1 00:00:15,316 --> 00:00:22,716 Speaker 1: Pushkin Just a quick heads up before we start. This 2 00:00:22,756 --> 00:00:31,436 Speaker 1: episode contains a brief reference to suicide previously a deep cover. 3 00:00:32,716 --> 00:00:36,156 Speaker 1: I said, I'm calling about a girl you might know 4 00:00:36,396 --> 00:00:39,996 Speaker 1: named Brooke Henson, and he said, I wondered when you 5 00:00:39,996 --> 00:00:42,836 Speaker 1: were gonna call. When my son brought her home, I 6 00:00:43,436 --> 00:00:47,516 Speaker 1: knew she was troubled. It was the same Adelaide. She 7 00:00:47,756 --> 00:00:51,476 Speaker 1: was the same person, regardless of the moniker that she 8 00:00:51,596 --> 00:00:55,076 Speaker 1: was she was using. She had the same flaws, the 9 00:00:55,116 --> 00:00:59,916 Speaker 1: same loves, the same laughs. I haven't determined that the 10 00:00:59,956 --> 00:01:03,556 Speaker 1: woman in question is not our victim Brookley Henson. Her 11 00:01:03,596 --> 00:01:07,116 Speaker 1: behavior fits the profile of a spy far better than 12 00:01:07,196 --> 00:01:19,316 Speaker 1: that of the average identity. Back in two thousand and six, 13 00:01:19,636 --> 00:01:23,076 Speaker 1: there was a woman enrolled at Columbia University who claimed 14 00:01:23,116 --> 00:01:27,356 Speaker 1: to be Brooke Henson, but in reality she was an impostor. 15 00:01:27,836 --> 00:01:30,676 Speaker 1: She was using the identity of another woman who'd gone 16 00:01:30,716 --> 00:01:35,996 Speaker 1: missing from South Carolina seven years earlier. This impostor she'd 17 00:01:35,996 --> 00:01:40,636 Speaker 1: deceived Columbia University, her boyfriends, and many others. It was 18 00:01:40,636 --> 00:01:44,596 Speaker 1: a hot mess. And I know this because she herself 19 00:01:44,716 --> 00:01:47,516 Speaker 1: told me, told me all about it, starting with the 20 00:01:47,556 --> 00:01:50,356 Speaker 1: moment that it all began to fall apart for her. 21 00:01:50,956 --> 00:01:54,756 Speaker 1: I think I got a message from Columbia Security saying 22 00:01:54,756 --> 00:01:57,196 Speaker 1: they wanted to talk to me, and I was like, 23 00:01:57,316 --> 00:02:00,796 Speaker 1: oh shit. A short while later, she received a call 24 00:02:01,036 --> 00:02:04,756 Speaker 1: from a detective in the NYPD. He basically asked me 25 00:02:04,796 --> 00:02:08,156 Speaker 1: if I'm Brooke Henson and I say yes, and he says, well, 26 00:02:08,796 --> 00:02:11,236 Speaker 1: why are you listed as missing? And then I tell 27 00:02:11,276 --> 00:02:13,716 Speaker 1: him like, I am running from my family. I don't 28 00:02:13,716 --> 00:02:15,436 Speaker 1: want anything to do with them, and he's like, okay, 29 00:02:15,436 --> 00:02:18,236 Speaker 1: that's fine, I'll tell the detectives down there. And it 30 00:02:18,316 --> 00:02:21,676 Speaker 1: seemed like that might be the end of it. But 31 00:02:21,716 --> 00:02:25,516 Speaker 1: then the detective called back because he said the authorities 32 00:02:25,556 --> 00:02:30,476 Speaker 1: down in South Carolina wanted more information. South Carolina people 33 00:02:30,516 --> 00:02:33,516 Speaker 1: just want to double check that you're actually Brooke Henson. 34 00:02:33,516 --> 00:02:35,116 Speaker 1: So I have a couple of questions. Are you okay 35 00:02:35,116 --> 00:02:38,356 Speaker 1: with that? And I was like sure, Were you like 36 00:02:38,556 --> 00:02:42,196 Speaker 1: panicky at all with yeah? Oh my yeah, of course. 37 00:02:42,956 --> 00:02:46,036 Speaker 1: But she was prepared. She knew a lot about the 38 00:02:46,116 --> 00:02:49,716 Speaker 1: real Brooke Henson. There was a lot of stuff on 39 00:02:49,756 --> 00:02:52,996 Speaker 1: the Internet about her being missing, and I had read 40 00:02:52,996 --> 00:02:56,956 Speaker 1: every shred of it. The detective started asking questions about 41 00:02:56,956 --> 00:02:59,996 Speaker 1: the names of friends and family members from back home 42 00:03:00,036 --> 00:03:03,556 Speaker 1: and Traveler's Rest, South Carolina. She could only hope that 43 00:03:03,596 --> 00:03:07,156 Speaker 1: she answered enough of these questions correctly that the detective 44 00:03:07,156 --> 00:03:09,716 Speaker 1: would be satisfied, and it seemed like he got what 45 00:03:09,796 --> 00:03:13,836 Speaker 1: he needed. But that didn't last very long. This detective 46 00:03:13,916 --> 00:03:15,516 Speaker 1: kept calling me back and he goes, are you sure 47 00:03:15,556 --> 00:03:17,676 Speaker 1: you're telling me the truth? Because he goes, I can 48 00:03:17,756 --> 00:03:19,996 Speaker 1: help you, and I was like, no, no, no no, I'm 49 00:03:19,996 --> 00:03:22,476 Speaker 1: telling the truth. And then he would call by he goes, 50 00:03:22,516 --> 00:03:24,756 Speaker 1: you know, I know a judge, like, I'm pretty sure, 51 00:03:24,796 --> 00:03:26,396 Speaker 1: like we can figure this out. Are you sure you're 52 00:03:26,396 --> 00:03:28,396 Speaker 1: telling me the truth? Like, no, no no, no, I'm telling 53 00:03:28,436 --> 00:03:31,956 Speaker 1: the truth. Is your like anxiety kicking in? Oh yeah, yeah, 54 00:03:31,956 --> 00:03:34,556 Speaker 1: Like sometimes I'll get hives when I get really anxious, 55 00:03:34,596 --> 00:03:37,396 Speaker 1: and I'll just my blood pressure goes up really high 56 00:03:37,396 --> 00:03:39,676 Speaker 1: and so I'll get red and all of that was happening. 57 00:03:40,236 --> 00:03:42,756 Speaker 1: That sounds pretty terrible. It was, Yeah, it was one 58 00:03:42,836 --> 00:03:48,196 Speaker 1: hundred percent terrible. All of this is terrible, Jake, It's 59 00:03:48,236 --> 00:03:53,756 Speaker 1: all horrible. Eventually, the NYPD detective calls back and tells 60 00:03:53,756 --> 00:03:57,196 Speaker 1: her that the authorities down in South Carolina are insisting 61 00:03:57,276 --> 00:04:01,196 Speaker 1: on more proof. They want her to provide DNA to 62 00:04:01,276 --> 00:04:06,076 Speaker 1: confirm that she really is Brokenson. She stalls. She says 63 00:04:06,116 --> 00:04:08,636 Speaker 1: that she has two final papers to finish over the 64 00:04:08,636 --> 00:04:12,396 Speaker 1: weekend and asks if she can possibly meet the detective 65 00:04:12,596 --> 00:04:16,196 Speaker 1: at her apartment on the following Monday and then take 66 00:04:16,236 --> 00:04:20,996 Speaker 1: the DNA test. The detective agrees, like, what's your plan 67 00:04:21,116 --> 00:04:22,716 Speaker 1: as your Oh, I didn't have a plan at that point. 68 00:04:22,716 --> 00:04:24,196 Speaker 1: I mean, I was just hoping it would all go away. 69 00:04:25,836 --> 00:04:29,436 Speaker 1: I'm like just stupid, right, Like, you know, there's no 70 00:04:29,516 --> 00:04:33,876 Speaker 1: there's no plan, Like I can't fix this. I'm just 71 00:04:33,916 --> 00:04:35,356 Speaker 1: thinking like what if I miss them? Like what if 72 00:04:35,356 --> 00:04:37,356 Speaker 1: I'm not home? Is it a big deal that they 73 00:04:37,476 --> 00:04:38,796 Speaker 1: come back? Or is this like we don't have the 74 00:04:38,836 --> 00:04:41,116 Speaker 1: resources for this and this isn't a big deal, Like 75 00:04:41,356 --> 00:04:44,596 Speaker 1: I didn't know at that point. She finishes her two 76 00:04:44,596 --> 00:04:47,676 Speaker 1: papers and then she kind of comes to her senses, 77 00:04:48,036 --> 00:04:51,156 Speaker 1: has this moment when she realizes that this is not 78 00:04:51,316 --> 00:04:54,516 Speaker 1: all magically just going to go away, that the police 79 00:04:54,756 --> 00:04:58,516 Speaker 1: they're onto her. So she decides she's got to do something. 