bowl Do bowling?

[272] Let's go bowling ASAP I love bowling Let's do it Let's you know what Let's do that Do you have you gotten your booster yet?

[273] Not yet I'm getting it this week That'll be our booster celebration Great idea Okay great Bye.

[274] Okay.

[275] This, the subject line is for a teen hero.

[276] Hi, friends.

[277] A few months back, or was it years?

[278] Who knows?

[279] Thanks, COVID.

[280] You asked for stories about teenagers or preteens who saved the day.

[281] And I have the story for you.

[282] I teach ESL, English as a second language, in Quebec City.

[283] And two years ago, I had a grade six student named Jean Christoph.

[284] It's not his real name.

[285] I chose a super French one for you.

[286] Thank you.

[287] Don't be boring with made -up names.

[288] Let's get creative.

[289] Especially the French ones.

[290] Now I'm going to put as much accent into that name as I possibly can.

[291] He was a fairly mediocre student, but one who was pretty sweet.

[292] And here's his story.

[293] He was at a pool party with a few different families.

[294] Yes, even in Quebec, it sometimes gets warm enough to go swimming.

[295] When everyone went inside to get some food, usually Jean -Christoph would be the first one to go grab some food but for whatever reason he decided to stay and swim a little longer it was at this point when all the adults were inside and he was alone in the pool that he noticed a funny shape at the bottom of the pool he quickly realized it was the three -year -old daughter of one of the families that was there he swam down and grabbed her and then yelled for the adults once he had her out of the pool she was unconscious he started doing CPR on her and eleven -year -old until an adult came out to take over and someone else called the ambulance thanks to him she survived and was okay oh my god i have chills i find his story so touching because jean christov is such an indiscreet kid he never draws attention to himself and he is most decidedly an underachiever but when it really counted he got it done chris dude and then it just says dude with six you yes oh i love it thanks for all you do you've helped me learn how to talk to my daughters about their mental health struggles and I couldn't be more grateful and shout out to my sister LJ who's the fiercest badass I know also she owes me big time for introducing her to the pod stay sexy and never underestimate a quiet 11 year old no name chills how about that for a big like a big show big ender big closer big closer good one he saved a three year old baby that little kid let's just keep our eye on Jean Christoph yeah or whoever actually knows him, but I mean, like, that's not an underachiever.

[296] No. That's just someone that doesn't work in your fucking systems.

[297] Bored.

[298] He's bored.

[299] He's bored.

[300] And he's better than all of us.

[301] Canadian bullshit education system.

[302] Sorry.

[303] Metric system.

[304] Constant metric system.

[305] He refuses.

[306] He's a pioneer.

[307] Really?

[308] He's just been waiting for his time to shine.

[309] And it came and he nailed it.

[310] And God bless.

[311] Okay.

[312] How about after we go bowling, we go learn CPR and get certified in it?

[313] Because I'm not and I'm ashamed of it.

[314] I'm not.

[315] The only thing I can tell you offhand is that if you're trying to give somebody the actual CPR where you're pumping on their heart, it's to the beat of Saturday Night Fever.

[316] Yes.

[317] It's faster than you'd think.

[318] It's like faster than the movies ever show it.

[319] Okay.

[320] But we should definitely take a class because I took a class like in the late 2000.

[321] It was very informational and it made me feel much like calmer.

[322] Yeah.

[323] There's a whole thing about if somebody has a heart attack, you actually don't need to.

[324] I mean, hold on.

[325] This is what I remember from the class.

[326] This is not law or not telling you, whatever.

[327] But there are those.

[328] Defibrillator?

[329] There are defibrillators along the wall in like every airport in many public spaces.

[330] So if you spot those and maybe even look around for them in downtime, you just have to grab the paddle.

[331] You have to pull that down.

[332] It's very clear instructions and you just zap somebody back.

[333] didn't know that.

[334] That's good to know.

[335] I feel like a thing I'm always worried about is like, am I ever going to have to give the Heimlich maneuver to someone, you know, or if they're going to have to give it to me, obviously.

[336] I worry about that.

[337] Yeah, that's, well, that's a, first of all, please cheer your food slowly.

[338] Secondly, let's take a victim blame.

[339] Please stop swallowing lasagna, old Georgia.

[340] You know what, and there's the other thing is, if somebody starts choking, and they walk out of the room, go follow them.

[341] Because people do that all the time.

[342] And that's how a lot of people die is that they think, oh, we have to leave that person alone because they're choking.

[343] Right.

[344] Or the person is embarrassed and doesn't want to say anything.

[345] So they just go deal with it on their own.

[346] But that's not.

[347] So they just go choke in the bathroom.

[348] So follow those people, help them.

[349] If anyone goes to the bathroom, follow them at your party.

[350] Yes.

[351] And scream, are you choking at the door?

[352] I'm genuinely that we have to take a first.

[353] day class.

[354] Okay, for sure, for sure.

[355] That's such a good idea.

[356] Yeah.

[357] Okay.

[358] You know what else?

[359] We have to become doctors.

[360] My coffee just kicked out.

[361] Immediately.

[362] Well, thanks for listening.

[363] Send us your stories.

[364] Good, bad, or ugly.

[365] We like them all.

[366] We love them all.

[367] Yeah.

[368] That's our guarantee.

[369] Yeah.

[370] Thanks for the ones we read this week.

[371] Everybody did an amazing job.

[372] Amazing job.

[373] If you want one more from each of us, join the fan call.

[374] we do an extra quicky, many, many episode every week and along with other things.

[375] Salacious bonus content.

[376] That's right.

[377] Just the stuff that you really, really want in your ears.

[378] It's hometown after dark.

[379] That's right.

[380] Stay sexy.

[381] And don't get murdered.

[382] Goodbye.

[383] Elvis, do you want a cookie?

[384] This has been an exactly right production.

[385] Our producer is Hannah Kyle Crichton.

[386] Associate producer Alejandra Keck Engineer and mixer Steven Ray Morris Researchers Jay Elias and Haley Gray Send us your hometowns and your fucking raise at my favorite murder at gmail .com And follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at My Favorite Murder and Twitter at My Fave Murder And for more information about this podcast Our Live Show's merch Or to join the fan cult Go to My Favorite Murder .com Rate review and subscribe Subscribe!