Criminology - The Chowchilla Kidnappings

Episode Date: February 4, 2024

In 1976, 3 armed men kidnapped a bus full of kids in Chowchilla, California. Along with their bus driver, Ed Ray, the kids were in for a harrowing experience. But the kidnappings for ransom did not go as the kidnappers had planned. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the Chowchilla kidnappings. The phone lines were so jammed with calls from worried parents that the kidnappers couldn't phone in their demands. In the meantime, the kids and the bus driver attempted a daring escape. 24-year-old Frederick Woods and brothers James and Rick Schoenfeld were quickly identified as the masterminds behind the kidnappings for ransom. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology An Emash Digital production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey there, it's Wayfair here, where delivery and setup are as easy as a few taps on your phone. You're relaxing in an old hammock, scrolling Wayfair's app, when you spot it, a brand new patio set. Next thing you know, Wayfair delivers it right to your patio and sets it up. Oh, you need a new grill, too? All right, Wayfair's got you covered. With Wayfair's room of choice delivery and fast experts set up on qualifying orders, life gets a little easier. Visit Wayfair.com or the Wayfair app. podcast that may contain discussion about violent or disturbing topics. Listener discretion is advised.

Everyone and welcome to episode 293 of the criminology podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. And I'm Mike Morford. Morph. How you doing, man? I'm doing good. Everybody in the house is sick, except myself and my son. My wife and my daughter are under the weather.

And I was worried that it was going to strike me and I wouldn't be able to record, but I'm feeling pretty good. So knock on wood. How about you? What's new with you? not much not much just uh really cold up in here in ohio lately and uh i am ready to get out into the sun for it to warm up i want to go fishing i just want to get out yeah that cold weather can definitely keep you trapped in the house yeah it definitely does let's go ahead and give our

patreon shoutouts we had austin d d braylin urbeck and jessica staples so some great new support we really appreciate it. Thank you so much to everyone that helps support the show. It really means a lot to us and helps us out. And if you want to support the show, you can go to patreon.com slash criminology and get signed up. So we've been telling listeners about CrimeCon, 2004, in Nashville at the Gaylord Opry land. It's from May 31st through June 2nd.

Well, we've been told that rooms are selling out. But don't worry, if you want to go, the hotel does have a satellite hotel close by, but you need to grab your crime con badges now and book your room so that you can come see us on podcast row. And be sure to use our promo code criminology when you check out at crimecon.com. And that'll save you 10% on your standard badges. And remember to stay tuned because in the not too distant future, we'll be letting listeners know when and where our annual criminology T-Cat meetup will be.

Okay. So now that we have that out of the way, let's jump into this week's case. and we're talking about a high-profile kidnapping case. And though it has a quote unquote positive outcome, the victims here went through one of the most terrifying things a person can dream of. They were thrown into a situation that they knew would kill them. It almost did. But luckily, these victims ended up living to tell the tale.

If you're anything like Morf and I, you watch a lot of true crime documentaries. in your spare time. And recently, you may have watched one called Chalchilla. It's the true and terrifying story of a school bus full of kids that were kidnapped by three armed men in 1976 in Chalchilla, California. It's a good documentary. But if you haven't seen it, don't worry. We're going to give you all the details. It was summer, 1976. There were less than 5,000 people living in the town of Chalchilla in central California, about four. four hours north of Los Angeles and two hours south of Sacramento.

Looking at an aerial view of the town and the surrounding area, it's made up of miles and miles of farmland. There were, and still are, many different churches. Faith has long been important to the people who live there. In 1976, it was the perfect scene for the kind of summer people are nostalgic for today, riding bikes until the streetlights come on, beating the heat by running through sprinklers, and playing with your friends at the park. It was a safe town and people trusted each other. The kids living in Chowchilla who attended Dairyland Elementary School's summer school program didn't want their summer to end either. On July 15th, the students had gone on a class trip to the Chalchilla Fairground Swimming Pool. And they had so much fun that they came up

with the idea to petition for an extra two or three weeks of summer school. They even told their bus driver Ed Ray about the idea. Ed was very friendly with the children. He knew all their names. He knew their families. While driving the bus was a job, Ed was good at it and he seemed to enjoy it. The kids loved him and included him in their conversations. As two kids, a brother and a sister, got off the bus, Ed jokingly bet them that there would be no extension. Summer school would come to its end as planned. With that, the students skipped off the bus and on their way home and the bus drove on. And a lot of the sources used the word summer school. You know, my first thought was, well, who wants more summer school?

But I don't think this was summer school in the way that most people think of it. I think this was almost more like summer camp or, you know, them getting away and doing things. So it was more fun. Yeah, I think traditionally when you hear summer school, you think of maybe you've failed some classes or some credit short and you have to go to pick up the extra course or whatever, complete it, whatever the case is. And it's kind of most kids, I think, dread it because while they're at school, their friends are out and about having fun or playing games, whatever they're doing. As the bus turned on to Avenue 21, Ed noticed a white cargo van parked across the road blocking his way. It was an odd thing to see. The door of the van was open, but no one was around.