80 00:04:59,236 --> 00:05:02,836 Speaker 1: I went to get a U wall truck because I 81 00:05:02,876 --> 00:05:05,396 Speaker 1: had decided I'm freaking getting out of here, and I 82 00:05:05,476 --> 00:05:07,836 Speaker 1: was going to pack up my apartment. I still thought 83 00:05:07,836 --> 00:05:09,476 Speaker 1: like I could come like this is gonna down, I 84 00:05:09,476 --> 00:05:12,836 Speaker 1: can come back, It'll be urry. Her plan was to 85 00:05:12,836 --> 00:05:16,276 Speaker 1: pack up her place, move everything into storage, and then 86 00:05:16,356 --> 00:05:20,356 Speaker 1: grab her two dogs, Pooching and Odie, and disappear for 87 00:05:20,396 --> 00:05:24,396 Speaker 1: a while. And so I rented the truck and I 88 00:05:24,436 --> 00:05:25,836 Speaker 1: took all the money I had it out of my 89 00:05:25,876 --> 00:05:28,356 Speaker 1: account and I think they probably had my accounts flagged. 90 00:05:29,156 --> 00:05:31,676 Speaker 1: And so by the time I got back to my apartment, 91 00:05:31,796 --> 00:05:33,796 Speaker 1: I pulled around the corner of my unhaul truck and 92 00:05:33,876 --> 00:05:36,876 Speaker 1: there were New York City cops knocking on the door. 93 00:05:36,916 --> 00:05:39,796 Speaker 1: And I was like, oh shit, because she's too late. 94 00:05:40,196 --> 00:05:44,676 Speaker 1: The cops are there. So now she has a choice 95 00:05:44,676 --> 00:05:48,876 Speaker 1: to make either a run for it or B just 96 00:05:48,956 --> 00:05:52,436 Speaker 1: turn herself in, tell the cops everything about who she 97 00:05:52,516 --> 00:05:56,996 Speaker 1: really is. No choice is tempting. It's second nature, actually, 98 00:05:57,036 --> 00:05:59,756 Speaker 1: because she's been more or less on the run for years. 99 00:06:00,396 --> 00:06:04,996 Speaker 1: But the problem is Pooching and Odie. They're inside the apartment, 100 00:06:05,556 --> 00:06:08,476 Speaker 1: and no matter what, she cannot leave her dogs. So 101 00:06:08,796 --> 00:06:12,636 Speaker 1: it's gotta be b turn herself in. So I pulled 102 00:06:12,636 --> 00:06:15,956 Speaker 1: over in front of a fire hydrant and I walked 103 00:06:15,996 --> 00:06:18,396 Speaker 1: around the block, and by the time I got around, 104 00:06:18,396 --> 00:06:24,916 Speaker 1: they were gone, and so I was like, oh, So 105 00:06:24,956 --> 00:06:28,436 Speaker 1: I went upstairs, packed the quickest bag I could pack, 106 00:06:28,636 --> 00:06:31,236 Speaker 1: grab my dogs, called a cab, and left. Would you 107 00:06:31,236 --> 00:06:34,236 Speaker 1: do it to? You? Haul? Left it here? It's not 108 00:06:34,556 --> 00:06:36,556 Speaker 1: I don't want people to think that Mead chuckling is. 109 00:06:36,756 --> 00:06:39,636 Speaker 1: I don't think any of this is funny. It's just 110 00:06:39,836 --> 00:06:43,836 Speaker 1: uncomfortable and whatever. But yeah, I just left it there. 111 00:06:46,196 --> 00:06:49,756 Speaker 1: That's kind of crazy. I know all of it's crazy. 112 00:06:50,516 --> 00:06:55,476 Speaker 1: I was scared, and this decision to run for it, 113 00:06:55,876 --> 00:06:59,196 Speaker 1: more than anything else, it's what makes this story go 114 00:06:59,356 --> 00:07:04,276 Speaker 1: bat shit. It's the decision that confounds everyone, the authorities 115 00:07:04,276 --> 00:07:08,796 Speaker 1: down in South Carolina, the Secret Service, the assistant US Attorney. 116 00:07:09,436 --> 00:07:13,636 Speaker 1: Because now it's got them all thinking, who leaves a 117 00:07:13,876 --> 00:07:17,716 Speaker 1: U haul idling at the curb? Why is this woman running? 118 00:07:17,996 --> 00:07:23,356 Speaker 1: What is she hiding? Because it's got to be something big, right. 119 00:07:39,476 --> 00:07:43,876 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Halbern and this is deep Cover, Never Seen Again, 120 00:08:08,716 --> 00:08:18,036 Speaker 1: Episode three. The Impostor. This woman the one I'm speaking to. 121 00:08:18,276 --> 00:08:22,756 Speaker 1: The impostor. She's gone by many names, including Natalie Fisher, 122 00:08:23,116 --> 00:08:27,716 Speaker 1: Natalie Bowman, and Brooke Henson. Her real name, well, I 123 00:08:27,716 --> 00:08:31,556 Speaker 1: should say her birth name is Esther Reid. And I'm 124 00:08:31,596 --> 00:08:34,076 Speaker 1: going to call her Esther. That's the first name that 125 00:08:34,116 --> 00:08:37,556 Speaker 1: she goes by. Currently. Esther lives in a small city 126 00:08:37,596 --> 00:08:41,596 Speaker 1: in the Pacific Northwest. We started talking months ago. I 127 00:08:41,676 --> 00:08:44,316 Speaker 1: eventually went out there to visit her, and she told 128 00:08:44,316 --> 00:08:46,956 Speaker 1: me that only four people in her city knew her 129 00:08:46,996 --> 00:08:50,996 Speaker 1: full back story, well five if you counted me. And 130 00:08:51,076 --> 00:08:54,076 Speaker 1: in this episode, we're going to take a deep dive 131 00:08:54,276 --> 00:08:57,236 Speaker 1: into her side of the story because at this point 132 00:08:57,596 --> 00:09:00,796 Speaker 1: you've heard from John Campbell, You've heard his theories, his 133 00:09:00,916 --> 00:09:04,396 Speaker 1: suspicions that this mystery woman was not just an identity 134 00:09:04,436 --> 00:09:07,156 Speaker 1: thief but a spy who seemed to be on the run. 135 00:09:07,916 --> 00:09:11,236 Speaker 1: And Esther was on the run, but what she was 136 00:09:11,316 --> 00:09:17,956 Speaker 1: running from, well that's complicated. Back in the early nineteen nineties, 137 00:09:18,396 --> 00:09:20,716 Speaker 1: Esther Reid was a young girl in a small town 138 00:09:20,716 --> 00:09:24,196 Speaker 1: in Montana. She lived in a tiny two bedroom house 139 00:09:24,316 --> 00:09:29,796 Speaker 1: with unfinished walls. Outside, there were chickens, geese, rabbits, goats, 140 00:09:29,836 --> 00:09:33,116 Speaker 1: and a big garden. She says her dad was a 141 00:09:33,196 --> 00:09:38,996 Speaker 1: serious man. My dad is very, very very religious, and 142 00:09:39,036 --> 00:09:42,116 Speaker 1: so like there was no TV in the house. We 143 00:09:42,276 --> 00:09:45,876 Speaker 1: weren't really allowed to listen to any music that had 144 00:09:45,956 --> 00:09:50,956 Speaker 1: a beat, anything with a drum beat was considered satanic 145 00:09:51,116 --> 00:09:55,516 Speaker 1: or evil, so we weren't allowed at school. Her father 146 00:09:55,556 --> 00:09:59,476 Speaker 1: didn't allow her to wear pants. Instead, she wore homelesspun dresses. 147 00:10:00,196 --> 00:10:03,436 Speaker 1: Her mom was the fun one, always making up games 148 00:10:03,476 --> 00:10:06,916 Speaker 1: and telling them stories. When I think about my mom, 149 00:10:07,036 --> 00:10:12,116 Speaker 1: I just remember hers right in her effervescence, and she 150 00:10:12,236 --> 00:10:18,196 Speaker 1: was just so amazingly loving and kind and giving. Esther 151 00:10:18,356 --> 00:10:21,236 Speaker 1: told me stories where her mom seemed like a magician. 