1 00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:13,925 Speaker 1: School of Humans. When we talked with Sheriff Alex Ville Nueva, 2 00:00:14,445 --> 00:00:16,925 Speaker 1: he said this, Yeah, we do get a lot of 3 00:00:16,925 --> 00:00:21,405 Speaker 1: the Love transience people that wandered different areas throughout that 4 00:00:21,485 --> 00:00:25,885 Speaker 1: whole corridor there. But so we're still you know, absence 5 00:00:25,965 --> 00:00:28,485 Speaker 1: somebody coming forward and saying this is what happened, and 6 00:00:28,965 --> 00:00:32,405 Speaker 1: how we're still going to be left with this unresolved, 7 00:00:33,165 --> 00:00:37,285 Speaker 1: you know depth Sheriff vill In Nueva says, someone out 8 00:00:37,285 --> 00:00:40,725 Speaker 1: there knows something, so we need to find and talk 9 00:00:40,725 --> 00:00:47,605 Speaker 1: to those people. This is a real time investigation and 10 00:00:47,645 --> 00:00:50,965 Speaker 1: as a pandemic has unfolded, it's had a very real 11 00:00:51,005 --> 00:00:53,285 Speaker 1: effect on crime. Yeah, I feel like this is really 12 00:00:53,365 --> 00:00:57,125 Speaker 1: different than season one right now because obviously with season 13 00:00:57,205 --> 00:01:01,085 Speaker 1: one you were embedded and there and meeting people. But 14 00:01:01,205 --> 00:01:06,405 Speaker 1: here now it seems kind of impossible with COVID. Well, 15 00:01:06,525 --> 00:01:08,165 Speaker 1: I think also, like I mean a lot of the 16 00:01:08,205 --> 00:01:12,005 Speaker 1: people involved in this are in a higher risk group, 17 00:01:12,365 --> 00:01:15,125 Speaker 1: and some of them are older, Like I mean, Ship 18 00:01:15,165 --> 00:01:18,125 Speaker 1: said he hasn't left his house in months, and a 19 00:01:18,165 --> 00:01:20,765 Speaker 1: lot of people are kind of in that same in 20 00:01:20,845 --> 00:01:24,165 Speaker 1: that same boat. I don't feel okay about going and 21 00:01:24,245 --> 00:01:27,125 Speaker 1: knocking on doors. I can't go to anything. I mean, 22 00:01:27,165 --> 00:01:30,405 Speaker 1: and there aren't the kind of things here, like you know, 23 00:01:30,445 --> 00:01:32,125 Speaker 1: you can't go out and meet people at a restaurant. 24 00:01:32,165 --> 00:01:35,125 Speaker 1: You can't like go to there, you know, Malibu, that 25 00:01:35,205 --> 00:01:37,645 Speaker 1: area that When we started this, I thought, Okay, well 26 00:01:37,645 --> 00:01:39,565 Speaker 1: they have a lot of community meetings and things like 27 00:01:39,605 --> 00:01:43,765 Speaker 1: that all the time normally, but obviously none of that's 28 00:01:43,765 --> 00:01:47,805 Speaker 1: happening now. Yeah, and even the police and the fire 29 00:01:47,885 --> 00:01:51,685 Speaker 1: guys since the summer have been so overstretched. Usually you 30 00:01:51,685 --> 00:01:54,405 Speaker 1: can find like a friendly source to take you around, 31 00:01:54,485 --> 00:01:56,725 Speaker 1: but even the people who I have or friendly sources 32 00:01:56,725 --> 00:02:02,045 Speaker 1: are just you know, kind of overwhelmed right now. And 33 00:02:02,085 --> 00:02:04,405 Speaker 1: it's just it's been really hard. It's not I mean, 34 00:02:04,405 --> 00:02:06,885 Speaker 1: you know, look, every every single element of our lives 35 00:02:06,965 --> 00:02:08,645 Speaker 1: has been changed right now, and it's kind of like, 36 00:02:08,685 --> 00:02:11,565 Speaker 1: why should investigations be any different? And I'm kind of 37 00:02:11,605 --> 00:02:13,925 Speaker 1: I mean, it makes me think too that cold case 38 00:02:13,965 --> 00:02:16,765 Speaker 1: investigations it's going to be tough because it's sort of 39 00:02:16,805 --> 00:02:19,765 Speaker 1: like pressed us into a world where unless something is 40 00:02:19,765 --> 00:02:23,725 Speaker 1: an absolute priority right now, it's not gonna get done. 41 00:02:24,485 --> 00:02:27,925 Speaker 1: And I kind of feel like that's what's happening with investigations. 42 00:02:28,365 --> 00:02:32,085 Speaker 1: And then there's also all the fires and yeah, I'm 43 00:02:32,285 --> 00:02:36,045 Speaker 1: about that, like, yes, that made things hard temporarily, that 44 00:02:36,085 --> 00:02:39,805 Speaker 1: would have been yeah, that made it hard for people 45 00:02:39,885 --> 00:02:42,685 Speaker 1: to go out to that area. But in a normal 46 00:02:42,845 --> 00:02:45,325 Speaker 1: year where that was all that was happening, it would 47 00:02:45,365 --> 00:02:47,845 Speaker 1: have been like, Okay, we wait until fire season's over 48 00:02:47,965 --> 00:02:51,325 Speaker 1: and then you can go out there. But that's the problems. 49 00:02:51,725 --> 00:02:53,685 Speaker 1: There's no it seems like there's just kind of no 50 00:02:53,845 --> 00:02:58,285 Speaker 1: end of this, no immediate endto this until there's a vaccine. 