MFM Minisode 487

Hello and welcome my favorite murder, the Mini.

Sooad that's right, I said that dramatic.

You did it great?

Did you like it?

I did?

Should I say, give you more of an upbeat?

Take sure?

Try it again the minisode.

Hey, I felt terrible, didn't it?

That was horrible? Should we go back to one?

Yeah, the mini? So there you go. I'm gonna let you go first, since we're such a pro with that.

Thanks so much. I appreciate the condescension. Okay, this is quite an email I have for you right now.

Do you know about this one?

There's no way.

There's no way you could know.

I don't know what I know, and I don't know what I don't know.

I was just wondering if they're like Karen's got the email, if they had to warn you about about this beforehand. The subject line of this emails I was in a networking group with the Gilgo Beach serial killer. That's why I asked. So this is an email from twenty twenty four. This case feels like it's been going on.

For sixty years.

The when it just broke.

Yeah, he just pled guilty.

So this says, hey, you two In January twenty sixteen, right when you started the podcast. I switched careers from a deeply unhappy corporate cog to starting my own professional organizing business. Oh my god, amazing Hanny dot com. Just like, get a little plug in there. I think that would be so satisfying.

Oh my god, I did that yesterday and it was my beauty stuff. I kind of done it for fucking hours.

An hour you spring cleaned your makeup.

Basically shameful and fulfilling. At the same time.

You have to put a little bag aside for the people whose skin tone your makeup actually is four when you bought it and were like, and now I can never.

Use this again.

Everyone gets something.

Yeah, right, Okay, So cut to present day. I'm incredibly happy and proud of the company I have built, and I'm fortunate enough to love my clients and my work. Switching careers is no joke. So the first few years were filled with anxiety, awkwardness, mistakes, and questioning if I made the right choice.

Hearing your lovely rants and tales of woe.

Consistently twice a week helped really get me through those growing pains years. So I can't thank you enough for that. That's all the podcast has been tales of woe and rants. Yeah, perfectly encapsulated. What you guys have to give is so special and I'm grateful to enjoy it.

But back to it.

I belong to a networking group in New York City for my organizing business. It's a great group of professionals who take what they do very seriously, but not themselves, a perfect combination. I was pumped when an architect joined. I've worked with lots of architects in the past to help design more organized and efficient spaces for my clients.

Is the understatement of the century.

Like someone you know regularly professionally that's fucking is a serial.

Killer a serial killer.

It also points back to like you know them but from the internet. We all have that, Like it's a different but we're used to it, so it's kind of like, well, yeah, we like the same things.

Yeah, we know each other.

The normal you can. Yeah.

It turns out that Appy was none other than Rex Yureman, the Gilgo Beach serial killer. All the members of my group started getting calls from reporters asking for comments about how we were feeling, knowing we had been doing business with an actual serial killer. You know that professional picture of him floating around the internet with his arms crossed. He only got that photo taken because my group kept teasing him about how he had.

No pictures of himself.

The president of my group even called that his law and order pose the irony is too much to handle. Oh my god, I've felt wrecked by the thought of the combination of deep sadness and relief for the families of the victims. As the news of his arrest has come out, friends and family keep asking if I've ever suspected anything, ever felt threatened or weird around him. Whenever I hear stories of serial killers who operate in plain saiday, I always think, how could no one in his life know?

Katie m.

And then here's just a quick update, because when Katie sent this email, only three of the victims he had been arrested for their murders, and now that there's a longer list, we figured we'd save all the names till the end. On April eight, Rex Huerman pled guilty to the murders of seven women, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy Amberlin Costello, Moreen Brainerd Barnes, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor, and Sondra Castia.

Wow, and doesn't it make you think like it's so inconspicuous you would never know. So is there someone that you know that maybe isn't a serial killer, but that has that piece.

Of them that totally doesn't care and has no empathy and is truly cut off that way?

Who could it be? Which is like, fine, if you don't fucking kill people, you can, like we all have different personality issues, but Jesus.

Okay, I mean and also just that we have gotten to this point where now, which is such a relief where people get to write in and go, hey, I did business with this totally totally just like the Ted Bundy story.

So scary. Yeah, okay, I'm not going to read you the subject line. Hi, MFM gang and it's furry associates. I recently listened to your episode about the sleepwalking murderer, and I decided to share my sleepwalking story. I could have just read you this subject line. It's the sleep walking.

Story, I thought, I was being really clever, You're going to save it, and they immediately ruined the secret.

I think I was around eight or nine when this happened. I grew up in Vacaville, California, which is where Paul Holes is from hashtag got for Holes, and my childhood home was on a very busy street. One night, someone came flying around the corner and my brother's car was side swiped. The driver fled the scene, but my brother saw that the vehicle was a large maroon suv. Knowing that the driver's car would have extensive damage, my brother

He's just like, here go solve that problem.

This blast Metallica had fucking midnight. Here we go.

Yeah, yes, you can do.

Fair enough, be cool to your neighbors and they'll fucking nark on you. That's right. The guy gave my brother his address, and he told him that the car was parked in the driveway next door. Does My brother ran to tell my mom and she said that we would drive by the house on our way home from the lake. We got into town super late, and I was asleep in the back seat. I was still in my bathing suit and I had my beach towel wrapped around me.

I wonder if that's what people used to do for like accidents and stuff like keep a disposable camera in your car.

Motorcycle riders do that, do they? Really? They did that?

Yes, back when it was before go pro.

Saw a guy getting a fucking gnarly motorcycle accident. I got out and went over to him, and he goes hey on the ground, like after he woke up. Hey, there's a fucking disposable camera under my seat. Use the whole roll, get everything. Oh and I fucking r I just remembered this part of the story, Like I knew about that, but I forgot about that part.

That's so weird.

And I just fucking and I had. I was driving my best bud at the time, so I was like, I got you.

Yeah, we were a motorbike friend. Yeah, so wait a second, you came upon this accident.

It happened directly in front of me. Like, so you were a witness? Yeah, shit, he was. Okay, I hope, I don't know. Maybe not.

I stuck my phone number in his backpack. Okay, he never called me. Well he was in the hospital with all four limbs in the air.

Come on, okay, Well, my mom and brother were going full Vogue cover shoot on the suburban. I slipped out of the back seat and up the walkway of our random house a few doors down. I must have thought that we were home. I opened the front door, and this is where I vaguely remember walking into a house that smelled like smoke. However, I was so tired that I laid down on the couch and fell back asleep. I remember that the living room was arranged exactly like

I mean, that is hilarious, and they missed the whole thing.

Yeah, But then they came out and the door is wide open, and there's a towel on the floor, like what happened.

And their dog, Rusty ran away.

Rusty. All of that could have been avoided if one the asshole never hit my brother's car and fled the scene, and two those people locked their fucking doors Luckily, everyone ended up fine. I was safe, I got my favorite beach towel back, and my brother ended up getting money for the damage the guy caused to his car. Nice, Nice, stay sexy, don't flee the scene of a crime, and lock your fucking doors so people don't sleep walk into your living room.

Audrey, this is such a close neighborhood. They're like, we caught him, get over here, and then I'm on in and I'm just go to sleep on your neighbor's couch. Oh, that's so that's so funny. If you woke up and you were like us, you're a twelve year old like us, where it's like someone's been here, and then you start taking pictures of the inside of your house. I'll read you this subject line since it works. I was robbed,

Was like hello.

This reminded me of something that happened to me at senior prom and the year two thousand and three. I've just turned so this was some time ago, but you never forget this kind of thing. While we all had this aerotypical prom, like every other school in America, all the parents of seniors joined together to plan something called Snap Senior Night after Prom, where they literally rented out a Dave and Busters from eleven PM to eight am as a ployee to keep all of us from partying after prom.

Oh that's smart.

After the dance, seriously, our parents were like, go stand in a field for all we care.

Here's alcohol. Yeah yeah, here's some warm beer and zeem, I get the fuck.

One of us will go on a cruise. The understanding is you will stay indoors. So it says after the dance, we all rode in our limos and cars to Dave and Busters, turned in our suit jackets, dresses, purses, et cetera, changed clothes, and were basically locked in all night. It was actually pretty fun. It's very smart. As you can imagine, after a long night of dancing and then being locked in with your entire senior class, the eight am hour at the Dave.

And Busters was rough.

Oh god.

I mean everyone was over it. We were all tired physically and also tired of each other. Friendships ended, Matt David Busters, girlfriends dumped boyfriends. It was a lot of togetherness. My friend group remained somewhat intact as the sun came up, and we agreed to gather our things and meeted a small staircase at the front of the building while we waited to be picked up. Sorry, that just reminds me of I've told you when we went to Senior Night

Yeah.

And it's almost like that it is your first teenage test of what you're going to be like to party with ye And people are just like yes, no, yes, no, total.

It's like, I'm gonna go home and go to the party. Yep, who can stay up all night?

I was down there first, so I sat on the stairs with all my crap, laid my head down on my giant cobalt blue puffy dress, and closed my eyes, waiting for my friends. Within a few seconds, a random girl sat next to me. I opened my eyes to see that she was a fellow PRAM attendee, but I didn't know her or recognize her, but she seemed like she wanted to chat.

Did you have fun? What did did you do last night? Did you go bowling?

I was in no mood for small talk with a girl I didn't know, so I closed my eyes again and gave very short curt answers, hoping she would catch my vibe, and she eventually walked away. It turns out she was robbing me while I was sitting there with my eyes closed. What were you doing last night?

Did Joe fun? You'd think a lock in would be safe. I would definitely not watch my purse, and I did watch it, but I wouldn't be worried. Yeah, you wouldn't be on alert.

No, you'd think you could just sleep on some stairs like a normal person.

It's so crazy.

When our parents picked us up, my dad asked me for his cash. That's right before we left for prom. My dad handed me two hundred dollars cash to use in case of emergency. None of us had credit cards, but it was to be returned immediately after we got done at david Buster. Oh my god, it wasn't spending money. It was emergency money for flat tires, etc. As we lived in a rural area and the prom was in

Oh, earrings and cash all gone.

I was so confused because my purse had been in my possession all night, except for when it was checked into the purse check monitored by volunteer parents, and then immediately handed back to me. I knew it was the girl that had sat next to me making awkward conversation while my eyes were closed. A few days later, at school, people were sharing photo albums and I saw the girl in a photo and it immediately jumped out at me.

That's her.

Oh my god, that's the girl who sat experienced toole my money and earrings. She was the date of a guy in my government class. So I sought him out and said, hey, do you know your date? Robbed me at David Busters, who is she? He felt bad and said other people from within his own group had told him the same thing.

This girls, this little klepts just gone around fucking.

She robbed many people that night.

Girl. I want to be friends with this girl, right, I mean she was like on one. He didn't know her well, he said, And she didn't go to our school. I would hope not. They open her locker, all everybody's stuff pours out cash. I saw the assistant principal who informed me that she didn't go to our school, so there was nothing that.

They could do.

I felt so bad about losing my dad's money, and even more guilty about losing my sister's earrings, as they were special to her. I will forever regret trying to ignore her. Yet I will also forever be somewhat impressed by all caps the audacity to be asked to a prom at another school, only to spend your evening robbing everyone. Yeah, love y'all so much, SSDGM, And don't ignore awkward conversations in a Dave and Buster's while you have forty seven bobby pins in your hair.

Jenny that I hope that girl turn out okay, bless her heart.

Yeah, I hope this was maybe, And I'm not saying this is justified, although it is, like it's a rich kid's school.

She gets invited to the prom.

She's like, I'm going back to the other side of the tracks and I'm going to collect I'm going to fill my pockets or vice versa. She's like, I'm rich and no one will ever prosecute me, so I'm going to rob all these poor people whatever, whatever it is. Yeah, please write in. We know you just write us an email.

Okay. This one's called mind blowing guaranteed podcasting Princesses. I doubt you've ever heard a story like this one which took place in my home state of Michigan several years back. On April sixth, two thousand and six, a van carrying nine students from Taylor University in Indiana was returning to school from an event when a semi truck lost control, crossed the median and hit the van, killing five passengers.

Well, also, just that thing of like the older kids get and they leave the house totally the risk is just increasing. Nor just went on long drive by herself, and my sister was like, she's an adult. I can't be, like, you're not allowed to.

It's one of the reasons I don't want to kids. I just I couldn't do that. It's so yeah, so tough, okay. The students were identified through purses and IDs scattered around the scene. The body of blonde eighteen year old Whitney Sarah was transported home to Gaylord, Michigan, where her devastated family grieved her loss, held a funeral, and buried her

But you would have every reason to be like, no, no, no, this can't.

Be psychologically and logically too, because you're being told those things.

It's not these official people are saying this is what's happening, right, But you'd also be like, great, totally, she's alive and she's here.

Laura and Whitney's identities had been mixed up. By people helping at the accident scene. They looked alike, with blonde hair and similar builds and facial features. Whitney's sister, Carly, also a student at Taylor, had not been able to bring herself to identify the actual body at the morgue

That's so horrible.

The bizarre, tragic accident would later prompt Indiana lawmakers to enact stricter guidelines regarding coroners identifying victims of fatal crashes. On March twenty eight, two thousand and eight, Dateline NBC aired an episode regarding this mix up titled A Twist of Fate, and the two families involved have written a book entitled Mistaken Identity.

Oh I want to read that book.

Yeah, Oh, can you fucking imagine?

But then that means they like work together, yeah, like.

Yeah, stay sexyon always view the body, Margaret.

I mean, how like, yeah, I think the thing that's really making me catch my breath. Is that that's exactly what you want to happen. When you find out that someone you love die totally, you fantasize about exactly.

And then five weeks later to find out you've been grieving for five weeks, You've gone through so many feelings and emotions and just devastation, and then you get your person back.

Yep, and Whitney's laying there and they're calling her the wrong name, and she's in this state she kind of probably doesn't even really know what's going on.

Yeah, trying to say who.

I mean, no, it's who.

That could have been a full episode story, that really could. I'm going to change it up with a little pet hero story.

Great.

It starts Hello from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I suck ad intro, so please excuse my lack there. Just know that I love you. You asked for pet hero stories and this is something that I can at least deliver. Back in the spring of twenty twelve, I was in my final year of UNI and was big into running that My then puppy, a female Doberman Pincher border Collie named Charlie, was my enthusiastic companion on these jaunts at border Collie Doberman pinchers, like the most springy dog ever made at dogs.

I don't really go together, but I'm sure it's bullying.

It's like all muscle and excitement. It was a warm eleven degrees celsius in today's money, thirty four fifty two afternoon in late March. I should have told you what month it was, and a chnook wind had recently come through the city, melting most of the snow off the sidewalks and trails that I frequented. Side note, Calgary is locally known for its warm chnuck winds, which come off the oceans from the southwest.

Flowing and went to the north.

Shea weather man, I don't know, and generally boosting our outside temper, which for several days at a time, and then in parentheses it says, hallelujah. I think everyone's a weather man when they live in Calgary. You better know what's happening. Yeah, this specific day, I grabbed Charlie, laced up my running shoes without my ice cleats, and took off.

Bad idea, Just fucking stay home. You can take today off.

You know, and you you know when you forget your ice cleats and you really regret it later.

And it's eleven degrees celsius.

Celsius, and we're like, hey, we're from California.

Yeah, you're You're in grade six and you're and you want to you.

Want to get into the boot but you can't.

Yeah.

Oh wait, that's British.

I made it through most of my normal route and was literally approaching the final descent on my stretch home about five minutes from my house when I.

Hit a patch of black ice.

Things happened fast, and I don't remember much as I passed out from the pain. Oh my god, woke up briefly in the ambulance, Oh my God, then passed out again. But I did later get some details that I had been shared with the paramedics upon their at the scene.

So fall and you get knocked out like that.

Is and it's because I've seen I've seen video people just all of a sudden, you're just tripping on the ground because there's a patch of ice that you can't see.

It's just scary.

So it says apparently Charlie, who was still on leash at the time of my fall, was able to run down the trail barking furiously. She got the attention of the next passerby she found, who luckily had some medical training. Even luckier, this person noted the dragging leash and the purpose with which Charlie moved away, and then stopped to wait to see if they would follow Charlie. Oh, Charlie's doing it.

They did.

Charlie led my rescuer right back to me, whereupon they found me lying unconscious on the ground with my leg no no, facing the wrong way. Oh, and immediately called for help. I ended up breaking my leg in how many places?

