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0:45

one of the most horrific

0:47

True Crown podcasts, Human Monsters.

0:50

I'd like to ask you this question. Do you like

0:52

to travel? Do you

0:54

like picturesque locations and

0:57

getting away from it all? Fun

1:00

fact, there is a

1:02

morgue on every cruise ship. After

1:05

all, people die everywhere.

1:07

Why wouldn't they die on

1:09

a cruise ship in the Bahamas? Well,

1:13

this new podcast has all

1:15

that in murder. It's

1:18

called Slakation, and it's

1:21

a darkly humorous look

1:23

at murders and

1:25

mysterious deaths that took

1:27

place on vacation. Hosted

1:31

by True Crime Fanatic, her

1:34

comedy writer husband and his

1:36

TV producing partner, Slakation brings

1:39

a unique perspective to

1:41

chilling, thrilling, and what

1:44

the fuck stories of vacations

1:46

gone horribly wrong.

1:49

From the twisted tale of

1:51

Harold and Tony Henthorn, whose

1:53

romantic anniversary in the Rocky

1:55

Mountains ended with one of

1:57

them falling off a cliff, To

2:00

Angelica and Vincent, two

2:02

recently engaged lovebirds whose

2:05

Hudson Valley kayaking adventure

2:07

ended underwater, each

2:09

episode of Slacation will have you

2:11

asking, accident or

2:14

murder? But it's

2:16

not just the stories that'll intrigue you. It's

2:19

the discussion between a long time

2:22

married couple and business

2:24

partners who happen to

2:26

be Emmy nominated TV producers. Each

2:29

episode of Slacation also

2:31

includes humor, take away

2:33

and travel tips that will

2:36

keep your next vacation from

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being your last. If

2:40

you're ready to pack your body bags, Slacation

2:43

is available on all major

2:45

podcast platforms. Search

2:48

for Slacation on Apple, Podcasts,

2:51

Spotify or wherever else you

2:53

get your podcasts. Welcome

3:03

to the I Can't Sleep podcast

3:05

with Benjamin Boster. If

3:09

you're tired of sleepless nights, you'll

3:12

love the I Can't Sleep podcast. I

3:16

help quiet your mind by reading random articles

3:19

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3:21

sleep with my soothing voice. Each

3:26

episode provides enough interesting content to

3:28

hold your attention and

3:31

then your mind lets you drift off. Find

3:37

it wherever you get your podcasts. That's

3:41

I Can't Sleep with Benjamin

3:43

Boster. Welcome

4:35

to human monsters. Part

4:39

one, Robert Lee Yates. Robert

4:43

Lee Yates was born on the May 27, 1952

4:45

in Oak Harbor, Washington. He

4:49

was born with a history of violence. Example,

4:53

in 1945 his grandmother took

4:56

up an axe and slayed

4:58

his grandfather. His

5:01

father witnessed the aftermath while his

5:03

mother sat quietly in her room,

5:07

relaxing. Somehow such

5:09

a grisly scene could transpire

5:11

in this house without

5:14

a marked disruption in their

5:16

daily routine. His

5:18

grandmother snapped after having

5:20

11 children

5:23

with little help from her husband

5:26

who was often away working. She

5:29

spent the subsequent seven years

5:31

in a psychiatric hospital. The

5:37

Robert Lee Yates of this story,

5:41

named after his father, but

5:43

known by most as Bobby, was

5:47

remembered as a quiet child. He

5:50

was polite, minded

5:52

his manners, and stayed

5:54

out of trouble. He was

5:56

raised in a safe and quiet

5:59

community, which no doubt

6:01

contributed to his deferential and

6:04

people-pleasing tendencies. His

6:07

father also brought him to

6:09

the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He

6:12

attended, after he inculcated

6:15

into Bobby the

6:17

values and beliefs of the

6:19

Adventists. Father

6:21

and son had a strong bond and

6:24

did nearly everything together. They

6:27

also shared every aspect of their

6:29

lives together. Well, there

6:32

was one secret Bobby could not bring

6:35

himself to share with his father. When

6:38

Bobby was six years old, he

6:41

was molested by a neighbor who

6:43

was five years his senior. He

6:47

didn't tell anyone about it. After

6:52

graduating high school, Bobby

6:54

attended classes at Skagit

6:57

Valley College, where

6:59

he graduated in 1972 with a degree in general studies. He

7:06

didn't bother to attend graduate school.

7:11

Bobby Yates did not jump

7:13

on the generational bandwagon with

7:16

his male contemporaries. He didn't

7:18

grow his hair long. He

7:21

didn't do drugs. He continued

7:23

with the hobbies he picked up during

7:25

his youth, like hunting,

7:27

fishing, shooting, and

7:30

hiking. Indeed, he

7:32

was an outdoorsman. Bobby

7:36

Yates was married once to

7:39

a woman named Shirley Nylander.

7:42

He was 20 years old. They

7:45

fell in love quickly, married in

7:47

haste, and were just as

7:49

quickly living together. They

7:52

soon moved to a

7:54

college place in Walla Walla,

7:56

where they could pursue their studies

7:59

together. Part

8:01

of the appeal for Bobby was

8:03

that it was run by the

8:05

Seventh-Day Adventists. The

8:11

marriage was not to last

8:13

18 months in and

8:16

they separated on acrimonious

8:18

terms. By that point

8:20

he had already met a woman that appealed

8:22

to him, Linda Brewer.

8:26

Apparently she was really something else

8:28

for she enabled him to get over

8:31

Shirley in short order. Maybe

8:33

she had big tits. I don't know. Bobby

8:36

and Linda had a child together in

8:39

1974. Realizing

8:41

he was responsible for another

8:44

life, he took a job

8:46

at Washington State Penitentiary as

8:49

a corrections officer. This

8:51

would enable him to stay in Walla Walla

8:54

as he'd hoped he would. Six

8:58

months later he resigned with

9:01

no explanation other than working

9:03

in that position was

9:05

not for him. Rejecting

9:07

such plebeian occupations,

9:10

Bobby decided to pursue his

9:12

lifelong aspiration to become an

9:15

aviator, joining the

9:17

armed forces and serving

9:20

with the Air Force. He

9:22

passed all the tests and was

9:25

accepted. During

9:28

his time home, Linda began

9:30

to observe some strange behaviors

9:33

in Bobby. A

9:35

month after their wedding, she discovered

9:37

he had drilled a hole in

9:39

the wall. The hole outfitted him

9:42

with a view of the neighbor's

9:44

bedroom. Linda was

9:46

weirded out and disgusted. She

9:49

immediately left him. This

9:52

became a pattern. She

9:54

Would learn about his aberrant sexual

9:57

proclivities, throw up in her mouth

9:59

a little. Leave him.

10:02

But. Eventually return. Part

10:04

of the reason she would

10:07

return was that his income

10:09

provided security for their family

10:11

or children. Also wanted the

10:13

security of having both parents

10:16

around. Bobby

10:20

was a highly skilled helicopter

10:22

pilot. so much so, he

10:25

received several medals during his

10:27

years of service. When

10:33

Linda attended military social

10:35

functions with him, people

10:37

reacted like they were

10:39

surprised he was married.

10:44

Ninety Ninety Five Bobby

10:46

was now stations in

10:49

Fort Rucker, Alabama. Eighteen

10:55

months away from qualifying

10:57

for a military pension

10:59

and retirement. Bobby.

11:01

Tendered his resignation, No

11:04

explanation was given. Those

11:07

close to him personally and

11:09

professionally were either baffled or

11:11

a know we'd Either way,

11:14

nobody could make sense of

11:16

it. Bobby

11:18

announced to his family.

11:21

That. They were moving to

11:24

Spokane, Washington. Whether or

11:26

not it came across

11:28

to them as incredibly

11:30

random, He was fucking

11:32

happening. End of story.

