WEBVTT - Childhood

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<v Speaker 1>Let's start from the beginning. I was a young girl.

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<v Speaker 2>I was eleven years old, and my parents had just divorced,

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<v Speaker 2>and my dad was now living with his girlfriend in Portland, Orgon.

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<v Speaker 2>And this was my first summer vacation where I stayed

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<v Speaker 2>at a different home than my childhood home. And the

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<v Speaker 2>moment I walked in that house, I felt like I

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<v Speaker 2>wasn't alone, that there was energy there, that there were

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<v Speaker 2>spirits there, that I was being watched in every room.

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<v Speaker 2>In every room, he had purchased bunk beds for my

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<v Speaker 2>sister and I and my sister picked the bottom bunk

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<v Speaker 2>and I picked the top bunk.

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<v Speaker 1>And it was my first night in this new house.

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<v Speaker 2>I fall asleep a little bit, but then I'm awakened

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<v Speaker 2>by being touched.

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<v Speaker 1>And then my hair is touched. It's not a heavy touch,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a light touch.

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<v Speaker 2>So I leap and go down the little stairs of

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<v Speaker 2>the bunk bed and I rush over and I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to go run into my dad's room, but I froze.

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<v Speaker 1>I felt that.

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<v Speaker 2>Whatever was touching me was over there too. I wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>going to be safe in my dad's room, and I

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<v Speaker 2>didn't feel safe with my dad, and so I laid

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<v Speaker 2>in the hallway floor with a light on, curled up

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<v Speaker 2>in a ball, hoping that the night would just go

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<v Speaker 2>away fast. And in the morning my dad stepped over

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<v Speaker 2>me and he said, why did you fall asleep in

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<v Speaker 2>the hallway? And I said I was being touched, Dad,

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<v Speaker 2>something was touching me. And he said, Oh, don't pay

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<v Speaker 2>any attention to them. They bothered me all the time

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<v Speaker 2>at night. Don't pay them any mind.

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<v Speaker 3>Melissa, who is your dad and what is he known as?

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<v Speaker 2>My father is Keith Hunter Jesperson. He's known as the

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<v Speaker 2>happy Face serial killer.

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<v Speaker 4>My girl, my girl, don't lie.

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<v Speaker 5>To me.

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<v Speaker 4>Tell me where did you sleep last night? In the pies?

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<v Speaker 4>In the pies where the sun don't have a shine?

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<v Speaker 4>I will shiver.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh nice.

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<v Speaker 3>My name is Lauren bry Pacheco. I'm a television producer

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<v Speaker 3>and I've worked with Melissa Jessperson Moore for about four years.

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<v Speaker 3>We work on crime stories together and we travel a lot,

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<v Speaker 3>and during our downtime we've had the chance to really

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<v Speaker 3>get to know one another. And she shared a lot

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<v Speaker 3>with me about her past, especially her childhood.

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<v Speaker 1>My childhood home was amazing. My parents had three children together.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm the oldest a year later, my brother was born,

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<v Speaker 2>and then two years after my brother, my sister, Carrie

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<v Speaker 2>was born, and my mom was a stay at home

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<v Speaker 2>mom and my father was a long haul truck driver.

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<v Speaker 2>I felt loved, I felt provided for, I felt adored.

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<v Speaker 2>I actually felt like I was a super are.

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<v Speaker 6>Menissa, how big are you?

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<v Speaker 7>This big yees real big.

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<v Speaker 4>Dance Manista, you dance, You're a good dancwer.

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<v Speaker 2>We lived in the country, and when I would hear

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<v Speaker 2>the semi truck pull up, and you could hear the

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<v Speaker 2>wheels on the gravel, and you just knew, you knew,

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<v Speaker 2>you could easily recognize that sound. The window panes would

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<v Speaker 2>actually shake because of the size and the rumble of

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<v Speaker 2>his engine. So we would just both my brother, my

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<v Speaker 2>sister and I would actually race to get to my

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<v Speaker 2>dad to see who could get into his pockets first,

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<v Speaker 2>because in his pockets were tons of change and tokens

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<v Speaker 2>and things from his trips, and so it was like

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<v Speaker 2>a competition who could get who.

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<v Speaker 1>Could get Dad's change. And that was our first encounter

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<v Speaker 1>with him.

