MFM Minisode 203

[0] This is exactly right.

[1] This is the mini -sode.

[2] This is the minisode.

[3] Speaking of which, actually, we're going to do it live this Friday, right?

[4] Next episode.

[5] Yeah, on the fan call.

[6] It is this Friday.

[7] Live streaming, first time ever.

[8] Right.

[9] No editing.

[10] Right.

[11] Our secrets are revealed.

[12] That's right.

[13] This Friday.

[14] The fourth?

[15] Yeah.

[16] In the fan cult.

[17] Yes.

[18] So join the fan cult if you want.

[19] I think this is going to be like a fan club.

[20] test run and then maybe see how it goes and go from there.

[21] Yeah, we'll see if we like it and if it works for us personally.

[22] How much we just humiliate ourselves without editing?

[23] And then if it works, we'll both start playing Halo on the fan call.

[24] Come watch us.

[25] Game.

[26] Well, do you want to go first?

[27] Sure.

[28] The subject line of this is Old School hometown.

[29] Classic.

[30] It says you asked for more hometown in the classical style, so here, period, you, period, go.

[31] Period.

[32] Most Minnesotans probably point to Jacob Wedderling as their true crime awakening, which Georgia told beautifully a while back.

[33] But for me, it's always been the abduction and murder of Katie Poirer.

[34] In spring of 1999, 19 -year -old Katie was working late night at a gas station in our hometown of Moose Lake.

[35] A man in Yankees jersey and a ball cap was seen on surveillance coming.

[36] in and speaking to Katie at the counter, then leading her out of the store by the neck, never to be seen again.

[37] My family had to drive through Moose Lake on the way to my grandparents, and the highway was full of billboards, asking for any information on Katie's whereabouts.

[38] The one I remember the clearest was Katie in a silver satiny button up with hair pulled back in a scrunchy, literally could have been any girl in the late 90s.

[39] It's been 21 years, and I still haven't forgotten it.

[40] Luckily, an employee at the subway next door had seen a Ford truck pull up to the station and took notice of the license plate.

[41] Oh, thank you.

[42] Starting with 557 and ending with a Y. As sketches of the captor and the surveillance video, which got sent to NASA for detail refinement, went to the 1999 version of Minnesota viral, a co -worker of Donald Hutchinson noticed some similarities and remembered him being weird.

[43] the week of the abduction, and called the police less than a month later.

[44] Turns out Hutchinson was actually Donald Blom, who had been working under a pseudonym and had a history of abducting women, which at one point landed him on the sex offender registry.

[45] He had taken his third wife's last name when they married as a way to escape his background.

[46] Red flag.

[47] Right?

[48] His truck's license plate was 557 HDY, and he had property near the gas station.

[49] After a thorough investigation, police found bone and tooth fragments in his fire pit.

[50] They were Katie's.

[51] Blom was convicted of first -degree murder in the summer of 2000.

[52] He is appealed, but his wife, who originally had provided an alibi in the trial, recanted her statement to legislators saying that he was not home the night of the abduction, and she believed him to be the killer as he had been abusing her for the majority of their marriage and would often be missing for days.

[53] Oie.

[54] Police have since tried to tack him to other cases of abducted and murdered women in the Minnesota -Wisconsin area.

[55] In the early 90s, he was a key suspect in one disappearance under the name Donald Pince.

[56] But they have not been able to make anything stick.

[57] At least he is forever behind bars.

[58] Katie's billboards changed from calls for help to memorials.

[59] And that's when my love of true crime began.

[60] SSDGM.

[61] No name.

[62] Wow.

[63] What a tragic story.

[64] Yeah.

[65] I mean, that unfolding as you're a child and seeing it in billboards and hearing your parents talk about it and teachers and stuff is just like it'll it'll sear into your memory for the rest of your life, you know?

[66] Yeah.

[67] And also, I think that when they said it like the 90s way of going viral, that thing where you would see something like that and it would be so shocking and striking because that was the only way they could get word out.

[68] Right.

[69] that this girl was missing and that people, they needed help and they needed people to participate.

