1 00:00:15,036 --> 00:00:15,476 Speaker 1: Pushkin. 2 00:00:22,796 --> 00:00:25,916 Speaker 2: During the time my Terse was missing, a search party 3 00:00:26,156 --> 00:00:30,076 Speaker 2: organized by doctor Ronda Hampton discovered a mural in a 4 00:00:30,116 --> 00:00:35,636 Speaker 2: culvert high above Montanito on the cement around two large tunnels. 5 00:00:36,076 --> 00:00:39,596 Speaker 2: Someone had painted a series of naked black women in 6 00:00:39,716 --> 00:00:44,996 Speaker 2: various degrading and bizarre poses. This is doctor Hampton describing 7 00:00:44,996 --> 00:00:49,276 Speaker 2: the scene in a video made by documentarian Chip Croft. 8 00:00:49,556 --> 00:00:55,396 Speaker 3: This culvert area here is where there was the images 9 00:00:55,476 --> 00:01:01,516 Speaker 3: that were taken by the searchers of approximately thirteen African 10 00:01:01,556 --> 00:01:09,436 Speaker 3: American women with afros who were nude in very thick, 11 00:01:11,236 --> 00:01:15,116 Speaker 3: sexually provocative positions. 12 00:01:15,796 --> 00:01:19,556 Speaker 2: One was hula hooping, one was spread eagle, one was 13 00:01:19,596 --> 00:01:22,876 Speaker 2: doing a handspring, one was climbing out of a vagina. 14 00:01:23,516 --> 00:01:27,476 Speaker 2: Another was in a wheelchair giving a thumbs up. At 15 00:01:27,476 --> 00:01:30,956 Speaker 2: the center, there was a man's face with crazed eyes 16 00:01:30,996 --> 00:01:32,676 Speaker 2: and a mop of curly red hair. 17 00:01:33,596 --> 00:01:39,756 Speaker 3: Along the concrete here were wordings indicating entering afro Land 18 00:01:39,876 --> 00:01:42,796 Speaker 3: or something similar to that. Over the side here it 19 00:01:42,916 --> 00:01:46,196 Speaker 3: said afro hose h o e s so afro hose. 20 00:01:46,716 --> 00:01:48,476 Speaker 3: There were some other writings on. 21 00:01:48,116 --> 00:01:51,156 Speaker 2: One of the figures really caught doctor Hampton's eye. 22 00:01:52,036 --> 00:01:56,156 Speaker 3: One of the images was of a woman who was 23 00:01:56,196 --> 00:02:00,156 Speaker 3: painted blue, kneeling on all fours on our Botox area. 24 00:02:00,236 --> 00:02:04,796 Speaker 3: She had a simple the letters L A, and she 25 00:02:04,836 --> 00:02:07,436 Speaker 3: had a marijuana joint out of her mouth. That's what 26 00:02:07,476 --> 00:02:09,996 Speaker 3: makes us think that it's possibly that the person's trying 27 00:02:09,996 --> 00:02:13,076 Speaker 3: to talk about my trees in terms of the fact 28 00:02:13,116 --> 00:02:15,196 Speaker 3: that she was from LA, that she was accused of 29 00:02:15,236 --> 00:02:16,116 Speaker 3: having marijuana. 30 00:02:17,156 --> 00:02:20,476 Speaker 2: To my Teresa's friends and family, this mural was tantamount 31 00:02:20,516 --> 00:02:24,636 Speaker 2: to a confession, a narrative depiction of her abduction, rape, 32 00:02:24,796 --> 00:02:29,636 Speaker 2: torture and murder. According to my Teresa's mother, Latiste Sutton. 33 00:02:29,956 --> 00:02:32,796 Speaker 2: There was even a forensic psychologist who wrote up a 34 00:02:32,836 --> 00:02:37,196 Speaker 2: report about it unsolicited, saying it was a quote unquote 35 00:02:37,396 --> 00:02:43,076 Speaker 2: sick trophy, the killer's calling card. But the day after 36 00:02:43,156 --> 00:02:45,636 Speaker 2: it was discovered, when doctor Hampton went to see it 37 00:02:45,676 --> 00:02:51,196 Speaker 2: for herself, it was already gone. She found that suspicious. 38 00:02:52,196 --> 00:02:55,396 Speaker 2: Here she is again at the scene this immage. 39 00:02:55,436 --> 00:02:59,076 Speaker 3: Yesterday was painted with the mural, which is what we're 40 00:02:59,116 --> 00:03:03,716 Speaker 3: calling it, and here today the city has quickly come 41 00:03:03,756 --> 00:03:06,036 Speaker 3: by and painted it over. 42 00:03:06,916 --> 00:03:09,636 Speaker 2: There was nothing to see but a swath of babs paint, 43 00:03:10,116 --> 00:03:14,436 Speaker 2: the kind used by the Graffiti Task Force. Law enforcement 44 00:03:14,596 --> 00:03:17,796 Speaker 2: questioned the artist. It turned out he didn't know anything 45 00:03:17,796 --> 00:03:21,636 Speaker 2: about my trees. This was just his thing, painting naked 46 00:03:21,676 --> 00:03:26,116 Speaker 2: black women with afros in sexually explicit positions. He sent 47 00:03:26,236 --> 00:03:29,156 Speaker 2: doctor Hampton an email telling her he was sorry for 48 00:03:29,236 --> 00:03:34,836 Speaker 2: her loss. I knew the mural didn't have a direct 49 00:03:34,836 --> 00:03:39,156 Speaker 2: connection to my trees, but still it was so unbelievably 50 00:03:39,276 --> 00:03:44,156 Speaker 2: eerie and compelling, like a real of found footage explaining 51 00:03:44,276 --> 00:03:46,876 Speaker 2: the total mystery of what had happened to my trees. 52 00:03:48,516 --> 00:03:50,676 Speaker 2: So Haley and I figured we should see the spot 53 00:03:50,996 --> 00:03:54,436 Speaker 2: and understand its proximity to the neighborhood and to Dark Canyon, 54 00:03:54,596 --> 00:03:58,636 Speaker 2: where my Teres's remains were found. We met in Montanito 55 00:03:58,756 --> 00:04:02,276 Speaker 2: and drove way up into the mountains. We parked on 56 00:04:02,316 --> 00:04:06,116 Speaker 2: a narrow shoulder and got out. The covert ran underneath 57 00:04:06,116 --> 00:04:08,636 Speaker 2: the road, so it wasn't visible till you went down 58 00:04:08,676 --> 00:04:12,276 Speaker 2: below start level. I think we were expecting to see 59 00:04:12,316 --> 00:04:16,356 Speaker 2: the beige government paint. We were seriously surprised. 60 00:04:18,396 --> 00:04:23,196 Speaker 1: Oh, there's some weird graffiti here right now. 61 00:04:24,436 --> 00:04:27,316 Speaker 2: Does not look like a it's like a similar style. 62 00:04:27,476 --> 00:04:28,956 Speaker 4: Oh my god, I just got all the hairs on 63 00:04:29,036 --> 00:04:29,436 Speaker 4: my arms. 64 00:04:29,436 --> 00:04:33,436 Speaker 2: Set up on the main panel above the culverts tunnels. 65 00:04:33,636 --> 00:04:37,196 Speaker 2: Someone had painted a new mural. It was nowhere near 66 00:04:37,236 --> 00:04:39,916 Speaker 2: as elaborate as the original, but it did seem to 67 00:04:39,956 --> 00:04:45,716 Speaker 2: share some basic DNA, Like that caricature over on the 68 00:04:45,796 --> 00:04:48,716 Speaker 2: left looks similar to the and the yellow one too. 69 00:04:48,796 --> 00:04:52,236 Speaker 3: The green one, well, that's creepy as fuck. 70 00:04:53,276 --> 00:04:55,796 Speaker 2: I poked my head into one of the tunnels. 71 00:04:57,476 --> 00:04:59,236 Speaker 1: How much do I not want to go in there? 72 00:05:03,876 --> 00:05:10,236 Speaker 2: Well, then over on the right, I noticed something really weird. 