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No 24 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:58.560 purchase necessary boid. We're prohibited by long eighteen plus Terms 25 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:02.000 and conditions applag see website. 26 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:02.399 Host. 27 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.560 You are now listening to True Murder, The most Shocking 28 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.680 Killers in True crime History and the authors that have 29 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:26.040 written about them Gasey, Bundy, Dahmer, The Nightstalker, Dck. Every 30 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:29.760 week another fascinating author talking about the most shocking and 31 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:34.400 infamous killers in true crime history. True Murder with your host, 32 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:48.400 journalist and author Dan Zupansky. Good evening, This is your 33 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:51.680 host Dan Zupanski for the program True Murder, The most 34 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:54.480 shocking Killers in true crime History and the authors that 35 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:59.159 have written about them. First, he bound and beat his girlfriend, 36 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:03.159 a three year old librarian. Then he went after her 37 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:06.680 teenage daughter, warning her scream and I will kill you both, 38 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.159 before knocking her unconscious. When the teenager awoke, he proceeded 39 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:14.400 to rape her, and in a final horrifying act of depravity, 40 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.080 he forced the girl to watch as he slit her 41 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:21.240 mother's throat. But the killing didn't stop there. Stephen Stenkoe 42 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.759 was described as a perfect gentleman who seemed so pleasant 43 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:29.319 and so normal, But behind Stenko's mild mannered appearance, round 44 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:32.759 spectacles and quiet intelligence was a cold blooded ex convict 45 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:36.840 who kept a grizzly scrap book on serial killers and 46 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:40.199 convinced everyone he was a nice guy until he killed 47 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:44.800 and killed again. A well orchestrated manhunt caught up with Stenko, 48 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:47.800 who tried to get away with his crimes by pleading insanity, 49 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:50.840 but the jury saw through his ruse and the ruthless 50 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:54.520 killer was sentenced to death. The book this evening they 51 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:58.560 were featured is A Psycho Killer's Vicious Attack Watch Mummy 52 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.599 Die by veteran journalist and best selling author Michael Benson. 53 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.120 Welcome back to the program, and thank you to agreeing 54 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:10.199 to this interview. Michael Benz. Thanks, thank you, Michael, great 55 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:14.319 book once again. Congratulations on doing it again scaring the 56 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:15.199 hell out of the public. 57 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:21.599 So there we go. And so one of the questions 58 00:03:21.639 --> 00:03:25.360 I always ask, and I think it's of interest to people, 59 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:29.240 how and why did you decide to write a book 60 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:35.840 about Steven Stanko and this particularly interesting murder trial and case. 61 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:39.639 Well, the first thing that I learned about Stanko after 62 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:43.240 I found out about about the murders on the Internet, 63 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.039 was that he had himself written a book while in prison, 64 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:51.039 and it was that sort of Jack Henry Abbott angle 65 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:55.400 that first attracted me to the case. I wasn't into 66 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:58.719 it very long though, before I realized that the true 67 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:02.919 point of my story had to be the evil that's 68 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:06.039 within Stephen Stanko. You know, he's one of those rare 69 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:10.520 psychopaths who has the looks in charisma to start new 70 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:14.639 relationships and be socially active even as he's running for 71 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.040 his life. And in that sense, I think he reminds 72 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:21.160 a lot of people of Ted Bundy. Watch Mommy Die 73 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:24.920 is not just about Stenko's most haineous act, although we 74 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:27.920 certainly deal with that at length, but it is also 75 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:31.480 a character analysis of a lady's man, a con man, 76 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:35.240 a sex criminal, and a murderer who could have had 77 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:38.160 it all in the straight world, but who instead lives 78 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.879 today on South Carolina's death Row. 79 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.560 Now, yes, what you're saying too is very interesting too, 80 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:48.480 because for many books we do get inside the killer 81 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:51.160 to a certain degree. But in this particular case, because 82 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:56.040 of the research that you've done and this particular killer's character, 83 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:01.040 we really do see incredibly the development of a serial killer, 84 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:04.800 and the development of this particular serial killer and how 85 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:09.399 he became who he became ultimately so very fascinating and 86 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:10.279 a little bit. 87 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.240 He becomes a serial killer in increments. 