Suddenly, a man ran up to the bus. He was wearing panty hose over his face, obscuring his features, and he was carrying a revolver, which he pointed at Ed. According to Vox.com, the man calmly said, Would you open the door, please? The man's words were polite, but his tone was clear. This was a demand. Thinking this must be a simple robbery or bus theft,

Ed decided the best way to keep the children safe would be to comply. He opened the doors of the bus. He had no way of knowing that this wasn't a robbery, and it wasn't a carjacking. For Ed and 26 children from Dairyland Elementary, this was the beginning of a true nightmare. Two more men who were hiding and waiting for the bus nearby ran from their cover and hopped on the bus. Both of these men were also wearing panty hose over their heads, smashing down their noses and obscuring their features. One of them was armed with a rifle, which he kept pointed towards. the children. They forced Ed and all of the children in the first rows off the bus to go toward

the back and sit down. The man with the rifle kept everyone sitting still in fear as the man with the revolver exited the bus and jumped in the white cargo van. The third man drove the bus, the white van following closely behind. After about a mile, the man pulled over into a thicket of bamboo, obscuring the bus from passers by. The man pulled a dead. A lot of dozen of the children out of the bus and packed them into the back of the cargo van, careful not to let them leave any footprints in the dirt. Ed and the remaining 14 kids were shoved into a second waiting vehicle, a green cargo van. Jennifer Brown Hyde, who was just nine years old that day, would later tell CBS News, I felt like I was an animal going to the slaughterhouse. Jody Heffington, who was just

10 at the time, told CBS News, he held a shotgun to my stomach, and I had to stand there with this gun in my gut until that one van drove away and they backed the second van up. It felt like forever. I thought he was going to shoot me. I actually did. So no doubt, Morf, there was some planning here on the part of these perpetrators.

You know, they had a number of cargo vans. What I did find extremely interesting was that, you know, they backed these vans up to the bus. And then they loaded the kids. from the bus to the vans making sure that their feet didn't touch the ground so that they didn't leave any footprints.

There was pre-planning. It was thought out. And it had to be a really chaotic scene, too, with all these kids scared and frightened. And, you know, you've got these masked guys with guns that had to be really a frantic situation for them. And Ed, the bus driver must have had his hands full trying to. keep them calm. Well, I think you're right because, you know, one of the things they had going on inside the bus was that these kids were all different ages. I mean, the range was pretty large.

You know, these weren't all freshmen or sophomore. I mean, you had a lot of younger kids as well. So to think about the scene of having men with essentially masks on their heads, holding guns. I mean, that would be terrifying to anyone. But think about a nine-year-old. Absolutely terrifying. The back of the vans were stifling hot. July days in Chowchilla, or usually at least in the 90s, there was no air conditioning, all the windows were up, and there were wooden panels lighting the insides of the van. The men had sealed up a partition between the front seats and the cargo area, there was no airflow in the dark van.

Everyone was confused and terrified. Some of the kids tried to calm each other down, singing songs like, if you're happy and you know it, but no one was clapping along. No one was happy. Everyone knew the situation was serious. They were all experiencing the same terrifying ordeal,

trapped in the back of that small hot van together, as much of a hell as it was, it would get worse. As the group was being whisked away by their abductors, parents were beginning to notice that their children were coming home on time. Some parents thought that the kids were simply playing with friends, and that kids will be kids, and it was summer after all. Great weather for staying out late.

But this didn't feel normal. When Ed didn't show up after his route would have been over, people really began to worry. Ed's nephew, Ronnie Ray, explained to Vox, that people were immediately suspicious that something was wrong. saying parents began to wonder what was going on, 15 minutes after their kids didn't get home. Residents began their own search. At 6.30 p.m., a plane was dispatched by the sheriff's office to assist in the search for the missing bus.

As the night went on, worry grew. When the bus was finally discovered far off its normal route, empty, it didn't come with any relief. There was no sign of the driver or the children. 27 people had vanished in the thin air, and full-scale panic and speculation immediately began. many were sure that the Zodiac killer was somehow involved. He had previously threatened to attack a school bus. And at the height of UFO hysteria, others suspected that aliens had abducted the children.

Whatever angle or theory they were covering, various media outlets just wanted the story. Journalists flocked at Chalchilla. Investigators, too. Both of the town's motels were completely booked by FBI agents after the FBI offered their manpower and technology to help find the children. So we talked about the fear that the kids on the bus must have been experiencing.

Well, then you have to think about the other side of the coin, which is the parents. You know how it is more. When you have kids, there are routine and you expect them to get off the bus around the same time every day or to be dropped off around the same time every day. When there is a deviation like there was here, a lot of parents, you know, they get extremely worried very quickly. And I think that's what we were seeing here. You know, 15 minutes passes. The kids are supposed to, you know, have been at home. Okay, panic starts to set in. Yeah, we have to remember this is in the days before, you know, any kind of GPS or phone tracking, anything parents might use an app to maybe see where their kids are.

you'll follow along with her bus's route. I know right now my son has an app for his bus that we can see how close he is to getting dropped off and we can go out and meet him. But I remember once when my daughter was in first grade, we didn't have an app or anything. And her bus was usually like clockwork within one to two minute period. It always dropped her off. And one day, it was about 15 minutes late. And I really got worried so worried that I made a call to the bus garage to see if

anything was wrong. And sure enough, the bus had broken down. So I can, I can see how these parents would become worried and wonder what was going on. And then to find the bus empty and all the kids gone, that had to be a real shock. But just like in a lot of cases we do, it seemed like very quickly, you know, the speculation starts. And, you know, some of it, you might think is outlandish, right? Okay, it's a Zodiac killer. But the Zodiac killer. But the Zodiac not that many years before. Had threatened to attack a school bus. Then you have the UFO angle.