152 00:10:21,716 --> 00:10:25,676 Speaker 1: She conjured joy even in tough situations when no one 153 00:10:25,676 --> 00:10:28,796 Speaker 1: could sleep in the sweltering heat. She rallied the kids 154 00:10:28,836 --> 00:10:31,916 Speaker 1: in the middle of the night to make fudge. Another time, 155 00:10:31,956 --> 00:10:34,116 Speaker 1: the kids were having a water fight, and instead of 156 00:10:34,116 --> 00:10:37,276 Speaker 1: breaking it up, she dragged a hose into the house 157 00:10:37,516 --> 00:10:41,156 Speaker 1: and soaked them. My mom was definitely a lemons into 158 00:10:41,236 --> 00:10:46,516 Speaker 1: lemonade girl, and really definitely the happiness is what you 159 00:10:46,556 --> 00:10:49,996 Speaker 1: make of it. Esther says her parents' relationship was very 160 00:10:50,076 --> 00:10:53,236 Speaker 1: business like like. She only remembers seeing her dad hug 161 00:10:53,276 --> 00:10:55,996 Speaker 1: her mom a few times, and it was like that 162 00:10:56,356 --> 00:10:59,316 Speaker 1: right up until the day that their marriage effectively ended. 163 00:11:00,196 --> 00:11:04,836 Speaker 1: Like the way my dad told her he wanted to divorce, 164 00:11:05,236 --> 00:11:07,676 Speaker 1: as he wrote her a letter, And I think at 165 00:11:07,716 --> 00:11:09,716 Speaker 1: that point they had been married eight years, and he 166 00:11:09,796 --> 00:11:13,876 Speaker 1: wrote a letter, I think on a Friday, and he 167 00:11:13,956 --> 00:11:15,956 Speaker 1: put it in her purse and she found it when 168 00:11:15,956 --> 00:11:20,556 Speaker 1: she got to work, and he basically said, this isn't working. 169 00:11:21,796 --> 00:11:24,036 Speaker 1: I would like you to take Esther and move out, 170 00:11:24,716 --> 00:11:31,116 Speaker 1: and he wanted her gone by Sunday. Esther was twelve 171 00:11:31,156 --> 00:11:34,436 Speaker 1: when this happened. She and her mother moved out and 172 00:11:34,636 --> 00:11:37,276 Speaker 1: life didn't get any easier for her. A year or 173 00:11:37,276 --> 00:11:42,196 Speaker 1: two later, ESS's mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. Meanwhile, 174 00:11:42,636 --> 00:11:46,756 Speaker 1: Esther started high school and hated it. Not the schoolwork. 175 00:11:46,876 --> 00:11:50,316 Speaker 1: She was very bright and she actually had a photographic memory. 176 00:11:51,036 --> 00:11:53,556 Speaker 1: It was the social aspect of going to school that 177 00:11:53,676 --> 00:11:56,556 Speaker 1: was just really tough for her. She dreaded it, in fact, 178 00:11:57,156 --> 00:12:01,836 Speaker 1: so she played hooky as much as she could. Her 179 00:12:01,876 --> 00:12:05,156 Speaker 1: mom typically left the house early each morning for work, 180 00:12:05,756 --> 00:12:08,796 Speaker 1: and instead of going to school, Esther often just stayed 181 00:12:08,836 --> 00:12:11,836 Speaker 1: in the house. One week, when her mom stayed home 182 00:12:11,876 --> 00:12:15,756 Speaker 1: from work, Esther had to improvise. I would pretend to 183 00:12:15,796 --> 00:12:18,716 Speaker 1: go to school. And then we had a part of 184 00:12:18,716 --> 00:12:21,676 Speaker 1: our basement that was unfinished, and I had a little TV, 185 00:12:22,516 --> 00:12:24,356 Speaker 1: a little black and white TV that I had bought 186 00:12:24,396 --> 00:12:27,556 Speaker 1: at a garage sale, and I put that back there 187 00:12:27,676 --> 00:12:30,876 Speaker 1: and I spent that whole week down there. At the time, 188 00:12:31,156 --> 00:12:34,196 Speaker 1: Esther felt something was off, but she just didn't know 189 00:12:34,236 --> 00:12:37,156 Speaker 1: what it was. She knew that she needed a loane 190 00:12:37,156 --> 00:12:40,756 Speaker 1: time to recharge. She described it to me kind of 191 00:12:40,756 --> 00:12:44,756 Speaker 1: like hibernation. It was only years later that Esther would 192 00:12:44,836 --> 00:12:49,996 Speaker 1: learn she had a social anxiety disorder. Eventually, Esther and 193 00:12:50,036 --> 00:12:53,916 Speaker 1: her mom decided to move to Seattle. Esther continued to 194 00:12:53,956 --> 00:12:57,156 Speaker 1: struggle there, and she no longer had the support of 195 00:12:57,156 --> 00:13:00,396 Speaker 1: the small town community that she and her family had known. 196 00:13:01,316 --> 00:13:03,596 Speaker 1: She dropped out of high school in her junior year. 197 00:13:04,196 --> 00:13:06,956 Speaker 1: Her mom insisted that she get a job, so she 198 00:13:07,036 --> 00:13:10,916 Speaker 1: started working at a nursing home. Esther did have a 199 00:13:10,956 --> 00:13:14,676 Speaker 1: bunch of older siblings, but at this point, the only 200 00:13:14,716 --> 00:13:18,036 Speaker 1: real constant in her life was her mom. My mom 201 00:13:18,076 --> 00:13:20,396 Speaker 1: was really the only person I was really close to. 202 00:13:20,516 --> 00:13:24,956 Speaker 1: I mean, I had friends, but it's very difficult when 203 00:13:24,956 --> 00:13:29,756 Speaker 1: you have undiagnosed, untreated social anxiety to be friendly with someone, right. 204 00:13:29,796 --> 00:13:33,396 Speaker 1: You just felt uncomfortable around everyone. And my mom was 205 00:13:33,476 --> 00:13:36,516 Speaker 1: really the only person who knew I had these issues, 206 00:13:37,236 --> 00:13:43,076 Speaker 1: and so she kind of managed life for me. But 207 00:13:43,156 --> 00:13:46,356 Speaker 1: then when she was seventeen years old, her mom's cancer 208 00:13:46,396 --> 00:13:49,876 Speaker 1: came back. Esther watched her mom struggle for the next 209 00:13:49,916 --> 00:13:53,396 Speaker 1: few years, and by the time she was twenty, her 210 00:13:53,476 --> 00:13:59,716 Speaker 1: mom had died. I was incredibly depressed. I've just lost 211 00:13:59,796 --> 00:14:04,116 Speaker 1: my mom. I have no contact with really anybody who's 212 00:14:05,636 --> 00:14:13,156 Speaker 1: able willing to help, you know, thinking about killing myself 213 00:14:13,196 --> 00:14:16,716 Speaker 1: all the time. I did not care about anything at 214 00:14:16,756 --> 00:14:19,236 Speaker 1: that point. I didn't care about myself. I didn't care 215 00:14:19,236 --> 00:14:22,476 Speaker 1: about anybody else. I just wanted to die so I 216 00:14:22,476 --> 00:14:26,796 Speaker 1: could see my mom. So really, there was no There 217 00:14:26,836 --> 00:14:35,036 Speaker 1: was definitely no future thought. It's just survival. She couldn't 218 00:14:35,076 --> 00:14:38,596 Speaker 1: hold down a steady job, her car was repossessed. She 219 00:14:38,636 --> 00:14:41,396 Speaker 1: didn't have a reliable place to live, so she slept 220 00:14:41,436 --> 00:14:43,236 Speaker 1: on the floor at a friend's place for a bit. 221 00:14:44,076 --> 00:14:47,996 Speaker 1: It was during this time that she did something pretty desperate. 