WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:11.359 In the last episode, we began discussing the extensive story 2 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:13.919 known as the Curum Case, so be sure to check 3 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.519 out part one of that story before listening to today's 4 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:21.480 part two. With that being said, my name's Ben. 5 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:24.719 I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked and Grim. 6 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:34.119 A true crime podcast. The following material, intended for matial 7 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:56.079 audience listener discretion is advised. Are you ready for the 8 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:59.119 rest of the case, Let's do it? 9 00:00:59.159 --> 00:00:59.679 I think so. 10 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:01.920 I think a lot of people were a little bit 11 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:04.000 upset that we left off where we did. 12 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:06.439 I think, well, honestly, the last few Part two is 13 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:08.599 people have been like, okay, like pretty chill about it. 14 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.640 But yeah, this one, people were like, you drop part 15 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:12.560 two right now. 16 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:18.280 Don't worry. The weight will be worth it. I've got 17 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:20.680 a lot to go over, so we'll be talking about it, 18 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:22.879 and of course, I mean, first and foremost, I do 19 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.840 have a recap to do. But even before that, I 20 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:28.840 have some amazing patrons to think. So people who signed 21 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:33.000 up over in Patreon this week include Jenna McCreery, Alicia Kimmitt, 22 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.239 Jay Hernandez, Maddie Wade, and Samantha Schroeder. So thank you 23 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:39.439 very much. To you amazing people for signing up and 24 00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:42.079 supporting our show. We appreciate you, we do. 25 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:44.680 You're the best. You are the best, the bestest of 26 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:45.439 the best. 27 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:48.799 And with that being said, you ready for the recap? 28 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:51.599 Yeah, I do need a good recap. 29 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.079 I do need a good recap. Okay. So before police 30 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:57.719 ever found Andre in that cupboard, the situation inside the 31 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:01.719 Morova family's home had been spiral for years. It started 32 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.239 when Clara took in a girl she believed was a 33 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:08.400 traumatized thirteen year old girl named Anka, not realizing that 34 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:11.800 this teenager was actually a grown woman named Barbara Skerlova 35 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:14.879 pretending to be a child. So, with help from fake 36 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:19.199 messages written by a so called doctor, Clara slowly isolated 37 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:23.080 her sons and began following harmful instructions that pushed her 38 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:27.759 towards harsher discipline. Things escalated further at a remote cottage, 39 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:32.280 where they orchestrated months of structured abuse, confinement, and psychological 40 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:36.039 manipulation against both of her two young boys. When the 41 00:02:36.039 --> 00:02:38.879 family moved back to Kurum, Andre was kept in a 42 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:41.840 locked cupboard under the stairs and watched through a hidden 43 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:46.919 security camera. Now that camera's signal accidentally leaked and appeared 44 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:50.520 on a neighbor's baby monitor, leading police to the house, 45 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:55.280 rescuing the boys, arresting the adults, and unknowingly placing Barbara, 46 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:59.680 which was you know, Anika, this child into protective care 47 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:03.039 as if she were just another one of the child 48 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:07.319 victims of the home. And that is where we left off. Okay, 49 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:10.240 ring a bell, you got it, it does. 50 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:14.080 Yeah that it all came flooding back to me in 51 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:18.120 not a good way, fair, because that was shit. 52 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:21.919 Yeah, all right. So, when eight year old Andre and 53 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.639 ten year old Jacob were finally pulled from the Minerva home, 54 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:30.240 authorities transferred them, along with Anica, to a child's shelter 55 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:33.719 in Bruno. Staff, of course, assumed they were dealing with 56 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:38.360 three different traumatized miners from the same household, each requiring 57 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:43.319 urgent psychological attension, well and physical attention too. And Andrea, well, 58 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:46.240 he was in the worst condition. His weight, injuries, and 59 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:49.120 mental state made it clear he had lived in confinement 60 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:54.000 for far longer than anyone initially realized. Within a day, 61 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:57.680 he began showing symptoms of acute stress, like panic attacks, 62 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:02.680 uncontrollable shaking, and dissociation. Doctors moved him back into the 63 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:04.159 hospital for stabilization. 64 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:06.240 That poor boy right. 65 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:10.319 Now, Jacob, being older, physically stronger, and not singled out 66 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.000 like his younger brother, was coped a little more quietly. 67 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:16.879 He answered staff questions in short, flat sentences and avoided 68 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:21.279 eye contact. The first evening, he lingered in the doorway 69 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:24.120 of every single room in that facility before ever stepping 70 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.399 beyond the threshold inside of a room. It was an 71 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:29.959 instinct that was left over from months of not knowing 72 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.040 what was waiting behind a door in the room if 73 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:34.000 he enters, what's going to be in their waiting form? 74 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:36.680 What punishment, what abuse? That sort of thing? 75 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:37.120 Oh? 76 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:39.519 Will he even be locked in? Who knows? Oh? 77 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:39.879 Man? 78 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:42.600 Okay, So it was a lingering form of trauma like 79 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.680 a PTSD almost like just entering a room even that people. 80 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:49.839 Yeah, you wouldn't even think like anyone else, You wouldn't 81 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.839 think twice about that, correct? But and then he literally 82 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:57.120 a doorway is like a pause for him exactly. Oh. Now. 83 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.600 Anica meanwhile behaved exactly as one would expect from a 84 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:04.600 frightened teenage girl rescued from a chaotic home. She spoke softly, 85 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:08.600 kept to herself, and asked repeatedly whether Clara was angry 86 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:11.199 with her. Now Clara is the mother of the two boys. 87 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:15.600 Staff interpreted this as attachment trauma. She was supposedly the 88 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:19.000 adopted daughter, right, so they did what they could to 89 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:23.639 encourage her, you know, basically rest and reassure that she's safe. 90 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:28.319 Nothing appeared unusual, But the next night the shelter staff 91 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:32.920 began noticing some inconsistencies. Anica didn't act like a typical 92 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:36.639 thirteen year old, not in posture, not in her conversational patterns, 93 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:38.839 not even in the way she moved around the room. 94 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:43.079 When asked about school or hobbies, she deflected or claimed 95 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:46.480 she couldn't remember. Her emotional responses didn't quite match the 96 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.560 situations she was in, and while her file indicated she 97 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:53.319 was frail and ill, she managed to climb onto her 98 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:57.360 bunk bed with surprising ease. Still, none of these details 99 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:00.360 were alarming enough on their own. Staff simply know them 100 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:04.360 for psychologists to review in the morning. But the morning, well, 101 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:08.680 the reviews they never came, because during the shelter's nightly rounds, 102 00:06:08.759 --> 00:06:12.560 workers checked every room. Jacob slept curled near the wall 103 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:16.600 as usual, his breathing shallow and uneasy, but the bed 104 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:20.360 beside him Anica's. It was empty, and a window in 105 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:24.240 the room stood wide open. It wasn't a window a 106 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:27.480 child could open alone. It was heavy, stiff, and fitted 107 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:30.439 with a catch that required some significant strength to lift it. 108 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:35.079 Every door was locked, the building was under supervision, Yet 109 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:40.639 Onnica still managed to disappear without waking anyone. So, considering 110 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:44.759 the situation, authorities launched an immediate search, assuming she'd had 111 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:49.000 actually been kidnapped by someone connected to the abuse case, 112 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.480 since it must have been an adult who'd opened the 113 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.160 window to get her out. 114 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:55.720 See, I'm just on the edge of my seat, like, 115 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:58.240 how are they going to They gotta figure this out 116 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:02.160 sooner or later, because this is it's just its part 117 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:03.319 just pisses me off. 118 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:09.000 It's a wild ride through all this coercion masquerading and 119 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:14.560 basically like horror cause play, it's not play, but you 120 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:17.680 know what I mean, it's a wild ride. So yeah, 121 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:18.560 just buckle up. 122 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:20.839 Who the fuck does she think she is? Basically is 123 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:22.519 all that is going through my mind. 124 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:25.839 No kidding. So the working theory was that a person 125 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:29.759 involved in the whole cottage situation or the Curum house 126 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:32.439 had broken in to remove her, possibly fearing that she 127 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:37.519 might talk and become a witness in later trials. Police 128 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:40.959 patrolled bus stations and searched wooded areas. A helicopter with 129 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:45.560 thermal imaging even swept nearby forests. Within twenty four hours, 130 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:48.480 national media picked up the story. There was a possible 131 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:51.600 missing teenage girl out there who was frail, sick, and 132 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:55.959 she was possibly abducted by the same network of individuals 133 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:58.959 that had harmed these two young boys. It was an 134 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:02.920 all out search. But then in the thick of it all, 135 