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<v Speaker 7>You are now listening to True Murder, the most shocking

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<v Speaker 7>killers in true crime history and the authors that have

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<v Speaker 7>written about them Gasey, Bundy Dahmer, The Nightstalker VTK Every

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<v Speaker 7>week another fascinating author talking about the most shocking and

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<v Speaker 7>infamous killers in true crime history. True Murder with your

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<v Speaker 7>host journalist and author Dan Zufanski.

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<v Speaker 2>Good Evening at daybreak on January sixth, nineteen eighty six,

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<v Speaker 2>a couple on a camping trip in the Mohave Desert

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<v Speaker 2>set out for a stroll and never returned. The local

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<v Speaker 2>sheriff's office eventually discovered that Barry and Louise Burman had

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<v Speaker 2>been murdered. As years passed and the double homicide remained unsolved,

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<v Speaker 2>the Burman case spawned speculation and conjecture despite extensive investigation

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<v Speaker 2>by local and federal authorities. To date, there's never been

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<v Speaker 2>an arrest made in the case, let alone a conviction,

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<v Speaker 2>but this doesn't mean the crime is unsolvable. After years

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<v Speaker 2>of investigation, research and interviews, Kerrie was able to link

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<v Speaker 2>the Berman murders to a Cambodian sex crimes and trafficking

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<v Speaker 2>case involving a former marine. This is the first book

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<v Speaker 2>to tell the full story of the Burman murders and

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<v Speaker 2>uncover the likely suspect. The books that were featuring this

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<v Speaker 2>Evening is The Burman Murders, Unraveling the Mohabi Desert's most

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<v Speaker 2>mysterious unsolved crime with my special guest, investigative journalist and

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<v Speaker 2>attorney and author, Doug carry Good evening and welcome to

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<v Speaker 2>the program, Doug Carrey.

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<v Speaker 6>Dan, it's a pleasure to be here.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you, Thank you so much, and congratulations on this

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<v Speaker 2>upcoming book, The Berman Murders. It's been a long road

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<v Speaker 2>getting to hear Dan, as you do in the you

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<v Speaker 2>talk about a long road. Can you just tell us

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit about how long a project this was

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<v Speaker 2>for you, and you talk about it in the introduction.

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<v Speaker 2>Just the mysteries of the Mohave Desert has been one

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<v Speaker 2>of your passions, instilled by your grandmother, Dale King, and

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<v Speaker 2>in the eighties you became involved in desert conservation and

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<v Speaker 2>co founded a wilderness group, Desert Survivors, And one of

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<v Speaker 2>the places you cherished the most was a pristine and

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<v Speaker 2>channing locale, Saline Valley. So tell us a little bit

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<v Speaker 2>about just your interest in this case. Tell us a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit about your background in this area and how

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<v Speaker 2>you became involved in this extraordinary book project.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, Dan, I was enamored of the area. Saline Valley

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<v Speaker 4>is one of the most remarkable locations on the planet.

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<v Speaker 4>It lies about two hundred miles north of Law, Los Angeles,

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<v Speaker 4>and it's kind of in between the Sierra Nevada Mountain

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<v Speaker 4>Range and Death Valley, ringed by high mountains. The access

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<v Speaker 4>into that area is extraordinarily difficult. You have to go

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<v Speaker 4>on rough dirt roads. And in the middle of this

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<v Speaker 4>enchanting valley, where there's rippling sand dunes and a shimmering

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<v Speaker 4>saltwater lake is a palm tree oasis of hot springs

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<v Speaker 4>that have been developed over the years into a kind

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<v Speaker 4>of counterculture oasis. It's just a remarkable spot with interesting energy,

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<v Speaker 4>unique and eccentric people. And I've been going there for

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<v Speaker 4>years and it was one of my favorite spots. And

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<v Speaker 4>so when these folks disappeared, i mean, through the small

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<v Speaker 4>community of people that are interested in Saline Valley, this

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<v Speaker 4>news rippled. And then almost three years later, when their

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<v Speaker 4>bodies turned up in a cutbank grave, a shallow grave

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<v Speaker 4>in a far away desert drywash, miles from the oasis,

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<v Speaker 4>everybody wondered what happened. It was clear they had been murdered,

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<v Speaker 4>and the case was never solved. So fast forward twenty fourteen.

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<v Speaker 4>I just I thought about the case, and I decided

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<v Speaker 4>I just want to go back and see what I

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<v Speaker 4>can find out. And that started the nine year journey

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<v Speaker 4>to unravel the case of the Burman murders.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, tell us where this Saline Valley is. You say

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<v Speaker 2>about two hundred miles from north of Los Angeles, but

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<v Speaker 2>you write about that it has more in common with

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<v Speaker 2>small town Wyoming than any kind of urban connection to California.

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<v Speaker 4>So wait, Dan, When people think of California, a lot

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<v Speaker 4>of times they think of urban California, or the coast,

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<v Speaker 4>or perhaps Yosemite. But there's a whole part of California

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<v Speaker 4>that really has more in common with Nevada in terms

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<v Speaker 4>of the culture, the land escape than it does with

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<v Speaker 4>what you would traditionally think of as California. And it's

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<v Speaker 4>commonly called the East Sierra. The Sierra Mountain Nevada Range

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<v Speaker 4>is this hundreds of mile long mountain spine, And when

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<v Speaker 4>you go east of that mountain range, between the mountains

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<v Speaker 4>and the Nevada border, there's a part of California that's

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<v Speaker 4>really quite rural and unspoiled, Inio County, which is where

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<v Speaker 4>this took place. Is about ten thousand square miles, about

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<v Speaker 4>the size of the state of Connecticut, yet it has

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<v Speaker 4>a population of only about fifteen thousand people.

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<v Speaker 6>And the little.

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<v Speaker 4>Towns are very a rural in character and not like

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<v Speaker 4>you would expect to find in California. And it's the

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<v Speaker 4>it's the officials the Sheriff's office in Inio County and

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<v Speaker 4>seated in these small towns that took responsibility for trying

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<v Speaker 4>to solve the disappearance and then later the apparent homicide

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<v Speaker 4>of the Burmans.

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<v Speaker 2>You take us immediately to Sheriff's headquarters in Inyo County.

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<v Speaker 2>January tenth, nineteen eighty six, Deputy Leon boyer As was

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<v Speaker 2>a call from Robert Pollard, commonly known as Chili Bob,

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<v Speaker 2>a campground host at the Hot Springs in Saline Valley.

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<v Speaker 2>Tell us about what Chili Bob has to say and report.

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<v Speaker 2>Chili Bob was quite a character. He was known for

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<v Speaker 2>his fondness for beer, and if you went out to

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<v Speaker 2>Saline Valley, he was the campground host. He lived in

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<v Speaker 2>a little trailer out there, and he had been anointed

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<v Speaker 2>by the US Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management

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<v Speaker 2>that putatively managed this area to kind of watch over things.

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<v Speaker 2>And the reason they anointed him as the campground host

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<v Speaker 2>is because he had a two way radio.

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<v Speaker 6>He was the only one.

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<v Speaker 4>That could communicate outside of the valley and he was

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<v Speaker 4>able to summon authorities if something came up. So he

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<v Speaker 4>put in a call to the Sheriff's office and Independence,

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<v Speaker 4>which is this little town population six hundred and seated

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<v Speaker 4>at the Sheriff's headquarters. Fielding the call was a guy

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<v Speaker 4>who was a rancher, part time deputy named Leon Boyer.

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<v Speaker 4>Just classic rancher type, kind of slow talking, common sense,

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<v Speaker 4>big hands, piercing, blue eyes kind of a guy, and

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<v Speaker 4>who had a real good common sense for crime and criminals.

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<v Speaker 4>And he becomes the guy that, over the course of

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<v Speaker 4>this case is the one who's stuck with it more

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<v Speaker 4>than anybody else, a remarkable individual.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, tell us what Deputy Boyer does. He talks to

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<v Speaker 2>his Larry fresh Hour, another deputy, and expects him to

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<v Speaker 2>go check out the situation at the campground near Palm Springs.

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<v Speaker 2>But tell us what does happen and when they get

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<v Speaker 2>around to going and finding out about this from Chili Bob.

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<v Speaker 4>Yes, Dan, just to clarify in Saline Valley, what people

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<v Speaker 4>call Palm Springs or sometimes the singular Palm Spring is

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<v Speaker 4>a tiny little oasis of its own, not the city

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<v Speaker 4>of Palm Springs, hundreds of miles away. So when Chili

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<v Speaker 4>Bob calls in radios into the Sheriff's office, leon Boyer

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<v Speaker 4>then dispatches a deputy to go and check out what's

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<v Speaker 4>going on. There's an abandoned vehicle. These people haven't been

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<v Speaker 4>seen for days, but the deputy, for reasons known only

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<v Speaker 4>to him, he's passed away. So I wasn't able to

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<v Speaker 4>get his comment. He just kind of sits on the call.

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<v Speaker 4>Maybe he thinks they probably wandered off, whatever his reasoning was.

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<v Speaker 4>He got the call midday on a Friday, and it

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<v Speaker 4>wasn't until Monday that when leon Boyer called him back

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<v Speaker 4>and said, get on this, that he finally made the

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<v Speaker 4>truck out into Saline Valley, which is not an easy

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<v Speaker 4>trek at any time, but especially in the winter when

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<v Speaker 4>those roads can get pretty rough. So he got the

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<v Speaker 4>department's four wheel drive Ford Bronco and finally had it

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<v Speaker 4>out there hours on a dirt road, you have to

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<v Speaker 4>drive first on a two lane highway that might be

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<v Speaker 4>fairly characterized as the middle of nowhere, halfway to Death Valley,

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<v Speaker 4>and then from there you have to take a fifty

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<v Speaker 4>mile very rough dirt road in order to get into

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<v Speaker 4>the Hot Springs. So that's what Deputy fresh Hour does

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<v Speaker 4>and finds this abandoned vehicle without any clue what happened

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<v Speaker 4>to the owners.

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<v Speaker 2>Now you say, in nineteen eighty six the Hot Springs

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<v Speaker 2>had become the site of a cultural phenomena. Tell us,

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<v Speaker 2>what do you mean by that?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, it remains that way today, and it was especially

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<v Speaker 4>so back then. This Hot Springs area was just a

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<v Speaker 4>place that drew unique kind of characters that are drawn

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<v Speaker 4>to the desert. My grandmother was one of them, so

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<v Speaker 4>I'd had some familiarity with this growing up. But you

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<v Speaker 4>get all kinds of people from all walks of life.

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<v Speaker 4>It's one of the places where you might find firefighters

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<v Speaker 4>or police officers who are just on a getaway trip

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<v Speaker 4>and next to a magic bus full of pot smoking hippies,

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<v Speaker 4>and nobody seems to mind each other. It's a place

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<v Speaker 4>where the normal bounds of civilization just don't seem to apply.

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<v Speaker 4>It's not uncommon when you first drive into camp to

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<v Speaker 4>see somebody walking with a big broad brimmed hat on,

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<v Speaker 4>maybe a pair of sunglasses and sandals, and that's it.

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<v Speaker 6>Buck naked.

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<v Speaker 4>And it's not because it's a place of licentiousness. It's

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<v Speaker 4>not a hookup side. It's more of just a back

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<v Speaker 4>to nature kind of a place and people are more freewheeling. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>that's the nature of the culture there.

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<v Speaker 2>When the deputies get to the campground near this Wizard

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<v Speaker 2>Pool soaking pool, they find the nineteen eighty two Thatt's

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<v Speaker 2>in king cab where we'll drive. What do they find

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<v Speaker 2>inside the truck and what do they find in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of clues in and around the truck.

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<v Speaker 4>Very little in and around the truck except for a

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<v Speaker 4>couple of towels that had been thrown over some bushes

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<v Speaker 4>after the Burmans arrived in camp and soaked in one

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<v Speaker 4>of the soaking pools. And just to set the stage

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<v Speaker 4>a little bit more so, there's hot springs. But over

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<v Speaker 4>the years, the folks, the regulars they're called, who come

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<v Speaker 4>out there, had piped the water to these amazing stone

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<v Speaker 4>and cement bathing pools that are still there, and that

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<v Speaker 4>becomes the focal point of the camp. People gather, and

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<v Speaker 4>especially on a cold night because it was winter when

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<v Speaker 4>they disappeared, you climb into the tub and you're soaking

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<v Speaker 4>in this wonderfully hot water. Anyway, when the sheriff's office

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<v Speaker 4>got out there and really started digging into what happened,

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<v Speaker 4>they jimmied open the door of the truck. They found

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<v Speaker 4>some cowboy boots. They found the kinds of things that

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<v Speaker 4>you'd bring on a car camping trip, like bedding and clothes.

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<v Speaker 4>But interestingly, they didn't find their day packs. They didn't

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<v Speaker 4>find any hiking type shoes. They did find a pair

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<v Speaker 4>of cameras that was interesting, and the indication was pretty

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<v Speaker 4>quickly that what had happened is they had the sheriff's

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<v Speaker 4>office got a report that these folks had gotten up

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<v Speaker 4>and taken a morning walk and had not come back.

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<v Speaker 2>So they identify the vehicle, and they identify the people

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<v Speaker 2>that are missing and apparently walked from this campground. Tell

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<v Speaker 2>us who they identify these people as, and then how

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<v Speaker 2>do they proceed in terms of getting breaks, in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of finding out what happened to these people in at

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<v Speaker 2>just after New Year's nineteen eighty six.

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<v Speaker 4>So Dan, if you'd been out there when these folks arrived,

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<v Speaker 4>you would have just thought they were campers like anybody else,

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<v Speaker 4>very unassuming. The truck that they drove was a good truck.

