1 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: Nay. 2 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 2: Hello. 3 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 3: We are very excited today because we just released our 4 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 3: newest limited series from our partners over at Blantard House, 5 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 3: and it's called Hell in Heaven. 6 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 4: It's a true crime story about a rich American couple 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 4: who escaped to the Costa Rican jungle to build their 8 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 4: dream home, complete with armed guards and a bedroom lit 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 4: by four hundred Tiffany lamps. 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,199 Speaker 3: But their dream turns into a nightmare as isolation and 11 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 3: paranoia leads to a mysterious death. 12 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 4: And we're lucky to be talking to the award winning 13 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 4: investigated journalists who tracked this story down. 14 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 3: You know her from her twenty twenty four podcast right 15 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 3: here on exactly right, The Butterfly King. It is Becky Milligan. 16 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 4: Hello, Becky, hye hie Hi, Georgia, Hi Karen. 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 5: Really nice to be here. 18 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 3: Great to see you again. Have seen you since The 19 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 3: Butterfly King premiere. 20 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 5: I know a bit of time away, but you know, 21 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 5: been working away, being off to Costa Rica and doing 22 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:10,919 Speaker 5: this story. Amazing. 23 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 3: How did you find this story originally? 24 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 5: Well, it was actually a while back and I was 25 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 5: sort of reading through a few stories and then a 26 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 5: friend actually said, did you hear about this story? I 27 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 5: read it and I thought you might be interested, and 28 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 5: then we found much more detailed about it, and then 29 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 5: we found a book and we just thought, oh, this 30 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 5: is just incredible. It just has everything, and we thought 31 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 5: we'd pursue it then and just see what we could 32 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 5: do with it. 33 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's so dramatic when you make the trek to 34 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 4: the actual compound essentially in Costa Rica and there are 35 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 4: security guards and they're filming you. Was there ever a 36 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 4: point where you were afraid for your lives? 37 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 5: Well, i'mill was a bit of a scaredy cat. You know, 38 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 5: when I see guns, I just think, let's get out 39 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 5: of here. But I was obviously with Poppy Dave and 40 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 5: the producer and our sound records Dan, and they were 41 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 5: really busy sort of chatting and just seeing what was 42 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 5: going on. And I was the one who was suddenly say, listen, guys, 43 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 5: there's a guy with a gun. It's actually pointed towards 44 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 5: We've got to get out of here. So yeah, there 45 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 5: were times when I get a bit frightened. I don't 46 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 5: think it was actually threatening, but it is a bit 47 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 5: scary when you see that. 48 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's so intense. I love that you're saying you're 49 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 3: a bit of a scaredy cat. Except for that you're 50 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 3: an investigative journalist. 51 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 5: A contradiction, Well not really. I never want to go 52 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 5: to really scary places, but I just did of end 53 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 5: up being there. But anyway, I try and avoid it. 54 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 5: But this was an amazing jungle. I mean, you know, 55 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 5: our couple wanted to escape all the sort of people 56 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 5: and sounds of the city and set up a sort 57 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 5: of utopia of paradise with wildlife. But I tell you what, 58 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 5: being there in the jungle, it is so noisy and 59 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 5: you have the you'll hear it in the show these 60 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,079 Speaker 5: how the monkey is. I'm sure you know them, but 61 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 5: they were new to me, and it's like through the 62 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 5: jungle howling like a dinosaur. It was just so incredible 63 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 5: to be there and see their incredible house. 64 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 4: How much do you think that the either the house, 65 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 4: the compound, or the jungle itself. How much of a 66 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 4: role do you think that played in the story. Do 67 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 4: you think their story would have played out the way 68 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 4: it did had they not, you know, had the circumstances 69 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 4: that they did. 70 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 5: I think the house is really important because it's kind 71 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 5: of central to the story. When we got there and 72 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 5: we got through the jungle and you know, eventually found 73 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 5: this hilltop with what looked like a spaceship on top 74 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 5: of it, you know. Four stories. It just felt so 75 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 5: symbolic and symbolic of the story and the way they 76 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 5: built it, the way that they wanted the animals to 77 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 5: interact with the house and the jungle around it and 78 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 5: bring it back to its natural state. It feels as 79 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 5: though nature sort of played its part, as did the 80 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 5: house almost how they was almost in conflict, but not so. 81 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 5: I think the fact that the house was isolated on 82 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 5: a hill. There were these wonderful couple in lots of 83 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 5: ways who wanted to create something beautiful. I think the 84 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 5: house really played a part in it. It was sort 85 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 5: of just both beautiful but also isolated a bit of 86 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 5: a threat. 87 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, there's so many good interviews in this podcast. I 88 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 3: really love that there's people really bringing color to the 89 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:29,159 Speaker 3: story and real perspective, like people that were there trying 90 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 3: to explain this kind of outrageous and outlandish true crime story. 91 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:35,839 Speaker 3: How do you find people like that? Is that just 92 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 3: you tracking people down? Do you ever do it in 93 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:40,679 Speaker 3: the moment, like when you're on scene? 