1 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: In June twenty seventeen, an old cattle truck made its 2 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: way down Highway forty seven in Costa Rica. Another car, 3 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: a Hyundai SUV, was close behind. If you happened to 4 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: see the two vehicles on the road, well you wouldn't 5 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: think anything of it. There was nothing remarkable about them. 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,279 Speaker 1: In each vehicle there were two men, three Costa Ricans 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: and one Mexican. They thought everything was going to plan. Eventually, 8 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: the cattle truck and the suv reached the outskirts of 9 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: the small town of Orotina, an hour or so away 10 00:00:50,520 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: from the capital San Jose. The bust was a complete 11 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: surprise and executed quickly. The men in the cattle truck 12 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: and the suv had no time to react. The police 13 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: and a specialized tactical unit congratulated each other. They were 14 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: prepared for a shootout, but luckily it hadn't come to that. 15 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: For more drug cartel stooges were now off the streets. 16 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: In the back of the cattle truck, police found two 17 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty seven kilos of cocaine hidden in a 18 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: false bottom of the trunk. It was worth close to 19 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: twenty million dollars. They also found a GPS, night vision goggles, 20 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: two way radios, and a gun, classic equipment for drug runners. 21 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: One of the men arrested was very well known to 22 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: the authorities and most Costa Ricans. He was a big catch. 23 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: The police had been tracking him for a long time 24 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: and their patients had now paid off. The following day, 25 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: his mugshot would be on the front of every newspaper 26 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: in Costa Rica. Later, he would plead guilty to providing 27 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: logistical and operational support to drug gangs linked to the 28 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: Mexican cartels. Costa Rica was fast becoming the drug route 29 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 1: of choice for South American cartels the eventual destination of 30 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: those drugs the US. The well known Costa Rican was 31 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: sentenced to ten years in prison and publicly humiliated. But 32 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: there's something else about the man captured on that hot 33 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: June day. He had very close links to John and 34 00:02:51,120 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: Anne Bender from Exactly Right Media and iHeart podcasts produced 35 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: by Blanchard House. This is Helen Heaven. I'm Becky Milligan. 36 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: Two years before that drugs bust, and Bender was in 37 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: court waiting for a verdict again. It was the third 38 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: time she'd been on trial for murder. She'd hardly slept 39 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: a wink the night before, author Carol Vaughan. 40 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 2: No one had any idea whether she was going to 41 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 2: be found guilty or innocent, no idea whatsoever, and. 42 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: Sat behind her lawyer. She had a clear view of 43 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: the three judges who faced her from the bench. Friends 44 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: and family were there to support her. At nine point fifteen, 45 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: the chief judge called the court to order. At last, 46 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: the verdict came on the charge of murdering her husband John, 47 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: Anne Bender was acquitted. In TV footage, at the moment 48 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: Anne realizes she's free, she looks completely blank for a 49 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: split second, as though she can't take it in. Then 50 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: she closes her eyes and squeezes them tight. Her lawyer 51 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: visibly relaxes and reaches a hand behind him to grab hands. 52 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: They don't speak or even look at each other, but 53 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: the release of tension and relief is obvious. Cameraman Kevin 54 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: Serrano was. 55 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 3: In court Ricardo El Momento, El Clovi. 56 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 4: She lowered her head and started to cry. She was weeping. 57 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,679 Speaker 4: At last, she was able to release all that tension. 58 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 4: I'm sure it must have been a turning point for her. 59 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 4: Anne's life could never be the same from the non 60 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 4: because despite the harshness of all the trials and the process, 61 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,039 Speaker 4: nothing compares to the loss of the person she had 62 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 4: chosen to share her life with, a comfortable life. None 63 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,720 Speaker 4: of that was there anymore, whether or not she had 64 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 4: anything to do with his death. So that was the 65 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,240 Speaker 4: most memorable moment for me when she started to cry 66 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:27,720 Speaker 4: after hearing the verdict. 67 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,559 Speaker 1: Anne is led out of the courthouse into the bright 68 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: light of day and freedom by her brother Ken. The 69 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: media scram is pushed away by her security. A minus 70 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: scuffle breaks out. Anne, who looks pale and dazed, is 71 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: using a cane to help her walk and holds onto 72 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 1: her brother's hand tightly. Her eyes are downcast. She doesn't speak. 73 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 1: Can it really all be over? Ken speaks briefly to 74 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: a gaggle of reporters outside the courthouse. 75 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 5: Sure, noppreciate that justice was served today, and my sister 76 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 5: did not murder her husband. She's not a murderer. There 77 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 5: was not enough circumstantial evidence to convict her for the 78 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 5: simple fact that there was no murder. 79 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: Anne is then whisked away in a car with blacked 80 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: out windows to the hotel Zimmer where she'd been staying. 81 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: One thing is on her mind to get out of 82 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: the country as soon as she can and return to 83 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:32,840 Speaker 1: America before the Costa Rican authorities order another retrial. Her 84 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: passport had been confiscated, but the American embassy had managed 85 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,719 Speaker 1: to slip her a replacement before the verdict. It's in 86 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: her jacket pocket. Kevin, the news cameraman, had listened closely 87 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 1: to the legal arguments. He was fascinated by the Benders 88 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: and their lavish but isolated lifestyle. It also made him 89 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: think about his homeland too. Are you Antia in this voice? 90 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 4: In a big picture, Costa Rica is seen as a 91 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 4: place of tranquility and peace, and when all this came 92 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 4: to light, people said, maybe it's not such a peaceful place. 93 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: By the end of the trial, he'd been convinced by 94 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: the prosecution's arguments that John didn't kill himself. He was 95 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: sure that the trial wouldn't be the end of the story. 96 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 6: Where is he? 97 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 4: If the wife was found not guilty, then who killed him? 98 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: It was a question which had simmed a long time 99 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: in John Kolvic's head too. One of the Bender's neighbors 100 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: he didn't think Anna killed John, but that didn't mean 101 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: someone else happened. 102 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 7: To this day, it still doesn't rest good with me. 103 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 7: Someone that wealthy at that house, I don't think his 104 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 7: wife pulled the trigger. And when they say there was 105 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 7: no one else there, she at that place is the 106 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 7: darkest jungle you've ever seen in your life. You have 107 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 7: no clue. He talked about sending a ninja in to 108 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 7: kill someone or whatever you'd like to call him. An assassin, 109 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 7: someone who's going to pull a trigger on a millionaire 110 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 7: with a doped up wife, Jesus Christ within the country 111 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 7: with no friends, you know what I mean? 112 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 3: Why not? Why not? 113 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 7: Why not? 114 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: Kevin was proved right. Even though the court case had 115 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 1: come to an end, speculation and theories about what really 116 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: happened to John Bender didn't stop and continue to this day. 117 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 2: Carol Vaughan, there are opinions that flowed around saying that 118 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 2: people saw individuals running away from Guarakayan that night late. 119 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 2: They're just all kinds of things to be tidied up 120 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 2: and tied together. 121 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: Kevin, the camera operator began to mull over who else 122 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: could have had a motive to kill John. 123 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 4: Any of the security team could have. Perhaps it was 124 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 4: someone he did business with and something went wrong. He 125 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 4: owed someone money. I think there's still a feeling that 126 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 4: the case has not been resolved. 127 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:00,439 Speaker 1: There was one person whose name came up again and again. 128 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: We're at a prison in San Jose. We have to 129 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: go through tight security. Our bags, passports and phones are 130 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: put through an X ray scan. The man we are 131 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: coming to visit is the same man who was captured 132 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: at the start of this chapter, caught with two hundred 133 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,199 Speaker 1: and thirty seven kilos of cocaine by the police, arrested 134 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:45,680 Speaker 1: and jailed for ten years, very well known in Costa Rica. 135 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: We're taken into a small room. A man dressed in 136 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,320 Speaker 1: a bright orange top is sitting at a table. He's 137 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: around fifty, trimmer and healthier than he looked in the 138 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 1: photos I've seen of the rest, but he still wears 139 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: an impressive thick mustache. The person sitting in front of 140 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: me is Jose Pizzarro, the Bender's head of security, the 141 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: colonel whom John trusted deeply, and the man who cared 142 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: for Anne after John died. Yes, what we haven't told 143 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:23,559 Speaker 1: you is that when we interviewed him, he was in prison. 144 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: Jose Pizzaro, El Toro, the Bull, one time head of 145 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: the Costa Rican Police, now convicted criminal. This is his 146 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: first interview since Anne was acquitted in twenty fourteen. As 147 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: we settled down, I remind him how well respected and 148 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:49,199 Speaker 1: trusted he'd been before his conviction, even earning an affectionate 149 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: nickname that makes him smile, Toro. 150 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 3: Where I live, everyone knows me by the name Toro Bull. 151 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,200 Speaker 3: Some don't even know my real name. They just call 152 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 3: out on the street, Hey Bull, Hey Toro. 153 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 1: The smile fades quickly. His reputation is now in shreds. 154 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: He was publicly disgraced and shamed in Costa Rica. He 155 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:19,319 Speaker 1: first met John after the couple were confronted on the 156 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,839 Speaker 1: roadside in two thousand and one. Convinced they were going 157 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: to be kidnapped or even worse, John hired the former 158 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,599 Speaker 1: chief of police to protect them. Jose Pisari worked for 159 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: them for ten years and has nothing but good things 160 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 1: to say about the couple. 161 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 6: She was a very nice person. She was very sweet. 162 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 6: She took care of her husband. He was like the 163 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 6: apple of her eye. They really made a very nice 164 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,200 Speaker 6: couple and we got on from the beginning. Besides the 165 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 6: professional relationship, to put it in another way, we became friends. 166 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,320 Speaker 6: They were very open, very friendly. 167 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: Those he hasn't seen or spoken to Anne since she 168 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:14,200 Speaker 1: was acquitted. As we heard, Jose Pizzaro was arrested in 169 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, a few years after Anne had left Costa Rica, 170 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: but it's reported that the former police chief was under 171 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 1: surveillance well before that. In fact, as early as two 172 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: thousand and nine, when Pizaro was working for the Benders, 173 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: a helicopter had come down in the mountainous Southern Zone 174 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: with three hundred and forty seven kilos of cacaine on board. 175 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,400 Speaker 1: The first person at the scene of the crash, yes, 176 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:47,520 Speaker 1: it was reportedly Jose Pizzaro. Many speculate that the only 177 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: way he could have been at the crash site so 178 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: fast was because he was involved in the smuggling operation. 179 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: So Kevin, the cameraman who covered Anne's trial, began to 180 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: wonder if John rom Bender had inadvertently or not got 181 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:10,959 Speaker 1: mixed up with the drug cartels through his head of security, Josekisaro. 182 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 3: Is Tyli Gao Conrakotraviotli. 183 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 4: Between two thousand and seven and two thousand and eight, 184 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 4: a helicopter loaded with drugs crashed in the mountains. The 185 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 4: only person who managed to reach the place was Hossepi Serro. 186 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:25,319 Speaker 4: It's presumed that he already had links with Mexican cartels 187 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:26,959 Speaker 4: and that John might have been cut in the middle 188 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 4: of all this. That reinforces my belief he didn't kill himself. 189 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: But was murdered, possibly by someone who had links to 190 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 1: the drug gangs. It's yet another theory to add to 191 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: all the others and may sound a little far fetched, 192 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: and there's no evidence to suggest it's true. In fact, 193 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: there's no evidence at all Jose Pizarro was in any 194 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:51,440 Speaker 1: way connected to John's death. Perhaps it's just too easy 195 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: to pin it all on this celebrity ex police chief 196 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: turned criminal. But Kevin wasn't the only one thinking along 197 00:13:58,280 --> 00:13:58,960 Speaker 1: these lines. 198 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 4: On the Star A lout of my Lady, Do. 199 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: Remember Carlos, the ambulance driver who was the first on 200 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 1: the scene of John's death in Boracayanne. He's convinced John 201 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: didn't kill himself and believes that Jose Pizzaro may have 202 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: been involved in some way. Again, though it's speculation. Like 203 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 1: with every part of this story, there are coincidences and 204 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: the unexplained. What are the chances that the person the 205 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: Benders hired to protect them is actually in bed with 206 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: violent criminals. It certainly got people talking, and again it 207 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: conveyed a certain mystique around the couple. On the other hand, 208 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: it kind of also makes sense. Latin America's cartels are 209 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: infamous and Pizarro was an obvious target for them because 210 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: of his police connections, and those connections were also why 211 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,880 Speaker 1: John and Ann hired him. He was the go to 212 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: guy in Costa Rica, which isn't a big place. Jose 213 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: Pizarre has spent five years in prison. 214 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 6: Which There's a lot more that I have to say, 215 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 6: but in my current situation, there is much that I 216 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 6: can't say. What I really want for Anne is that 217 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 6: she finds peace and tranquility and that she can face 218 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 6: whatever comes ahead. 219 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: Jose gave evidence at all of Anne's trials. He believes 220 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 1: she's innocent and that the evidence showed that. He says 221 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: that he had nothing to do with John's death and 222 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: believes that John kills himself. As to why Jose mentions 223 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: the trust which John and Anne put their money into, 224 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 1: meaning they effectively lost control of their. 225 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 6: Fortune, well, I feel sorry about everything that happened to 226 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 6: John and Anne. If you dig a little deeper, you'll 227 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 6: find much more about the fraud management of the trust, 228 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,480 Speaker 6: which I believe led John Bender to kill himself. I 229 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 6: hope everything's well for her, so that her family and 230 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 6: John's family find some peace. It's a shame what they're 231 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 6: going through tough. I know how difficult it has been 232 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:23,000 Speaker 6: for both John's and Anne's family. I have nothing to 233 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 6: gain from this, but as a Costa Rican, I'm ashamed 234 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 6: to see these types of things happen in this country. 235 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: I asked him about being arrested and his involvement with 236 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: the drug cartels personnel. 237 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,640 Speaker 3: I come from humble beginnings. I'm from the countryside. However 238 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 3: I managed to rise to the highest position of the police. 239 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 3: Then I made a mistake. No, I committed a horror. 240 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,199 Speaker 3: I feel ashamed for having committed such a thing. I 241 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:08,360 Speaker 3: humbly ask for forgiveness to every citizen in this country 242 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 3: for committing a crime for which I am pain a 243 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:12,439 Speaker 3: sentence in prison. 244 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,360 Speaker 8: They are your indios. 245 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 1: Okay, okay. 246 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 3: I believe in God. I'm a human being and I failed. 247 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,680 Speaker 3: But I want to be clear that that doesn't justify 248 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:49,800 Speaker 3: what I did. Though I was no longer an officer 249 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 3: of the police force of this country when I committed 250 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:58,120 Speaker 3: this crime. So as a human being, I might have failed, 251 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,440 Speaker 3: but as a member of the police force, I never 252 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 3: did come on policia. 253 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,240 Speaker 1: As Jose spoke, the tears began to roll freely down 254 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,199 Speaker 1: his face. He wiped them away and then gave up 255 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,400 Speaker 1: because they kept coming, wetting his cheeks and his chin 256 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: and his shirt. To us, they seemed to come from 257 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: a very profound sorrow and regret, but it's impossible to 258 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: know for sure if his tears were genuine. What did 259 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: leap outed us during the interview was rather cryptically. Jose 260 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,360 Speaker 1: told us he had a lot more to say, but couldn't. 261 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: We said goodbye. As we made our way out of 262 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,960 Speaker 1: the prison, Jose was led in the opposite direction. The 263 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,920 Speaker 1: last we saw of him was disappearing through several double doors, 264 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:07,159 Speaker 1: and they're out of sight. When Anne got back to 265 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 1: the Zimmer hotel after the verdict, her family and friends 266 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: had lunch. It wasn't a loud, celebratory one, but quiet 267 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: and peaceful. After lunch, they gathered their bags and Anne 268 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: said goodbye to hotel owners Santiago and Anna. 269 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,159 Speaker 8: We don't know where she's going to, but you know 270 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,879 Speaker 8: she was going to go out of the country of course, 271 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:31,840 Speaker 8: I don't ask her where. I said, by good luck, 272 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 8: that's it. 273 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: Did she smile? 274 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:35,880 Speaker 4: Yeah. 275 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: Anne's brother thanked the hoteliers, saying he hoped it was 276 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:51,400 Speaker 1: finally over, except the authorities had one last surprise for her. 277 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: All Anne wanted to do now was leave the country. 278 00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 1: But would she be able to. 279 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:01,879 Speaker 2: When she guid to the airport. Although she had a 280 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 2: new passport, she appeared on a no fly list. Costa 281 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:06,400 Speaker 2: Rica had stopped her. 282 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: Author Carol Vaughan, she lost it. 283 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 2: I understand from people around her that she the poor thing. 284 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:20,199 Speaker 2: She just fell apart. Her lawyer got her off that 285 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:22,919 Speaker 2: no fly list super fast. I think it wasn't like 286 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 2: eight days. She was off and she was out of here. 287 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: She has never returned to Costa Rica. Now, all that 288 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: was left to remind people about the couple was the house. 289 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 1: Like so many people in Perizeladon, Santiago and Anna had 290 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: always been curious about the huge, full story home built 291 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: on a hill in the middle of the jungle. It 292 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: intrigued everyone, but the hoteliers had never seen it. After 293 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: the trials and Anne's departure, they decided to go and 294 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 1: have a look for themselves. When they arrived at the house. 295 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 1: It was empty, abandoned. Some of John and Ann's possessions 296 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: remained scattered around the four floors, without gardeners or anyone 297 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: to maintain the property. Nature was taking over the wallless house. 298 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: Animals were moving in. 299 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 8: It was it was glowing like a jungle because nobody 300 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,920 Speaker 8: does nothing to the house. And the swimming pool there 301 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 8: was frogs and everything. Everything was down. The house in size, 302 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:31,239 Speaker 8: was dirty. Everything clothes and papers and all that kind 303 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 8: of stuff by the floor. Nobody cleans nothing. 304 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 1: So everything it was left as it was. Why did you. 305 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,919 Speaker 8: Go because we wanted to see the house. Everybody talk 306 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 8: about the house. 307 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,439 Speaker 1: So were you a bit shocked at the state it 308 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 1: was in? 309 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 8: Yeah. 310 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: They walked around the garden and decided to take one 311 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,639 Speaker 1: of the bender's benches, which would have been chucked away otherwise, 312 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 1: a lover's wooden swing seat which the couple used to 313 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,399 Speaker 1: sit on to enjoy their paradise. Now it's in the 314 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 1: hotel garden, a little weathered but still usable. 315 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:06,639 Speaker 8: The bench. 316 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: Have you got the bench? 317 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:09,919 Speaker 8: The benches from the house. 318 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: They also saw the remnants of John's beloved orchids strewn 319 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: all over the place, withered and decaying. Santiago rescued some 320 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 1: of the healthier looking ones and took them away. Now, 321 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: in one corner of Santiago's hotel garden, there is a 322 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 1: spectacular display of yellows and reds, which often catch the 323 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: eye of the guests. John's beautiful and rare orchids are 324 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: tall and thriving all these years after his death. A 325 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: few days after Anne had left Costa Rica, a mysterious 326 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:55,919 Speaker 1: package arrived at the hotel inside Santiago, and Anna found 327 00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: beautiful clothes Anne's designer collection and must have arranged for 328 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: them to be sent. Anna couldn't believe it. She'd had 329 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: marred them so many times, and and sense of style. 330 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 1: All these years. Anna has looked after them and even 331 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 1: wears them. Sometimes they're a perfect fit. When Santiago says 332 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: Anne pattern, that's Anne Bender. 333 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 8: Sometimes when she used those clothes, she says, Okay, I'm 334 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 8: gonna be Anna's today, an pattern. 335 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: Really you say that? Do you walk up and down 336 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 1: and go look at me. 337 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,359 Speaker 8: I'm gonna be a pattern today, That's why she said. 338 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: And sure enough, one morning, when I was staying at 339 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: the hotel, Anna called me over. She was wearing one 340 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,879 Speaker 1: of Anne's dresses long and black and elegant. This was 341 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,520 Speaker 1: Anne's See it's beautiful. 342 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 9: See do you feel elegant? 343 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: It's perfect, it's perfect, It fits beautifully. So it's a 344 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,359 Speaker 1: really sort of really quite tight fitting long black dress 345 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:10,639 Speaker 1: with a halting neck. Heakake, oh beautiful. After her acquittal, 346 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,119 Speaker 1: Anne left the country and settled in America to start 347 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,639 Speaker 1: a new life. And yet you can probably guess what 348 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:22,199 Speaker 1: happened next. The Costa Rican authorities were still determined to 349 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:27,200 Speaker 1: get her. In twenty seventeen, the Prosecutor's office ordered a 350 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: fourth trial. They wanted to try her all over again, 351 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,120 Speaker 1: but to do that they would need to extradite an 352 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:40,200 Speaker 1: from the United States. They issued an international arrest warrant 353 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 1: against her, effectively making it impossible for her to travel internationally. 354 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: There were other battles too. She took her Costa Rican lawyer, 355 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,919 Speaker 1: Juan Alvarez to court for fraud in twenty twelve. He 356 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: had control over part of their fortune, which had been 357 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: put in that trust. The money was supposed to be 358 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,160 Speaker 1: set aside for John and Anne's wildlife sanctuary. Anne accused 359 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:10,120 Speaker 1: Alvarez of taking cash from the trust for his personal use, 360 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,159 Speaker 1: spending it on horses and paying off credit card bills. 361 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: The court ruled that he should be removed from the 362 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 1: trust's board. Alvarez denied all the accusations made against him, 363 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: telling CBS they were bogus, but when his office was 364 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 1: raided during an investigation into his management of the trust, 365 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,919 Speaker 1: it was discovered that forty million dollars was missing. He 366 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:41,720 Speaker 1: didn't respond to our requests for an interview. We of 367 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 1: course also reached out to Anne. We would have loved 368 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,959 Speaker 1: to have talked her about everything in this podcast, about 369 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:54,920 Speaker 1: the whole story, but she didn't respond. So what about 370 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:59,439 Speaker 1: those gems, the rubies, diamonds, the opals, which the police 371 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: confiscated at the time of John's death, and which they 372 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:06,840 Speaker 1: claimed were Anne's motive for murder? The Costa Rican authorities 373 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: alleged that the Benders had not paid taxes on the 374 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: jewels and had smuggled them in The private collection was 375 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: originally valued at twenty million dollars. Anne eventually recovered some 376 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,600 Speaker 1: of the gems in February twenty twenty, but that part 377 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: of the hoarde was apparently valued closer to four million dollars. 378 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,880 Speaker 1: Authorities explained some had been kept in order to pair 379 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:35,400 Speaker 1: a tax bill of about one point three million dollars. 380 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: What happened to the rest of the collection is still 381 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 1: a mystery, and all the while, the threat of having 382 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,120 Speaker 1: to face trial in Costa Rica for a fourth time 383 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,240 Speaker 1: hung over Anne. The international arrest warrant meant that she 384 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 1: was effectively trapped in the US even as she tried 385 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:59,200 Speaker 1: to rebuild her life. She was not free until finally 386 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:04,199 Speaker 1: the law changed, enabling her defense team to challenge the retrial. 387 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 1: The case was heard before the Human Rights Chamber of 388 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: Costa Rica's Supreme Court in twenty twenty three. Her defense 389 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,440 Speaker 1: team argued that she was the victim of judicial persecution. 390 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:22,439 Speaker 1: Seven judges deliberated and the vote was very close, But 391 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: in the end, four of the seven judges ruled in 392 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 1: Anne's favor that Anne's two previous acquittals will now protect 393 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: her from any more appeals. She can never again be 394 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:39,120 Speaker 1: prosecuted for the death of her husband. In other words, 395 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: in the eyes of the law, it is finally over. 396 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: But for those around the couple, it's not quite so simple. 397 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 1: It's been fifteen years since John's death, but the repercussions 398 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:59,600 Speaker 1: are still reverberating around the mystical Dia Monte Valley and 399 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:04,159 Speaker 1: be Carol Vaughan wasn't the only one to become possessed 400 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 1: and obsessed with the story. So what do all our 401 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: characters make of it now? Do they still think about 402 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,919 Speaker 1: the private but compelling couple who lived on top of 403 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:20,280 Speaker 1: the hill? Remember Michael, the mercenary who we had voiced 404 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: out by an actor. 405 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,719 Speaker 8: I was contracted by a third party to kind of 406 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 8: intercept mister Bender and send him to the States. 407 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: Michael said he'd been hired to abduct John and take 408 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:35,080 Speaker 1: him back to America. I caught up with him briefly. 409 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: He said, there's one thing he thinks about. At the 410 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: time he had John under surveillance, he noticed a couple 411 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: of other people, a youngish woman and a man, also 412 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: keeping an eye on John Bender. Who were they and 413 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,120 Speaker 1: what were they up to? He still has no clue. 414 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: Another mystery, And what of Jesse and Matty. 415 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 10: I personally thought he was probably somebody very big in 416 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 10: the drugs Lene. 417 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 2: Obviously they were doing something secret. 418 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: They haven't forgotten their former neighbors. In fact, they have 419 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 1: become more invested in their story. Jesse even went to 420 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: the court to watch part of the trial. Remember I 421 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 1: told you Matti is a clairvoyant. Well, halfway through our interview, 422 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: Jesse stopped us and said, Matty may be receiving a 423 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: communication from John at that very moment. 424 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 10: It's possible we could have some information from John. 425 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 6: John. 426 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 11: Look, Joon, no mean John Nolosavia is the John, I said, 427 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:59,600 Speaker 11: Goldpi Goldpi Caldandura. 428 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:57,440 Speaker 10: Is. 429 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: Matty was breathing heavily, and we waited. But well, I 430 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: don't think they were able to speak to John at 431 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: that time in the past. They say they had curious 432 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: if he could give them answers. They say he tells 433 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: them that he killed himself and is played by guilt 434 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: about Anne's illness and his attempts to cure her. 435 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 3: They're saying that Anne killed you. 436 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:23,400 Speaker 10: What do you say? 437 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 11: And then he said I killed her. 438 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,360 Speaker 1: Then there's doctor Lozano and psychiatrist. 439 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 9: I asked her, what are these bumps? He said, Well, 440 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 9: John was injected me, giving me clear spring water injections 441 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:46,240 Speaker 9: under my skin to heal me. I said, and are 442 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 9: you serious. 443 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 1: He's still practicing in San Jose and he has been left 444 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 1: with a sense of great loss following the departure of 445 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 1: his former patient. He feels like. 446 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:04,320 Speaker 9: The girl who's boyfriend left her kind of feeling really like, 447 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 9: what happened? What did we do? What was wrong? 448 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:10,640 Speaker 1: You thought you'd done something wrong. 449 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,360 Speaker 9: I have kindalyzed one thousand times, and I think I 450 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:17,840 Speaker 9: never did anything wrong. 451 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: Did you find it confusing? 452 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,400 Speaker 9: Yes in the beginning, but there was a moment in 453 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:27,480 Speaker 9: time in which I said, well, let it be. 454 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: Let it be, he says, but I can tell he 455 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 1: finds it hard to let go of Van Bender. And 456 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: what of John Corvick, who first told us how sinister 457 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:40,040 Speaker 1: the dear Monte Valley could be? 458 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,680 Speaker 7: She at that place is the darkest jungle you've ever 459 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 7: seen in your life. You have no clue. 460 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: He left Costa Rica and now lives in Florida, still 461 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: loving the outdoor life. He and his wife, Nicole do 462 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 1: sometimes talk about their old neighbors, the Benders, and discuss 463 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 1: all their theories about what really happened, But most of 464 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: the time John is air boating in the Everglades. 465 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 7: Well, I'm still out in the woods a lot. 466 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:05,680 Speaker 10: Here. 467 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 7: We write boats around and I don't know, you know, 468 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,480 Speaker 7: I still have some wilderness is different than the mountains, 469 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:12,959 Speaker 7: But I'm a well rounded outdoors person. 470 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 1: Hotelier Santiago put forward a proposal for groups of tourists 471 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: to stay at Borichayanne and experience the authentic jungle, but 472 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:30,040 Speaker 1: that was rejected the Bender's head of maintenance, As Valdo, 473 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: is now working at a local vets. He's still coming 474 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: to terms with what happened while he worked for the Benders. 475 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: Ambulance driver Carlos now drives taxies, but still thinks about 476 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,240 Speaker 1: that night in twenty ten when he went to Borichayanne 477 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: in the small hours and saw the house like a 478 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:53,720 Speaker 1: flying saucer and John dead on the fourth floor. While 479 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:57,720 Speaker 1: in prison, the Bender's former head of security, Jose Pizzaro, 480 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:01,480 Speaker 1: found god he was really east from prison in twenty 481 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 1: twenty two, Rosemary, who sold seeds to the Benders and 482 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: witnessed that dramatic confrontation with the police, is now making 483 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:16,920 Speaker 1: locally sourced chocolate. There's something about this story which seems 484 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: to stay with people, get under their skin. 485 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:21,960 Speaker 4: It was a big shock. 486 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 12: I didn't know that it was going to bother me 487 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 12: that much, but it did. 488 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: Remember John's friend, Steve, John taught him how to chat 489 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:35,520 Speaker 1: up girls in Philadelphia. He was deeply affected when he 490 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,480 Speaker 1: heard about John's death and for a while. It took 491 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 1: over his life. 492 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:45,440 Speaker 12: And I'm looking at the pictures, I said, that's him, 493 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 12: and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. 494 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:50,960 Speaker 12: For one of the few times in my life, I 495 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:55,200 Speaker 12: actually shed the tear. I don't cry. I couldn't stop 496 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,840 Speaker 12: talking about it. I went on Facebook and I put 497 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 12: a whole big post and everybody saw it. I did 498 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 12: research all over the place finding what happened. 499 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:08,520 Speaker 7: I was there in all kind. 500 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:11,879 Speaker 12: Of forums, cracks and crevices. I was going to find 501 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,319 Speaker 12: out what happened to John. And then one day I 502 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:16,880 Speaker 12: woke up and I said, I can't do this anymore. 503 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,319 Speaker 12: I don't like walking around that big burden on my 504 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:22,720 Speaker 12: shoulder and something hurting me. So I deleted all my posts, 505 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,960 Speaker 12: I deleted the video I had, and I promised I 506 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,359 Speaker 12: would never talk about it again. And after that day, 507 00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:34,560 Speaker 12: I never talked about it because that saved That saved it, 508 00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:36,360 Speaker 12: like it made me. I was okay after that. 509 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: Like Steve, author and journalist Carol Vaughan couldn't let go 510 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: of the Bender's story either. She was possessed and obsessed 511 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:47,480 Speaker 1: and it changed her life. 512 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:55,200 Speaker 2: I became so deeply entrenched, involved, smitten that I would 513 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:59,400 Speaker 2: go hardly. I'd go days without bathing and go all 514 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:00,160 Speaker 2: day with any eat. 515 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:01,120 Speaker 7: I was just. 516 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:03,880 Speaker 2: I was possessed. 517 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:05,640 Speaker 1: Is that what it felt like? 518 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:06,480 Speaker 2: Definitely? 519 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:08,399 Speaker 1: Did you try to stop being? 520 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:08,719 Speaker 12: No? 521 00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:09,600 Speaker 2: I loved it? 522 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:11,200 Speaker 1: And why did you love it? 523 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,920 Speaker 2: Because I felt so much passion, really, and I like passion, 524 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:20,120 Speaker 2: So I felt I think Kostreeka is a very passionate place, 525 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,480 Speaker 2: a very sexy place that's filled with love. And I 526 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:25,360 Speaker 2: was right in the middle of all of that, so 527 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:26,479 Speaker 2: felt kind of good. 528 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:27,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, where you wanted to be? 529 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 10: Yes? 530 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:29,879 Speaker 1: Do you think it's detrimental to you at all? 531 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:30,200 Speaker 10: No? 532 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:36,400 Speaker 2: I think that I'm over it, really, But it was 533 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:40,400 Speaker 2: an almost year where I wasn't very healthy. I wasn't eating, 534 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,719 Speaker 2: while I wasn't exercising. 535 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:44,920 Speaker 1: Wasn't Yeah, would you like to let go of it 536 00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:47,239 Speaker 1: a bit? I would like to. 537 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:51,320 Speaker 2: I like to know what really happened, which I probably 538 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:51,879 Speaker 2: never will. 539 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,200 Speaker 1: We said at the start of the series that Bora 540 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 1: kay Anne, the extraordinary house which John built on top 541 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,920 Speaker 1: of the hill, was the scene of a mystery, but 542 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:06,480 Speaker 1: also a tragedy, the death of a brilliant man who, 543 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:10,560 Speaker 1: for all his flaws, followed his dreams for a few 544 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:13,800 Speaker 1: short years, he created his own heaven. Anne and John 545 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:18,239 Speaker 1: lived there among animals, the sloths, monkeys, and anteaters in 546 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:22,200 Speaker 1: the natural world, which they loved, but it turned to hell. 547 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,800 Speaker 1: John left behind his family, his brother Matthew and parents 548 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:30,320 Speaker 1: Margie and Paul, who I can see are still reeling 549 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: from his death. Were you able to have a funeral 550 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,360 Speaker 1: or at least be able to have a ceremony for John? 551 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:42,319 Speaker 10: We didn't. We probably should if she had some kind 552 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:44,920 Speaker 10: of a formal ceremony of some. 553 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:48,200 Speaker 1: Kind, Paul is talking about Anne. 554 00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,440 Speaker 10: We probably would have gone down there for it, Yes, 555 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:52,800 Speaker 10: but she didn't. 556 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:56,839 Speaker 1: Do you feel that you have questions that are unanswered 557 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:59,480 Speaker 1: still that you would have you would want answered. 558 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,479 Speaker 10: Well, I don't know how Mary feels about this. She's 559 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 10: much better right than I am. But what's the point 560 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:10,560 Speaker 10: of worrying about things that have happened and there's nothing 561 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:12,160 Speaker 10: you can do about them anymore? 562 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,080 Speaker 2: I think sometimes that makes the situation far worse? 563 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 1: Continuing to ask questions. 564 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:24,640 Speaker 10: Yeah, because soon what the answers are? What are you 565 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:27,080 Speaker 10: going to do with what you find out? I knew 566 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:30,600 Speaker 10: he had some battles with people in the investment. Things 567 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:33,120 Speaker 10: that worked for him, or that he worked against him. 568 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:35,240 Speaker 10: I knew about that kind of stuff, but he seemed 569 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:37,719 Speaker 10: to be doing well with I figured he knows what 570 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,040 Speaker 10: he's doing a lot better than I is. So what 571 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:40,600 Speaker 10: can I do? 572 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,879 Speaker 1: Is it something that both of you you still think 573 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:47,320 Speaker 1: about every day? Are you able to in some ways 574 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:49,720 Speaker 1: come to terms with what happened? Because I can't imagine 575 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:50,399 Speaker 1: how that could be. 576 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,400 Speaker 10: I don't know what you mean, but coming to terms with. 577 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:58,480 Speaker 2: Him, I certainly coming to terms is not a thing 578 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:02,160 Speaker 2: I even think about. It hangs there. 579 00:38:03,719 --> 00:38:07,360 Speaker 10: Yeah, it's just a helpless feeling. So there's nothing you 580 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:11,200 Speaker 10: can do about it. I still don't know who's responsible. 581 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,719 Speaker 10: That's the difference. It's not going to make anything better. 582 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,919 Speaker 1: If there was one memory, at least of looking back 583 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,680 Speaker 1: of the best memory of John is the one that 584 00:38:20,719 --> 00:38:21,879 Speaker 1: comes to mind. 585 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,560 Speaker 10: The relationship with the animals and with the land which 586 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:33,640 Speaker 10: he had developed with the house. That's a really positive thing. 587 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,879 Speaker 10: I couldn't believe it when I saw the whole developmentto 588 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:41,520 Speaker 10: the place was something that I never thought would happen, 589 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,960 Speaker 10: and that was just wonderful to see. And then it 590 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:49,000 Speaker 10: all comes crashing down. But it was very, very successful, 591 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,440 Speaker 10: and he did that all on his own. I was 592 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,200 Speaker 10: kept saying this isn't going to work, but it always worked. 593 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,760 Speaker 1: As well as a mystery and a tragedy, this series 594 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:03,120 Speaker 1: is also a love story. Remember how John and Anne 595 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:06,640 Speaker 1: fell instantly in love in Virginia over the punch Bowl. 596 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:11,320 Speaker 1: Echoing that romantic meeting is the story of how Paul 597 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,360 Speaker 1: and Margie met back in the nineteen fifties. The memory 598 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:18,480 Speaker 1: of it makes them both smile, and the heaviness in 599 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:23,120 Speaker 1: their voices lifts. It's just nice to hear, but it 600 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:26,399 Speaker 1: reveals something else, how their love for each other has 601 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:30,040 Speaker 1: got them through the dark days and still does. They 602 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:31,600 Speaker 1: were both studying at the time. 603 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:38,680 Speaker 10: She was one year behind me, and we met. 604 00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:39,759 Speaker 2: That's the wonderful time. 605 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:43,560 Speaker 10: We met at a Gilbert and Sullivan production and I 606 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:45,640 Speaker 10: played the piano when she was in the chorus. 607 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:46,879 Speaker 1: Was it love at first sight? 608 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:49,279 Speaker 10: Well me, it certainly was. 609 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:53,320 Speaker 1: Really he's a very lovable he's very romantic. 610 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:57,040 Speaker 10: We got along very well. 611 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:02,200 Speaker 1: And what about the house. It's still on sale. It 612 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:06,040 Speaker 1: seems the asking price has been reduced from twenty five 613 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:10,799 Speaker 1: million dollars to twelve million, and it's been renamed ce 614 00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:17,080 Speaker 1: Ridge Reserve. The house with no walls stands vacant, with 615 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:21,839 Speaker 1: two guards at the gate, and the jungle steadily reclaiming 616 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:27,080 Speaker 1: the land to its original wilderness. It's thought that Anne 617 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:31,200 Speaker 1: would like whoever buys it to revive the nature reserve, 618 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:36,239 Speaker 1: which she and John were so proud of, but so 619 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:38,680 Speaker 1: far there are no takers. 620 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:42,280 Speaker 4: This is where they lived, this is where John died. 621 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:47,799 Speaker 1: We started with the house and we end with it. 622 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:51,960 Speaker 1: I mean, when it was really beautiful, poppy, it must 623 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,080 Speaker 1: have been quite dramatic to walk up those steps. I 624 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:57,919 Speaker 1: mean wat an entrance. Absolutely. I mean there's something quite 625 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,839 Speaker 1: kind of you know, after doing working on it for 626 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:04,120 Speaker 1: so long. It's something quite kind of poignant about actually 627 00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:07,160 Speaker 1: seeing the house, isn't it. You know this is where 628 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:11,040 Speaker 1: it all happened, on that top floor, you know, near 629 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:17,960 Speaker 1: the dome. Something. It's sad, it is. I feel kind 630 00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:23,480 Speaker 1: of heavy here, So do I carries something, doesn't it? 631 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:29,680 Speaker 2: They had the big doors in the big raught iron. 632 00:41:29,719 --> 00:41:32,879 Speaker 1: Do you think that had flowers on it? I think 633 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:36,680 Speaker 1: the whole lot had flowers everywhere and animals just wandering around. 634 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:51,160 Speaker 1: We were told that John's ashes are scattered here at 635 00:41:51,200 --> 00:42:28,799 Speaker 1: his beloved Bora Kaya. It's weird, isn't it just so still. Yeah, 636 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:33,920 Speaker 1: it's really sad. It just feels that you can only 637 00:42:33,960 --> 00:43:19,359 Speaker 1: hear the buds. Sure we go, Let's come on. You've 638 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:22,920 Speaker 1: been listening to Helen Heaven from Exactly Right Media and 639 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:28,640 Speaker 1: iHeart Podcasts produced by Blanchard House, hosted, written and produced 640 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:32,319 Speaker 1: by me Becky Milligan. The producer and co writer is 641 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 1: Poppy Damon. Music is by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis nank Manell, 642 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,120 Speaker 1: and Toby Mattamont. The sound recordist and head of sound 643 00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:44,920 Speaker 1: and Music is Daniel Lloyd Evans. The lead sound designer 644 00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:50,440 Speaker 1: is Vulcan Kiseltook. The artwork is by Vanessa Lilac for 645 00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:54,920 Speaker 1: Exactly Right Media. The executive producers are Karen Kilgareth Georgia 646 00:43:54,960 --> 00:44:00,400 Speaker 1: Hartstark and Danielle Kramer, with consulting producer Lilli Laderwig and 647 00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:06,280 Speaker 1: associate producer Jay Elias. The creative director of Blanchard House 648 00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:10,600 Speaker 1: is Rosie Pye. The executive producer and head of Content 649 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:15,360 Speaker 1: at Blanchard House is Lawrence Griselle. Listen to Helen Heaven 650 00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:19,480 Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 651 00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:20,399 Speaker 1: your podcasts.