1 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,959 Speaker 1: So look, there's another little road down here. Do you 2 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: think there's a bridge down there? In two thousand and one, 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 1: a year after they arrived in Costa Rica to live 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: in their four story round house in the middle of 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: the jungle, John and Anne Bender went to see doctor 6 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,239 Speaker 1: Rosemary Bradley. Hi is Rosemary there? 7 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 2: Uh huh, Hi, my kidding to get here? All right? 8 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: My producer Poppy and I are retracing their journey. 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 2: Do you have to cross the river over a bridge? 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: It was a spring afternoon in late April. John and 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: Ann set off in the car, heading for the outskirts 12 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: of pere Zeladon. They had no idea what was about 13 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: to unfold. That the old life John had left behind 14 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: in America was about to collide with his new life 15 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: in Costa Rica, and the utopia they'd carefully constructed around 16 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: them would be shattered. It would lead to Anne and John, 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: who shared a battle with mental illness, to fear for 18 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: their lives. Their acute need for privacy had already made 19 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: them unpopular in the valley. Now paranoia would take hold. 20 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: They would retreat further and further into the jungle and isolation, 21 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,559 Speaker 1: and they would ramp up their security their lavish home 22 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: high on the hill would become a fortress. The Benders 23 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: its prisoners from Exactly Right Media and iHeart Podcasts produced 24 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: by Blanchard House. This is Hell in Heaven. I'm Becky Milligan. 25 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:23,399 Speaker 1: Chapter three, The Ambush. We arrive at Rosemary's. 26 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 2: Did you get all right? 27 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:31,640 Speaker 1: Well, we're outside a big sort of green gate across 28 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: you'll just went across. Rosemary appears a few minutes later, 29 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: husband in toe Oh. They take us through the gate 30 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: and a little further down a small road and at 31 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: the bottom is a fast flowing river with large boulders. 32 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: The only way to get to their house is across 33 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: a narrow, rusty hanging bridge, which bounces and creeks as 34 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: we walk across. It's slatted so that if you misstep, 35 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: you go straight through into the river below. This was 36 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: where the Benders came that afternoon back in two thousand 37 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: and one, an afternoon that would change them both safe 38 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: on the other side and up through their lush gardens, 39 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: we come to their house. It's surrounded by trees with 40 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: views of the valley. 41 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:24,359 Speaker 3: Fantastic. Yeah, that's called the Indian Door. 42 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:24,800 Speaker 4: Mither. 43 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,600 Speaker 1: Rosemary points to the dramatic mountain range the sleeping Indian. 44 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: She says, the peaks form a distinct profile of a 45 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: woman lying down as though asleep. 46 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 3: If you look at her, she's pregnant. See that's her nose, 47 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 3: that's her chin, that's her her breast, and then there's 48 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 3: her pregnant belly. She overlooks your house. 49 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: Yes, they have an airy, spacious outdoor area with a 50 00:03:55,920 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: concrete floor, corrugated roof and wire fencing for walls. Rosemary 51 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:06,839 Speaker 1: is seventy one with alert, intelligent eyes. She's a scientist, 52 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: a soil microbiologist to be precise. Her partner Marco is 53 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: Costa Rican. Rosemary is originally from the UK. 54 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,840 Speaker 3: I came to Costa Rica in nineteen eighty nine and 55 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 3: found this beautiful close to build a house. 56 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: Back in two thousand and one, she ran a business 57 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: selling her unique mixture of native seeds. 58 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,119 Speaker 3: One was a grass and one was a legu. 59 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: The idea was that if you planted them, they would 60 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: grow to provide an eco friendly, nutritious diet for cattle. 61 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 3: So substitute the imported maize and soybeans. 62 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: And also to nurture the soil and prevent erosion because 63 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: the legume in particular has long roots. It was at 64 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: the time a revolutionary idea and one the Benders were 65 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: interested in. It's growing in her garden. 