WEBVTT - 3. Call for Help | Lost Hills 0:00:15.066 --> 0:00:32.886 Pushkin. September 16, 2009, the day Mitrice drove to Malibu, 0:00:33.306 --> 0:00:38.946 her longtime off-and-on girlfriend, Desiree Black, decided to do something drastic. 0:00:40.246 --> 0:00:46.906 That was the day that I had... I mean, finally 0:00:46.946 --> 0:00:51.686 worked up the courage to try and, like, break it off, 0:00:51.726 --> 0:00:56.926 call it quits. But definitely was not brave enough to 0:00:56.986 --> 0:00:57.786 do that in person. 0:00:58.926 --> 0:01:00.256 She wrote my Teresa text. 0:01:01.276 --> 0:01:05.996 It went something along the lines of, I love you, 0:01:06.056 --> 0:01:09.316 I care about you, but I don't think that I 0:01:09.356 --> 0:01:11.136 can do this anymore. 0:01:12.266 --> 0:01:14.746 Matrice had been seeing Tessa on and off during her 0:01:14.766 --> 0:01:17.646 relationship with Desiree, and now she was head over heels 0:01:17.696 --> 0:01:21.526 for this new woman, Hannah Parks. Desiree was over it. 0:01:22.696 --> 0:01:26.596 I think that it really weighed on me that I 0:01:27.256 --> 0:01:34.496 had to share. So I text that, and her response 0:01:35.216 --> 0:01:41.316 was definitely unexpected. Her response was just like, I love you, 0:01:41.356 --> 0:01:45.996 I totally understand, you're an amazing person, and, like, all 0:01:46.016 --> 0:01:49.306 of the things that you don't want to hear when 0:01:49.896 --> 0:01:53.166 you're trying to, like, break it off with somebody. Like, 0:01:53.226 --> 0:01:55.306 those are all of the things that I was getting. 0:01:56.426 --> 0:01:59.186 After she sent the text, Desiree, who was still a 0:01:59.226 --> 0:02:02.266 student at Cal State Fullerton, had to go to track practice. 0:02:02.886 --> 0:02:05.286 But she thought about Mitrice the whole time. 0:02:05.306 --> 0:02:11.576 I mean, like, immediately I regretted it. sending that text. 0:02:12.316 --> 0:02:14.296 I just didn't know how much I was going to 0:02:14.356 --> 0:02:21.196 regret it. Because that day, she didn't come home. And 0:02:21.716 --> 0:02:23.816 that was definitely out of the ordinary. 0:02:24.656 --> 0:02:28.456 Matrice still slept over at Desiree's occasionally, and she was 0:02:28.536 --> 0:02:32.696 expecting her that night. At 7 p.m., when she got 0:02:32.736 --> 0:02:35.096 out of practice, she started texting Matrice. 0:02:36.236 --> 0:02:41.576 She wasn't responding. And I just assumed that that was 0:02:41.616 --> 0:02:46.496 my own fault because of the text message that I'd 0:02:46.556 --> 0:02:49.826 sent out before I went to practice, which was, we're 0:02:49.866 --> 0:02:54.226 not doing this anymore. I didn't believe me. I don't 0:02:54.586 --> 0:02:58.686 think that she believed me either. But that's what I said. 0:02:58.706 --> 0:03:02.166 Do you remember making dinner that night and waiting for it? 0:03:03.016 --> 0:03:08.086 To be honest, that whole time, chunk of time in 0:03:08.126 --> 0:03:13.746 my life is just a blur. Like, it was not 0:03:13.786 --> 0:03:17.746 a good time for me. And so, I did cook dinner, 0:03:18.616 --> 0:03:24.116 but I can't say for sure, like, what else I 0:03:24.136 --> 0:03:28.676 was doing besides, like, just kind of wondering where she 0:03:28.696 --> 0:03:28.996 was at. 0:03:31.736 --> 0:03:35.836 At 7pm, Mitrice was nowhere near Desiree's place. She was 0:03:35.896 --> 0:03:39.576 pulling into Joffrey's, an upscale restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway. 0:03:40.796 --> 0:03:43.556 Matrice would later tell the cops she stopped at Joffrey's 0:03:43.796 --> 0:03:46.876 because she saw the white fairy lights dangling from the trees. 