[70] And God bless that, like, that that person who worked at Subway was paying attention and cared enough to, like, write down what they saw and remembered.

[71] That person saved so many lives because that guy would have obviously, I believe, I'm sure he did it before.

[72] I'm sure he would have kept doing it.

[73] It's incredible.

[74] Yeah.

[75] It's so good.

[76] Yeah.

[77] That's a good one.

[78] That was a great one.

[79] Good job.

[80] Good job.

[81] nameless wonderful email writer.

[82] Good job.

[83] Good job.

[84] This one is called My Uncle was arrested for murder.

[85] And I picked these out like a week ago, so I don't remember what they say.

[86] And it's going to be a surprise to me too.

[87] So this is, that's what makes it fun and exciting.

[88] Exactly.

[89] Hello, all.

[90] As soon as I was introduced to your podcast, I knew that I needed to write in to share my story and I'm finally getting around to it.

[91] Hashtag quarantine.

[92] The story is a bit long, so sorry, but this is something that completely rocked my whole world.

[93] Family secrets always sound super cool until they happen to you slash involve murder.

[94] I'm 22 years old and only recently found out about my family's deep and dark secret.

[95] Let's rewind to how I found out.

[96] Last winter, my older sister and my father were sitting in the living room having a discussion.

[97] When I walked into the room, they immediately got quiet.

[98] And after a few seconds, my sister said, yeah, she definitely doesn't know.

[99] Obviously intrigued.

[100] I asked who didn't know what and my dad looked at my sister and then back at me and asked if I knew how my aunt, my mom's sister -in -law, had died.

[101] When I answered saying she was in an accident, my dad nodded and proceeded to ask if I knew what kind of accident.

[102] My apparently naive and stupid self replied, car?

[103] Because when you grew up being told your aunt died in an accident, I feel like it's normal to presume it was a car accident.

[104] Or am I wrong question mark question mark no my dad shook his head no and said that he didn't think i wanted to know how it happened because it was sad therefore my first thought was suicide when i suggested that option my dad shook his head no again and said she was murdered your uncle strangled her this was the first and last time that anyone in my family would talk about the murder with me because i was obviously not going to leave it at that i did some digging on my own and after a lot of research, I found out that my uncle, all caps, my mother's brother, and my aunt were having an argument about leaving him for another man when my uncle got so angry that he beat and strangled her with his hands.

[105] When he, quote, snap back to reality, he saw my aunt lying on the ground.

[106] My uncle was the one who called 911, which is why it was ruled first degree manslaughter instead of murder.

[107] He was sentenced to eight to 25 years and was released after eight, which happened to be a few months before I was born.

[108] My family retains nothing happened, and if I hadn't walked into my dad and sister's conversation that day, then I would have known nothing about this.

[109] To this day, my mom does not know that I know, and it was implied that I should never bring it up again.

[110] I understand wanting to put the past behind you, but I also think that I deserve to know that the same hand that shakes my boyfriend's hand on the holidays and the ones that helped raise me when I was little were also the sole weapons in a murder.

[111] I hope that your family secrets aren't as dark and twisted as mine.

[112] Stay sexy and don't get murdered, especially by your uncle.

[113] Here's what surprises me or like what I didn't see coming.

[114] Yeah.

[115] Is that they're still a part of the, they're still in the family.

[116] Yeah.

[117] And look, we don't know the details.

[118] We don't know the context.

