Blind Plea - Listen Now: The Letter Season Two

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

The hit true-crime podcast The Letter is back for Season Two. Today, we’re dropping into your feed to offer you a sneak peek of this gripping and impactful story.  On a winter morning in 1982, two young fathers were found shot to death in a van parked outside an upscale Utah restaurant.The killer soon confessed, but his story about what happened - and why he chose violence - would create more pain, conflict, and questions for the families left in the wake of the murders. As the families of the men struggle to rebuild their lives, they face questions they never anticipated. Does everyone deserve a second chance? Who is forgiveness for? And if you can inherit trauma, can you also inherit forgiveness? Through their stories, we discover even the most personal decisions can unintentionally ripple through lives, through generations, even impacting the lives of people we’ve never met. From KSL Podcasts (Cold), Lemonada Media (Blind Plea) and WorkHouse Media. You’re about to hear a clip from Episode 1, Season Two of The Letter. To hear the rest of the episode, head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/theletterfd or theletterpodcast.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two young fathers are shot to death outside an iconic Utah restaurant. I said, your dad has been hurt really bad. The grief was disorienting for those left behind until one choice changed everything. I just remember writing this letter and it wasn't me writing it. Can a personal decision shape generations? We're all falling for this guy's trick. I'm Amy Donaldson. Season two of The Letter, Ripple Effect,

premieres on April 16th. Follow us at TheLetterPodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm feminasty Erin Gibson. And I'm homosexual Brian Safi. And we're the co-hosts of The Attitudes Podcast. Where we talk about LGBT plus issues, gender issues and pop culture.

Probably with much less respect than they deserve. Look, it's a wild world, and we want to help you laugh at it. Plus, we discuss everything going on in our lives. Like, what do you do when your husband accidentally starts a fire in a dumpster? And the best armpit-slapping techniques to get rid of the bags under your eyes. Thanks for the advice, Mom. And of course, how to spin a wig around to achieve a brand new look. Ah, stunning. So if you're a fan of high heeled shoe chairs or have a crippling fear of hot air balloons,

but also believe in social justice, then this show's for you. Listen to Attitudes anywhere you get your podcasts. Lemonada. Hi, I'd like to tell you about a new podcast with an amazing story. It starts like your traditional true crime. Two fathers are found murdered in a van parked outside an upscale Utah restaurant in 1982. The killer confessed, but his story about what happened and why he murdered Jordan Rasmussen and Buddy Booth would create more pain, conflict, and impossible questions for the families.

Questions like, who was forgiveness for? Does remorse matter? And if you can inherit trauma, can you also inherit forgiveness? Host Amy Donaldson spent a year and a half peeling back the layers of this tragedy. The story uncovered in the letter season two, Ripple Effect, shows that sometimes

even the most personal decisions can resonate through generations and change the lives of people we've never met. You're about to hear a clip from the first episode of the Letters Season 2 Ripple Effect. After you've listened, search for the letter wherever you're listening right now to hear the rest of the episode. You can also click on the link in the episode notes or head to TheLetterPodcast.com. The last night of Jordan Rasmussen's life wasn't especially remarkable. The only reason anyone finds it memorable is because those who love him most say it perfectly encapsulates who he was.

No one remembers exactly what time the 32-year-old accountant pulled into the driveway of his single-story home the night of March 4th, 1982. But they do remember it was late enough that two of his children were already asleep. Jordan was working late when he received an unexpected phone call. That call would change his plans for the following morning. And that change of plans would cost Jordan Rasmussen his life. When he walked into the house, he found a familiar scene, his eight-year-old son and his five-year-old daughter in bed, while his youngest, 16-month-old Chad, was wide awake.

His wife, Deanne, wasn't home. She was playing indoor tennis with a friend, leaving the children in the care of a babysitter. And as he often did, Chad was protesting bedtime. Deanne remembers it was her husband who unlocked the secret of getting Chad to sleep. – Neighbors remember seeing Jordan almost every night, walking Chad around the block trying to get him to sleep. Was he a fussy baby? – He didn't want to go to sleep. So that was kind of their nightly ritual.

But it was already dark that night, so Jordan offered to drive the babysitter to her house, just a couple of blocks away. And he brought Chad along for the ride. But when they returned home, Jordan realized the doors were locked and he didn't have his key. and he didn't have his key. I had no idea he had locked himself out of the house and he was just on his own with Chad. In the early 80s, cell phones were not an option, so Jordan had no way to communicate with his wife. He went next door to the neighbors and across the street to see if they, by chance, had a key to our house, which they didn't.

