48 Hours - Nightmare in Napa

Episode Date: October 26, 2023

This classic episode of “48 Hours" explores the October 2004 murders of former beauty queen Leslie Mazzara and her roommate, Adriane Insogna, in the upstairs bedrooms of their Napa, California home. After almost a yearlonginvestigation, one clue led to Eric Copple, the husband of Insogna’s best friend, Lily Prudhomme. "48 Hours" correspondent Bill Lagattuta reports. This "48 Hours" episode last aired on 4/21/2007. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits, and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it.

There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial, and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. It was 1989 in Titusville, Florida. Kim Halleck said she and her ex-boyfriend Chip Flynn were kidnapped and attacked at gunpoint. Kim fled the scene, but Chip didn't make it out alive. Did you kill Chip Flynn? No, ma'am. Crosley Green has lived more than half his life behind bars for a crime he says he didn't commit. I'm Erin Moriarty of 48 Hours, and of all the cases I've covered, this is the one that troubles me most, involving an eyewitness account that doesn't quite make sense. A sister testifying against a brother.

They always say lies. You can't remember lies. A lack of physical evidence and questions about whether Crosley Green was accused, arrested and convicted because he's black. Just because a white female says a black man has committed a crime, we take that as gospel. Listen to Murder in the Orange Grove, The Trouble Case Against Crosley Green, wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to 48 Hours ad-free with 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe today. The Napa Valley is a place of wineries, of vineyards, of tourists, of lifestyle. It's a lovely place to live. And good afternoon. Welcome to KVON's Afternoon Edition. I'm Jeff Sheckman, and I'm the host of a local talk show. It's a very great place to live in terms of its safety, which is why this crime was so dramatic. The crime happened on Halloween night of 2004. There were three women living at the home on Dorset Street.

Adrian and Sonia, Leslie Mazzara, and Lauren Mianza. The intruder made his way to the house, sat outside the front window, smoked at least a couple of cigarettes that we know of, went through the window, made his way upstairs, and committed two brutal, horrible murders. Adrian was one of my best friends. She never ever turned us down. If we needed something, her family or friends, we were always first.

We always knew that. She was a great person. Everything about Leslie's life is just pure and innocent and bright and bubbly and friendly and sweet. There is no way to even imagine the ugliness and the brutality of what was seen there. My biggest fear is that she was asleep in her bed and woke up. And here's this man standing over her, ready to kill her. And I just picture him just raising up above her

and just stabbing her. What we know happened between Adrienne and the intruder, it was clearly a struggle. She was a fighter. She was a scrappy girl. She would have fought very, very hard. And I hope she heard him. It was a whodunit for a very long time. And the truth of the matter is that the answer was right there at the very center of the circle.

There's a major break tonight in a double murder that shocked the wine country. Napa police now have a suspect behind bars. And then the whodunit rapidly turned into a why-dunit. There are just dark things that go on inside the human soul that we'll never know and never really understand. Nightmare in Napa. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military and when they do, the NCIS gets involved.

From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Hotshot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney,

I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad free right now. I was jealous when they moved in. I thought it was a wonderful house.

There was a time when this house on Dorset Street, not far from downtown Napa, felt like the perfect place to live. Adrienne just seemed very happy, very content. Arlene Allen's daughter Adrienne lived in the house and loved it. She was looking forward to living in that home a long time. She really loved the neighborhood. She just felt really at home there. At first, there were only two roommates, both locals, 27-year-old Lauren Mianza, who coached volleyball at a community college,

and 26-year-old Adrienne Insagna, an engineer for the Napa Sanitation District. Adrienne and Lauren both were very sports-minded, very active. Lily Prudhomme knew both women, but was especially close to Adrienne. It was sort of a fast friendship. We worked together, we saw each other after work, we worked out at the gym together. How would you describe her? What kind of person was she? Outgoing. Really funny, but very strong. A strong person emotionally. Tough.