[119] no judgment right but I was like oh that it's like it happened and then and then move on they're yeah they're just I mean who knows who knows what the context was but oh my god it's the thing you like you can never imagine how a family deals with something like that until you're that family and I'm sure it's like you have all these we have all these like I would never do this and I would always do this and I would do that and that and it's like okay well then that's your brother too that you grew up with so right what the fuck and I feel like when we started this podcast it was easy to do that because we were so far on the outside and the longer we do this and the more people we meet and the more emails we read it is not that simple obviously right that's like such a that's our learning curve is that kind of thing where this I think it happens more than people think it does and I think that those uh the complexity of anything like that is like you just can't say and you you know from the outside we you can say whatever you want about what you think you would do you have no clue yeah what we what you would do someone if it it was that close to you it's beyond comprehension until you have to fucking deal with it and then you have no idea i also think it's interesting that uh i wonder if that person was the youngest or like did they say no but i'm guessing why they would be kind of like to last to find out because that was that happened to me in our family all the time obviously not to that extent but to the extent of like my cousin got divorced and everyone forgot to tell me and I was in the wedding like it wasn't like I didn't know my cousin it was like very close to me and then I saw after they broke up yeah we all saw him and then I asked him where she was because I thought they were still married and then he his whole face dropped it was this dramatic thing and I turned to my mom and my aunt sheena and I was like you never tell me anything like I had it like almost tempered tantrum because I was so embarrassed and because they would do that all the time we're like pertinent information if you're going to see that person ever again yes like but maybe they just didn't expect it but it is that kind of thing where I think you know sometimes that is the coping mechanism which is just we don't we're not going to just we're not going to talk about it and we keep it a secret as long as we can totally that makes sense.

[120] wild.

[121] It's also just like hard and awful.

[122] Yeah.

[123] Ooh.

[124] All right.

[125] Here, want some more hard and awful stuff.

[126] Yes, please.

[127] I've got one right here for you.

[128] My relatives, it's very similar.

[129] My relatives and then in parentheses, yes, that's plural, are in prison for murder.

[130] Whoa.

[131] Hi, Karen, Georgia, Stephen, and pets.

[132] I love your podcast and I wanted to share my family story.

[133] I live in a small town of about a thousand people in Alberta, Canada.

[134] In 2011, a relative of mine, Miles.

[135] Nasland went missing.

[136] His wife Helen suggested to police that he may have died by suicide.

[137] Miles was an abusive alcoholic and they were having financial issues as well.

[138] Helen also struggled with depression and had attempted suicide.

[139] Things were not going well for Miles and Helen so the police did consider Miles a missing person and most people believed that it was suicide.

[140] Six years later, an underwater recovery team from the RCMP searched the slough near their farm in the water they found a large toolbox and I bet you can guess what was in it.

[141] In 2011, Miles and Helen were fixing farm equipment that broke down while Helen was operating it and Miles was very angry.

[142] He told Helen that she would, quote, pay dearly for damaging the equipment.

[143] Miles anger continued that evening when he knocked everything off the kitchen table during dinner, telling Helen, quote, this meal was not fit for a dog.

[144] That night, Helen decided that she had had enough.

[145] While he was sleeping, she shot him twice in the back of the head.

[146] The next day, Helen and one of their three sons put his body in a toolbox along with some added weights.

[147] They welded the box shut and threw it in the water near their house.

[148] They threw the guns in the water and burned the mattress and bedding.

[149] Helen reported to police the next day that he was missing.

[150] And for six years, Helen and her son got away with it until her son revealed the secret to a friend.

[151] Soon after that, Miles's body was found.

[152] In October of 2020, Helen pled guilty to manslaughter and her son pled guilty to offering indignity to human remains.

[153] She's now serving 18 years in prison while her son is serving three.

[154] And that's the story of my criminal relatives.

[155] Thanks for reading.

[156] Stay sexy and don't tell your friends where you hid the body.

[157] Wow, that's fresh.

[158] that's less than a month ago right holy crap that's right it did they just they just went to jail yeah it's more heavy family yeah that's a family that's a six year family secret I would imagine yeah wow six fucking years that could have continued on yeah if that guy hadn't gotten high and told his friends a secret I mean I that would make sense like after that amount of time that first of all I think that would feel like so much longer than six years and then you're just like he's gonna or it's like I've known this person for fucking 15 years they would never tell anyone and then it's like you underestimate how freaked out people are going to be by you saying that to them you know my god like I don't yeah I love my friends I don't think there's a single one of them I wouldn't fucking rat on if I found out about that oh I'd read both of you out in a heartbeat just immediately you told on us even though he didn't do anything.

[159] I was just like, have you looked at Stephen Ray Morris for this?

[160] I just think.

[161] I really think you should dig up his backyard.

