And That's Why We Drink - E141 Alligator Neck Looping and A Casual Last Minute Seance

Episode Date: October 13, 2019

Remember to wear your motion sickness bracelets this week because our stories are full of twists and turns! Christine is currently buying souvenirs for Em in Canada so we're bringing you one of our fa...vorite live shows - Atlanta! Em covers the wildly haunted Moon River Brewing Company. Meanwhile, Christine whips the crowd into a frenzy over the incredibly tragic murder of Sara Ambrusko and her total dick of a husband. Also, always remember: if you can't beat them at ring toss, you probably can't beat them in a duel... and that's why we drink!Please consider supporting the companies that support us! Go to Legacybox.com/DRINK to get 40% off your first order!For $80 off your first month of HelloFresh, go to HelloFresh.com/DRINK80 and enter DRINK80Go to thirdlove.comDRINK now to find your perfect-fitting bra… and get 15% off your first purchase!Get two months of Skillshare for free when you go to Skillshare.com/DRINK2

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi guys, welcome to episode 141. So things are a little different this week. I'm actually in Halifax with Blaze. He had a conference up here on the weekend of our anniversary, and so I pulled a Christine move and just decided to come with him, whether he liked it or not. So we are spending our anniversary up here in Halifax, and I'm basically spending all my time while he's at the conference souvenir shopping for Em. I'm basically spending all my time while he's at the conference souvenir shopping for M. So this week we are going to release a live episode for you. And we are releasing our episode from Atlanta, which was one of our favorite shows ever. We had a blast. They were fun.
Starting point is 00:00:36 They were loud. And our stories were bonkers. So I hope you guys enjoy the episode. We really like the recording and hope you guys will enjoy it. Otherwise, we will see you soon. I'm going to be back in a couple days and I will be definitely bringing some Canadian souvenirs with me. So next week we'll probably be back on YouTube. So it'll probably be the first time you guys can actually watch us do a little gift exchange. So yeah, check in next week. We'll be back. All right, guys, big hugs from all the way in this very, very chilly part of North America. And I'll see you soon. Bye. Sorry I feel like a kid that's about to give a presentation That he has no idea about
Starting point is 00:01:26 We just flew in from Los Angeles And boy are my arms tired Fun fact, tea was a long time Listen, English is my first language Is the camera home? Whoops Classy with me, Sassy the Clown The clown is showing
Starting point is 00:01:41 Ooh, it's a party Oh, sweet Sassy Finish your drink And that's a funny. Cool. Sweet. That's a good thing. What did you drink? I don't know. And that's why we drink! Holy crap! What the hell? crowd. What the hell? Okay.
Starting point is 00:02:14 Hi. Hello. Hi. I'm amazed. You guys are louder than New Orleans was last night. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said that. I think you're the loudest we've had. Wow. It's really our Gemini egos are being so coddled right now. Hello Atlanta. Careful. I was being really ginger with this. Ginger? Gingerly? I was being, whatever.
Starting point is 00:02:50 You clearly like me before that sentence. Last night I sucker punched myself in the face on stage. It was a very good... And the whole crowd went, ooh. I've been thinking maybe I'm going to start super glowing the mic beforehand just to kind of have it happen again. It was a great moment for me. Anyway. I had to play it off really cool.
Starting point is 00:03:13 I was like, oh, I did that on purpose. Oh, yeah. You looked really, really cool. Don't worry. Whoa. Hello. We're here. We made it.
Starting point is 00:03:21 I'm so happy. I'm so excited. We have been waiting to come here for a very, very long time, so we're very stoked. We've been wondering why we haven't been booked in Atlanta for like probably a year and a half now, so. So thank you. So finally. So this is not my first time here. I've been in love with Atlanta for a very long time. Wow. One of my first high school sweethearts lives in Atlanta now. She's not here, though, so it didn't work out. But I'm very excited to be here.
Starting point is 00:04:03 We usually start with, like, an anecdote about what we've done so far while we're here, but we literally just landed, so I'm going to tell you a story about us in new Orleans instead. Sorry, but it's a good story. It's a good, yeah. Calm down. I heard someone boo. We already gave you a compliment about being better. You forget we have anxiety. No booing. Okay. We won't ever let them forget. So, uh, two quick stories. Well, they're not, neither of them are quick cause it's us. Um, but I, when I was in new Orleans, I was trying to be as touristy as possible. So I went on a swamp tour. Yes. That was a big mistake. It was a, well, it was a big mistake in a lot of ways. So new Orleans on the swamp currently is 113 degrees with 100% humidity. That you can boo.
Starting point is 00:04:48 Yeah. I got off the plane, though, and you guys really aren't that much better here. It's pretty fucking hot. I went by myself because they were like, we're not doing that. Correct. It was 8 in the morning. Yeah, so I woke up early for this, too. And then I had to sit in a boat for two hours without any shade on the swamp.
Starting point is 00:05:07 And it was awesome. And at the end, I didn't know this. Had I known, they'd probably don't tell you because I would have freaked out. But I was sitting in the back because I was like, oh, I'm going to just kind of hang out and be to myself. And next to me was a box the whole time. And at the end, they were like, we're going to do one last thing before we all. You can see where this is going. Before we all get to the dock.
Starting point is 00:05:35 And he opens up the box right next to me and there's a little alligator. And I was like, absolutely not. You're like, that has been a foot and a half for me for two hours. And in hindsight, it was moving around in the box, but I thought it was like the boat moving. And I was like, that's a funny little box making crazy sounds. And so he, the boat driver or the tour guide, he was saying, okay, well, everyone on the boat has an opportunity to hold a little alligator. And I was like, I'll try on principle. You were like, I have an Instagram and I need content. So I guess, and you're going to see it on Instagram later too. So I did it
Starting point is 00:06:22 purely for the gram. And I also, because everyone else had done it and I was last, I didn't want to look like a chicken. So I was like, okay, I'll do it. And, uh, there was one girl after me and both of us were truly doing it for Instagram. And we were like, I don't want to do it. And she was like, I don't want to do it, but we're going to do it. And apparently the rule to hold an alligator, a little baby alligator is like this big. So you, you hold the bottom of its tail in one hand and then the other, you like loop its neck. You like hold its neck. So it's, it can't like thrash around, which is a terrible way to describe something you're about to hold. And so they were like, make sure you do the loop
Starting point is 00:07:01 and you hold it tight. And I was like, okay. And so I held it and I did not enjoy it, but the picture looks pretty dope. And, and then I was going to, we looked at it and Eva was like, oh, he looks so happy. And I was like, oh, M yeah, I guess. And then Eva was like, no, the alligator M doesn't look too, we were both nervously smiling. We were, we were both unsure of the situation. And so I'm holding the alligator, and then the girl after me, I was like, okay, I'm going to hand it to you. But, you know, don't forget, you've got to loop it. You've got to loop the net. And so she's like, I got it. You guys better write this down.
Starting point is 00:07:36 This is quite an instruction manual. And so I was like, I'm going to pass it off. One, two, three, loop. pass it off. One, two, three, loop. Don't, there's gotta be, there's gotta be minimal unlooping because I don't need this thing to, you know, be an alligator and get me. And so she's like, I got it. So I was, she made it sound like she was confident. So I felt kind of confident and I was like, okay, it's all you. One, two, three, go. And she freaked out and I was unlooped, you. One, two, three, go. And she freaked out and I was unlooped, unlooped. And, and the, and the croc or the, not the crocodile, the alligator, the alligator was hanging by its tail in my hand and it was swaying and it was scared and I was scared and the girl supposed to be holding it
Starting point is 00:08:21 was scared and it was trying to grab onto something. So it thought it was going to fall. And so it grabbed my fucking face. And I was like, this is just a nightmare grabbed onto me, tried to like catch itself and kind of fell and then caught itself on my leg. It was just, I'm the opposite of Steve Irwin. I don't know what I'm doing. it was just, I'm the opposite of Steve Irwin. I don't know what I'm doing. Um, and, and I ended up just staring at her the whole time. Like you did this to me. You did this. You know what you did. So she figured out the loop like 10 minutes later. And that's my crock, my alligator story. It was awful. And then the second story we will share is an actual very creepy ghost story that happened to us. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:09:11 I mean, I'm sorry in advance. Well, you get to hear it early because we definitely talked about it on the episode that's coming out Sunday. Oops. We literally just recorded the intro in our hotel room. Yeah. Fun fact. Fun fact. Who taught you that? Um, we had this, we were in, uh, I thought it would be cute to book the most haunted hotel in new Orleans. Um, and not tell us me and Eva,
Starting point is 00:09:39 we just show up and we're like, what is this place? And there's like a whole orphanage died here. You literally walk in and there's this huge, beautiful plaque. And it's like the nun section, the soldier section and the children's section of all the different ghosts. And then they're like, the sixth floor is the most haunted. And I was like, great. We're 604 and 606. So we're going to have a great time. Yep. Uh there was a ghost child in my room. And I don't usually experience this kind of stuff. It was terrible and very scary. So we don't have a lot of ghost equipment. But I was like, you know what? We're going to New Orleans, which is allegedly one of the most haunted places.
Starting point is 00:10:19 And then we're going to Georgia, which is also one of the most haunted places. Let's just bring some stuff. And so we brought an EMF detector and a spirit box. If you've ever watched Zach Bagel Bites, it's when... It's the one that's just the worst sound on earth and just goes like... And then you hear a voice go like, hello. You know? No, you hear a voice go like...
Starting point is 00:10:43 And he's like, did he just say he was the dead plantation owner? Did he just say bagel bites? So. So we brought those. And it started in here. Well, we each had individual rooms. And all of us, the next time we saw each other, was like, oh, yeah, my room's on. There's not a doubt.
Starting point is 00:11:03 That's not. What? Oh, go. Your turn. My turn? Oh my god, you did this to me. Tell the bathroom thing. Yeah. No, the door thing. And then the bathroom thing. Well, I was brushing my teeth and I heard this knocking noise and I was like, god damn it, Em. So I went, sorry. I do have a history of knocking on the door and trying to scare her. Yeah. So it was fair for her to think that at first. So I look in the little people, there's nobody there. I'm like, it must've been another door. So I go back to brushing my teeth and then, uh, I hear another knocking and I'm like, that sounds like my door. So I like put my ear right to the door and it's
Starting point is 00:11:37 like knocking like over and over and over. And so I like look in the people and no one's there. And I'm like, M is around the corner for sure. Just like standing there. But I was too chicken to open the door. So I like called them and I was like, get out of the hallway. And you were like, I'm on the toilet. I was like, I'm busy. Please stop calling me. And I was like, okay. So then you came over and we were talking and somehow we got in the conversation of Linda, which obviously was bound to happen. So here's the thing. When I was little and I was like, I had graduated in my mom's eyes to being able to use my own public stall. Where could this be going?
Starting point is 00:12:18 Who's to say? My mom, she wanted me to be able to use my own stall, but she was afraid that I would, like, wander away, and she was still in her stall, and then I'd be lost. So she had the idea of, whenever we go to the bathroom, I need you to sing. That way I can always know you're in the bathroom, and I don't lose you. So, like, think, like, Boo from Monsters, Inc. Legitimately. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la laimately. La la la, la la la, that one. That was me.
Starting point is 00:12:49 And so I was telling Christine, like, oh yeah, my mom used to make me sing whenever I was on the toilet. Oh yes, and then Em was like, hold on, I have to pee. And I was like, okay, well keep singing. If I don't, like, if I hear you stop singing, I'm going to call 911. Ha ha.
Starting point is 00:13:01 And then, so Em goes into the bathroom and I'm just like sitting on my phone. And all of a sudden, within seconds of Em into the bathroom and I'm just like sitting on my phone. And all of a sudden, within seconds of Em closing the door, this music just starts blaring in my room. And it was so loud. And I was like frozen. And I was like, Em, tell me you hear that. And I'm on the toilet. Like I hear that what's going on. This always seems to happen when you're on the toilet, which, uh, and so I was like, I don't know where that's coming from. Maybe it's the alarm. And so I looked in my iPad, which I hadn't used at all, was just blaring this song I've never heard before by some
Starting point is 00:13:31 creepy band. The album was called like a door through the door or something, a door behind the door. Oh God. And it was like, all that we see is all that we know. And I was like, I don't like this. It was really weird. And it was like, it was on Apple music and you didn't even have an account. I opened Apple music and I was like, you can't play this because you don't have an account. And I was like, well, someone's fucking playing it. I don't know. It's not me. So then it comes out and I was like, that's so weird. And I was like, well, you did tell me to keep singing. And like, I wasn't. So someone finished the song for me. Um, so then I was like, well, let's just get out the EMF detector just to see what happens. Good idea, right?
Starting point is 00:14:11 In my hotel room, by the way. Yeah, I only suggested that because I was not in my room. And so then we started asking questions. The night before, we had actually messed around with the spirit box, and we got the name Michael. And we hadn't put it together in our minds yet, but we figured out that it's a 12 year old boy we later asked if his name was Michael and it was the same person in my room across the hall said yes um he really likes the Flintstones that's a whole thing we found that out because we were like well if he's a 12 year old boy let's's put on a TV show he'll like.
Starting point is 00:14:46 I was like, Peppa Pig? And Em was like, no. I tried to go with something timeless, so we did Flintstones. And then all of a sudden, all the machines stopped doing anything. And we assumed he left the room. And when we turned the Flintstones off, all of a sudden, the meter started going crazy. Like, give me back my TV. And then it occurred to us, like, we just like put cartoons on for a child and then expected him to like continue talking to us. Yeah. He was just in a daze, like any alive child. And then we,
Starting point is 00:15:14 and then we turned it off and he threw a tantrum. He threw a tantrum. But at one point I, you know, my YouTube channel is all messed up though, by the way, it's just like all old episodes of the Flintstones. At one point I was like, Christine, we, by the way. It's just like all old episodes of the Flintstones. At one point, I was like, Christine, we would make good parents. And Christine was like, because we let a ghost watch the Flintstones? What is wrong with you? What is your standard of parenting? But so the next day, we decided to ask more questions.
Starting point is 00:15:44 And then I asked like, oh, did you sleep in the room with us last night? And it said yes. And then I said, did you sleep in Christine's room the room with us last night? And it said yes. And then I said, did you sleep in Christine's room the night before I was here? When she was alone. And it said yes. And then we tried to take pictures with it. Him. Wow, that was fucking rude. Yeah, wow.
Starting point is 00:15:59 Ouch. And that was it. Part of it is like there was a 12-year-old boy in my room, right? And I was like, I can't tell if he's here or not. But I do have to take a shower. So like what is the protocol here? It's a risky little game. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:13 So I was like, guys, what do I do? And Eva's like, just put on the Flintstones. And I was like, uh-huh, okay. So my room was really weird. I feel like our neighbors were like, what the fuck is happening in there? When we were using the meters, we wanted to try to balance it. Um, so we could see it from the other side of the room and we just happened to balance them on all of Christine's bras. And so I was like, this is a 12 year old boy's dream. Third love bras are very sturdy. So they make a promo code drink. Um,
Starting point is 00:16:42 yeah. So we were like, Oh dear God, we've, we realized we've, uh, maybe we're not the best parents. Like we're, we're just nervous that he's followed us. So if anything happens during the show, it's, Oh yeah. And then last night we were talking and I was talking about him. The mic just went out and I was like, Oh dear God, he's here. So we'll see. So if anything happens, let's just blame Michael. Okay, great. Okay. We usually blame Eva. So she's probably in the clear today. Let Eva take a break tonight. Okay. So who wants to go story? I do good. Yeah. I always think it's funny that people cheer for the thing. I, I literally am here for like, what if I, this is the one thing I need to be prepared with. If I came on stage and I was
Starting point is 00:17:25 like, listen, I don't, I don't have that today. Okay. I want to, I want to kind of apologize. What? Real quick. I don't like where this is going. Okay. A lot of you were very wonderful on Twitter when I said, please send me stories. Thank you. Okay. Those two people sent in stories. Those two tweeted me. That's great. Great job. And, uh, the stories were really, really good, but they were like kind of short and I wanted to make sure I gave you like a really like meaty story. And so I, I hope you can forgive me, but I promise it's worth it. I'm doing a story from Savannah, not Atlanta. Okay. I love Savannah great it's so haunted
Starting point is 00:18:08 it's holy shit haunted yeah so with that I'm covering the story of the Moon River Brewing Company what's that it's bananas okay I'm excited also you guys what's that? It's bananas.
Starting point is 00:18:26 Okay. I'm excited. Also, you guys, like I, I kind of, like assumed this would happen because of how haunted this entire state is. But, uh,
Starting point is 00:18:35 sometimes with the stories, it's mainly like history. And then I just tell a couple of ghost stories, but this is more notes than I usually have. And it's basically all ghosts. So, Oh boy. Oh, good. Oh, boy. It's great.
Starting point is 00:18:49 I'm excited. I'll try to get through the history. As much as I love your history lessons. Listen, either you... What did we say last time, like, the Civil War was in, like... God damn it, don't say that. 1945. Not in Georgia, don't say that.
Starting point is 00:19:05 It was a long time ago, let's Don't say that. Not in Georgia. Don't say that. It was a long time ago. Let's just call it that. So the Moon River Brewing Company. It has been on several TV shows and many books and many magazines. Some of the TV shows have been America's Most Haunted Places, PBS Southern Haunts, Ghost Hunters that's on the Sci-Fi Network, which my dad lovingly calls Siffy. um ghost hunters that's on the sci-fi network which my dad lovingly calls siffy um and then of course bagel bites ghost adventures don't do that which we will get to don't worry that was marathoning in my hotel room earlier did you watch the episode which episode this one no
Starting point is 00:19:40 okay good good good good i don't think so i just like, the show was on for the next 12 hours, so. That's prime time right there. We'll have something to do later. So, we don't know what the original building was that was on the property because it was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1820, which apparently, I don't know, fire. Doesn't sound very great, but okay. Well, it apparently was really gnarly. It destroyed nearly every major building in town. Oh my God. Up to 400 or over 400 structures, which is basically two-thirds
Starting point is 00:20:11 of Savannah. Oh dear God. And it became the city hotel. So the city hotel was used by the wealthy and powerful, and it was a hotspot for gamblers and violence between locals and tourists. Fun. Ooh. Ah. It was the... Oh, I forgot to write...
Starting point is 00:20:42 Usually when there's a fun fact coming, I write FF. I forgot to do that. You get a little glimpse into our process. Yeah, if you read these notes, you'd be like, what is going on? Because everything is like that. One time I left mine on stage and this girl came to the meet and greet and was like, I stole your notes off the stage. And I was like, you are not allowed to look at those.
Starting point is 00:21:02 They are very embarrassing. It's like, I'm like talking to myself on them. Like a crazed person. Like a crazed person. Anyway. Uh, so fun fact, the, all right. The city hotel was the first hotel in Savannah. It was, and it was home to Savannah's first branch of the U S post office and the U S bank. Good to know. Okay. The second floor was where the ballroom was, and it was the major social venue in town. The second floor was also where a local named James Stark was shot by the town doctor, Philip Minnies.
Starting point is 00:21:41 That doesn't check out. How does that not check out? The doctor... Oh, okay. I thought I said something wrong for a second. I was like, Oh no, no, that did happen. I don't know if you're saying anything wrong. I'm sure it's all right. No, the doctor shot him. I'll tell you how. Here's the story. Thank God. I was wondering in 1832, uh, James Stark and Philip minis, the doctor, they were playing a game of quoits, which apparently is ring toss. Wait, that's fun. I know. I was very, oh, fun fact. I was very into that. All right, calm down, Em. So the doctor won, and Stark was a sore loser, and so he started talking trash in
Starting point is 00:22:22 the bar and continued harassing the doctor for six more months over a ring-toss game. Oh. Oh, dear. And so Stark said some pretty nasty things, including some very anti-Semitic things. Oh, dear. Okay. So, Dr. Minis, he wrote a letter to Stark asking for a formal apology. Very classy.
Starting point is 00:22:46 Keeping it between themselves and all that. I love that. Requesting a formal apology, but instead Stark challenged him to an old-fashioned duel. What is wrong with these people? If you can't beat him at ring toss, you're not going to beat him in a duel. That is a really good point.
Starting point is 00:23:02 That is a really good point. So apparently the rules of the time where the challenger will choose the time, the place, and the weapon, but the person being challenged can request changes to the terms until the two finally agree. But Georgia law at the time did not allow duels, and so they decided to meet in South Carolina. Oh my god. They made it work. Okay.
Starting point is 00:23:22 Oh my god. They made it work. Okay. So Stark chose to use rifles, but Philip's rifle was apparently being, it was in the shop. And so he asked to switch to pistols and also postpone until the following day. So the story kind of gets muddied here, but either Stark never received the letter and didn't find out that information, or just blindly ignored the information and decided, no, I'm not going to adhere to those rules. We're just going to do it now. So he gets to the spot, and Philip isn't there, and so he thinks that Philip bailed or got too scared. So Stark ends up finding Philip on just in a random part of the world. They did
Starting point is 00:24:07 not mention where, but they end up running into each other. And the next time they do, Stark shoots in the air and calls Philip a coward and just apparently really embarrasses Philip. Oh, that's pretty embarrassing. Yeah. Well, then his friends are like, this guy has been on you for like a year at this point about this stupid ring toss game. Like you've got to do something. Now he's calling you a coward because you couldn't get there. So Philip gets really heated and he ends up going to the hotel and find Stark. When he gets to the hotel, he sees Stark coming down the stairs and shouts, I declare the James Jones Stark a coward and shoots him. James Jones Stark, a coward, and shoots him. He shoots him through his side,
Starting point is 00:24:48 somehow also goes through his heart, out of his scapula, and then the bullet embeds itself in the door. Oh, dear. And then, obviously, Stark dies. Okay. Oh. So that's the story of that.
Starting point is 00:25:01 Okay. Okay. That got dark real quick. I was like, ringtoss. Let's change it up. In 1851, this has nothing to do with the rest of the story, but I found this and I was like, I have to say it. In 1851, the city hotel was bought by Peter Wiltberger. And after he renovated it, he wanted to make sure that he attracted new business and really marketed the place. And so he put on display two live lions. That has everything to do with the rest of the story. I really enjoyed that. It's very interesting. Some might call it an FF. Stop. I still have to
Starting point is 00:25:37 tell my story later. Also in 1864, the hotel closed because apparently violence between, uh, the locals and the tourists were becoming too much. This was also during the Civil War. So there apparently were Northern people coming in and staying in the hotel and then they were being told to get kicked out. And then if they refused not to, they would get beaten up. So it was just getting kind of wild. And the hotel was like, no, we're not going to do this so then after 1864 it became the river battery hospital for confederate soldiers during the civil war and some say uh the the hospital was also used for um like it was used for both northern and southern uh soldiers so there might have been even more deaths in the hospital because they were fighting each other oh my god um The building was also used as a hospital
Starting point is 00:26:25 for patients with yellow fever. Apparently hundreds of not just soldiers but also children died on the upper floors. That seems to be a thing you guys do over here. Yellow fever? Yeah. I don't think anyone on purpose but it does seem to be a common thread. It is like every plaque I read I just see like the the Y and the F. I'm like oh boy here we go. The Y and the F. Yes. I just see like the Y and the F. I'm like, oh boy, here we go. The Y and the F, yes. So since then, the building has been a lumber and coal warehouse,
Starting point is 00:26:51 a storage space, and an office supply store. In 1979, Hurricane David took the building's roof off. Uh-oh. And so they tried to renovate it, but it ended up staying vacant for almost 20 years because no construction could ever get done, allegedly because of the ghosts. Oh. Ooh. What's the next part of my story coming up?
Starting point is 00:27:12 I don't know. So I'm going to say this wrong because I'm not from here. But. Don't worry. They'll correct you. I know. You'll all shout it at once. But I might not be able to hear it.
Starting point is 00:27:23 Just warning you. So it stayed vacant for almost 20 years until 1995 when it was then bought by the Oglethorpe Brewery. I'm just going to do that later. Like, oh, I'm going to say this wrong and then say it right. So everyone cheers. Like puppy dog. Is that right? Did I say it right? Okay. So the Oglethorpe Brey uh bought the place and tried again to begin major renovations um but the ghosts would not let them work so that is all the history now we're just going to talk about ghosts great so it gets wild okay so employees tell visitors not to taunt the ghosts because uh uh, with all of the deaths, the violent deaths that have happened there, there is a very, uh, likely chance that the
Starting point is 00:28:11 ghost will be violent to you. Oh, um, one of the bar owners named Jean Biko, he has said, quote, I have seen and experienced those that I don't understand and can't explain. Ooh. Ah, um, the other bar owners, apparently a little more skeptical. So I do want to like give the story both sides, but I'm going to listen to James here. I don't know. I'm trying to pretend I'm fair on this, but, but it's a haunted place. Uh, so Savannah, as you probably know, it has been ranked many times as the most haunted city in America um and the I don't know what that that was a weird reaction cool um and if that is correct uh and people say that the Moon River Brewing Company is the most haunted building in Savannah okay if those two things are both right then that means this is the most haunted building in the country okay wow is the okay so moon river was not famous for its ghosts i mean they people knew
Starting point is 00:29:15 it was haunted but it was not this famous for its ghosts until 2005 when uh the siffy network had uh the had a ghost hunters halloween. Apparently they were the first people to document anything on camera. And that's when this just like blew up and became super haunted or well-known haunted. Um, so some of the experiences here, there is a police officer who saw a union soldier from the torso up standing next to him. Good. Uh, during construction, these are all out of order. I don't care. Um, during construction tools go missing. Uh, workmen get pushed off ladders. Um, pretty much anything that can make the construction like go wrong happened. Um, there'd be ladders would just go
Starting point is 00:29:58 missing. They would just decide, no, you can't work anymore. Nope. Nope. Um, across the hallway, decide, no, you can't work anymore. Nope. Nope. Um, across the hallway, employees have seen little girls walking by on the other end of the building. The there's a pool table and the balls roll around on their own and always go missing if you leave the room. So you'll put them all out and they'll all just be gone. Um, the, Oh, women have been scratched. There are reports of something grabbing your neck and your face. It's that stupid alligator again. That's all I can think about. If it's an alligator, I can confirm that happens sometimes.
Starting point is 00:30:41 You're projecting, that's all. A visitor looked like he, So, a story of this. A visitor looked like he actually walked through a spiderweb, according to a tour guide. It looked like he was freaking out. And then he explained later that someone had a hold of his head, neck, and shoulders and would not let go. Oh, God. Firm pass. I would say I want my money back on that tour. So, a bunch of people just drank for that.
Starting point is 00:31:04 Maybe we should add it to the rules. Oh, when I said firm pass? Sure. If you want to get more drunk, go for it. All right. Visitors have also been locked into bathroom stalls. They've also been locked in there until they are panicking and then scream, let me out, and then the door flies open on its own.
Starting point is 00:31:27 Um, something likes to squeeze thighs. Oh, so beware. Oh my one girl at the bar or one girl on a tour of the bar, um, asked why she saw a woman in victorian not victorian you know just 1800s period costume uh asked why she was there if they had hired someone to reenact during the tour
Starting point is 00:31:52 and they said no nobody like that should be here and apparently she followed everyone on the tour so she thought that it was part of it oh dear during uh oglethorpe Brewery's construction, the spirits tried to push the foreman's wife down the stairs and succeeded. Oh yeah. You really buried the lead there. Yeah. I realized I was like, it's more tragic than that. Okay. Wow. There's a glowing white apparition seen on the upper floors of the restaurant. People have been slapped so hard that handprints are on them the next day. Oh my god! Someone's laughing a little too loud at that.
Starting point is 00:32:34 It was like a cackle, too, yeah. It was like a, ah, finally! Stark has been heard on EVPs where he has given voices, laughter, people have heard his pistol, and rattling glasses. What? Like glasses. I thought you meant these kind. I was like, I don't know what that is.
Starting point is 00:32:59 Just like the woman on the tour said, people have witnessed a woman in 1800s dress seen walking up and down the stairs. Sometimes she will stop on the stairs and stare at you. Super. People have seen orbs, shadows, heard whispers, heard footsteps. They've seen objects break. Their equipment has failed on investigations. Temperature changes.
Starting point is 00:33:18 The doors slam shut. Pretty much all the good stuff. And then a woman has also been seen at the top of the stairs walking around as if she's lost. And so the manager will go up and say, do you need help? And she'll just vanish in front of you. There have been strange mists caught on camera and someone lurking behind the pool table. And they think that that could be Toby. So let's talk about Toby. Toby, that sounds a lot less ominous than a shadow lurking in the just wait okay so spoke too soon um people have had spirits follow them home
Starting point is 00:33:55 including an attachment of a poltergeist uh which may or may not be toby. He lives in the basement. Good. Start. He's the most famous ghost at the bar or at the brewing company. I don't know what it is. Is it a bar? Brewery? Cool.
Starting point is 00:34:16 It's a bar. Cool. People make and drink beer there and stuff. Cool. So he apparently walks around the area of the pool table and he uh he is one of the people that apparently likes to steal the pool balls apparently he's also been very violent some might say he's demonic in nature and has caused partial possessions he likes to attack people and has appeared as a black fog. One of the operations managers named Chris has said, I've been sitting in my office before and had bottles thrown at me off the shelf.
Starting point is 00:34:52 I've had shadows walking by me and I've heard little kids playing that aren't really there. Apparently he's also heard his name called when he's alone and he's seen shadows standing right next to him. Good. Yay good yay wait tell me you're gonna get to why his name is toby no i don't have that for you you're like he's a demonic shadow figure named toby i don't know who picked toby but it really makes you think you're safer than you are uh disarming one uh bartender named chase said that, I watched a girl walk through the back door and then walk up to the bar. She looked fuzzy at first, but got clearer as she got closer. And then she seemed to fade out towards the arms and the legs.
Starting point is 00:35:37 The girl looked like she was going to order a drink. And then all of a sudden she was gone. So the weird thing about this, I, uh, I got this quote from one place and then saw it in a video in another place. This bartender also said that it was a busy night on a Saturday and nobody else saw this except for another, uh, bartender. So there are two people who confirmed that they saw it and they were both freaking out that apparently they saw someone that they thought was in reenactment attire walking up to them, but she was like, you could see through her limbs. And then she just, and then she just went away. She's like, nevermind. Um, yeah, multiple people saw it. So there's been multiple confirmations of that
Starting point is 00:36:19 instance. I only saw this in one spot. This was on a paranormal blog by Lynn Sutherland Olson, but I wanted to mention it because it sounded pretty cool. There was a former manager that actually went upstairs one day in one of the unused rooms and found an antique desk that nobody had ever put there before. What? And was not originally there. It was in a back room on the second floor,
Starting point is 00:36:43 and only staff had access to that room, but none of them would have a reason to put that desk upstairs in their place of work. There was no reason for it to be there. The staff noticed that there was odd writing and symbols and backwards letters written in the dust. And so the manager was like, I'm going to write a message back. Was the manager was like i'm gonna write a message back was the manager you like why on earth i would not do that unless you said it was okay um there it is so he tried to write something in the dust but apparently the the dust was so thick and sticky that it had hardened to the desk what the fuck which makes you wonder how there was anything written in it to begin with or it was written and then like over time got oh yeah yeah good point
Starting point is 00:37:37 thank you well then they went back to see it again later and weeks later all the dust had vanished it was like a perfectly clean desk. But they never figured out where the dust was from? No. Did it stay there? They were just like, well, that's here now. That is bizarre. I'd rather know less at this point.
Starting point is 00:37:58 That's bizarre. There's a tour guide named Carl who has said that he has felt choked. He's also felt like someone quote was pouring ice cold water down his back. Um, apparently he then heard footsteps and nobody was there, but quote, it sounded like they walked right past me and I felt a chill. So Carl had a bad day that day. Uh, classic Carl. I'm sorry. I heard heard like classic i heard like three people whisper like gonna be like whisper it is a carl with a k just so we're clear it just like carried through the audience so moon river did a paranormal giveaway at one point like a contest what uh with what is that
Starting point is 00:38:40 ghost hunt weekends and the winner got their own investigation, a behind-the-scenes tour, a private lunch with the investigators they would be working with. They got to see off-limit areas, do photo ops, have a VIP lounge access. They would have a mixer with the investigators. They would get merch and a year of discounts on future ghostly experiences. Oh, my. Sounds like a blast. Yes. It's over now, though. and a year of discounts on future ghostly experiences that the company held. Sounds like a blast.
Starting point is 00:39:07 Yes. It's over now, though, so... Someone else enjoyed it. But there is a special event that is held sometimes called The Haunting, which apparently is a private tour of the second floor where you can explore the back area that's usually off-limits to tours. They give informal seances,
Starting point is 00:39:24 which I don't know about that informal i'd prefer it as professionally done as possible pull out all the stops please yes but i don't want someone being like that's kind of what you're supposed to do who knows what'll happen if you fuck up casual last minute seance no thanks um that's us in my room propping it on the that's the emf detector last night yeah uh-oh anyway oh apparently um on the haunting events guides will also hand out stones and put guests in a salt circle to protect you so you get like the full experience but an informal one all right naturally uh you also can have no cameras or lights on you have to sign a liability waiver
Starting point is 00:40:06 uh that's never good for the mystere yes yes so we all know and love buzzfeed unsolved so they went there and uh they the only things that they got were that they heard a whisper they heard clear male voices and then oh where'd where'd I go? There you are. And then, uh, during a spirit box session, they said, use this device to talk to us. And they got the response. Never. Which is ironic, but I love that. So don't tell me what to do. So that's only a casual seance. It's just, it's just an informal investigation. You're not the boss of me. So I watched that first, and I was like, oh, it doesn't sound like there was really anything going on.
Starting point is 00:40:51 That's kind of weird. And then I watched Ghost Adventures. Well. Well, you know. Well. So there's two experiences that I will tell you about. I told you the BuzzFeed Unsolved, and now I'll tell you the Ghost Adventures, and I bet the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Starting point is 00:41:08 So usually I try to give like a, like a quick synopsis of Ghost Adventures, but this episode, I kind of have to tell you the whole episode because it's, I'll do it like with, like with entertainment value so you're not just bored out of your mind,
Starting point is 00:41:22 but you need to hear some of this shit because it's pretty cool. Okay. Immediately. Dun dun. That's the entertainment value you get. It's like cold open. It starts where cold open cuts of black. Okay. So, uh, please cut to black and I'd be happy. Thank zach bagel bites he he feels the jolts of electricity at the exact same time that nick sees a solid white apparition walk around the corner good i'm going right into the this isn't even the investigation actually this is when they're doing like the interview part and then like sometimes every now and then something happens. But, like, stuff happened immediately, as soon as they got there. So, Jolt of Electricity,
Starting point is 00:42:10 Nick sees something go around the corner, so Zach tries to follow it. He is, like, on another level in this episode, because usually he's acting rough and tough, and this one, he was, like, ready to, like, fuck someone up. He was, like, who is it? So, he was, like, he, like ready to like fuck someone up he was like who is it so he was like he like got a new haircut or something or just came from the gym he was feeling himself new pair of acid wash jeans that really highlighted the yeah he was feeling really good so yeah he was on top of it he was just like literally sprinting around and like, and the guy he's interviewing is like, so the guy he's interviewing is bar owner, uh, Jean Biko, who did say like, there's definitely stuff here. And in, in the show he does bless you in the show. He does say like, like this guy's uncomfortable to be down there to begin with. He's like, this place is haunted
Starting point is 00:43:04 in a way you do not know. Like, I don't want to fuck down there to begin with. He's like, this place is haunted in a way you do not know. Like, I don't want to fuck around with this. He even tells the camera operator at some point, he's like, I'm not going to tell Zach where he should be looking. If Zach's the real deal, he'll find it. Okay. His production team will figure it out. I have a hunch he told the camera operator operator and the camera operator went, Zach.
Starting point is 00:43:34 So he's like, okay, I'm not going to tell him. He's clearly like, he's sensing something. He's on the prowl. We're going to let him do his thing. He's on the prowl. Yeah. So he ended up, I don't know how he did find the spot that apparently this guy was like keeping a secret. He was like, wow, you found the spot. And then had a sit down with him and was like, listen, when you came in here, I wasn't sure about you. But you passed the test because you found the fixed, the filled up tunnel.
Starting point is 00:44:00 So there's a tunnel under the building. It's been totally patched up. You can't go through. tunnel. So there's a tunnel under the building. It's been totally patched up. You can't go through. But apparently this thing that Nick probably saw, then Zach was like harassing was, it led him to this tunnel. So, uh, Zach is like, well, we should go find an open tunnel because apparently it's connected to this building. And apparently there are tunnels all throughout Savannah because during yellow fever, people thought that yellow fever was in the air. So they were using the tunnels to walk around.
Starting point is 00:44:27 Oh dear God. So he was like, let's go find a tunnel. So then they find him literally hopping a fence in trespassing. And then- Checks out. If you can only watch one part of this episode, I hope it's this part
Starting point is 00:44:38 because he hops over it, finds what he thinks is the opening to a tunnel. It ends up being like a crawl space only, so it's blocked off pretty shallow in. But he's like, something's alive in here. And it's a cat. Who hates him. He's very intuitive, though, to figure that out.
Starting point is 00:45:03 The second the cat saw him, the cat fucked him up. Oh, my. We're going to get sued. I never said that was a good, bad, funny, awful thing. Me neither. You guys are fucked up. I'm just saying the cat hates him. That's all.
Starting point is 00:45:27 And the cat was like, and like, like got him. And then he looks over at Aaron and Nick and goes, did you get that? I love that they kept that part in the show too. Like it's my favorite episode so far. Please go watch it. I'm sure it'll be on tonight. So you can come back to my room with this EMF. So, oh, where is this? Where's the cat? Okay, here. Okay. So, uh, later he is having another interview and then he has this other moment of realization where there's another hotspot that no one's told him about, but he knows he's got to go there. So he's running all over the exact same part of the house he was looking at earlier finds another hot spot because the bar owner goes son of a bitch he did it again he found it okay all right i'll take it uh so apparently this was an area where
Starting point is 00:46:18 toby has been seen a lot oh toby forgot about him and there's a woman there that, uh, named Christina. Oh, who has been attacked there. So they interviewed Christina. They interviewed Christina and she said, I was coming down that hallway. And when I got here, it was as if there was a physical presence on my neck,
Starting point is 00:46:38 which threw me back, pushing me back. I was choking and coughing. I could not breathe. I'm going to stop complaining about that ghost child watching the Flintstones. This is so much worse. We had it pretty easy. Yeah. I am enjoying it fully. Thank you.
Starting point is 00:46:52 In the same spot where Christina was attacked, there was a bartender who says, quote, I was standing at the bar and all of a sudden I see something come out of the wall. It creeped out and then it just knelt down and stared at me for a good five minutes. Ew, it knelt down.
Starting point is 00:47:08 There's something about when they, like, crouch or, like, crawl or kneel. Yeah. It's like, are you going to pounce or are you just there? Do I crouch now? What is this? Dance. Are you just, like, prepping for the ring toss? It's like, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:47:24 I'm thinking of other reasons to crouch and somehow that one. There's not many. There's not. The bartender says, it was just this black, foggy, creepy thing. This was not a human by any means. This thing is evil. Oh, God. So even though explicitly asked not to taunt the ghosts by the staff,
Starting point is 00:47:48 Zach says, and I quote, well, we're going to rowdy them up. No bullshit. I'm just being honest with you. He has like cat scratches like across his face. He has a vendetta now. He's just pissed. So ten minutes into the lock-in, like, it's still light outside, and Zach is listing out the X cameras, so if you have watched the show, the X cameras are whenever they find out what a hotspot is, they'll lie down a giant X on the ground so they know later when they're prepping all the equipment where to leave
Starting point is 00:48:18 static night vision cameras to look into the room all night and have it recording the entire time. So, he was listing all the locations that they were going to put cameras and while he was doing that um they heard a loud dragging sound directly above them so sprints upstairs this is the most athletic i've ever seen anybody he is just olympic sprinting in the stairs. In the jeans, right? In the acid wash jeans. Yes, he's in the jeans. His gelled back hair almost has a breeze to it.
Starting point is 00:48:50 No. Impossible. And he screams in a way I've never heard him scream. Who's up here? I demand you to tell me who is up here now. Nothing happens. So then he sits down. I guess they were going to like re-film this. So he's trying to list them out again, all of the cameras and where they're going to be placed.
Starting point is 00:49:15 So he's going through the list. And then at the end, he says, this time I wasn't interrupted, but I'm coming after you and we're not scared. So then they actually find some pretty creepy stuff. They hear some weird noises. They have an EVP session. They hear a disembodied laugh in real time, not just it being recorded and they heard it later. They heard the laugh as it was happening. They investigate the stairwell. They all feel
Starting point is 00:49:37 really icy cold and then Zach stands on top of the stairs with his arms spread open and dares the ghost to push him. No. No. No. And then you hear an EVP was later recorded of someone saying, don't do that.
Starting point is 00:49:55 Are you serious? Yeah. Even they're like, ugh. Do you think that was one of the production assistants outside on a walkie-talkie? Like, just hold it up to the, just tell him to please stop throwing himself down the stairs. Like, we'll call it a ghost, whatever it takes to get him off the stairs.
Starting point is 00:50:12 It's just not a good idea. So then he says, let's go, let's see it, do it. And then. Was that verbatim quote? Yeah. Okay. We want to make sure we give credit where credit is due. Yeah, quote, Zach Bagans. verbatim quote yeah okay make want to make sure we give credit where credit is due yeah quote
Starting point is 00:50:25 zach bagans so then there's a another evp saying i don't wanna and then later an evp of a maniacal laugh kind of like the one over there earlier yeah oh then there was an they did an ovulus session which if you have listened to me talk about this, I fucking love the Obulus. It's the spirit box that sounds like Microsoft Sam. We need it. And so, um, they don't use it for really too much, but it, it was pretty accurate right away. Starting off very tame. Uh, they accidentally walk on top of a water bottle or they come across a water bottle. And so Aaron goes, that's a water bottle. And then the obvious says water. It's like a weird fever dream. Like that's a water bottle. And then the equipment all goes out for a second. Oh, that's not good. Okay. It really gets Zach in a little twist. So he decides he's going to lift a ladder in the air.
Starting point is 00:51:27 Good, good. And he leans it up against the wall and goes, We're going to renovate. And then he's holding the ladder and he goes, Aaron, did you get that? Aaron, start renovating. Oh, God. You guys, if you're like, why is this girl being such a bitch to Zach Bagans?
Starting point is 00:51:53 He blocked me on Twitter one time. It's a whole thing. I'm just bitter. I'm just bitter. I promise. One day if we were to ever meet him in real life, we'll have so much to apologize for. We'll be like, it's just because of Twitter. It's a thing.
Starting point is 00:52:08 I'm just an accomplice. This is like seven years ago, and I'm still clearly holding a grudge. So, anyway, he throws this ladder against the wall. Sure. And then the obelisk says, remove. And then he says, remove what? And then the obelisk said, steps. Oh. Ladder. Forgot the then the obvious said steps oh ladder forgot the word for ladder it didn't know the word that's okay that's okay and then uh zach said what if we
Starting point is 00:52:32 don't what are you gonna do and the obvious said yell to which to which zach was like i don't give a shit about that go actually he was probably like great yeah yeah that would be well then minutes later they got an evP of a man screaming. Oh, well. Then, this is the last part, but it's super juicy. At 3 a.m., Nick feels hands on his back and sees orbs and unexplained footsteps at the same time in an empty room nearby on a camera that's filming. So, okay.
Starting point is 00:53:02 I was about to take a drink, and I was like, I need to wait. So he feels something on his hands, right? Then there's, like, more activity going on in a room nearby. Things are starting to pick up. It's literally 3 a.m., the witching hour. And then in the basement, they all see something run by, and they all feel cold enough that whoever's holding the camera in this shot is, like, freaking out.
Starting point is 00:53:23 So you go on that fucking ride. Wear your motion sick bracelets they really work and then both nick and zach's cam cameras fail and aaron's camera is the only one that's still working and he catches an orb flying into the back of nick's head which if you have watched ghost adventures is usually a sign of an upcoming partial possession because the energy is going into your body no so so let's talk about that so great so first you would think okay so this thing has already set its eyes on on nick going to possess nick and then it's like maybe i won't piss anyone off or maybe i won't bother anyone else. And then Zach opens his mouth and says, and I quote, Toby, are you that little bitch that keeps... But it's stuff like that where I'm like, yeah, what the fuck is wrong with this guy? To be fair, all of the cuss words are bleeped out, but I'm going to guess that I know what he's saying.
Starting point is 00:54:25 Toby, are you that little bitch that keeps attacking women here uh then he i think i took this part out but he said something about calling him like a little fuck and then okay and then says come over here and i'll just smack you i'll just smack you he says it twice so then toby's like oh yeah i was going after nick but now i'm going after both of them. So then Nick and Zach both feel incredible pain in the back of their heads, which is so tender they can't even touch their heads. And there are orbs nearby them caught on the camera. They hear knocking behind them, and then you can see Nick's energy totally change. And then he begins staring at the camera and Zach very creepily. Zach goes, you look weird.
Starting point is 00:55:05 And then... That's a water bottle. This is a really good show, by the way. And yet we watch it, like, every night. He says, snap out of it, turn around and face them. And then very shortly after, a foggy black shadow moves away from him and Nick comes to and it's clear that he had blacked out
Starting point is 00:55:25 and doesn't remember anything. Nick then later on talks about the experience and says, I just started to fade away, just black out. All I remember is voices in my head saying, kill them, kill them, kill them. What the fuck?
Starting point is 00:55:41 So that's, even if it's not true, I don't want to be around nick in that basement so valid point so this is the last thing and i thought this was just bananas and i don't know why i didn't find it in any other article but there is a website called savannahitc.com and apparently they're their own paranormal team investigative team and they write about all their experiences. Are you, like, here? Are you a part of it? Are you here? No, I got excited. I heard, like, two specific woos. Okay, go look at their website and look at, if you want to listen to these, I'm about to read out some EVPs that they got.
Starting point is 00:56:16 If you want to listen to them, they are creepy, so it's savannahitc.com if you want to go look at them up later. So apparently they created their own device where you can hear EVPs in real time, but not like Microsoft SAN. You can literally hear what you would hear. The EVP you would hear later where it's like kind of a weird whisper, you hear that in the moment that it's happening. And then they, you know, film their conversations and they had some videos up. So I just want to read a couple that were super creepy in the basement i guess the investigator's name was david and he was talking to a spirit named holly who i also did not know about anywhere else but i guess they've figured out that one of the
Starting point is 00:56:54 spirits names is holly and the machine is saying in real time to him david help me. And David says, is Holly here? And the machine says, yes, talk to Holly. What the hell? David says, Holly? And the machine goes, yes. And then David says, I came to visit you. And the machine says, thank you. Polite.
Starting point is 00:57:23 And then David says, how many people died down here and holly says 78 what wait that's a very specific oh and then he says how many were children and she says 75 and then he says 75 and she says yes this is like a tea party but like really awkward yes also in on the third floor they uh did another they use that device again and apparently it's called an rtevp a real-time electronic voice so on the third floor they they said why does this room feel so sad? And the machine said, lots of children died here. Help us, David. What? That whole thing?
Starting point is 00:58:12 That whole thing. And then David says, would you talk to me? And the spirits say, David, we've been talking for a while. Don't make me a fool. I'm dead, not stupid. Our tea party is over. Thank you. This is not good.
Starting point is 00:58:30 I don't enjoy that. So then he says, what happened? And the machine says, I died. Okay. And then David says, did you touch me? And the machine says, the ghosts will harm you. Will harm you? Will harm you? Will harm you.
Starting point is 00:58:46 Oh, no. I don't know if this was a nice ghost warning him about other ghosts. I don't know. I didn't get the context. But he says. I mean, there's 75 children in that room. He says, is the little girl here? And the machine says, you know we are.
Starting point is 00:59:02 What the fuck? we are. What the fuck? And then they got another EVP randomly of who they assume is Stark whispering the word coward. So that is the story of the Moon River Brewing Company. Oh my god.
Starting point is 00:59:19 It's a lot. Holy shit. Thank you. It's a lot. Holy shit. Thank you. That was a trip. Those bananas. Yeah. That was a creepy one.
Starting point is 00:59:36 That was a good one. Yeah, that was a good one. Yes, it was very creepy. All right. Oh, my. Woo, woo, woo. Woo, woo, woo. I can't tell if you're cheering for Em or me now. You guys.
Starting point is 00:59:53 All right. Hello, everyone. I have a murder story for you. Now, unfortunately slash fortunately, bless you, unfortunately slash fortunately, I had a lot of options to choose from for this evening. Yes, thank you. It's super great. I found a story. So I was bummed because I had already done like the Axeman of New Orleans and all those kind of classic ones. But I found this story via somebody on Twitter and watched all sorts of creepy oxygen episodes about it. So let's talk about it.
Starting point is 01:00:38 This is the story of the murder of Sarah Ambrusco by her husband, Fred Tokars. The Murder of Sarah Ambrusco by her husband, Fred Tokars. So I, like I said, watched a couple episodes. The one I used mostly was the show called Abusive Power on Oxygen, which is a very good show, actually. And then Atlanta Magazine. I found a couple of podcasts, which I was kind of excited about. One was called Assassinations. And the other one, which maybe probably some of you have heard of, but I was very excited to discover it, is Southern Fried True Crime. I feel like I've listened to it a
Starting point is 01:01:17 little bit before a long time ago, but I kind of rediscovered it. I'm very happy about it. Wait, my sources, just so we're clear, because I don't want to get sued either. We're Zach Bagans. We're ghost adventures and the first three pages of Google. Yeah. Don't sue us. Okay. Um, let's just go. Cause this is a trip and there's a lot to tell you. Okay. Sarah Ambresco. She was born in 1953, raised, uh, as the middle of seven children in a traditional Catholic family in upstate New York. I promise we go to Atlanta later. Uh, in 1980, when she was 27, she was working as an elementary school teacher in Florida when she met her Florida. Oh my! Well, guess what happened there? It was great.
Starting point is 01:02:07 She met her husband, a fitness instructor, on the beach. So that's fun. That's real neat. Yeah. That wasn't even like totally relevant. I just was like, that's cool, I guess. I'm going to tell you about it. So the two of them moved to Atlanta together,
Starting point is 01:02:23 and Sarah began working, um, in like the nightclub scene, but in marketing and public relations, which I was like, that's kind of cool. Yeah. Yeah. In the eighties, that must've been a trip anyway. So she's really good at her job, but she's kind of like, okay, you know, I'm heading toward 30. I don't love this like fast paced nightlife scene and the drugs, alcohol. Uh, and she's like, I want heading toward 30. I don't love this fast-paced nightlife scene, the drugs, alcohol. And she's like, I want to start a family. But unfortunately, less than a year into their marriage,
Starting point is 01:02:52 Florida fitness guy and she divorced. Womp, womp. Oops. And this was devastating. Whoops. This was very devastating because she was raised in a very, very Catholic household. And so she was like, shit, I fucked up. But probably she didn't swear because of the Catholic
Starting point is 01:03:13 thing. Right. So she's 30 at this point. She's like very sad about her divorce. And she's like, I just really want to have kids and have a family, and one night she's watching the local news when she sees somebody that she recognizes on TV. So Florida man, no. Good guess, though. Florida fitness instructor, no. It's like his infomercial. It's like selling a CD. No. So they, okay. So she sees someone she recognizes and the guy's name is Fred Tokars. He's an up and coming prosecutor in Atlanta, kind of like a local hot shot. He's really young, like new on the scene. And she's like, why does this guy look familiar? So it turns out the two of them had actually grown up together in Buffalo. And although they weren't friends, like at the time, they kind of had mutual friends.
Starting point is 01:04:08 They had a similar upbringing. And so just, like, on a whim, she calls him up. What's his name? Fred Tokars. Okay. And they go on a date. One thing leads to another. And within the year, they're married.
Starting point is 01:04:21 So that's kind of a cool, like, story for now. Round two. Sorry about it. Um, I guess get like all the really good emotions in now while you can, because it just gets worse. I hope you had fun laughing. Yes. It's over now. We've peaked right now. Okay. So this guy, Fred, he's sort of sort of uh like a hometown hero moved to the big city um his career as a prosecutor is taking off and sarah is kind of taken by this whole like good guy versus evil he's putting people in jail and you know she just loves like the kind of hero thing he has going on so sarah sees this as a second chance and they get married and move to an affluent suburb of Atlanta called East Cobb I think is that right great and nobody from there is here
Starting point is 01:05:16 I both love it and hate it depending on who is asking we love love it. We do? Okay. Super. It's fun to get screamed boo all the time. It's super good. I thought we warned you, but okay. Just kidding. Sarah gets pregnant five months after their wedding and is thrilled. She's like, this is what I wanted.
Starting point is 01:05:39 I want to have kids and have a family. She tells Fred, you know, I want to leave my like nightclub job to stay home and care for our new son. But he says, Nope, absolutely not. My wife will work and have her own career and be independent, which I'm like, you just kind of erase that by demanding that she do what she doesn't want to do, but okay. I demand you be independent. Yes, exactly. but okay. I demand you be independent. Yes, exactly. So not great. Um, so she's like, okay. So she really struggles with like being a mom, raising the kids by herself mostly cause he's, you know, working crazy long hours and, uh, working at the same time because her husband forced her to. Um, so that's good. Uh, she reluctantly goes back to work. And meanwhile,
Starting point is 01:06:23 Fred kind of hits like a financial ceiling, he feels like, and he wants to make the big bucks. And he's like, I need to kind of change career paths. So what he does is he leaves prosecution to open his own law practice and begins working as a criminal defense attorney, which means he's now protecting the people that he used to put away, if that makes sense. Got it.
Starting point is 01:06:44 Yes. So a lot of these people were like big time drug dealers of the time, um, other criminals in the area. And around this time, Fred decides to install an office in the basement of their home. And he tells Sarah, you are not allowed to go in there, but be independent and make your own choices. That's so hot when you decide things for yourself, but don't you fucking disobey me. Don't you step one foot in my office. So that's really nice. Um, by 1988, Fred is already like a big shot. He has been appointed a part-time judge, mostly because he has like government
Starting point is 01:07:21 connections, like through friends. it's just pretty wild um and sarah at this point becomes pregnant with their second child a boy they named mike and uh so this like the 80s were what i think we all thought michael mike oh he's here oh god i need to stop joking about that i'm gonna be so scared when i'm home alone it's gonna be so funny when he like jumps on the bed later or something yeah yeah oh yeah what she did last night we forgot to mention oh i forgot to mention that i was like everything kind of was over and we were like okay we fly out tomorrow and i was just watching my ipad in my room i should have known about the ipad but i was watching the ipad in my room and I should have known about the iPad, but I was watching the iPad in my room and just like watching Netflix. And, uh, all of a sudden I'm like, Oh, Junie's here. Like my cat. And I'm
Starting point is 01:08:10 like, Oh, he jumped. And then I looked, I was like, wait, that can't be right. Something just like, bam, landed on my legs. And I was like, good night. And I put on my cat mask and went to sleep. good night and I put on my cat mask and went to sleep. So I didn't love that, but here we are. So you do the exact opposite whenever something happens where you're like, I'm going to put on a sleep mask so I can see even less of what's about to happen. And I'm like, whoa. And Em's like, here, I'm going to take selfies. Will you be in them? And I'm like, stop doing that. You crazy person. Do it for the gram. What up? How well has that worked out for you so far? Not yet. One day though. Not yet. Oh no. Oh no. Okay. There's another kid. Let's not talk about his name. Okay. So new laws are,
Starting point is 01:08:59 so this is the eighties in Atlanta. I bet you it was a wild time. Yes, you guys were there. Okay. So new laws were being put into place to help curb the illegal drug trade in and around Atlanta. And this actually really hurt business at local nightclubs, you know, for obvious reasons. So Sarah lost her job. And she was actually like kind of happy. She's like, you know what, this probably meant to be, I do want to stay home with the kids. But was pissed and it was not her fault obviously but he was just not happy with her being home to raise the kids I don't know why but he started to become just a very very bad man so uh he grew increasingly distant and Sarah began to realize, like, this is not what I expected. This is not, like, the family life I wanted.
Starting point is 01:09:49 But she didn't know exactly how bad it actually was at this point. So Congress had passed these, like, money laundering laws that were tracing the movement of large sums of cash that were, you know, I know law. I studied law, you know. i promise i'm somewhat educated okay english is your second language that's correct that used to be a rule in the game we should probably reinstitute that listening to a lot of old live shows to know the old drinking games. We appreciate that. Right. So this is what happens when I try to go off script. Like I wrote a very coherent sentence and I'm like I'll explain it.
Starting point is 01:10:33 It doesn't work. So basically they were the government was tracking illicit drug sales and Fred, his job at this point literally was teaching drug dealers how to circumvent the laws and helping them move large amounts of money into offshore accounts so the irs couldn't trace them um and he basically stepped into fully stepped into the criminal
Starting point is 01:10:56 world and at this point sarah was like he's probably doing some shady shit but she didn't realize quite how bad it was she's like it might it might be fine. Who knows? It might be fine. It might be okay. Please, God, let it be fine. It was not. Spoiler alert. Okay. So one day, here's an example. Their oldest son, whose name is Ricky, he's three at this point, was playing around in the family car when he discovers a pistol under the floorboard of the passenger seat.
Starting point is 01:11:24 So he walks up to his mom and says, mommy, what's this? That's good. Uh, yeah. And she was like, things are getting out of hand. My suspicions were true. Um, I don't think we should be married anymore. So she's like, I want a divorce. And Fred says, she's like, I want a divorce. And Fred says, Nope, you can't do that. You are an independent woman and you cannot do that. And you deserve your freedom with me. Yes. Yeah. But not in my office. So he says, if you try and leave me, I will take everything, including the children and you will never see them again. And so, you know, a dick. Yes, correct. That is, that is exactly how I would put it. Um, and considering how high profile he is and all the people he knows, including like the government, local government and cops, and also the criminal side of things. She's like,
Starting point is 01:12:17 well, I probably can't fight him. Um, and I don't want to lose my kids. So she backs down for now, but she's also kind of like, I'm going to keep my eye open for anything that can kind of be an out of the marriage. Got it. So Fred takes a turn for the worse at this point. And he tights. So after she asked for a divorce, he becomes even more abusive. He tightens his control over her, puts her on an extremely tight budget. The budget was $400 a week, which
Starting point is 01:12:45 seems like okay, but he expected her to pay all the household bills, food, everything for the children, medical bills, etc. on that $400 a week. And just in case, I know, trust me, it's bad. No, trust me, it's bad. He also demanded she bring home receipts to prove what she had purchased. I know, it's crazy. This guy's very bad. Yes, yes, the subject of my true crime story is not a good guy. So in case anyone was wondering, yeah, he sucks anyway. So he also started to insist that all expenses be paid only in cash from now on, which obviously made her even more wary that
Starting point is 01:13:33 something was going on. And if she ever ran out of money, he'd be like too bad. Uh, doesn't matter if she needed to go to the dentist, for example, that was one of the examples. He just wouldn't give her the money for it. Oh, good. Buying the kids school supplies. They wouldn't be able to do that either. And they were living in like a beautiful house, beautiful neighborhood. Like it wasn't like they didn't have the money. It was just that's how he controlled her.
Starting point is 01:13:57 There were like repairs of the house that he wouldn't allow her to do. And so another sign of abuse is that Fredred began preventing sarah from seeing her family uh he was trying to separate her boo boo firm pass there's there's like some part of me that when like hundreds of people start booing i'm like oh no but i agree with you on this one yes i know i know you guys are i'm with you i'm on the same side for sure. So her family lived in Florida at this point and she was very, very close to her parents and her siblings. And so sometimes she would just insist on going anyway. It was about a nine hour drive, but he would refuse to give her money for gas or a hotel. So she would make the nine hour drive
Starting point is 01:14:41 with the kids and the dog, not able to stop, not able to get gas, just like full tank and book it down there. And then sometimes when she got there, Fred was already there because he had taken a plane. He's such an asshole. What a piece of shit. He is such a piece of shit. Yeah, he's a bad man. Not good. And also, every time she would go to Florida, she would drive there, and he would never go with them. He would always be there, but he would always fly in on his own. So it's just like, bleh. He also became physically abusive at this
Starting point is 01:15:21 point, which is, so she tried to keep this as quiet as possible um but several people have testified that like she had you know confided in them and she had written in her journal and it wasn't good i feel like you're kind of weaning into that already when you like say oh you can't go to the dentist you should just have like a fucked up tooth yes you know it's like you're like you want your you want like you don't mind the pain like your wife's in pain and stuff it's like just live with it yeah it's already it's already weaning into trouble it's not good yeah yeah um so it's around this time that the phone at the house starts ringing and whenever sarah picks up the caller would just hang up and at this point sarah's like
Starting point is 01:16:00 fred's having an affair and uh you know she's upset because it's just like a hurtful thing. But also she's like, this is a way out potentially. Like if I catch him in this, I could probably use this as a way out of the marriage. So what she does is she hires a private investigator. So the PI, yeah, get him. Love it. She sticks a PI on him. So the PI does catch Fred with another woman,
Starting point is 01:16:29 but Fred, like, sees him out the window, which I'm like... And the PI was investigated in this interview, and I'm like, I'm not, like, blaming you, but I'm just like... Isn't your job to know how to, like, be sneaky? So Fred immediately is like, that guy is watching me. And calls one of his cop friends and is like, get rid of him.
Starting point is 01:16:51 So the cop friend comes and is like, you need to leave. But that kind of gave Sarah the information she needed. He was having an affair. So she goes to him again and says, okay, I really want a divorce this time. But she gets the same story back. I'm a judge, an attorney. I'm in with the police. If you even try to get a divorce, I'm taking the boys away from you.
Starting point is 01:17:11 And you can't win, basically. So, I mean, the reason he was so caught up in, like, not allowing this divorce is that he knows if they go through with it, all of his paperwork will be released. Like, you know, everything will be, you know, rifled through. It's a legal thing. Don't worry about it. I don't know what I'm talking about. So all of his shady
Starting point is 01:17:37 dealings and shit, he was like, I don't need that to be surfaced. You're doing great. Thank you. Dear God. We were saying last night, we were like, we haven't done this since May. This is very like startling. I love you too. Thank you. thank you guys. I appreciate it. Thank you for being patient with me and my advanced legal knowledge. Okay. So basically he refuses her a divorce for the second time. And at this point, she's like, fuck it. I'm divorcing you and I'm going to find a way out. So she goes dun, dun, dun into the private
Starting point is 01:18:26 basement office. Ooh, she's coming in hot, breaking in all the rules. She finds she somehow like in every article I read, it was like, she somehow finds the combination to his safe. And I was like, I need to know that part. We don't know that part, but she somehow finds the combination to his safe and i was like i need to know that part we don't know that part but she somehow finds a combination and gets into his safe she finds paperwork with obviously all sorts of shady business dealings evidence of like massive amounts of money laundering as well as several vials of what appear to be both illicit drugs and prescription medications like basically everything illegal you could do just kind of wrapped up in a nice little safe. And, oh, this is so fucked up.
Starting point is 01:19:09 She finds all these accounts of his for hundreds of thousands of dollars that he's keeping in offshore bank accounts. And meanwhile, she's living on like $400 a week and doesn't realize they have like hundreds of thousands of dollars just stored away. So she calls the PI guy and she's like, here, I have this paperwork. You should look at it. And he's like, actually, it's like extremely
Starting point is 01:19:31 illegal for me to go through like stolen paperwork. So you should probably go to the police. And Sarah is pissed. She's like, I wanted you to help me with this. And he's like, I can't, it's not legal. I don't feel comfortable with it. Like, you should go to the police or someone you trust. And they actually had a huge falling out over this. Never spoke again. The last thing Sarah ever told him was that if anything ever happened to her, he should turn his investigation of Fred over to the police. At this point, he's like, she's just being dramatic. You know, women. You know, you know how it goes. You know, you know you know how it goes you know you know women you know just fucking amazing all the time yeah yeah me not him thank you for the compliment you're welcome welcome. You're amazing. You're just amazing.
Starting point is 01:20:25 Yeah. I don't love that you said it in that stupid voice. And so funny. So funny. Every time you talk, I'm like, ah. That's very mean. I'm just kidding. You're great.
Starting point is 01:20:47 I have anxiety. Do I have to tell you too? God. Damn. Okay. So yada, yada, yada. The guy's like, I can't do this. Like yada, yada. And she's like, well, if anything ever happens to me, you should turn this in the police or turn your investigation of the affair into the police, et cetera. So when her second son was four months old, Sarah secretly hand wrote a new will. Um, she went as far as to have two witnesses sign it and she had it notarized and in the will, she left all her property to her two sons. And she named one of her sisters, the executor and the other sister as the children's guardian quote, if my husband does not survive me. But she refused to put his name in the will. It was just, if my husband does not survive me. So, she left Fred nothing.
Starting point is 01:21:32 But, I know we're all super excited, but it's not good. Because she did not know at this point that Fred had taken out three life insurance policies on her. Totaling $1.75 million. Obviously, all naming him as the primary beneficiary in the event of her death. And if you're wondering, like, how on earth did he get a $1.75 million policy on his, like, young, healthy wife?
Starting point is 01:22:00 Yeah. He sold insurance on the side, so he sold them to himself. Get out. No way. He literally sold the policies from his own company to himself oh my god i know so no it's not legal none of this is legal especially the murder that i assume happens spoilers okay so as we know fred at this point he's like really deeply enmeshed in local government on the one hand and then, like, criminal rings on the other hand. So he kind of could do whatever he wanted and find his way out of it or find someone to cover for him.
Starting point is 01:22:35 What Sarah didn't know at this point is that the FBI had actually already kind of caught on to what he was doing and they had already started looking into his schemes, which at this point involved coaching drug dealers to use nightclubs as fronts for moving large sums of drug money so he's very involved with that uh police were turning up the heat on him at this point he knew it um and sarah like kind of at this point gave up on trying to fight him she was like you know what i'm unhappy but like i need to save up some money first before I can, you know, try to get out of here. Uh, so she was kind of uneasy about, you know, she knew Fred had shady dealings and clientele, but, um, he refused to allow her to install an alarm system, obviously, or, uh, refused to allow her to fix the broken lock on the sliding glass door. Yeah, that's a very specific thing.
Starting point is 01:23:27 That we should all remember? Okay. Maybe. Noted. In an attempt to, like, create some normalcy in her life and, like, distract from her unhappy marriage, she started volunteering at her son's school, and, like, she visited her family much more often.
Starting point is 01:23:42 In November of 92, she and the boys drove down to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with her family. And, of course, Fred showed up. But he left a day early to meet a client in Alabama. On the 29th, Sarah and her son decided to head back to Atlanta. So they get in the car. It's kind of, so her plan was to come back to see her family at Christmas. So less than a month away. And when they were leaving, they kind of had a tradition of going outside to wave goodbye.
Starting point is 01:24:09 And this time they were all singing, I'll be home for Christmas. And she left the house, and that was the last time her family would ever see her again. So they drove all the way back because, you know, she's not allowed to get gas and stuff. Nine-hour drive. She arrived home around 10 p.m. And as they parked in the garage, a man stepped out from inside the house into the garage holding a sawed-off shotgun. He forced them back into the car and ordered her to drive. Her two boys were in the back.
Starting point is 01:24:42 She drove for a bit, and at a certain point, she began to refuse his instructions, because she's like, I see what's going on here. Like, you probably have some involvement with my husband. Like, don't hurt my kids. So there were, like, conflicting stories about this, but he essentially told her, like, no, you need to turn down this cul-de-sac, and she just kind of, like, turned the opposite way or was trying to get back to town, And he shot her point blank in the back of the head with his shotgun. Um, and the car skidded off the road. He jumped out and just fucking booked it and ran. And, uh, the two boys are still in the back seat. So Ricky,
Starting point is 01:25:19 who was six, turned off the car and tried to wake his mom up. I know it's really bad. And he was actually interviewed in the show, which was really interesting because they're in their thirties now. And he was, um, he was like, yeah, I tried to wake her up. And then, um, the second I realized she wasn't going to wake up, he unbuckled his brother and they just started running. So they ran to a house that had, they found the house with the nearest light on. Remember, it's like nighttime. And they just started banging on this door, and the family opened the door,
Starting point is 01:25:51 and Ricky just said, a bad man hurt my mommy. And so, of course, they bring them inside, and he says, you need to call my grandpa, because my grandpa's a doctor and can help my mom get better, which is just like so tragic so mike the younger one remembers thinking if only my dad had been there he would have saved the day because their dad was their hero twist the knife wow police obviously immediately investigate their home uh they noticed the unlocked sliding glass door.
Starting point is 01:26:25 They're like, obviously, that's where he came in. And there was some jewelry kind of scattered around, but it was pretty obvious to the police that it was not a burglary. Like, all the electronics were still there, and it looked very staged. And they were like, this was a planned assassination. Woof. Actually, the oldest son was interviewed, and they said at the time he was six and they asked you know who was it that hurt your mom and he said uh it was a thin black male with a pirate
Starting point is 01:26:52 gun and so that's how they figured out it was kind of like a sawed-off shotgun and that matched the later description so fred is interviewed and he's like you can like hear in the episode he's like wailing and blubbering and just shouting. And, like, my son's watched it. And I'm like, you fucking asshole. Get the fuck out of here. What is wrong with you? So they ask if he has any clients who might have targeted his family.
Starting point is 01:27:15 And he's like, no, I can't think of anyone that would hurt my family. But then Sarah's sister, Chrissy, comes forward with some shocking information. She has copies of the documents Sarah found in Fred's safe three years earlier. Dun, dun, dun. It turns out Sarah had copied all the documents, given them to her sister, and said, if anything ever happens to me, take these to the police immediately. Smart. Smart. you know women you know so fucking dramatic so obviously the police are like holy shit okay we think we know where this is going um well so but police and fbi are already trying to dig through all of like his
Starting point is 01:28:05 crazy money laundering schemes and shit. And so while that's going on, Sarah's family offers a $50,000 reward for any new information. Um, police get a call from a woman named Tuesday Rower who told them that her brother Curtis was the one who killed Sarah police, which I'm like, you just threw your brother under the bus for, I mean, 50 grand. Okay. I guess I get it. Sorry, Zandy. Okay. Okay. Police track Curtis down. He's found hiding under his bed at his grandma's house. hiding under his bed at his grandma's house. What? Okay. That's also not relevant, but you needed to know. Okay. During his police interview, he calls his mom and asks, what should I do? And his mom says, tell them the truth. So he does. He admits that he shot Sarah Tokers in the head in her car.
Starting point is 01:29:09 But he says, there's more to it. I was hired by a man named Eddie Lawrence to kill her for $5,000. So then they're like, yes. $5,000. So this is getting more complicated. So Eddie Lawrence is like a known criminal in the area. He has all sorts of outstanding warrants and he's also happens to be a longtime client of none other than Fred Tokars. And not only was he a client, he was also one of his business partners in several con
Starting point is 01:29:39 operations that the two had going on. So Eddie Lawrence claims that he had nothing to do with the murder, but police are able to hold him on an outstanding warrant. And two days later, Fred, this is so fucked up, he takes the boys down to Sarah's family's place in Florida for Christmas to celebrate with the family. I know. And they catch a press conference, an Atlanta press conference on the TV. And detectives say, we have Eddie Lawrence and Curtis Rower in custody. And Fred freaks the
Starting point is 01:30:13 fuck out and is like, oh shit, they're probably onto me. So the family the next day goes to Busch Gardens, as you do. And Fred's like, I don't feel well. I'm not going to go. So he locks himself in his hotel room. But as they're leaving, Sarah's dad just gets this feeling, his father-in-law. And he's like, I'm going to go back and like check on him. So he goes back to the hotel, couldn't get an answer, ends up calling the police who break down the door and they find Fred unconscious having overdosed on pills. And Sarah's dad, he's a surgeon, so he performs CPR and saves his life. It's like, what?
Starting point is 01:30:56 You can't make this shit up. Twist and turns. Twist and turns. Wear your motion sickness brace. I feel like we should have an ad for that promo code drink uh yes they find so he's easy his life oh my god so uh next to his body they found a suicide note saying he couldn't go any longer because the media had targeted him and had made his life too difficult to move on. But instead of drumming up sympathy, the police
Starting point is 01:31:28 were like, okay, so now like he's definitely our guy, right? Like we know that now. Okay, great. So, uh, literally right after this, Fred holds a dramatic press conference. He says after, and you can watch it and he's just such a slimy creep ball. He says, after taking some back pain medication, he became very depressed and started to think of the lifestyle he had lost after his wife died. And this is when Sarah's family is like, wait, what? You fucking asshole? Like our daughter just died to your wife,
Starting point is 01:31:58 and you're like sad about your, you know, you can't really go to the country club anymore without getting a side eye but okay and that's when they were like okay he had something to do with it we just saved his life i guess oops um so police take a closer look at fred's alibi which at the time it seemed legit you know he went to a nondescript place that i won't say because everyone starts yelling so they go to alabama to see the client in jail who he had visited. And the guy was like, I don't know, man. He just showed up one day and was like, hey, how are you? And then left. And like, we hadn't planned it. He just kind of showed up to
Starting point is 01:32:34 make an alibi like, oh, hello. I'm here. How you doing? And then just left. And so that's not good. They're getting very suspicious. Let's see. That's when police find out about the insurance policies. The motive, a.k.a. And some of these policies were taken out only weeks before Sarah's death. So it's like, got it. OK, not looking good. So they're like, well, the only way we can pin it on him is if we get this Eddie Lawrence guy to break and tell us what happened. So Eddie had lawyered up, obviously, and his attorneys were like, listen, just tell them what Fred said, and then he'll evade the death penalty.
Starting point is 01:33:15 So, like, just fuck it. Like, throw him under the bus. And Eddie's like, okay, sure. So. Okay. Okay. like okay sure so okay okay he tells prosecutors that fred approached him about killing sarah in the summer of 1992 which was several months before her murder okay he fred knew that she had found out about their like businesses and quote unquote and he claimed that she would destroy both of them
Starting point is 01:33:42 and eddie said why don't you just pay her off and like get divorced and move on that's all she wants and he's like nope we have to silence her for good what is his problem okay a lot of things the problem was eddie owed fred 75 000 so fred was like well if you want me to erase that debt, you got to go in with this on this plan with me. So he's like, sure, I'll do the plan, but I'm not going to kill your wife. Like he didn't tell him that he just was like, sure, I'll do the plan. And then he turned around and went, Hmm. So who's going to murder Sarah? It's not me. He like looked to the camera i was like it's not gonna be me though wink so he asked around how confident must you be that you're like hey stranger real quick just a quick question
Starting point is 01:34:35 doing a poll doing a quick doing a quick gallop poll okay he's, I'm going to find a guy who could do the job for me. And his secretary, a woman named Tuesday Rower said, Hey, my brother Curtis might be into that. So she literally was the one who's like, Oh, talk to Curtis. And then when it happened, she's like, Hmm, $50,000 reward. Curtis did it, Which I'm like, he's a murderer. So yeah. What the fuck? Okay. So apparently all sorts of people know about this plan, uh, before it even happened. And obviously Fred's plan was just to tell Eddie and have Eddie do it. He didn't know that Eddie was going to go around and like tell his secretary and tell his secretary's brother and, you know, yada, yada. So, basically, Curtis was hired to kill her for $5,000.
Starting point is 01:35:32 And Eddie didn't tell Fred about that. So, Cobb County Police and the FBI obtain a joint warrant. Yay, police! They know the clock is ticking because considering his recent suicide attempt and he has custody of the two boys they're like we just need to like nip this in the bud and make sure nothing happens and keep the boys safe so Rick was six at the time
Starting point is 01:35:53 and he says he remembers FBI swarming the house he said he was crying and just shouting please don't arrest my dad because he didn't know obviously what was happening the poor boys did not have any clue about what was going on, you know, but, uh, Ricky and his brother, Mike are taken into custody. They're taken to safe, not custody. Oh God. I put the wrong thing. I put that the six-year-old was
Starting point is 01:36:16 taken into custody. Um, no, Fred is taken into custody and the boys are taken to safety. Um, no, Fred is taken into custody and the boys are taken to safety. And, uh, they ended up in the custody of Sarah's family. So they're finally safe. It was really great. It was really great because they interviewed Sarah's sister and she just like burst into, she's like the second we got them like in the house, we were like, we don't even care anymore what happens. Like we just wanted the boys out of there.
Starting point is 01:36:46 So it was really good. So they're safe. All is well with them. Three years later, Fred finally goes to trial. And despite all his, you know, power and, you know, that. Despite all his power and charm. There it is. And sway within the legal system.
Starting point is 01:37:08 He is found guilty, and he is sentenced to life in prison for his wife's murder. Thank God. Thank God. Curtis Rower, the one who shot her, was sentenced to life without parole,
Starting point is 01:37:24 and Eddie Lawrence, who was just like, I'll do it, Curtis Rower, the one who shot her, was sentenced to life without parole. And Eddie Lawrence, who was just like, I'll do it, but I'm not going to, I guess, is still in prison. And he is currently eligible for parole. So we'll see. So here's a weird twist. According to AJC News, over the last decade, Fred Tokars has helped solve six murders. Because basically he's just ratting everyone out that he knew, like, before. Are we surprised? No.
Starting point is 01:37:50 He sent one man to death row, another to prison for life for both of them had murdered, oh, it was actually really fucked up, they had, like, murdered their girlfriends. But he had sent them to prison, but because of this, he was put into the witness protection program because he's
Starting point is 01:38:06 just ratting everyone out so like within prison he's now in the witness protection program which i guess i didn't know was a thing maybe i should have known that uh his prosecutor uh said he was testifying against these people so that his sons would one day learn he was capable of good. Uh, yeah. Nah. Nah. Nah. According to that same article,
Starting point is 01:38:34 his exact location is a closely guarded secret. He is in the Witness Protection Program, like I said, and his name has been expunged from the prison database. According to an old friend of his, he lives alone in a cell where he watches cable tv reads the wall street journal and sometimes calls friends to reminisce on quote the good old days he's only 59 like he's still really young so he's now 59 and he says he longs to reconnect with his sons but his sons say they have no plans of ever speaking to their father again. And that is the story
Starting point is 01:39:10 of the murder of Sarah Ombresco. Thank you. Woof. That's a tough one. That was a rough one. Oh, there was a line in there I must have skipped, but the older son said at one point, when they said, like, he was sent to prison for life, and then they cut to the older son, Rick,
Starting point is 01:39:29 and he was like, he should have been put to death. And I was like, whoa! And then there was, like, a pause, and he's like, I'm just really embarrassed we have the same genetics. And I was like, oh, wow. That's a good story, though. It's safe to say they won't be bonding anytime soon right anyway well thank you guys for having thank you let's have a rave you guys that's really lord almighty wow that's really sweet thank you oh i love you guys this is such a good fucking audience i'm serious i mean we're definitely gonna come back here next time. Yeah. I thought... Whoa.
Starting point is 01:40:27 I thought you were going to say what I was going to say, which is we are definitely going to be discussing this in our hotel room later. Which is, like, very true. We're going to be telling
Starting point is 01:40:35 Michael all about it. So... Thank you so much! Thank you, Atlanta!

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