1 00:00:16,460 --> 00:00:21,460 Speaker 1: Hello. Hello. And welcome. To My Favorite Murder. That's Georgia Hartstark. 2 00:00:21,660 --> 00:00:26,500 Speaker 1: That's Karen Kilgareth. We're at home. We are at home. 3 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,070 Speaker 1: I'm legit in my, I don't know if I call 4 00:00:29,110 --> 00:00:31,470 Speaker 1: them pajamas. Are they pajamas when they're sweatpants? 5 00:00:31,790 --> 00:00:34,990 Speaker 2: Are they pajamas when they're all day long? Exactly. 6 00:00:35,170 --> 00:00:38,050 Speaker 1: I mean. Like Vince got them in my pajamas and 7 00:00:38,070 --> 00:00:41,380 Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm kind of in my indoor clothes, which isn't, 8 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: I don't sleep. 9 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 2: Could you go to the bank in what Oh, that's 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,449 Speaker 2: a good question. Is that the dividing line? But I'd 11 00:00:49,570 --> 00:00:52,170 Speaker 2: look a little... Someone wouldn't be wrong to think that 12 00:00:52,210 --> 00:00:53,730 Speaker 2: I was on my way to rehab. 13 00:00:54,830 --> 00:00:57,030 Speaker 1: Through the bank. Getting some money out before I go 14 00:00:57,050 --> 00:00:57,430 Speaker 1: to rehab. 15 00:00:58,170 --> 00:01:00,170 Speaker 2: It's like a speakeasy in the back of the bank, 16 00:01:00,430 --> 00:01:01,300 Speaker 2: but it's a rehab. 17 00:01:01,410 --> 00:01:02,860 Speaker 1: What's the code word to get in? 18 00:01:03,140 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 2: You know what that makes me think of is the 19 00:01:04,540 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 2: time I was sitting in front of a grocery store 20 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:07,660 Speaker 2: at night. 21 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:10,780 Speaker 1: This was so long ago, but a girl walked up. 22 00:01:10,740 --> 00:01:12,759 Speaker 2: To one of those red box machines and she had 23 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:17,730 Speaker 2: the most insane... like fleece pajama bottoms with like, I 24 00:01:17,750 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 2: think they were like probably power puff girls or something. 25 00:01:20,140 --> 00:01:20,420 Speaker 1: Yeah. 26 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,819 Speaker 2: Yeah. And this was pre COVID. And I remember being like, Ooh, 27 00:01:23,860 --> 00:01:24,380 Speaker 2: what do you do? 28 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: And then like, someone got broke up with her recently. 29 00:01:27,700 --> 00:01:31,410 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. A lot of judgment, a lot of like outfits, outfits. 30 00:01:31,550 --> 00:01:35,030 Speaker 2: And now it's like, absolutely wear that to work. Totally. 31 00:01:35,069 --> 00:01:36,789 Speaker 1: Do your thing. Like, what do you wear when you 32 00:01:36,850 --> 00:01:40,630 Speaker 1: don't leave the house that often? God, I need to 33 00:01:41,050 --> 00:01:41,890 Speaker 1: leave the house more often. 34 00:01:42,490 --> 00:01:44,670 Speaker 2: I think it's why, and maybe you want to join me, 35 00:01:45,170 --> 00:01:49,690 Speaker 2: that's why I do Scandi. My style is Scandi style. 36 00:01:49,710 --> 00:01:51,330 Speaker 1: Oh, like Scandinavian? What is that? 37 00:01:51,410 --> 00:01:55,690 Speaker 2: Yeah, Scandinavian. So it's like big sweaters, big pants, clogs. 38 00:01:55,890 --> 00:01:57,910 Speaker 1: That's like your style so that when you're at home, 39 00:01:57,970 --> 00:02:00,610 Speaker 1: it's like, that's just what she wears. I thought you 40 00:02:00,630 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: were going to go like scandalous and be like, I 41 00:02:02,830 --> 00:02:05,820 Speaker 1: wear lingerie around my house. 42 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,139 Speaker 2: I tip top it around the house nonstop. 43 00:02:10,300 --> 00:02:12,460 Speaker 1: All right. You're right. And then because also I need 44 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:14,900 Speaker 1: an escape because my clothes are like, you know, when 45 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,579 Speaker 1: they're cute, they're like made up and everything is cinched 46 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:19,820 Speaker 1: and this and that and has accessories. Tight, yeah. So 47 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:21,630 Speaker 1: like I need a break from that when I'm not 48 00:02:21,669 --> 00:02:24,190 Speaker 1: wearing them. I shouldn't need a break from my everyday 49 00:02:24,230 --> 00:02:24,870 Speaker 1: clothes anymore. 50 00:02:25,090 --> 00:02:28,190 Speaker 2: All right. Listen, I think you're growing and changing in 51 00:02:28,230 --> 00:02:30,250 Speaker 2: the way that you're like, do I need to be 52 00:02:30,530 --> 00:02:32,190 Speaker 2: outfit forward at all times? 53 00:02:32,310 --> 00:02:35,380 Speaker 1: Right. No. You don't owe anybody an outfit. 54 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:35,530 Speaker 2: Right. 55 00:02:35,790 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: Yeah. 56 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 2: You'll gift them an outfit? 57 00:02:37,740 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: I owe nine-year-old Georgia who got hand-me-downs and wore the 58 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: same and got teased for wearing the same thing every week, 59 00:02:45,139 --> 00:02:48,500 Speaker 1: you know. I owe her a new top for the 60 00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 1: Netflix podcast that we do every week. Yes, I hear you. 61 00:02:52,419 --> 00:02:52,820 Speaker 1: You know what I mean? 62 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 2: You're like, I can now prove that I can get 63 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:56,030 Speaker 2: new shirts. 64 00:02:56,090 --> 00:02:59,589 Speaker 1: Exactly. Watch, you've never seen this one before and you'll 65 00:02:59,650 --> 00:03:00,830 Speaker 1: never fucking see it again. Yeah. 66 00:03:01,990 --> 00:03:05,130 Speaker 2: Check this one out, Maureen from Orange County or whoever 67 00:03:05,210 --> 00:03:10,209 Speaker 2: we're talking to. Motherfucker. And I think I'm doing the 68 00:03:10,510 --> 00:03:14,070 Speaker 2: equal opposite of the full flop of just wear a 69 00:03:14,090 --> 00:03:16,070 Speaker 2: black shirt all the time. They can't say shit to 70 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 2: you if you just wear the same thing. 71 00:03:17,780 --> 00:03:21,500 Speaker 1: All the time. Well, starting tomorrow. It's on. 72 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:23,100 Speaker 2: Yeah. We're going to be different later. 73 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: Yeah. Watch out, world. 74 00:03:24,380 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 2: Yeah. You've been warned. 75 00:03:25,620 --> 00:03:27,179 Speaker 1: Do you have anything? What do you got? 76 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:29,700 Speaker 2: We went on a lovely vacation that I was very 77 00:03:29,740 --> 00:03:33,260 Speaker 2: grateful to have. And when I came back from that vacation, 78 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,650 Speaker 2: I literally slept for about six days in a row. 79 00:03:37,830 --> 00:03:39,470 Speaker 2: It started to get kind of like, do I have 80 00:03:39,530 --> 00:03:42,950 Speaker 2: one of those weird sleeping sicknesses or something? Because I 81 00:03:43,110 --> 00:03:44,210 Speaker 2: could not stop sleeping. 82 00:03:44,250 --> 00:03:47,970 Speaker 1: It was wild. It's so joyful though, sleeping. Yeah, it is. 83 00:03:48,030 --> 00:03:50,390 Speaker 2: You know? Especially when you have a hard time doing it. 84 00:03:50,510 --> 00:03:54,450 Speaker 1: Yeah. There's something so special about, oh, I fell asleep. 85 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,730 Speaker 1: It's like... Yay, I won. It's so good for you. 86 00:03:58,850 --> 00:04:01,630 Speaker 1: It's so good for you. And it never happens when 87 00:04:01,650 --> 00:04:02,530 Speaker 1: it's supposed to. 88 00:04:02,550 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 2: It doesn't. And I'm also not used to daytime napping. 89 00:04:06,300 --> 00:04:09,970 Speaker 2: In fact, I think in our house... kind of subtextually, 90 00:04:09,990 --> 00:04:10,630 Speaker 2: it was banned? 91 00:04:10,770 --> 00:04:11,030 Speaker 1: Yes. 92 00:04:11,230 --> 00:04:13,030 Speaker 2: Like you were laying down during the day? 93 00:04:13,130 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: It's totally a childhood thing of was it okay or 94 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: was it not okay? Like it was totally fine in 95 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: my house and celebrated. It's so bad. So if it wasn't... 96 00:04:21,900 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: That's healthy. Yeah, no, it was bad. 97 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 2: You had people would just come by and hit your 98 00:04:26,100 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 2: foot and just be like, get a job. But point being, 99 00:04:30,260 --> 00:04:33,969 Speaker 2: coming home, I would be falling asleep at four o'clock 100 00:04:33,990 --> 00:04:36,810 Speaker 2: in the afternoon and sleeping hard. And then I would 101 00:04:36,830 --> 00:04:39,469 Speaker 2: wake up at six and because it was like dusk, 102 00:04:39,610 --> 00:04:41,510 Speaker 2: I would think it was dawn and that I'd slept 103 00:04:41,540 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 2: through the day. And I would get, I did this 104 00:04:43,220 --> 00:04:46,460 Speaker 2: two times. I got up and made coffee. Yeah. two 105 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:47,860 Speaker 2: times at like 6 p.m. 106 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:49,500 Speaker 1: I was thinking if you as a little kid and 107 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: I'm like you got up and make coffee cool no 108 00:04:52,180 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: no this just happened this is how I this is 109 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,820 Speaker 1: how I celebrated my vacation oh my god you woke 110 00:04:58,940 --> 00:05:01,820 Speaker 1: up and we're like well it's the morning time I. 111 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 2: Blew through that whole day I guess I need to 112 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 2: get jacked up on caffeine and then it'd be like 113 00:05:06,060 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 2: oh shit I should have looked at my phone. 114 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,460 Speaker 1: Daisy and Frank are like what the fuck are you 115 00:05:10,500 --> 00:05:13,860 Speaker 1: doing what are we doing Blossom, by the way. Blossom. 116 00:05:13,940 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 2: Shit. Shit. Oh, my God. Who's Daisy? 117 00:05:16,460 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: I don't know. Whose dog is Daisy? Blossom, Daisy. They're similar. True, true. 118 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:22,420 Speaker 2: All right. 119 00:05:22,460 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: Should we get into it? Let's do it. We have 120 00:05:24,220 --> 00:05:28,160 Speaker 1: a podcast network called Exactly Right Media. Here's some highlights. 121 00:05:28,380 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 2: That's right. All kinds of podcasts on there. And this week, 122 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,810 Speaker 2: over on Buried Bones, Kate Winkler-Dawson and Paul Holes kick 123 00:05:35,930 --> 00:05:40,510 Speaker 2: off a two-part investigation into the Hillside Stranglers, as we 124 00:05:40,550 --> 00:05:44,380 Speaker 2: all know. the serial killing duo who terrorized Los Angeles 125 00:05:44,420 --> 00:05:48,060 Speaker 2: in the late 1970s. I cannot wait to hear them 126 00:05:48,420 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 2: break down and discuss. I mean, I genuinely can't wait. 127 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 2: This is like, this is what they call it, appointment TV, 128 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 2: but this is like appointment podcasting for me. 129 00:05:57,900 --> 00:06:01,190 Speaker 1: Definitely. And then over on Brief Recess, Michael and Melissa 130 00:06:01,230 --> 00:06:04,150 Speaker 1: talk about the midterm elections and they discuss the surge 131 00:06:04,190 --> 00:06:07,549 Speaker 1: in partnerships between ICE and local police. Dark. 132 00:06:07,930 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 2: Yeah. God is watching you. I've never been more religious. 133 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,580 Speaker 2: Over on Ghosted, Roz is joined by the iconic Stephanie Beatriz. 134 00:06:16,740 --> 00:06:20,260 Speaker 2: She's a friend of MFM. She's from Brooklyn Nine-Nine and 135 00:06:20,620 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 2: the amazing movie Encanto. If you haven't seen Encanto, do 136 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 2: yourself a favor. It's so beautiful. And she's the star. 137 00:06:28,100 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: She can sing like hell. 138 00:06:29,260 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: I know. 139 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 2: It's a very haunted dorm room, and a cursed rendezvous. 