1 00:00:15,356 --> 00:00:21,956 Speaker 1: Pushkin Hello, Hello Revision's history listeners. Today we're taking you 2 00:00:22,036 --> 00:00:27,716 Speaker 1: to Malibu to explore one of the city's greatest unsolved mysteries. 3 00:00:28,076 --> 00:00:31,916 Speaker 1: In two thousand and nine, a woman named Matrice Richardson 4 00:00:32,276 --> 00:00:35,596 Speaker 1: was released from the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff's Station, and 5 00:00:35,676 --> 00:00:39,556 Speaker 1: she never made it home. Nearly a year later, Patrees's 6 00:00:39,636 --> 00:00:43,036 Speaker 1: remains were discovered in a canyon six miles from the station. 7 00:00:43,516 --> 00:00:47,956 Speaker 1: Everyone knows something horrible happened to Mctries, and for fifteen years, 8 00:00:47,996 --> 00:00:51,436 Speaker 1: the Sheriff's department has failed to solve her case. In 9 00:00:51,476 --> 00:00:55,476 Speaker 1: the latest season out of Pushkin Industries, host Dana Goodyear 10 00:00:55,516 --> 00:01:01,316 Speaker 1: is investigating what happened to Matries in Lost Hills Dark Canyon. 11 00:01:02,236 --> 00:01:05,476 Speaker 1: Today you'll hear the first episode of the season. If 12 00:01:05,476 --> 00:01:07,436 Speaker 1: you want to hear more, you can find a show 13 00:01:07,476 --> 00:01:10,436 Speaker 1: in your favorite podcast player. And if you want to 14 00:01:10,436 --> 00:01:13,996 Speaker 1: hear the entire season right now at free, you can 15 00:01:14,036 --> 00:01:18,236 Speaker 1: subscribe to Pushkin Plus on the Lost Hills Dark Canyon 16 00:01:18,396 --> 00:01:24,156 Speaker 1: Apple podcast show page or at pushkin dot fm, slash Plus. 17 00:01:24,876 --> 00:01:49,156 Speaker 1: Here's Dana. 18 00:01:52,076 --> 00:01:54,876 Speaker 2: A couple of years ago, I found a video buried 19 00:01:54,916 --> 00:01:58,156 Speaker 2: on the Internet, deep in the metadata behind the four 20 00:01:58,316 --> 00:02:01,956 Speaker 2: or four error codes. In it, a young black woman 21 00:02:02,076 --> 00:02:04,836 Speaker 2: is questioning a middle aged white guy who's sitting on 22 00:02:04,876 --> 00:02:06,636 Speaker 2: the edge of his bed drinking a beer. 23 00:02:06,996 --> 00:02:09,756 Speaker 3: Did you hear Bena on the door talking the door 24 00:02:09,796 --> 00:02:11,836 Speaker 3: like they just shut it on her or something on. 25 00:02:12,476 --> 00:02:16,476 Speaker 2: The person they're talking about is my Teres Richardson, a 26 00:02:16,516 --> 00:02:19,556 Speaker 2: twenty four year old black woman who disappeared in Malibu 27 00:02:19,636 --> 00:02:22,476 Speaker 2: in two thousand and nine and whose remains were discovered 28 00:02:22,476 --> 00:02:26,276 Speaker 2: there eleven months later. They're talking about the day of 29 00:02:26,276 --> 00:02:27,796 Speaker 2: her disappearance. 30 00:02:27,636 --> 00:02:30,036 Speaker 4: And was above when I first hearted to void him 31 00:02:30,036 --> 00:02:32,676 Speaker 4: by the time I got down with love and kind 32 00:02:32,676 --> 00:02:34,996 Speaker 4: of curiosity kind of drugged me closer. 33 00:02:35,036 --> 00:02:38,236 Speaker 2: In the Facebook, the interview is being shot vertical, seemingly 34 00:02:38,276 --> 00:02:40,476 Speaker 2: on a cell phone, with the guy taking up the 35 00:02:40,516 --> 00:02:44,436 Speaker 2: whole frame. He looks like an aging California golden boy 36 00:02:44,876 --> 00:02:47,836 Speaker 2: with gray and blonde hair, a tan and a barrel chest. 37 00:02:48,516 --> 00:02:51,716 Speaker 2: He's relaxed, wearing a sky blue Henley shirt tucked into 38 00:02:51,756 --> 00:02:53,196 Speaker 2: a pair of camouflage shorts. 39 00:02:53,396 --> 00:02:54,996 Speaker 3: So I really couldn't see her face, but I could 40 00:02:54,996 --> 00:02:56,516 Speaker 3: see her shadow. 41 00:02:56,716 --> 00:03:01,156 Speaker 2: That's While he says this, he gestures broadly, waving his 42 00:03:01,236 --> 00:03:02,716 Speaker 2: big paws around in the air. 43 00:03:03,276 --> 00:03:04,716 Speaker 4: In the light of the knife, you know, with the 44 00:03:04,796 --> 00:03:07,876 Speaker 4: light of the front porch, and she was screaming at something. 45 00:03:07,956 --> 00:03:10,676 Speaker 3: Yeah, it was pretty loud. I'm thinking, God damn's forth, 46 00:03:10,676 --> 00:03:13,316 Speaker 3: three of them morn What was she saying? She was saying, 47 00:03:13,316 --> 00:03:18,116 Speaker 3: God damn, buddy. Still, you know, she was pit or something, 48 00:03:18,156 --> 00:03:19,836 Speaker 3: you know, something that he was. 49 00:03:19,836 --> 00:03:23,236 Speaker 5: The people at the house, she was angry and maybe 50 00:03:23,236 --> 00:03:25,236 Speaker 5: they told her she had to read get a call 51 00:03:25,276 --> 00:03:28,116 Speaker 5: at police, and she was telling him miss you sun 52 00:03:28,196 --> 00:03:29,116 Speaker 5: him whatever. 53 00:03:29,636 --> 00:03:33,436 Speaker 2: But he got curious. The scene was so out of 54 00:03:33,516 --> 00:03:37,916 Speaker 2: place in this quiet neighborhood, a young woman alone in 55 00:03:37,996 --> 00:03:42,396 Speaker 2: the early morning hours, shouting she might be in trouble. 56 00:03:42,116 --> 00:03:43,916 Speaker 3: Because I think, well, if there's some dude there, I'm 57 00:03:43,956 --> 00:03:45,156 Speaker 3: not going to let some dudy here her. 58 00:03:45,196 --> 00:03:49,036 Speaker 5: You know, I would have hesitated to walk on that property. 59 00:03:49,156 --> 00:03:52,956 Speaker 6: But since I wasn't, you know, and I couldn't see 60 00:03:53,036 --> 00:03:56,196 Speaker 6: anybody else except for her, or not really even her, 61 00:03:56,436 --> 00:03:59,356 Speaker 6: just she was she was angry something. 62 00:03:59,836 --> 00:04:01,956 Speaker 3: I mean, I'm kind of that would have been right there. 63 00:04:02,196 --> 00:04:03,676 Speaker 3: I would donald protected. 