How Gloria Choi's dream romance ended in her murder | 48 Hours | Forensic Files

[music] >> I was uh with [music] the prosecutor's office for 30 years and uh this was my
last trial in my career. Being a prosecutor [music] has a has a lifelong effect on you.
There has [music] to be some way to come back to humanity and put the [music] violence aside.
This was an aggravated murder case. The victim's name [music] is Gloria Choi. She was a hard-working mom, a good role
model, and [music] Gloria's parents talk about how she was kind of their angel. She spent most [music] of her life
working in the family business of running hotels. >> [music] >> She came off very shy and quiet, but she
was nothing of those. >> [laughter] >> She was passionate about her family and her [music] son, had hopes and dreams
for herself. What we know is there [music] were four calls placed to law enforcement in the final 48 hours
before [music] she was killed. This person continues to stalk her, has slashed her tire,
>> [music] >> has stolen thousands of dollars worth of property. She called for help and she
was deprived of help that she's entitled to under the law time and time again. The evening that she was murdered, she
was going home, actually just taking a break to eat dinner. [music] He was right behind her when she left.
He knew everywhere she went. 911, what's your location, ma'am? Sir? I don't know
where I am, but I'm scared get out of my car. He forced her vehicle off the road. She
doesn't know at that point who this [music] is, and she's not able to drive anymore.
Let me get police on line with that, okay? Do you see a street sign? I don't know where I am. Okay. I'm on the corner
of Court. And he approaches her vehicle, and she notices he has a gun. He's got a gun.
Hello, can you hear me? All of a sudden, we heard a rapid-fire about seven or eight shots.
And he just unloaded in I was just in shock. And saw him disappear, and I then ran over and called the police. There's
a pickup there against a telephone pole with its lights on, motor running. I don't see anybody in it. So, you heard
three pops? No, we heard a lot more than that. So, in all, 14 shots. Just riddles her
car with bullets, right? Uh he's close range. He's shooting right through her driver's side window.
She should have been protected, and she wasn't. Do you blame [music] the police for not
taking better care of your friend? I do blame the police for not taking [music] it seriously.
You have a perpetrator who's escalating. Any law enforcement officer who's following the training would know this
woman was in [music] incredible danger. >> [music] [music] [music] >> On January 2nd, 2022, Gloria Choi placed
that [music] anguished call to 911. I don't know where I am. I'm scared to get out of my car.
>> Yeah. This car is stolen. Seconds later, Can you hear me? multiple shots are fired. The audio is
too graphic to play in full. It lasts about 2 minutes, and dispatchers are trying to make sense of
what they just heard. Hello, can anybody hear me? Hello. Officers from the Lakewood Police
Department in Washington arrive within minutes. One of the officers that approached, you
can see him trying to get to her quickly, and the doors are locked. Former Pierce County Prosecutor Greg
Greer describes what first responders did. They bust out a rear window, smartly, wisely, so they can preserve
the evidence, and they're able to extricate her pretty quickly. And did you see them pull out the victim
at all? I did. Yeah. Terry Estepold gave police a detailed description of what he witnessed.
And I was probably 30 ft away, and they put her on the ground and worked on her hard for several minutes.
Had to be hard for you to witness that. It's terrible, and I it still bothers me
a lot to this day, just thinking about it. Gloria was pronounced dead a short time
later at a nearby hospital. Breanna Eberly soon heard the news that her best friend had been killed, but she
couldn't quite accept it. And I repeatedly [music] repeatedly called Gloria's phone over
and over again. No answer, no answer, no answer. And then I called >> [music] >> her dad.
And then he finally answered. And I remember asking him, [music] "Is it true? Is she Is she gone? Is she Is it true?"
He said, "Yeah, she's gone." Greer took us to the scene and walked us through what he learned from
investigators. This would have been gravel shoulder and somewhere in here he pinches her vehicle
off and she's no longer able to to move forward. He's blocking her. I think my boyfriend's following me. He
just hit my car. Gloria says the man is her boyfriend, but does not give a name.
He gets out of the vehicle and if you've heard the 911 call, she describes exactly what what he's doing.
He's got a gun. Please stop. Greer says the shooter was standing next to Gloria's driver's side window. The
door was locked. He's not trying to talk to her. He immediately [music] starts shooting.
>> to kill her. He is there to kill her. After firing nine 40 caliber bullets through the door and window of Gloria's
truck, Greer says the shooter begins to drive away. As he does, Gloria's truck moves forward
until it hits a utility pole as shown in this police animation. Greer believes the truck moved because Gloria's foot
was no longer applying pressure to the brake. He doesn't know whether she's alive or
not is what we [music] believe is going through his mind because the vehicle's no longer where it was. That's 60 yards
west of where it [music] was when he first shot her. The shooter makes a U-turn and comes
back around to Gloria's truck. He pulls his truck alongside so that his driver's side window is now [music] next
to hers. And this time he does not bother to get out of his car, Greer says. And he rolls his window down five
more shots just to make sure. Nine wasn't enough. Five more. Then after he's finished that, he
immediately takes off. After firing 14 shots and hitting Gloria at least 10 times, prosecutors say the
shooter disappears into the night. The first big break in the case came from one of the first officers at the
crime scene. One of the officers, she notices this lanyard that's on Gloria and then she
sees her name and that hits her hard. Gloria's lanyard was from a nearby Holiday Inn where she was the manager.
Just days earlier, that officer took a report from Gloria after she called 911. Gloria said her ex-boyfriend [music] had
been following and harassing her. And now they had a name, Billy Rickman. And >> [music]
>> that becomes a lead to understanding what happened. Greer says a detective subpoenaed
Rickman's phone records. Even without having his phone, police were able to read his text messages.
At one point, he says [music] where he is. And it's the Home Motel. The detective rushed to the motel, which
is a 6-minute drive from the murder scene. Greer says the desk clerk told the detective that days earlier, Rickman
attempted to sign in with a fake name, but the clerk insisted on proof of identity.
We have him on surveillance video [music] getting back to the motel. That was after the shooting, says
prosecutor Corrine Schneff. He appears in a hurry. He gets out of his vehicle and he immediately starts
wiping down the side of the vehicle that might have any kind of evidence of gunpowder residue.
You can see him on the phone. He's contacting people. She says investigators began checking
surveillance from several businesses in the area. And got another break at a nearby car
rental business. This picture is [music] very clear. Enterprise had great video.
Here there's no denying who that is looking at that, yeah. Rickman rented a Chevy Colorado using
his real name. It is the same vehicle in the motel video and the same vehicle police believe Rickman used to run
Gloria off the road. The Lakewood police put out an alert for Billy Rickman, but
in the days that followed he was nowhere to be found. >> [music] >> She was a part of my family. My whole
family knew her and they loved her. With Billy Rickman on the run, police questioned Gloria's friend Breanna
Eberly >> [music] >> about Rickman's relationship with Gloria. Breanna had known Gloria since 2018 when
she hired her to help out at the Oyo Hotel which was owned by Gloria's parents. She wanted to please her parents [music]
to the best of her ability. She was their lifeline. She did it all and she She it all
[music] with grace. Absolute grace. Gloria was the single mother of a 7-year-old. It's all about her kid. She
was very fierce when it came to her son. [music] And in May 2021, Billy Rickman [music]
checked into the hotel from California. A mystery man with a larger-than-life personality.
Breanna says it didn't take long for Rickman to notice Gloria. Gloria was coming into the office. He
walked up >> [music] >> and introduced himself. And he's like, "You're very pretty."
And she goes, "Well, thank you." She walked away and he's like, "Who's that?" And I'm like, "Her name's Gloria.
Stay away." But Rickman did not stay away. And before long, the two were texting a lot.
She liked [music] the way he talked to her and the things he said to her. All she wanted to do was be [music]
loved by somebody. And Rickman made it seem like he could be that guy, says Megan Driscoll, the
Choi family's lawyer. [music] He really came across as this nice guy. Love bombed her, meaning he's giving her
gifts and kind of showering her with kindness. Weeks after meeting her, Rickman sent
Gloria this text. "You're the light to my day every day. You make me feel so sexy and special and
I thank you for that. I want you. I want to be with you, Gloria Choi. I can't wait to see what life has in store for
us. My heart is yours." How was he with her son? Gloria's friend, Jacob Blue. What she
liked about Rickman is that he had a lot of masculine energy that he was showing
up. Billy and her son had a very instant connection cuz he was like a kid himself, you know?
>> [music] >> Within weeks, Gloria and Rickman became a couple and he began staying in her
apartment at the Oyo Hotel. Breanna says Gloria's [music] father did not approve
of the relationship. I mean, her parents basically drew a red line and said he can't be staying here
at the hotel anymore. Gloria's father wanted him to move out. And >> [music] >> Rickman went and approached her parents
and told them he's not going anywhere, and that Gloria is now his, [music] and if they don't like it, they can
leave. Wow. Her dad basically gave her an ultimatum. Mhm. She could stay on as the manager, or she could leave.
And she chose to leave. Gloria, her son, and Rickman moved to an apartment [music]
in the town of Tumwater in September 2021. And her heartbroken parents >> [music]
>> chose to sell their hotel. That's when Gloria took a new job as manager of the Holiday Inn Express in
[music] Lakewood, right next to Tacoma. She was still very happy with what she had.
But it didn't last long, that happiness. [music] Gloria told Breanna that Rickman had big
dreams, but no way of making them come true. And Gloria's [music] like, "Well, who's going to fund all of this? You're
not. You don't have a job. Get a job, you know?" And he refused. So, was he asking her for money?
>> Oh, yeah. He drained her. She bought everything. Within weeks, Gloria [music] saw a
different side of Rickman. She told Breanna he was often mean, angry, and insecure. Gloria also told Breanna that
Rickman was drinking to excess and using cocaine and marijuana. And what did you tell her? Uh, leave.
run away. Gloria chose to stay with Rickman, but 2 months later, in November, Jacob says he
got a troubling call. She did express that he would become physical with her, push her around,
throw her around, and that she didn't feel safe just breaking things off with him.
>> [music] >> Jacob told Gloria she needed to leave him immediately, but Gloria said she was
afraid that might trigger something inside Rickman. She didn't know how she was going to
leave Billy. She was scared to leave him. What scared her? Possessiveness. He knew everywhere she went.
>> She felt that he was tracking her every move. She found a tag in her car. An AirTag?
>> Mhm. She's the one that told me about it later on. And Gloria [music] suspected there were
other hidden Apple AirTags in her truck. Are you concerned for your friend at this point? [music]
>> Absolutely. In November 2021, just 6 months after they met, Briana says Gloria made up her
mind to leave Rickman. She looked at me >> [music] >> dead in the face and said I'm leaving.
And I asked her, you know, what's your plan? She goes, I'm going to go to my parents.
Her parents welcomed Gloria and her son into their home. >> [music] >> But it was not so easy to get rid of
Rickman. He had borrowed Gloria's truck and refused to give it back. So, on November 28th, Gloria went to the
Tumwater police to file a report about the truck. And while she was there, she told the officer taking the report about
Rickman. When Billy is sober, he is calm, but when he drinks, he has a short fuse and
is very angry. >> [music] >> I wish him well, but choosing to not be a part of his life anymore for the
safety and stability for my son and I. Attorney Megan Driscoll, who represents the Troy family, said it was clear the
Tumwater officer believed Gloria was at risk. The officer reported that Rickman was potentially tracking Gloria with
Apple AirTags, owned numerous firearms, and appeared to be extremely manipulative.
He actually becomes really concerned for her and her safety. So, the officer actually tells Gloria and tells the
court to issue a domestic violence no contact order. Almost immediately, Rickman was arrested
for taking Gloria's truck, and he agreed to this recorded interview. It's both of our cars. Like, we live
together. It's not like I'm a neighbor or something. What do you think her opinion is of you when you drink? She
doesn't like it. Do you think like maybe she might feel like uncomfortable or scared? I'll tell you this much.
If I had a shot with my girl again, man, I would never drink another drop of alcohol. That's the honest-to-god truth.
Rickman was jailed for 3 days for taking Gloria's truck, and on December 1st, 2021, [music]
he was brought before a judge who slapped him with a strict no contact order. But Breanna says the order did not phase
Rickman. The day he got out of jail, he told Breanna he was unconcerned with the
legalities. [music] He didn't care. He was like, "So? I'm still going to talk to her."
In early December 2021, Gloria Choi was back living with her parents, hoping she
had rid herself of Billy Rickman once and for all. But Breanna said Rickman had other ideas, as he told her the day
he got out of jail for taking Gloria's truck, which had been returned to her. Billy showed [music] up at my place and
he's like, "I need your help." And he begged me to talk to her about [music] getting back together. He said
that he would change. He, you know, would stop drinking. He would be a better [music] person to her.
And in the back of my mind, I'm like, "No." You didn't believe [music] him then. I
didn't. >> And what's your understanding of a no contact order? No contact order means
you can't come in contact with that person. Text, phone calls, physical location, anything of that sort. And if
you do, what happens? >> to jail. Breanna told Rickman that he'd be arrested if he broke any of those
conditions. But 2 weeks later, she got a call from a friend telling her Gloria was hiding from Rickman in the bathroom
of this coffee shop. Breanna wasted no time getting there. As I was pulling in, I saw
Billy Rickman's car was parked over there. We made eye contact. I went to the bathroom and knocked on
the door and she opened it. She knew that Billy was here. It [snorts] was another reminder to Gloria that Rickman
seemed to be tracking her every move. And you said she was very emotional inside, locked into the bathroom.
>> petrified. She was crying. She was shaking. She refused to come out until she knew he was gone.
It's not clear if police were ever called. 3 days later, Breanna said that Gloria
told her that Rickman confronted her in the Capital Mall while she was shopping with her son. Breanna said Gloria told
her that Rickman pleaded with her to [music] drop the no contact order. But she refused.
He was putting himself in her path so that he could rekindle the lost relationship. That lost relationship,
says prosecutor Corrine Schneff, was on Rickman's mind when he made these cell phone videos directed at Gloria. You can
see the videos that he created to try and make her feel bad about leaving him. This is what Christmas alone looks like,
a parking lot at a hotel cuz you ain't got nowhere to go cuz you know your girl put you out in the street.
Prosecutors say everything came to a head on the last two days of 2021. It started on December 30th when Rickman
sent Gloria an email after he spotted her with Jacob Blue at a coffee shop. And I guess Rickman did write an email
to Gloria that read, >> [music] >> "You left me for another guy." Wow. Correct. The email was sent in real time and
Gloria began getting calls from a blocked number. When she answered, Rickman was on the line yelling at her
according to Jacob. He believed that this Jacob Blue was a, you know, potential boyfriend.
They moved on to a sushi restaurant, but Gloria was becoming increasingly bothered by the headlights of a car
which were pointed at the restaurant. And Jacob says Gloria believed Rickman was behind the wheel. She [music] says,
"I know that car and I know that it's watching us right now." And she got really uncomfortable. Jacob
says they left the restaurant and discovered [music] someone had stolen their computers from Gloria's truck.
They also discovered one of her truck's tires was slashed. Gloria called the police and asked for
their help. It was the first of four calls about Rickman over a 48-hour period. And what did he damage? Um my
front driver's side tire and he went through all the stuff in the truck and stole my backpack with my laptop and my
friend's laptop bag as well. Okay, I'll have an officer call you. And did Gloria express that she thought it
was Rickman? She was confident it was Rickman. Gloria told police that only Rickman
knew the truck's keypad code to gain entry. She gave them a description of his black BMW and told the officer about
the [music] no contact order. The officer said he left Rickman a voicemail message letting him know the police
wanted to speak with him. Gloria and Jacob then drove to the Holiday Inn to retrieve Jacob's Jeep and
that's when Jacob discovered that two of his tires had been slashed. This is a snowy night. There's snow on the ground.
Gloria took this cell phone video following the footsteps she thought were Rickman's.
is his footsteps. Because Gloria managed that Holiday Inn, she was able to get the surveillance
footage. These videos have never been seen by the public before now. We see a man come in and sneaking through the
shadows. He comes up to my Jeep and he punctures both my tires and and walks off. They called police a second time
and gave them the video. Both Jacob and Gloria identified the man as Billy Rickman by his distinctive walk but
officers said the video was not clear enough to make an arrest. And the police were like, "I'm sorry, without us being
able to see his face, there's really not a whole lot to go off of. Not much we can do."
The next day was December 31st, New Year's Eve. Jacob returned to his Jeep with two new tires. That's when he and
Gloria discovered the other two tires were now slashed. That prompted a third call to 911. What are you reporting?
Um vandalism on my vehicle by a stalker. Once again, the surveillance footage showed the man Jacob and Gloria believed
was Rickman slashing the tires. But police again said the video was not clear [music] enough for them to make an
identification. Then on New Year's Eve, there was a fourth call to 911. This time by the
desk clerk at the Holiday Inn. He spotted the tire slasher again puncturing the tires on Jacob's Jeep.
The desk clerk chased after him recording this video at the same time he was calling 911. His vehicle is licensed
plate 12. He's driving a Chevy Colorado. He's got one light out. Police say Rickman was driving that same
Chevy Colorado when he ran Gloria off the road, murdered her, then escaped into the night.
Billy Rickman was able to elude police for 4 days until January [music] 6th, 2022.
That's when prosecutor Greg Greer says law enforcement tracked his phone to Humboldt County in Northern California,
[music] where Rickman turned up drunk at a relative's house. This relative did not
want Mr. Rickman staying with him. This relative offered to take Mr. [music] Rickman to a a nearby casino and put him
up in at the casino in a hotel. Rickman's relative driving his black BMW was stopped by tribal police and they
contacted the California Highway Patrol who rushed to the scene. Police say Rickman, as seen in this dashcam video,
shoved his relative out of the driver's seat and onto the pavement, gunned the engine, and took off. He's got enough of
a head start and they actually don't find him. They they lose him. Rickman wandered around in the darkness
for about 5 hours on the wet, cold night before being [music] found and taken into custody.
Mr. Rickman was soaking wet, freezing cold, hypothermic. Rickman [snorts] was charged with
aggravated first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. Some 250 miles south, a woman who says
she knew firsthand just how dangerous Rickman was received a phone call. The officer from the Oakland Police
Department called me and when I answered the phone, she told me, "Billy has been
arrested." This is Aja Hull who had filed a police report about Rickman. She says Rickman
forced [music] her into prostitution and sexually assaulted her when she was a 14-year-old runaway living in Oakland in
2005. >> [music] >> I'm a survivor of human trafficking and Billy Rickman was my trafficker.
Aja says she endured years of abuse before she nearly was killed [music] after Rickman choked her with a strand
of Christmas tree lights. Like I could not breathe. Like it was very scary. >> [music]
>> I was terrified. She escaped to San Francisco. It was one of the best moments of my life, but also one of
the most terrifying because I [music] felt free, but I also felt so much fear because I had crossed him
and I knew what he was capable of. Shortly after leaving, Aja called a girlfriend who was living with Rickman.
He took the phone out of her hand when I called her to check on her once and [music] said, "Bitch, if I ever find
you, I will kill you." And I knew that he meant it. I never ever saw that as a threat. Like I saw that as a promise
[music] because he would he would kill me. He was livid. Aja says she always wanted justice, but it was only while
completing her education and pursuing a master's degree in public affairs from the University of California at Berkeley
that she found the courage [music] to file that report with the Oakland police. It detailed multiple alleged
incidents of Rickman's abuse including hitting her with closed fists on the face and body and causing her to sustain
a black eye, bruises, and cuts to the face. I wanted him held accountable for what
he did. Oakland police put out an arrest warrant for Rickman in 2021 in Alameda County,
but by that time he had left California. Washington state prosecutors say they never saw the warrant. I was angry and
upset because he could have been stopped beforehand. I blame myself in some kind
of way. But Aja still wanted to help. She emailed the prosecutors working on the
Gloria Choy murder and offered to give them information about Rickman. The prosecutors demurred saying they wanted
to keep their case focused on Gloria's murder. That wasn't really part of our case, so we didn't follow up on that
particular element. Rickman's trial for the murder of Gloria Choy began in November 2023
>> [music] >> before a jury of nine men and three women. Gloria's family were too
devastated to attend the trial. Uh they moved out of town without a word. And we didn't get to say goodbye, but I
understood [music] why. Prosecutor Greer wanted the jury to understand why as well. So, he played
Gloria's 911 call in its entirety right after the opening statements. 911, what's the location, ma'am? Sir?
I don't know where I am, but I think my boyfriend's following me. You could tell
the whole courtroom was, you know, different while that was being played. The prosecution methodically laid out
its case to the jury with all the audio and video evidence they'd collected. >> [music]
>> What you're about to see is a compilation of information from the defendant's cell phone as well [music]
as surveillance videos that we have at the various locations. What you're going to see first is some GPS [music]
coordinates. Schnepf says Rickman could no longer follow Gloria after he slashed
Gloria's tires [music] and put her truck with those air tags out of commission. As soon as he slashed the tires on
Gloria's vehicle, he could no longer track her. Rickman was forced to more or less guess
where Gloria was. And in the days that followed, Schnepf says he spent a lot of time sitting outside her parents' house
where she was living. So, all of this is breaking this no contact order, right? >> Yeah, he probably every letter of the
the no contact [music] order he violated. He's just constantly going back to her house.
>> [music] >> Is she there? Is she at her house? It's crazy to see this like this.
Sometime around 6:00 p.m. on January 2nd, the night of Gloria's murder, Schnepf says Rickman turned off his cell
phone and didn't turn it back on until he was at the Home Motel immediately after the murder.
The fact that he doesn't turn his phone off except for at the time point of the murder helps us to show that it was him.
To buttress their case, prosecutors put Breanna Aberly on the stand. I remember looking over at him, seeing him look at
her picture. He started to cry. And I remember it made me so angry. >> [music] >> I had never felt so furious in my life.
Billy didn't just take Gloria's >> [music] >> physical life. Billy took everything.
Took a daughter, a mother, a friend, a sister, a cousin. He He took it all in a blink of an eye with [music] no
no regard. The loss of Gloria Choy weighed heavily on Greg Greer as the prosecution ended.
He knew this was going to be the last case of his career. He was surveilling. He was stalking. [music]
He was hunting that night. >> Absolutely. And Greg Greer was confident he'd proven that to the jury.
When it was time to present Billy Rickman's defense, his lawyer did not call any witnesses and did not put
Rickman on the stand. He argued in his closing that investigators failed to look at any other possible suspects,
said prosecutor Greg Greer. The defense tried to make [clears throat] a case that
somebody else did it. Rickman's defense attorney told jurors that the police investigation was
incomplete because Gloria never named Rickman on her 911 call and instead described the person who hit her car
only as her boyfriend. >> I think my boyfriend's following me and he just hit my car.
The trial [music] lasted two weeks. It only took the jury about two hours to reach their verdict, [music]
guilty of aggravated murder. Rickman was sentenced to life in prison without the
possibility of parole. Law enforcement [music] didn't take any steps to locate or arrest Rickman in the
days before Gloria's death. Gloria's parents believe Gloria should still be alive, says Megan Driscoll. She has
filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Gloria's son against the city of Lakewood and its police department. They
wanted accountability for what happened to their daughter and their sister and their loved one.
And they believed that it was mismanaged and mishandled [music] by law enforcement.
>> [snorts] >> This woman was deprived of justice and should not have been killed. Driscoll
says one of the ironies of the case is that the prosecution used Rickman's egregious stalking as evidence to help
them secure the homicide conviction. So that very same evidence that was presented in the homicide trial, you're
now using it wrongful death lawsuit [music] to show what you believe is the Lakewood police
not doing their jobs. Right. I mean, this death was >> [music] >> incredibly foreseeable and we know that
from the prosecution, we know that the jury convicted him. This wasn't a mystery of who did this or why.
Um it was as foreseeable as it was preventable. You're focused on Lakewood police and what they did and did not do.
So outline for us what should they have done? Plain and simple. Plain and simple,
Lakewood PD should have found Rickman and arrested him to protect Gloria. My name is Russ Hicks. I'm a retired law
enforcement [music] officer. I was a lead instructor for domestic violence for many years.
Russ Hicks was hired by Driscoll as an expert witness, in part because [music] he has a special connection to the case.
So, I know they received the proper training because I was their instructor [music] at the police academy.
And I I taught the three officers that were involved in this case. And Hicks says those officers failed
Gloria. One example, one of the Lakewood officers says he left a voicemail for Rickman, which Hicks considers a
mistake. I think it conveys a message that we're not taking this seriously and we're not looking for you. Just saying
that we'd like to talk to you. And the sad irony of it is when you call a domestic violence perpetrator like
Rickman, that actually just escalates [music] the danger to the victim even more.
That officer says he drove around looking for Rickman's BMW. But Driscoll says there is no police
record of that. Driscoll also says Gloria told the officer she believed Rickman was staying at a nearby motel.
>> [music] >> And as it turned out, the Home Motel is only a 6-minute walk from the Holiday
Inn. It would have been so easy to find him cuz he was there to be found. Driscoll also says [music] officers
failed Gloria by not following up description of the truck Rickman [music] was driving
given to them by the desk clerk at the Holiday Inn. He's driving a Chevy Colorado. He's got
one light out. In normal law enforcement practice, they should send out a bolo or be on the
lookout saying, "This is a beige Chevy Colorado, broken tail lights. Look for this [snorts] guy." They didn't do that.
He was half a block away. Some 48 hours before her murder, Driscoll says Gloria gave one of the
officers a comprehensive [music] seven-page document. In it, Gloria details the many times she said Rickman
violated the no-contact order. His emails, his calls, and a still frame from one of the holiday end videos.
Even with that report in hand, Driscoll says police took no action. They had everything they needed and more
to arrest him. In addressing the Troy family's wrongful death lawsuit, a city lawyer told a
judge in January 2025, the police have no obligation to go and arrest someone like Rickman if he is not
at the scene. At that hearing, the judge asked the city's lawyer, "A police officer could still sit back
and do nothing in response to a complaint by a domestic violence victim because there's no duty to look for the
abuser?" The city's lawyer answered, "That's correct." John Justice, the attorney representing
the city and the Lakewood Police Department, said he could not comment on pending litigation.
Tell me a little bit about how she changed your life. She always reminded me that I was a good
person, no matter what, >> [music] >> and that I was a good mom, cuz I doubted myself a lot.
And she reminded me every day that I was good. How much did that change [music] you in your self-worth?
So much. More than I could probably describe. It gave me [music] hope. Prosecutor Greg Greer [music] retired in
2024. He's still trying to, in his words, find his [music] way back to humanity, and
forget the violence that surrounded him for so many years. But, he's still haunted by Gloria's
[music] last words on that 911 call. I did learn the Korean language while I was in in the Air Force, and I could
hear very clearly [music] Gloria calling for her mother. And what is the word that you hear? It's
"Uma. Oma." Um >> [music] >> and she's just frantically desperation calling for her mother.
Tells you a lot about human nature, and yeah, it's one of the saddest things you'll ever hear.
>> [music] [music] >> Welcome back to Post Mortem. I'm your host 48 Hours correspondent Anne-Marie
Green, and today we are discussing the case of Gloria Choi, who was shot in her car after being forced off the road by
another vehicle in Lakewood, Washington. Now, Gloria alleged that her ex-boyfriend, Billy Rickman, was
stalking and harassing her. And in a 48-hour period, 2 days before she was murdered, law enforcement was contacted
four separate times about Rickman's escalating behavior. And Gloria's family believes the justice system failed her.
So, joining me today is 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales, who reported on this case. Natalie, it's
good to speak with you again. Good to be back with you, Anne-Marie. And you know,
I think Gloria Choi's story is sadly a cautionary tale. I think a lot of people can relate to, you know, falling in love
with the wrong person sometimes. But from what we know, Gloria did everything she could once she realized this
relationship was not good for her. She tried to end it, and she thought that the police and that the law would
protect her. Unfortunately, as you know, that was not the case in this tragedy. Yeah, but I think there are a lot of
lessons to be learned here. Um, so we will get into this. I want to remind everyone, if you haven't watched or
listened to this episode, it's called The Love Bombing of Gloria Choi. Go check it out right now, and then come on
back for our conversation. So, Natalie, in watching the hour, I felt I got a real sense of just how hard
working, how beloved Gloria Choi was by her family, by her friends. Um, you know, she had this great career in the
family business, running these hotels. She was really devoted to her son. It is hard to be a single parent. Um, and so
I'm always impressed uh when I hear about single parents succeeding. And in May of 2021, she meets Billy
Rickman, who is staying at the hotel that she's managing. He has this larger-than-life personality, and
immediately introduces himself to her. But what was it about Rickman that she was attracted to? Well, I think it was
that lifestyle of hers. As you said, she was a busy single mom, she worked really
hard, she didn't have a lot of time to date. You saw her friend and her co-worker Breanna in our hour and and
she said that Rickman talked a big game, seemed to say all the things that Gloria
wanted to hear. He was also very proud to have her as his girlfriend, he paid a lot of attention to her and he had
formed this bond with her son. You know, we saw some of those texts and those exchanges where Rickman is professing
his love and they're so over the top, you know, I want you, I can't wait to see what life has in store for us, my
heart is yours. The Choi family attorney, Megan Driscoll, says Gloria was basically love bombed, that over the
top expression uh of love. Definitely, um I think probably a lot of people have experienced love bombing and you know,
it feels wonderful, but there's always sort of a little bit of an edge where you're like, "Geez, we
just we just met." I mean, but if they do it well and obviously he did, it's you can get lured in by it. Within
weeks, right? Gloria and Rickman, they became a couple. But he began staying at the Oyo hotel
cuz she stays there and works there. Gloria's parents do not approve of this relationship, they want Rickman out and
so they say to her, "Listen, you know, you can stay at the hotel and be the manager or you can leave." And she
chooses to leave with him. In September 2021, Gloria moved to a new apartment with Rickman and her son and took a new
job as a manager at the Holiday Inn Express. But it wasn't long after that that Gloria really started to realize
that Rickman was not the guy that he was making himself out to be. Right, yeah, according to Gloria's
friend Breanna, Gloria told her Rickman was often mean, he was showing his angry
side, he started to drink in excess and was using drugs. But when it came down to it, you know, how was he making
money? It really, according to Breanna, was Gloria that was providing for him. And And Gloria told her that Rickman
just refused to get a job. >> Mhm. Now, Gloria also, I think, suspected that Rickman was tracking her.
And she told Breanna she found an Apple AirTag in her truck. She said that she feared he'd hidden more there in in
order to be able to track her. And you know, that became more obvious when she moved out and tried to rid herself of
him. Mhm. Um well, there's a theme here when we talk about living off a woman. Um
you introduce us to a woman named Aja who said that Rickman sex trafficked her when she was a 14-year-old runaway in
California. Can you share any more details what we learned about Rickman's past? Yeah, it's
interesting because according to the prosecutors, Rickman, he did have some convictions for drug and firearms
offenses in California. But it was when he was in California and in Oakland in particular that he met Aja Hual. Now,
according to Aja, she met Rickman when she was just 14 years old. Rickman was in his 30s, so huge age difference
there. But Aja told us that when she met him, he knew that she was being trafficked, but by somebody else. He
seemed as if he wanted to get her away from her trafficker, but he ends up becoming her trafficker. And And it
really, you know, Aja's story is is so remarkable in the hour because even though she missed a lot of high school,
she managed to go back and get her GED when she was 17 years old. She went on, got her master's degree from UC
Berkeley, um from the public affairs school, the Goldman School. And she's now working as
a consultant. So, she is such a success story. >> She really is. Like that is truly
inspiring. And to think like she had gone through all of this and, you know, transformed her life. Meanwhile, Rickman
clearly hasn't changed his ways at all, but, you know, Gloria figures this out. It takes about 6 months after meeting
Rickman and she ends the relationship. She moves back in with her parents, but Rickman refuses to return her truck,
which she had borrowed. So, she reports him to the police. In that first incident, the officer
responds very quickly. Rickman is arrested. He is thrown in jail for a couple of days before judge then slaps
him with a very strict no contact order. But after his release, Rickman continues
to harass her. And it it seems like after that, the police response sort of slows. It's it's much weaker. Why? Well,
this is a case of two different police departments at the time. You know, there was the city of Tumwater Police
Department and Lakewood. And so, Gloria and Rickman, where they were living was Tumwater and that's where, you know,
Gloria reported that Rickman refused to give back her truck. It was the Tumwater
police officer who recognized that Rickman seemed to be a danger to Gloria and so, he asked the judge to issue a
domestic violence no contact order. Gloria then moved. She switched jobs to the Holiday Inn Express. That happened
to be in Lakewood, where a lot of those other incidents happened. For example, when she was meeting with her friend
Jacob and her car was broken into and the laptops were stolen, she reported that to Lakewood police. And Gloria said
that she suspected it was Rickman because when she was meeting with Jacob, she got this email instantly from
Rickman that said, "You left me for another guy." And, you know, the Lakewood officer said he was going to
call Rickman. He said he left a voicemail saying police wanted to speak with him. Gloria and her friend Jacob
Blue, they go back to the Holiday Inn Express and they see, you know, Jacob's car now they discover his car tires had
been slashed as well. They called Lakewood police again and because she worked at the hotel, she was able to
show the responding officers surveillance footage and it showed, you know, the shadowy figure of a guy
apparently slashing the tires, but because the surveillance footage was a little bit grainy and you couldn't make
out his face very clearly, Lakewood police said it was too unclear. They couldn't see him and they couldn't
identify, in fact, that it was Rickman. Now, all of these instances are examples
that Megan Driscoll, the Troy family attorney, says were clear violations of the no contact order. In fact, Driscoll
says Gloria would eventually give Lakewood police a seven-page document that listed all the ways she said
Rickman violated the no contact order. Here's the thing about it, too, is experts will always tell domestic
violence victims to document everything and here Gloria is writing it down. She's basically taking the investigation
into her own hands. What else did she note in this document? This is an important lesson that we can
all take away from this story. I mean, she really did document everything in that seven-page list including
screenshots with text messages, numerous missed calls that she kept getting from
his friends, from blocked numbers or numbers that were not identifiable. And and by the way, according to Megan
Driscoll, that seven-page document, the prosecutors never even saw it because it
was found later in a sealed envelope in a police file. Prosecutor Greg Greer said he had never even seen it. It
wasn't opened or found until after the homicide conviction. So, I thought this was really interesting in the hour. 48
Hours spoke to Russ Hicks. He's an expert hired by the family's attorney who worked as an instructor at the
police academy and taught the three Lakewood officers that were involved in this case. I absolutely thought he was
going to defend them. Mhm. And then he did not. He was surprised to learn that the officers did not seem to follow the
training, the very training and guidelines that he gave them. I want to play a clip from that interview. The
training specifically states that they should recognize escalating behavior. And this was escalating because there
were four incidents in a 48-hour period. So, having that he's armed with a deadly
weapon, that he's slashing tires repeatedly in the same location, and that nothing's being done, they
should have recognized that this is is a pattern of escalating behavior, and they should have intervened. Meghan
Driscoll told us this was sadly as foreseeable a tragedy as as it could possibly be.
Um we should point out the Lakewood Police Department said they couldn't really identify Billy Rickman as the man
slashing the tires and walking away. Um but Russ Hicks said the official training says that in domestic violence
cases, you know, they generally do escalate in nature and the official response is always protect the victim.
So, he does not believe, you know, that the procedures were followed. And while one officer said he drove around and he
was looking for Rickman's car, there apparently was no record of that and there didn't seem to be more of an
attempt to find him. So, then I'm wondering what Hicks recommends that the officers should have
done differently. Well, Russ Hicks says the one thing that the police absolutely
failed on was that in a situation like this, you put out a bolo alert, be on the lookout. In this case, they knew
what kind of vehicle Rickman was driving at the time. Also, Russ Hicks points out, you know, the officer who
reportedly said he left a voicemail for Rickman, he said that is the last thing a police officer should be doing because
that actually can escalate the situation further into domestic violence cases. And Hicks also pointed out that police
didn't even show up in person when Gloria called 911 to report the tire slashing. Um, he said, again, the number
one priority is to show up, secure the scene. You cannot do that by phone. But, in its defense, the Lakewood Police
Department said nobody witnessed Rickman directly commit these acts. No witness was able to provide a location for
Rickman. So, they say probable cause was not established. Welcome back. So, on January 2nd, 2022, the evening of
Gloria's murder, she calls 911 again after she is forced off the road by a pickup truck while driving home.
You played that 911 call in the hour, some of it. Um, and I have to say, from what we heard, it was painful to listen
to. She is clearly terrified. And and we couldn't even play that much of it because it is way too disturbing and
graphic. You're hearing Gloria Choy, her last moments alive, and she was terrified.
And it was played in full to a stunned jury. And in the course of that 911 call, you hear the 14 shots fired. You
hear her screaming through several of those first shots because we know she didn't die instantly and she was
suffering. Prosecutor Greg Riordan spoke Korean because he served in the Air Force and he says on that 911 call her
last words are Oma Oma or Uma and that is the word for mother mom in Korean which just breaks your heart and one
other thing her young son had just turned eight the day before. She in fact was on her way home at the time because
you know he wanted to eat with his mother and he wouldn't eat without her and that's where she was going when
Rickman pinned her car and then killed her. >> And it sort of reinforces the connection
that we learned that she has with her family how important family was that it is her mother that she cries out for
it's her son that she's going home to see and these are people that Rickman would have known. He would have lived
with her and her son. So after Billy Rickman though kills Gloria he seems to just sort of disappear into the night.
How was he able to evade police for several days? You know Rickman had a support system
and the people who helped him they actually testified at the trial. However, they were not charged.
Prosecutors believe a friend in fact armed him gave him a gun a couple days before he then went and killed Gloria
and prosecutors say Rickman then went to a couple of friends homes including one
who had been storing his black BMW which he then used to flee and escape to California and he was on the run for
four days and then Rickman drives to Northern California Humboldt County goes to a relative's house. His relative
offered to drive him to hotel to put him up there but the FBI had already alerted law enforcement in
that area to be on the lookout. They did put a bolo out this time. Tribal police
then stopped them saying that they ran a stop sign and that's when Rickman pushes his relative out of the
car as you saw in the hour and then takes off and continues for another 5 hours to evade police until finally he
is caught. How did they eventually track him down? That's an interesting story because and we didn't have time to
really include that in the hour. They did find his abandoned car and they did search with dogs in the area where they
believed he he went on the run. It's very rural though and they [snorts] went around warning the residents in the
area to be careful. So when he shows up at one man's door, it happened to be a retired juvenile corrections officer
who lived there. So wrong man for Rickman to encounter. Prosecutor Greg Greer tells us more about what happened.
He hears his dogs barking outside. And he recognizes that's him. Tells his wife, tells her right away,
call 911. It's him. He goes out. He does have a firearm with him. He doesn't display it, but he's got
it on his person and he goes out and he encounters Mr. Rickman. Who is soaking wet, freezing cold,
hypothermic and he offers to take him inside and tries to warm him up and talks to him for a few minutes. Um
police still aren't there, no sign of them. He wants to get him out of his house
now. So he takes him and puts him in one of his his work vehicles saying he'll take him into town and get him a a hotel
room. Mhm. He keeps telling him, "Oh, I forgot my keys. Go back." to his wife, "Where are they?"
Back to the truck. >> Mhm. "I need my wallet." Back to the house. He is stalling for time. He comes
and he sits in the vehicle now with Mr. Rickman and thankfully he sees lights approaching
law enforcement from the distance and police get there >> and times up. Oh, that's an incredible
story. That is really incredible. Um you know, cuz he didn't have to. He could have just called up and say, "I
saw the guy in my backyard. Go get him." And but to bring him into your house. Well, Billy Rickman is eventually
charged with aggravated first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty. And the prosecution argued that Rickman had
stalked and harassed Gloria in the days leading up to the murder. So, I have to say, I found the map that
showed Rickman's GPS coordinates from his cell phone and his pickup truck's system really convincing. Right. And the
prosecutor Karin Schnapp, she showed it all to us. Her presentation of how she talked to the jury through his
movements. And it was like he was hunting her. He was following her around. He kept going back and forth to
her parents' house. Prosecutors also pointed out that Rickman, he turned his phone off just for that time to then
kill Gloria. But then when he got back to the motel, he turned it back on. So, that tells you a lot about you know, he
was trying to to not show where he was by disabling his phone in that time. Officer Casey
Bents from the Lakewood Police Department, she was one of the first responding officers. And at trial, she
gave a real emotional testimony because you know, when she responded, Gloria was
wearing her lanyard from the Holiday Inn. And she realized this is the same woman who had called us on these
previous occasions. And Officer Bents was one of the officers who responded to the previous incident of the tire
slashing. And we should point out at trial the defense didn't call any witnesses. They didn't put Rickman on
the stand. According to prosecutor Greer, the defense really argued that investigators
failed to look for any other possible suspects. You know, uh defense has to work with what they have. It was 2 hours
of deliberation, and the jury found Billy Rickman guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the
possibility of parole. Gloria's parents have filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Gloria's son, and their lawyer
says that the family believes Gloria would still be alive if Lakewood police had arrested Rickman when presented with
the clear examples of how he had violated the no-contact order. Right. And what's really interesting here is
that same evidence from the homicide trial that the prosecution used, the family's attorney, Megan Driscoll, said
this makes the case. This was again one of the most foreseeable and preventable tragedies. You know, the wrongful death
lawsuit against Lakewood and its police department is still pending. It's unresolved as of now. The police
department in the city has not publicly admitted that they made any mistakes. Um and John Justice, who is the attorney
who's representing the city and the Lakewood PD, said again that he can't comment on pending litigation. So, this
case is still before them. Of course. Of course. Um how is Gloria's son doing? Well, we know he is well supported. He
is surrounded by his family. Um he now lives with Gloria's relatives in another state. Her family did leave Washington.
And what about uh Breanna? She was a really powerful voice in this episode. She kind of brought Gloria to life for
us. Um She clearly they had a very strong friendship, and this had a huge impact
on her. And Breanna told us how much Gloria meant to her because when they met, Breanna had had some substance
abuse issues that she was overcoming. Um and Gloria saw through all of that. She
told us that Gloria literally changed her life. She gave her that promotion at the hotel where they were working
because Gloria was leaving her management position to go live with Billy Rickman, and she said she wanted
Breanna to take over for her, and I want to play a little bit more of our interview there with Breanna.
And I kind of looked at her and I was like, "Why? Like, I'm the last person you probably
want running your hotel." >> [laughter] [snorts] >> Um and she told me that I have shown her
grit and determination and that she trusted me 100% to run her parents' business.
Regardless of what I had done in my past, it didn't matter. She knew I was going to go far
and she wanted to give me the opportunity to do it. And I remember looking at her, I said,
"Are you Is your dad okay with this?" >> [laughter] >> And she goes, "I'll talk to him."
But she believed in you. She didn't Having somebody believe in you is Is everything?
Absolutely everything, and I believed in her, too. I believed that she could find her own path.
She was pretty excited to do it on her own. And she knew she could do it. And sadly, she was just starting to find
her own path when her life was tragically cut short. Um you know, Breanna said that even with Billy
Rickman, Gloria was choosing to see the good in everyone, to look past their flaws, to look past their demons, and
unfortunately, that's ultimately what cost her her life. Absolutely. Um Natalie, another great hour. Thank
you so much. Thank you, Anne Marie. If you like this episode, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Watch "The Love Bombing of Gloria Choi" and then join "48 Hours" correspondents Anne-Marie Green and Natalie Morales as they discuss the murder of Gloria Choi on "Post Mortem."

00:00 The Love Bombing of Gloria Choi 41:56 Watch the "Post Mortem" podcast

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Brief Summary

Gloria Choi was murdered by her ex-boyfriend after multiple police failures to protect her from stalking and harassment.

Key points

The Tragic Murder of Gloria Choi. Gloria Choi, a devoted mother, was stalked and murdered despite multiple calls for help.
The Final 911 Call. In her last moments, Gloria called 911, terrified and unsure of her location.
Escalating Danger. Prosecutors highlight the escalating threats Gloria faced from her ex-boyfriend.
A Disturbing Email. Rickman confronted Gloria through an email after spotting her with another man.
Gloria's Tires Slashed. Jacob discovers his tires slashed, leading to escalating vandalism and police involvement.
Rickman's Arrest. Billy Rickman is arrested after evading police for days, linked to Gloria's murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You have a perpetrator who's escalating.

The prosecutor's statement about the danger Gloria faced.

3:11WatchMay 24, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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