140 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,339 Speaker 1: Plus, in case you missed it, Karen was a guest 141 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,940 Speaker 1: on The Knife last month. She sat down with Hannah 142 00:06:42,980 --> 00:06:45,260 Speaker 1: and Patia to reflect on the tragedy she witnessed at 143 00:06:45,300 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 1: South by Southwest in 2014 and what it means to 144 00:06:48,300 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: carry the memory of something so devastating. 145 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,050 Speaker 2: You know what it means? It means that you somehow, 146 00:06:54,510 --> 00:06:56,789 Speaker 2: in the strangest way in the world, make a friend 147 00:06:56,830 --> 00:06:57,790 Speaker 2: at a Halloween party. 148 00:06:58,150 --> 00:07:00,150 Speaker 1: Turn it into a podcast. 149 00:07:00,589 --> 00:07:02,830 Speaker 2: That's our, what is that called? A prequel or a like? 150 00:07:02,950 --> 00:07:03,289 Speaker 1: Yeah. 151 00:07:03,450 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 2: That's the season before the main season. 152 00:07:05,950 --> 00:07:09,020 Speaker 1: Right. Because that's the thing that got us to actually 153 00:07:09,060 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: meet each other. Totally. 154 00:07:10,260 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 2: Also, here's some really exciting news over in the merch corner. 155 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,059 Speaker 2: Heads up, goths and rebellious librarians. We've got a brand 156 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:22,410 Speaker 2: new Murderino design. It's the classic cursive. text, but it's 157 00:07:22,530 --> 00:07:24,270 Speaker 2: black on black fabric. 158 00:07:24,310 --> 00:07:27,750 Speaker 1: Hell yeah. That's so fucking punk rock. I love it 159 00:07:27,770 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: so much. It's so good. It's available as a hat. 160 00:07:30,100 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: Plus our fan favorite, Panther Design by Daphne Sabane is 161 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: available once again as a zip-up hoodie and a crew neck. 162 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 2: Also for our MFM animated stands, we have... We have 163 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 2: new ornaments. 164 00:07:44,380 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: For the holidays. 165 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:50,820 Speaker 2: Choose from a peachy ornament or from the MFM animated lineup. Plus, 166 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 2: we've got new Mothman and Skeleton Key purse charms, all 167 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,490 Speaker 2: designed by our own Nick Terry. 168 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,030 Speaker 1: Hell yeah. I love that we're just leaning on that 169 00:07:59,150 --> 00:08:02,090 Speaker 1: MFM animated because it's just so beautiful. And now we 170 00:08:02,110 --> 00:08:03,750 Speaker 1: can add it to Christmas? Yeah. 171 00:08:03,890 --> 00:08:07,170 Speaker 2: Come on. The lineup art is truly some of my favorite. 172 00:08:07,230 --> 00:08:16,050 Speaker 1: So head to exactlyrightstore.com to shop the whole collection. Okay, Karen, 173 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: you're first. I'm going to put my pajama ass into 174 00:08:19,140 --> 00:08:19,980 Speaker 1: a comfy position. 175 00:08:20,140 --> 00:08:21,980 Speaker 2: It would be great if you would change into formal 176 00:08:22,020 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 2: clothes for this, since you're already in pajamas. 177 00:08:24,220 --> 00:08:26,460 Speaker 1: Let me go put on my gown and jewels. Thank you. 178 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:27,900 Speaker 1: I appreciate it. 179 00:08:28,580 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 2: Okay, my story today starts the morning of Friday, April 2nd, 1982, 180 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:38,070 Speaker 2: in the D.C. suburb of Montclair, Virginia. That's about 30 181 00:08:38,070 --> 00:08:41,890 Speaker 2: miles southwest of Washington, D.C., It's around 10 o'clock in 182 00:08:41,929 --> 00:08:44,650 Speaker 2: the morning and a woman walking her dog through a 183 00:08:44,690 --> 00:08:48,350 Speaker 2: local subdivision takes a short trail into the woods behind 184 00:08:48,450 --> 00:08:52,390 Speaker 2: nearby elementary school. And on that path, she comes upon 185 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,179 Speaker 2: what we know to be the worst case scenario. She 186 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 2: finds the dead body of a woman. She's somewhere between 187 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,100 Speaker 2: 30 and 40 years old. She's five foot two with 188 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:05,939 Speaker 2: reddish brown hair. She's nude and her hands are bound 189 00:09:06,020 --> 00:09:09,570 Speaker 2: behind her back. The woman who's walking her dog immediately 190 00:09:09,610 --> 00:09:14,440 Speaker 2: calls the police. But this homicide investigation will be slow 191 00:09:14,660 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 2: and frustrating. The police wait for the call from a 192 00:09:17,580 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 2: loved one reporting her missing, but they don't get that call. 193 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,569 Speaker 2: And when every possible lead results in a dead end, 194 00:09:24,610 --> 00:09:28,510 Speaker 2: investigators are forced to think outside the box, trying new 195 00:09:28,590 --> 00:09:31,530 Speaker 2: things like forensic hypnosis to. 196 00:09:31,470 --> 00:09:32,330 Speaker 1: Get a break. 197 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 2: But in the end, it will be the TV show 198 00:09:35,100 --> 00:09:39,860 Speaker 2: Unsolved Mysteries that breaks this case, finally bringing justice where 199 00:09:39,900 --> 00:09:40,380 Speaker 2: it's needed. 200 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:44,380 Speaker 1: This is the story of the murder of Hilda Roche. Wow. 201 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:48,750 Speaker 2: So the main sources used are, of course, the 1991 202 00:09:48,750 --> 00:09:51,609 Speaker 2: episode of Unsolved Mysteries, which now sounds like I'm saying 1941. 203 00:09:51,590 --> 00:09:54,809 Speaker 1: Wow, yeah. It's so crazy. 204 00:09:55,530 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 2: And then articles from the Potomac News and the Washington 205 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,359 Speaker 2: Post archives. And the rest of the sources are in 206 00:10:01,420 --> 00:10:05,939 Speaker 2: our show notes. So it's April 2nd, 1982. And a 207 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:09,980 Speaker 2: Jane Doe body is found in the woods in Montclair. 208 00:10:10,610 --> 00:10:13,689 Speaker 2: In those woods behind a grammar school, crime scene investigators 209 00:10:13,730 --> 00:10:17,090 Speaker 2: get to work. They notice that the victim's hands are 210 00:10:17,170 --> 00:10:20,650 Speaker 2: tied behind her back with a pair of pantyhose. And 211 00:10:21,230 --> 00:10:25,250 Speaker 2: then they notice signs of sexual assaults. They see that 212 00:10:25,290 --> 00:10:29,060 Speaker 2: her cause of death is one execution-style gunshot to the head. 213 00:10:29,980 --> 00:10:34,079 Speaker 2: Investigators determine that she was killed sometime after midnight, likely 214 00:10:34,340 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 2: in this exact spot. What they can't figure out, though, 215 00:10:37,260 --> 00:10:39,870 Speaker 2: is who this woman is. Because, of course, she doesn't 216 00:10:39,900 --> 00:10:42,590 Speaker 2: have any identification on her. But when they run her 217 00:10:42,650 --> 00:10:48,219 Speaker 2: fingerprints through the FBI database... there's no match because it's 218 00:10:48,220 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 2: 1982 and she doesn't have a criminal record. Aside from 219 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,699 Speaker 2: her white and blue tree-torn tennis shoes, the police really 220 00:10:55,740 --> 00:11:01,140 Speaker 2: don't have anything, any identifying things like clothing, jewelry, tattoos 221 00:11:01,620 --> 00:11:05,219 Speaker 2: that could help the public identify her. Throughout the day, 222 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:09,179 Speaker 2: investigators keep close tabs on any missing person reports that 223 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,089 Speaker 2: might be coming in, but no luck there. And Since 224 00:11:13,130 --> 00:11:15,250 Speaker 2: we all know that the first 48 hours of a 225 00:11:15,290 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 2: murder investigation are make or break, they send nine detectives 226 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 2: out to canvas the area around where the body was found. 227 00:11:24,420 --> 00:11:27,670 Speaker 2: They interview dozens of people who live near the crime scene. 228 00:11:28,450 --> 00:11:30,589 Speaker 2: And they do learn that a few residents heard a 229 00:11:30,630 --> 00:11:33,650 Speaker 2: loud noise in the overnight hours, which would be very 230 00:11:33,770 --> 00:11:38,559 Speaker 2: early Friday morning, presumably the gunshot that killed this Jane Doe. 231 00:11:39,220 --> 00:11:42,020 Speaker 2: And that when they say they heard it aligns with 232 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 2: the assumed time of the victim's death. They also learn 233 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 2: that the elementary school was hosting an adult jazzercise class 234 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 2: that night, the night before on Thursday. So they tracked 235 00:11:53,540 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 2: down every person that was in this class, but no 236 00:11:57,090 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 2: one's unaccounted for. And none of the people who were 237 00:11:59,940 --> 00:12:03,699 Speaker 2: in the class have useful information about who that woman, 238 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:04,420 Speaker 2: the dead woman. 239 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:04,780 Speaker 1: Could be. 240 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,059 Speaker 2: But by the weekend, there's coverage about this Jane Doe 241 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,350 Speaker 2: murder on the local news and in area newspapers. And finally, 242 00:12:13,870 --> 00:12:17,350 Speaker 2: calls start coming in. One tip is from Lake Ridge, Virginia. 243 00:12:17,750 --> 00:12:21,370 Speaker 2: It's another D.C. suburb 10 miles north of Montclair. And 244 00:12:21,410 --> 00:12:25,050 Speaker 2: the callers are worried about a neighbor of theirs, a 245 00:12:25,070 --> 00:12:28,849 Speaker 2: 43-year-old woman named Hilda Rochea. They describe her as a 246 00:12:28,929 --> 00:12:32,590 Speaker 2: friendly and outgoing woman who they're used to seeing around 247 00:12:32,630 --> 00:12:35,770 Speaker 2: the neighborhood. It turns out Hilda is an active member 248 00:12:35,950 --> 00:12:39,150 Speaker 2: of her neighborhood association. She also enjoys going out to dinner, 249 00:12:39,650 --> 00:12:43,270 Speaker 2: going to see live theater. She's described as a joyful person. 250 00:12:43,990 --> 00:12:47,330 Speaker 2: And she had recently separated from her husband. And for 251 00:12:47,370 --> 00:12:49,949 Speaker 2: a time, she lived with a roommate. But then just 252 00:12:50,010 --> 00:12:54,060 Speaker 2: a few months earlier in January of 1982... her roommate 253 00:12:54,380 --> 00:12:58,320 Speaker 2: died suddenly from a brain aneurysm, which was, yeah, just 254 00:12:58,540 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 2: a shocking out of the blue thing. So now Hilda 255 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 2: lives by herself in her townhome. So her neighbors report 256 00:13:06,740 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 2: they haven't seen her since Thursday, April 1st, and that 257 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 2: no one has been able to reach her. They're particularly 258 00:13:13,179 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 2: troubled because Hilda's dog was found outside and unattended. Yeah, 259 00:13:18,420 --> 00:13:21,180 Speaker 2: horrible feeling. When they went to check her front door, 260 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,630 Speaker 2: they discovered that it was unlocked. So around the same 261 00:13:25,670 --> 00:13:29,290 Speaker 2: time that they're talking to these neighbors, Hilda's coworkers also 262 00:13:29,350 --> 00:13:31,929 Speaker 2: reach out to the police. Like many people that live 263 00:13:31,970 --> 00:13:34,530 Speaker 2: in that part of the country, Hilda's a government employee. 264 00:13:34,950 --> 00:13:38,870 Speaker 2: She works for military intelligence at Arlington Hall in Arlington, Virginia, 265 00:13:39,470 --> 00:13:42,330 Speaker 2: which is known for hosting and training cryptographers and code 266 00:13:42,350 --> 00:13:45,449 Speaker 2: breakers during World War II. And Hilda had been a 267 00:13:45,690 --> 00:13:49,030 Speaker 2: no-show at work for a couple of days and no 268 00:13:49,090 --> 00:13:51,410 Speaker 2: one at work could get in touch with her And 269 00:13:51,590 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 2: all of that was so out of character for Hilda 270 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:59,700 Speaker 2: that they finally called the police. So on Monday, April 5th, 1982, 271 00:13:59,700 --> 00:14:03,319 Speaker 2: four days after the Jane Doe body is found, investigators 272 00:14:03,420 --> 00:14:07,370 Speaker 2: knock on the door of Hilda Roche's townhome. No one answers. 