64 00:04:05,476 --> 00:04:09,076 Speaker 2: The interviewer her name's Raven Masterson. She made the video 65 00:04:09,116 --> 00:04:12,676 Speaker 2: so sometime after my Terce's remains were found, like so 66 00:04:12,796 --> 00:04:15,196 Speaker 2: many people she wanted to figure out what happened to 67 00:04:15,276 --> 00:04:19,796 Speaker 2: my trees because the death of my Teres Richardson is 68 00:04:19,916 --> 00:04:27,476 Speaker 2: Malibu's most horrifying, notorious, and scandalous unsolved case. For fifteen years, 69 00:04:27,636 --> 00:04:31,596 Speaker 2: my Teresa's story has been shrouded in mystery. The scant 70 00:04:31,676 --> 00:04:35,036 Speaker 2: clues have been worked over a thousand times to no end. 71 00:04:35,916 --> 00:04:40,236 Speaker 2: There's no resolution, no satisfying explanation, and no one has 72 00:04:40,276 --> 00:04:44,756 Speaker 2: been held accountable. Many people blame the Los Angeles County 73 00:04:44,796 --> 00:04:48,316 Speaker 2: Sheriff's Department for her death. Some take it farther, and 74 00:04:48,436 --> 00:04:51,476 Speaker 2: this is how Ravenlean's in the video. They even think 75 00:04:51,556 --> 00:04:55,516 Speaker 2: a deputy may have killed my Teres. My Terrese was 76 00:04:55,596 --> 00:04:59,436 Speaker 2: arrested at Geoffrey's Restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway on September sixteenth, 77 00:04:59,556 --> 00:05:03,276 Speaker 2: two thousand and nine. She was released from Lost Hill 78 00:05:03,356 --> 00:05:07,836 Speaker 2: Station at twelve twenty five am on the seventeenth. After that, 79 00:05:08,396 --> 00:05:11,276 Speaker 2: there was one official sighting of her at six thirty 80 00:05:11,316 --> 00:05:14,316 Speaker 2: am in the backyard of a house in Montanito, a 81 00:05:14,396 --> 00:05:18,956 Speaker 2: secluded neighborhood off Malibu Canyon that's about six miles from 82 00:05:18,996 --> 00:05:22,356 Speaker 2: the Lost Hill Sheriff Station. But the guy in the 83 00:05:22,476 --> 00:05:27,036 Speaker 2: video he says he saw her too, two hours earlier, 84 00:05:27,476 --> 00:05:31,476 Speaker 2: at four thirty am, making a commotion in the front 85 00:05:31,556 --> 00:05:40,796 Speaker 2: yard of that same house. Montaneito Mountain Nest. It's a 86 00:05:40,876 --> 00:05:44,036 Speaker 2: tight knit community in the shadow of the Santa Monica Mountains. 87 00:05:44,956 --> 00:05:48,836 Speaker 2: Most people in La don't even know it exists. It's 88 00:05:48,876 --> 00:05:51,636 Speaker 2: got creeks and horses and neighbors that have known each 89 00:05:51,636 --> 00:05:56,196 Speaker 2: other in some cases for generations. Kids run around barefoot. 90 00:05:56,556 --> 00:05:59,476 Speaker 2: There's a big Fourth of July parade and an annual 91 00:05:59,556 --> 00:06:04,916 Speaker 2: square dance. It's a place out of time. It feels 92 00:06:05,076 --> 00:06:09,756 Speaker 2: like the rustic horsey California of the nineteen forties mixed 93 00:06:09,796 --> 00:06:12,916 Speaker 2: with the free wheeling party culture of the nineteen seventies. 94 00:06:13,676 --> 00:06:16,396 Speaker 2: And it's got none of the flash of coastal Malibu 95 00:06:16,636 --> 00:06:21,596 Speaker 2: or the nearby gated communities of Calabasas. This is California, 96 00:06:21,876 --> 00:06:23,556 Speaker 2: so of course there have been a couple of waves 97 00:06:23,596 --> 00:06:27,476 Speaker 2: of gentrifiers. But among the old timers, the people who 98 00:06:27,556 --> 00:06:32,196 Speaker 2: practically homesteaded there in the fifties, there's a distinct backwoods 99 00:06:32,756 --> 00:06:37,476 Speaker 2: ingrown feeling, and it bears mentioning. The whole place is 100 00:06:37,556 --> 00:06:43,036 Speaker 2: extremely white, with one notable exception, Will Smith, one of 101 00:06:43,076 --> 00:06:46,036 Speaker 2: the most famous black men in America owns an estate 102 00:06:46,156 --> 00:06:49,516 Speaker 2: in Montanito, but I don't think he frequents the Square 103 00:06:49,596 --> 00:06:53,436 Speaker 2: Dance or the Fourth of July parade. It's hard to 104 00:06:53,516 --> 00:06:56,356 Speaker 2: express how unlikely it is that my trace would end 105 00:06:56,436 --> 00:07:00,396 Speaker 2: up in this isolated community. There isn't even a sign 106 00:07:00,476 --> 00:07:04,276 Speaker 2: for Montanito on Malibu Canyon. How would she even have 107 00:07:04,436 --> 00:07:20,556 Speaker 2: known it was there. Eleven months after my Terce Richardson disappeared, 108 00:07:20,876 --> 00:07:24,596 Speaker 2: park rangers checking a known illegal pot grow found her 109 00:07:24,636 --> 00:07:28,636 Speaker 2: remains in a treacherous canyon above Montanito called Dark Canyon. 110 00:07:29,716 --> 00:07:32,716 Speaker 2: During this time, the Santa Monica Mountains were notorious for 111 00:07:32,836 --> 00:07:38,156 Speaker 2: harboring large marijuana operations run by organized crime syndicates. These 112 00:07:38,316 --> 00:07:41,356 Speaker 2: massive grows were often protected with armed guards who would 113 00:07:41,396 --> 00:07:45,276 Speaker 2: camp out in the canyons for extended periods. The rangers 114 00:07:45,276 --> 00:07:48,396 Speaker 2: had disrupted a Dark Canyon grow in July two thousand 115 00:07:48,436 --> 00:07:52,196 Speaker 2: and nine, two months before my Teresa's disappearance. When they 116 00:07:52,276 --> 00:07:56,156 Speaker 2: returned in August of twenty ten, they didn't report any 117 00:07:56,236 --> 00:08:00,316 Speaker 2: fresh signs of pot growing activity. But there in the 118 00:08:00,396 --> 00:08:05,156 Speaker 2: dormant grow were the remains of a black woman. She 119 00:08:05,356 --> 00:08:09,436 Speaker 2: was mostly bones, a skeleton with small flats as of 120 00:08:09,476 --> 00:08:16,076 Speaker 2: mummified skin remaining, and she was naked. From the beginning, 121 00:08:16,476 --> 00:08:20,556 Speaker 2: every aspect of the case seemed off. What was wrong, 122 00:08:21,516 --> 00:08:24,516 Speaker 2: how she was arrested, how she was released, how she 123 00:08:24,676 --> 00:08:27,916 Speaker 2: was searched for, how her remains were discovered, how her 124 00:08:27,996 --> 00:08:32,716 Speaker 2: remains were recovered, and how her death was investigated. All 125 00:08:32,836 --> 00:08:35,116 Speaker 2: of it looked like a colossal screw up on the 126 00:08:35,156 --> 00:08:38,676 Speaker 2: part of law enforcement, starting with the Lost Hills cops 127 00:08:39,796 --> 00:08:41,796 Speaker 2: and what the Sheriff's Department has said about the case 128 00:08:41,796 --> 00:08:45,836 Speaker 2: over the years, it just makes no sense. Their refrain, 129 00:08:46,156 --> 00:08:51,316 Speaker 2: essentially is some cases can't be solved. This is a 130 00:08:51,356 --> 00:08:55,436 Speaker 2: Sheriff's spokesman three days after my Teres's body was found. 131 00:08:56,236 --> 00:08:58,156 Speaker 3: Homicide will continue their investigation. 