The city of Newport Beach, California, sits right on the coast just south of Los Angeles. It's an enclave of some of the state's wealthiest residents, a paradise for surfers and celebrities. It's 2012. The medical marijuana industry is booming. And a dispensary owner winds up kidnapped, tortured, and left for dead in the Mojave Desert.
A kidnapper broke in. He blindfolded the victims, a man and a woman, and forced them into a vehicle. But this brutal crime was just the beginning. What followed was a decade-long game of cat and mouse between investigators and a perpetrator, the person controlling it all and leaving chaos in his wake. He's a psychopath who's cutting off my roommate's penis.
He had this way of convincing you that this was normal. Making poison burger patties for someone's dog is sure to get you on America's top 10 I hate you list. From ABC News. a series about a crime that sent shockwaves of fear across California and ignited an international manhunt. This was one of the proudest moments of my entire prosecutorial career. And then I get a phone call.
This man was out on the streets. Oh my God, they let Hannibal Lecter out? This is Devil in the Desert. Hear the first episode, June 17th, wherever you listen to podcasts.