273 00:14:07,610 --> 00:14:10,770 Speaker 2: So they enter through that unlocked door and they start 274 00:14:10,790 --> 00:14:14,650 Speaker 2: to look around. And a detective named Donald Cahill describes 275 00:14:14,710 --> 00:14:19,890 Speaker 2: the scene as, quote, indicative of a struggle. The upstairs bedroom, 276 00:14:20,130 --> 00:14:23,790 Speaker 2: in particular, is in disarray. Women's clothes are strewn around 277 00:14:23,830 --> 00:14:26,290 Speaker 2: the room. Many of them are damaged, like they were 278 00:14:26,390 --> 00:14:29,890 Speaker 2: ripped from a body. There's a torn pair of underwear, 279 00:14:30,070 --> 00:14:33,170 Speaker 2: a bra with a broken clasp, a blouse that's missing 280 00:14:33,270 --> 00:14:36,970 Speaker 2: nine buttons, and all of those items do end up 281 00:14:37,030 --> 00:14:40,390 Speaker 2: belonging to Hilda. There's also a roll of tape sitting 282 00:14:40,430 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 2: near the bedside, and investigators believe that this was used 283 00:14:44,550 --> 00:14:47,770 Speaker 2: to tie someone to the bed. Hmm. Downstairs in the 284 00:14:47,810 --> 00:14:51,750 Speaker 2: living area, investigators find the blouse's missing buttons, and that 285 00:14:51,770 --> 00:14:54,930 Speaker 2: makes them think that that's where the struggle began, with 286 00:14:54,990 --> 00:14:58,450 Speaker 2: Hilda's shirt being torn off. They also find her wallet 287 00:14:58,550 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 2: and her work ID with her fingerprint on it, and 288 00:15:01,930 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 2: investigators are now able to confirm that Hilda Roche is 289 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 2: the Montclair Jane Doe. Wow. But because there's no evidence 290 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 2: that the home was broken into, investigators suspect that Hilda 291 00:15:14,740 --> 00:15:17,690 Speaker 2: might have been killed by someone she knew, and maybe 292 00:15:17,750 --> 00:15:20,910 Speaker 2: even someone she invited inside. So they take a closer 293 00:15:20,950 --> 00:15:24,610 Speaker 2: look at her estranged husband, of course, as they always do. 294 00:15:25,410 --> 00:15:26,050 Speaker 1: But by all. 295 00:15:25,970 --> 00:15:29,470 Speaker 2: Accounts, the two seem to have broken up and moved 296 00:15:29,650 --> 00:15:32,470 Speaker 2: on with their lives. They can find no evidence that 297 00:15:32,530 --> 00:15:36,230 Speaker 2: connects her ex to this murder. And then they get 298 00:15:36,270 --> 00:15:39,790 Speaker 2: a very promising tip. Investigators discover that on the evening 299 00:15:39,810 --> 00:15:41,470 Speaker 2: of March 26th, 1982, which was a week before her death, 300 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,020 Speaker 2: She went to a bar and restaurant called The Rafters 301 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 2: in Alexandria, Virginia, which is about a half an hour 302 00:15:50,060 --> 00:15:53,370 Speaker 2: from her home. And there she met a man. 303 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:55,740 Speaker 1: So it's the early 80s. 304 00:15:55,970 --> 00:16:00,050 Speaker 2: And apparently Rafters is like a popular kind of slightly 305 00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:04,010 Speaker 2: upscale chain for food and drinks in Alexandria. 306 00:16:04,030 --> 00:16:04,110 Speaker 1: Yeah. 307 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:06,060 Speaker 2: Kind of like Applebee's. 308 00:16:06,380 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: Which one's the fancy? 309 00:16:07,260 --> 00:16:09,830 Speaker 2: Black Angus. Black Angus was what I was going to say, 310 00:16:09,870 --> 00:16:11,870 Speaker 2: but that's not even fancy anymore, is it? 311 00:16:11,910 --> 00:16:14,190 Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know. One of those. 312 00:16:14,530 --> 00:16:16,890 Speaker 2: It seemed fancy from the freeway to me. 313 00:16:17,250 --> 00:16:18,090 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. 314 00:16:18,170 --> 00:16:20,850 Speaker 2: But it's also the 80s. And so like on that 315 00:16:20,910 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 2: episode of Unsolved Mysteries, they do reference this as a 316 00:16:25,540 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 2: singles bar, the rafters. But Maren looking into it was like, 317 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,780 Speaker 2: I'm not seeing anybody else calling it that. So like it, 318 00:16:33,290 --> 00:16:35,910 Speaker 2: But it's that idea. It's like she basically went there, 319 00:16:36,350 --> 00:16:38,830 Speaker 2: she ordered a drink at the bar, sat down, and 320 00:16:38,930 --> 00:16:41,600 Speaker 2: she would later tell her friends that a man took 321 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:43,820 Speaker 2: the seat next to her and they start chatting. 322 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. 323 00:16:45,060 --> 00:16:48,060 Speaker 2: But for some reason that no one will ever know, 324 00:16:48,780 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 2: she doesn't tell her friends the man's name. She only 325 00:16:51,700 --> 00:16:55,370 Speaker 2: tells them that he introduces himself as a government consultant 326 00:16:55,710 --> 00:16:58,490 Speaker 2: and they hit it off. So Hilda tells her friends 327 00:16:59,190 --> 00:17:01,890 Speaker 2: she and this man grab a table and they eat 328 00:17:01,950 --> 00:17:04,629 Speaker 2: dinner together. And then they walk over to the man's 329 00:17:04,690 --> 00:17:08,970 Speaker 2: place at the Oakwood Apartments, which is a huge complex 330 00:17:09,290 --> 00:17:11,890 Speaker 2: basically across the street from the rafters. You can see 331 00:17:11,950 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 2: it from the rafters. And they go over there and 332 00:17:15,100 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 2: they keep the night going. So by the time Hilda's 333 00:17:17,740 --> 00:17:21,820 Speaker 2: telling her friends about this, she's clearly excited. And one 334 00:17:21,859 --> 00:17:24,910 Speaker 2: of her friends, who will later appear on Unsolved Mysteries, 335 00:17:25,369 --> 00:17:28,150 Speaker 2: says that she thought this man sounded. 336 00:17:27,830 --> 00:17:28,670 Speaker 1: Too good to be true. 337 00:17:29,210 --> 00:17:32,649 Speaker 2: She says, quote, Hilda had said the guy was single, 338 00:17:32,890 --> 00:17:35,220 Speaker 2: he was attractive, he had a lot of money, and 339 00:17:35,300 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 2: she was impressed that he was driving this beautiful car. 340 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,100 Speaker 2: I started to tell her, don't believe everything this guy 341 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,510 Speaker 2: is telling you. The car is probably rented. Anybody can 342 00:17:44,550 --> 00:17:47,710 Speaker 2: make up a big story. You don't know anything about him. 343 00:17:47,830 --> 00:17:49,630 Speaker 1: Watch out. Wow. End quote. 344 00:17:50,190 --> 00:17:55,620 Speaker 2: Yeah. But it's like such a heartbreaking story. thing, this 345 00:17:55,900 --> 00:18:00,260 Speaker 2: is the risk of vulnerability of relationships. It's like, this 346 00:18:00,340 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 2: is what women have to deal with. 347 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,770 Speaker 1: You have to be constantly on guard that everything they 348 00:18:04,810 --> 00:18:08,570 Speaker 1: say could be a complete lie and they could be dangerous, 349 00:18:08,750 --> 00:18:11,410 Speaker 1: like on top of it all. Right. 350 00:18:11,630 --> 00:18:15,669 Speaker 2: And this, I think only recent kind of discovery and 351 00:18:15,750 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 2: discussion that women are having with each other about what 352 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 2: actual danger looks like and how charming... sociopaths can be 353 00:18:24,340 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 2: you know how that's part of the plan it's you 354 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:31,200 Speaker 2: know it's tough it feels like 1982 is like that 355 00:18:31,220 --> 00:18:33,780 Speaker 2: was still almost like a hangover of like the singles 356 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:39,610 Speaker 2: bar fern bar 70s you know for sure so identifying 357 00:18:39,630 --> 00:18:43,110 Speaker 2: this man becomes the focus of the murder investigation the 358 00:18:43,170 --> 00:18:45,490 Speaker 2: police talk to the people who are at the rafters 359 00:18:45,530 --> 00:18:49,109 Speaker 2: that night they get this man's physical description it's very 360 00:18:49,190 --> 00:18:52,310 Speaker 2: vague He's a white man with brown hair and brown eyes. 361 00:18:52,730 --> 00:18:54,490 Speaker 2: He's around 40 years old. 362 00:18:54,930 --> 00:18:56,449 Speaker 1: He's about five foot seven. 363 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 2: It's like as general as it could be. But they 364 00:18:59,700 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 2: do use it to investigate their most compelling clue, which 365 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,260 Speaker 2: is they know this man has an apartment at the 366 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:10,609 Speaker 2: Oakwoods complex across the street. But here's the thing. This 367 00:19:10,869 --> 00:19:13,490 Speaker 2: complex has 1,400 units in it. 368 00:19:13,650 --> 00:19:14,409 Speaker 1: Holy shit. 369 00:19:14,750 --> 00:19:14,930 Speaker 2: Yeah. 370 00:19:14,950 --> 00:19:16,210 Speaker 1: It's gigantic. 371 00:19:16,330 --> 00:19:18,949 Speaker 2: I mean, I can't comprehend it. It's so gigantic. 372 00:19:19,090 --> 00:19:21,229 Speaker 1: No, it makes sense with like government workers where it's 373 00:19:21,270 --> 00:19:23,590 Speaker 1: just like we need a place to temporarily put a 374 00:19:23,609 --> 00:19:25,020 Speaker 1: lot of people. Exactly. 375 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 2: That is kind of what it was. So detectives end 376 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 2: up pouring over as many lease agreements, like lease agreements 377 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 2: dating back three years. 378 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:35,300 Speaker 1: Wow. 379 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,210 Speaker 2: Hoping to find a tenant. That is a man, like 380 00:19:38,230 --> 00:19:41,780 Speaker 2: a white man, all those things in the description. But 381 00:19:41,820 --> 00:19:45,200 Speaker 2: of course, it's a huge complex and it is a 382 00:19:45,260 --> 00:19:48,930 Speaker 2: revolving door of government employees. So it's like quick, you know, 383 00:19:49,150 --> 00:19:51,880 Speaker 2: contract employees. that are in and out. So it's now 384 00:19:51,970 --> 00:19:55,440 Speaker 2: months into the investigation when police finally get the big 385 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,439 Speaker 2: break they need. They find out that Hilda lost her 386 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,300 Speaker 2: wallet at the rafters the night that she met this 387 00:20:01,340 --> 00:20:05,620 Speaker 2: mystery man. So it turns out that the man that 388 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:10,550 Speaker 2: she left with he called the Rafters and insisted that 389 00:20:11,310 --> 00:20:14,380 Speaker 2: he be called if her wallet is found. Okay. So 390 00:20:14,420 --> 00:20:18,820 Speaker 2: then he leaves his phone number with the staff. And 391 00:20:19,260 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 2: it sounds really creepy and it's very easy to kind 392 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,610 Speaker 2: of write a story about what that meant. Yeah. He 393 00:20:24,650 --> 00:20:28,190 Speaker 2: does live across the street and Hilda is far away 394 00:20:28,490 --> 00:20:32,090 Speaker 2: and she's excited to see him again. So It could 395 00:20:32,109 --> 00:20:34,430 Speaker 2: have made sense to be like, oh, we'll meet again 396 00:20:34,470 --> 00:20:36,449 Speaker 2: and you can bring my wallet. Yeah. 397 00:20:36,609 --> 00:20:38,510 Speaker 1: I can grab it. It's close by kind. 398 00:20:38,390 --> 00:20:38,750 Speaker 2: Of a thing. 399 00:20:38,930 --> 00:20:39,730 Speaker 1: Yeah. Okay. 400 00:20:39,950 --> 00:20:43,010 Speaker 2: So Hilda's wallet is found at the restaurant and a 401 00:20:43,070 --> 00:20:47,210 Speaker 2: manager gives the man a call. So he stops by 402 00:20:47,230 --> 00:20:49,889 Speaker 2: that same week and picks it up. So when the 403 00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:52,650 Speaker 2: detectives learn about this, they go back to the rafters. 404 00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:57,390 Speaker 2: They find that manager to get the man's contact information, 405 00:20:58,150 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 2: but like hoping it's filed away somewhere. Yeah. But of course- 406 00:21:01,619 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 2: She doesn't have it anymore. So basically, as an investigative 407 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,090 Speaker 2: Hail Mary, they asked the manager if she'll be willing 408 00:21:08,109 --> 00:21:11,110 Speaker 2: to be put under hypnosis in the hope that they 409 00:21:11,130 --> 00:21:15,890 Speaker 2: could get something from anything to point to this man's identity. 