The predator hiding in plain sight in Anchorage (Part 1/2) | Forensic Files

it doesn't matter who you are or what you have life can be pretty damn hard and without a healthy mind it's even
harder check out online therapy with betterhelp.com case file and be on your way to a little
more ease 44 year old jeanette castraon suffered from a disability that made it very
difficult to walk and travel on her own in june 2015 while waiting as her mother
took a brief stop at a park restroom jeanette vanished she would not be the last
joining investigative journalist otavia mchenry as she uncovers the secrets behind jeanette's sudden disappearance
with interviews from jeanette's family law enforcement and criminal behavior experts otavia uncovers much more in the
search for jeanette castraion than she anticipated a twisted labyrinth where the most
beautiful scenery hides sinister secrets the labyrinth is a case file presents podcast
available now for free only on spotify stay tuned until the end of this episode to hear the official trailer and be sure
to follow the labyrinth on spotify [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
please note that the names of several individuals mentioned in this episode have been changed
fiona kennedy brought her car to a stop before the red light it was monday november 15 1971 and the
18 year old was enjoying a day off from work after spending the morning shopping
fiona was heading home along northern lights boulevard a main thoroughfare in the alaskan city of anchorage
as she waited at the traffic lights fiona casually scanned her surroundings and happened to lock eyes with the
driver of the car next to hers he was an unremarkable white man aged in his 30s with short hair hidden under a
fluorescent orange baseball cap a large pair of thick rimmed eyeglasses framed his cold stare
in an effort to break the awkward exchange fiona smiled at the man then focused her attention back on the road
ahead the light turned green and fiona took off thinking little of the meaningless
though somewhat uncomfortable interaction [Music] around 10 minutes later fiona arrived at
her apartment complex on lois drive after carrying her shopping up the two flights of stairs to her place she
started to run a bath all of a sudden there was a knock at her front door fiona wrapped her naked body in a towel
and went to answer it standing before her was the man from the stoplight up close fiona could see his pockmarked
face permanently scarred from a bout of severe acne the man explained that he was looking
for someone who lived in the complex noticing a phone book on a table just inside fiona's apartment
he asked if he could come in and look at it for a second fiona agreed and the man absent-mindedly
flipped through the pages remarking that the number he was looking for must have
been unlisted then he started making small talk he said he was new in anchorage didn't
know many people and asked if fiona would like to go on a date with him no thanks she replied
explaining that she was engaged the man left soon after one week later fiona woke early to drive
some friends to work at 5 15 am she wandered down to her car and took off it was still dark when fiona returned
home a short while later for a brief moment her car's headlights illuminated a man in a fluorescent
orange cap as he darted behind a neighboring property out of sight fiona parked in the carport and upon
stepping out of her vehicle came face to face with the barrel of a revolver holding tightly onto its grip was the
man she had smiled at a week earlier at the stoplight he threatened to shoot fiona if she made
a sound unable to contain her fear fiona let out a scream the man pushed his gun into her back and
again threatened her to stay quiet we're going someplace we can be alone he revealed as he led fiona towards the
street suddenly he was stopped in his tracks by the sound of a police siren it had started in the distance but was
getting louder with each passing second fiona's scream had woken her roommates who ran to a window saw her being held
at gunpoint and called 9-1-1 as police sped to the scene the man lowered his weapon and walked off into
the darkness [Music] [Music] [Music] lois drive became a hive of police activity as officers scoured the area
for fiona's gun-wielding abductor sometime after 7am a squad car pulled up out the front of fiona's apartment
she approached the vehicle and peered through a window into the backseat that's him she confirmed
her abductor had been found walking the streets close by and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon
he maintained that he had no recollection of the event in a pre-trial bail hearing counsel for
the defense successfully depicted their client as a hard-working and well-respected church-going family man
he was released on two thousand dollars bail pending a trial that was scheduled to begin in january the following year
but by late december the man was prowling the streets of anchorage once again looking for his next target
[Music] in the early morning hours of sunday december 19 gemma gibbs rushed across a
parking lot and into the warmth of a nearby cafe the 18 year old was in desperate need of
a hot drink to ward off anchorage's icy winter after ordering a tea gemma headed back
outside to start the heater in her car so it would be toasty for the drive home while doing so she saw a silver blue
pontiac pull into a neighboring parking spot a man emerged from the vehicle but she paid him little attention
once her car heater was blasting gemma returned to the cafe to collect her order
the male driver of the pontiac was standing by the cafe door as if waiting for her
when gemma approached he blocked her path and attempted to start a conversation it seemed like he was going to ask her
something but a stutter got the better of him and he struggled to form the words
gemma tried to push past him but froze when he pulled out a gun from underneath his coat