66 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 5: And then goes down there, and then it digs down 67 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 5: into the soil. In fact, you can see where it goes. 68 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:10,840 Speaker 5: There's one for example. 69 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: Oh yes, I see, goes deep down and keeps the 70 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: soil in place. Back in two thousand and one, Rosemary 71 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: was busy. People would come from across the country to 72 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: buy her unique blend. Lots of people bought our seeds, 73 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: and one of them was John Bender. It was Rosemary's 74 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: produce which had brought the Benders on a rare trip 75 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: away from their home. Their dream house was being built 76 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: on top of a hill and close to the ocean. 77 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: The slow unraveling of that dream was a few years off. 78 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: For now, their concerns were very practical soil erosion. 79 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 3: You often see that and that part of the coast 80 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 3: is that houses are being built on very steep slopes 81 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 3: and some of them are actually just falling down the hillside. 82 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 3: I mean, it's crazy what people do where they build 83 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 3: their houses. They must have known about us through the grapevine. 84 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 3: Right here. Everybody finds out about what's going on. 85 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: Through just talk, talk talk. 86 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 3: Everybody talks a lot. 87 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,239 Speaker 1: On that afternoon in April two thousand and one, around 88 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 1: three o'clock, the Bendors arrived and parked on a quiet 89 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: country road on the outskirts of the town near Rosemary's house. 90 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: They crossed over the bridge to meet Rosemary in her laboratory. 91 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: Rosemary remembers the couple clearly, and she noticed was badly 92 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: affected by limes disease. Remember, Anne wasn't being treated by 93 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: a conventional doctor for her condition. John was trying to 94 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: fix her himself by using plants in the jungle, and. 95 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 3: She limped a lot. She used a walking stick because 96 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 3: of the lime disease. But she had a very pretty face. 97 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 3: She's kind of shy, timid, whereas he was so I 98 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 3: would say, deep deep voice, Yeah, yeah, A nice guy. 99 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 2: I mean you. 100 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 3: He was good looking too. I was fascinated by I've 101 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 3: been fascinated. 102 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: Rosemary and Marco were excited to meet people who took 103 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: a real interest in their business and what they were 104 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: trying to do. For Rosemary, that was pretty rare. 105 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 3: We'd tried to make friends with them, you know, we 106 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 3: invited them around and stuff, but they didn't. They didn't, 107 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 3: they didn't want to. 108 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: They weren't offended. In fact, Rosemary sympathized. She hadn't found 109 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: it easy to run a business in Costa Rica, trying 110 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,239 Speaker 1: to do something new, something different. Sometimes it was hard. 111 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: She'd had her own dreams of a flourishing global seed business. 112 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: It wasn't to be these days. She and Marco find 113 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: themselves very hard up. 114 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 3: I think you can get quite paranoid here as a 115 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 3: foreigner and feel that everybody's against you, and just live 116 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 3: your own little private life. And I think that's what 117 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 3: they were doing. You create your own Bobby. I mean, 118 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 3: we've done that here. 119 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: So the Benders and Rosemary had a lot to talk about. 120 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 3: They were very interested in these seeds of this forage 121 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 3: peanut and how they were produced and so on. 122 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: John and Ann bought some of Rosemary's seed, and while 123 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: Rosemary prepared their order, they went back over the bridge 124 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: to their car. 125 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 3: Presumably it was to get the money. 126 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: Then, Rosemary froze, tell me what you heard. All I 127 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 1: heard was a shot. At this point in our interview, 128 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: Marco leaps to his feet and starts gesticulating towards the bridge. 129 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: He remembers very clearly what happened next. 130 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 4: The handle Undia Komalas. 131 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,679 Speaker 1: It was three in the afternoon. He says he'd been 132 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: working at home and he'd heard the phone ring. It 133 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,559 Speaker 1: was the intercom from the external gate across the bridge. 