51 00:03:04,205 --> 00:03:06,485 Speaker 1: We're getting more and more evident that my treece was 52 00:03:06,525 --> 00:03:10,365 Speaker 1: alive and fully clothed on the morning of September seventeenth, 53 00:03:11,365 --> 00:03:15,685 Speaker 1: then at some point that day she disappeared. So we 54 00:03:15,765 --> 00:03:19,605 Speaker 1: need to answer two questions. First, could my Trees have 55 00:03:19,725 --> 00:03:22,165 Speaker 1: walked to the area where her body was found on 56 00:03:22,205 --> 00:03:26,365 Speaker 1: her own? And second, who was in the neighborhood that night, 57 00:03:27,325 --> 00:03:29,645 Speaker 1: Because if my Trees did not walk there on her own, 58 00:03:30,165 --> 00:03:33,325 Speaker 1: the evidence suggests that she was taken there by someone 59 00:03:33,325 --> 00:03:38,605 Speaker 1: who had familiarity with the area. I'm Catherine Townsend. This 60 00:03:38,885 --> 00:04:13,605 Speaker 1: is Helen Gone. In order to figure out who could 61 00:04:13,685 --> 00:04:16,485 Speaker 1: have been the last person to see my Trees, we 62 00:04:16,605 --> 00:04:19,685 Speaker 1: wanted to get a better understanding of who lives in 63 00:04:19,725 --> 00:04:24,245 Speaker 1: the Santa Monica Mountains. The Mountain range covers a massive area. 64 00:04:24,645 --> 00:04:27,405 Speaker 1: It stretches from the Hollywood Hills all the way to 65 00:04:27,485 --> 00:04:32,285 Speaker 1: Point Mugu in Ventura County. Montegnito, where Bill Smith lives, 66 00:04:32,765 --> 00:04:35,685 Speaker 1: is a quiet neighborhood full of people who love hiking 67 00:04:35,805 --> 00:04:40,045 Speaker 1: and horseback riding. But there's also an underworld in the mountains. 68 00:04:40,725 --> 00:04:44,685 Speaker 1: There are transient people with no fixed address, cartels who 69 00:04:44,685 --> 00:04:50,125 Speaker 1: grow pot illegally, and ultra violent gangs. Since the pandemic, 70 00:04:50,365 --> 00:04:53,605 Speaker 1: a lot of police departments that investigate cold cases have 71 00:04:53,725 --> 00:04:57,485 Speaker 1: found that they've had to alter their methods. They aren't 72 00:04:57,485 --> 00:05:00,885 Speaker 1: able to generate tips or to do their usual outreach. 73 00:05:01,565 --> 00:05:04,205 Speaker 1: I was inspired by one department in Texas I read about, 74 00:05:04,205 --> 00:05:06,325 Speaker 1: who are basically doing the same thing that we're doing, 75 00:05:06,925 --> 00:05:10,365 Speaker 1: doubling down on the evidence they already had. They went 76 00:05:10,405 --> 00:05:12,765 Speaker 1: back to the drawing board and tried to see if 77 00:05:12,805 --> 00:05:17,285 Speaker 1: there was anything that they missed. Office Campire. Yeah, Hi, Hey, 78 00:05:17,485 --> 00:05:19,885 Speaker 1: this is a Smith a cold canyon. We had a 79 00:05:19,885 --> 00:05:22,125 Speaker 1: prowler to walking around through the backyard here, but we 80 00:05:22,165 --> 00:05:24,445 Speaker 1: don't know what the situation was. I don't know. If 81 00:05:24,445 --> 00:05:25,565 Speaker 1: you have a unit in there, it might do a 82 00:05:25,605 --> 00:05:28,485 Speaker 1: little drive buy or somethink. We know that Bill Smith, 83 00:05:28,885 --> 00:05:32,725 Speaker 1: the former KTLA Channel five reporter who saw my trees 84 00:05:32,805 --> 00:05:36,485 Speaker 1: sitting on his back steps, called the Lost Hills Sheriff's 85 00:05:36,485 --> 00:05:40,845 Speaker 1: department in the early morning hours of September seventeenth. And 86 00:05:40,885 --> 00:05:42,565 Speaker 1: now we just said a strange womanould walk up through 87 00:05:42,565 --> 00:05:45,005 Speaker 1: the backyard here that this is fairly large properation. She 88 00:05:45,085 --> 00:05:47,045 Speaker 1: was sitting on the step right on the back of 89 00:05:47,045 --> 00:05:50,005 Speaker 1: the house. Here, this is kind of a circular. Bill 90 00:05:50,045 --> 00:05:52,925 Speaker 1: Smith did not speak to anyone about my trees in 91 00:05:52,965 --> 00:05:56,165 Speaker 1: the last few years of his life. We reached out 92 00:05:56,165 --> 00:06:02,245 Speaker 1: to his widow several times but did not receive a response. Later, 93 00:06:02,685 --> 00:06:05,565 Speaker 1: canine dogs were brought to the scene. They found one 94 00:06:05,645 --> 00:06:08,645 Speaker 1: sneaker prints that they believed were my terces, and the 95 00:06:08,725 --> 00:06:11,605 Speaker 1: dogs followed My Teresa's scent down the street from Bill 96 00:06:11,685 --> 00:06:16,325 Speaker 1: Smith's house, then lost the scent. Investigators believed that the 97 00:06:16,325 --> 00:06:19,885 Speaker 1: footprints pattern showed that my trees had gone from walking 98 00:06:20,085 --> 00:06:25,085 Speaker 1: to running. Then they disappeared. Now, this could have been 99 00:06:25,165 --> 00:06:27,845 Speaker 1: because a car drove by and picked my trees up, 100 00:06:28,725 --> 00:06:32,005 Speaker 1: but she could have also gotten scared. Maybe she saw 101 00:06:32,045 --> 00:06:34,645 Speaker 1: the police and decided to get off the road and 102 00:06:34,765 --> 00:06:38,645 Speaker 1: hide in the woods. After all, her earlier interaction with 103 00:06:38,685 --> 00:06:42,765 Speaker 1: the police had not gone well. There have been other 104 00:06:42,805 --> 00:06:45,565 Speaker 1: people who came forward and said that they saw my 105 00:06:45,645 --> 00:06:49,245 Speaker 1: Trees that night. When we talked to cherriffvill Nueva, he 106 00:06:49,365 --> 00:06:52,245 Speaker 1: said that some one saw my Trees drinking from a 107 00:06:52,285 --> 00:06:56,285 Speaker 1: garden hose after she was at Bill Smith's house. Then 108 00:06:56,325 --> 00:07:00,045 Speaker 1: there was another woman, a middle school