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Speaker 1: Pushkin.

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Speaker 2: Hey, it's Betsy Shepherd dropping into your feed to bring

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Speaker 2: you another episode from my new podcast, Valley of Shadows.

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Speaker 2: If you missed episode one, go check that out first.

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Speaker 2: It sets the scene for the mysterious disappearance of Los

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Speaker 2: Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy John Auja and explains why whistleblowers

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Speaker 2: think the Sheriff's department is covering up what really happened

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Speaker 2: to the deputy. Then come back to this episode to

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Speaker 2: hear why the police's official story doesn't quite add up

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Speaker 2: all right, Enjoy the episode. This series includes content that

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Speaker 2: may not be suitable for all listeners. Listener and discretion

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Speaker 2: is advised. Previously on Valley of Shadows.

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Speaker 3: It's an all out manhunt for John Aujay, the thirty

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Speaker 3: eight year old When hiking Thursday in a rugged section

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Speaker 3: of the Angels National Forest known as Devil Punch Bowls.

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Speaker 4: Park, he says, you know, there's a bunch of caves

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Speaker 4: and stuff out here.

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Speaker 5: You can pretty much disappear and nobody would ever find you.

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Speaker 6: I participated in that search until my feet were bloody.

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Speaker 6: But day six they said, well shut it down. Why

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Speaker 6: are you shutting it down? Well, they say that they

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Speaker 6: decided he committed suicide.

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Speaker 7: I kept contacting homicide and saying something's wrong.

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Speaker 1: I'm telling you there's a problem.

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Speaker 6: There's something rotten in the woodpile, and it stinks and

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Speaker 6: I can smell it.

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Speaker 8: Deputy John Aujay disappeared while jogging in the Devil's Punch

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Speaker 8: Bowl on June eleventh, nineteen ninety eight. A couple weeks later,

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Speaker 8: something tragic would also happen to his department issued canine, Bosco,

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Speaker 8: and there are more than a few parallels between what

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Speaker 8: happened with the two. Bosco was a Belgian Malinwah, which

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Speaker 8: looks like a leaner version of a German shepherd. Auj

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Speaker 8: got him as a puppy, trained him to do police work,

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Speaker 8: and brought the dog home to live with him, his wife,

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Speaker 8: Deb and their daughter Chloe. I've had my dog, Stringer

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Speaker 8: Bell for over a decade. Dringer Bell, Dringer Bear.

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Speaker 9: You gonna run around.

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Speaker 8: He's a protector and eighty five pounds of emotional support.

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Speaker 8: He's gonna run on the grass.

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Speaker 1: You're gonna eat some grass.

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Speaker 8: My home life revolves around my dog, just as the

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Speaker 8: Aujays did around Bosco. We can tell because the dog's

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Speaker 8: front and center, and dozens of family photos. Those pictures

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Speaker 8: now belong to Aujay's captain, Mike Bauer, and he shares

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Speaker 8: them with us. Oh my gosh, we get this picture

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Speaker 8: of Chloe and the dog.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you can tell that they were raised together.

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Speaker 8: She's like squeezing the dog's neck, like their heads are

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Speaker 8: pushed together, like you lived like your best bud. Chloe

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Speaker 8: appears to be three or four in the photo. Her

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Speaker 8: arms are barely able to reach around Bosco's neck, so

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Speaker 8: she leans in to make it happen, smiling from ear

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Speaker 8: to ear. Bosco looks annoyed like an older sibling would,

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Speaker 8: which is essentially what he was. And there was another

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Speaker 8: important Bosco memento. Bower came across it while rifling through

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Speaker 8: Aujay's patrol vehicle just days after he was reported missing.

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Speaker 7: I found his tape recorder in the visor with tape

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Speaker 7: in a little tape recorder like I have.

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Speaker 8: Bower points to a micro cassette player, something he uses

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Speaker 8: for audio interviews and personal memos.

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Speaker 1: And so I brought it in the office. I played it,

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Speaker 1: and it's charming as hell.

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Speaker 8: The recording was a snapshot of John and Bosco's relationship.

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Speaker 8: Bower doesn't have it anymore, but he recaps it for us,

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Speaker 8: and it's easy for me to imagine.

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Speaker 7: Let's goat, he was playing fetch somewhere in like a

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Speaker 7: high school field or somewhere out there in anlet valley.

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Speaker 1: He's throwing the ball.

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Speaker 7: To Bosco and he's going, hey, Bosco, and Bosco's barking,

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Speaker 7: and they're doing a training exercise.

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Speaker 1: Good job, you try.

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Speaker 8: The connection canine cops have to their dogs is something

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Speaker 8: special because they're together all the time in the trenches,

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Speaker 8: working during the day and unwinding together at night.

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Speaker 7: When you talk about John's relationship with his dog, you

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Speaker 7: have to understand he's a one man unit and that's

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Speaker 7: his partner, and it's a bond, and it's a big

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Speaker 7: deal because that dog saves that officer's life. The officers

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Speaker 7: in charge of the dog.

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Speaker 1: Like a child.

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Speaker 8: Canine officers become so bonded to their dogs that when

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Speaker 8: one of these animals passes away, the Sheriff's department gives

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Speaker 8: a funeral like it would a uniformed officer. An American

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Speaker 8: flag is draped over the dog's casket, a military band

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Speaker 8: plays taps, mourners give eulogies and riflemen send the dog

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Speaker 8: off with a twenty one gun salute. After Auj vanished,

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Speaker 8: Bauer hears that someone from the department retrieved Bosco from

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Speaker 8: the Auj home. Bower's confused because he was the person

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Speaker 8: overseeing the canine unit, so if someone was to give

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Speaker 8: the order to bring in Bosco, it should have been him.

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Speaker 1: And I started searching for the dog. Where's the dog?

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Speaker 7: I was told that dog died at the kennel during

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Speaker 7: a vet exam, and most likely the dog had some

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Speaker 7: sort of heart problem.

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Speaker 8: The LA Sheriff's Department tells Bauer and the press that

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Speaker 8: Bosco was taken to a police kennel where he died

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Speaker 8: of natural cause, That the dog stopped eating after Aujay disappeared, and.

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Speaker 7: The dog may have died of a broken heart because

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Speaker 7: its master was gone.

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Speaker 1: That's a kind of sappy crap, I was told at

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Speaker 1: the time.

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Speaker 8: Years later, Bauer hears a different account from a friend

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Speaker 8: of Aujay's.

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Speaker 1: She said, it's a shame that dog had to be destroyed.

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Speaker 7: I said, wait a minute, Bosco died in a vet

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Speaker 7: exam from some sort of heart attack from missing his master.

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Speaker 8: So Bauer makes some phone calls and eventually reaches a

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Speaker 8: deputy who were not going to name, and this deputy

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Speaker 8: claims that he and a colleague killed Bosco. Bower met

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Speaker 8: him at a diner and recorded their conversation.

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Speaker 10: Go he's gonna bite.

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Speaker 11: Always keep going because I got to tell.

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Speaker 2: Him before he does.

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Speaker 7: He says, I shot that dog with my twenty five.