11:35

One possible reason Bobby decided

11:37

to resign from the military

11:40

was at the type of

11:42

helicopter he specialized in had

11:44

become obsolete, or least the

11:47

military perceived it as such.

11:49

Bobby must have considered that

11:51

he, too, would have fallen

11:53

into obsolescence in their eyes.

11:57

the government was making cuts

11:59

to the military and offered

12:02

financial incentives to staff who

12:04

left voluntarily. He

12:06

had served for 21 years, so

12:09

conjecture had it among many that

12:11

he was simply bored with the

12:13

whole thing. By

12:18

the time they moved to Spokane,

12:20

the love between Bobby and Linda

12:23

had dwindled down to nothing. She

12:26

decided to stay with him for the sake of

12:28

the children. There

12:31

weren't any opportunities for a helicopter

12:33

pilot in this town, so

12:36

he accepted a position working as

12:38

a factory worker in

12:41

a factory that manufactured parts for

12:43

machines. Eventually he

12:45

was laid off and went to

12:47

work at an aluminum processing plant.

12:50

Nobody among his colleagues would

12:52

have remembered the paternal figure

12:55

as anything but reliable and

12:57

friendly. He was

12:59

never perceived by any of them as

13:01

serial killer material. People

13:04

wonder what the telltale signs of

13:07

such a person are, but

13:10

it's not like he's going to read

13:12

the obituary column in the newspaper with

13:15

a piercing erection. They

13:17

don't usually send out those creepy vibes

13:19

we associate with that type of offender.

13:23

Bobby came to miss military life,

13:26

so in 1997 he applied to and was accepted

13:28

by the National Guard, with which he served three

13:30

years. Due

13:37

to a medical issue, he was suspended

13:39

from flying helicopters. The

13:42

periods during which he was strictly

13:45

earthbound was spring of 1998 to

13:47

spring of 1999. As

13:52

It turned out, the residents of

13:54

Spokane were safer with him in

13:57

the sky. Bobby

14:02

Yates began to train

14:05

is cross hairs on

14:07

people whose lives he

14:09

was more than happy

14:11

to extinguish. He targeted

14:14

people he felt were

14:16

characterized by conventional society

14:18

as human garbage, people

14:21

like the homeless and

14:23

especially in Gates's per

14:25

view prostitutes. He

14:27

would wind himself up with

14:30

narcotics before he embarked on

14:32

an onslaught of me. August

14:39

Twenty Sixth, Ninety Ninety

14:42

Seven. Military veteran

14:44

Larry Jones was out for

14:46

a walk in. Decided to

14:48

collect soft drink cans along

14:51

the way for some pocket

14:53

money. At

14:55

eleven o'clock am. He

14:58

was heading down East Springfield

15:00

Street when he spotted a

15:02

corpse have concealed be nice

15:05

a tree. The body

15:07

was that of a young woman. She

15:10

was half naked. It

15:12

was clear as she had been

15:15

left there for a long time

15:17

because their skin was weathered after

15:19

prolonged exposure to the elements. While

15:24

detectives were examining the area,

15:26

they found a gallon of

15:28

blood splattered across the parking

15:30

lot near by. They

15:33

quickly surmised that the body

15:36

was dragged across the lot,

15:38

over in embankment and finally

15:40

to the tree. It

15:44

was time to break out

15:46

the vapor rub. The body

15:48

was in an advanced stage

15:50

of decomposition, it

15:52

was so foul this odor he

15:54

didn't have to be a rookie

15:56

to puke up your coffee and

15:58

donuts A

16:01

second body was found. This was discovered

16:04

by the side of the road nearby.

16:07

It had been dragged out into the middle

16:09

of a field. The

16:11

stench made it impossible to determine

16:13

the approximate date of

16:16

death. This corpse was

16:18

discovered by the family upon

16:20

whose farm the body found

16:22

its final resting place. The

16:25

body was of a young woman, and it

16:28

was teeming with maggots. Her

16:30

skin was leathery from

16:32

rot. The

16:34

decomposition was so advanced, the

16:37

coroner could not even determine

16:39

the girl's racial ancestry. Some

16:43

clues found near the corpse

16:45

included a condom,

16:48

a pair of high heels, a

16:51

broken car radio antenna, a

16:53

pair of black underpants, a

16:56

towel that had been drenched in

16:58

blood, and blood

17:00

stains on some of the flora.

17:04

Her hair color was impossible to

17:07

discern because it was matted with

17:09

dirt and blood. Chunks

17:12

of her flesh had been removed.

17:15

Animal predation was proposed as

17:17

a cause, but was not

17:19

proven. A small

17:22

circular perforation suggested

17:26

a bullet wound. The

17:28

autopsy concluded that she died

17:30

from gunshot wounds in the

17:33

chest and shoulder. She

17:35

was shot with a .22 caliber pistol.

17:40

The girl found by the parking lot

17:42

died from a shot fired from a

17:44

.25 caliber gun.

17:47

She was shot in the head. She

17:49

hadn't decomposed as much as the other

17:51

girl, so the police were

17:54

able to get a fingerprint. After

17:56

entering the print into the computer,

17:59

an officer got a match. Heather

18:02

Hernandez, a 20-year-old

18:04

drifter from Arizona. Because

18:07

of her nomadic lifestyle, few people

18:09

knew much about her. The

18:13

closest the police got to ascertaining

18:16

the identity of the other girl

18:18

was when they were given the

18:20

name Jennifer Kim. The

18:22

name was an alias, but what was

18:24

known was that she was 19 years

18:28

old and had been acquainted

18:30

with Heather Hernandez. After

18:33

probing into the matter of the

18:35

name further, police discovered

18:37

that Jennifer Kim's real name

18:39

was Jennifer Joseph. According

18:42

to her parents, her stated

18:44

age was also incorrect. She

18:47

was 16. She was the

18:49

daughter of a military officer and

18:52

spent her youth traveling all over

18:54

America. Her mother was

18:56

in Hawaii at the time of her death.

18:59

Jennifer was in Spokane

19:01

with her boyfriend. He

19:04

left weeks before she died. Police wanted to

19:06

get in touch with him to see

19:09

if he might be a suspect. Bobby

19:16

Yates had taken to spending

19:18

his leisure time in a

19:20

section of Spokane known by

19:22

locals as Skid Row. It

19:26

was the place where sex workers,

19:28

drug dealers, and other people

19:30

who operated at the fringes

19:33

of society would congregate

19:35

to socialize or do business.

19:39

His Ford 1979 van, I don't know what

19:41

model it is and I

19:43

don't give a fuck. I'm not a car

19:47

guy, but that van

19:49

became a fixture of Skid Row. When

19:52

Bobby Yates wasn't banging

19:54

prostitutes, he was hanging out

19:57

with them, learning their

19:59

names, or pseudonyms, who

20:02

had crotch-rot all that shit.

20:05

He was an enthusiastic drug user,

20:08

so spending time in those

20:10

parts meant he benefited from

20:12

that standpoint. He

20:14

had point so many hookers that

20:17

they knew him by name, which

20:19

was an alias. They even trusted

20:22

him, or at least they

20:24

trusted him as much as they could

20:26

trust a trick. He

20:28

always paid, he didn't beat them up,

20:31

no scat, no animals. He

20:34

would even incorporate some drinks

20:36

or drugs into the occasion.

20:39

That made sense since many

20:41

sex workers are addicts. Many

20:45

prostitutes have regular johns,

20:48

and servicing them is

20:50

always preferable to some random creep

20:52

from the street. Finding

20:58

associates of Jennifer Johnson among

21:00

the sex workers who

21:03

would be willing to cooperate in

21:05

the investigation was not easy. She

21:08

was well-liked among that contingent.

21:11

She was part Korean, and apparently

21:14

the clientele serviced in that area

21:16

of the city were

21:18

struck with yellow fever. The

21:21

sex workers identified their johns

21:24

by the vehicles they drove.