Adrienne had proved how tough she could be. Back in 1994, while still in high school, she'd been in a near-fatal car crash. It was a miracle that she survived. There were a lot of physical obstacles that she needed to overcome, and also emotional obstacles, feeling unpretty, feeling, you know, like she didn't fit in with her regular life anymore. But those problems were long behind her by June 2004,

when Adrian and Lauren invited a third young woman to share their home, Leslie Mazzara, a transplanted Southern beauty queen. And good evening. A senior at the University of Georgia, I am Leslie Ann Mazzara, Miss Williamson. Kathy Harrington is Leslie's mother. She wanted to grow up to be a teacher, a mother, a nurse, and to be Miss America by the time she was 21. All those things. All of those things.

Beautiful, beautiful. A rose for a rose. Leslie is a beautiful person, and everybody is just naturally drawn to her. Kelly McCorkle was a close friend of Leslie's. The two shared a love of dance. She had long, beautiful, dark hair. Leslie Mazera.

She was gorgeous. She had these beautiful green eyes with the longest eyelashes and the prettiest smile. Tell me who's going to win this thing. Who's going to win? And she loves to laugh. I feel ya. Her humor is something that I often think of. Padgett's been fun.

That's the best part is hanging out with the girls and having fun, laughing. You just fall in love with her when you meet her. In 2004, after breaking up with a boyfriend, Leslie moved to Napa. She got a job as a greeter at the Nebom Coppola Winery, run by Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola. And we would always joke, you know, I'd say, how's it going? And she'd say, well, you know, Mr. Coppola hasn't quite discovered me yet, but he's going to one day. You know, we would just laugh about that. On Halloween night, the three roommates handed out candy and were asleep by 11 o'clock.

Leslie and Adrian were upstairs in separate bedrooms. Lauren was downstairs. Then, just after 1 a.m., Lauren was startled by loud noises coming from the upstairs bedrooms. I was in my bed and just opened up my eyes and realized something was kind of not quite right. And then I heard a scream. Lauren asked that her face be hidden when interviewed by America's Most Wanted. I jumped out of bed and stood there for a second

trying to figure out what was going on. And opened up my door and went outside and listened. Suddenly, she heard him. Whoever was in the house was running down the stairs, right at Lauren. My gut told me to go out the back, and I just remember thinking, I'm opening up the door for this guy to follow me out. Terrified, Lauren stood defenseless in the backyard.

But for whatever reason, the intruder fled the way he came in, through a ground floor window. Lauren said she never laid eyes on him. I waited until I felt he was gone, and then came back in, inside the house. She climbed the stairs. And then I heard the screamings and cries for help. I had no idea what I was going to find. Adrian and Leslie lay in Adrian's bedroom,

bleeding from multiple stab wounds. Adrian was still alive, but just barely. Lauren slipped on something and realized it was the blood of her roommates. She fled the house and called 911. This is 911 emergency what are you recording? Oh my god we've got an attack. Does someone need an ambulance? Yes oh my god I don't know what is going on everywhere. When the police arrived both Adrian and Leslie were dead. The killings are the first in Napa since 2001.

It is here that both women died during a brutal attack. It wasn't long before all of America knew what had happened in that house on dorset street including adrian and leslie's heartbroken friends you know i assumed it was an accident but they told me that no it's worse than that she'd been she'd been killed murdered and i called her cell phone like 25 times that night and she never answered and never answered. Half a world away in Australia, Adrian's mom Arlene heard the news. And I completely lost it as you can imagine. The pain is just excruciating. Leslie's mother Kathy was in her Michigan home all alone. I just excruciating. Leslie's mother, Kathy, was in her Michigan home, all alone. I just have a broken heart.

And I guess it's just really hard for me to understand how anybody could get to the point of rage that they would murder these two young women, my beautiful daughter. I just don't understand it. I want to know why. Who was the mysterious intruder and why did he kill Leslie and Adrian? In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal.

There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with.