134 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: It was Anne's voice shouting and screaming, help, help, help, vamos. 135 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,559 Speaker 5: He says, see onemos, come come. 136 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: Let's go, and moves quickly to the bridge. We try 137 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: and keep up. He wants to show us what happened 138 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:23,719 Speaker 1: next in situ. 139 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 3: He went running ahead because they were saying help, help, 140 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:29,520 Speaker 3: they're kidnapping us. 141 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: He shows us how fast he went across that rickety 142 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: bridge after hearing the gunshot. It's not easy at speed. 143 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: The whole structure feels pretty dangerous. Rosebery was close behind him. 144 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:45,199 Speaker 1: Marco takes us to the front drive, and, slightly breathless, 145 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: he describes the scene which confronted him. The moment he 146 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: came through the. 147 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 4: Gate, a y ism pick up Blanco. 148 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: He points to the road there was a white pickup 149 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: truck blocking the drive. He turns and points to the 150 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,679 Speaker 1: gate there. He says Anne was there standing by the 151 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: intercoms on John was furious and now Rosemary picks up 152 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: the story. 153 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 6: John was a. 154 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 3: Huge guy, right, he'd he he got really angry. He 155 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 3: raised his voice, and they don't like that. 156 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 6: They don't like that. 157 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 3: If you're if you just if you live in Costa Rica, 158 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 3: you must never lose your temper. That is a very 159 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:34,319 Speaker 3: important rule. 160 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,840 Speaker 1: Rosemary and marcos staff, who were in the roadside office, 161 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 1: were also terrified. They'd seen everything. A vehicle screeched to 162 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: a stop, blocking the drive, boxing in the Bender's car, 163 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 1: and armed men jumping out waving guns in the air. 164 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: What did they tell you that happened? That staff member 165 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,559 Speaker 1: saw one of the armed men shoot at the ground 166 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: near John. The gun shot. Rosemary and Marco had heard 167 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,960 Speaker 1: back at the house and said later she thought it 168 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: was a kidnapping. He fired the gun between John's legs 169 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: and held it up to John's head and was terrified. 170 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 3: So that was what was scary about it. They thought 171 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 3: they were being attacked by rober and they were going 172 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 3: to be robbed. That's what they thought. 173 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 1: And John and Anne were in a bad way. 174 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,280 Speaker 3: They were trembling, they were terrified. 175 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,959 Speaker 1: Once Rosemary and Marco had taken in the scene, they 176 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: suddenly recognized one of the armed men. It was someone 177 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: they knew these weren't robbers at all, but law enforcement, 178 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: and then we found it was a friend about us 179 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 1: right who'd actually. 180 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 3: Fired the shots. 181 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: Rosemary reassured John that they weren't being kidnapped. 182 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 3: We were just trying to calm him down, if I 183 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 3: remember correctly, that it was okay, that it was just 184 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 3: a matter of documents. 185 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: They tried to find out precisely what the problem was, 186 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 1: what had the benders done wrong. The police wouldn't tell them, 187 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: but they did want to see the couple's ID. John 188 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: and Ann were having problems understanding the police officers. Their 189 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: Spanish wasn't that good, so Rosemary said she would go 190 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: with John to the police station and helped translate, while 191 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 1: Marco would go with Anne back to their house to 192 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: pick up the passports. Rosemary and Marco were used to 193 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: hearing gunshots and shooting around the place. John and Ann 194 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: would have been two kidnappings, and vigilante groups are quite 195 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: common where Rosemary lives. In fact, there was a banner 196 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: stretched above the road when we arrived, a picture of 197 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: a rat, a symbol for a criminal crossed out, and 198 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: a message that vigilante groups are operating in the area. 199 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: The sign read trapped rat lynched rat. The banner itself 200 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: had more than a dozen holes made by gunshots. Rosemary 201 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: told us there'd been a recent killing a few doors down. 202 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 3: Just a couple of weeks ago. Driving a motorbike up here, 203 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 3: one of these delivery guys with a pizza. They attacked him. 204 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 3: And there's two guys who lived just across the road, 205 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,120 Speaker 3: and the police don't do anything about it. 206 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: Marco and Ann went to get the couple's passports. They 207 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,199 Speaker 1: arrived to meet John and Rosemary at the station, ready 208 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: to sit down with police. 