WEBVTT - The Murder Years S2: Ep. 7, Who Will Save Your Soul 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:05.840 The following podcast contains explicit descriptions of violence, including sexual violence, 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:09.760 that some listeners may find upsetting. Continue at your own risk. 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:18.480 It was in August nineteen ninety six, writing between the 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:21.760 bombing of Centennial Park during the Atlanta Olympics in July 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:25.400 and the September shooting of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:30.240 when Connord Langford went on trial for murder. My name 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:32.920 is Courtney Barnes, and I'm an author and a journalist 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:36.040 who was living in Domino Beach, California during the nineteen 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:38.880 nineties when a serial killer was preying on our quiet 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:44.480 little beach communities, residents and visitors. In September nineteen ninety two, 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:47.520 I wrote the very first article about the killer's very 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:51.480 first victim, nineteen year old Via Kendrick, which, by the way, 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:55.800 was my very first professionally published article. Lots of firsts there. 0:00:56.880 --> 0:00:59.640 A little over two years later, in November of nineteen 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:03.440 ninety I interviewed and wrote the story of Angela Bowers, 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:06.600 as far as we know, the first and only person 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:10.319 to ever escape from the killer with her life. Not 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:13.600 long after that, I received two letters from someone claiming 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:15.959 to be the killer and In both he threatened to 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:19.759 turn me into one of his victims, and in nineteen 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:23.440 ninety six, Connor Langford went on trial charged with the 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.800 murders of Vera Kendrick, twenty eight year old singer songwriter 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:31.400 Trudy Masterson, and eighteen year old Juan Costas, three of 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.040 the seven people who had been murdered in Domino Beach 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:39.720 over the past four years. It seemed that finally, finally, 0:01:39.920 --> 0:02:00.280 our year's long nightmare was coming to an end. This 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:05.240 is the Murder Years, Episode seven. Who will Save your soul? 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:15.600 So you want to talk about the trial? Now? 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:20.480 That's Connor Langford, the man now known as the Domino Beachkiller. 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.400 In August nineteen ninety six, Connor was twenty eight years old. 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:27.120 Just a few short years earlier, he had been Domino 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:31.079 Beach's favorite son, a handsome, laid back surfer and musician, 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.399 son to the rich and powerful city councilman Greg Langford. 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.600 Everyone in town loved him, but by the beginning of 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:42.640 nineteen ninety six, his Golden Boys status had decidedly tarnished. 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:45.359 He had become a washed up drug addict who was 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.200 sitting in jail charged with three murders and suspected of 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:52.160 four others, as well as the attempted kidnapping of Angela Bowers. 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.880 What's the point. The trial was a goddamn farce. 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.120 I was pretty much convicted before I even set foot 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:00.960 in the courtroom. 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:02.480 You don't think you got a fair trial. 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:07.480 How could it have been fair? I'm here rotting in 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:08.840 prison for some shit I didn't do. 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.799 It's been twenty eight years since Connor Langford was sentenced. 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:20.399 He's been in prison for half his life. Let's back 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:22.760 up a bit and talk about how he got there. 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.559 Here's retired Delsoul County Sheriff Damon Stokes. 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:28.800 As I remember, it went down more or less like this. 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:33.200 California Highway Patrol located the van belonging to Connor Langford 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.560 just off the Pacific Coast Highway, roughly one hundred and 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:40.720 fifty miles north of Domino Beach. This is about thirty 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:44.000 hours after the body of Trudy Masterson was seen by 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.200 Henrietta Jones. The homeless woman being pulled out of the 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:51.800 van by an adult white male. Some of Trudy's hair 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:53.600 and blood were found in the back of the vehicle, 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.640 and Henrietta confirmed that the van they found was indeed 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.560 the van she saw the night in question. 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.680 What about Langford? Was she able to identify him? 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:03.240 She was not. 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:07.160 It was dark, he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt or 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:10.200 something similar, and she really only saw him from the back, 0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:13.600 but she did see the way he lifted Trudy's body 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:15.160 out of the van and said that, you know, he 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:18.400 moved like someone who was very fit, reasonably young. 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:21.160 The fuck does that even mean? 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.120 How the hell would some ancient homeless woman even though 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:28.680 how someone who was very fit and reasonably young move Besides, 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:31.440 I was far from what you'd call fit, and I 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:33.880 arguably wasn't reasonably young either. 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.599 Connor, you were twenty eight, and I. 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:40.880 Always looked on heroin, I looked and moved like I 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:43.240 was older than I am now, for Christ's sake. 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:47.000 Yes, I remember. That was part of your lawyer's argument that. 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:48.360 Guy was a goddamn moron. 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:51.960 My fucking father hired him, should have taken the public defender. 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:56.279 At that point, we had no choice but to arrest Connor, 0:04:57.120 --> 0:04:59.600 and I went to his father first before I did anything, 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:01.200 really any public statement. 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:04.159 And how did that go? Better than I thought it would? 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.440 Sure, he made a stink, but it felt pretty obligatory 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:09.760 to me, like he was just going through the motions 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:13.280 on it. Remember, Connor had been making the councilman's life 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:16.320 hell for at least the past six or seven months, 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:17.760 probably going back. 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:18.279 Even before that. 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:22.200 I think on some level the councilman was happy to 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:24.280 have his son quieted down and out of the way, 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:26.400 which I know sounds crazy, But. 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:29.279 Do you think the councilman thought Connor was guilty? 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:30.760 No? 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:32.680 Well, I don't know. 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.520 Look, I have kids of my own, and it would 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:37.920 be pretty hard to believe them capable of such terrible 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.880 things unless I saw it with my own eyes, and 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:44.560 maybe not even then. Greg and Connor Langford, they had 0:05:44.560 --> 0:05:47.920 their differences, I mean, lord knows, but as long as 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:51.040 Connor maintained his innocence, his father did the same thing. 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:55.520 My dad knew I wasn't guilty. I mean, he wasn't 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:57.599 my biggest van, but he knew I wasn't a killer. 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.320 And you know what, with all the influence he had 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:03.640 in that town, all the times he'd gotten the cops 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:06.080 or the press or whoever to do whatever the fuck 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:10.080 he wanted, he could have gotten the sheriff to release 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.080 me into his custody while I waited for my trial. 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:15.560 I know he could have, but he didn't let me 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:18.520 sit in a goddamn jail cell for months, fucking months. 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:22.000 Man, are you sure about that? That your father could 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:25.400 have had you released? The evidence against you was pretty damning, 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:25.960 wasn't it. 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:27.960 Your van was stolen? 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:29.560 You know this. 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:32.640 It had been missing for like, I don't know, two 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:33.640 weeks three. 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.360 Yet you never reported it stolen. 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:39.279 You're talking about a time when I was so messed 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.159 up on drugs I barely even knew what day it was. 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:44.960 And I sure as hell wasn't trying to invite the 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:48.520 cops into my life. I mean, I did illegal drugs 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:53.400 every day, multiple times every day. Why would I ask 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:58.840 the cops to come sniffing around. Besides, it wasn't like 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:02.159 that van was my primary mode transportation. You know, I 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.040 used it a lot when Brodie and I were still playing, 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:06.520 you know, to houl my guitar and Brodie's drum kid 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:09.600 back and forth from gigs, and I carried our surfboards 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.560 in it when we go to the beach. Ben I 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.640 wasn't playing music or surfing by fall of ninety five, 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:18.520 I mean, I get it. Those are the true things 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:20.960 I was known for. But at that time, the only 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:24.000 thing I cared about was scoring drugs. I couldn't have 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:25.480 given two shits about that van. 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:29.880 But you understand how it looked, right, Your van was 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.280 used to commit a murder, and your excuse is that 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:34.400 you forgot to report it stolen. 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:37.000 I didn't forget. I just didn't care. 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:40.240 Anyone who knew me back then would tell you, Okay, 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:41.880 I didn't give a fuck about anything. 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.320 No, that's not true at all. He cared about a 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:46.600 lot even then. 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.080 That's Maya Morales Connor Langford's former girlfriend. 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.200 I mean, yeah, he was going through a rough time 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:58.400 even before he was accused of murder. But I know 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:01.920 he cared about me one thing. No matter what he 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.480 and I have been through, no matter what he did 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:07.560 to me, or why we broke up or anything, We've 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:09.160 never stopped caring for each other. 0:08:10.120 --> 0:08:10.360 Never. 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:17.480 No, Connor cared, not about that van, but not about 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:18.239 nothing either. 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:19.960 Oh. 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:23.800 I remember his excuse about the van. It was awfully convenient. 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:26.920 But even if anyone believed him, and I don't think 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:30.080 anybody did. I mean, not the judge, the jury, not me, 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:32.280 not you. Right, Am I wrong about that? 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.760 No? You're not wrong. I didn't believe him either. 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:37.880 Yeah, you know, it wasn't like that was the only 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:50.559 evidence we had against him. 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.160 The trial took place at the Del Soul County Courthouse, 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:57.840 about five miles inland from downtown Domino Beach, right next 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:01.120 door to city Hall, where Connor's father, the councilman, had 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:06.360 an office. It lasted five days. The prosecution began by 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:08.120 focusing on Vera Kendrick Garrick. 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:11.319 Hendrick was a pretty lovable free spirit. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:14.280 The Domino Beach Killer's first victim back in September nineteen 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:18.160 ninety two. She was painted as a fun, pretty lovable 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:21.400 free spirit, which she was, and it was refreshing to 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:24.040 hear her spoken about in that way instead of as 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:27.000 a homeless hippie who probably had it coming due to 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:31.679 her unconventional lifestyle. As counselman, Langford preferred, the fact that 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.280 Connor had had a sexual relationship with her and the 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.520 fact that Connor found her body was called too coincidental 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:38.480 to be coincidence. 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:43.199 Connor having a sexual relationship with Vera and finding her 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:47.280 body is just too coincidental to be coincidence. 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:51.040 And you could tell the jury agreed even that early 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.920 on in the trial. It seemed Connor's defense attorney had 0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:57.000 his work cut out for him. Although there wasn't enough 0:09:57.040 --> 0:09:59.280 evidence to charge him with the murders of the three 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:03.280 asust udents from April of nineteen ninety four, the prosecution 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.120 did manage to get a witness to testify that Connor 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:08.680 was partying at the girl's house the night they were murdered. 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.720 I did see Connor Langford at the party that night. 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:15.080 This was met with an objection by the defense and 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.640 an admonishment by the judge. But the jury heard what 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:21.320 they heard, and to be honest, by that point, I 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:24.120 think they already decided he was the killer, and not 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:26.439 just the killer of the victims he was charged with 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:30.560 the jury and probably anyone else following the trial, believed 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:33.600 he was the killer of all seven victims, and they 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:36.400 were just waiting for the opportunity to go back into 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:40.520 that little room, address the formality of deliberations, and then 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:44.880 come back and deliver a guilty verdict. Connor's lawyer tried 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:47.200 to get the judge to declare a mistrial, but the 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.120 motion was denied and it would later be considered not 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:52.120 strong enough grounds to warrant an appeal. 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.360 That was when I knew for sure the deck was 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:56.120 stacked against me. 0:10:57.480 --> 0:10:59.800 Anytime I called the jury looking at me, I felt 0:10:59.840 --> 0:11:02.440 like I was something they scraped off their shoes, you know. 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:05.200 I mean. I hadn't give it up, I hope yet. 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:09.640 But the prosecution was a little more elegant when they 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:12.200 tried to tie the murder of Billy Boy Reeves to Connor, 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:15.840 mainly by focusing on his drug problem. They managed to 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:19.040 get Connor's dealer to take the stand in exchange, of course, 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:23.959 for all sorts of immunity. During the dealer's let's call 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:26.120 it colorful testimony. 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:27.400 He sold all sorts of drugs to Connor. 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:30.200 The prosecutor asked him if he had ever seen Connor 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:34.640 and Billy boyd together. It was very slick and definitely 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.040 a dirty trick, and the judge was quick to shut 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:38.720 it down before the witness could answer. 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:41.200 And how the fuck was that guy? 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.520 A credible source of information Oliver had was skunk weed 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:46.760 and heroin that had been stepped on so many times 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:49.280 you had a double or triple dose to get off. 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.600 They had enough on him to put him away for years. 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.079 He would have said anything they wanted him to say. 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:57.880 They went pretty hard trying to pin the murder of 0:11:57.960 --> 0:12:00.920 Juan Costas on Connor, but that was the weakest of 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:04.319 the charges he was facing. The prosecution's theory was that 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:06.880 Connor murdered one in a misguided effort to get his 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.880 ex girlfriend, Maya Morales to come back to him. 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.800 It was just so stupid. If Connor really wanted to 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:16.480 be with me, there are a million ways he could 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:17.240 have gone about it. 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.040 Because Maya had been something of a surrogate sister to Juan, 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:24.720 the prosecutor argued, Connor knew his death would upset her 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:27.760 enough that in her grief he might somehow find a 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.679 way to weasel himself back into her good graces. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:33.760 Oh yeah, he did try to contact me after Hauan's 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:36.400 body was found, but I didn't return its calls, and 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:39.319 then after a couple of days he stopped calling. Don't 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:41.640 you think that's a lot of trouble to go through 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:43.559 to just give up like that. 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:48.280 This theory pretty much fell apart when the defense started 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:52.079 calling witnesses. Maya was one of the first witnesses called, 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:54.839 and in spite of the fact that she and Connor 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:56.640 had been broken up for a year and a half, 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:00.000 she was adamant that she didn't believe he killed one 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:02.080 or anyone else. 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:07.280 In some ways, I still loved him. In some ways 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.280 I still do even now. 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.959 Do you ever regret breaking up with him or not 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:15.200 giving him a second chance? 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:19.280 I had given him a second chance, third orth and 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:21.600 fifth two. It wasn't my cheating on me with that 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.319 girl was the first thing he'd ever done wrong. It 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:28.440 was the last, and I deserved better. But even so, 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.440 if he really wanted to be back with me again, 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:35.880 I think he probably could have convinced me to come back. 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:38.320 You don't think he wanted to be with you anymore. 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:40.400 I think. 0:13:41.600 --> 0:13:44.880 I think by the time that happened, by the time 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:48.440 I caught him without wanna be groupie, he was, he 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:52.320 was already lost. And I think he knew. He knew 0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:55.760 if he and I were together. He just dragged me down. 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:00.120 I'm not saying it was like a deliberate choice if 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.960 he made or anything, but I think on some level 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:08.320 he was trying to set me free. He was giving 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:10.960 me the reason I needed to cut him loose forever, 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.880 because he knew he wasn't good for me. He released me, 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:16.959 He let me go. 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:23.600 Since the one cost discharge was falling flat in front 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:26.720 of the jury. The prosecutor moved on to the strongest 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.680 case they had, with the rape and murder of Trudy Masterson. 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:34.040 The prosecutor discussed how Connor worked as a bar back 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:36.840 at Triple B's, the bar where Trudy played her final gig. 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.080 He was one of the last people to see her alive, 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.760 and he left the bar minutes after she did. A 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:46.760 theory was presented about how Connor caught up with Trudy 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:49.360 and offered to walk her back to her motel, and 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:51.320 on the way suggested they go to the beach to 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:54.240 have a beer and maybe smoke a joint. They got 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:58.200 to his van, he slipped to a roofee then raped 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:04.080 and strangled her. Henrietta Jones identified Connor's van in her testimony, 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:09.200 and although she admitted she couldn't say for sure Connor 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:11.960 was the man she saw that night, at that point 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:16.560 it didn't really matter. The prosecution was presenting a strong case, 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:19.320 but so far it probably wouldn't have been strong enough 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.600 to convict him. That's where I came in. 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:27.280 The letters The killer sent you with the strongest evidence 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:31.720 we had, stronger than his van. Even maybe if Henrietta 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:33.440 had been able to id him, I mean that would 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.760 have been enough. But those letters, he might as well 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.120 have signed his name to the murders. I mean, without them, 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:44.040 I don't think we ever could have put him away. 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:48.040 So the reason I wasn't given the assignment of covering 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.400 Connor Langford's trial for the so Cal Journal wasn't because 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.640 of my issues with Connor's father, the Councilman. You know, 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:59.000 those issues were many. No, the reason I wasn't given 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:01.480 the trial is because I was a witness for the 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:05.680 prosecution because of those letters and what was in them. 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:07.880 When I got up on the witness stand, I had 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:11.560 to testify about my entire history researching and writing about 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:15.840 the Domino Killer, beginning with my very first assignment covering 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.440 the murder of Vera Hendrick. I talked about the lyrics 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:21.720 from the Nirvana song Polly that were found at the 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:24.440 crime scene and the fact that the song is sung 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:27.160 from the point of view of a rapist. And because 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.640 the author of those letters referred to the two songs 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:33.560 associated with Billy Boy Reeves and the ASU students, Pretend 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:36.880 We're Dead and Cornflake Girl, I talked about them too. 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.600 I talked about the murder of Jan Costas, which I 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:44.160 had covered for the paper and happened right before I 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:47.080 got the killer's second letter, the one that quoted a 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:51.000 lyric from Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun, and I talked about 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.800 Connor singing a cover of that song a few weeks later. 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:57.600 The defense tried to clean that up, bringing in a 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.360 member of the cover band. Connor briefly fronted Or, who 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:03.040 said they'd been working on Black Hole Sun for weeks 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:05.200 and it was far from the first time they'd played 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:09.119 it in public. It was a popular song, after all, 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.919 but it didn't seem to help. It was another piece 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:15.320 of Connor's everything is a coincidence defense that was clearly 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:19.800 not resonating with the jury. Before I left the witness stand, 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.160 I talked about how the author of those letters wrote 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:24.280 about how much he wanted to rape and kill me, 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.399 and although I didn't like admitting it, I was under oath, 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:31.600 so I had to. I had to admit how much 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:37.439 that scared me. I know that's something I haven't been 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:41.360 completely honest about during this whole thing. When I look 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.000 back at this time in my life, I mean, I 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:46.960 was just a kid. I was twenty five years old, 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.639 when I testified at Connor Langford's trial, twenty five, barely 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:54.240 old enough to rent a car, and there I am 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:56.359 being asked to help a jury decide the fate of 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:59.280 a guy just a few years older than me, a 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.960 guy who once upon a time I had a massive 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:06.399 crush on. But that wasn't even the hardest part. I 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:11.000 had been threatened. Someone had expressed their desire to rape 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:14.760 and murder me, someone who had already raped and murdered 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:19.600 other women. I was terrified, but I don't know. I 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:21.960 had to pretend I wasn't. I had to pretend it 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:28.040 didn't FaZe me. Why Why did I feel that way? 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:30.520 I was too scared to let it show how scared 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:31.000 I was. 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:34.040 A few years. 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.119 Later, when I was promoting my book and making the 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:38.760 rounds on all the talk shows, I was asked over 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:42.520 and over again, weren't you scared? And I would say 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:44.879 something along the lines of I was too focused to 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:47.600 be scared, or the fact that I was covering all 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:51.359 these stories gave me distance. All I wanted to say was, 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:54.320 of course, I was fucking scared. A serial killer had 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:57.800 targeted me. It was over a year between when I 0:18:57.840 --> 0:18:59.920 received that first letter and when Connor was a rest 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:04.880 one year. One year feeling like I could be attacked 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:08.240 any second of any day. One year sleeping with the 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:10.920 lights on in a baseball bat under my bed, as 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:15.160 if that would have done me any good. One year 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:17.520 without going on so much as a date with a guy, 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:19.920 because there was always that chance that I was wrong 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:22.800 about Connor, and any guy allowed myself to be alone 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:30.760 with just might end my life. So was I scared, Yes, very, 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:41.120 I'm sorry. I just I needed to get that off 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:44.159 my chest. It's been weighing me down for a long time. 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:50.520 Oh okay, So after I left the stand, I learned 0:19:50.520 --> 0:19:54.120 that my testimony, as hard and painful as it was, 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:56.439 was just setting the stage. 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:58.879 So the faulty watermark. 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:03.800 You may remember from previous episodes that there was a 0:20:03.920 --> 0:20:07.159 unique watermark on the paper the killer's letters were written on. 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:10.679 There was a misspelling of the paper company's name, and 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:13.560 as a result, most of it was recalled. There were 0:20:13.600 --> 0:20:15.840 not that many reams of that paper that had made 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:16.800 it into circulation. 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:22.400 So after your testimony, the prosecution introduced a new piece 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:25.840 of evidence of the court. It was a flyer I 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:29.359 had made for Connor's band, slapping bones back in like 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.640 early summer in nineteen ninety four, and it had the 0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:36.640 same watermark that was on your letters. 0:20:37.800 --> 0:20:40.720 As it turned out. Back in happier times, when Connor 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:42.760 and his friend Brody were in a band together and 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:46.399 he and Maya were still dating, Maya would design flyers 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:49.399 promoting the band's gigs and post them around town or 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:51.679 pass them out at the record shop where she worked. 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:54.720 I one of the greatest artists in the world, but 0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:58.560 I wasn't body either. Sometimes I'd hang out while they practiced, 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:01.160 and to be hot it with you, it could get 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:04.280 a little boring, So I killed the time by drawing pictures, 0:21:04.320 --> 0:21:07.200 and sometimes I turned those drawings into flyers for the bands. 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.840 I remember buying that paper too, because it was half price. 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:14.360 It was at this little office supply store just passed downtown. 0:21:14.760 --> 0:21:18.280 I got I don't know, four or five reams. Maybe 0:21:18.520 --> 0:21:20.600 it was a really good deal. I didn't care that 0:21:20.680 --> 0:21:24.520 it was copy paper, not you know, proper sketching paper 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.360 or whatever. And I didn't know a thing about watermarks 0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:29.560 back then. 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:32.720 So this paper you bought, where did you keep it? 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.640 At the band's rehearsal space, it was a warehouse heading 0:21:36.680 --> 0:21:39.440 out towards Riverside where you could rent a little room. 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:42.240 It wasn't exactly sound proof, but it was good enough. 0:21:42.280 --> 0:21:46.800 I guess there were maybe three or four bands practicing 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:50.280 on the property at any moment. And there was this 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:52.840 copy machine in the office there and they didn't mind 0:21:52.840 --> 0:21:55.360 you using it, but you had to bring your own. 0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:57.840 Paper, so Connor had access to it. 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:01.760 Yeah, I mean, it's just paper. It wasn't like it 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:02.840 was locked up or anything. 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:07.879 And even with that evidence, even with that same watermark 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:09.960