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Noe's necessary. 22 00:00:57.840 --> 00:00:59.719 We won't hitt my Law eighteen plus terms and conditions 23 00:00:59.719 --> 00:00:59.920 to play. 24 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:14.040 Whatever you doing, you are now listening to True Murder 25 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:17.879 the most shocking killers in true crime history and the 26 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:23.000 authors that have written about them. Gasey Bundy, Dahmer, The 27 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:28.840 Nightstalker DTK. Every week another fascinating author talking about the 28 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:32.760 most shocking and infamous killers in true crime history. True 29 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:47.519 Murder with your host, journalist and author Dan Zupansky. Good Evening, 30 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:50.200 This is your host Dan Zupanski for the program True Murder, 31 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:52.879 The most shocking killers in true crime history and the 32 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:56.680 authors that have written about them. Mary Jean Pearl and 33 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:01.079 John Battagulia's marriage seem picture perfect from the outside. With 34 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.680 her two young daughters, Faith and Liberty, they made their 35 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:07.159 home in a wealthy Dallas suburb. John was handsome, charming 36 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:10.800 and successful, but behind the mask of normality lay a vicious, 37 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:14.599 violent abuser who had brutally beaten his first wife and 38 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:17.960 who made Mary Jean the new target of his irrational rages. 39 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:23.919 After nine hellish years, she divorced Bataglia, but on Christmas 40 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:27.080 Day nineteen ninety nine, during a court ordered family visit, 41 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:29.520 he attacked her in front of their daughters. For the 42 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:33.199 next two years, he threatened, harassed, and stalked her. Mary 43 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:35.800 Jean feared for her life, but not for the lives 44 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.080 of the children, which whom Batagulia was never anything less 45 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.560 than caring, loving and gentle. But in spring two thousand 46 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.800 and one, when Faith and Liberty were visiting their father, 47 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:49.599 Mary Jean received the message to call her daughters helpless Horrified, 48 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:53.000 she heard her older daughter's pleading cries. Then came the 49 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:57.599 sound of gunshots, followed by silence. What evil impulses had 50 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:01.599 driven a seemingly devoted father to the ultimate act of 51 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:06.520 violence and betrayal? And how could justice ever be served? No, Daddy, 52 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:10.759 don't a father's murderous rage a mother's worst nightmare. With 53 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.199 my very special guest, Irene Pence, thank you very much 54 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:17.560 for agreeing to this program, and thank you for coming 55 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:19.919 to this program. Irene Pence, thank. 56 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:21.960 You for asking me, Dan, I'm good at being here. 57 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:23.759 Thank you very much. I think we're gonna have a 58 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:30.000 great program. This is a fantastic, incredibly disturbing, but fascinating tale, 59 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.360 very important story, I think really in the end result, 60 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:36.840 it's a fascinating story. Now let's start off right now 61 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.400 with let me let me get you to set the 62 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.199 stage of where this story occurs. There is a couple cities, 63 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:48.360 but maybe let's start with maybe Dallas. Set this in 64 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:51.919 this wealthy Dallas suburb that that you spoke about in 65 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.680 the introduction, or I spoke about in the introduction, set 66 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:57.360 the stage a little bit for us for at least 67 00:03:57.400 --> 00:03:59.360 the first city in this incredible tale. 68 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:05.080 Well, the actual crime occurred in Dallas, Texas, and John 69 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:10.199 Battaglia was a CPA and he met Mary Jean Pearl 70 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:15.240 one night at a restaurant. And he's very handsome. He's 71 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:21.279 a model per Kim Dawson that's here in Dallas, and 72 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.240 that was just a side job because he's actually a CPA. 73 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.879 And she is the daughter of a very wealthy family 74 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:34.120 and she was just really taken by him, and he's charming, 75 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:35.199 there's no question. 76 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:41.079 Now you start your story with another woman. The first 77 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.279 woman of our story is a woman named Michelle Ward 78 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:48.240 and then she later is married to Dale Laborde and 79 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:50.839 she becomes Michelle Laborde and they have a son named Billy. 80 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:54.439 So take us back to Michelle Leboard who is she 81 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:57.120 and tell us about her life because this is a 82 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:59.279 very important part of this story. 83 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:00.439 Right. 84 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:05.519 Michelle is just a fabulous, brilliant and beautiful person. She 85 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:12.879 lives in bat Rouge, Louisiana, and she's very bright and 86 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:15.319 she was always, you know, graduating in the top one 87 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:18.560 percent of her class. And she married quickly out of 88 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:24.040 college and they had a baby about three years later, 89 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:28.519 and it didn't work out, and so she divorced that man, 90 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:31.560 but she did have this little boy. Then she decided 91 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:36.639 to go to law school and so she again graduated 92 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:39.319 in the top one percent of her class. And she 93 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:44.160 really wanted to teach, but her instructors suggested that she 94 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:48.639 practiced law for a while and that would give her 95 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:52.920 good experience for teaching. So she moved to Dallas and 96 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:58.439 joined a large law firm, aich, Strashauer and Feld, and 97 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:04.000 she was very well paid. And then a fellow lawyer 98 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:08.959 had introduced her to John Battaglia, and that's how they 99 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:12.720 got together. And it was kind of a whirlwind romance. 100 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:16.920 But then again, the handsomeess, the polish, he could talk 101 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:21.199 on any subject. He's very bright and charming. 102 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:24.160 And he had done some modeling too, so he had 103 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:27.560 model good looks, about six foot tall, you described this guy, 104 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:33.399 and obviously very charismatic and intelligent guy. So she was 105 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:37.120 a little bit younger than him, if I correct correct 106 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:39.639 on that and tell us how they met, and you 107 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:41.600 say it was a whirlwind sort of relationship. 108 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:44.240 Was one of the attorneys she was working with at 109 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:47.560 AIChE and Gump introduced them, and so that's how she 110 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:49.000 got to know John Bataglia. 111 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:53.199 Now, what happened you say it's a whirlwind. What happened 112 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:56.079 quickly in the relationship? How did it develop and how 113 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:57.839 serious did that relationship become? 114 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:04.920 Well, they were dating and she started noticing troubling signs 115 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.839 about him. He carried a gun, and he seemed to 116 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:15.079 get nervous and irritated easily, and she was thinking about 117 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:17.279 breaking up with him. And then she found out she 118 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.360 was pregnant, and she didn't want to marry him, but 119 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:23.720 her mother kind of shamed her into it, you know, 120 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:27.120 don't have an illegitimate child, so forth, and that's why 121 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:27.759 she married him. 122 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:33.079 Now what was her belief though, Was she really confident 123 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:36.839 that this man may change? Because you really do express 124 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:39.959 this sort of duality that he was, especially in the beginning, 125 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:43.319 such a loving and doting person. And part of the 126 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:47.959 reason why she trusted him is because of how he 127 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:49.959 dealt with her son, Billy. 128 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:54.759 Right, he always professes to have love children and he 129 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:58.519 would go over to her house and play with Billy 130 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.160 before they would go out, and she wondered if was 131 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:04.319 he really more interested in Billy because he showed such 132 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:05.079 love for him. 133 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:12.160 Right, it's very interesting now, so did they so obviously 134 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:15.680 they were married, and then how did the relationship proceed? 135 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.439 How did it? How did his behavior change or escalate? 136 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:27.399 His behavior changed rapidly Actually when the daughter that they had, 137 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:31.040 the second child that Michelle had, when she after she 138 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:36.200 was born, probably only two or three months old, he 139 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.919 got mad at Michelle because he didn't think she was 140 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:43.480 paying enough attention to him, and he hit her and 141 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:47.399 knocked her down with the baby in her arms. So 142 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:49.960 that was the first first ringing of the bell to 143 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.080 make her realize that something terribly wrong was in her marriage. 144 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:58.039 Now was the result of this assault? How did she proceed? 145 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:03.720 And and her reaction to this assault obviously led to 146 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:06.200 his further behavior. So what did she do and what 147 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:08.000 did she not do? Result? 148 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:10.320 Well, her problem was that she didn't do anything. She 149 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:14.000 was embarrassed that she was beaten by her husband, so 150 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:17.200 she didn't tell her family. When she went to work 151 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:21.879 one day, her secretary noticed bruises, so she took her 152 00:09:22.039 --> 00:09:24.799 to the lady's room and showed her her back how 153 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:31.799 purple it was from John Sis. And so then another 154 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:35.360 lawyer came by after they got out, and he said, 155 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:38.720 is anything wrong and Michelle said, oh, no, everything's just fine. 156 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.879 It's sort of the typical abused wife syndrome. And we're 157 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:44.279 talking about a very very bright woman. 158 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:52.480 Right, So what at what point does she contact? Well, 159 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:56.000 obviously she confided in somebody at work, but how does 160 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:59.279 it who does she further contact, if anyone, what's her 161 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:03.519 next step and how does his behaviors still further escalate? 162 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:07.080 Well, when he beat her again, she called the police 163 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:13.240 and so tried to get them to do something to 164 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:16.799 keep him away from her, but he would come back 165 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:21.639 with flowers and apologies and promises that he was going 166 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:26.399 to change, and she believed, which is a typical pattern. 167 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:29.559 And there would be some change for a certain period 168 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:31.720 of time, but he was on. 169 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.639 A three month cycle. He would be able to clean 170 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.480 up his act for about three months and then well, 171 00:10:40.039 --> 00:10:43.879 he essentially was bipolar, and so that's kind of what 172 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:49.679 triggered everything. He didn't like the meds that he made 173 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:53.320 him more calm, and so he didn't want to take those. 174 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:57.440 He was real controller and the fact that he didn't 175 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:00.240 have his meds just he spun out of control about 176 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:00.879 every three months. 177 00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:06.679 So this this assault, How serious was this assault? And 178 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:10.759 what was the what was the police's but the police 179 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:13.639 and their reaction and tell us a little bit more 180 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.120 about that court case and the result. 181 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:20.360 Well, the police unfortunately, as with Mary Jean, they didn't 182 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:26.039 They just didn't take domestic abuse seriously enough, and she 183 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:30.440 would file papers on him and he would manage to 184 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:36.279 wiggle out of it. The most serious assault that John 185 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:41.879 Bettaglia did was after they were divorced, when he beat 186 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:47.200 her so terribly and broke her nose and dislocated her jaw. 187 00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:51.559 And but before that though, she she made up her 188 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:52.919 mind she was going to get divorced. 189 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.279 Now she moves out or has him move out of 190 00:11:57.320 --> 00:11:59.840 the home. There is other some other features as well, 191 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:03.159 including stocking. Tell us about the stocking, because it's particularly 192 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:06.440 it's one thing to be peeping or following. He went 193 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:08.440 to much more extreme levels. 194 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:14.879 He was really clever, and that dan because she was 195 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:19.440 under such peril with him, she hired a lawyer and 196 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:23.919 he told her to keep a log of all the 197 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:26.279 things that he had done. So they could present this 198 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:29.039 to the judge and perhaps that would get someone's attention, 199 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:32.960 the judge's attention. So I had the benefit of Michelle's log. 200 00:12:33.799 --> 00:12:36.799 You know, like on Thursday at two o'clock in the morning, 201 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:40.879 he came over and you know, he would she would 202 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:44.440 get the locks changed on her house, and he would 203 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:49.039 call the locksmith and say, oh, I've locked myself out, 204 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:51.159 would you please make me a new key? I just 205 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:54.679 feel so silly about this. And you know, smart, charming, 206 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.759 good looking goes a long ways, And so the locksmith 207 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:00.720 would make him a new key, and then if that 208 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.799 happened again, then he took call a different locksmith. But 209 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.720 she would wake up some mornings, you know, at one 210 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:09.759 two in the morning, and he'd be hovering over her 211 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:14.279 bed and threatening to you know, hit her. I could 212 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:17.000 really take care of you now, and you're I've got 213 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.399 control of you. And she was scared to death. 214 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:26.519 Now what did the police do as these beatings and 215 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:31.480 stockings and threatening phone calls and uh, could she not 216 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.080 get a restraining order against them? But what was It 217 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:36.639 seems incredible that she couldn't get anything done. You say, well, 218 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:40.080 they didn't really treat domestic violence. So seriously, but how 219 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:42.840 could they how could they go how could she not 220 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:44.120 get protection from this man? 221 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:48.159 Well, she suits for divorce and that she was going 222 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:52.519 to go that route, and she actually went through her father, 223 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:56.720 who was also a lawyer, and she finally had to 224 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.440 tell her parents that John is beating me. I've got 225 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:04.679 to leave. And so her father, who lives in Louisiana, 226 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:07.679 had called friends in Dallas and said, I want the 227 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:10.240 name of an attorney that can help my daughter with 228 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.240 domestic abuse. So someone gave her a name and she 229 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:17.840 went to him and was all laid out for a 230 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:21.639 protective order where John wouldn't be able to come within 231 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:27.080 five hundred feet of her. And one night he came 232 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:32.200 in and just came into the house and stole some 233 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:38.320 things out, and she was furious with them, and he said, well, 234 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.840 you can't do anything about this, and she said, I 235 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:43.759 have a protective order, and she called the police and 236 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:46.720 they came and checked on it, and she didn't have 237 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.840 a protective order. The lawyer that her father had suggested 238 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.399 through a friend had not filed the protective order, so 239 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.840 it wasn't on record. Therefore, the police couldn't do anything 240 00:14:57.080 --> 00:14:59.480 about John coming into her house. Because it was also 241 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:00.159 his house too. 242 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:03.720 Yeah, it must have been. I could you could really 243 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:05.919 get the sense of horror that this woman was having. 244 00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:08.759 There was no there was no solution to when she 245 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:13.039 was dealing with whatsoever. No, she was sitting duck well, 246 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:16.919 and her parents were very active after they had been 247 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:20.360 notified of this violence. And it's not like they weren't 248 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.879 important people, and they had certainly had some means as well. 249 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:29.200 So what eventually happened? What did she have to eventually 250 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:32.600 do to be able to well? 251 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:36.559 She had to move back to Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 252 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:40.320 because she was just too much for sitting duck in Dallas. 253 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:43.200 She had to quit her fabulous job at the law firm, 254 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:48.879 very prestigious law firm, and she went back to Louisiana 255 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:53.519 and she was able to roll her children in the 256 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:57.159 private school back there and eventually got a job teaching 257 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.960 law at the University of Washington in Baton Rouge. 258 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:06.320 Now did the harassment and immediately when she moved to 259 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:08.960 Baton Rouge. Was that the end of the story. 260 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:13.879 No, he tried legally. Then he tried to get her, 261 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:19.879 to find her, to get her to come back to 262 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:25.919 Dallas because he was interfering with his parental custodian chip 263 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:29.919 and so she had to fly back to Dallas. 264 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:31.039 Judy was boring. 265 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:31.519 Hello. 266 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.559 Then Judy discovered chumpacasino dot com. 267 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:36.080 It's my little escape. 268 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:38.519 Now Judy is the life of the party. Oh baby, 269 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:41.799 mama is bringing home the bacon. WHOA Take it easy, Judy. 270 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:46.480 The Chumba life is for everybody. So go to chumpacasino 271 00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:49.320 dot com and play over one hundred casino style games 272 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:51.799 joined today and playing for free for your chance to 273 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:57.120 redeem some serious prices. Jump chumpacasino dot com. Nope, just necessary. 274 00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:58.679 We're prohitted to by mong the team plus turns and 275 00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:00.279 conditioned to play se What's every Details. 276 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:03.120 At least once a month to answer all these charges 277 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.799 in court. Somehow he managed to get the attention of 278 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.759 judges when she couldn't, and she was really a victim. 279 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:14.359 He was trying everything from trying to get her to 280 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:22.640 pay spousal support and to get custody more than you know, 281 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:24.880 to call her an unfit mother. He did everything in 282 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:26.759 his power to harass her through the courts. 283 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:32.839 Right, he's got a lawyer for the divorce. Initially and 284 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:36.359 the lawyer said quit your job so that your ex 285 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:40.680 wife will have to pay youth support. So he did incredible. 286 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:46.640 Now, John Battaglia is he's a certified he's an accountant, 287 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:51.720 but also another sort of aspect of his personalities, he's 288 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:54.359 also a whistleblower and he's also a person that thinks 289 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.079 he's very very efficient and knows how to run things 290 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:00.359 if he can. So part of his personality a little 291 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:03.680 bit about what's happening in John Battaglia's life as well. 292 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:06.759 At that time, you mean with the RTC. 293 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:08.319 Right, he was. 294 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:13.440 Working still as an accountant, and so he had access 295 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:17.480 to the files back then, and he was upset with 296 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:23.759 a company that was supplying the RTC with the information 297 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:27.920 on the files because the banks had gone bankrupt and 298 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:30.319 this was back in the eighties when they had to 299 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:33.839 close a lot of properties and sell them off and 300 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:37.160 get them out of their books. And so he actually 301 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:44.359 joined and they with the government, US government, and they 302 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:51.799 sued this company for overcharging the US for their services, 303 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:57.480 and it really flipped upside down. And the company had 304 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:01.920 good lawyers and they were able to show that they 305 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:04.319 were doing a good job. And John but Taggi blew 306 00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:07.960 a whistle that shouldn't have been blown, and it all 307 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:10.599 flew up in his face and that really made him 308 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:14.319 further further angry. This is when he was married to 309 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:15.559 Mary Jane Pearl. 310 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:21.119 Now, how did he meet Mary Jane Pearl? And uh, yeah, 311 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:23.279 tell us how he met Mary Jane Pearl. 312 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:26.920 And that was when they were at a restaurant and 313 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.119 she was with friends and she saw this handsome man 314 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.440 looking at her from across the room, and her friends 315 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:36.559 were kidding her about it, and you know, he really 316 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:40.359 looks like he's interested in you. And so pretty soon 317 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:43.920 the man was over there, and all of her friends 318 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:47.519 thought he was cute and had a great sense of humor, 319 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:50.359 and they just urged her on that this is the 320 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:54.559 guy for you, Mary Jane, and she agreed. She knows 321 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:55.240 how to behave. 322 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:57.240 She was still in high school at that time. 323 00:19:57.839 --> 00:19:59.960 No, she was out at high school, then at high 324 00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:03.240 working for her mother's antiques company. 325 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:06.279 Oh that's right, Sorry, I stand corrected, Okay, But she 326 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.400 was much younger than him. It was it was quite 327 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:10.720 a few years in different so that's she was. 328 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:15.880 She was a few years younger he was, and she 329 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:16.279 was very. 330 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:20.119 Impressed with his worldliness and what the image he could 331 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.200 convey to these young younger girls. 332 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.400 Right, Well, like I said, he could talk on any 333 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.680 and he subject. He's very well read. He knows art 334 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:33.079 and literature. I mean this without being bipolar in such 335 00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:35.680 a control freak. He could have been just a really 336 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:42.359 fine person because he was, you know, intelligent and good looking. Right, 337 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:43.359 but he didn't use it. 338 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:48.839 Right now, how did Mary Jane Pearl and John Battagulia's 339 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.480 relationship develop? Who did it develop any differently? Obviously it 340 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:56.079 must have been somewhat different than his original relationship with 341 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:59.720 Michelle Aboard. But tell us how their relationship progressed and 342 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:03.759 how quickly did she see some of the signs that 343 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:06.119 eventually would lead to disaster. 344 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:12.880 Well, they when they got married, her parents, who were wealthy, 345 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:17.799 gave them the house. It was the family home, and 346 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:21.599 they just gave it to them, and so they moved 347 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:25.680 into this nice, big, four bedroom house and John kind 348 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:28.519 of felt kept. He wants to be in control, but 349 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:32.079 the fact that his wife owned the house bothered him somewhat. 350 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:37.279 But he he ride off. I guess he snored and 351 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:39.680 Mary Jean couldn't sleep with him because she couldn't she 352 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:42.599 was pregnant. Soon after they got married, and she wasn't 353 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:44.880 getting her rest, and so she'd go to another bedroom 354 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.319 and that angered him. And so first of all it 355 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:54.200 was mainly verbal abuse with Mary Jean. And then the 356 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:59.160 baby started coming, the first little girl, and again John 357 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:05.839 preparedly did love children, but he he hated Mary Jean 358 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:08.799 more than he loved the children. So that's why the 359 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:14.039 ultimate ending of this. But while these children were being born, 360 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:18.680 he played with them, he loved them, and so he 361 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:20.079 enjoyed these two little girls. 362 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:24.119 Now, how was his relationship with his own child with 363 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:26.119 Michelle the board, how was that relationship? 364 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:31.440 Well, they would come over and when the girl got 365 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:37.119 a little older, she would sometimes they'd meet halfway. Sometimes 366 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:39.799 Michelle would put her on the plane and send her 367 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:43.640 to Dallas spend a week in her so with John, 368 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:47.519 and that was pretty good. And then she loved her 369 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:53.880 little stepsisters, her half sisters that were you know, of 370 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.880 the second marriage, and so that that was fun for 371 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:04.359 Michelle's daughter to do. And then one turning point was 372 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:10.319 when she came over for Christmas and John, who wasn't 373 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.680 supposed to be in Mary Jean's home. They were divorced 374 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:18.400 at this time, and he came in, I guess in 375 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:21.839 his mind going back in seeing well at this point, 376 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.240 now it's the second home that her parents had given her, 377 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:30.039 and it's a four or five million dollar home in 378 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:35.759 Highland Park, Dallas, and it's beautiful. And he goes in 379 00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:38.640 and he sees all the presents she was able to 380 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:42.000 give her the daughters, and he can't do that, and 381 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:45.519 it comes upstep. So he followed her up the stairs 382 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:50.240 and beat her to such a point he even pulled 383 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:53.200 her hair out in spots, and so it's on the floor. 384 00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:57.960 And Michelle's daughter sees all this, and that will forever 385 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:02.319 mark the relationship that she has with her father, right. 386 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:05.640 Yeah, so everything, the relationship instantly changes at that point. 387 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:08.440 She has no more tolerance for her father, right right, 388 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:15.799 She's on guard. Okay, now what else? What else goes on? 389 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:17.680 I mean, obviously we're going to get to the point 390 00:24:17.720 --> 00:24:20.519 where this you know, the eventual day. But how does 391 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:24.880 it further progress after this beating, after he now his 392 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:28.880 daughter from the original marriage is thinks he's a monster, 393 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:31.200 How does what happens next? 394 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:36.119 Well, Mary Jean is not timid about calling the police 395 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:42.279 and going to court and trying to do something about John, 396 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:46.160 but the cooperation she got was just her lack of 397 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:51.519 cooperation was just incredible. John was able to talk judges 398 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:58.359 out of being held accountable. That if he tricked Mary 399 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:03.359 Jane one day and said, let's meet before we have 400 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:07.759 our court date for a protective order, Let's meet and 401 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:10.440