73 00:05:11,236 --> 00:05:12,196 Speaker 1: Look at this help. 74 00:05:14,516 --> 00:05:17,916 Speaker 2: It's the same like creepy orange chair. It was a 75 00:05:17,956 --> 00:05:22,196 Speaker 2: face outlined in orange with curly orange chair and crazy 76 00:05:22,236 --> 00:05:27,316 Speaker 2: eyes next to the word help. Then there's another face, 77 00:05:27,596 --> 00:05:29,276 Speaker 2: and it looks like there might be like a marijuana 78 00:05:29,316 --> 00:05:30,276 Speaker 2: leaf in the middle of it. 79 00:05:32,196 --> 00:05:33,756 Speaker 5: What the fuck? 80 00:05:36,516 --> 00:05:37,316 Speaker 1: I want to go home? 81 00:05:39,396 --> 00:05:41,796 Speaker 2: The original mural turned out to be a red herring, 82 00:05:42,316 --> 00:05:45,516 Speaker 2: and this was just a copycat. So why did I 83 00:05:45,556 --> 00:05:49,956 Speaker 2: feel a mounting sense of dread? I think it's because 84 00:05:50,036 --> 00:05:52,076 Speaker 2: I was starting to see how easy it is to 85 00:05:52,116 --> 00:05:55,996 Speaker 2: get turned around in these mountains, to be misled by 86 00:05:56,076 --> 00:06:01,356 Speaker 2: seeming clues that don't solve anything. And I'm guessing that's 87 00:06:01,436 --> 00:06:04,676 Speaker 2: pretty much what my Teresa's friends and family were feeling 88 00:06:04,956 --> 00:06:09,796 Speaker 2: when the first mural was discovered and debunked. They still 89 00:06:09,796 --> 00:06:12,716 Speaker 2: didn't know what had happened to my Trees. They were 90 00:06:12,796 --> 00:06:16,756 Speaker 2: desperate to find her or find out, but they couldn't 91 00:06:16,796 --> 00:06:20,636 Speaker 2: distinguish what might be crucial information that could lead them 92 00:06:20,636 --> 00:06:26,156 Speaker 2: to an answer from what was spinning them blindfolded in circles. 93 00:06:29,796 --> 00:07:00,756 Speaker 2: I'm Dana Goodyear and this is Lost Hills, episode five, 94 00:07:01,716 --> 00:07:08,756 Speaker 2: So close. Throughout the fall of two thousand and nine, 95 00:07:09,156 --> 00:07:12,316 Speaker 2: Teresa's case was all over the news, and the pressure 96 00:07:12,356 --> 00:07:15,076 Speaker 2: on the Sheriff's department to explain their decision to release 97 00:07:15,116 --> 00:07:18,956 Speaker 2: her without a safe ride home was intense. Here's a 98 00:07:19,036 --> 00:07:20,996 Speaker 2: report from NBCLA. 99 00:07:22,356 --> 00:07:25,276 Speaker 6: Among all the swirling questions in this case, one thing 100 00:07:25,396 --> 00:07:29,356 Speaker 6: is certain. My Terce Richardson was lasting leaving this substation 101 00:07:29,556 --> 00:07:30,196 Speaker 6: a week ago. 102 00:07:30,596 --> 00:07:33,676 Speaker 7: She was not intoxicated, she was not disoriented. The La 103 00:07:33,716 --> 00:07:37,836 Speaker 7: County Sheriff's Department did not only everything procedurally correct, but 104 00:07:38,076 --> 00:07:39,276 Speaker 7: was morally right. 105 00:07:39,676 --> 00:07:43,516 Speaker 6: The Sheriff's department says they'll launched another expansive search, a 106 00:07:43,636 --> 00:07:46,356 Speaker 6: hunt for clues as authorities try to figure out how 107 00:07:46,356 --> 00:07:49,276 Speaker 6: a beautiful young woman could simply vanish into the night 108 00:07:49,756 --> 00:07:51,116 Speaker 6: outside a sheriff's station. 109 00:07:52,516 --> 00:07:55,596 Speaker 2: The Sheriff's Department had arrested and released my Terse on 110 00:07:55,636 --> 00:07:58,796 Speaker 2: the assumption that she was not gravely disabled or a 111 00:07:58,916 --> 00:08:02,316 Speaker 2: danger to herself or others. Now that she was missing, 112 00:08:02,596 --> 00:08:05,276 Speaker 2: they were at pains to explain why, if she was 113 00:08:05,316 --> 00:08:09,516 Speaker 2: perfectly fine, she had not returned to her family. This 114 00:08:09,556 --> 00:08:12,676 Speaker 2: is a recording that documentarian Chip Croft made of a 115 00:08:12,676 --> 00:08:16,396 Speaker 2: press conference outside Lost Hills station three weeks after my 116 00:08:16,476 --> 00:08:17,596 Speaker 2: Teresa's disappearance. 117 00:08:18,516 --> 00:08:23,116 Speaker 7: Steve Whitmore, Sheriff's department spokesman. Now, the important thing that 118 00:08:23,196 --> 00:08:25,156 Speaker 7: I want to say, and I've said since the beginning, 119 00:08:25,596 --> 00:08:29,756 Speaker 7: is we want to find my Terce Richardson. That's all 120 00:08:29,796 --> 00:08:31,756 Speaker 7: we want to do. We want to find her. 121 00:08:32,716 --> 00:08:35,996 Speaker 2: At the station, he said, my Teres gave no indication 122 00:08:36,276 --> 00:08:37,756 Speaker 2: of needing psychiatric help. 123 00:08:38,596 --> 00:08:42,796 Speaker 7: She exhibited no signs of incapacitation whatsoever, no mental challenges, 124 00:08:43,076 --> 00:08:45,756 Speaker 7: not she was not under the influence. We gave her 125 00:08:45,756 --> 00:08:49,276 Speaker 7: an extensive field sobriety test, where the eyes are checked, 126 00:08:49,476 --> 00:08:52,876 Speaker 7: where the pulse is checked, where this language is checked, 127 00:08:52,996 --> 00:08:55,556 Speaker 7: where a person's physical abilities are checked. 128 00:08:56,556 --> 00:08:59,356 Speaker 2: The jailer, he said, had offered my Teresa bed in 129 00:08:59,396 --> 00:09:02,716 Speaker 2: an unlocked cell and also told her she was free 130 00:09:02,756 --> 00:09:04,756 Speaker 2: to wait in the lobby for a ride. 131 00:09:05,556 --> 00:09:08,196 Speaker 7: And when she came here, the jailer was an African 132 00:09:08,196 --> 00:09:10,556 Speaker 7: American jailer, by the way, a woman who had been 133 00:09:10,556 --> 00:09:13,196 Speaker 7: a jailer for fourteen years with the La County Sheriff's Department. 134 00:09:13,476 --> 00:09:16,916 Speaker 7: Talked to a great length visited where they talked about music. Jazz, 135 00:09:16,996 --> 00:09:20,476 Speaker 7: she liked, gospel, she didn't. There was a lucid conversation 136 00:09:20,876 --> 00:09:22,556 Speaker 7: that jailer said, why don't you stay? 137 00:09:23,236 --> 00:09:27,396 Speaker 2: A quick aside, A very senior member of the Detective Division, 138 00:09:27,676 --> 00:09:30,676 Speaker 2: now retired, told me that one of the Sheriff's Department's 139 00:09:30,796 --> 00:09:34,556 Speaker 2: biggest mistakes in the whole my Terce Richardson episode, was 140 00:09:34,596 --> 00:09:38,236 Speaker 2: that they didn't ask the Lost Hills jailer, Sharon Cummings, 141 00:09:38,436 --> 00:09:41,636 Speaker 2: a black woman, to explain to the public why she'd 142 00:09:41,636 --> 00:09:46,236 Speaker 2: been released. I wondered what Cummings would have said. She's 143 00:09:46,356 --> 00:09:49,916 Speaker 2: also retired now, so I called her. The minute I 144 00:09:49,956 --> 00:09:55,516 Speaker 2: said my Terce Richardson, she hung up the phone. At 145 00:09:55,516 --> 00:10:00,316 Speaker 2: the press conference, Steve Whitmore, the Sheriff's department spokesman, continued 146 00:10:00,356 --> 00:10:02,916 Speaker 2: to defend the decision to let my teres leave. 147 00:10:03,916 --> 00:10:06,276 Speaker 7: This is a twenty four year old adult who is 148 00:10:06,356 --> 00:10:11,076 Speaker 7: fully coggon, sent of her surroundings, and coherent to said extent. 149 00:10:11,956 --> 00:10:15,956 Speaker 7: If we hold them against their will, it's called overt detention. 150 00:10:16,676 --> 00:10:18,036 Speaker 7: You can't do that in America. 151 00:10:19,476 --> 00:10:23,836 Speaker 2: But reporters pressed, didn't the lost Hill's deputies have some 152 00:10:24,076 --> 00:10:27,916 Speaker 2: responsibility to help her? Shouldn't she have been driven back 153 00:10:27,916 --> 00:10:28,356 Speaker 2: to her. 154 00:10:28,236 --> 00:10:30,156 Speaker 7: Car if she had asked? 155 00:10:30,156 --> 00:10:30,436 Speaker 5: Sure? 156 00:10:30,596 --> 00:10:33,636 Speaker 7: But let me that's an interesting question. We did that before. 157 00:10:33,716 --> 00:10:35,716 Speaker 7: We've been asked to do that, and we've done it, 158 00:10:36,116 --> 00:10:41,196 Speaker 7: and then we've been disciplined for doing it back exactly. Oh, yes, 159 00:10:41,636 --> 00:10:44,236 Speaker 7: we've been people. If if it's late at night, if 160 00:10:44,236 --> 00:10:47,076 Speaker 7: the situation warns it, not only a malleable, but any station, 161 00:10:47,756 --> 00:10:50,476 Speaker 7: there's some especially in some stations where like Century, where 162 00:10:50,596 --> 00:10:53,436 Speaker 7: there may be some danger. And I mean real danger. 