teacher, who reported 109 00:07:00,085 --> 00:07:03,165 Speaker 1: that she had seen a woman matching my Trees's description 110 00:07:03,845 --> 00:07:07,525 Speaker 1: walking south on a road near Malibu Canyon at around 111 00:07:07,525 --> 00:07:11,245 Speaker 1: seven thirty am. She told the Los Angeles Times that 112 00:07:11,325 --> 00:07:15,605 Speaker 1: she remembered this because a black woman walking alone through 113 00:07:15,605 --> 00:07:21,085 Speaker 1: those roads was an unusual sight. Someone else reported seeing 114 00:07:21,125 --> 00:07:25,485 Speaker 1: my Trees walking down Payuma Road away from Malibuchanan Road, 115 00:07:25,845 --> 00:07:30,365 Speaker 1: in the direction of Dark Canyon at around one thirty pm. 116 00:07:30,565 --> 00:07:33,965 Speaker 1: Police pointed to these sightings as evidence that my Trees 117 00:07:34,085 --> 00:07:36,965 Speaker 1: made it through the night. We can't know for sure 118 00:07:37,045 --> 00:07:40,365 Speaker 1: what happened, but we have to follow my Trees's route 119 00:07:40,405 --> 00:07:43,165 Speaker 1: as best we can and try to use the evidence 120 00:07:43,205 --> 00:07:47,485 Speaker 1: to explore the likeliest possibilities. If my Trese was wandering 121 00:07:47,525 --> 00:07:51,525 Speaker 1: around during the day, she would have been exhausted, dehydrated, 122 00:07:51,925 --> 00:07:55,565 Speaker 1: and by all accounts very possibly having some sort of 123 00:07:55,565 --> 00:07:58,965 Speaker 1: a breakdown. I've spent a lot of time in this area. 124 00:07:59,845 --> 00:08:03,485 Speaker 1: If she had continued down Malibu Canyon Road, she would 125 00:08:03,485 --> 00:08:06,805 Speaker 1: have eventually made it to the Pacific Coast Highway back 126 00:08:06,845 --> 00:08:10,005 Speaker 1: towards Civilization and the mpound yard where her car had 127 00:08:10,005 --> 00:08:14,925 Speaker 1: been towed. But that road is treacherous. There's no shoulder, 128 00:08:15,765 --> 00:08:18,525 Speaker 1: you have to walk through the mountains with steep drops 129 00:08:18,565 --> 00:08:21,885 Speaker 1: on one side, and you have to walk through a 130 00:08:21,925 --> 00:08:25,725 Speaker 1: tunnel with no pedestrian sideway. The other street she could 131 00:08:25,725 --> 00:08:30,165 Speaker 1: have taken was Payuma Road, and Payuma Road, as we 132 00:08:30,245 --> 00:08:34,565 Speaker 1: discovered while driving around, is very misleading. It seems to 133 00:08:34,645 --> 00:08:38,685 Speaker 1: slope downward, but it's a long winding road that goes 134 00:08:38,725 --> 00:08:42,005 Speaker 1: from west to east, so you have the sensation of 135 00:08:42,085 --> 00:08:45,725 Speaker 1: going down the mountain, but really you're going deeper and 136 00:08:45,765 --> 00:08:49,405 Speaker 1: deeper into the canyon. The evidence points to the fact 137 00:08:49,405 --> 00:08:52,405 Speaker 1: that my Trees was alive and fully clothed on the 138 00:08:52,445 --> 00:08:56,685 Speaker 1: morning of September seventeenth, and somehow ended up in that 139 00:08:56,725 --> 00:08:59,565 Speaker 1: creek bed. So that means that we need to know 140 00:08:59,845 --> 00:09:01,965 Speaker 1: if she could have fallen or walked down to the 141 00:09:02,005 --> 00:09:05,925 Speaker 1: creek bed from Montinito, or if someone could have dumped 142 00:09:05,965 --> 00:09:12,805 Speaker 1: her down that hill. Okay, hi Michael, heay, Catherine, how 143 00:09:12,805 --> 00:09:17,245 Speaker 1: are you. I'm good? How are you? I'm pretty good? Good. Well, 144 00:09:17,405 --> 00:09:20,085 Speaker 1: thank you so much for talking to us. We've talked 145 00:09:20,085 --> 00:09:25,205 Speaker 1: to my Teresa's father, Michael Richardson. She just, you know, 146 00:09:26,965 --> 00:09:29,645 Speaker 1: it's really hard to put it into words, because she 147 00:09:29,845 --> 00:09:33,965 Speaker 1: was a good kid. You know, She's just loved to dance, 148 00:09:34,125 --> 00:09:38,325 Speaker 1: she loved to entertain, she loved to be a comedian, 149 00:09:38,685 --> 00:09:43,125 Speaker 1: and all her friends loved it. Just the life of 150 00:09:43,205 --> 00:09:49,325 Speaker 1: the party sort of speak person overall, incredible kid, you know, 151 00:09:49,605 --> 00:09:57,525 Speaker 1: and was still like that vulnerable. You know, I could 152 00:09:57,565 --> 00:10:02,565 Speaker 1: see how the wrong people could wind her in or 153 00:10:02,565 --> 00:10:05,605 Speaker 1: wield her in because you know, as much as I 154 00:10:05,645 --> 00:10:10,565 Speaker 1: tried to teach her and be you know, aware of 155 00:10:10,685 --> 00:10:14,885 Speaker 1: people that she was just always too trustworthy of people, 156 00:10:15,165 --> 00:10:19,125 Speaker 1: which was a problem I had with her, you know, like, 157 00:10:19,405 --> 00:10:22,285 Speaker 1: always keep your guardage up, and she's like, no, you 158 00:10:22,525 --> 00:10:26,845 Speaker 1: just you come from that life, so you know, everybody 159 00:10:26,965 --> 00:10:30,605 Speaker 1: is a suspect to that. But you know, this is 160 00:10:30,685 --> 00:10:34,725 Speaker 1: one of the main reasons why I always wanted to 161 00:10:34,925 --> 00:10:39,845 Speaker 1: educate her on mean people, you know, so yeah, to 162 00:10:39,965 --> 00:10:43,845 Speaker 1: try to prevent something like this from happening. Over the years, 163 00:10:43,925 --> 00:10:46,525 Speaker 1: he's talked about his suspicions with some of the people 164 00:10:46,525 --> 00:10:50,365 Speaker 1: in the Montanito area. And the crazy thing about it 165 00:10:50,565 --> 00:10:54,605 Speaker 1: was for a whole week straight while we were in Malibu, 166 00:10:54,685 --> 00:10:58,365 Speaker 1: searching and looking and everything like that. We just looked 167 00:10:58,445 --> 00:11:01,765 Speaker 1: up a week later and there was this white lady 168 00:11:01,845 --> 00:11:04,365 Speaker 1: there and we were like, okay, and who are you? 169 00:11:04,405 --> 00:11:08,485 Speaker 1: And she's like, I'm the lady. I'm married to Bill Smith. 