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<v Speaker 4>It was a good dots in four wheel drive truck,

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<v Speaker 4>but not you know, some kind of a remarkable or

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<v Speaker 4>ostentatious type vehicle. They just looked like hippie types. But

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<v Speaker 4>Barry Berman was actually the era apparent to the Aluah

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<v Speaker 4>Liqueur fortune. His father, Jules Berman, was just an extraordinary

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<v Speaker 4>Southern California entrepreneur who was into real estate and oil.

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<v Speaker 4>But had made his fortune because early in his life

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<v Speaker 4>he got into the liquor business, and after World War

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<v Speaker 4>Two he spotted a trend. He saw that people seemed

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<v Speaker 4>to be interested in imported products. It was attributed to

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<v Speaker 4>the fact that a lot of boys had come back

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<v Speaker 4>from the war and they were kind of interested in

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<v Speaker 4>things from overseas. So he thought, well, maybe this would

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<v Speaker 4>apply to liquor. So the first place he dove in

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<v Speaker 4>was with a with an interesting tasting beer called Heineken,

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<v Speaker 4>and he got involved in bringing Heineken to the United States,

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<v Speaker 4>made a fortune from that, and then kept going.

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<v Speaker 6>J and B.

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<v Speaker 4>Scotch, Bass, Plao and others. And then when he had

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<v Speaker 4>the opportunity to buy an obscure Mexican liqueur called Kalua.

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<v Speaker 4>He ponied up, bought that brand and built it into

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<v Speaker 4>a million case a year international busines to the point

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<v Speaker 4>where Jules Berman had a mansion in Beverly Hills staffed

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<v Speaker 4>by servants. He had a big home in Acapulco. He

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<v Speaker 4>had a ten thousand acre hunting preserve. He had a

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<v Speaker 4>yacht named Kalua. He had a garage full of exotic cars.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean he was rolling at the highest levels. His

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<v Speaker 4>only child, Barry, though, was of a different stripe and

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<v Speaker 4>rejected his father's materialism. And Barry was married to Louise Burman,

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<v Speaker 4>who was actually seventeen years older.

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<v Speaker 6>Barry was thirty five when.

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<v Speaker 4>He vanished, Louise was fifty two. Kind of a mismatch

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<v Speaker 4>in a way. He was apparently a virgin. You know,

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<v Speaker 4>this was his first first lover, whereas Louise had had

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<v Speaker 4>many lovers and Barry was her fourth husband.

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<v Speaker 2>You write about how they met, but first how Barry

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<v Speaker 2>issuing his father's lifestyle and that being a materialism and

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<v Speaker 2>that wealth. What he was searching for and what he

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<v Speaker 2>found and where.

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<v Speaker 4>So after high school, Barry decided not to go to

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<v Speaker 4>college he just didn't feel the call of academia, and

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<v Speaker 4>he had the means if he wanted, and the opportunity

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<v Speaker 4>to join his father's business or just be an air

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<v Speaker 4>too well. His father indulged him, but Barry wanted something more.

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<v Speaker 4>He was a man of deeply held convictions, and so

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<v Speaker 4>he went on a seeker's journey, and that brought him

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<v Speaker 4>into northern India, into Punjab Province, and he walked into

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<v Speaker 4>an ashrama. When I say in ashram, it's a sprawling

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<v Speaker 4>in the size of a town, and it's the center

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<v Speaker 4>of a practice called Radasoamia, a transcendental meditation practice. And

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<v Speaker 4>the reigning SatGuru at that time was a man named

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<v Speaker 4>Charen Singh, very charismatic, well spoken, and when Barry saw

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<v Speaker 4>him and looked into his eyes, he felt this connection.

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<v Speaker 4>And Barry became a devotee of char and Singh and

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<v Speaker 4>decided that he was going to what was called the

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<v Speaker 4>path to spiritual Enlightenment, which meant things like shunning drugs

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<v Speaker 4>and alcohol, leading an ethical life, not killing or eating meat,

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<v Speaker 4>and meditating for two and a half hours every day.

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<v Speaker 4>And Barry was very diligent about adhering to the path,

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<v Speaker 4>and he met Louise because she was also somebody who

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<v Speaker 4>had become after a wild child type existence, had become

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<v Speaker 4>a devtee of char and singh.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's how they met in a more practical way

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00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:35.160
<v Speaker 2>through the religion. She was looking for a place, and

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00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:37.440
<v Speaker 2>he had a place to rent as well.

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00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:38.039
<v Speaker 6>That's true.

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<v Speaker 4>So they met at what's called a satsung imagine a

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00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:47.079
<v Speaker 4>gathering of adherence to this faith, somewhat like Sunday service.

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<v Speaker 4>And they met at a satsung, and she mentioned she

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00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:53.039
<v Speaker 4>was looking for a place to live. Well, Barrie's dad

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<v Speaker 4>at that time owned a place called the El Capitan Ranch,

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00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:01.319
<v Speaker 4>a thirty five hundred acre coastal front ranch north of

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<v Speaker 4>Santa Barbara, an exquisite and extraordinary piece of property that

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00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:09.880
<v Speaker 4>he had purchased. And there was a slice about a

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00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.200
<v Speaker 4>twelve acre slice of that ranch that lay right on

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<v Speaker 4>a little cove, very private piece, and there were three

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00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:21.200
<v Speaker 4>cottages there, and Barry and some of the other adherents

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00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:25.680
<v Speaker 4>of Radasoami end up moving into these three cottages and

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00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:30.279
<v Speaker 4>essentially having like a little Enclaver or a hamlet of

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00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:35.599
<v Speaker 4>people who practice a transcendental meditation. Just as a side note,

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00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:41.039
<v Speaker 4>Dan years later when that parcel finally changed hands, that

305
00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:44.599
<v Speaker 4>twelve acre piece, it was purchased by Brad Pitt and

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00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:48.559
<v Speaker 4>Angelina Jolie. Just kind of of an interesting twist there.

307
00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:54.079
<v Speaker 2>So let's get back to nineteen eighty six January. Their relationship.

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<v Speaker 2>They've been married a few years. What does it characterize

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<v Speaker 2>by and what happened? What did they decide around New

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<v Speaker 2>Year's nineteen eighty six as a couple.

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<v Speaker 6>Yeah, so Barry and Louise had gone through a rocky phase.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean they were always a bit of a mismatch,

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00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:13.440
<v Speaker 4>and Barry himself was a very solitary person as far

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00:19:13.480 --> 00:19:14.000
<v Speaker 4>as we know.

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00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:15.720
<v Speaker 6>Louise was his first lover.

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<v Speaker 4>So here's a young man with an older woman. They's

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00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:23.000
<v Speaker 4>somewhat different in personality. She's very bubbly and engaging. He's

318
00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:26.720
<v Speaker 4>much more withdrawn, more like monk like is how he's

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00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:32.880
<v Speaker 4>been described by his friends. And he would sometimes conduct marriages.

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00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:35.359
<v Speaker 4>Even people really looked up to him. He was a

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00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:38.559
<v Speaker 4>man of few words. She was much more engaging in chatty,

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00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:41.039
<v Speaker 4>and they had just gone through a patch where they

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00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:43.640
<v Speaker 4>just weren't They didn't seem to be jibing, they just

324
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:48.559
<v Speaker 4>weren't doing well. They stopped sharing a bed, and then

325
00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:52.799
<v Speaker 4>something happened. We're not sure how it was that they

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00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:55.960
<v Speaker 4>got back together, but at the end of nineteen eighty

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<v Speaker 4>five they reconnected and they decided to celebrate by going

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00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:02.680
<v Speaker 4>on to make trip, and that was the trip that

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00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:04.880
<v Speaker 4>led them into Saline Valley.

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<v Speaker 2>It's interesting to you write about a friend named Arthur Korb,

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<v Speaker 2>and even though the couple Barry and Louise, or Barry

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00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.519
<v Speaker 2>especially was familiar with the area and Death Valley, Arthur

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00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:20.640
<v Speaker 2>Korb gave them a little hint about something that they

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00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:22.720
<v Speaker 2>might do if they're in the area.

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<v Speaker 6>Right.

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00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.680
<v Speaker 4>Barry was very interested in going to a place in

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00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:31.359
<v Speaker 4>Death Valley National Park called Scotty's Castle. Barry was a craftsman.

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<v Speaker 4>He chose for his trade to handcraft iron like wrought

339
00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:39.640
<v Speaker 4>iron gates and lamps and things like that, and out

340
00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:42.960
<v Speaker 4>at Scotty's Castle there's extraordinary iron work and he wanted

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00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:45.079
<v Speaker 4>to go there and look at it and take pictures.

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00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:48.839
<v Speaker 4>And when Arthur Korb, who was a close friend who

343
00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:54.000
<v Speaker 4>had actually sponsored a Barry for initiation into the faith

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<v Speaker 4>Rodasoami Faith under the Sat Guru char and Sing, Arthur said, oh, oh, well,

345
00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:02.759
<v Speaker 4>if you're going out there. You got to check out

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00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:05.960
<v Speaker 4>these hot springs and Sailing Valley. And just to step back,

347
00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:09.519
<v Speaker 4>Barry was an outdoorsy guy. He could handle himself, and

348
00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:13.960
<v Speaker 4>he and Arthur would sometimes go on vacation trips to

349
00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:16.839
<v Speaker 4>explore remote hot springs. So this was in keeping with

350
00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.880
<v Speaker 4>past pattern and practice. And Barry was a guy who

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00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:22.680
<v Speaker 4>knew his way around, and so he and Louise packed

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00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:25.000
<v Speaker 4>up the truck and that they found their way into

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<v Speaker 4>Sailing Valley.

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<v Speaker 2>Now you take us to the scene. I'm not certain

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00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:31.480
<v Speaker 2>of the date. You can tell us the date did,

356
00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:33.559
<v Speaker 2>but they.

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<v Speaker 6>Arrive at the Wizard Pool.

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00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.960
<v Speaker 2>They go to Scottie's Castle, I believe tell us about

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00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:40.559
<v Speaker 2>their arrival and who they find at the pool. Once

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00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.640
<v Speaker 2>they arrive at that campsite.

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<v Speaker 4>So it's Sunday night, January five, nineteen eighty six, and

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00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:50.960
<v Speaker 4>they come rolling in after dark. But they find their

363
00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:54.319
<v Speaker 4>way up to the Palm Spring, which is the more

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<v Speaker 4>isolated of the soaking pools that are in this part

365
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<v Speaker 4>of Sailing Valley. There's a more larger set of soaking

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<v Speaker 4>pools and more of a social scene about three quarters

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<v Speaker 4>of a mile away down the hill. Up at Palm Spring,

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00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:11.000
<v Speaker 4>there's two soaking pools and it tends to draw a

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<v Speaker 4>little more of a back.

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<v Speaker 6>To nature crowd.

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00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:16.200
<v Speaker 4>So they roll in after dark and they actually put

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<v Speaker 4>on their bathing suits. They were rather modest, modest people,

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<v Speaker 4>even though the most people out at the hotsprings don't barn.

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00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:26.440
<v Speaker 4>They come slipping into the water. And at the time

375
00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:29.640
<v Speaker 4>they got into the tub, there were three men in

376
00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:33.920
<v Speaker 4>the tub. Two of them were dirt bike riders, motorcycle guys,

377
00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.960
<v Speaker 4>young guys from Modesto, California, who were out there. They'd

378
00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:40.160
<v Speaker 4>brought their dirt bikes out and they were kind of

379
00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:43.039
<v Speaker 4>enjoying that kind of thing. They'd been motoring around on

380
00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:47.839
<v Speaker 4>their dirt bikes. The other fellow was in the military.

381
00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:50.799
<v Speaker 4>They didn't know a lot about him. People hadn't talked

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00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:54.279
<v Speaker 4>with him much. He was traveling alone. Seemed like a

383
00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:57.640
<v Speaker 4>bit of a laid back guy, had a resonant voice.

384
00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:02.039
<v Speaker 4>He was an officer, Marine Corps officer or captain. He

385
00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:04.200
<v Speaker 4>mentioned that he was in the military and they had

386
00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:06.799
<v Speaker 4>gone to school in New Mexico. And so the three

387
00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:11.160
<v Speaker 4>men and young men and then Barry and Louise chat

388
00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:13.319
<v Speaker 4>in the hot tub for a while. The two dirt

389
00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:15.799
<v Speaker 4>bike riders get up and head off to bed at

390
00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:20.839
<v Speaker 4>some point, leaving this military man named Mike in the

391
00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:24.880
<v Speaker 4>soaking tub with Barry and Louise, and then at some

392
00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:28.359
<v Speaker 4>point they go their separate ways and go to bed.

393
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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you take us to Monday, January sixth, and likely

394
00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:36.079
<v Speaker 2>because of their faith, they would be up very very

395
00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:38.200
<v Speaker 2>early to do that two and a half hour meditation.

396
00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:40.519
<v Speaker 2>But they'd be up very very early, and it was

397
00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:44.759
<v Speaker 2>indications that looked like they had before everyone else got up,

398
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.200
<v Speaker 2>left the camp for some sort of hike. What is

399
00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:50.920
<v Speaker 2>the what did the bikers do that day? And what

400
00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:55.960
<v Speaker 2>do they the dirt bikers witness this mic preparing to

401
00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:56.559
<v Speaker 2>do that day.