163 00:10:53,516 --> 00:10:56,956 Speaker 7: I mean you know, real danger. Now that doesn't say 164 00:10:56,956 --> 00:10:57,956 Speaker 7: there's no danger here. 165 00:10:59,436 --> 00:11:02,436 Speaker 2: It makes sense the Sheriff's department didn't want to dwell 166 00:11:02,476 --> 00:11:07,396 Speaker 2: on my Teresa's mental state. It might expose them to liability. 167 00:11:07,436 --> 00:11:07,716 Speaker 1: Soon. 168 00:11:08,036 --> 00:11:12,356 Speaker 2: My Teresa's family sue the county for negligence, intentional infliction 169 00:11:12,476 --> 00:11:16,876 Speaker 2: of emotional distress, and wrongful death. That claim ended in 170 00:11:16,916 --> 00:11:20,676 Speaker 2: a nine hundred thousand dollars settlement for the family, but 171 00:11:20,756 --> 00:11:24,196 Speaker 2: for the LAPD, the lead agency tasked with finding her. 172 00:11:24,636 --> 00:11:28,556 Speaker 2: My Teresa's mental health was becoming an important investigative angle. 173 00:11:29,956 --> 00:11:33,516 Speaker 2: Not long after my Teresa's disappearance, detectives reached out to 174 00:11:33,556 --> 00:11:36,516 Speaker 2: Hannah Parks, the woman she'd fallen for in the summer 175 00:11:36,556 --> 00:11:39,316 Speaker 2: of two thousand and nine. She knew my Terse was 176 00:11:39,396 --> 00:11:42,236 Speaker 2: missing and was waiting anxiously for her to get in touch. 177 00:11:43,036 --> 00:11:45,916 Speaker 5: In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, maybe 178 00:11:45,956 --> 00:11:48,916 Speaker 5: she'll pop up, Like I thought, maybe she would just 179 00:11:48,996 --> 00:11:51,036 Speaker 5: come to my house. I was waiting for her to 180 00:11:51,116 --> 00:11:54,556 Speaker 5: kind of like reach out. I thought it was weird 181 00:11:54,596 --> 00:11:56,516 Speaker 5: that she wasn't texting or calling, but then of course 182 00:11:56,516 --> 00:11:58,956 Speaker 5: she didn't have her phone. But for me, in the 183 00:11:58,996 --> 00:12:02,916 Speaker 5: back of my mind, of course, I was concerned because 184 00:12:02,916 --> 00:12:06,716 Speaker 5: I knew the mental states she was in. But I 185 00:12:06,876 --> 00:12:10,756 Speaker 5: was like, she'll come over, Like she'll she'll pop up. 186 00:12:11,956 --> 00:12:16,556 Speaker 2: She was startled to get a call from LAPD Robbery Homicide. 187 00:12:16,916 --> 00:12:19,716 Speaker 5: They said, hey, we need to meet with you about 188 00:12:20,156 --> 00:12:24,516 Speaker 5: the disappearance of my Terce Richardson, and we're on our 189 00:12:24,556 --> 00:12:27,556 Speaker 5: way right now, and I'm like, I'm at work, and 190 00:12:27,596 --> 00:12:28,836 Speaker 5: they're like, we don't care. 191 00:12:30,036 --> 00:12:32,676 Speaker 2: Hannah called her mom and together they went to meet 192 00:12:32,676 --> 00:12:34,796 Speaker 2: the detectives at a Starbucks. 193 00:12:35,476 --> 00:12:39,196 Speaker 5: They just asked me a bunch of questions about how 194 00:12:39,236 --> 00:12:45,476 Speaker 5: I knew her, our relationship, things like that, and I 195 00:12:45,596 --> 00:12:52,796 Speaker 5: asked them why why la homicide? Like why homicide? Because 196 00:12:53,076 --> 00:12:57,676 Speaker 5: she's just missing, right, so shouldn't this be like missing persons? 197 00:12:58,916 --> 00:13:02,316 Speaker 2: At first, Hannah felt like she might be a suspect. 198 00:13:02,756 --> 00:13:08,156 Speaker 5: Then once they started talking to me more, I think 199 00:13:08,196 --> 00:13:13,036 Speaker 5: they very quickly reed like I wasn't I didn't have 200 00:13:13,076 --> 00:13:17,796 Speaker 5: anything to do with it. Then they started trying to 201 00:13:17,876 --> 00:13:21,796 Speaker 5: just get more information out of me regarding my trees. 202 00:13:21,916 --> 00:13:26,156 Speaker 2: Really, the detectives asked Hannah if they could look around 203 00:13:26,156 --> 00:13:26,556 Speaker 2: her home. 204 00:13:27,596 --> 00:13:31,116 Speaker 5: They ended up following me back to my apartment, and 205 00:13:32,956 --> 00:13:35,476 Speaker 5: I gave them like everything I had of my terces. 206 00:13:35,516 --> 00:13:41,796 Speaker 5: So there was a couple journals, some clothes, and just 207 00:13:41,836 --> 00:13:43,756 Speaker 5: a few little things like I didn't have that much, 208 00:13:43,796 --> 00:13:46,316 Speaker 5: but I gave them everything of hers that was at 209 00:13:46,316 --> 00:13:46,716 Speaker 5: the house. 210 00:13:47,836 --> 00:13:51,156 Speaker 2: Detectives also searched my Teresa's car at the tow yard 211 00:13:51,196 --> 00:13:55,996 Speaker 2: in Malibu and recovered a black purse containing several more journals. 212 00:13:56,476 --> 00:13:59,876 Speaker 2: According to her father, They also found her wallet underneath 213 00:13:59,876 --> 00:14:03,116 Speaker 2: the seat. It contained a bank card connected to an 214 00:14:03,116 --> 00:14:06,996 Speaker 2: account with plenty of money in it. The journals were 215 00:14:06,996 --> 00:14:10,476 Speaker 2: handed over to Detective Chuck Knowles, one of the LAPD 216 00:14:10,676 --> 00:14:13,756 Speaker 2: robbery homicide detectives who'd been assigned to take over what 217 00:14:13,956 --> 00:14:19,236 Speaker 2: was still officially a missing person's case. Knowles had the 218 00:14:19,316 --> 00:14:23,836 Speaker 2: journals analyzed by an LAPD psychologist who saw indications of 219 00:14:23,916 --> 00:14:28,596 Speaker 2: severe bipolar disorder from my Teresa's phone records. They determined 220 00:14:28,596 --> 00:14:30,996 Speaker 2: that she had not slept for five days by the 221 00:14:30,996 --> 00:14:36,276 Speaker 2: time she arrived at Jeoffrey's. Knowles now understood how acute 222 00:14:36,316 --> 00:14:39,476 Speaker 2: my Teresa's mental illness was at the time of her disappearance. 223 00:14:40,356 --> 00:14:43,396 Speaker 2: It was the very recognition her friends and family had 224 00:14:43,436 --> 00:14:47,876 Speaker 2: hoped for to add urgency to the search, but it 225 00:14:47,956 --> 00:14:53,236 Speaker 2: had an unintended effect, because now the LAPD appeared to 226 00:14:53,356 --> 00:14:57,516 Speaker 2: view her illness and erratic behavior as a likely explanation 227 00:14:57,636 --> 00:15:01,036 Speaker 2: for the fact that she couldn't be found. My Teres 228 00:15:01,156 --> 00:15:05,276 Speaker 2: might have committed suicide or succumbed to the elements, or, 229 00:15:05,596 --> 00:15:08,956 Speaker 2: as Detective Knowles told the La Times, she could have 230 00:15:09,236 --> 00:15:13,236 Speaker 2: quote gotten herself into a comfortable relationship outside of her 231 00:15:13,236 --> 00:15:18,236 Speaker 2: immediate friends and family. In other words. The cops were 232 00:15:18,236 --> 00:15:33,476 Speaker 2: implying my Teres had made herself disappear. One of the 233 00:15:33,516 --> 00:15:36,516 Speaker 2: central mysteries of my Teresa's case is how she got 234 00:15:36,556 --> 00:15:40,996 Speaker 2: from Lost Hill Station to Montanito, six miles in the dark. 235 00:15:42,796 --> 00:15:46,516 Speaker 2: Law enforcement checked with local taxi companies. There was no 236 00:15:46,556 --> 00:15:50,676 Speaker 2: record of her leaving Lost Hill Station. She would have, 237 00:15:50,876 --> 00:15:54,876 Speaker 2: in all likelihood walked east on a Gurra road. In 238 00:15:54,956 --> 00:15:57,436 Speaker 2: about a mile. She would have hit Las Virgines Road 239 00:15:57,996 --> 00:16:00,236 Speaker 2: to the left, past the McDonald's and a couple of 240 00:16:00,276 --> 00:16:02,676 Speaker 2: gas stations. Is the one O one freeway. 241 00:16:03,796 --> 00:16:04,316 Speaker 1: To the right. 242 00:16:04,516 --> 00:16:08,436 Speaker 2: The road takes you through Malibu Canyon to Montanito. If 243 00:16:08,436 --> 00:16:11,756 Speaker 2: you keep going you hit Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean. 244 00:16:13,316 --> 00:16:15,636 Speaker 2: Was she trying to get back to her car? And 245 00:16:15,676 --> 00:16:21,316 Speaker 2: had she really gone all that way on foot? As 246 00:16:21,316 --> 00:16:24,156 Speaker 2: soon as my Trees went missing, her inner circle began 247 00:16:24,276 --> 00:16:28,836 Speaker 2: demanding documentation of her arrest and detention. More than anything, 248 00:16:29,036 --> 00:16:31,556 Speaker 2: they wanted to see the video footage of my Trees 249 00:16:31,676 --> 00:16:35,076 Speaker 2: leaving Lost Hill Station. They wanted to see which way 250 00:16:35,116 --> 00:16:37,436 Speaker 2: she walked, or if someone who had yet to come 251 00:16:37,476 --> 00:16:41,996 Speaker 2: forward had picked her up. They were hoping for a clue, 252 00:16:42,436 --> 00:16:45,676 Speaker 2: but they were told there was no videotape, at least 253 00:16:45,796 --> 00:16:47,316 Speaker 2: that's what they were told at first. 254 00:16:48,196 --> 00:16:51,876 Speaker 3: That story changes. So originally okay, So originally we were 255 00:16:51,916 --> 00:16:52,996 Speaker 3: told there were no front. 256 00:16:52,796 --> 00:16:54,836 Speaker 2: Cameras, Doctor ron Dehampton. 257 00:16:54,876 --> 00:16:58,756 Speaker 3: Again, every weekend, we were doing a search somewhere in 258 00:16:58,796 --> 00:17:02,796 Speaker 3: some way, right, and so we kept coming back to 259 00:17:02,916 --> 00:17:05,076 Speaker 3: how do we know that we're going in the right directions? 260 00:17:05,396 --> 00:17:07,636 Speaker 3: So we were asking about the video so that we 261 00:17:07,636 --> 00:17:09,476 Speaker 3: can see which way she walked when she out the 262 00:17:09,476 --> 00:17:12,516 Speaker 3: front door. And then they just denied that there was 263 00:17:12,556 --> 00:17:14,076 Speaker 3: ever the existence of a video. 264 00:17:15,116 --> 00:17:17,596 Speaker 2: When they presented the Sheriff's Department with a picture of 265 00:17:17,636 --> 00:17:20,836 Speaker 2: the camera at the front of Lost Hill Station, the 266 00:17:20,876 --> 00:17:21,756 Speaker 2: story shifted. 267 00:17:22,316 --> 00:17:24,876 Speaker 3: We were told, oh, there are cameras, but it's recorded over. 268 00:17:25,836 --> 00:17:28,076 Speaker 2: And then the story shifted again. 269 00:17:28,956 --> 00:17:30,916 Speaker 3: And then the next one was it's live and so 270 00:17:31,756 --> 00:17:32,556 Speaker 3: we don't record that. 271 00:17:33,996 --> 00:17:38,876 Speaker 2: All three of those, the evolving answer did nothing to 272 00:17:38,916 --> 00:17:42,876 Speaker 2: satisfy my Teresa's friends and family and did everything to 273 00:17:42,916 --> 00:17:46,676 Speaker 2: convince them that the Sheriff's Department was hiding information to 274 00:17:46,796 --> 00:17:52,596 Speaker 2: throw them off on purpose. Eventually, doctor Hampton says she 275 00:17:52,756 --> 00:17:55,476 Speaker 2: asked about the video in a meeting with Tom Martin, 276 00:17:55,836 --> 00:17:58,396 Speaker 2: who was the captain at Lost Hills Station when my 277 00:17:58,476 --> 00:17:59,716 Speaker 2: Terse went missing. 278 00:18:00,556 --> 00:18:05,076 Speaker 3: And then Tom Martin admitted at that point that he 279 00:18:05,156 --> 00:18:10,396 Speaker 3: had the video, that he had had it, and that 280 00:18:10,476 --> 00:18:11,356 Speaker 3: it was in his desk. 281 00:18:12,916 --> 00:18:15,916 Speaker 2: So there was a video, and this whole time it 282 00:18:15,996 --> 00:18:18,996 Speaker 2: was at the station, in the captain's desk. 283 00:18:19,276 --> 00:18:21,316 Speaker 3: I mean, we were. It was pretty heated because it 284 00:18:21,356 --> 00:18:23,156 Speaker 3: was like, wait, you lied all this time and said 285 00:18:23,196 --> 00:18:25,236 Speaker 3: that there wasn't a video, you know, like, why would 286 00:18:25,236 --> 00:18:27,516 Speaker 3: you hide it? He never answered that question. 287 00:18:28,556 --> 00:18:31,876 Speaker 2: The impression that the Sheriff's Department was lying only deepened 288 00:18:31,916 --> 00:18:34,596 Speaker 2: when my Teresa's friends and family actually got to see 289 00:18:34,596 --> 00:18:38,196 Speaker 2: the video. It was screened for them with a homicide 290 00:18:38,196 --> 00:18:42,196 Speaker 2: detective named Lieutenant Mike Rawson who was assisting on the case. 291 00:18:43,276 --> 00:18:47,196 Speaker 2: It showed my Teres inside Lost Hill Station, and, contrary 292 00:18:47,236 --> 00:18:50,236 Speaker 2: to what the Sheriff's spokesman had claimed, she did seem 293 00:18:50,276 --> 00:18:51,316 Speaker 2: to be acting erratic. 294 00:18:52,476 --> 00:18:57,956 Speaker 3: From what I recall seeing on the video. She's placed 295 00:18:57,956 --> 00:19:05,116 Speaker 3: in the cell with another woman, and she interacts with 296 00:19:05,116 --> 00:19:08,876 Speaker 3: that woman a bit, and she's pacing back and forth, 297 00:19:09,196 --> 00:19:15,436 Speaker 3: and eventually the woman leaves, and so she's there by herself, 298 00:19:16,276 --> 00:19:19,036 Speaker 3: and she goes up to the phone. She picks up 299 00:19:19,076 --> 00:19:21,596 Speaker 3: the phone several times. She picks up the phone, puts 300 00:19:21,596 --> 00:19:27,076 Speaker 3: it down, picks it up, puts it down. She starts 301 00:19:27,476 --> 00:19:30,716 Speaker 3: swinging on the side of so like the door and 302 00:19:30,756 --> 00:19:32,716 Speaker 3: the jail has like a bar on it kind of, 303 00:19:32,756 --> 00:19:35,396 Speaker 3: and so she starts swinging. You know how kids you'll 304 00:19:35,436 --> 00:19:37,396 Speaker 3: see them kind of doing it in like when they're 305 00:19:37,436 --> 00:19:41,036 Speaker 3: in a crib. It's kind of doing that. And then 306 00:19:41,116 --> 00:19:44,156 Speaker 3: my teres is kind of sitting or laying like in 307 00:19:44,276 --> 00:19:47,996 Speaker 3: fetal position on this like concrete bench. 308 00:19:49,236 --> 00:19:50,956 Speaker 2: When it got to the part of the video where 309 00:19:50,956 --> 00:19:55,516 Speaker 2: My Rise was about to be released, doctor Hampton watched attentively. 310 00:19:55,636 --> 00:19:58,716 Speaker 2: This was the moment she'd been most focused on where 311 00:19:58,756 --> 00:20:00,956 Speaker 2: she might get to see which way my terse went 312 00:20:01,436 --> 00:20:02,716 Speaker 2: or if someone had picked her up. 313 00:20:03,756 --> 00:20:06,116 Speaker 3: They're collecting her and say they gave her this, like 314 00:20:06,956 --> 00:20:09,756 Speaker 3: it's like a clear baggie, right, and it has like 315 00:20:09,796 --> 00:20:11,436 Speaker 3: her belt in and her hat's in it. There's some 316 00:20:11,476 --> 00:20:15,076 Speaker 3: other paperwork in there, and then she's putting on her 317 00:20:15,996 --> 00:20:18,636 Speaker 3: putting on her items, and then they walk her out. 318 00:20:18,796 --> 00:20:22,276 Speaker 3: Sharon comings, the jailer walks her out of the side door, 319 00:20:23,396 --> 00:20:27,116 Speaker 3: and so when she opens that door, it's pitch dark, 320 00:20:27,156 --> 00:20:29,556 Speaker 3: so that when they both exit together. After that, all 321 00:20:29,556 --> 00:20:32,756 Speaker 3: you see is darkness and then the screen goes black. 