132 00:08:58,676 --> 00:09:01,316 Speaker 4: It's likely that we can never find out exactly how 133 00:09:01,436 --> 00:09:03,516 Speaker 4: she got there, but they're going to do their very 134 00:09:03,596 --> 00:09:03,956 Speaker 4: best to. 135 00:09:04,156 --> 00:09:08,156 Speaker 2: Figure And they're still saying my Teres's death will always 136 00:09:08,236 --> 00:09:14,996 Speaker 2: be a mystery. But I don't accept that. It's a stubborn, strange, 137 00:09:15,236 --> 00:09:21,276 Speaker 2: problematic case. But I do think it's solvable because someone 138 00:09:22,236 --> 00:09:27,076 Speaker 2: in that secluded, tight knit community of Montanito knows what 139 00:09:27,276 --> 00:09:34,956 Speaker 2: happened to her. I'm Dana Goodyear and this is lost 140 00:09:35,036 --> 00:10:13,316 Speaker 2: Hills Season four, Dark Canyon, Episode one, Vultures. Right off 141 00:10:13,396 --> 00:10:16,516 Speaker 2: Pacific Coast Highway, across from the Malibu Lagoon and next 142 00:10:16,556 --> 00:10:19,996 Speaker 2: to the gas station, there's a small memorial. It's a 143 00:10:20,116 --> 00:10:22,636 Speaker 2: rock with a plaque on it, commemorating the life of 144 00:10:22,716 --> 00:10:27,756 Speaker 2: a man who was known as Malibu Jo. Malibujo was 145 00:10:27,876 --> 00:10:32,276 Speaker 2: Joe Costello. He was originally from Genoa, Italy, but starting 146 00:10:32,316 --> 00:10:35,516 Speaker 2: in the mid nineteen fifties, he became a beloved Malibu figure, 147 00:10:36,036 --> 00:10:39,116 Speaker 2: riding his bike slowly up and down pH in a 148 00:10:39,196 --> 00:10:43,036 Speaker 2: fedora and a baggy overcoat. In the summer of nineteen 149 00:10:43,076 --> 00:10:45,556 Speaker 2: eighty eight, he was beaten and left for dead in 150 00:10:45,596 --> 00:10:48,476 Speaker 2: the only under bushes where he lived, where the memorial 151 00:10:48,596 --> 00:10:52,316 Speaker 2: is today. He died a few days later. He was 152 00:10:52,476 --> 00:10:57,396 Speaker 2: ninety six years old. The Sheriff's department investigated, but the 153 00:10:57,516 --> 00:11:00,716 Speaker 2: killing was never solved, so no one was ever punished. 154 00:11:02,636 --> 00:11:06,676 Speaker 2: Malibu Jo died two decades before my Terce Richardson. The 155 00:11:06,796 --> 00:11:10,116 Speaker 2: cases have nothing to do with one another except this. 156 00:11:11,516 --> 00:11:15,596 Speaker 2: Both Joe and My Trees show moments of rupture. They're 157 00:11:15,636 --> 00:11:21,396 Speaker 2: both signals that Malibu isn't what it seems. Malibu is 158 00:11:21,556 --> 00:11:28,036 Speaker 2: not paradise sunshine, nature, beauty, health, wealth, and eternal youth. 159 00:11:28,756 --> 00:11:32,436 Speaker 2: That's the myth. But if I've learned one thing reporting here, 160 00:11:32,996 --> 00:11:37,996 Speaker 2: it's that every seductive surface has its dark side. The 161 00:11:38,076 --> 00:11:41,236 Speaker 2: beauty is the danger. It makes you let down your 162 00:11:41,276 --> 00:11:46,676 Speaker 2: guard and believe in the fantasy. The unspoiled wilderness hides 163 00:11:46,996 --> 00:11:52,116 Speaker 2: unspeakable crimes, and a place like that, a place like 164 00:11:52,236 --> 00:11:59,396 Speaker 2: that breeds monsters. In the fall of two thousand and nine, 165 00:11:59,716 --> 00:12:02,756 Speaker 2: my Teresa's disappearance was all over the local news. 166 00:12:03,276 --> 00:12:06,356 Speaker 7: The mystery unraveled on a September night in two thousand 167 00:12:06,356 --> 00:12:09,756 Speaker 7: and nine, right where the Pacific reached the shore of Malibu. 168 00:12:10,716 --> 00:12:13,796 Speaker 2: It all started when my Teres tried to leave Jeffrey's, 169 00:12:14,116 --> 00:12:17,836 Speaker 2: a pricey restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway, without paying her bill. 170 00:12:18,676 --> 00:12:21,756 Speaker 2: She was arrested and taken to Lost Hill station, about 171 00:12:21,836 --> 00:12:22,996 Speaker 2: thirteen miles away. 172 00:12:23,756 --> 00:12:26,276 Speaker 7: They contacted her mother, who said that she will pick 173 00:12:26,316 --> 00:12:28,236 Speaker 7: her up in the morning if you will keep her there. 174 00:12:28,796 --> 00:12:30,196 Speaker 3: Deputy said we will. 175 00:12:30,436 --> 00:12:33,636 Speaker 2: But instead of staying at the station, my Teres walked 176 00:12:33,676 --> 00:12:36,596 Speaker 2: out into the Malibu night. Her car was at a 177 00:12:36,676 --> 00:12:39,676 Speaker 2: towyard near pch with her belongings inside. 178 00:12:40,036 --> 00:12:43,396 Speaker 4: She was released at twelve thirty a m no wallet, 179 00:12:43,596 --> 00:12:45,836 Speaker 4: no cell phone, no credit cards, no car. 180 00:12:46,756 --> 00:12:50,596 Speaker 2: She was gorgeous and charismatic, and as would later come out, 181 00:12:50,956 --> 00:12:53,676 Speaker 2: she was in the midst of a mental health crisis. 182 00:12:54,316 --> 00:12:58,196 Speaker 7: A beauty contestant and honor student, and now a missing person. 183 00:12:58,836 --> 00:13:02,036 Speaker 2: According to her mom, she had no street savvy whatsoever, 184 00:13:02,636 --> 00:13:04,116 Speaker 2: and she didn't know Malibu at all. 185 00:13:04,476 --> 00:13:07,236 Speaker 7: My Terce Richardson walked out of a Los Angeles County 186 00:13:07,316 --> 00:13:12,436 Speaker 7: Sheriff's office and into a miss that continues to baffle investigators. 187 00:13:12,476 --> 00:13:15,076 Speaker 2: And then the mystery became a horror. 188 00:13:15,756 --> 00:13:19,596 Speaker 8: Eleven months later, the twenty four year old college graduates. 189 00:13:19,156 --> 00:13:22,716 Speaker 3: Remains were found here in Dark Canyon. She was naked 190 00:13:22,876 --> 00:13:24,316 Speaker 3: and partially mummified. 191 00:13:24,716 --> 00:13:28,276 Speaker 2: They discovered a skull, They discovered a pelvis, and they 192 00:13:28,316 --> 00:13:28,876 Speaker 2: discovered a. 193 00:13:28,916 --> 00:13:31,116 Speaker 3: Leg, just bones. 194 00:13:31,876 --> 00:13:37,996 Speaker 2: They determined officially, unequivocally, and unfortunately it was my Terce Richardson. 195 00:13:38,276 --> 00:13:38,636 Speaker 4: Corners. 196 00:13:38,716 --> 00:13:41,836 Speaker 5: Officials haven't determined the cause of death, and they say 197 00:13:41,956 --> 00:13:45,716 Speaker 5: Richardson's body was in the canyon for more than six months. 198 00:13:46,236 --> 00:13:50,316 Speaker 7: Whatever happened in Dark Canyon remains from the moment a 199 00:13:50,476 --> 00:13:51,116 Speaker 7: dark secret. 200 00:13:54,396 --> 00:13:58,436 Speaker 2: It's been fifteen years since my trace disappeared, fourteen years 201 00:13:58,516 --> 00:14:01,636 Speaker 2: since her remains were found, and there's been no progress 202 00:14:01,676 --> 00:14:05,036 Speaker 2: on her case. There's no sign that law enforcement is 203 00:14:05,076 --> 00:14:07,676 Speaker 2: actively working on it. But it's not a cold case. 204 00:14:08,436 --> 00:14:12,876 Speaker 2: It's a quote active criminal investigation, which means the Sheriff's 205 00:14:12,916 --> 00:14:16,556 Speaker 2: department doesn't have to share information. And believe me, they 206 00:14:16,636 --> 00:14:19,916 Speaker 2: take that very seriously. They do not like to talk 207 00:14:19,956 --> 00:14:24,156 Speaker 2: about this case. In the midst of their silence, a 208 00:14:24,316 --> 00:14:28,196 Speaker 2: sinister narrative has taken hold in the public imagination that 209 00:14:28,316 --> 00:14:32,396 Speaker 2: the La County Sheriff's Department, specifically the Lost Heils cops, 210 00:14:32,796 --> 00:14:36,716 Speaker 2: are behind my Teres's death. They deny this, but the 211 00:14:36,796 --> 00:14:40,156 Speaker 2: idea lives on in a new generation of true crime 212 00:14:40,276 --> 00:14:41,796 Speaker 2: TikTokers and YouTubers. 213 00:14:42,516 --> 00:14:45,996 Speaker 8: Welcome to another episode of Murder, Mystery and Makeup Monday. 214 00:14:46,276 --> 00:14:48,476 Speaker 8: Today's story was about Matrise Richardson. 215 00:14:48,916 --> 00:14:51,636 Speaker 3: Kind of feels like that they were hiding something. 216 00:14:51,756 --> 00:14:53,676 Speaker 7: The police work in this case was off long. Is 217 00:14:53,716 --> 00:14:55,356 Speaker 7: this incompetence or cover up? 218 00:14:55,396 --> 00:14:58,316 Speaker 8: I mean they originally were trying to hide the fact 219 00:14:58,356 --> 00:14:59,956 Speaker 8: that they had security footage. 220 00:15:00,156 --> 00:15:03,916 Speaker 2: The previous captain was in on it and promoted for 221 00:15:04,116 --> 00:15:05,156 Speaker 2: his cover up job. 222 00:15:05,316 --> 00:15:07,556 Speaker 3: I believe that matterse Richardson was murdered and it was 223 00:15:07,636 --> 00:15:08,996 Speaker 3: covered up by the La County Sheriff. 224 00:15:13,516 --> 00:15:15,556 Speaker 2: We know the cops took My Trees to the station, 225 00:15:16,076 --> 00:15:19,156 Speaker 2: and the cops let her go in the dark. This 226 00:15:19,316 --> 00:15:25,716 Speaker 2: part is true, undisputed fact. And then what how did 227 00:15:25,756 --> 00:15:28,836 Speaker 2: she get from the station to Montanito six miles away? 228 00:15:29,796 --> 00:15:33,316 Speaker 2: How did she end up in dark Canyon? Why was 229 00:15:33,396 --> 00:15:38,836 Speaker 2: she naked? And what happened to her missing bones? Oh yeah, 230 00:15:39,876 --> 00:15:44,196 Speaker 2: that's one more undisputed fact. While most of my Trees's 231 00:15:44,276 --> 00:15:48,196 Speaker 2: bones were eventually accounted for, discovered in the canyon's heavy 232 00:15:48,316 --> 00:15:54,356 Speaker 2: leaf litter, an important one has not been found, the 233 00:15:54,476 --> 00:15:58,276 Speaker 2: fragile bone above the larynx that often breaks when a 234 00:15:58,356 --> 00:16:19,396 Speaker 2: person is strangled. My Terce Richardson's death is not officially 235 00:16:19,516 --> 00:16:24,676 Speaker 2: a homicide. The autopsy reads, quote, while there is no 236 00:16:24,876 --> 00:16:27,956 Speaker 2: evidence of antimortem trauma to the bones or the limited 237 00:16:27,996 --> 00:16:31,796 Speaker 2: amount of tissue accompanying them, in the absence of internal viscera, 238 00:16:32,356 --> 00:16:37,636 Speaker 2: internal injury cannot be completely ruled out and quote, in 239 00:16:37,716 --> 00:16:42,476 Speaker 2: the absence of suitable specimens for toxicology testing, the possibility 240 00:16:42,756 --> 00:16:47,356 Speaker 2: of fatal substance abuse cannot be ruled out, and quote 241 00:16:47,756 --> 00:16:52,036 Speaker 2: death due to exposure snake bite, pneumonia, or other natural 242 00:16:52,116 --> 00:16:57,916 Speaker 2: diseases also cannot be ruled out. Therefore, quote both cause 243 00:16:58,116 --> 00:17:06,076 Speaker 2: and manner of death remain undetermined. Unquote Hello, how are you. 244 00:17:06,516 --> 00:17:08,956 Speaker 3: I'm Dana, Dana. Hi, nice to meet. 245 00:17:09,156 --> 00:17:12,716 Speaker 2: Yes, I'm at the home of Lisa Shinen. She's the 246 00:17:12,796 --> 00:17:16,396 Speaker 2: forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy of my Teresa's remains. 247 00:17:16,916 --> 00:17:21,156 Speaker 2: She's also one of the world's foremost authorities on roller coasters. 248 00:17:21,596 --> 00:17:24,876 Speaker 7: That is my big hobby, that collecting butterflies. 249 00:17:25,236 --> 00:17:28,396 Speaker 2: Her house, a normal looking suburban house in Redondo Beach, 250 00:17:28,916 --> 00:17:33,876 Speaker 2: is basically a natural history museum. So do you capture 251 00:17:33,916 --> 00:17:34,516 Speaker 2: them in a net? 252 00:17:34,716 --> 00:17:38,116 Speaker 7: And then uh tick a look. 253 00:17:38,436 --> 00:17:42,396 Speaker 2: Shadow box frames filled with specimens are stacked in every corner. 254 00:17:43,236 --> 00:17:45,556 Speaker 7: There's something called a killing jar which you can make. 255 00:17:46,836 --> 00:17:49,356 Speaker 7: It's a jar that has a plaster of Paris base 256 00:17:49,836 --> 00:17:53,756 Speaker 7: and then you pour in. You can use cyanide when 257 00:17:53,796 --> 00:17:56,156 Speaker 7: you screw the cap on. It's a closed environment and 258 00:17:56,276 --> 00:17:58,716 Speaker 7: it makes fumes that kill the butterfly, basically put it 259 00:17:58,796 --> 00:17:59,916 Speaker 7: to sleep in seconds. 260 00:18:00,836 --> 00:18:03,916 Speaker 2: Doctor Shinen worked for the La County Coroner's Office for 261 00:18:04,036 --> 00:18:06,116 Speaker 2: twenty four years or. 262 00:18:06,236 --> 00:18:10,236 Speaker 7: I was a deputy medical examiner at the La County 263 00:18:10,596 --> 00:18:11,556 Speaker 7: Coroner's Office. 264 00:18:11,876 --> 00:18:16,116 Speaker 2: Now retired, she worked on a lot of high profile cases. 265 00:18:16,716 --> 00:18:19,836 Speaker 2: She did the autopsies on the musicians Elliott Smith, a 266 00:18:19,956 --> 00:18:21,396 Speaker 2: notorious big. 267 00:18:22,076 --> 00:18:27,036 Speaker 7: My autopsyed Steve Allen, Doctor Nor from the Killing Fields, 268 00:18:27,596 --> 00:18:31,356 Speaker 7: Brittany Murphy, Brian Keith. That goes back. 269 00:18:31,716 --> 00:18:33,836 Speaker 2: But my Terce's case stands out. 270 00:18:34,996 --> 00:18:39,836 Speaker 7: There are, over the years some cases that do stick 271 00:18:39,916 --> 00:18:44,276 Speaker 7: with me because of the circumstances of the case. There 272 00:18:44,316 --> 00:18:47,596 Speaker 7: were so many unknowns. I mean, every time I've been 273 00:18:47,716 --> 00:18:50,756 Speaker 7: near Malibu, I'd start thinking of oll, geez, this is 274 00:18:50,836 --> 00:18:54,396 Speaker 7: where my trace was, and this is just such a 275 00:18:54,556 --> 00:18:55,476 Speaker 7: tragic case. 276 00:18:57,076 --> 00:18:59,916 Speaker 2: But she knew at the start was very basic. A 277 00:18:59,996 --> 00:19:03,396 Speaker 2: few scattered pieces of clothing and a human skeleton had 278 00:19:03,436 --> 00:19:07,876 Speaker 2: been found in an inaccessible canyon in Malibu. The autopsy 279 00:19:07,996 --> 00:19:10,956 Speaker 2: report details the pie of my Teresa's clothing that were 280 00:19:10,996 --> 00:19:15,196 Speaker 2: recovered from the remain site. One navy blue or black 281 00:19:15,316 --> 00:19:21,276 Speaker 2: padded bra two pink narrow belt, medium large alligator skin pattern, 282 00:19:21,916 --> 00:19:27,076 Speaker 2: three blue jeans US size twenty nine, dirty, empty pockets. 