88 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:16.879 Yes, yes, it's a real development, real behind the scenes 89 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:20.160 on how this could possibly happen, and his motivation and 90 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:23.839 his mindset so incredible. Now you start off the book 91 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:28.560 with the nine to one to one call from Penny Ling. 92 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:36.240 But let's, as we spoke beforehand, let's first describe Stephen Stenko, 93 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:41.120 the main character in this book. Tell us about Stephen Stenko, 94 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:43.879 what you found out about his early life so we 95 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:46.800 can store our definite portrait of this killer. 96 00:05:47.879 --> 00:05:50.920 And Stanko was born in nineteen sixty eight and he 97 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:54.279 was born on the island of Cuba. As a little unusual, 98 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:57.439 he was born in Guantanamo Bay. His dad, William Stanko, 99 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:02.040 was a master chief in the navy. And Stephen had 100 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:05.279 two brothers, two sisters. And you know, before we start 101 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:09.120 blaming the household for creating a psycho killer, all of 102 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:13.879 his siblings turned out okay. One died in an accident, 103 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:16.519 as you'll hear about. But you know, he's the only 104 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:19.720 one who came out creepy. When he was little. His 105 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:23.040 dad was transferred to the Naval Weapons station in Goose Creek, 106 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:27.439 South Carolina, which is a town suburb really of about 107 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:31.560 seventeen thousand, just north of Charleston, South Carolina, and that's 108 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:35.040 where Stenko grew up. Now, you know, every book I write, 109 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:38.240 the research is never one hundred percent fulfilling. And one 110 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.759 of my frustrations when writing Watch Mommy Die was that 111 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.439 we still don't know much about the Stanco family chemistry. 112 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.160 But what we do know isn't good. The Stankos didn't 113 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:52.399 talk about it. The only evidence we have is from outsiders, 114 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.480 people who for whatever reason found themselves inside the Stanko 115 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:59.120 home watching the family interact. So it's not the best evidence, 116 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:02.079 but it's what we have to go on. According to 117 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:05.360 one witness, no one was happy in the Stanko house. 118 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:10.199 One witness said it was grim. The dad ran such 119 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.839 a tight ship, as you might expect from a military dad, 120 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:16.439 but it went beyond just militaristic. It was so regimented 121 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:22.839 as to suck the joy from life. Now, one witness 122 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:24.639 said that the dad seemed to times to be a 123 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:26.480 cruel man, and that was that was the word that 124 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:29.199 the witness he was cruel. One thing is for sure. 125 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:35.120 The rules were stringent and enforced with punishment. Now, I 126 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:39.240 can't really blame that on Stanko's problems because up until 127 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:41.439 the time he was a teenager, he thrived on it. 128 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:47.319 He uh, you know, he loved the disciplined atmosphere. He 129 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:49.800 entered high school the guy who had everything going for him. 130 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:52.199 He was tall and good looking, and he was good 131 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:56.920 at sports, baseball, football, Plus he was smart. His teachers 132 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:59.639 got dreamy thinking about him, and you know, I've seen 133 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:01.480 this happen, and they knew the boy was going to 134 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:02.839 go far and they were going to be able to 135 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:06.480 say they knew him when. And Sanko himself was just 136 00:08:06.519 --> 00:08:08.480 you know, his mister confidence. He just assumed that he 137 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.439 was one of the best in the briest. He was 138 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:12.519 going to attend the Air Force Academy and become a 139 00:08:12.519 --> 00:08:16.160 fighter pilot, and after that, the sky was the limit. 140 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:18.399 He was going to join NASA, become an astronaut, he 141 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:20.439 was going to go into politics, become president of the 142 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:24.079 United States. As a teenager, the moon literally seemed to 143 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.879 be within Stenko's reach, and he had the drive to 144 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:30.120 do it. His father had seemed to that. You know, 145 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.600 Dad drove Stephen with ridicule. Stanko's father was never satisfied 146 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:39.320 with anything Stephen did. He was never good enough, and 147 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:42.639 pleasing his father became all important to Stanko. It was 148 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:47.720 like an obsession. He was already as impeccably neat as 149 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:50.120 he could get. It had been years since he'd received 150 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:53.559 a demerit over his appearance. He would look kempt when 151 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:55.279 he got up in the morning, he'd look kempt when 152 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:59.440 he got home at night. And when it came to 153 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:03.320 school working studies, he worked really, really hard, but he 154 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:07.360 could never satisfy his father. Stanko believed that the only 155 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:10.200 way to shut his dad up was to become rich 156 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:14.879 and famous. Well, then the whole chemistry changed. Tragedy struck 157 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.720 Stanko's brother, Billy, who was older and had already moved 158 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:20.600 out of the parents' house and into a place of 159 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:24.440 his own, died in a house fire. Maybe it was 160 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:28.360 our sin, nothing they could prove anyway, Steven's bright future 161 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:31.879 instantly dimmed. Since there was a pecking order in the 162 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:35.320 Stanko family, and Stanko believed that as Billy was older 163 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.480 and now gone, he Stephen would move up one notch 164 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:41.840 in his father's estimation, sort of like a battlefield promotion. 165 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:45.840 And that, I think everyone will agree is an extremely 166 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:49.879 odd and selfish interpretation of events, and very revealing when 167 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:53.799 it comes to how Stenko's mind worked. Even then, anyway, 168 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.080 Stanko's dad did not give him more respect after Billy died. 169 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:00.279 In fact, he acted meaner towards Stephen than he ever 170 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:03.840 had before. Stenko complained that it was as if his 171 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:08.000 dad thought he was responsible for Billie's death. And to 172 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.120 be fair to the dad, everyone has the right to 173 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:11.879 be cranky when they lose the sun in a fire 174 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.960 or otherwise, and it's entirely possible that he was meaner 175 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:18.440 to everyone in general. But Stephen didn't see it that way, 176 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:21.360 couldn't see it that way. It was absolutely selfish in 177 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:24.480 every possible way, and he noticed only that his father's 178 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:29.120 attitude changed towards him. So Stenko lost the eye of 179 00:10:29.159 --> 00:10:32.120 the tiger when it came to his brilliant future. The 180 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:35.679 death took the wind right out of Stephen's sales, and 181 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:38.360 he began to look for easier ways to get by 182 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:43.360 in life. Now, instead of schoolwork, he dedicated his intellect 183 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:48.600 to working on schemes, convoluted plots to get ahead, convoluted 184 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:52.879 plots to get rich. He took the SAT exam didn't 185 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:55.600 do that great and was rejected by the Air Force Academy. 186 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:59.399 So when high school was over, instead of becoming a 187 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.080 fighter pilot but an astronaut in president of the United States, 188 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:05.519 Stanko took a couple of courses at the community college 189 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:08.399 and began to steal cars. So it's quite a plummet. 190 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:09.559 Yeah. 191 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.080 Now by the time he's in his early twenties, she's 192 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:19.200 on probation for grand theft Audact. This leads up to 193 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.120 nineteen ninety two. He's about twenty three or twenty three 194 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:24.679 or four years old, and his life takes a turn 195 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.440 for the better. He gets a job as a sales 196 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:31.159 rep for a telecommunications company, and there in the office 197 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:34.480 he meets a woman named Elizabeth McLendon who's a single 198 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:38.600 mom with a son in grade school. Liz had a 199 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:43.159 quality that Stanko found most seductive. She was extremely good looking, 200 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:48.279 of course homecoming queen, Plus she was also ambitious. After 201 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.879 her divorce, she'd returned to school, earned a degree that 202 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:54.720 was out there banging heads at a man's world, trying 203 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:59.559 to make something out of herself. Liz thought at first 204 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:02.320 that Steve and was shifty and something about his eyes. 205 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:05.480 She didn't quite trust him, but he wouldn't leave her alone, 206 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:07.559 and he eventually wore her down and worked his way 207 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:11.320 into her heart, and Stephen and Liz had a lovely romance, 208 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:14.440 during which he gave her a detailed autobiography. He was 209 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:17.720 only about forty percent true. See that house, I used 210 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.120 own that house, he'd say, See that boat that used 211 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:22.679 to be mine too. I had to sell them because 212 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.399 some woman down in Georgia ripped me off. That's what 213 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:28.799 kind of stuff he would say. And Liz fell into 214 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:32.720 his spouth, totally unprepared for I guess we all are, 215 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:37.279 which we are tendencies to trust people, especially if they're 216 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:41.039 good looking. Right, And by the time she figured out 217 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:43.840 how he was a con man emotionally speaking, she was 218 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:48.919 in so deep that extracting herself was complicated, you know, 219 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:53.919 she later said, I mean, speaking to her today, she's 220 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:56.840 filled with wisdom about him. She would say that she 221 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:02.919 would boast about everything. Every nook and cranny of his 222 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.519 psyche was exaggerated. She once told me that if an 223 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:09.000 ant crawled across his foot, he would claim it was 224 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.559 a ladybugger. Yeah, it's nothing. He had the magnifying glass 225 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:18.960 on every little thing. So Sanko had the had the 226 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:22.320 soul of a con man. You know, he was a 227 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:23.440 smart guy. 228 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:25.960 Yeah, go ahead, So how did how did she manage 229 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:30.919 to extract herself from the relationship? What would precipitate, Well. 230 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:34.360 We're gonna get to that. I mean, he he spends 231 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.080 eight and a half years in prison and that pretty 232 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:38.480 much breaks up the relationship. 233 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:46.440 Sure, so anyway, he was sorry, sorry, I'm sorry for interrupting. 234 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:49.399 What was he explain what he was convicted for? Or 235 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:51.279 if if we're gonna we're. 236 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:52.919 Gonna get to that. I mean, he's it's just where 237 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.639 we're leading up to that. He was. He was still 238 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.519 on probation for stealing cars when he starts the relationship 239 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:03.200 with Liz, And although he continued to make money through 240 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.639 illegal means, she didn't know it. You know, his methods 241 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:10.919 became more sophisticated. He stopped just physically stealing cars, and 242 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:12.879 now he got a job of the use car lot, 243 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:16.960 sold cars to people and kept the money. Now he 244 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:19.960 was going around to friends and neighbors looking for investment partners, 245 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:21.720 people who would go in with him on a used 246 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:24.879 car business. He would tell him they could make a 247 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:26.639 bundle if they invested now, but it had to be 248 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:30.240 now because there was a limited window of opportunity. They 249 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:32.679 shake on partners and make excuses as to why the 250 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:37.279 investment lacked. Profits have here more complicated lies, creating tangled webs, 251 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:40.440 and Stanko's companies were always on the verge of making 252 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:44.720 a mint right up until the instant they became valueless. 253 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:48.360 Sure so, I mean he was used to an incredible liar. 254 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.279 He would tell one series of lies to one person, 255 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:54.000 including another other set of lives to the next person, 256 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:57.000 and he'd remember what he told to who so that 257 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:59.799 he wouldn't contradict himself. There are a lot of people 258 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:03.000 who can't lie for five minutes without betraying themselves. You know, 259 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:06.960 Stanko could go for weeks, but and it was a 260 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.720 big butt. He didn't know when to stop. He couldn't stop. 261 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:13.919 He was a very good liar, but not a perfect one. 262 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:17.399 He would eventually lie himself into a corner, and sadly, 263 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.480 violence would erupt a second that jig was up. He 264 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:24.120 felt trapped and he would lash out. When you look 265 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:27.720 at the mechanics of a con Stanko was very good 266 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.840 at some aspects of the technique, but comically poor. At others, 267 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.159 he could convince anyone of anything, but any con artists 268 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:37.639 will tell you that the most important rule is after 269 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:40.639 the con is complete and the cash is in your pocket, 270 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:43.919 get the hell away from the victim, get away from 271 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:47.840 the mark help. Stenko repeatedly screwed up his life because 272 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:50.120 once the con was done and the money was in 273 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:53.080 his pocket, he was horrified to discover that he was 274 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:56.000 working with or living with the people he just conned. 275 00:15:57.480 --> 00:15:59.759 So and when he did lash out violently the first 276 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:03.600 time Liz was his target, it was his own frustration 277 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:05.840 over the mess he made of his life. It led 278 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:08.120 to the attack that would put him behind bars for 279 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:14.080 almost a decade. Yeah, Living Stephen's relationship had become tumultuous 280 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:17.399 by that time, even caught committing fraud and Liz paid 281 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:20.960 for his lawyer. They broke up temporarily and stopped being 282 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.600 romantic permanently when stink out during one fight, put his 283 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:28.080 hands on her throat, and then after a period of separations, 284 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:30.480 she let him come back, and for that she would 285 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:33.759 never be able to forget herself. It was just throw 286 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:34.879 up to February next. 287 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:36.600 Hey guys, it is a Ryan. I'm not sure if 288 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.200 you know this about me, But I'm a bit of 289 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:40.360 a fun fanatic when I can. I like to work, 290 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:42.480 but I like fun too. It's a thing. And now 291 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:44.480 the truth is out there, I can tell you about 292 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:47.480 my favorite place to have fun. Chumba Casino. They have 293 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:50.279 hundreds of social casino style games to choose from, with 294 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:54.600 new games released each week. You can play for free anytime, anywhere, 295 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:57.519 and each day brings a new chance to collect daily bonuses. 296 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:00.759 So join me and the bun. Sign up now Chumba 297 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:02.279 Casino dot com. 298 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:05.640 I lost the terms conditions eighteen plus. 299 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:10.079 Maybe six now and Liz. Liz is sick of the 300 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:14.079 Stanko drama. You know, she's onto him, the criminal activity, 301 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:18.880 the lying, she's paying bills. So he stood too close 302 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.119 to her. She pushed him away. He lost his temper. 303 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:24.000 There was a tussle that broke up, and Pete appeared 304 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.319 to have returned. She went to sleep, but in the 305 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.960 morning the fight resumed. Liz was in bed crying when 306 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.880 she heard Stanko rummaging around in a closet and she 307 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:36.880 could smell chemicals. She knew how anal he was, and 308 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:39.559 she felt, all good, Maybe he's going to clean something well, 309 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:44.440 that wasn't his plan. Stanko took chemicals from various cleaning liquids, 310 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:48.000 soaked a cloth with them, and came into Liz's room. 311 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.240 He jumped on her and held the cloth over her 312 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.599 mouth and nose. She fought as hard as she could, 313 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:56.960 and there was no doubt in her mind that he 314 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:01.079 was trying to kill her, no matter how already tried. However, 315 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:04.599 he couldn't get her to pass out. You could see 316 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:06.519 the wise. She could see the wildness of his eyes. 317 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:09.279 During the attack, she managed to bite him on the 318 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:13.799 left hand. She heard him say it always works in 319 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:16.920 the movies, why isn't it working now? And he was 320 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:20.359 talking about the chemicals over the mouth trick, And that 321 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:22.359 was how she knew that he'd been planning this attack. 322 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:25.559 He'd been thinking about it ahead of time. So she 323 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:28.079 told him that if he just let her go, she 324 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:31.519 wouldn't call the police. He said he didn't believe her. 325 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:35.519 Unable to kill her by asphyxiation, Stanko tied her up 326 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.960 good and tight and made her sit on the toilet 327 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:40.599 as he showered. He told her the bad guy in 328 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:44.039 his back he is in control. Because he took a 329 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.759 shower he was humming and singing, acting as if everything 330 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:50.039 was perfectly normal, and that might have been the thing 331 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:53.359 that scared Liz the most. I mean she still shivers 332 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:55.559 when she talks about it. He could just flick a 333 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:59.640 switch and his old personality was back. So yeah, apparently 334 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:01.799 the bad I left at that point because a kinder, 335 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:05.240 gentler Stenko came out of the shower. He packed a bag, 336 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:11.079 released Liz's bondage, and left, thinking probably that this was 337 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:14.279 all going to blow over. She was going to forgive him, 338 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:16.279 but she called a neighbor and then she called the 339 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:20.920 police and Stenko was quickly apprehended, arrested, tried, and sentenced 340 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:23.440 to a decade in prison for assault with intent to 341 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:28.799 kill and kidnapping. The incident with Liz becomes particularly chilling 342 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.480 when we see how similar it is to the tragic 343 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:35.279 events of two thousand and five. Clearly, Stenko saw the 344 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:39.359 attack on Liz as an incomplete murder, something he was 345 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:41.119 going to have to make up for when he was 346 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:42.119 next to Freeman. 347 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:47.880 So tell her audience about his incarceration. 348 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:52.240 YEA, Well, he's in prison from nineteen ninety six to 349 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:55.440 two thousand and four. He serves eighty five percent of 350 00:19:55.480 --> 00:20:00.640 his of his sentence fifteen percent off for good behavior. 351 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:05.519 He was never a discipline problem. And it's what Stenko 352 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:07.880 did well in prison that made him extraordinary. And like 353 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:11.279 I said, when I first heard about the case, this 354 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.039 was the thing that I thought was most interesting. While 355 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.880 in prison, he wrote part of a published book called 356 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:20.640 Living in Prison, a history of the correctional system with 357 00:20:20.680 --> 00:20:24.680 an insider his view. The book was Stanko's idea. Almost 358 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.359 as soon as he went into prison, he began taking 359 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:32.599 notes and writing a manuscript about his prison experiences, starting 360 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.480 with how he was processed into the system and how 361 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:38.000 he learned, sometimes the hard way, how to get by 362 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:41.960 in different situations. And just as a professional writer might, 363 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:45.839 he wrote an outline for the entire work, perfected a 364 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:49.200 few sample chapters, and wrote a query letter that he 365 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:53.160 sent to publishers. And the query was so good that 366 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:57.279 Stenko received an immediate positive response from a small New 367 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:01.240 England press, and he found an editor who was interested, 368 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:04.200 and she thought it might well. They were doing a 369 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:11.960 series of books on different different social situations for high 370 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.920 school kids, and she thought that a prisoner writing about 371 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:17.119 being in prison would would be perfect for that series. 372 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.200 So she said that the manuscript would carry more way 373 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:25.240 to be teamed up with a college professor or there's 374 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:30.960 some other kind of scholarly type. But he was on 375 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:34.759 his own. She wasn't going to recommend anybody, so said 376 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:39.279 he started sending query letters to college professors, and sure 377 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:43.960 enough they were interested as well. There were some bumps 378 00:21:43.960 --> 00:21:46.119 in the road. The first manuscript was supposed to be 379 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:48.160 geared for, you know, high school students, but was written 380 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:51.440 in a very adult manner. They forgot about the it 381 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:53.519 was part of the series, and they wrote the book 382 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:56.960 they wanted to write, which never works in publishing. Rule 383 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:59.240 number one. Family wants to be a professional writer, you know, 384 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:00.799 write what they want you to write, now what you 385 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:03.000 want to write, because they're not going to change their mind. 386 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:07.839 That's right. It's just a tipt And I think that 387 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:10.279 most people who have been a professional writer for any 388 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:13.519 amount of time and run into that very problem. Sure, 389 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:18.160 I know the specifications to hit them as perfectly as 390 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:22.759 you possibly can. So anyway, that writer quits and then 391 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:25.599 he's brought back, and there's a shake up in the lineup, 392 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:29.759 and some people are on board for a while, and 393 00:22:29.799 --> 00:22:31.720 then they come back and they just write the forward. 394 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.839 Eventually the book finally comes out, and by the time 395 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:39.359 it does, the co authors are Wayne Gillespie and Gordon A. Cruz. 396 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:43.400 Cruise was an assistant dean at Roger Williams University when 397 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:48.160 the book was written. He's now a tenured professor at 398 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:53.319 Marshall University, and Gillespie was a criminal justice professor at 399 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:56.720 East Tennessee State University. So they fit the bill find 400 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:00.839 and by the time the book comes out, even though 401 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:05.640