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<v Speaker 2>And you pick us up and he would throw us

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<v Speaker 2>in the air and play with us and be excited

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<v Speaker 2>to see us. He would be just as excited to

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<v Speaker 2>see us as we were excited to see him.

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<v Speaker 3>Everybody thinks they're you know, their dad is the center

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<v Speaker 3>of the universe, But your dad, How did you feel

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<v Speaker 3>being placed up on his shoulders.

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<v Speaker 2>I love the view that I could see so much more,

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<v Speaker 2>and I felt that I was absolutely safe and that

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<v Speaker 2>anything was possible, and that I could do whatever I

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<v Speaker 2>wanted to do, and that was safe in the arms

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<v Speaker 2>with my dad. He was six foot six and close

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<v Speaker 2>to three hundred pounds. His size was something. The first

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<v Speaker 2>thing you notice, how you feel so small in comparison.

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<v Speaker 3>Keith was this huge giant man even to adults, so

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<v Speaker 3>for a child, he must have seemed even that much

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<v Speaker 3>more enormous. And when Melissa talks about him, she has

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<v Speaker 3>this reverence, this almost mythological lens that she views him through.

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<v Speaker 2>I felt like my dad was a superhero because he

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<v Speaker 2>was so large, and he could actually eclipse the sun

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<v Speaker 2>with his with his head, like he just his body,

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<v Speaker 2>like the sun would just like beam behind him, and

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<v Speaker 2>he could just eclipse the sun.

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<v Speaker 8>Phil Stanford, The Oregonian, Maywecond, nineteen ninety four. The letter,

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<v Speaker 8>unsigned and written on pale blue paper, has a happy

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<v Speaker 8>face at the top of the first page, two tiny

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<v Speaker 8>circles for eyes, an upturned sliver of a moon for mouth.

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<v Speaker 8>Have a nice day, all five of it, says next

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<v Speaker 8>to the cartoon face. However, the letter is six pages long,

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<v Speaker 8>So what does that mean? Five? What? Five murders? That's what.

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<v Speaker 3>Melissa agreed to go on the road with me and

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<v Speaker 3>our producer Noel and revisit the places from her past

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<v Speaker 3>that have incredible significance, both good and bad, to her today,

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<v Speaker 3>and one of those places was Spokane, Washington, where she

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<v Speaker 3>moved with her mother and siblings after her parents' divorce.

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't been Spokane for a long time, but whenever

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<v Speaker 2>I come back here, I think about the first time

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<v Speaker 2>I came here back in nineteen ninety. My dad was

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<v Speaker 2>home for the weekend and we had a great weekend.

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<v Speaker 2>We're really close and it was like a normal weekend,

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<v Speaker 2>and then it was time for my mom to drop

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<v Speaker 2>off my dad at the truck station. And on the

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<v Speaker 2>way to the truck station to his offices, there was

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<v Speaker 2>just this tension in the air and there was something

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<v Speaker 2>obviously going on between my parents, my mom and my dad.

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<v Speaker 2>When we arrived at my dad's work, he got the

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<v Speaker 2>car and acted like he was never going to see

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<v Speaker 2>us again. He hugged us super tight, said how much

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<v Speaker 2>he loves us, and was just gripping us like it

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<v Speaker 2>was his last time ever holding us. When I saw

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<v Speaker 2>him walk away and go to his job, my brother

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<v Speaker 2>and sister and I got back in the car, and

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<v Speaker 2>my mom was silent until we were about a block

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<v Speaker 2>away from the house. She said, when we go into

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<v Speaker 2>the house, I need you to pick one thing, your

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<v Speaker 2>favorite thing.

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<v Speaker 3>We drove there because we were going to meet her mom, Rose,

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<v Speaker 3>who we met at work.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm excited to see her. Yeah, I'm glad that you're

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<v Speaker 2>going to meet her. She's a caseworker for a Salvation

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<v Speaker 2>Army where she helps families who are on the streets

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<v Speaker 2>transition to having a life off the streets. And so

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<v Speaker 2>these are children that have lived in cars. These are

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<v Speaker 2>children that have nothing very similar to what I had

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<v Speaker 2>and what she had. I wonder if she has a

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<v Speaker 2>picture of me in her office.

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<v Speaker 3>I think she might be coming out.

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<v Speaker 2>Well.