283 00:19:28,116 --> 00:19:30,076 Speaker 2: She'd been wearing a Bob Marley T shirt and a 284 00:19:30,156 --> 00:19:33,436 Speaker 2: pair of vans when she left Lost Hill Station. She 285 00:19:33,636 --> 00:19:37,676 Speaker 2: also had her California driver's license on her. Those items, 286 00:19:37,796 --> 00:19:40,076 Speaker 2: along with her hat and her keys, were missing. 287 00:19:41,356 --> 00:19:47,196 Speaker 7: I had the investigator's report. This particular investigator's report was 288 00:19:47,396 --> 00:19:51,916 Speaker 7: very straightforward. It said somebody from law enforcement was checking 289 00:19:51,996 --> 00:19:56,356 Speaker 7: an area in a remote canyon and found the bones 290 00:19:56,596 --> 00:20:00,036 Speaker 7: and the clothing, and the clothing was about one hundred 291 00:20:00,076 --> 00:20:05,276 Speaker 7: feet away from the skeleton. You know, that's very limited information. 292 00:20:05,676 --> 00:20:08,796 Speaker 7: Sometimes we have two or three pages of information, but 293 00:20:09,276 --> 00:20:13,316 Speaker 7: some in this case. So the first thing you do 294 00:20:13,436 --> 00:20:18,876 Speaker 7: is you lay everything out in anatomical order and count 295 00:20:18,956 --> 00:20:24,556 Speaker 7: what you've got. It was a nearly complete skeleton. It 296 00:20:24,756 --> 00:20:29,156 Speaker 7: wasn't in an intact skeleton, and that everything was connected. 297 00:20:30,076 --> 00:20:34,196 Speaker 7: There were a lot of disarticulated bones, but there were 298 00:20:34,276 --> 00:20:37,236 Speaker 7: some areas or certain blocks, like some parts of the 299 00:20:37,276 --> 00:20:40,196 Speaker 7: lower extremities, parts of some of the upper extremities were 300 00:20:40,316 --> 00:20:43,676 Speaker 7: held together by a minimal amount of soft tissue. 301 00:20:44,156 --> 00:20:47,836 Speaker 2: The soft tissue was mostly skin that had been mummified. 302 00:20:48,596 --> 00:20:53,636 Speaker 7: Yeah, mummification is a process. It can be accidental. If 303 00:20:53,676 --> 00:20:57,356 Speaker 7: you have a body in a very dry, hot environment, 304 00:20:58,036 --> 00:21:03,116 Speaker 7: the liquid essentially disappears and what you get is this 305 00:21:03,756 --> 00:21:10,036 Speaker 7: very leathery, rigid skin. Sometimes some soft tissue. Usually the 306 00:21:11,036 --> 00:21:16,156 Speaker 7: internal organs don't mummify, so it's mostly the skin muscle 307 00:21:16,476 --> 00:21:18,076 Speaker 7: tendons at that type of thing. 308 00:21:19,196 --> 00:21:21,236 Speaker 2: There were a few small marks on some of the 309 00:21:21,316 --> 00:21:26,796 Speaker 2: bones the work. Doctor Shinen thought of animals scavenging the remains. 310 00:21:27,996 --> 00:21:31,756 Speaker 7: The toes of the left foot were missing, and that 311 00:21:32,116 --> 00:21:35,756 Speaker 7: was consistent with animal activity. 312 00:21:36,276 --> 00:21:38,276 Speaker 2: But otherwise the bones were intact. 313 00:21:38,836 --> 00:21:42,996 Speaker 7: We look for things like fractures, which would usually mean 314 00:21:43,076 --> 00:21:46,436 Speaker 7: some sort of a blunt force impact. We would look 315 00:21:46,516 --> 00:21:50,876 Speaker 7: for any evidence of a gunshot wound, or a stabbing. 316 00:21:51,236 --> 00:21:55,516 Speaker 7: I didn't see any evidence of a physical traumatic injury. 317 00:21:56,836 --> 00:21:59,196 Speaker 2: There was also no way to tell if my Trees 318 00:21:59,276 --> 00:22:00,436 Speaker 2: had been sexually assaulted. 319 00:22:00,836 --> 00:22:04,716 Speaker 7: Without soft tissue, there's really nothing that you can do 320 00:22:04,916 --> 00:22:06,716 Speaker 7: or see, and sperm doesn't last. 321 00:22:07,516 --> 00:22:10,316 Speaker 2: Without internal organs. There was no way to tell if 322 00:22:10,396 --> 00:22:11,276 Speaker 2: she had overdosed. 323 00:22:11,636 --> 00:22:15,796 Speaker 7: She wasn't found with cocaine, with amphetamine, heroin, anything like that. 324 00:22:15,836 --> 00:22:17,956 Speaker 7: I didn't really have a history of that type of thing, 325 00:22:18,436 --> 00:22:21,756 Speaker 7: But again without being able to do an accurate test, 326 00:22:22,036 --> 00:22:22,516 Speaker 7: we don't know. 327 00:22:23,916 --> 00:22:27,396 Speaker 2: There was a small amount of leg muscle. Doctor Schinen 328 00:22:27,476 --> 00:22:32,156 Speaker 2: sent it in for toxicology, and that report came back inconclusive. 329 00:22:37,156 --> 00:22:40,436 Speaker 2: As soon as my Trees's remains were discovered. Law enforcement 330 00:22:40,516 --> 00:22:44,276 Speaker 2: began suggesting that my Trees, experiencing a mental health episode, 331 00:22:44,676 --> 00:22:48,556 Speaker 2: had probably wandered into Dark Canyon by herself and died 332 00:22:48,676 --> 00:22:54,956 Speaker 2: from exposure, dehydration, venom, or something. Her death, they implied, 333 00:22:55,156 --> 00:22:59,716 Speaker 2: was tragic but natural. I asked doctor Shinin about the 334 00:22:59,836 --> 00:23:01,316 Speaker 2: natural causes theory. 335 00:23:01,636 --> 00:23:06,316 Speaker 7: In this particular case. There's several possibilities. There are rattlesnakes there. 336 00:23:06,396 --> 00:23:10,716 Speaker 7: She could have been bitten by a rattlesnakes fire. Ants, 337 00:23:11,436 --> 00:23:14,076 Speaker 7: she could have had a severe allergic reaction to something. 338 00:23:14,396 --> 00:23:19,876 Speaker 7: There's poison oak there. That's horrible. It's everywhere, and some 339 00:23:19,996 --> 00:23:21,916 Speaker 7: people are more sensitive than others. 340 00:23:23,076 --> 00:23:27,316 Speaker 2: But why would the skeleton be naked. My Trees's broad 341 00:23:27,476 --> 00:23:30,476 Speaker 2: belt and jeans were found hundreds of feet from the skeleton, 342 00:23:31,156 --> 00:23:35,036 Speaker 2: and the belt was no longer on the jeans. A 343 00:23:35,116 --> 00:23:39,436 Speaker 2: seasonal stream, Dark Creek runs through the canyon, and cops 344 00:23:39,476 --> 00:23:42,636 Speaker 2: suggested that a flash flood could have removed her clothes, 345 00:23:42,996 --> 00:23:47,276 Speaker 2: carrying them downstream. The winter my Trese was missing was 346 00:23:47,356 --> 00:23:50,716 Speaker 2: a rainy one, but even so, it takes a real 347 00:23:50,876 --> 00:23:54,396 Speaker 2: contortion of logic to imagine a flood could strip a 348 00:23:54,476 --> 00:23:58,316 Speaker 2: body naked and remove a belt from a pair of pants. 