222 00:14:48,356 --> 00:14:51,156 Speaker 1: I was working for like maybe a week two I 223 00:14:51,196 --> 00:14:52,876 Speaker 1: don't think it was two weeks, so I didn't I 224 00:14:52,956 --> 00:14:54,516 Speaker 1: was not able to work for two weeks, so maybe 225 00:14:54,556 --> 00:14:57,156 Speaker 1: like i'd been there for four or five days, and 226 00:14:57,196 --> 00:15:00,636 Speaker 1: then I stole my coworker's purse. She had it sitting 227 00:15:00,676 --> 00:15:03,596 Speaker 1: on like the nurses station. The purse had a bunch 228 00:15:03,596 --> 00:15:07,236 Speaker 1: of credit cards and a driver's license. Then Esther showed 229 00:15:07,316 --> 00:15:10,396 Speaker 1: up at a department store claiming to be that coworker. 230 00:15:10,996 --> 00:15:13,876 Speaker 1: She had added her own photo to the ID. The 231 00:15:13,956 --> 00:15:17,116 Speaker 1: credit card had been reported as stolen, so when Esther 232 00:15:17,236 --> 00:15:20,676 Speaker 1: tried to use it, she got arrested. Esther pled to 233 00:15:20,716 --> 00:15:23,356 Speaker 1: the charges. She had to pay a fine, and she 234 00:15:23,436 --> 00:15:25,956 Speaker 1: got off with a year of probation and three days 235 00:15:25,956 --> 00:15:30,876 Speaker 1: in jail. This actually wasn't the first time she'd stolen 236 00:15:30,916 --> 00:15:34,156 Speaker 1: from somebody. In the wake of her mom's death, she 237 00:15:34,236 --> 00:15:37,316 Speaker 1: swiped a check book from her sister Edna and wrote 238 00:15:37,356 --> 00:15:41,276 Speaker 1: some hot checks in her name. Edna also lived in Seattle, 239 00:15:41,436 --> 00:15:44,476 Speaker 1: and Esther saw her from time to time, but they 240 00:15:44,516 --> 00:15:48,316 Speaker 1: had a rocky relationship, and it only got rockier after 241 00:15:48,356 --> 00:15:52,516 Speaker 1: the whole stolen checks incident. As far as I could tell, 242 00:15:53,196 --> 00:15:58,116 Speaker 1: Esther's mom was the lynchpin to absolutely everything, and without her, 243 00:15:58,716 --> 00:16:03,316 Speaker 1: Esther's life just derailed, popped right off the tracks, and 244 00:16:03,596 --> 00:16:10,436 Speaker 1: rattled onward toward the abyss. Esther felt like there was 245 00:16:10,516 --> 00:16:13,476 Speaker 1: nothing left for her in Seattle. I think at that 246 00:16:13,556 --> 00:16:15,876 Speaker 1: point it probably felt like I could run away from 247 00:16:15,916 --> 00:16:19,956 Speaker 1: my problems, right like if I don't if I don't 248 00:16:20,036 --> 00:16:22,516 Speaker 1: think about my mom, and if I'm not living in Seattle, 249 00:16:22,596 --> 00:16:26,236 Speaker 1: then it won't be so painful, and like maybe I 250 00:16:26,276 --> 00:16:33,436 Speaker 1: can get over it. So she just left town, didn't 251 00:16:33,436 --> 00:16:36,596 Speaker 1: really tell anyone where she was going, just kind of vanished, 252 00:16:36,996 --> 00:16:39,596 Speaker 1: bought the cheapest plane ticket she could find, which was 253 00:16:39,716 --> 00:16:42,876 Speaker 1: to Salt Lake City. She found an inexpensive place to 254 00:16:42,956 --> 00:16:46,076 Speaker 1: stay a weekly rental, and she hold up there for 255 00:16:46,116 --> 00:16:50,116 Speaker 1: a while, but she kept getting these messages from her family, 256 00:16:50,436 --> 00:16:54,316 Speaker 1: especially from her sister Edna, who wanted to know where 257 00:16:54,356 --> 00:16:58,716 Speaker 1: are you. Esther says, in her highly anxious state, she 258 00:16:58,796 --> 00:17:01,876 Speaker 1: felt as if she were being stalked. She says. One 259 00:17:01,876 --> 00:17:04,636 Speaker 1: of her other sisters threatened to call the cops on her, 260 00:17:04,916 --> 00:17:10,236 Speaker 1: apparently just to intimidate her. What. Esther wanted space to 261 00:17:10,356 --> 00:17:14,596 Speaker 1: hibernate a bit away from her family, and suddenly this 262 00:17:14,636 --> 00:17:17,196 Speaker 1: didn't really feel like the escape that she had envisioned, 263 00:17:17,916 --> 00:17:20,636 Speaker 1: because she wanted a clean break with her own past, 264 00:17:21,196 --> 00:17:25,676 Speaker 1: a clean break with being Esther Reid. And eventually she 265 00:17:25,716 --> 00:17:29,196 Speaker 1: came up with a solution. She decided to start using 266 00:17:29,236 --> 00:17:31,716 Speaker 1: the name of someone she knew, a girl back in 267 00:17:31,756 --> 00:17:36,636 Speaker 1: Seattle named Natalie Fisher. She knew a decent amount about Natalie. 268 00:17:37,236 --> 00:17:40,236 Speaker 1: Esther says at some point she had access to Natalie's 269 00:17:40,236 --> 00:17:44,316 Speaker 1: wallet and saw her social Security number, and don't forget Esther, 270 00:17:44,596 --> 00:17:47,876 Speaker 1: she had a photographic memory, so she knew some of 271 00:17:47,956 --> 00:17:51,556 Speaker 1: Natalie's vital information, and what she didn't know she figured 272 00:17:51,556 --> 00:17:55,516 Speaker 1: out online. She then obtained a birth certificate in Natalie's 273 00:17:55,596 --> 00:17:59,316 Speaker 1: name and eventually got an ID and then on paper 274 00:17:59,356 --> 00:18:04,076 Speaker 1: at least she was Natalie Fisher. Pretty bold right not 275 00:18:04,156 --> 00:18:07,996 Speaker 1: to mention illegal. What's the logic that's going through your 276 00:18:08,036 --> 00:18:10,916 Speaker 1: brain when you're doing this. I always just viewed it 277 00:18:10,956 --> 00:18:14,836 Speaker 1: as me using a different name. I never thought I 278 00:18:14,956 --> 00:18:17,956 Speaker 1: was her or anything. I mean, I changed my name 279 00:18:17,996 --> 00:18:20,236 Speaker 1: before I left all the time. I hated the name Ester, 280 00:18:20,436 --> 00:18:22,196 Speaker 1: so I was you know, when I was a little girl, 281 00:18:22,236 --> 00:18:25,156 Speaker 1: I wanted to go by Herford, and you know, changed 282 00:18:25,156 --> 00:18:27,996 Speaker 1: my name to Elizabeth or Liz or so it just 283 00:18:28,036 --> 00:18:30,916 Speaker 1: didn't My name didn't make me who I was. I 284 00:18:30,956 --> 00:18:33,356 Speaker 1: never viewed it like that. I just always saw it 285 00:18:33,356 --> 00:18:36,996 Speaker 1: as I get to be me and like she can't 286 00:18:36,996 --> 00:18:42,636 Speaker 1: find me. She's talking about her sister, Edna, who'd been 287 00:18:42,676 --> 00:18:45,636 Speaker 1: trying to get in touch with her. But as I 288 00:18:45,676 --> 00:18:49,076 Speaker 1: see it, it was far more than just Edna. It 289 00:18:49,116 --> 00:18:51,796 Speaker 1: was the co worker who's purse she'd stolen, and the 290 00:18:51,876 --> 00:18:54,716 Speaker 1: high school in Seattle that she'd avoided, like the plague, 291 00:18:55,196 --> 00:18:57,556 Speaker 1: and the hole that she found herself in after she 292 00:18:57,636 --> 00:19:01,316 Speaker 1: lost her mom. With a new name. She put all 293 00:19:01,356 --> 00:19:03,956 Speaker 1: of that in the past. There was no connection to 294 00:19:03,996 --> 00:19:07,236 Speaker 1: it now, no point of reference, not even a set 295 00:19:07,276 --> 00:19:10,436 Speaker 1: of nine digits on a Social Security card. Or at 296 00:19:10,476 --> 00:19:14,596 Speaker 1: least that's what she told herself the past. It had 297 00:19:14,596 --> 00:19:18,436 Speaker 1: been erased, and as Esther put it, I get to 298 00:19:18,476 --> 00:19:38,836 Speaker 1: be me whoever that was. Esther left Seattle in the 299 00:19:38,956 --> 00:19:42,236 Speaker 1: fall of nineteen ninety nine, and she drifted around for 300 00:19:42,316 --> 00:19:45,996 Speaker 1: almost two years. I don't know exactly how she was 301 00:19:46,076 --> 00:19:49,396 Speaker 1: making ends meet. This period in Esther's life is kind 302 00:19:49,436 --> 00:19:53,156 Speaker 1: of a black hole. I only have her version of events. 