don't scream he warned as he forced her into his pontiac a passing car's headlights cut through
the early morning darkness and swept over her abductor illuminating his pockmarked face and
large eyeglasses he drove gemma south along the seward highway where the city streets gave way
to snowy fields forested hills and rugged mountain ranges [Music] bound by her wrists and ankles with the
leather shoelaces gemma endured a hundred mile long drive during which she was periodically assaulted and
eventually raped she was relieved when her captor started the long journey back to anchorage
only for him to perform a u-turn and continue heading south why are we going this way and gemma
asked her captor told her of a cabin he had taken a woman to a week prior that's where they were going now
he drove to the expansive cooper lake region and turned down a secluded ancillary road that curled up a mountain
they got a fair way up only to discover that heavy snowfall blanketed the road ahead making it
impossible to proceed any further irritated the man turned the car around [Music]
during the descent gemma noticed her captor eyeing the cliffside that boarded the road
she sensed he was toying with the idea of shooting her then throwing her into the ravine
as described in the book fair game by bernard duclos the man abruptly hit the brakes and
forced the gemma out of the car cocking his gun he ordered her to start running gemma knew what the men would do the
moment she turned her back to flee and told him she wasn't going to run no matter what
instead she faced him and began begging for her life saying everything she could
think of to make him reconsider she complimented him suggesting that they date and told him about her baby
son promising she wouldn't go to the police she offered him her name and address and
that of her parents has insurance that she would keep her word and just like that
her ordeal was over gemma was led back to the pontiac there were no more stops just threats to
ensure her compliance by 2pm she was returned to anchorage having been left a block from where her
car was parked gemma kept her promise and didn't speak a word of her ordeal to the police
days later on december 23 celia van zanten known to friends and family as beth was hit by a thirst that only a
soda could quench it was 8 30 pm and the nearby convenience store was due to close in
half an hour beth pulled on her green down filled parker and rubber sold hiking boots then
headed out into the winter chill it was only a short walk from her kinnick avenue home to the shops on
northern lights boulevard yet beth never returned on christmas day a nature photographer
was attempting to take the perfect picture of a waterfall in the mchugh creek recreation area south of anchorage
as he edged closer to the water he noticed what appeared to be a mannequin halfway up the ravine
it was positioned at an odd angle and partially covered with snow except it wasn't a mannequin
it was the body of a young woman police identified her as 18 year old beth van zanten who had vanished from
downtown anchorage two days earlier beth's hands were tied behind her back with speaker wire and a gag had been
placed over her mouth naked from the waist down she had been sexually assaulted and had sustained a
slash across her chest from a knife used to cut open her bra fifty or so feet above where beth was
found was a parking area it was believed that she had either fled from her attacker into the ravine or
that he threw her down it stripped of her jacket and boots beth had faced temperatures as low as -5
degrees fahrenheit in the days she was missing at that time of year anchorage was
plunged into a long darkness with less than 6 hours of light expected per day straining to trudge bound and barefoot
through three feet of snow back up the darkened slope beth eventually succumbed to the harsh
elements and froze to death news of what happened to betha van zanten rattled fellow anchorage teen
gemma gibbs she was certain that the man who had abducted and raped her at gunpoint was
also responsible for beth's death in order to secure her freedom gemma had promised to never to tell the
police what had happened to her but now she realized that her silence might have enabled her attacker to
assault and murder someone else compelled by guilt gemma went to the authorities and identified her assailant
it was the same man who had attempted to abduct fiona kennedy from her lowest drive apartment in november
now he faced felony charges for two separate crimes the second he committed while on bail for the first
yet he managed to secure a deal he pleaded no contest to the charge of assault with a deadly weapon against
fiona in exchange charges relating to the abduction and rape of gemma were dropped
from the prosecution's perspective there just wasn't enough evidence in that case
to secure a conviction in his sentencing remarks the judge told the man i believe you have a serious illness
that makes you extremely dangerous but then he sentenced him to just five years in prison and added
i recommend work release for you as soon as possible so you can pursue your employment and support your family
a model prisoner the man was released after serving only three months behind bars
when speaking of the outcome gemma gibbs remarked it was like you're not only raped by the
perpetrator but again by the courts although there was reasonable suspicion to believe that the same man was
involved in the abduction rape and death of bethe van zanten there was no evidence to support the
allegation and that case went cold [Music] upon his release from prison the man returned to anchorage a city big and
busy enough to forget his transgressions he continued living a normal life while those aware of his history took it
with a grain of salt as the crimes didn't align with the man they knew personally
he remained married had a second child moved into a large house owned three vehicles and started a successful
business for him it was as though nothing ever happened but he never changed in the year after making parole he lured