402
00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:00.839
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so you have to picture the We're at a

403
00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:04.039
<v Speaker 4>location that is in the desert where there's really just

404
00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:08.160
<v Speaker 4>raw desert, very rugged surrounding this location. There's a little

405
00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:11.799
<v Speaker 4>access road coming in which itself is pretty darn a rugged,

406
00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:16.759
<v Speaker 4>and then this small campsite where people just camp out

407
00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:20.640
<v Speaker 4>in the desert, and then leading away from there in

408
00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:25.000
<v Speaker 4>a northerly direction is a kind of a rough dirt

409
00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:29.160
<v Speaker 4>road jeep trail kind of a thing that leads a

410
00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.039
<v Speaker 4>couple of miles farther up to a set of hot

411
00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:35.680
<v Speaker 4>springs that have not been developed a natural set of

412
00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:39.599
<v Speaker 4>hot springs. It's about a two mile walk and it's

413
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:43.759
<v Speaker 4>possible that the Burmans were headed up there, although the

414
00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:47.039
<v Speaker 4>report was that Louise Burman had a sore ankle and

415
00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:50.000
<v Speaker 4>so she wasn't going to go very far. There are

416
00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:52.759
<v Speaker 4>other little sites that you might see along the way,

417
00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:56.039
<v Speaker 4>so it's possible they were even just taking a shorter stroll.

418
00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:59.640
<v Speaker 4>We don't know, but there were reports that they had

419
00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:04.000
<v Speaker 4>been heading up the road, which was a logical place

420
00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:08.039
<v Speaker 4>to take a little walk. And it wasn't long after

421
00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:11.920
<v Speaker 4>that the dirt bike riders spotted the military man named

422
00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:15.559
<v Speaker 4>Mike get into his little pickup truck and he headed

423
00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:18.519
<v Speaker 4>up this this rough road in a vehicle. And then

424
00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:21.039
<v Speaker 4>a little while later the dirt bikers. There were the

425
00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:23.200
<v Speaker 4>two guys who had been in the tub, and then

426
00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:26.240
<v Speaker 4>their their buddy who had gone to bed early. The

427
00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.200
<v Speaker 4>three of them get on their dirt bikes and they

428
00:25:28.279 --> 00:25:31.359
<v Speaker 4>take off. Now they didn't just head up the road

429
00:25:31.720 --> 00:25:34.240
<v Speaker 4>although they were supposed to stay on the road. These

430
00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:37.359
<v Speaker 4>guys were, you know, they were rambunctious guys and they

431
00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:40.880
<v Speaker 4>were kind of exploring little little washes and places where

432
00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:43.319
<v Speaker 4>you could get with the dirt bike. It's against the rules,

433
00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:46.440
<v Speaker 4>but there's nobody around to complain. So they were they

434
00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:49.359
<v Speaker 4>were exploring around, going here and there, and and they

435
00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:52.599
<v Speaker 4>sort of made their way up the road. They stopped

436
00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:55.559
<v Speaker 4>at one point for lunch, and then they crossed over

437
00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:59.319
<v Speaker 4>a pass and actually headed down into an adjacent valley

438
00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:00.599
<v Speaker 4>called your Ear Valley.

439
00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:02.160
<v Speaker 6>And then later in the day.

440
00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:06.359
<v Speaker 4>They came back and they didn't see anyone the whole

441
00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:10.359
<v Speaker 4>time that they were out on their excursions. So Mike

442
00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:13.799
<v Speaker 4>in his truck and the Burmans had gone up this road.

443
00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:18.200
<v Speaker 4>Nobody saw them. And then late in the day Mike

444
00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:21.960
<v Speaker 4>comes driving down the road in his pickup truck. He

445
00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:24.400
<v Speaker 4>goes back to his camp. He gets out and he's

446
00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:26.400
<v Speaker 4>all dusty and dirty.

447
00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:31.519
<v Speaker 2>Yeah you say that, Dale, these are aliases. But Dale

448
00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:36.559
<v Speaker 2>Dunsmuir and Katie Aberdeen, they drove into Palm Spring and

449
00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:39.559
<v Speaker 2>they noticed the truck and then they noticed this Mike

450
00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:43.160
<v Speaker 2>come and talk to them. What did they what did

451
00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:46.839
<v Speaker 2>They later say that he the conversation they had with him.

452
00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:49.480
<v Speaker 4>They weren't really eager to talk about it. It took

453
00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:52.319
<v Speaker 4>me a long time to track them down. They're off

454
00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:54.960
<v Speaker 4>the grid kind of people, But I did track them down.

455
00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:58.279
<v Speaker 4>Kind of an interesting encounter when I finally found them

456
00:26:58.759 --> 00:27:02.079
<v Speaker 4>living in a in a very tidy, pleasant little trailer

457
00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:05.759
<v Speaker 4>out in the desert. And when I came to the door,

458
00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:09.680
<v Speaker 4>she answered, and he was standing behind in the kitchen

459
00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:12.240
<v Speaker 4>without a stitch of clothes on and a big grin

460
00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:14.799
<v Speaker 4>on his face. He was quite a bit older than her.

461
00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:18.119
<v Speaker 4>She was actually quite a beauty, very well known as

462
00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:21.799
<v Speaker 4>being a mountaineer and a very attractive younger woman. And

463
00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:26.319
<v Speaker 4>he was known as being a very competent mountaineer. And

464
00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:30.000
<v Speaker 4>they were known around the Eastern Sierra as people who

465
00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:35.359
<v Speaker 4>were good mountaineers and interesting folks. And what they reported

466
00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:37.759
<v Speaker 4>to me, and I agreed that I wouldn't print the

467
00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:41.079
<v Speaker 4>print their names because they were a little concerned about

468
00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:43.319
<v Speaker 4>their own safety. But what she reported to me in

469
00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:47.440
<v Speaker 4>particular was that after the military man named Mike got

470
00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:49.759
<v Speaker 4>back to camp, that he comes over to the camp

471
00:27:49.880 --> 00:27:53.039
<v Speaker 4>and he said he had given up smoking, but he

472
00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:55.960
<v Speaker 4>was hoping that they could provide him with some cigarettes,

473
00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:00.000
<v Speaker 4>and so he traded a can of peaches for cigs,

474
00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:03.559
<v Speaker 4>and then stood there and chatted with this very attractive

475
00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:07.799
<v Speaker 4>woman and ended up floating the idea of that why

476
00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:12.039
<v Speaker 4>don't they have a threesome, which is just not in

477
00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:15.559
<v Speaker 4>keeping with the vibe out in Saline Valley. And if

478
00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:18.359
<v Speaker 4>something like that was going to happen, it would have

479
00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:21.880
<v Speaker 4>to develop organically, you know, over time. You don't just

480
00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:24.480
<v Speaker 4>walk up to strangers and all of a sudden start

481
00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:28.240
<v Speaker 4>talking in a way like you know, hey, ever had

482
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:32.440
<v Speaker 4>a threesome and she felt very uncomfortable and thought there

483
00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:34.960
<v Speaker 4>is something wrong with this guy, and she wanted to

484
00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:37.640
<v Speaker 4>just get him out of her camp.

485
00:28:38.119 --> 00:28:41.240
<v Speaker 2>Let's use this as an opportunity to hear from our sponsor.

486
00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:44.759
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487
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488
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489
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<v Speaker 2>tier restaurant quality meals at home. Well cook Unity is

490
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491
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492
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493
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494
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<v Speaker 2>fridge or up to seven days. All the meals we

495
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496
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497
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498
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<v Speaker 2>a Dobo flank steak with paprika, potatoes and broccoli, a

499
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500
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501
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502
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503
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504
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505
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506
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507
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508
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509
00:30:24.440 --> 00:30:29.559
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510
00:30:29.720 --> 00:30:34.640
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511
00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:38.640
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00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:45.079
<v Speaker 2>by going to cookunity dot com slash murder Now. Deputies

513
00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:50.640
<v Speaker 2>Nixon and Boyer they're looking at this now possibly a crime.

514
00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:53.160
<v Speaker 2>They don't have any evidence of that at this point.

515
00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:58.160
<v Speaker 2>But they track down those bikers from Modesto. So what

516
00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:02.599
<v Speaker 2>do they find out from one particular, Brian Casey in particular.

517
00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.720
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so let me just mention in between there there's

518
00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:10.759
<v Speaker 4>a massive search that's undertaken, biggest search in Inneo County history.

519
00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:15.079
<v Speaker 4>Nothing turns up. So now it's on the detective, the

520
00:31:15.160 --> 00:31:20.119
<v Speaker 4>lead detective Nixon, Randy Nixon, and then Leon Boyer was

521
00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:23.200
<v Speaker 4>involved too, even though he wasn't an investigator, he's a

522
00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:26.359
<v Speaker 4>good lawman with a good instinct and he very much

523
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.359
<v Speaker 4>wanted to work on the case and he did so.

524
00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:30.759
<v Speaker 4>What they found, they were able to track down the

525
00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:34.720
<v Speaker 4>motorcycle riders somehow their name had been mentioned and they

526
00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:39.079
<v Speaker 4>were able to find them, and they were talked to separately,

527
00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:42.680
<v Speaker 4>interviewed separately, and immediately came across as guys who had

528
00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:48.279
<v Speaker 4>nothing to hide, completely cooperative. They had taken pictures of

529
00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:52.359
<v Speaker 4>their little excursion that day. When I started investigating, they

530
00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:55.039
<v Speaker 4>just sent me their photos said yeah, hey, you want

531
00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:55.960
<v Speaker 4>to look at our photos.

532
00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:57.480
<v Speaker 6>Here they are. They sent them to me.

533
00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:00.759
<v Speaker 4>I met with the guys very open in fact, I

534
00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:03.160
<v Speaker 4>even got to examine one of the dirt bikes they

535
00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:05.839
<v Speaker 4>still had it. These were guys who were just had

536
00:32:05.960 --> 00:32:09.359
<v Speaker 4>nothing to hide, no story, to coordinate or anything, and

537
00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:11.920
<v Speaker 4>they just told you what I told you, which is

538
00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:15.359
<v Speaker 4>they had taken this excursion and come back and then

539
00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:20.000
<v Speaker 4>the Burmans just didn't return to camp. The military guy

540
00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:23.920
<v Speaker 4>had said, well, he might have seen them with their

541
00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:27.119
<v Speaker 4>backpacks when he was out driving up up the road,

542
00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:29.720
<v Speaker 4>and then he said he might have. He said he

543
00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:33.720
<v Speaker 4>also had seen the dirt bike riders go by, and

544
00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:37.680
<v Speaker 4>those later become very significant statements.

545
00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:44.119
<v Speaker 2>You talk about this very very interesting heroic character, Leon Boyer.

546
00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:47.240
<v Speaker 2>He's not working on the case, as you say, officially,

547
00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:50.680
<v Speaker 2>but he decides to work on this case on his own.

548
00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:55.880
<v Speaker 2>He is also why not, he's also a natural composite

549
00:32:56.200 --> 00:32:59.680
<v Speaker 2>artist as well, So he decides through the description he

550
00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:04.240
<v Speaker 2>gets through the two people at the campsite to come

551
00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:09.079
<v Speaker 2>up with a composite and he also endeavors to continue.

552
00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:11.759
<v Speaker 2>So how does he do that tell us about his work,

553
00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:15.880
<v Speaker 2>vacation and the Desert Bill petition?

554
00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:17.559
<v Speaker 6>What a guy?

555
00:33:17.880 --> 00:33:22.319
<v Speaker 4>I mean, he right away zeroed in on this military

556
00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:24.559
<v Speaker 4>guy named Mike, because first of all, there's not very

557
00:33:24.599 --> 00:33:27.119
<v Speaker 4>many people out there at the scene. There was some

558
00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:29.519
<v Speaker 4>other campers, but they were like a hippie couple with

559
00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:33.920
<v Speaker 4>a little boy, and they apparently never left camp. So

560
00:33:34.440 --> 00:33:38.119
<v Speaker 4>the only people seen going up this rough road that

561
00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:41.799
<v Speaker 4>day were the dirt bike riders who just seemed honest

562
00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:42.880
<v Speaker 4>as the day is long.

563
00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:46.480
<v Speaker 6>And then this Mike guy. But who was he? Where

564
00:33:46.599 --> 00:33:46.920
<v Speaker 6>was he?

565
00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:51.160
<v Speaker 4>The Sheriff's office didn't know where to start. So what

566
00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:55.119
<v Speaker 4>Deputy Boyers started doing is just going out into Saline

567
00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:58.880
<v Speaker 4>Valley on his own time on vacation and just chatting

568
00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:02.920
<v Speaker 4>with people, asking them, you know, and showing him his

569
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:05.279
<v Speaker 4>composite drawing and saying, have you ever seen a guy

570
00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:07.880
<v Speaker 4>like this named Mike? And he started getting reports, Oh yeah,

571
00:34:08.039 --> 00:34:13.280
<v Speaker 4>I remember that guy, And sure enough, at one point

572
00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:17.199
<v Speaker 4>he finds his name. The reason is that at that

573
00:34:17.400 --> 00:34:22.679
<v Speaker 4>time there was a move to designate parts of the

574
00:34:22.719 --> 00:34:26.480
<v Speaker 4>desert as wilderness. It involved all the California desert. There

575
00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:29.760
<v Speaker 4>was kind of a conservation debate going on about what

576
00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:32.119
<v Speaker 4>do we do with these desert lands, and there were

577
00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:35.920
<v Speaker 4>competing interests and a lot of people were involved, and

578
00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:39.000
<v Speaker 4>folks in Sailing Valley were really nervous about the idea

579
00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:42.480
<v Speaker 4>of some kind of more federal protection or involvement in

580
00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:45.679
<v Speaker 4>the area. And there was a petition posted that basically

581
00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:48.880
<v Speaker 4>was a hands off Sailing Valley kind of a petition,

582
00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:52.480
<v Speaker 4>and Deputy Boyer started checking this petition every time he

583
00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:55.239
<v Speaker 4>went out there just to see anybody named Mike. Well,

584
00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:59.400
<v Speaker 4>he finds a signature of a guy named Mike, who,

585
00:34:59.599 --> 00:35:03.960
<v Speaker 4>it turned out when they run the name is a

586
00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:09.000
<v Speaker 4>US Marine. And not only that, his driver's license photo.