209 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 3: They were there for hours. 210 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: Rosemary and Marco didn't understand what it was all about. 211 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: They would find out later. They eventually left John and 212 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: Ann to it, but Marco did notice something which he 213 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: thought was odd about their documents. John and Ann's passports 214 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: were from Grenada. That's a notorious tax evasion hub. There's 215 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: no inheritance wellth or capital gains tax. Apparently the passports 216 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: had aroused the police's interest. John's father, Paul, says that 217 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: he was worried about his son's decision to give up 218 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 1: US citizenship and move his fortune abroad. 219 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:10,960 Speaker 4: I guess the one thing that bothered me about what 220 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 4: he was doing on his plan. He started thinking about 221 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 4: moving offshore and not living in the United States, and 222 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 4: I said, why are you doing that? And he said 223 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 4: to ivot taxes and stuff and that I did not like. 224 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: Did you tell him? 225 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, I told him, But he did that and that 226 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 4: was disturbing. 227 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: For Paul, using tax havens like this giving up your 228 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: passport went against the spirit of the law he had 229 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 1: committed his life to upholding as a legal scholar and expert. 230 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: He was also worried about his son not having the 231 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: protection that a US citizen is entitled to. But it 232 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 1: wasn't all about passports. There was another reason for the 233 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: police pulling John and Anne in, one which would fuel 234 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: John's suspicions and convince him that his enemies were after him. 235 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: A few days later, Rosemary called Anne to find out 236 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: if they were okay. They were fine. John and Ann 237 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: were kept at the police station until late and released 238 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,120 Speaker 1: the same day, But that wasn't the end of the matter. 239 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: Far from it. The police operation had deeply upset John 240 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 1: and Anne. John couldn't shake the feeling that people were 241 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 1: after him, that he and Anne were vulnerable. As Valdo, 242 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:46,360 Speaker 1: their head of staff, remembers him being completely traumatized, John 243 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: decided that they needed more protection. Jose Pizarro, former chief 244 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: of Costa Rica's police force, a popular guy who better 245 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: known across Costa Rica as El Toro the Bull. He's 246 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: a solidly built man with a broad smile, and well 247 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: known for being a friendly guy. He tells me so 248 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: friendly and liked that if people saw him walking down 249 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:25,280 Speaker 1: the street, they would call out El Toro. Josey agreed 250 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: to meet John at his house or a Chayanne. He'd 251 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: had enough years in the police force to recognize trauma. 252 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: He knew instantly how threatened they felt. John told him 253 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: that it had changed his life. He was especially worried 254 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: about and safety. 255 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 2: He says. 256 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: He thought their house was beautiful but isolated, so his 257 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: priority was to make it secure. John told him he 258 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: wanted him to set up an entire security system. Jose 259 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: brought in more armed guards, secured the entire five thousand 260 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: and dacre property, and became their personal bodyguard. A bond 261 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 1: of trust developed very quickly between us. He says they 262 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: were very special people. Jose tells us that John had 263 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: his own nickname for his new head of security, Colonel. 