0:03:47.896 --> 0:03:51.016 She parked in the valet lot. Her car was a beater, 0:03:51.336 --> 0:03:55.646 a 10-year-old Honda Civic with a jerry-rigged ignition. She told 0:03:55.686 --> 0:03:57.626 the valet she was there to meet up with Hannah, 0:03:58.166 --> 0:04:02.246 Hannah with the tattoos. She walked past the hostess station 0:04:02.286 --> 0:04:06.026 to a table, smiling at everyone. She ordered a steak 0:04:06.306 --> 0:04:11.706 and an ocean breeze. Within two hours, deputies from Lost 0:04:11.726 --> 0:04:14.466 Hill Station would be at the restaurant, trying to figure 0:04:14.546 --> 0:04:17.246 out what to do with this charming young woman who 0:04:17.286 --> 0:04:22.526 couldn't pay her $ 89. 51 bill. Where had she come from? 0:04:23.186 --> 0:04:26.126 That was easy. She was from Mars, she said. And 0:04:27.056 --> 0:04:31.156 what was she doing there? Well, she said sweetly, she 0:04:31.196 --> 0:04:40.606 was there to avenge the death of Michael Jackson. I'm 0:04:40.646 --> 0:05:10.976 Dana Goodyear, and this is Lost Hills. Episode 3, Call 0:05:11.036 --> 0:05:18.336 for Help. Hannah Parks says Mitrice had been in a 0:05:18.436 --> 0:05:23.786 state of full-blown psychosis for over a week. She'd lost 0:05:23.826 --> 0:05:27.226 her grasp on reality. For one thing, Hannah says, she 0:05:27.266 --> 0:05:30.386 had no plans to meet Mitrice at Joffrey's. That was 0:05:30.546 --> 0:05:34.916 all in Mitrice's head. Mitrice had been writing desperately in 0:05:34.976 --> 0:05:39.336 her journal about not sleeping, about being trapped in a never-ending, 0:05:39.596 --> 0:05:44.036 waking dream. When she got to Joffrey's, she'd been awake 0:05:44.096 --> 0:05:49.076 for something like five days. Throughout the early morning hours 0:05:49.176 --> 0:05:52.766 and into the afternoon of September 16th, she'd churned out 0:05:52.806 --> 0:05:57.066 a steady stream of social media posts about her favorite subject, 0:05:57.706 --> 0:06:01.786 Michael Jackson. Her journals and messages in this episode are 0:06:01.826 --> 0:06:04.456 being read by an actor, and have been lightly edited 0:06:04.496 --> 0:06:07.956 for clarity. 1.17 a.m. 0:06:09.596 --> 0:06:14.556 OMG, Michael Jackson, I was your biggest fan in the world, 0:06:15.016 --> 0:06:20.336 but you already knew my trees, Rich Erdson. It's all 0:06:20.376 --> 0:06:23.136 in the eyes of a believer slash child. 0:06:23.136 --> 0:06:25.256 5.13 a.m. 0:06:26.296 --> 0:06:33.856 Rude, Mike Jack. Current rude, crazy. I'm tired. I'm so tired. 0:06:34.036 --> 0:06:41.836 See me somebody, please. I'm here. Doesn't anyone hear me? Ghost. 0:06:41.836 --> 0:06:42.556 8.47 a.m. 0:06:43.516 --> 0:06:50.436 Princess Diana and Michael Jackson equal Mitre's America's princess. Long 0:06:50.576 --> 0:06:51.516 live the king. 0:06:52.866 --> 0:06:55.076 She went to her job at the freight company owned 0:06:55.136 --> 0:06:59.586 by Tessa's family. She kept posting strange things all day long. 0:07:00.536 --> 0:07:03.156 With Michael's death, a legend is born that will last 0:07:03.176 --> 0:07:04.196 until the end of time. The proof is in the number. 0:07:04.216 --> 0:07:06.476 Mind playing tricks on me? Haha, you're such a player. 0:07:06.536 --> 0:07:09.166 They speak in letters and all I understand. Just ask 0:07:09.176 --> 0:07:14.946 the believers who are there. 1.34 p.m. Two I equals 0:07:15.026 --> 0:07:21.866 six S's. Michael Jackson's number one fan. I know it. O-M-G, O-M-G, O-M-G, O-M-G. 0:07:25.256 --> 0:07:28.606 According to law enforcement documents, while Mitrice was watching a 0:07:28.666 --> 0:07:30.906 soap opera in the break room at the freight company, 0:07:31.486 --> 0:07:34.106 she thought that one of the actresses gave her, quote, 0:07:34.406 --> 0:07:37.526 a message from God telling her to go to Malibu. 0:07:38.546 --> 0:07:41.166 So she was acting strange at work. She wasn't, you know, 0:07:41.286 --> 0:07:44.166 getting her work done because Mitrice was very efficient at 0:07:44.206 --> 0:07:44.546 her job. 0:07:45.506 --> 0:07:49.986 This is Dr. Rhonda Hampton. She's a psychologist Mitrice interned 0:07:50.046 --> 0:07:51.066 for in college. 