303 00:19:53,196 --> 00:19:56,756 Speaker 1: She says she worked odd jobs, short term gigs that 304 00:19:56,796 --> 00:19:59,836 Speaker 1: she found on Craigslist, and that she eked out a 305 00:19:59,876 --> 00:20:04,436 Speaker 1: modest existence as Natalie Fisher. The way she described it 306 00:20:04,436 --> 00:20:08,716 Speaker 1: seems like she was adrift, no purpose, no plan other 307 00:20:08,796 --> 00:20:13,036 Speaker 1: than being who she once was. But when she looked 308 00:20:13,036 --> 00:20:16,556 Speaker 1: back on her past, it wasn't all bad. There was 309 00:20:16,636 --> 00:20:20,116 Speaker 1: something she felt shed done well. Things she felt good about. 310 00:20:20,436 --> 00:20:22,356 Speaker 1: And one of them was, if you can believe it, 311 00:20:22,636 --> 00:20:25,196 Speaker 1: being on a high school debate team. Now it might 312 00:20:25,236 --> 00:20:28,956 Speaker 1: be thinking, could someone who has paralyzing social anxiety really 313 00:20:29,036 --> 00:20:31,996 Speaker 1: thrive on a debate team, And the answer it turns 314 00:20:31,996 --> 00:20:35,796 Speaker 1: out as yes, those were my people. I just felt 315 00:20:35,916 --> 00:20:39,316 Speaker 1: very comfortable among those individuals. Plus they were all like 316 00:20:39,436 --> 00:20:42,836 Speaker 1: little brainiac nerds like me, So it wasn't a big deal. 317 00:20:43,796 --> 00:20:50,196 Speaker 1: All of my quirkiness or idiosyncrasies that I hadn't been appropriate, 318 00:20:50,236 --> 00:20:52,396 Speaker 1: least socialized when I was a kid, those things didn't 319 00:20:52,436 --> 00:20:55,116 Speaker 1: stand out and make me a weirdo among that crowd. 320 00:20:55,596 --> 00:20:58,356 Speaker 1: Back in high school, when she wasn't playing hooky, she 321 00:20:58,476 --> 00:21:03,396 Speaker 1: actually participated in debate tournaments and she loved it. Also, 322 00:21:03,676 --> 00:21:07,556 Speaker 1: for someone with social anxiety, debate was the opposite of 323 00:21:07,556 --> 00:21:11,276 Speaker 1: a cocktail party, that's my take. Anyhow, there was a 324 00:21:11,316 --> 00:21:16,556 Speaker 1: strict format that dictated when things would happen, opening statements, rebuttals, 325 00:21:16,876 --> 00:21:21,716 Speaker 1: closing remarks. Everything was so clear. Plus it was also 326 00:21:21,836 --> 00:21:26,716 Speaker 1: intellectually engaging. She says that it overrode her social anxiety. 327 00:21:26,876 --> 00:21:30,116 Speaker 1: For Esther, the world of debate tournaments was a world 328 00:21:30,116 --> 00:21:33,476 Speaker 1: that made sense, and so she decided to go to 329 00:21:33,596 --> 00:21:40,236 Speaker 1: debate camp, the Arizona Debate Institute. She arrived at the 330 00:21:40,276 --> 00:21:46,156 Speaker 1: Twin Palms Hotel in Tempe, pink exterior, tiny balconies, obligatory 331 00:21:46,156 --> 00:21:49,876 Speaker 1: palm trees, and a lobby packed with lots of precocious 332 00:21:49,916 --> 00:22:00,196 Speaker 1: college students getting ready to debate. You take one hundred 333 00:22:00,236 --> 00:22:02,796 Speaker 1: and twenty college students from all across the country that 334 00:22:02,836 --> 00:22:04,876 Speaker 1: have not generally met before in lock. I'm in a 335 00:22:04,956 --> 00:22:08,396 Speaker 1: hotel for two weeks and high pressure situations. It's exactly 336 00:22:08,396 --> 00:22:12,756 Speaker 1: what you think be like. That's John Brushky, the organizer 337 00:22:12,756 --> 00:22:16,076 Speaker 1: of the debate camp. It would really get up and 338 00:22:16,116 --> 00:22:17,876 Speaker 1: go to the lectures because they wanted to be at 339 00:22:17,876 --> 00:22:21,076 Speaker 1: the lectures. Then they would work from like noon till midnight, 340 00:22:22,196 --> 00:22:23,876 Speaker 1: and they neither decided they're going to pull an all 341 00:22:23,956 --> 00:22:28,916 Speaker 1: night or to finish their research or you know, socialize. 342 00:22:29,516 --> 00:22:33,676 Speaker 1: It sounds like a Nerds version of spring Break. Yes, exactly, 343 00:22:34,196 --> 00:22:38,956 Speaker 1: a Revenge of the Nerds Tempe, Arizona edition. So this 344 00:22:39,036 --> 00:22:42,476 Speaker 1: is the scene that Estra walked into posing as Natalie. 345 00:22:43,356 --> 00:22:46,156 Speaker 1: John still remembers when he first met her. So her 346 00:22:46,236 --> 00:22:50,836 Speaker 1: narrative was, I make my money playing competitive chess and 347 00:22:50,956 --> 00:22:52,916 Speaker 1: I kind of live a nomadic life, right, so we 348 00:22:52,916 --> 00:22:55,196 Speaker 1: were trying to get what's your home address? That was 349 00:22:55,236 --> 00:22:57,996 Speaker 1: a question we couldn't get out of her registration. John 350 00:22:58,036 --> 00:23:02,436 Speaker 1: remembers that this nomadic young woman, she was ambitious. She 351 00:23:02,516 --> 00:23:05,796 Speaker 1: told him that she wanted to win a national debate championship, 352 00:23:06,436 --> 00:23:10,196 Speaker 1: you know, when she wasn't playing pro chess. So a 353 00:23:10,236 --> 00:23:13,556 Speaker 1: bit odd perhaps, but hey, this was Revenge of the 354 00:23:13,636 --> 00:23:20,916 Speaker 1: Nerds Tempe edition. Esther's story. It wasn't all made up. 355 00:23:21,396 --> 00:23:24,596 Speaker 1: She actually did spend many of her days playing chess online. 356 00:23:25,236 --> 00:23:27,036 Speaker 1: Chess is an escape for me. I would play it 357 00:23:27,076 --> 00:23:28,956 Speaker 1: for hours and people would be like, why are you 358 00:23:28,996 --> 00:23:31,236 Speaker 1: doing that? So she came up with an answer to 359 00:23:31,276 --> 00:23:34,436 Speaker 1: that question, a lie that became part of her fictional biography. 360 00:23:34,956 --> 00:23:37,836 Speaker 1: She told people she was a professional chess player, which 361 00:23:37,916 --> 00:23:40,396 Speaker 1: was a good lie, of course, because Esther knew a 362 00:23:40,436 --> 00:23:44,316 Speaker 1: lot about chess. She was slowly crafting her own semi 363 00:23:44,316 --> 00:23:48,556 Speaker 1: fictional narrative, and she was learning when lying stick to 364 00:23:48,596 --> 00:23:52,036 Speaker 1: the truth right, because as she toyed with the details, 365 00:23:52,116 --> 00:23:55,356 Speaker 1: adjusting them here and there, she learned the dangers of 366 00:23:55,396 --> 00:23:58,636 Speaker 1: straying too far from the truth. Like one time some 367 00:23:58,716 --> 00:24:02,396 Speaker 1: guy chatted her up and she improvised a bit too much, 368 00:24:03,076 --> 00:24:06,076 Speaker 1: and I was like, oh, I'm going to a tennis 369 00:24:06,076 --> 00:24:09,516 Speaker 1: tournament because oh, you're a teenis plan? I was like, yeah, yeah, 370 00:24:09,516 --> 00:24:12,956 Speaker 1: I'm a tesselayer. This was a problem because Esther didn't 371 00:24:12,956 --> 00:24:16,196 Speaker 1: actually know that much about tennis, and also once Ali 372 00:24:16,396 --> 00:24:19,516 Speaker 1: was out, it spread. I mean because then once you 373 00:24:19,556 --> 00:24:21,556 Speaker 1: tell people, then they're like, oh, you know what she does? 374 00:24:22,076 --> 00:24:24,636 Speaker 1: She pleased tenant and I'm like, gosh, shit, you know, 375 00:24:24,796 --> 00:24:27,356 Speaker 1: like it just it would eventually get me in trouvel 376 00:24:27,916 --> 00:24:31,036 Speaker 1: So she quickly realized better to stick with the chess story, 377 00:24:31,356 --> 00:24:34,196 Speaker 1: and it worked well. At the debate camp, she spun 378 00:24:34,236 --> 00:24:36,956 Speaker 1: her tail, she made some friends, and she even won 379 00:24:36,996 --> 00:24:40,996 Speaker 1: an award for her performance as a debater. Afterwards, she 380 00:24:41,076 --> 00:24:45,636 Speaker 1: started talking to John Brushki, the debate coach, about attending college. 