a 16 year old girl into his car and drove her around for hours sexually assaulting her at gunpoint
he warned her not to go to the police or else he would quote hunt her down she complied with his threat
his appetite for dominance and control continued to grow his stalking grounds primarily encompass
the downtown anchorage specifically an area known as the tenderloin district over the years the construction of the
800-mile long trans-alaska oil pipeline had led to transient laborers rushing to
the city organized crime followed as drug dealers and dodgy nightclub operators sought to
take advantage of the sudden influx of young men with disposable incomes they set up in the tenderloin district
and ran various bars adult stores and strip clubs police were frequently called out to the
area to deal with fights and robberies the women who worked there were particularly vulnerable
despite being married the men would prowl the tenderloin district looking for sex workers
one such occasion occurred in october 1975. he propositioned a dancer at the kitkat
club showing her a wad of cash and asking to have some fun she agreed that night he drove her to the chugach
state park east of anchorage and raped her at gunpoint he ultimately released her and for
personal reasons she chose not to file charges she did however give his vehicle's
license plate number to a rape crisis center which led to his identification [Music]
the case was handed over to the alaska state troopers but without the survivor's assistance
their options were limited a trooper did contact the man's parole officer to inform him of the incident
when confronted the man admitted to being with the woman but said her was only ever a date
then she started demanding money that he refused to pay which led her to quote get mad and holler rape
the parole officer wasn't convinced by his story but there was nothing more he could do
that was until april the following year that month the parole officer appeared in court to testify against the man
after he was caught stealing a chainsaw from a superstore the officer spoke at length about the
abduction of the dancer from the kitkat club while highlighting the defendant's increasingly violent sexual behavior
he went so far as to doubt that the man would cooperate and respond to therapy now and was of the opinion that he be
locked up the kitkat club incident hadn't been verified by the legal process the
presiding judge decided not to take the parole officer's testimony into consideration
he did however listen intently when the defendant politely read out a statement to the court
he spoke of his wife and two children saying they would be made to suffer if he was imprisoned and he wanted to stay
out of jail to support them he concluded i want to live a life that's acceptable
to society and to myself after praising the man for speaking so eloquently the judge sentenced him to five years
the man appealed this decision and in a written opinion on the case submitted august
1978 the supreme court of alaska said that prior to the chainsaw theft the man had conducted his life in a normal
manner quote he has maintained steady employment been a good provider and has earned the
reputation of a hard worker and a respectable member of the community according to the book fair game the
defense sought the input of a psychologist who concluded that their client was markedly disturbed
anti-social paranoid by nature and had a relatively weaker ego in examining his past behaviors to the
present day it was noted that the man's personality had disintegrated to a highly psychotic level or high
schizophrenia scale harmonic scale and high anti-social scale with the psychologist adding quote
there's some narcissism and magical thinking involved in this also the defense scrapped this finding and
sourced a second more desirous opinion this second doctor diagnosed their client as suffering a variant of a manic
depressive disorder known as a bipolar affective disorder wherein he had poor control over his
impulses due to mood and energy upswings his kleptomania was a result of this disorder
the doctor maintained that the man was responding well to therapy and medication and felt there would be no
more issues if he continued this routine the appellate judges agreed that the defendant's anti-social behaviour was a
mental health issue that could be treated they ordered him to be released on probation at the end of that month
even though the courts were absolutely convinced that the man would commit additional crimes without the
implementation of a medication and therapy regime administrative blunders meant that he
was returned to society without any court-ordered guidelines mandates or supervision
the following year on sunday october 14 1979 the man sat alone had a club called
embers in downtown anchorage with beer in hand watching a young woman dance on a nearby
tabletop their eyes met and he asked if they could meet later a stutter fragmented his words but his
intentions were clear the moment he pulled out a roll of money the dancer judy russell accepted his
offer she'd be off in 20 minutes we'll meet outside he said look for a gold camper
[Music] upon leaving embers judy spotted a gold colored pickup truck parked nearby
the vehicle which had a camper attachment in its cargo bed had seen better days the man from the club was waiting for
her she followed him into the camper where he pulled out a 357 magnum revolver judy was forced to strip naked as her
hands were bound with snare wire she was threatened to keep quiet but judy screamed constantly
dreading someone would hear her and contact police the man leapt out of the camper and rushed to the front of his
truck throwing himself behind to the wheel he sped towards the glen highway hoping to reach the expansive wilderness
that framed the northern part of the city before authorities caught up little did he realize that behind him
judy had escaped her restraints when he heard her pounding on the camper's walls he started to panic
slamming the brakes he rushed around his truck to confront her only to discover that judy had locked the camper's doors
she quickly crawled into the cab of the truck and locked the doors there too just as the man appeared outside the
driver's side window it was rolled part way down the man reached in and grabbed desperately at the door's lock
judy lent over and wound the window up trapping his arm her sheer terror was matched by his
unbridled fury he smashed the window to free his arm unlocked the door grabbed to duty and pulled her bound and
naked onto the ground judy refused to give in scrambling to her feet she broke out in
a sprint her captor chased her for several blocks before he gave up and returned to his
pickup lucky for him judy wasn't able to identify him to the police so he got away with it
but that didn't stop him from trying again later that same month he managed to reach the wilderness outside the city as
planned this time his captive was a 16 year old girl he had picked up outside a movie
theater he intended to rape her but when she revealed that she was homeless and hadn't eaten for two days
he let her go this would be a rare and final moment of humanity later that fall he wouldn't be so kind
[Music] annie wandered downtown anchorage in blue jeans a sweater a fur trimmed brown
leather jacket and a pair of high-heeled red ankle boots it was the fall of 1979 and although her
ensemble helped to ward off the crisp weather that befell alaska that time of year it also acted as a work uniform of
sorts many of the young women employed in anchorage's infamously rough tenderloin
district wore similar attire that let male passersby know that they were sex workers
annie climbed into the gold pickup truck that was waiting nearby and settled into
the passenger seat its driver was a white man of average height and build with short brown hair
and a pock marked face he said he was going to take annie to his home and she agreed to this plan
until she realized they were heading away from the city towards the wilderness beyond
nervously annie asked him to drive her back to anchorage he assured her that they were going to
another safe location but she didn't believe him the atmosphere in the truck grew
increasingly tense as detailed in the book fair game the man reassured annie that he was only
going to drive a little further well i'm not she snapped the man suddenly pulled out a gun
you do exactly as i say he won't and you won't get hurt he turned off the glenn highway and onto
a clutner lake road a long scenic stretch named after the large body of water at frames
then he drove down one of the many secondary tracks that branched off the main road heading deeper into the
isolated surrounds seasonal rain coupled with melted glacial runoff had turned this alternate
route into a muddy swamp the wheels of his truck sunk into the sludge until they couldn't move any
further there was a winch on the back of his vehicle that could haul them out but he would need the help of his
captive the man convinced dany to unravel the cable and sort things outside while he
remained behind the wheel with great effort the winch successfully pulled the pickup out of the mud trap
the man pressed his foot to the accelerator and the vehicle lurched forward stay put he yelled at annie as he drove
further down the road to look for a spot to turn around so he could collect her on the return
realising this was her one chance at escape annie edged towards the surrounding woods before breaking out
into a sprint the man slammed the brakes cut the engine leapt from the truck and took off
after her and his high heels slid into the mud allowing him to close in quickly and
grab her by the hair in the ensuing scuffle she managed to reach into her purse and pull out a
large black-handled buck knife [Music] she swung it in his direction but he prided from her grasp before she
was able to cause him any injury forcing annie to the ground the man overpowered and restrained her
she begged don't kill me don't kill me [Music] he responded calmly that he wasn't going
to kill her [Music] case file will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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episode's ads by supporting our sponsors you support case file [Music] in the following year of 1980 two power
plant employees were carrying out works along laker klutner road while concentrating on a power line the
pair noticed some disturbed earth nearby a shallow grave it contained a severely decomposed
female body marks on her bones revealed that she had been viciously stabbed in the back
she was dressed in jeans a brown leather fur trimmed coat and red high-heeled boots
an outfit that indicated to local police officers that the woman had likely been
a sex worker from the nearby city of anchorage identifying her through physical features alone was impossible
due to the state of her remains an autopsy revealed that the victim was killed the previous year
she was 16 to 25 years old and between 4 foot 11 to 5 foot 3 inches tall she was likely white but possibly had
native american heritage as suggested by some pieces of native american style jury scattered near her remains
it was unclear how exactly she'd ended up in the vicinity of laker clutner the area where she was found was so
remote that it was only frequented by the power plant employees or the occasional hunter
anchorage police created a facial reconstruction profile of the murdered woman and printed it on posters that
they plastered throughout the city yet no one came forward to identify her they dubbed their unknown victim after
the place where she was discovered aklutnarani in may that same year joanna messina was
standing on the docks that overlooked the picturesque seward boat harbour stretched out before her were the icy
and clear glacial waters of resurrection bay framed by the snow-capped mountains that
defined the southern coast of alaska joanna was not alone keeping her company as always was her
loyal and protective german shepherd dog who had traveled with her all the way from new york
joanna was a nurse who had abruptly left her old life behind hitching rides across the country until she wound up
over the canada united states border and in the port city of seward though only she knew the reasons behind
her sudden move it was suspected that joanna sought to take up work in one of the state's many factories canning food
this plan didn't work out and joanna took up sex work to make ends meet as she watched the water lapping the
docks the petite 24 year old with thick auburn-coloured hair caught the eye of a
nearby man joanna noticed his attention and flashed him a smile the man approached her and initiated
some friendly chit chat before asking if she would join him for dinner ever since she had arrived in seward
joanna had been doing it tough she'd recently been kicked out of the boarding house where she had initially
settled causing her to pitch a tent at the state campgrounds homeless broke and unemployed she took
the man up on his offer the pair headed to a nearby restaurant where they continued their conversation
everything was going well until joanna seemingly misreading her male companion's intentions
propositioned him saying we could have a real nice time if you have any money in an instant the man's mood soured
he didn't realize joanna was a sex worker and was irritated to think that their connection was strictly business
he masked his feelings and coaxed to joanna and her german shepherd into his gold camper pickup
the man drove north along the seward highway which eventually reached the city of anchorage 127 miles away
he only got 13 miles out of seward before pulling over by the snow river it was there in the quiet shadows of
spruce trees and jagged mountains that an argument broke out between the pair joanna believed the man had taken her to
a discreet location beyond the city lights to engage her services now he was seemingly backing out of the
idea and joanna realising she'd traveled all this way for nothing ordered him to
take her back to seward his temper rising the man ordered joanna out of the cab and into the camper
compartment of his pickup as detailed in fair game the man barked at joanna here's all your worth
before tossing five dollars at her he then launched himself at joanna who managed to fight him off and escape out
into the cold dark she ran but he quickly caught up and hit her hard with a 22 magnum revolver
joanna fell to the ground tears streamed down her face as her hands curled around her wounded head
with fierce strength she threw herself at her attacker clawing and screaming at him
the man shot joanna twice killing her he then rummaged through her belongings mostly camping gear and wrapped her in a
sleeping bag dragging the body to a nearby gravel pit he let it roll into the crevice before
pushing in some sand and rocks to conceal it as he returned to his truck the man realised joanna's german
shepherd was still inside he shot the dog to ensure it wouldn't lead anyone to its owner's remains
then he dumped its body and joanna's belongings in the woodland adjacent to where joanna lay covered in the pit
before returning to anchorage he threw his revolver into the snow river joanna messina's body was found two
months later by unsuspecting highway maintenance workers she was still wrapped in her sleeping
bag which had since become mouldy two 22-caliber bullets were retrieved from her remains
more than a year later on monday november 16 1981 sherry morrow was bidding her boyfriend farewell
it was 11 30 p.m and he had just dropped sherry off at work for the past three years the 23 year old
had been working as a topless dancer at various clubs throughout anchorage's tenderloin district
that night she had a shift at the wild cherry on east fourth avenue at some point during the night the five
foot six blonde-haired and blue-eyed sherry caught the eye of a male patron after work sherry went to her friend
lisa's house she spoke of having met a male photographer at the wild cherry who had
offered to pay her three hundred dollars to pose nude for a photo shoot as sherry was quiet and shy it didn't
seem like the kind of thing she would want to do but lisa knew her friend was also lonely
and somewhat gullible lisa warned that only jerks visited the clubs but this didn't dissuade sherry from
agreeing to do the photo shoot the next morning sherry pulled on her baby blue coloured ski jacket over her
sweater and a pair of dark blue moon boots over her jeans then she headed to a cafe several blocks
from her workplace where she had planned to meet the photographer not long after she had arrived there a
frightened sherry was blindfolded and handcuffed in the photographer's car he drove north along the glen highway
towards the sprawling alaskan wilderness later that day sherry failed to show up to a doctor's
appointment concerned her boyfriend dale retraced her last known movements all of sherry's belongings
were still at her apartment the only thing missing was a golden necklace with an arrow-haired pendant
that she always wore dale's search led to lisa's house where he was told about sherry's plans to meet
with a photographer after failing to find sherry dale informed anchorage police of her
disappearance but his worries fell on deaf ears police were aware that young women who
worked in the tenderloin district never really settled in the city and were known to move elsewhere without notice
sherry had been looking forward to getting married and building her life in anchorage
there was no discernible reason why she would abruptly and secretly relocate essentially giving up on her dreams and
relationship despite the police believing sherry would reappear eventually dale remained
worried he visited the anchorage police department almost weekly begging officers to look for her
gripping their firearms john daly and dowdy holloway eyed their surroundings as the chilled waters of the kinnick
river flowed alongside them the pair cut lonely figures against the glacial outcrops snow-capped mountains
and the dense forests of spruce and aspen the lush green trees were in the process
of changing to a vibrant shade of gold and yellow reflecting the onset of fall it was sunday september 12 1982 and the
john and diary were on the hunt escaping to the great outdoors was a welcome respite for jon and diary
both men were police officers stationed in the nearby city of anchorage exploring the kaneka river valley about
an hour's drive northeast was a much needed change of scenery from their busy day-to-day lives
john and dowdy were avid trophy hunters and knew the valley well that weekend they were hunting moose in
a location so remote it was only accessible by off-road vehicles boats or planes
trekking deep into the landscape was not easy and its vastness meant it was rare
to encounter any other people john and dowdy weren't having much luck and as the sun began to set over the
horizon the pair called it a day they headed back towards their camp by cutting across a wide and long
grey-pebbled sandbar that rose from the kinnick river it was there that both men caught side
of a dark blue moon boot sticking out of the ground not far from the boot was a partially
buried baby blue nylon ski jacket the off-duty officers moved in for a closer look
in between the two items of clothing was a bone joint the officers were conscious that they
might have stumbled across a crime scene and backed away to avoid disturbing it night had almost fallen and it was too
dark to head back to anchorage for help instead they noted their location two miles down river from the new glen
highway bridge and returned to their campsite with the intention to seek assistance at first light
as soon as dawn broke john and audi made their way to a cabin and called the alaska state troopers who had
jurisdiction over the kinnick river valley region officers from the criminal investigations bureau met the two men by
the skeletal remains in the light of day it was clear that the pair had stumbled across the badly
decomposed body of a young woman although she lay close to the ground's surface it was obvious that she had been
buried in a shallow grave dental records revealed the victim was sherry morrow who had gone missing from
anchorage nine months earlier an elastic bandage was wrapped around her head and over her eyes pinned in
place with metal clips she had been shot three times in the back but there were no bullet holes in her
clothes the troopers suspected her killer or killers had shot her while she was naked
then redressed her body found among sherry's remains was a single shell casing from a 223 caliber
bullet a type of ammunition for high-powered semi-automatic rifles often used to kill large game
in the preceding months and years the tenderloin district became a black hole for many women who worked there
dances and sex workers alike were disappearing from the area without explanation
while the police brushed aside the concerns of their family and friends with the excuse that the women lived
transient lifestyles those who knew the women best suspected something was seriously amiss
some of the missing worked at the same clubs others were mothers who had left their
young children behind nothing in any of their lives explained why the women would up and leave without
getting in touch [Music] 24 year old roxanne eastland's roommate reported her missing in the first week
of july 1980 roxanne who also went by the name karen had gone on a date with a man days
earlier the pair had arranged to meet on northern lights boulevard in downtown anchorage
roxanne never returned home 41 year old dancer lisa fertrell went to work at the great alaskan bush company
bar on the night of saturday september 6 1980 lisa who carried a pistol in her purse
for protection vanished after her shift her roommate searched the tenderloin district for her but their questions
rattled the local crime gangs who warned that they might disappear too if their efforts brought police attention to the
area undeterred they reported lisa as a missing person twenty-eight-year-old thai national
malay larsen was dancing to earn enough money to return home to thailand she disappeared from anchorage in june
1981. 23 year old andrea altiri was incredibly close to her roommate and dancing
colleague royale the pair spent almost every day of their two-year-long friendship together
so when andrea disappeared on december 2 1981 royale knew her friend affectionately known as fish wouldn't
just abandon her without a proper goodbye royale was aware that andrea had gone to
meet an older man that day who had offered to take her on a shopping spree at the local mall
the disappearances continued into 1982. sue luna's older sister bobby had been highly protective of her ever since they
were kids she warned 22 year old sue of the growing danger to dances in the tenderloin district and wanted her to
arm herself with a small firearm but the gentle and soft-hearted sioux declined as she was deathly afraid of
guns sue was rusted on to work at the good times bar the night of monday may 24.
during her shift a man approached sue and introduced himself as a photographer he asked her to participate in a shoot
for the following day offering her 300 dollars sue accepted the job and was never seen
again twenty-year-old tammy peterson didn't enjoy dancing in anchorage for tammy dancing was an art form and
she preferred crafting choreographed routines and designing her own costumes anchorage's dancing scene was a lot
sleazier than tammy anticipated despite this she persisted in making the city her home
on august 7 tammy called her parents to talk about her relationship woes the following week she vanished without
a trace her family flew to anchorage and underwent a desperate though futile search
22 year old teresa watson known by friends as nicole arrived in the city in january 1983.
on saturday march 26 nicole's roommate visited the police station and pushed to file a missing person's report
nicole had been dropped off at a local restaurant the afternoon prior where she had planned to meet a man
she had described him as real nice and said he had promised to pay her 300 if she'd have lunch and spend an hour
with him 24 year old angela fedden was reported missing by the owner operator of a bar
called murphy's law he hadn't seen angela for three months when he contacted authorities on
wednesday may 25. the pair last spoke in late february when angela mentioned having met a
doctor she described him as very ugly but noted that he carried a big roll of money
angela who also engaged in sex work mentioned the doctor had offered her 300 for her services
paula goulding's last dance took place on sunday april 24 1983 at the great alaskan bush company
although she was new to this line of work the 30 year old was very enthusiastic about it
after descending from the stage she was approached by a man carrying a large roll of bills
the next morning paula waited for him at a local shopping mall where he had promised to spend several hundred
dollars on her according to the book fair game he pulled up in his car shortly after noon
and called paula over she climbed into the passenger seat and after a short drive the man pulled into
a deserted parking lot within seconds paula was being held at gunpoint as the man warned her
now you'll do just what i say i'm good at this done it lots of times before later that day the pilot of a
lightweight aircraft was soaring low over the kanek river when he caught sight of something below
it was a blue and white two-seater super cub airplane parked on a gravel sandbar
making big sweeping turns the pilot circled above the supercar three times looking out for any sign of life
it was not unusual to spotlight aircraft within the valley off-road ground vehicles tended to get
stuck in the bush so it was quicker and easier to fly in on his third flyover the pilot spotted a
lone man standing by the super cub the man looked up at the pilot and waved at him in a friendly manner
in return the pilot performed a wing dip the flight equivalent of waving a hand thinking nothing more of the encounter
the pilot steered down river and out of sight as the sound of the plane's engine faded
into the distance the man on the ground breathed a sigh of relief grateful and lucky that it hadn't landed
once the coast was clear he reached into his super cub and pulled out his 223 caliber ruger mini 14 rifle
then he headed back into a nearby patch of woodland where an old meat shack was tucked away
the abandoned building had once been used by hunters to store and hang game but on this occasion it contained paula
goulding restrained to an iron pipe the man had taken to flying into the valley in his own personal airplane as
it posed fewer risks cars left tire tracks that led to his remote hunting ground and the graves of
his victims his plane took him directly to its center getting him in and out without a
trace on each occasion he'd take off from merrill field in anchorage a public use
general aviation airport one mile east of downtown he'd saw high above where any local air
traffic control tower could identify him nestled in a small space behind his seat
would be his handcuffed captive unable to move he'd fly northward into the depths of
the kenick river valley and bring the supercar down on the wide flat sandbar that acted as a runway
once it came to a stop he'd retrieve his frightened captive she was confronted with the vast foreign
landscape around her the expansive gravel sandbar the meandering river the distant mountains
and the patches of dense woodland hidden among the trees was the old meat shack friday september 2 1983 marked the
beginning of the labor day weekend and two teenagers were spending the holiday moose hunting in the kinnick river
valley it was approaching 1pm when the pair passed the derelict meat shack in the
woods before emerging along the river as they made their way across a large sandbar
they spotted human bones nestled in the earth authorities descended on the area the bones were found along the same
sandbar where sherry morrow's remains were discovered almost a year earlier dental records confirmed that this newly
recovered body was 30 year old paula goulding a dancer based in anchorage paula had
vanished four months earlier following a shift at the great alaskan bush company
she was still wearing the outfit she was last seen in though it was in a state of
disarray her jeans were unzipped and her sweater was torn in half down its front
as was her bra paula had been shot in the back just as sherry morrow had been the fatal bullet passing through her
heart her clothes like sherry's featured no bullet holes lying near her body was a spent two to
three caliber shell casing ballistics confirmed that it had come from the same firearm as the bullet used
to murder sherry morrow both sherry and paula had worked in anchorage's tenderloin district
as had a clute narani the unidentified woman whose remains were found in 1980 near a clutner lake
the lake was reached via the glen highway which led to the kinnick river a little further north
then there was joanna messina whose bullet-riddled body was found south of anchorage near the harbour city of
seward she too engaged in sex work although annie had been stabbed to death and joanna wasn't from anchorage the
four crime scenes and victim profiles were far too similar for their murders to be mere coincidences
[Music] it was now abundantly clear that a serial killer was active in anchorage
targeting vulnerable and sometimes destitute women he appeared to choose this kind of
victim as he knew the police would be less inclined to search for them pouring over missing persons reports
from the tenderloin district exposed the killer's pattern [Music] he'd meet his victim in a bar or on the
street luring her in with offers of work money or gifts judging by the amount of women who had
vanished under these circumstances in recent years his kill count could already be in the double digits
in an effort to generate a suspect profile sergeant glenn flothy of the alaska state troopers reached out to one
of the foremost authorities on serial murderers the behavioural science unit also known as
bsu established in the early 1970s following a sharp increase in sexual assaults and
homicides the bsu worked to understand the minds and behaviors of serial offenders
by doing so they hoped they would be better equipped to apprehend criminals and prevent future crimes
as detailed in the book butcher baker by authors walter gilmore and leland hale flothy spoke with bsu agent roy
hazelwood hazelwood who had been at the center of the unit since its inception listened
attentively as he was told about each crime scene the victims and how they had been killed
[Music] after pausing for a moment to reflect agent hazelwood said the killer was most
likely between the ages of 33 and 44. there was a chance he had a history of arson or shoplifting maybe even both
he would be of above average intelligence probably a well-known and respected member of the community who might have
ties to a local business someone you wouldn't look at twice but beneath his apparent success would
be a darker history he'd experienced social rejection during his adolescence low self-esteem
insecure with women most likely spoke with a speech impediment an avid outdoorsman his use of isolated
locations and high-powered weaponry indicated he was a hunter this hobby appeared to play a major part
in his crimes with each new victim his kills had become a less abrupt and more methodical
he went from carrying out quick and disorganized murders just outside of the city so taking his captives deep into
the untamed wilderness where he stripped them naked had them run and then gunned
them down as if they were his prey [Music] within the large amount of paperwork that had accumulated in the case was a
sealed manila envelope tearing it open sergeant glenn flothy found a report inside
it had been put together by an officer greg baker of anchorage pd's sexual assault unit
and detailed a harrowing incident that occurred earlier that year robert yount had an early start on the
morning of monday june 13 1983. by 5 am the 36 year old truck driver was on the road in anchorage heading west
along east 5th avenue between the seward and glen highways he was passing merrell field when all of
a sudden a barefooted young woman raced out from the airport grounds and into the path of robert's truck
he hit the brakes as the woman spun to face his oncoming vehicle she held her arms up in the air
her wrists were handcuffed [Music] help me she screamed [Music] to be continued next week
[Music] in june of 2015 a woman disappeared while camping with her family in the
cherokawa mountains of arizona she vanished without leaving a trace in the course of one to two minutes this is the
strangest search i've ever been on she just disappeared right off the face of the earth i said you're telling me you
got sign right here i said well then we're right on the road here basically so she got another car
somebody abducted her we were desperate we didn't know what else to do you already start to know you
know the canine hasn't found her something really bad is going on were we at target of something what if
somebody's got a vendetta against us the two-year quest for answers in this case
led me to find out more than i had originally anticipated i'll challenge you to something do a homework on
missing persons from national parks it's gonna astound you what you're gonna find
out there's no way my brother would have thought of suicide he also had just purchased furniture he was very excited
about fixing up his living room so you don't buy furniture and start fixing up your living room if you're planning
on dying this case has more twists and turns than the blue ridge parkway and i have to say
occam's razor is normally the principle i operate from the simplest explanation is normally the most likely certainly
what i do know is that in fear and under pressure people make some very bad choices i'm otavia mchenry and this is
the labyrinth a true crime podcast brought to you by case file presents i think there's something there that we're
just not seeing and that others aren't seeing neither because everybody now to this point in this case is just grasping
so welcome to our world with this case and if you can give us any help i can't even
we can't even begin to tell you how much we'd appreciate that how is it that these people disappear
like that without a trace i'm a firm believer those things are real and there's something out there that we
don't understand we don't the labyrinth available exclusively on spotify

Case 190: The Butcher Baker (Part 1)

[Part 1 of 2] During the 1970s and ’80s, a predator was stalking the streets of Anchorage, Alaska. By day, he was a respectable family man who ran his own business. But at night, he would prowl Anchorage’s infamous Tenderloin District, looking for vulnerable or destitute women...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro and Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production & music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-190-the-butcher-baker-part-1

Brief Summary

The episode investigates the disappearances and murders of women in Anchorage, revealing a pattern of violence and systemic neglect.

Key points

Jeanette Castraon's Disappearance. In June 2015, 44-year-old Jeanette Castraon vanished while waiting for her mother at a park.
Fiona Kennedy's Close Call. Fiona Kennedy encountered a man at a stoplight, leading to a terrifying abduction attempt.
Gemma Gibbs' Ordeal. Gemma Gibbs was abducted and assaulted, leading to a harrowing escape and a promise of silence.
The Aftermath of Silence. Gemma's guilt over her silence leads her to identify her attacker, connecting him to Beth's death.
Judy's Escape. Judy fights back against her captor, refusing to give in and escaping into the night.
Annie's Tense Ride. Annie realizes she's in danger when the driver pulls out a gun.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

A twisted labyrinth where the most beautiful scenery hides sinister secrets.

1:02WatchSep 25, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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