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1:02

Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers and I'm Brett.

1:05

And the story I have for you today takes place in a quiet town outside of New York city, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

1:12

A beloved wife and mother vanishes seemingly into thin air, leaving her friends and family wondering where she could have gone and why she left in the first place.

1:22

Her disappearance sends shock waves through the community and over a decade passes before a tragic discovery leaves everyone with more questions than answers.

1:32

This is the story of Patricia Viola.

1:35

It's

1:35

4:30

1:35

PM

1:35

on

1:35

February

1:35

13th,

1:35

2001

1:35

and

1:35

40

1:35

year

2:12

old. Jim Biola is arriving home from work.

2:14

He and his family live on a quiet street in pagoda, New Jersey.

2:18

And as Jim walks up to the door, he's expecting another normal night with his family.

2:23

Since it's the day before Valentine's day, Jim had actually left work early to pick up some gifts for pat before he headed home.

2:30

And so he walks up to the house. He's like trying to balance his briefcase.

2:33

Those wrapped presents in one hand while opening the door with the other.

2:36

Once he gets inside, he's expecting to see pat to be there, like always during this time of day.

2:42

But instead he struck by something odd.

2:45

The house alarm is beeping signaling that it had been activated.

2:49

You know, it's one of those alarms that gives you are like 20 or 30 seconds to like punch in the code before it notifies the security company.

2:56

Yeah. So Jim immediately puts everything down rushes to the keypad to enter the code all while thinking like where is pat?

3:01

Because the Viola's don't usually keep the alarm set while they're in the house.

3:05

They only set it either when they leave or when they go to sleep.

3:07

And again, pat is almost always there when Jim gets home, The

3:12

alarm being set in general already indicates that pat isn't home, which is out of the ordinary exactly.

3:19

According to a disappeared episode, that aired back in 2011, titled missing Valentine, pat and her family all have very consistent schedules and Pat's routine for the entirety of their marriage, always included her being home.

3:30

And Jim got off work. So this is super strange in his mind, but he doesn't jump to the worst.

3:36

Once Jim enters the code and disarms the security system, he turns and notices something else kind of out of place.

3:43

The key that they usually keep left in the deadbolt of their backdoor is laying on the kitchen table.

3:49

Once again, this is weird.

3:51

So out of curiosity, he goes to check if Pat's coat and purse or where she usually leaves them.

3:57

Now her coat is gone, but her purse is still there with her ID, her cell phone keys and concerningly her epilepsy medication.

4:06

And Is her epilepsy pretty severe?

4:09

Yes, actually Pat had been diagnosed with epilepsy at 12 years old and she takes two medications throughout the course of the day in order to prevent seizures.

4:17

And really, it was so bad that according to that disappeared episode, pat had her driver's license suspended a few months prior as a result of a really bad grand mall seizure that landed her in the hospital.

4:28

Oh Yeah. That sounds really serious.

4:32

Yeah. I mean, obviously she ended up recovering, but the doctor told her not to drive for several months afterwards.

4:35

So now finding this medication is extra important because when Jim finds it, it's almost five o'clock and pat is due to take her evening meds really soon.

4:46

So the fact that she left without them is enough to make Jim start to feel uneasy.

4:51

I mean, is it possible that she just stepped out to run to the store real quick?

4:54

I'm going to be back soon. I mean, you said she left most of her personal belongings in the house.

4:58

I mean, she could have just taken some cash and walk to a convenience store nearby.

5:02

Right? Well, that's what Jim's hoping for right now.

5:05

I mean, you know, she's a 42 year old woman.

5:07

She can handle herself, but as the minutes and hours come and go, that uneasy feeling that he has starts to just build.

5:14

So just to be safe and put his mind to ease, he starts to call around a family and friends, but phone call after phone call turns up no clues as to where she might be.

5:25

Box five reported that Jim even goes out and drives the routes where she might've gone with his high beams on searching for any sign of her.

5:33

But he comes back with nothing.

5:35

Now he can sense in his gut that something is really wrong with this.

5:39

She wouldn't just leave without telling anyone.

5:41

So with no other lead for him to track down.

5:44

And now in full blown panic mode, Jim calls the pagoda police at 11:58 PM to report his wife missing two officers are dispatched immediately to the house and they file an official report that evening.

5:56

Well, I'm Honestly kind of surprised I didn't make him wait 24 or 48 hours before filing anything.

6:02

Yeah. This is different than what we normally see. But I think that they're taking this so seriously because she's at high risk without her medication.

6:08

No, unfortunately there's not much they can do that night since by the time they take the statements after midnight, but the police start working the case.

6:16

First thing the next morning as they start the investigation, the very first thing police try to do is nail down a timeline of events for the morning and afternoon of the 13th.

6:27

Jim tells them that the family had an entirely normal morning.

6:32

Everyone had been up on time. Jim got ready for work.

6:35

Like he always did. He was out the door by six 30.

6:38

And when speaking to police, he said, he remembers pat seeming a little down or maybe sad, but it wasn't enough to make him even worry that something was wrong.

6:45

She just seemed a little melancholy that morning.

6:47

Now they learned that the Viola's had two kids, Christine who's 13 and Michael who just turned 10 and they left next to go to school.

6:55

And then pat left shortly after them at eight 30.

6:58

And they're able to verify this because she set the alarm around eight 30 that morning, like she was leaving.

7:03

And from there, they're able to confirm that she did make it to her son's school, where she worked as a volunteer librarian during the day.

7:10

And Did anyone at the school notice anything off While

7:13

she's there? No, not at all.

7:15

According to information, Jim Viola would later post on Patricia Viola, missing.homestead.com.

7:18

When law enforcement talks to other volunteers and staff at the school, a few of them say that she may have been a little quieter than usual, but there were like zero red flags for them.

7:30

Police confirm with the school that pat left at 1130 and they even tracked down a mailman who said that he waved to pat on her way home at about 1140.

7:38

Once they begin searching Pat's home.

7:41

Police discover a message on the Viola's answering machine from earlier that morning.

7:46

And it's from Pat's mom in this voicemail.

7:49

Her mom says that the Viola security company had called her asking if everything was okay at Jim and Pat's house, because apparently the alarm had been tripped.

7:59

Why did they call Pat's mom? They try to contact Jim and pat first.

8:04

So they did it. It's protocol for them to call the owners first to check that everything was okay, but Jim was at work, I guess couldn't take the call.

8:10

Pat was at school. She had a cell phone, but didn't really like, keep it on or check it.

8:14

So they weren't able to reach either of them.

8:16

So they actually got in touch with their emergency contact, which in this case was Pat's mom.

8:20

And then Pat's mom contacted them. Got it.

8:23

Right. Makes Sense. Now the security company also contacted the police who did send an officer to the home to check for signs of a break-in.

8:29

But upon not seeing anything that would indicate that something bad had happened, there were like no broken windows, no open doors, nothing.

8:36

They just left.

8:38

Is it possible that someone was in the house and they just didn't see like maybe someone had picked a lock on their door or something.

8:44

So I don't know. This is like, honestly, my biggest problem with how people respond to security system, like alarms going off, because I've had that happen here before where like I would set it off and the police come by and like, just get a peek around.

8:57

And I'm like, oh my God, if someone was holding me hostage in here, you're just going to like leave.

9:01

Right. I don't know. So they literally just walked the perimeter.

9:03

They didn't go inside. So it is totally possible that you're right.

9:07

Someone pick the lock, someone's waiting inside, but they say that everything looked calm and they basically tell the security company, we checked it out.

9:13

Nothing's wrong. And from what I gathered, like the ultimate theory that they think happened is that maybe pat didn't fully close the door on her way out that morning, which made the alarm go off.

9:23

Okay. But then the door would be Open,

9:26

right? It might've been open. I get the next person that comes home is actually pat herself before Jim, before anything.

9:31

So if the door had been left, open a little bit or wasn't locked or something, we don't know because Patricia's not here to tell us when police get ahold of Pat's mom to see if she ever connected with pat after she left the voicemail, she tells them yes.

9:45

And this is what I mean, pat had actually come home.

9:47

She called her back at 1230, reassured her that everything was okay.

9:51

And she said that during that call, her daughter was totally normal while it's unclear what pat did after that call to her mom.

9:59

The last thing police are able to confirm is that she actually did reset the alarm at 1:11 PM.

10:06

And this to them indicates that she is leaving the house around that time.

10:11

So this is when she would have closed the door, locked the door.

10:13

And that's how Jim would have found the house.

10:15

So police then go speak to neighbors, but no one reports seeing, or even hearing anything suspicious at all that day Denisa Superville and Scott Fallon reported for the Herald news that police begin stopping buses and contacting taxi companies to see if anyone had picked her up thinking that, you know, she likely had left willingly since they found no sign otherwise so far, they also even contact nearby airports to see if she had flown that day.

10:42

But phone call after phone call, stop after stop gives them no leads.