0:07:52.466 --> 0:07:55.256 It's almost like I saw her what, four days a week? 0:07:55.746 --> 0:07:57.266 And we would spend a lot of time together. 0:07:58.086 --> 0:08:00.546 She considered herself a mentor to Mitrice. 0:08:01.486 --> 0:08:03.466 So, I mean, a lot of our relationship was definitely 0:08:03.566 --> 0:08:07.266 about the work, but it was also about her future. 0:08:08.366 --> 0:08:11.926 Mitrice was Dr. Hampton's intern in 2007 and 2008. And 0:08:12.966 --> 0:08:16.166 during that time, Dr. Hampton began to notice a change 0:08:16.226 --> 0:08:16.806 in Mitrice. 0:08:16.826 --> 0:08:20.006 It's just that her symptoms were really subtle. You know, 0:08:20.116 --> 0:08:24.056 it wasn't anything that was bizarre. A couple times she 0:08:24.076 --> 0:08:28.186 would come in very disheveled or very angry sometimes. And 0:08:28.406 --> 0:08:30.786 I started to notice like a cyclical pattern to that. 0:08:31.286 --> 0:08:33.286 And it was almost like clockwork. I can tell like 0:08:33.506 --> 0:08:36.686 every six or seven weeks something's going to happen. You're 0:08:36.706 --> 0:08:38.346 going to look not right, right? 0:08:39.586 --> 0:08:43.436 She urged Patrice to get a psychiatric evaluation. This would 0:08:43.456 --> 0:08:46.216 have been at least a year before Hannah was urging 0:08:46.256 --> 0:08:47.596 her to do the same thing. 0:08:48.676 --> 0:08:52.676 We talked about psychosis. specifically about bipolar disorder and about 0:08:52.736 --> 0:08:55.156 the treatment for that. And, I mean, she was very 0:08:55.276 --> 0:08:59.556 open to hearing that. And I know that she got evaluated, 0:08:59.576 --> 0:09:01.556 and I know that she went to the school counseling 0:09:01.576 --> 0:09:02.936 center at least on two occasions. 0:09:04.556 --> 0:09:08.896 Over time, Mitrice's condition grew noticeably worse. But no one 0:09:08.936 --> 0:09:13.216 except Hannah seemed to really comprehend just how bad things 0:09:13.256 --> 0:09:19.156 had gotten. Mitrice's mother, Latice, was preoccupied with marital problems. 0:09:19.906 --> 0:09:23.046 Although they later got back together, in 2009, she and 0:09:23.086 --> 0:09:25.806 her husband Larry were in the midst of a painful divorce, 0:09:26.546 --> 0:09:29.306 and she had Mia, her young daughter with Larry, to 0:09:29.346 --> 0:09:33.486 worry about. On the day of her disappearance, Maitrese sent 0:09:33.546 --> 0:09:37.286 her mother some really confusing texts, which Lattice included in 0:09:37.326 --> 0:09:40.206 her memoir. 12.48 a.m. 0:09:41.006 --> 0:09:43.366 I told you I would take care of everything, Mommy. 0:09:43.966 --> 0:09:44.486 I love you. 0:09:44.486 --> 0:09:44.586 3.04 a.m. 0:09:48.126 --> 0:09:51.756 Did you know my name means behind every man is 0:09:51.816 --> 0:09:52.836 a strong woman? 0:09:54.576 --> 0:09:57.356 What have you taken care of, Latice replied when she 0:09:57.416 --> 0:10:02.816 woke up. My trees, I'm not understanding. After my trees 0:10:02.856 --> 0:10:06.436 left work, she didn't go straight to Malibu. She headed 0:10:06.516 --> 0:10:10.176 to Cal State Fullerton. She was looking for one of 0:10:10.216 --> 0:10:14.196 her old psychology professors, someone she may have recently confided 0:10:14.276 --> 0:10:15.656 in about her mental problems. 0:10:17.036 --> 0:10:19.216 That professor was not in the office at the time. 0:10:19.296 --> 0:10:20.956 I think she may have been teaching a class and 0:10:21.326 --> 0:10:23.386 So when Mitrice went in there, they said, she's not 0:10:23.406 --> 0:10:25.326 going to be here for a few hours. And apparently, 0:10:25.606 --> 0:10:27.646 from what I hear, is Mitrice sat there and waited 0:10:27.706 --> 0:10:30.766 for the professor to come. So for whatever amount of time. 0:10:31.706 --> 0:10:34.926 When the professor returned to her office, she found Mitrice 0:10:35.306 --> 0:10:39.146 in an elevated state, talking excitedly about publishing her journals 0:10:39.196 --> 0:10:43.356 as a book. Recognizing something was wrong, the professor tried 0:10:43.396 --> 0:10:45.196 to find someone to help Mitrice. 0:10:46.536 --> 0:10:51.916 And so that professor actually walked Mitrice to another professor 0:10:51.936 --> 0:10:57.336 who was a clinical psychologist, walked her to that psychologist's office. 0:10:57.956 --> 0:11:01.556 And Maitrese was apparently not happy with that. And so 0:11:02.056 --> 0:11:03.586 Maitrese at that point said, well, I got to go. 0:11:03.596 --> 0:11:05.556 I'm going to go hang out with my friends. And 0:11:05.576 --> 0:11:06.376 so she ran off. 0:11:08.636 --> 0:11:11.656 After Maitrese left campus, she stopped by her aunt's house, 0:11:11.916 --> 0:11:16.656 where she left some flyers advertising her go-go dancing. Then 0:11:16.976 --> 0:11:18.076 she set out for Malibu. 0:11:19.316 --> 0:11:21.036 She did say the beach was calling her, so that 0:11:21.076 --> 0:11:22.836 was one of the things that she had said earlier 0:11:22.896 --> 0:11:25.276 in that day. I could see her driving out to 0:11:25.296 --> 0:11:27.916 the beach. She was familiar with Pepperdine because she was 0:11:27.976 --> 0:11:30.736 considering going there for grad school. I can't say whether 0:11:30.776 --> 0:11:33.136 she had ever eaten at Joffrey's before. I don't know. 0:11:34.046 --> 0:11:35.946 But I do know that she was familiar enough with 0:11:35.986 --> 0:11:38.766 how to get to Malibu and the beach. 0:11:39.886 --> 0:11:42.586 In her journals, Mitrice wrote about the ocean as a 0:11:42.626 --> 0:11:46.686 place of healing, a place of calm. She was in pain, 0:11:47.306 --> 0:12:17.036 and she thought... Malibu would help. Can you settle a 0:12:17.516 --> 0:12:22.246 long-running question for us? Why is it called Joffreys, not Jeffreys? 0:12:22.266 --> 0:12:25.446 You know how many times people have had that argument? 0:12:25.806 --> 0:12:27.766 Settle a bet. And I'm like, okay, I know exactly 0:12:27.786 --> 0:12:28.406 what you're talking about. 0:12:29.346 --> 0:12:32.686 This is Jeff Peterson. He owns Joffreys Malibu. 0:12:33.766 --> 0:12:39.876 Joffrey and Harvey Baskin started Joffreys in 1983. Yes, it 0:12:39.916 --> 0:12:43.536 should be pronounced Jeffreys, but his name was Joffreys. 0:12:45.016 --> 0:12:47.936 Jeff lives in a big McMansion in Malibu. When I 0:12:47.956 --> 0:12:49.536 went to see him, he was in the middle of 0:12:49.576 --> 0:12:52.476 a divorce. The place was half empty, and his two 0:12:52.556 --> 0:12:56.016 gigantic dogs were jumping all over the place. He told 0:12:56.036 --> 0:12:58.106 me he came to L.A. in the late 80s to 0:12:58.126 --> 0:13:01.926 be an actor and started busing tables at Joffrey's. Eventually, 0:13:02.146 --> 0:13:02.886 he bought the place. 0:13:03.486 --> 0:13:07.746 Lucky for me, I'm a terrible actor. Fail at one thing, 0:13:07.946 --> 0:13:08.926 do well at something else. 0:13:10.986 --> 0:13:12.746 Joffrey's is a Malibu institution. 0:13:12.766 --> 0:13:13.686 Think Joffrey's. 0:13:14.016 --> 0:13:18.816 Tourists, aging celebrities, and a few Malibu regulars sipping cocktails 0:13:18.876 --> 0:13:21.656 and eating food that hasn't changed since the 80s. 0:13:22.996 --> 0:13:25.516 Well, it sits along like a cliff overlooking the ocean, 0:13:25.536 --> 0:13:30.536 and it's surrounded by gardens and water fountains and fire pits. 0:13:30.556 --> 0:13:33.476 I mean, I was talking to Chuck Woolery one time, 0:13:33.516 --> 0:13:36.436 the old dating game guy. It was Love Connection, one 0:13:36.456 --> 0:13:39.216 of those things. And he was at the restaurant filming something, 0:13:39.236 --> 0:13:41.236 and he said, you know what? This was the number 0:13:41.346 --> 0:13:43.766 one place that men would always say they take their dates. 0:13:44.466 --> 0:13:48.426 because it's so romantic and relaxing. So there's a lot 0:13:48.466 --> 0:13:51.356 of anniversaries and dates and birthdays and special occasions. 