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<v Speaker 3>They hadn't seen each other in a few years, but

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<v Speaker 3>you could definitely hear the warmth and the pride and

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<v Speaker 3>the love in Melissa's voice when she described her to us.

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<v Speaker 2>You know what you'll find that about my mom is

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<v Speaker 2>she's a very nurturing, soft person that you could tell

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<v Speaker 2>anything too. So not dregonical home. Oh my skinny, Oh

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<v Speaker 2>my gosh, you're getting small, my office.

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<v Speaker 8>Is over here.

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<v Speaker 3>Meeting Melissa's mom in person, I was really taken aback

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<v Speaker 3>by the fact that they don't look alike. Melissa's always

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<v Speaker 3>told me that she looks just like her father, and

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<v Speaker 3>I never saw it until I met her mom. She

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<v Speaker 3>absolutely looks like her father.

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<v Speaker 2>When I was flying down here, I was thinking about

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<v Speaker 2>what your experience must have been like, because when we

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<v Speaker 2>came here.

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<v Speaker 1>Is after you dud separated.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember just, you know, leaving and coming here m

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<v Speaker 2>without planning, right, That's what it felt like.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't planned.

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<v Speaker 5>You're correct, it wasn't what happened. Well, it was our

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<v Speaker 5>thirteenth wedding anniversary and I was expecting a bouquet of

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<v Speaker 5>flowers and he said, you know, I think we should

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<v Speaker 5>just get a divorce.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, would you mind just leaving?

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<v Speaker 5>And were you happy at any point with him? I

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<v Speaker 5>think at the very beginning we had a lot of

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<v Speaker 5>fun and we would we'd take a month off and

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<v Speaker 5>we'd traveled down I five, all the way down California

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<v Speaker 5>along the beaches, or you know, I didn't know that. Oh, yeah,

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<v Speaker 5>we did, we did. We'd take a month off, go

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<v Speaker 5>to Lake Powell. We'd go to Canada. Oh. He had

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<v Speaker 5>a golden wing motorcycle and we went all through Canada,

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<v Speaker 5>traveling through uh Lethbridge and Alberta.

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<v Speaker 1>And it was a good provider, he really was.

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<v Speaker 2>And you probably felt really financially.

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<v Speaker 5>Still, I felt safe. And then I had you, and

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<v Speaker 5>then things changed.

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<v Speaker 8>I would like to tell my story. The writer of

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<v Speaker 8>the letter begins. The exclamation point is all his, so

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<v Speaker 8>as the labored printing and the odd mixture of capital

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<v Speaker 8>and lowercase letters. Onor about January twentieth, nineteen ninety, I

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<v Speaker 8>picked up Sonya Bennett, and I took her home. I

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<v Speaker 8>raped her and beat her real bad. Then I ended

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<v Speaker 8>her life by pushing my fist into her throat.

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<v Speaker 2>When my dad was so up into town, he didn't

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<v Speaker 2>get a hotel. He would stay at our home, my

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<v Speaker 2>mom's home, and even when she was with her new

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<v Speaker 2>boyfriend who became her husband, my dad would stay in

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<v Speaker 2>the house with him in the house as well. The

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<v Speaker 2>reward of him coming was he's filling the pantry. He's

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<v Speaker 2>helping her. She was a single mom. She was a

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<v Speaker 2>sole provider for months on end, and here he comes

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<v Speaker 2>into town. She's going to take any reprieve she can get.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, this area right here is where when my

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<v Speaker 2>dad would come to visit, we'd drive past this road

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<v Speaker 2>right here. But this used to be all open fields

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<v Speaker 2>like this, and at the end here was as a

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<v Speaker 2>safeway where we would go and get groceries. So when

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<v Speaker 2>my dad would come into town, he would actually take

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<v Speaker 2>us three kids to this grocery store and just let

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<v Speaker 2>us pick anything we wanted. And one thing that he

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<v Speaker 2>constantly picked was just like he would get these huge

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<v Speaker 2>five gallon tubs of ice cream and then he would

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<v Speaker 2>get these he would get like a couple packages of bacon.

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<v Speaker 2>He would make not like one package of bacon at

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<v Speaker 2>a time, he would make like five packages of bacon

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<v Speaker 2>at a time. So when he came, he was a

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<v Speaker 2>source of all at A girl that I used to

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<v Speaker 2>hang out with, Tamera, and she lived right here in

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<v Speaker 2>this house.