587
00:35:09.239 --> 00:35:13.480
<v Speaker 4>I mean it's like a spitting image of the composite drawing.

588
00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:16.360
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So they find out more information about him in

589
00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:19.920
<v Speaker 2>terms of he's also involved in logistics, and also that

590
00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:22.960
<v Speaker 2>just a couple of the other things the statements that

591
00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:25.119
<v Speaker 2>he had made line up as well that he was

592
00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:28.880
<v Speaker 2>in he lived in Barstow. And so how do they

593
00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:33.519
<v Speaker 2>proceed in preparing to be able to interview this pepe.

594
00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:36.960
<v Speaker 4>Once they have him located, the inter County Sheriff's office

595
00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:40.360
<v Speaker 4>decides to do a surprise interview. It turns out he

596
00:35:40.760 --> 00:35:44.920
<v Speaker 4>is the adjunct to the commanding General at the Marine

597
00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:49.639
<v Speaker 4>Corps Logistics based Barstow, which is a massive logistics space

598
00:35:50.199 --> 00:35:54.039
<v Speaker 4>obviously out in Barstow, still there, and he is the

599
00:35:54.440 --> 00:35:59.159
<v Speaker 4>designated adjunct to the commanding officer, and they're concerned. They

600
00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:01.039
<v Speaker 4>just decide we're just going to go out and do it.

601
00:36:01.079 --> 00:36:05.920
<v Speaker 4>By surprise, they did coordinate it with NCIS, or actually

602
00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.920
<v Speaker 4>the predecessor to INCIS, but the Naval Investigative Service, they

603
00:36:10.400 --> 00:36:12.119
<v Speaker 4>coordinated that they were going to come out there. That

604
00:36:12.280 --> 00:36:14.599
<v Speaker 4>the general did not have a lot of advanced notice,

605
00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:16.880
<v Speaker 4>not that they didn't trust him, but they just felt,

606
00:36:16.960 --> 00:36:18.440
<v Speaker 4>we're just going to go out there and spring it.

607
00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:21.719
<v Speaker 4>By that time, Randy Nixon was off the case. Leon

608
00:36:21.800 --> 00:36:25.360
<v Speaker 4>Boyer wasn't brought along because he wasn't a trained investigator,

609
00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:29.440
<v Speaker 4>So it was two other investigators go out there and

610
00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:32.719
<v Speaker 4>they set up in a conference room and spring an

611
00:36:32.719 --> 00:36:37.400
<v Speaker 4>interview on this marine named Mike to see what he

612
00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:38.400
<v Speaker 4>might have to say.

613
00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:43.159
<v Speaker 2>You write about the incredible questioning that they do, and

614
00:36:43.320 --> 00:36:47.559
<v Speaker 2>also of the characteristics of a person you say that

615
00:36:47.719 --> 00:36:51.760
<v Speaker 2>is lying and what that entails in the answering of

616
00:36:51.800 --> 00:36:52.599
<v Speaker 2>those questions.

617
00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:56.679
<v Speaker 4>Well, one thing I learned Dan in writing this book

618
00:36:56.840 --> 00:36:59.960
<v Speaker 4>and interviewing people in law enforcement and also doing research,

619
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:01.559
<v Speaker 4>which is that a lot of the things that you

620
00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:04.800
<v Speaker 4>and I might look at as being telltale signs of

621
00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:08.280
<v Speaker 4>line if we hadn't done our homeworker. Actually can just

622
00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:11.519
<v Speaker 4>be natural nervousness. A person who doesn't look you in

623
00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:14.360
<v Speaker 4>the eye or shifts around, they may just be nervous.

624
00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:17.639
<v Speaker 4>But there are some indications that a person is lying.

625
00:37:17.719 --> 00:37:20.599
<v Speaker 4>One of them is that if they can demonstrate to

626
00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:23.159
<v Speaker 4>you that they have pretty good memory and they have

627
00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:27.960
<v Speaker 4>specific answers to things that aren't threatening, but then when

628
00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:32.079
<v Speaker 4>you get into the threatening content, suddenly their memory seems

629
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:34.119
<v Speaker 4>to fail and their answers turned vague.

630
00:37:34.519 --> 00:37:37.960
<v Speaker 6>That's one sign of somebody who's lying.

631
00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:41.079
<v Speaker 4>Another is that they might try to keep changing the subject,

632
00:37:41.159 --> 00:37:43.440
<v Speaker 4>that they don't want to pin themselves down.

633
00:37:43.880 --> 00:37:46.119
<v Speaker 6>And this Mike the Marine.

634
00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:52.480
<v Speaker 4>Exhibited all of those characteristics, and his story kept changing

635
00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:54.840
<v Speaker 4>and it was like he was trying to feel his way.

636
00:37:54.920 --> 00:37:55.719
<v Speaker 6>What do they know?

637
00:37:56.400 --> 00:38:00.440
<v Speaker 4>And it was a remarkable interview. Honestly, he would have

638
00:38:00.920 --> 00:38:03.519
<v Speaker 4>don't hold it against me. I'm a lawyer by background,

639
00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:06.039
<v Speaker 4>so I think like a lawyer. As I first read

640
00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:09.760
<v Speaker 4>that interview. After the Sheriff's office agreed that they were

641
00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:13.159
<v Speaker 4>going to cooperate in my investigation and turnover files from

642
00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:16.199
<v Speaker 4>this cold case, I was so fascinated. When I got

643
00:38:16.199 --> 00:38:19.599
<v Speaker 4>my hands on the transcript of that interview, and as

644
00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:22.440
<v Speaker 4>I was reading it and his story kept changing and

645
00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:25.039
<v Speaker 4>he was going here there, I wanted to tap him

646
00:38:25.079 --> 00:38:26.199
<v Speaker 4>on the shoulder.

647
00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:29.320
<v Speaker 6>And say stop. The lawyer in me was like, you

648
00:38:29.400 --> 00:38:30.239
<v Speaker 6>need to be quiet.

649
00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:33.840
<v Speaker 4>You are incriminating yourself right here, and he definitely did

650
00:38:33.880 --> 00:38:36.800
<v Speaker 4>by just he came up with all these different store

651
00:38:36.840 --> 00:38:39.079
<v Speaker 4>well I might have done this, and then they tell him, well,

652
00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:42.480
<v Speaker 4>if you've done that, that's inconsistent with this fact. Oh well,

653
00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:45.119
<v Speaker 4>then I might have been this that I did. And

654
00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:48.119
<v Speaker 4>he never did pin himself down. Now they interviewed him

655
00:38:48.119 --> 00:38:51.519
<v Speaker 4>before they even had bodies. It was only ten months

656
00:38:51.599 --> 00:38:54.880
<v Speaker 4>since he had been out there, and he couldn't remember

657
00:38:55.440 --> 00:38:58.480
<v Speaker 4>whether he was there alone or with a person. He

658
00:38:58.519 --> 00:39:02.960
<v Speaker 4>couldn't remember where he camped. He gave multiple stories about

659
00:39:02.960 --> 00:39:05.760
<v Speaker 4>what he did on the day that they disappeared, and

660
00:39:05.800 --> 00:39:10.000
<v Speaker 4>whether he met them. He finally started admitting to things

661
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:12.719
<v Speaker 4>as he got more cornered. But the guy was all

662
00:39:12.760 --> 00:39:16.800
<v Speaker 4>over the place. It's of quite an incriminating interview. So

663
00:39:17.119 --> 00:39:19.519
<v Speaker 4>I have to say this suspect, and I'll give you

664
00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:23.599
<v Speaker 4>his name. It's Michael Pepe. He's never been charged, and

665
00:39:23.639 --> 00:39:27.119
<v Speaker 4>it's important to note he's never been arrested, never been charged,

666
00:39:27.719 --> 00:39:30.599
<v Speaker 4>and so in the eyes of the law, he's innocent

667
00:39:30.760 --> 00:39:33.480
<v Speaker 4>until proven guilty. So what I do in the book

668
00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:38.639
<v Speaker 4>is I'm not capable of judging whether somebody's innocent or guilty.

669
00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:41.360
<v Speaker 4>But what I can do is present the facts, present

670
00:39:41.440 --> 00:39:44.639
<v Speaker 4>the case. Because law enforcement was sure they had the

671
00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:47.519
<v Speaker 4>right guy, and when I came into it, I didn't

672
00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:50.039
<v Speaker 4>have any dog in this hunt. I thought, well, maybe

673
00:39:50.039 --> 00:39:52.239
<v Speaker 4>they just got it wrong. But when you start to

674
00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:55.119
<v Speaker 4>look at the evidence, it does tend to point in

675
00:39:55.159 --> 00:39:58.679
<v Speaker 4>one direction. And he's never given an explanation for any

676
00:39:58.679 --> 00:40:01.559
<v Speaker 4>of this. It says god given right and his constitutional

677
00:40:01.639 --> 00:40:04.199
<v Speaker 4>right not to say a word. But you know I

678
00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:06.960
<v Speaker 4>tried multiple times to get a word out of him.

679
00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:10.360
<v Speaker 4>Neither him nor his lawyers would ever agree to that.

680
00:40:10.760 --> 00:40:14.440
<v Speaker 2>You write that it's likely because he was interviewed by

681
00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:19.280
<v Speaker 2>surprise at the camp and with the military influence. The

682
00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:23.360
<v Speaker 2>commander's influence is likely, you right, the reason why he

683
00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:25.159
<v Speaker 2>answered questions at all.

684
00:40:25.199 --> 00:40:28.119
<v Speaker 4>I think that he I don't think he felt compelled

685
00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:32.639
<v Speaker 4>by the authorities to talk. I do think though, that

686
00:40:32.920 --> 00:40:36.039
<v Speaker 4>when his commanding general told him, I want you to

687
00:40:36.039 --> 00:40:39.880
<v Speaker 4>go meet with these guys, that he probably felt some

688
00:40:40.599 --> 00:40:44.719
<v Speaker 4>a pressure, at least in his own mind to answer

689
00:40:44.800 --> 00:40:47.840
<v Speaker 4>questions as opposed to just saying, you know what, I

690
00:40:48.639 --> 00:40:51.559
<v Speaker 4>want a lawyer. But he didn't call for a lawyer.

691
00:40:51.719 --> 00:40:54.679
<v Speaker 4>He was free to walk out at any time. They

692
00:40:54.719 --> 00:40:57.840
<v Speaker 4>took a break, at least one break in the course

693
00:40:57.880 --> 00:41:00.519
<v Speaker 4>of this couple of hour interview, and he could have

694
00:41:00.519 --> 00:41:03.079
<v Speaker 4>gotten up and left. It was his right, and he did.

695
00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:05.599
<v Speaker 4>He chose instead to keep answering questions.

696
00:41:05.719 --> 00:41:09.280
<v Speaker 2>It wasn't like a dramatic who will say people might

697
00:41:09.320 --> 00:41:13.599
<v Speaker 2>be familiar with some investigators crowding the chair close to

698
00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:18.559
<v Speaker 2>the suspect and then peppering them with questions and more

699
00:41:18.639 --> 00:41:23.360
<v Speaker 2>accusations and allegations. This didn't happen. They were trying to

700
00:41:23.400 --> 00:41:26.920
<v Speaker 2>get him to admit on his own ten months earlier

701
00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:30.159
<v Speaker 2>that he could remember after they refreshed his memory of

702
00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:34.159
<v Speaker 2>the campsite and maybe even the people that were there.

703
00:41:34.599 --> 00:41:37.880
<v Speaker 2>He's still, well, it's not possible, it could be possible.

704
00:41:38.119 --> 00:41:38.639
<v Speaker 6>I don't know.

705
00:41:38.840 --> 00:41:44.159
<v Speaker 2>So he was super noncommittal to specific questions that would

706
00:41:44.199 --> 00:41:46.000
<v Speaker 2>pin him down whatsoever.

707
00:41:46.599 --> 00:41:49.079
<v Speaker 4>Absolutely, but he had a great memory. When it came

708
00:41:49.119 --> 00:41:52.280
<v Speaker 4>to other details about other desert trips that happened, about

709
00:41:52.280 --> 00:41:54.920
<v Speaker 4>the same time. Oh, he was telling stories about this

710
00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:58.079
<v Speaker 4>or that and reciting all these details, and he knew

711
00:41:58.159 --> 00:42:01.559
<v Speaker 4>the types of aircraft he had seen out in the desert.

712
00:42:02.159 --> 00:42:04.320
<v Speaker 4>There's a lot of military test line that goes on

713
00:42:04.400 --> 00:42:07.280
<v Speaker 4>out there, and he could remember the roads and the

714
00:42:07.320 --> 00:42:11.920
<v Speaker 4>locations where he went. The fellow exhibited a good knowledge

715
00:42:12.239 --> 00:42:15.519
<v Speaker 4>of the area and of his own undertakings out there,

716
00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:17.760
<v Speaker 4>until it came to the time of well what were

717
00:42:17.800 --> 00:42:21.360
<v Speaker 4>you doing on this particular trip and on this particular day,

718
00:42:21.400 --> 00:42:25.280
<v Speaker 4>And then he was all over the board.

719
00:42:25.639 --> 00:42:26.760
<v Speaker 6>Now you say that there was.