349 00:23:58,836 --> 00:24:01,396 Speaker 7: Usually, when we have a person who's dead with their 350 00:24:01,436 --> 00:24:04,196 Speaker 7: clothes on, the clothes will stay on. Even if the 351 00:24:04,236 --> 00:24:08,236 Speaker 7: body mummifies, the clothes are going to stay on. Water 352 00:24:08,396 --> 00:24:10,956 Speaker 7: might wash all socks or something like that, but it's 353 00:24:11,036 --> 00:24:13,156 Speaker 7: not going to completely undress a body. 354 00:24:15,276 --> 00:24:19,316 Speaker 2: Doctor Shinen raised a different natural explanation for my Teresa's 355 00:24:19,396 --> 00:24:21,116 Speaker 2: nudity hypothermia. 356 00:24:21,756 --> 00:24:27,316 Speaker 7: There's something that happens with extreme cold cold, paradoxical undressing. Normally, 357 00:24:27,396 --> 00:24:29,996 Speaker 7: when you're cold, your blood vessels will constrict to try 358 00:24:30,356 --> 00:24:33,636 Speaker 7: to keep the blood more central in the body. Well, 359 00:24:33,676 --> 00:24:38,836 Speaker 7: what happens with paradoxical undressing is there is a reflex 360 00:24:38,996 --> 00:24:42,236 Speaker 7: dilatation of these blood vessels. So all of a sudden, 361 00:24:42,316 --> 00:24:45,596 Speaker 7: you get this rush of nice warm blood into these 362 00:24:45,676 --> 00:24:49,476 Speaker 7: areas that were previously cold, and people who were probably 363 00:24:50,796 --> 00:24:53,796 Speaker 7: a little bit out of it by this point think, 364 00:24:53,916 --> 00:24:56,116 Speaker 7: oh my gosh, it's so warm, I'm too hot, and 365 00:24:56,196 --> 00:24:59,996 Speaker 7: they take their clothes off. However, that tends to happen 366 00:25:00,796 --> 00:25:04,436 Speaker 7: more often in extreme cold where there's snow. 367 00:25:05,676 --> 00:25:08,756 Speaker 2: In mid September two thousand and nine, the average overnight 368 00:25:08,836 --> 00:25:11,756 Speaker 2: low at the weather recording station nearest to Dark Canyon 369 00:25:12,036 --> 00:25:13,796 Speaker 2: was in the mid sixties, and. 370 00:25:13,836 --> 00:25:15,996 Speaker 7: I'm not sure it would get cold enough up in 371 00:25:16,076 --> 00:25:20,316 Speaker 7: the canyon for that to happen, But it's just something 372 00:25:20,436 --> 00:25:21,196 Speaker 7: to think about. 373 00:25:21,996 --> 00:25:26,476 Speaker 2: Obviously, there's another possible explanation foul play. 374 00:25:27,636 --> 00:25:30,796 Speaker 7: There are sinister reasons for the person not having their 375 00:25:31,636 --> 00:25:35,316 Speaker 7: clothes on. I mean, could she have been sexually assaulted 376 00:25:36,276 --> 00:25:40,116 Speaker 7: and they just took her clothes off and left them off. 377 00:25:41,316 --> 00:25:45,996 Speaker 7: Who knows. It's certainly a real possibility. 378 00:25:47,156 --> 00:25:50,636 Speaker 2: And what about the missing clothing, and also the. 379 00:25:50,676 --> 00:25:53,716 Speaker 7: Fact that it was an incomplete set of clothes and 380 00:25:54,076 --> 00:25:57,436 Speaker 7: none of the additional items of clothing were ever found, 381 00:25:57,716 --> 00:26:00,356 Speaker 7: and including shoes, which I think have a little more 382 00:26:00,396 --> 00:26:02,196 Speaker 7: weight than other clothing. 383 00:26:03,596 --> 00:26:06,716 Speaker 2: As with everything about my Teresa's case, the story of 384 00:26:06,796 --> 00:26:10,916 Speaker 2: her remains is a story of absence, gaps, and guesses. 385 00:26:12,036 --> 00:26:15,836 Speaker 2: A forensic pathologist works by process of elimination, but with 386 00:26:16,076 --> 00:26:19,636 Speaker 2: so little hard evidence, it was difficult to rule out anything. 387 00:26:20,956 --> 00:26:25,036 Speaker 7: So the fact that I didn't see any trauma in 388 00:26:25,156 --> 00:26:30,796 Speaker 7: the bones doesn't mean trauma didn't happen. It's always possible 389 00:26:31,476 --> 00:26:34,636 Speaker 7: that a gunshot wound can go through and through a 390 00:26:34,716 --> 00:26:38,596 Speaker 7: body without hitting bone, same thing for a stab wound. 391 00:26:39,236 --> 00:26:45,036 Speaker 7: What's also possible is asphyxia or a manual strangulation, or 392 00:26:45,116 --> 00:26:49,916 Speaker 7: maybe you know, choked with a rope. The reason people 393 00:26:50,276 --> 00:26:55,596 Speaker 7: die when they're strangled is you're cutting off the blood 394 00:26:55,676 --> 00:27:00,236 Speaker 7: flow to the brain. We're looking for things that reflect 395 00:27:00,356 --> 00:27:03,556 Speaker 7: the fact that you are compressing neck structures. 396 00:27:05,556 --> 00:27:08,276 Speaker 2: In the autopsy report, there's a list of missing bones 397 00:27:09,356 --> 00:27:12,916 Speaker 2: from the hand, the left toes presumably scavenged by animals, 398 00:27:13,436 --> 00:27:17,196 Speaker 2: the tailbone, the zyphoid process at the bottom of the sternum, 399 00:27:18,116 --> 00:27:21,876 Speaker 2: and a thin, fragile neck bone called the hyoid. 400 00:27:23,516 --> 00:27:27,556 Speaker 7: The hyoid bone is the only floating bone in the body. 401 00:27:27,596 --> 00:27:31,356 Speaker 7: It's not attached to any other bone. It sits a 402 00:27:31,476 --> 00:27:36,556 Speaker 7: little bit above the thyroid cartilage, and it's essentially there 403 00:27:37,076 --> 00:27:39,436 Speaker 7: as a base of muscle attachment. 404 00:27:40,396 --> 00:27:43,076 Speaker 2: Because of its shape and position in the body, a 405 00:27:43,156 --> 00:27:47,716 Speaker 2: broken hyoid can provide clear evidence of strangulation for a 406 00:27:47,796 --> 00:27:50,836 Speaker 2: forensic pathologist. It's a very significant bone. 407 00:27:51,956 --> 00:27:55,596 Speaker 7: And what's important about it is it's a U shaped 408 00:27:55,636 --> 00:28:00,756 Speaker 7: bone with the projections heading towards the back of the neck. 409 00:28:01,276 --> 00:28:03,796 Speaker 7: So if it's compressed from both sides, which is what 410 00:28:03,996 --> 00:28:08,556 Speaker 7: happens when you have a strangulation case. With the manual 411 00:28:08,596 --> 00:28:13,196 Speaker 7: strangulate is that you're putting pressure on the wings of 412 00:28:13,276 --> 00:28:18,116 Speaker 7: the hyoid bone and a can fracture. The thing with 413 00:28:18,236 --> 00:28:20,596 Speaker 7: the hyoid is if you found it and it was broken, 414 00:28:20,716 --> 00:28:22,956 Speaker 7: you could say, aha, this person was strangled. 415 00:28:24,956 --> 00:28:28,476 Speaker 2: But like the missing clothing and her id, my Teresa's 416 00:28:28,556 --> 00:28:33,796 Speaker 2: hyoid bone was never found. Doctor Shinen says my Teresa's 417 00:28:33,916 --> 00:28:38,236 Speaker 2: case could still be resolved with new evidence. The coroner 418 00:28:38,316 --> 00:28:41,156 Speaker 2: could change the cause of death from undetermined. 419 00:28:42,276 --> 00:28:47,836 Speaker 7: If there was foul play involved, someone could confess. You 420 00:28:47,996 --> 00:28:52,916 Speaker 7: never know, it could be deathbed confession. Maybe they'll raid 421 00:28:53,116 --> 00:28:58,436 Speaker 7: somewhere someplace and they'll find pictures of her. Anything is possible. 