410 00:21:16,670 --> 00:21:20,540 Speaker 2: And she agrees. But by the time she's placed under hypnosis, 411 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:24,580 Speaker 2: it's been three months since she called the man about 412 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,750 Speaker 2: Hilda's wallet. So it definitely seems like a long shot 413 00:21:27,970 --> 00:21:30,609 Speaker 2: and it seems just weird and out of the box. Yeah. 414 00:21:30,790 --> 00:21:35,370 Speaker 2: But incredibly, when she's hypnotized, this manager recites a complete 415 00:21:35,470 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 2: phone number. No. Yeah. 416 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:38,360 Speaker 1: Holy shit. 417 00:21:38,660 --> 00:21:38,980 Speaker 2: I know. 418 00:21:39,180 --> 00:21:39,679 Speaker 1: It's crazy. 419 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 2: Now, investigators don't immediately celebrate because the hypnotist warned them, listen, 420 00:21:44,940 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 2: these numbers could be off in some way. Some could 421 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,510 Speaker 2: be reversed or misremembered. Like it could be partial. Yeah. 422 00:21:51,090 --> 00:21:55,860 Speaker 2: But while this is happening, the other investigators are whittling 423 00:21:55,890 --> 00:22:00,200 Speaker 2: down those lease agreements. And Detective Cahill says on his 424 00:22:00,260 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 2: episode of Unsolved Mysteries, he says, quote, we went through 425 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:09,100 Speaker 2: probably 25,000 to 30,000 files. And out of that, we 426 00:22:09,140 --> 00:22:12,430 Speaker 2: came up with 32 possible names that fit the profile 427 00:22:12,590 --> 00:22:14,230 Speaker 2: of the man, end quote. 428 00:22:14,270 --> 00:22:16,570 Speaker 1: That's so much work for also not even knowing if 429 00:22:16,650 --> 00:22:20,230 Speaker 1: he is a suspect because it was a week before, right? 430 00:22:20,530 --> 00:22:23,510 Speaker 2: Yes. It's a part of like police work and detective 431 00:22:23,570 --> 00:22:27,730 Speaker 2: work where you understand the burnout and me when people 432 00:22:27,810 --> 00:22:29,970 Speaker 2: kind of like half-ass things or they don't want to 433 00:22:30,020 --> 00:22:32,659 Speaker 2: write up a report or a file or whatever, because 434 00:22:33,020 --> 00:22:35,399 Speaker 2: they have to do all of that and work so hard. 435 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:37,300 Speaker 2: And yeah, sometimes for no reason. 436 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. 437 00:22:38,380 --> 00:22:41,180 Speaker 2: And it's like, why can't we get AI to do something? 438 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,730 Speaker 2: Why does AI have to be an artist all the time? Anyway, 439 00:22:44,770 --> 00:22:46,410 Speaker 2: we'll talk about AI on a different show. 440 00:22:46,570 --> 00:22:50,080 Speaker 1: I hope so. You're looking forward to that conversation. 441 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, always. So they do have these 32 possible names. 442 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,720 Speaker 2: And on this short list, they find a phone number 443 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,160 Speaker 2: that is an almost perfect match to the one recited 444 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:06,590 Speaker 2: by the hypnotized restaurant manager. And that phone number belongs 445 00:23:06,630 --> 00:23:10,629 Speaker 2: to a 38-year-old man named Gregory Richard Barker. who it 446 00:23:10,710 --> 00:23:13,950 Speaker 2: turns out moved out of the Oakwood apartments and left 447 00:23:14,030 --> 00:23:16,210 Speaker 2: town shortly after Hilda's murder. 448 00:23:16,230 --> 00:23:17,060 Speaker 1: Oh, shit. 449 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,060 Speaker 2: So now detectives are on it and they are looking 450 00:23:20,100 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 2: to interview him, but they can't find him. He leaves 451 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,140 Speaker 2: behind a forwarding address for a new place in Las Vegas, 452 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,540 Speaker 2: but when they call and talk to people at that address, 453 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,680 Speaker 2: he no longer is affiliated or seems to be affiliated 454 00:23:35,740 --> 00:23:39,070 Speaker 2: with it. So police start to dig into this man's background. 455 00:23:39,730 --> 00:23:43,890 Speaker 2: There's no immediate red flags. He's a decorated Vietnam War veteran. 456 00:23:44,270 --> 00:23:48,650 Speaker 2: He completed two tours, the second one being in military intelligence, 457 00:23:49,030 --> 00:23:51,730 Speaker 2: which is something he and Hilda could have bonded over 458 00:23:51,750 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 2: because that's where she worked now. Barker left the Army 459 00:23:55,560 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 2: in 1975, seven years before this murder took place, and 460 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 2: he left it in good standing. But when investigators tracked 461 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:08,300 Speaker 2: down Barker's car, that fancy one that impressed Hilda so 462 00:24:08,340 --> 00:24:11,350 Speaker 2: much the night they met, They find a shoe print 463 00:24:11,570 --> 00:24:14,410 Speaker 2: in the trunk that is a perfect match for those 464 00:24:14,470 --> 00:24:17,450 Speaker 2: white tree-torn sneakers that she was wearing at the time 465 00:24:17,470 --> 00:24:17,930 Speaker 2: of her death. 466 00:24:18,170 --> 00:24:18,710 Speaker 1: Oh, my God. 467 00:24:18,730 --> 00:24:22,880 Speaker 2: Yeah. So it's a direct link, and it also suggests 468 00:24:22,980 --> 00:24:25,020 Speaker 2: she may have been in the trunk alive. Right. 469 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 1: Totally. 470 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 2: So two and a half years after Hilda Roche's body 471 00:24:29,270 --> 00:24:33,390 Speaker 2: is found, in September of 1984, Greg Barker is arrested, 472 00:24:33,950 --> 00:24:37,680 Speaker 2: but he's not arrested for Hilda's murder. He's actually arrested 473 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,630 Speaker 2: for three bank robberies in Las Vegas, one in December 474 00:24:41,670 --> 00:24:44,950 Speaker 2: of 83, one in January of 84, and a third 475 00:24:44,990 --> 00:24:48,689 Speaker 2: in March of 84. But these aren't like major heists. 476 00:24:48,950 --> 00:24:54,380 Speaker 2: He only made $ 2, 100. Wow, on three bank robberies. Three 477 00:24:54,450 --> 00:24:56,379 Speaker 2: bank robberies in the 80s. Do you want to know 478 00:24:56,420 --> 00:24:57,620 Speaker 2: how much it is in today's money? 479 00:24:57,619 --> 00:25:03,930 Speaker 1: $ 2, 100 in the 80s today is... $ 10, 000? No, $ 8, 000. 480 00:25:03,609 --> 00:25:04,060 Speaker 2: $ 6, 700. 481 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:08,720 Speaker 1: It's like, it's nothing. 482 00:25:09,340 --> 00:25:13,080 Speaker 2: And in the robberies, he didn't use a weapon. So 483 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:17,179 Speaker 2: one could maybe assume that he was just desperate and 484 00:25:17,220 --> 00:25:19,870 Speaker 2: was like trying to get money like truly on the run. 485 00:25:19,890 --> 00:25:19,970 Speaker 1: Yeah. 486 00:25:21,230 --> 00:25:24,670 Speaker 2: But because he didn't use a weapon, he is able 487 00:25:24,690 --> 00:25:29,070 Speaker 2: to post bond and he is released before his trial. Mm-hmm. 488 00:25:29,630 --> 00:25:34,470 Speaker 2: And also because of bad communication between different police jurisdictions, 489 00:25:35,030 --> 00:25:37,750 Speaker 2: the Las Vegas authorities have no idea Greg Barker is 490 00:25:37,790 --> 00:25:41,290 Speaker 2: wanted for murder in Virginia. By the time detectives who 491 00:25:41,330 --> 00:25:44,650 Speaker 2: are working Hilda's case find out about his arrest in Vegas, 492 00:25:45,150 --> 00:25:49,190 Speaker 2: he's gone again. So now it's April of 1991. It's 493 00:25:49,310 --> 00:25:50,330 Speaker 2: nine years. 494 00:25:50,430 --> 00:25:51,369 Speaker 1: After Hilda's murder. 495 00:25:52,130 --> 00:25:55,710 Speaker 2: And the TV show Unsolved Mysteries runs a segment on 496 00:25:55,790 --> 00:25:58,930 Speaker 2: her case. the detectives working the case think it's a 497 00:25:58,950 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 2: great way to get the word out about Greg Barker nationwide. 498 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,560 Speaker 2: He's out there running around and it works. 499 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 1: And I think we should say that like to the 500 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: young people listening to this podcast, everyone watched that show 501 00:26:10,700 --> 00:26:14,540 Speaker 1: and like everyone watched it live. We were obsessed with 502 00:26:14,580 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 1: that show. It was such a good idea. Yeah. 503 00:26:17,380 --> 00:26:21,740 Speaker 2: Because it was like, can you help us find, I 504 00:26:21,780 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 2: always think about the guy and you covered it, that 505 00:26:23,780 --> 00:26:25,540 Speaker 2: cold case where it was like the boy that like, 506 00:26:26,090 --> 00:26:27,609 Speaker 2: he got out of his car and was like out 507 00:26:27,630 --> 00:26:30,770 Speaker 2: in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest. Yeah. And 508 00:26:30,790 --> 00:26:33,810 Speaker 2: he's talking to his parents on the phone. I remember 509 00:26:33,869 --> 00:26:36,050 Speaker 2: watching that one and just being like, we've got to 510 00:26:36,130 --> 00:26:41,270 Speaker 2: find him. Totally. It activated the audience in this amazing way. 511 00:26:41,290 --> 00:26:45,470 Speaker 1: Yeah. To pay attention to their surroundings more, I think, right? 512 00:26:46,010 --> 00:26:49,689 Speaker 2: Yeah. And that they're a part of, they could actually 513 00:26:49,790 --> 00:26:53,740 Speaker 2: help something in these cases where it's like, Well, if 514 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:55,820 Speaker 2: the police just say it's cold and then they start 515 00:26:55,859 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 2: on the next murder because they never stop coming. 516 00:26:58,540 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 1: Right. 517 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,220 Speaker 2: What do we do with these cold cases? 518 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:02,340 Speaker 1: Right. Yeah. 519 00:27:02,770 --> 00:27:05,550 Speaker 2: And Robert Stack, just what a, you really wanted to 520 00:27:05,590 --> 00:27:06,270 Speaker 2: help that man. 521 00:27:06,490 --> 00:27:10,830 Speaker 1: You did. He was so sincere and so like, come on. 522 00:27:10,910 --> 00:27:14,050 Speaker 2: He was just in it. And it worked because a 523 00:27:14,050 --> 00:27:18,170 Speaker 2: 46-year-old maintenance worker named Becky Grannis is watching the show 524 00:27:18,210 --> 00:27:21,560 Speaker 2: that night in Arizona when a familiar. 525 00:27:21,140 --> 00:27:22,820 Speaker 1: Face flashes across the screen. 526 00:27:23,750 --> 00:27:27,470 Speaker 2: It's presented as a photo of Gregory Barker, but she says, quote, 527 00:27:27,850 --> 00:27:29,950 Speaker 2: I was sitting in my living room saying, I know 528 00:27:30,010 --> 00:27:31,630 Speaker 2: that man, end quote. 529 00:27:31,670 --> 00:27:33,109 Speaker 1: Everyone's dream who watched that show. 530 00:27:33,350 --> 00:27:36,109 Speaker 2: Especially every 12-year-old's dream that watched that show. 531 00:27:36,130 --> 00:27:37,870 Speaker 1: That's my what? That's my boss. 532 00:27:38,470 --> 00:27:43,060 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's my horrible teacher. So Becky thinks that this 533 00:27:43,100 --> 00:27:45,879 Speaker 2: man looks exactly like a telemarketer who works in the 534 00:27:46,020 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 2: office complex where she works. And that guy goes by 535 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,790 Speaker 2: the name Alex Graham. She's so smart because I think 536 00:27:52,869 --> 00:27:55,050 Speaker 2: I would have just called immediately and just been like 537 00:27:55,070 --> 00:27:57,609 Speaker 2: freaked out. She goes to work the next morning and 538 00:27:57,710 --> 00:28:00,790 Speaker 2: gets a look at Alex Graham to make sure. 539 00:28:00,990 --> 00:28:01,830 Speaker 1: How spooky. 540 00:28:02,010 --> 00:28:05,230 Speaker 2: Right? But like also smart where it's like, this is 541 00:28:05,270 --> 00:28:09,510 Speaker 2: the guy. So she's convinced it's the same guy from 542 00:28:09,530 --> 00:28:13,310 Speaker 2: the episode. So she calls police. And because Greg Barker 543 00:28:13,490 --> 00:28:17,330 Speaker 2: is also a federal fugitive from the robbery charges, the 544 00:28:17,470 --> 00:28:21,070 Speaker 2: FBI swoops in and arrests him. less than 24 hours 545 00:28:21,290 --> 00:28:25,909 Speaker 2: after that episode of Unsolved Mysteries airs. Greg Barker is 546 00:28:25,930 --> 00:28:30,480 Speaker 2: then extradited to Nevada and prosecuted for those three robberies first. 