94 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 5: Oh, all the time, you know, What was really special 95 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 5: about this is you can set up interviews and read 96 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,359 Speaker 5: loads and all of that and write something and do 97 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 5: a few interviews online or whatever. But when you go 98 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 5: somewhere and you're actually sitting down with people, they tell 99 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:01,359 Speaker 5: you about, Hey, have you spoken to Joe there or 100 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:03,679 Speaker 5: so and so over there? They have a story to tell. 101 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 5: And we found that all the time. It just whatever 102 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 5: you fix up, serendipity steps in. When you're on the ground, 103 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 5: you and it's great because you feel like you're doing 104 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 5: the proper job because you're actually just knocking on doors 105 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 5: and saying, hey, what about this? What about that? And 106 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 5: we did with the characters were just so much fun 107 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 5: to meet. And obviously there were gaps that people had 108 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 5: in the knowledge of the story, and so they filled 109 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 5: it with gossip and with their own theories, and it 110 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,559 Speaker 5: kind of almost drifts on the air as you're going 111 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 5: through the jungle. So yes, absolutely, and you do you 112 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 5: just stop people in the street pay to sort of 113 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 5: know the story, so you quickly chat to them and 114 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 5: see whether they know enough to be able to add 115 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 5: to the story. It's amazing, really yeah. 116 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 4: Wow. Ultimately, this is a true crime story. It's a 117 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 4: mysterious death. What do you think it is about those 118 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 4: stories like the Butterfly King as well, that draws you 119 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 4: becky to those stories. 120 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 5: Well, for me personally, it's the idea that maybe a 121 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 5: little mystery, the idea that there are people who are 122 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 5: involved in it who are able to tell you what 123 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 5: really happened, and underneath it all the real story, that 124 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 5: there's a human story. And there's this sort of bigger 125 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 5: theme that when you think about John and Ann it 126 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 5: was their desire to find peace, to find a utopia, 127 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 5: and they did this together to get away from people 128 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 5: and searching for a place where they could exist with nature. 129 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 5: And so I think it just makes you think about 130 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 5: we all want that. You know, we're all there with them, 131 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 5: and it turned into a dreadful tragedy, but there's something 132 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,360 Speaker 5: that we can all connect with with every single person 133 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 5: we speak to, I hope, but also just to what 134 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 5: really brought it down to earth. I don't want to 135 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 5: say exactly who we spoke to, but not to give 136 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 5: too much away, but we did meet the parents of 137 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:01,039 Speaker 5: one of the couple and what it did, it just 138 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 5: brings you straight down to earth at that point because 139 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 5: it is terrible terrible grief and a grief that isn't 140 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,359 Speaker 5: over and it never will be. And I think that, 141 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 5: you know, seeing that couple hold their hands, reach for 142 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 5: each other's hands under the table to grip on for 143 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 5: dear life when they're talking about the story, it makes 144 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 5: you really realize that this is a very human story 145 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 5: and I hope told with sensitivity and respect for all 146 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 5: their family and friends. 147 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 3: Well, I'm sure it is because Becky, you're the best 148 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 3: in the business. I mean, it's such an honor to 149 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 3: be able to work with you and to be able to, 150 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 3: you know, show everybody your work because you're incredible. And 151 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 3: this podcast is so good. Everybody at the network that 152 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,239 Speaker 3: has to listen to it for whatever department, whatever reason, 153 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 3: everyone is blown away. You did an amazing job. Can 154 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 3: we just ask you one final question, which is, what's 155 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 3: the scariest thing you saw in the jungle? Did you 156 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 3: see a snake? Did you see a giant spider? Did 157 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 3: you ever get far into quicksand anything, anything at all? 158 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 5: I think I think the scariest thing was we did 159 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 5: stop off at this waterfall and we were sitting there 160 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 5: and I was I don't know why, but I always 161 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 5: felt I was sort of mother of everyone there, and 162 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 5: they were all climbing up and Poppy was beginning to 163 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 5: sort of strip off and whatever. It was very hot. 164 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 5: And then I looked over and I saw this shadow, 165 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 5: black shadow, and I started to go, oh my god, 166 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,599 Speaker 5: it's a lion. It's I mean, not a lion. I 167 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 5: didn't know what it was anyway, it was well, I 168 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 5: was really scared, and I turned to Poppy. She'd seen it, 169 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 5: and she said, don't worry. It's just like a cat, 170 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 5: and it's like the cat that John had as a pet. 171 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 5: It's fine. And then it disappeared, slithered away. So I 172 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 5: didn't see a snake. I didn't. I mean, there were 173 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 5: really terrible thing, you know, things that could kill you 174 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 5: with one bike, but I just I stayed on the 175 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 5: on the paths. 176 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,280 Speaker 4: Sounds like the smart way to well. 177 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 5: Yeah, but thank you very much. I'm so glad you 178 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 5: enjoyed it, and you know, it was an absolute privilege 179 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 5: to do. 180 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 4: Thank you so much, Becky, thanks for talking to us today, 181 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 4: and we're so excited to share the podcast with everyone. 182 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you so much. It's great to see you 183 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 5: guys again. 184 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 3: Great to see you all. 185 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:20,439 Speaker 4: Right, now it's time to listen to the first episode 186 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 4: of Hell in Heaven. When you're done, episode two is 187 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 4: waiting for you over at the Hell in Heaven feed And. 188 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,559 Speaker 3: While you're there, please don't forget to like and subscribe 189 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 3: and give it a five star review, because of course 190 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 3: it really helps. 191 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 4: New episodes of Hell and Heaven drop every Thursday on 192 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,479 Speaker 4: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 193 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 3: Now. Please enjoy episode one of Hell in Heaven. 194 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 5: Goodbye. January the seventh, twenty ten, We're outside the house 195 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 5: of John and Anne Bender, a young American couple who've 196 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 5: built an extravagant home and wildlife refuge in the middle 197 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 5: of the Costa Rican rainforest. John made a multi million 198 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 5: dollar fortune on Wall Street and is his bright and 199 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 5: glamorous wife. It's now one in the morning. The emergency 200 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 5: call came in an hour ago, a shooting and a casualty. 