720
00:42:27.159 --> 00:42:29.960
<v Speaker 2>They asked him for details to fill in all of

721
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:32.639
<v Speaker 2>those gaps in his memory. He didn't get back to

722
00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:35.199
<v Speaker 2>him about those details, and they didn't get back to him.

723
00:42:35.280 --> 00:42:38.599
<v Speaker 2>And then you write about November nineteen eighty eight, twelve,

724
00:42:38.920 --> 00:42:43.000
<v Speaker 2>nineteen eighty eight, and an outdoorsman on his way down

725
00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:46.920
<v Speaker 2>from a climb near from Saline Valley, he stumbles across

726
00:42:47.159 --> 00:42:49.639
<v Speaker 2>a couple human skull, one human skull, and then he

727
00:42:49.719 --> 00:42:53.119
<v Speaker 2>contacts authorities and they get around to searching the area

728
00:42:53.239 --> 00:42:58.599
<v Speaker 2>and they find bones and skulls of Louise and Barry Bermant.

729
00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:03.400
<v Speaker 4>Right, if we're able to contact that hiker, I don't

730
00:43:03.559 --> 00:43:07.159
<v Speaker 4>think that the Sheriff's office actually has his name.

731
00:43:07.400 --> 00:43:09.159
<v Speaker 6>If they do, they didn't turn it over to me.

732
00:43:09.239 --> 00:43:12.480
<v Speaker 4>But my suspicion is that somehow that's been lost out

733
00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:13.159
<v Speaker 4>of the files.

734
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:16.599
<v Speaker 6>I have a photo of him, but don't know his name.

735
00:43:17.159 --> 00:43:21.159
<v Speaker 4>Anyway, that area, if you're not somebody who's been out

736
00:43:21.239 --> 00:43:23.400
<v Speaker 4>in the desert a lot, it's kind of hard to

737
00:43:23.440 --> 00:43:27.039
<v Speaker 4>describe how just out of the way it feels. Just

738
00:43:27.079 --> 00:43:29.880
<v Speaker 4>getting into Sailing Valley and getting into the hot springs

739
00:43:29.960 --> 00:43:32.039
<v Speaker 4>is quite a track. But to get up where the

740
00:43:32.039 --> 00:43:33.960
<v Speaker 4>bodies are found, you've got to go up this rough

741
00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:35.199
<v Speaker 4>kind of jeep road.

742
00:43:35.679 --> 00:43:36.920
<v Speaker 6>It takes a while to get there.

743
00:43:37.159 --> 00:43:41.440
<v Speaker 4>It's about seven miles up from the camp, and it

744
00:43:41.559 --> 00:43:45.400
<v Speaker 4>just takes a while to navigate that terrain and get

745
00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:47.719
<v Speaker 4>up in there. And it's not the kind of place

746
00:43:47.760 --> 00:43:52.079
<v Speaker 4>where people go very often. But interestingly, if you were

747
00:43:52.199 --> 00:43:55.079
<v Speaker 4>to kind of go off the road into some of

748
00:43:55.119 --> 00:43:58.639
<v Speaker 4>these washes, which is really like a dry riverbed, you

749
00:43:58.639 --> 00:44:01.400
<v Speaker 4>could drive a vehicle a little ways off the road

750
00:44:01.559 --> 00:44:04.480
<v Speaker 4>and get up in some of these draws and into

751
00:44:04.519 --> 00:44:07.360
<v Speaker 4>spots where it wouldn't be so bad to hide a body.

752
00:44:07.400 --> 00:44:11.360
<v Speaker 4>And that's exactly the kind of place where the bodies

753
00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:14.159
<v Speaker 4>were found. It was a place that would be accessible

754
00:44:14.559 --> 00:44:19.280
<v Speaker 4>by vehicle, and they were secreted in a way that

755
00:44:19.440 --> 00:44:24.480
<v Speaker 4>indicated a lot of work and thought and heavy lifting

756
00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:28.960
<v Speaker 4>had gone into burying them and concealing their bodies in

757
00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:32.400
<v Speaker 4>this what would be called a cutbank, a channel carved

758
00:44:32.440 --> 00:44:37.159
<v Speaker 4>by intermittent flash flooding dry most of the time, occasionally

759
00:44:37.760 --> 00:44:41.000
<v Speaker 4>water would come through over thousands of years and carve

760
00:44:41.039 --> 00:44:43.559
<v Speaker 4>the channel. And it was in one of these channels

761
00:44:43.840 --> 00:44:48.079
<v Speaker 4>that their bodies had been stacked. Clothing had mostly been removed,

762
00:44:48.639 --> 00:44:52.000
<v Speaker 4>jewelry was gone, and then the dirt and rocks had

763
00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:54.559
<v Speaker 4>been placed around them in a way that was quite

764
00:44:54.599 --> 00:44:58.159
<v Speaker 4>clever and caused the gravesite to just kind of blend

765
00:44:58.199 --> 00:45:04.880
<v Speaker 4>in with the surround. This hiker coming down from an attempt, we.

766
00:45:04.840 --> 00:45:06.119
<v Speaker 6>Don't know if it was successful or not.

767
00:45:06.519 --> 00:45:08.360
<v Speaker 4>I think he had made the summit of this very

768
00:45:08.400 --> 00:45:11.280
<v Speaker 4>isolated desert peak. And now he's crossing back towards his

769
00:45:11.960 --> 00:45:15.079
<v Speaker 4>vehicle and he sees a skull. He marked the spot

770
00:45:15.159 --> 00:45:19.079
<v Speaker 4>with a Karen. That was nineteen nineteen eighty eight when

771
00:45:19.119 --> 00:45:21.960
<v Speaker 4>I went out there and finally found the gravesite, that

772
00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:25.159
<v Speaker 4>Karen that he made of Rocks was still there, all

773
00:45:25.199 --> 00:45:30.079
<v Speaker 4>the bushes, everything was exactly looked exactly the same as

774
00:45:30.119 --> 00:45:31.920
<v Speaker 4>it had when the remains turned up.

775
00:45:32.119 --> 00:45:35.400
<v Speaker 2>Let's just says there's an opportunity to hear these messages.

776
00:45:35.599 --> 00:45:38.840
<v Speaker 5>Lucky Land Casino asking people what's the weirdest place you've

777
00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:39.559
<v Speaker 5>gotten lucky?

778
00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:42.639
<v Speaker 1>Lucky in line at the Delhi I guess ah, in

779
00:45:42.719 --> 00:45:44.719
<v Speaker 1>my dentist's office more than once.

780
00:45:44.760 --> 00:45:46.360
<v Speaker 4>Actually do I have to say?

781
00:45:46.559 --> 00:45:47.119
<v Speaker 6>Yes? You do?

782
00:45:47.320 --> 00:45:49.760
<v Speaker 1>In the car before my kid's PTA meeting?

783
00:45:49.960 --> 00:45:53.400
<v Speaker 5>Really yes, excuse me, what's the weirdest place you've gotten lucky?

784
00:45:53.559 --> 00:45:54.639
<v Speaker 6>I never win?

785
00:45:54.719 --> 00:45:56.159
<v Speaker 1>And tell well, there you have it.

786
00:45:56.199 --> 00:45:59.000
<v Speaker 5>You could get lucky anywhere playing at lucky landslots dot

787
00:45:59.039 --> 00:46:00.000
<v Speaker 5>com play for free.

788
00:46:00.159 --> 00:46:03.639
<v Speaker 1>Right now, are you feeling lucky? It was necessary eighteen

789
00:46:03.679 --> 00:46:05.800
<v Speaker 1>plus terms, conditions plus fifty against.

790
00:46:06.480 --> 00:46:08.880
<v Speaker 2>Now, what we did mention is what they do find

791
00:46:08.960 --> 00:46:13.320
<v Speaker 2>besides the bones, the shallow grave, and this obvious attempt

792
00:46:13.559 --> 00:46:17.320
<v Speaker 2>for this person to hide, and it was indicative of

793
00:46:17.360 --> 00:46:22.199
<v Speaker 2>somebody that was experienced in this kind of I guess

794
00:46:22.559 --> 00:46:24.559
<v Speaker 2>work to hide and conceal.

795
00:46:25.159 --> 00:46:25.840
<v Speaker 6>You said it was.

796
00:46:26.119 --> 00:46:28.840
<v Speaker 2>It seemed to parallel the work he had done as

797
00:46:29.119 --> 00:46:32.840
<v Speaker 2>in the military at Quantico. So let's talk about what

798
00:46:33.039 --> 00:46:36.000
<v Speaker 2>happens they find a handcuff key.

799
00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:36.440
<v Speaker 6>They do.

800
00:46:36.760 --> 00:46:39.559
<v Speaker 4>They find a little bit of remains of a little

801
00:46:39.559 --> 00:46:43.760
<v Speaker 4>bit of clothing, and the jewelry is gone. Berry's handcrafted

802
00:46:44.079 --> 00:46:48.159
<v Speaker 4>silver belt buckle that Arthur Korb had handcrafted his good friend.

803
00:46:48.519 --> 00:46:52.760
<v Speaker 4>All that is gone, and but they find handcuff key,

804
00:46:52.920 --> 00:46:54.559
<v Speaker 4>which says a lot.

805
00:46:54.960 --> 00:46:55.239
<v Speaker 6>Yes.

806
00:46:55.880 --> 00:46:59.159
<v Speaker 2>So now let's talk about the what this Pepe is

807
00:46:59.199 --> 00:47:02.440
<v Speaker 2>doing at this time in terms of his own family

808
00:47:03.079 --> 00:47:06.719
<v Speaker 2>and where is he located in the US, and then

809
00:47:06.760 --> 00:47:10.559
<v Speaker 2>talk about NIS which later becomes NCIS.

810
00:47:10.960 --> 00:47:14.719
<v Speaker 4>So Pepe his life does not go real well for

811
00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:20.840
<v Speaker 4>him after that interview in the General's office. He may

812
00:47:20.920 --> 00:47:23.320
<v Speaker 4>have already been up for a transfer. It wasn't clear,

813
00:47:23.440 --> 00:47:26.440
<v Speaker 4>but actually the General secretary told me the.

814
00:47:26.400 --> 00:47:28.960
<v Speaker 6>General wanted him out of there. I believed he was

815
00:47:29.599 --> 00:47:32.400
<v Speaker 6>guilty and wanted him out. I was able to interview.

816
00:47:32.079 --> 00:47:35.920
<v Speaker 4>The general as well, and Pepe ends up back at Quantico,

817
00:47:36.199 --> 00:47:40.519
<v Speaker 4>serves out his twenty years, and you know, he'd had

818
00:47:40.599 --> 00:47:45.760
<v Speaker 4>several wives, reportedly had some pretty troubled relationships with women.

819
00:47:46.440 --> 00:47:50.760
<v Speaker 4>And he decides at that point in his life, after

820
00:47:50.800 --> 00:47:54.679
<v Speaker 4>he's retired from the Marine Corps and has a pension

821
00:47:54.920 --> 00:47:58.719
<v Speaker 4>that he's going to after bouncing around the United States

822
00:47:58.760 --> 00:48:00.599
<v Speaker 4>a little bit kind of not set up in anyway,

823
00:48:00.599 --> 00:48:04.400
<v Speaker 4>he decides he's going to try his luck overseas.

824
00:48:04.519 --> 00:48:08.840
<v Speaker 2>Yes, and overseas. You talk about Cambodia, and if I

825
00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:13.360
<v Speaker 2>have mispronounced it, that phenomenon pay and what the condition

826
00:48:13.480 --> 00:48:18.199
<v Speaker 2>of Cambodia is in terms of poverty and lawlessness.

827
00:48:18.800 --> 00:48:24.239
<v Speaker 4>Cambodia in the early two thousands was like the wild West.

828
00:48:24.840 --> 00:48:27.760
<v Speaker 4>That's how people described it. You have to go back

829
00:48:27.800 --> 00:48:31.679
<v Speaker 4>to a couple of decades to the Khmer Rouge, the

830
00:48:31.760 --> 00:48:36.360
<v Speaker 4>killing fields, the mass genocide that had occurred, and just

831
00:48:36.440 --> 00:48:39.360
<v Speaker 4>the complete disruption of society that had gone on in

832
00:48:39.400 --> 00:48:43.920
<v Speaker 4>Cambodia and that post war environment. You had a country

833
00:48:43.960 --> 00:48:46.440
<v Speaker 4>that was reputed to be one of the most corrupt

834
00:48:46.519 --> 00:48:51.079
<v Speaker 4>in the world, with corrupt officials, the corrupt judicial system,

835
00:48:51.159 --> 00:48:54.599
<v Speaker 4>and kind of an anything goes atmosphere, and it became

836
00:48:54.719 --> 00:48:58.639
<v Speaker 4>known as a place where people who are sexually deviant

837
00:48:58.960 --> 00:49:02.239
<v Speaker 4>could pretty much get anything or anybody that they wanted.

838
00:49:02.800 --> 00:49:06.199
<v Speaker 4>And it was kind of a red flag according to

839
00:49:06.199 --> 00:49:09.000
<v Speaker 4>people who are involved in trafficking. When you see a

840
00:49:09.039 --> 00:49:15.360
<v Speaker 4>retired American man, or folks from Britain or Australia and such.

841
00:49:15.960 --> 00:49:19.519
<v Speaker 4>Moving later in life to Cambodia, it often meant that

842
00:49:19.599 --> 00:49:23.639
<v Speaker 4>they were interested in having sex with children.

843
00:49:24.159 --> 00:49:25.920
<v Speaker 6>Pepe had no history.