322 00:20:32,876 --> 00:20:35,916 Speaker 3: Right at that point when the screen went black, we 323 00:20:36,036 --> 00:20:37,716 Speaker 3: kind of thought the video was over. 324 00:20:38,276 --> 00:20:42,036 Speaker 2: But the tape was still rolling showing the darkened exterior 325 00:20:42,156 --> 00:20:42,716 Speaker 2: of the station. 326 00:20:44,356 --> 00:20:49,596 Speaker 3: So the guy who was showing us the film, I 327 00:20:49,756 --> 00:20:52,996 Speaker 3: was sitting to his right, and so even though the 328 00:20:53,036 --> 00:20:55,596 Speaker 3: screen was black, he looks over at me and he 329 00:20:55,716 --> 00:20:57,636 Speaker 3: like nods his head like he's trying to get me 330 00:20:57,676 --> 00:20:59,716 Speaker 3: to look at something, so I, you know, I just 331 00:20:59,796 --> 00:21:03,556 Speaker 3: kind of look up. And then Jonathan also looked up 332 00:21:03,596 --> 00:21:07,316 Speaker 3: my Teresa's cousin and he says, who's that because even 333 00:21:07,356 --> 00:21:11,836 Speaker 3: though the screen was black at some point, So two 334 00:21:11,876 --> 00:21:15,676 Speaker 3: minutes pass, but Sharon Cummins comes back and opens her door, 335 00:21:16,236 --> 00:21:20,156 Speaker 3: and then at the same time, the deputy a deputy leaves. 336 00:21:20,196 --> 00:21:23,156 Speaker 3: Like as soon as that door shut, the deputy leaves. 337 00:21:23,836 --> 00:21:26,316 Speaker 2: They hadn't known that a deputy had left the station 338 00:21:26,556 --> 00:21:30,276 Speaker 2: shortly after my trees. It seemed like the answer they'd 339 00:21:30,316 --> 00:21:31,196 Speaker 2: been looking for. 340 00:21:31,756 --> 00:21:33,756 Speaker 3: So they were like, wait a minute, who was that? 341 00:21:33,836 --> 00:21:37,916 Speaker 3: Who was leaving? I can tell that Lieutenant Rawson was 342 00:21:38,116 --> 00:21:41,636 Speaker 3: very surprised that that there was more footage on that video. 343 00:21:41,876 --> 00:21:45,116 Speaker 3: Because his face turned absolutely beat red. 344 00:21:47,636 --> 00:21:50,596 Speaker 2: The Sheriff's Department claims that all the deputies working that 345 00:21:50,716 --> 00:21:53,996 Speaker 2: night were accounted for, and a report from the Office 346 00:21:53,996 --> 00:21:58,756 Speaker 2: of Independent Review, a civilian oversight group, concluded that deputies 347 00:21:58,756 --> 00:22:03,996 Speaker 2: had acted lawfully in my Trees's arrest and release. Still, 348 00:22:04,276 --> 00:22:08,156 Speaker 2: over the years, many people have speculated that a deputy 349 00:22:08,196 --> 00:22:12,356 Speaker 2: from Lost Hills might have picked up my Teres, assaulted her, 350 00:22:12,676 --> 00:22:16,436 Speaker 2: killed her, and dumped her body, or that a deputy 351 00:22:16,476 --> 00:22:19,276 Speaker 2: may have picked her up and assaulted her, causing her 352 00:22:19,316 --> 00:22:23,756 Speaker 2: to flee into Montanito, where she died. There is no 353 00:22:23,876 --> 00:22:27,836 Speaker 2: evidence to support either scenario, but it doesn't seem to matter. 354 00:22:28,636 --> 00:22:32,836 Speaker 2: The Sheriff's Department's consistent impulse to shield themselves from blame 355 00:22:33,236 --> 00:22:38,436 Speaker 2: made everything they did look like a cover up. Here's Michael, 356 00:22:38,556 --> 00:22:41,196 Speaker 2: my Teresa's dad. This is from the first time I 357 00:22:41,236 --> 00:22:44,196 Speaker 2: met him almost five years ago, at an event being 358 00:22:44,276 --> 00:22:47,356 Speaker 2: held on the ten year anniversary of my Teresa's disappearance. 359 00:22:48,356 --> 00:22:51,116 Speaker 2: He was firm in his belief that my Teresa's death 360 00:22:51,476 --> 00:22:52,796 Speaker 2: was an inside. 361 00:22:52,396 --> 00:22:55,116 Speaker 1: Job, so it was a cover up. 362 00:22:55,156 --> 00:22:58,036 Speaker 8: From the time my Terce was released all the way 363 00:22:58,116 --> 00:23:00,396 Speaker 8: up and still to now to this day, is still 364 00:23:00,396 --> 00:23:03,916 Speaker 8: a cover up, and even though you know, let's say, 365 00:23:04,316 --> 00:23:07,876 Speaker 8: how can you one hundred percent surely say it was 366 00:23:07,916 --> 00:23:10,676 Speaker 8: a sheriff that did so to my trees? Well, it's 367 00:23:10,796 --> 00:23:14,756 Speaker 8: very easy at this point in time. I'm not gonna 368 00:23:14,796 --> 00:23:18,756 Speaker 8: lie about something that I didn't do. If I didn't 369 00:23:18,796 --> 00:23:23,676 Speaker 8: do it, here's all the information. And ironically, the same 370 00:23:23,756 --> 00:23:27,156 Speaker 8: thing that the shares expect for you to do as 371 00:23:27,196 --> 00:23:30,596 Speaker 8: a witness. If you don't do it, you get arrested 372 00:23:30,636 --> 00:23:34,636 Speaker 8: for it. So like saying, withholding evidence such as the 373 00:23:34,676 --> 00:23:37,716 Speaker 8: tape of a crime, guess who's going to jail the 374 00:23:37,796 --> 00:23:40,436 Speaker 8: person withholding And none of them went at jail. 375 00:23:41,916 --> 00:23:45,676 Speaker 2: With the help of doctor Hampton, Mitteresa's family asked then 376 00:23:45,836 --> 00:23:50,396 Speaker 2: California Attorney General Kamala Harris to open a criminal investigation 377 00:23:50,596 --> 00:23:54,756 Speaker 2: into the conduct of sheriff's deputies, including Captain Tom Martin, 378 00:23:54,996 --> 00:24:00,036 Speaker 2: for his possession of the videotape. In a twenty sixteen report, 379 00:24:00,316 --> 00:24:05,236 Speaker 2: Harris's office found, quote, it is entirely doubtful that Martin 380 00:24:05,356 --> 00:24:09,756 Speaker 2: can be successfully prosecuted for concealment of evidence. The tape 381 00:24:09,956 --> 00:24:17,436 Speaker 2: was preserved and its contents eventually produced. In the course 382 00:24:17,436 --> 00:24:20,956 Speaker 2: of our reporting, we heard of two more irregularities from 383 00:24:21,116 --> 00:24:24,276 Speaker 2: very different ends of the spectrum regarding deputies and my 384 00:24:24,356 --> 00:24:27,716 Speaker 2: Trees at the time of her release. The first was 385 00:24:27,756 --> 00:24:32,276 Speaker 2: from Chermaine Henderson, my Terce's cellmate at Lost Hills. She 386 00:24:32,396 --> 00:24:35,196 Speaker 2: said she was uncomfortable with the way my Trese was released, 387 00:24:35,876 --> 00:24:37,836 Speaker 2: even though they were no longer in the same cell. 388 00:24:37,996 --> 00:24:40,156 Speaker 2: She could tell that my Teres was leaving the station 389 00:24:40,316 --> 00:24:44,396 Speaker 2: without a ride after midnight. That seemed wrong to her. 390 00:24:45,076 --> 00:24:46,356 Speaker 1: I guess they sighted her out. 391 00:24:46,516 --> 00:24:48,316 Speaker 9: But when you cite someone out, you still don't let 392 00:24:48,356 --> 00:24:50,916 Speaker 9: them leave, and so they have a way to get somewhere. 393 00:24:51,476 --> 00:24:53,316 Speaker 9: I mean, they can call a calf on their own, 394 00:24:53,476 --> 00:24:55,956 Speaker 9: you know, something like that, you know, because it's in 395 00:24:55,996 --> 00:24:56,836 Speaker 9: the middle of nowhere. 