201 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:36,840 Speaker 5: That's the voice of Carlos Morra. He was the ambulance 202 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 5: driver who was on the scene that night. I've tracked 203 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:45,119 Speaker 5: him down Ell Now, he's attended hundreds of violent incidents 204 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 5: over the years, but this one stands out. He's never 205 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 5: experienced anything like it before or since, and he's not alone. 206 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,720 Speaker 5: All the people I've found while reporting on this story, 207 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 5: remember it in vivid detail. I'm Becky Milligan Eyebroke Stories 208 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 5: for the BBC for almost thirty years, and I've reported 209 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 5: on some pretty strange events, but this one is the 210 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 5: strangest of all. So back to that night. Carlos enters 211 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 5: the Bender's house and he gets in the elevator, and 212 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 5: just like everything else in this house, this is no 213 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 5: ordinary elevator. It's a round, open platform that rises up 214 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 5: through the building. Carlos grips onto the handrail. He sees 215 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 5: each floor as it passes. The house is incredible, he says, 216 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 5: He's never seen a place like it. It's like an 217 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 5: enormous spaceship. Inside it's all stainless steel and shiny black 218 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 5: floors like pools of water. There's a lot of money here. 219 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 5: Who could own such a house, he asks himself. Paula's 220 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 5: quiety is a drug trafficker? Like I said, Carlos is anxious. 221 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 5: Guards and security are everywhere, armed with heavy caliber weapons. 222 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 5: They're speaking to each other in hushed voices. He's been 223 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 5: told he has to go up to the fourth floor, 224 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 5: the master bedroom. He passes the first floor, the second 225 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 5: floor a vast kitchen, the third floor, the fourth floor, 226 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:52,679 Speaker 5: the bedroom, and on the bed a body curled up 227 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 5: as if asleep. But as Carlos gets closer, he takes 228 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 5: in the horror of it all. The gunshot wound at 229 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 5: the back of the head, the victim's left arm dangling 230 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 5: off the bed, blood dripping from it, forming a pool 231 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:13,800 Speaker 5: on the highly polished marble floor, and near it on 232 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 5: the floor. The gun a semi automatic. At first, the 233 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 5: police will assume this is a suicide, but not for long. 234 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 5: And here's why. The gun seems to have dropped from 235 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 5: the victim's left hand, yet the entry wound is on 236 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 5: the right side of the head. Not only that the 237 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:57,480 Speaker 5: bullet was fired from behind from exactly right. Media and 238 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 5: iHeart podcasts produced by House. This is Helen Heaven. I'm 239 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 5: Becky Milligan. Chapter one, The House of Secrets. Our story 240 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 5: begins and ends with a house built and owned by 241 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 5: Anne and John Bender. This place is their dream home. 242 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 5: When they first move here, they're both in their thirties. 243 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 5: He's made his millions, and now he wants to put 244 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 5: them to good use, to enjoy them by creating a 245 00:14:53,600 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 5: wildlife sanctuary. So our couple are young, and they're in love, complete, 246 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 5: in love, devoted. It seems they live only for each 247 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 5: other and all the beloved animals they've rescued. John also 248 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 5: has his rare orchids, and Anne has her collection of 249 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 5: tiffany lamps, hundreds of them. So Anne and John have 250 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 5: everything they need right here in their house in the 251 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 5: middle of the jungle, a house unlike any other and 252 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 5: which will in time be the scene of a terrible 253 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 5: tragedy and a mystery. So I land in Costa Rica 254 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 5: to investigate this story, and by coincidence, my eighteen year 255 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 5: old daughter is already here, working on a conservation project 256 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 5: elsewhere in the country. She's been messaging me, telling me 257 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 5: all about protecting turtle eggs on pristine beeches, relaxing in 258 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 5: camp as monkeys play in the trees, and about how 259 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 5: she showers in the open air as hummingbirds hover close 260 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 5: by paradise. But as I arrive in the country and 261 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 5: discover more about this story about the dark side of 262 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 5: life in Costa Rica, the more I start to worry 263 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 5: about my daughter and worry about myself turning into some 264 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 5: sort of internet meme. A hysterical, over protective mother convinced 265 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 5: her daughter is about to die. Not only that, I'm 266 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 5: not coping too well with the climate either. Gosh, it's 267 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 5: quite diring, isn't in this he doo woo. Scotland in 268 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 5: autumn is more my thing. And that's a lot cooler 269 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 5: than it is here. My producer Poppy and I have 270 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 5: driven four hours from the capital San Jose, a hair 271 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 5: raising drive around hairpin bends with sheer drops on either side. 272 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 5: But we're now deep in the rainforest searching for John 273 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 5: and Anne Bender's house. First, through a slight clearing, we 274 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 5: come upon the dear Monte Waterfall, which gives this valley 275 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:09,400 Speaker 5: its name. Oh wow, that's it, nice, kidna is that it? 276 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 5: It's so high up in the water, tumbles from a 277 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 5: high ridge down the cliff face and is swallowed up 278 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 5: by the forest below. Blue, green and yellow birds flutter 279 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 5: above our heads, and the noise is intense and strange. 280 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 5: Raws echo in the distance like dinosaurs. Sounds enchanting, But 281 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:39,880 Speaker 5: the truth is we're already on edge. We've been spooked 282 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 5: by a phone call we made just before we set out. 283 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:46,720 Speaker 6: It's like warm in the daytime, kind of cool, at night, 284 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 6: crystal clear spring water blowing out of the mountains. Fruits 285 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 6: and vegetables grow real easily, nice vegetables, tomatoes, bananas. We 286 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:55,640 Speaker 6: never thought we were coming back. 287 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 5: That's John Corvick, who knows the area and used to 288 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 5: be the bender's name. And John had a warning. 