0:13:52.336 --> 0:13:55.436 It's a celebrity clubhouse. The art on the walls is 0:13:55.516 --> 0:13:58.836 made by patrons like Clint Eastwood and John Travolta. 0:13:59.796 --> 0:14:02.216 Yes, we get our celebrities. I used to wait on 0:14:02.716 --> 0:14:05.146 Redford back in the day. Nicest man in the world. 0:14:05.986 --> 0:14:09.186 What a class act. So we get a combination of both. 0:14:09.486 --> 0:14:11.606 And we get presidents. So we get everybody. 0:14:13.646 --> 0:14:17.606 In depositions they gave later, just about everyone who interacted 0:14:17.626 --> 0:14:20.466 with Mitrice at the restaurant said they noticed that something 0:14:20.506 --> 0:14:24.546 was wrong with her. The valet, for instance. He says 0:14:24.586 --> 0:14:28.386 he found Mitrice sitting in his car, rifling through his CDs. 0:14:29.336 --> 0:14:31.576 When he asked her what she was doing, she replied, 0:14:32.216 --> 0:14:36.736 it's subliminal. And the hostess. She says Mitrice got up 0:14:36.756 --> 0:14:39.616 from the table where she'd been seated alone and joined 0:14:39.656 --> 0:14:43.276 a party of seven. Hi, sorry I'm late. Can I 0:14:43.316 --> 0:14:45.836 sit next to you? she asked one of the strangers. 0:14:47.366 --> 0:14:52.826 From what these witnesses said later, Mitrice was pretty amusing, chatty, spirited, 0:14:53.206 --> 0:14:56.806 and zany, talking about her fascination with the number eight 0:14:57.126 --> 0:15:00.226 and her plans to move to Hawaii, and, of course, 0:15:00.686 --> 0:15:05.996 Michael Jackson. In her deposition, the hostess stated, quote, At 0:15:06.036 --> 0:15:08.736 this point, I did not make too much of the situation, 0:15:09.176 --> 0:15:12.746 because during my time working in Malibu, I had encountered 0:15:12.806 --> 0:15:17.876 lots of people who were off in their behavior and personalities, unquote. 0:15:19.396 --> 0:15:23.336 About an hour after Mitrice walked into Joffrey's, she walked out, 0:15:23.896 --> 0:15:27.696 past the hostess stand to the valet. There was just 0:15:27.896 --> 0:15:33.966 one problem. She hadn't paid her bill. In his deposition, 0:15:34.166 --> 0:15:37.066 the manager says he confronted Mitrice in the parking lot. 0:15:37.706 --> 0:15:40.226 When she said she couldn't pay, he took her back inside. 0:15:41.706 --> 0:15:44.046 He asked her to empty her pockets, thinking there might 0:15:44.086 --> 0:15:47.026 be a credit card or some cash in there. She 0:15:47.046 --> 0:15:51.696 pulled out a joint instead. The manager called Jeff, the owner. 0:15:52.876 --> 0:15:56.096 I can remember that night. I remember I was sitting 0:15:56.176 --> 0:15:58.796 on a couch, not this couch, but another couch right here. 0:15:58.816 --> 0:16:01.656 I was sucking a Theraflu down. I had a cold. 0:16:02.476 --> 0:16:05.066 For the best of my recollection, he calls me up. 0:16:05.576 --> 0:16:08.316 He tells me there's a lady there. They don't know 0:16:08.356 --> 0:16:11.876 if something's wrong with her, if she's mentally ill, if 0:16:11.916 --> 0:16:14.836 she's drunk, if she's high, she's only had one drink, 0:16:15.596 --> 0:16:18.536 and she's talking in gibberish, and he doesn't know what 0:16:18.576 --> 0:16:18.956 to do. 0:16:20.396 --> 0:16:24.626 According to law enforcement documents, when the manager confronted Mitrice 0:16:24.786 --> 0:16:28.246 about paying her bill, she said, quote, that she was 0:16:28.306 --> 0:16:30.826 from Mars and that she was going to have sex 0:16:30.846 --> 0:16:32.326 with him, unquote. 