844
00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:28.440
<v Speaker 4>Of this that I could I could see it was

845
00:49:28.960 --> 00:49:30.679
<v Speaker 4>in the United States. It was clear he had some

846
00:49:30.760 --> 00:49:33.880
<v Speaker 4>troubled relationships, but you know, so to a lot of people,

847
00:49:33.880 --> 00:49:37.559
<v Speaker 4>although there were hints that the troubles that he had

848
00:49:37.599 --> 00:49:42.239
<v Speaker 4>in his relationships were more because of a deviant or

849
00:49:42.280 --> 00:49:45.519
<v Speaker 4>at least we might say kind of unusual or aggressive

850
00:49:45.599 --> 00:49:50.199
<v Speaker 4>sexual behavior. When he goes to Cambodia, Dan he was

851
00:49:50.280 --> 00:49:54.239
<v Speaker 4>actually a well respected guy when he landed there. He

852
00:49:54.800 --> 00:49:58.519
<v Speaker 4>was a retired marine officer. He had a master's in business.

853
00:49:58.519 --> 00:50:02.880
<v Speaker 4>He began teaching business classes at a local university. He

854
00:50:03.440 --> 00:50:08.480
<v Speaker 4>rented a upscale villa in a nice neighborhood of pnom Pen.

855
00:50:09.159 --> 00:50:12.920
<v Speaker 4>He daffed it with a gate guard, he had a cook.

856
00:50:13.639 --> 00:50:15.480
<v Speaker 6>But he started.

857
00:50:15.320 --> 00:50:21.440
<v Speaker 4>Bringing in young girls and making deals with their family

858
00:50:21.559 --> 00:50:26.280
<v Speaker 4>where he would essentially purchase these young girls as sex slaves.

859
00:50:26.880 --> 00:50:29.480
<v Speaker 6>And I'm not talking like young.

860
00:50:29.480 --> 00:50:34.159
<v Speaker 4>Like fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, I'm talking nine to twelve year olds.

861
00:50:34.480 --> 00:50:36.440
<v Speaker 4>And it was pointed out to me by one of

862
00:50:36.480 --> 00:50:40.639
<v Speaker 4>the one of the Christian aid organizations that helped rescue

863
00:50:40.719 --> 00:50:45.719
<v Speaker 4>these these women that are girls that they were like

864
00:50:45.840 --> 00:50:48.679
<v Speaker 4>the size of five or six year olds by US standards.

865
00:50:48.679 --> 00:50:52.719
<v Speaker 4>These were tiny girls, just genetically small, but also had

866
00:50:52.719 --> 00:50:55.159
<v Speaker 4>grown up into private environments where they probably just didn't

867
00:50:55.159 --> 00:50:57.679
<v Speaker 4>get that much to eat. So you've got these tiny

868
00:50:58.119 --> 00:51:02.960
<v Speaker 4>children that normal human being would feel compassion for. They

869
00:51:03.000 --> 00:51:07.639
<v Speaker 4>come out of poverty and extreme circumstances. A normal person,

870
00:51:07.679 --> 00:51:09.880
<v Speaker 4>you know, you'd want to give them a hug and

871
00:51:10.320 --> 00:51:11.280
<v Speaker 4>a solid meal.

872
00:51:11.519 --> 00:51:12.360
<v Speaker 6>But that's not.

873
00:51:12.280 --> 00:51:15.599
<v Speaker 4>What Pepe wanted to do. He made deals with the

874
00:51:15.639 --> 00:51:19.039
<v Speaker 4>families to take them in, to send them to school,

875
00:51:19.320 --> 00:51:23.559
<v Speaker 4>and provide them with books and a place to live

876
00:51:24.559 --> 00:51:28.639
<v Speaker 4>and food. But in exchange, he expected them to submit

877
00:51:28.719 --> 00:51:33.119
<v Speaker 4>to him with whatever he wanted, and what he wanted

878
00:51:33.440 --> 00:51:37.400
<v Speaker 4>was not kind and gentle. There are people who are

879
00:51:37.400 --> 00:51:42.000
<v Speaker 4>attracted to children who think that they're in love or might,

880
00:51:42.440 --> 00:51:45.760
<v Speaker 4>even though what they're doing is terrible and illegal, might

881
00:51:45.960 --> 00:51:50.880
<v Speaker 4>think that it's some sort of normalized behavior. But what

882
00:51:50.960 --> 00:51:55.360
<v Speaker 4>Pepe was doing was tying girls up and doing brutal

883
00:51:55.440 --> 00:51:59.280
<v Speaker 4>things to them that would leave them bleeding. He was

884
00:52:00.119 --> 00:52:04.320
<v Speaker 4>not behaving even within the norm of an abnormal and

885
00:52:04.360 --> 00:52:05.239
<v Speaker 4>deviant world.

886
00:52:05.400 --> 00:52:07.119
<v Speaker 6>He was way out on the edge.

887
00:52:07.599 --> 00:52:10.559
<v Speaker 2>He had victims living in his home. You talk about

888
00:52:10.599 --> 00:52:16.079
<v Speaker 2>five particular victims, and two being sisters. One precocious young

889
00:52:16.119 --> 00:52:19.239
<v Speaker 2>girl that always dreamed of being a singer, and supposedly

890
00:52:19.280 --> 00:52:22.519
<v Speaker 2>she resisted and that wasn't in the in the cards

891
00:52:22.559 --> 00:52:26.119
<v Speaker 2>for her, and she was abused and was screaming and

892
00:52:26.239 --> 00:52:30.199
<v Speaker 2>also supposedly bit him, bit his penis, and so she

893
00:52:30.360 --> 00:52:32.840
<v Speaker 2>was kicked out of this house. She was dropped off,

894
00:52:32.960 --> 00:52:38.639
<v Speaker 2>as you write, battered and bleeding, and a mission worker

895
00:52:39.119 --> 00:52:42.480
<v Speaker 2>you can tell us about this organization, how they noticed

896
00:52:42.480 --> 00:52:44.679
<v Speaker 2>that the girl being dropped off and then went and

897
00:52:44.760 --> 00:52:48.039
<v Speaker 2>spoke to her, and you say, from there the wheels

898
00:52:48.079 --> 00:52:49.760
<v Speaker 2>of justice proceeded.

899
00:52:50.119 --> 00:52:53.920
<v Speaker 4>Yes, there are non governmental organizations in Goo's, often faith

900
00:52:53.960 --> 00:52:58.320
<v Speaker 4>based organizations that go into these impoverished areas, Cambodia being

901
00:52:58.360 --> 00:53:00.840
<v Speaker 4>one of the main ones, in an effort to try

902
00:53:00.880 --> 00:53:06.239
<v Speaker 4>to identify the victims of sex trafficking, rescue them, and

903
00:53:06.360 --> 00:53:09.599
<v Speaker 4>bring some measure of hope in a place that can

904
00:53:09.719 --> 00:53:10.800
<v Speaker 4>often be hopeless.

905
00:53:11.280 --> 00:53:13.079
<v Speaker 6>And when this.

906
00:53:13.039 --> 00:53:19.440
<v Speaker 4>Girl was spotted by an undercover investigator, that's what led

907
00:53:19.480 --> 00:53:24.440
<v Speaker 4>to the unraveling of Pepe's sex slave world, because the

908
00:53:24.519 --> 00:53:27.559
<v Speaker 4>investigator saw this little girl that looked like she was

909
00:53:27.639 --> 00:53:30.960
<v Speaker 4>bleeding and something bad had happened to her, being dropped

910
00:53:30.960 --> 00:53:33.599
<v Speaker 4>off by a motorbike in a bad area. So he

911
00:53:33.639 --> 00:53:35.960
<v Speaker 4>approached her and said he or she. I don't know

912
00:53:36.039 --> 00:53:37.760
<v Speaker 4>if it was a man or a woman. I've never

913
00:53:38.079 --> 00:53:41.679
<v Speaker 4>been able to identify. IJM is very protective over the

914
00:53:41.719 --> 00:53:44.400
<v Speaker 4>identity of their people, so they don't give away names

915
00:53:44.599 --> 00:53:48.920
<v Speaker 4>or methodology. But the investigator, whoever it was, got the

916
00:53:48.960 --> 00:53:51.000
<v Speaker 4>girl to tell a story, and she was a smart

917
00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:53.360
<v Speaker 4>little girl. She was able to identify who he was

918
00:53:53.400 --> 00:53:56.000
<v Speaker 4>and show them where his villa was, and that set

919
00:53:56.039 --> 00:53:59.239
<v Speaker 4>the wheels in motion very quickly. It was so extreme

920
00:53:59.599 --> 00:54:03.800
<v Speaker 4>that even the Cambodian officials, who are known for kind

921
00:54:03.800 --> 00:54:05.760
<v Speaker 4>of looking the other way on some of this stuff,

922
00:54:06.119 --> 00:54:11.079
<v Speaker 4>they responded quickly and vigorously coordinated with agents from ICE

923
00:54:11.199 --> 00:54:15.679
<v Speaker 4>from the US embassy to identify this American and try

924
00:54:15.679 --> 00:54:16.519
<v Speaker 4>to take him down.

925
00:54:16.760 --> 00:54:19.639
<v Speaker 2>Let's do this as an opportunity to hear these messages.

926
00:54:19.840 --> 00:54:23.119
<v Speaker 5>Lucky Land Casino asking people what's the weirdest place you've

927
00:54:23.119 --> 00:54:24.199
<v Speaker 5>gotten Lucky.

928
00:54:24.159 --> 00:54:26.880
<v Speaker 6>Lucky in line at the Delhi I guess ah in

929
00:54:26.960 --> 00:54:30.320
<v Speaker 6>my dentist's office more than once, actually do I have.

930
00:54:30.280 --> 00:54:32.800
<v Speaker 5>To say yes, you do in the car before my

931
00:54:32.880 --> 00:54:34.000
<v Speaker 5>kid's PTA meeting?

932
00:54:34.199 --> 00:54:37.679
<v Speaker 1>Really? Yes? Excuse me? What's the weirdest place you've gotten lucky?

933
00:54:37.840 --> 00:54:40.400
<v Speaker 1>I never win? And tell well, there you have it.

934
00:54:40.440 --> 00:54:43.280
<v Speaker 5>You can get lucky anywhere playing at lucky landslots dot

935
00:54:43.280 --> 00:54:44.920
<v Speaker 5>com play for free right now?

936
00:54:45.079 --> 00:54:46.039
<v Speaker 1>Are you feeling lucky?

937
00:54:46.119 --> 00:54:48.079
<v Speaker 5>No, we're just necessary feaver'n do my long eighteen plus

938
00:54:48.159 --> 00:54:49.599
<v Speaker 5>terms conditions plus what everytins.

939
00:54:51.239 --> 00:54:54.519
<v Speaker 2>Now you introduced the some other very very interesting and

940
00:54:54.599 --> 00:55:00.000
<v Speaker 2>dedicated characters, Prosecutor Patricia Donahue and her team, and they're

941
00:55:00.159 --> 00:55:04.039
<v Speaker 2>trying to get convictions in a federal court in the US,

942
00:55:04.159 --> 00:55:08.280
<v Speaker 2>even though these crimes were committed in Cambodia, and because

943
00:55:08.320 --> 00:55:12.199
<v Speaker 2>on behalf of a congressman or in Hatch and others,

944
00:55:12.719 --> 00:55:15.239
<v Speaker 2>there was a law permitting even though there was no

945
00:55:15.360 --> 00:55:21.960
<v Speaker 2>official exchange with Cambodia illegally. Then, despite that that, they

946
00:55:22.000 --> 00:55:26.760
<v Speaker 2>would still prosecute crimes from Americans occurring in Cambodia.

947
00:55:26.960 --> 00:55:27.480
<v Speaker 6>That's right.

948
00:55:27.519 --> 00:55:31.840
<v Speaker 4>The Cambodian government wasn't always cooperative, and the system was

949
00:55:31.920 --> 00:55:34.679
<v Speaker 4>viewed as being one of the most corrupt in the world. Nonetheless,

950
00:55:34.760 --> 00:55:37.280
<v Speaker 4>there are good people who wanted to do the right thing,

951
00:55:37.320 --> 00:55:39.840
<v Speaker 4>and what they found out was going on behind the

952
00:55:39.840 --> 00:55:45.679
<v Speaker 4>walls of Pepe's villa was so horrific that they responded vigorously,

953
00:55:46.280 --> 00:55:50.719
<v Speaker 4>arrested him, rescued the girls. He was put into prison

954
00:55:50.760 --> 00:55:53.480
<v Speaker 4>in Cambodia, which is not a place fun place to

955
00:55:53.480 --> 00:55:58.159
<v Speaker 4>be hillatious conditions, and ultimately, though was handed over to

956
00:55:58.400 --> 00:56:00.840
<v Speaker 4>agents from ICE to be brought back to the United States,

957
00:56:00.880 --> 00:56:05.039
<v Speaker 4>to Los Angeles, specifically to stand trial on federal charges.

958
00:56:05.559 --> 00:56:08.760
<v Speaker 4>The reason that the US government felt they could bring

959
00:56:08.840 --> 00:56:12.519
<v Speaker 4>him back and charge him was because of this law

960
00:56:12.559 --> 00:56:15.719
<v Speaker 4>called the Protect Act that had been introduced by orn

961
00:56:15.800 --> 00:56:17.639
<v Speaker 4>Hatch and passed.

962
00:56:17.320 --> 00:56:19.119
<v Speaker 6>On an almost unanimous vote.