170 00:11:08,605 --> 00:11:11,885 Speaker 1: I owned the property that she was on, and we 171 00:11:12,165 --> 00:11:16,245 Speaker 1: was like, and now you show up, Like how ironic 172 00:11:16,365 --> 00:11:20,285 Speaker 1: is that? And so what I was telling Matias was 173 00:11:20,725 --> 00:11:23,165 Speaker 1: my trees mother. She asked me like, why do you 174 00:11:23,205 --> 00:11:26,165 Speaker 1: think she showed up? And I'm like, she's probably a 175 00:11:26,205 --> 00:11:29,685 Speaker 1: spy knowing what's going on, and they had to get 176 00:11:29,685 --> 00:11:34,085 Speaker 1: their story straight and they were coached, and now she 177 00:11:34,285 --> 00:11:38,205 Speaker 1: feel comfortable enough to come out and see what we 178 00:11:38,285 --> 00:11:43,445 Speaker 1: know so she could report it. But after one of 179 00:11:43,445 --> 00:11:46,685 Speaker 1: his very close colleagues told me that years on, he 180 00:11:46,805 --> 00:11:50,405 Speaker 1: interviewed me several times it's like, did you get anybody invested? 181 00:11:50,485 --> 00:11:52,805 Speaker 1: I'm like, nobody will. They don't want to touch him. 182 00:11:53,085 --> 00:11:58,005 Speaker 1: I even leaned into it more after he raised suspicion 183 00:11:58,085 --> 00:12:02,445 Speaker 1: because when the dogs went out, they picked up my 184 00:12:02,525 --> 00:12:08,205 Speaker 1: trees footprints there and on his doorstep, and then all 185 00:12:08,245 --> 00:12:11,005 Speaker 1: of a sudden, her footprints just vanished. So I'm saying, 186 00:12:11,045 --> 00:12:16,605 Speaker 1: so she vanished from here, but nobody seeing a car 187 00:12:16,725 --> 00:12:20,285 Speaker 1: pick her up, nobody seeing her get in a car. 188 00:12:20,605 --> 00:12:25,565 Speaker 1: The UFO didn't come down low enough. You know. It 189 00:12:25,685 --> 00:12:30,085 Speaker 1: was just something. But that was the most interesting place 190 00:12:30,405 --> 00:12:34,085 Speaker 1: that I think they should have started asking questions. Well, 191 00:12:35,165 --> 00:12:40,605 Speaker 1: here's another strange thing that people keep omni. Before Bill 192 00:12:40,685 --> 00:12:44,845 Speaker 1: Smith's called, there was another lady which we felt that 193 00:12:45,565 --> 00:12:48,005 Speaker 1: she would had to be part of it, what have you. 194 00:12:48,125 --> 00:12:51,285 Speaker 1: But she made the first initial call saying she was 195 00:12:51,405 --> 00:12:57,285 Speaker 1: driving over there by. It was a cross street Boss 196 00:12:57,405 --> 00:13:00,925 Speaker 1: Hills and some other street, and they said they saw 197 00:13:01,005 --> 00:13:07,245 Speaker 1: a black lady looking rather suspicious and you know they're 198 00:13:07,285 --> 00:13:12,525 Speaker 1: from Malibu, and not to sound racist or whatever, she said, 199 00:13:12,605 --> 00:13:15,605 Speaker 1: but we just know that this is a person that 200 00:13:16,445 --> 00:13:19,365 Speaker 1: is not from here, could be lost or whatever. But 201 00:13:19,485 --> 00:13:22,885 Speaker 1: that was the first call, and they said that call 202 00:13:23,005 --> 00:13:26,405 Speaker 1: came in at six. Then one of the residents on 203 00:13:26,645 --> 00:13:32,005 Speaker 1: Bill's Street said, according to one of the reports, the 204 00:13:32,045 --> 00:13:38,965 Speaker 1: police came around twelve something or whatever, or twelve or 205 00:13:39,005 --> 00:13:42,165 Speaker 1: three I'm maybe a little off, but one of those timeframes. 206 00:13:42,565 --> 00:13:48,845 Speaker 1: But they said the police never showed up, right, they 207 00:13:48,965 --> 00:13:51,525 Speaker 1: never showed up. And of course we're not privy to 208 00:13:52,285 --> 00:13:58,925 Speaker 1: any traveling records, are logging and stops or anything of 209 00:13:58,925 --> 00:14:02,685 Speaker 1: that nature, so they wouldn't give us that. Now, we 210 00:14:02,765 --> 00:14:08,325 Speaker 1: found no evidence that anyone Montinito did anything suspicious, but 211 00:14:08,365 --> 00:14:10,885 Speaker 1: there are a lot of other people living in those hills. 212 00:14:12,085 --> 00:14:15,405 Speaker 1: Could my trees have encountered some of them. The Santa 213 00:14:15,405 --> 00:14:19,365 Speaker 1: Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is known for horse trails 214 00:14:19,525 --> 00:14:22,885 Speaker 1: and hikes and wine tours, but it also has a 215 00:14:22,965 --> 00:14:26,165 Speaker 1: dark side. A lot of people use the area to 216 00:14:26,205 --> 00:14:29,925 Speaker 1: dispose of things they don't want, like trash and bodies. 