Five places?

Too many places?

Needing two plate That means the femur is definitely involved, take it, probably needing two plates surgically implanted. And I was in the hospital for eleven days, thankfully not in life threatening condition. And editorial note, thankfully in Canada where it's free.

Congratulations, We're going to.

Get there one day, America, we are going to get Can.

You imagine everyone not going bankrupt from a fucking accident because you slipped? Yeah?

It scares me to think of how long I may have been lying on a cold sidewalk if not for Charlie and my rescuer. It makes me even more sad than I never got the name of my rescuer. To thank them for everything they did that day after helping.

Scry what should put your phone on Burne's backpack just like I did? See I was right, he could have fucking helped me. You're gonna thank me.

This is why we all need business cards, not for business but for pleasure.

Okay, at me, bro on your business card.

At me to thank them for for everything they did. And after helping see Me into the ambulance, they called the phone numbers on Charlie's ID tags and got a hold of my then roommate and were able to get Charlie home safely too, so they took over. Come on a good person, forward, good person, Yeah, good good Canadian. Charlie's now thirteen years old, has mild arthritis, but still loves to go for slow runs and bike rides.

She rides in a carriage.

Oh girl, I think, boy, it happens. She also has developed the same fear of ice that I have Penguin shuffle for the wind. She's my everything and has seen me through it all, good, bad and ugly. I can only hope as she transitions into these final elder years of her life that she feels like I've given her the same.

Oh no, oh, come on, sorry, this is so long.

Big shout out to the everyday heroes of our world, both animal and human, Stay sexy and wear are the damn ice cleats.

Kayleie, there's George. I called her Georgie. There's Charlie.

Oh the good girl, Charlie. Are sweet little Beard coming in?

Oh the listeners, We're definitely going to post this sweetest picture of the sweetest dog who saved her owner's life.

Oh my gosh, she's gorgeous about face right there?

I want to I think she smells like free Do's and I want to see I want to rub her haunches, Oh my god, and.

Give her scratch.

Amazing. That was amazing. That was good?

Right?

Yes? Okay. My last one is called prank Dad. Hello, my fun loving aunties. Hello, Do I have a prank Dad story for you? Growing up, I was the middle of three girls, and both of my parents were in law enforcement, So obviously my sisters and I decided our calling in life was to be as annoying as possible. One day, my dad jokingly threatened to handcuff us together until you can get along. We did not take him

Wow, three of them.

Yeah, Jesus has to be against protocol.

Right, there's nothing legal or correct about this.

Cute the dramatic sighing and I rolling. We decided, fine, peace treaty it is. But when he went to unlock us, he realized his handcuff keys were at work. So yes, we had to drive over an hour handcuffed together to get his keys. Were we getting along by then? Absolutely not. Once we walked into the police station, all of his coworkers stared at him like he was unhinged. He just shrugged and said, kids, Am I right? Anyways? My siblings

Wow.

Shout out to my wife Crumb, who introduced me to your podcast in twenty twenty. We saw you live in Boston and had a wonderful time. Thank you for everything you do. Seriously, we love you. Stay sexy and always keep an extra set of keys on you.

He'll she her, I mean hill, great email. Also, what a great kind of like, Yeah, if you're going to do something and take this big swing, you better make sure you have everything you need to be the responsible adult.

Right.

That's it's the definition of fuck around and find out. He fucked around and he found the fuck out.

That's right.

And then everyone at work found out too. Yeah, Like, what great parenting skills you have.

I definitely talked about that one at the Christmas party that year.

Although I don't envy anyone with three daughters. No, mayhem, my god, chaos not great.

Hey, tell us about your sibling fights and stuff?

Are you one of three girls?

Tell us all about it.

You'll get right to the front if you send us emails about your horrible fights.

That's right at my favorite murder at Gmail or anything else you want to write about.

Yeah, which let us know and then until then stay sexy.

And don't get murdered. Goodbye. Do you want to Cookie?

This has been an exactly right production.

Our senior producer is Molly Smith and our associate producer is Tessa Hughes.

Our editor is Aristotle Ascevedo.

This episode was mixed by Leona Squalacci.

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Goodbye.