264 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: When Jose went to town with Anne. He tells us 265 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 1: that John would call out, you take good care of 266 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:32,000 Speaker 1: my wife, Colonel. It's the only reason I'm relaxed, because 267 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 1: she's with you. Jose told us that John and Ann's 268 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 1: extreme reaction to the arrest was not only down to 269 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: the way it was carried out. Of course, if they 270 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: believed they were being kidnapped, it would be extremely frightening. 271 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,280 Speaker 1: John confided in Jose that he suspected that the police 272 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:56,120 Speaker 1: operation was a cover for something more sinister. The questions 273 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: about their passports were a ruse. John une felt there 274 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:04,920 Speaker 1: was something very strange going on, Jose tells us Jose 275 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: agreed there was something which suggested this was far from 276 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:12,440 Speaker 1: a routine check on the couple's papers, and he knew 277 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 1: the police officers. These were police officers attached to the 278 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: Special Investigations Unit, in an unmarked car and in plain clothes. 279 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 1: The strength used was so unnecessary, Jose told us. John 280 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: disclosed something else to Jose which he believed backed up 281 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,880 Speaker 1: his hunt that people were after him and Anne. When 282 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: they were at the police station, there was another man, 283 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 1: a lawyer who he didn't know, who served him papers, 284 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: which means John was being notified of a lawsuit against him. John, 285 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,640 Speaker 1: Jose told us, was being sued by a former associate 286 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,480 Speaker 1: who claimed that he was owed millions of dollars by John. 287 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: The stakes were extremely high. Were the police acting on 288 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:07,280 Speaker 1: behalf of someone else? Was someone after John? Was there 289 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: a threat of kidnap and abduction? Or were these the 290 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,199 Speaker 1: rantings of a man in shock. Jose says that the 291 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: way the police went about the arrest was strange. This 292 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: was totally out of line. That wasn't the proper protocol, 293 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:28,159 Speaker 1: Jose says. John sued the police in the end, and 294 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: they were all fired. Jose did look into whether there 295 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: had been a kidnapping plot to get him out of 296 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 1: the country, or maybe extortion or blackmail. I personally never 297 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: found any evidence of that, Jose says, but it wasn't 298 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,360 Speaker 1: an extensive investigation. Jose was more focused on setting up 299 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:51,320 Speaker 1: the security around John and Ann and their property. After all, 300 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: Jose's job was to protect them. John's theory is that 301 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,400 Speaker 1: people on the ground had been hired to kidnap him 302 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 1: or abduct him, might appear implausible, especially as Jose had 303 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: looked into it and found nothing. Perhaps it was a 304 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 1: symptom of living in extreme isolation with a wife whose 305 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,720 Speaker 1: health was going downhill, and John was slowly and steadily 306 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: detaching from reality. But then we came across a witness 307 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: who suggested just the opposite, that John may have had 308 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: every reason to be paranoid, testimony which throws a completely 309 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: different light on what happened that afternoon at Rosemary's seed farm. 310 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: We were given the man's number and told to ring him. 311 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: We had no other information. The man who we're calling, Michael, 312 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: was quite elusive at first, but I eventually got through. 313 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,160 Speaker 1: He didn't want his voice used, so we're using an 314 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: actor for his side of the conversation. My audio is 315 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: from the original call. 316 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 2: Yes, Oh Hi, My. 317 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 1: Name's Becky Milligan. My colleagues and I work for a 318 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 1: podcast company and we're doing the story about John Bender. 319 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: First up, I asked Michael to explain what he does 320 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,600 Speaker 1: for a living. So what would you call yourself? What 321 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 1: would how would you describe your job? 322 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 2: We're not related to military at all. Really interesting. Basically, 323 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 2: I don't like the term. I don't like the term. 324 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 2: What do you call it? 325 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:36,640 Speaker 1: Mercy correct? I don't like that term. 326 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,880 Speaker 2: But basically that's that's what it is. I worked for 327 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 2: different governments in the at least for many years. I 328 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,719 Speaker 2: worked for the US, but I worked for the Israelis, 329 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 2: I worked for Spain, and I was basically a private contractor. 