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Speaker 7: I said in its kennel. He says, yeah, I said

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Speaker 7: you killed the dog. He says yeah.

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Speaker 9: Pull filling a humpster twice sents.

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Speaker 8: The deputy says it cost them twenty cents the price

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Speaker 8: of a bullet to take out Bosco. He says they

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Speaker 8: did it because the dog was dangerous without John Auja

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Speaker 8: there to control it. Bosco should have been reassigned to

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Speaker 8: another deputy, or if the dog was a liability, it

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Speaker 8: should have been properly euthanized.

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Speaker 7: You would expect a police organization that had ceremonies to

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Speaker 7: honor their dogs to give a shit about that issue.

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Speaker 8: Instead of getting a police burial, Bosco was tossed in

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Speaker 8: a dumpster behind the kennel where he was shot. Bowers

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Speaker 8: pissed and he confronts the higher ups at the LASD.

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Speaker 7: I see you guys, what happened to Bosco? Mike, I

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Speaker 7: don't know, vote, but you will just stop this. We

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Speaker 7: all agreed that it was a suicide and you should

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Speaker 7: just let it go.

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Speaker 1: No, I'm not gonna let it go.

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Speaker 8: The department says, it makes no difference what happened in Moscow.

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Speaker 8: Baj died suicide, so case clothes. But if the LASD

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Speaker 8: would lie about Bosco, what else might they be lying about.

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Speaker 8: I'm Haley Fox.

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Speaker 2: I'm Betty Shephard, and this is Valley of Shadows, Episode two,

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Speaker 2: An Unreasonable Act the Devil's Punch Bowl on June eleventh,

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Speaker 2: nineteen ninety eight. It's a scene we're gonna keep returning

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Speaker 2: to because the story of what happened to John Ajay

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Speaker 2: is like the sedimentary rock formations in the park. It

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Speaker 2: builds up over time and change of shape as new

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Speaker 2: layers are added. One of those layers comes from the

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Speaker 2: last known person to talk to auj before his disappearance.

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Speaker 2: School teacher Dave Evanson, took his fifth grade class on

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Speaker 2: a field trip to the Devil's Punch Bowl.

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Speaker 1: We stop tables, the picnic tables.

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Speaker 2: Dave Evanson has Parkinson's disease, which causes him to slur

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Speaker 2: his speech, so his wife Don is helping him communicate

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Speaker 2: with us. At this point, she knows the story pretty

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Speaker 2: well because her husband has told it many times over

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Speaker 2: the years, and he insists on telling it to us.

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Speaker 2: Evanson's class was exiting the trail to go eat lunch

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Speaker 2: when they ran into Aujenny rail.

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Speaker 12: And he was just starting up the trail and that

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Speaker 12: the kids saw him and started firing questions because they

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Speaker 12: recognized him from Family Night.

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Speaker 2: Every year, John Auj volunteered at Family Night, a community

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Speaker 2: event held at a local elementary school where Dave and

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Speaker 2: Don Evanson both had worked. The roster of entertainers included

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Speaker 2: audien in Bosco.

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Speaker 8: And Aja became one of the stars of the show

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Speaker 8: because he would bring Bosco and do demonstrations on what

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Speaker 8: the dog could do.

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Speaker 2: The event took place two days before the class went

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Speaker 2: to the punch Bowl, so when the students see Auj

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Speaker 2: in the park, they crowd around him like he's a celebrity,

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Speaker 2: or really the owner of a celebrity. Do you remember

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Speaker 2: any of the questions that they asked him?

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Speaker 1: Where's Boscore?

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Speaker 2: Where's Bosco? The kids ask? Auj says he had to

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Speaker 2: leave the dog at home because he's here to train

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Speaker 2: for an ultra marathon. Auj took his time with the

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Speaker 2: students and even turned the conversation into a teachable moment,

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Speaker 2: telling them about the importance of wilderness safety. To me,

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Speaker 2: that does not sound like someone who's going out to

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Speaker 2: the woods to take his own life. But that's what

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Speaker 2: the Sheriff's Department says Auja did after he finished talking

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Speaker 2: to these fifth graders. Evanson will never be convinced of that.

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Speaker 1: He's happy.

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Speaker 8: He was.

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Speaker 1: Full of life, happy, having fun talking to the kids.

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Speaker 2: So where is the Sheriff's Department drawing their suicide conclusion from.

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Speaker 2: Is there some other evidence we don't know about? Well,

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Speaker 2: if there is, the LASD sure isn't sharing it with us.

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Speaker 2: They denied our public records request, saying the requested records

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Speaker 2: are part of an ongoing and active criminal investigation and

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Speaker 2: are therefore exempt from disclosure an ongoing and active criminal investigation.

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Speaker 2: This response does not make a lot of sense to me,

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Speaker 2: because Auja disappeared about thirty years ago. The state of

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Speaker 2: California issued a death certificate for him all the way.

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Speaker 8: Back in two thousand and three.

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Speaker 2: Meanwhile, the department has stuck by a suicide ruling, and

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Speaker 2: they've openly and actively discouraged retired Captain Mike Bauer's investigation.

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Speaker 2: Lucky for us, Bauer hasn't let up. He spent decades

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Speaker 2: looking into the aj case. His office is filled with

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Speaker 2: handwritten notes and discs of recorded interviews, and he's collected

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Speaker 2: internal documents from the Sheriff's department which he's agreed to

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Speaker 2: share with.

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Speaker 1: US, including confidential suicide report. I somehow got hold of.

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Speaker 2: Bower Hands as a case file that's hundreds of pages long.

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Speaker 2: It includes reports that span years of investigation in the

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Speaker 2: Auja's disappearance, and it tells a story.

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Speaker 1: This was assigned to Homicide Bureau Missing Persons Unit. They

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Speaker 1: were the ones who had to make the decision that

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Speaker 1: this was a suicide.

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Speaker 8: The missing person's investigation began with the person who reported

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Speaker 8: John auj missing, his wife, Debbie.

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Speaker 7: Then they began to get the feeling, well, this guy's

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Speaker 7: got some sort of relationship problems, maybe we.

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Speaker 1: Better look at it.

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Speaker 8: Debbie tells detectives that she and her husband got into

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Speaker 8: an argument before he took off for the punch bowl,

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Speaker 8: and that she can't find his off duty gun.

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Speaker 7: They went out to her house and she said there's

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Speaker 7: an empty holster on the workbench, but the two inches missing.

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Speaker 8: The department begins to speculate that Auj may have taken

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Speaker 8: the gun with him into the devil's punch bowl to

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Speaker 8: use it on himself.

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Speaker 7: They then get psychological services involved in and find out

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Speaker 7: about the marriage counseling.

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Speaker 1: The day before.

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Speaker 8: The day before Auj disappeared, he and Debbie had gone

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Speaker 8: to couples counseling with an LASD psychologist. By the end

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Speaker 8: of the session, the therapist concluded the Auj's were incompatible

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Speaker 8: and should separate, and the Sheriff's Department says that's what

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Speaker 8: pushed Auj over the edge, the falation that he and

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Speaker 8: Debbie were done.

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Speaker 13: When we ended, she said, if you have decided to

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Speaker 13: go through with the divorce, to come back to her

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Speaker 13: and she would give us ideas on parenting skills for

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Speaker 13: Chloe's sake.

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Speaker 8: This is an interview Bauer recorded with Debbie in twenty fifteen.

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Speaker 8: He questions her at length about her marriage to John

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Speaker 8: because it's the crux of the department's suicide narrative. In

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Speaker 8: a nutshell, Debbie was a stay at home mom. While

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Speaker 8: John worked a lot, she liked to party. His version

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Speaker 8: of fun was extreme running. She was full figured with

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Speaker 8: the bleach bond perm He was all muscle topped off

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Speaker 8: with the military crew cut. The report says that after

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Speaker 8: twelve years of marriage, the couple drifted apart. They fought

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Speaker 8: a lot, and as their fights intensified, John withdrew.

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Speaker 10: Okay, let me get to someations that they wrote in

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Speaker 10: the report. He was not verbally communicating with you, and

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Speaker 10: he was getting more distant from you. That makes sense. Yes,

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Speaker 10: was he depressed?

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Speaker 9: Well, he had told the psychologist that he had been

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Speaker 9: unhappy for two years with the marriage.

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Speaker 14: With the marriage.

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00:15:32,662 --> 00:15:35,502
Speaker 8: Bower's fact checking the sheriff's report because it attributes a

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Speaker 8: lot of its claims to Debbie's testimony, supposed characterizations of

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Speaker 8: her husband and their life together.

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Speaker 10: Okay, when you talked to John afterwards on the drive home,

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Speaker 10: what was the conversation between the two of you about

256
00:15:48,942 --> 00:15:54,742
Speaker 10: this experience with marriage counseling? What was John's attitude? I

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Speaker 10: Since he was angry, do you think he was hopeful

258
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Speaker 10: that this session was going to help save the marriage?

259
00:16:02,982 --> 00:16:03,022
Speaker 9: No?

260
00:16:04,222 --> 00:16:12,382
Speaker 8: No, no, things aren't adding up. If AUJ had been

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00:16:12,502 --> 00:16:14,822
Speaker 8: unhappy with the marriage for two years and thought it

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00:16:14,902 --> 00:16:19,902
Speaker 8: was beyond repair. Why would he suddenly snap. Well, the

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Speaker 8: report quotes Debbie as saying that Auj was psychotic.

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Speaker 10: That's kind of describing a person who's mentally ill.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if I.

266
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Speaker 14: Said he was psychotic. I do remember saying that his

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Speaker 14: eyes did not look right. I do remember saying that

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Speaker 14: to them, what respect, Just a real strong look in

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Speaker 14: his eyes. Maybe his eyes looked intense.

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Speaker 8: There's a world of difference between intense looking eyes and psychosis.

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Speaker 8: But investigators say there were other indications that Auj was suicidal.

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Speaker 8: He was giving away his prized possessions, including a family heirloom,

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Speaker 8: a gold necklace, and then right before he left for

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Speaker 8: the punch bowl, Auj told Debbie to have a nice life.

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Speaker 8: To detectives, that was Auj saying his final goodbyes. In conclusion,

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Speaker 8: the LASD report says the likelihood of suicide is overwhelming

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Speaker 8: and by far surpasses any of the other possibilities. I

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00:17:30,662 --> 00:17:34,302
Speaker 8: can see why the department considered the possibility of suicide,

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Speaker 8: because it's clear that Auj was going through a tough time.

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Speaker 8: But to me, it's a big stretch to say, the

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00:17:40,462 --> 00:17:45,462
Speaker 8: likelihood of suicide is overwhelming, especially as I keep reading

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Speaker 8: the report and find out that Auj had big plans

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Speaker 8: for his future and that he wanted to spend it

284
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Speaker 8: with his girlfriend.

285
00:18:05,342 --> 00:18:07,782
Speaker 2: Auj had been seeing a forty five year old woman

286
00:18:07,902 --> 00:18:11,342
Speaker 2: named Vicki da Vita. She was a competitive ultra marathon

287
00:18:11,422 --> 00:18:14,262
Speaker 2: runner just like him, and she was the one Auj

288
00:18:14,422 --> 00:18:18,342
Speaker 2: gave the heirloom necklace to. Their relationship was a bit

289
00:18:18,382 --> 00:18:21,182
Speaker 2: of an open secret, especially when she showed up with

290
00:18:21,222 --> 00:18:25,542
Speaker 2: the punch bowl searching for him day after day. We

291
00:18:25,662 --> 00:18:28,662
Speaker 2: can't ask Davida what she thinks happened to Auj because

292
00:18:28,702 --> 00:18:31,982
Speaker 2: she died of cancer in twenty ten, but her statement

293
00:18:32,022 --> 00:18:37,102
Speaker 2: to investigators reveals a rosier picture of the deputy. According

294
00:18:37,142 --> 00:18:39,302
Speaker 2: to Davida, she and Aj met at a race in

295
00:18:39,462 --> 00:18:43,262
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety five. She was the more experienced runner and

296
00:18:43,422 --> 00:18:46,942
Speaker 2: helped Aj train for his ultra marathons. They bonded over

297
00:18:46,982 --> 00:18:50,822
Speaker 2: their shared passion and slowly they fell in love. But

298
00:18:50,902 --> 00:18:55,142
Speaker 2: according to Davida, the relationship wasn't sexual because Aja wanted

299
00:18:55,182 --> 00:18:58,302
Speaker 2: to wait until after he and his wife had officially separated.

300
00:18:59,342 --> 00:19:02,422
Speaker 2: In letters to Davida, Aj called her his Eternal Love

301
00:19:03,182 --> 00:19:07,542
Speaker 2: and shared poems by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, and recently,

302
00:19:07,782 --> 00:19:10,382
Speaker 2: Auja had asked her to take in std test so

303
00:19:10,502 --> 00:19:15,062
Speaker 2: they could finally consummate their relationship. So Aj was making moves,

304
00:19:15,822 --> 00:19:18,302
Speaker 2: and Divita says he was relieved that he and Debbie

305
00:19:18,302 --> 00:19:20,662
Speaker 2: were splitting up because he was ready to start the

306
00:19:20,782 --> 00:19:24,742
Speaker 2: next chapter of his life. Debbie seems to confirm all this,

307
00:19:24,942 --> 00:19:27,542
Speaker 2: explaining that towards the end of their marriage, she and

308
00:19:27,662 --> 00:19:30,742
Speaker 2: Aj slept in different rooms and that he'd begun to

309
00:19:30,822 --> 00:19:33,102
Speaker 2: take photos and art off the walls of his bedroom.

310
00:19:34,582 --> 00:19:39,662
Speaker 10: He was telling Vicki that he was setting a certain

311
00:19:39,942 --> 00:19:42,222
Speaker 10: time frame for him to make a decision what he

312
00:19:42,382 --> 00:19:47,182
Speaker 10: was going to do. Did you sense a move out

313
00:19:47,342 --> 00:19:47,742
Speaker 10: was coming?

314
00:19:48,662 --> 00:19:51,262
Speaker 15: Yes, it appeared that he was going to move out.

315
00:19:55,702 --> 00:19:59,022
Speaker 2: Given this new information, Auj sounds less like someone saying

316
00:19:59,062 --> 00:20:02,462
Speaker 2: his final goodbyes and more like someone saying goodbye to

317
00:20:02,582 --> 00:20:06,462
Speaker 2: a relationship that had already run its course, and it

318
00:20:06,542 --> 00:20:08,702
Speaker 2: sheds new light on what Aj may have meant the

319
00:20:08,782 --> 00:20:11,822
Speaker 2: morning June eleventh when he told his wife Debbie to

320
00:20:11,942 --> 00:20:12,782
Speaker 2: have a nice life.

321
00:20:13,782 --> 00:20:15,582
Speaker 14: What was your thought at the time when he said it?

322
00:20:15,822 --> 00:20:18,222
Speaker 10: Did you think suicide at the time.

323
00:20:18,502 --> 00:20:19,182
Speaker 12: No, I get it.

324
00:20:20,782 --> 00:20:23,222
Speaker 10: It was not a threat of suicide. Had he ever

325
00:20:23,342 --> 00:20:25,982
Speaker 10: made a threat of suicide in the past. He was

326
00:20:26,022 --> 00:20:28,702
Speaker 10: going to kill himself because of some problem you two

327
00:20:28,742 --> 00:20:31,382
Speaker 10: were having. No, No, never expressed it.

328
00:20:32,302 --> 00:20:32,342
Speaker 16: No.

329
00:20:34,222 --> 00:20:36,862
Speaker 2: Debbie paints a picture of Auj's final days that looks

330
00:20:37,302 --> 00:20:40,942
Speaker 2: very different from the Sheriff's departments in their report. It

331
00:20:40,982 --> 00:20:44,422
Speaker 2: seems they've cherry picked details to support their suicide thesis

332
00:20:44,982 --> 00:20:50,422
Speaker 2: and ignore or downplay those that contradicted. So we keep

333
00:20:50,502 --> 00:20:53,382
Speaker 2: digging through the LSD reports. Bauer gives us to figure

334
00:20:53,382 --> 00:20:57,342
Speaker 2: out how the department is connecting in stocks, and we

335
00:20:57,462 --> 00:21:00,142
Speaker 2: find a kind of personality profile they did on Auj.

336
00:21:01,542 --> 00:21:05,182
Speaker 8: I feel like this has summed up so much of

337
00:21:05,382 --> 00:21:08,902
Speaker 8: what we've read and heard about him into a punch list.

338
00:21:09,222 --> 00:21:16,582
Speaker 8: Can I just read the bullet points? Yeah, okay, organized, responsible, punctual, regimented, committed, structured.

339
00:21:17,382 --> 00:21:18,742
Speaker 2: There's a definite theme.

340
00:21:19,822 --> 00:21:23,702
Speaker 8: Did not believe in divorce or extramarital affairs, lived by

341
00:21:23,942 --> 00:21:28,982
Speaker 8: and often said death before dishonor occasionally read Bible.

342
00:21:30,622 --> 00:21:32,942
Speaker 2: I like that last night sounds like a real, real

343
00:21:33,062 --> 00:21:37,582
Speaker 2: fun day. Auj's code of ethics is a big part

344
00:21:37,622 --> 00:21:39,902
Speaker 2: of why The Sheriff's Department says he couldn't live with

345
00:21:39,982 --> 00:21:44,462
Speaker 2: himself because he thought divorce and extramarital affairs were dishonorable.

346
00:21:45,702 --> 00:21:48,902
Speaker 2: The LSD seems to be saying that Auj's girlfriend wasn't

347
00:21:48,942 --> 00:21:51,822
Speaker 2: a reason to keep on living. It was the reason

348
00:21:51,942 --> 00:21:55,182
Speaker 2: he took his life, because he was consumed with guilt

349
00:21:55,262 --> 00:21:58,822
Speaker 2: over his part in ruining his marriage. We try to

350
00:21:58,902 --> 00:21:59,742
Speaker 2: follow this logic.

351
00:22:01,102 --> 00:22:08,582
Speaker 8: His motto was death before dishonor, which alone is extreme,

352
00:22:08,822 --> 00:22:12,462
Speaker 8: but it it's interesting to me that here he is

353
00:22:12,542 --> 00:22:16,222
Speaker 8: in this position where he knows he can't stay with

354
00:22:16,342 --> 00:22:21,822
Speaker 8: his wife, but emotionally he's not ready or willing to

355
00:22:21,982 --> 00:22:26,142
Speaker 8: accept divorce, and then the next day he disappears.

356
00:22:27,062 --> 00:22:30,182
Speaker 16: Yeah, but if he's someone that sees giving up on

357
00:22:30,302 --> 00:22:34,622
Speaker 16: a marriage as failure as dishonorable, then he's sure shit

358
00:22:34,902 --> 00:22:38,782
Speaker 16: thinks that killing himself and giving up on life is dishonorable.

359
00:22:39,982 --> 00:22:41,702
Speaker 1: I'm just saying it cuts both ways.

360
00:22:45,662 --> 00:22:49,062
Speaker 2: Our main takeaway from this personality profile and the rest

361
00:22:49,142 --> 00:22:52,182
Speaker 2: of the Aujay report is that the suicide theory isn't

362
00:22:52,182 --> 00:22:55,662
Speaker 2: based on hard facts. It's based on subjective accounts of

363
00:22:55,702 --> 00:22:59,182
Speaker 2: John Auja's behavior, just like those Rock faces in the

364
00:22:59,262 --> 00:23:02,222
Speaker 2: Devil's punch bowl. It's a matter of interpretation.

365
00:23:03,822 --> 00:23:06,622
Speaker 6: You'd have to say, how is he going to be dishonored?

366
00:23:08,102 --> 00:23:11,382
Speaker 8: We check in with Dave r was Augie's former partner.

367
00:23:11,622 --> 00:23:13,502
Speaker 8: He was one of the few people who had insight

368
00:23:13,662 --> 00:23:14,742
Speaker 8: into his personal life.

369
00:23:15,382 --> 00:23:15,862
Speaker 1: Divorce.

370
00:23:16,822 --> 00:23:17,822
Speaker 6: That's dishonorable.

371
00:23:19,102 --> 00:23:22,382
Speaker 8: Even this eighty year old cop thinks that's ridiculously puritanical.

372
00:23:23,462 --> 00:23:27,302
Speaker 6: I mean, might have been in eighteen ninety three, but

373
00:23:27,902 --> 00:23:32,022
Speaker 6: that was one hundred years before this, so that's beyond

374
00:23:32,102 --> 00:23:34,742
Speaker 6: a stretch. It's like science fiction or something.

375
00:23:34,822 --> 00:23:39,022
Speaker 8: I think Rathman got a divorce, which he says is

376
00:23:39,062 --> 00:23:41,022
Speaker 8: pretty common for law enforcement officers.

377
00:23:41,982 --> 00:23:44,102
Speaker 6: My son even makes this joy. He's a lieutenant on

378
00:23:44,182 --> 00:23:47,302
Speaker 6: the sheriff department. And he said, yeah, my future ex

379
00:23:47,382 --> 00:23:49,262
Speaker 6: wife and I are going to go here and do

380
00:23:49,422 --> 00:23:52,182
Speaker 6: this and do that. I said, oh, for crying out loud.

381
00:23:52,022 --> 00:23:52,702
Speaker 1: Don't say that.

382
00:23:54,342 --> 00:23:56,382
Speaker 6: He said, yeah, the deputies will say that they think

383
00:23:56,422 --> 00:23:57,982
Speaker 6: it's funny. And I said, I don't know if I

384
00:23:58,102 --> 00:23:59,902
Speaker 6: think it's funny. Having gone through a.

385
00:23:59,902 --> 00:24:04,862
Speaker 8: Divorce, Rathman doesn't buy the whole death before dishonor explanation,

386
00:24:05,782 --> 00:24:08,742
Speaker 8: and he feels pretty certain that Auj would never take

387
00:24:08,742 --> 00:24:11,582
Speaker 8: his own life on account of his daughter, Chloe.

388
00:24:12,582 --> 00:24:16,102
Speaker 6: If you got on the subject to Chloe, he glowed, Yeah,

389
00:24:16,342 --> 00:24:20,782
Speaker 6: he glowed and he went soft like wam that fast.

390
00:24:21,382 --> 00:24:22,382
Speaker 16: He loved her to death.

391
00:24:22,462 --> 00:24:25,542
Speaker 6: He would talk about her all the time. Chloe. Is

392
00:24:25,702 --> 00:24:29,342
Speaker 6: Chloe that he's going to disappear in the mountains and

393
00:24:29,622 --> 00:24:32,862
Speaker 6: kill himself and leave her alone? Does that fit with

394
00:24:32,982 --> 00:24:39,102
Speaker 6: death before dishonor not very well? That's pretty dishonorable to

395
00:24:39,382 --> 00:24:41,142
Speaker 6: just abandon your five year old.

396
00:24:41,062 --> 00:24:47,502
Speaker 8: Daughter, Debbie. Auja has her own doubts about the suicide theory.

397
00:24:48,582 --> 00:24:52,342
Speaker 15: It just causes confusion in me, that's all, because I.

398
00:24:52,342 --> 00:24:53,182
Speaker 14: Don't know what to believe.

399
00:24:55,262 --> 00:24:57,862
Speaker 8: There are more than a few details about Aujay's final

400
00:24:57,942 --> 00:25:00,982
Speaker 8: days that just don't add up for her, Like what

401
00:25:01,142 --> 00:25:02,862
Speaker 8: he did the morning of his disappearance.

402
00:25:03,942 --> 00:25:05,222
Speaker 10: You said he went to the gas station.

403
00:25:06,062 --> 00:25:10,502
Speaker 12: Yes, because when the bill came for that Shell credit card,

404
00:25:12,702 --> 00:25:17,382
Speaker 12: I had noticed that he had gassed up on June

405
00:25:17,382 --> 00:25:19,702
Speaker 12: eleventh before going to the Fudgeball.

406
00:25:21,822 --> 00:25:25,502
Speaker 8: My gas tank is always hovering around empty. So the

407
00:25:25,582 --> 00:25:27,662
Speaker 8: fact that Auj took the time to stop at a

408
00:25:27,742 --> 00:25:30,862
Speaker 8: gas station on his way to the punch bowl strongly

409
00:25:31,022 --> 00:25:33,822
Speaker 8: implies he hadn't planned on this being his last drive,

410
00:25:35,222 --> 00:25:38,302
Speaker 8: and according to the missing person's report, Auj put a

411
00:25:38,382 --> 00:25:41,382
Speaker 8: sunshield on his dashboard to prevent his truck from overheating.

412
00:25:42,462 --> 00:25:45,742
Speaker 8: It's another indication that Auja was planning to return from

413
00:25:45,782 --> 00:25:48,462
Speaker 8: his run and drive away from the punch Bowl.

414
00:25:51,502 --> 00:25:55,262
Speaker 15: I would hope the Sheriff's department would it investigate this.

415
00:25:56,942 --> 00:25:57,262
Speaker 2: I just.

416
00:25:59,262 --> 00:26:01,022
Speaker 14: Still want John to be found.

417
00:26:02,542 --> 00:26:03,822
Speaker 6: Or his remains.

418
00:26:07,462 --> 00:26:09,982
Speaker 8: There's another detail that there was a big wrench in

419
00:26:10,062 --> 00:26:13,422
Speaker 8: the suicide theory. Remember that missing gun.

420
00:26:14,902 --> 00:26:18,702
Speaker 15: His holster was left on the workbench in the garage,

421
00:26:19,382 --> 00:26:24,342
Speaker 15: and I've never found that small smith Wesson. They told

422
00:26:24,462 --> 00:26:28,182
Speaker 15: me when he was missing, they didn't find any gun.

423
00:26:28,742 --> 00:26:30,822
Speaker 15: They told me there was no gun in the truck.

424
00:26:33,782 --> 00:26:37,142
Speaker 15: Then I started hearing some rumors that there was a.

425
00:26:37,182 --> 00:26:39,342
Speaker 12: Gun in the truck.

426
00:26:41,782 --> 00:26:44,222
Speaker 8: This missing gun is one of the lynchpins of the

427
00:26:44,382 --> 00:26:48,502
Speaker 8: lasd's narrative. They say Aujay didn't usually take a gun

428
00:26:48,582 --> 00:26:51,982
Speaker 8: with him while jogging, therefore he must have brought the

429
00:26:52,022 --> 00:26:56,542
Speaker 8: firearm into the punch Bowl with suicidal intent. But it

430
00:26:56,662 --> 00:27:01,382
Speaker 8: turns out the gun was not missing, not at first anyway.

431
00:27:16,182 --> 00:27:20,542
Speaker 17: Okay, so you were at punch Bowl, tell me what

432
00:27:20,782 --> 00:27:22,662
Speaker 17: you did when you got there, and what you saw,

433
00:27:23,102 --> 00:27:27,062
Speaker 17: and any other details that you think are important.

434
00:27:28,102 --> 00:27:30,782
Speaker 2: Bower has been running down leads in the AJ case

435
00:27:30,942 --> 00:27:34,942
Speaker 2: for years. There are a lot of unanswered questions, but

436
00:27:34,982 --> 00:27:37,582
Speaker 2: at the top of the list is the one about

437
00:27:37,662 --> 00:27:39,102
Speaker 2: Auj's phantom gun.

438
00:27:41,502 --> 00:27:45,342
Speaker 11: I see the truck, I run the plate. It is

439
00:27:45,502 --> 00:27:46,062
Speaker 11: his truck.

440
00:27:47,502 --> 00:27:52,342
Speaker 2: Bauer is interviewing Randy Hebberly. Hebberly was an LASD deputy

441
00:27:52,422 --> 00:27:55,382
Speaker 2: who worked patrol in the Anelo Valley, and he was

442
00:27:55,422 --> 00:27:57,582
Speaker 2: one of the first officers to show up at the

443
00:27:57,622 --> 00:28:00,382
Speaker 2: punch bowl after Auj was reported missing.

444
00:28:01,662 --> 00:28:04,502
Speaker 11: Look in the truck real quick with my flashlight. I

445
00:28:04,702 --> 00:28:09,582
Speaker 11: checked the door and it was locked. I then looked

446
00:28:10,102 --> 00:28:14,542
Speaker 11: closely in the truck. There's a little compartment and I

447
00:28:14,702 --> 00:28:20,822
Speaker 11: see the snub nose stainless steel five shot revolver. That

448
00:28:21,022 --> 00:28:22,062
Speaker 11: gun was in the truck.

449
00:28:23,062 --> 00:28:27,382
Speaker 2: Deputy Heberly calls his sergeant and tells him he's located

450
00:28:27,462 --> 00:28:28,302
Speaker 2: Auj's vehicle.

451
00:28:29,302 --> 00:28:31,982
Speaker 10: Do you remember telling the station in that cell phone

452
00:28:32,022 --> 00:28:34,422
Speaker 10: call that you saw a gun in the truck.

453
00:28:35,982 --> 00:28:38,982
Speaker 11: Yes, I told him his gun is in the truck.

454
00:28:41,822 --> 00:28:44,662
Speaker 2: According to Hiberly, Auj left his gun in the vehicle,

455
00:28:45,302 --> 00:28:47,462
Speaker 2: which means it could not have been used by him

456
00:28:47,582 --> 00:28:50,982
Speaker 2: to end his life. We ask around and find out

457
00:28:51,142 --> 00:28:54,102
Speaker 2: Deputy Hebberly isn't the only one who remembers the gun.

458
00:28:55,182 --> 00:28:58,582
Speaker 2: Sergeant Vince Burton confirms Heberly's account. He was one of

459
00:28:58,582 --> 00:29:00,742
Speaker 2: the sergeants overseeing the auj search.

460
00:29:01,822 --> 00:29:04,462
Speaker 1: Deputy specifically said that his off duty.

461
00:29:04,422 --> 00:29:07,622
Speaker 2: Gun was in the car, and it wasn't just one deputy.

462
00:29:08,542 --> 00:29:11,182
Speaker 4: There's a couple defies that swear there was a gun there,

463
00:29:11,742 --> 00:29:14,942
Speaker 4: and yet my lieutenant and I had a later time

464
00:29:15,662 --> 00:29:18,782
Speaker 4: looked at all the records and everything. There's no indication

465
00:29:19,302 --> 00:29:21,502
Speaker 4: that that gun was ever booked into evidence.

466
00:29:21,582 --> 00:29:22,262
Speaker 1: It's not shown.

467
00:29:23,622 --> 00:29:27,382
Speaker 2: This seems like a major oversight in the investigation, and

468
00:29:27,502 --> 00:29:31,542
Speaker 2: even more troubling, Burton says, investigators didn't process the truck

469
00:29:31,742 --> 00:29:32,742
Speaker 2: for any evidence.

470
00:29:33,662 --> 00:29:35,822
Speaker 4: Since it's not a murder, they're not going to process it.

471
00:29:35,862 --> 00:29:38,422
Speaker 4: They're not going to impound it. If a missing person

472
00:29:38,502 --> 00:29:41,302
Speaker 4: says we'd like the car held because we think there's

473
00:29:41,342 --> 00:29:44,822
Speaker 4: something suspicious, that's up to the detectives to make that call.

474
00:29:45,822 --> 00:29:49,502
Speaker 2: The missing person's detectives don't flag the truck for inspection,

475
00:29:50,382 --> 00:29:53,622
Speaker 2: and so Audie's gun disappears, along with who knows what else.

476
00:29:54,702 --> 00:29:56,942
Speaker 2: Do you think that the gun may have gone missing

477
00:29:57,182 --> 00:30:03,062
Speaker 2: between when those first officers arrived and before homicide got there.

478
00:30:03,502 --> 00:30:04,502
Speaker 8: That's very possible.

479
00:30:05,102 --> 00:30:08,742
Speaker 4: Homicide interviewed me later, but we never talked about the gun.

480
00:30:09,542 --> 00:30:10,262
Speaker 1: Never came up.

481
00:30:12,502 --> 00:30:16,342
Speaker 2: That's weird, right, Homicide detectives make the case for suicide

482
00:30:16,422 --> 00:30:19,582
Speaker 2: based in part on a missing gun, and yet they

483
00:30:19,622 --> 00:30:22,222
Speaker 2: don't seem to be that interested in finding the gun.

484
00:30:24,182 --> 00:30:27,062
Speaker 2: We haven't found any records that show detectives even asked

485
00:30:27,182 --> 00:30:31,662
Speaker 2: responding officers about it. There appears to be a lot

486
00:30:31,782 --> 00:30:35,782
Speaker 2: of missteps in this investigation, starting from the beginning when

487
00:30:35,822 --> 00:30:39,782
Speaker 2: Auja's truck wasn't combed for evidence. Then there's the department's

488
00:30:39,822 --> 00:30:42,502
Speaker 2: decision to call off the search after less than a week,

489
00:30:43,422 --> 00:30:46,702
Speaker 2: and the detective's single minded focus on the suicide theory,

490
00:30:47,342 --> 00:30:49,902
Speaker 2: not to mention the way they punched up key witness

491
00:30:49,942 --> 00:30:55,582
Speaker 2: statements from people like Debbi Aja. After six months of

492
00:30:55,662 --> 00:30:58,822
Speaker 2: reporting this story, we're feeling the weight and confusion of

493
00:30:58,902 --> 00:31:01,982
Speaker 2: the case. We know there's one guy who gets it.

494
00:31:06,862 --> 00:31:13,062
Speaker 2: We hope Mike Bauer can give us some perspective. Bower

495
00:31:13,142 --> 00:31:14,902
Speaker 2: lives on a remote ranch in Idaho.

496
00:31:15,022 --> 00:31:16,342
Speaker 1: I've got to get my egg picker.

497
00:31:17,142 --> 00:31:20,782
Speaker 8: His lakeside property includes a home office, which he uses

498
00:31:20,862 --> 00:31:23,222
Speaker 8: as a base camp for his work on the Aujay case,

499
00:31:24,102 --> 00:31:27,742
Speaker 8: and wide open land for his dogs, horses, and ducks.

500
00:31:28,462 --> 00:31:33,222
Speaker 1: Oh the ducks, come on, girls, let's go.

501
00:31:36,822 --> 00:31:37,142
Speaker 10: Okay.

502
00:31:39,982 --> 00:31:43,102
Speaker 8: They have heated coops and kiddie pools to splashing. And

503
00:31:43,222 --> 00:31:45,222
Speaker 8: the duck's food is handmade by Bower.

504
00:31:45,342 --> 00:31:45,782
Speaker 1: Every day.

505
00:31:46,462 --> 00:31:50,662
Speaker 8: He combines carrots, apples, corn, grapes, a bunch of stuff.

