WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:11.320 Beginning in nineteen twenty six, a string of murders targeting 2 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:14.839 women renting out rooms in their homes began appearing across 3 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:20.120 the United States and even into Canada. Each victim had 4 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.879 allowed a man into their home, and each was killed 5 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:27.280 in nearly identical circumstances. At the time, there was no 6 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.760 system in place to track crimes across jurisdictions, and the 7 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:35.640 cases remained disconnected. It wasn't until much later that investigators 8 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:38.200 began to understand that they were dealing with a single 9 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:44.520 individual moving from city to city. Eventually, descriptions of this 10 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:49.560 individual began to come out. He was hunched over, physically strong, 11 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:55.320 with oversized hands. Now this description would soon lead to 12 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:00.320 an ominous nickname that would go down in serial killer history. 13 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:04.519 This is the story of the man known as the 14 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:05.560 Gorilla Killer. 15 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:10.840 My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked 16 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:15.680 and Grim, a true crime podcast. Warning the following. 17 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:43.400 Material audience listener discretion. I'm going to be honest today, 18 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:46.280 one hundred percent honest, because I think it's important for 19 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.239 people to be honest. I'm in a funk. I am 20 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:51.439 in a funk. I feel like depressed. The last couple 21 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:54.879 of days. Just I think weather winter is getting to me. 22 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:58.120 It's still it's an all depression. It is snowing right 23 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:00.799 now here I want so. 24 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:04.640 Bad, but in reality it's only April seven, So it's like, 25 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:08.319 I don't feel like it's super abnormal that it's snowing 26 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:09.080 right now. 27 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:12.360 For our area. Maybe, but we have a lot more 28 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:15.400 cold and snow than typical, and I'm just I'm so 29 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:16.159 done with it. 30 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:19.240 Well, I think what it really is is that Mother 31 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:21.439 Nature has been toying with us, and we've had a 32 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:25.199 lot of springs and then it's gone fall springs. 33 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:28.240 Yeah, I think mother Nature's kind of a bitch. I 34 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:29.319 think she's kind of a bit. 35 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:31.199 At the moment. I guess she's being that way to 36 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.000 Northern BC people. 37 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:38.680 Definitely, she can fuck off. Oh my goodness, I'm sorry. 38 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:40.400 I'm just being honest. 39 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:43.039 I know. Well, right before we hit record, its like, okay, like, 40 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:46.759 what can we do today to make you feel a 41 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.599 little better? What would be something that excites you? Maybe 42 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:51.840 we should figure that out. Yeah, so we might go 43 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:55.280 to a virtual golf simulator. 44 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:59.759 Go simulate summer. That's what we're gonna do. 45 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:03.240 Yeah, because we do have a place open that's outside, 46 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:05.599 But do you want to be doing that when it's snowing? 47 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:08.759 So maybe going indoors where you're going to have it 48 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:11.199 some nachos or something might be a little better. 49 00:03:11.479 --> 00:03:14.280 Yeah, for sure, for sure. But I just wanted to 50 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:16.120 say that and be honest with you, just to let 51 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:19.759 you know that everyone goes through it, Everyone has their ups, 52 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.960 their downs, keep fighting. I'm going to keep fighting too. 53 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.319 I'm going to get to happiness here soon. Not that 54 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:26.080 I'm not happy. 55 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.879 I'm just in a funk, you know, Yeah, I mean, 56 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.840 what would it be if we were just always happy? 57 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:34.680 I feel like sometimes you have to be in those 58 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:37.439 funks because it makes the happy moments even better. 59 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:39.360 There you go. That's a good way of putting it. 60 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.599 I like that like that a lot. I'm not going 61 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:44.680 to do any fancy transition today because I'm too much 62 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:46.800 in a funk. I'm just going to go straight into 63 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:50.439 thanking our amazing patron members who signed up this week. 64 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:53.520 We have a big list. We have Courtney A net Bro, 65 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:59.280 Gabriel Herbine, Raven Locke, Meta organ Works, Bonnie mathany A, 66 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.039 Neetra Don and jam A Lama ding dong Hey, Red 67 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:09.840 Gussie Susan McLean, Killie Graves, Christy Massey, Leanne Jeensen, and 68 00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:14.240 Joe h It's good list names. It good list of 69 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:15.439 some amazing people. 70 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:18.319 Yeah. Wow, I can't actually believe that we're we still 71 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:21.199 get that many on some weekly basises. 72 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.560 I know the support is crazy. I think basis is right. 73 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.639 Yeah, yeah, so that's awesome. 74 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:28.879 I like that. Thank you, yes, thank you so much. 75 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:31.480 And there was a little bit of content that I 76 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:33.759 promise last episode it is going to be coming out 77 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:37.319 over there today and yeah, of course there's there's lots 78 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:38.600 over there. I'm just going to leave it at that. 79 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:39.040 How's that. 80 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.839 Yeah, that last story was pretty wild, but this one 81 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:47.519 sounds I don't know, as a female, I feel like 82 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:48.399 it sounds scary. 83 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:51.600 I suppose, Oh it's scary. It's a serial killer. And yeah, 84 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:55.279 he's targeting women in a very certain manner. It's it's 85 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:57.920 not pretty Okay. Are you ready for it? Though? 86 00:04:58.160 --> 00:04:59.079 Yeah, let's do it. 87 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.319 Okay. Before before we get into the episode, I got 88 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:03.519 to tell you this is a part one of a 89 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:06.399 two parter story. We forgot to say that, So I 90 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:08.000 had to go back and record this and I'm plunking 91 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:09.639 it in for you. Guys, to give you a heads up, 92 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:12.519 this is part one of the Gorilla Killer. So with 93 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:15.639 that being said, let's get into it. Well, in the 94 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:18.720 mid nineteen twenties, there wasn't exactly a word for what 95 00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:22.800 was happening. Murders were investigated, you know, one at a time, 96 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:26.240 and if a body was found in one city, then 97 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:28.079 it was assumed it had nothing to do with the 98 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:32.120 case that was happening and unfolding in another city. Police 99 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:34.959 simply worked within their own jurisdictions, you know, building those 100 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:38.160 cases based on what was directly in front of them. 101 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:41.120 If something similar happened somewhere else, it was well, it 102 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:44.360 was coincidence, that was it. Now. On top of that, 103 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.959 travel was certainly common. People moved between cities without much documentation. 104 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.319 Someone could arrive in one town, rent a room, stay 105 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:54.839 a few days, and leave without much of a trail 106 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:58.720 behind them. There was no centralized system that was tracking 107 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:03.279 anyone's movement, no shared databases connecting any sort of investigations, 108 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:06.360 and no reason to assume that a crime being committed 109 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:10.680 in California might be connected to one, say in Oregon 110 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:14.920 or beyond. And for people living through that exact scenario, 111 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:21.040 everything felt local a woman goes missing, a landlady found 112 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:24.439 dead in her home. A suspect is briefly there but 113 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:29.560 then disappears. Each event was treated as its own tragedy, 114 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:33.279 contained within the boundaries of that single city. There was 115 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:37.040 no consideration of a broader pattern, or no larger framework 116 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:40.040 to place it in, just a series of incidents that 117 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:44.600 didn't quite make sense. Now. It wasn't that signs weren't there. 118 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:47.079 It was just no one had seen them to come 119 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:50.879 together like this before. But before we get too deep 120 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.000 into it, I should start at the very beginning. Earl 121 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:58.240 Leonard Ferrell was born on May twelfth, eighteen ninety seven, 122 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.759 in San Francisco, California. He would later become known by 123 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.800 his mother's surname Nelson, but at birth he was Earl 124 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:09.000 Leonard Ferrell. He was the son of Francis Nelson and 125 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:13.319 James Carlos Ferrell. His life began in a home that 126 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.639 was already very unstable to start with. Both of his 127 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:20.199 parents were infected with syphilis, and both would be dead 128 00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:23.279 before he was old enough to remember them. His mother 129 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:25.639 died when he was still an infant, and his father 130 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:29.279 followed not long after, leaving him orphaned. Before he turned 131 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:30.319 only two years old. 132 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:32.639 Oh man, that is harsh. 133 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:37.000 Yeah, and at that time, syphilis was a very dangerous disease. 