In the Pitcairn Trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to watch. It was called Candyman. It was about this supernatural killer who would attack his victims if they said his name five times into a bathroom mirror.

But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? I was struck by both how spooky it was, but also how outrageous it was. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. She was a people person. Look at my eyes, look at my eyes.

That's just the thing about Leslie. She was enchanting. She was a charmer. Amy Brown grew up with Leslie Mazzara. I can't remember not being around her. And she knew her well. The thing to know about Leslie is that she can fall in love very quickly. Guys tend to be attracted to her even if she's not knowing that they are.

Over the years, Amy had met a lot of Leslie's boyfriends. She went into every relationship full blast, open-hearted. But none seemed like a killer. I try to think of everybody that she's ever known, and it's too many people. I can't narrow it down to anybody. I don't know who would do this. That was the job of the Napa police. Because the killer seemed to know where he was going and who he was after,

investigators quickly concluded this was not a random attack. The police released very little information, but it didn't matter. The guessing game had begun. The kinds of rumors right away were, number one, that Leslie was the target and that Adrian had come to her aid. Adrian's mother Arlene based her feelings on what she had seen. Leslie being new to the area was really wanting to meet new people so she was being set up on a lot of blind dates. Leslie was active, worked at a winery up valley, was in a position where she was in a marketing position where she met lots of people. Napa detective Dan Lonergan says the killer most likely entered Leslie's bedroom first.

She was possibly attacked while she was sleeping. And then the intruder entered Adrian's room. The two struggled mightily. I went to the viewing of her body. Adrian's good friend, Lily. Looks like she fought pretty hard. Adrian hated turtlenecks. Hated them. Would not wear them.

But she was wearing one in the casket. For obvious reasons. During that vicious fight, the killer was injured, says Napa detective Todd Schulman. We did find some blood evidence on the blinds. There was blood left on these blinds as he was leaving. His blood? Yes. Now, the police had the killer's DNA. And there was yet another important clue found at the house. We located several cigarette butts outside the residence. These are cigarettes that have been smoked down to the filter. It could be someone who is nervous, trying to work up the courage to go inside and do this.

The cigarette brand was Camel Turkish Gold, a new and unique brand. But police chose not to reveal that information to the public. Instead, they sent the butts to a crime lab to determine if DNA on the cigarettes matched the DNA from the blood found at the house. They've got some evidence. I mean, they've got DNA. They just have nobody to match it to. And when you're starting in Leslie's life, where do you start? Who do you match it with?

And when you're starting in Leslie's life, where do you start? Who do you match it with? The police started with those close to the victims. In Leslie's case, that meant her many admirers. Guys loved Leslie. And even if they weren't dating, they would buy her things. She never asked for anything. It was just like they just would give the world to her. Take Brian West, a college boyfriend. He bought her a car. He bought her a car. He bought her a car. And how long had they been dating before he bought her a car? Oh, probably two, three months maybe.

That's just what guys would do for Leslie. Didn't ask for a car. And what did she do? She drove it for a while, and then they decided they weren't going to be together, and she gave it back. After the breakup, Brian built this web page tribute to Leslie. Does that strike you as normal? You break up with a woman, and then you make a website about her? No, that's not normal. But I think because I know Brian a little, it's kind of normal to me because I just know that he idolized her. And then there was William Lee Youngblood Jr., a lawyer.

Leslie had been living with him, but they broke up shortly before she moved to Napa. She really did love Lee. I could marry Lee, she said, but a dad just makes me feel uncomfortable. William Lee Youngblood Sr., also a lawyer, often called the house, not to speak with his son, but with Leslie. There got to a point where he would call her all the time, even knowing that she was the only one at the house. And she got to the point where she just stopped answering the phone. Do you think the father was in some way obsessed with her? It seems to be. Amy was questioned about the Youngbloods by a Napa detective.

