0:00

I know what's ahead. I can

0:02

feel the future. From a producer of Top

0:04

Gun Maverick and based on the award-winning novels

0:06

by Isaac Asimov comes the next Apple

0:08

TV Plus streaming event.

0:11

Empire and our foundation headed

0:13

for war. This could change

0:16

everything. The foundation

0:19

is a threat to my empire. We

0:21

will destroy them. We

0:23

are taking the planet! Foundation,

0:26

the new season, streaming July 14th, only

0:28

on Apple TV Plus.

0:37

When you stay at a hotel, you're

0:40

protected. There's

0:42

a key card, a powerful

0:45

lock, and likely a deadbolt

0:47

or chain.

0:49

When you go camping, the only thing

0:51

that separates you from the outside world

0:54

is a zipper. Sure, nylon

0:57

fabric keeps the rain out, but it's

1:00

easily pierced and torn.

1:03

You may feel like you've braved

1:06

the elements, but really, all

1:08

you've done is isolate yourself.

1:11

You're vulnerable. And if something

1:14

bad happens, only the

1:16

shadows and the stars

1:19

will be your witness.

1:26

Welcome to Sword & Scale Nightmares,

1:37

true crime for bedtime, where

1:40

nightmare begins now.

1:48

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4:00

Back in 1976, 200 years

4:04

after our nation's founding, an

4:07

avid bicyclist along with

4:09

his wife and his friends created

4:11

a nationwide event called Bike

4:14

Centennial 76. Enthusiastic

4:18

bikers could travel over 4,200 miles

4:21

from coast to coast, passing

4:23

through 10 different states and admiring

4:26

many beautiful parks, forests,

4:28

and small towns along the way.

4:32

The first year was a success, with

4:35

thousands of participants getting to experience

4:37

the beauty of the United States firsthand.

4:41

It's romantic in a way. Nothing

4:44

but open roads ahead of you as

4:46

you explore the country with new

4:48

found, sure to be lifelong

4:51

travel companions. The

4:53

following summer, 19-year-old

4:56

Terri Jentz was eager to have

4:58

such an adventure. A group

5:00

of her fellow Yale classmates

5:02

decided to put a group together, but

5:05

ultimately, only one friend followed

5:08

through to join her. Terri

5:11

met Avra Goldman on her very

5:13

first day of school, and

5:15

they lived one room apart on the same

5:17

floor of their campus living quarters. They

5:21

had become fast friends despite the fact that Avra

5:23

was the bubbly, optimistic yin

5:26

to Terri's more introverted, cynical

5:29

yang. Terri

5:31

had done a lot of research in the months leading up

5:33

to their big trip. During

5:35

that time, she and Avra purchased top-of-the-line,

5:38

ultra-like 10-speed bicycles,

5:41

along with matching gear, and

5:43

everything else they would need for cycling, camping,

5:47

and living on the road for the next 80 days.

5:50

Based on other information they gathered

5:53

about wind patterns and the steepness

5:55

of the route, Terri and

5:57

Avra learned it was easier

5:59

to travel.

7:34

lurking

8:00

nearby. They move

8:02

away, but see him again and

8:04

he makes a lewd gesture, spraying

8:08

beer from a can like it's his penis.

8:12

As Terry and Avra set up their tent,

8:15

they make a potentially life-saving decision.

8:18

They decide to situate the tent in

8:21

the reverse direction. In

8:24

other words, the zipper entrance

8:26

isn't facing forward like other tents.

8:30

You have to walk around back to

8:32

get in.

8:34

Later that night, their premonitions

8:36

come to life

8:38

as the wall of their tent begins

8:41

to shake. There

8:43

are handprints shuffling around

8:45

for the entrance, which is mercifully

8:49

on the opposite side.

8:51

Avra shouts, leave us alone,

8:54

and the hands pull away.

8:57

The next moments seem critical as

8:59

they stare at the nylon, essentially

9:02

trapped inside. Will

9:05

he return again? Tired

9:07

and sore, they eventually drift back

9:10

off to sleep with no further

9:12

incident. As Terry

9:14

and Avra were nearing the end of

9:16

their first week biking across the country,

9:19

they seem to forget the most important lesson

9:21

from that night a month prior.

9:24

When you camp for the night, surround yourself

9:27

with people. If there

9:29

weren't several other campers in their immediate

9:32

vicinity,

9:33

who knows if Avra's demand to

9:35

be left alone would have actually

9:37

stopped their harasser. On

9:40

the seventh day of their trip,

9:43

June 22, 1977, several decisions were made that would

9:45

bring

9:48

their anticipated months-long journey

9:51

to an abrupt and terrifying

9:54

end. Over the past week,

9:56

Terry and Avra had begun socializing

9:58

with a married couple, a that were also

10:00

riding the Bikes Centennial Trail.

10:04

This married couple were far more experienced

10:06

cyclists, so even

10:08

though they had all been riding together

10:10

at the same pace,

10:12

it was clear that Terry

10:14

and Ava were holding them back.

10:18

On the seventh day, the group

10:20

parted ways. The married

10:22

couple would proceed 20 miles

10:24

to the next town over while Terry and

10:26

Ava would ride a shorter distance

10:29

of 16 miles and stay

10:31

at an overnight campground within a place

10:33

called

10:34

Cline Falls State Park.

10:38

But once Terry and Ava arrived at

10:40

their destination, they

10:42

discovered

10:44

that their Bikes Centennial Guide Book had

10:46

led them astray.

10:49

The campground within Cline Falls State

10:51

Park was for day use

10:53

only.

10:54

The book said they could camp for

10:56

the night. There was still plenty

10:58

of daylight left,

11:00

and sure they could bike over to the

11:02

next town, but

11:03

to what end?

11:05

Meet back up with the same couple they just

11:07

agreed to separate from?

11:09

That would be awkward. Terry

11:11

wanted to stay the night at Cline Falls even though

11:13

they weren't technically allowed to,

11:16

and Ava, exhausted and tired

11:19

of arguing about it,

11:20

reluctantly agreed.

11:23

Even by the day use campground,

11:26

the lush landscapes of Oregon were nowhere

11:28

to be seen. The green

11:31

was replaced by desert brown,

11:34

and even though there were picnic tables

11:37

and groups of people enjoying the river, the

11:40

place had an eerie feeling that

11:43

neither of them could shake.

11:46

They said out loud

11:47

and agreed with one another that

11:49

it seemed like they were being

11:52

watched.

11:53

Just to be safe, they used the same

11:56

strategy they had in Connecticut. They

11:59

set up their tent.

11:59

So the entrance was facing the opposite

12:02

of what you'd expect. And

12:05

as the sun eventually dipped down,

12:08

all the happy families and teenagers got

12:10

in their cars and drove away,

12:13

leaving Terry and Ava completely

12:17

alone. Well, not

12:20

completely alone. That

12:22

night, inside the safety of the

12:24

tent, if such a thing

12:26

exists, Terry quietly

12:29

slipped into her sleeping bag, trying

12:32

not to wake up Ava as she

12:34

put away her contact lenses and hoped

12:36

that tomorrow they'd

12:38

get things back on track.

12:41

But unfortunately for Terry,

12:44

the longest night

12:46

of her life was about

12:49

to begin.

13:10

I know what's ahead. I could feel the

13:12

future.

13:13

From a producer of Top Gun Maverick and

13:15

based on the award-winning novels by Isaac Asimov,

13:18

comes the next Apple TV Plus streaming event.

13:21

Empire and our foundation

13:23

headed for war. This

13:26

could change everything. The

13:28

foundation is a threat to my empire.

13:31

We will destroy them. We

13:34

are taking the planet. Foundation

13:37

the new season, streaming July 14th only on Apple

13:39

TV Plus.

13:50

It's around 11.30pm on June 22nd, 1977. Well,

13:58

university sophomores Terry. Benson,

14:00

and Ava Goldman are sleeping in their

14:02

tent alongside the Deschutes

14:05

River in Cline Falls State

14:07

Park, Oregon.

14:10

In a split second, Terri

14:13

has been pinned to the ground

14:15

by a truck that has just

14:17

come barreling through their tent, tearing

14:20

the useless nylon to shreds.

14:24

Terri cannot move as the weight

14:26

of the vehicle breaks her right

14:29

arm, collarbone, and ribs.

14:32

She doesn't know it, but her

14:35

right lung has also collapsed.

14:38

For a moment, she assumes she's been struck

14:41

by a drunk teenager, but the truck

14:44

isn't moving, and it's deathly

14:46

quiet. The silence

14:48

is struck by Ava's voice in the distance,

14:51

shouting, leave us alone,

14:53

in the same forceful manner

14:55

she had used in Connecticut.

14:59

Terri can't see it, but a

15:01

man with an axe stands

15:04

over Ava, chopping

15:07

at the back of her head multiple

15:11

times. Terri

15:13

can only hear the sickening thuds,

15:16

seven in all, and

15:19

wonder what terrible fate awaits

15:21

her next. Footsteps

15:24

approach her, and then

15:26

the truck that's

15:29

been holding Terri down starts backing

15:31

up, unpinning her for

15:33

the moment. Her entire body

15:36

reacts with immense relief,

15:39

but the moment is fleeting.

15:43

Sharp pains pummel her again

15:45

and again as the man now hacks

15:47

at her head and face

15:50

with the heavy blade. Terri

15:53

defensively throws up her

15:56

arm, which receives large

15:58

lacerations. As

16:00

does her palm and

16:03

fingers. As Terry

16:05

slips further and further into

16:07

her impending death, the

16:10

man suddenly stops.

16:14

Rather than driving away, the

16:16

man has only moved his truck forward

16:18

a short distance, as if he's

16:21

reconsidering what he should do next. As

16:24

the man slowly re-approaches,

16:26

Terry reflects

16:28

on her very own. Terry's short life, determined

16:33

to survive. With

16:35

all of the will and strength she

16:37

has left, Terry opens

16:40

her eyes to see the man's torso.

16:43

A plaid shirt perfectly tucked into

16:46

his jeans, with cowboy

16:48

boots now straddling her on

16:50

either side. Terry

16:53

cannot see his face, but

16:56

she does see his two-handed grip

16:59

on a bloody axe. The

17:01

man is very still, and

17:04

he slowly hovers the blade over Terry's

17:06

heart, like a golfer lining

17:09

up for the perfect shot. Somehow,

17:13

Terry is able to bring her hand

17:15

to her chest, holding

17:18

on to the blade. Please

17:22

leave us alone, she says,

17:25

barely able to speak. Take

17:28

anything,

17:29

just leave us alone. The

17:32

man

17:33

quietly considers her.

17:36

For whatever reason,

17:39

the mysterious cowboy has shown Terry

17:42

mercy

17:43

and driven away. Maybe

17:45

he just assumes she will die

17:48

on her own. But after

17:50

a few moments of laying in

17:53

a pool of her own blood, Terry

17:55

becomes aware

17:57

of painful moaning sounds.

18:00

nearby. All

18:02

of this time, Terri has been in her

18:05

sleeping bag.

18:06

Despite her life-threatening injuries, she's

18:09

able to slide out and crawl her way

18:11

to the river's edge, where

18:13

her friend Avra is

18:16

wailing in agony. Up

18:18

close, Terri is shocked to see that Avra

18:21

resembles a porcelain doll,

18:24

with one large crack exposing

18:26

bone and brain at the

18:29

back of her head. Terri

18:31

is certain that Avra will die

18:33

if she doesn't act quickly. Terri

18:36

manages to get both of her contacts

18:38

back in and move toward her bicycle,

18:42

but she quickly realizes how much of

18:44

her body is actually broken.

18:48

Riding out of here will be impossible.

18:51

Moments from a truck appear

18:53

in the distance slowly approaching, Terri

18:57

weighs the two options. This

18:59

is either their attacker returning to finish

19:02

the job, or an angel

19:04

who will save them from this

19:07

desolate place. Armed

19:09

with only a flashlight, Terri limps toward

19:12

her potential doom. When

19:15

the truck finally stopped,

19:18

Terri could see the driver and

19:21

passenger. A young couple.

19:24

The two teens were driving into the park

19:26

to talk about their recent breakup when

19:29

a blood-soaked woman ran up to

19:31

their window saying she'd been

19:33

hatcheted up. The

19:36

teens wanted to take her to the hospital,

19:38

but with the adrenaline still pumping through

19:41

her, Terri insisted. They

19:43

first needed to load up their truck with all their

19:46

biking and camping gear. Dying

19:49

Avra was then carefully placed

19:51

into the front of the truck moaning sporadically

19:55

until they finally made it to

19:57

St. Charles Hospital.

23:59

didn't want to talk about it,

24:02

and couldn't remember the details anyway.

24:05

Somehow Terri had never slipped into

24:08

drug and alcohol abuse, but coming

24:10

to terms with how much this event

24:13

had impacted her life, it

24:15

was warping her personality in ways that disturbed

24:18

her. There were still so many

24:20

unanswered questions about that night, until

24:23

Terri began wondering if

24:26

digging for those answers herself

24:28

might help heal her troubled

24:31

mind.

24:32

In the earliest days of her quest, she

24:34

was given access to the very

24:37

thin 30-page police

24:39

file that represented her case. She

24:42

learned about some of the potential people of interest

24:45

back in 1977, including several criminals

24:48

who had attacked hitchhikers at separate times

24:51

in the area. Someone

24:54

else had reported seeing Washington license

24:56

plates on a red truck that

24:58

night,

24:59

so a connection was made

25:01

to an unsolved dismemberment case

25:03

from out of state.

25:05

No potential suspects were ever

25:07

interrogated.

25:09

Terri also discovered information about

25:11

an aspect of her case that never

25:14

seemed quite right.

25:16

Several years after her attack, Terri

25:19

had been told that someone had confessed to

25:21

the Klein Falls crime,

25:23

but that a polygraph test had suggested

25:26

he was lying

25:27

about the confession.

25:29

Back then, Terri never heard anything

25:32

further from detectives,

25:34

but now she was learning that a man

25:36

named Bud Godwin had been

25:38

arrested for molesting his daughter

25:41

while on probation

25:43

for sodomizing his five-year-old

25:45

niece. Hell of a guy.

25:48

A small skull had been found in

25:51

his trailer, which he was using

25:53

as a candle holder.

25:56

Now behind bars, Godwin was

25:58

claiming that he saw a man who had been arrested for a

25:59

He stalked a cousin to Cline

26:02

Falls that night, and that he

26:04

was attacking her.

26:07

But instead, he had attacked Terry

26:10

and Avra. The story of

26:12

mistaken identity didn't

26:14

make much sense to Terry,

26:17

nor did the fact that Godwin was only

26:19

five-six,

26:20

and was in no way like the meticulous

26:23

handsome cowboy that Terry

26:25

remembered. Her detective

26:28

work ultimately revealed that Godwin was

26:30

lying about multiple confessions,

26:33

playing the political game that prisoners

26:36

often do. And

26:38

there was yet another roadblock.

26:41

Even if Terry could somehow retroactively

26:44

prove that any person was

26:46

involved with their attack,

26:49

the statute of limitations had long

26:51

since run out. As

26:54

the case was simply an attempted

26:56

murder, they could only prosecute

26:59

the crime for three years.

27:02

Terry and Avra had lived through

27:04

their horrifying encounter, but

27:07

they would have to live with the fact that their attempted

27:09

killer

27:11

would always be free.

27:14

Over many more trips to Oregon,

27:17

and many more interviews with locals and

27:19

authorities personally conducted by

27:22

Terry,

27:23

one name continued popping

27:26

up. Dick Dam.

27:30

And no, I did not make that

27:32

name up.

27:34

Dick was seventeen

27:37

back in 1977, and

27:40

had been charged with the assault of

27:42

his girlfriend two days after

27:44

the Cline Falls attack. But

27:47

because he was a juvenile, he was

27:50

never technically arrested.

27:52

Terry spoke at length with Dick's former

27:55

high school girlfriend, and learned through her

27:57

that Dick not only owned an axe,

27:59

with the initials DD

28:02

personally, carved into it. But

28:05

the toolbox he kept the

28:07

axe in seemed to have disappeared

28:11

after the attack. Dick

28:13

and his girlfriend who lived along the back

28:16

road that entered the park had

28:18

gotten into a fight the same

28:20

night Terry and Ava were camped

28:22

out.

28:24

Terry surmised that after an intense

28:26

night of arguing,

28:28

Dick drove off and then

28:30

took his anger out on two random

28:32

campers.

28:34

When that hadn't satisfied him, he

28:37

returned to his girlfriend

28:39

drunk on vodka the

28:41

next day and attempted to drown

28:43

her. While Dick was never

28:45

officially connected to the Klein

28:47

Falls attack,

28:49

many people in town just quietly

28:51

assumed Dick had done it. And

28:53

somehow gotten away with it.

28:55

Rumors of Dick Dam

28:58

the Hatchet Man

28:59

persisted over the years. And

29:02

while Dick always denied his involvement,

29:05

he also seemed both obsessed with and

29:08

haunted by his dangerous

29:10

reputation. Three

29:12

years into Terry's investigation,

29:15

Edward had finally reached her elusive

29:18

suspect.

29:19

Dick was willing to take a polygraph

29:21

in order to clear his name, and

29:24

the results suggested that Dick was

29:26

innocent.

29:28

However, Dick had also tested

29:30

positive for muscle relaxants and

29:33

alcohol prior to the test,

29:35

so

29:37

the result was deemed inconclusive.

29:40

During a second polygraph, Dick became

29:42

extremely emotional during

29:45

questioning. And the answers

29:47

he provided suggested he was being

29:49

highly deceptive. It

29:52

was once again determined Dick had

29:54

drugs in his system, and so

29:57

at his request, a third polygraph

30:00

was scheduled. When

30:02

the day finally arrived, Dick never

30:04

showed up, and later threatened

30:07

violence if anyone ever bothered him about

30:09

it again.

30:11

In the fall of 1996, four

30:13

years into Terry's attempts to positively

30:16

identify her axe attacker,

30:18

Dick Dam was arrested

30:21

for an entirely different

30:23

matter. He was charged

30:25

with kidnapping, unlawful

30:27

use of a dangerous weapon, and coercion.

30:31

Dick, you see, was

30:34

intoxicated again during a

30:37

hunting trip. And

30:39

after firing some rounds from

30:41

his .357 revolver, he

30:44

pointed the gun at the stomach

30:46

of his 18-year-old hunting partner

30:49

and ordered him to drive him somewhere

30:51

else.

30:53

The car was stopped and he was arrested

30:56

without incident.

30:58

In the summer of 1997, Richard

31:00

Dick Dam

31:02

was found not guilty of kidnapping,

31:05

but

31:05

guilty of the firearm and coercion

31:08

charges.

31:10

It had been 20 years since Terry survived

31:12

the infamous Cline Falls axe attack,

31:15

and in that time, she had gathered

31:17

enough information to be absolutely

31:20

certain

31:21

that Dick had been the attractive,

31:24

meticulous cowboy who

31:26

tried to kill her and her friend

31:28

that night. While

31:31

he was going to jail for a completely

31:33

different crime,

31:35

these would be Dick's first felony

31:38

convictions.

31:39

For the first time, the

31:41

world would have legal proof

31:43

that Dick was a violent

31:46

and dangerous man.

31:48

Terry was present for

31:50

and overjoyed at

31:52

the sentencing. Five

31:55

years in state prison

31:57

with two years of probation. to

32:00

follow. Terry hoped

32:02

that by tearing at the stitches

32:05

of her old wounds, she

32:08

could actually heal herself.

32:11

In the process of diligently following

32:14

up with every possible source,

32:17

the way state police had not, Terry

32:20

discovered that she and Avra were

32:22

not the only people who suffered because

32:26

of that night. When entire

32:28

town had been longing for the truth

32:30

and

32:31

by reconnecting with every single person

32:34

who had somehow been

32:35

connected to this case,

32:38

Terry

32:40

was able to help many others

32:42

move on as well.

32:45

In the years after the

32:47

attack, Terry's friend Avra

32:49

got married, had children, and

32:52

became a doctor. She

32:54

and Terry still remained

32:57

estranged, but

32:59

by the time they saw each other at

33:01

a Yale 25th year reunion

33:04

in 2004,

33:06

Terry no longer felt

33:08

the compulsive need to sit Avra

33:10

down and force her to

33:13

remember. By then, Terry

33:16

had also been instrumental in

33:18

the passing of Oregon Senate

33:20

Bill 614,

33:22

which meant that going forward, attempted

33:25

murders

33:26

could be prosecuted after any

33:28

period of time,

33:31

not just three years. Which

33:33

if you ask me, was ridiculous

33:36

to begin with. Finally,

33:38

in 2006, Terry's fantastic

33:41

memoir about these events, Strange

33:45

Peace of Paradise, was

33:47

published. It was the

33:49

main source for today's episode

33:52

and a beautifully written, painstakingly

33:55

detailed account of everything she

33:57

personally experienced. There

34:00

are so many more incredible

34:03

details, more than we could

34:05

possibly fit into a 35-minute podcast.

34:09

I highly suggest picking up a copy

34:11

and taking it on your next summer road

34:13

trip. But before

34:16

you put out the campfire and zip

34:18

up for the night, all cozy

34:21

in your flannies, remember

34:23

that out in the woods, dangerous

34:27

animals come in

34:29

all shapes

34:30

and all sizes.

34:35

If you enjoyed the show, please consider

34:38

joining PLUS at swordandscale.com

34:42

slash plus. But if you

34:44

can't, consider leaving us a positive

34:46

review on your preferred listening

34:49

platform. Sweet dreams

34:52

and good night.