It's interesting to see where people's minds go in these situations. Sometime during the night, a rare summer storm caused lightning that wiped out electricity for miles. This probably didn't help dispel any of the extraterrestrial rumors. And it certainly didn't help ease any worry about the well-decentia. being of the missing children. At the fire station, Madera County Sheriff Ed Bates addressed the many worried parents. According to Vox.com, he said, no one is going to try and get away with hurting 26 children

and a bus driver. Where are they going to hide them? Where are they going to put them? They have to take care of them somehow. If you had a herd of ducks, you'd have to keep them somewhere. Whoever did this doesn't want to hurt your children. but Sheriff Bates did have a theory of what they wanted saying they want money and you haven't got any money. They're going to ask the government to provide it.

Nobody else has money like that. He explained to the worried parents. There had been a recent announcement in the papers about a budget surplus which probably fueled the sheriff's theory. While the worried parents were going through their own nightmare, so were the children and their bus driver. Ed. They had been driven for what felt like hours. The whole time stuffed into the back of the two small vans. They finally came to a stop and the doors opened. Two men pulled Ed out of the van and closed the doors, trapping the children inside. They interrogated Ed, asking him for his name and age. They also stripped him of his pants and his shoes and shoes and his shoes and

The men handed him a flashlight, but kept his shoes and pants. One by one, they repeated the process with each of the children. If the girls were wearing any sports brawls or training bras, their shirts were taken. All of their shoes were confiscated before they were forced to climb down into the hole with Ed. Victim Jody Heffington told CBS News, they take the next kid out, and they would close the doors. But when they opened the doors, you don't see them. I thought they were basically killing us one at a time. So I think you go from one scary situation to another, right? You have the,

the situation of these men boarding the bus. They have guns. They load you into vans. And then when you come to a stop, it's basically as if, you know, kids are being taken out one at a time. The doors are shut. You don't have any idea what's going on. I mean, go back to Jody's statement to CBS. We basically thought they were killing us one at a time. You know, I just think if you're seven, eight, nine years old, how do you process what is going on? And you have to think that they probably felt relief when they were finally let out of the van only to have, you know, be re-terrorized when they were forced down into this dark hole after having to take off their clothes. As the 26 child climbed down into that dark hole, all signs of the outside.

world disappeared. The men dropped a large steel plate onto the entrance of the hole covering it. Everyone was trapped underground. The sheer darkness was overshadowed by the sound of many children screaming at once. Ed turned on their only flashlight and tried to calm the terrified crowd. And we're going to be talking about Ed a lot. I mean, obviously he's the lone adult in this situation with the children. And if you've ever cared for one. upset child. You can imagine how difficult of a feat, calming 26 kidnapped children, buried underground in just a few feet of space would be. The sound of the dirt being piled on top of the sheet of steel covering the hole didn't help at all. Linda Correjo Labendera, who was just 10 years

old during the kidnapping told CNN, it was like a giant coffin for all of them. Screams amongst the group turned into prayers, and then eventually all the children began to chant. In the documentary they chanted in unison, Pretty Please Let Us Out. Pretty Please Let Us Out. Probably after tiring themselves out, they were calm enough to look around their dungeon. There were a few mattresses piled up next to makeshift toilets, which were just wooden boxes with holes cut into the top of them. Not that anyone wanted to use them. Many children were holding their bladders. They expected to be able to go as soon as they got home, but that was supposed to be hours ago. There was also a bit of food for them to eat, but just a tiny bit.

It included a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a box of cereal. There were a few jugs of water, but not nearly enough for how many people were trapped, especially with how hot it had been in the vans and was in the hole where they were being kept captive. They noticed two small openings with air coming through. some sort of fan was pumping air down to the dungeon through two tiny holes. It was not fresh air by any means, but it was air. At the Chalchilla Police Department, their single phone line was constantly busy. From the moment the children and Ed were noticed to be missing, people had been calling in their reports and their tips.

The FBI added dozens of phone lines to the department, and still, they were all tied up nonstop. it would be revealed later that the kidnappers had tried to call and make demands but couldn't get through. This caused the rescue to be delayed because the kidnappers couldn't give any information because they couldn't make a phone call. They couldn't get through. The kidnappers decided to try again later. Apparently abducting a bus full of people really takes it out of you because the kidnappers all fell asleep as they waited for the phone lines to clear so that they were. they could call again. And I kind of said that a little bit jokingly, but I do think it's, it's probably true. You know, imagine the adrenaline that would be coursing through you as you're

committing this awful crime. What some point do you start to crash? Do you come down? And again, it was hot for them as well. Obviously, no sympathy there, but you could see why, you know, maybe they needed to take a nap, the kidnappers. But it's interesting, and it's a sign of the time that we're talking about, that these kidnappers couldn't even get through to the police to make their demands. Yeah, we talked earlier, too, about how organized this abduction was, how the planned out, it seemed, how they had multiple people. They took control of the bus, easily got the kids where they wanted them, got them down

in the soul. was well thought out, but then after they accomplish all that, they don't even think that one of them should stay awake to make sure the kids are watched. They're all sleeping. So it's sort of a clash with, on one hand, it seems like they're really professionals. And then the other hand, they're all falling asleep and not really organized that way. Yeah. And as we go through the episode, we're going to find out what type of criminals we're dealing with here. In the suburbs of D.C., a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered. I wonder what's emergency?

We just walked in the door, and there's blood in the foyer. For the next two decades, the case remained unsolved until new technology allowed investigators to do what had once been impossible. A new series from ABC Audio in 2020, blood and water. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. While the kidnappers caught some zees, their abductees remained wide awake in terror. It was hard to tell time down in the dark hole. Eventually, the fans pumping air down into the hole stopped working. It was getting hotter by the minute.

It felt like it had been forever, but it had only been 12 hours since the opening had been covered. When the weight of the dirt on top began to cause the roof to cave in, dirt started entering the hole, falling down under the children. Mike Marshall, who at 14 was the oldest child, hostage told CNN, I thought to myself, if we're going to die, we're going to die getting the hell out of here. Working as a group, they stacked up all the mattresses and Mike climbed at the top of the stack. He pushed and pushed against the steel plate, but it was no use. Bus driver Ed Ray began to help, overcoming his fear that the kidnappers were waiting above with their guns.

Finally, the plate budged, but there was something heavy on top of it. With Ed holding the plate up, Mike reached his arm out of the hole, desperately trying to push whatever was on top of the plate. While struggling to free the heavy objects, two huge bus batteries were pulled down into the hole. Luckily, they didn't hit anyone. And we're going to be talking about Mike Marshall a lot. He is one of the real central figures in this case. We've talked about how scared these kids must have been. And we said Mike was the oldest, but he's still only 14 years old.

But to have that thought, Morp, you know, if we're going to die, we're going to die getting the hell out of here. I mean, it kind of gives you goosebumps a little bit. Just thinking about this 14 year old kid determined that he's going to do whatever it takes to get out. Not to mention the fact that, you know, he has got his arm, essentially. you know, sticking up through this hole, relying on Ed to kind of keep the steel plate held up. I mean, if Ed falls, if Ed drops the plate, Mike probably loses his arm. Yeah, not to mention he had be pretty brave having his arm up there in the first place because he didn't really know if any of the guys were out there with guns. They could have shot at him.

Though the hole was open, the group was still not free. they were still inside their makeshift bunker. Dirt, dust, and rocks began to pour into the hole as the children climbed up toward what Larry Park, who was only six years old at the time, told CNN, was the most glorious ray of sunlight that I had ever seen. After almost 16 hours underground, the group were breathing fresh air and walking above ground. They didn't know where they were, though. They had no shoes. many of them, no real close, the group led by Ed, ran down a dirt road towards what turned out to be a grain elevator at a quarry.

The security guard on duty saw the group in the distance and thinking that they were about to be robbed sounded an alarm. As the group reached the shock security guard, Ed yelled out, we're the ones kidnapped from Chow Chil. The security guard called police. And at this point, the group was relieved, knowing that they were finally safe. So this was quite an ordeal, you know, just getting out of this makeshift bunker. There was a lot to it. We didn't cover every single detail of, you know, what they had to do to get out. We covered the highlights.

But again, Mike Marshall was at the center of pretty much everything, you know, digging through dirt, just resilient. This 14-year-old kid, he just wasn't about to give up. And ultimately, with the help of Ed, was able to get all of these kids above ground. And I have no idea what that feeling must have been like. Number one, just to get out of the hole, but then to find a security guard for them to sound an alarm and to feel like you're about to be safe, right? The police are going to come. Yeah, on one hand, I can see how they are relieved. They're out of that hole, but they still don't know where they're at.

And, you know, I can see them also wondering, hey, is this one of the guys that abducted us? Maybe there's a little bit of, you know, they're guarded about that part of it. but then when the guard calls the police, then they knew that they were indeed going to be safe. The authorities raced to the scene at the quarry, which was located in Livermore, California, about 100 miles northwest of Chowchilla, where the group had been kidnapped from.

The children were transported to the Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center and given jumpsuits far too large for their tiny frames. After being questioned and photographed there, they were put on a bus and sent back home to Chowchilla. Back in their hometown, Children were greeted by elated parents. Media waited to interview the survivors. 14-year-old Mike Marshall, who had led the group to freedom, was exhausted but willing to speak. But according to CNN, a voice in the crowd said firmly,

why don't we just give them a break, boys. Let them go home, get some sleep. It was Derry Land Elementary School principal Leroy Tatum, and it was sound advice. The kids were exhausted and hungry and just wanted to go be with their families. News that the children were alive was splashed on every TV channel that night. Residents in Chow Chilah and those around the world who were invested in the fate of the missing school children wept with relief as they heard the news. The children had freed themselves and they were safe. They were coming home. Perhaps the only ones who weren't relieved when they saw the breaking news were the kidnappers who had woken up from their nap ready to call in their

ransom demands, only to see that their hostages were free. There would be no ransom payment for children who were already safe at home. Instead, the men knew that law enforcement was looking for them. Investigators began to dig at the site, California Rock and Gravel Quarry and Livermore, which was owned by Frederick Nickerson Woods III. They unearthed the moving van, buried in the ground, indicating that whoever had done this, would have needed keys to the quarry. In order to take on a project that big,

this moving van had been the group's underground dungeon, buried 12 feet under dirt and rocks. The roof of the van was never built for weight on top of it, but the kidnappers hadn't planned to have to wait to make their demands. It was never supposed to last that long. The kidnappers thought their demands would be met and they would release their high. hostages. So we talked about the planning that had gone into this. And now you find out that,

you know, they had this moving van. They had buried it at this quarry, 12 feet. That's a big job. And obviously, that has to be done in advance. Can it just clues you in a little bit more about the planning that went into this. What they couldn't have planned for, was that they wouldn't be able to make their ransom demands. They couldn't get through. You know, you talked about it more, you know, kind of everyone taking this nap, I get it.

You're tired, but when you wake up, you find out that these kids are all home and safe. Your plan is kind of shot to hell at that point. And that plan probably included some kind of excavator or backhoe or something along those lines to dig that hole because I don't think three guys with shovels are out there doing that. So quite a job and to just have it all fall apart, which I'm glad it did.

But over a nap, it's just kind of, again, it just tells me these aren't mastermind criminals. Their plan wasn't foolproof. Well, for me, you can talk about the amount of planning that goes into a crime, but it's very hard to account for everything. And like you said, I don't think we're dealing with. criminal masterminds here. So sometimes no matter how much planning you put into it, it's just not going to work out the way that you think it is. It didn't take the FBI long to suspect the quarry owner's Frederick Woods, 24-year-old son, also named Fred Woods, was involved. Security guards at the quarry remembered seeing three men digging a whole month earlier. One of those men, they identified

as Fred Woods. Looking into his criminal record, investigating. Founders found out he had been arrested for car theft with two of his friends, 24-year-old James Schoenfeld, and his younger brother, Richard. A search warrant was granted for the 78-acre Bay Area property of Frederick Nickerson Woods, where his son Fred Woods also lived. Investigers found guns as well as a ransom note that had never been delivered. According to CBS News, it read, Your bus has been kidnapped.

Put $2.5 million in each of the suitcases, total $5 million. use old bills, have ready at the Oakland police station, further instructions pending until 10.05 p.m. Sunday. We are Beaselbub. They also found a jack in the box bag with the names of all the kidnapping victims scrawled on it in blue ink. This was the roll call that had been taken before each child was forced to climb down that ladder. The evidence was overwhelming. Judge Howard Green signed the arrest warrants for all three suspects and set their bail at $1 million. each due to what he referred to as their wealthy background. Richard Schoenfeld turned himself in.

Two weeks later, authorities captured James Schoenfeld in the city of Menlo Park. As for Fred Woods, he fled to Canada. At the St. Francis Hotel on Seymour Street in Vancouver, Canada, Fred Woods kept a low profile. He did take the time to send a letter to a friend of his, a screenwriting. named David. According to Vox.com, he described the kidnapping that he had taken part in, but warned that his ending is not exciting enough. So you might have to kill some people or something. And according to CBS News, he added, if you do make it into a film, all I want is a percent of it. On July 29th, the same day that James was arrested, the RCMP, working with a

American authorities caught up to Fred Woods in Vancouver and he was taken into custody. So we mentioned it earlier more if you know Fred Woods's dad owned the quarry. He had quite a bit of money. You know, we mentioned this 78 acre Bay Area property where they lived. So Fred goes on the run, but takes the time to write a letter to his friend and the wording in it just stunned me. You know, he described the kidnapping but said, if you make this into a movie,

the ending is not enough. You might have to kill some people. And if you do make it, I want a percent of it. It seems like such a strange letter to write, knowing that you're on the run, you're wanted by authorities. And maybe it provides a little bit of insight into Fred Woods.

he's still thinking about how to make some money out of this thing. Yeah, there's not much there in the way of remorse or regrets or, you know, how can I make this right or anything like that? It's how can I still profit from this? It's pretty obvious. And I'm sure we'll talk about this more in detail. But my thought is he probably didn't have remorse because he didn't think anything really bad happened to these kids.

They were all out. They were all alive. As we'll see, even though they all lived, there was quite a bit of damage done by the actions of these three men to these kids. A few days later, all three of the kidnappers, Fred Newhall Woods, James Schoenfeld, and Rick Schoenfeld, entered guilty pleas to 27 counts of kidnapping for ransom without inflicting bodily injury. With these guilty pleas came mandatory life sentence. with no possibility of parole. According to CBS News, one of the judges on the panel, Judge William Newsom, called the kidnapping a mere stunt

and claimed that there had been no vicious aspect to it. This certainly caught many of the families of the abductees by surprise that the judge seemed to be minimizing what these kidnappers had done. So this was a little surprising to me that these guys would enter guilty pleas knowing that the sentences were going to be life sentences with no possible. ability of parole. I wonder why they would do that and not fight them and take their chance at a trial. And what's the worst case scenario that they're feeling guilty and get the same sentence? It's kind of puzzling to me. Yeah, I found that odd as well. Then we're going to get the death penalty,

which would be the only thing worse than what they got. So you would think you'd roll the dice. but, you know, as we talked about, the evidence against them was pretty clear. It was pretty evident. They weren't getting out from these charges, but could there have been some type of scenario where the sentence was less? Maybe there was the possibility of parole. It did seem odd to just kind of take that. And I wonder if, you know, if they were truly sorry and remorseful and,

realize that they deserved this punishment, then maybe they would not fight it. But, you know, from what we've said about, this guy Woods, especially, he seems like he didn't regret it at all. And he was still trying to figure out ways to capitalize on it. But according to ABC News 30, the kidnappers did show remorse.

James Schoenfeld said, I'm very sorry, deeply sorry for what I've done. While Rick Schoenfeld said, I was immature. I was the follower and I made an extremely stupid decision here. Fred Wood said it was just a lot of pain and suffering. We put everybody through that we didn't realize we were doing at the time. But now I just hope that everyone is going on with their lives.

Everything can be somewhat back to normal. Despite their apologies and regrets, the men were sent to prison as the people they kidnapped tried to move forward with their lives and put the nightmare of what happened behind them. Despite the fact that the men had been held accountable and convicted, there was still little in the way of explanations, little in the way of answers. And that's what people really crave. Why did they choose Chow Chila? Three hours away from where they lived in San Francisco, there were many rural communities.

Why this one? And why the children? Why so many of them? Why this bus? So these guys expressed remorse. And, you know, I always wonder in these types of cases when you're talking about perpetrators and what they say, is it real? Is this how they really feel?

Or are they saying this because they know that's what they need to say? I think sometimes it's very hard to figure out. But what Fred Wood said is what really jumped out of me. I just hope that everyone is going on with their lives. Everything can be back to normal. Well, that is such a naive statement. Yeah, people are going to go on with their lives, but it's never going to be the same for them.

It's never going to go back to normal. Fresh air, longer days, a chance to reset. This season let therapy be part of your spring cleaning. clearing mental clutter, shaking off stuckness, and building something better. Grow therapy helps you get there. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 15th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around.

They connect you with thousands of independent licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability, and get started in as little as two days. And if something comes up, you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance at no cost. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states.

Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0, $0 depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com slash book now to get started. That's growtherapy.com slash book now. Growtherapy.com slash book now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. In 1980, an appeal by the convicted men was successful. A multi-judge panel reviewed the case and decided that Woods and the Schoenfeld brothers would be eligible for parole after all and not have to be locked away for the rest of their lives, but they would have to wait years to be free. In 2012, Ed Ray, the courageous bus driver, kept his passengers safe through the ordeal,

passed away at the age of 91. As a result of his bravery and heroic actions, Ray received a California's School Employees Association Citation for Outstanding Community Service. In addition, in 2015, Chalchilla renamed the Sports and Leisure Park as the Edward Ray Park and declared every February 26th, which was Ray's birthday, Edward Ray Day. Ed had stayed in touch with many of the students over the years until his passing. In 2012, the same year Ed Ray died, Richard Schoenfeld was granted parole. and three years later in 2015, his brother James was granted parole.

Sheriff Bates told Vox.com, as far as I'm concerned, the brothers were duped. They were just young, uneducated guys looking for a little excitement and got suckered in. James Schoenfeld finally publicly explained at his final parole hearing why they chose a bus full of school children for their plot. according to CBS News, first they were basically guaranteed to get the ransom money if the hostages were children and there was less that could go wrong with their victims fighting back or escaping if they were small and scared. He said, we needed multiple victims to get multiple millions and we picked children because children are precious.

The state would be willing to pay ransom for them and they'd don't fight back. They're vulnerable. In 2016, 40 years after the kidnapping, the victims, now adults with kids of their own, filed a lawsuit against the Schoenfeld brothers and Fred Woods for false imprisonment, intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery. Ray Boucher, who represented 10 of the victims, told ABC News 30, you have these victims sitting there going, how is this possible? 27 consecutive life sentences, and these men are getting out free.

They eventually won an undisclosed amount, which was said to be enough to pay for therapy for each victim, but not an overly large sum. Many of the survivors have struggled with PTSD, nightmares, and panic attacks in the decades following the kidnapping. While no one thought it would happen since he had been denied parole 17 times in a row, the mastermind of the kidnapping Fred Woods, who, was at this point 67 years old was granted parole in 2022. Interestingly, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who's the son of Judge William Newsom, who once called the kidnapping a stunt,

was the only one with the ability to stop parole proceedings. Woods attorney Gary Dubcoff told CBS news. It is unconscionable that Mr. Woods remains incarcerated some 43 years after his offense, period. Apart from the committed offense, he has no history of violence, whether before prison or in it, he is an elderly inmate, fast approaching 70, and clearly presents no danger to anyone. I don't know how unconscionable those 43 years of incarceration truly were. Woods, even from prison, was able to access the money in his trust fund after his parents both passed away, an amount said to be over $100 million, though his lawyer has denied that number.

Woods was able to live a pretty normal life for someone who was in prison, and his wealth meant that he could afford whatever commissary he wanted. And I'll tell you more, if this is one of the things that I've never understood about this case as it relates to Fred Woods, his family had a lot of money. Now, maybe he didn't have access to it. And as a young guy thought, okay, I want to get my hands on millions of dollars. But it seems strange. It wasn't desperate.

He wasn't broke. He wasn't, you know, living on the street. He didn't need to do this. Also, my thought is you can buy a lot of ramen noodles at the commissary with that money. Yeah, I think it just comes down to greed, plain and simple. You know, even if he had, you know, he didn't have access to a lot of money. He still lived with his family. You know, they seem like they were taking care of him.

They obviously left them their fortune. So it's not like they were on bad terms even after what. what he did. So, you know, why he would do this and risk his freedom for all those years to do something so dumb, just, you know, the only thing that comes to my mind is it just wasn't enough. He wanted more. He was just greedy. Despite his attorney's claim otherwise, Woods wasn't a model prisoner. He was written up several times for possessing pornographic material and multiple times for having a cell phone. Woods was able to run multiple businesses from inside the prison, adding to his wealth, sometimes with the use of those contraband cell phones he was caught with.