He said, if I told you that Lee Sr. called Leslie twice on Halloween night, how would that make you feel? senior called Leslie twice on Halloween night, how would that make you feel? And when he, as soon as he said that, chill bumps, my hair stood on edge, and I said that, I don't like that at all. At all. The Napa police traveled to South Carolina to interview Youngblood senior. He denied any involvement in the murders, said the phone calls on Halloween were an unfortunate coincidence, and said he was not infatuated with Leslie. Then he and his son each agreed to provide a DNA sample. Neither father nor son was a match. Back in Napa, investigators went around collecting DNA from the men Leslie had met there. She was getting back into a little bit more of the party kind of scene and meeting fresh faces.

At the time of her death, Leslie was regularly dating two men. Leslie was definitely looking for the one, but Leslie wasn't going to settle for anything less than perfect. Katie Norris and Vanessa Schnoor were college buddies who'd visited and stayed with Leslie in the house on Dorset Street just three weeks before the murders. We spent weeks going through every conversation, talking about every person that we interacted with, just looking for that one little thing that might have been a hint as to who did this.

The women both thought there was something odd about one of the men Leslie was dating. We went to a local bar in Napa. Leslie was approached by a friend that was solely a friend. The demeanor of Leslie's boyfriend, who was there at the time, changed dramatically. It was obvious that he was not comfortable with her talking to another man. It was a very eerie feeling after we found out what had happened to Leslie. Vanessa and Katie told the Napa police their suspicions. Cops questioned the man and took his DNA. But as with so many others, the test came back negative.

Leslie's mother, Kathy, was not surprised. I'm not convinced that whoever killed the girls was after Leslie. It could have been somebody that was taken with Adrian. and with Adrian. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing the best

idea yet. A brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder risk-takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye?

Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans. Discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. It's just The best idea yet. I want justice for my friend. It's not going to make that much difference in our lives because we'll still be without Adrian and without Leslie, but it's important. Like all of Adrian's friends, because we'll still be without Adrian and without Leslie, but it's important. Like all of Adrian's friends, Lily Prudhomme desperately wants

Adrian's killer to be found. I've gotten pretty angry about what happened, that anybody could do this, but I'm almost a little afraid to have a face and a name to put the blame on and all my grief just hang it on this person. It's not going to get easier because we have a face and a name. One name that police focused on soon after the murders was Christian Lee. Christian was her boyfriend.

They were on again, off again for a long time. Lily says the relationship sometimes caused Adrian pain. She'd come to work crying one day, and of course, being friends, we would console her, and towards the end, we only saw the negative side of Christian. Not surprisingly, Napa police were soon pounding on Christian's bedroom door. I was fast asleep, and I opened the door, and about five detectives jumped backwards.

I take it you were startled? To say the least, yeah. What did they say to you? They asked me to come out of my room, and they kind of backed away from me slowly. And they asked me if I had any weapons or knives in my room, and I told them I had one and asked if I could get it for them. They said, no, no, no no just point out where it is they

collected a knife from the corner of his room they took samples of blood they took my clothes they took sheets off my bed and they wanted to take me to the station for questioning for weeks he and Adrian had been arguing she wanted a commitment he wasn't ready. We'd have our problems, we'd argue, but I've never ever touched a woman in my life in anger. The police kept digging, but the investigation was going nowhere. Part of the problem of not knowing is that you imagine.

Leslie's mother, Kathy, felt haunted. I would wake up with these images in my mind that were just so horrible. As my grief counselor said to me, Leslie died once, but you keep reliving it over and over and over again. The frustrating part for me is that I feel that I really don't have any information about what happened to my daughter. I know that she was stabbed to death, but nothing has been forthcoming for months.

Arlene lived with Adrian's presence every waking moment. This car is Adrian's car, and I haven't even changed the preset radio buttons. So every time I get in this car and turn on the radio, I feel very close to Adrian. I feel that she's with me and that the day is going to be a good day. Adrienne's favorite song at the time of her death was She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5. It makes me feel happy to know that as long as I live, Adrienne will be loved. Adrienne's memory touched others as well.