217 00:14:30,605 --> 00:14:33,085 Speaker 1: This has been going on for a long time. During 218 00:14:33,125 --> 00:14:36,845 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties, the psychopathic serial killing couple Doug Clark 219 00:14:36,885 --> 00:14:40,845 Speaker 1: and Carol Bundy, nicknamed the Sunset Strip Killers, dumped one 220 00:14:40,845 --> 00:14:45,085 Speaker 1: of their many female victims here. Over the years, many 221 00:14:45,165 --> 00:14:49,245 Speaker 1: other bodies have been found here as well. Some were 222 00:14:49,325 --> 00:14:53,125 Speaker 1: ruled suicides they wanted to choose a peaceful place in 223 00:14:53,165 --> 00:14:57,965 Speaker 1: their own lives. Others have been accidents when cars veer 224 00:14:58,045 --> 00:15:01,205 Speaker 1: off one of the twisted roads, or someone jumps into 225 00:15:01,205 --> 00:15:05,125 Speaker 1: a dam on a dare. Some are still unsolved, like 226 00:15:05,165 --> 00:15:07,525 Speaker 1: the of a sixteen year old who was beaten to 227 00:15:07,565 --> 00:15:10,925 Speaker 1: death and dumped in a canyon. His remains were burned 228 00:15:10,965 --> 00:15:16,485 Speaker 1: beyond recognition during a wildfire. Some are violent murders, and 229 00:15:16,605 --> 00:15:20,445 Speaker 1: many are gang related. According to the Los Angeles Times, 230 00:15:20,685 --> 00:15:23,645 Speaker 1: the MS thirteen Street gang has been active in the area. 231 00:15:24,405 --> 00:15:28,205 Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, police arrested several members of the gang 232 00:15:28,365 --> 00:15:31,405 Speaker 1: and charged them with seven murders in the hills around 233 00:15:31,405 --> 00:15:36,085 Speaker 1: Malibu in the Angeles National Forest. Federal investigators said that 234 00:15:36,165 --> 00:15:40,605 Speaker 1: the gang lured their enemies to remote locations, including the canyon, 235 00:15:41,325 --> 00:15:46,965 Speaker 1: and then killed them using medieval methods, including torture and dismemberment. 236 00:15:47,485 --> 00:15:51,725 Speaker 1: Federal prosecutors say that the gang used machetes, knives, and 237 00:15:51,765 --> 00:15:56,085 Speaker 1: baseball bats to kill suspected informants. In one instance, when 238 00:15:56,125 --> 00:15:59,525 Speaker 1: gang members suspected someone of defacing an M. S thirteen 239 00:15:59,525 --> 00:16:03,405 Speaker 1: graffiti tag, six of them kidnapped him, took him to 240 00:16:03,445 --> 00:16:06,925 Speaker 1: the Angelus National Forest, and attacked him with a machete. 241 00:16:07,765 --> 00:16:12,445 Speaker 1: Prosecutors say they cut his heart out. In May twenty eighteen, 242 00:16:13,005 --> 00:16:15,045 Speaker 1: the body of a fifty two year old man named 243 00:16:15,085 --> 00:16:18,525 Speaker 1: Francisco cruise was discovered in a ditch by the side 244 00:16:18,565 --> 00:16:22,165 Speaker 1: of the road dump near the Malibu Hindu Temple. This 245 00:16:22,325 --> 00:16:25,965 Speaker 1: is a massive white landmark that people flocked to. It's 246 00:16:26,005 --> 00:16:29,165 Speaker 1: also very near the area where my Trees's body was found. 247 00:16:29,685 --> 00:16:33,205 Speaker 1: Francisco reportedly died from sharp fores injuries to the upper 248 00:16:33,205 --> 00:16:36,725 Speaker 1: body and blunt force injury to the head, and according 249 00:16:36,725 --> 00:16:40,085 Speaker 1: to a source quoted by The Hollywood Reporter, his body 250 00:16:40,245 --> 00:16:45,085 Speaker 1: showed signs of torture, possibly with a drill. Two months later, 251 00:16:45,365 --> 00:16:47,885 Speaker 1: the body of another man was found on Payuma Road, 252 00:16:48,405 --> 00:16:51,645 Speaker 1: again in the same area. It was later revealed that 253 00:16:51,725 --> 00:16:55,205 Speaker 1: he died of a gunshot wound. Police say that both 254 00:16:55,285 --> 00:16:58,885 Speaker 1: murders were gang related, and in at least one case, 255 00:16:59,805 --> 00:17:03,405 Speaker 1: gang members have inflicted this medieval style violence on an 256 00:17:03,405 --> 00:17:07,485 Speaker 1: innocent bystander. He was a homeless man who was temporarily 257 00:17:07,525 --> 00:17:10,605 Speaker 1: living in a park controlled by the gang. But gang 258 00:17:10,725 --> 00:17:15,725 Speaker 1: killings generally involve very visible trauma like guns or blunt 259 00:17:15,725 --> 00:17:19,485 Speaker 1: force objects, and they've tended to be dumped near major 260 00:17:19,605 --> 00:17:23,125 Speaker 1: roads or public sites. These bodies were meant to be 261 00:17:23,165 --> 00:17:26,445 Speaker 1: found and meant to make a statement to the gang's enemies. 