506
00:31:51,062 --> 00:31:54,182
Speaker 1: And sour dough bread. And the staler the better because

507
00:31:54,222 --> 00:31:55,862
Speaker 1: I put it through the blender and chop it up.

508
00:31:56,982 --> 00:31:59,022
Speaker 1: I don't feed these animals anything I wouldn't eat.

509
00:32:00,702 --> 00:32:03,422
Speaker 8: The ducks seem to be the darlings of Bower's farm,

510
00:32:03,982 --> 00:32:07,622
Speaker 8: but all sorts of animals flock to him. Deer linger

511
00:32:07,702 --> 00:32:11,662
Speaker 8: in the clearings can tell them apart by their facial features.

512
00:32:12,422 --> 00:32:15,862
Speaker 8: Wild turkeys congregate outside Bower's home at the same time

513
00:32:15,942 --> 00:32:19,582
Speaker 8: each morning, waiting for their breakfast, and his stable of

514
00:32:19,702 --> 00:32:23,902
Speaker 8: horses includes a one eyed fella named Quincy. Come on, girls,

515
00:32:25,342 --> 00:32:30,422
Speaker 8: watching Bauer interact with these animals, it's enlightening. It helps

516
00:32:30,502 --> 00:32:34,302
Speaker 8: me understand why he reacted so strongly to Oscar's death,

517
00:32:35,142 --> 00:32:38,302
Speaker 8: and why he's so invested in the Aujay case because

518
00:32:38,382 --> 00:32:46,942
Speaker 8: the things he cares about he cares about deeply. About

519
00:32:47,022 --> 00:32:50,182
Speaker 8: ten years ago, Bower had scheduled a meeting with Larry Lincoln,

520
00:32:50,542 --> 00:32:53,862
Speaker 8: captain of the Homicide Bureau at the time of Aujay's disappearance.

521
00:32:54,982 --> 00:32:57,142
Speaker 8: Bower wanted to go over the problems with the missing

522
00:32:57,222 --> 00:33:01,222
Speaker 8: person's investigation, how the detectives said there were no signs

523
00:33:01,262 --> 00:33:04,342
Speaker 8: of foul play, but didn't seem to look very hard

524
00:33:04,382 --> 00:33:04,902
Speaker 8: to find them.

525
00:33:05,982 --> 00:33:10,462
Speaker 7: Every supervisor dreads coming into work and finding a horrible

526
00:33:10,502 --> 00:33:14,062
Speaker 7: situations throwing in their lap, and they have to decide,

527
00:33:14,062 --> 00:33:15,022
Speaker 7: am I going to cover it up?

528
00:33:15,142 --> 00:33:18,862
Speaker 1: Or am I gonna face it head on and then

529
00:33:19,022 --> 00:33:19,422
Speaker 1: stop it.

530
00:33:21,422 --> 00:33:23,502
Speaker 8: About a week before the two were scheduled to meet,

531
00:33:24,062 --> 00:33:26,702
Speaker 8: Lincoln sent Bauer a text saying you had to cancel.

532
00:33:27,542 --> 00:33:30,142
Speaker 8: Bauer recorded a voice memo of the message right after

533
00:33:30,222 --> 00:33:32,942
Speaker 8: he got it to add to his auj archive.

534
00:33:34,702 --> 00:33:39,102
Speaker 18: I'm gonna tape Larry Lincoln's text this morning at just

535
00:33:39,182 --> 00:33:43,662
Speaker 18: before six am. I worked with John, was involved in

536
00:33:43,742 --> 00:33:46,222
Speaker 18: the search for him, and was in charge of the

537
00:33:46,342 --> 00:33:50,182
Speaker 18: investigation into his disappearance. With all that I can say

538
00:33:50,262 --> 00:33:54,422
Speaker 18: with certainty that John, and only John, was responsible for

539
00:33:54,622 --> 00:33:55,142
Speaker 18: his death.

540
00:33:56,022 --> 00:33:57,262
Speaker 17: After eight years.

541
00:33:57,022 --> 00:34:02,422
Speaker 18: At homicide suicides caused me more grief than any murder.

542
00:34:03,662 --> 00:34:09,262
Speaker 18: The bottom line, one cannot find reason in an unreasonable apt.

543
00:34:10,982 --> 00:34:11,742
Speaker 7: End of text.

544
00:34:14,902 --> 00:34:18,302
Speaker 2: Bower doesn't just think the suicide narrative is false. He

545
00:34:18,422 --> 00:34:23,062
Speaker 2: thinks it's reckless. It promotes bad police work, it tarnishes

546
00:34:23,182 --> 00:34:27,582
Speaker 2: Aujay's reputation, and causes immense pain to his loved ones.

547
00:34:28,822 --> 00:34:32,742
Speaker 2: Processing his disappearance is one thing. But thinking Auja killed

548
00:34:32,822 --> 00:34:35,382
Speaker 2: himself and did it in a way that they'd never

549
00:34:35,542 --> 00:34:39,982
Speaker 2: know how or why, that's a whole new level of anguish.

550
00:34:41,862 --> 00:34:44,542
Speaker 2: And no one felt that more than his daughter, Chloe.

551
00:34:45,702 --> 00:34:49,462
Speaker 1: I said, I'm telling you, Chloe, don't believe it. Do

552
00:34:49,662 --> 00:34:53,142
Speaker 1: not believe it. Your father did not abandon you. He

553
00:34:53,382 --> 00:34:54,342
Speaker 1: was taken from you.

554
00:34:56,662 --> 00:35:00,182
Speaker 2: Over the years, Bower developed a friendship with Chloe and Debbie,

555
00:35:00,742 --> 00:35:07,062
Speaker 2: whose lives completely unraveled after Aujay's disappearance. Debbie struggled financially,

556
00:35:07,462 --> 00:35:11,622
Speaker 2: toggling between part time jobs and collecting unemployment. She sold

557
00:35:11,662 --> 00:35:15,102
Speaker 2: her house and moved in with her parents. She eventually

558
00:35:15,262 --> 00:35:17,702
Speaker 2: ended up living in a car in a parking lot

559
00:35:17,862 --> 00:35:20,222
Speaker 2: not far from the house. She wants shared with John.

560
00:35:21,902 --> 00:35:24,182
Speaker 2: And that's why Bauer now has so many of Adjay's things,

561
00:35:24,822 --> 00:35:27,262
Speaker 2: because Debbie just didn't have a place to store them.

562
00:35:29,542 --> 00:35:33,262
Speaker 2: And then there's Chloe. She was just five when she

563
00:35:33,422 --> 00:35:36,862
Speaker 2: lost her dad. Then she lost her dog, and then

564
00:35:36,902 --> 00:35:41,022
Speaker 2: her mom. As Debbie drifted into homelessness, Chloe was shuffled

565
00:35:41,022 --> 00:35:44,382
Speaker 2: around among relatives but never found a stable home base.

566
00:35:45,142 --> 00:35:47,582
Speaker 2: She dropped out of high school and cycled through a

567
00:35:47,702 --> 00:35:51,502
Speaker 2: series of low wage jobs while living with boyfriends or friends.

568
00:35:54,182 --> 00:35:56,982
Speaker 2: Then in August of twenty twenty, Bauer got a call

569
00:35:57,062 --> 00:35:57,942
Speaker 2: from Debbie.

570
00:35:59,582 --> 00:36:08,862
Speaker 5: And she said, Mike, we've lost our girl. I lost you, sir,

571
00:36:09,222 --> 00:36:10,102
Speaker 5: We've lost our girl.

572
00:36:14,622 --> 00:36:17,982
Speaker 2: At the age of twenty six, Chloe Auja took her

573
00:36:18,022 --> 00:36:24,582
Speaker 2: own life. Some might call that an unreasonable act, but

574
00:36:24,702 --> 00:36:29,662
Speaker 2: I feel for her. Tragedy upended her childhood. She lost

575
00:36:29,702 --> 00:36:32,902
Speaker 2: her sense of belonging and security after her dad disappeared

576
00:36:33,902 --> 00:36:38,142
Speaker 2: and the shadow of his alleged suicide followed her from

577
00:36:38,222 --> 00:36:38,942
Speaker 2: place to place.

578
00:36:40,382 --> 00:36:44,382
Speaker 1: I told her that her father couldn't abandon her. She

579
00:36:44,582 --> 00:36:45,342
Speaker 1: wanted to believe that.

580
00:36:48,742 --> 00:36:51,902
Speaker 2: And this is why the AJ case has become all

581
00:36:52,022 --> 00:36:57,182
Speaker 2: consuming for Bauer. Because the La County Sheriff's Department, the

582
00:36:57,302 --> 00:37:01,622
Speaker 2: institution he swore allegiance to for thirty three years, has

583
00:37:01,702 --> 00:37:05,022
Speaker 2: told a lie so big and so many times that

584
00:37:05,142 --> 00:37:08,742
Speaker 2: the story has become its own type of bullet. It's

585
00:37:08,822 --> 00:37:12,822
Speaker 2: worm its way through time, destroying lives and racking up

586
00:37:12,902 --> 00:37:16,942
Speaker 2: a number of casualties, and Bower's been forced to simply

587
00:37:17,102 --> 00:37:19,062
Speaker 2: watch the tragedy unfold.

588
00:37:27,222 --> 00:37:31,302
Speaker 8: If John Auj didn't die by suicide, what happened to him?

589
00:37:32,382 --> 00:37:35,702
Speaker 8: Throughout Bauer's investigation, He's heard a lot of stories about Auj,

590
00:37:36,582 --> 00:37:40,182
Speaker 8: but there's one that just keeps coming up from multiple witnesses.

591
00:37:41,142 --> 00:37:45,182
Speaker 8: That John Auj didn't take his own life. Someone else did.

592
00:37:47,782 --> 00:37:51,422
Speaker 6: Early on, I'd let the suicide theory sit at fifty

593
00:37:51,422 --> 00:37:56,462
Speaker 6: to fifty. As I've learned more and more, I'm at

594
00:37:56,502 --> 00:38:01,982
Speaker 6: about ninety five murder, five to ten percent suicide.

595
00:38:03,142 --> 00:38:05,062
Speaker 8: He said, Hey, Larry, I'm here and shit on the street.

596
00:38:05,102 --> 00:38:06,622
Speaker 2: Man Auj didn't comit suicide.

597
00:38:06,622 --> 00:38:07,302
Speaker 15: He was murdered.

598
00:38:07,302 --> 00:38:08,942
Speaker 8: He goes, I'm hearing for more than one person.

599
00:38:09,702 --> 00:38:11,862
Speaker 2: Well Son, you maybe looked into that a little more.

600
00:38:13,222 --> 00:38:17,502
Speaker 6: They told our search teams. On day one, John may

601
00:38:17,622 --> 00:38:24,582
Speaker 6: have stumbled into a meth lab by accident and what

602
00:38:24,702 --> 00:38:25,582
Speaker 6: happened to that idea?

603
00:38:27,262 --> 00:38:29,782
Speaker 15: This whole meth lab has just been a rumor I've

604
00:38:29,822 --> 00:38:34,182
Speaker 15: heard for years, and I do wonder what's behind that.

605
00:38:35,702 --> 00:38:39,102
Speaker 8: We wonder what's behind that too, and why the Sheriff's

606
00:38:39,102 --> 00:38:43,142
Speaker 8: department didn't do more to investigate these tips. But it

607
00:38:43,222 --> 00:38:46,662
Speaker 8: turns out there was a homicide detective who took it

608
00:38:46,742 --> 00:38:51,102
Speaker 8: upon himself to find out what really happened all.

609
00:38:50,982 --> 00:38:52,222
Speaker 5: The time of the investigator.

610
00:38:52,502 --> 00:38:56,542
Speaker 8: And I tell people this, even younger guys, This cop

611
00:38:56,622 --> 00:38:57,902
Speaker 8: stuff is not like TV.

612
00:38:58,662 --> 00:39:00,502
Speaker 4: You go with what makes common sense.

613
00:39:01,062 --> 00:39:03,662
Speaker 2: Everything looks like this, well usually if it looks like.

614
00:39:03,742 --> 00:39:04,702
Speaker 14: That, that's what it is.

615
00:39:09,702 --> 00:39:12,262
Speaker 8: That's next time on Valley of Shadows.

616
00:39:26,542 --> 00:39:29,062
Speaker 2: If you have any information or tips related to the

617
00:39:29,142 --> 00:39:33,742
Speaker 2: disappearance of John Aujay, please call two one three two six'

618
00:39:33,862 --> 00:39:39,102
Speaker 2: two nine eight eight nine for Email shadows at pushkin DOT.

619
00:39:39,342 --> 00:39:44,022
Speaker 2: Fm valley Of shadows is, reported written and produced by

620
00:39:44,142 --> 00:39:48,582
Speaker 2: Us Betsy shepherd And Haley. Fox our editor Is Diane.

621
00:39:48,622 --> 00:39:53,982
Speaker 2: Hodson our executive producers Are Jacob smith And Alexandra. Garaton

622
00:39:54,702 --> 00:40:00,062
Speaker 2: original music By Jake, Gorsky Ray, Lynch Mike, jersich And Hayden.

623
00:40:00,102 --> 00:40:05,702
Speaker 2: Gardner sound design By Jake. Gorsky fact checking By Anaica,

624
00:40:05,822 --> 00:40:10,862
Speaker 2: Robbins additional production support By sonya And our show art

625
00:40:11,022 --> 00:40:15,062
Speaker 2: was designed By Sean carney And Betsy. Shepherd special thanks

626
00:40:15,142 --> 00:40:18,902
Speaker 2: To Nick white for the show art. Photo additional thanks

627
00:40:19,182 --> 00:40:23,582
Speaker 2: To Stringer. Bell value Of shadows is a production Of Pushkin.

628
00:40:23,662 --> 00:40:28,542
Speaker 2: Industries to find More pushkin, podcasts listen on The iHeartRadio,

629
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Speaker 2: App Apple, podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts some

630
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Speaker 2: type to. Fun We're betsy And. Hayley see you next.

631
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Speaker 10: Week