Sorry. Adrian's best friend Lily and her boyfriend Eric Koppel came to a decision. Eric and I both re-evaluated what is important in life. We've been together almost eight years now. It was time to go ahead and get married. She and Eric once before put their marriage plans on hold. It turned out to be the worst possible timing. Eric and I were originally planning to get married on November 1st, which is the day Adrian ended up dying. And if we had gone through

with that wedding, it was planned in Hawaii. Adrian and Lauren would have been in Hawaii with us that week. Arlene was invited to be part of the ceremony and read scriptures to the couple. A portion of it was from the Song of Solomon. Love is stronger than death, passion fiercer than the grave. And although the day was joyful, Lily says she can't get beyond the fact that there's been no arrest in Adrian's murder. Somebody out there knows something. Somebody would have had to notice a friend of theirs acting strange or, you know, had bruises. It doesn't seem like somebody could just walk away from it and be fine. By the following summer, the police here seemed truly baffled. Investigators said they'd met with

more than a thousand people, ruling them out one by one. Starting, they said, with the inner circle, people closest to the victims, boyfriends, friends, and friends of friends. Two hundred of the men they met with gave them DNA samples. Thus far, we haven't had any matches to the DNA from the suspect. So is it safe to say that the men who gave DNA samples have now been ruled out? Yes. And that includes Adrian's boyfriend, Christian. You think we should have had some more answers by now? Something. Definitely something. Then in September 2005, 11 months after the murders, there was something. Police in Napa have new clues in a double murder case.

Remember those cigarette butts found outside the house on Dorset Street? Months later, the crime lab results finally arrived. This is one of the actual cigarette butts that was located at the crime scene. In fact, the saliva on those butts did match the killer's DNA. Investigators believe the assailant smoked Camel Turkish Gold cigarettes at the time of the attack. We feel like this is something that may prompt someone in the public to make that one phone call that's going to help lead to the identity of this killer. They were right.

Just five days later. My phone rang at 11.15 last night, and it was the supervising sergeant letting me know that they had made an arrest. My next words were, who was it? And I was not at all prepared for the answer to that question. Neither was anyone else. Now we know that this person is a white male, and now we've added to that this is a smoker. No one knew it at the time, but there was one young man in Napa County who was feeling intense pressure. After police released information about the cigarette butts found outside the house where Adrian and Sonia and Leslie Mazzara were murdered.

Investigators believe the assailant smoked Camel Turkish Gold cigarettes. He was feeling so much pressure that within days, two parents in the Napa Valley opened their mail... These are two different letters, one to his mother, one to his father. ...to find suicide notes from their own son. Napa District Attorney Gary Lieberstein read to us from those letters, which have never been revealed publicly until now. I am leaving this life because I know that the consequences of my actions must be faced,

and they spell death. I will not grant the government the satisfaction of watching me die, so I will end my life in a place and manner of my own choosing. I do not consider it suicide. I call it justice. I do not consider it suicide. I call it justice. The man who wrote that letter may have sentenced himself to death, but he didn't carry out the sentence.

After relatives received those suicide notes, they confronted him and convinced him to turn himself in to the Napa police. There's a major break tonight in a double murder that shocked the wine country. When Arlene Allen heard of the arrest, she asked his name. I expected when I asked the question, who was it, that it would be a name I was not the least bit familiar with. But it was a name Arlene knew very well. It's heartbreaking. I am just so heartbroken over this. 26-year-old Eric Matthew Koppel is in the Napa County Jail, charged with two counts of murder.

The man who confessed was Eric Koppel, the husband of Adrian's best friend, Lily. I'm feeling as much grief now as I did upon hearing of Adrian's death. The revelation was all the more shocking because it was only months earlier that Arlene had been invited to speak at Eric and Lily's wedding. And I remember looking into Eric's eyes and he seemed sad and paying close attention and it really touched me. Just who is Eric Koppel? Little is known. He was the classic shy, quiet guy who worked as a land surveyor and was never in trouble with the law, not even a traffic violation.