21:31

Throughout the investigation, there

21:34

were many leads that led to nowhere.

21:37

However, one day,

21:40

Detective Rick Grabenstein received

21:42

a phone call from a sex worker who

21:45

was a familiar face on Skid Row,

21:48

but retained anonymity over

21:50

the phone. She recalled

21:52

a 1970s van to

21:55

the officer. What would have

21:57

by then be referred to as by comedians

22:01

a 70s date rape van.

22:04

Whether any rapes took place in the

22:06

van was unknown at

22:08

that time. Whether

22:10

the paint job was an illustration of

22:12

a wizard like from the back of

22:15

Led Zeppelin IV that was so common

22:17

among van owners in the 70s also

22:21

remains unknown. Actually

22:23

the outer decor of the

22:25

van wasn't nearly so interesting.

22:28

It was a dark shit brown

22:30

Chevy with a light beige panel

22:33

highlight with brown

22:35

flames as if

22:37

Bobby Yates shat on it

22:39

himself. On the back of the

22:41

van where one customarily kept

22:44

the spare tire was

22:46

an eagle bird

22:48

of prey. Interesting. The

22:52

girl said the driver was white likely

22:55

middle-aged and his hair

22:57

was also brown. Difficult

22:59

to discern exactly which shade

23:02

from among the gradient of

23:04

feces but this man

23:07

was surrounded by brown in

23:09

her recollection. The

23:11

70s was the golden age of

23:13

brown so seeing it on the

23:16

outdated van in question came as

23:18

no surprise. When

23:20

the girl agreed to talk to

23:23

the detective he was required to

23:25

honor the condition that he not

23:27

contact her parents to tell them

23:30

she was a prostitute or

23:32

at least not unless they

23:34

had a defibrillator nearby. He

23:38

asked her why that van was

23:40

particularly memorable. One

23:42

thing she pointed out was that the

23:45

second time she saw it the windows

23:47

were tinted. Tinted windows

23:49

were perceived as a red flag

23:52

among the sex workers of Skid

23:54

Row. Other prostitutes

23:56

who had dealings with the driver

23:58

said he was harmed. but

24:01

the woman being interviewed by

24:03

Grabenstein wasn't buying it.

24:06

She saw Heather get into the van a

24:08

few days before her body was found. In

24:12

a small town in Colorado, people

24:14

turned to a family-run funeral home

24:17

in their deepest moments of loss. Run

24:20

by a mother and daughter team, the

24:22

funeral home offered thoughtful services at

24:24

a fair price. But there

24:27

was a dark side to their business. It

24:29

was truly a house of horror. He

24:32

said she may have dismembered him and sold

24:34

parts of him. I'm

24:36

getting angry all over, a small swift

24:38

drinking out. Uninvestigative reporter

24:40

Ashley Fonts, and this is

24:42

the story of an unbelievable

24:44

crime you've never heard of.

24:47

A story of a funeral home

24:49

that lured their victims in the

24:51

front door only to sell their

24:54

bodies out the back. From

24:56

Campside Media and Sony Music

24:59

Entertainment, listen to cover-up Body

25:01

Brokers. Subscribe on Apple

25:03

Podcasts to binge all episodes, or

25:06

listen weekly wherever you get your

25:08

podcasts. In

25:12

the tradition of radio classics, hearing tales

25:14

of the night, are

25:17

the stories, horrors, and legends that

25:20

inhabit the streets of Mexico and

25:22

Ibero, America. The

25:25

darkness of the most successful

25:27

and acclaimed horror podcast across

25:29

all categories in Latin America

25:31

looms over you. Small English.

25:34

Tales of the Night. Tune in now. But be

25:36

warned, because in the silence of the

25:38

dark, you might just become the next protagonist

25:40

of Tales of the Night. Listen to

25:43

Tales of the Night, wherever you get podcasts. Some

25:51

time in the early 80s,

25:53

Ario Speedwagon's airplane made an

25:55

unannounced, middle-of-the-night landing. This

25:57

is my friend Kyle McLaughlin, the star of Twin Cities.

26:00

Any telling me about how he discovered

26:02

a real life Twin Peaks in rural

26:04

North Carolina not far from where he

26:06

film Blue Velvet. What was on the

26:09

plane was copious amounts of drugs coming

26:11

in from South America. Supposedly Pablo Escobar

26:13

went looking for other spots quiet out

26:15

of the way places to bring in

26:17

his cocaine. My

26:21

name is Joshua Davis and I'm an

26:23

investigative reporter. I when

26:25

I talk all the time about

26:27

the strange things we come across,

26:29

but nothing was quite as strange

26:31

as what we found in foreign

26:34

I'm town. North Carolina is crooked

26:36

cops brother against brother. Everyone's gotta

26:38

story to tell, but does the

26:40

truth even exists? Welcome to Varna

26:42

Town! Farnham Town is available wherever

26:44

you listen to podcasts. Linda

26:54

record one suspicious incidents

26:56

involving Bobby. One

26:59

night he went out weights

27:01

and didn't return until after

27:03

six am. Linda

27:05

lock the doors so he had

27:07

to knock to be permitted inside.

27:10

He gathered up all the cleaning

27:12

supplies and made a beeline for

27:14

the Vn. Linda followed

27:17

him out there. There.

27:19

Were huge splotches of blood

27:21

all over the interior of

27:23

the San. The

27:26

pull down caught looked like it

27:28

had been dipped in blood. He

27:31

told Linda he ran over a

27:33

dog and that he in the

27:36

dog's owner brought the animals remains

27:38

in the van. The

27:40

furthest thing from Blenders mind

27:42

was that he was soaking

27:44

up the remains of a

27:47

dead hooker. So she accepted

27:49

this story. More

27:54

women disappeared. Some

27:56

of the names word Darla,

27:58

Scott, Sean John, Sin, and

28:01

Laurie Ways and they weren't

28:03

all sex workers, but they

28:05

were heavily immersed in the

28:07

local drug scene. November

28:14

fifth, a man was walking

28:16

his dog near Hangman Valley

28:19

Road. His dog was attracted

28:21

to one spot for days.

28:25

On this day his owner decided

28:27

to investigate the spot. He

28:30

found a dead woman. He

28:32

called is finding into the police.

28:38

The murderer made a half ass

28:40

attempt to bury the body. The

28:42

head and arm and a leg

28:45

were visible but the rest of

28:47

for was buried. It

28:49

had been decomposing and animals to

28:51

bite out of the body. The

28:54

entire right side of the head

28:56

had been stripped of it's flesh,

28:59

leaving a Bears goal with a

29:01

strip of errant hair flapping in

29:03

the wind. The

29:05

animals west teeth marks in her

29:08

flesh. There was a round hole

29:10

in the back of her head

29:12

suggesting she had been shot. The

29:16

animals torn muscle and see

29:18

new from the woman's shoulder.

29:20

The same damage was spotted

29:22

on the right foot and

29:24

ankle. She was

29:26

wearing a Mickey Mouse t shirt

29:29

which was torn and bloodied. Exact

29:33

estimates of the woman's

29:35

age eluded the coroner

29:37

as he performed the

29:39

autopsy. Conjecture had

29:41

it there she was between twenty

29:44

and thirty years old. It wasn't

29:46

so difficult to ascertain the cause

29:48

of death. She had

29:50

been shot in the head twice. he

29:53

couldn't even get the size of the

29:56

bullets right since they passed straight through

29:58

the head and were found at

30:00

the scene. Swabs of

30:03

the victims vagina, anus,

30:05

and mouth were taken to

30:07

find traces of foreign DNA.

30:11

On November 12th dental

30:13

records revealed that the

30:15

victim was Darla Scott.

30:18

After interviewing her family and friends

30:20

it was discovered that she was

30:22

a drug addict who had once

30:24

quit because she became pregnant and

30:26

did not want to harm the

30:29

baby. Though she hoped

30:31

the baby would keep her off

30:33

the streets, she ultimately

30:35

fell back into addiction after

30:38

the child was born and

30:40

turned to prostitution to finance her

30:42

habit. Sometimes she

30:44

would travel from state to

30:47

state with truckers providing

30:49

sexual services in exchange

30:52

for drugs and transportation.

30:58

December 7th the

31:00

body of Melinda Mercer was found.

31:03

This body was found in the

31:05

city of Tacoma, Washington which

31:08

is a long distance from Spokane.

31:11

No matter where you went to in

31:13

Washington State at that time, the

31:16

local climate despite being

31:18

heavy in precipitation still

31:20

left the streets running with the

31:23

blood of young women. Melinda

31:26

was naked when her body was

31:28

discovered. It appeared that no

31:30

effort was made to conceal her

31:32

remains. A casing from a

31:35

25 caliber bullet was

31:37

found. None of her

31:39

belongings remained in the vicinity of her

31:41

body. Police surmised

31:43

that a car had brought her to

31:46

the spot where she was dumped. Melinda

31:49

was a waitress who was fondly

31:51

remembered by all who knew her.

31:55

She was a kind woman, but

31:57

she aligned herself with the seedy

31:59

Underbelly. Really have to coma

32:01

and other cities in Washington

32:03

state enough to turn tricks

32:05

when she was hard up

32:07

for cash. She was a

32:09

drifter, moving frequently within the

32:12

state. Belinda as

32:14

cause of death was multiple gunshots

32:16

to the head. December.

32:21

Eighteenth, the body of Shaun

32:23

Johnson was found by a

32:25

crew of maintenance workers. This

32:29

was another corpse there was found

32:31

on Hang Valley Road. Without

32:33

for seeing it, the municipal

32:35

officials who named that street

32:37

made a sick joke. No

32:41

attempt was made to bury this body.

32:43

She was just dumped. Some

32:47

natural detritus like leaves

32:49

and other discarded flora

32:51

were thrown a top

32:53

her, but they were

32:55

more effective as decoration

32:58

than as concealment. The

33:01

offender was as unconcerned about getting

33:03

caught as he was about the

33:05

life of this victim and all

33:08

the lives for death would affect.

33:11

The post mortem analysis

33:13

would present more data

33:15

to the coroner. Since

33:17

the cold weather brought

33:19

the decomposition process to

33:21

a standstill. Identification

33:24

would take time though since

33:26

her belongings were not sound

33:28

close by. To

33:30

plastic bags were placed over her

33:33

head. Sad, you know,

33:35

anal an oral swabs were taken

33:37

to detect the presence of foreign

33:40

dna. Soon,

33:43

Sean Johnson's identity was confirmed.

33:45

She had been a sex

33:47

worker in Skid Row. Her

33:50

diary was found. All

33:53

she wanted out of wife was

33:55

to become a wife, mother, and

33:57

homeowner. drugs and press

34:00

a barricade around all that. A

34:07

countywide task force was assembled

34:09

to track down what law

34:11

enforcement now knew was a

34:13

serial killer. December

34:20

26th, two

34:22

more bodies turned up. Lori

34:26

Wason and Sean McClanahan.

34:30

They were found in Spokane. They

34:33

had been on a missing persons list before they were

34:35

found. There

34:37

was a possibility with these women that

34:39

it might not have been a serial

34:41

killer who was responsible. Both

34:44

women had cooperated with police

34:46

and were known as snitches.

34:50

There were likely many people who wanted

34:52

them to disappear. They

34:54

had also stolen from people and

34:56

again, that's not exactly a surefire

34:59

way to ingratiate herself to

35:01

other people on the street.

35:05

They were placed side by side

35:07

in a gully within the wooded

35:09

area of Spokane. They

35:12

were discovered by a local attorney

35:15

and his son as they were out

35:17

for a walk. One

35:19

of the women was missing a foot. They

35:22

were both covered in natural detritus

35:24

and snow. Oddly,

35:27

the leaves and branches were

35:29

not indigenous to the area.

35:33

Did the murderer go on

35:35

scavenger hunts in other forests

35:37

to find material to conceal

35:39

his corpses? Apparently

35:41

so. Detectives

35:45

consulted data regarding the types

35:47

of flora that was found

35:49

within different areas of Washington

35:52

State to find out where

35:54

the samples were harvested. As

35:58

with most of the other victims, the victims were found. The

36:00

two women were shot with 25 caliber

36:03

bullets. Plastic bags

36:05

were placed over both their heads.

36:09

Three to be exact, on

36:11

each. The

36:13

outermost bag was a plug for

36:15

Safeway. Most others

36:17

were barren of logos. A

36:20

Kmart bag was pressed up against

36:22

one girl's skin. That

36:24

ladder bag bore graphics of

36:27

characters from Sesame Street. Another's

36:30

thick joke. A

36:32

paper towel was also included

36:35

in Lori's dressings. Both

36:38

of the women were shot twice in the

36:40

head, execution style,

36:43

which had become this killer's

36:45

calling card. DNA

36:47

analysis was conducted on hairs that

36:49

were taken from the bodies. The

36:56

investigators struggled as false

36:59

leads and faulty intel

37:01

was brought in by a coterie of

37:04

street people. The

37:06

FBI provided some assistance with

37:08

their profiling, but the description

37:10

was too broad. February 8th. Yet

37:18

another body was found by a

37:20

pedestrian walking down a road west

37:22

of Spokane County. There

37:25

were three plastic bags wrapped around

37:27

its head. She

37:30

was killed with a single gunshot

37:32

wound to the head. The body

37:34

had decomposed to such an

37:36

extent that even determining

37:38

the gender was not something that could

37:40

be deserved. It was something that could

37:42

be distinguished by sight alone. Animals

37:46

feasted on her, tearing

37:48

chunks of her left arm

37:50

off and eating away most

37:52

of the hand. Her

37:54

skin exhibited symptoms of putrefaction and

37:56

decay due to the death of

37:58

a woman. you having been

38:00

left out in the elements for a

38:02

long time. Following

38:05

an autopsy, an identification

38:07

was made. A woman

38:09

from the missing persons list by

38:12

the name of Sunny Oster. April

38:17

1st. Another body

38:19

was found by two parents and their

38:22

child as they walked along 14th Street.

38:25

It had been dumped close to

38:28

the spot where Sean McClenahan and

38:30

Lori Watson were discovered. It

38:33

was left in the same drainage

38:35

ditch as the others. The

38:37

killer had thrown leaves and grass

38:40

over her in an attempt to

38:43

conceal the body, but

38:45

inclement weather blew the detritus

38:47

aside. Three plastic

38:50

bags were wrapped around the head. One

38:53

gunshot was found to be the cause

38:55

of death. She

38:57

was identified as Linda Davies, who

39:00

had been on the missing persons list. A

39:03

condom was found between the cheeks of

39:05

her buttocks and was entered

39:08

into the lab for analysis. Michelin

39:15

Durning was found. She

39:18

was discovered in a vacant parking lot.