963
00:56:19.159 --> 00:56:22.000
<v Speaker 4>One of the few things that I think Congress got

964
00:56:22.039 --> 00:56:26.159
<v Speaker 4>almost everybody to agree on. And the problem that they

965
00:56:26.159 --> 00:56:32.280
<v Speaker 4>were addressing was US citizens taking advantage of the relative

966
00:56:32.400 --> 00:56:35.480
<v Speaker 4>wealth and opportunity that people in the United States have,

967
00:56:35.840 --> 00:56:38.920
<v Speaker 4>and you would have deviants who, by the standards of

968
00:56:38.960 --> 00:56:43.960
<v Speaker 4>some of these impoverished countries, were wealthy and powerful. And

969
00:56:45.039 --> 00:56:47.880
<v Speaker 4>the deviants would come with money, cash in their pocket

970
00:56:48.000 --> 00:56:52.559
<v Speaker 4>and the ability to hire translators and know their way around,

971
00:56:52.880 --> 00:56:57.360
<v Speaker 4>and they would dial into the underage sex scene there

972
00:56:57.840 --> 00:57:01.599
<v Speaker 4>and stories started getting out and it was horrifying and

973
00:57:01.639 --> 00:57:03.920
<v Speaker 4>it didn't reflect well in the United States. So the

974
00:57:04.000 --> 00:57:09.000
<v Speaker 4>thought was, let's regulate this conduct by making it illegal

975
00:57:09.280 --> 00:57:13.519
<v Speaker 4>foreign American who travels in foreign commerce to engage in

976
00:57:13.599 --> 00:57:17.199
<v Speaker 4>certain kinds of just off the charts acts. They didn't

977
00:57:17.239 --> 00:57:20.480
<v Speaker 4>purport to outlaw, you know everything. I mean, it's not

978
00:57:20.840 --> 00:57:24.760
<v Speaker 4>the same scope of what might be considered illegal here

979
00:57:24.800 --> 00:57:30.880
<v Speaker 4>in the United States, but underage sex crimes in particular,

980
00:57:31.000 --> 00:57:34.800
<v Speaker 4>or what they were targeting. And it was under that

981
00:57:34.880 --> 00:57:38.239
<v Speaker 4>Act that Pepe was brought back to the United States

982
00:57:38.280 --> 00:57:42.960
<v Speaker 4>and placed in the Metropolitan Detention Center as the government

983
00:57:43.039 --> 00:57:47.480
<v Speaker 4>scrambled to identify the girls, get them to the United

984
00:57:47.519 --> 00:57:50.800
<v Speaker 4>States so they could testify at trial and put together

985
00:57:50.880 --> 00:57:52.519
<v Speaker 4>a case under the Protect Act.

986
00:57:53.480 --> 00:57:56.719
<v Speaker 2>You're right that they were successful. It was an incredible

987
00:57:57.800 --> 00:58:01.719
<v Speaker 2>trial where they have these little girls being cross examined

988
00:58:01.920 --> 00:58:06.960
<v Speaker 2>quite vigorously by defense attorneys trying to shake them on

989
00:58:07.000 --> 00:58:10.800
<v Speaker 2>their stories. Very very interesting. We have to sort of

990
00:58:10.800 --> 00:58:15.800
<v Speaker 2>fast forward that they get this extraordinary verdict two hundred

991
00:58:15.800 --> 00:58:20.079
<v Speaker 2>and ten years all consecutive sentencing, so a real absolute

992
00:58:20.559 --> 00:58:25.239
<v Speaker 2>denouncement of this person by the jury, and then everybody

993
00:58:25.320 --> 00:58:28.320
<v Speaker 2>is awarded. They've shurtain people get awards for this conviction,

994
00:58:28.559 --> 00:58:31.519
<v Speaker 2>and then they get the news that it's been through

995
00:58:31.559 --> 00:58:35.519
<v Speaker 2>appeal that there has to be another trial. Briefly, tell

996
00:58:35.599 --> 00:58:39.599
<v Speaker 2>us what happens and the difference, as you write, when

997
00:58:39.639 --> 00:58:44.199
<v Speaker 2>these witnesses grown up, much more grown up now testify again,

998
00:58:44.719 --> 00:58:48.599
<v Speaker 2>and because of the me too movement, cross examination is

999
00:58:48.719 --> 00:58:50.119
<v Speaker 2>much different, isn't it right?

1000
00:58:50.679 --> 00:58:53.840
<v Speaker 4>When the girls first are brought over, they're just little girls.

1001
00:58:54.000 --> 00:58:57.559
<v Speaker 4>And one of the key witnesses wasn't even twelve years

1002
00:58:57.559 --> 00:59:00.000
<v Speaker 4>old yet when she testified in two thousand and eight

1003
00:59:00.079 --> 00:59:04.079
<v Speaker 4>at the first trial. But fast forward, there's all these

1004
00:59:04.159 --> 00:59:09.199
<v Speaker 4>legal machinations that go on. Ultimately, the verdicts get thrown

1005
00:59:09.280 --> 00:59:15.679
<v Speaker 4>out on the technical argument that the statute the protect

1006
00:59:15.719 --> 00:59:20.760
<v Speaker 4>Act was targeting travelers and he had set up a

1007
00:59:20.840 --> 00:59:24.760
<v Speaker 4>villa and was living there, so he wasn't a traveler.

1008
00:59:24.960 --> 00:59:28.360
<v Speaker 4>So the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in all their wisdom,

1009
00:59:28.840 --> 00:59:33.199
<v Speaker 4>decides to throw out the convictions despite the overwhelming evidence

1010
00:59:33.280 --> 00:59:36.599
<v Speaker 4>of all this misconduct. They say, yeah, okay, yeah, okay,

1011
00:59:36.639 --> 00:59:39.840
<v Speaker 4>Sure he raped and abused and tortured children, but he

1012
00:59:39.960 --> 00:59:43.119
<v Speaker 4>wasn't traveling. He was actually situated there, so we're just

1013
00:59:43.199 --> 00:59:45.199
<v Speaker 4>going to throw it all out. Well, the government didn't

1014
00:59:45.239 --> 00:59:49.480
<v Speaker 4>give up. They came back charged him under different statutes

1015
00:59:50.159 --> 00:59:53.719
<v Speaker 4>that didn't require them to prove that he was traveling,

1016
00:59:54.039 --> 00:59:58.239
<v Speaker 4>and took the case to trial again in twenty twenty,

1017
00:59:58.679 --> 00:59:59.559
<v Speaker 4>twenty twenty one.

1018
01:00:00.760 --> 01:00:03.480
<v Speaker 2>And what was a verdict then at that time.

1019
01:00:05.400 --> 01:00:09.559
<v Speaker 4>Is Pepe is found is found guilty again, and he's

1020
01:00:09.960 --> 01:00:16.760
<v Speaker 4>finally sentenced and again sentenced to a two hundred and

1021
01:00:17.000 --> 01:00:18.440
<v Speaker 4>ten years.

1022
01:00:18.280 --> 01:00:21.519
<v Speaker 2>It's very interesting. One of the sisters was the first

1023
01:00:21.559 --> 01:00:24.199
<v Speaker 2>to testify. She was nine years old when she first

1024
01:00:24.239 --> 01:00:27.400
<v Speaker 2>went to Devilla, twelve years old at trial and then

1025
01:00:27.559 --> 01:00:30.519
<v Speaker 2>then at finally at trial. She had been adopted by

1026
01:00:30.519 --> 01:00:34.000
<v Speaker 2>an American family, educated and was a US citizen, and

1027
01:00:34.159 --> 01:00:38.239
<v Speaker 2>very powerful testimony by this now twenty five year old woman.

1028
01:00:38.360 --> 01:00:39.440
<v Speaker 6>What a moment.

1029
01:00:39.679 --> 01:00:43.880
<v Speaker 4>She was such a bright little girl. He had nicknamed

1030
01:00:43.880 --> 01:00:46.719
<v Speaker 4>her Smiley. She was only nine years old, as you indicate,

1031
01:00:46.760 --> 01:00:49.199
<v Speaker 4>when he was committing sex crimes against her. She was

1032
01:00:49.280 --> 01:00:51.960
<v Speaker 4>one day shy of her twelfth birthday. When she testified

1033
01:00:51.960 --> 01:00:54.920
<v Speaker 4>at the first trial and the second trial, she was

1034
01:00:54.960 --> 01:00:57.760
<v Speaker 4>twenty five years old. She had been adopted by an

1035
01:00:57.760 --> 01:01:02.360
<v Speaker 4>American family. She was a girl of beauty and grace

1036
01:01:02.440 --> 01:01:07.159
<v Speaker 4>and gravitas. Well spoken English. When she walked into the courtroom,

1037
01:01:07.280 --> 01:01:11.679
<v Speaker 4>I mean people's jaws dropped. This little girl was transformed

1038
01:01:11.679 --> 01:01:16.800
<v Speaker 4>into a twenty something meter woman of enormous dignity. And

1039
01:01:16.960 --> 01:01:21.239
<v Speaker 4>to see her matter of factly delivering her testimony, explaining

1040
01:01:21.280 --> 01:01:25.000
<v Speaker 4>what happened in such an even voice, matter of fact

1041
01:01:25.079 --> 01:01:29.239
<v Speaker 4>and with such gravitas, and again I come back to dignity.

1042
01:01:29.280 --> 01:01:35.119
<v Speaker 4>This enormous presence that she had was just stunning, absolutely stunning.

1043
01:01:35.440 --> 01:01:40.719
<v Speaker 4>And the shift in power between Pepe who had abused

1044
01:01:40.920 --> 01:01:43.119
<v Speaker 4>her as a nine year old and now you've got

1045
01:01:43.239 --> 01:01:48.199
<v Speaker 4>him at defense table with Marshalls hovering nearby, and he's

1046
01:01:48.320 --> 01:01:53.199
<v Speaker 4>kind of on the defensive, you know, a prisoner being

1047
01:01:53.280 --> 01:01:56.840
<v Speaker 4>put on trial there and this woman just explaining what

1048
01:01:57.119 --> 01:02:00.599
<v Speaker 4>he did to her. Powerful court drama.

1049
01:02:01.519 --> 01:02:05.639
<v Speaker 2>Yes, absolutely, you talk about just at the end as well,

1050
01:02:06.079 --> 01:02:11.079
<v Speaker 2>you get the reaction from Deputy Leon Boyer and also

1051
01:02:11.480 --> 01:02:15.639
<v Speaker 2>Louise's son, the really only surviving member of this small

1052
01:02:15.719 --> 01:02:19.719
<v Speaker 2>family since the parents had died. The Burman family parents

1053
01:02:19.719 --> 01:02:23.760
<v Speaker 2>had died, the Michael Westerman, Louise's son. His reaction and

1054
01:02:23.880 --> 01:02:28.119
<v Speaker 2>Leon Boyer's reaction, well, they both felt an enormous sense

1055
01:02:28.159 --> 01:02:31.320
<v Speaker 2>of closure. When Pepe was once again sentenced to two

1056
01:02:31.440 --> 01:02:32.639
<v Speaker 2>hundred and ten years.

1057
01:02:33.639 --> 01:02:35.440
<v Speaker 6>But you want me to tell you something that's not

1058
01:02:35.599 --> 01:02:36.559
<v Speaker 6>in the book. Sure.

1059
01:02:36.760 --> 01:02:40.880
<v Speaker 4>So, at the time the book was finished and published,

1060
01:02:41.440 --> 01:02:44.559
<v Speaker 4>and it's about to be released. As of the time

1061
01:02:44.599 --> 01:02:47.719
<v Speaker 4>of my last edit, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

1062
01:02:47.760 --> 01:02:51.840
<v Speaker 4>had affirmed the convictions, and once again we all thought

1063
01:02:51.880 --> 01:02:55.239
<v Speaker 4>the case was over. But there's a tiny little footnote

1064
01:02:55.320 --> 01:02:58.599
<v Speaker 4>right now that could be a very big footnote. Pepe's

1065
01:02:58.679 --> 01:03:02.440
<v Speaker 4>lawyers psitioned for a review to the US Supreme Court.

1066
01:03:02.880 --> 01:03:06.599
<v Speaker 4>We all assumed that the Supreme Court would just summarily

1067
01:03:06.639 --> 01:03:10.119
<v Speaker 4>deny the petition, but just in the last few days,

1068
01:03:10.440 --> 01:03:14.079
<v Speaker 4>the US Supreme Court has instead asked the government to

1069
01:03:14.159 --> 01:03:17.760
<v Speaker 4>file a response. Now, this doesn't mean they're going to

1070
01:03:17.840 --> 01:03:20.360
<v Speaker 4>grant review, and it would be a long way from

1071
01:03:20.400 --> 01:03:24.480
<v Speaker 4>here to the case being reversed, but it remains within

1072
01:03:24.920 --> 01:03:28.679
<v Speaker 4>the realm of possibility. I actually haven't even broken that

1073
01:03:28.760 --> 01:03:31.280
<v Speaker 4>news to some of the people who are emotionally involved

1074
01:03:31.280 --> 01:03:33.400
<v Speaker 4>in the case. I don't know if they can take

1075
01:03:33.719 --> 01:03:37.280
<v Speaker 4>yet another curveball in a case that's had so many Dan.

1076
01:03:38.000 --> 01:03:43.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's incredible to me to see the cases that

1077
01:03:43.880 --> 01:03:47.880
<v Speaker 2>are the most involving the most serious crime, which is murder.

1078
01:03:48.239 --> 01:03:53.639
<v Speaker 2>To have such vigorous defense despite knowing really essentially the

1079
01:03:53.679 --> 01:03:55.920
<v Speaker 2>guilt of their client, it's not well, geez, maybe I

1080
01:03:55.960 --> 01:04:00.519
<v Speaker 2>think the guy's guilty or he's a minor. A very

1081
01:04:00.599 --> 01:04:04.639
<v Speaker 2>very vigorous defense, including plus examination of children.