He was nice. He was a nice person. It was hard to even imagine him do that. Ben Katz was Adrian's close friend and socialized with Lily and Eric. Whenever he was with Lily, she would do all the talking and he would just, he'd just be there. He wouldn't say much, but you know, he just figured just because he was shy. He did appear to me to be reticent, remote, really a contrast to Lily's easygoing and outgoing personality. Yeah, they do kind of seem like an odd couple, but it seemed like it was working for them both. But how could Lily have gone for nearly an entire year

marrying and living with the man who murdered her best friend without suspecting a thing? Do you think that Lily knew anything about Eric's involvement before he ultimately confessed? It's hard to believe that she laid next to him 11 months and didn't have any suspicions. When Lily sat down with us not long after her wedding... What do you hope will happen here? I hope they find him.

She said she couldn't imagine the killer would go unnoticed. Somebody must have seen something. Somebody out there knows something. Somebody would have had to notice a friend of theirs acting strange. What now seems chilling is the fact that Lily's husband, Eric, was sitting right there in the room with us during our interview. It's important. It's important to find out who did this and to find out why.

In some sick way, I want to know. I want to know how it happened. I mean, this was my friend. I want to know what happened to her know how it happened. I mean, this was my friend. I want to know what happened to her. It doesn't sound like Lily had even an inkling. I think that Lily was like another sister to Adrian. She could not have even suspected that her husband was involved with that. There is no proof that Lily knew what Koppel had done. And people also wondered about the investigators. Why didn't they find him sooner? How is it possible they took more than 200 DNA samples from men all over the country,

yet somehow skipped over Koppel, who lived and worked right here in the Napa Valley? Here's a guy who was the boyfriend of the best friend, who knew your daughter, who knew Leslie, had been to the house, and who smoked cigarettes. Right. Are you surprised that the police did not question him much, much sooner? That was one of my first questions. Right away I was wondering how he could possibly have been overlooked. Now that there finally was an arrest in the case, there was a great sigh of relief, and not just in Napa.

I've been waiting for that call for 11 months. Leslie's mother Kathy, now a minister living in Michigan, can't help wondering what was going through Koppel's mind. My granddaughter says it so well, it's like, why would anyone want to hurt Aunt Leslie? says it so well, it's like why would anyone want to hurt Aunt Leslie? How will the man who murdered Leslie and Adrian explain what happened that horrible night? I am a broken man. And what will Lily say to the families? I'm Lily Koppel 26-year-old Eric Koppel

searched up many months of appearances that could lead him to the gas chamber. Even after Eric Koppel confessed, there was still no clue about his motive. Adrian's mom, Arlene Allen, was stunned. That is the burning question. Why? What caused him to lose control still no clue about his motive. Leslie Messerian's mom, Arlene Allen, was stunned. That is the burning question, why? What caused him to lose control and commit these horrible murders?

The answer, says Napa District Attorney Gary Lieberstein, lies in Koppel's relationship with Lily. He wanted Lily to be there for him, and I do think that he was resentful of other friendships that she had. On Halloween night, he got so drunk that an angry Lily refused to spend the night with him at their apartment. He felt his relationship was slipping away with Lily. Koppel found himself all alone on what was supposed to have been his wedding day. Koppel found himself all alone on what was supposed to have been his wedding day.

His memory of what happened next, he told police, is sketchy. He claimed that while he had some memory of leaving his house and taking a knife, he didn't know why he did that. He didn't know how he ended up at the house on Dorset. He remembered smoking the cigarette out front going in the window claimed he remembered being in a bedroom that he was responsible for killing both girls but he claimed his eyes were closed what about the bloody clothes what happened to those his indication was that he recalled going home and starting a fire in his fire pit and burning his his clothing and his shoes what does that say about his state of mind?

It says he knew exactly what he did, and he was doing everything he could to avoid being caught. Koppel told investigators he did not remember what he did with the knife he used to stab Adrian and Leslie. He offered no motive for killing Leslie. Now we're back on the record, people of the state of California versus Eric Matthew Koppel. In order to spare the families the ordeal of a trial, Koppel and the DA struck a deal. Do you plead guilty or not guilty? Guilty Your Honor.

Pleading guilty to two counts of first degree murder, Koppel was spared the death penalty. Good morning Your Your Honor. I'm Arlene Allen. I'd like to thank you for allowing me to speak this morning on behalf of my beloved daughter, Adrienne. At his sentencing, Arlene Allen finally got her chance to confront Eric Koppel.

Eric, you knew Adrienne. She counted you among her friends. And you know me. And Eric, I know you. You are a man who violently stabbed to death the best friend of the woman you love. That is not love, Eric. You cannot love Lily and bring a knife into Adrian's home

and stab her. And stab her again. And again. And again. And again. And again. As Arlene drove home the brutality of his deed, Eric Koppel sat stone-faced. I say to you, Eric, go. Leave this life of friends and family,

of life and love and laughter. There is no place here for you. For while in the coming years, the memory of Leslie and of Adrian will remain clear and shining bright in our hearts, all of our hearts and our minds, you will be forgotten. And when that door closes behind you today as you walk out of this room, I will think of you no more. Thank you, Your Honor. Koppel's demeanor started to change when the final speaker stepped up to the podium. I'm Lily Koppel, Eric's wife.

Lily was given special permission to speak on her husband's behalf. My heart goes out to both Arlene and Kathy and to the rest of their families and friends. I wish with all my heart these events had been avoided. Her expression of sympathy and regret took a quick turn when she spoke directly to her husband. Eric, there is nothing in this world that you could do to make me love you less. I found that a very shocking statement. In the months after the murders, Lily and Arlene had become close, and the words stung. We still bear the scars of losing Adrian and Leslie in such a horrifying way.

Now we must also endure the pain of watching a much-loved and very admirable man spend the rest of his life behind bars. I told myself that there was no way that I could know what she was going through. There was no way I could put myself in her position. what she was going through. There is no way I could put myself in her position. I can say without hesitation that the man who committed this crime is not present in the person or mind of my husband today.

I am praying that we'll survive this, but at this point, it's really unknown. Your Honor, Eric Koppel would like to read a statement. And then it was Koppel's turn. The voice doesn't work. The courtroom waited anxiously as he tried to compose himself. I am a broken man. Oh, that sucks.

A man splintered by a penetrating awareness of my own potential I have caused. I recognize that my sinful deeds have inflicted terrific agony on a great number of people. The words evade me to articulate the depths of my sorrow. I did believe that he was truly, truly remorseful. Those were real tears that he was crying, but not for us. I believe he was crying for himself. The judge only allowed the first minute of Koppel's statement to be recorded, but he went on to say, I was afraid my relationship with Lily,

the singular ray of light in my black world, was in peril of collapsing. I thought to myself, aha, this is why Adrian was killed. In his own tortured mind, Koppel believed Adrian was poisoning Lily against him. If he was in such great fear of losing Lily, a panic would set in. He would have to find a way to keep her. He would have to eliminate the path by which she might escape.

I believe that he saw Adrian as that path, and that is why he killed her. Your Honor, at this time, we're prepared to receive a sentence. Because of the plea deal, Koppel's sentencing was a mere formality. And it is ordered Eric Matthew Koppel is to serve a life sentence without possibility of parole. mere formality. And it is ordered Eric Matthew Coppel is to serve a life sentence without possibility of parole. The case of the Napa murders is solved now. Leslie's life speaks for itself. Leslie's mother, Kathy, refuses to dwell on her grief.

Her 26 years were full and rich. I'm so grateful that I got to be her mom and that she brightened our lives. She was a gift. I sometimes expect to just see her walking in the door. I see her face clearly before me and, you know, I understand just what a loss it is. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.