422 00:28:58,676 --> 00:29:03,036 Speaker 7: They could just investigate the right person at the right time. 423 00:29:04,196 --> 00:29:08,236 Speaker 7: Sometimes killers will save souvenirs that can be recognized as 424 00:29:08,276 --> 00:29:11,236 Speaker 7: something from the person. Anything like that could happen. 425 00:29:12,556 --> 00:29:19,716 Speaker 2: Anything could happen, including this. Someone who knows something could 426 00:29:19,756 --> 00:29:44,476 Speaker 2: decide they've kept the secret for too long. My Teresa's 427 00:29:44,556 --> 00:29:48,636 Speaker 2: movements on September seventeenth, two thousand and nine, are mostly unknown. 428 00:29:49,276 --> 00:29:52,236 Speaker 2: After she was released from Lost Hil Station at twelve 429 00:29:52,356 --> 00:29:55,676 Speaker 2: twenty five am, she somehow made her way six miles 430 00:29:55,756 --> 00:29:59,836 Speaker 2: to Montanito in the dark. The next morning, around six 431 00:29:59,996 --> 00:30:02,916 Speaker 2: thirty am. She was spotted there in the backyard of 432 00:30:02,956 --> 00:30:05,756 Speaker 2: a house at the bottom of Cold Canyon Road, and. 433 00:30:05,876 --> 00:30:08,556 Speaker 4: I saw somebody sitting on the top step of the 434 00:30:08,676 --> 00:30:11,316 Speaker 4: sixt railroad ties that we have in the backyard. 435 00:30:11,676 --> 00:30:13,396 Speaker 3: I called David, said are you okay? 436 00:30:14,716 --> 00:30:17,956 Speaker 5: And the answer was yes, I'm just resting, And by 437 00:30:17,996 --> 00:30:20,276 Speaker 5: the time we were around to the other window, she 438 00:30:20,436 --> 00:30:20,836 Speaker 5: was gone. 439 00:30:22,036 --> 00:30:25,836 Speaker 2: That's Karen Smith speaking in an ABC seven documentary about 440 00:30:25,876 --> 00:30:29,836 Speaker 2: my Teres's disappearance. Karen's house is kind of a landmark 441 00:30:29,876 --> 00:30:32,236 Speaker 2: in the neighborhood because it has a tennis court out front. 442 00:30:32,916 --> 00:30:36,396 Speaker 2: Her husband, Bill Smith, who died in twenty seventeen, was 443 00:30:36,436 --> 00:30:41,196 Speaker 2: a reporter on KTLA, a local TV news station. The 444 00:30:41,276 --> 00:30:44,316 Speaker 2: Smith's called the cops, and later deputies confirmed that the 445 00:30:44,356 --> 00:30:48,316 Speaker 2: woman who'd been in the backyard was my Terce. That's 446 00:30:48,396 --> 00:30:51,796 Speaker 2: the one official sighting of my Terce Richardson after she 447 00:30:51,996 --> 00:30:56,716 Speaker 2: left Lost Hill Station. But then there's the other story, 448 00:30:57,636 --> 00:31:00,516 Speaker 2: the unofficial story, the one the guy on the edge 449 00:31:00,556 --> 00:31:03,156 Speaker 2: of his bed told Raven in the Lost interview. 450 00:31:04,156 --> 00:31:06,076 Speaker 3: It was four thirty in the morning. I'm coming down 451 00:31:06,156 --> 00:31:08,156 Speaker 3: off my mountain a little higher. 452 00:31:08,276 --> 00:31:09,076 Speaker 4: So what do you lose? 453 00:31:09,996 --> 00:31:13,196 Speaker 3: Right? I lived therese, Yeah, right down the street. I've 454 00:31:13,236 --> 00:31:15,116 Speaker 3: lived in want and you know, all my life, so 455 00:31:15,196 --> 00:31:16,196 Speaker 3: my folks lived here early. 456 00:31:16,236 --> 00:31:19,116 Speaker 2: And so he says he was heading down into the 457 00:31:19,156 --> 00:31:22,196 Speaker 2: neighborhood from his spot on the mountain in the early 458 00:31:22,276 --> 00:31:22,916 Speaker 2: morning hours. 459 00:31:23,316 --> 00:31:24,756 Speaker 3: Come down four to thirty in the morning. 460 00:31:26,316 --> 00:31:28,716 Speaker 5: And because I left about four fifteen for my spot, 461 00:31:28,836 --> 00:31:30,596 Speaker 5: tax by that ten minutes certateen minutes. 462 00:31:30,596 --> 00:31:32,916 Speaker 3: See down and I'm coming down. 463 00:31:33,076 --> 00:31:35,556 Speaker 5: There's that well almost step with bluff and Cold Canyon, 464 00:31:36,676 --> 00:31:39,236 Speaker 5: and there was a right with Cold Canyon. There's a 465 00:31:39,356 --> 00:31:43,116 Speaker 5: house with a tennis court right there, and as a 466 00:31:43,396 --> 00:31:44,796 Speaker 5: as a big horseshoe driveway. 467 00:31:45,276 --> 00:31:46,356 Speaker 2: That's the Smith's house. 468 00:31:46,796 --> 00:31:49,636 Speaker 3: Are you looking up on the internet, because the guy 469 00:31:49,716 --> 00:31:49,996 Speaker 3: gave a. 470 00:31:50,036 --> 00:31:54,516 Speaker 2: Statement, but his story and the Smith's story they're really different. 471 00:31:55,396 --> 00:31:59,316 Speaker 2: The time where my terrace was on the property, they 472 00:31:59,356 --> 00:31:59,956 Speaker 2: don't line up. 473 00:32:00,636 --> 00:32:03,676 Speaker 4: He found her in the backyard talking to herself, but 474 00:32:03,796 --> 00:32:05,516 Speaker 4: you know when she wasn't in the backyard and I 475 00:32:06,036 --> 00:32:08,316 Speaker 4: she was in the front door, but I couldn't. 476 00:32:08,516 --> 00:32:12,996 Speaker 2: And in his count, she wasn't quietly resting. She was 477 00:32:13,196 --> 00:32:14,316 Speaker 2: audibly distressed. 478 00:32:15,316 --> 00:32:16,196 Speaker 3: But I could hear the scream. 479 00:32:16,236 --> 00:32:18,396 Speaker 7: I can tell you the blacks by her draw yeah, 480 00:32:18,476 --> 00:32:20,036 Speaker 7: the intonation in your voice. 481 00:32:20,716 --> 00:32:22,796 Speaker 3: I didn't know that black people lived in want to Neo. 482 00:32:24,636 --> 00:32:27,756 Speaker 2: So he says he decided to hang out just to 483 00:32:27,836 --> 00:32:28,796 Speaker 2: make sure she was safe. 484 00:32:29,196 --> 00:32:33,596 Speaker 3: Stayed there for about thirty seconds, and I said, come 485 00:32:33,596 --> 00:32:34,996 Speaker 3: a little bit five of this right now. 486 00:32:35,916 --> 00:32:38,076 Speaker 2: But when she didn't seem to be in danger, he 487 00:32:38,196 --> 00:32:39,276 Speaker 2: figured he should move along. 488 00:32:41,516 --> 00:32:43,236 Speaker 3: She was scream about enough did I go in the 489 00:32:43,316 --> 00:32:46,596 Speaker 3: couse's going to be here. I got to get out 490 00:32:46,596 --> 00:32:47,636 Speaker 3: of here. So I was at home. 491 00:32:48,596 --> 00:32:51,756 Speaker 2: The woman, he says, was a total stranger to him 492 00:32:51,756 --> 00:32:55,956 Speaker 2: at the time. He didn't know she was about to 493 00:32:55,996 --> 00:32:57,796 Speaker 2: become a household name. 494 00:32:58,876 --> 00:33:03,956 Speaker 3: And so I just I didn't think much of it, 495 00:33:04,116 --> 00:33:06,236 Speaker 3: you know, I didn't know that she did be harassed. 496 00:33:06,676 --> 00:33:09,876 Speaker 3: It was the same night, you know, certain stay ex 497 00:33:09,956 --> 00:33:10,756 Speaker 3: of the situation. 498 00:33:11,956 --> 00:33:15,116 Speaker 2: He didn't know that deputies and search parties with horses, 499 00:33:15,276 --> 00:33:18,476 Speaker 2: drones and dogs were going to be pouring into sleepy 500 00:33:18,516 --> 00:33:22,276 Speaker 2: little Montanito looking for her, this young woman who was 501 00:33:22,356 --> 00:33:26,036 Speaker 2: not from Malibu, who he thought didn't really fit in there. 502 00:33:27,476 --> 00:33:27,596 Speaker 3: There. 503 00:33:27,596 --> 00:33:31,236 Speaker 5: I go, huh, Yeah, I didn't think much about it 504 00:33:31,436 --> 00:33:33,516 Speaker 5: until like two days later when all. 505 00:33:33,476 --> 00:33:34,756 Speaker 3: This came on the news. 506 00:33:34,916 --> 00:33:38,956 Speaker 2: You know, even though he didn't know any of that. 507 00:33:40,436 --> 00:33:42,716 Speaker 2: He knew something out of the ordinary had happened. 508 00:33:43,396 --> 00:33:45,356 Speaker 3: I told my land on the next morning, I said, 509 00:33:45,996 --> 00:33:47,236 Speaker 3: what adline should be able to vound? 510 00:33:47,356 --> 00:33:51,876 Speaker 2: Last night, the next thing that happened, he saw the vultures, 511 00:33:52,636 --> 00:33:57,236 Speaker 2: so many vultures. Vultures are a fact of life in Montanito, 512 00:33:57,876 --> 00:34:00,796 Speaker 2: but this was more than he'd ever seen before, more 513 00:34:00,876 --> 00:34:01,596 Speaker 2: than he could count. 514 00:34:02,036 --> 00:34:04,116 Speaker 3: But so I just. 515 00:34:06,436 --> 00:34:09,836 Speaker 5: Leaves later, you know, I hear that she's missing and that, 516 00:34:10,076 --> 00:34:12,316 Speaker 5: you know, I walked through all this stuff's going on, like. 517 00:34:13,876 --> 00:34:18,396 Speaker 3: Sorry, I'm up at my spot like two days later, 518 00:34:19,716 --> 00:34:22,236 Speaker 3: and I see And I've seen a lot of vultures 519 00:34:22,276 --> 00:34:24,756 Speaker 3: in my life. I've lived after in fifty years, right right, 520 00:34:24,956 --> 00:34:30,836 Speaker 3: never seen one hundred vultures they swoo. That's that seemed 521 00:34:30,876 --> 00:34:32,476 Speaker 3: like a thousand of them, you know what I mean. 522 00:34:32,516 --> 00:34:35,196 Speaker 3: I've never seen that many. So when did you see this? 523 00:34:36,076 --> 00:34:39,476 Speaker 5: I saw this like two days after she was missing. 524 00:34:39,556 --> 00:34:43,036 Speaker 5: I maybe four days after she was missing. You know, 525 00:34:43,116 --> 00:34:46,196 Speaker 5: I thought to myself, you know, because I lived. 526 00:34:45,956 --> 00:34:47,316 Speaker 3: At through all my life. Now I'm kind of like 527 00:34:47,356 --> 00:34:51,396 Speaker 3: a trapper o'co mountain man, right like that. I wondered 528 00:34:52,796 --> 00:34:54,876 Speaker 3: what they doing up there? You know there's something dead 529 00:34:54,916 --> 00:34:57,436 Speaker 3: out there. You know, obviously there's that many cultures. 530 00:35:01,796 --> 00:35:04,916 Speaker 2: This story of the Montanito lifer who saw my trees 531 00:35:05,036 --> 00:35:09,316 Speaker 2: the morning of her disappearance, it's not out there. The 532 00:35:09,436 --> 00:35:12,796 Speaker 2: recording and all the new information in it got buried 533 00:35:12,916 --> 00:35:18,476 Speaker 2: under so much other information, so much misinformation, conspiracy theories, 534 00:35:18,796 --> 00:35:23,916 Speaker 2: dead ends lies. It was lost in the leaf litter, 535 00:35:24,036 --> 00:35:27,836 Speaker 2: detritus of the Internet. But it's kind of like that 536 00:35:27,996 --> 00:35:33,916 Speaker 2: hyoid bone, tiny and super significant because this ordinary guy, 537 00:35:34,236 --> 00:35:36,396 Speaker 2: sitting on the edge of his bed, drinking a beer, 538 00:35:36,756 --> 00:35:40,956 Speaker 2: telling a story, he makes what is probably the single 539 00:35:41,116 --> 00:35:44,476 Speaker 2: most important statement of any witness in this case. 540 00:35:46,876 --> 00:35:50,796 Speaker 3: I don't know any of the facts except for that 541 00:35:50,956 --> 00:35:53,556 Speaker 3: the constant eye was the last one to see her. Lie. 542 00:35:57,836 --> 00:36:00,236 Speaker 2: If he was the last one to see her alive, 543 00:36:01,036 --> 00:36:05,876 Speaker 2: did he know something about her death? This season on 544 00:36:06,036 --> 00:36:08,836 Speaker 2: Lost Hills, I know one. 545 00:36:08,716 --> 00:36:10,516 Speaker 3: Of them all officers, I had something to do with it. 546 00:36:10,676 --> 00:36:13,196 Speaker 3: It's like when I seen a move, it was like, damn, 547 00:36:13,276 --> 00:36:15,036 Speaker 3: that's crazy, because I was like in a sale with 548 00:36:15,116 --> 00:36:15,556 Speaker 3: this woman. 549 00:36:15,796 --> 00:36:19,396 Speaker 7: Somebody said they actually followed her after she left. 550 00:36:19,476 --> 00:36:21,396 Speaker 2: Do you think you heard someone talking about how the 551 00:36:21,436 --> 00:36:23,116 Speaker 2: deputy could give her a ride somewhere. 552 00:36:23,276 --> 00:36:24,636 Speaker 5: Yes, I was a male deputy. 553 00:36:24,756 --> 00:36:26,876 Speaker 3: I'm getting murdered anybody it's going to be a cop. 554 00:36:27,036 --> 00:36:28,116 Speaker 4: I mean I had to sleep in front of my 555 00:36:28,236 --> 00:36:31,276 Speaker 4: kid's store because of people coming to kill my kids. 556 00:36:31,476 --> 00:36:33,316 Speaker 1: I was dating her at the time, and she ended 557 00:36:33,396 --> 00:36:35,956 Speaker 1: up going missing, and I was questioned by LA Homicide 558 00:36:35,956 --> 00:36:37,436 Speaker 1: as a possible suspect. 559 00:36:37,036 --> 00:36:38,996 Speaker 7: For her disappearance, and one of the other guys came 560 00:36:39,036 --> 00:36:40,676 Speaker 7: in and said, what do you know about my trees? 561 00:36:41,236 --> 00:36:45,116 Speaker 4: He knew exactly where she was, which gives me the chills. 562 00:36:45,396 --> 00:36:48,756 Speaker 3: Imagine if this was your kid that was swept up 563 00:36:48,836 --> 00:36:50,116 Speaker 3: and put in a box like this. 564 00:36:54,156 --> 00:36:57,996 Speaker 2: Lost Tails Season four, Dark Canyon is written and hosted 565 00:36:58,116 --> 00:37:01,676 Speaker 2: by Me Dana Goodyear. It was reported by me and 566 00:37:01,796 --> 00:37:05,436 Speaker 2: Hailey Fox, our senior producer. The show was created by 567 00:37:05,556 --> 00:37:08,836 Speaker 2: me and Ben Adare. Lost Tails is a production of 568 00:37:09,116 --> 00:37:19,756 Speaker 2: Eastern Sound and Pushkin Industries. Subscribe to Pushkin Plus and 569 00:37:19,876 --> 00:37:22,676 Speaker 2: you can binge the whole season right now ad free. 570 00:37:23,276 --> 00:37:26,116 Speaker 2: Find Pushkin Plus on the Lost Hill Show page in 571 00:37:26,196 --> 00:37:29,956 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or at pushkin dot Fm, slash plus