0:16:33.446 --> 0:16:36.096 So I think the managers really, they just wanted to 0:16:36.126 --> 0:16:38.736 help her because The message I got from her was 0:16:38.916 --> 0:16:41.346 that she was a nice, sweet, she wasn't threatening, she 0:16:41.416 --> 0:16:47.486 wasn't mean, but something was just very wrong. One of 0:16:47.526 --> 0:16:49.666 the concerns was that we couldn't let her go that 0:16:49.746 --> 0:16:52.706 night without calling for help. Because if you let a 0:16:52.726 --> 0:16:56.496 person who's obviously something's wrong with them, and like I said, 0:16:56.516 --> 0:16:58.156 I didn't know if it was drugs or alcohol or 0:16:58.196 --> 0:17:01.176 mental illness. If you let a person go and give 0:17:01.216 --> 0:17:03.496 them their car keys and send them out into the 0:17:03.556 --> 0:17:07.316 road and they run over a child or hit a family, 0:17:07.916 --> 0:17:10.736 then people ask you the question, why would you let 0:17:10.776 --> 0:17:11.436 this person go? 0:17:14.436 --> 0:17:19.396 At 8.30 p.m., the manager told the bartender to call 911. Hi, I'm. 0:17:21.056 --> 0:17:27.046 Calling from Joffrey's Restaurant in Malibu. We have a guest 0:17:27.146 --> 0:17:30.006 here who is refusing to pay her bill and we 0:17:30.026 --> 0:17:32.626 think she may, she sounds really crazy, she may be 0:17:32.666 --> 0:17:35.416 on drugs or something. We were wondering if someone could 0:17:35.436 --> 0:17:36.316 come by and pick her up. 0:17:36.336 --> 0:17:39.666 And is she a white, black, Asian, Hispanic? 0:17:39.926 --> 0:17:43.226 She's a young black girl. She's probably in her. 0:17:44.806 --> 0:17:44.866 20s. 0:17:44.866 --> 0:17:45.646 Is she with anybody else? 0:17:45.986 --> 0:17:46.706 No, it's just her. 0:17:47.916 --> 0:17:53.376 Twenty minutes later, three Lost Hills deputies arrived at Joffrey's. Now, 0:17:53.776 --> 0:17:59.316 the equation changed. The deputies searched Mitrice's car, supposedly looking 0:17:59.356 --> 0:18:01.886 for a form of payment. and found it was a mess, 0:18:02.406 --> 0:18:06.256 full of CDs, clothes, and shoes. It was so bad, 0:18:06.336 --> 0:18:09.296 they thought maybe she'd been living out of it, which 0:18:09.336 --> 0:18:13.076 was pretty accurate. In the trunk, they found some handles 0:18:13.116 --> 0:18:16.586 of vodka, a half-drunk bottle of tequila, and half a 0:18:16.626 --> 0:18:20.466 case of beer. And between the two front seats, they 0:18:20.526 --> 0:18:24.066 found a small bag of weed. The valet asked a 0:18:24.106 --> 0:18:28.496 deputy what was wrong with Mitrice. He replied that she was, quote, 0:18:28.896 --> 0:18:34.016 a ding. which is cop speak for mentally ill. With 0:18:34.036 --> 0:18:40.036 the deputies, Mitrice was lovely. Later, according to investigation documents, 0:18:40.436 --> 0:18:44.696 they said that while she, quote, seemed slightly embarrassed, Ms. 0:18:44.716 --> 0:18:50.416 Richardson was cooperative and polite, unquote. The deputies gave her 0:18:50.456 --> 0:18:56.336 a field sobriety test, which she passed. Mitrice was trained 0:18:56.376 --> 0:18:59.296 at keeping up appearances. She was afraid of what was 0:18:59.376 --> 0:19:01.976 happening to her mind, and she was in the midst 0:19:02.016 --> 0:19:04.876 of a crisis that was altering her sense of reality. 0:19:05.916 --> 0:19:07.446 When they asked her if she had a history of 0:19:07.486 --> 0:19:13.646 psychiatric problems, she said no. Still, she had to pay 0:19:13.666 --> 0:19:17.526 that bill. The hostess asked Mitrice if there was anyone 0:19:17.566 --> 0:19:21.606 she could call. Mitrice gave her the number of her great-grandmother, 0:19:22.046 --> 0:19:25.546 Mildred Harris. The hostess called her and asked her if 0:19:25.586 --> 0:19:27.626 she could come to the restaurant and take care of 0:19:27.666 --> 0:19:31.526 the bill. Joffreys apparently had a policy, and they wouldn't 0:19:31.566 --> 0:19:35.196 take a credit card over the phone. I'm 91 years old, Ms. 0:19:35.216 --> 0:19:35.796 Harris said. 0:19:35.816 --> 0:19:41.716 I can't drive to Malibu. Then Mitrice's mother, Latice, called 0:19:41.736 --> 0:19:46.046 the restaurant and spoke to a manager. Investigation documents state 0:19:46.106 --> 0:19:49.326 that Latice told the manager her daughter had, quote, been 0:19:49.366 --> 0:19:52.166 spending time with persons of whom she did not approve, 0:19:52.186 --> 0:19:55.346 end quote, needed to learn a lesson and be taken 0:19:55.386 --> 0:20:00.966 to jail. Mitrice's offense, Dine and Dad, or defrauding an innkeeper, 0:20:01.346 --> 0:20:06.106 was misdemeanor petty theft. That's typically a citation, not a 0:20:06.156 --> 0:20:08.916 crime for which a person usually gets taken into custody. 