262 00:17:26,805 --> 00:17:30,805 Speaker 1: Unlike Mitesa's body, which was found in an extremely remote 263 00:17:30,845 --> 00:17:35,445 Speaker 1: location that could not be accessed by car. There are 264 00:17:35,445 --> 00:17:38,245 Speaker 1: also drifters and homeless people who live in the hills, 265 00:17:38,965 --> 00:17:42,365 Speaker 1: like Anthony Rauda, a homeless drifter who was charged with 266 00:17:42,445 --> 00:17:46,285 Speaker 1: the Malibu Creek State Park shootings. Now many people believe 267 00:17:46,445 --> 00:17:50,245 Speaker 1: that Rauda wasn't the only person shooting at human targets 268 00:17:50,245 --> 00:17:53,565 Speaker 1: in the hills over the years. But either way, while 269 00:17:53,605 --> 00:17:57,005 Speaker 1: the vast majority of transient people in the mountains are harmless, 270 00:17:57,805 --> 00:18:04,765 Speaker 1: there are violent criminals living up there. Due to COVID, 271 00:18:05,005 --> 00:18:07,605 Speaker 1: we've been stuck inside, so we've had to look at 272 00:18:07,645 --> 00:18:12,005 Speaker 1: alternative ways of gathering evidence. During one of those late 273 00:18:12,125 --> 00:18:16,085 Speaker 1: night sessions, we found another mysterious video that surfaced on 274 00:18:16,165 --> 00:18:19,285 Speaker 1: YouTube with a man who claims to have seen my 275 00:18:19,365 --> 00:18:23,045 Speaker 1: trees on the night she disappeared. It was posted by 276 00:18:23,045 --> 00:18:26,965 Speaker 1: a woman who describes herself as a psychic topless activist. 277 00:18:27,845 --> 00:18:31,485 Speaker 1: She posts clips on her website. Some are really out 278 00:18:31,485 --> 00:18:35,645 Speaker 1: there descriptions of lizard people and complex conspiracy theories. But 279 00:18:35,685 --> 00:18:38,605 Speaker 1: there's one clip that could potentially be very relevant to 280 00:18:38,605 --> 00:18:42,845 Speaker 1: my Teresa's case. It's from twenty twelve and it's an 281 00:18:42,885 --> 00:18:45,685 Speaker 1: interview with a local man who claimed that he saw 282 00:18:45,725 --> 00:18:49,325 Speaker 1: my Trees on the night she disappeared. He said that 283 00:18:49,405 --> 00:18:51,525 Speaker 1: he was walking down the mountain at around four point 284 00:18:51,525 --> 00:18:55,445 Speaker 1: thirty in the morning at Woodbluff and Cold Canyon when 285 00:18:55,445 --> 00:18:58,045 Speaker 1: he saw a house with a horseshoe driveway and a 286 00:18:58,085 --> 00:19:02,925 Speaker 1: tennis court, presumably Bill Smith's house. He said My Trees 287 00:19:03,045 --> 00:19:05,445 Speaker 1: was at the front door of the property. He said 288 00:19:05,525 --> 00:19:08,045 Speaker 1: he couldn't see her because there were park cars blocking 289 00:19:08,045 --> 00:19:10,965 Speaker 1: his view in the driveway, but he said that he 290 00:19:11,005 --> 00:19:14,285 Speaker 1: could hear her screaming at something. He couldn't make out 291 00:19:14,285 --> 00:19:16,845 Speaker 1: what she was saying, but he said that she was 292 00:19:16,965 --> 00:19:22,045 Speaker 1: angry and cursing. He claimed that police questioned him and 293 00:19:22,085 --> 00:19:24,805 Speaker 1: he admitted that he had a criminal record, which made 294 00:19:24,845 --> 00:19:28,405 Speaker 1: him reluctant to talk to police. At first, we wanted 295 00:19:28,445 --> 00:19:30,965 Speaker 1: to find the man so that we could interview him ourselves, 296 00:19:31,725 --> 00:19:35,965 Speaker 1: but we learned that sadly he passed away another dead 297 00:19:36,045 --> 00:19:41,045 Speaker 1: end and there's another group of people who were omnipresent 298 00:19:41,325 --> 00:19:48,245 Speaker 1: and invisible, the cartel. Remember that on the day that 299 00:19:48,285 --> 00:19:52,405 Speaker 1: Materesa's body was found, park rangers were looking for the 300 00:19:52,445 --> 00:19:56,685 Speaker 1: remnants of an illegal marijuana grow the Santa Monica Mountains 301 00:19:56,765 --> 00:19:59,925 Speaker 1: have many areas that make them ideal for an illegal grow, 302 00:20:00,725 --> 00:20:04,285 Speaker 1: especially in two thousand and nine in twenty ten, before 303 00:20:04,445 --> 00:20:08,925 Speaker 1: marijuana was made lead in California. During those years, park 304 00:20:09,045 --> 00:20:13,525 Speaker 1: rangers and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies confiscated tons 305 00:20:13,565 --> 00:20:18,445 Speaker 1: of plants, thousands upon thousands of acres of pot worth 306 00:20:18,525 --> 00:20:22,285 Speaker 1: hundreds of millions of dollars. According to sources who spoke 307 00:20:22,325 --> 00:20:26,725 Speaker 1: to The Hollywood Reporter, Mexican cartels send growers to cultivate 308 00:20:26,765 --> 00:20:30,085 Speaker 1: marijuana in the mountain near Malibu Creek State Park. This 309 00:20:30,245 --> 00:20:33,965 Speaker 1: is a massive, multi billion dollar business. They work in 310 00:20:34,045 --> 00:20:37,445 Speaker 1: pears or sometimes in groups. They hide in the hills 311 00:20:37,565 --> 00:20:39,885 Speaker 1: and camp near the crop until the plants are ready 312 00:20:39,925 --> 00:20:43,045 Speaker 1: to harvest. This way, they didn't have to worry about 313 00:20:43,045 --> 00:20:46,405 Speaker 1: smuggling the product across the border. There have been no 314 00:20:46,485 --> 00:20:50,365 Speaker 1: official reports of cartel links to the bodies found in 315 00:20:50,405 --> 00:20:55,205 Speaker 1: Malibu Creek State Park, But unlike the gangs, cartel members 316 00:20:55,245 --> 00:20:58,085 Speaker 1: are deep in the woods in areas where no one 317 00:20:58,125 --> 00:21:01,805 Speaker 1: else goes for weeks at a time and there's something else. 318 00:21:02,525 --> 00:21:08,005 Speaker 1: Cecarios or drug cartel hitmen often slit their victim's throats. 319 00:21:08,965 --> 00:21:13,325 Speaker 1: When we hiked through dark canyon. We saw irrigation hoses. 320 00:21:14,205 --> 00:21:16,925 Speaker 1: On the day the park rangers found my Teres's body, 321 00:21:17,525 --> 00:21:22,205 Speaker 1: they saw irrigation hoses too, but Ronda was clear. She 322 00:21:22,365 --> 00:21:25,165 Speaker 1: told us that when she and my Teresa's family members 323 00:21:25,645 --> 00:21:28,165 Speaker 1: hiked up to the site where the remains were found, 324 00:21:28,645 --> 00:21:32,885 Speaker 1: those hoses had been removed by law enforcement. So it 325 00:21:32,965 --> 00:21:35,205 Speaker 1: looks like the cartel may have come back at some 326 00:21:35,285 --> 00:21:39,605 Speaker 1: point other than the creek bed. There is another way 327 00:21:39,805 --> 00:21:42,285 Speaker 1: to get to the area where my Terrese was found, 328 00:21:42,965 --> 00:21:46,045 Speaker 1: through the back of a private property that the police 329 00:21:46,125 --> 00:21:59,165 Speaker 1: used to start their hike. Oh my point is if 330 00:21:59,285 --> 00:22:02,245 Speaker 1: we scream, either of us screamed really loudly. Right now, 331 00:22:02,285 --> 00:22:06,645 Speaker 1: there are a bunch of houses right there. Yeah, if 332 00:22:06,685 --> 00:22:10,285 Speaker 1: you needed help, and we're like, you know, I feel 333 00:22:10,285 --> 00:22:13,605 Speaker 1: like people would hear you here. We are the only 334 00:22:13,645 --> 00:22:21,045 Speaker 1: people up here. Remember when my producer, Gabby and I 335 00:22:21,125 --> 00:22:24,445 Speaker 1: went out into the woods, we found it almost impossible 336 00:22:24,725 --> 00:22:27,485 Speaker 1: to get to the coordinates where my Trees's body was found. 337 00:22:28,045 --> 00:22:30,685 Speaker 1: Like this down here is this the creek bed. We 338 00:22:30,725 --> 00:22:33,325 Speaker 1: agreed that it would have been very difficult for my 339 00:22:33,405 --> 00:22:36,125 Speaker 1: Trees to have walked that route through the creek bed 340 00:22:36,445 --> 00:22:39,925 Speaker 1: on her own. We started from the Backbone trail, so 341 00:22:39,965 --> 00:22:42,125 Speaker 1: we just have to keep hiking down. Veered off that 342 00:22:42,165 --> 00:22:45,245 Speaker 1: trail and went along the creek bed heading east, so 343 00:22:45,325 --> 00:22:47,045 Speaker 1: she could have I mean, I get what your thinking. 344 00:22:47,085 --> 00:22:51,085 Speaker 1: She could have fallen, and again that I would have 345 00:22:51,165 --> 00:22:53,565 Speaker 1: expected some broken bones, Like if we fell from this height, 346 00:22:53,565 --> 00:22:57,245 Speaker 1: you would expect there to be some broken bones. There 347 00:22:57,245 --> 00:22:59,885 Speaker 1: are several ways that my trees could have gone from 348 00:22:59,885 --> 00:23:03,925 Speaker 1: Bill Smith's house. Behind the house where my Teresa's sneaker 349 00:23:03,965 --> 00:23:07,565 Speaker 1: print stopped is a horse trail that connects to several 350 00:23:07,605 --> 00:23:12,765 Speaker 1: more horse trails. They zigzag within Montinito. A couple of 351 00:23:12,765 --> 00:23:15,605 Speaker 1: branches of these horse trails connect to the Backbone trail. 352 00:23:16,285 --> 00:23:19,565 Speaker 1: It's like a labyrinth back there. One way puts you 353 00:23:19,605 --> 00:23:22,445 Speaker 1: back out on Pauma Road before the entrance to Montnito. 354 00:23:23,245 --> 00:23:25,245 Speaker 1: Another way puts you out on the other side of 355 00:23:25,325 --> 00:23:29,165 Speaker 1: Payama Road. All of these routes still put you about 356 00:23:29,165 --> 00:23:32,165 Speaker 1: a mile out from where my Teresa's body was found 357 00:23:32,205 --> 00:23:34,965 Speaker 1: in the middle of the woods. But the horse trail 358 00:23:35,085 --> 00:23:39,845 Speaker 1: does connect to one other property. It's called Malibu Canyon Ranch. 359 00:23:40,765 --> 00:23:45,045 Speaker 1: The property is a large nineteen seventies ranch house. You 360 00:23:45,085 --> 00:23:47,005 Speaker 1: can actually rent it for one hundred and ninety five 361 00:23:47,045 --> 00:23:50,965 Speaker 1: dollars an hour for shoots. There's a walk in saltwater 362 00:23:51,005 --> 00:23:54,805 Speaker 1: pool and a former production house where many types of 363 00:23:54,845 --> 00:23:58,085 Speaker 1: productions have been shot over the years. If you're walking 364 00:23:58,125 --> 00:24:02,005 Speaker 1: along Payuma Road, there's a long driveway up to the property. 365 00:24:02,925 --> 00:24:05,245 Speaker 1: The back of the property runs along a ridge line 366 00:24:05,485 --> 00:24:08,725 Speaker 1: that descends into the creek bed near the clearing where 367 00:24:08,725 --> 00:24:11,805 Speaker 1: my Teresa's body was found. It's so close that when 368 00:24:11,845 --> 00:24:14,485 Speaker 1: we were on our hike in the woods, we could 369 00:24:14,525 --> 00:24:19,005 Speaker 1: hear the roar of an engine from up on that property. 370 00:24:19,165 --> 00:24:22,485 Speaker 1: People call this property the Porn Ranch. It's owned by 371 00:24:22,485 --> 00:24:27,085 Speaker 1: a woman named Sus Randall. A few years ago, Vice 372 00:24:27,285 --> 00:24:31,365 Speaker 1: UK wrote a profile on Sus Randall. They wrote, quote 373 00:24:31,845 --> 00:24:34,045 Speaker 1: her name should be one of the most iconic and 374 00:24:34,125 --> 00:24:37,925 Speaker 1: porn She was the first female playboy photographer to shoot 375 00:24:37,925 --> 00:24:40,925 Speaker 1: a full frontel, the first woman to sell her nude 376 00:24:40,965 --> 00:24:45,325 Speaker 1: photographs to the Sun end quote. But Sus Randall is 377 00:24:45,365 --> 00:24:49,205 Speaker 1: notoriously private, and while a lot of her past has 378 00:24:49,285 --> 00:24:52,485 Speaker 1: been racy, by her own admission, she's always been known 379 00:24:52,565 --> 00:24:56,525 Speaker 1: as a consummate professional. Her work focuses on making women 380 00:24:56,565 --> 00:25:01,445 Speaker 1: feel comfortable during shoots. Her daughter, Holly Randall, followed her 381 00:25:01,445 --> 00:25:04,605 Speaker 1: mother into the business. Though the women are pretty private, 382 00:25:05,205 --> 00:25:07,405 Speaker 1: they don't seem to be operating in any type of 383 00:25:07,405 --> 00:25:10,885 Speaker 1: a shadowy, nefarious underworld. Their work is out in the 384 00:25:10,925 --> 00:25:15,165 Speaker 1: open and very mainstream. It's like a lot of people 385 00:25:15,205 --> 00:25:18,765 Speaker 1: who have looked into this case over the years or that, 386 00:25:18,845 --> 00:25:20,445 Speaker 1: you know, they kind of make reference to this. But 387 00:25:20,445 --> 00:25:22,045 Speaker 1: then as you were saying, this is it's just kind 388 00:25:22,045 --> 00:25:23,725 Speaker 1: of like a distraction to the case. And the only 389 00:25:23,765 --> 00:25:27,925 Speaker 1: thing that's interesting about that property really is its proximity location. Yeah, 390 00:25:28,525 --> 00:25:30,445 Speaker 1: and I don't think there's anything to that. I YEA. 391 00:25:30,925 --> 00:25:34,085 Speaker 1: My whole question about them is only literally only because 392 00:25:34,165 --> 00:25:37,485 Speaker 1: of where it is, because that's a property that given 393 00:25:37,525 --> 00:25:40,405 Speaker 1: the fact that this is an investigation into a disappearance 394 00:25:40,445 --> 00:25:43,005 Speaker 1: in that area, that is the property where that can 395 00:25:43,045 --> 00:25:45,645 Speaker 1: be accessed. Like, that's my question, and it doesn't have 396 00:25:45,685 --> 00:25:48,605 Speaker 1: anything to do to me with a pornography or anything 397 00:25:48,645 --> 00:25:53,965 Speaker 1: like that. To me, that's pretty irrelevant. It's literally the 398 00:25:54,005 --> 00:25:57,565 Speaker 1: fact that it's at that location, Like literally that that 399 00:25:57,605 --> 00:26:00,565 Speaker 1: house could be anyone in any industry. I feel like, again, 400 00:26:00,685 --> 00:26:03,285 Speaker 1: like the fact that there's they happen to work in pornography, 401 00:26:04,965 --> 00:26:07,405 Speaker 1: they have in the industry. I really feel like that's 402 00:26:07,445 --> 00:26:10,125 Speaker 1: become a distraction to this case. It's one of those 403 00:26:10,165 --> 00:26:13,765 Speaker 1: things that's like a weird distraction when in reality people 404 00:26:13,765 --> 00:26:16,845 Speaker 1: should just focus on the fact that the property is 405 00:26:16,885 --> 00:26:19,165 Speaker 1: in a location where she could have walked through it. 406 00:26:19,205 --> 00:26:21,085 Speaker 1: And so that's the reason that's interesting to me for 407 00:26:21,165 --> 00:26:25,485 Speaker 1: the investigation. Again, I think, much like the graffiti that 408 00:26:25,565 --> 00:26:29,125 Speaker 1: was found, sometimes people can see come up with, you know, 409 00:26:29,565 --> 00:26:32,325 Speaker 1: in the absence of information, Sometimes people fill in the 410 00:26:32,325 --> 00:26:35,045 Speaker 1: blanks and I just think that, you know, they're graffiti 411 00:26:35,165 --> 00:26:40,125 Speaker 1: and the fact that pornography is filmed at that ranch 412 00:26:40,205 --> 00:26:46,845 Speaker 1: sometimes are both totally irrelevant. But we can't know for 413 00:26:46,925 --> 00:26:51,405 Speaker 1: sure from looking at a map. Once again, we can't 414 00:26:51,445 --> 00:26:54,485 Speaker 1: find anyone in authority to go with us, and we 415 00:26:54,525 --> 00:26:58,365 Speaker 1: don't know for sure that we'll have cooperation from property owners. 416 00:26:59,045 --> 00:27:01,605 Speaker 1: We need to figure out if my tries could have 417 00:27:01,685 --> 00:27:05,925 Speaker 1: walked to that location on her own. Pandemic are no pandemic. 418 00:27:06,525 --> 00:27:10,565 Speaker 1: We're going up that mountain. I'm Katherine Townsend and this 419 00:27:10,965 --> 00:27:14,725 Speaker 1: is Helen Gone. Helen Gone is a production of School 420 00:27:14,765 --> 00:27:18,005 Speaker 1: of Humans and iHeartRadio. It's written and narrated by me, 421 00:27:18,325 --> 00:27:22,205 Speaker 1: Katherine Townsend. Our producers are Gabby Watts, Taylor Church and 422 00:27:22,285 --> 00:27:27,005 Speaker 1: James Morrison. Music is by Ben Sale, mix is by Tunewelders. 423 00:27:27,685 --> 00:27:31,925 Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Brandon Barr, Else Crowley and Brian Lavin. 424 00:27:32,965 --> 00:27:35,405 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Chip Croft for use of footage from 425 00:27:35,405 --> 00:28:01,525 Speaker 1: his documentary Lost Compassion, School of Humans. School of Humans