1082
01:04:04.840 --> 01:04:06.880
<v Speaker 6>I thought it was very very interesting.

1083
01:04:07.280 --> 01:04:10.519
<v Speaker 4>Well, you know, as somebody who's a lawyer by background,

1084
01:04:10.599 --> 01:04:15.719
<v Speaker 4>I understand that the adversarial system cannot function unless you

1085
01:04:15.800 --> 01:04:19.199
<v Speaker 4>have people who are willing to vigorously defend even the

1086
01:04:19.199 --> 01:04:25.239
<v Speaker 4>most heinous and unforgivable kinds of people and crimes. They're

1087
01:04:25.400 --> 01:04:28.800
<v Speaker 4>entitled to a vigorous defense. Otherwise the system breaks down.

1088
01:04:29.119 --> 01:04:31.679
<v Speaker 4>That said, I wouldn't be able to do it. There's

1089
01:04:31.679 --> 01:04:35.559
<v Speaker 4>no way I could defend this guy. It wasn't just

1090
01:04:35.679 --> 01:04:39.199
<v Speaker 4>the girl's testimony, Dan, there were hundreds and hundreds of

1091
01:04:39.239 --> 01:04:41.920
<v Speaker 4>explicit photos that he had taken of them. There were

1092
01:04:41.920 --> 01:04:44.559
<v Speaker 4>photos of him naked with one of the girls. There

1093
01:04:44.599 --> 01:04:48.880
<v Speaker 4>was corroborating evidence. There's no question he did these acts.

1094
01:04:49.000 --> 01:04:55.639
<v Speaker 4>And I find it a bit remarkable and troubling that

1095
01:04:56.719 --> 01:05:01.079
<v Speaker 4>so much legal attention has been paid to the fine

1096
01:05:01.360 --> 01:05:05.320
<v Speaker 4>parsinge of these statutes to see whether all the technical

1097
01:05:05.440 --> 01:05:13.519
<v Speaker 4>requirements about travel have been met. His latest argument is that, well,

1098
01:05:14.719 --> 01:05:18.039
<v Speaker 4>the government said he came back several times, you know,

1099
01:05:18.079 --> 01:05:20.199
<v Speaker 4>to the United States, and they charged him in connection

1100
01:05:20.320 --> 01:05:23.960
<v Speaker 4>with two trips where he came home and then went

1101
01:05:24.039 --> 01:05:27.639
<v Speaker 4>back to Cambodia. And it's unlawful to cross a state

1102
01:05:27.719 --> 01:05:32.480
<v Speaker 4>line with intent to commit crimes of that nature against children.

1103
01:05:32.800 --> 01:05:36.679
<v Speaker 4>Me it seems pretty clear. But he has this theory

1104
01:05:36.920 --> 01:05:40.159
<v Speaker 4>that's bolstered by an old Supreme Court case. Well, if

1105
01:05:40.719 --> 01:05:44.679
<v Speaker 4>the travel itself is innocent, even though he's returning with

1106
01:05:44.840 --> 01:05:49.239
<v Speaker 4>intent to commit heinous crimes against children, that doesn't make

1107
01:05:49.280 --> 01:05:53.119
<v Speaker 4>it a crime. If the purpose of the trip was innocent.

1108
01:05:53.239 --> 01:05:57.199
<v Speaker 4>So that if he came home from Cambodia to go

1109
01:05:57.280 --> 01:06:02.679
<v Speaker 4>to his son's graduation or on another instance, his daughter's wedding,

1110
01:06:02.679 --> 01:06:06.079
<v Speaker 4>well that's an innocent trip. And even though when he

1111
01:06:06.199 --> 01:06:10.440
<v Speaker 4>went back, the reason, one of the dominant motivating reasons

1112
01:06:10.480 --> 01:06:14.000
<v Speaker 4>to go back was to rape and abuse and torture children,

1113
01:06:14.639 --> 01:06:17.519
<v Speaker 4>and he had that intent, the jury found when he

1114
01:06:17.920 --> 01:06:20.119
<v Speaker 4>got on the airplanes to go back, that's what he

1115
01:06:20.199 --> 01:06:23.880
<v Speaker 4>was intending to do. Nonetheless, that intent that he had

1116
01:06:24.000 --> 01:06:26.239
<v Speaker 4>right here in the United States on the tarmac at

1117
01:06:26.360 --> 01:06:30.119
<v Speaker 4>lax isn't enough to make it a crime under federal

1118
01:06:30.119 --> 01:06:33.440
<v Speaker 4>statutes that talk about crossing the border with that kind

1119
01:06:33.440 --> 01:06:36.360
<v Speaker 4>of intent, And it appears he may have a prayer

1120
01:06:36.440 --> 01:06:41.400
<v Speaker 4>on that argument. Now, look, I'm all for technical arguments

1121
01:06:41.440 --> 01:06:44.360
<v Speaker 4>and applying the law the way the law is written,

1122
01:06:44.360 --> 01:06:46.559
<v Speaker 4>but there is that there are times when things just

1123
01:06:46.599 --> 01:06:49.760
<v Speaker 4>go too far that just to me, defies common sense,

1124
01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:52.360
<v Speaker 4>and I sure hope the Supreme Court sees through it.

1125
01:06:52.840 --> 01:06:55.320
<v Speaker 2>Let's get back to before I Let You Go. Is

1126
01:06:56.119 --> 01:06:59.519
<v Speaker 2>we haven't mentioned that one season in prison like many

1127
01:06:59.760 --> 01:07:03.880
<v Speaker 2>in mates, apparently supposedly according to witnesses. And there's two witnesses,

1128
01:07:03.920 --> 01:07:08.679
<v Speaker 2>one named Walters, who talks about what Pepe said once

1129
01:07:08.719 --> 01:07:12.239
<v Speaker 2>he's in prison regarding the Berman murders. And you write

1130
01:07:12.239 --> 01:07:16.400
<v Speaker 2>about it because it's very very interesting, seems to be

1131
01:07:16.719 --> 01:07:21.280
<v Speaker 2>very plausible details contained just before I Let You Go

1132
01:07:21.760 --> 01:07:25.400
<v Speaker 2>take us back, according to Walter, According to Pepe, what

1133
01:07:25.599 --> 01:07:27.559
<v Speaker 2>happened at that campground.

1134
01:07:28.039 --> 01:07:30.880
<v Speaker 4>So I published a cover story in twenty fifteen for

1135
01:07:31.039 --> 01:07:33.800
<v Speaker 4>LA Weekly about the case, and this made the rounds

1136
01:07:33.920 --> 01:07:38.360
<v Speaker 4>at the prison, Federal prison where Pepe was incarcerated, and

1137
01:07:38.519 --> 01:07:43.199
<v Speaker 4>his cellmate stepped forward and contacted me, and then another

1138
01:07:43.320 --> 01:07:47.199
<v Speaker 4>guy did the same another inmate, and they both said

1139
01:07:47.239 --> 01:07:51.079
<v Speaker 4>that Pepe had been bragging about the murders as a

1140
01:07:51.079 --> 01:07:55.199
<v Speaker 4>way of elevating his status. Keep in mind, anybody convicted

1141
01:07:55.239 --> 01:07:58.440
<v Speaker 4>and imprisoned in connection with the abuse of children is

1142
01:07:58.639 --> 01:08:03.159
<v Speaker 4>very low on the prism totem pull. In fact, in

1143
01:08:03.199 --> 01:08:07.119
<v Speaker 4>some prisons that alone can get you in physical peril,

1144
01:08:07.599 --> 01:08:09.320
<v Speaker 4>not so much in the federal system.

1145
01:08:09.599 --> 01:08:11.559
<v Speaker 6>But it makes you the lowest.

1146
01:08:11.159 --> 01:08:13.360
<v Speaker 4>Of the low, and he was, according to them, he

1147
01:08:13.440 --> 01:08:17.079
<v Speaker 4>was trying to elevate his status by saying I'm a murderer.

1148
01:08:17.119 --> 01:08:21.359
<v Speaker 4>You know, I'm a badass, and that he talked about

1149
01:08:21.520 --> 01:08:25.239
<v Speaker 4>the killings. And they came forward with details that were

1150
01:08:25.239 --> 01:08:30.199
<v Speaker 4>not public about the case. Maybe they were good guesses,

1151
01:08:30.399 --> 01:08:32.680
<v Speaker 4>and these guys could have just been playing to see

1152
01:08:32.720 --> 01:08:35.960
<v Speaker 4>if they could get some favorable treatment or whatever. But

1153
01:08:36.760 --> 01:08:41.920
<v Speaker 4>I interviewed them by phone several times, corresponded by email

1154
01:08:42.039 --> 01:08:46.479
<v Speaker 4>also with them, and then a veteran in county sheriff's

1155
01:08:46.479 --> 01:08:49.520
<v Speaker 4>investigator went and met with them and concluded that he

1156
01:08:49.600 --> 01:08:53.319
<v Speaker 4>thought they were credible guys who had strong reasons for

1157
01:08:53.560 --> 01:08:58.640
<v Speaker 4>coming forward. But the in county district attorney decided there

1158
01:08:58.760 --> 01:09:03.159
<v Speaker 4>just wasn't enough to prosecute the case. And honestly, as

1159
01:09:03.199 --> 01:09:08.039
<v Speaker 4>a lawyer, I can understand knowing that you have a

1160
01:09:08.079 --> 01:09:12.359
<v Speaker 4>strong case and you think you've identified the perpetrator isn't

1161
01:09:12.399 --> 01:09:16.399
<v Speaker 4>the same as going in front of a jury and

1162
01:09:17.079 --> 01:09:20.479
<v Speaker 4>having to deal with the passage of time, the lack

1163
01:09:20.560 --> 01:09:23.439
<v Speaker 4>of physical evidence, etc. And I can understand why he

1164
01:09:23.520 --> 01:09:25.880
<v Speaker 4>passed on the case and decided not to prosecute, even

1165
01:09:25.880 --> 01:09:29.000
<v Speaker 4>though I was very disappointed that charges weren't filed, because

1166
01:09:29.000 --> 01:09:31.119
<v Speaker 4>you know, over the course of this investigation, I had

1167
01:09:31.159 --> 01:09:35.760
<v Speaker 4>come to feel that the investigators were probably right. And

1168
01:09:36.359 --> 01:09:38.560
<v Speaker 4>when they told me they had fingered the guy that

1169
01:09:38.600 --> 01:09:40.720
<v Speaker 4>they thought did it, I thought it seemed to me

1170
01:09:40.840 --> 01:09:45.199
<v Speaker 4>that they probably had. Again, you know, I'm not a

1171
01:09:45.319 --> 01:09:49.960
<v Speaker 4>judge or jury, and he's never been charged, let alone convicted,

1172
01:09:50.439 --> 01:09:53.800
<v Speaker 4>but they felt strongly that they had the guy.

1173
01:09:55.079 --> 01:09:57.239
<v Speaker 2>I want to thank you very much Doug Kerry for

1174
01:09:57.359 --> 01:10:01.520
<v Speaker 2>coming on and discussing your incredible Bin Murders Unraveling the

1175
01:10:01.560 --> 01:10:05.159
<v Speaker 2>Mohabi Desert's most mysterious unsolved crime. For those people that

1176
01:10:05.239 --> 01:10:08.119
<v Speaker 2>might want to check out more about this title, tell

1177
01:10:08.199 --> 01:10:10.800
<v Speaker 2>us how they might need social media or do you

1178
01:10:10.800 --> 01:10:11.479
<v Speaker 2>have a website?

1179
01:10:11.640 --> 01:10:14.560
<v Speaker 4>Awesome, Well, all of the above kind of what an

1180
01:10:14.600 --> 01:10:18.159
<v Speaker 4>author has to do these days. So my website is

1181
01:10:18.239 --> 01:10:21.399
<v Speaker 4>Doug Carrey, which is just Doug.

1182
01:10:20.960 --> 01:10:23.359
<v Speaker 6>Kaari dot com.

1183
01:10:23.720 --> 01:10:27.079
<v Speaker 4>I've got a Facebook page at Doug Carrey Author or

1184
01:10:27.159 --> 01:10:30.560
<v Speaker 4>Doug Carry Author, and then an Instagram at Doug Carry Author.

1185
01:10:30.640 --> 01:10:34.119
<v Speaker 4>So I'm on Instagram, Facebook, and then a web page.

1186
01:10:34.239 --> 01:10:36.960
<v Speaker 4>And you can find information about how to publish a

1187
01:10:37.000 --> 01:10:39.600
<v Speaker 4>book The Burman Murders if you google it. It's in

1188
01:10:40.039 --> 01:10:43.840
<v Speaker 4>Arns and Noble and Amazon and various other other stores.

1189
01:10:43.880 --> 01:10:46.119
<v Speaker 6>It's all over the web. The reviews have been pretty good.

1190
01:10:46.720 --> 01:10:50.079
<v Speaker 4>I'm real happy with how the book is performing and

1191
01:10:50.159 --> 01:10:52.760
<v Speaker 4>what people are saying about it. And it would, you know,

1192
01:10:52.800 --> 01:10:56.239
<v Speaker 4>it would be my honor if your listeners checked it out.

1193
01:10:56.560 --> 01:10:59.279
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, Doug Carrey for this interview. The

1194
01:10:59.319 --> 01:11:03.960
<v Speaker 2>Burman Murder is unraveling the Mojave Desert's most mysterious unsolved crime.

1195
01:11:04.239 --> 01:11:05.840
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much for this interview. And you have

1196
01:11:05.880 --> 01:11:07.319
<v Speaker 2>a great evening, and good night,