0:20:09.976 --> 0:20:13.396 But the Joffreys' management didn't want Mitrice leaving in her car. 0:20:14.076 --> 0:20:16.316 The cops told the manager that if he wanted them 0:20:16.356 --> 0:20:19.076 to take Mitrice away... the manager would have to make 0:20:19.116 --> 0:20:24.236 a citizen's arrest. Here's how Jeff Peterson, the owner of Joffrey's, 0:20:24.436 --> 0:20:25.036 explains it. 0:20:26.376 --> 0:20:30.496 So what happened was, and excuse my dogs, they're coming 0:20:30.536 --> 0:20:33.056 in the room now. The only way that we were 0:20:33.196 --> 0:20:36.956 able to get her help, the deputy told us, we 0:20:36.976 --> 0:20:38.856 have to be able to take her away on something 0:20:39.536 --> 0:20:42.666 because that came from them. So they told us, this 0:20:42.726 --> 0:20:44.546 is what you need to do for us to be 0:20:44.566 --> 0:20:45.126 able to get her help. 0:20:46.156 --> 0:20:50.036 There was another option, though. The deputies could have put 0:20:50.096 --> 0:20:57.436 Mitrice on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, also known as a 5150. 0:20:57.436 --> 0:20:59.646 Jeff says he had no idea. 0:21:00.546 --> 0:21:03.586 If I knew that there was other ways, like if 0:21:03.686 --> 0:21:05.886 she could be charged on a 5150 and taken for 0:21:05.926 --> 0:21:09.466 mental evaluation, and we didn't have to do that, then absolutely, 0:21:09.526 --> 0:21:11.996 why the heck would I want to charge her? Because 0:21:12.046 --> 0:21:18.336 it's never been about $ 89. 00. 0:21:14.636 --> 0:21:17.736 The Lost Hills deputies executed a citizen's arrest on the 0:21:17.776 --> 0:21:21.336 Dine and Dash charge and also charged Mitrice with another 0:21:21.356 --> 0:21:25.666 misdemeanor for the pot in her car. Everyone, even her mother, 0:21:26.026 --> 0:21:30.326 seemed to agree she'd be better off in custody. So 0:21:30.446 --> 0:21:33.906 Anthony Larreiro, the arresting officer, decided to hard book her 0:21:34.246 --> 0:21:37.786 at the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station. The justification he gave 0:21:37.846 --> 0:21:41.136 his superiors is that he was worried about her. that 0:21:41.216 --> 0:21:44.876 she was, quote, a little ditzy, and he was uneasy 0:21:45.076 --> 0:21:50.036 about just letting her go. According to internal station correspondence 0:21:50.216 --> 0:21:55.216 written after Mitrice was officially a missing person, or MP, quote, 0:21:55.736 --> 0:22:01.076 deputies uncomfortable with field release, no articulated reason, instinctive feeling, 0:22:01.436 --> 0:22:06.656 concern for MP's welfare. Lorero put Mitrice in the back 0:22:06.696 --> 0:22:09.516 of a squad car, and they drove through Malibu Canyon 0:22:09.536 --> 0:22:14.036 to the station, about 13 miles away. Meanwhile, her car 0:22:14.076 --> 0:22:16.456 was taken to a tow yard near Pacific Coast Highway, 0:22:16.856 --> 0:22:21.646 where it was impounded. While Mitrice was in transit, deputies 0:22:21.686 --> 0:22:25.566 were preparing for her arrival. One of the deputies who'd 0:22:25.606 --> 0:22:28.466 responded to the Joffreys' call typed a message to another 0:22:28.506 --> 0:22:35.016 deputy over the interdepartmental computer system. At station and 15, re-femsearch, 0:22:35.136 --> 0:22:39.296 he wrote. What'd you get? His colleague typed back. Defrauding 0:22:39.336 --> 0:22:39.956 an innkeeper. 