134 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:41.160 WHOA Okay, Now, we don't know a lot about his parents, 135 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:44.079 but what we do know is that their relationship appears 136 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:48.240 to have been troubled even before Earle was conceived. One 137 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:50.879 of the more detailed sources described James as a heavy 138 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:54.120 drinker who spent money on alcohol and sex workers, and 139 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:58.759 says Francis was left in increasingly desperate circumstances while pregnant 140 00:07:59.160 --> 00:08:02.920 and then a course caring for the baby alone. So 141 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:06.879 by the time Earle was born, Francis was already seriously ill, 142 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:10.199 and the discovery that she had advanced syphilis at the 143 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:14.800 time during her labor only confirmed how bleak the situation was, 144 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:17.680 so much so that there was an immediate concern that 145 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:22.720 the infection could be passed along to Earl himself. Though 146 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:26.000 the accounts agreed that he survived infancy without any obvious 147 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:30.319 signs of congenital infections. What mattered more in the short 148 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:34.039 term was that his mother was no longer in a 149 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:36.720 condition to raise him, at least certainly not for long, 150 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:41.080 because she passed away. Now, after both parents did die, 151 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.360 Earle was taken in by his mother's family in San Francisco. 152 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:49.960 There he was raised mostly by his maternal grandmother, Jenny Nelson, 153 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:52.919 and other family members there were as well, Like you know, 154 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:55.759 in the household, there was his grandfather Lars Nelson as well, 155 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:00.879 plus their younger children, Willis and Lillian. Religion also seem 156 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:02.799 to have been a very large part of that environment 157 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:04.919 where he was brought up, though this is one of 158 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:07.960 the places where sources start to differ from one another. 159 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:13.039 Several accounts describe the household as very deeply Pentecostal and 160 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:16.039 very strict, and they say that Earl was raised around 161 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:20.000 strong religious ideas from a very young age. Now. At 162 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.159 the same time, some also mention the fact that his 163 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:26.320 childhood religious upbringing could have been overstated in many of 164 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.240 the retellings of this case. So the safest way to 165 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.279 tell this is religion was present in his home, but 166 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:36.919 the extent is mostly unknown now. Even as a young child, 167 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:40.840 sources described Earl as very withdrawn. He was moody and 168 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.200 strange in ways that stood out to a lot of 169 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:47.000 the people around him. Some accounts say that he talked 170 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.200 to people no one else could see that He quoted 171 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.879 scripture very loudly, and often. He would leave for school 172 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:57.080 clean and ready for the day, but he would return 173 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:02.080 home wearing different clothes, ones that were dirty, ratty, and torn. 174 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:06.960 He was often described as isolated and for some reason 175 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:12.039 seemingly resistant to normal social interaction, and many adults even 176 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:15.639 noticed something was off with him. He attended school in 177 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:19.919 San Francisco, but that didn't last long. At just seven 178 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.440 years old, he was expelled. The exact reasons very depending 179 00:10:23.480 --> 00:10:26.200 on the account, but they all point to the same direction. 180 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:30.399 His behavior was disruptive and it was concerning enough for 181 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:33.320 the school to decide that he could not remain there. 182 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:34.840 At seven years old. 183 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:36.360 At seven years old. 184 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.559 I feel like that is something you don't hear very often. 185 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:42.200 Yeah. Now, of course he did go back to other 186 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.559 schools and stuff, but that's definitely a big old red flesh. 187 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:47.399 Yeah, at that age that young. 188 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:51.600 Now at home, similar patterns were playing out. He had 189 00:10:51.639 --> 00:10:57.159 difficulty interacting with other children and seemed to withdraw into himself. Reportedly, 190 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:01.679 he would speak very loud to people, but as I mentioned, 191 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:05.759 people were not there. He would also fixate on ideas 192 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:09.720 and repeat them obsessively. There were also physical traits that 193 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:13.639 people noticed too. Now, Earle was not particularly tall by 194 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.919 any sense, but he developed unusually large hands and feet 195 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:20.960 for his size. Combined with his now stocky build that 196 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:23.879 was growing, it gave him a physical appearance that didn't 197 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:26.320 match his age. And at the time it was just 198 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.240 another detail, but later on in life it would become 199 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:32.240 part of how his witnesses would identify him. 200 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:34.720 There was another detail that made him stand out and 201 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:37.799 not be this similar as everyone else. 202 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.679 Exactly. He couldn't blend in quite as easy. Now. Food 203 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.799 was another area where he stood out to One account 204 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:48.720 described him refusing normal meals and instead mixing some kind 205 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:52.559 of scraps together and eating far more than expected for 206 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:56.159 a child his age. I even read one report, though 207 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.360 this one didn't seem I couldn't back up this account, 208 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:02.720 but it's interesting to note at least this idea. The 209 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:05.879 report stated how he would smother his food in olive 210 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:08.840 oil and consume it without utensils. 211 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:13.080 Okay, that's interesting. I actually feel like that would not 212 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:14.000 be good at all. 213 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:17.440 Yeah, I don't think so either. Now, again, that's a 214 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:20.759 report I could not confirm, but it at least helps 215 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:21.799 betray the idea. 216 00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:24.399 But maybe it was just I don't know, playing devil's 217 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.360 advocate here, that his body needed something right, and so 218 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:32.080 he gravitated to olive oil. And that's like what fueled him, 219 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:35.720 or potentially, who knows, whatever was in there his body craved. 220 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:38.639 It's possible. It's a good way of looking at it. Actually, 221 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:41.279 your body does tend to crave things that well, it 222 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:44.399 needs write certain vitamins and foods and minerals and stuff. 223 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:47.960 So it makes sense now whether these were isolated behaviors 224 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:50.840 or part of a very much so larger pattern, it's 225 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:53.399 hard to say, but they added to that growing sense 226 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:57.240 that something about Earl was different and not in the 227 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.799 way that people understood. Now, at the age of around 228 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.600 ten or eleven, something happened that would be remembered by 229 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:09.279 nearly every single account of Earl Nelson's life. A serious 230 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:13.000 accident had left him unconscious for days and marked a 231 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:17.759 very clear shift on how he was described afterwards. Now, reportedly, 232 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:21.240 Earl was riding his bike through San Francisco when he 233 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.440 was showing off in the streets to some other kids, 234 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.240 and during this he ended up having an accident where 235 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:30.919 he collided with a car. Now, the impact was severe, 236 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:33.919 as he struck his head on the pavement hard enough 237 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:37.919 to cause a significant skull injury. Reportedly, it left a 238 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.879 visible wound near his temple, and he was taken into 239 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:43.600 the hospital very quickly, and for a time it wasn't 240 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.879 clear if he was even going to survive there. He 241 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:51.639 remained unconscious in the hospital for around six days, and 242 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:55.480 for a child, that kind of head trauma is extremely serious, 243 00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:58.639 and the expectation from doctors at the time was if 244 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:02.879 he even did live, he might not fully recover. But 245 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:07.639 against that though, Earle did regain consciousness and he recovered 246 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:11.279 enough to return to daily life, but the people around 247 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:14.159 him would later say that something had changed in him. 248 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:18.200 He was weird before, but he got a little more 249 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:22.720 odd now. Afterwards, he began to experience a lot of 250 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:27.320 ongoing issues. He complained of frequent headaches and memory problems. 251 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:31.440 There were reports of what were described as spells, moments 252 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:34.720 where he seemed disconnected or not fully aware of what 253 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:39.240 was happening around him. His behavior also became a lot 254 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:42.440 more erratic, where he had already been very withdrawn and 255 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:46.279 difficult before, while those traits now appeared much more pronounced. 256 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:50.240 He was described even more as being moody and unpredictable 257 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:54.159 and very much so more difficult to engage with. The 258 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:57.639 combination of his earlier behaviors and the changes following the 259 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:00.879 accident had shaped the way people saw him. He wasn't 260 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.840 just a quiet or troubled kid anymore. He was someone 261 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:10.320 who made people feel uneasy. Now. Unfortunately, as Earl moved 262 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:13.960 into his teenage years, the instability had been building through 263 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.360 his childhood and it didn't level out. It expanded into 264 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:21.159 new areas of his life too. By his early teens, 265 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:23.679 he had started spending a lot more time out of 266 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:26.879 the structure of his family home, particularly in areas of 267 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:30.799 San Francisco that exposed him to things most kids his 268 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:35.759 age wouldn't have been. Around. The Barbary Coast, known at 269 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:39.519 the time for its bars, brothels and nightlife, became one 270 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:42.919 of the places that he frequented. It was there that 271 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:48.159 he began drinking alcohol regularly and engaging in early sexual experiences. 272 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:52.639 And he's what just early early teens. 273 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.159 Yeah, oh my goodness, gracious. 274 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:57.639 Yes, so we're talking thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old. 275 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.799 That's pretty scary to be around that stuff at that age, 276 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:04.159 because obviously it's not going to do you well at all? 277 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:07.600 Certainly not. And of course as well, you have to 278 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:10.519 consider the fact that, well, this is a child and 279 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:15.600 he's engaging with these behaviors with adults. Okay, so that 280 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:19.600 alone can do a lot for someone's psychological development. 281 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:20.120 Yep. 282 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:22.799 Now It's important to note as well that this wasn't 283 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:28.519 occasional behavior. He was often drinking to excess, visiting these brothels, 284 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.200 and spending time and environments that were very chaotic and 285 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:35.600 unregulated on a very frequent basis. And at some point 286 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:40.080 during these years he also contracted a venereal disease, which 287 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:42.120 would stay with him and become another part of his 288 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.080 medical and personal history. But I digress. 289 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:45.840 Now. 290 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:48.879 While all this was going on, Earle continued to struggle 291 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:52.080 with anything resembling any sort of stability in his life. 292 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:56.480 He didn't stay in school, he didn't build consistent relationships, 293 00:16:56.960 --> 00:16:59.639 and he didn't move towards any kind of structured path 294 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:01.960 the way most people around him would have expected, or 295 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:07.160 at least hoped. Instead, he drifted between odd jobs and 296 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:12.559 periods of inactivity, never holding on to anything for very long. Now, 297 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:16.599 as he continued growing as a young man does physically, 298 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:20.920 he was developing in a different direction. He became strong, 299 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:26.759 noticeably so. Multiple accounts described him as having unusually powerful 300 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:31.839 an unusually powerful upper body. He could perform physical feats 301 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:35.960 that people remembered, like walking on his hands for extended 302 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:40.799 distances or lifting up objects with his teeth alone. Combined 303 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:44.119 this with his large hands his stocky frame, it gave 304 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:48.400 him a very intimidating and distinctive presence, making him very 305 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:52.359 memorable to those he encountered. Now, as he moved further 306 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:56.200 into his late teens, the gap between him and a 307 00:17:56.279 --> 00:18:01.559 normal life widened. Earle wasn't setting into work, family, or 308 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:05.880 even a community. He was drifting between places and increasingly 309 00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:11.640 between legal boundaries as well. On July twenty fifth, nineteen fifteen, 310 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.039 at just eighteen years old, Earl was arrested for robbery. Now, 311 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:19.119 the charge came out of Plymouth County, California, and it 312 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:24.559 marked his very first serious entry into the criminal justice system. See. 313 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:26.599 Up to that point, there had been signs that he 314 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:31.200 was struggling sure socially, mentally, and even behaviorally, but this 315 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:35.720 was different. This was a clear, documented crime, and in fact, 316 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:39.319 it resulted in a prison sentence. He was sent to 317 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:42.440 San Quentin state prison and given a two year sentence 318 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:45.400 for his crime. Now, for someone his age, it was 319 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:49.079 a very significant moment. Prison was not just a punishment. 320 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.400 It was supposed to be a turning point, a place 321 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:53.920 of reform, where someone might come out with the clear 322 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:57.319 direction or at least a stronger sense of consequences. But 323 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:01.720 in Earle's case, though, that didn't happen. He was paroled 324 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:06.440 and released on September sixth, nineteen sixteen, after serving thirteen 325 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:10.680 months and twelve days. But whatever the expectation that was 326 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:14.640 there that he would, you know, stabilize after prison, right, 327 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:18.759 that didn't hold. Instead, the pattern of drifting and instability 328 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:23.839 continued almost immediately. In March of nineteen seventeen, less than 329 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:26.759 a year after his release, he was arrested once again, 330 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:32.599 this time under the alias Clark for petty larceny. Now 331 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:35.720 he was sentenced to another six months in jail. The 332 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:38.559 use of an alias is a small detail, but it 333 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:41.680 was one that showed up repeatedly after that later on 334 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:44.319 in his life. Even at this stage, he was already 335 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:47.440 moving between identities and not staying tied to one name 336 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:50.880 or place for very long. Now, two years later, in 337 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:54.559 March of nineteen nineteen, he was arrested once again, this 338 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:57.839 time in Los Angeles for burglary, and like before, he 339 00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:01.039 was using a different name, which was Feral. He was 340 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:03.599 held in the Los Angeles County Jail, but this time 341 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:08.839 something different happened. After serving about five months, Earl actually 342 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:13.200 escaped prison, and it introduced a new pattern, not just 343 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:19.480 committing crimes but actively avoiding confinement. Now around this same time, 344 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.720 he also attempted to enter the military, not once, but 345 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.839 multiple times. He enlisted in the Army and then later 346 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:29.599 in the Navy, but each attempt followed the same sort 347 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:32.160 of pattern. He would join, remain there for a short time, 348 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:36.759 and then disappear. In some cases he deserted it outright, 349 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:40.559 in others he was discharged after showing signs of instability. 350 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:43.920 Though by the end of this period, Earl Nelson had 351 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:48.559 already served time in prison, been arrested for multiple times 352 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:52.920 under different names, and escaped custody, while also failing to 353 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.160 remain in any sort of structured environment, even like the military. 354 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:00.559 By nineteen eighteen and into nineteen nineteen, the pattern of 355 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.400 his behavior and his life had become very clear. Short 356 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:10.599 periods of structure followed by instability followed by disappearance. But 357 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:14.359 around this time something else changed, Something changed in how 358 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:17.359 authorities began to view him. He was no longer just 359 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:20.799 a repeat offender. He was now being seen as someone 360 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:26.279 who was mentally unstable as well. After his repeated issues 361 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.880 with the military and his erratic behavior, he came into 362 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:34.680 contact with medical professionals who began evaluating him very closely. Now, 363 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:37.880 a naval psychiatrist eventually described him as being in what 364 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:44.000 they called a continual psychotic state, a term used at 365 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:47.880 the time to describe someone who was fundamentally unstable in 366 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:51.680 a way that wasn't expected to improve. Because of this, 367 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:56.000 he was soon committed to a mental institution, and this 368 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.559 marked the beginning of another cycle that would repeat itself 369 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:02.720 over it over for the next several years. It would 370 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:07.839 go something like confinement, escape, return, and then release, and 371 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:12.440 so Earle repeatedly escaped care Some accounts suggested he got 372 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.799 out multiple times in relatively short periods, and rather than 373 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:19.960 being consistently brought back or more tightly controlled, there were 374 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.240 moments where the staff simply failed to enforce strict containment, 375 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:26.680 and this created a situation where he was moving in 376 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:29.480 and out of custody without any sort of long term 377 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:33.960 solution being put into place. Now. In between these periods 378 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:38.200 of confinement, he attempted to live something resembling a normal life, 379 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:41.279 at least for him anyways. At one point he did 380 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:43.599 find some work and he was employed as a janitor 381 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:47.839 in a hospital, and during that time, in about nineteen nineteen, 382 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:52.319 he met and married a woman named Mary Martin, and 383 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:56.039 the age difference between them was very significant. He wasn't 384 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:58.880 the older one, though she was decades older than he 385 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:03.160 was most accounts, she was close to forty years his senior, 386 00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:07.839 and the relationship itself was unstable from the very beginning, like. 387 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:10.720 There was a forty year age difference, or she. 388 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:13.960 Was forty, there was a forty year age difference. She 389 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:18.200 was forty years older than him by most accounts. Oh, whoa, okay, yeah, 390 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.079 that's a lot. That's a big age gap. 391 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:23.000 Because I know, especially back then, I don't think the 392 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:26.480 age gaps didn't seem as big of a deal, right, Yeah, 393 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:29.960 but generally did seem like the man was older. But 394 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:31.720 forty that's significant. 395 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:35.279 That is very significant. Yeah, and especially for this time, 396 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:37.440 like you said, the age gaps weren't very much a thing, 397 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:40.640 and it was typically the men who were older, which 398 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:45.359 in hindsight is just predatory behavior. But I digress. But yeah, 399 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:46.839 she's forty years older than him. 400 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:48.920 Okay, And I just have to also say, this is 401 00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:53.079