547 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 2: He's given 20 years in prison, and then he's brought 548 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:37,240 Speaker 2: to Virginia to be tried for the abduction and murder 549 00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:43,390 Speaker 2: of Hilda Roche. Greg Barker pleads guilty, so there's no trial. Really? Wow. Yeah. 550 00:28:43,670 --> 00:28:48,590 Speaker 2: He just immediately pleads. He's given a 110-year sentence. To 551 00:28:48,630 --> 00:28:51,170 Speaker 2: be served after his federal sentence is over. 552 00:28:51,190 --> 00:28:52,010 Speaker 1: Wow. 553 00:28:52,310 --> 00:28:56,030 Speaker 2: And while we don't have direct testimony from him, Detective 554 00:28:56,070 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 2: Cahill says on Unsolved Mysteries that he believes that Barker 555 00:29:00,660 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 2: went to Hilda's house that night under the guise of 556 00:29:03,220 --> 00:29:06,780 Speaker 2: returning her wallet. And then after attacking her in the 557 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,330 Speaker 2: living room, he took her upstairs and sexually assaulted her 558 00:29:10,370 --> 00:29:13,030 Speaker 2: in her bedroom, then put her in the trunk of 559 00:29:13,070 --> 00:29:16,990 Speaker 2: his car. drove and found a secluded place 10 miles away, 560 00:29:17,270 --> 00:29:20,060 Speaker 2: led her into the woods, and shot her in the head. 561 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:21,440 Speaker 1: So awful. 562 00:29:21,660 --> 00:29:26,540 Speaker 2: Yeah. So when he's arrested in Arizona, Barker reportedly tries 563 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:30,100 Speaker 2: to claim that he was a government agent entangled in 564 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:35,050 Speaker 2: some sort of military conspiracy. And actually, on that episode 565 00:29:35,090 --> 00:29:39,450 Speaker 2: of Unsolved Mysteries, Detective Cahill says Barker was known to 566 00:29:39,490 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 2: have an understanding obsession with spy novels and believed himself 567 00:29:43,460 --> 00:29:45,960 Speaker 2: to be a quote, master spy. 568 00:29:45,980 --> 00:29:49,740 Speaker 1: Yeah. Greg Barker dies in prison in 2013. 569 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:54,780 Speaker 2: As of now, Hilda Roche is the only victim that 570 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 2: we know of that he has. And a lot of 571 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,160 Speaker 2: people talk about if he had this unhealthy obsession with 572 00:30:01,180 --> 00:30:05,630 Speaker 2: spy novels, then, you know, he was mentally ill, mentally unwell. 573 00:30:05,950 --> 00:30:09,610 Speaker 2: And whether his motive was straightforward and opportunistic and he 574 00:30:09,630 --> 00:30:11,470 Speaker 2: was aware of what he was doing or he was 575 00:30:11,630 --> 00:30:14,370 Speaker 2: in a psychological state where he didn't. The fact is 576 00:30:14,410 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 2: that he sexually assaulted and then murdered a woman who 577 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,610 Speaker 2: thought that she could trust him. Police believe Greg Barker's 578 00:30:21,670 --> 00:30:25,070 Speaker 2: name could come up in other unsolved cases in the future. 579 00:30:25,630 --> 00:30:29,850 Speaker 2: Detective Cahill actually says on that episode of Unsolved Mysteries, quote, 580 00:30:30,510 --> 00:30:33,770 Speaker 2: from doing a background investigation on Mr. Barker, we don't 581 00:30:33,830 --> 00:30:37,250 Speaker 2: believe this was his only murder that he committed. We 582 00:30:37,310 --> 00:30:40,750 Speaker 2: don't believe this is the last murder he committed. We 583 00:30:40,810 --> 00:30:44,540 Speaker 2: believe that he could be responsible for numerous murders. We 584 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,060 Speaker 2: feel that possibly he could even be a serial murderer. 585 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,979 Speaker 2: We're very sure of the fact that he is smart 586 00:30:51,420 --> 00:30:53,180 Speaker 2: and he's very dangerous. Wow. 587 00:30:53,340 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 1: End quote. 588 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,300 Speaker 2: And that's the story of the murder of Hilda Roche. 589 00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:58,060 Speaker 1: Wow. 590 00:30:58,220 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 2: Wow. 591 00:30:58,620 --> 00:30:59,219 Speaker 1: Great job. 592 00:30:59,380 --> 00:30:59,820 Speaker 2: Thank you. 593 00:31:00,020 --> 00:31:03,290 Speaker 1: It's so troubling that the little piece of information that 594 00:31:03,310 --> 00:31:05,690 Speaker 1: you gave earlier on, that they found her wallet at 595 00:31:05,750 --> 00:31:08,530 Speaker 1: her house, I hadn't even connected. It's like, that's how 596 00:31:08,590 --> 00:31:10,400 Speaker 1: you know they had seen each other again. Yes. 597 00:31:11,830 --> 00:31:14,110 Speaker 2: I mean, we know this too. And I'm sure that's 598 00:31:14,130 --> 00:31:16,670 Speaker 2: why people didn't really, he didn't even really try to, 599 00:31:16,950 --> 00:31:19,430 Speaker 2: he didn't try to claim insanity or anything. It's like, 600 00:31:19,870 --> 00:31:23,090 Speaker 2: it's so clearly planned. It was so clearly planned from 601 00:31:23,170 --> 00:31:25,070 Speaker 2: probably when he sat down next to her. 602 00:31:25,370 --> 00:31:25,690 Speaker 1: Yeah. 603 00:31:25,730 --> 00:31:26,970 Speaker 2: And that's the darkest part. 604 00:31:27,110 --> 00:31:32,740 Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure. God. DNA, let's get some fucking cases 605 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:41,790 Speaker 1: solved with this asshole. Well, great job. Thank you. All right. Well, 606 00:31:41,810 --> 00:31:44,710 Speaker 1: I have a very different style of story as we 607 00:31:44,750 --> 00:31:49,650 Speaker 1: like to do. Great. However, the story does involve the 608 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: death of innocent people at the hands of people who 609 00:31:53,180 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: are criminally responsible. It's just in a different way. We're 610 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:01,650 Speaker 1: starting in the fall of 2008 in Dayton, Ohio. And 611 00:32:01,770 --> 00:32:05,630 Speaker 1: Minnie Borden is an 82-year-old woman originally from Alabama who 612 00:32:05,670 --> 00:32:09,910 Speaker 1: has been in great health Other than suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, 613 00:32:09,970 --> 00:32:12,530 Speaker 1: which has been an issue most of her life, not 614 00:32:12,570 --> 00:32:16,130 Speaker 1: just in her older age. In fact, at 82 years old, 615 00:32:16,170 --> 00:32:20,090 Speaker 1: she still lives by herself and she's fiercely independent. But 616 00:32:20,130 --> 00:32:23,729 Speaker 1: then in November, Minnie starts to have severe stomach pains 617 00:32:23,830 --> 00:32:28,110 Speaker 1: and GI issues. Her appetite plummets, so most days she's 618 00:32:28,190 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 1: eating only her favorite snack. The only thing she can 619 00:32:31,620 --> 00:32:35,360 Speaker 1: keep down, which are Little Debbie peanut butter and cheese crackers. 620 00:32:35,380 --> 00:32:35,450 Speaker 2: Hmm. 621 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:40,360 Speaker 1: Minnie's daughter, Earlene, is becoming increasingly worried about her mom, 622 00:32:40,380 --> 00:32:42,860 Speaker 1: who insists that she's fine. I feel like that's a 623 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,530 Speaker 1: generation where they just didn't acknowledge being not well. 624 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:47,310 Speaker 2: Yeah. 625 00:32:47,700 --> 00:32:50,290 Speaker 1: By December, the symptoms have not let up, and Minnie 626 00:32:50,390 --> 00:32:55,130 Speaker 1: is noticeably weaker. Finally, on December 10th, she calls her daughter, Earlene, 627 00:32:55,250 --> 00:32:58,430 Speaker 1: and says the stomach pains have worsened, and she now 628 00:32:58,510 --> 00:33:03,130 Speaker 1: also has chest pains. They take her to the hospital. Basically, 629 00:33:03,170 --> 00:33:05,730 Speaker 1: they check her heart, and nothing happens. shows up. So 630 00:33:05,770 --> 00:33:10,590 Speaker 1: Minnie's discharged, but there's no improvement. And Minnie then goes 631 00:33:10,670 --> 00:33:13,790 Speaker 1: back to her primary doctor. A few days later, the 632 00:33:13,810 --> 00:33:16,470 Speaker 1: doctor finds out she had been having bloody stools for 633 00:33:16,510 --> 00:33:19,790 Speaker 1: weeks now. And so Minnie goes back to the ER 634 00:33:20,510 --> 00:33:23,090 Speaker 1: and is admitted, but it takes several more days before 635 00:33:23,130 --> 00:33:25,690 Speaker 1: a stool sample is sent for pathogen testing, which is, 636 00:33:25,710 --> 00:33:29,930 Speaker 1: it's unclear why that took so long, but it's only 637 00:33:30,070 --> 00:33:33,060 Speaker 1: at the end of December that a clear diagnosis comes back. 638 00:33:33,810 --> 00:33:39,130 Speaker 1: as salmonella, particularly a strain called salmonella typhimurium, which is 639 00:33:39,170 --> 00:33:43,100 Speaker 1: one of the leading strains of foodborne illness. So Minnie 640 00:33:43,180 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: is discharged, but she's very weak and she has several 641 00:33:46,260 --> 00:33:49,180 Speaker 1: other big health episodes over the month of January and 642 00:33:49,300 --> 00:33:54,450 Speaker 1: passes away on January 20th, devastating her family because Minnie 643 00:33:54,490 --> 00:34:01,100 Speaker 1: had been so healthy before this short period started. And 644 00:34:01,140 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: because they had been so worried about Minnie all of 645 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 1: that time and through January, it seems that her family 646 00:34:05,980 --> 00:34:10,450 Speaker 1: doesn't immediately register. This coincidence may be that in the 647 00:34:10,489 --> 00:34:14,730 Speaker 1: same month, a major salmonella outbreak is traced back to 648 00:34:14,770 --> 00:34:19,630 Speaker 1: a company called the Peanut Corporation of America, which mainly 649 00:34:19,670 --> 00:34:22,870 Speaker 1: sells peanuts and peanut butter to other companies in industrial 650 00:34:22,950 --> 00:34:27,910 Speaker 1: quantities to be used in snacks like Minnie's favorite peanut 651 00:34:27,930 --> 00:34:30,879 Speaker 1: butter crackers. Yeah, the one thing that she was able 652 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,890 Speaker 1: to eat while she was being made sick from that 653 00:34:34,010 --> 00:34:36,529 Speaker 1: one thing she was able to eat. It's so sad. 654 00:34:37,150 --> 00:34:39,510 Speaker 1: So this is the story of a foodborne safety crisis 655 00:34:39,530 --> 00:34:43,150 Speaker 1: that ended up causing multiple deaths and had criminal consequences. 656 00:34:43,730 --> 00:34:45,870 Speaker 1: The main sources for the story are reporting from The 657 00:34:45,930 --> 00:34:48,330 Speaker 1: New Yorker and The Washington Post, as well as a 658 00:34:48,370 --> 00:34:51,270 Speaker 1: blog post from a very prominent food safety lawyer named 659 00:34:51,310 --> 00:34:54,950 Speaker 1: Bill Marler, who represented some of the victims in this case. 660 00:34:55,469 --> 00:34:56,989 Speaker 1: The rest of the sources can be found in the 661 00:34:57,030 --> 00:35:00,450 Speaker 1: show notes. So the outbreak had begun in the fall 662 00:35:00,469 --> 00:35:05,540 Speaker 1: of 2008, and a total of 714 people are known 663 00:35:05,580 --> 00:35:08,500 Speaker 1: to have become sick from it. But I guess in 664 00:35:08,540 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 1: these situations, the real number is always much higher because 665 00:35:12,180 --> 00:35:16,950 Speaker 1: a lot of people don't recognize their GI symptoms as salmonella, 666 00:35:16,969 --> 00:35:21,130 Speaker 1: and that's mainly because they're strong enough to fight off 667 00:35:21,150 --> 00:35:24,950 Speaker 1: the infection and don't become dangerously dehydrated. So these outbreaks 668 00:35:24,989 --> 00:35:28,050 Speaker 1: are often much, much bigger than is reported and realized. 669 00:35:28,230 --> 00:35:32,370 Speaker 1: So people just will have salmonella and just not know it? Yeah. Like, 670 00:35:32,410 --> 00:35:35,219 Speaker 1: you know, you and me were, you know, younger. We 671 00:35:35,550 --> 00:35:38,100 Speaker 1: have the immune system that can fight it, but it's, 672 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:42,160 Speaker 1: you know, children and immune compromised and elderly people. Those 673 00:35:42,180 --> 00:35:44,060 Speaker 1: are the ones who can't fight it and are like 674 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:47,200 Speaker 1: hospitalized and found out. So it's probably way higher than 675 00:35:47,219 --> 00:35:50,200 Speaker 1: that number. Have you had food poisoning? I don't think 676 00:35:50,239 --> 00:35:53,930 Speaker 1: I've had legit food poisoning before. I think I would remember, right? 677 00:35:54,170 --> 00:35:54,650 Speaker 1: You would know. 678 00:35:54,750 --> 00:35:55,010 Speaker 2: Yeah. 679 00:35:55,250 --> 00:35:57,350 Speaker 1: I remember Vince ate an oyster when we were in 680 00:35:57,390 --> 00:36:00,270 Speaker 1: Las Vegas and I can't imagine. 681 00:36:00,489 --> 00:36:04,180 Speaker 2: It's insane. Yeah. I got it one time from a 682 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:05,540 Speaker 2: Chinese chicken salad. 683 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,060 Speaker 1: That's right. That was like made with cabbage. Yeah. 684 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,780 Speaker 2: And I truly was like, I think I'm going to die. 685 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,430 Speaker 2: Like I was like, when do I call someone? 686 00:36:13,450 --> 00:36:13,529 Speaker 1: Yeah. 687 00:36:13,610 --> 00:36:18,310 Speaker 2: Because I haven't been able to stop doing this for two, 688 00:36:18,390 --> 00:36:19,030 Speaker 2: three days. 689 00:36:19,210 --> 00:36:20,810 Speaker 1: It's that long? It's two, three days? 690 00:36:21,130 --> 00:36:23,330 Speaker 2: It's like your system has to purge and then it 691 00:36:23,650 --> 00:36:24,810 Speaker 2: won't stop purging. 692 00:36:25,310 --> 00:36:26,529 Speaker 1: And it's crazy. 693 00:36:26,670 --> 00:36:26,890 Speaker 2: Yeah. 694 00:36:27,130 --> 00:36:31,049 Speaker 1: It's awful. Well, so yeah, for children especially and the elderly. Mm-hmm. 695 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:34,399 Speaker 1: You know, it's a problem. In early November of that year, 696 00:36:34,420 --> 00:36:38,600 Speaker 1: a seven-year-old boy named Christopher Mignet from South Burlington, Vermont, 697 00:36:38,660 --> 00:36:41,520 Speaker 1: spikes a high fever. It's the first time his mother 698 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:44,000 Speaker 1: can remember him being sick since he was a toddler. 699 00:36:44,020 --> 00:36:47,299 Speaker 1: He has bloody diarrhea and is throwing up, and his 700 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,240 Speaker 1: stomach pain is so severe he screams that he wants 701 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,620 Speaker 1: to die. Oh, God. I know. So while this is 702 00:36:53,660 --> 00:36:56,220 Speaker 1: going on all over the country, both state and federal 703 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:59,469 Speaker 1: health organizations are still trying to pinpoint the source of 704 00:36:59,530 --> 00:37:02,730 Speaker 1: the contamination. They realize... People are getting sick. They don't 705 00:37:02,770 --> 00:37:06,630 Speaker 1: know how. In Minnesota, where there are nine known cases, 706 00:37:06,650 --> 00:37:09,239 Speaker 1: a group of grad students working in the Department of 707 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:13,399 Speaker 1: Public Health start calling patients about their diets. The group 708 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 1: works at night and they call themselves Team Diarrhea, which is, 709 00:37:17,060 --> 00:37:19,550 Speaker 1: I don't know how to comment on that. 710 00:37:21,030 --> 00:37:24,049 Speaker 2: Whatever gets them through their day because they actually, they 711 00:37:24,110 --> 00:37:26,870 Speaker 2: do have to deal with literal diarrhea. 712 00:37:26,890 --> 00:37:29,400 Speaker 1: It's a dark time, whatever gets you through it. 713 00:37:29,410 --> 00:37:30,009 Speaker 2: Yeah. 714 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,980 Speaker 1: Eventually in late December, they get a break. They find 715 00:37:34,020 --> 00:37:36,799 Speaker 1: that two nursing homes and an elementary school each have 716 00:37:36,820 --> 00:37:39,739 Speaker 1: a cluster of cases and everyone seems to have eaten 717 00:37:39,780 --> 00:37:42,640 Speaker 1: peanut butter. One of the nursing homes still has a 718 00:37:42,739 --> 00:37:46,360 Speaker 1: jar of peanut butter that they had used on hand. 719 00:37:46,700 --> 00:37:49,990 Speaker 1: It's from a brand called King Nut, which only sells 720 00:37:50,090 --> 00:37:53,890 Speaker 1: to institutions like nursing homes, hospitals, and schools, and is 721 00:37:54,030 --> 00:37:57,930 Speaker 1: fully made by the Peanut Corporation of America. Which I 722 00:37:57,969 --> 00:38:00,469 Speaker 1: don't think you should be allowed to call your company that. 723 00:38:00,510 --> 00:38:03,900 Speaker 1: Doesn't it seem like they represent the country in peanuts? 724 00:38:04,540 --> 00:38:06,719 Speaker 1: Like call it Joe's Peanut Corporation. 725 00:38:06,780 --> 00:38:10,080 Speaker 2: It's not like, you know what I mean? NBC is 726 00:38:10,140 --> 00:38:14,739 Speaker 2: the National Biscuit Company or whatever. It was a good 727 00:38:14,900 --> 00:38:17,180 Speaker 2: naming device back then because it's like, no, no, no, 728 00:38:17,219 --> 00:38:20,530 Speaker 2: I'm not just a guy that built this by myself earlier. 729 00:38:21,430 --> 00:38:23,070 Speaker 2: We're a whole thing of America. 730 00:38:23,150 --> 00:38:25,470 Speaker 1: I don't think we should be able to do that. 731 00:38:25,510 --> 00:38:28,670 Speaker 1: It's so not clear that it's like just a fucking 732 00:38:28,730 --> 00:38:31,680 Speaker 1: company of executives making decisions, you know? 733 00:38:31,930 --> 00:38:33,719 Speaker 2: It's just a bunch of people that do not have 734 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:35,600 Speaker 2: peanut allergies. Exactly. Exactly. 735 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 1: So the Peanut Corporation of America had originated as a 736 00:38:38,700 --> 00:38:41,830 Speaker 1: family business started by a man named Hugh Parnell, who 737 00:38:41,890 --> 00:38:46,410 Speaker 1: mostly sold raw peanuts to candy manufacturers. In 1977, the 738 00:38:46,450 --> 00:38:49,690 Speaker 1: Parnells buy a roasting facility in Virginia and start roasting 739 00:38:49,730 --> 00:38:52,860 Speaker 1: their own peanuts and eventually making their own peanut products. 740 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,520 Speaker 1: In the 90s, Hugh sells the company, but just six 741 00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,940 Speaker 1: years later, his sons buy it back, led by the 742 00:39:00,060 --> 00:39:04,860 Speaker 1: eldest named Stuart. So that's Stuart Parnell. And business booms 743 00:39:05,020 --> 00:39:07,940 Speaker 1: through the early 2000s. People looking at the situation in 744 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,020 Speaker 1: retrospect now think that the key to their success laid 745 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:15,540 Speaker 1: in three hallmark practices of the business, which is number one, 746 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:20,130 Speaker 1: sourcing the cheapest peanuts possible. Number two, paying workers very little. 747 00:39:20,650 --> 00:39:24,149 Speaker 1: And number three, not maintaining the facilities very well, just 748 00:39:24,190 --> 00:39:25,310 Speaker 1: like Exactly Right Media. 749 00:39:25,330 --> 00:39:30,279 Speaker 2: I will show you pictures of that hallmark. of that 750 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:31,560 Speaker 2: Halloween party they had. 751 00:39:31,780 --> 00:39:34,780 Speaker 1: I know, they had a Halloween party. It was the best. 752 00:39:35,180 --> 00:39:38,020 Speaker 1: It was so good. They really did it. So there's 753 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:40,060 Speaker 1: a man named David Brooks. He's a buyer for a 754 00:39:40,260 --> 00:39:43,300 Speaker 1: snack company, and he has long refused to do business 755 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:45,839 Speaker 1: with the Peanut Corporation of America. And this was based 756 00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:48,690 Speaker 1: on three visits he made to the company's processing facility 757 00:39:48,710 --> 00:39:53,120 Speaker 1: in in the 80s. Brooks says, quote, it was just filthy. 758 00:39:53,300 --> 00:39:56,520 Speaker 1: Dust was all over the beams, the braces of the building, 759 00:39:56,980 --> 00:39:59,359 Speaker 1: the roof leaked, the windows would be open and birds 760 00:39:59,380 --> 00:40:01,860 Speaker 1: would fly through the building. What? It was just a 761 00:40:01,980 --> 00:40:04,500 Speaker 1: time bomb waiting to go off and everybody in the 762 00:40:04,580 --> 00:40:08,410 Speaker 1: peanut industry in Georgia, Virginia, and Texas, they all knew, 763 00:40:08,430 --> 00:40:09,290 Speaker 1: end quote. 764 00:40:09,370 --> 00:40:12,020 Speaker 2: You know, I'm just thinking of it like, And I'm 765 00:40:12,300 --> 00:40:14,900 Speaker 2: truly talking off the top of my head and out 766 00:40:14,940 --> 00:40:15,879 Speaker 2: of my ass right now. 767 00:40:15,980 --> 00:40:16,340 Speaker 1: Yeah. 768 00:40:17,300 --> 00:40:19,700 Speaker 2: But like, it feels to me like the peanut industry 769 00:40:19,820 --> 00:40:23,220 Speaker 2: was really like a major thing in this country. 770 00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:23,940 Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. 771 00:40:23,980 --> 00:40:26,259 Speaker 2: Like back in the day, you know what I mean? 772 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,550 Speaker 2: Like peanut farmers and like the way... You know, people 773 00:40:29,610 --> 00:40:32,360 Speaker 2: in Georgia like made their money and it was a 774 00:40:32,469 --> 00:40:35,000 Speaker 2: huge thing. There's a reason we all eat peanut butter. 775 00:40:35,020 --> 00:40:38,480 Speaker 1: Totally. We eat so much freaking peanut butter in this country, 776 00:40:38,540 --> 00:40:40,439 Speaker 1: I'd imagine more than any anywhere else. 777 00:40:40,580 --> 00:40:43,359 Speaker 2: Yeah. And they're like, yeah, the birds can come through here. 778 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:47,430 Speaker 1: Totally. Peanut scientists, email us at MyFavoriteMurder at Gmail and 779 00:40:47,450 --> 00:40:47,799 Speaker 1: tell us. 780 00:40:47,989 --> 00:40:49,280 Speaker 2: We want to know. 781 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:50,819 Speaker 1: We want to know how big it is. How big 782 00:40:50,860 --> 00:40:53,520 Speaker 1: is Big Peanut here in the U.S. 783 00:40:53,620 --> 00:40:56,719 Speaker 2: You know, they just did get, because it is, you know, 784 00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:00,489 Speaker 2: it's Halloween time, but they just did a story about 785 00:41:00,550 --> 00:41:04,840 Speaker 2: how candy is getting really bad because... Like private equity 786 00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:07,359 Speaker 2: keeps buying into candy companies and then just being like, 787 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:09,509 Speaker 2: you don't need real cocoa. You don't need real this. 788 00:41:09,530 --> 00:41:10,530 Speaker 1: And they just. 789 00:41:10,450 --> 00:41:12,370 Speaker 2: Keep making everything taste worse. 790 00:41:12,630 --> 00:41:14,570 Speaker 1: And everyone's like, oh, is it because I'm not a 791 00:41:14,610 --> 00:41:18,090 Speaker 1: kid anymore? No, it's because nobody gives a fuck anymore. Yeah. 792 00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:19,160 Speaker 2: We need that oversight. 793 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:23,330 Speaker 1: We got to bring it back. Imagine that. So Brooks 794 00:41:23,410 --> 00:41:26,850 Speaker 1: mentions the fact that it's also Georgia, Virginia, and Texas 795 00:41:26,910 --> 00:41:30,779 Speaker 1: because the Peanut Corporation of America has facilities in all 796 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:35,239 Speaker 1: three states and all appear to be equally filthy. I know. 797 00:41:35,540 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 1: This seems to consistently remain the case into the 90s 798 00:41:38,739 --> 00:41:42,310 Speaker 1: and the 2000s. In 2006, a new assistant manager named 799 00:41:42,350 --> 00:41:45,690 Speaker 1: Ken Kendrick points out cleanliness issues at the facility itself. 800 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:49,120 Speaker 1: The leaking roof being the most egregious. And he'll later 801 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:52,970 Speaker 1: tell reporters, quote, water, particularly anything leaking off of a roof. 802 00:41:53,510 --> 00:41:55,850 Speaker 1: And this is where things get a little disgusting. There 803 00:41:55,910 --> 00:41:59,350 Speaker 1: is bird feces washing in. Yeah. This is a quote. 804 00:41:59,730 --> 00:42:02,089 Speaker 1: The owner wouldn't give us the money to do what 805 00:42:02,110 --> 00:42:05,430 Speaker 1: we needed to do. The funds were not there, end quote. 806 00:42:05,489 --> 00:42:09,290 Speaker 1: And so he quits the job pretty quickly after he 807 00:42:09,350 --> 00:42:11,910 Speaker 1: gets it. He's just like, I can't in good faith 808 00:42:12,180 --> 00:42:14,120 Speaker 1: do this without... I mean. 809 00:42:14,610 --> 00:42:17,000 Speaker 2: It is that thing where it's like, after a little while, 810 00:42:17,020 --> 00:42:22,100 Speaker 2: the greed doesn't even make sense anymore. It's just insanity 811 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:26,060 Speaker 2: and you are doing damage and pretending it doesn't matter. Totally. 812 00:42:26,460 --> 00:42:30,720 Speaker 1: Totally. There's a thing called moral something. 813 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:31,549 Speaker 2: Moral peanuts? 814 00:42:32,030 --> 00:42:33,070 Speaker 1: Moral peanuts. 815 00:42:33,930 --> 00:42:37,550 Speaker 2: Where you don't put bird shit into your peanut mix? Yeah. 816 00:42:37,750 --> 00:42:41,070 Speaker 1: I love that kind. That's it. Moral peanuts. Moral peanuts. 