0:22:40.376 --> 0:22:40.816 LOL. 0:22:41.596 --> 0:22:41.816 What? 0:22:41.996 --> 0:22:45.706 Did she leave without paying? Tried, but failed. Then had 0:22:45.766 --> 0:22:49.626 no means to pay. Citizen's arrest. Why didn't you help 0:22:49.686 --> 0:22:54.606 assist her out? This exchange is callous, and it has 0:22:54.826 --> 0:23:00.426 uncomfortable racial undertones. Mitrice was a black female, alone and 0:23:00.466 --> 0:23:04.286 in crisis in Malibu. For many, her race would be 0:23:04.346 --> 0:23:07.786 the defining factor in what happened to her. She should 0:23:07.806 --> 0:23:11.746 have been granted extra protection, but that's not what happened. 0:23:12.806 --> 0:23:16.726 What happened is that sometime on that long, dark drive 0:23:16.986 --> 0:23:20.526 from the restaurant to the station, the concern for Mitrice's 0:23:20.566 --> 0:23:23.766 well-being that had justified her arrest in the first place 0:23:24.766 --> 0:23:26.086 seemed to vanish. 0:23:40.236 --> 0:23:42.506 I am calling. I'm a little frazzled right now. I 0:23:42.686 --> 0:23:46.226 understand my daughter is being brought into the station. My 0:23:46.286 --> 0:23:49.866 Therese Richardson has made it to the station yet, and 0:23:49.946 --> 0:23:50.766 she's been booked. 0:23:51.866 --> 0:23:53.686 Okay. Do you know where she's coming from? 0:23:53.706 --> 0:23:59.166 It's some restaurant out in Malibu, and I didn't even 0:23:59.206 --> 0:24:01.436 think to get the name. The manager's name is. 0:24:01.496 --> 0:24:03.716 The only place we have somebody that's in custody that 0:24:03.756 --> 0:24:06.016 they just announced on the radio that they're coming up 0:24:06.076 --> 0:24:07.536 is from Joffrey's. 0:24:07.916 --> 0:24:11.516 In Typical Highway. It's the only female that's being brought 0:24:11.556 --> 0:24:12.736 up to the station as we speak. 0:24:12.756 --> 0:24:14.916 They actually just put it on the radio right before 0:24:14.956 --> 0:24:15.356 you called. 0:24:16.166 --> 0:24:18.726 This is a recording of a call Latice Sutton made 0:24:18.786 --> 0:24:21.126 to Lost Hills Station on the night of the arrest. 0:24:21.646 --> 0:24:24.746 It was published on the internet shortly after Mitrice disappeared. 0:24:25.876 --> 0:24:27.036 Okay, okay. 0:24:27.556 --> 0:24:28.236 I'm her mother. 0:24:28.256 --> 0:24:31.186 And you guys want to book her and then release 0:24:31.226 --> 0:24:35.586 her on her own recognizance tonight because it's dark. 0:24:35.626 --> 0:24:37.166 She doesn't have a car, and I don't want her 0:24:37.226 --> 0:24:37.906 wandering out. 0:24:38.406 --> 0:24:41.406 I'm totally just taken aback because this is so out 0:24:41.426 --> 0:24:45.106 of character for her. And you'll see when she comes in, 0:24:45.126 --> 0:24:47.926 she's well-spoken. I think the only way I will come 0:24:47.966 --> 0:24:49.716 and get her tonight is if you guys are going 0:24:49.736 --> 0:24:50.846 to release her tonight. 0:24:51.836 --> 0:24:56.056 It was already late, almost 10 p.m., Latice lived at 0:24:56.136 --> 0:24:59.486 least an hour away from the station. She and Larry 0:24:59.526 --> 0:25:02.066 weren't living together at the time, and she couldn't leave 0:25:02.106 --> 0:25:03.206 their daughter home alone. 0:25:03.226 --> 0:25:06.526 If she's going to be held in custody for some 0:25:06.566 --> 0:25:10.106 type of arraignment tomorrow, then I will wait until tomorrow. 0:25:10.126 --> 0:25:12.436 She definitely has no place, you know, I mean, she's 0:25:12.476 --> 0:25:15.576 not from that area, and I would hate to... Wake 0:25:15.616 --> 0:25:19.096 up to a morning report, lost somewhere with her head 0:25:19.116 --> 0:25:21.096 chopped off. So I guess I would have to come 0:25:21.156 --> 0:25:22.056 and get her. Oh, my God. 0:25:22.256 --> 0:25:23.956 Yeah, we're in a great house. The only thing is, 0:25:23.996 --> 0:25:26.066 at least in the station here, she will be separated, 0:25:26.106 --> 0:25:29.066 but nobody's going to be with her. So at least that's, 0:25:29.346 --> 0:25:30.686 you know, the plus thing, so you don't have to 0:25:30.706 --> 0:25:31.646 worry about her safety. 0:25:32.606 --> 0:25:32.966