39:21

She was naked. The executioner

39:23

put branches and a cover

39:25

from a hot tub over

39:27

her. There was

39:29

a single gunshot on her head from a

39:31

.25 caliber pistol. August

39:38

1st. Christine Smith

39:40

was a prostitute. This

39:43

night a man pulled up in his van and

39:47

asked him if he was

39:49

the serial killer. He

39:52

said no. He said he

39:54

was an Army veteran and a father of

39:56

five. Christine

39:59

bought it. and got in

40:01

the van. He asked her for

40:03

oral sex, but it was

40:05

a struggle for her to help him achieve

40:08

an erection, a process

40:10

that took her several minutes. As

40:13

she did so, she suddenly

40:15

felt a painful, piercing sensation

40:17

in the back of her head. She

40:21

was shot, though it didn't kill

40:23

her. At first, she thought

40:25

he hit her. He

40:27

was yelling at her about how he

40:29

wanted his money back because he couldn't

40:32

get an erection. She

40:34

managed to scramble out of the van

40:36

and run away. She

40:39

ran down the street all the way to a

40:41

rehab center. Seeing the

40:43

extent to which she had been injured,

40:45

they called the medics. October,

40:50

a body was found in

40:53

a ditch. She was

40:55

Connie LaFontaine Ellis. She

40:58

was found in Tacoma. Towards

41:03

the end of 1999, Robert

41:05

Yates brought the corpse

41:08

of Melody Murphon to his house

41:11

where he burned it in the backyard. September

41:17

15, 1999. The detectives

41:21

brought in Robert Lee Yates

41:23

for questioning. He

41:25

was uncomfortable the entire time,

41:28

sweating bullets throughout. They

41:30

asked him if he had ever

41:33

hired prostitutes. He said

41:35

he had, though in Germany

41:37

while he was in the military.

41:40

He claimed to have never done it

41:42

in Spokane. He was

41:44

asked for alibis but was

41:47

unable to produce them. He

41:49

was asked for a blood sample

41:51

but refused, which was

41:54

his legal right as an American

41:56

citizen. A

42:00

blood sample that was taken from a

42:02

Corvette that was driven by Robert Yates

42:05

was a match for a prostitute

42:07

he hired. April

42:13

17th, police arrested

42:16

Robert Lee Yates shortly after he

42:18

left his house for work. He

42:21

was informed he was suspected of committing murder.

42:23

18 murders, that is. Reportedly,

42:28

he appeared unconcerned.

42:34

Due to DNA evidence and

42:36

witness testimony, Robert Lee

42:38

Yates was convicted, in the end,

42:41

with 13 counts of

42:43

first-degree murder. He

42:45

was also charged with first-degree attempted

42:47

murder when it came to the

42:49

girl who got away, who was

42:51

known as Christine. Yates

42:54

and his lawyers agreed to a

42:57

plea deal to avoid the death

42:59

penalty in exchange for his confession.

43:03

A trial was averted, and

43:05

he was sentenced to 408 years in prison. There

43:13

was more conviction and sentencing to

43:15

come. Pierce

43:17

County Police accused him of

43:20

committing two more murders, those

43:22

of Melinda Mercer and Connie

43:25

LaFontaine Ellis. The

43:27

prosecutors were able to convince the judge

43:29

to sentence him to death. However,

43:32

the law states that he would have

43:35

to serve the 408 years before being

43:37

executed. Yates

43:43

remains in prison to this day. Part

43:49

2. Gert van

43:51

Rooyen and Joey Harroff

43:55

South Africa has the unfortunate reputation of being the country with

43:58

the fact that the police are not the only one. third

44:00

highest rate of serial

44:03

killers in the world, only

44:05

preceded by the United States of

44:08

America and the United Kingdom.

44:11

Over the past century,

44:13

112 active serial

44:15

killers were convicted in South

44:18

Africa, which effectively means

44:20

at any given time in the

44:22

country's history. There has been

44:24

one or more active

44:26

serial killers within the borders

44:29

of the country. Of

44:31

all the prolific serial killers

44:33

who claimed the southern tip

44:35

of Africa with its

44:38

magnificent beaches, towering

44:40

mountain ranges, and abundant

44:42

fauna and flora, there

44:45

is one, the man

44:47

who brought home to

44:49

citizens that monsters don't

44:51

have green scales, fangs,

44:54

and hide in your nightmares.

44:57

The scariest monsters might

45:00

be your neighbor, your fellow

45:02

church member, or even your

45:04

own father. During

45:10

the period in 1988 to

45:13

1989, the cities of Pierter-Merritsburg,

45:16

Johannesburg, and Pretoria were

45:18

in the state of

45:21

continuous terror, since

45:23

six young girls between the ages

45:25

of nine and 16 seemed

45:29

to have vanished without a trace.

45:32

Police launched a frantic search,

45:34

but due to the lack

45:36

of information and evidence, the

45:38

missing girls seemed to have

45:40

disappeared like mist before the

45:42

sun. On

45:46

the 1st of August 1988, Tracy

45:48

Lee Scott Crosby, aged 14, from

45:50

Randburg disappeared from the Cresta Shopping

45:55

Center. She was last seen entering a vault in

45:57

the city of West Virginia. Volkswagen

46:00

Beetle, but no other information

46:02

was available. Her brother,

46:05

who originally would have accompanied her,

46:08

would struggle with his choice not

46:10

to join her for many years

46:12

afterwards and in a

46:14

bizarre twist. He was years later

46:16

convicted of beating a farm worker

46:19

unconscious and then throwing the

46:21

limp man's body to the

46:24

lions to feed upon. The

46:27

conviction was later overturned, but

46:29

Tracy's brother was just one

46:31

of the unknown victims whose

46:34

lives were scarred by

46:36

an evil that would leave more questions

46:39

than answers in its wave of

46:41

terror. Hi, I'm Karina

46:43

B. Mr. Fuhr, host of Morning

46:45

Cup of Murder, your daily true

46:48

crime podcast. Yes, you

46:50

heard me right, daily true crime. Every

46:53

day, Morning Cup of Murder tells

46:55

you a straightforward, short-form story about

46:58

murder, true crime, cold cases, disappearances,

47:01

serial killers, cults, and

47:03

more. And I do

47:05

that all in under 15 minutes. With

47:08

over three years of stories and over

47:10

20 million downloads, the Morning

47:12

Cup of Murder podcast has become a staple

47:15

of so many people's daily routines. So

47:18

why not add it to yours? Stream

47:20

Morning Cup of Murder everywhere you listen to

47:22

podcasts and remember, stay safe. And

47:49

Every week, we'll be bringing you a new story about

47:52

organized crime from all over the world. A

48:00

boy with our own experiences in the field

48:02

and will friends and bad As far as

48:04

the only well podcast a sport, the criminal

48:07

underworld that affect all of our lives whether

48:09

we know it or not available wherever you

48:11

get your podcasts. Federal

48:16

lands and evening at mystery may

48:18

have an exploration tax I have

48:20

you managed to silo. A

48:22

former and I'm Doctor Scott, a

48:25

former Hollywood casting Director. Now we're

48:27

both forensic psychologist working in Southern

48:29

California. Are you fascinated by the

48:31

twisted mind that commit criminal? You

48:36

ever wonder. How could they do that?

48:38

In each episode of our podcast

48:40

l A Not So Confidential we

48:42

dissect The nexus were true crime,

48:44

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48:46

was exaggerate her daughter's how to

48:48

cook For financial gain, we serve

48:50

up fascinating cases viewed through the

48:52

lens of human behavior. otherwise you'd

48:54

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48:57

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48:59

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49:01

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49:05

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us Where doctors. On

49:17

the twenty second of December

49:19

nineteen eat twelve year old

49:21

Fiona Harvey from peered through

49:23

mirrors birds disappeared on your

49:25

way to the corner shop

49:27

to buy some milk for

49:29

her mother. Witnesses would recall

49:31

white trucks with van ruin building

49:33

contractors written on the side of

49:36

the vehicle. Police

49:38

would not immediately release the

49:40

abduction to the cases in

49:42

Pretoria and surrounding area, but

49:45

it would later emerged that

49:47

the suspects spend time not

49:49

only and Gauteng, but also

49:52

the coastal resorts of course,

49:54

Zulu near Towel. Sadly,

49:56

Her body is wanna be six

49:59

disappeared girl. whose bodies

50:01

were never found, and

50:03

the only clue to what might have happened

50:05

to Fiona was the witnessing

50:07

of the pickup truck with the company logo.

50:11

On the 7th of June

50:13

1989, 9-year-old Joan Horn was

50:16

abducted on her way to

50:18

school, never to be seen again.

50:21

Once again, police had no clues

50:23

to follow up. Police

50:25

were becoming frustrated with the

50:27

mounting case files which seemed

50:29

to be connected, although

50:32

how they were connected seemed elusive.

50:35

Pretoria was the capital of the

50:37

country and known as one of

50:39

the friendliest cities for students. It

50:42

was also during the apartheid era

50:44

that the crimes occurred, and

50:47

suburban middle-class white folks were not

50:49

prepared for the darkness that was

50:51

not meant to happen behind white

50:53

picket fences. The

50:56

danger seemed not to

50:58

belong amongst looming jacaranda

51:00

trees and manicured gardens.

51:05

During July 1989,

51:08

16-year-old Janet Delport

51:10

from Pierre Meuritzburg

51:13

would be found wandering around in

51:15

a drugged daze after she

51:18

was reported earlier in the day as missing.

51:21

Due to the drugs in her

51:23

system, or perhaps because she would

51:25

have a psychological block on her

51:27

memory at the time she was

51:29

abducted, she would offer

51:31

police no information about the abduction.

51:35

Only later Janet would realize, as

51:37

the story of the six missing

51:39

girls would unfold, regardless

51:41

of what had happened during those

51:43

missing hours, she was one of

51:45

the lucky ones to escape. Janet

51:49

Rosa Peel would, however, disappear

51:51

a couple of weeks later.

51:55

Police by now were well aware of

51:57

the modus operandi of the perpetrator and

51:59

despite the Despite the fact that there

52:01

was not a single piece of evidence to

52:03

link Rosa's abduction to the others, detectives

52:06

believed they were looking for the

52:08

same man. Soon

52:11

afterwards, Odette Boucher, aged

52:14

13, and Anne-Marie

52:17

Waupannar, aged 11, would

52:19

together be abducted on their way

52:21

to school on the 22nd of

52:23

September 1989. On

52:26

the 29th of September 1989,

52:28

Anne-Marie's mother would receive a

52:30

letter from Anne-Marie saying

52:32

that she and Odette had run

52:35

away to the coast with some

52:37

boys. Since the

52:39

content was completely out of line with

52:41

their daughter's personality, Anne-Marie's

52:43

mother took the letter to the

52:45

detective in charge and both agreed

52:48

that the letter was written under

52:50

duress. The

52:52

abductor or abductors were becoming

52:54

brazen. All

52:56

the kidnappings took place in broad

52:58

daylight and in public places such

53:01

as shopping centers. Still,

53:03

the teams of detectives who

53:05

dedicated all their time, energy,

53:07

and resources to catch a

53:10

predator had practically no information,

53:12

no leads, and it was

53:14

as if six young girls

53:16

just vanished without a single

53:18

trace. Detectives

53:20

were especially concerned with the escalation

53:22

of the number of abductions. The

53:25

time between kidnappings became less

53:27

and openly taking two girls

53:29

in daylight indicated to police

53:31

that the culprit was very

53:33

good at what he did,

53:35

highly intelligent and a pure

53:37

psychopath. Very little

53:40

was known as far as

53:42

serial murderers and predators of

53:44

serial offenders, but police

53:46

knew from previous international cases

53:48

that the escalation in part

53:51

was not a good sign.

53:53

It is an unfortunate barometer, but

53:56

the faster the escalation, the more

53:58

likely the perpetrator Would make

54:00

more mistakes please. Could not

54:03

understand how the abductor, who

54:05

according to the psychological profile

54:07

was definitely a white male,

54:09

could not only get away

54:11

with his crimes, but do

54:14

it almost effortlessly. Yolanda

54:18

Wessels was very familiar with

54:20

the House at Two Two

54:22

Seven Mahler Be Street. It.

54:25

Was the home of her aunt. Friend.

54:27

See know your Hannah her half

54:29

Better known as Joey's home. On

54:32

the afternoon of Twenty Second of

54:35

December, Nineteen Eighty Nine, she left

54:37

your home to visit with a

54:39

rant also never to be seen

54:41

again. Detectives interviewed her

54:43

off, but she would later be

54:46

described as a harmless, friendly old

54:48

lady eager to assist in the

54:50

disappearance of her nice. Little

54:53

did they know or even

54:55

suspect that they were speaking

54:57

to one half of the

55:00

most notorious international serial killer

55:02

couples in the world. Friends

55:05

and family would later

55:07

describe Harassed as a

55:09

gentle soul, always pleasant

55:11

and soft spoken and

55:13

as a change in

55:15

her only came after

55:17

she fell in love

55:19

with Cornelius Gar Hondas

55:21

Von Rogan. Known. As

55:24

gert many believed she was

55:26

seduced by Van Ryan who

55:28

seemed short with a slight

55:30

hunch and not very attractive

55:32

in comparison with the by

55:35

vicious and good looking younger

55:37

woman. It is

55:39

however difficult to consolidate this

55:41

impression with the woman who

55:43

repeatedly and willingly lord girls

55:46

to our car including her

55:48

own flesh and blood with

55:50

a gentle natured woman's people

55:52

described. Love could

55:54

not possibly be that blind. it

55:57

is more likely that like her lover

56:00

Harhoff acted very well the

56:02

part of a respectable housewife

56:04

image she successfully portrayed to

56:06

the world. The

56:10

11th of January 1990 was

56:12

a beautiful summer's day in Pretoria,

56:14

capital city of South Africa. 16-year-old

56:18

Joan Boyens was late for

56:20

her connecting bus to

56:22

her high school, which would be another quarter

56:24

of an hour of waiting. Joan

56:27

had hardly been standing at the

56:29

bus stop at Church Square when

56:32

a friendly, blonde, middle-aged woman

56:35

stopped next to her and asked

56:37

what school she was attending. Joan

56:40

told her when the woman offered to take

56:42

her to her school. Joan

56:45

didn't hesitate. Joan was aware

56:47

of stranger danger, but this lady could have

56:49

been the mother of any of her friends.

56:55

Once in the car, the conversation

56:57

flowed comfortably. The woman

56:59

asked if Joan would mind if they could

57:01

stop at her house to let her people

57:03

know she was taking Joan to school. Joan

57:06

did not mind, and soon they pulled into

57:08

the driveway of a neat home in one

57:10

of the leafy suburbs of Pretoria. The

57:15

woman entered the house but came

57:17

out minutes later and asked Joan if

57:19

she would mind waiting inside since

57:21

no one was at home. Joan obliged.

57:26

Once inside, she noted how tidy

57:28

the house was. Most

57:30

of the doors in the house were

57:32

closed, but she saw school uniforms from

57:34

different schools on a bed and asked

57:37

the woman whose name was Joey Harhoff.

57:42

Whose clothes the items

57:45

were. Harhoff told Joan

57:47

the uniforms belonged to her children

57:49

and she was planning on donating

57:51

the items. Once

57:56

in the master bedroom, Joan turned around to find Harhoff and

57:58

asked if she could find the items. had vanished

58:00

and instead the menacing figure

58:03

of a man who she

58:05

later described as having devilish

58:07

eyes was grabbing her and

58:09

forcing her to kiss him. Utterly

58:12

shocked and repulsed, Joan

58:15

fought back. The man who

58:17

would later be identified as Gert Van

58:20

Ruyen punched her in the face

58:22

and by the time Joan had regained her

58:24

focus, she found she was staring down

58:26

the barrel of a gun. As

58:29

Van Ruyen lifted her from the bed with

58:31

a headlock, Harhoff entered with

58:34

a handful of pills, stockings,

58:37

handcuffs, tape, and a

58:39

glass of water. The magnitude

58:42

of her situation and the realization

58:44

that this kind woman was not

58:46

going to help her hit

58:48

her at once. Joan

58:50

was forced to drink the tablets. She

58:53

was tied up, gagged, after

58:55

which Van Ruyen proceeded to

58:58

sexually assault her. She

59:00

was then locked up in a closet where

59:03

she lost consciousness for a while. It

59:06

is important to know that Joan

59:08

was small for her age and

59:10

that Van Ruyen usually abducted younger

59:12

victims. Joan immediately

59:15

started loosening her bindings and

59:17

managed to open the closet

59:19

door. The drugs

59:21

she had been forced to drink had

59:23

not completely worn off, but

59:25

despite being terrified, she knew she had

59:28

to escape. Fortunately, Harhoff

59:30

was in the backyard, completely

59:32

unaware of her abductee's escape.

59:35

Joan made it to the front door,

59:37

always alert for any other signs of

59:40

the man who had molested her and

59:42

by pure luck found the front

59:44

door open. Dazed and

59:46

confused, she made her way to the street.

59:49

But Harhoff noticed her escaping and

59:51

ran after her. A

59:54

motorist finally stopped, took in

59:56

the disheveled girl. escape

1:00:00

of Joan Boyens would

1:00:02

lead investigators to what

1:00:05

the press dubbed the House of

1:00:07

Horrors. The motorist took

1:00:09

in the frantic girl with a pair

1:00:12

of handcuffs still attached to her arm

1:00:14

and told the woman that they should

1:00:16

take the situation to her residence instead

1:00:19

of sorting it out in the street.

1:00:22

Joan pleaded with the motorist and would not

1:00:24

let go of his arm. Once

1:00:27

in his vehicle, through a

1:00:29

river of tears, she once again

1:00:31

begged the Samaritan to not take

1:00:33

her back to the house. Fortunately,

1:00:36

the kind man promised the frightened

1:00:38

girl not to and they immediately

1:00:40

made their way to the nearest

1:00:42

police station. She was

1:00:44

still so heavily under the influence of

1:00:46

the narcotics that she had to be

1:00:48

carried into the police station. Once

1:00:51

inside, her invaluable statement

1:00:53

would finally give the task

1:00:56

team from across South Africa

1:00:58

not one but two names

1:01:00

to the monsters who had

1:01:03

been terrorizing the suburban streets

1:01:05

of South Africa. The

1:01:09

task team immediately after getting the

1:01:11

statement headed for the home Joan

1:01:14

identified, but their suspects who they

1:01:16

by now have identified as Joey

1:01:18

Harhoff and Gert Van Royen had

1:01:21

clearly made a run for it.

1:01:24

Apart from agreeing to maintain surveillance

1:01:26

on the residence, a massive

1:01:28

manhunt started on the 11th of January

1:01:30

1990. According

1:01:34

to Harhoff's daughter, they had

1:01:36

returned from Clark's door after

1:01:38

their visiting family on

1:01:41

the 13th of January 1990 to

1:01:44

find the window near the front door had been broken.

1:01:47

Amor would later in her book about

1:01:49

the tremendous abuse she had suffered under

1:01:51

her mother, Joey, explain

1:01:54

that she and her husband proceeded to enter

1:01:56

the house. Van Royen

1:01:59

and Harhoff had appeared from

1:02:01

the main bedroom, clearly half

1:02:03

asleep, and through the ramblings,

1:02:06

Amor could figure out that her

1:02:08

mother and her mother's lover had

1:02:10

kidnapped a child for ransom, and

1:02:13

that the child had escaped. Amor

1:02:15

had no idea how

1:02:18

dark the truth would eventually be, and

1:02:20

how it would cost her husband his

1:02:23

job, and caused them not only to

1:02:25

lose everything they had worked for, but

1:02:27

also caused an entire community to

1:02:30

blame and resent the couple, despite

1:02:32

the fact that their only relation to

1:02:35

the crime is that Amor was related

1:02:37

to one of the suspects. Little

1:02:41

is known about where they were in

1:02:43

the five days that followed Jones' kidnapping.

1:02:46

They did hide for a night

1:02:48

in Amor's home, as well as

1:02:50

at Harhoff's sister's house, and

1:02:53

records would later reveal that

1:02:55

they went to KwaZulu, Natal,

1:02:57

only to return to Pretoria a day later.

1:03:02

Why the couple decided on the

1:03:04

evening of the 15th of January

1:03:06

1990 to return to their residence

1:03:08

at 227 Moller

1:03:11

B Street, no one will ever know. According

1:03:15

to Detective Inspector Don Chandler,

1:03:17

who became involved with the

1:03:19

case after Fiona Harvey was

1:03:22

abducted, would later in

1:03:24

a radio interview tell a captive audience

1:03:26

what he first-hand experienced. The

1:03:30

moment the couple noticed the presence

1:03:32

of police, they fled in

1:03:34

Van Ruyen's white pickup truck, and

1:03:36

a short car chase ensued. Detective

1:03:40

Chandler would testify that all

1:03:42

police staff involved in the

1:03:44

case were under strict instructions

1:03:46

not to kill either of

1:03:48

the occupants. As

1:03:50

the white pickup truck crossed

1:03:52

the creek that serves as

1:03:54

unofficial border between Capital Park

1:03:57

and Pretoria West, both

1:03:59

the left fell to the left. front and back wheels

1:04:01

were shot out and the

1:04:03

vehicle came to a grinding halt. Detective

1:04:06

Chandler would later admit that he

1:04:08

played the events that followed over

1:04:10

an overness head. He

1:04:13

saw as Van Rooyen pulled Harhoff's

1:04:15

head down to the gear lever

1:04:17

and saw as a shot was

1:04:19

fired. Van Rooyen's

1:04:21

door was locked and before any

1:04:24

of the police officers involved could

1:04:26

act, he shot himself. Van

1:04:29

Rooyen and Harhoff had, according

1:04:31

to a last will and testament, found

1:04:33

at their home, decided to

1:04:36

make a suicide pact. Neither

1:04:38

of them would ever be held

1:04:40

accountable for the devastation they caused

1:04:42

and after their deaths, families

1:04:45

were no closer to finding their

1:04:47

children. At

1:04:50

227 Mollerby Street, police

1:04:52

started collecting forensic evidence.

1:04:55

Odette's perfect pin, an Anne-Marie's

1:04:57

school bag as well as

1:04:59

her address would be

1:05:01

found hidden under a carpet. The

1:05:04

stationery in which the so-called letter

1:05:06

of the missing girls had

1:05:09

written was also found. Still,

1:05:11

despite turning the garden and

1:05:13

house upside down in their

1:05:16

search, no remains of the

1:05:18

girls would be found. Absa

1:05:20

Bank would in May of 1990

1:05:23

donate the Van Rooyen house to

1:05:25

the police and a forensic teen

1:05:27

would systematically comb through every inch

1:05:30

of the property, but

1:05:32

hardly any new evidence would surface.

1:05:39

There's not much available as far as

1:05:41

the history of the duo whose acts

1:05:43

would leave broken families in its wake.

1:05:46

Cornelius Garhodis Van Rooyen was

1:05:48

born on the 11th of

1:05:50

April 1938. His first brush

1:05:54

with the law was in

1:05:56

1954, during which he stole

1:05:58

clothing and fired a knife. arm and a

1:06:00

vehicle. Subsequently, he was

1:06:02

sent to a reform school. He

1:06:06

married Aleta Van Rooyen, and together

1:06:08

they had six children. The

1:06:10

marriage was, however, rocky, and they

1:06:12

would eventually divorce. In 1979,

1:06:15

Van Rooyen abducted two young girls, aged 10 and 13, and drove

1:06:17

them to the heart

1:06:24

of Beasportem, where he forced

1:06:26

them to strip and perform

1:06:28

sexual acts on him. South

1:06:31

Africa would, however, only be implementing

1:06:34

a national register for sex offenders

1:06:36

in 2007. It

1:06:40

was, therefore, easy to hide the fact that

1:06:42

he was a pedophile. Once

1:06:44

he had fulfilled his sexual desires, he

1:06:47

took them back to Pretoria. Consequently,

1:06:50

the girls reported the crime, and Van Rooyen

1:06:53

was sentenced to only four years jail time,

1:06:55

but released early on good behavior. After his

1:06:57

release, he successfully integrated himself back

1:07:06

into the community and operated a building

1:07:08

contractor business in partnership with his brothers,

1:07:13

with some success. Joey

1:07:15

Herhoff entered his life somewhere during this time, there

1:07:19

is very little as far as the

1:07:21

history of the couple is concerned. Two

1:07:23

outsiders, Herhoff and

1:07:25

Van Rooyen were just an

1:07:28

ordinary middle-aged couple, and even

1:07:30

after suspicions at

1:07:33

the police station were raised, the

1:07:35

officers who went to investigate would

1:07:38

return reporting that he

1:07:40

met a harmless old lady, and

1:07:42

that absolutely nothing seemed untoward. After

1:07:46

the event of the depravity was

1:07:48

revealed, many felt that Herhoff was

1:07:51

perhaps under the influence of Van

1:07:53

Rooyen, and suffered from

1:07:55

Stockholm Syndrome, during which

1:07:57

a hostage falls in love with their captors.

1:08:00

But in a tell-all book by her

1:08:02

daughter Amor, Harrah physically,

1:08:05

emotionally, and psychologically abused

1:08:07

her own children from

1:08:09

a very small age,

1:08:12

Amor would remember laying in her

1:08:14

cot and having punches rained down

1:08:16

on her. When she

1:08:18

was older, her mother would sneak into the

1:08:20

room and punch her in

1:08:22

the stomach while she was sleeping for

1:08:24

no apparent reason. Amor's

1:08:30

father would also sexually abuse her

1:08:32

from a very young age, and

1:08:34

even after Amor's grandmother spoke to

1:08:37

Harrah, her mother would just pretend

1:08:39

as if it did not happen. Amor

1:08:41

struggled for years with the

1:08:44

trauma and emotional scars left

1:08:46

by the abuse, but

1:08:48

nothing would prepare her for the shocking news

1:08:50

that her mother, who only met Van Rooyen

1:08:52

at the beginning of 1988, was

1:08:56

an accomplice in one of the

1:08:58

worst crimes South Africa had ever

1:09:00

known. There

1:09:04

was enough to link the couple to

1:09:06

the disappearance of the six children, and

1:09:09

not enough to give any indication of

1:09:11

what might have happened to the victims.

1:09:13

To the family's closure

1:09:16

would remain elusive. Leads

1:09:19

seemed to be single loose

1:09:21

threads that seemed to unravel

1:09:23

as soon as they were

1:09:25

tugged. The family and friends

1:09:27

of the victims would repeatedly

1:09:29

have their hopes shattered by

1:09:31

false leads, and 30 years

1:09:33

later, the mystery of the

1:09:35

missing six girls remains a

1:09:37

haunting unsolved puzzle. Detective

1:09:39

Chandler never stopped searching for the

1:09:42

girls, and even after retiring in

1:09:44

1996, he

1:09:47

continued to follow up with thousands

1:09:49

of leads and interviewing the thousands

1:09:51

of witnesses. According to

1:09:53

a radio interview in 2020, the

1:09:56

human trafficking angle is a recent

1:09:58

avenue that invests investigators are pursuing.

1:10:03

Flippy Van Royan, son of

1:10:05

Gert Van Royan, was arrested

1:10:07

and found guilty of kidnapping

1:10:10

and murdering a 15-year-old foreign

1:10:12

national. He did receive

1:10:14

the death penalty, which his father no

1:10:16

doubt would have gotten, but

1:10:18

the sentence was overturned when

1:10:21

South Africa's constitution was rewritten

1:10:23

and the death penalty abolished.

1:10:26

While incarcerated, he frequently

1:10:28

made bold public statements

1:10:30

about his father's and

1:10:33

Haroff's activities. He

1:10:35

told reporters that his father kidnapped more

1:10:37

than 40 children. Flippy

1:10:40

said that his father would originally

1:10:42

kidnap black children since authorities would,

1:10:44

in pre-apartheid era, be much less

1:10:47

likely to look for children who

1:10:49

were not white. The

1:10:52

human traffic angle has always been

1:10:54

of concern, especially considering how much

1:10:56

time Van Royan spent at the

1:10:58

harbor. As a matter of

1:11:01

fact, he was working for a shipping company.

1:11:03

To hide the girls in containers

1:11:05

and export them would have been

1:11:07

easy in his position, but so

1:11:10

far all local and international leads

1:11:12

have rendered no answers.

1:11:15

Dock workers, as well as cleaning

1:11:17

staff, have, however, confirmed

1:11:19

later to police that Van Royan

1:11:22

asked them frequently for children.

1:11:26

During his many interviews in 1996, Flippy

1:11:29

Van Royan told reporters of

1:11:31

high-ranking national party members who

1:11:34

were involved in clandestine meetings

1:11:36

with his father with regards

1:11:38

to obtaining under-aged girls for

1:11:41

sexual pleasure. Flippy

1:11:43

has, however, discredited himself

1:11:46

terribly, and

1:11:48

in 2001 he was charged with

1:11:50

lying about these allegations, and

1:11:52

no one paid much heed to

1:11:54

these statements, until Detective

1:11:57

Inspector Mac Minnie and

1:11:59

reporter Chris Stain published

1:12:01

their book, The Lost Boys of

1:12:04

Bird Island, in which

1:12:06

many of the same charges

1:12:08

were made and Van Ruyen's

1:12:10

name definitely mentioned as a

1:12:12

player in a national clandestine

1:12:14

pedophile trafficking ring. The

1:12:17

book was, however, retracted and marked

1:12:19

many committed suicide in 2019, once again

1:12:24

leaving more questions than answers.

1:12:27

There was never a trial and Gert

1:12:30

Van Ruyen and Joey Harloff were never

1:12:32

charged with any crimes. In

1:12:34

light of all the witness statements

1:12:36

and evidence, there were undoubtedly the

1:12:38

masterminds of either a human

1:12:41

trafficking ring or they were kidnapping

1:12:43

and disposing of children for their

1:12:45

own sadistic reasons. The

1:12:48

devastation the missing children caused would

1:12:50

ripple through their families and touch

1:12:52

every person in the country. Many

1:12:56

of the missing six's parents would

1:12:58

divorce and a couple hired

1:13:00

psychics and private investigators and

1:13:02

in doing so would

1:13:04

grow deeper and deeper in debt. It's

1:13:07

easy to understand the desire to be

1:13:09

able to bury your child in order

1:13:12

for the grieving process to begin, but

1:13:15

after so much time, thousands

1:13:17

of witness statements and thousands

1:13:19

of leads, only parents

1:13:22

like the Bouches and retired

1:13:24

detective Dawn Chandler, still

1:13:26

feel that intimate connection with the

1:13:29

case that forces them to continue

1:13:31

searching. Recently

1:13:34

after flattening the ground at the house of

1:13:36

227 Mullerby Street,

1:13:39

a group of artists erected a wall

1:13:41

of remembrance with the names of all

1:13:43

six of the girls who vanished without

1:13:46

a trace. A

1:13:48

wall might seem cold comfort to a

1:13:50

grieving parent, but the wall, which was

1:13:52

erected in 2020,

1:13:54

is perhaps the only way loved ones

1:13:56

could find some form of memorial to

1:13:59

their lost children. It

1:14:01

might not be a gravestone, but it's

1:14:03

a tribute to six little girls who

1:14:05

might be gone, but will never be

1:14:07

forgotten. This

1:14:10

episode was written by Morgan Rector

1:14:12

and Miss Demeter. Thank

1:14:16

you for listening to Human Monsters. Bye

1:14:18

for now.