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:11.439 something happened. Letters arrived. Three handwritten envelopes appeared in different locations, 136 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:15.240 the bernou On Budsman Office, a national newspaper, and the 137 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:19.399 office of the President of the Czech Republic. Each contained 138 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:23.319 the same nine page message, written in an oddly formal 139 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:29.439 style and signed Onika Merova at the end the letters, 140 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:32.960 though I couldn't find exact copies online of exactly what 141 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:35.600 they said, but I did find information on you know, 142 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:39.200 summing it up, The letters insisted that Clara was a 143 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:43.799 loving mother who had been simply misunderstood. They also claimed 144 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:47.360 that Andre had lied to save himself and had often 145 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:52.799 hurt her Onica when no one was watching. Onnica pleaded 146 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.279 in the letters for forgiveness on Clara's behalf and said 147 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:58.759 that she had run away because she couldn't bear to 148 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:03.759 see her mother for it all. Experts who examined the 149 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:08.559 letters immediately doubted that they came from a child. The 150 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:11.480 well formed sentences, the phrasing and structure of it all 151 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:14.799 suggested an adult with a high degree of emotional awareness 152 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:19.360 was actually the one behind them. So they didn't believe 153 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:22.799 this was actually written by Anica. They believed it was 154 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:24.480 written by whoever had taken her. 155 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:28.399 Okay, well, I just have to say to anyone who 156 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:32.039 saw what kind of state the one boy was in 157 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:35.000 would know that he wasn't like, really capable of hurting 158 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:35.720 anyone else. 159 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:38.000 Well, exactly why they think it's coming from one of 160 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:41.000 the adults, right, So it's an adult lying. They don't 161 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.679 think this is actually Honica's writing. So the structure, the 162 00:09:44.679 --> 00:09:47.159 way it's written, it doesn't sound like a child because 163 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:48.200 they at this point they. 164 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:49.600 Still think still think she's a child. 165 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:51.799 They still think she's a child, So they think, okay, well, 166 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:54.960 Honica clearly didn't write this. This boy is clearly a victim, 167 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:58.720 so it's clearly lying it's someone who's taken her, who's 168 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:01.879 written this framing and trying to you know, save their 169 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:06.279 own skin. Okay, So like the biggest clue of it all, honestly, 170 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:08.759 was that tone. It didn't sound like a frightened girl. 171 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:12.799 It was yeah, okay, something else is going on here. 172 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:16.360 Someone trying to manage a narrative, trying to manipulate the situation. 173 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.080 And most likely that would be yeah, an adult, well. 174 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:22.159 Someone walking into this case too. It would sure be 175 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.120 quite confusing for them, hey, Like it just would make 176 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:28.120 no sense. Yeah, and the different ways that you would 177 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:30.840 be going and stuff. For us sitting here's like, well, 178 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:34.759 she's a child, but you would just have no idea. 179 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:36.960 It would be quite a hard case to solve. 180 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.440 I feel like, literally the next thing I've written is 181 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:41.440 police didn't really know what to make of it. 182 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:43.840 Okay, yeah, yeah. 183 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:45.840 All they knew though, like honestly, is that they needed 184 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:47.639 to find her. That's the biggest thing. They don't know 185 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.840 really what the hell to make of these letters. They're confusing, 186 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:53.639 and they're just like, Okay, well she's still out there, 187 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:55.759 and in their mind she's still a victim, so they 188 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:58.720 need to keep pursuing and looking so the search for 189 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:03.559 Anica intensified as days passed with outsidings. Posters were spread 190 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:06.919 across Bruno and police they combed through forests and apartments 191 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.159 linked to the Merova family, trying to see if they 192 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:12.399 could find any clue of her. News anchors continued to 193 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:14.840 describe her as a fragile, thirteen year old girl in 194 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.159 need of medical care, likely terrified in hiding after witnessing 195 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:21.399 the abuse of her brothers. But inside the children's shelter, 196 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:25.120 forensic teams were examining the room Anica had stayed in. 197 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:28.600 They expected to find evidence of whoever had taken her. 198 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:30.639 That's what they were looking for, you know, fingerprints on 199 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:34.639 the windowsill, footprints, traces of anything. But instead they found 200 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.919 something odd, something stranger, something they didn't expect to find. 201 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.799 DNA swabbed from the surfaces around the bed did not 202 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:48.000 match Clara or Katerina or any staff member either, and 203 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:51.759 it didn't match Anica, whose samples they had on file 204 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:56.320 from the adoption process. So this DNA was of someone 205 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.480 they had no clue who it would be. What this 206 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:03.480 DNA did match, at least though was partially, was a 207 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:08.159 man named Han Scurl. Now remember last episode in part one, 208 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:11.320 during the whole cottage time, I did mention that there 209 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.080 were adults, quote unquote who took part in the abuse. 210 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:17.440 You remember that. Yeah, so there were more than just 211 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:22.600 the two sisters and the onnica which Barbara. There was 212 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:26.240 more than that. Hence why I said the adults end. Okay, 213 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.759 I'll be getting into them in this part. 214 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:30.960 Too, Okay, because things are kind of coming together. Because 215 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:34.480 even when you were talking about anaka being taken and 216 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:36.399 you were saying, like the network of people, and I 217 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.799 was like, who else was involved in this shit? But okay, 218 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:40.360 here we go. 219 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:45.200 Yeah, so this was the DNA that partially matched Han 220 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:49.480 Skirl he was arrested in the connection with that cottage abuse. 221 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.039 And now the DNA, as I mentioned, it's a partial match. 222 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:56.840 But the thing is, it wasn't his. It was only 223 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.440 a partial match, so it means that it belongs to 224 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.799 a close relative, and in this case, it was a 225 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:07.600 close female relative and the only one that fit was 226 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:11.240 his older sister, Barbara Scarlova. 227 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:16.039 What the shit? This was already freaking confusing and messed up. 228 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:18.120 It is a little bit, which is exactly why I 229 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:21.480 brought this into part two, because it needs that time 230 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:24.840 to explain. There was a So Barbara is a thirty 231 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:26.879 something year a woman that we already know, and she 232 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:31.000 had worked at Katerina's youth center for years. So when 233 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:34.919 she initially was there as this child that Katerina brought 234 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:37.559 home to her sister Clara, right as this you know, 235 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:41.639 frail child, she was actually working there. She had taught 236 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:45.159 at this youth center. Barbara had attended staff functions, she 237 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:48.600 had walked the hallways as an adult woman there, not 238 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:52.919 initially as a child. Now, when staff from that Bruno 239 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.960 youth center looked at the photograph that the media were 240 00:13:55.960 --> 00:14:00.879 circulating as Anica, that's when the stars started to align. 241 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:06.879 They realized, wait, that's Barbara. They realized they hadn't recognized 242 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:09.480 her at first because when she was presenting herself as 243 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.799 a child at this place, she had this downward gaze glasses, 244 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.399 you know, she was often with her soft posture, her 245 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:20.480 now shaved head, oversized clothes, and it all was presenting 246 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:24.679 this Onnica and they never looked close enough to see Barbara. 247 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:26.679 But now that they had the photo in front of them, 248 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:30.879 they realized, that's that's Barbara. She looked younger, thinner, and 249 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:34.480 styled different, Yes, and pasted as a teenager. But as 250 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:39.159 one employee remembered, that's not a girl, quote, that's Barbara, 251 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:41.480 and they called police immediately. 252 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:44.639 Okay, is that not super odd that she would be 253 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:47.960 doing this at this same center? You think that you 254 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:51.159 would pick a center you didn't also had previously worked at, 255 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:54.320 because the chances of someone recognizing you and stuff you 256 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:57.399 know or higher. You're right, it's amazing she got away 257 00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:58.240 with it, really. 258 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:01.440 Definitely, But I don't know if she really walked the 259 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:04.600 halls as a child too much. It was more so 260 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:08.919 some of the people working there that she was presenting to. Okay, 261 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:11.440 So I'm sure she was there at times, yes, and 262 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:14.200 she made herself very scarce to some of these other employees, 263 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:18.799 but it was targeting certain individuals, like Katerina for example. 264 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:20.200 Hmm, okay. 265 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:25.600 Well, so the revelation hit the case like an absolute shockwave. 