10:46

As the hours tick by the pressure to find pat is building.

10:50

She has now missed several doses of her epilepsy medication.

10:54

So the risk of her having a seizure is increasing by the second.

10:58

And since pat is at a severe risk police ramp up the search efforts and bring in a police dog to try and track her scent, thinking that they could at least get an idea of where she went by picking up her trail, if she left the house, but the dogs aren't able to pick up anything.

11:13

They even go so far as to do an aerial search over local rivers and marshes.

11:17

But after a few days with nothing to go on, it almost seems like she disappeared into thin air.

11:24

I know police haven't suspected foul play at this point, but I mean, after a few days with no answers, they've got to be wondering if someone else was involved her disappearance.

11:33

Right? Well, as a matter of fact, they are police have two primary theories at this point.

11:38

So one is that she left on her own. And two is that she met with foul play.

11:43

And since they aren't getting anywhere with the first option, they begin considering the second that someone made pat disappear and they think that person responsible might be closer to home than they realize this

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14

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day

13:01

trial.

13:09

So remember when I said that Jim had left work early that day, pat went missing to go get some Valentine's day gifts.

13:15

Yeah. I don't know about anybody else, but that little detail definitely stuck out to me.

13:19

Yeah. Well, when police start investigating for possible criminal activity, that detail sticks out to them too.

13:24

Now Jim has been cooperating fully with the police the entire time, but as part of their investigation, they have to take a look at those closest to pat and consider all the options.

13:34

So several days into the investigation, police decide to bring Jim in for questioning.

13:40

According to the disappeared episode, police questioned Jim for several hours.

13:45

They ask him about every part of his day.

13:48

Why did he leave early from work?

13:49

Can anyone verify where he was?

13:51

Did he go anywhere other than the store to buy those gifts?

13:54

And they also question him about his relationship with pat and if they were having any marital issues, but after a grueling few hours and a polygraph police are confident that he had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance.

14:07

But just because Jim isn't a suspect doesn't mean police don't learn anything important from his interview.

14:14

In fact, they get a ton of information about pat that tells them a lot about the days leading up to her going missing.

14:22

Importantly, Jim tells them pat had been experiencing quite a few stressors in her life before she went missing.

14:29

What kind of stressors?

14:30

Well, for one Jim's mom had been really sick recently.

14:35

And since Jim worked full time, pat was kind of the one who had to take care of her.

14:40

And while this wasn't the biggest burden in the world, it was kind of just one more person that she had to take care of.

14:46

You know? So while caring for Jim's mom was manageable for pat.

14:50

Jim tells police that a much more crushing blow came just a few weeks before her disappearance.

14:55

Remember how I said that Pat's license had been suspended a few months prior to her going missing?

15:00

Yeah. Well, according to reporting by Karen Mahabir for north jersey.com, her seizures had been becoming more frequent before that one that caused her license to be taken away.

15:09

And that suspension was supposed to last until January, as long as she didn't have any more seizures.

15:15

But in that disappeared episode, Jim said that the doctor had just extended that license suspension by another three months, right before Patricia had gone missing.

15:24

And this really bothered pat because it meant that she couldn't do the things she loved, like driving her kids to and from school or the activities, or, I mean, she can't even go to the mall by herself for like, at this point we're talking, it could be six months.

15:37

I actually completely kind of get this.

15:39

My dad had a health issue and when I was 16, he had his license suspended for about a year because of his health.

15:46

And it really took a lot of independence away.

15:48

Like he couldn't, he had to depend on us on like me a 16 year old to drive him to work every day.

15:55

Yeah. Now, in addition to all of this, like that's not enough.

15:58

Jim also says that his sister Donna had recently moved in with the family after a nasty breakup with a boyfriend.

16:04

And even though it was only supposed to be temporary, some of Donna's habits were like really grinding pat getting under her skin.

16:13

Well, and also just like how's guesting staying that long, but what kind of habits?

16:18

Well, what bothered pat the most was Donna's smoking police learned from Jim that Donna would smoke in the house.

16:23

And so basically after Donna left everyday, pat would go in and do her best to make the cigarette smell, go away.

16:30

She would try vacuuming. She would use air fresheners, that kind of thing.

16:33

And I can imagine that pat saw Donna is sort of just, again, another person she's having to look after and clean up after and worry about in her home on top of every other member of her family.

16:44

But the thing is like, while the smoking was definitely annoying, again, definitely getting under her skin, pat hadn't said anything to Donna about it again, I think in her mind, she's thinking, okay, this is just temporary.

16:56

I just have to get over this like hump however long this is going to be.

16:59

So she was basically just putting up with it for the time being that is until February 12th.

17:05

This is the day before she went missing.

17:07

That's when she found cigarette burns on the guest bedspread and this like set her off because now not only is the bedspread ruined, this is a major fire hazard.

17:20

Yeah. And I mean, her two kids are in this house.

17:23

I can totally see how this would kind of upped the ante and she'd be incredibly bothered by this.

17:29

I would be furious. So she obviously talks to Jim about it.

17:32

And pat had a plan to confront Donna because to your point, like you're putting my kids at risk.

17:37

Now this isn't just like a new sense, but the, you know, they decided, okay, let's, we're going to talk to her the next day.

17:42

We're going to like fix all that. Okay.

17:44

Why not confront her right then?

17:45

Well, the two are actually Supposed to go to a party that evening hosted by Pat's best friend one net.

17:51

So I think they decided to just let it rest and come back to it the next morning, just to like, again, let's have a nice night.

17:56

Let's not have this family fight right now.

17:58

And then we'll address it when we wake up, which Makes

18:01

sense. But how was she at the party?

18:03

I mean, I know if it were me, like you wouldn't, you would be able to tell something was stewing is doing immediately to any of her friends noticed that her acting strange or anything They

18:12

actually did. And it's more than just her acting strange.

18:15

There was a huge red flag at the party, but Jim didn't even know about it.

18:21

Police only learned about it when they talked to Twan net, she tells police that she had a conversation with pat when she came over for the party that just left her feeling totally shaken too.

18:33

When that says in an interview for disappeared, that when Jim and pat first arrived, everything seemed normal.

18:38

So she didn't get that red flag that like, oh, she's like pissed about something.

18:41

Pat looked put together. She looked cheery.

18:44

But once they made their way inside, pat pulled her aside and was like, we need to talk right now.

18:50

So at being a good friend immediately took her into another room away from the other party guests and was shocked when pat immediately just like fell apart.

19:00

Twana tells police that between her tears, pat told her something was very, very wrong.

19:08

Okay. Did she say what that something was?

19:10

That's the thing Thing she didn't to when it says that pat wouldn't give her any details as to what was going on.

19:18

Despite her asking repeatedly what it was.

19:21

Pat only said that it was too complicated to go into at the party, but promised her that she would tell her everything if they could go away somewhere together for a few days.

19:31

I mean, she went so far as to ask one at, to cancel her vacation that she had coming up.

19:36

Like that is how badly she needed her friend to help her get through whatever was happening and do to Annette's credit girl immediately agreed.

19:44

She's like, I'm going to cancel everything. I'm going to drop everything.

19:46

And she promised path that they could go anywhere.

19:48

She wanted to together.

19:49

Which to me kind of makes me feel like this isn't just about Donna or her mother-in-law It

19:55

feels so much bigger and almost scarier.

19:58

Yeah. I mean like, don't you feel like if we were at a party, I'd just be like, I just feel so overwhelmed.

20:02

Like, you know, Eric's mother is doing this and his sister's doing this and I don't know that that feels like something you can unload, but to be like, I can't even tell you it's too complicated.

20:10

I mean, unless she was having bigger feelings about her life and marriage, I don't know.

20:14

I guess I'm making some assumptions about her relationship with TriNet, but like I would assume that she already knows that Donna is living with pat and that Jim's mom is already ailing and pat has to take care of her.

20:28

Like, those are things that, you know, interfere with your daily life kind of change up the schedule and your really good friends would already know this.

20:33

So this has to be something so much bigger, so much scarier.

20:37

I

20:37

mean,

20:37

God,

20:37

what

20:37

could

20:37

it

20:39

be? Well, what pat says next is even more concerning.

20:43

She says that she wanted to, to look after her no matter what happened to her, what?

20:51

Yeah. And at this point when it says she began crying and again, she asked pat like, what is going on?

20:57

But pat only reinforced that she couldn't say anything, which these are like the conversations.

21:01

I think this is the crime junkie life rule, right?

21:04

Like if you have some, you have to say it immediately or something is like going to happen to you.

21:08

I mean, I think we talked about this in a past episode.

21:10

Like Brit, if this were you, you have to swear to me if something's happening, there can be like, no, we'll talk about this later.

21:15

Like you have to unload immediately.

21:18

I promise if you promise, promise, And

21:20

listen again, twin net like was pressing hard trying to get pat to give her more information, but it became clear to her that she wasn't going to get any answers out of her friend, but she knew that they were going to talk later.

21:31

So literally that night after the party ended, she canceled her vacation.

21:35

And Did they reconnect the next day?

21:38

Well, here's where Things get so weird.

21:41

Tanette called pat the next morning.

21:44

And according to Leslie Corrine's reporting for the record, she definitely did seem a little off or upset.

21:50

Again, this is the 13th, the day she ends up going missing.

21:52

But just like the night before pat said that she didn't want to talk about it.

21:57

And she actually ended up kind of totally brushing it off.

22:01

So her friend just canceled her vacation and Pat's like, oh, thanks.

22:05

But nevermind. Forget about it.

22:08

I wouldn't let you off the hook. I'd be like, no girl, like I just canceled my vacation.

22:11

You are crying at my house.

22:13

You Asked me to take care of your kids no matter what, even If

22:16

it seems okay today, there's something we should probably talk about.

22:20

Right. But here's where things get even more bizarre.

22:23

Once pat got off the phone with twin app, that's when pat apparently stormed down the stairs and started screaming at Donna about the burnt bedspread and both Donna at, and even Jim, when he later found out about this were completely taken aback by this reaction because Jim says he doesn't even remember a time in their entire marriage when pat ever raised her voice ever much less berated someone the way she did Donna.

22:52

So I guess to me, this kind of sounds like one of those straw that broke the camel's back situations.

22:57

Like she had all these things going on in her life, the driver's license, the family drama.

23:02

And I mean, she was clearly struggling with something.

23:05

All of this has to have police going back to the theory that maybe pat just walked away and there isn't any foul play involved.

23:13

Yes. I mean, they look into her walking away or even into the possibility of suicide.

23:17

But since there isn't any physical evidence to support it, like, I mean, there's no note, there's nothing to indicate what happened.

23:24

Police don't actually jump to that conclusion and just like close the case cold and listen, Pat's family definitely doesn't believe that she died by suicide or took her own life in any kind of way.

23:35

Jim says in that same article for the record quote, I don't think she would do anything to herself, not with her mother and children in her life.

23:43

And quote, Jim also tells police that despite the hardships she was facing, pat actually had a lot of good things to look forward to.

23:50

Like for example, the couple had just purchased a timeshare up in Pennsylvania that they had yet to visit.

23:55

And they were looking forward to spending time up there as a family.

23:58

At this point, it's been two weeks since pat vanished.

24:02

And even with police still searching the likelihood that they'll find pat alive and unharmed is getting slimmer and slimmer by the day.

24:11

And that's when investigators are approached by Jim with a theory, one that he believes could be the key to bringing pat home.

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That's better HB lp.com/crime junkie.

25:36

Jim suggests that pat could have run out to the store for something and maybe had a seizure while she was out.

25:42

Pat had been interested in getting Jim this singing monkey in a cage for Valentine's day, just as like a cute little gag gift.

25:50

But since it wasn't founded the house, he thinks that maybe she could have gone out to get it that afternoon, that she went missing.

25:55

Paul Johnson reported for the record that if pat had experienced a seizure while going to, or from the store, Jim thinks that she may have been seriously injured or maybe even gotten amnesia because of it.

26:06

And maybe he just, maybe she's in a hospital somewhere and doesn't know who she is.

26:11

And was it, I didn't know if amnesia was actually a common symptom of seizures.

26:15

So Brad actually asked you to look this up for me while I continued to research this case.

26:18

Do you want to tell everyone that you found?

26:21

Sure. And the basic answer is it can be according to the epilepsy foundation, memory loss is actually a common side effect of epilepsy, but most people only experience like small gaps in their memory or have difficulty recalling like specific details, like names or dates and severe amnesia resulting in losing like years of memory is usually only seen in severe.

26:46

Okay. So from what we know, the only severe seizure that she had recently was the one that she had had like three months ago that resulted in her license being taken away.

26:54

So while the likelihood of her suddenly losing all memory of who she was, wasn't entirely impossible.

26:59

Based on what you said, it seems kind of unlikely.

27:03

Yeah. Ultimately police tell Jim that they disagree with this theory, but they say for a different reason, you see when a patient shows up to the hospital and they don't have any idea who they are.

27:13

Law enforcement is actually notified. They can assist in finding who this mystery person is.

27:17

They Become like a living Dough,

27:19

right? So if pat really do lose her memory and was taken to a hospital, the police are like, listen, we would have been informed already, but still Jim takes Pat's photo to every surrounding hospital just to be sure she's not there, but none of the hospitals have a Jane DOE that matches Pat's description.

27:35

As February turns into March, the police are no closer to finding pat.

27:41

Jim sends her story to every local newspaper and gives interview after interview, hoping that someone will come forward with anything that will help them find his wife.

27:50

And while the tips that come in are few and far between all police need is just how one that could lead them down the right path.

27:56

And in March, about a month after pat disappeared, one of those tips does come that offers a glimmer of hope that they'd been waiting for in another piece written by Leslie corn, for the record, a man calls police saying that he thinks he saw pat up in Pennsylvania, which is where The

28:15

family has their timeshare, right?

28:17

It is now the family hadn't actually been up there to visit it yet.

28:20

So it wasn't included in the initial search when they went out, looking for her.

28:23

But after that tip comes in, law enforcement jump on it.

28:27

The tip had come from east Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, which is about a 10 minute drive from where their timeshare is, which is located in Shawnee, Pennsylvania.

28:35

So even though they're different towns are like close enough that police are making the connection, right?

28:40

They contact the local police up there.

28:42

And Jim himself actually drives up there to check the timeshare, thinking that, you know, maybe the argument with Donna was enough to like set her off, make her want to get away for a couple of days.

28:51

Maybe something happened to her.

28:53

That's preventing her from coming home.

28:55

But when he gets there, there's no sign of patent.

28:57

It doesn't even look like she been at the timeshare at all.

29:00

While local police keep searching.

29:02

Jim gets coverage of path's case on the local news and stops everyone.

29:06

He can ask about pat.

29:08

But unfortunately this ends up being yet another dead end over a year passes before the next tip comes in.

29:16

And this time it's unlike any other call they've ever gotten on the other end is a man who claims to have killed pat Viola.

29:25

His exact words are actually quote, I killed the old girl and quote, please do their best to keep this man on the other end of the line, talking as long as possible, trying to get his location and any other information out of him that they can before he hangs up.

29:40

But as they're talking, he starts saying things that start making them think that maybe he had nothing to do with Pat's disappearance.

29:47

What makes Them

29:49

think that, like, what did he say?

29:51

Well, the main thing is that he claims to have Pat's driver's license.

29:55

And remember they know that pat didn't actually have a physical license at the time of hers was suspended.

30:01

So there doesn't seem any way that he could have it unless you had like an old copy or it's just not adding up.

30:06

It's still, it's been like a year since they've had anything solid to go on.

30:10

So they keep talking to this guy. They don't just write them off yet.

30:12

And the man seems happy to keep talking.

30:14

He conveniently offers up that he has had an up the east coast on his way to Massachusetts and that there's a woman traveling with him and he even offers a description of the woman.

30:25

Okay. Does this dude want to get caught?

30:28

Yeah. I mean, something's feeling off about this.

30:30

Like police are pretty convinced that this man probably has nothing to do with Pat's disappearance, but still they want to be sure.

30:36

So they mobilize a unit in North Carolina to intercept this bus at the man claims to be on when they do, they don't find him, but they do find the woman he claimed to be traveling with.

30:46

And it turns out that the color is this woman's ex who's just upset that she left him for another man.

30:52

So he Basically just wanted to make her life a little Bit

30:55

more difficult exactly.

30:56

After this tip the case more or less officially goes cold police still work.

31:03

Every tip they get, even though they are few and far between Paul Johnson's piece for the records is that people call in from all over New Jersey, Pennsylvania, even Montana with sightings of pat.

31:15

But time after time, these sightings lead nowhere.

31:17

And while police are busy, still working the case again and not just letting it lie.

31:21

Jim does everything he can to keep pat in the public's eye.

31:25

He even worked with a private investigator.

31:27

This guy named Gary Mico, who volunteers his services after seeing the website that Jim put together to help provide information on Pat's case.

31:34

And when Gary begins his search, he hears an interesting theory, a theory that some locals believe is the key defining path.

31:43

Even though the Viola's live in a pretty safe neighborhood just a few years before pat went missing, there was actually another tragedy that struck their quiet suburban street and the way the PI found out about this, like blows my mind.

31:59

And this is like proof for every crime junkie out there that you can actually be useful.

32:03

And like, if you know something don't assume everyone else does too, because I think this guy was like walking up the street and happened to run into the mailman.

32:09

And the mailman is like, it's really hard for me to believe that her disappearance didn't have something to do with the crime that happened across the street.

32:16

And the guy's like what Crime

32:19

across the street.

32:21

Like no one else had pieces together. Like crime junkies out there.

32:24

You can be useful. But anyways, according to a New York times, article by Robert Hanley, the safe family friendly town of Bogata was shaken.

32:31

When three men were found murdered in a home, just down the street from the Viola's on October 23rd, 1997, the homeowner 36 year old had been at home with two men, a sheet and Booz Bouchard when two men forced their way in and shot them all execution style.

32:52

Oh my God. I mean, was this like a referee gone wrong?

32:56

So Rosh was a successful diamond wholesaler, which at first made police think that the murders were part of a robbery, but Paolo Lima would later report for the record that the robbery was actually secondary to the murders.

33:08

were definitely not intended to be victims of the crime.

33:13

They were really just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

33:17

But Roche had been a target of a man named DMP for months.

33:20

Dumpy had hired two men, Miguel and Richard to kill rush Ash saying he quote swindled some friends of his and quote, in addition to a fee for the murder, dumpy promise that they could keep any of the cash or gems they found in the home.

33:37

And the two did end up taking a large sum of money in Juul.

33:41

After the murders that had been carried out, ultimately four men were arrested for the triple homicide of re-hash a sheet and Bouchard the three, I just mentioned Miguel, Richard and dumpy as well as a man named Darwin who actually introduced Miguel to dumpy and acted as the driver.

33:59

Okay. So what Triple homicide from 97 have to do with pat going missing in 2001?

34:05

Well, it's all about timing because Miguel, Richard and Darwin were all going to trial around that time.

34:11

And according to court documents, Miguel even tried to hire someone to kill two of the witnesses.

34:17

So What

34:19

people think that pat could have been on that list of witnesses?

34:24

So again, this is like rumored at the time, maybe she was, or another theory that a lot of people have is maybe there was some kind of mix-up like they were looking for someone that they thought was a witness and got patent stead.

34:35

Now Gary is skeptical when he first hears about this, but he looks into it anyway.

34:40

I mean, after all the police have no leads at this point.

34:43

So he's going to look into any possible lead that comes his way.

34:46

But in the end he thinks the likelihood of Pat's case being related to this specific crime is highly unlikely because pat was not a wit as she was not involved in the triple homicide case in any way, she wasn't on the list.

34:59

She never gave any statements to police or to media.

35:01

So she likely wasn't targeted as part of the scheme to get rid of a witness.

35:06

Again, you know, maybe there's still this out there theory that she was mistaken for someone else, but like she had zero ties to the case officially after this last lead, the case kind of stalls again, as the years pass, police continue to work the case, but without any viable leads, it just remains cold.

35:24

Jim and the Viola family never give up hope of finding pat and Jim actually becomes an influential figure in legislation regarding missing people.

35:33

In 2008, he works alongside government officials and other loved ones of missing people in the state of New Jersey to pass Patricia's law, which is a law that requires police to take every missing persons report regardless of the circumstance and inform the family of available support services.

35:49

Additionally, if the missing person has not been found within 30 days, police have to take DNA samples of the missing person and enter them into a national database.

36:00

Hi, I feel like every state should have this Law.

36:02

I know, again, this is one of those things where you're just like, I just assumed they were doing these things, but like apparently you have to put it down and like black and white for people to do this, but agreed as time continues to pass with no movement.

36:13

In the case, everyone involved is haunted by questions that they still have about that cold day in February.

36:18

But in 2012, they found that an answer to at least one of their questions was closer than they realized.

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According to the Herald news article, I mentioned toward the top of this episode, police get a call from the university of north.

38:49

Texas is center for human identification.

38:52

This call comes in on September 11th, 2012.

38:56

And in this call, they say that human remains that were found washed ashore in 2002, have been identified as pat Viola's through DNA, Wait 2000 to 2002.

39:14

They had her remains a year after she went missing While

39:17

they only had Horschel remains.

39:19

You see on July 27th, 2002, again, 10 years before they're getting this call.

39:24

A bone fragment from a left foot was found washed ashore by a man walking on Rockaway beach in Queens.

39:31

It was found along with a sock and a white sneaker that matched the ones pat had been wearing the day that she disappeared.

39:38

Get this, even though the remains were found in 2002 DNA, wasn't extracted until 2005.

39:47

Okay. Why did it take them three years to get a DNA sample Immediately?

39:52

My head exploded. And when I heard that until I read this article in the Herald news that says the medical examiner's office was still overwhelmed by the aftermath of nine 11.

40:03

At the time of the discovery, I forgot like how close it was to New York city.

40:07

They still had over 21,000 unidentified remains and over 1000 people had not been positively identified yet.

40:14

So again, I can kind of appreciate why you would take a little bit longer for them to analyze the remains, but I don't think it can explain the fact that it took another four years for that DNA.

40:26

Once it was extracted to be sent to the university of north Texas for analysis, or they held onto The

40:31

DNA until 2009 shorted.

40:35

Why? Well, the medical examiner's office doesn't give any answer as to why, but even after that, the remains aren't confirmed to be pats until 2012.

40:46

Yeah. I mean, I guess I'm struggling to process the entire thing as to why it took a decade.

40:51

Like how did it take this long for remains to be identified?

40:54

Did they just not have anything to compare it to or what?

40:58

So that's part of the problem. Again, I have no explanation for why it took like years after extraction to just be sent off, but Pat's kids didn't submit an updated DNA sample to CodeHS until 2011.

41:08

And that is actually what the remains were matched to.

41:12

And look, these things take time.

41:14

It's not like what we see on TV, where everything happens instantly, right?

41:18

But the fact that these remains literally sat in storage for over a decade is again frustrating for me, but it's frustrating to police and the Viola family who've spent how much time and resources over the last decade, looking for a missing person who has likely been deceased this whole time.

41:35

Right? So even though it's only a bone fragment, the sock and a shoe are investigators able to come up with a more concrete theory as to what happened to pat or even how she ended up in the water in the first place?

41:48

No, unfortunately they can't come to any conclusions based on the small amount of bone fragment that they have Rockaway beach is about five and a half miles long and leads into the Atlantic ocean.

41:59

So there's really no telling where or how her body could have gone into the water.

42:04

And I mean, at the time of the discovery, police had actually searched the beach on foot with helicopters, trying to find like any additional remains, but they never ended up finding anything else.

42:13

So What could have happened to her?

42:16

I mean, is there even like a, a short list?

42:18

No, I mean, I think you go back to the theories they had from the day she walked away, right?

42:22

Like, did she go away on her own?

42:24

There is still the possibility that maybe she took her own life, that she jumped into a body of water somewhere, but then you have to ask, how on earth did she get there?

42:34

Right. Like she couldn't drive, she didn't take a bus, we know that she didn't take a plane or a taxi or whatever.

42:39

Well, and on top of that, like I personally can't shake the whole house alarm going off.

42:44

Like I don't love that. I don't, yeah.

42:46

I can't get over. Everyone seems so willing to just be like, oh, she must've left the door open and they like tripped on its own.

42:53

I don't know why that just does not sit right with me.

42:56

And I'm in again with someone waiting in the house, when she made that call to her mom, was she alone?

43:01

I have so many questions about this case.

43:06

And you know, there was even one, I didn't add it in the story because like, I couldn't verify it in multiple places, but in the disappeared episode, her friend even says like that monkey in a cage that she wanted to buy for her husband.

43:18

I had such a strong suspicion that she went out looking for that, that day that I went and showed her pictures at like local convenience stores.

43:24

And one of the convenience stores said that she was there.

43:27

But again, I couldn't back this up anywhere. There's no mention of like surveillance footage.

43:30

Like where was she going at one 11?

43:32

Like she didn't have any plans.

43:34

My head's spinning.

43:36

Right. And it's not like she Could even pick her kids up from school.

43:39

Now police say that Pat's case is still open.

43:41

They aren't ruling out anything at this point.

43:44

And they're actively working to help bring closure to the Viola family.

43:48

But at the end of the day, nothing can truly bring them closure.

43:52

Jim, Christine and Michael are still waiting for the answers to the questions that have kept them up at night.

43:59

For over 20 years, You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, crime junkie podcast.com And

44:20

be sure to follow us on Instagram at crown donkey podcast, We'll

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be back next week with a brand new episode.

44:26

Crime

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junkie

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is

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an

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44:26

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45:04

production. So what do you think Chuck, do you approve.