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<v Speaker 1>And what happened was she lost her.

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<v Speaker 2>Jacket and she accused me of stealing her jacket.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, in the j just person households.

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<v Speaker 2>We don't steal like that is like something is the

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<v Speaker 2>coat of honor, you don't steal. And so I told

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<v Speaker 2>my dad that her parents think I'm a thief and

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<v Speaker 2>that I.

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<v Speaker 1>Stole her coat.

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<v Speaker 2>So he walked over there and confronted her parents.

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<v Speaker 1>And I was so nervous because he was so aggressive.

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<v Speaker 1>I was just terrified of what.

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<v Speaker 2>He's going to do to that to her parents. And

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<v Speaker 2>he explained how I didn't steal that jacket, and he

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<v Speaker 2>pretty much I don't know remember exactly what he said,

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<v Speaker 2>but he really terrified her parents so much so that

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<v Speaker 2>she never came back to my house.

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<v Speaker 8>But there's something about the letter that holds you that

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<v Speaker 8>makes you keep reading. Maybe it's the urgency of the

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<v Speaker 8>prose itself. Maybe, although you might not want to admit it,

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<v Speaker 8>it's the lurid details spelling off the pages like cold sewage.

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<v Speaker 8>Maybe the writer, whoever he is, is making it all up.

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<v Speaker 8>But if so, you have to wonder what kind of

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<v Speaker 8>person would even be able to write something like this.

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<v Speaker 8>This turned me on. I got high panic set in

0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:07.360
<v Speaker 8>where to put the body? First? He says he drove

0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:10.680
<v Speaker 8>to the Sandy River and threw Tanya Bennett's purse and

0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:15.640
<v Speaker 8>walkman into the water. Then he drove back home and

0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:20.320
<v Speaker 8>dragged the body out to his car. I want the

0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.360
<v Speaker 8>world to know that it was my crime, so I

0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:26.440
<v Speaker 8>tied a one half inch soft white rope around her neck.

0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.240
<v Speaker 8>I drove her to a switchback on the scenic Road

0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.560
<v Speaker 8>about one and one half miles east of Lateral Falls.

0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:39.480
<v Speaker 8>I dragged her downhill. Her pants were around her knees

0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:41.080
<v Speaker 8>because I had cut her buttons off.

0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:50.160
<v Speaker 1>Now happy faces.

0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:54.400
<v Speaker 2>On one side of the coin, he's a loving family man,

0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.800
<v Speaker 2>and he's a good friend, and he's.

0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:00.640
<v Speaker 1>He's a good provider.

0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.680
<v Speaker 2>He's everything that you know as a child you want

0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:07.560
<v Speaker 2>for a dad. And then on the other side of

0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:14.680
<v Speaker 2>the coin, he is everything that scares you, everything that

0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:21.119
<v Speaker 2>could hurt you. He goes from protected or predator and

0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:49.560
<v Speaker 2>wrapping my mind around it is impossible. I started to

0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:54.479
<v Speaker 2>notice the shift in the household, probably about when I

0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.280
<v Speaker 2>was in kindergarten first grade.

0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.440
<v Speaker 1>Things started to change in the household.

0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:06.120
<v Speaker 2>My mom seemed more withdrawn, and I imagine her being

0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:09.040
<v Speaker 2>isolated in a house with three young children must have

0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:11.639
<v Speaker 2>been difficult for her and my father being gone.

0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:13.440
<v Speaker 1>But when he would come home.

0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.040
<v Speaker 2>There seemed to be a distance between my mom and

0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:19.359
<v Speaker 2>my dad physically as well, that I didn't witness them

0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:24.000
<v Speaker 2>hugging or being affectionate with one another. I actually don't

0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:27.760
<v Speaker 2>even recall kissing. I can't even remember if they even

0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:40.240
<v Speaker 2>kissed each other when they greeted each other. Now, looking back,

0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:43.960
<v Speaker 2>I see the dynamic between my parents and recalling how

0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:48.440
<v Speaker 2>critical and degrading he was to my mother. He would

0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:51.680
<v Speaker 2>put her down for driving, He embarrassed her, He told

0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.600
<v Speaker 2>her all the time about what a horrible housekeeper she was.

0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:58.280
<v Speaker 2>He complained about her food, he complained about her weight.

0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:00.679
<v Speaker 2>Everything my mother did was wrong.

0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.840
<v Speaker 5>I was never thad enough or I was too fat.

0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.040
<v Speaker 5>You know, if I ate dinner, old God forbid, if

0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:15.680
<v Speaker 5>I ate dinner.

0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:27.320
<v Speaker 2>As a kid, when I was alone with my father,

0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:33.000
<v Speaker 2>he would bring up that he constantly felt sexually rejected,

0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:35.760
<v Speaker 2>and he would say that My mom would tell him

0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:36.200
<v Speaker 2>to go.

0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:37.200
<v Speaker 1>Put it in a key hole.

0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:40.800
<v Speaker 3>So what was your father thinking talking about his sex

0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:41.800
<v Speaker 3>life with his child?

0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:45.439
<v Speaker 2>My father sex life was always a part of the conversation.

0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:48.560
<v Speaker 2>I heard it with his friends. I heard it in

0:19:48.600 --> 0:19:52.440
<v Speaker 2>the flirtation and the sexual harassment of waitresses. I heard

0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:55.879
<v Speaker 2>it having to hear him tell me these details about

0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:58.280
<v Speaker 2>their sex life. I never asked my father, it was

0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:03.520
<v Speaker 2>just part of the conversation constantly. I knew that my

0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:07.680
<v Speaker 2>father was a very sexual man from a young age.

0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:12.800
<v Speaker 2>I recall finding hustlers and playboys all around, like all

0:20:12.840 --> 0:20:14.960
<v Speaker 2>around the house, and when I would go to the

0:20:15.000 --> 0:20:18.760
<v Speaker 2>truck stops, I would see his offices were lit like

0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:25.119
<v Speaker 2>discovered and nude calendars. So nude women and pornography was

0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:30.120
<v Speaker 2>always a part of my childhood.

0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:33.800
<v Speaker 8>My good.

0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:39.720
<v Speaker 2>Lie to me.

0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:45.240
<v Speaker 8>When Bennett's body was found actually about a mile west

0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:47.520
<v Speaker 8>of Lateral Falls and a mile and a half east

0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:50.480
<v Speaker 8>of the Vista house, there was a rope around her neck.

0:20:54.160 --> 0:21:03.440
<v Speaker 6>Ely addition, as the police reports indicate, the buttonfly of

0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:05.639
<v Speaker 6>bennett jeans had been cut away.

0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:10.600
<v Speaker 2>In the fin.

0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:31.560
<v Speaker 8>In the letter continues, she was my first and I

0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:35.600
<v Speaker 8>thought I would not do it again, but I was wrong.

0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:47.520
<v Speaker 3>It was clear that Keith had no filter for what

0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:51.439
<v Speaker 3>was appropriate to say or do in front of his kids,

0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:57.359
<v Speaker 3>and many of his other impulses were even darker, and

0:21:57.480 --> 0:21:59.600
<v Speaker 3>he acted upon them.

0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:05.800
<v Speaker 2>I remember there was a weekend that my dad was

0:22:05.840 --> 0:22:09.240
<v Speaker 2>back home and he from one of his long hauls

0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:15.280
<v Speaker 2>and there was a barrel, a rusty barrel that he

0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:19.040
<v Speaker 2>was burning shrubbery and old debris.

0:22:18.680 --> 0:22:20.399
<v Speaker 1>From the yard. And he was cleaning the yard.

0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:24.199
<v Speaker 2>And we had this barn, and behind the barn, I

0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:27.359
<v Speaker 2>saw my brother and he had a black cat. And

0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:32.040
<v Speaker 2>I remember how dark the cat's fur was, because it

0:22:32.240 --> 0:22:36.240
<v Speaker 2>was so shiny. It looked silvery like, almost like glass

0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:39.640
<v Speaker 2>from the sun hitting the cat's back, hitting the fur.

0:22:39.800 --> 0:22:43.480
<v Speaker 2>And so I saw my brother just petting this black cat,

0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:47.679
<v Speaker 2>and how slick and pretty the cat looked, and I

0:22:47.720 --> 0:22:50.880
<v Speaker 2>wanted to touch this cat too. I wanted to pet

0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:53.639
<v Speaker 2>and so I went up to my brother and I

0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:56.719
<v Speaker 2>sat next to him behind the barn, and I started

0:22:56.720 --> 0:23:01.360
<v Speaker 2>petting the cat with him. And quickly I noticed that

0:23:01.440 --> 0:23:06.160
<v Speaker 2>my dad had witnessed me petting the cat with my brother.