They invited him in so he could wait for me to get home. And he says, no, I just want to spend some time with Chad. Even before sunset that night, the temperature dipped below freezing. And that made Jordan's decision to decline an invitation to wait in the warmth of a friend's house a bit surprising, but he had his reasons. They said there was no way we were gonna get Jordan to come in the house. He was determined he wanted to spend just a long time with Chad. So Jordan carried Chad back into their garage and they took refuge from the cold in the

family sedan. Exactly what happened between father and son that night will forever remain a mystery. But it's easy for Deanne to imagine it, because she'd seen similar scenes hundreds of times since they'd become parents eight years earlier. I can just picture him being in the car, just hugging and laughing and giggling and talking to him. That's the way he was. But at some point, maybe the chill started to seep in. Maybe his weight was longer than he expected.

Or maybe fatigue wore them both down. Whatever the reason, Jordan finally decided they couldn't stay outside any longer. He broke a window in our French door, just a little pain, and reached in and let himself in. Because I remember we had to get somebody here to fix the window the next day after the awful event had happened. That awful event was Jordan's murder. And it would happen less than 12 hours later. From KSL Podcasts, I'm Amy Donaldson, and this is the letter season two, Ripple Effect. In the first season of the letter, we shared a transformative story of forgiveness and healing. We had no plans for another season because frankly, we knew what happened in

season one was unique. But all of that changed when I got an email from a former prosecutor that I hadn't seen in more than 20 years. He'd been listening to season one, and he was compelled to reach out. He said he'd been part of a story that sounded similar. It involved families shattered by tragedy, a reckoning with remorse, a complicated struggle with forgiveness. And yes, there was even a letter. But once I started looking into it, I discovered just how different these stories were.

And that led me to question what I thought I understood about forgiveness. Who it is for, who deserves it, and why people do it. This new season explores how a very personal decision can stretch across time and impact generations, sometimes even reaching strangers in ways we could never imagine. This is episode one, He Didn't Deserve to Live. ["The Last Supper"] When Deanne Rasmussen came home from playing tennis and found out that her husband and her toddler had been stuck out in the cold, she was overwhelmed with guilt.

But Jordan assured her it was no big deal. In fact, he'd treasured the solitary snuggle time with Chad. It was a gift at the end of a long, difficult day. Jordan was the best dad. He adored his children. He would do anything in the world for them. When Deanne and Jordan first met as teenagers working together at a dairy in Salt Lake City, she

had no idea they would have three children together. She didn't give much thought to what he might be like as a father, or even a boyfriend for that matter. She was just 17 and he was the lanky 19-year-old manager already in college. I had no romantic interest in him, but he was so nice. On nights like this, she couldn't imagine a life without his patience and love. She was grateful that his kindness convinced her to go on a date with him back in 1969, and even more grateful that they made the commitment to stay together through life's

challenges. The first test of their commitment came in the summer of 1969 during the Vietnam War. Jordan enlisted in the Air Force Reserves and basic training kept them apart for six months. Even daily letters and weekly calls couldn't ease their longing to be together. We were quite serious by then. Oh, it was really hard. Then, even before he finished basic training,

Jordan faced a monumental decision, a choice between serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or staying with DeAnn in Salt Lake City. Serving a mission was almost expected of Latter-day Saint men. It was a rite of passage. And Jordan had looked forward to it his whole life, a chance to proselytize for his faith. But that also meant two more years of loving each other through letters.

My heart was very keen in his words, too. We had the discussion and decided that it would just be too hard, that we needed to be together and get married. And within a decade, they were a family of five. They never regretted their choice, and through all their challenges and changes, DeAnn said there was one constant for Jordan. The most important thing was family, his children, and me, his wife.

So it was no surprise to Deanne that her husband turned the inconvenience of being locked out of the house with a toddler into a play date. Because even though life had been tough for them in the months leading up to this night, Jordan always seemed to find a way to make his family feel loved. We were struggling. New family, we were behind mortgage payments. It was a hard time financially

for us. It's one of the reasons he kept a job that had grown complicated and stressful. Jordan worked as the accountant for the iconic Log Haven restaurant. Since its conversion from a wealthy family's mountain retreat to a high-end restaurant, it had become the place for weddings and receptions in the 80s. And while balancing the books was Jordan's job, the restaurant was also a special place for his family. Two of his sisters celebrated their weddings at the massive log cabin nestled in the scenic canyon.

But in recent months, Log Haven had become a source of tension. Under that serene surface, trouble was brewing. That night, after Jordan put Chad to bed, he told his wife that he'd gotten an unexpected phone call. It had to do with the restaurant. Though Log Haven was still very popular, Before Jordan put Chad to bed, he told his wife that he'd gotten an unexpected phone call. It had to do with the restaurant. Though Log Haven was still very popular, it had been struggling financially.

The relationship between the two partners who owned it had soured and grown increasingly contentious. One partner planned to buy the other out, and the restaurant staff worried about what might happen to their jobs, including Log Haven's 25-year-old manager, Michael Moore. It was Michael who had called Jordan and asked for that early morning meeting at Log Haven. He'd said something about Sunday's receipts being off. Deanne had met Michael several times, including a recent lunch date. It was only a couple of weeks before where Jordan went up to Log Haven and he had me come with him and so we

actually had lunch with Mike Moore. So when Michael proposed the early meeting, Jordan agreed, but he was not looking forward to it. Deanne was aware of some of the issues. Just a few months earlier, Jordan had pointed out a $30,000 shortfall to one of the partners. He was deep into their books, noticed that there was some shady deals going on up at Log Haven, suspected that there was some embezzling of money. Rumors of thefts and layoffs created distrust between owners and the staff.

One of the partners had asked Jordan to take over Michael's job as manager as soon as the buyout was finalized. But this hadn't been officially shared with the staff. Speculation was rampant and Jordan was caught in the middle. Things had been so tense, he even made an offhand comment to his wife as they got ready for bed that if his car slid off the road in the canyon the next morning, it might not be an accident. Deanne dismissed it as a bit of dark humor.

— Did you ever worry about him, or did you think— — No. Nothing to worry about. — While Jordan went to bed, Deanne stayed up and finished some typing work she'd taken on to help them pay their bills. — I had a big project project and I finished that project, so I didn't get to bed till two o'clock. So Deanne was still huddled under the covers

when Jordan left the next morning. Jordan gave me my kiss goodbye, and he said, I'll call you as soon as my meeting with my kiss is over. I knew it was going to be kind of a, you know, uncomfortable meeting. Jordan left his silent house just as the sun was rising. An overnight snowstorm had transformed the Salt Lake Valley into a winter wonderland. Everything was covered in the kind of snow that's made Utah world

famous among skiers, but wreaks havoc on the roads. Log Haven is located in Mill Creek Canyon, which is about a 20-minute drive from Jordan and Deanne's home in Sandy, Utah. Maybe as he drove, Jordan speculated about what he planned to say to Michael Moore, or maybe thought about what was going to happen between the two owners who were deciding the fate of the restaurant. After months of uncertainty, the split of their business assets was supposed to be finalized later that very day. In fact, after a stop at Lug Haven, Jordan planned to go directly to the attorney's

office, where the deal was being finalized. But he would never make it to that meeting. Jordan turned onto Mill Creek Canyon Road and almost immediately he pulled over. Fresh snow blanketed the narrow roadway and hung on the branches of the dense trees that lined the route. He wasn't sure his car could make the three-mile drive to Log Haven in these conditions. Then he saw a familiar Jeep, idling on the other side of the road. He watched as the driver swung around and pulled off the road in front of him.

Jordan got out and talked to the man, who threw a half-smoked cigarette out the window as they exchanged a few words. Then Jordan walked around to the passenger side, opened the door, and climbed in. Maybe he was in a hurry and just didn't notice the bullet holes that marred the side of the Jeep. One on the hood and one just in back of the front tire. Jordan was prepared for a tense conversation, but he had no way of knowing that he was driving to his death. Do you ever get hit with a cringy memory of your 13 year old self out of nowhere and some

of your panic sweating and laughing at the same time? Don't worry, don't worry, we all get that. It's because being an adolescent is one of the most visceral shared experiences we have as people and we want to talk about it. Join me, Penn Badgley, and my two friends, Nava and Sophie, on Podcrushed as we interview celebrity guests about the joys and horrors of being a teenager and how those moments made them who they are today. New episodes of Podcrushed are out on April 24th wherever you get your podcasts. Hey friends, it's Meghan Trainor. And her big bro, Ryan Trainor.

And her husband, Darryl Sabara. Each week on our podcast, Working on It, we share behind the scenes stories and bring you into our hilarious and heartfelt conversations, sometimes with amazing guests. We tackle everything from navigating Hollywood to mental health, to Meghan becoming a mother,

Darryl becoming a father, and so much more. We'll get into the nitty gritty of our lives and leave no detail behind. Prepare to laugh, cry, and hopefully learn something new. Listen to new episodes out every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts.