Serial S01 - Ep. 3: Leakin Park
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that he had to relationship or took a break IT was everything where I was like tester's her or like going into her house, not and on the door he me, he was going to a calivers car was broken down and asked her for a ride.

This is a global tell link prepay call from. And in meta from maryland, the correctional facility from this american life in wb. Easy chicago.

It's cereal. One story told week by week. I'm sarana. The cops who investigated the murder of harmony were both experienced baltimore city detectives.

The names are a written, the delivery bill, routes and greg, my gilla very and how I wish right now that I could play you tape of their perspective on this case but they didn't want to be interviewed when build its finally turned me down after six weeks back and fourth he said he didn't see the point the case has been adjudicated he said, what could would IT do I also spoke on the phone briefly to my gylle very, and he said just a few sentences to me. And one of them was, beyond question, he did IT meaning a none. Did IT he in hamor home or hesitate? You remember the case right away? Beyond question, he did IT. How do they arrive at that level of certainty?

Before his body was found, this was a missing person case. SHE disappeared january thirteen th. And the investigation starts out a little slowly, which makes sense to me.

She's not a small child. She's eighteen. She's got a car just missing. That first day, the police call around to her friends, they talked to isha to a non. Remember that when he tells him he supposed to get a ride from her, but didn't.

The next day, they call around to hospital's hotels, motels, they track the area around the high school parking lot when he was last scene, you can see from their reports that they immediately honed in, on the most time, warn explanation for such disappearances. The boyfriends, current and former. That first day they called on her new guy.

They checked the area around his house, which is another county northeast to baltimore. Over the next two weeks, they keep going back to down and to had none, asking more questions. They checked down alii.

He was indeed at work at the lens crafter store. The day hey went missing, his manager tells them, and they talked to a nance track coach to check, announce alive and it's inconclusive. The coach tells them he can't be sure to none practice that day.

They don't take attendance. On february six, they do that awful for boating thing you see on TV. Sometimes they take a team of dogs to check the wooded areas in fields around with.

On high school, they used haze cooling iron in percent. On february eight, they make a report saying, you're gone to check his computer or A O, L account for clues. And then on february ninth, their search stops and a new suspect emerges.

Testing one two three. Testing one two three.

This is tape from a police interview of the man who finds, hey, he's a little hard to hear on the tape. He's soft spoken. I'm going to call this man mr.

S, I don't want to use this full name for reasons I promise will become clear. mr. s. Works in the maintenance department at a local school.

Think I may discovered a back in part.

I think I may have discovered a body in lincoln park, he says, before I get to the slightly off culter story about how mr. s. Discovered this body, just a word here about lincoln park.

It's actually spell link in park L E A K I N, but almost everyone involved. More pronounced at lincoln park is huge, over a thousand acres on the western edge of ultima city. It's got a reputation, and not for the beauty of its woods, or its trails or its nature center.

What is known for, sadly, is dead bodies mentioned. Can park to people from belt more, as I often did. And you're pretty much guaranteed to get a comment like this.

You're going to barry your body. You're going to find somebody else that's like in park. When I told the rental car guy in west ball tomorrow, I was working on a story about a girl who was found in in park.

He said, oh yeah, my uncle was found dead. Inly kin park on a cob website dedicated to bolt mo murders list. Sixty eight bodies found there since one thousand nine hundred and forty six, though the, this is missing at least seven years of stats, so that numbers probably low.

A lot of law biting bolt morions. They don't even really know where leak in park is. Robby a choudary, that family friend have a nounce.

You first contacted me about this case when SHE was explaining IT to me, he said, yeah, how was that non supposed to get to leak in park so fast? It's like an hour into the city. Lincoln park is nowhere near the school.

Her brother is sad, a none's best friend. He didn't known anything about lacon park either after a non had initially guy arrested when I was on the phone with him talking like when he was locked out was like linking park. I'm like, where is that? Do you know where that is? Have you ever been there? And he's like, I have never been there.

I don't even know where IT is. So I mean, living around here, we don't know, but it's somewhere in the inner city where hey was found is in fact less than three miles from where sad and robbi a are sitting right now in an office across the street from the lon high school, about a seven minute drive. They have no idea we wouldn't go there.

We'd go to the harbor somewhere nice. But now there's no reason for us together. I'm explaining all this just to say that the simple fact that hey was found in liking park for a lot of people that alone made IT non look innocent, like, what's a nice boy like you doing in a park like this?

And around bushes and everything is. So now, mr. s.

He also told the cops he've never been to that party leaking part before, though he did seem to know that people go fishing back there. Here's body told the cops at his job. He gotten a work order to shave down the door, but the school didn't have the tool. He needed a plane. He had one at home though, so during his lunch hour, he said he drove his truck home, got the plane from his basement, and before he left, grabs and sustains .

out of the fridge. And I was making on the way back we ever get, and I would Better hold over. And I went rather in worst on november cv. And when I discover.

So he's drinking this twenty two one split wiser, and he's heading back to work. And his route to the college is through. He can park and suddenly he has to pee badly. He says he stops on Franklin town road. He's about three miles from work. There's a small pull off and some concrete barriers, and he walks back in there quite a ways that seems like for guy who just to p later, they had measure one hundred and twenty seven feedback into the woods is where he goes. This next tape is a little upsetting.

and I ve got back that way very, you and I looked down. I seen something look like error, but was covered. Look, build again, and just seeing that would look like a food.

What were your attention to? Uh, the area that you went to there was something there IT was open ied, an open area. And but there was also a fAllen trees that correct? Yes, I was. I mean, did you go to that area for certain reason? No, no, no, no.

There's suspicious of mister us who by this time has become a suspect in the case. This tape was made on february eighteen th, nine days after mister s reported finding the body. They're going over the details carefully because there are parts of the story that are a little weird.

One of them is this thing about the fAllen tree. One hundred and twenty seven feedback in in the woods. There was a fAllen tree, essentially a forty foot log lying more or less parallel to the road on the other side of the log.

If you'd kept going, you'd have gotten to a stream with the unfortunate name of dead run haze. Body was buried right behind this log on the stream side. If you are standing on the street side of the logs on the other side, it's not at all obvious that you'd notice her. So his story about why he stopped where he stopped IT doesn't quite seem right. Here's bill reds.

When you're walking back to this area where you finally stop, why did you pick up to the area? Well, I just, I think pick up area. I was going go back further as I know. Were going to actually further in this part of the tape.

you get a sense of how ridds in the gilberto per ate together, or at least what i've gathered for listening to a bunch of these interviews. Michael lavery starts out all non judgmental. Just tell me your story.

Ha aha. Then ridds comes in and says something like to help me understand here and ask some harder questions, exposing weaknesses in the narrative. Then the gilla very will come back in, but now is a tougher mogilevich. And he's asking direct, sometimes harsh questions that seems like theyd be good at pushing someone off baLance like this one sort out of the blue.

Have you ever went inside that girls car?

Back to the fAllen tree here ritta saying weight, I thought you told me gilla very you stopped at the log to p but now you're saying you on your way further back.

you're getting ready to your nate. And then that's when you look at and discovered the hair. Yes, you're saying you're going to actually go back for the right before you discovered, maybe a little bit confused. They're see anyone the outside of the tree.

between a tree and the this doesn't never get cleared up really, and they sort of let IT go. But a bunch of things are fishy. The path he takes back into the woods IT doesn't really lead to the log. So what does he end up there? Who didn't need to head where the log to find a hidden n spottleover are so many other choices, and if you're walking through brush and brand boles, when you sort of naturally avoid a big log, you need to step over what they are trying to get.

That is, did you really just stumble on this body? Or were you looking for this body because you already knew where IT was? That is a reasonable question because his body wasn't just hard to spot, is nearly impossible to spot, right? We're in the states of Turner's office.

We just got delivered. The first box of what they're saying is disclosable. Under whatever public information act that I did, I didn't understand how camouflage the body was until I saw photos of the crime scene, the way mister s found IT before they removed the body.

As in the states of turney office and balls timer I went, there were a crime reporter from the boltin son. His name is Justin George. I've been talking to Justin about the story and he's interested and maybe writing about IT too.

We opened a packet of photos together. Some of them were awful to see. As you imagine, there was one where you could make out a bit of black hair amid dirt and leaves.

How did he notice that? He notice the body? I don't understand I either.

I mean, it's it's pretty well covered. Yeah, there's barely any anything showing. I really supose to be looking at something there.

What is that? Is that her? That's that's all he saw. Yeah, looks to be part of the body. Yeah, I expected IT to be more visible than IT is. Just in, and I weren't the only ones who had this reaction.

The city's surveyor and name phillip button mire went out to the barrier site to measure the distance from the road. This is before they descended red. her. Here's but of mr.

Testifying at trial, when I arrived at the site where the body was, as there was a log on the ground, approach me forty feet long. Okay, I stepped out the log. I walk along the agenda logue, expecting to find a body real soon. I never saw one, at which time how I taken one more step, I would have walked on the grave site where the body was.

And at that point there were others on the scene .

and there was a lot of people there.

And at some point, point, point out.

yes, mam, detect appointed to the site, i'll look down the ground and I said I would see anybody IT wasn't .

frustrated. Serve.

yeah, just blended with the natural surroundings of the ground.

So here's a guy who's looking for the body, who knows where it's supposed to be, who can see that there are bunch of people standing around IT and still he can't find IT. So does that seem reasonable that mr. S, who apparently wasn't looking for anything except a secluded place to p, would have discovered IT just like that.

The other thing that's a little odd is a business of having to pee. The spot where mister s. Stops is only a few miles from his house and only a few more miles from his work. You can't wait. Here's detective ridds questioning mr.

Assad, why you are home? Did you have to eight or bathroom? I didn't feel let me to go at the time.

So within seven, eight minutes, how much twenty two thousand years had you consumed almost in that seven, eight minute period you had to go to bathroom. IT was. Origin need you say yet.

mr. Us says he never actually does py in the woods, says he ends up waiting until he is to work. Which okay, maybe that makes sense.

You've had to shock. But why would you walk so far in in the first place? There's just trying to have a quick pee. Then why was he studying the ground? Rid asks them about this.

Into the woods when we're rather remember utils actually one hundred twenty seven feet off the road way as you're walking alone. Why are you looking down the ground? Are you looking every step that you take? Or you 所以 when sum。

Ten, eleven, twelve. On a freezing day back february this year, we went out to leak in park. We wanted to know whether IT was strange.

They'd gone so far back into the woods, like, what is twenty seven feet from the road? Look like my producer, dana was with me. And so was just in George from belt, more son, right at the place where mister s.

Had entered the woods right of the road. Just to notice the sign. What's that look at IT? I mean, sign is this area patrolled.

Dumpers will be prosecuted. They could barely read IT. It's hard to read the sign that covered in graffiti pierced with seven bullet holes.

And in fact, the cops found twenty cartage casings in right about the spot when they collected evidence in one thousand ninety nine. Still, I thought the park itself was quite lovely, brand boles and trees, its rocky near the stream. It's uneven terrain.

It's not hilly, it's not flood either. It's not nearly as creepy as I imagined that I think IT is a night at night. Yeah, I think I does IT.

I think IT is very bleak. Twenty one, twenty two, three. We walked in what we figured is about one and twenty seven feet. Justin placed IT out by the yard. We actually wander around for a while, trying to find the right spot.

Finally, I remember that we have a hand drawn map of the site from that survey, or button mire, who testified, forty foot long, fifteen inch log on the ground once we get to the right location, IT dance on all of us. One hundred and twenty seven feedback doesn't feel all that far. If you're looking for privacy, you can still see the cars on the road from where we're standing.

So if he's paying if he's paying, yeah I mean, at least you'd want to come this far and there's nothing yeah I mean, there's like some that what's yeah you can tell you see the cars. So actually, that doesn't seem that weird to me. Suddenly, mister s, the story seems eminently more believable.

While in the woods, I felt Justin in on the evidence they collected here. Right near the body was a liquor bottle. From which they got cellular lar material and never tested, and a rope that was never tested as far as I know, as far as I know.

And then up at the road, they found a condom and a condom report. But I think the condom was still rolled, like, I don't think that was a used condom early. And they found a bunch of shell casings.

They found bullets in shell casings instead from two different guns. And they found black buster video, two black busters video like cases. But by the body was, I think that I think they got right from the area of the body was the liquor bottles in the rope.

I know IT sounds like a game of clue, except for the condom part. As for the liquor bottle, back at the tape interview with mister s. Detectives, rythm and gilla very want to find out if this guy could be the source of that liquor bottle.

Do you drink anything else besides beer? They ask ah he says, what whisky? What kind? Windsor canadian whisky? What denomination? Maybe half a point.

Did you ever take a bible in the car with you? Also, the half time, would you ever take that in the car? Keep you want, keep you want, taking a pear and there, yes. Now rythm comes in.

We've collected evidence, he says, cans and bottles from the crime scene. We're going to test them. He's buffing here and they never do test.

Are we going to find your DNA? And one of those bottles, he asks, maybe throw a bottles of the window when you are driving past, coming home from work. If so, you Better tell us now and it's .

important we know about because what we're going to do as analyze that and come back six months or a month of their revenge mention, we have events that you were accepted with us, that we have a DNA proof that you were there and then you say, take right up for that because I confiscated there that weekend and told you people get fishing at there and told you a very half of a point. And I threw a while now, so likes to take a minute and think there are any of the items and I just WEY balls, bear balls, so they can anything like that where you may have discarded in the general area, you could have.

He says, i'm not sure could have, but i'm not positive because I know I throw a lot of bottles out the window 啊。 Rt asks, with bottles, beer, bottles, whisky, maybe it's possible he says anything else. Well, for a while he switched to rum.

What rum? Dark rum. But cardy finally mgi lary can't stand IT. He just starts listing different kinds of booze.

No, just. Long time. Years ago, bRandy.

Just cheap stuff. Yeah, bRandy, bRandy was the answer. They were looking for the bottle.

They found your haze body with corona. T. B, sq. bRandy.

Two hundred military leaders and mistress, the blue right passed IT. Consider for a moment if mr. s. Was just trying to relieve his bladder and peace that february day, minding his own business, and then he sees this terrible, sad site and he does the right thing, tells the cops, shows them where she's buried.

Well, how horrible now that they're so suspicious of them that they're considering that maybe either he did IT or he knows who did. How terrifying for mister s. After all, I seem like a nice, quiet guy.

CoOperative doesn't appear to be a bRandy drinker again, I can only go by the reports and files, but my guess is the reason the cops are holding on to mister S. S. A suspect is because mr.

s. Has a little bit of a record, which isn't necessarily a big deal. But and here's a part of story where i'm hoping you'll understand why i'm not using his name.

Mister s is a speaker and not the fat party kind, the freezer kind he's got indecent exposure charges, to borrow phrase, from endpoint defense attorney under circumstances that bizarre does not even begin to define. Mister assess arrested may of ninety four for running about naked in a residential neighbourhood. Two years later, march and ninety six, he spotted wearing a hot sunglasses, White sneakers and nothing else, the officer writes.

The southwestern district has received numerous calls for service in the past three years to this area for the same incident, same description past three years. The officer chases down mr. s.

Onto ninety five. mr. s. Jumps of chaining fences. The kind with razor war at the top ends up in the hospital.

IT gets worse or Better, depending on whether enjoy police reports as much as I do. December seventh of one thousand nine hundred ninety eight. So barely two months before mister s.

fines. Haze body, there's this. And around noon, during what I have to imagine is mr.

S. S. Lunch break, a lady day, Margaret is driving along. And here's the report.

Quote, a black male dashed out in front of my car and began shaking his body and up and down motion the male had on no cloth. His penis was exposed as he faced my vehicle shaking. And this lady, Margaret, is a police officer in uniform.

SHE chases him, but he runs down into the metro stop. Margaret finds his workplace and a pile and takes them, which means, unless mister s. Has a second outfit, stash some place he is writing back to work and the altogether.

And there's another twist to this incident. The same day he flashes markets of december seventeen ninety eight, mister s. Files his own police report. There's been a theft, he says from his car, someone's taken his cell phone, his money has keys, his workload. But you and I, we know who has all of IT officer Margarett.

Street king isn't a violent crime, more necessarily a sexual one. And there's no evidence that hey was sexually assaulted anyway. But you can imagine both sets of eyebrows rising on written in glover's faces when they see these reports.

It's strange behavior. They never asked mister s about IT on tape, but I figure he knew, they knew and they knew, he knew. They know the same day they interview a monday, february teeth.

They also give him a polygraph test, which he fails. Deception indicated as a conclusion. But the tester also said mister s seemed to be nervous because apparently had important meeting with a real to that day, his wife is expecting him to picker up.

So the tester recommends a do over about a week later, they give another polygraph, this time with different questions. For instance, do you know if that girl you found died because he was hit with a tire iron? Because that's a thing.

This time the result is no deception indicated he passes, and very quickly mr. s. Fades from their view. Here's what my own thoughts were when I learned about mister S. I didn't really think, oh, maybe he did IT, maybe he killed her.

But I did wonder if maybe he'd heard something about the crime and about where he was buried, because IT did seem a tad unbelievable to me that he spotted red her the way he said he did. One there I had was maybe one of his step kids or a neighbor, or had told him about the body, because maybe they'd heard about IT through other kids at school. And maybe mister s, just as a good security thought, someone needs to go fine, this girl, until the cops, but he doesn't want to say he's heard about IT beforehand because he didn't want to get anyone else in trouble.

Mister us didn't want to talk to me after I made several requests, he asked if I please leave him alone. Fair enough. I tried every which way to figure out if he knew, or anyone in his family knew, a non or j or any other people j had told about the murder, and vice versa, whether any of them had ever heard of.

mr. S, I found no connections. The closest I goat was bear with me. I found out that mr.

As a sistern law, was a math teacher at woodlawn back in one thousand hundred and ninety nine when all this happened. So I called her. He was her student, SHE said, an excEllent student, top of the line.

But SHE didn't think mr. s. Knew anything about the crime before he found the body.

SHE put her husband on the phone. This dressed his Younger half brother, and he said, you know, it's crazy. I used to live next door to the kid that did IT those back.

When he done was nine or ten. He said he used to throw the football around with him. Then he always seem like a nice kid.

But again, he said he thought his brothers stumbled on the body by accident. Then he passed chuck le and said, I think he was running through the words streaking. That's how he found IT.

When I told them that apparently he had stopped to take a pee, he said, that's possible to. So maybe mr. s. Is telling the truth.

After all, why would a guy who's been in trouble repeatedly for indecent exposure seek out a dead girl, thus inevitably inviting more police contact to rent down upon him? mr. Us, wasn't that detectives only lead in this case? We know they're also looking at the boyfriends. And while I don't exactly know why their suspicions about a non start to percolate ate, I have an educated guess next week on cereal.

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