289 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 6: There was my wife and I and that was about it. 290 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 6: So you're alone on this giant farm in the deep 291 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:13,440 Speaker 6: jungle most of the time. It's a strange thing. It 292 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,680 Speaker 6: sounds morbid, but a lot of people die off there, 293 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 6: and a lot of people go kind of crazy. They 294 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 6: lose it. They actually lose it. Struggling with anything in 295 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 6: the jungle. You're gonna face your inner demons. 296 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:31,440 Speaker 5: John's words really unsettle us. 297 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,719 Speaker 6: There's folklore about the Diamonte waterfall. I'd be damned if 298 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 6: all the people that move in and out of there 299 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,639 Speaker 6: don't go bad shit. You know, the hippies has some 300 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 6: very the vortex of energy that spins off the waterfall. 301 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 6: The Indians say it's a curse because they will run 302 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 6: off their land any way you cut it. The families 303 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:53,639 Speaker 6: go nuts, they fall apart, people die. I don't know 304 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,919 Speaker 6: anyone who's lives facing that waterfall that just set up 305 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 6: shop and enjoyed this majestic view and just soaked it 306 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 6: in long term, I really don't. Sometimes I think it's 307 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:09,080 Speaker 6: from isolation. You have cabin fever. They go Dutch. You 308 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:11,440 Speaker 6: could have cabin fever. My wife asked me. She says, 309 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 6: are you ever going to put clothes on again? I 310 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 6: would go three or four days in my rubber boots. 311 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 6: You know, I didn't see anyone. 312 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 5: It sounds like an exaggeration that people go mad and 313 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,159 Speaker 5: lose it, But by the end of our story, you 314 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 5: won't think. 315 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,120 Speaker 6: So shit that plates is the darkest jungle you've ever 316 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 6: seen in your life. You have no clue. 317 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 5: We leave the waterfall behind and walk even deeper into 318 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 5: the jungle in search of John and Anne Bender's house, 319 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 5: which they called Ura Cayenne. Okay, I'm seeing some barbed 320 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 5: wife fence. 321 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 7: I think we're getting close. 322 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:54,679 Speaker 5: That even looks like cut laws. 323 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 8: It does. 324 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 5: Right up the slope dest we see the slopes of 325 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 5: the gardens first, and then through the trees and foliage. 326 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 5: Oh my god, that's really it. It's just enormous. It's 327 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,680 Speaker 5: like a spaceship's landed on the top of a hill 328 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,680 Speaker 5: in the middle of the jungle in Costa Rica. It's 329 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:22,640 Speaker 5: like four stories with this dome at the top. It's 330 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 5: constructed from huge concrete slabs and columns and fifty thousand 331 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 5: square feet around the same size as a soccer pitch, 332 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,880 Speaker 5: and it's round. Imagine that on a jungle hilltop, rising 333 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 5: way above the tops of the trees, and you get 334 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 5: an idea of what it looks like and how out 335 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 5: of place it is. The views are incredible. In the evening, 336 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 5: John and Anne would sit and look out across the jungle, 337 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 5: enjoying the glorious sunsets, enjoying each other's company. In the daytime, 338 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 5: they'd zoom around on their five thousand acres of land 339 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,120 Speaker 5: on a quad bike, busying them with their wildlife refuge, 340 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:06,639 Speaker 5: caring for all the animals. They'd saved a great black hawk, 341 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 5: a jaguar urundi, which is a wild cat on the 342 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 5: verge of extinction, and Anne also had her dog, a 343 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 5: German shepherd called Millie. It really is an astonishing place, 344 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 5: but being here now there's a sinister edge to it all. 345 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 5: I can see why they loved it. It's completely isolated, 346 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 5: but their gates here, a couple of guards, and there's 347 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,719 Speaker 5: no entry. There's just no way we can get in. 348 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,160 Speaker 5: And even at the top I can see a guard 349 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 5: sort of walking the perimeter. 350 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:47,960 Speaker 8: I think he is coming. 351 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 5: In fact, he was filming us. They're getting a bit tense, 352 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,359 Speaker 5: all the guards. Oh goodness. We'd ask permission to go 353 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,919 Speaker 5: inside weeks before and hadn't received a response. But just 354 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:04,200 Speaker 5: as we're leaving, a man turns up in fatigues. 355 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 9: Hey, Orlando, are you Orlando with making a documentary about 356 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 9: Anne and John? 357 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:13,920 Speaker 7: But it's not possible to go inside, isn't. 358 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 5: He puts his hand up and shakes his head. 359 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,239 Speaker 7: Thanks, have a good day. 360 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 2: Good as we go. 361 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,879 Speaker 5: The house is up for sale, empty, and there's a 362 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 5: sadness about it, almost like the structure holds memories of 363 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 5: what took place here. 364 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: Hey, I mean nu. 365 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 5: In Barlaudes twenty years ago, as Voldo Rochas had been 366 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 5: preparing to meet his new boss. He knew nothing about 367 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 5: him apart from his name, John Bender and that he'd 368 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 5: brought up some land in dear Monte Valley. He ended 369 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 5: up working for the Benders for ten years. Persilon as 370 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,879 Speaker 5: Voda was grateful for the job, and grateful too to 371 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,679 Speaker 5: his former boss. Also an American. 372 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 8: Jimmy. 373 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 5: Jim had sold his farm to the new arrivals, John 374 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,400 Speaker 5: and Anne, but made sure his young maintenance man wouldn't 375 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 5: lose his well paid job, which were pretty hard to 376 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:13,440 Speaker 5: come by in Paris. 377 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: All okay, Gandole. I understand there was a close in 378 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,399 Speaker 1: the contract where Jim, the previous owner, specified that I 379 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,120 Speaker 1: had to continue working on the property when this cell 380 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 1: was made. Why I stayed to take care of the 381 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:29,679 Speaker 1: property until John Bender arrived. 382 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 5: Back then, everyone in town was gossiping about the new 383 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 5: gringos moving to the valley. Gringos is what Costa Ricans 384 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:41,200 Speaker 5: call Americans. Most foreigners are gringos. The locals are called ticos. 385 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 5: What was clear was that they were rich gringos. Nobody 386 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 5: knew how rich, But then nobody really knew who this 387 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 5: couple were at all, least of all as Valdo. He 388 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,680 Speaker 5: remembers the day they arrived very clearly because he was 389 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 5: a bit nervous and wasn't sure what to expect. Before 390 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 5: the house was built, the new couple were staying at 391 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:02,920 Speaker 5: a place in town. 392 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:09,399 Speaker 1: I remember being surprised when they show up in the 393 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,280 Speaker 1: little car. They were mostly reserved people, especially young He 394 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: didn't like to interact much with daughters. He would prefer 395 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: the mountains, and he said something like, I hate this property. 396 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 1: I've been deceived. He never realized that the house was 397 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: so close to the center of town until they arrived. 398 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: We didn't realize how young they were. We expected to 399 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,119 Speaker 1: see an older couple. He was a big man. She 400 00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:35,640 Speaker 1: was thin and pretty. 401 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,199 Speaker 5: Benita. That was the word everyone used to describe An 402 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,959 Speaker 5: and John, at six foot five, was built like an 403 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 5: American footballer, a guy who clearly worked. 404 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:54,400 Speaker 9: Out, hugely muscular, gorgeous, blue eyes, dark hair. 405 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 5: Carol Vaughan, an ex pattern author who moved to the 406 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 5: town a few years later, he was taken by how 407 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 5: glamorous the couple were. 408 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 9: Just handsome, movie story handsome. She was petitete, delicate, moved 409 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,479 Speaker 9: like a ballerina. She reminded me a lot of Audrey Hepburn. 410 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:22,159 Speaker 5: Despite his physique, John was a gentle soul. He was 411 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:26,880 Speaker 5: kind to all animals, even the tiniest insect. Back home 412 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,919 Speaker 5: in the US, he'd taken in dozens of stray cats, 413 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 5: and he was incredibly smart, good with numbers. Anne, meanwhile, 414 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,520 Speaker 5: had been the most popular kid at school. No doubt 415 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 5: they were a striking couple. There's a photo of them 416 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 5: taken on their new property. John is standing behind Anne 417 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 5: in shorts and a T shirt, one arm wrapped around 418 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 5: her chest, the other around her waist in a protective way. 419 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 5: He towers above her, and Anne in jeans, is holding 420 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,960 Speaker 5: onto his arms and leaning back slightly against him. Their 421 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:05,480 Speaker 5: dream is taking shape around them. They look happy and relaxed, 422 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 5: the perfect couple. It's hard to look at that photo now, 423 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 5: knowing everything that would happen. John and Anne arrived in 424 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 5: Costa Rica with a reported six hundred million dollars, an 425 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 5: eyewatering fortune which would in time be bitterly fought over, 426 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,880 Speaker 5: but that comes later in our story. All anyone knew 427 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 5: at this time was that they wanted land and they 428 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,359 Speaker 5: had the money to pay for it, author Carol Vaughan. 429 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 9: And when the word got out, people were desperate to 430 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,880 Speaker 9: make a killing off Americans because it happens a lot, 431 00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 9: and their vendors found their mailbox just stuck with people's deeds, 432 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 9: saying here it is bamy, Is that right? 433 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 2: Yeah? 434 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 5: They were so desperate. They just wanted the money. 435 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,119 Speaker 9: They wanted the money, yeah, and they didn't want to 436 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,199 Speaker 9: be the only one in the neighborhood who didn't make 437 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 9: a fortune off the gringoes. I mean, if Raoul is 438 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 9: making one hundred thousand dollars, I should make one hundred 439 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 9: thousand dollars. I haven't got a deed here, Bamy. 440 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 5: In total, the Benders brought up five thousand acres from 441 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 5: expats like gym locals and small farmers, some of whom 442 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 5: had grown coffee on their land for generations. It was 443 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 5: in a perfect position. From the top of their hill. 444 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,639 Speaker 5: They had great views of the jungle, the Dea Monte waterfall, 445 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 5: and the sea beyond, a romantic setting to watch the 446 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 5: famous Costa Rican sunsets turn the sky to a burning red, 447 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 5: orange and yellow. This was where they would build their 448 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:01,280 Speaker 5: enormous house, which they would christen Bora Cayenne. You're probably 449 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:05,800 Speaker 5: wondering what that means. We wondered too. Apparently it's the 450 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:11,199 Speaker 5: name of a local plant. Construction work began. John Bender 451 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,119 Speaker 5: had a vision for his new property, to create a 452 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:19,240 Speaker 5: new way of living, unconstrained by normal rules. Building a 453 00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,440 Speaker 5: house on this scale in the middle of the jungle, well, 454 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:26,920 Speaker 5: it was a huge undertaking and massively ambitious. But then 455 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:39,080 Speaker 5: John was like that Hi Hello, Thank you so much. 456 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,600 Speaker 5: I met John's parents in Phoenix, Arizona. We'd already talk 457 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 5: quite a bit online before I met them in person. 458 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 5: You know what's amazing is seeing you on zoom and 459 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 5: now being here. John's mum is a teacher. John's dad 460 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 5: is an eminent law professor and worked in the Clinton administration. 461 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 5: This was the first time that invited journalists to their 462 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:07,320 Speaker 5: home to talk about their son. Their love for John 463 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:10,520 Speaker 5: is playing to see. They hold hands under the table 464 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 5: as they talk about him. But they couldn't really relate 465 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 5: to John's life making millions on Wall Street. Money isn't 466 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 5: important to them, and they worried about the path he'd chosen. 467 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,640 Speaker 5: So when John decided to set up the wildlife Sanctuary, 468 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,680 Speaker 5: I get the feeling they were relieved he was leaving 469 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:30,600 Speaker 5: the world of high finance behind. 470 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:31,800 Speaker 6: Though. 471 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 5: When John told his dad about the plans for their 472 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 5: enormous house, Paul was pretty surprised. 473 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 8: Well, he was going to build this high tech fime 474 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 8: in the middle of the jungle, basically, and it seemed 475 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,480 Speaker 8: to me impossible to do that. And the way he 476 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:51,480 Speaker 8: did it was to decide where he wanted to put it. 477 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,200 Speaker 8: And they have the people come there and builders that 478 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,720 Speaker 8: he had, like an army of people building this thing. 479 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 8: And what you've seen what turned out. It has nothing 480 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 8: to do with the jungle, but it was. It was 481 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:07,560 Speaker 8: exactly what they wanted. I have a lot of pictures 482 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 8: that we took down there. 483 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 5: Paul fired up his computer and scrolled through, showing us 484 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,680 Speaker 5: photos of the house being built. In the photos, the 485 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,640 Speaker 5: structure was up, but not much else. It was an 486 00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 5: empty concrete shell. 487 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 8: That's the house. 488 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:28,040 Speaker 5: Oh gosh, is that sounds of construction. Oh my goodness. 489 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 5: Paul showed us more photos. When the new floors have 490 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,520 Speaker 5: been put in that granite, it is like almost like 491 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 5: a mirror, isn't it. 492 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:37,200 Speaker 8: She really liked that. 493 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 5: It's obvious that Margie and Paul are so proud of 494 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 5: what John achieved. He had a dream and he made 495 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:44,640 Speaker 5: it real. 496 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 2: I don't think John ever thought there were limitations to things. 497 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,640 Speaker 2: If he wanted it to be round, it could be round. 498 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 8: What they really wanted to do was what they did 499 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 8: was find the place that was away from most of 500 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:58,719 Speaker 8: the world, in a beautiful place which had a lot 501 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,800 Speaker 8: of animals, a lot of green area. They really wanted 502 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 8: to be away from from the world. 503 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,800 Speaker 5: The house took a total of four years to build. 504 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,880 Speaker 5: The vendors moved in before it was finished as well, 505 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 5: though the head staffer stayed at the couple's house in 506 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,840 Speaker 5: town and watched the jungle retreat take shape. 507 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: No, justted we were there from the beginning. It was 508 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 1: a huge building site. We could see the workers on 509 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 1: the street, like one hundred and fifty workers spread all 510 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:33,640 Speaker 1: over it. We saw the house going up little by little. 511 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,800 Speaker 5: One of his jobs was to clean the house, and 512 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,080 Speaker 5: so he can tell us precisely what it was like inside. 513 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: Quite a piece of practical men. The fourth floor was 514 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: all the bedroom, with the bed in the middle and 515 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: some rustic furniture made to order. He didn't like anything lavish. 516 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:56,080 Speaker 5: The third floor was empty. John had planned to put 517 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 5: in a greenhouse for his orchids, but never got round 518 00:31:59,080 --> 00:31:59,240 Speaker 5: to it. 519 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:04,360 Speaker 1: On the second floor was the kitchen, which was enormous. 520 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: Four kitchens could fit inside it. 521 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,440 Speaker 5: It was like no other house in the whole valley, 522 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 5: standing on top of the hill, a four story round home. 523 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 5: It came with huge pools of water, road gutters to 524 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,960 Speaker 5: prevent flooding, and there was one feature in particular that 525 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 5: said this couple had serious money, because when John and 526 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 5: Ann came here, they didn't make that four hour car journey. 527 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:33,840 Speaker 5: They would fly in and out, landing on a helipad 528 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 5: below the main entrance. Locals came to call the house 529 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 5: the dome because of the shape of the roof, which 530 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:43,280 Speaker 5: could be seen for miles around. 531 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:45,959 Speaker 9: And you could not make this shit up. 532 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:49,480 Speaker 5: There's one other detail about the house which people never 533 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 5: fail to mention, including expat Carol Vaughan. 534 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 9: The house has no walls. 535 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,480 Speaker 5: Yes, the house has no walls. 536 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,400 Speaker 9: There are screens that pulled down from the ceiling at 537 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:04,400 Speaker 9: night that he bugs and animals at, but during the 538 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 9: day it was wide open. Designed by John with Anne's 539 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 9: decorating touch, the house is magnificent. 540 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,400 Speaker 8: It was open on all sides and you felt that 541 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:18,920 Speaker 8: you were really in the jungle. The bathrooms had was 542 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 8: I think there was a concession that he made to 543 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,280 Speaker 8: the inside was just open space. What are you going 544 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 8: to do with all the space? I never got the 545 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:31,600 Speaker 8: answer to that. I don't think I ever did anything 546 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:32,560 Speaker 8: with all that space. 547 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:36,040 Speaker 5: Some describe it as looking like an anniversary clock, a 548 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:39,480 Speaker 5: shopping mall, or a car park. Not very flattering. But 549 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,400 Speaker 5: whether you like the design or not. It was an 550 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 5: amazing feat. Hundreds of people were employed to build it 551 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:48,360 Speaker 5: and paid well, and it changed as well as hometown 552 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 5: for good. 553 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 1: To come in case, as we say, Jong came to 554 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:54,520 Speaker 1: put the town on the map. This was an abandoned 555 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: place in two thousand. There was not even electricity. When 556 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:02,280 Speaker 1: John arrived. He brought life to the place. He brought jobs, 557 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 1: and foreigners became interested in buying land, so the economy 558 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 1: began to move after being practically abandoned like many other 559 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:12,720 Speaker 1: places here in Costa Rica. 560 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 5: When the house was complete, John and Anne threw a 561 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 5: party for all the workers and their families, but as 562 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:24,600 Speaker 5: Vardo says, it was the only party the Benders ever had. 563 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 5: The house would never see so much life and light again, 564 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 5: as John and Anne retreated from the world and their 565 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:51,120 Speaker 5: lives became shrouded in darkness. The house wasn't just a 566 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:54,680 Speaker 5: sanctuary for John and Anne, but for animals too. 567 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 1: Of course, the Commissaire we had two large parods, and 568 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:03,080 Speaker 1: a parrod with a roaking wing, some monkeys this love, 569 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,400 Speaker 1: of course, and a baby, a. 570 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 5: Black creature from the weasel family, which John loved and 571 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 5: called Leo. He lived alongside two injured Persian cats, which 572 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:17,760 Speaker 5: John had adopted. There was the duck, and the falcons 573 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,440 Speaker 5: and the snakes. That's only the beginning. And Anne had 574 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:22,560 Speaker 5: Peter the sloth. 575 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:28,960 Speaker 8: Oh yeah, but it slept all the time. So three 576 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:29,760 Speaker 8: toad saw. 577 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 2: The name has come from this proclivity to sleep all 578 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 2: the time. 579 00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:38,560 Speaker 5: And and John loved all animals ever since they were children. 580 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 5: As adults, they both said they got on better with 581 00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 5: animals than with people. 582 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,360 Speaker 8: John also had a good feeling animals, just the magician 583 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:50,080 Speaker 8: of animals. So we always had a lot of animals, 584 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 8: and I think both kids really enjoyed them. 585 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,800 Speaker 5: It was a menagerie. One reason for the absence of 586 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,360 Speaker 5: wolves was to be at one with the jungle. The 587 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 5: animals could come and go as they please. Sometimes when 588 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,320 Speaker 5: Anne and John had a bath, parrots would perch beside 589 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:09,719 Speaker 5: them and keep them company. They wanted to turn back 590 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:13,520 Speaker 5: the clock, restoring the land to its wild state before 591 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:14,320 Speaker 5: it was farmed. 592 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 2: He was feeding, and he was bringing back the food 593 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:19,680 Speaker 2: that the land had had when it was natural and 594 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,320 Speaker 2: grew its own weeds if you want to call them that, 595 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:24,919 Speaker 2: and other things. He was trying to get that back 596 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:25,840 Speaker 2: into the soil. 597 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:31,439 Speaker 1: Is Then after three or four years, we did start 598 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:32,920 Speaker 1: to see more animals around. 599 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,120 Speaker 5: As the years went by, John and Anne would become 600 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 5: increasingly isolated, hold up alone in their house with no walls. 601 00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,399 Speaker 5: They had few visitors, but early on, before their home 602 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:48,920 Speaker 5: was completed, they made an exception for Zach Schweger and 603 00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:51,920 Speaker 5: his dad, Jack, whom John had invited to come and 604 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 5: see the house. Jack and John were friends. 605 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,360 Speaker 10: He said, Hey, you know, I should come down sometime. 606 00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,600 Speaker 10: So when my son graduated in high school and he 607 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:04,279 Speaker 10: wanted to take a farther suntrip, that sounded like a 608 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 10: little bit of an adventure, So, hey, you want to 609 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:11,239 Speaker 10: go to Costa Rica to John and am Bender's compound. 610 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,040 Speaker 5: Zach Schweger was just nineteen, My. 611 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,239 Speaker 7: First time kind of like out of the country, people 612 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:17,520 Speaker 7: speaking different languages. 613 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:21,240 Speaker 5: They were picked up by a land cruiser and we're. 614 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:25,759 Speaker 7: Driving for what I remember was ours. It's hard to 615 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:29,040 Speaker 7: describe this part of what it was like to get 616 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:32,240 Speaker 7: there because it was like truly out of a video 617 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:37,000 Speaker 7: game or a movie. You can't really see much because, 618 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:38,920 Speaker 7: like you pull in, it's a dirt road, but it 619 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 7: kind of leads up and up and up the roads. 620 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:44,440 Speaker 11: You could lose a jeep in the bottles, and. 621 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:48,919 Speaker 7: Then everything around you is rainforest, just like large thick, 622 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:53,520 Speaker 7: lush trees. I had no idea like this is what 623 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:57,040 Speaker 7: it was, like I had like my dad had undersold 624 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,920 Speaker 7: this by a million percent, like we were we were in. 625 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 6: A movie set. 626 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:07,279 Speaker 5: Then he met their host, who'd taken up the traditional 627 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:08,720 Speaker 5: way to cut through the jungle. 628 00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:11,879 Speaker 7: It's just like this big brute of a guy kind 629 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:15,040 Speaker 7: of like had a good, good, healthy beard and a 630 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,560 Speaker 7: machete on his waist. 631 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:19,880 Speaker 5: Straight off. He loved John, who took them on a 632 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:21,080 Speaker 5: tour of his property. 633 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:23,760 Speaker 7: He might almost had like a skip, but a stump 634 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:25,200 Speaker 7: to his step, you know what I mean. Like he 635 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 7: walks like that jungle very confidently. 636 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,439 Speaker 11: He was proud of what he was doing. He loved 637 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:34,120 Speaker 11: the rainforest, you know, so I think a good deal 638 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:37,960 Speaker 11: of self satisfaction that he was protecting this land. 639 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:40,680 Speaker 5: And Johnanann seemed uniquely matched. 640 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:42,960 Speaker 7: A couple that doesn't need to ask twice for things. 641 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 7: A couple like where John sits down like she knows 642 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:49,120 Speaker 7: he's thirsty type of thing, but like she willingly wants 643 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:52,000 Speaker 7: to make sure Jonathan is not a thirsty person. There's 644 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,759 Speaker 7: a lot of just like warmth and care that came 645 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:57,360 Speaker 7: from hand. So we're special, and I'm like, man, this 646 00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:58,960 Speaker 7: person is just such a sweetheart. 647 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:00,920 Speaker 10: He and Ann were very much in love as far 648 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:01,600 Speaker 10: as I could tell. 649 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:06,560 Speaker 5: Zach remembers the trip vividly, and one conversation in particular 650 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,120 Speaker 5: illustrated John's fierce intellect. 651 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:14,520 Speaker 7: One evening which just three dudes kind of like hanging out, 652 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:18,799 Speaker 7: shooting and shit and and this is maybe like where 653 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:22,200 Speaker 7: I felt a little out of my elevent but Jonathan 654 00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:25,280 Speaker 7: super intelligent and my father super intelligent. 655 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:28,319 Speaker 5: And then John turned to Zach and said, I. 656 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,279 Speaker 7: Don't mean to ask like such a random question, but 657 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:33,359 Speaker 7: are you familiar with quantum superposition? 658 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:35,919 Speaker 5: Yes, quantum superposition. 659 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:41,959 Speaker 7: So John like took my dad deeply through quantum superposition, 660 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:46,600 Speaker 7: basically this idea that based on you know, waveforms, that 661 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:51,160 Speaker 7: electrons can exist in two places at once. He was 662 00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:54,160 Speaker 7: walking through several experiments like one where like electrons were 663 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,399 Speaker 7: shot at like a gold leaf. But that like kind 664 00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:59,840 Speaker 7: of changed my life in the sense that I was 665 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:03,759 Speaker 7: been up to this whole world of like reality or 666 00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:06,360 Speaker 7: not reality, and like Jonathan had kind of brought me 667 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:09,360 Speaker 7: into this place of where for the first time, like 668 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:13,000 Speaker 7: I questioned, like what's real and what's not real, and 669 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:14,080 Speaker 7: nobody had ever done that. 670 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:18,000 Speaker 5: For Zach, still in his teens, who'd never been to 671 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:21,839 Speaker 5: a foreign country, meeting John on his jungle reserve made 672 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:23,399 Speaker 5: a lifelong impression on him. 673 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:27,920 Speaker 7: It was like this very weird time where everything was perfect, 674 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:31,200 Speaker 7: Like the wind was perfect, the temperature was perfect, like 675 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:35,320 Speaker 7: the seats weren't uncomfortable, the beer was still cold, and 676 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:39,320 Speaker 7: the sky was just this like perfect orange, and you know, 677 00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:43,120 Speaker 7: everything was super green. John was like somehow on center 678 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:47,440 Speaker 7: stage without like detracting from like this perfection. It was 679 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:50,360 Speaker 7: like just one of those moments where like the second 680 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:53,480 Speaker 7: that it was happening, you're like, please, God, like do 681 00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:56,279 Speaker 7: not let this end, Like, don't whatever you do, just like, 682 00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:58,320 Speaker 7: do not have this moment stop. 683 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:05,920 Speaker 5: But everything would change and the vendors would find themselves 684 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:10,880 Speaker 5: becoming further and further divorced from reality. Even then, the 685 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:14,480 Speaker 5: signs were there. This might have been a piece of paradise. 686 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:19,600 Speaker 5: But in this paradise, Zach noticed one thing that seemed strange, 687 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:24,360 Speaker 5: a puncture on the otherwise perfect scene, and all of a. 688 00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:27,880 Speaker 7: Sudden, there's guys with guns and def least, something my 689 00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:29,880 Speaker 7: father never said to me, is like, there's going to 690 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,600 Speaker 7: be men with guns, like and lots of men with guns. 691 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:36,320 Speaker 7: They weren't friendly. They didn't say hi, they weren't like hey, like, 692 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:38,520 Speaker 7: I know, I'm a random dude with a gun that 693 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:41,200 Speaker 7: doesn't speak the same language as you. Don't be frightened. 694 00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:43,759 Speaker 7: They were just kind of they were kind of there. 695 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:47,000 Speaker 11: Those guys were assault rifles, you know, the gate and 696 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:49,520 Speaker 11: like you would imagine if it was a drug cocktail, right, 697 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:51,640 Speaker 11: the arn't people he had working for them would do 698 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:54,280 Speaker 11: these patrols, you know, like round the clock and stuff. 699 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:56,080 Speaker 5: Why did they have guns? 700 00:41:56,680 --> 00:41:59,040 Speaker 7: Yeah, that was my very first question and it was 701 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:01,720 Speaker 7: quickly answered with were concerned about poachers. 702 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:06,040 Speaker 5: Poaching might explain all those guns up to a point. 703 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:09,600 Speaker 5: Remember John Corvick from earlier who used to live in 704 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:12,200 Speaker 5: the valley. He told us about the poachers and their 705 00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:15,080 Speaker 5: dogs who would come at night and cause havoc. 706 00:42:15,719 --> 00:42:18,080 Speaker 6: Oh, there's poachers everywhere. I used to hunt the poachers. 707 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:20,799 Speaker 6: There's poachures and sons of bitches. You can never find them, 708 00:42:20,840 --> 00:42:22,279 Speaker 6: but you'll find their dogs. And I used to go 709 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,160 Speaker 6: out with my bulldogs. At first we try to find them. 710 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:27,879 Speaker 6: The poachers would drop me nuts. My dogs would start 711 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,040 Speaker 6: for barking. I could hear them barking up in the hills. 712 00:42:30,719 --> 00:42:33,839 Speaker 5: If this was just about poaching, John and Anne went 713 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:37,360 Speaker 5: to extreme lengths. They put up a barbed wire perimeter 714 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:41,759 Speaker 5: fence around their property and had guards wearing fatigues patrolling. 715 00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:46,000 Speaker 5: Twenty four to seven signs reading keep out private property 716 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:50,000 Speaker 5: were erected everywhere. To the people in the valley costa 717 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:53,560 Speaker 5: Rican's expats hips in search of a piece of heaven. 718 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:57,359 Speaker 5: The message was clear, and the couple were rarely seen. 719 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:01,440 Speaker 5: Occasionally people would look up and see their helicopter leaving 720 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:06,320 Speaker 5: and returning to the hilltop reserve. So rumors and conspiracies 721 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:11,160 Speaker 5: germinated and began to grow, carried swiftly along the grapevine, 722 00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:16,120 Speaker 5: whispers about those wealthy Americans who flew in by helicopter 723 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:19,279 Speaker 5: and bought up all the land, And were all those 724 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:24,280 Speaker 5: guards really there to scare off poachers? Jesse, their neighbor, asked, 725 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 5: all those questions, we. 726 00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:29,200 Speaker 8: Don't know, and we can imagine, but we don't know. 727 00:43:29,719 --> 00:43:30,800 Speaker 5: What do you imagine? 728 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:35,680 Speaker 3: Well, I personally thought he was probably somebody very big 729 00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:39,840 Speaker 3: in the drugs personally, and obviously they were doing something secret. 730 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:46,040 Speaker 5: Boracayerne was the perfect place to live in splendid isolation, 731 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:50,200 Speaker 5: and that, in the end, was at the root of 732 00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:55,400 Speaker 5: everything that was to follow. And Jesse is right. The 733 00:43:55,560 --> 00:44:00,239 Speaker 5: house with no walls was full of secrets. Where did 734 00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:04,640 Speaker 5: they get their fortune? Why were they so help bent 735 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:10,839 Speaker 5: on protecting their privacy? Why all those guns? And why 736 00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:23,680 Speaker 5: would one of them end up dead? You've been listening 737 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:27,839 Speaker 5: to Helen Heaven from Exactly Right Media and iHeart podcasts 738 00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:32,640 Speaker 5: produced by Blanchard House, hosted, written and produced by me 739 00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:36,840 Speaker 5: Becky Milligan. The producer and co writer is Poppy Damon. 740 00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:41,200 Speaker 5: Music is by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis nank Manell and 741 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:45,280 Speaker 5: Toby Mattamoon. The sound recordistant head of Sound and Music 742 00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:50,000 Speaker 5: is Daniel Lloyd Evans. The lead sound designer is Vulcan Kiseltoog. 743 00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:55,200 Speaker 5: The artwork is by Vanessa Lilac for Exactly Right Media. 744 00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:59,800 Speaker 5: The executive producers are Karen Kilgareth Georgia Hardstark and d 745 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:05,320 Speaker 5: Nemiel Kramer, with consulting producer Lilly Ladderwig and associate producer 746 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 5: Jay Elias. The creative director of Blanchard House is Rosie Pye. 747 00:45:11,880 --> 00:45:15,360 Speaker 5: The executive producer and head of content at Blanchard House 748 00:45:15,719 --> 00:45:20,799 Speaker 5: is Lawrence Griselle. Listen to Helen Heaven on the iHeartRadio app, 749 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,080 Speaker 5: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.