45:07

This episode is made possible by simply episode is made possible by safe. And right now, our friends at simply safe are giving crime junkie listeners access to their new year's holiday deals, 20% off their award-winning home And right now, our friends at Simply Safe are giving crime junkie listeners access to their New Year's holiday deals. Twenty percent off their award winning home security. And your first month is free when you sign up for the interactive monitoring and your first month is free when you sign up for the interactive monitoring service. Hurry, supplies are limited. Take 20% off your simply safe Take twenty percent off your Simply Safe system. And your first month is and your first month is free when you sign up for the interactive monitoring service. Just visit simply safe dot com slash crime junkie today. This podcast is sponsored by better help online therapy. We talk about better help all the time because we believe in it. better. Health is is customized. Online therapy offers video phone and even live chat with your online therapy that offers video, phone, and even live chat with your therapist. It's more affordable than in-person therapy, and you can be matched with a therapist and under 48 more affordable than in person therapy. And you can be matched with therapist in under forty eight hours. Give it a try and see why over 2 million people have used better Give it a try and see why over two million people have used better help. Online therapy and crime ducky online there. And crime junkie listeners. Get 10% off their first [email protected] slash crime get ten percent off their first month at betterhelp dot com slash crime junkie. That's That's better HELP dot com slash crime junkie. Hi, Crème Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers, and I'm Brent. And the story have for you today takes place in a quiet town outside of New York City, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. A beloved wife and mother vanishes seemingly into thin hair leaving her friends and family wondering where she could have gone and why she left in the first place. Her disappearance sends shock waves through the community and over a decade passes before a tragic discovery leaves everyone with more questions than answers. This is the story of Patricia Viola. It's four thirty PM on February thirteenth two thousand one, and forty year old Jim Viola is arriving home from work. He and his family live on a quiet street in Bagoda, New Jersey. And as the gym walks up to the door, he's expecting another normal night with his family. Since it's the day before Valentine's Day, Jim had actually left work early to pick up some gifts for Pat before he headed home. And so he walks up to the house. He's like trying to balance his briefcase, those wrap presence in one hand while opening the door with the other. Once he gets inside, he's expecting to see Pat to be their life always during this time of day. But instead, he's struck by something odd. The house alarm is beeping, signaling that it had been activated. Know, it's one of those alarms that gives you around like twenty or thirty seconds to like punch in the code before it notifies the security company. Mhmm. Yeah. So Jim immediately puts everything down, rushes to the keep hat to enter the code all while thinking like, where is Pat? Because the violas don't usually keep the alarm set while they're in the house. They only set it either when they leave or when they go to sleep. And again, cat is almost always there when Jim gets home. So The alarm being set in general already indicates that pat isn't home, which is out of the ordinary alarm being set in general already indicates that cat isn't home, which is out of the ordinary. Exactly. According to a disappeared episode that aired back in two thousand eleven titled Missing Ballantyne, Pat and her family all have very consistent schedules, and Pat's routine for the entirety of their marriage always included her being home when Jim got off work. So this is super strange in his mind, but he doesn't jump to worst. Once Jim enters the code and disarms the security system, he turns and notices something else kind of out of place. The key that they usually keep left in the deadbolt of their back door is laying on the kitchen table. Once again, this is weird. So out of curiosity, he goes to check if Pat's coat and purse are where she usually leaves them. Now, her coat is gone, but her purse is still there with her ID, her cell phone keys, and concerningly her epilepsy medication. And is her epilepsy pretty severe? Yes, actually, Pat had been diagnosed with epilepsy at twelve years old, and she takes two medications throughout the course of the day in order to prevent seizures. And, really, it was so bad that according to that disappeared episode, Pat had her driver's license suspended a few months prior as a result of a really bad grandma seizure that landed her in the hospital. Oh, yeah. That sounds really serious. Yeah. I mean, obviously, she ended up recovering, but the doctor told her not to drive for several months afterwards. So now finding this medication is extra important because when Jim finds it is almost five o'clock and hat is due to take her evening meds really soon. So the fact that she left without them is enough to make Jim start to feel uneasy. I mean, is it possible that she just stepped out to run to the store real quick and we'd be back soon? I mean, you said she left most of her personal belongings in the house. I mean, she could have just taken some cash and walked to a convenient store nearby. Right? Well, that's what Jim's hoping for right now. I mean, you know, she's a 42 year old I mean, you know, she's a forty two year old woman. She can handle herself. But As the minutes and hours come and go, that uneasy feeling that he has starts to just build. So just to be safe and put his mind to ease, he starts a call around a family and friends. But phone call after phone call turns up no clues as to where she might be. Box five reported that Jim even goes out and drives the routes where she might have gone with his high beams on, searching for any sign of her, but he comes back with nothing. Now he can sense in his gut that something is really wrong with this. She wouldn't just leave without telling anyone. So with no other lead for him to track down. And now in full blown panic mode, Jim calls the Bogota police at eleven fifty eight PM to report his wife missing. Two officers are dispatched immediately to the house and they file an official report that evening. Well, I'm honestly kinda surprised they didn't make him wait twenty four or forty eight hours anything. Yeah. This is different than what we normally see, but I think that they're taking this so seriously because she's at high risk without her medication. Mhmm. Now, unfortunately, there's not much they can do that night since by the time they take the statement, it's after midnight. But the police start working the case first thing the next morning. As they start the investigation, the very first thing police try to do is nail down a timeline of events for the morning and afternoon of the thirteenth. Jim tells them that the family had an entirely normal morning. Everyone had been up on time. Jim got ready for work like he always did. He was out the door by six thirty. And when speaking to police, he said he remembers Pat seeming a little down or maybe sad, but it wasn't enough to make him even worry that something was wrong. She just seemed a little melancholy that morning. Now they learned that the violas had two kits, Christine who's thirteen and Michael who just turned ten. And they left next to go to school and then Pat left shortly after them at eight thirty. And they're able to verify this because she set the alarm around eight thirty that morning like she was leaving. And from there, they're able to confirm that she did make it to her son's school where she worked as a volunteer librarian during the day. And did anyone at the school notice anything off while she's there? No. Not at all. According to information, Jim Biola would later post on Patricia Biola missing dot homestead dot com, When law enforcement talks to other volunteers and staff at the school, a few of them say that she may have been little quieter than usual, but there were like zero red flags for them. Police confirmed with the school that Pat left at eleven thirty, and they even tracked down a mailman who said that he waved to Pat on her way home at about eleven forty. Once they begin searching Pat's home, police discover a message on the Viola's answering machine from earlier that morning and it's from Pat's mom. In this voicemail, her mom says that the Viola Security Company had called her asking if everything was okay at Jim and Pat's house because Apparently, the alarm had been tripped. Wait. Why did they call Pat's mom? Did they try to contact him and Pat first? So they did. And it's protocol for them to call the homeowners first to check if everything was okay. But Jim was at work, I guess, couldn't take the call. Pat was at school. She had a cell phone but didn't really, like, keep it on or check it, so they weren't able to reach either of them, so they actually got in touch with their emergency contact, which in this case was Pat's mom. And then pet's mom contacted them. Got it. Right. Right. Now the security company also contacted the police who did send an officer to the home to check for signs of a break in. But upon not seeing anything that would indicate that something bad had happened, there were like no broken windows, no open doors, nothing they just left. Okay. Is it possible that someone was in the house and they just didn't see? Like, maybe someone had picked a lock on their door or something? So I don't know. This is, like, honestly, my biggest problem with how people respond to security system like alarms going off? Because I've had that happen here beforeSource, like, I would set it off and the police combine, like, gonna peek around and I'm like, oh my god. If someone was holding me hostage in here, you're just gonna, like, leave. Alright. I don't know. So they literally just walk the perimeter. They didn't go They didn't go inside. So it is totally possible that you're right. Someone picked the lock, someone's waiting inside, but they say that everything looked calm and they basically tell the security company we checked it out and nothing's wrong. And from what I gather, like the ultimate theory that they think happened is that maybe Pat didn't fully close the door on her way out that morning, which made the alarm go off. Okay. But then the door would be open. Right? It might have been open. The next person that comes home is actually Pat herself for a gym before anything. So if the door had been left open a little bit or wasn't locked or something, we don't know because Patricia's not here to tell us. When police get a hold of Pat's mom to see if she ever connected with Pat after she left the voicemail, she tells them, yes. And this is what I mean, Pat had actually come home. She called her back at twelve:thirty reassured her that everything was okay, and she said that during that call, her daughter was totally normal. While it's unclear what Pat did after that call to her mom. The last thing police are able to confirm is that she actually did reset the alarm at one eleven PM. And this to them indicates that she is leaving the house around that time. So this is when she would have closed the door, locked the door, and that's how Jim would have found the house. So police then don't speak to neighbors, but no one reports seeing or even hearing anything suspicious at all that day. Denise's Superville and Scott Fallon reported for the herald news that police begin stopping buses and contacting tax see companies to see if anyone had picked her up thinking that, you know, she likely had left willingly since they found no sign otherwise so far. They also even contact nearby airports to see if she had flown that day, but