[162] Oh, man. Okay.

[163] This just keep coming.

[164] I mean, truly.

[165] This one's called Found a Box of Murder Victim Remains at Work.

[166] I just started a new job at a small history museum.

[167] The other day, as I was putting some things away in the collections room, I decided to snoop around a little because I am not yet familiar with the collection.

[168] I saw a box on a low shelf.

[169] simply labeled post -mortem miscellaneous.

[170] Obviously, this sparked my interest.

[171] Having come from working at a 19th century medical history museum, fucking amazing probably, right?

[172] Yeah.

[173] God.

[174] I expected this box to contain post -mortem dissection kits that doctors used to dissect cat cadavers.

[175] I lifted up the lid and was immediately shocked to see some foot bones inside of a decaying sock and shoe, a skull, and some mysterious wet specimens in little jars.

[176] I was equally freaked out and intrigued, but not wanting to welcome any bad juju into my life, I shut the lid on the box and went back upstairs to the office to inquire about the body parts I had casually encountered on a Wednesday morning at work.

[177] Turns out that my boss is a retired homicide detective and had used these homicide victims remains as educational tools when he taught forensics to new detectives in the 70s and 80s.

[178] Wow.

[179] Some of these are remains that he literally found on the job.

[180] I assume he is authorized to have them now, but honestly, who knows?

[181] It was the 70s.

[182] Yeah, really?

[183] Apparently, he now uses these remains to increase the scare factor at Halloween -themed events at the museum and local historic cemetery, as if the 18th and 19th century cemetery at night isn't creepy enough on its own.

[184] Yeah, he's a character.

[185] Stay sexy and beware when opening boxes labeled post -mortem miscellaneous, Catherine.

[186] Sorry for needing this clarity.

[187] Go ahead.

[188] Were the remains from the 1800s?

[189] The remains were from pre -70s and 80s, it looks like.

[190] And then the cemetery in town is from the 18th and 19th century.

[191] Okay.

[192] We're just going to assume and hope that those, they've been ID.

[193] Cases have been clear.

[194] Protocol has been met and shook hands with.

[195] and these are just John Doe remains and not right and because yeah it makes me think of that story remember the story I did where the TV show was shooting at the like carnival and they thought it was a stuffed mannequin had been like throughout the ages had been through different things yeah it was an actual person's body I mean one would hope yeah Karen you know I'm all about vintage shopping.

[196] Absolutely.

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

[198] Exactly.

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[214] Goodbye.

[215] This, I love this one.

[216] I'm not going to reach it the subject line.

[217] This little racket.

[218] Dear MFM.

[219] I was nine years old in 1984 when Stranger Danger was at an all time high in my small Canadian suburb.

[220] Have all mine been Canadian?

[221] Yeah.

[222] Nice.

[223] Oh, Canada.

[224] Okay.

[225] It wasn't just paranoia.

[226] The local paper had multiple stories of young girls being approached by a creepy teenager, trying to lure them off the playground at nearby schools.

[227] Despite many descriptions given to the police, they couldn't find the guy.

[228] One day, my friend Natalie and I were walking home for lunch, because, yes, in 1984, even a roaming neighborhood predator wasn't enough motivation for our parents to pick us up from school.

[229] Oh, that is.

[230] just classic.

[231] It's very much the truth.

[232] I mean, they talk about how like the stranger danger thing like said in this paranoia and stuff, but I think it was needed.

[233] Yeah.

[234] I don't know if it was an overreact.

[235] It's almost like stranger danger, because we're still going to let you run free.

[236] So make sure you don't talk to strangers because you're not going to have any protection otherwise.

[237] Yeah, because there will be no adult around so you're on your own kind of negotiating this situation.

[238] The only weapon you have is to not talk to that person.

[239] you don't know.

[240] That's it.

[241] Oh, and I'm surprised there weren't posters that just said run, run, run away.

[242] Don't forget to run.

[243] It's okay to run away.

[244] Okay, so that was one long sentence.

[245] So basically I'll read the beginning without that parenthesis, funny parenthetical.

[246] One day my friend Natalie and I were walking home for lunch when we saw a teenage boy approaching us through a heavily treed path up ahead.

[247] Immediately, Natalie grabbed my arm and pointed.

[248] This guy's zipper was down and his penis.

[249] was sticking right out frozen with shock we stopped in our tracks on the path he walked straight up to us and said you like this you want to touch it 36 and this is in parentheses 36 years later and i will never forget those creepy words with all the courage i could muster i quietly said no that's gross he stared down at us for a second and then just walked away my heart was pounding I couldn't believe I'd come face to face with a guy who had been eluding local police for weeks.

[250] But here's the thing.

[251] This dick had flashed the wrong girls.

[252] Turns out, he lived directly across the street from Natalie.

[253] Holy shit.

[254] She knew his name and his address.

[255] We both ran home to our moms and the cops were at the Purve's house before we finished eating lunch.

[256] Yes.

[257] We even got driven back to school in a police car.

[258] Because, yes, in 1984, even an attempted sexual assault wasn't an excuse to stay home.

[259] The best part was reading about his arrest in the local paper where the police thanked, quote, two brave fourth grade girls for his capture, which made us feel extra badass.

[260] Stay sexy and keep it in your pants, Jay.

[261] Amazing.

[262] Great job.

[263] Finally, something uplifting from Canada.

[264] For once.

[265] Jesus, Canada.

[266] you brave fourth grade girls i remember when i was in like kindergarten i was super like around that age and i was walking home from school alone as you do and you're five because i was a latchkey kid god was i that young okay and there was five or six yeah yeah there were some teenage what looked like to me teenage boys hanging out in our little cul -de -sac you know parking lot and i'm sure they weren't teenagers but and i'm sure they were just fucking with this little five -year -old and they go hey little girl want some candy you know like the classic And I yelled no and ran to my house, which were they could see where I lived and I was alone all day, whatever.

[267] But I was so proud of myself because I had, you know, dare was a big thing.

[268] So proud of myself.

[269] You said no to their candy and their drug.

[270] No. Yeah, that's right.

[271] Now I'm going to be alone in this house if you need anything else.

[272] Oh, knock right on this door over here.

[273] Give me a other questions.

[274] All right.

[275] That ass wore grandma and a spy question mark.

[276] Howdy.

[277] I've been a big fan for a while and you too have really been getting me through Zoom lectures and accompanying grievances.

[278] Very sexy of you.

[279] This is a badass grandma story.

[280] I know you love those.

[281] My grandma Elsa was born in 1933 in Manila Philippines.

[282] She grew up in a small village outside of the city during World War II with her younger siblings and lots of cousins.

[283] When Japan invaded, Elsa and her family had to go into hiding to avoid being arrested by Japanese soldiers.

[284] She told me about how she, at eight years old, had to do all sorts of insane things to not get caught.

[285] She and her brothers hid in the mangroves using a reed as a snorkel for over six hours.

[286] Oh, shit.

[287] Pretended to be dead on the side of the road.

[288] Illegally bred tilapia in a well.

[289] And then, in parentheses, says, a gross white fish.

[290] A gross white fish.

[291] And even had to climb over a wall of dead bodies on more than one occasion.

[292] Oh, my fucking.

[293] Eight years old.

[294] Oh, my God.

[295] Everyone she was hiding with had nicknames, too, so as not to alert the Japanese to their identities or location.

[296] This would explain my aunt named Ding Dong and her husband Ping Ping.

[297] Isn't that amazing?

[298] Like, you just called them that your whole lives and then you realize it's because they're fucking war heroes.

[299] Yeah.

[300] The most unsettling thing she ever told me was that she, quote, could kill and eat a horse if the moment ever arose.

[301] Can you imagine your grandma telling you that?

[302] like night night night Emma her name's Emma just like an eight year old girl snapping a horse's oh my god and then like and then yeah Jesus first of all that goes against everything that's in a little girl totally I love horses oh really because I and your grandma and I can fucking kill and eat a horse if I wanted to eat I used to eat I used to eat horses just for fun on the weekends that's how that's what a badass I was oh my god Elsa also told me about the horrible things she saw during the war, including watching her neighbors get taken by the baton death march to be killed.

[303] Oh, it's B -A -T -A -A -N, if anyone's into his...

[304] The baton death march, yeah.

[305] If this wasn't a crazy enough experience for everyone in the Philippines at the time, apparently Elsa's uncle was a spy, then it says, of course he was.

[306] This crazy bastard hit a radio in the wall of a nunnery that the family was hiding in to send secret codes to Portugal and England in hopes of stopping the Japanese invasion.

[307] I wasn't told a lot about this, but I guess he had a pretty big role because not soon after my grandma and her siblings found the radio, the war was over.

[308] Whoa.

[309] Besides her horrible time growing up during a war and seeing some pretty gruesome things, Elsa turned out to be a total badass, which is like, what else are you going to fucking be?

[310] Yeah.

[311] Hell yes, she was.

[312] She eventually got married and fled to England with her six kids, including my dad.

[313] She taught them all of her war secrets and some less than lethal habits, like how to line a suitcase so TSA can't see what you have hidden in your suitcase.

[314] Gather around, kids.

[315] Is it for strange soils or plants that you want to take to Hawaii?

[316] Get over here.

[317] I'll show you how to get.

[318] Oh, you want to bring a lizard to your friends that you're going to visit and here you go.

[319] Some of her other escapades include building a plane with her husband, establishing a nightclub in Beijing under my family's name, founding an art collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and visiting every continent.

[320] Yes, all of them.

[321] She lives a quieter life now in Southern England, working on a book about her time in the war.

[322] We'll see if she ever publishes it.

[323] Can we start a fucking exactly right publishing company right now?

[324] Yes, we this is it.

[325] The imprint begins today.

[326] Stay sexy.

[327] Stay sexy and don't eat a horse in wartime.

[328] Emma from Massachusetts.

[329] Whoa.

[330] Yeah.

[331] Okay.

[332] I'm obsessed with using a reed as a snorkel.

[333] That's cartoon level shit.

[334] Oh my God.

[335] Just like holy shit.

[336] And they just had to.

[337] They had to do what they had to do.

[338] They had to ring that horse's neck.

[339] They had to.

[340] They had to survive a fucking war in their hometown.

[341] And they fucking did it.

[342] It's just as a. As children.

[343] It's crazy.

[344] Massive high five.

[345] What's funny is that Emma says that she's 20.

[346] She just gave her age.

[347] And so that means that Elsa could be like 60.

[348] She could be like, we could be like drinking buddies with her probably.

[349] Sweet.

[350] Sorry.

[351] I don't think so because what war.

[352] I assumed it was World War II.

[353] Right.

[354] No, that doesn't make any.

[355] Oh, in 1933.

[356] No, you're right.

[357] They're right mathematically.

[358] Yeah, yeah.

[359] That doesn't work.

[360] It wouldn't work But we can still have a drink with her I mean we can still have fun Obviously she's The idea too that she went through Such horrible things And then went on to be like Oh now I'm going to live the most Nuts life Like I really want to talk about The nightclub Yeah A night club and like basically a whole Building a plane They built a plane Did they fly the plane?

[361] I don't know And was it just for Instagram selfies?

[362] Oh my God.

[363] They just rented it out to fucking influencers.

[364] Oh, you want to look rich?

[365] Come over to Elsa's.

[366] She'll let you sit back there pretend you're a Kardashian.

[367] Oh, my God.

[368] So many questions.

[369] Emma, write us more about Elsa or send a picture or something.

[370] Tell Elsa to write that book.

[371] Get a, get a stenographer in there ASAP.

[372] That's right.

[373] Get all those good stories down.

[374] What's that thing we do ads for, Story Worth?

[375] fucking sign your promo code murder ever been a story worth integration needed to happen we'll do it let us know we'd probably get you a free one that would be it to get the president of story worth to Elsa's house yesterday we need to know Christ's sake oh my God send us your fucking amazing stories we can't wait stay sexy and don't get murdered goodbye Elvis do you want a cookie Me?

[376] Ah!