396 00:24:58,276 --> 00:25:01,316 Speaker 2: But what she heard next actually gave her the creeps. 397 00:25:01,796 --> 00:25:04,396 Speaker 1: What I was hearing like they were saying they would 398 00:25:04,476 --> 00:25:05,676 Speaker 1: drop her off. 399 00:25:07,396 --> 00:25:10,556 Speaker 2: One of the deputies, she said, offered to give my 400 00:25:10,716 --> 00:25:12,556 Speaker 2: Terse a ride. 401 00:25:12,756 --> 00:25:15,676 Speaker 1: Yes, yes, one of deputies. That was a male deputy. 402 00:25:16,036 --> 00:25:19,596 Speaker 2: Did you think that was weird or inappropriate that he 403 00:25:19,796 --> 00:25:21,316 Speaker 2: had offered to give her a ride? 404 00:25:21,436 --> 00:25:23,556 Speaker 1: Yes, yes, I think it was. 405 00:25:24,396 --> 00:25:27,476 Speaker 9: When you release your release and you're gone, it is 406 00:25:27,476 --> 00:25:29,716 Speaker 9: like they won't cares that you arrived. 407 00:25:29,836 --> 00:25:34,396 Speaker 1: No, no, you released that rise. That's not the job. 408 00:25:36,076 --> 00:25:38,316 Speaker 2: Take it with a grain of salt, because it's just 409 00:25:38,396 --> 00:25:41,316 Speaker 2: a snippet of a story from someone whose memory is, 410 00:25:41,436 --> 00:25:45,596 Speaker 2: by her own admission, unreliable, and I have seen no 411 00:25:45,796 --> 00:25:50,316 Speaker 2: documentation to support it. The second thing we heard about 412 00:25:50,356 --> 00:25:53,476 Speaker 2: my trees and cops and cars came from a very 413 00:25:53,516 --> 00:25:58,476 Speaker 2: different source. Doctor Lisa Shyman, the forensic pathologist who conducted 414 00:25:58,476 --> 00:26:02,596 Speaker 2: the autopsy. She worked closely with law enforcement as part 415 00:26:02,636 --> 00:26:05,156 Speaker 2: of her job. She was sympathetic to the bind that 416 00:26:05,196 --> 00:26:08,036 Speaker 2: the deputies were in when they believed they were legally 417 00:26:08,116 --> 00:26:11,196 Speaker 2: obligated to release my trees, and she wanted to go, 418 00:26:12,116 --> 00:26:16,596 Speaker 2: and they were very nervous about letting her go because 419 00:26:16,956 --> 00:26:18,156 Speaker 2: they knew she had nothing. 420 00:26:18,436 --> 00:26:20,796 Speaker 4: It was dark out, and they knew it was remote. 421 00:26:21,316 --> 00:26:24,596 Speaker 4: But if she said no, they couldn't force her to stay, 422 00:26:25,396 --> 00:26:27,036 Speaker 4: so they had to let her go. 423 00:26:28,436 --> 00:26:32,236 Speaker 2: She vaguely recalls hearing that deputies were so concerned that 424 00:26:32,316 --> 00:26:34,596 Speaker 2: they decided to go out of their way for her. 425 00:26:35,476 --> 00:26:40,276 Speaker 4: I believe somebody said they actually followed her after she 426 00:26:40,476 --> 00:26:43,316 Speaker 4: left a bit from a distance with a car, just 427 00:26:43,356 --> 00:26:47,956 Speaker 4: to see that she was okay, And eventually they veered off, 428 00:26:48,276 --> 00:26:51,556 Speaker 4: but they were actually quite concerned about her. 429 00:26:52,916 --> 00:26:55,196 Speaker 2: If any of this is true, then all of these 430 00:26:55,196 --> 00:26:58,556 Speaker 2: deputies and anyone they spoke to about it conspired to 431 00:26:58,596 --> 00:27:01,436 Speaker 2: stay silent when the disappearance of My Trees became a 432 00:27:01,516 --> 00:27:05,516 Speaker 2: nationwide scandal, and no one from law enforcement has ever 433 00:27:05,596 --> 00:27:10,156 Speaker 2: come forward with any information about this. Intriguing as these 434 00:27:10,196 --> 00:27:13,916 Speaker 2: fragments are, they don't lead anywhere, and they detract from 435 00:27:13,956 --> 00:27:17,596 Speaker 2: what I think is the deeper truth. Had My Trees 436 00:27:17,636 --> 00:27:20,796 Speaker 2: been given a ride from the station, she would likely 437 00:27:20,996 --> 00:27:36,396 Speaker 2: still be alive. In January twenty ten, when My Trees 438 00:27:36,436 --> 00:27:39,996 Speaker 2: had been missing for four months, authorities launched one of 439 00:27:40,036 --> 00:27:43,836 Speaker 2: the largest searches in Los Angeles history. There were more 440 00:27:43,836 --> 00:27:49,276 Speaker 2: than three hundred people, more than sixty horses, dogs, ATVs, bikes, 441 00:27:49,316 --> 00:27:53,836 Speaker 2: and air support. They searched from Calabasas to Pacific Coast Highway, 442 00:27:54,276 --> 00:27:58,316 Speaker 2: including all throughout Malibu Creek State Park and the Backbone Trail. 443 00:27:59,396 --> 00:28:02,636 Speaker 2: Here's Sergeant twey Wright of Malibu Search and Rescue. 444 00:28:03,196 --> 00:28:06,396 Speaker 10: I can tell you that it was a huge undertaking 445 00:28:07,156 --> 00:28:11,396 Speaker 10: and it was pretty much unprecedented. I've never done a 446 00:28:11,436 --> 00:28:14,156 Speaker 10: search with four hundred personnel before that or since then. 447 00:28:15,796 --> 00:28:19,276 Speaker 2: By now, investigators had a clear understanding of my Teresa's 448 00:28:19,356 --> 00:28:22,956 Speaker 2: mental state. They focused the January search on the area's 449 00:28:23,036 --> 00:28:27,156 Speaker 2: below cliffs and dams and rock faces, thinking that my Trees, 450 00:28:27,436 --> 00:28:32,076 Speaker 2: in her distress, might have jumped. Law enforcement had pledged 451 00:28:32,116 --> 00:28:34,836 Speaker 2: to search every inch of the area, and there were 452 00:28:34,916 --> 00:28:37,916 Speaker 2: trails near the Smith's house where my Trees was last seen, 453 00:28:38,356 --> 00:28:42,836 Speaker 2: connecting to Dark Canyon, the treacherous steep, poison oak infested 454 00:28:42,916 --> 00:28:48,196 Speaker 2: canyon that yawns above Montanito. It seemed unlikely that someone 455 00:28:48,316 --> 00:28:50,036 Speaker 2: just trying to get back to her car would have 456 00:28:50,076 --> 00:28:52,916 Speaker 2: gone in there, but maybe a person in the midst 457 00:28:52,956 --> 00:28:56,956 Speaker 2: of a bipolar episode would, maybe a suicidal person would. 458 00:28:58,036 --> 00:29:01,716 Speaker 2: Sergeant Wright ordered it to be searched. Back in the 459 00:29:01,796 --> 00:29:05,356 Speaker 2: early two thousands, when Sergeant Wright was a narcotics detective, 460 00:29:05,596 --> 00:29:09,796 Speaker 2: he'd learned about an illegal marijuana growing operation in Dark Canyon. 461 00:29:10,796 --> 00:29:14,316 Speaker 10: So having that in the back of my mind when 462 00:29:14,356 --> 00:29:17,516 Speaker 10: we're doing the matri search, I wanted to make sure 463 00:29:18,356 --> 00:29:21,636 Speaker 10: what we call a sworn team in other words, an 464 00:29:21,756 --> 00:29:24,996 Speaker 10: armed team with armed peace officers, was that it was 465 00:29:25,076 --> 00:29:26,836 Speaker 10: a sign to search Dark Canyon. 466 00:29:28,396 --> 00:29:32,516 Speaker 2: They were carrying some rudimentary GPS devices partly reliant on 467 00:29:32,596 --> 00:29:35,076 Speaker 2: cell service. They were supposed to be able to track 468 00:29:35,116 --> 00:29:38,956 Speaker 2: where each deputy had walked. The cell service in Montanito 469 00:29:39,036 --> 00:29:42,836 Speaker 2: is spotty even today. Back then it was very limited, 470 00:29:43,676 --> 00:29:46,556 Speaker 2: and in Dark Canyon it was pretty much non existent. 471 00:29:47,356 --> 00:29:52,196 Speaker 10: They didn't work. We had no way of telling exactly 472 00:29:52,716 --> 00:29:56,796 Speaker 10: how far searchers went up Dark Canyon. 