817 00:42:41,550 --> 00:42:45,410 Speaker 1: But then in early 2009, after Ken had left the position, 818 00:42:45,830 --> 00:42:48,629 Speaker 1: he hears that a PCA facility in Georgia has been 819 00:42:48,670 --> 00:42:51,230 Speaker 1: linked to the Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota. And so he 820 00:42:51,330 --> 00:42:55,430 Speaker 1: actually calls authorities and keeps calling them, telling them that 821 00:42:55,469 --> 00:42:58,069 Speaker 1: whatever problems they are seeing in Georgia will likely be 822 00:42:58,110 --> 00:43:01,000 Speaker 1: found in the Texas facility as well. So he's just like, 823 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:02,520 Speaker 1: I'm not only going to quit my job, I'm going 824 00:43:02,540 --> 00:43:05,180 Speaker 1: to be a whistleblower because this is so fucked. 825 00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:08,160 Speaker 2: And how maddening where you're like, it's worse than you 826 00:43:08,219 --> 00:43:12,000 Speaker 2: even think because it's not just In the place you're 827 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:13,840 Speaker 2: focusing on, you've got more coming. 828 00:43:13,940 --> 00:43:15,040 Speaker 1: Totally. Totally. 829 00:43:15,060 --> 00:43:15,440 Speaker 2: Horrible. 830 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:18,900 Speaker 1: So sure enough, just as Ken had said, in February 831 00:43:19,100 --> 00:43:22,820 Speaker 1: of 2009, Texas authorities shut down a peanut corporation plant 832 00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:28,440 Speaker 1: in Plainview after discovering dead rodents, their excrement, and bird 833 00:43:28,500 --> 00:43:33,200 Speaker 1: feathers near an air exchange that ventilates into the production room. 834 00:43:33,700 --> 00:43:36,029 Speaker 1: Have you heard that thing where, like, there's allowed to 835 00:43:36,070 --> 00:43:39,670 Speaker 1: be a certain amount of, like, bug poop? Parts in 836 00:43:39,770 --> 00:43:41,190 Speaker 1: peanut butter or something like that. 837 00:43:41,350 --> 00:43:44,300 Speaker 2: Yeah. There's all kinds of things like that with food. 838 00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:44,420 Speaker 1: Yeah. 839 00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,439 Speaker 2: Again, I don't want to know the problem with like 840 00:43:48,500 --> 00:43:51,160 Speaker 2: when they made that argument of like corporations or people. 841 00:43:51,380 --> 00:43:53,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. It's like God. 842 00:43:53,219 --> 00:43:55,600 Speaker 2: But the problem is that there's some people in this 843 00:43:55,660 --> 00:43:58,640 Speaker 2: world that are immoral and don't give a shit about 844 00:43:58,660 --> 00:43:59,560 Speaker 2: other people. 845 00:43:59,580 --> 00:44:00,400 Speaker 1: Exactly. 846 00:44:00,420 --> 00:44:03,419 Speaker 2: It's not a good thing. No. 847 00:44:03,500 --> 00:44:06,420 Speaker 1: Later, it'll become apparent that there was either a massive 848 00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:09,480 Speaker 1: oversight on the part of Texas authorities or possibly some 849 00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:14,380 Speaker 1: corruption that's never been fully unraveled. That Texas plant opened 850 00:44:14,420 --> 00:44:17,650 Speaker 1: in 2005, and at the plant, peanuts were blanched, roasted, 851 00:44:17,750 --> 00:44:20,290 Speaker 1: and chopped, but the facility never got a state license 852 00:44:20,330 --> 00:44:25,080 Speaker 1: to manufacture food. The state never performed a single inspection 853 00:44:25,300 --> 00:44:28,240 Speaker 1: until that one four years later when all the rodent 854 00:44:28,300 --> 00:44:29,860 Speaker 1: and bird activity was discovered. 855 00:44:30,100 --> 00:44:30,500 Speaker 2: Damn. 856 00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:34,670 Speaker 1: So... That's allegedly. Tests from this inspection come back positive 857 00:44:34,710 --> 00:44:38,250 Speaker 1: for Salmonella, and a sweeping recall is issued of everything 858 00:44:38,690 --> 00:44:41,230 Speaker 1: ever produced at the facility in the entire time it 859 00:44:41,270 --> 00:44:43,690 Speaker 1: had been in operation. So all of this, of course, 860 00:44:43,910 --> 00:44:47,089 Speaker 1: is very bad. But what makes this situation cross over 861 00:44:47,150 --> 00:44:51,590 Speaker 1: into criminal territory? Well, when the FDA inspects the Georgia plant, 862 00:44:51,650 --> 00:44:57,719 Speaker 1: they invoke a 2002 law aimed at counteracting bioterrorism. And 863 00:44:57,739 --> 00:44:59,500 Speaker 1: they do this in order to gain access to the 864 00:44:59,540 --> 00:45:03,839 Speaker 1: company records. So it wasn't criminal until this moment that 865 00:45:03,860 --> 00:45:06,140 Speaker 1: they were so, you know, lax. 866 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:08,080 Speaker 2: This was more like they were going to be given 867 00:45:08,219 --> 00:45:10,430 Speaker 2: fines and told to clean up. 868 00:45:10,530 --> 00:45:14,930 Speaker 1: Exactly. But I think it was so severe that the 869 00:45:15,090 --> 00:45:18,910 Speaker 1: FDA was like, fuck this. These are records that state inspectors, 870 00:45:19,290 --> 00:45:21,819 Speaker 1: you know, wouldn't have been able to gain access if 871 00:45:22,070 --> 00:45:25,279 Speaker 1: it was just, you know, regular charges. These records show 872 00:45:25,300 --> 00:45:29,070 Speaker 1: that on 12 occasions between 2007 and 2008, tests of 873 00:45:29,110 --> 00:45:32,410 Speaker 1: peanut products made in the Georgia plants came up showing 874 00:45:32,650 --> 00:45:36,569 Speaker 1: salmonella contamination. And after this, subsequent tests seemed to come 875 00:45:36,650 --> 00:45:40,009 Speaker 1: up with clean results, but these initial tests would have 876 00:45:40,070 --> 00:45:43,200 Speaker 1: prompted the company to quarantine the products immediately. And deep 877 00:45:43,260 --> 00:45:45,719 Speaker 1: clean the processing plants, but none of that happened. 878 00:45:46,239 --> 00:45:50,000 Speaker 2: They're not even lightly cleaning. They're not even doing a 879 00:45:50,380 --> 00:45:53,580 Speaker 2: Karen on a Saturday afternoon just in case someone drops 880 00:45:53,719 --> 00:45:55,560 Speaker 2: by Passover clean. 881 00:45:55,860 --> 00:45:56,060 Speaker 1: Nope. 882 00:45:57,040 --> 00:45:58,000 Speaker 2: Bird shit. 883 00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:02,900 Speaker 1: Bird and rat shit. Like, come on. Come on. Why 884 00:46:02,920 --> 00:46:05,860 Speaker 1: do we have to ask? Why do we have to ask? Yeah, 885 00:46:05,900 --> 00:46:09,719 Speaker 1: why can't... At the same time, in February of 2009, 886 00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:13,239 Speaker 1: at the start of the Obama administration, Congress conducts its 887 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:17,050 Speaker 1: own investigation into the company, and through this investigation, internal 888 00:46:17,170 --> 00:46:21,350 Speaker 1: emails are released. These emails demonstrate that Stuart Parnell, the 889 00:46:21,370 --> 00:46:23,489 Speaker 1: head of the company, the son of the guy who 890 00:46:23,530 --> 00:46:26,690 Speaker 1: started it, and other higher-ups knew there were issues with 891 00:46:26,730 --> 00:46:30,410 Speaker 1: salmonella and other food safety concerns. It also shows that 892 00:46:30,430 --> 00:46:33,920 Speaker 1: the company would falsify test results by testing one batch 893 00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:38,620 Speaker 1: of products repeatedly. then assigning those results to lot numbers 894 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:42,000 Speaker 1: of products that had never been tested. Peanut Corporation of 895 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:47,250 Speaker 1: America had signed contracts with food manufacturers, including Kellogg's, certifying 896 00:46:47,310 --> 00:46:50,090 Speaker 1: that all peanuts had been grown in the U.S. unless 897 00:46:50,150 --> 00:46:53,930 Speaker 1: otherwise specified. But it becomes apparent with the records that 898 00:46:53,950 --> 00:46:57,609 Speaker 1: about 70% of the peanut paste the company had sent 899 00:46:57,650 --> 00:47:00,759 Speaker 1: to Kellogg's had actually been from overseas. So they're just 900 00:47:00,780 --> 00:47:01,440 Speaker 1: straight up lying. 901 00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:03,700 Speaker 2: I'm sorry because this is a little random, but this 902 00:47:03,780 --> 00:47:06,509 Speaker 2: reminds me of that story that a doc series that 903 00:47:06,530 --> 00:47:09,210 Speaker 2: came out about the mortuary guy that was just throwing 904 00:47:09,250 --> 00:47:14,890 Speaker 2: bodies where it's like the internal mechanism to go what's 905 00:47:14,969 --> 00:47:18,129 Speaker 2: right or wrong, what's good or bad. And they're not 906 00:47:18,170 --> 00:47:20,210 Speaker 2: seeing it's like, yeah, you can't just do one of 907 00:47:20,270 --> 00:47:21,530 Speaker 2: these and walk away. 908 00:47:21,550 --> 00:47:23,070 Speaker 1: Yeah. Consequences. 909 00:47:23,690 --> 00:47:27,160 Speaker 2: There's consequences and you're creating a situation that you're going 910 00:47:27,200 --> 00:47:29,000 Speaker 2: to have to answer for at some point. 911 00:47:29,020 --> 00:47:29,160 Speaker 1: Totally. 912 00:47:29,180 --> 00:47:32,379 Speaker 2: Like you can't just keep Putting like a cover over 913 00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:33,800 Speaker 2: it and being like, it's fine. 914 00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:37,480 Speaker 1: Exactly. It's just crazy. It stresses me out. You can 915 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:41,820 Speaker 1: when there's no oversight whatsoever. In another email, Stewart's daughter, 916 00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:44,760 Speaker 1: who works at the company, emails the company's national sales 917 00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:48,080 Speaker 1: manager and says, quote, they, meaning the peanuts, need to 918 00:47:48,140 --> 00:47:50,840 Speaker 1: be air-hosed off because they are covered with dust and 919 00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:54,029 Speaker 1: rat crap, end quote. So just put it in fucking writing. 920 00:47:54,050 --> 00:47:55,950 Speaker 2: How about, no, no, throw those ones away. 921 00:47:56,310 --> 00:47:57,730 Speaker 1: Don't air-host. 922 00:47:58,130 --> 00:47:58,790 Speaker 2: No. Oh, no, no. 923 00:47:58,790 --> 00:48:01,629 Speaker 1: It's a five-second rule in rat shit. Doesn't fucking, that 924 00:48:01,670 --> 00:48:06,590 Speaker 1: doesn't work. There's no air-host. There's no, what the fuck? Yeah. 925 00:48:07,260 --> 00:48:09,960 Speaker 2: That's not, I love a person coming in and pretending 926 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:12,040 Speaker 2: they're really mad where it's like, you know, we have 927 00:48:12,060 --> 00:48:14,910 Speaker 2: to air-host these all off. Yeah. Or it's like, No, no, no. 928 00:48:15,170 --> 00:48:17,509 Speaker 1: It's over. And also, like, how crazy is it they 929 00:48:17,550 --> 00:48:20,049 Speaker 1: put it in writing? That, like, did that mean they 930 00:48:20,090 --> 00:48:22,489 Speaker 1: didn't think that they were doing anything wrong or that 931 00:48:22,630 --> 00:48:24,510 Speaker 1: they didn't think they'd ever get caught? 932 00:48:24,630 --> 00:48:28,410 Speaker 2: Well, I think this was early enough in, like, computer 933 00:48:28,469 --> 00:48:31,300 Speaker 2: internet times where no one understood it was forever. 934 00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:33,500 Speaker 1: Right, right, right, right, right. Totally. 935 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:36,279 Speaker 2: Including, like, email stuff. They're just like, this is my 936 00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:37,439 Speaker 2: private email server. 937 00:48:37,460 --> 00:48:37,920 Speaker 1: Totally. 938 00:48:38,020 --> 00:48:39,040 Speaker 2: It's work email. 939 00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:39,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. 940 00:48:39,239 --> 00:48:39,419 Speaker 2: Yeah. 941 00:48:40,320 --> 00:48:43,069 Speaker 1: Another set of emails from March of 2007 has a 942 00:48:43,390 --> 00:48:46,270 Speaker 1: manager from one plant telling Stewart that the test results 943 00:48:46,330 --> 00:48:49,330 Speaker 1: for salmonella and other pathogens were not ready for a 944 00:48:49,370 --> 00:48:52,089 Speaker 1: batch of peanut products that were scheduled to go out. 945 00:48:52,190 --> 00:48:55,560 Speaker 1: And Stewart wrote back, quote, just ship it, end quote. 946 00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:58,530 Speaker 1: So like, bro. Just fuck it. 947 00:48:58,560 --> 00:48:58,739 Speaker 2: No. 948 00:48:59,540 --> 00:49:01,000 Speaker 1: And then goes home at night and is like to 949 00:49:01,020 --> 00:49:03,339 Speaker 1: the kids, like, don't eat, don't eat that peanut butter. Yes, 950 00:49:03,380 --> 00:49:05,460 Speaker 1: we get free peanut butter from the plant that I own, 951 00:49:05,500 --> 00:49:07,420 Speaker 1: but we're not, we don't have that in the house. 952 00:49:07,620 --> 00:49:09,969 Speaker 2: Is this the kind of person that's gotten a family 953 00:49:10,050 --> 00:49:12,029 Speaker 2: for themselves? Or is this the kind of person that 954 00:49:12,170 --> 00:49:15,670 Speaker 2: leaves work, goes straight to a bar, talks very loudly 955 00:49:15,730 --> 00:49:18,730 Speaker 2: about other things and tries to push all of the 956 00:49:18,750 --> 00:49:19,549 Speaker 2: air hose? 957 00:49:20,340 --> 00:49:24,160 Speaker 1: Off of Ratched away? I bet both. I bet both 958 00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:27,080 Speaker 1: of those things are true. Some people can do it all, truly. 959 00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:32,670 Speaker 1: Two years after these investigations begin in 2013, Stuart Parnell, 960 00:49:32,969 --> 00:49:37,130 Speaker 1: his brother Michael, and three other company executives are indicted 961 00:49:37,150 --> 00:49:40,650 Speaker 1: for Two of the other executives plead guilty and cooperate 962 00:49:40,670 --> 00:49:43,290 Speaker 1: in exchange for a lighter sentence. The third is found 963 00:49:43,330 --> 00:49:46,860 Speaker 1: guilty and sentenced to six years in prison. And Stuart 964 00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:49,460 Speaker 1: and Michael, who own the company and are the sons 965 00:49:49,500 --> 00:49:52,900 Speaker 1: of the guy who created it, they're found guilty of 966 00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:56,860 Speaker 1: multiple counts of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and the 967 00:49:56,969 --> 00:50:01,060 Speaker 1: sale of misbranded food. Stewart is also convicted of the 968 00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:04,980 Speaker 1: introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce. 969 00:50:05,140 --> 00:50:06,239 Speaker 2: You're not allowed to do that? 970 00:50:06,540 --> 00:50:09,049 Speaker 1: No, like it sounds like a kidnapping thing where it's like, oh, 971 00:50:09,070 --> 00:50:10,670 Speaker 1: you took this food over state lines. 972 00:50:11,070 --> 00:50:14,910 Speaker 2: Yeah, and you adulterated it. Or inadulterated it? 973 00:50:15,050 --> 00:50:16,989 Speaker 1: I don't know. You did something gross to it. 974 00:50:17,070 --> 00:50:18,430 Speaker 2: You did something adult to it. 975 00:50:18,730 --> 00:50:21,430 Speaker 1: These are some of the stiffest sentences ever given to 976 00:50:21,469 --> 00:50:26,950 Speaker 1: an executive in a food poisoning outbreak. Again, in Obama's administration, 977 00:50:27,150 --> 00:50:31,650 Speaker 1: because that would never happen today. Investigators believe that as 978 00:50:31,690 --> 00:50:35,750 Speaker 1: many as 20,000 people, possibly more, were made sick from 979 00:50:35,830 --> 00:50:41,210 Speaker 1: salmonella in Peanut Corporation of America products. At least nine people, 980 00:50:41,270 --> 00:50:42,770 Speaker 1: but possibly more, died. 981 00:50:42,910 --> 00:50:43,570 Speaker 2: Oh, my God. 982 00:50:43,590 --> 00:50:45,549 Speaker 1: But were never traced back to the PCA. 983 00:50:45,570 --> 00:50:46,110 Speaker 2: Right. 984 00:50:46,510 --> 00:50:49,110 Speaker 1: No children are killed in the outbreak, but several become 985 00:50:49,180 --> 00:50:52,410 Speaker 1: very ill. In the wake of this and other outbreaks, 986 00:50:52,430 --> 00:50:56,570 Speaker 1: the Obama administration introduced sweeping new regulations to food safety 987 00:50:56,610 --> 00:51:01,640 Speaker 1: systems aimed at preventing outbreaks instead of reacting to them. Unfortunately, 988 00:51:01,660 --> 00:51:05,760 Speaker 1: during the second Trump administration, the FDA has lost about 20% 989 00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:09,000 Speaker 1: of its staff and the CDC has lost 25% of 990 00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:13,480 Speaker 1: their staff. The CDC used to have 11 scientists tracking 991 00:51:13,520 --> 00:51:16,070 Speaker 1: food parasites. Now it has three. 992 00:51:16,090 --> 00:51:22,339 Speaker 2: And one of them is RFK. I am too a scientist. 993 00:51:22,450 --> 00:51:25,640 Speaker 1: I'm wearing a white coat. Ivanka Trump is the head. 994 00:51:25,660 --> 00:51:31,080 Speaker 1: These cuts were widely attributed to having exacerbated the cyclospora 995 00:51:31,239 --> 00:51:36,140 Speaker 1: outbreak from this past summer. Guys, it's all connected. And 996 00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:40,279 Speaker 1: that is the story of the Peanut Corporation of America scandal. 997 00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:43,200 Speaker 2: I'm sorry, but I kind of want to rename my 998 00:51:43,880 --> 00:51:48,080 Speaker 2: LLC the Peanut Corporation of America. 999 00:51:48,100 --> 00:51:51,279 Speaker 1: What about the Karen Kilgariff Corporation of America? You're the 1000 00:51:51,420 --> 00:51:54,040 Speaker 1: only one who's in charge of Karen Kilgariff. 1001 00:51:54,380 --> 00:51:58,239 Speaker 2: But I love bird shit, so there's a real push-pull 1002 00:51:58,300 --> 00:51:59,739 Speaker 2: about me and my recipes. 1003 00:51:59,820 --> 00:52:03,300 Speaker 1: Just hose down your house with the air hose. Before 1004 00:52:03,320 --> 00:52:04,100 Speaker 1: people come over. 1005 00:52:04,540 --> 00:52:07,549 Speaker 2: I'm going to have to air hose this cat shit 1006 00:52:08,050 --> 00:52:08,990 Speaker 2: out of your dinner. 1007 00:52:09,010 --> 00:52:11,649 Speaker 1: Oh my God. What? No, thank you. 1008 00:52:11,710 --> 00:52:12,230 Speaker 2: No. 1009 00:52:12,590 --> 00:52:14,550 Speaker 1: Oh God. It just makes you want to just grow 1010 00:52:14,590 --> 00:52:16,630 Speaker 1: your own food for the rest of your life. 1011 00:52:16,930 --> 00:52:18,770 Speaker 2: I mean, it feels like that's what so many people 1012 00:52:18,830 --> 00:52:19,250 Speaker 2: are doing. 1013 00:52:19,410 --> 00:52:21,969 Speaker 1: Oh, and also, of course, this podcast will kill you. 1014 00:52:22,010 --> 00:52:25,520 Speaker 1: Did an episode on salmonella. That is incredible. So go 1015 00:52:25,540 --> 00:52:28,259 Speaker 1: listen to that. It's episode 99. Check that out. 1016 00:52:28,340 --> 00:52:32,040 Speaker 2: Nice. Yeah, get all the ins and outs of salmonella 1017 00:52:32,340 --> 00:52:33,560 Speaker 2: that you didn't get here. 1018 00:52:33,860 --> 00:52:36,940 Speaker 1: Get it so that you know when it's happening instead 1019 00:52:36,980 --> 00:52:40,009 Speaker 1: of being like, I'm so sick. And no, you're not. 1020 00:52:40,469 --> 00:52:44,860 Speaker 1: Like you ate something wrong. Did you see the Lizzie 1021 00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:47,380 Speaker 1: Borden Monsters Lizzie Borden show? There's a scene in it 1022 00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:49,260 Speaker 1: where they eat tainted oyster stew. 1023 00:52:49,280 --> 00:52:49,340 Speaker 2: Oh. 1024 00:52:50,120 --> 00:52:54,560 Speaker 1: And it is the most disgusting, but probably accurate scene 1025 00:52:55,100 --> 00:52:58,279 Speaker 1: I have ever seen that made me go, no, I'm 1026 00:52:58,320 --> 00:52:59,439 Speaker 1: never eating oysters again. 1027 00:52:59,460 --> 00:53:01,960 Speaker 2: I have to say, you just reminded me, I started 1028 00:53:02,020 --> 00:53:05,120 Speaker 2: that before I left for vacation. And it was, I 1029 00:53:05,160 --> 00:53:07,880 Speaker 2: think I got to episode two of that, of Lizzie 1030 00:53:07,900 --> 00:53:08,740 Speaker 2: Borden Monsters. 1031 00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:12,620 Speaker 1: Ella Beatty, she's Warren Beatty and Annette Bening's daughter. And 1032 00:53:12,660 --> 00:53:13,620 Speaker 1: she's in Incredible. 1033 00:53:13,800 --> 00:53:15,340 Speaker 2: Oh, my God. Yeah. 1034 00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:16,850 Speaker 1: I know. I know. 1035 00:53:17,010 --> 00:53:20,250 Speaker 2: Here's the thing about acting nepo babies is they got 1036 00:53:20,290 --> 00:53:21,670 Speaker 2: raised by actors. Totally. 1037 00:53:21,690 --> 00:53:21,990 Speaker 1: Totally. 1038 00:53:22,530 --> 00:53:27,110 Speaker 2: So it's not, it's different than some of these Nepo situations. Like, 1039 00:53:27,170 --> 00:53:30,270 Speaker 2: it's like, if you have a mom, that's the most bad. 1040 00:53:30,370 --> 00:53:32,589 Speaker 2: If you have, if your mom's Meryl Streep, you should 1041 00:53:32,640 --> 00:53:35,759 Speaker 2: get parts because you already know how to do this shit. 1042 00:53:35,920 --> 00:53:38,460 Speaker 1: Yeah. I feel like with this one, Ella Beatty's like, bitches, 1043 00:53:38,700 --> 00:53:40,680 Speaker 1: no one better call me a Nepo baby because I'm 1044 00:53:40,700 --> 00:53:42,600 Speaker 1: going to do this so well. Like, it's, it's really good. 1045 00:53:42,620 --> 00:53:44,980 Speaker 1: Back up. Back all the way up. I love that. 1046 00:53:45,300 --> 00:53:47,900 Speaker 2: That's a truly hot take in 2026. I'm like, you 1047 00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:49,680 Speaker 2: know what? I love Nepo babies. 1048 00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:55,650 Speaker 1: We need more Nepo babies. Plumber Nepo babies. Peanut Corporation 1049 00:53:55,710 --> 00:53:56,890 Speaker 1: of America Nepo babies. 1050 00:53:57,090 --> 00:53:59,450 Speaker 2: I was going to say, the Peanut Corporation of America 1051 00:53:59,530 --> 00:54:03,250 Speaker 2: really was not served by their Nepo babies. It depends 1052 00:54:03,350 --> 00:54:05,609 Speaker 2: on the milieu. Oh my God. 1053 00:54:05,650 --> 00:54:08,509 Speaker 1: Can we talk about who the first podcasting Nepo baby 1054 00:54:08,530 --> 00:54:12,009 Speaker 1: is going to be? Because there's going to be one, 1055 00:54:12,230 --> 00:54:14,830 Speaker 1: and it's not going to be ours. Who's it going 1056 00:54:14,850 --> 00:54:17,230 Speaker 1: to be? Well, she grew up with a podcaster, so 1057 00:54:17,250 --> 00:54:19,629 Speaker 1: of course she has a podcast. 1058 00:54:19,930 --> 00:54:23,450 Speaker 2: Of course she speaks compulsively about things that happen in 1059 00:54:23,510 --> 00:54:27,090 Speaker 2: junior high that don't apply to the subject at hand. 1060 00:54:27,110 --> 00:54:30,319 Speaker 1: Oh, my God. Ira Glass, where are your children? Are 1061 00:54:30,340 --> 00:54:31,839 Speaker 1: they podcasting? We need to know. 1062 00:54:32,580 --> 00:54:33,920 Speaker 2: We demand to see your children. 1063 00:54:33,940 --> 00:54:34,819 Speaker 1: We must know. 1064 00:54:35,560 --> 00:54:38,160 Speaker 2: Well... That was great. I mean, upsetting, and there's a 1065 00:54:38,180 --> 00:54:41,590 Speaker 2: lot to think about. People are all opening... Their packages 1066 00:54:41,650 --> 00:54:44,310 Speaker 2: of something with peanut butter and closing them back up. 1067 00:54:44,370 --> 00:54:47,259 Speaker 1: Like, Uncrustables would never, you know? God. 1068 00:54:47,840 --> 00:54:48,739 Speaker 2: We'd know right away. 1069 00:54:48,760 --> 00:54:51,700 Speaker 1: We would, because I live off of those. 1070 00:54:52,200 --> 00:54:53,360 Speaker 2: They're pretty goddamn great. 1071 00:54:53,400 --> 00:54:56,739 Speaker 1: Well, thanks for listening, everyone. We're back from break, and 1072 00:54:56,760 --> 00:54:58,700 Speaker 1: we're happy we'll be back on video next week. 1073 00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:03,089 Speaker 2: This was very retro. This actually reminds me of COVID. 1074 00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:07,049 Speaker 1: I know, me too. The pandemic, having to record on 1075 00:55:07,510 --> 00:55:08,890 Speaker 1: fucking Zoom every time. 1076 00:55:08,910 --> 00:55:11,430 Speaker 2: Yep. Being like, hey, what's up? 1077 00:55:11,530 --> 00:55:13,290 Speaker 1: And then you have to see your own stupid face 1078 00:55:13,350 --> 00:55:15,090 Speaker 1: in the Zoom thing. I hate it. 1079 00:55:15,250 --> 00:55:18,049 Speaker 2: I know. Well, I covered mine. I used my piece 1080 00:55:18,090 --> 00:55:19,890 Speaker 2: of paper to cover the Zoom thing while I was 1081 00:55:19,950 --> 00:55:22,319 Speaker 2: talking because I just will keep on looking at my hair. 1082 00:55:24,050 --> 00:55:26,589 Speaker 2: There's a whole part I just don't brush. I'm sure 1083 00:55:26,630 --> 00:55:29,140 Speaker 2: you've noticed. There's a whole part I'm like, oh, that's 1084 00:55:29,160 --> 00:55:31,480 Speaker 2: not my problem. That's whoever's back there's problem. 1085 00:55:31,719 --> 00:55:33,560 Speaker 1: It's none of your business. If you can't see it, 1086 00:55:33,600 --> 00:55:35,320 Speaker 1: that part of your hair is none of your business. 1087 00:55:36,080 --> 00:55:37,940 Speaker 2: And that's what my mother did. And so that's what 1088 00:55:38,020 --> 00:55:41,210 Speaker 2: I will do. Because I'm a nepo baby. A nepo baby. 1089 00:55:42,010 --> 00:55:44,730 Speaker 2: Of laziness. Yeah. All right. Thanks, everybody. 1090 00:55:44,770 --> 00:55:49,930 Speaker 1: Stay sexy. And don't get murdered. Goodbye. Elvis, do you 1091 00:55:49,950 --> 00:55:50,430 Speaker 1: want a cookie? 1092 00:55:58,380 --> 00:56:00,200 Speaker 2: This has been an Exactly Right production. 1093 00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:02,120 Speaker 1: Our managing producer is Molly Smith. 1094 00:56:02,340 --> 00:56:04,280 Speaker 2: Our consulting producer is Kate Schellenbach. 1095 00:56:04,400 --> 00:56:06,120 Speaker 1: Our creative lead is Allison Agosti. 1096 00:56:06,420 --> 00:56:09,180 Speaker 2: Our associate producer is Tessa Hughes, and our editor is 1097 00:56:09,300 --> 00:56:10,460 Speaker 2: Aristotle Acevedo. 1098 00:56:10,680 --> 00:56:12,779 Speaker 1: This episode was mixed by Liana Squalacci. 1099 00:56:12,980 --> 00:56:15,590 Speaker 2: Our researchers are Maren McGlashan and Allie Elkin. 1100 00:56:15,790 --> 00:56:19,370 Speaker 1: Email your hometowns to myfavoritemurder at gmail.com and follow the 1101 00:56:19,410 --> 00:56:21,310 Speaker 1: show on Instagram at myfavoritemurder. 1102 00:56:21,550 --> 00:56:24,870 Speaker 2: Listen to My Favorite Murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 1103 00:56:24,950 --> 00:56:26,330 Speaker 2: or wherever you get your podcasts. 1104 00:56:26,469 --> 00:56:29,540 Speaker 1: Or watch new episodes every week on Netflix. Search for 1105 00:56:29,580 --> 00:56:32,020 Speaker 1: My Favorite Murder, add us to your list, and hit 1106 00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:35,779 Speaker 1: the double thumbs up button. Goodbye.