0:23:06.560 --> 0:23:09.560
<v Speaker 2>And at this point, the cat is still my brother's

0:23:09.640 --> 0:23:12.159
<v Speaker 2>lab and then my dad approaches us.

0:23:12.200 --> 0:23:15.159
<v Speaker 1>He walks up to us, and he says, what do

0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:19.760
<v Speaker 1>you have there.

0:23:24.720 --> 0:23:26.640
<v Speaker 2>I remember my dad's sitting down to the other side

0:23:26.680 --> 0:23:31.080
<v Speaker 2>of Jason and taking the cat in his lap, and

0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:35.479
<v Speaker 2>he started petting the cat, and both my brother and

0:23:35.480 --> 0:23:38.240
<v Speaker 2>I were tense, like if we could feel like something's

0:23:38.520 --> 0:23:43.760
<v Speaker 2>something's wrong because we knew my dad hated cats, absolutely

0:23:43.760 --> 0:23:46.359
<v Speaker 2>hated them. So for my dad to be sitting next

0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:51.000
<v Speaker 2>to my brother petting this cat was odd that he

0:23:51.040 --> 0:23:53.000
<v Speaker 2>would be lovingly petting a cat.

0:23:53.119 --> 0:23:56.640
<v Speaker 1>And quickly he was. I remember his big hand.

0:23:56.400 --> 0:23:59.080
<v Speaker 2>Just like engulfing the whole cat, and then all of

0:23:59.080 --> 0:24:02.760
<v Speaker 2>a sudden, with one hand, he pinned the head down

0:24:02.880 --> 0:24:04.960
<v Speaker 2>and grabbed it with the other hand, and he's just

0:24:04.960 --> 0:24:09.360
<v Speaker 2>started squeezing the cat's neck. And then the cat started

0:24:09.400 --> 0:24:15.800
<v Speaker 2>to like screech and to scream and started clawing for

0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:19.080
<v Speaker 2>its life on my dad's forearms and.

0:24:19.080 --> 0:24:19.880
<v Speaker 1>Just was clawing.

0:24:19.920 --> 0:24:22.800
<v Speaker 2>And I was thinking, and my brother and I were screaming,

0:24:23.400 --> 0:24:27.840
<v Speaker 2>and we're like stop a dad, Stop a dad, Like

0:24:27.920 --> 0:24:30.120
<v Speaker 2>why are you doing this, dad, Why are you doing this?

0:24:30.320 --> 0:24:33.640
<v Speaker 2>And just screaming at him to try to like stop it,

0:24:37.560 --> 0:24:40.679
<v Speaker 2>like it just it made me so nauseous, Like it

0:24:40.760 --> 0:24:41.320
<v Speaker 2>just made me.

0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:45.480
<v Speaker 1>How old would you and Jason have been?

0:24:47.480 --> 0:24:49.720
<v Speaker 2>We were young, My brother and I were young, we

0:24:49.720 --> 0:24:55.640
<v Speaker 2>were six seven years old. I don't recall telling my mom,

0:24:55.680 --> 0:25:00.520
<v Speaker 2>I don't recall telling anybody. And the reason and why

0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:03.920
<v Speaker 2>is it's just like when it came to my father,

0:25:04.560 --> 0:25:06.960
<v Speaker 2>there was just this thing that people said in the family,

0:25:07.040 --> 0:25:09.880
<v Speaker 2>they would say, Oh, that's just Keith, That's just how

0:25:09.960 --> 0:25:13.880
<v Speaker 2>Keith is, and it seemed to be acceptable.

0:25:23.119 --> 0:25:26.520
<v Speaker 9>Keith Jessperson takes steps toward a court appearance he's tried

0:25:26.560 --> 0:25:29.680
<v Speaker 9>to avoid for years, as well as an order and

0:25:29.880 --> 0:25:32.560
<v Speaker 9>your plea of no contest to the aggravated murder cat

0:25:32.800 --> 0:25:35.680
<v Speaker 9>After prosecutors read off the charges and with the victim's

0:25:35.720 --> 0:25:39.320
<v Speaker 9>family looking on, Jesperson gave grizzly details of how in

0:25:39.400 --> 0:25:42.640
<v Speaker 9>nineteen ninety he killed twenty three year old Tanya Bennett

0:25:42.680 --> 0:25:44.040
<v Speaker 9>in his apartment.