He was even able to launch a lawsuit against an employee soon for $1.5 million. A CBS article from 2019 mentioned three of his businesses by name. The Ambria Acres Christmas Tree Farm, down the road from Crest in California, the Little Bear Creek gold mine near Lake Tahoe, and a used car business with a warehouse filled with vehicles. He even had a worker's compensation claim against him while he was in prison. Michael Bianchi, his business manager, was in an accident at Little Bear Creek Mine. They injured his back, neck, and shoulder.

The injuries were extensive. He hadn't just fallen and got him bruise. They required surgery, but Woods declined to pay or take responsibility. Administrative law judge Michael Lacover eventually ruled that Bianchi was an employee of Frederick Woods' trust. Bianchi is the employee that Woods ended up suing, claiming that it was his fault. Tens of thousands of Christmas trees died, while Bianchi claimed that Woods had never purchased a supply of water that could keep them alive. And I don't really understand how this happens. You know, in a way, even though it's much different, kind of reminds me of that scene in Goodfellas where the guys are all sent to prison.

but yet they they have access to, you know, meats and sauce and, you know, they're making Italian, gourmet dinners in prison. Well, this guy is getting access to cell phones. He's running businesses from prison. He's making money, adding to his already considerable fortune. Yeah, and he's got the nerve to be suing people, you know,

from prison, that are working for them. It's just hard to fathom all this. Yeah, that one's kind of a real head scratcher because you would think if you're getting away with some of this stuff you're not supposed to be doing, you wouldn't go out of your way to sue someone to bring attention to yourself. You just settle, pay for this guy's medical bills, whatever it was, and just go on. You're already getting away with so much. But it wasn't all business for woods behind bars. He was married three times while in prison.

He was also able to purchase a home, a mansion about 30 miles away from the California Men's Colony where he was housed apparently worth one and a half million dollars. He also sold a property on Martha's Vineyard for $550,000 in 2019. One Rolls Royce at his used car dealership. sold for $100,000. Somehow, Woods was able to acquire both of the cargo van. He and the Schoenfelds used to kidnap Ed and the children. He was hoping to sell them one day when the price was right due to the media attention

on the crime, even decades later. And this really disgusted a lot of people. And I think what it showed was that even after going to prison for the kidnapping, he was still trying to profit from it. Nonetheless, in 2022, Frederick Woods was paroled, and all of the kidnappers were free men. The release of these men angered their victims, because as we mentioned, none of their victims would ever know true freedom due to the suffering they endured, suffering that led to years of trauma. The day that Woods and the two Schoenfeld brothers enacted their plot was the last day of childhood, innocence, and freedom from worry,

that the 26 children from Daryland Elementary ever really experienced. There was no denying that being kidnapped and buried alive is a traumatic experience that would require help to heal from. In 1976, things like that weren't understood, and help wasn't readily available. Dr. Lenore Tur, a psychiatrist from San Francisco, told CBS News, every Chalchilla kid I interviewed suffered from PTSD symptoms for years after the kidnapping and burial alive. She called the 26 kids little heroes of medicine because they have informed us on the ways that children of all ages, 5 to 14, respond to significant trauma, immediately and over time as they grow into adults. despite being a light in the darkness for the younger children while they were trapped underground.

Jody Huffington struggled for the rest of her life. Jennifer Brown Hyde told CNN, I remember Jody Huffington was one of the older girls who tried to keep the younger kids calm somewhat. The trauma of the ordeal snuffed that light inside of her right out. Jody said of the ordeal in an interview with CBS News, I think it made me not a good daughter, not a good sister, not a good aunt, and especially not a good mother, and probably not a good friend. I try to be those things, but it seems like it just took something from me that I can't ever get back. In 2021, Jody passed away, just months

before Woods was granted parole. She was just 55 years old. To this day, Mike Marshall regrets going home without saying anything to the media that night he was rescued. In the morning, he saw the press conference given by a clearly shell-shocked bus driver Ed Ray, which left out any mention of Mike Marshall and his bravery and guidance. Mike told CNN, it was my chance to tell the world what happened, getting out and everything, and I didn't do it. I let the grown-ups do it. In the months after the kidnapping, Ed Ray was asked what he would do differently if given the chance.

He told CNN, I wouldn't say, stop for a van in the road. I didn't know I had so many friends. I don't really feel like a hero, but for the past month, everybody has been telling me I am. At the end of the film Chalchilla on HBO Max, Mike Marshall, who's now 61, meets with another survivor, Larry Park, who was just six at the time of the kidnapping. Larry says, I'm standing with my hero. I can't believe what he did. I still can't believe it. As they hug, Larry says, thank you so much, Mike. It's plain to see that even after so much time has passed, this harrowing event from 1976 still weighs heavily on those who went through it. And for those of you who haven't watched the film, this part that Morp just described,

it's a tearjerker. I mean, you're talking about, you know, people in their 50s and 60s, reliving, hugging, about something that happened when they were kids. And for Larry's, Park, it's almost like, you know, he's meeting a superhero. I mean, that's the type of admiration that he has for Mike Marshall. And it's clear that, you know, Mike Marshall wished that he could go back and tell the media his side of the story because it really didn't come out for many, many years. You know, we mentioned earlier in the episode how Chow Chow Chila kind of has an Ed Ray day. Ed Ray, being the adult, was seen as kind of the savior of all these children. And, you know, Ed did a great job. But what they left out early on is the unbelievable

bravery of Mike Marshall. Because I don't know more that they get out of this makeshift bunker without Mike Marshall. You know, there was a lot of talk about Ed Ray being fearful to even try to escape because he was worried that men with guns would be there to meet them. Now, that's a reasonable fear. But Mike didn't seem to have that fear. His only thought seemed to be, we're getting the heck out of here. So in a way, you know, I do feel really bad.

for Mike because it took many, many years, I think, for him to get the credit that he deserves. And I'm not downplaying what Ed Ray did, but they even wrote a song about Ed Ray. And you can go out on YouTube and listen to it. He was hailed as kind of the conquering hero. And again, not downplaying what he did, just saying that Mike Marshall deserved a lot more credit. it than he got. And so did some of the other kids. You know, we talk about Jody Heffington, helping to to keep people calm, keep some of the younger kids calm. And what happened to her, it tears me up, you know, to think that this ordeal changed her life in such a way. And she said it in her own words. She wasn't a good daughter. She wasn't a good sister, aunt, mother.

friend. And she believed, I think, that it all went back to the trauma that she experienced during this ordeal. And it seems like Mike here, especially having that, that bravery, that grit to make the determination at 14 years old that, hey, if, if, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die trying to get out of here. That's, you know, I don't know if every adult would think the same thing. So he definitely deserves credit. And I think they all deserve credit for for living through this and sticking together because if any one of them maybe had not cooperated or had tried to escape or who knows what could have happened, the outcome could have been different.

These guys could have panicked and shot one of them. Who knows? And just thankfully, they all did make it out of it alive. So we mentioned in the beginning of the episode that. This case had a quote unquote positive ending. And obviously it did, right? It's positive in the fact that the kids were saved. They're kidnappers, convicted and imprisoned for their crimes.

But it would be very difficult, impossible, really, to say that there was a happy ending. None of the children had the lives they would have lived without the trauma they endured. Reporter Patty Mandrill summed it up best in Vox.com saying, This is the story of a town coming together. There wasn't a single person in this town who didn't know somebody on that bus, thinking more on the matter, she added, it was like a storm, a calamity that the town had to weather.

After the storm passed, Patty said, things changed. You didn't see kids on the street. And if you did, their parents were grasping them for dear life. And that's something that we see in a lot of cases. You have a town like Chow Chila, and we kind of painted the picture of the town.

Kids out riding their bikes until the streetlights came on, basically, you know, doing what they wanted to do, getting a lot of freedom probably from their parents until you have something like this happened. And then the town completely changes, as does the behavior of the parents. They're scared. They don't want to let their kids out. Yeah, I think it's very sad that that ordeal changes town forever and it was the loss of the town's innocence and it would never be the same again.

Yeah, no doubt. So as we wrap up this episode, it's a very interesting case in the fact that good kind of triumph over evil. All of these children lived. But their lives were. significantly altered, one of the things that continues to perplex me is Fred Woods. It's just hard to get a grasp on why this guy felt he needed to do what he did. I get it. Everybody wants money. And even though your parents are rich, it doesn't mean you have money. But to try to get it by kidnapping a school

bus full of children. And then how does he get these brothers, to go along with his plan because that's a question I have in all of these cases. Somebody has an idea to commit a crime. How do you then broach the subject with an accomplice or multiple accomplices? And you talk to these people and they're like, okay, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I never understand that. Yeah, you would think that somebody in that group is going to be a voice of reason and say, wait a minute, we can't do this.

it's against the law. And, you know, if we get caught and we're sentenced to life in prison without parole, is it worth splitting $5 million three ways for the risk of going to prison for the rest of our lives without being released? It seems like they didn't weigh the possible consequences of their actions. Well, and isn't that kind of what we see with a lot of criminals? They either don't weigh the consequence. or what could happen to them or they do,

but they still make the decision that it's worth the risk. And now, let's face it, $5 million in the 1970s was a boatload of money. We've seen people take even greater risks or similar risks for much less money, $50, $100. But I think it's the wealth of Fred Woods family that really has me so confused about the whole thing. But no doubt a very sad case, even though no one died.

Everyone lived. It's just the way that they were forced to live, how their lives were affected. Incredibly sad. But that's it for our episode on the Chow Chila Kidnapping. If you love the show, but haven't done so yet, take a minute, go out, give us a five-star rating. You can leave a review, but also keep telling your friends. Word of mouth about the criminology podcast is huge. If you want to find us on social media, we're on X with a handle at Criminology Pod.

You can also find us on Facebook at facebook.com slash criminology podcast. And you can join our Facebook discussion group, criminology podcast discussion and fans. So that's it for another episode of criminology. But Morven I will be back with all of you next Saturday night with. the brand new episode. So until then for Mike and Morf. We'll talk to you next week. Take care, everyone. Can't too heard you loud and clear

with their new ultra-moister collection. Powered by Batana Oil and Jamaican Blackcaster Oil. This new lineup collection is clinically proven to deliver non-stop moisture for up to five days. Five whole days. The shampoo gently cleanses without stripping and olivin and stylers keep curls soft,

defined, and nourished long after wash day. Plus it's free of sulfates, paraben, silicones, and mineral oils. If your curls have been craving real moisture, this is it. So if your hair's curls have been thirsty, go ahead and try the new can-to-ultra moisture collection. Your curls will thank you. Available now at Walmart.