phone call after phone call. Stop after stop gives them no leads. As the hours ticked by, the pressure to find Pat is building. She has now missed several doses of her epilepsy medication, so the risk of her having a seizure is increasing by the second. And since Pat is at a severe risk, police ramp up the search efforts and bring in a police dog to try and track her scent thinking that they could at least get an idea of where she went by picking up her trail if she left the house. But the dogs aren't able to pick up anything. They even go so far as doing aerial search over local rivers and marshes, but after a few days with nothing to go on, it almost seems like she disappeared into thin air. So I know police haven't suspected foul play at this point, but I mean, after a few days with no answers, they've got to be wondering if someone else was involved with her disappearance. Right? Well, as a matter of fact, they are police have two primary theories at this as a matter of fact, they are. Police have two primary theories at this point. So one is that she left on her own and two is that she met with foul play. And since they aren't getting anywhere with the first option, they begin considering the second, that someone made Pat disappear. And they think that person responsible might be closer to home than they realize. this episode was made possible by monday.com, monday.com is a customizable platform that gives teams the ability to easily create the work software that they need and want for their episode was made possible by Monday dot com. Monday dot com is a customizable platform that gives teams the ability to easily create the work software that they need and want for their organization. This Freedom means you can build anything. A CRM workflow, HR management system, marketing dashboards, you name it, and it makes teams much more A CRM workflow, HR management system, marketing dash towards you name it, and it makes teams much more productive. They can automate tedious work in seconds, plan projects, and decide next steps all in one place. Listen as audio truck got bigger and Listen, as audio talk got bigger and bigger. 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I don't know about anybody else, but that little detail definitely stuck out to me. Yeah. Well, when police start investigating for possible criminal activity. That detail sticks out to them too. Now, Jim has been cooperating fully with the police the entire time, but as part of their investigation, they have to take a look at those closest to Pat and consider all the options. So, several days into the investigation, police decide to bring Jim in for questioning. According to the Disappeared episode, police questioned Jim for several hours. They asked him about every part of his day. Why did he leave early from work? Can anyone verify where he was? Did he go anywhere other than the store to buy those gifts? And they also questioned him about his relationship with hat and if they were having any marital issues. But after a grueling few hours and a polygraph, police are confident that he had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance. But just because Jim isn't a suspect doesn't mean police don't learn anything important from his interview. In fact, they get a ton of information about Pat that tells them a lot about the days leading up to her going missing. Importantly, Jim tells them Pat had been experiencing quite a few stressors in her life before she went missing. What kind of stressors Well, for one, Jim's mom had been really sick recently. And since Jim worked full time, Pat was kind of the one who had to take care of her. And while this wasn't the biggest burden in the world, it was kind of just one more person that she had to take care of. You you know. Mhmm. So while caring for Jim's mom was manageable for Pat, Jim tells police that a much more crushing blow came just a few weeks before her disappearance. Remember how I said that Pat's license had been suspended a few months prior to her going missing? Yeah. Well, according to reporting by Karen Mahabir for northjersey dot com, Her seizures had been becoming more frequent before that one that caused her license to be taken away. And that suspension was supposed to last until January, as long as she didn't have any more seizures. But in that disappeared episode, Jim said that the doctor had just extended that license suspension by another three months right before Patricia had gone missing. And this really bothered Pat because it meant that she couldn't do the things she loved like driving her kids to and from school or the activities or I mean, she can't even go to the mall by herself or, like, at this point, we're talking could be six months. I actually completely kind of get this. My dad had a health issue. And when I was sixteen, he had his license suspended for about a year because of his health. And it really took a lot of an independence away. Like he couldn't, he had to depend on us on like me a 16 year old to drive him to work every Like, he couldn't -- Yeah. -- he had to depend on us, on, like, me, a sixteen year old to drive him to work every day. So hard. Yeah. Now, in addition to all of this, like, that's not enough. Jim also says that his sister, Donna, had recently moved in with the family after a NASH see break up with a boyfriend. And even though it was only supposed to be temporary, some of Donna's habits were like really grinding pack, getting under her skin. And also just like a house guest staying that long. What what kind habits? Well, what bothered Pat the most was Donna's smoking? Police learned from Jim that Donna would smoke in the house. And so basically after Donna left every day, Pat would go in and do her best to make this cigarette smell go. She would try vacuuming, she would use air fresheners, that kind of thing. And I can imagine that Pat saw Donna as sort of just AGAIN, ANOTHER PERSON SHE'S HAVING TO LOOK AFTER AND CLEAN UP AFTER AND WORRY ABOUT IN HER HOME ON TOP OF EVERY OTHER MEMBER OF HER FAMILY. But the thing is, like, while the smoking was definitely annoying, again, definitely getting under her skin, Pat hadn't said anything to Donna about it. I think in her mind, she's thinking, okay, this is just temporary. I just have to get over this, like, hump however long this is gonna be. So she was basically just putting up with it for the time being. That is until February twelfth. This is the day before she went missing. That's when she found cigarette burns on the guest bed spread. And this, like, set her off. Because now, not only does the bedspread ruin, this is a major fire hazard. Yeah. And, I mean, her two kids are in this house. I can totally see how this would kind of up to Andy, and she'd be incredibly bothered by this. I would be furious. So she obviously talks to Jim about it and Pat had a plan to confront Donna because to your point like You're putting my kids at risk now. This isn't just like a nuisance. But, you know, they decided, okay, let's we're gonna talk to her the next day. We're going to like fix all We're gonna, like, fix all of this. Okay. Why not confront her right then? Well, the two were actually supposed to go to a party that evening hosted by Pat's best friend, Juanette. So I think they decided to just let it rest and come back to it the next morning. Just to, like, again, let's have a nice night. Let's not, like, have this family fight right now, and then we'll address it when we wake up. Which makes sense, but how was she at the party? I mean, I know if it were me, like, you wouldn't you would be able to tell something was doing doing immediately. Did any of our friends notice her acting strange or anything? They actually actually did. And it's more than just her acting strange. There was a huge red flag at the party, but Jim didn't even know about it. Police only learned about it when they talked to TriNet. She tells police that she had a conversation with Pat when she came over for the party that just left her feeling totally shaken. To when that says in an interview for disappeared that when Jim and Pat first arrived, everything seemed normal. So didn't get that red flag, but like, oh, she's, like, pissed about something. Pat looked put together. She looked cheery. But once they made their way inside, Pat pulled her aside and was like, we need to talk right now. So toona being a good friend immediately took her into another room away from the other party guests. And was shocked when Pat immediately just like fell apart. Joanna tells police that between her tears, Pat told her something was very very wrong. Okay. Did she say what that something was? That's the thing she didn't. Toinette says that Pat wouldn't give her any details as to what was going on despite her asking repeatedly what it was. Pat only said that it was too complicated to go into at the party, but promised her that she would tell her everything if they could go away somewhere together for a few days. I mean, she went so far as asked Juanette to cancel her vacation that she had coming up. Like, that is how badly she needed her friend to help her get through whatever was happening. And due to Annette's credit, girl immediately agreed. She's like, I'm going to cancel She's like, I'm gonna cancel everything. I'm gonna drop everything. And she promised, Pat, that they could go anywhere she wanted to together. Which to me kind of makes me feel like this isn't just about Donna or her mother-in-law. This feels so much bigger and almost scarier. Yeah. I mean, I like, don't you feel like if we were at a party, I'd just be like, I just feel so overwhelmed. Like, you know, Eric's mother's doing this. And his sister's doing this and I don't know that that feels like something you can unload, but to be like, I can't even tell you it's too complicated. I mean unless she was having bigger feelings about her life and marriage, I don't know. I guess, I'm making some assumptions about her relationship with Tonet. But, like, I would assume that she already knows that Donna is living with Pat. Yeah. And Yeah. A couple of -- that Jim's mom is already ailing and Pat has to take care of her. Like, those are things that, you know, interfere with your daily life kind of change up the schedule and your really good friends would already know Like, those are things that interfere with your daily life, kind of change up the schedule, and you're a really good friend who already know this. So this has to be something so much bigger, so much scarier. I mean, god, what could it be? Well, what Pat says next is even more concerning. She says that she wanted Twannett to look after her kids no matter what happened to her. What? Yeah. And at this point, when I said she began crying. And again, she asked Pat, like, what is going on? But Pat only reinforced that she couldn't say anything, which these are like the conversations I think this is the crime junkie life role. Right? Like, if you have some you have to say it immediately or something is like going to happen to you. Right? I mean, I think we talked about this in a past episode, like, right, if this were you, you have to swear to me, if something's happening, there can be, like, no, we'll talk about this later. Like, you have to unload immediately. I promise if you promise, promise. And listen again, Twonette, like, was pressing hard trying to get Pat to give her more information, but it became clear to her that she wasn't gonna get any answers out of her friend. But she knew that they were gonna talk later. So literally, that night after the party ended, she canceled her vacation. And did they reconnect the next day? Well, here's where things get so weird. Twannett called Pat the next morning. And according to Leslie Koren's reporting for the record, She definitely did seem a little off or upset. Again, this is the thirteenth the day she ends up going missing. But just like the night before, Pat said that she didn't wanna talk about it. And she actually ended a kind of totally brushing it off. Wait. So her friend just canceled her vacation and Pat's like, Oh, thanks, but never mind forget about it. Yes. I wouldn't let you off the hook. I'd be like, no girl. Like, I just canceled my vacation. You were crying at my house, you asked me to take care of your kids no matter what. Yeah. Even If it seems okay today, there's something we should probably talk if it seems okay today, there's something we should probably talk about. Right. But here's where things get even more bizarre. Once Pat got off the phone with Twannett, that's when Pat apparently stormed down the stairs and started screaming at Donna about the burnt bedspread. And both Donna and and even Jim, when he later found out about this, were completely taken aback by this reaction because Jim says he doesn't even remember a time in their entire marriage when Pat ever raised her voice ever, much less berated someone the way she did Donna. So, I guess, to me, this kinda sounds like one of those straw that broke the camel's back situations. Like, she had all these things going on in her life, the driver's license, the family drama, and, I mean, she was clearly struggling with something. All this has to have police going back to the theory that maybe Pat just walked away and there isn't any foul play involved. Yeah. I mean, they look into her walking away or even into the possibility of suicide. But since there isn't any physical evidence to support it, like, mean, there's no no, there's nothing to indicate what happened. Police don't actually jump to that conclusion and just like close the case cold. And listen, Pat's family definitely doesn't believe that she died by suicide or took her own life in any kind of way. Jim says in that same article for the record, quote, I don't think she would do anything to herself, not with her mother and children in her life. End quote. Jim also tells police that despite the hardship she was facing, Pat actually had a lot of good things to look forward to. Like, for example, couple had just purchased a timeshare up in Pennsylvania that they had yet to visit, and they were looking forward to spending time up there as a family. At this point, it's been two weeks since Pat vanished. And even with police still searching. The likelihood that they'll find Pat alive and unharmed is getting slimmer and slimmer by the day. And that's when investigators are approached by Jim with a theory, one that he believes could be the key to bringing Pat home. This podcast is sponsored by better help online is sponsored by Better Health Online Therapy. We talk about Better Health a lot on this show. And a big reason for that is because of all the stigmas surrounding mental health and prioritizing it in your and a big reason for that is because of all stigmas surrounding mental health and prioritizing it in your life. So many people still think that therapy is just for people who have something seriously wrong with them, but going to therapy doesn't mean anything is wrong with So many people still think that therapy is just for people who have something seriously wrong with them. But going to therapy doesn't mean anything is wrong with you. What it does mean is that you realize that you're human and humans have emotions and you're learning how identify address and control those motions and not avoid them. You take care of your body by working out, eating well, visiting the doctor, You take care of your body by working out, eating well, visiting the doctor right? Shouldn't you be taking care of your mind just as much and with better Shouldn't you be taking care of your mind just as much? And with help. I know I've loved the fact that I can reach out I know I've loved the fact that I can reach out anytime. I don't have to wait until I'm in a really bad mental place to get the help that I need better help is customized online therapy that offers video phone and even live chat with your I don't have to wait till I'm in a really bad mental place. Get help that I need. Better help is customized online therapy that offers video, phone, and even live chat with your therapist. So you don't even have to see anyone on So you don't even have to see anyone on camera if you don't want to. It's much more affordable than in person therapy, and you can be matched with a therapist in under forty eight hours. Give it a try and see why over two lane people could use better health online therapy. And crime junkie listeners get ten percent off their first month at betterhelp dot com slash crime junkie. That's better HB lp.com/crime That's better HELP dot com slash junkie. Jim suggests that Pat could have run out to the store for something and maybe had a seizure while she was out. Pat had been interested in getting Jim this singing monkey in a cage for Valentine's Day just as like a cute little gag gift. But since it wasn't found at the house, he thinks that maybe she could have gone out to get it that afternoon that she went missing. Paul Johnson reported for the record that if Pat had experienced a seizure while going to her from the store, Jim thinks that she may have been seriously injured or maybe even gotten amnesia because of it. And maybe just maybe she's in a hospital somewhere and doesn't know who she is. And, listen, I didn't know if Indonesia was actually common symptom of seizures, so Brett actually asked you to look this up for me while I to research this case. Do you want to tell everyone you found? Sure. And the basic answer is it can be. According to the epilepsy foundation, memory loss is actually a common side effect of epilepsy, but most people only experience like small gaps in their memory. Or have difficulty recalling like specific details like names or dates. And severe amnesia resulting in losing like years of memory is you actually only seen in severe epilepsy cases. Okay. So from what we know, the only severe seizure that she had recently was the one that she had had three months ago that resulted in her license being taken away. So while the likelihood of her suddenly losing all memory of who she was wasn't entirely impossible based on what you said it seems kind of unlikely. Yeah. Ultimately, police tell Jin that they disagree with this theory, but they say for different reason. You see, when a patient shows up to the hospital and they don't have an idea who they are, law enforcement is actually notified so they can assist in finding who this mystery person is. Right? They Become like a living like a living dough. Right. So if Pat really did lose her memory and was taken to a hospital, the police are like, listen, we would have been informed already. But still, Jim takes Pat's photo to every surrounding hospital just to be sure she's not there. But none of the hospitals have a Jane Doe that matches Pat's description. As February turns into March, the police are no closer to finding path. Jim sends her story to every local newspaper and gives interview after interview hoping that someone will come forward with anything that will help them find his wife. And while the tips that come in are few and far between all police need is just how one that could lead them down the right path. And in March, about a month after Pat disappeared, one of those tips does come that offers a glimmer of hope that they've been waiting for. In another piece written by Leslie Korn for the record, a man calls police saying that he thinks he saw Pat up in Pennsylvania, which is where the family has their time chart. Right? It is. Now the family hadn't actually been up there to visit it yet, so it wasn't included in the initial search when they were not looking for her. But after that tip comes in, law enforcement jump on it. The tip I'd come from East Strasbourg, Pennsylvania, which is about a ten minute drive from where their time share is, which is located in Shawnee, Pennsylvania. So even though their different towns are like close enough that police are making the connection. Right. They contact the local police up there and Jim himself self actually drives up there to check the timeshare thinking that, you know, maybe the argument with Donna was enough to like set her off, make her wanna get away for a couple of days, maybe something happened to her that's preventing her from coming home. But when he gets there, there's no sign of patent. It doesn't even look like she'd been at the timeshare at all. While local police keep searching, Jim gets coverage of Pat's case on the local news and stops everyone he can to ask about Pat. But unfortunately, this ends up being yet another dead end. Over a year passes before the next tip comes in. And this time, it's unlike any other call they've ever gotten. On the other end is a man who claims to have killed Pat Viola. His exact words are actually, quote, I killed the old girl. End quote, please do their best to keep this man on the other end of the line talking as long as possible, trying to get his location and any other information out of him that they can before he hangs up. But as they're talking, he starts saying things that start making them think that maybe he had nothing to do with Pat's disappearance. What makes him think that? Like, what did he say? Well, the main thing is that he claims to have Pat's driver's license and Remember, they know that Pat didn't actually have a physical license at the time like hers was suspended. So there doesn't seem any way that he could have it unless she had like an old copy or it's just not adding up. Still, it's been like a year since they've had anything solid to go on. So they keep talking to this so they keep talking to this guy. They don't just write them off yet. And the man seems happy to keep talking. He conveniently offers up that he is headed up the East Coast on his way to Massachusetts, and that there's a woman traveling with him. And he even offers a description of the woman. Okay. Does this dude wanna get caught? Yeah. I mean, it something is feeling off about this. Like, police are pretty convinced that this man probably has nothing to do with Pat's disappearance, but still they wanna be sure so they mobilize a unit in North Carolina to intercept this bus that the man claims to be on. When they do, they don't find him, but they do find the woman he claimed to be traveling with. And it turns out that the caller is this woman's ex who was just upset that she lacked him for another man. So he basically just wanted to make her life a little bit more difficult. Exactly. After this tip, the case more or less officially goes cold. Police still work every tip they get even though they are few and far tween. Paul Johnson's piece for the record is that people called in from all over New Jersey, Pennsylvania, even Montana with sightings of Pat, but time after time these sightings lead nowhere. And while police are busy, still working the case again, they're not just letting it lie, Jim does everything he can to keep Pat in the public's eye. He even worked with a private investigator, this guy named Gary Mico, who volunteers his services after seeing the website that Jim put together to help provide information on Pat's case. And when Gary begins his search, he hears of an interesting theory. A theory that some locals believe is the key defining path. Even though the Violas live in a pretty safe neighborhood. Just a few years before Pat went missing, there was actually another tragedy that struck their quiet suburban street. And the way the PI found out about this like blows my mind and this is like proof for every crime janky out there that you can actually be useful. And like if you know something, don't assume everyone else does too. Because I think this guy was like walking up the street and happened to run into mailman. And the mailman's like, it's really hard for me to believe that her disappearance didn't have something to do with the crime that happened across the street. And the guy's like, what? What? What? Exactly. street. Like, no one else had pieces together. Like, crime drinking's out there. You can be useful. But anyways, according to a New York Times article by Robert Hanley, the safe family friendly town of Biegoda was shaken when three men were found murdered in a home just down the street from the Vialas on October twenty third nineteen ninety seven. The homeowner thirty six year old Rajesh had been at home with two men, Ajeet and Bhushan, when two men forced their way in and shot them all execution style. Oh my god. I mean, was this like a reverie gone wrong? So Rajesh was a successful diamond wholesaler, which at first made police think that the murders were part of a robbery, but Paolo Lima would later report for the record that the robbery was actually secondary to the murders. Ajeet and Bhushan were definitely not intended to be victims of the crime, they were really just at the wrong place at the wrong time. But Rajesh had been a target of a man named Dempy for months. Dimpe had hired two men. Miguel and Richard to kill Rajash, saying he, quote, swindled some friends of his end quote, In addition to a fee for the murder, Dempy promised that they could keep any of the cash or gems they found in the home. And the two didn't end up taking a large sum of money in jewels after the murders that had been carried out. Ultimately, four men were arrests did for the triple homicide of Rajesh, Azit, and Bhushan. The three I just mentioned, Miguel Richard and Dimpy, as well as a man named Darwin. Who actually introduced Miguel to Dempy and acted as driver. Okay. So what does this triple homicide from ninety seven have to do with Pat going missing in thousand one? Well, it's all about timing because Miguel, Richard, and Darwin were all going to trial around that time. And according to court documents, Miguel even tried to hire someone to kill two of the witnesses. So what? People think that Pat could have been on that list of witnesses. So again, this is like rumored at the time maybe she was or another theory that a lot of people have is maybe there were some kind of mix up, like they were looking for someone that they thought was a witness and got Pat instead. Now Gary has stepped identical when he first hears about this, but he looks into it anyway. I mean, after all, the police have no leads at this point, so he's gonna look into any possible lead that comes his way. But in the end, he thinks the likelihood of Pat's case being related to this specific crime is highly unlikely. Because Pat was not a witness. She was not involved in the triple homicide case in any way. She wasn't on the list. She never gave any statements to police or to media. So She likely wasn't targeted as part of the scheme to get rid of a witness. Again, you know, maybe there still is out there theory that she was mistaken for someone else, but like she had zero ties to the case officially. After this last lead, the case kind of stalls again. As the years passed, police continue to work the case, but without any viable leads, it just remains cold. Jim and the Viola family never give up hope a finding path. And Jim actually becomes an influential figure in legislation regarding missing people. In two thousand eight, he works alongside government officials and other loved ones of missing people in the state of New Jersey to pass Patricia's law, which is a law that requires police to take every missing person's report regardless of the circumstance and inform the family of available support services. Additionally, if the missing person has not been found within thirty days, police have to take DNA sample of the missing person and enter them into a national database. Hi. I feel like every state should have this law. I know, again, this is one of those things where you're just like, I just assumed they were doing these things, but, like, apparently, you have to put it down and black and white for people to do this, but agreed. As time continues to pass with no movement in the case everyone involved is haunted by questions that they still have about that cold day in February. But in two thousand twelve, they found that an answer to at least one of their questions was closer than they realized. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Run a business? Supercharge your knowledge, your sales, and your success with Shopify. The all in one commerce platform to start, run, and grow your business. Shopify gives entrepreneurs the resources once reserved for big Shopify gives entrepreneurs the resources once reserved for big businesses. So upstarts startups and established businesses alike can sell everywhere, synchronize online and in-person sales and effortlessly stay So Upstartstartups, and established businesses alike can sell everywhere. Synchronized online and in person sales and effortlessly stay informed. Shop five powers, millions of businesses from first sale to Shopify powers millions of businesses from first sale to full scale. 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New year, new devices, people all around the world are diving into everything their new holiday tech has to offer, but we can't forget that every time we give out our info, we might be giving up our safety this New year, new devices. People all around the world are diving into everything their new holiday tech has to offer. But we can't forget that every time we give out our info, we might be giving up our safety. This year. Let's all make a resolution for more let's all make a resolution for more protection when it comes to our devices. Norton three sixty with LifeLock helps you search scroll and stream on your devices without compromising your safety. And it helps protect from identity theft, block hackers, and it keeps privacy online with a VPN. Listen, no one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft or monitor all transactions at all businesses. But Norton 360 with LifeLock helps you have a cyber safe new year, make more cyber But Norton three sixty with LifeLock helps you have a cyber safe new year. Make more cyber safety. One of your resolutions this year save 25% or more off your first year at norton.com/crime one of your resolutions this year. Save twenty five percent or more off your first year at norton dot com slash crime junkie. That's norton.com/crime junkie to save That's norton dot com slash crime junkie to save twenty five percent. According to the Herald News article I mentioned toward the top of this episode, police get a call from the University of North Texas's center for human identification. This call comes in on September eleven two thousand twelve. And in this call, They say that human remains that were found washed ashore in two thousand and two have been identified as Pat Viola's through DNA. Wait. Two thousand two. Two thousand two. They had her remains a year after she went missing They had her remains a year after she went missing. Well, they only had partial remains. You see, on July twenty seven, two thousand two, I get ten years before they're getting this call. A bone fragment from a left foot was found washed ashore by a man walking on Rockaway Beach and Queens. It was found along with a sock and a white sneaker that matched the ones Pat had been wearing the day that she disappeared. Get this Even though the remains were found in two thousand two, DNA wasn't extracted until two thousand five. Okay, why did it take them three years to get a DNA sample? So immediately, my head exploded when I heard that until I read this article in the Herald News that says the medical examiner's office was still overwhelmed by the math of nine eleven at the time of discovery. I forgot, like, how close it was to New York City. Yeah. They still had over twenty one thousand unidentified remains and over one and people had not been positively identified yet. So again, I can kind of appreciate why it would take a little bit longer for them to analyze the remains, but I don't think it can explain the fact that it took another four years. For that DNA, once it was extracted to be sent to the University of North Texas for analysis, Are they held on to the day and day until two thousand nine? Shorted. Why? While the medical examiner's office doesn't give any answer as to why. But even after that, the remains aren't confirmed to be passed until two thousand twelve. Yeah, I mean, I guess, I'm struggling to process the entire thing as to why it took decade. Like, how did it take this long for remains to be identified? They just not have anything to compare it to or what? So that's part of the problem. Again, I have no explanation for why it took like years after extraction to just be sent off. But Pat's kids didn't submit an updated DNA sample to code s until two thousand eleven, and that is actually what the remains were matched to. And look, these things take time. It's not like what we see on TV where everything happens instantly. Right. But the fact that these remains literally sat in storage for over a decade is, again, frustrating for me, but it's frustrating to police and the Viola family who spent how much time over the last decade looking for a missing person who has likely been deceased this whole time. Right? So even though it's only a bone fragment, sock and shoe. Are investigators able to come up with a more concrete theory as to what happened to Pat? Or even how she ended up in the water in the first place? No. Unfortunately, they can't come to any conclusions based on the small amount of bone fragment that they have. Rockaway b is about five and a half miles long and leads into the Atlantic Ocean. So there's really no telling where or how her body could have gone into the water. And, I mean, at the time of the discovery, police had actually searched the beach on foot with helicopters trying to find like any additional remains, but they never ended up finding anything else. So what could have happened to her? I mean, is there even like a a short list? No. I mean, I think you go back to the theories they had from the day she walked away. Right? Like, did she go away on her own? There is still the positability that maybe she took her own life that she jumped into a body of water somewhere. But then you have to ask how on Earth did she get there? Right? Like, she couldn't drive. She didn't take a bus. We know that she didn't take a plane or taxi or whatever. Well, on top of that, like, I personally can't shake the whole house alarm going off, but I don't love that. don't What? Yeah. I can't get over Everyone seems so willing to just be like, oh, she must have left the door open and it like tripped on its own. I don't know why that just does not sit right with me. And I mean, again, was someone waiting in the house when she made that call to her mom? Was she alone? I have so many questions about this case. And, you know, there was even one. I didn't add it in the story because, like, I couldn't verify it in multiple places. But in the DisappEAR episode, her friend even says like that monkey in a cage that she wanted to buy for her husband. I had such a strong suspicion that she went out looking for that that day that I went and showed her pictures at like local Convenience Stores, and one of the Convenience Stores said that she was there. But again, I couldn't back this up anywhere. There's no mention of, like, surveillance footage. Like, where was she going at one eleven? Like, she didn't have any plans. I my head's spinning. Right. And it's not like she could even pick her kids up from school. Now, police say that Pat's case is still open. They aren't ruling out anything at this point, and they're actively working to help bring closure to the Viola family. But At the end of day nothing can truly bring them closure. Jim, Christine, and Michael are still waiting for the answers to the questions that have kept them up at night for over twenty years. You can find all the source material for this episode on our website crimjunkie dot com. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at crimjunkie podcast. We'll be back next week with a brand new be back next week with a brand new episode. Crime junkie is an audio chuck production. So. What do you think Chuck? Do you approve?