330 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:54,560 Speaker 2: So wherever the army can't go in or won't go in, 331 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 2: or whatever, they usually said, Uh so, when they had 332 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 2: a potential intro been a person in particular for whatever reason, 333 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 2: obviously it was all related to terrorism and all that, 334 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 2: then we would go in and expect that person and 335 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:12,840 Speaker 2: hand them over to the party that was contracting us. 336 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,920 Speaker 1: Are you involved in this sort of work still? 337 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 2: I retired in two thousand and eight, but I still 338 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 2: have some clients in Central America. 339 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: It sounds like a pretty dark and murky world. I 340 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: wondered what he was asked to do when it came 341 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:28,880 Speaker 1: to John Bender. 342 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 2: I was contracted by a third party to kind of 343 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 2: intercept mister Bender and send him to the States. So 344 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,439 Speaker 2: we'd worked on intelligence to get mister Bender's whereabouts. What 345 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,160 Speaker 2: we did we mounted an intervention to kind of capture him. 346 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: The problem was that when he turned up, it seemed 347 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: he wasn't the only person interested in John Bender. Why 348 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 1: did you all get there at once? 349 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know if it was a 350 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,959 Speaker 2: fluc or if it was coincidence or what happens actually, 351 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,679 Speaker 2: but that day we actually bumped into local law enforce 352 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,679 Speaker 2: that kind of equivalent of the FBI costallga. 353 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,679 Speaker 1: We heard Rosemary and Marco's version of events. This is 354 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 1: how Michael says it played out on the ground. 355 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 2: Everybody kind of got to the location where we had 356 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 2: decided to intercept mister Bender, and they didn't know who 357 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,199 Speaker 2: we were either, so it was it was kind of 358 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 2: pretty intense for a few minutes. I was going to 359 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 2: get paid when I got mister Bender, right, so I 360 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 2: didn't get mister Bender, then I was I going to 361 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 2: get paid. I wasn't there to play a round. 362 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: Michael, realizing that his mission might now be scuffered, contacted 363 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,159 Speaker 1: the contractor, who, by the way, he wouldn't name, and 364 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: there was a back and forth. 365 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 2: And at the end of the let's say twenty minutest 366 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 2: half an hour of the intervention, I was told to 367 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 2: pull back and not intervene. 368 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: The contractor said he'd get his money anyway. 369 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 2: This was not foreseene and therefore not by miss Fague 370 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 2: or my problem. But if they told me you got it, 371 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,920 Speaker 2: bring him to us. Then, I don't know. I mean, 372 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,280 Speaker 2: we were ready for that, but up to up to 373 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 2: the point. So anyway, very very very intent, very very intense. 374 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:18,879 Speaker 1: I asked Michael if he'd been told why his employer 375 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,160 Speaker 1: had asked him to abduct John Bender. 376 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 2: The person that gave us the contract was apparently very 377 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:30,240 Speaker 2: interested in getting mister Bender back to him somehow, so 378 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,119 Speaker 2: I guess he was either involved with mister Bender or 379 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 2: mister Bender owning something, because it was quite obvious that 380 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 2: we were going to intercept mister Bender and get him 381 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,399 Speaker 2: out of the country back to these people. 382 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 1: Sorry, I just want to get this straight to my head. 383 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: So were you on your own? 384 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,200 Speaker 2: No? No, I had three people with it. 385 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,399 Speaker 1: Oh you had three people too. Do you remember it 386 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: quite well, very clearly. Do you know when you were 387 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,639 Speaker 1: asked to do this? They did they give you a 388 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: reason why? Or I mean, did you know why they 389 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 1: wanted him? And you know, because it's sort of basically, 390 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:10,400 Speaker 1: for want of a better word, sort of kidnapping him 391 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,360 Speaker 1: and sort of bundling him out into America. 392 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 2: I suppose, I don't know what their intention, but they 393 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 2: were there for him, and they were there. 394 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: You wouldn't have arrested him. Would you you would have 395 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,600 Speaker 1: just sort of what would you have done? 396 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 2: Well? I guess we can. We can discuss that when 397 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:38,919 Speaker 2: you hear I was going to be told where to 398 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 2: bring him and they were going to fly him out. 399 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,160 Speaker 1: He said he'd meet us in Costa Rica. He stood 400 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:51,200 Speaker 1: us up. We made another date again. He didn't show, 401 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: so I left him a voice message. 402 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:58,880 Speaker 6: It's Becky Year, just checking if everything's okay. I've been 403 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 6: waiting at the front desk, will be around all day, 404 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 6: so just give us a ring or message and let 405 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 6: me know, all right, cheers by. 406 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,679 Speaker 1: We asked Rosemary whether she had seen another car at 407 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,439 Speaker 1: the scene. She had no recollection of one. The staff 408 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:20,119 Speaker 1: who'd witnessed what had happened didn't want to talk, so 409 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 1: we can't be sure that Michael was really there. We 410 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: have no way of standing up his story for now. 411 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: We did speak to someone who did confirm that they 412 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 1: had hired an investigator on the ground, but they wouldn't 413 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: go on the record, and we don't know if that 414 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:40,200 Speaker 1: investigator was Michael. Knowing what had happened only a year 415 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,720 Speaker 1: or so after they'd moved to Costa Rica makes more 416 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: sense of all those armed guards and the barbed wire 417 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: fencing around their property. They were a couple who didn't 418 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: just protect their privacy. They were terrified because they believed 419 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: that people were after them. And those papers that were 420 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: filed at the police station we investigate in the next episode. 421 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,679 Speaker 1: Was the passport tissue a ruse for the police hired 422 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:10,640 Speaker 1: by a creditor to serve him and who hired Michael 423 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:15,800 Speaker 1: the same people or another interested party? Just who is 424 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,959 Speaker 1: actly had John pissed off? And were they working together 425 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:27,160 Speaker 1: to bring him back to the US. Next time, it's 426 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: a real change of scene. We head to the streets 427 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,879 Speaker 1: of Philadelphia to the nineteen eighties in search of a 428 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: young John to find out who he really is. Is 429 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:39,359 Speaker 1: that what he believed himself to be? A sort of 430 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:40,439 Speaker 1: genius of source? 431 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:40,920 Speaker 2: Oh? 432 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,879 Speaker 7: Absolutely, absolutely, he knew it. There was not a question 433 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 7: about him. We would be together and he'd say, you know, 434 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 7: I was just talking to this guy. He's like a 435 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,840 Speaker 7: famous math professor at Harvard. But can you believe what 436 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 7: an idiot this guy is? He was on another level. 437 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 7: And when it came to the big money and you're 438 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 7: in that game where you're playing for high stakes, but 439 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 7: there was no mister nice guy. 440 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,359 Speaker 1: Just who was this guy who amassed a six hundred 441 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: million dollar fortune and believed he could cure his wife's 442 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:33,320 Speaker 1: serious illness and who someone wanted to kidnap? You've been 443 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:37,960 Speaker 1: listening to Helen Heaven from Exactly Right Media and iHeart Podcasts, 444 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: produced by Blanchard House, hosted, written and produced by me 445 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 1: Becky Milligan. The producer and co writer is Poppy Damon. 446 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 1: Music is by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis nank Manell, and 447 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:55,400 Speaker 1: Toby Mattamon. The sound recordistant head of sound and Music 448 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,920 Speaker 1: is Daniel Lloyd Evans. The lead sound designer is Vulcan Kiselton. 449 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 1: The artwork is by Vanessa Lilac for Exactly Right Media. 450 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: The executive producers are Karen Kilgarreth, Georgia Hardstark, and Danielle Kramer, 451 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 1: with consulting producer Lilly Ladderwig and associate producer Jay Elias. 452 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: The creative director of Blanchard House is Rosy Pye. The 453 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,880 Speaker 1: executive producer and Head of Content at Blanchard House is 454 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:30,920 Speaker 1: Lawrence Griselle. Listen to Helen Heaven on the iHeartRadio app, 455 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts