When a family’s murder is more than it seems | Forensic Files

today's episode is brought to you by audible who proudly present evil has a name the untold story of the Golden
State Killer investigation nameless faceless for more than 40 years the depraved monster who preyed on
Californians from 1975 to 1986 was known by many aliases the east area rapist the
original Night Stalker the visalia ransack oh then on April 24 2018 authorities arrested 72 year-old Joseph
James D'Angelo based on DNA evidence linked to the crimes with a suspect - now behind bars could it be that evil
finally has a name delivering all new details about the investigation and a stunning final act to the events of
Michelle McNamara's haunting bestseller all begun in the dark forensic criminologist Paul holes and
retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente revealed the unbelievable true story behind at the capture of the suspected
Golden State killer when you're trying to catch a killer the devil is in the details
evil has a name is only available on audible listen now at audible.com slash evil case file or text the evil case vol
2 five zero zero five zero zero u her discover this case when it was still unsolved over five parts plus two bonus
episodes now it's time to hear the unbelievable true story behind the capture of the suspected Golden State
killer again evil as a name is only available on audible listen now at audible.com slash evil case file or text
the evil case file to five zero zero five zero zero [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
distressing incidents if you feel at anytime 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
in mid-2004 Australian real estate group LJ Hooker posted a for sale sign on the
front lawn of a vacant address in North Ryde a cosmopolitan suburb in northwestern Sydney the modern two-story
home had been constructed for years prior at Sandy brick veneer as pristine as the day it was built his windowed
facade overlooked the leafy residential strip of Collins Street a small quiet thoroughfare lined with similar
medium-sized family homes the 4-bedroom 3-bathroom property was spacious though homely and boasted a double garage with
an adjoining carport a pathway led from the smooth concrete driveway to the front door framing the manicured lawn
the entrance foyer and hallway granted access to a study laundry large dining area and kitchen which overlooked a
small grassy courtyard framed by a sunlit garden bed a curved wooden staircase led to the upper floor where
the four bedrooms were located including a master with on sway the property presented ample opportunity for a young
family wishing to capitalize on the superb location North Ryde is nestled on the banks of lanco River and enclosed
the coastal Inlet the joins Parramatta River to form an arm of the iconic Sydney Harbour only 15 kilometers from
Sydney's central business district North Ryde is popular with professionals and families alike attracted by the strong
community spirit and abundance of schools parklands transport services and shopping districts the stately Collins
Street property caught the eye of the Lin family Taiwanese immigrants looking to settle in the area the Lin's were
shown through the house by LJ Hooker real estate agents on three separate occasions each time they admired the
freshly painted cream-colored walls glossy floor tiles and warm natural light pouring in from the
floor-to-ceiling windows the vacant property had been on the market for three years the lack of
interest the leading the estates trustee to periodically lower the asking price in the hopes the declining offer would
tempt a buyer when the Lin family expressed interest in the : Street house in 2004 they offered $800,000 for the
property a significant bargain as many homes just like it in the area sold for over a million their real estate
purchase contract was quickly drafted and signed with the new homeowners handing over an 80 thousand dollar
deposit excited for their promising future in North Ryde a sold sticker was firmly planted on the sale sign out the
front of the Cullen Street property prompting local news outlets to report on the controversial purchase upon
reading a local newspaper the Lin family were horrified to learn of the events that had once taken place in their new
home having never been informed by real estate agents of the : street addresses shocking history the Lin's felt deceived
and demanded to be released from their purchase contract LJ Hooker initially refused their request but increasing
public pressure led them to buckle a settlement was reached wherein the Lin family were lawfully released from the
contract and refunded their full deposit the OJ hooker real estate agents involved in the transaction maintained
they had done nothing wrong in their conduct of selling the North Ryde property but the New South Wales Office
of Fair Trading started investigating the matter in December 2004 the New South Wales Fair Trading Minister ruled
that the agents had breached both the property stock into business agents Act and the Fair Trading Act by not acting
honestly fairly or professionally LJ Hooker were fined twenty thousand nine hundred dollars for their misconduct the
first time such a penalty had been imposed in the state at Bataan no laws existed in New South
Wales that compelled real estate agents to disclose whether a crime or death had
taken place in any purchasable property as a result of the scandal a new state law was established requiring real
estate agents to disclose the history of a property to bias prior to its sale the
next time a for sale sign was placed out front of the Collins Street property in
2005 and carried a new detail in small print at the bottom of the sign were the words this is the former home of the
Gonzalez family [Music] the Filipino city of Baguio lies 250 kilometers north of the country's
capital Manila it was here in the mountain resort city nicknamed the city of pollens
where Teodoro was born in 1954 the fourth child of the close-knit Gonzalez family fondly nicknamed
Teddy the youngest of the Gonzalez siblings exhibited a strong work ethic continuously achieving and setting new
goals for himself as he grew older Teddy showed a proclivity for academics excelling at political science and
economics upon acceptance into university he studied law having his scholarly efforts validated upon passing
the bar exam in 1977 Teddy met fellow University student eighteen-year-old Mary Claire
adidas who was known to friends and family by her middle name Lou Eva the oldest of six children Luther was shy
and soft-spoken a delicate man poised woman there's was a mutual wistful romance and Teddy and Weaver were
married within months of their first encounter over public displays of affection were frowned upon in their
conservative culture so the couple may do by constantly holding hands an affectionate habit they maintained too
long into their marriage it was a respectful devoted marriage with the husband and wife treating each other as
equals in 1980 the couple welcomed their first child a son they named to serve the origin of the unique name would
remain a curious mystery with Teddy promising the gift the story behind his son's namesake on SEFs 21st birthday
in 1983 the Gonzalez's welcome to their second child a daughter named Claude Dean known for his idealism and
determination teddy Gonzalez worked hard to provide a good life for his family ensuring that would never have to enjoy
the burdens of financial struggle he faced during his own upbringing after excelling at University
Teddy worked in real estate before moving on to property development assisted by louisvil the
husband-and-wife duo also ran a local video shop and the pharmacy in 1989 Teddy achieved his greatest work
endeavor to date building and opening an impressive four-story forty room hotel in the Baguio area boasting a restaurant
and musically arch the Queen Victoria Hotel was a roaring success and a source of great pride for the industrious Teddy
his family resided in the hotel itself making the Queen Victoria more than just a business venture
but also their home in 1990 the Las on earthquake devastated the Philippines producing a 125 kilometers on ground
rupture that claimed to the lives of 1,600 people and a leveled entire cities including Baguio the Queen Victoria
Hotel collapsed but not before the Gonzalez family managed to flee the building or so they thought upon
reaching safety a horrifying realization dawned nine-year-old SEF had not made it
out Teddy rushed into the rubble and began crawling on his hands and knees to locate his son to the father's relief he
found self alive and promptly pulled him to safety with their hotel structurally and
financially in ruin the Gonzalez family made the decision to relocate to an area
where such a disaster was unlikely to happen again several members of their extended family had since resettled in
Australia and during visits louisvil found sydney particularly appealing it was soon decided the Australian state of
New South Wales was to become the new home for the Gonzalez family life in Australia was one of progress and
success for the Gonzalez family Teddy studied to gain the relevant qualifications needed to practice law in
the country and after graduation he opened his own law firm T Gonzalez & Associates where he focused on helping
Filipino nationals prepare their immigration documents louisvil worked alongside him as the office manager
taking care of the company's administrative duties by late 1999 business was thriving Teddy and Weaver
purchased the block of land on Collins Street in the middle-class neighborhood of North Ryde where they built their
dream family home [Music] the two Gonzalez children had an idea love bringing in Australia with the
success of their parents providing the siblings with an abundance of opportunities and financial stability
eldest SEF was the quieter and more academically inclined showing great promise from a young age with many
anticipating the straight-a student would one day become a doctor or lawyer despite his academic achievements surfs
true passion was music considered quite the singer surf held a grandiose dreams of fronting his own mainstream R&B hip
hop band these lofty ambitions were far too unconventional for his down-to-earth
career orientated parents so SEF began pursuing professions more worthy of their approval music remained a major
interest of surfs that was relegated to a side hobby he joined to the hip hop a boyband definite
vibes who to it at nightclubs and hosted dance parties throughout Sydney although
their initial performances were met with mixed reviews with criticism centered on
the group's awkward stage presence their parties were a financial success the combined talents of definite vibes
appeared of lucrative with SEF posting of a $40,000 recording contract offer from a major music company the mild fame
fostered SEFs dating life and even garnered him an obsessive fan named Daisy Diaz Daisy created and maintained
a web page titled Daisy's dedication page to sefie with an introduction that read hi in case you stumbled into here
by accident I'm Daisy Diaz and I wrote this page for my best friend to surf remember that
he's a sweetie and a true friend besides being caring trustworthy cute adorable kind understanding intelligent
and can sing in a way that makes any girl's heart know and if you mess with him you mess with me littered with
rambling adoring posts about surf Daisy sight also featured romantic song lyrics she dedicated to
him along with a candid collection of photographs of her beloved one showed self with microphone in hand performing
on stage with definite vibes while in another a smoke safely across the laps of several female models an intimate
photo of Saif posing shirtless for a professional shoot was captioned steam steam babyface in one post Daisy wrote
every time I close my eyes I thank the Lord that I've got you babe and you've got me too some people think there's no
such thing as a dream decent God well in my eyes you prove them wrong sefie if you ever stop being my friend I would be
so incomplete SEFs friends and acquaintances also knew of his accomplishments in kickboxing modeling
and personal training nevertheless academic study remained a primary focus for surf after initially pursuing
tertiary studies in medicine surf determined to the field was not for him and instead began following in his
father's footsteps he enrolled in a law degree in Macquarie University which was
much better suited to the 20 year old as his end-of-semester report cards indicated he was excelling in the course
meanwhile Saif worked part-time at his father's Law Firm where he provided paralegal and itay assistants around at
the office proud of their son's efforts Teddy and Oliva rewarded him with a green Ford Festiva with the personalised
number plate Saif G ad the vehicle became their sons pride and joy although academically overshadowed by
her older brother Claudine Gonzalez also did well at her studies unlike reserved and studious SEF her
strengths arose from her outgoing and affable personality long drives always went by quickly when the animated and
talkative clodine was in the car with a talent for both athletics and cooking and hopes to one day become a teacher
the high school student had many opportunities ahead of her but still had plenty of time to determine her path in
life the high expectations of their parents was a source of rivalry between the Gonzalez siblings enter the pair
were not immune to typical sibling arguments but they were never malicious enough to break the long-standing bond
they shared since childhood with SEF constantly maintaining his role as clodine 'he's protective older brother
SEF and Clawdeen's lives were comfortable albeit heavily moderated by their strict devout Catholic parents
when clodine started a relationship with 19 year old Chris the firm grip of her parents tightened strong-willed and
independent clodine pushed back resorting to sneaking out of the family house to see her though Teddy and her
Louisville were vocal in their disapproval of the relationship regarding Chris as a bad influence
heated words were once exchanged between all parties making tensions abundantly clear concerned that their daughter's
social life was interfering with her studies Teddy and Oliva sent clodine to live with a relative in Melbourne where
she would finish her final year of high school without distraction Clawdeen maintained contact with her sydney-based
boyfriend via phone causing her older brother to step in SEF sent Chris veiled threats implying he was in a criminal
gang and warning him to stay away from his sister although it was all pork chefs
intimidating message was heard loud and clear and Chris ended his relationship with clodine soon after
although stern and rigid with their children there was little doubt Teddy and Oliver loved SEF and clodine the
parents had plans to solve their collins street address in the future using part
of the payout to buy both of their children a place of their own by July 2001 each member of the Gonzalez family
was working towards their own goals teddy was mentoring his son at his law office anticipating SEF would one day
take his place as the head of the business Louisville was planning her upcoming wedding anniversary
where she and Teddy would renew their vows clodine was visiting home from Melbourne for the school holidays
excited about celebrating her upcoming 19th birthday the morning of Tuesday July 10 2001 started typically for the
Gonzalez family Teddy and Louisville rose early and left for work in separate cars SEF headed off to Macquarie
University where he'd spent most of the morning before commencing his parts on job at the family legal office later
that evening he had made plans to catch up with a friend clodine remained home alone with plans to spend the day
studying as she was scheduled to return to Melbourne in two days time to resume her schooling later that same day
Leivers sister 35 year-old Emily Luna finished work at her corporate office in Sydney's north and went to pick up her
eight-year-old son from daycare given she was only a short drive from Lewis place Emily decided to pop by for a chat
it was nearing 6 p.m. when emily began navigating north roads dense suburbia towards collins street
when Emily pulled up to the Gonzalez property she was surprised that no one appeared to be home the garage door was
down into the windows of the house were dark Emily thought this strange as her sister was typically home from work by
6:00 the green Ford Festiva belonging to Emily's nephew was parked in the carport
yet the Gonzalez property setting uncharacteristic darkened to silence when something quickly swept by one of
the downstairs windows Emily presumed someone was home after all it had been a wet winter's day and emily was thankful
the drizzling rain had stopped long enough to allow her and her son to get out of their car without needing an
umbrella they approached the entrance noticing a faint light emanating from a frosted window alongside the front door
that appeared to be coming from the kitchen at the rear of the property Emily was certain now that someone was
in the house but after ringing the doorbell multiple times there was no answer and nothing stirred within her
sister owned six small dogs that always barked excitedly when someone was at the
door but the house remained eerily silent peering through the frosted window by the door Emily was immediately
startled by an upright figure standing on the other side wearing a long coat and baseball cap she
thought she saw the figure move slightly there couldn't be certain in the dim light alarmed emily remarked i thought
there was a man her young son had also noticed the shadowy figure who quickly dismissed his mother's concern
explaining it was just the coach stand in the foyer with a jacket and hat hanging off it emily headed towards the
side of the property to check a rear door she got as far as the carport before an unsettling gut feeling
compelled her not to go any further deciding she'd just found her sister later Emily turned around returned to
her car with her son and to drive away from Collins Street throughout the night Emily called the gong
Alice Holmes found multiple times but was met with a busy signal on each occasion at 8:45 p.m. that night SEF
gonzales and his best friend Sam dined at the Planet Hollywood restaurant on the popular main strip of George Street
in Sydney picking hesitantly at the cheeseburger he'd ordered SEF was reluctant to eat telling Sam his mother
had recently contracted food poisoning while starting out at a restaurant during their dinner Sam received a phone
call from his younger sister Michelle who was friends with SEF sister clodine Michelle was seeking an explanation from
SEF she'd been attempting to get in touch with clodine all night but her mobile phone was going on ears and the
Gonzalez homes phone line was busy using his mobile SEF trying his family's home
phone but was met with the busy signal he suggests that someone might have been using the dial-up internet which
prevented incoming calls from connecting through after their dinner Sam and SEF went next door into the galaxy road
arcade where they played video games before calling it a night at around 11:00 p.m. SEF dropped Sam home and two
drove the four blocks back to his family's house on Collins Street at 11:48 p.m. in New South Wales ambulance
service operator received a triple zero phone call from a young male located in the North Ryde area
frantic and shaken the caller struggled to get the words out his parents had been shot and were bleeding on the floor
minutes later collins straight resident John at a Mian was abruptly awoken by a loud thumping sound on the exterior wall
of his bedroom someone yelled frantically health help John where are you John recognized the distressed voice
is that of his 20 year old and next-door neighbor SEF Gonzales Ceph screamed my parents my family have
all been killed across the street Shane Henley was watching television when he overheard the frantic cries from outside
and went to check what was going on he was met by SEF Gonzales sobbing hysterically neighbours Shane and John
were able to decipher some of the young man's barely coherent blubbering hearing
something about chefs family being shot dead all of them gone John raced off the phone and ambulance
as SEF anxiously paced the Colin Street before collapsing in an emotional heap on his family's driveway
Shane attempted to comfort the young man but within seconds SEF abruptly left up
explaining that he knew how to perform CPR and rushed into his home Shane followed SEF into the house where 46
year-old tena Gonzales was laying on a white rug by the front door the stout older man lay unmoving on his back in a
pool of blood SEF rushed over and wailed by his father's body but Teddy didn't respond the gaping wound in his chest
clearly fatal shane attempted to pull safe away but the young man wrestled out of his grip and ran into another room
following behind SEF shane entered the combined a lounge and dining area where he saw a figure sprawled on the floor by
a glass coffee table it was the petite body of 43 year old boy for gonzalez she too was
unresponsive her body riddled with open bloody wounds SEF rushed back and forth between his parents
weeping hysterically fearful the perpetrators may still be in the house Shane coached safe outside before
rushing back to his own house and calling triple zero Shane waited on the line until he heard
the sound of police sirens approaching police and paramedics swiftly descended on Collins Street though immediate entry
into the Gonzalez home was halted due to fears the perpetrators may still be inside eventually armed officers
escorted a medic into the dimly lit interior entering via the garage they found the bodies of teddy and deliver on
the ground floor of the address before cautiously heading upstairs where another grim discovery was made the
bloodied body of 18 year-old clodine Gonzalez was found curled in the fetal position inside her bedroom a Raider
jumper placed over her to cover the savage injuries she had sustained none of the victims had been shot as
initially suspected but all had been brutally stabbed in total teddy Gonzalez had suffered 12 injuries a majority of
them centralized in his upper body his lungs and heart had been penetrated whilst his jugular vein carotid artery
and spine were severed the spinal injury alone would have partially paralyzed the
Teddy defensive wounds on his arms and fingers indicated he attempted to fight for his life louisvil Gonzalez sustained
wounds to her face back chest abdomen and groin along with defensive wounds to her hands and arms a six centimeter long
laceration across her throat had severed her windpipe but the lack of active bleeding indicated this they'd cut had
been inflicted postmortem upstairs Claudine Gonzalez had been bludgeoned with a heavy object
fracturing her skull distinctive arc shaped dents in the wall above her body identified the weapon as likely to have
been a baseball bat clodine had also been strangled and stabbed with seven wounds located throughout her body five
to her neck and two to her torso established evidence coupled with the body temperatures of the victims we used
to determine the order and approximate time in which each member of the Gonzalez family was murdered clodine
Gonzalez was targeted first with unanswered text messages to a friend leading investigators to presume she was
confronted shortly after a 4:00 p.m. open school textbooks on the year 12 students desk indicated she was ambushed
while studying and did not anticipate the attack at 4:50 p.m. louisvil Gonzalez left work with a colleague whom
she dropped off at their house before heading to Collin Street arriving home soon after believer was confronted by
her killer upon entering the living space mobile phone records of teddy Gonzalez showed he left work around 6:20
p.m. placing two calls home during his drive both going unanswered he was immediately struck by his killer upon
entering the front door as the last surviving member of his family SEF Gonzales at hunched on the ground inside
the garage of his family home in a heightened emotional state requesting rosary beads he stumbled through his
recollections of the night to police explaining that he discovered the bodies of his family members upon returning
home from an evening out with a friend he spotted one or two perpetrators fleeing southward down Collins Street
and after a futile attempt to give chase SEF rushed back home and to perform CPR
on his parents before calling emergency services and seeking help from his neighbors
Ceph couldn't identify anyone specific who would target his family but record an incident from the night before that
police believed may have been connected the Gonzalez family were driving home together from Clos Dean's 18th birthday
dinner when a road rage incident occurred with another vehicle the driver of the other vehicle sped past the
Gonzalez's car yelling out quote bloody Asians the possibility the Gonzalez Lang's were a racially motivated hate
crime was further substantiated by evidence found at the crime scene a wall hanging in an area by the Gonzalez's
kitchen had been torn down and replaced with graffiti scrawled in blue spray-paint at red quote [ __ ] off Asians
with the letters KKK sprayed nearby there were also indications that a robbery had taken place as Teddy's
briefcase and to leave his handbag had been clearly rummaged through leaving their contents scattered in disarray the
doors of several wardrobes were left hanging wide open suggesting someone had hastily looked inside them the cord to
the landline phone had been cut explaining why the many calls made to the homestead throughout the evening had
been met with a busy signal Louisville's pet dogs were all found unharmed though restrained or behind
closed doors if a robbery had taken place it appeared to have been an incompetent one the
Gonzalez house was neat and orderly without the overt signs of mess and carelessness akin to typical robberies
nothing appeared to be obviously ransacked or missing expensive jewelry and electronics had been ignored as was
the $700 cash in Teddy's wallet and to the $300 in Weaver's handbag the wardrobes were open but their contents
were undisturbed notably the blood spatter on the floor underneath Teddy's briefcase into Weaver's handbag showed
the items did not fall to the ground haphazardly mid attack but were later emptied and planted there this was the
first clear indication to investigators that the crime scene was not an amateur robbery but was instead carefully staged
to appear like one other evidence correlated with this theory the fly wire mesh screening that had once covered the
window above the kitchen sink was found discarded outside having been slashed and ripped off its frame upon first
glance it appeared this window had been the entry point for the perpetrator however there were no pry marks on the
window frame or large employing the frame was not removed with any overt force or sense of urgency furthermore
there were no shoe prints found on the kitchen counter inside which would be expected if the perpetrator climbed in
through the window the estimated timings of each victim's murder was also of great interest to investigators as it
showed the killer had remained inside the Gonzalez house for several hours between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. this
didn't correspond with expectations of a brash and sudden home invasion but implied the killer patiently lay in wait
as each family member returned home attacking them one by one with calculated purpose adding to the
evidence the killer acted methodically was the discovery of fresh water found pooled on the tiles of a bathroom
revealing someone had only recently taken a shower there this act couldn't have been performed by the
victims as it was determined to the show I was taken after their deaths it was likely the killer had taken the time to
rinse off after carrying out the murders instead of hastily fleeing the scene aside from the baseball bat
the only other weapon used in the crime appeared to have been a knife a knife block displayed on the kitchen bench had
two of its largest than the longest knives missing forensic experts determined the smaller of the missing
knives could have caused the type of wounds inflicted on Teddy Hoover and clodine the murder weapons having been
sourced from inside the Gonzalez homes thought out a strange and introduced some major red flags in the racially
motivated home invasion theory a home invasion especially one committed against a
specific target involved a certain level of planning and preparation perpetrators
would not run the risk of arriving to the scene unarmed bloody shoe prints tracked throughout the house did not
match the Footwear worn by anyone who had since entered the crime scene including victims police officers
neighbors and SEF Gonzales investigators were quick to identify the style of shoe
a laceless UK size 7 human brand running shoe believed to have been worn by the killer police door knocked the local
area and spoke with neighbors but no one reported hearing any suspicious noises or signs of an altercation potential
witness accounts were impeded by the wild winter weather that evening moderate to heavy rain rolling thunder
and the gusts of wind police dogs were brought to the scene but they were unable to pick up a scent
at 3:00 a.m. on July 11 the sole surviving member of the Gonzalez family was escorted to a local police station
to provide an official written statement SEF detailed his morning trip into University and his afternoon spent
working at his father's law office that was approaching 5:00 p.m. when SEF left work to meet up with his friend Sam for
they plan to catch up he then received a text message from Sam asking to postpone
their meeting until later that evening as he had committed to playing a game of basketball SEF agreed and decided to go
home in the meantime during the drive to North Ryde SEF called both his mother's
mobile phone and at the family house phone but neither calls were answered SEF arrived home at around 6 p.m. with the
unanswered calls and overall darkened stillness of the house leading him to presume no one was home as he remained
sitting in his vehicle waiting for a break in the rainy weather he received a phone call from Sam the pair agreed to
meet up at 8:00 p.m. as a means to fill the two hours before he met with Sam SEF
drove off towards King's Grove a suburb 22 kilometres south of North Ryde a friend of his had recently moved there
so SEF thought it would be a good time to visit and check out his new place upon arriving to King's Grove Sefton
have the address so we drove around aimlessly attempting to find his friend's new house realizing it was
nearing the time he was due to meet up with Sam SEF gave up on seeing the Kings Grove house and went to pick up Sam
instead the pair left Sam's house at around 8:15 p.m. and drove into the city where they dined at Planet Hollywood
then played in the galaxy world arcade leaving shortly after 11:00 p.m. CCTV footage retrieved from cameras
along George Street confirmed SEFs whereabouts at this time SEF drops Sam home and to drive onwards
towards his house where he parked his car in the carport upon entering the house via a side
access door he immediately came across his father's body in the foyer miss identifying the stab wounds in Teddy's
chest four bullet holes SEF called triple zero and requested an ambulance before discovering the bodies of his
mother and sister whilst attending to his sister's wounds SEF ever heard a sound from downstairs
followed by the side gate slamming shut outside he raced into the garage and pressed the button that opened to the
roll the door had slowly creeped upwards and when there was enough space SEF squeezed through the gap underneath and
ran out onto the road he caught sight of a male figure running away towards a nearby intersection
he thought he glimpsed another man fleeing to but couldn't be certain that it wasn't just the shadow of the first
person as news of the triple homicide spread speculation ran right over who could be responsible for the horrific
crime rumors circulated about the legitimacy of Teddy's legal business suggesting the father may have been
involved in some shady dealings there were unconfirmed claims that SEF had ties with a local criminal gang and to
the killings could be a warning for the twenty-year-old the hate crime theory was heavily hypothesized with images of
the racist graffiti inside the home featured throughout news reports suspicions aroused that there was more
than meets the eye for the seemingly typical upper middle-class family as members of the public considered whether
the slayings were revenge for a personal vendetta a look into Teddy Gonzalez's background revealed that during the late
1990s he had come under the radar of the Department of immigration for allegedly
helping Filipino immigrants lie on documents seeking refugee status in Australia
Teddy's actions were noticed by government officials and he was subsequently charged with four counts of
falsifying documentation two of these charges were dropped enter the remaining went to trial where Teddy was eventually
cleared nevertheless Teddy had ruffled the feathers of several clients who accused
the immigration lawyer of keeping the money they paid him despite their visa applications being denied earlier in
2001 teddy was overheard in his office arguing on the phone in his native Filipino language of Tagalog in an
uncharacteristic display of anger were usually proud and a resolute teddy shouted [ __ ] you before slamming down
the phone when a work colleague asked what was wrong Teddy explained that he was in the process of selling a property
to an investor in the Philippines dealings had become heated with the investor threatening to kill his family
Teddy didn't appear overly rattled by the threat but soon afterwards he placed a phone call to his father where he
cryptically remarked I have a big family problem I'm dealing with but I think I can solve it on July 13 three days after
the murders of his father mother and sister SEF Gonzales fronted the media offering a $100,000 reward for
information that would help identify his family's killer expressing his overwhelming grief SEF told reporters
quote my father is my hero in all matters my greatest thing was to one day become at least half the man he was my
mother was the heart of the family a very strong passionate character she made it seem that nothing was impossible
no problem insoluble my sister was the life of the family an expert on smiling she made us believe that life should be
taken lightly it is difficult to explain the love and ties in my family but if you were to picture the four corners of
the world in my world we were the four the three corners in my world are now gone
my family friends and myself would like to ask anyone out there to please help us later that same day SEF gonzales
visited his father's accountant and inquired about accessing his inheritance taking into account the Gonzalez's north
ride property and its contents including two vehicles jewelry savings as well as
Teddy's commercial properties the entire Gonzalez estate was valued at 1.5 million dollars in addition Teddy had
multiple investment properties in the Philippines with an estimated value of around 1.3 million dollars with his
parents and sister now deceased 20 year old SEF gonzales had just become the sole beneficiary of his family's entire
multi-million dollar fortune [Music] today's episode is brought to you by movement Watchers founded on the belief
that style shouldn't break the bank they've sold almost 2 million watches worldwide by bringing quality designs
and fair prices and with the holiday season upon us movement makes gifting easy in the past year movement has
introduced the ton of new watch sunglasses and accessories collections for men and women my latest watches from
the revolver series which I'm absolutely loving it's super clean sleek and fashion-forward it doesn't blow my wrist
up with text messages and emails it tells the time like true classic timepieces should and it looks great
doing it movement watches start at just 95 bucks but you're looking at 400 to 500 for the same quality from
traditional brands movement did all the hard work this holiday season so you wouldn't have to and if they have made
some awesome gift boxes and packages if you need help giving the perfect gift this season but don't know where to
start the guys over at movement watches have got your back they've curated all their favorite
styles into special gift boxes for you so you can absolutely crush this holiday season without the added stress get 15%
off today with free shipping and free returns by going to movement comm slash Caseville movements launching new styles
on their side all the time check out their latest that movement calm / case file that's MBM t-dot-com / case file
join the movement when you think of the perfect gift you probably don't think of
an electric toothbrush but the quip electric toothbrush is one of the most gift guided gifts of the season and
here's why it's perfect for everyone with a mouth and it's something they'll use twice everyday the clipped
toothbrush has sensitive sonic vibrations gentle enough on your sensitive gums and a built-in timer with
guiding pulses to remind you when to switch sides what I like best about quip is that it's
the gift that keeps refreshing with brush heads automatically delivered on a dentist recommended schedule every three
months for just five bucks you can even gift prepaid refills for a year to make sure they're never using old worn-out or
ineffective bristles there's a few other things I love about quipped to the travel cover it's actually a multi-use
cover that mounts the mirrors and done mounts the slide over the bristles for when you go traveling and are there's no
clunky charger it runs for three months on one charge that's why I love quip and
why they have over five thousand to verify at five star reviews quip looks like a big ticket tech gift with a
stocking stuffer price starting at just 25 bucks and if you go to get quip comm slash case vault right now you get your
first refill pack for free with a quip electric toothbrush but you don't have to tell your gift either that's your
first refuel pack free at get quip comm slash case file that's GE t qu yp.com slash case file the holidays are almost
here and if you're selling stuff online you know it's crazy you've got orders coming in and you need
to get them out in time to meet those holiday deadlines so use ship station comm to get your orders out quickly and
to keep your customers happy whether you sell on Shopify Squarespace Etsy bigcommerce WooCommerce or over 100
other popular selling channels shipstation brings all your orders into one easy-to-use interface making them
really easy to manage from any device even your cell phone you can also use shipstation to create shipping labels
for all the top carriers including UPS FedEx and USPS they'll even help you choose the right carrier to get the
lowest rate for every package no wonder ship station is the number one choice of
online sellers I highly recommend the ship station calm and right now you can try a ship station comm for free for 30
days to get an additional month free only if you use the offer code case file so
don't wait go to shipstation calm before you do anything else click on the microphone at the top of the homepage
and type in case file that's shipstation calm enter the code case file shipstation makes [ __ ] happen
a joint funeral service was held for Teddy louisvil and clodine Gonzalez on July 20 2001 at North roads Holy Spirit
Catholic Church close to 300 mourners gathered to pay their respects to the slain family including the colleagues
and clients of the Gonzalez legal office include Eanes many school friends also present were members of law enforcement
still in the midst of conducting their investigations into finding the family's killer eulogies fondly remembered the
lives of the father mother and daughter whilst grieving friends and family retold their final encounters with the
deceased never expecting these fleeting moments would become the last time they would see the trio seated on the front
pew was SEF Gonzales surrounded by supporters the young man kept his head bare throughout most of the service
until he was summoned before the crowd to deliver his eulogy SEF lamented his father as his hero referencing his
childhood terror of being trapped after the Lozano earthquake before Teddy bravely rescued him he expressed sadness
ed now never knowing the backstory of his unique name a story Teddy had promised to reveal on Steph's 21st
birthday SEF said I will never find out the meaning of my name because it was taken
away along with my father that part of me will always be incomplete at the conclusion of SEFs eulogy he took a deep
breath in turn enact that would be later described by witnesses as bizarre and uncomfortable he began singing a solo a
cappella rendition of the R&B ballad one sweet day ba Mariah Carey in two boys two men it was a flawless performance
given without a single tear regarded by listeners as emotionally attached self-indulgent and inappropriate given
the somber circumstances of The Gathering Teddy Hoover and clodine were buried together on the grounds of
Macquarie Park symmetry the memorial parks declaring the cherish Trio would forever live in the hearts
and smiles of those they left behind including SEF it hadn't just been funeral attendees who had noticed SEF
Gonzalez's odd behavior in the days following the murder of his family police were suspicious of SEF from the
moment he made the frantic call to zero on the late nights after midnight on July 11 2001 first responders raced to
Collin Street following alarming reports that a gunman was active in the area they arrived to the scene and
nondescript homestead belonging to the Filipino Australian Gonzalez family where they found a 20 year old SEF
Gonzales sitting on the floor of the open garage the young man was in hysterics imploring paramedics and
police officers to enter his house and help his family attempting police were quick to notice F Gonzalez's odd
behavior at the scene although sobbing intensely SEFs face remained completely dry not a single tear was shed
he appeared frenzied and panicked yet his answers to questions were noticeably thought out and rational he claimed to
have performed CPR on both of his parents and too later added he had tended to the wounds of his sister with
his bare hands there was blood staining on the leg of his jeans a little on the back slave of
his jumper as well as a few spots on his boots barely anything given the state of
the victims Seth was quick to offer a dubious explanation claiming that the rain at
which point was only a drizzle had washed most of the blood-stained from his clothing and he had wiped the
remainder from his hands onto the damn floor an astute police officer noticed some blue colored staining on the left
sleeve of Ceph jumper towards the edge of the calf the color resembled the spray paint used to graffiti racial
obscenities on an interior wall in the Gonzalez house later analysis determined this staining on Seth's jumper was
indeed a blue paint a shoebox was found in a wardrobe in Seth's bedroom and according to the label that had
originally contained a pair of UK saw seven human brand running shoes the shoes themselves were missing from
Seth's footwear collection but were an exact match to the bloody footprints tracked through the crime scene by the
killer SEF insisted the shoes had never belonged to him they had been purchased by his father for a cousin who lived in
the Philippines knowing a thorough search of his bedroom was underway Sep confided to a police officer about a
pornographic video he had hidden away in a dresser drawer and he appeared very embarrassed by the prospect of
investigators finding it given the tragic circumstances the officer felt uncomfortable the chef's primary concern
was about his pornography stash and not the murder of his family nearly a week after the murders SEF gonzales was
escorted by police to : straight after agreeing to participate in a full reenactment of the night of July 10
calmly and precisely Ceph retraced and described his movements upon finding the brutalized bodies of his parents and
sister at no time did he indicate reliving these traumatic events was causing him any distress of particular
interest to investigators was the claim SEF had witnessed the perpetrator fleeing the house and had subsequently
given chase police tested this theory and determined by the time SEF would have exited the house via the garage and
emerged under Collins Street the killer would have most certainly been long gone
and completely out of sight CCTV footage retrieved from cameras within Sydney's CBD confirmed SEFs alibi on the night of
July 10 proving he had dined out and played arcade games with a friend between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 11:00
p.m. SEFs claims that he was out driving around King's Grove prior to this Meetup
could not be verified nor could his whereabouts between the crucial time frame in which the murders were carried
out sometime between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. a client of Tony Gonzalez's law firm told police they had stopped by the
Collins straight home between 4:10 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on July 10 around to the approximate time clodine was killed as
this witness dropped some documents into the Gonzalez as the letterbox they recalled seeing a green Ford
Festiva parked at the front of the house this was not the only witness who saw SEF Gonzalez's vehicle parked at the
Collins straight address within the time frame of the murders Emily Luna SEFs on had visited the
Gonzalez home at approximately 6:00 p.m. on July 10 and recalled SEFs Ford Festiva was parked in the carport
she believed someone was home at the time as she had spotted movement through a window and noted the kitchen light was
on yet when Emily rang the doorbell several times there was no answer Emily's statement wasn't surprising
given the chef's written statement also declared he'd stopped by the house around this time SEF said it had been
raining so he remained in the car and had never entered the house before deciding to drive off to King's Grove to
visit his friend yet Emily Luna provided two crucial details during her interviews that contradicted SEF
statement firstly Emily distinctly remembered it was not raining when she visited the house as she didn't require
the use of her umbrella during further talks with police Emily also admitted that she did not see SEF sitting in his
vehicle at the time the two suspected murder weapons a knife believed to have been sauce from the Gonzales kitchen and
a baseball bat had not been recovered according to SEFs close friend sam SEF mentioned he kept a baseball bat in the
boot of his car as a means of self-protection when questioned about the bat SEF said he may have carried one
in the past but he couldn't account for its current whereabouts investigators were certain SEF was being deceitful but
it wasn't until they began questioning his friends and extended social group that they uncovered the sheer extent of
deception the twenty-year-old had cultivated throughout the years Ceph gloated two acquaintances of being
at Auckland Oh expert who ran his own security company owned property and frequently traveled to New York to
negotiate elaborate business deals he also claimed to be the manager of a boy band a music producer a successful
singer with a record deal a world champion kickboxer a lawyer a personal trainer and the manager of a modeling
agency in early 2007 used the friends that he had been diagnosed with cancer later revealing he had beaten the
disease and was now in remission the depth of Seth's deception went far deeper than seemingly harmless arrogant
brags to friends and associates music was clearly seft greatest passion yet his R&B group definite vibes had to
staunch critics his own parents Teddy and Oliver were vocal about their disapproval of their son's musical
ambitions as it had caused everything else in his life to fall by the wayside including his education SEF failed to
submit assignments or attend exams his musical priorities having irreversible negative impact on his medical science
degree which he hastily dropped out of his parents threatened to take away his beloved car if his studies didn't
improve which would strip the twenty-year-old of his independence teddy and Olivia were pleased when Saif
started achieving high results in his new legal studies degree indicating a positive change in his attitude however
it was discovered safe had been falsifying university documents to deceive his parents into thinking he was
doing much better than he was in reality Saif was failing all four of his subjects the truth about surfs academic
failure and forgery had only recently been exposed the teddy and over there disappointment causing a rift between
son and parents adding fuel to this tension was SEFs romantic relationships he introduced one girlfriend to his
mother in the hopes of gaining her approval but louisvil was dismissive expressing concerns a girlfriend would
only be another distraction to saif SEFs parents threatened to disinherit him if he continued to see his
girlfriend leading the relationship to come to an end chefs temperamental relationship with
these parents may have had roots in his upbringing although the Gonzalez parents were
loving Saif was harshly disciplined when he misbehaved during his childhood it appeared Saif carried the emotional
baggage from his youth into his adult years which manifested in frequent bedwetting
louisvil had encouraged serf to seek professional help for this reoccurring issue but her attempts to assist were
futile the true level of SEFs dishonesty was exposed when a family friend accused
him of stealing money from her purse SEF didn't deny the allegation simply saying
he was an opportunist he came as little surprised the Teddy or louisvil when they found out as they had suspected for
some time that Saif was stealing cash from their wallets after his parents and sister were murdered Saif was approved a
fifteen thousand dollar payment from the government as part of her victims of crime compensation scheme however he
didn't use this money to pay for his family's funeral or his own living expenses as it was intended instead he
used part of the payout for cosmetic enhancements to his mother's car which he had taken to driving following her
murder [Music] the overwhelming circumstantial evidence was mounting against SEF Gonzales who
stood to gain immense profit from the deaths of his parents especially if his sister was removed from the equation
Seve meant li denied accusations of involvement in the crime alleging that a hit had been taken out on his family by
one of his father's wealthy influential filipino business rivals Saif believed the killer's intentionally spared one
family member to serve as the scapegoat and was living in fear that someone would be coming for him next it wasn't a
completely inconceivable prospect as a colleague of Teddy's had overheard the immigration lawyer aggressively arguing
and swearing on the phone with a Filipino property investor months prior to the murders according to Teddy
the caller threatened to kill his family but other than Teddy's word investigators failed to find any
concrete evidence to support this threat was ever made they identified several business rivals
of Teddy's who may have stood to gain marginally from his death yet they liked motive to order the deaths of liver and
close dane and subsequent investigations ruled them out as suspects despite this the hitman theory arose
again in August when SEF gonzales handed police a copy of an anonymous email he had received a month after the murders
Britain in a mix of English and Tagalog the email stated a hitman was paid for three murders and implied SEF had been
the intended third target alongside his parents the email read you're supposed to be the third person they were paid
for three it's a blessing that you were not there SEF was convinced his life was
still in danger enlisting friends to act as bodyguards police later seized SEFs personal computers and found a draft of
the threatening email stored on one of them Cerf had written it himself surfs on Emily Luna refused to accept that her
baby face but nephew could be guilty for the violent triple murder despite recognizing many inconsistencies
in his statements and having some awareness that he was not the perfect son nevertheless Emily remained
supportive of Cerf even holding his hand as he gave his first interview with police regarding July 10 emily listened
as seft de tower driving to the gonzalez house at 6:00 p.m. before departing soon
after it was his remark that the rain prevented him from getting out of his car that caused Emily's hand to
instinctively jerk away from surfs she stopped by the house at 6:00 p.m. and knew without a doubt that it had not
been raining and SEF was not in his car it was in that moment the haunting realization dawned on Emily she knew her
nephew was lying upon accepting the possibility that SEF may be responsible for the brutal murder of her sister
brother-in-law under niece Emily agreed to discreetly work with investigators against her nephew a listening device
installed in her car and a plan constructed in which she was the TEL SEF she knew he was responsible for the
killings and wanted to protect him but the ploy didn't work not only did SEF continually deny having
anything to do with the crime he also told Emily he was so depressed over the matter that he was considering taking
his own life two months after the murders of Teddy liver and clodine Gonzalez SEF was at a coffee shop when a
passerby complimented him on his clothing flattered SEF struck up a conversation with a man who revealed
himself to be a gangster with connections to the police force SEF claimed he too was in a gang called the
white dragons Asian in truth there was no such gang SEF made it up the to build a rapport forming a
friendship over the following ways the man was aware of the allegations SEF was facing and in an act of good faith
offered his new friend an opportunity he knew a guy in prison who was dying and who was willing to take the rap for
crimes he didn't commit if SEF wanted to the terminal prisoner could confess to the Gonzales family
murders on SEFs behalf taking the heat off him completely in the end SEF didn't accept the offer
only going so far as providing the gangster with hand to draw on floor plans at the Gonzales home marked with
the location where each member of his family was found unbeknownst to surf his gangster friend
was actually an undercover police officer police promptly compared surfs handwriting from the map provided to the
undercover officers so the racist graffiti on the internal wall at the Gonzales house and found
despite similarities between the two that wasn't the only valuable piece of information SEF had unwittingly provided
on the floor plan he had also noted the time of death of each family member information police had intentionally
withheld as it was a detail only the killer would know during the surveillance SEF told the undercover
officer people don't suspect me it's just SEF with the little baby face I have a split personality I can hide
what I do they've got nothing on me it's all circumstantial stuff however as the undercover operation progressed SEF
didn't confess telling the undercover officer he was not involved in the murders into maintaining his story that
a contract killer hired by one of his father's rivals was responsible for the crime
serfs personal computer had been confiscated from the crime scene and an examination of its contents revealed a
disturbing internet history in the months leading up to the triple murder searches were made online for poisons
that could be easily disguised within food an online purchase was made for the seeds of two types of highly lethal
plants from a United States supplier delivery expected in early July the website of an Australian based seed
supplier had also been visited but their orders were temporarily unavailable an email had been sent from Seth's computer
to this supplier requesting they make an exception explaining it was his mother's
60th birthday the following weekend and he wanted to buy the seeds as a present the email read she's been looking for
those particular seeds ever since she saw them in Florida last year this email was misleading on two accounts louisvil
Gonzalez was only 43 years old not 60 and she had not recently traveled to Florida
Sefton odd performing The Searchers ordering the seeds or sending the email pinning the actions on his deceased
father claiming Teddy must have been researching the sades online to ensure he didn't plant anything poisonous in
the garden unbeknownst to SEF police had found a vial of clear liquid taped under
his desk during an earlier search of his bedroom scientific testing revealed the
mysterious liquid to be a poisonous substance derived from one of the plants searched for online highly lethal to
anyone who consumed it days before her murder Lou Eva Gonzalez had been admitted to
hospital after suffering from intense fever and severe abdominal pains she suspected the culprit was undercooked
food she consumed whilst donning out with her family as SEF had also complained of feeling unwell after the
meal as such she was diagnosed with colitis an inflammation of the bowel associated with food poisoning
Lou Eva received treatment and was discharged from hospital after an overnight stay the link between the
purchase of the poisonous seeds and to Eva's sudden illness was not lost on investigators who were coming to realize
that the deaths of the Gonzalez family may have been months in the planning the poisons weren't the only troublesome
discovery within the internet history of SEFs computer frequent visits were also
made to the web page operated by SEFs number one fan teenager Daisy Diaz where she boasted about her love for the
singer and raved about his outstanding personality good looks and incredible talents when investigators questioned
SEF about his relationship with Daisy he revealed she had recently passed away during the September 11 terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center Ceph claimed he had flown to New York City with Daisy's mother to attend the
funeral but investigators soon learned the truth Daisy Diaz didn't exist her dedication page to sefie and all its
gushing posts of adoration was created and managed by saif himself in September 2001 SEFs relatives who were left shaken
and distraught when he broke the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor he
contacted his aunt Annie to inform her of the grim diagnosis requesting she sent him one hundred and ninety thousand
dollars to pay for life-saving surgery Annie who was responsible for managing Teddy's
overseas investment properties was immediately suspicious of her nephews claims she refused his monetary request
instead informing the police about her concerns by this stage Saif had not yet gained access to his deceased family's
multi-million dollar estate and his request for further victim compensation payments had been refused by the
government Saif did manage to amass approximately eighty eight thousand dollars by selling his parents cars his
mother's jewelry and his beloved Ford Festiva in the following month of October Saif placed the deposit on a
$175,000 Lexus SC 430 telling the car dealership he would pay the remaining balance when his inheritance money came
through Cerf eventually had to cancel the order for the Lexus as he was unable to come up with the remaining balance he
purchased the more affordable car instead personalizing the license plate to raid t oh say yes the initials of the
first names of his immediate family since the murders Saif moved between relatives homes before he finally
settled into a rental apartment on the 11th floor of a secured building in the North Shore suburb of Chatswood the
apartments rent and bills were financed by his relatives and Saif furnished it with property taken from his families :
street he told relatives police recommended the relocation as a safety precaution which
was entirely untrue in December SEFs our Emily Luna agreed to attend the Gonzalez
residence to reenact her version of events from the evening of July 10 Emily had arrived to the house at 6:00 p.m.
with the impression someone was home she spotted SEFs Ford Festiva in the carport
and noticed that was empty she had seen what she believed was a figure wearing a
baseball cap and coat on the other side of the front door standing in the foyer but her young son had convinced her it
was just a coat stand during the December reenactment emily realized the coat stand in the foyer was actually
situated much further back from the front door than she originally thought Emily was now certain it was a person
she saw on the other side of the door that night 4 foot 4 inches tall the same height as SEF Gonzales by January 2002
SEF was made aware that investigators were doubting his alibi for the night of the murders the Daily Telegraph
newspaper reported the police when they are following a line of inquiry around a
green hatchback similar to SEFs Ford Festiva he undercover officer still posing as SEFs gangster friend also
intentionally leaked information to SEF that witnesses had cited his empty vehicle at the front of his house on the
afternoon of the murders SEF was oblivious to the fact he's phones were buck and his calls were
being monitored and recorded by police during a phone call to a friend dated January 10 Cepheid admitted his original
alibi on the night of the murders had been a lie but he had a new one that he was certain would convince police of his
innocence although he admitted he was worried it could quote blow up in his face again
after this call police confronted SEF about his alibi and he decided to come clean SEF did not go driving around to
King's Grove looking for his friend's new house on the night of the murders he had actually visited a sex worker he
wasn't upfront about it initially as he was concerned - the Act could bring shame upon his religious family who
believed he was a virgin SEF now claimed that on the evening of the murders he left his father's legal office just
before 4:00 p.m. he parked his car at home before walking to a nearby petrol station where he called a taxi to a
brothel located in Chatswood he left his car at home because he didn't want to risk someone's sighting at near the
brothel SEF engaged in the services of a sex worker and boasted she tried to refuse
his payment because the sex was so good afterwards SEF walked the Chatswood train station where he called a taxi
back home to : street he got straight into his car and to drove to his friend Sam's place for their scheduled a p.m.
Meetup as they continued to monitor SEFs phone calls police were aware that SEF had
recently been contacting numerous brothels in the North Shore area hurry and at the same time they noticed he was
having telecommunications with an unknown male officers tracked down this man and paid him a visit to inquire
about his relationship with Saif and the purpose of their recent phone calls the
man was a local taxi driver he revealed SEF had approached him at the taxi rank at Chatswood train station On January 12
2002 five months after their triple murder SEF offered the taxi driver $50.00 to write a formal statement
confirming that he had picked SEF up on the evening of July 10 2001 and had dropped him off at a brothel SEF
reassured the taxi driver the request didn't relate to anything serious when police informed to the driver that Saif
was implicated in a triple homicide he immediately retracted his statement which was just as well as he's driving
records for the evening of July 10 failed to support SEFs new alibi by early April police had spoken with the
sex worker SEF claimed to have been with the evening of July 10 who revealed she
had not been working at the brothel that night since the slangs saif had been harassing the woman sending her over 100
text messages in an attempt to convince her to say they had been together that night
on May 30 SEF contacted police to report a break-in at his Chatswood apartment he
also told them he had received two threatening emails one which warned him quote make it easy on yourself confess
to the police near your father deserves to die don't talk to reporters police found no evidence at the apartment to
support SEFs claims that a break-in had occurred they traced the location where the threatening emails had been sent
determining their origin to have been an internet cafe in Sydney as there was no
CCTV footage inside the cafe the sender could not be identified with media interest heightened around SEF
he offered to speak to journalists for a fee claiming his safety was a risk and he needed money to hire a bodyguard when
he realized that asking for payment for an interview about his family slaughter was a bad look SEF agreed to chat with
the journalist Cara Lawrence from The Daily Telegraph newspaper for free during his interview with Lawrence
Sephirah iterated his suspicion that his family's killer had been responsible for
the break-in at his apartment he declined to say whether he had given police any specific information about
who he suspected was responsible for the murders and subsequent break-in but concluded quote I know that somewhere
out there there is someone who knows something about someone who's afraid to speak out for whatever understandable
reasons I'm sure the police would do whatever they can to assist whoever is brave enough to come forward with
information Carol Lawrence later detailed this interview along with her investigations into the case for her
book titled unmasked the Gonzales family killer at 8:30 p.m. that night SEF was found lying in a gutter in Chatswood a
plastic bag was found beside him SEF was rushed to hospital where he told doctors
he couldn't remember who he was or what year it was despite his apparent memory loss there was no evidence indicating
SEF had sustained any head trauma after he supposedly regained his memory SEF made a police report alleging that
he had been abducted whilst walking down the street someone had pulled him into a
car covered his head with a plastic bag and hit him across the head with something resembling a piece of wood the
abductors warned him to withdraw the reward money he had offered to the public for information on his family's
killers they also demanded he stop speaking to the media otherwise there would be serious consequences for his
extended family especially his grandmother and the leader further investigations into this alleged
crime came up empty there was no proof it took place with SEF specifically singling out threats against his
grandmother police became concerned for an elitist safety lurid SEF would put anyone in harm's way in order to deflect
suspicion from himself On June 13 2002 police executed a search warrant on Seth's Chatswood apartment and to
charged him with three counts of murder as per protocol SEFs fingerprints were taken and entered into the police
database the database revealed they matched to a previously unidentified fingerprint that was found on an
envelope of a letter sent to a food manufacturer on July 2 2001 the threatening letter claimed to the
manufacturers products had been contaminated with deadly poison the letter stated three of your products
have been poisoned by now they are on supermarket shelves this is what you get for treating employees like garbage good
luck finding infected cans before someone dies go to hell [Music] Australian Federal Police entered the
Australian quarantine and Inspection Service received similar letters around to that time day letters claimed to be
from concerned food production employees who had received an anonymous tip-off advising that some of the company's
products had been poisoned traces of all three letters along with an online search history for the
addresses of all recipients were found on SEF Gonzales laptop police believed the letters were residue of SEFs initial
plan to poison his family to death going so far as the fabricating evidence to redirect any suspicion away from himself
along with murder SEF was also charged with threatening product contamination surf's grandmother Emily de and art
Emily both openly spoke about their fear of SEF during his bail application bail
was rejected on the basis that SEF was considered too strong a flight risk two months later SEF launched an
application to gain access to his parents estate in order to fund his trial defense but the request was denied
the trial for the murders of Teddy Lou Eva and clodine Gonzalez commenced in early April 2004 with chefs defense
funded by legal aid legal representation given to defendants who cannot afford their own the lesser charge of
threatening product contamination would only proceed to trial if SEF was founded not guilty of the
murders SEF testified during the trial fielding questions from senior Crown prosecutor mark Tedeschi who argued SEF
had spent several months planning the murders of his family his premeditation was evident in his attempt to poison
Weaver Gonzalez in early July the many loss F had told friends and family about his movements on the night of the
murders were put before the court corroborated by the information provided by SEF himself during over 8,000 phone
calls police had covertly monitored as further proof of SEFs habit of lying to protect himself the prosecution also
alleged that the defendants claims he had been abducted assaulted and left for dead in the gutter in Chatswood was yet
another ruse the full police the prosecution maintained the Ceph murdered his parents amid fears of their incoming
punishment for failing his second university course fully aware that their first act of discipline would be to
confiscate his beloved car his motive for murdering clodine was more personal perhaps indicating why she was also
bludgeoned it was known clodine was the one who had told teddy and Weaver about SEF faking his university results SEFs
greed was another motivating factor in the slaughter of his sister driven by his desire to be the sole beneficiary of
his parents multi-million dollar estate based on evidence and forensic findings the prosecution concluded that on the
afternoon of July 10 2001 SEF Gonzales returned home after working at his parents legal office he collected the
baseball bat he had kept in the boot of his car as well as two large knives from
the kitchen wearing gloves a coat and a hat he went upstairs to Claudine's bedroom he surprised the teen as she sat
at her desk studying bludgeoning throttling then stabbing her to death after murdering his younger sister SEF
covered her brutalized body with a red jacket he then headed downstairs and to lay in wait for his mother to arrive
home at approximately 6:00 p.m. SEF confronted liverish she entered the living space stabbing her to death
he then waited in the foyer for his father to return home within this timeframe Emilie Luna visited the
Gonzales house and inadvertently saw SEF through the frosted glass by the front door in his baseball cap and coat teddy
arrived home at around 7 p.m. where he was immediately killed by surf upon entering the house after the murders SEF
showered and got changed and proceeded to stage the scene to look like a racially motivated break-in and robbery
he graffitied the walls with racial slurs accidentally leaving evidence of the blue spray paint on his jumper
sleeve previous testing had confirmed the blue staining on Seth's jumper was indeed paint but it was revealed during
the trial that it was an exact match for the paint used for the graffiti after staging the scene SEF left the
house in his car to dispose of the kitchen knives baseball bat spray can shoes and clothing he was wearing at the
time of the murders items which have never been recovered he then went to pick up his friend Sam insuring they
hung out at a crowded area with plenty of security cameras to solidify his alibi when he returned home later that
evening he called triple zero feigning hysterics of finding his family murdered but no matter how much SEF
carried on he couldn't even manage to fake a single tear to sell his performance to
attending police officers SEF gonzales was the only witness for the defense during cross-examination he confessed
his first alibi was a lie driven out a panic and embarrassment from admitting the truth of visiting a
brothel he also revealed he had lied in many other instances during the investigation confirming it was he who
researched and ordered the poison seeds online he also admitted he authored the threatening emails he allegedly received
from his family's killer on May 20 2004 the jury found SEF Gonzales guilty of the murders of Teddy
Louisville and clodine Gonzalez SEF was visibly shocked when the verdict was announced the outside court his artani
he said I just feel that we have lost another member of the family we're really in pain I think justice has been
done but it would have been easier to accept if it were a different person it's just so hard to accept I just wish
it wasn't him during sentencing on August 27 2004 victim impact statements from the Gonzalez's extended family were
read out to the court louisvil sister Rani spoke of the relief that their cry for justice had been answered but added
it came with profound sadness wrapped in sorrow and teased Seth's grandmother Hamill ADA also prepared a victim impact
statement part of which read to this day I am struggling to cope with the emotional pain and trauma of what has
happened I miss all of them every day psychiatry professor David Greenberg was tasked with concluding whether Cerf had
any mitigating psychiatric illness that could have contributed to the crimes professor Greenberg concluded there was
insufficient evidence to suggest the diagnosis the possibility that Saif had repressed
the post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from being trapped in the rubble of his family's hotel following
the 1992 Luzon earthquake was also denied professor Greenberg stated that during pre-sentencing assessments Saif
told him quote I was put on trial for being a lousy person I have deep remorse for people I lied to but they can't make
me plead guilty to murder at sentencing Saif focused on his own suffering telling his grandmother in court if you
don't think I'm feeling any pain you're wrong whatever pain you're feeling I am feeling that much worse than you I'm not
going to plead guilty to something I didn't do just to make people happy on September 18 2004 the day after his 24th
birthday SEF gonzales said emotionless in court as justice Bruce James sentenced him to three concurrent life
sentences without the possibility of parole Judge James declared SEF lacked inside into the enormity of his offenses
and had failed to accept any responsibility for his crimes due to being found guilty of triple murder SEFs
lesser charge of threatening product contamination was dropped our side court chefs are Emily Luna said it's actually
a very sad day because we love SEF very much but I'm just glad it's all over as well we will always love him three years
later in June 2007 the New South Wales Supreme Court granted SEF approval to appeal his conviction based on the fact
that it was not cautioned by police on the night of the murders and therefore statements taken from him may have been
deemed inadmissible but the appeal was eventually dismissed and these convictions were upheld on the
basis that there had been no evidence that a miscarriage of justice had occurred to this day SEF continues to
protest his innocence his concurrent life sentences mean he will remain in jail for the rest of his life in
November 2005 the former Gonzalez home on Collins Street was finally sold for seven hundred and twenty thousand
dollars to a buyer who was fully aware and accepting of its dark history in 2017 the owners of the former Gonzalez
homestead spoke publicly about life in the house saying they had a very good feeling about the property from the
moment they walked inside after many happy years spent creating their own memories inside the home one of the
owners told Woman's Day magazine quote this is my home I get really annoyed when people ask about what happened to
you because it happened before us I know the Gonzalez's were a good family and would have liked to know we've taken
over their home and been very happy here [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Case 103: The Gonzales Family

In mid-2004, Australian real estate group LJ Hooker posted a for sale sign on the front lawn of a vacant address in North Ryde, a cosmopolitan suburb in north-western Sydney...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Episode research and writing – Gemma Harris Additional writing and editing – Milly Raso and Elsha McGill Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-103-the-gonzales-family

Brief Summary

The episode details the brutal Gonzalez family murders and SEF Gonzales' conviction for the crime.

Key points

The Lin Family's Deception. New homeowners discover their house's dark past, leading to a legal battle.
A Father's Desperate Search. Teddy Gonzalez risks everything to save his son from a collapsed hotel.
SEF's Desperate Call for Help. Frantic and shaken, SEF calls for an ambulance after discovering his family's bodies.
A Family's Tragic End. The Gonzalez family is brutally murdered in their home, leaving one survivor, SEF.
Evidence of a Staged Crime Scene. Investigators find signs that the crime scene was carefully staged to look like a robbery.
SEF Offers Reward for Information. In a heart-wrenching media appearance, SEF offers a reward for information about his family's killer.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The Lin family felt deceived.

5:33WatchDec 15, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.