0:25:43.960 --> 0:25:50.200
<v Speaker 10>And forced my fist into her throat and later grabbed

0:25:50.200 --> 0:25:55.359
<v Speaker 10>the rope and tied around her neck securely, and she

0:25:55.560 --> 0:25:55.920
<v Speaker 10>was dead.

0:26:00.520 --> 0:26:02.160
<v Speaker 2>You know. I slept in the hallway that one night.

0:26:02.680 --> 0:26:05.360
<v Speaker 2>The second night, I slept on the couch.

0:26:05.680 --> 0:26:08.240
<v Speaker 1>And kept the TV on so i'd have light.

0:26:08.880 --> 0:26:10.600
<v Speaker 2>And as I laid on the couch, I looked up

0:26:10.600 --> 0:26:15.480
<v Speaker 2>the ceiling and I saw markings on the ceiling of

0:26:15.480 --> 0:26:19.560
<v Speaker 2>some kind of splatter. And then as I was laying there,

0:26:20.280 --> 0:26:23.000
<v Speaker 2>the cabinet doors in the kitchen were opening and closing,

0:26:23.520 --> 0:26:26.439
<v Speaker 2>and I remember touching my eyes and rubbing my eyes,

0:26:26.520 --> 0:26:28.240
<v Speaker 2>thinking I must be seeing things.

0:26:29.320 --> 0:26:31.359
<v Speaker 1>But I would hear it too. They would open and

0:26:31.400 --> 0:26:32.480
<v Speaker 1>they would close.

0:26:32.800 --> 0:26:35.480
<v Speaker 9>Says, He left the body in the Columbia Gorge, then

0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:37.000
<v Speaker 9>cleaned up his house.

0:26:37.480 --> 0:26:41.080
<v Speaker 10>Washed the carpet, I washed the blood off the walls

0:26:41.160 --> 0:26:43.760
<v Speaker 10>what I could, and eventually painted the walls of the

0:26:44.040 --> 0:26:48.560
<v Speaker 10>house I was in and try to forget about it.

0:26:52.640 --> 0:26:55.840
<v Speaker 2>I would later discover that in that very room where

0:26:55.840 --> 0:26:59.000
<v Speaker 2>I was laying down was where he he murdered Tanya

0:26:59.000 --> 0:27:05.040
<v Speaker 2>Bennett in the most gruesome and brutal way possible, And

0:27:05.080 --> 0:27:09.399
<v Speaker 2>that now I look back and think, was that blood

0:27:09.440 --> 0:27:11.520
<v Speaker 2>that I saw?

0:27:12.160 --> 0:27:13.360
<v Speaker 1>And I believe it was.

0:27:17.680 --> 0:27:19.479
<v Speaker 8>My girl?

0:27:21.040 --> 0:27:30.679
<v Speaker 4>My girl? Don't lie to me? Tell me where didiou sleep?

0:27:32.119 --> 0:27:33.120
<v Speaker 4>Last night?

0:27:34.440 --> 0:27:37.520
<v Speaker 7>Happy Face is a production of How Stuff Works. Executive

0:27:37.520 --> 0:27:41.520
<v Speaker 7>producers are Melissa Moore, Lauren Bright, Butcheco Mangesha Ticketer, and

0:27:41.560 --> 0:27:46.760
<v Speaker 7>Will Pearson. Supervising producer is Noel Brown. Music by Claire Campbell,

0:27:46.760 --> 0:27:50.040
<v Speaker 7>Paige Campbell and Hope for a Golden Summer. Story editor

0:27:50.080 --> 0:27:53.680
<v Speaker 7>is Matt Riddle. Audio editing by Chandler Mays and Noel Brown.

0:27:54.240 --> 0:27:58.200
<v Speaker 7>Assistant editor is Taylor Chacoygne. Special thanks to Phil Stanford,

0:27:58.320 --> 0:28:01.199
<v Speaker 7>the publishers of the Oregonian newspaper in k t U

0:28:01.240 --> 0:28:02.359
<v Speaker 7>News In Portland, Oregon

0:28:04.720 --> 0:28:10.359
<v Speaker 4>Go away where the cold Wan blows