473 00:29:58,276 --> 00:30:01,996 Speaker 2: He also tried using drones, a new technology at the time. 474 00:30:02,796 --> 00:30:07,036 Speaker 10: It was from a experimental drone. The program was out 475 00:30:07,036 --> 00:30:11,436 Speaker 10: of I believe it was Sand Diego University down there. 476 00:30:12,036 --> 00:30:16,356 Speaker 10: I would call this drone pretty rudimentary by today's standards. 477 00:30:17,316 --> 00:30:19,756 Speaker 10: And what I mean by that it was a sort 478 00:30:19,796 --> 00:30:22,716 Speaker 10: of what I would call a bat wing drone. You 479 00:30:22,756 --> 00:30:25,516 Speaker 10: had to turn it on and throw it and it 480 00:30:25,556 --> 00:30:26,596 Speaker 10: would take flight. 481 00:30:27,956 --> 00:30:30,596 Speaker 2: They searched the bottom of Dark Canyon, but didn't get 482 00:30:30,716 --> 00:30:34,396 Speaker 2: very far. The operators were afraid of losing their drone. 483 00:30:37,476 --> 00:30:40,756 Speaker 2: It's these searches of Dark Canyon that fill Sergeant right 484 00:30:40,836 --> 00:30:44,476 Speaker 2: with regret to this day. Knowing what he knows now, 485 00:30:44,516 --> 00:30:46,716 Speaker 2: he told me he would have pushed the team to 486 00:30:46,836 --> 00:30:50,476 Speaker 2: focus on Dark Canyon from the beginning and search its 487 00:30:50,516 --> 00:30:51,276 Speaker 2: full extent. 488 00:30:52,196 --> 00:30:55,876 Speaker 10: It was so obvious in hindsight, it was one of 489 00:30:55,876 --> 00:31:01,396 Speaker 10: the darkest deepest canyons right there, and in hindsight, obviously 490 00:31:01,796 --> 00:31:04,476 Speaker 10: we didn't go deep enough soon enough. I mean, it 491 00:31:04,596 --> 00:31:08,996 Speaker 10: was so Closegeant. 492 00:31:09,276 --> 00:31:13,356 Speaker 2: It's been retired since twenty nineteen, but the Mitrice Richardson 493 00:31:13,436 --> 00:31:17,356 Speaker 2: case has continued to bother him. He wishes, of course, 494 00:31:17,436 --> 00:31:20,596 Speaker 2: he'd found her alive, or even found her body sooner, 495 00:31:20,796 --> 00:31:23,596 Speaker 2: when her remains could have told a more complete story. 496 00:31:24,876 --> 00:31:27,116 Speaker 2: And I think all of that is why he decided 497 00:31:27,156 --> 00:31:29,636 Speaker 2: to do something no one else in law enforcement has 498 00:31:29,676 --> 00:31:32,756 Speaker 2: been willing to do. Help us figure out what happened 499 00:31:32,756 --> 00:31:36,676 Speaker 2: to her, But that came a little later. At first, 500 00:31:36,876 --> 00:31:39,516 Speaker 2: he just helped us understand what it had been like 501 00:31:39,636 --> 00:31:46,636 Speaker 2: when my rise was missing. As the months passed, it 502 00:31:46,716 --> 00:31:49,356 Speaker 2: was clear to authorities they were no longer searching for 503 00:31:49,436 --> 00:31:53,796 Speaker 2: a lost person. They were searching for remains, possibly a skeleton. 504 00:31:55,236 --> 00:31:58,916 Speaker 2: Finding bones is actually fairly common in Malibu because of 505 00:31:58,956 --> 00:32:01,476 Speaker 2: all the wildlife. Here's Sergeant right. 506 00:32:02,196 --> 00:32:04,956 Speaker 10: People see bones when they're hiking on trails, and they 507 00:32:04,996 --> 00:32:07,076 Speaker 10: also see him on the side of the road. The 508 00:32:07,116 --> 00:32:10,516 Speaker 10: Ticku Lilean turnouts. We might have an area where you 509 00:32:10,516 --> 00:32:12,516 Speaker 10: could park a car and maybe look over at a 510 00:32:12,516 --> 00:32:16,236 Speaker 10: beautiful view of the ocean or something. People are standing 511 00:32:16,236 --> 00:32:19,396 Speaker 10: there and then they see bones and or they smell 512 00:32:19,756 --> 00:32:21,956 Speaker 10: a dead smell. 513 00:32:21,996 --> 00:32:24,836 Speaker 2: But everyone in Malibu was on high alert, and so 514 00:32:24,916 --> 00:32:28,196 Speaker 2: were the authorities. They were looking for a high profile 515 00:32:28,316 --> 00:32:31,796 Speaker 2: missing person. Those bones could be hers. 516 00:32:32,276 --> 00:32:35,956 Speaker 10: During the time of the Matrese investigation, we never ignored 517 00:32:35,996 --> 00:32:38,996 Speaker 10: any of those. We went out on each and everyone, 518 00:32:39,316 --> 00:32:42,116 Speaker 10: and we were thorough and would investigate. And I do 519 00:32:42,196 --> 00:32:47,516 Speaker 10: recall some of those where people reported the smell of 520 00:32:48,116 --> 00:32:51,636 Speaker 10: something dead. I remember when we sent a team out 521 00:32:52,156 --> 00:32:56,076 Speaker 10: and they went out and they looked, and they smelled something, 522 00:32:56,116 --> 00:32:58,596 Speaker 10: and they looked and they basically found the remains of 523 00:32:58,636 --> 00:32:59,636 Speaker 10: a dead coyote. 524 00:33:00,996 --> 00:33:04,396 Speaker 2: Law enforcement records show that on June tenth and twelfth, 525 00:33:04,676 --> 00:33:08,556 Speaker 2: twenty ten, two months before my Teresa's remains were found, 526 00:33:09,156 --> 00:33:13,036 Speaker 2: Malibu Search and Rescue conducted two operations in response to 527 00:33:13,076 --> 00:33:14,716 Speaker 2: reports of bones in the area. 528 00:33:15,796 --> 00:33:18,876 Speaker 10: I do recall a tip came into the Detective Bureau 529 00:33:20,756 --> 00:33:23,156 Speaker 10: and there was some talk of a rib cage was 530 00:33:23,196 --> 00:33:28,476 Speaker 10: observed by somebody who was at a particular location off 531 00:33:28,476 --> 00:33:33,036 Speaker 10: of Payuma where they described a fort like a tree fort. 532 00:33:33,836 --> 00:33:37,436 Speaker 2: Sergeant Wright assembled a team, including his tracker and a 533 00:33:37,436 --> 00:33:38,196 Speaker 2: cadaver dog. 534 00:33:38,916 --> 00:33:41,316 Speaker 10: We went out there and a couple of different vehicles. 535 00:33:41,916 --> 00:33:45,236 Speaker 10: We took at least one rifle with us, and maybe 536 00:33:45,276 --> 00:33:49,676 Speaker 10: even a shotgun because it sounded suspicious. 537 00:33:51,196 --> 00:33:54,476 Speaker 2: The location was in the wilderness off Payuma Road, about 538 00:33:54,476 --> 00:33:57,396 Speaker 2: a mile up the mountain from the smith's house in Montenito, 539 00:33:57,796 --> 00:33:59,196 Speaker 2: close to the Backbone. 540 00:33:58,796 --> 00:34:03,236 Speaker 10: Trail, and we went in and eventually we found what 541 00:34:04,876 --> 00:34:10,236 Speaker 10: could be described as a fort or in the marijuana 542 00:34:10,276 --> 00:34:13,716 Speaker 10: investigation days, we would call it a hooch, which is 543 00:34:13,756 --> 00:34:20,836 Speaker 10: a term basically from Vietnam of a tent type outpost 544 00:34:21,356 --> 00:34:27,876 Speaker 10: in thick jungle. So that's what we found. We spread 545 00:34:27,916 --> 00:34:30,716 Speaker 10: out and approached it, and I could see that it 546 00:34:30,756 --> 00:34:36,116 Speaker 10: was made from camouflage tarps that had wrapped around several trees, 547 00:34:36,876 --> 00:34:40,076 Speaker 10: including a real big tree, and it had a roof, 548 00:34:40,196 --> 00:34:44,156 Speaker 10: and it had a doorway area, and we went in 549 00:34:44,396 --> 00:34:50,356 Speaker 10: and clearly on public land, we went in and cleared it, 550 00:34:50,996 --> 00:34:55,716 Speaker 10: and there was nobody inside. Inside was sort of a 551 00:34:55,716 --> 00:34:59,356 Speaker 10: bed area where you could tell somebody could sleep. 552 00:35:01,076 --> 00:35:02,836 Speaker 2: Someone was definitely living there. 553 00:35:03,516 --> 00:35:08,956 Speaker 10: And I do recall one book in particular, it was 554 00:35:08,996 --> 00:35:13,116 Speaker 10: a the US Army Survival Manual. I saw that in there. 555 00:35:13,516 --> 00:35:17,836 Speaker 10: I saw on the outside of the outside the fort 556 00:35:17,916 --> 00:35:22,796 Speaker 10: there was some cubes called grow dan cubes that were 557 00:35:22,836 --> 00:35:27,716 Speaker 10: consistent with starting marijuana plants, and I actually saw some 558 00:35:27,796 --> 00:35:33,476 Speaker 10: marijuana growing there, like a couple inches high. 559 00:35:31,836 --> 00:35:34,476 Speaker 2: Hanging from a tree. Outside the fort, they spotted the 560 00:35:34,556 --> 00:35:38,356 Speaker 2: rib cage. This was the reason they were there because 561 00:35:38,356 --> 00:35:41,716 Speaker 2: the tipster had thought this rib cage might belong to 562 00:35:41,756 --> 00:35:42,916 Speaker 2: my Terce Richardson. 563 00:35:43,956 --> 00:35:47,716 Speaker 10: The ribcage was taken as evidence and submitted to the 564 00:35:47,756 --> 00:35:50,836 Speaker 10: corner to the crime LAMB. If I recall, it turned 565 00:35:50,876 --> 00:35:51,796 Speaker 10: out to be deer bones. 566 00:35:52,556 --> 00:35:58,636 Speaker 2: Deer bones, still, the fort was potentially significant. The person 567 00:35:58,756 --> 00:36:01,836 Speaker 2: living there seemed to have a funny habit of collecting 568 00:36:01,916 --> 00:36:04,396 Speaker 2: items that belonged to various women. 569 00:36:05,156 --> 00:36:07,716 Speaker 10: What I recall on it is I think it was 570 00:36:07,796 --> 00:36:16,956 Speaker 10: IDs identifications and or ATM cards for a couple of 571 00:36:16,996 --> 00:36:17,836 Speaker 10: different females. 572 00:36:18,836 --> 00:36:22,076 Speaker 2: But my Teresa's driver's license, which she had on her 573 00:36:22,156 --> 00:36:29,116 Speaker 2: when she left Lost Hill Station, was not among them, 574 00:36:29,356 --> 00:36:33,276 Speaker 2: while my trees was missing. Her dad, Michael Richardson, had 575 00:36:33,276 --> 00:36:37,036 Speaker 2: a wrenching experience. He was in Las Vegas with some friends. 576 00:36:37,916 --> 00:36:40,196 Speaker 8: My friend was driving. I was in the backseat and 577 00:36:40,276 --> 00:36:45,196 Speaker 8: I was on the window side, So when I looked 578 00:36:45,196 --> 00:36:47,836 Speaker 8: over to the right, I just seen a girl standing 579 00:36:47,876 --> 00:36:49,956 Speaker 8: at the light getting ready to walk across the street. 580 00:36:49,956 --> 00:36:53,916 Speaker 8: Lit looked just like my trees. And I just stopped. 581 00:36:53,916 --> 00:36:56,796 Speaker 8: The car stopped and they're like what what what? And 582 00:36:56,916 --> 00:36:58,596 Speaker 8: I just jump out the car and they're like, man, 583 00:36:58,596 --> 00:37:02,236 Speaker 8: where you going? And cars was stopping almost about to 584 00:37:02,276 --> 00:37:04,356 Speaker 8: hit me, and they all get out like what what? 585 00:37:04,716 --> 00:37:05,036 Speaker 8: I said? 586 00:37:05,036 --> 00:37:05,196 Speaker 4: Man? 587 00:37:05,196 --> 00:37:07,036 Speaker 8: I could have sworn I just seeing my daughter standing 588 00:37:07,116 --> 00:37:10,156 Speaker 8: right here and we would in the alley. Did you 589 00:37:10,196 --> 00:37:12,716 Speaker 8: just see this girl like that? Nobody saw that person 590 00:37:13,196 --> 00:37:16,716 Speaker 8: that we were talking about, And I was like, I know, 591 00:37:16,836 --> 00:37:19,916 Speaker 8: I'm not tripping. I saw that, you know, and I 592 00:37:19,956 --> 00:37:23,876 Speaker 8: will still stand behind that. But this person that I 593 00:37:23,996 --> 00:37:28,436 Speaker 8: saw vanished into the thin air, and it was another 594 00:37:28,476 --> 00:37:28,996 Speaker 8: dead end. 595 00:37:30,156 --> 00:37:32,596 Speaker 2: When he got back to his hotel room, he called 596 00:37:32,636 --> 00:37:34,316 Speaker 2: the LAPD detectives. 597 00:37:34,916 --> 00:37:37,156 Speaker 8: But I called it and said, man, I think my 598 00:37:37,236 --> 00:37:41,356 Speaker 8: daughter in Vegas? All right, what makes you think that? Michael? 599 00:37:41,956 --> 00:37:46,436 Speaker 8: And yeah, all right, well we'll check it out and 600 00:37:46,636 --> 00:37:50,356 Speaker 8: let you know what we find. And it was like, eh, 601 00:37:50,476 --> 00:37:53,636 Speaker 8: it was a dead end, Michael. I'm like, I know, 602 00:37:54,236 --> 00:37:56,476 Speaker 8: I said, okay, Man, maybe it was just me wanting 603 00:37:56,476 --> 00:37:57,516 Speaker 8: it to be her. I don't know. 604 00:37:59,156 --> 00:38:02,436 Speaker 2: Then someone else thought they saw my terse in Las Vegas. 605 00:38:02,716 --> 00:38:05,236 Speaker 2: It was a high school friend of hers. This was 606 00:38:05,276 --> 00:38:09,516 Speaker 2: in June twenty ten. The LAPD took the sighting seatiously 607 00:38:10,236 --> 00:38:10,716 Speaker 2: and I. 608 00:38:10,716 --> 00:38:14,476 Speaker 8: Mean they all detectives and everybody set up camp and 609 00:38:14,516 --> 00:38:15,436 Speaker 8: shop down there. 610 00:38:17,556 --> 00:38:21,236 Speaker 2: But today Michael thinks this was a trap, a diversion 611 00:38:21,476 --> 00:38:24,516 Speaker 2: by law enforcement to keep him out of Malibu so 612 00:38:24,596 --> 00:38:28,796 Speaker 2: they could discover her remains. 613 00:38:27,596 --> 00:38:32,876 Speaker 8: And they were trying to get us and me falling 614 00:38:32,996 --> 00:38:35,796 Speaker 8: foid flew to Las Vegas. 615 00:38:37,076 --> 00:38:42,276 Speaker 2: It's a wild theory, fueled by frustration and mistrust and 616 00:38:42,316 --> 00:38:48,196 Speaker 2: by an unfortunate coincidence. On August ninth, twenty ten, while 617 00:38:48,236 --> 00:38:50,956 Speaker 2: Michael was in Las Vegas for a press conference about 618 00:38:50,996 --> 00:38:54,676 Speaker 2: My Trees, some park rangers checking out an old pot 619 00:38:54,716 --> 00:39:00,156 Speaker 2: grow discovered her skull among the fallen leaves. The site 620 00:39:00,236 --> 00:39:02,596 Speaker 2: was about a mile from where My treece was last 621 00:39:02,636 --> 00:39:06,876 Speaker 2: seen on the side of a steep ravine in Dark Canyon, 622 00:39:12,276 --> 00:39:13,996 Speaker 2: next time on Lost Hills. 623 00:39:14,916 --> 00:39:18,756 Speaker 8: So it is all unfolded like they did a botched 624 00:39:18,836 --> 00:39:22,276 Speaker 8: up job anyway, by sweeping or remains in a plastic bag, 625 00:39:22,716 --> 00:39:25,276 Speaker 8: flying it out before the corner got there to make 626 00:39:25,316 --> 00:39:29,756 Speaker 8: the call, which contaminated the crime scene. 627 00:39:30,516 --> 00:39:38,556 Speaker 2: That's next in episode six, Reconnaissance. Lost Hills is written 628 00:39:38,596 --> 00:39:42,156 Speaker 2: and hosted by Me Dana Goodyear. It was reported by 629 00:39:42,156 --> 00:39:45,876 Speaker 2: Me and Haley Fox, our senior producer. The show was 630 00:39:45,916 --> 00:39:49,956 Speaker 2: created by me and Benadere. Lost Hills is a production 631 00:39:50,236 --> 00:39:58,956 Speaker 2: of Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Subscribe to Pushkin Plus 632 00:39:58,956 --> 00:40:02,516 Speaker 2: and you can binge the whole season right now ad free. 633 00:40:02,956 --> 00:40:05,756 Speaker 2: Find Pushkin Plus on the Lost Hills show page in 634 00:40:05,836 --> 00:40:10,436 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts or at pushkin dot FMS flash Plus