266 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:28.519 It was a sudden, clear moment that the child they've 267 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:32.399 been trying to adopt, protect and search for had never 268 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.960 actually been a child at all, and the focus of 269 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:39.639 the investigation shifted as they began piecing together what they 270 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.559 could of Barbara's life now that they had her name. 271 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:47.440 So she Barbara had struggled with physical and developmental conditions 272 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:51.039 since childhood, which kept her stature small and her features 273 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:54.399 quite youthful. She grew up in a fractured home with 274 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:58.399 an alcoholic mother and an absent father deeply involved infringed 275 00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:03.080 spiritual groups to cults. As she entered adulthood, she began 276 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:06.879 drifting between identities, sometimes appearing in psychiatric facilities as a 277 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:10.440 runaway team, other times inserting herself into families she had 278 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:14.759 convinced to care for her. Her ability to mimic adolescent 279 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:18.120 behavior wasn't perfect, I want to mention that, but it 280 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:22.279 was good enough to work. She acted timid around authority figures, 281 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:25.639 hunched her shoulders as she wore oversized children's clothes, and 282 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:29.039 adopted the mannerisms of kids trying not to upset adults. 283 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:32.840 Combined with her naturally small frame, it was enough to 284 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:38.840 fool teachers, doctors, social workers, and experienced psychologists as well. Honestly, 285 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:43.320 anyone who didn't examine her too closely. You know, maybe 286 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:45.720 those doctors were just trying to get the session done. 287 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:49.759 The psychologists assuming it's a child and treating her like 288 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:53.159 a child and not really thinking outside the box. 289 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:58.960 Yeah, but also in those situations, why I don't blame 290 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:01.720 them because why would exactly why would you be sitting 291 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:04.839 there and be questioning if this person is actually a child. 292 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.519 Yeah, so if you look at her as an adult, 293 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.400 I'm sure each one of them would have found it 294 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.200 out relatively fast. But why would. 295 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:18.319 You You're looking at her other issues, like bigger issues. Really, 296 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:21.319 how can I try to solve these for her? Not like, 297 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:22.799 holy shit, this isn't a kid. 298 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:28.359 Definitely. So, with help from her brother Keyan and Katerina Morova, 299 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.680 she built this Anica persona from the ground up. The 300 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:36.960 tragic backstory, the sickly appearance, the carefully timed tears, all 301 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:41.000 of it reinforced by this mysterious doctor, whose messages, by 302 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:45.480 the way, were later traced back to email accounts controlled 303 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.960 by Katina Clara's sister. 304 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:52.039 Wholely shit. 305 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:57.960 So, in short, Katerina was one of the puppet masters 306 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:59.200 behind this whole thing. 307 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:02.119 You know, this that crossed my mind. I was like, 308 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:04.880 I kept questioning if the sister was involved, but I 309 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:08.680 was like, no, no, there's no way, but holy frick, 310 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.039 she is an evil monster, Like she's doing this to 311 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:16.480 her sister and her freaking nephews then correct, Okay, that 312 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:21.000 is okay, it just keeps going with the messed up shit. 313 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:24.119 In this case, it does because guess what, even the 314 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:29.640 adoption exam member from part one, when Anica went into 315 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:32.279 you know, had her birth certificate, age ass asked all 316 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:34.279 that sort of stuff. They exam and there was an 317 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:37.680 actual child who filled in for her against Clara being 318 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:40.279 aware of it well during that exam, which seemed like 319 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:43.640 solid proof of her age and all that, it was 320 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.240 of course an illusion. The girl who underwent the X 321 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:49.400 rays the DNA testing was not Barbara. It was a 322 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:53.519 friend's daughter, coach styled and presented as Anica for one afternoon, 323 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:56.680 and doctors had no reason to spect. They were evaluating 324 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:02.279 an impostor, which was this girl that Katerina helped bring in. 325 00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:08.799 Okay, okay, yeah, I am just shocked here. 326 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:14.079 Every official document issued afterwards, the birth certificate, adoption approval, 327 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.160 legal identity, it all sat on the foundation of this fraud. 328 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.160 And when the system finally started to crack, when the 329 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:23.440 boys were rescued at the house and cureum, when it 330 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:26.839 was rated, Barbara did exactly what she had done in 331 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:30.319 the past. She ran and she vanished. 332 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:34.400 Okay, I'm I have like serious questions. 333 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:35.920 Okay, shoot, what do you got? 334 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:37.880 I mean, you're probably gonna answer them, But what the 335 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:41.079 fuck that's your question? What the fuck that is a 336 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:45.079 that is a pretty good question. Actually, what was the 337 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:50.400 sister gaining from this? I honestly is she just an evil, 338 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:52.200 evil person? 339 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:58.319 I don't have a solid answer for it. The best 340 00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:00.960 thing that I can have to answer that for you 341 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:04.480 is its cult like mentality and thought process behind it. 342 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:08.200 That's really what it boils down to. I have a 343 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:10.079 little bit of some details that we might discuss that 344 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:13.759 might help voute your thought process, but there's not really 345 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:15.400 a solid foundation for that answer. 346 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:19.559 So really, I guess in a way, Clara is also 347 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:20.920 a victim here in. 348 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:23.440 A sense, yes, definitely, Yeah. 349 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:25.759 Not near to the extent that her boys are, but 350 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:27.799 like to a degree. 351 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:32.519 To a degree. But she is also very much so 352 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:36.519 responsible still, So she was victimized, but she was also 353 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:40.319 perpetuating the abuse and is not innocent. 354 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:42.720 No oh, no, one hundred percent nod. 355 00:20:43.559 --> 00:20:47.279 So, after the escape from the children's shelter, Barbara slipped 356 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.279 across the border, first heading east, then heading quietly north, 357 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:52.759 moving through Europe with the ease of someone who lived 358 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:55.119 in the shadows for honestly most or life like, almost 359 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.240 like she knew what she was doing. Her first confirmed 360 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:01.200 appearance came in June of two thousands at the Czech 361 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:05.240 embassy in Copenhagen. She walked in with her father, a lawyer, 362 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:09.880 and two journalists, an odd entourage honestly for someone who's 363 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:12.720 in hiding and terrified of the public eye. But I 364 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:17.559 digress regardless. She presented identification in the name of Barbara 365 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:21.400 Skerlova and calmly asked embassy staff to take DNA samples, 366 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:25.559 as if she were simply clearing a misunderstanding. She confirmed 367 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:29.279 her identity, answered a handful of questions, then left as 368 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:33.799 abruptly as she arrived. Now embassy staff didn't really know 369 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.279 what to make of this. They were a little bit confused, 370 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:40.359 and they notified the police of the incident, but when 371 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.519 they got there it'd be too late. She was already gone. 372 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:43.680 Now. 373 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:46.839 Where she went next seemed almost impossible, even for her. 374 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:49.680 It was by late two thousand and seven when a 375 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:52.799 thirteen year old boy named Adam appeared at a school 376 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:57.519 in Oslo, Norway. He was introverted and he was strange 377 00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:00.480 and quiet, with traits that didn't immediately stand out classroom 378 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.200 full of awkward teenagers. Teachers noted that Adam kept his 379 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:06.880 head down and rarely spoke unless spoken to. His clothes 380 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.599 hung loose on his frame, and his hair was buzzed short. 381 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.200 Staff members did think something was off, but there was 382 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:16.160 nothing really alarming enough to trigger an investigation. To say, 383 00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:18.680 Some believe he looked more like a girl dressed in 384 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.279 boy's clothes, but shrugged it off, as you know, maybe 385 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:24.839 hormones or late bloomer. Who knows, there's a plethora of 386 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:28.480 things that it could be. Some also thought he behaved 387 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:31.559 older than his peers, but attributed it to whatever family 388 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:34.400 issues he had. See not only was Adam now in 389 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:36.160 this new school, but he was also in a youth 390 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:41.200 foster home. What no one realized was this Adam was, 391 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:44.400 of course, what you' already suspecting. Adam was a thirty 392 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:46.680 three year old woman named Barbara Scarlova. 393 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:48.519 So she's just doing it again. 394 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:52.160 She's doing it again. She had reshaped herself over, she 395 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:54.720 had gained weight, shaved her head again, and adopted the 396 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:57.680 slouching posture of a teenage boy who didn't want any 397 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.240 sort of attention, and like before, mimic the speech patterns, 398 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:06.319 emotional flatness of someone withdrawn overwhelmed. And of course it worked, 399 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:10.160 but her new identity began to unravel the very same 400 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:14.480 way her last one did. Quietly and through small inconsistencies 401 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:19.440