381 00:24:46,436 --> 00:24:49,156 Speaker 1: In addition to running the debate camp, John was a 382 00:24:49,196 --> 00:24:54,276 Speaker 1: professor at California State University Fullerton. He encouraged her to 383 00:24:54,316 --> 00:24:58,236 Speaker 1: apply there. For Esther, it was a moment of hope 384 00:24:58,276 --> 00:25:02,636 Speaker 1: and possibility. For two years, she had felt lost, but 385 00:25:02,796 --> 00:25:06,796 Speaker 1: suddenly her life seemed to have traction. Esther soon started 386 00:25:06,796 --> 00:25:09,876 Speaker 1: to make plans to move to California and take classes 387 00:25:09,916 --> 00:25:13,116 Speaker 1: at cal State Fullerton. She stayed in touch with her 388 00:25:13,156 --> 00:25:16,156 Speaker 1: friends that she'd made in Tempe, her people, as she 389 00:25:16,236 --> 00:25:18,996 Speaker 1: called them. At one point she met up with them 390 00:25:18,996 --> 00:25:22,956 Speaker 1: at a debate tournament in Washington, d c. At Catholic University. 391 00:25:23,596 --> 00:25:26,876 Speaker 1: And this is where she met Ian Fleischman. You may 392 00:25:26,996 --> 00:25:29,956 Speaker 1: remember him. He was the handsome young cadet from West 393 00:25:29,956 --> 00:25:34,196 Speaker 1: Point who became her boyfriend. Esther was struck almost right 394 00:25:34,236 --> 00:25:40,476 Speaker 1: away by his thoughtfulness. He's a very good listener. You know, 395 00:25:40,516 --> 00:25:43,596 Speaker 1: sometimes you'll tell people something and like they'll kind of listen, 396 00:25:43,636 --> 00:25:46,916 Speaker 1: but really they're only waiting for their moment to interject. 397 00:25:46,996 --> 00:25:50,716 Speaker 1: And Ian's not like that at always very genuine and 398 00:25:50,836 --> 00:25:53,796 Speaker 1: this feeling, this sense that she had about him, it 399 00:25:53,836 --> 00:25:57,036 Speaker 1: only grew with time. Like Ian's the type of guy 400 00:25:57,076 --> 00:25:59,116 Speaker 1: that would change your oil and fill up your gas 401 00:25:59,156 --> 00:26:02,556 Speaker 1: tank and check to make sure your tires, you know, 402 00:26:02,596 --> 00:26:07,276 Speaker 1: aren't bald or you know. He's just very caretaking. Caretaking 403 00:26:07,716 --> 00:26:09,836 Speaker 1: that's something that she hadn't had much of since her 404 00:26:09,876 --> 00:26:13,556 Speaker 1: mom died, and esther she felt cared for by Ian's 405 00:26:13,596 --> 00:26:17,236 Speaker 1: family as well. She visited the Fleishman's back in Michigan 406 00:26:17,316 --> 00:26:21,036 Speaker 1: on a few occasions. They were just so kind and 407 00:26:21,236 --> 00:26:24,516 Speaker 1: like I made cinnamon rolls one morning for everybody, and 408 00:26:24,836 --> 00:26:27,236 Speaker 1: super lovely, like I don't know if it's coming across 409 00:26:27,316 --> 00:26:32,316 Speaker 1: by absolutely adored their entire family. Esther says Ian's mom, 410 00:26:32,556 --> 00:26:36,916 Speaker 1: Shirley Fleishman, was an especially lovely person, kind and nurturing, 411 00:26:37,076 --> 00:26:41,316 Speaker 1: just like Ian. Shirley was also a university professor, and 412 00:26:41,356 --> 00:26:44,116 Speaker 1: when she heard about Esther's dreams of going to college, 413 00:26:44,436 --> 00:26:48,076 Speaker 1: she encouraged her. Esther says she was actually staying at 414 00:26:48,076 --> 00:26:50,916 Speaker 1: the Fleishman's house the night before she took the acts. 415 00:26:51,796 --> 00:26:54,716 Speaker 1: That night, she was kind of freaking out when Shirley 416 00:26:54,876 --> 00:26:58,436 Speaker 1: gave her a pep talk. She said, you know, you've 417 00:26:58,436 --> 00:27:00,356 Speaker 1: got to calm down. You're going to do great tomorrow, 418 00:27:00,396 --> 00:27:03,996 Speaker 1: and I was like, I don't think so. And then 419 00:27:04,036 --> 00:27:06,236 Speaker 1: she's like, any school is going to be lucky to 420 00:27:06,276 --> 00:27:09,156 Speaker 1: have you, And I just remember looking at her and 421 00:27:09,476 --> 00:27:11,716 Speaker 1: like nobody had ever said anything like that to me. 422 00:27:12,876 --> 00:27:17,556 Speaker 1: Ian's father, Fred Fleischmann, was a different story. Esther says 423 00:27:17,556 --> 00:27:20,516 Speaker 1: that Fred was suspicious of her from the beginning, that 424 00:27:20,596 --> 00:27:22,916 Speaker 1: it didn't seem to believe her whole story about being 425 00:27:22,916 --> 00:27:25,876 Speaker 1: a professional chess player, and that at one point he 426 00:27:25,996 --> 00:27:31,236 Speaker 1: searched her car and went through her possessions. It was 427 00:27:31,316 --> 00:27:34,556 Speaker 1: almost like Ian's parents saw the two different sides of 428 00:27:34,716 --> 00:27:37,516 Speaker 1: Esther read One of them looked at Esther and saw 429 00:27:37,556 --> 00:27:39,996 Speaker 1: the best in her, all the promise of what she 430 00:27:40,036 --> 00:27:43,596 Speaker 1: could be, while the other saw only the worst, the 431 00:27:43,756 --> 00:27:47,956 Speaker 1: lies and the trouble that she would bring. And in 432 00:27:47,996 --> 00:27:54,596 Speaker 1: some ways they were both right. Esther was intent on 433 00:27:54,716 --> 00:27:58,876 Speaker 1: going to college, but she foresaw problems. She knew eventually 434 00:27:59,036 --> 00:28:02,196 Speaker 1: she'd need to provide a social Security number and that 435 00:28:02,316 --> 00:28:04,956 Speaker 1: might tip off the real Natalie Fisher that someone was 436 00:28:05,036 --> 00:28:08,956 Speaker 1: using her identity. And then I came up with the 437 00:28:09,196 --> 00:28:12,356 Speaker 1: brilliant idea of I need a social Security number that 438 00:28:12,396 --> 00:28:15,596 Speaker 1: nobody's using. And at that point I knew you couldn't 439 00:28:15,636 --> 00:28:18,476 Speaker 1: actually use the social security number of somebody who was 440 00:28:18,556 --> 00:28:22,316 Speaker 1: declared dead. So I came up with the idea, oh, 441 00:28:22,356 --> 00:28:26,796 Speaker 1: maybe all I could use the number of somebody who's missing. 442 00:28:27,516 --> 00:28:29,316 Speaker 1: I came up with lots of dumb ideas, but this 443 00:28:29,356 --> 00:28:33,356 Speaker 1: one is the one that I settled on. She searched 444 00:28:33,396 --> 00:28:36,516 Speaker 1: missing persons websites for a while until she found a 445 00:28:36,556 --> 00:28:39,516 Speaker 1: post that looked promising. It was for a woman named 446 00:28:39,596 --> 00:28:43,396 Speaker 1: Natalie Bowman. Esther says she found all kinds of information 447 00:28:43,436 --> 00:28:47,116 Speaker 1: about Natalie online. Her mom had posted a whole bunch 448 00:28:47,116 --> 00:28:48,756 Speaker 1: of stuff. You know. She was like, please help me 449 00:28:48,796 --> 00:28:51,516 Speaker 1: find my daughter. And I understand that, right if you 450 00:28:51,516 --> 00:28:53,836 Speaker 1: are a desperate mom trying to find your daughter, you're 451 00:28:53,876 --> 00:28:56,516 Speaker 1: putting up report cards, you're putting up like pictures with 452 00:28:56,556 --> 00:29:00,196 Speaker 1: her best friend, and you know, whatever you can find. 453 00:29:00,236 --> 00:29:01,916 Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, I bet that's a social 454 00:29:01,916 --> 00:29:05,796 Speaker 1: Security number. To Esther, she seemed like a good candidate. 455 00:29:06,356 --> 00:29:10,076 Speaker 1: And then there was the name Natalie. It was convenient. 456 00:29:10,276 --> 00:29:13,036 Speaker 1: It would be an easy switch from Natalie Fisher to 457 00:29:13,196 --> 00:29:17,196 Speaker 1: Natalie Bowman, and so Esther she just went for it. 458 00:29:17,796 --> 00:29:21,196 Speaker 1: She would now tell people that her name was Natalie Bowman. 459 00:29:22,596 --> 00:29:26,036 Speaker 1: Esther says there were moments when she saw how crazy 460 00:29:26,076 --> 00:29:29,076 Speaker 1: this all was. There were times when I was like, 461 00:29:29,476 --> 00:29:32,356 Speaker 1: you know, you can just go back and use your 462 00:29:32,356 --> 00:29:34,756 Speaker 1: own name and stop doing all of this stuff, right, Like, 463 00:29:34,836 --> 00:29:37,356 Speaker 1: you could just go to a new school, apply as 464 00:29:37,436 --> 00:29:40,996 Speaker 1: you and stop this because you're not in any trouble. 465 00:29:42,756 --> 00:29:46,076 Speaker 1: But at this point she was so deep into this deception. 466 00:29:46,796 --> 00:29:49,956 Speaker 1: She was a professional chess player, though some had heard 467 00:29:49,956 --> 00:29:52,596 Speaker 1: it was tennis. She had to change her name to 468 00:29:52,756 --> 00:29:56,516 Speaker 1: escape a maniacal stepfather, though she told one boyfriend she 469 00:29:56,636 --> 00:30:01,636 Speaker 1: was in the witness protection program. Her last name was 470 00:30:01,676 --> 00:30:05,956 Speaker 1: Fisher or was it Bowman or was it Henson? She 471 00:30:06,116 --> 00:30:10,636 Speaker 1: was from Montana or was it South Carolina. He was 472 00:30:10,676 --> 00:30:13,516 Speaker 1: a lot to keep track of all of these lies 473 00:30:13,596 --> 00:30:19,156 Speaker 1: and half truths. The fact and the fiction were hopelessly intertwined, 474 00:30:20,956 --> 00:30:23,076 Speaker 1: and there seemed to be no straightening it all out. 475 00:30:27,796 --> 00:30:31,796 Speaker 1: Using her new alias, Natalie Bowman, she took classes at 476 00:30:31,796 --> 00:30:36,036 Speaker 1: cal State Fullerton. She joined the debate team, made some friends, 477 00:30:36,756 --> 00:30:39,836 Speaker 1: but if she felt any sense of relief, it didn't 478 00:30:39,916 --> 00:30:43,796 Speaker 1: last long, because pretty soon her alias began to fall apart. 479 00:30:44,796 --> 00:30:47,996 Speaker 1: Esther learned that someone else was earning money and accruing 480 00:30:48,036 --> 00:30:52,596 Speaker 1: Social Security benefits under Natalie Bowman's name. Maybe it was 481 00:30:52,596 --> 00:30:55,956 Speaker 1: the real Natalie Bowman, or maybe it was another identity thief. 482 00:30:56,396 --> 00:31:00,316 Speaker 1: It didn't matter. Point was this alias? It was no 483 00:31:00,396 --> 00:31:05,196 Speaker 1: longer safe to use. So what did Esther do? She 484 00:31:05,316 --> 00:31:09,036 Speaker 1: went back to the internet looking for yet another missing girl, 485 00:31:09,836 --> 00:31:12,956 Speaker 1: someone who was still listed as missing, but who in 486 00:31:12,996 --> 00:31:17,076 Speaker 1: all likelihood was deceased. Like, how much time did you 487 00:31:17,116 --> 00:31:19,396 Speaker 1: spend looking for her? Oh? My gosh, I mean it 488 00:31:19,476 --> 00:31:21,916 Speaker 1: took months to find somebody. I mean that's the way 489 00:31:22,036 --> 00:31:24,916 Speaker 1: it probably was, six or seven months. Why did it 490 00:31:24,916 --> 00:31:27,356 Speaker 1: take so long? Well, like, I mean, a lot of 491 00:31:27,396 --> 00:31:30,276 Speaker 1: different pieces have to be in place, right, Like I 492 00:31:30,316 --> 00:31:34,716 Speaker 1: didn't they needed to be about my age. I didn't 493 00:31:34,716 --> 00:31:37,596 Speaker 1: want it to be a recent disappearance because I kind 494 00:31:37,596 --> 00:31:40,996 Speaker 1: of wanted like it to be calm so I could 495 00:31:41,516 --> 00:31:45,316 Speaker 1: live in peace. Then one day she was browsing a 496 00:31:45,356 --> 00:31:49,036 Speaker 1: missing person's website and she found a post for Brooke 497 00:31:49,116 --> 00:31:53,716 Speaker 1: Henson from Traveler's Rest, South Carolina. When you found her, 498 00:31:54,476 --> 00:31:57,116 Speaker 1: were you pretty certain right away? Or did you kind 499 00:31:57,116 --> 00:31:59,276 Speaker 1: of like wrestle with it for a bit? Oh? No, 500 00:31:59,356 --> 00:32:03,036 Speaker 1: I wrestled with it forever. I mean, you're trying to 501 00:32:03,076 --> 00:32:07,396 Speaker 1: figure out how to do something that's impossible. Esther and 502 00:32:07,436 --> 00:32:10,556 Speaker 1: I talked about this a lot, how she could justify 503 00:32:10,796 --> 00:32:14,756 Speaker 1: stealing these identities, and how she rationalized lying to so 504 00:32:14,796 --> 00:32:18,636 Speaker 1: many people, especially to people like Ian and his family, 505 00:32:19,156 --> 00:32:22,676 Speaker 1: people she cared about and who cared about her. She 506 00:32:22,796 --> 00:32:25,636 Speaker 1: explained that all of this really came from feeling like 507 00:32:25,716 --> 00:32:28,396 Speaker 1: her family was stalking her to the point that it 508 00:32:28,476 --> 00:32:32,356 Speaker 1: felt like emotional abuse. But she didn't think that anyone 509 00:32:32,396 --> 00:32:36,116 Speaker 1: would really take that seriously. So she made up stuff 510 00:32:36,316 --> 00:32:39,636 Speaker 1: that she did think people would take seriously, like the 511 00:32:39,716 --> 00:32:45,316 Speaker 1: violent stepfather's story. Basically, Esther felt that these lies were 512 00:32:45,356 --> 00:32:50,036 Speaker 1: the only way she would ever be understood. When I 513 00:32:50,076 --> 00:32:53,516 Speaker 1: think about all of this, I feel for her. I mean, 514 00:32:53,956 --> 00:32:57,356 Speaker 1: what a lonely place to be. But I also can 515 00:32:57,516 --> 00:33:01,756 Speaker 1: help but think about the consequences, about all the damage 516 00:33:01,796 --> 00:33:13,516 Speaker 1: that these lies would inevitably cause. Esther eventually left cal 517 00:33:13,596 --> 00:33:17,436 Speaker 1: State Fullerton and moved east. First, she went to Boston, 518 00:33:17,836 --> 00:33:20,476 Speaker 1: where she even took a class at Harvard Extension School. 519 00:33:20,796 --> 00:33:24,716 Speaker 1: It was kind of like the IVY Leagues on training wheels. Eventually, 520 00:33:24,876 --> 00:33:28,316 Speaker 1: she set her sights on Columbia University and New York City. 521 00:33:29,036 --> 00:33:32,556 Speaker 1: This move also presented her with one more chance to 522 00:33:32,556 --> 00:33:36,236 Speaker 1: come clean, to dispense with all the aliases and lies, 523 00:33:36,676 --> 00:33:41,236 Speaker 1: and just apply as herself. So why didn't she? I 524 00:33:41,276 --> 00:33:48,156 Speaker 1: asked myself that all the time. I just like, there's 525 00:33:48,196 --> 00:33:51,636 Speaker 1: absolutely no reason I could not have applied to Columbia 526 00:33:51,676 --> 00:33:55,516 Speaker 1: as ester Reid. Because her true objective, she says, was 527 00:33:55,556 --> 00:33:58,836 Speaker 1: simply to reinvent herself. Like I have been just trying 528 00:33:58,836 --> 00:34:03,476 Speaker 1: to start over and like go to school and like 529 00:34:03,596 --> 00:34:07,236 Speaker 1: get life back on track, and so why Natalie Fisher, 530 00:34:07,276 --> 00:34:11,676 Speaker 1: why Natalie Bowman, Why why? But really all those questions 531 00:34:11,756 --> 00:34:15,236 Speaker 1: or why not Esther read? But at this point she 532 00:34:15,316 --> 00:34:19,356 Speaker 1: hadn't been Esther read in name or otherwise in years. 533 00:34:19,996 --> 00:34:22,836 Speaker 1: In that time, she had criss crossed the country, had 534 00:34:22,876 --> 00:34:26,716 Speaker 1: a few different boyfriends, gone to college or started to anyhow, 535 00:34:27,556 --> 00:34:30,516 Speaker 1: And by the spring of two thousand and six, Esther 536 00:34:30,676 --> 00:34:34,516 Speaker 1: was really settling into her identity as Brooke Henson. She 537 00:34:34,596 --> 00:34:37,396 Speaker 1: was in her second year at Columbia. She had taken 538 00:34:37,436 --> 00:34:39,996 Speaker 1: out some student loans in Brooke's name to help pay 539 00:34:40,036 --> 00:34:42,996 Speaker 1: for school. She had obtained a copy of Brooke's birth 540 00:34:42,996 --> 00:34:46,196 Speaker 1: certificate and with that she had applied to get a 541 00:34:46,316 --> 00:34:50,596 Speaker 1: US passport in Brooks name. And by the way, yeah, 542 00:34:50,636 --> 00:34:54,756 Speaker 1: that's a federal crime. She had her challenges at Columbia. 543 00:34:54,956 --> 00:34:58,556 Speaker 1: Sometimes her social anxiety was so bad she just hole 544 00:34:58,716 --> 00:35:02,156 Speaker 1: up inside her room. But then she started seeing a 545 00:35:02,196 --> 00:35:06,036 Speaker 1: mental health professional for the first time and it really helped. 546 00:35:06,956 --> 00:35:09,636 Speaker 1: Things didn't work out with Ian, she was in a 547 00:35:09,676 --> 00:35:13,036 Speaker 1: new relationship. She says, she had support of friends who 548 00:35:13,156 --> 00:35:16,876 Speaker 1: genuinely cared about her. She had an apartment to dogs, 549 00:35:17,356 --> 00:35:21,676 Speaker 1: and at that moment happily ever after seemed well possible. 550 00:35:22,356 --> 00:35:25,396 Speaker 1: You may be thinking, really she thought this was going 551 00:35:25,436 --> 00:35:29,676 Speaker 1: to work, And the short answer is yeah. It never 552 00:35:29,796 --> 00:35:32,756 Speaker 1: occurred to me, quite frankly, that I would get caught 553 00:35:32,876 --> 00:35:35,676 Speaker 1: or could get caught, or that anyone would get hurt. 554 00:35:36,156 --> 00:35:38,756 Speaker 1: I mean, I figured, if I lived as Brooke for 555 00:35:38,796 --> 00:35:45,756 Speaker 1: the rest of my life, nothing would ever happen. And 556 00:35:46,036 --> 00:35:48,396 Speaker 1: that's when the phone rang, with the New York City 557 00:35:48,436 --> 00:35:51,676 Speaker 1: Police Department on the other end, asking if she really 558 00:35:51,836 --> 00:35:55,876 Speaker 1: was Brooke Henson, and all those other probing questions, and 559 00:35:55,956 --> 00:35:59,316 Speaker 1: if she'd take the DNA test. And then finally that 560 00:35:59,476 --> 00:36:02,476 Speaker 1: moment on the street with the cops in her doorstep 561 00:36:02,916 --> 00:36:06,716 Speaker 1: and the U haul idling by the curb, then that 562 00:36:06,916 --> 00:36:09,796 Speaker 1: narrow window of opportunity when the at least seemed to 563 00:36:09,796 --> 00:36:12,996 Speaker 1: walk away for a moment, leaving her just enough time 564 00:36:13,036 --> 00:36:16,276 Speaker 1: to grab her bags and her two dogs and run 565 00:36:16,356 --> 00:36:20,236 Speaker 1: for it. Initially, she did what all fugitives do when 566 00:36:20,236 --> 00:36:23,676 Speaker 1: they're fleeing New York. She went south to Jersey, and 567 00:36:23,796 --> 00:36:30,916 Speaker 1: from there, once again she vanished. The funny thing about 568 00:36:30,956 --> 00:36:35,436 Speaker 1: wanting to vanish is it only really works. Sometimes occasionally 569 00:36:35,476 --> 00:36:40,076 Speaker 1: someone just disappears and is forgotten. But other times the 570 00:36:40,116 --> 00:36:44,436 Speaker 1: strategy backfires big time because the act of vanishing is 571 00:36:44,516 --> 00:36:48,676 Speaker 1: so mysterious and creepy that it actually calls attention to itself. 572 00:36:49,396 --> 00:36:53,476 Speaker 1: Truth is, we love vanishing stories of a certain type, 573 00:36:54,116 --> 00:36:57,356 Speaker 1: especially if they're about celebrities or people who vanish in 574 00:36:57,356 --> 00:37:04,476 Speaker 1: a dramatic fashion. Just think Amelia Earhart, dB Cooper, Jimmy Hoffa, 575 00:37:04,556 --> 00:37:08,276 Speaker 1: even Aaron Burr's daughter, Theodosha Burr, who disappeared in eighteen 576 00:37:08,436 --> 00:37:12,316 Speaker 1: thirteen Google her people are still talking about where she went. 577 00:37:13,036 --> 00:37:16,716 Speaker 1: Point is you vanish or you run for it? Well, 578 00:37:17,196 --> 00:37:20,476 Speaker 1: that's catnip for law enforcement like the Secret Service or 579 00:37:20,516 --> 00:37:25,276 Speaker 1: the US Marshals or even the Travelers RESTPD. It's also 580 00:37:25,396 --> 00:37:29,556 Speaker 1: catnip for the media because it asks the question, screams 581 00:37:29,596 --> 00:37:33,996 Speaker 1: it really, why are you running? And what don't we 582 00:37:34,036 --> 00:37:39,836 Speaker 1: know about you? If I hadn't run, I don't think 583 00:37:39,876 --> 00:37:47,036 Speaker 1: any of this would have happened next time on deep Cover. 584 00:37:47,716 --> 00:37:49,636 Speaker 1: I mean, there are a lot of people stealing names, 585 00:37:49,916 --> 00:37:55,036 Speaker 1: but something dealing with espionage spies that was a fascinating, 586 00:37:55,436 --> 00:38:23,676 Speaker 1: fascinating development and opened my eyes. Deep Cover is produced 587 00:38:23,676 --> 00:38:27,676 Speaker 1: by Amy Gaines and Jacob Smith. It's edited by Karen 588 00:38:27,716 --> 00:38:32,436 Speaker 1: Shakurge mastering by Jake Gorski. Our show art was designed 589 00:38:32,436 --> 00:38:36,476 Speaker 1: by Sean Karney. Original scoring at our theme was composed 590 00:38:36,516 --> 00:38:41,796 Speaker 1: by Luis Gara, fact checking by Arthur Gomfort's Special thanks 591 00:38:41,796 --> 00:38:47,036 Speaker 1: to Nil Lobell, Greta Khne and Jacob Weissberg. I'm Jake 592 00:38:47,116 --> 00:38:47,436 Speaker 1: Calper