Every Town - An INSANE True Crime Story, Solved After 44 Years....Almost - The Arlis Perry Story

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

Unsolved for four decades. It was one of Californias most perplexing crimes for a long time. Although the culprit was rightfully identified and finally got apprehended in 2018, the victim’s family will never be able to find the answer to their question “Why was Arlis murdered?” 🎃 Exclusive Content & Perks: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 💀 Follow Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg 👁 Follow Our TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald 💥 Follow Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial 🗣 Business Inquiries: [e-mail] DISCLAIMER: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If you are, or represent, the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have an issue with the use of said material, please send us an email at [e-mail] Copyright © 2023 ScaryMysteries. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Every town has a dark side. The oldest part of one of the most prestigious schools in America, Stanford University and Clara County, California, lies the more than a century-old Stanford Memorial Church. Built during the American Renaissance period, it's the university's architectural crown jewel and never fails to awe its visitors. This church was one of the earliest,

and remains one of the most prominent, interdenominational churches in the West. In more recent years, it was in the news as the site of the memorial service for Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, a native of California himself. But not many know or prefer not to remember. The Stanford Memorial Church was once a crime scene of a brutal murder back in 1974. Arles Perry may have been an ordinary 19-year-old girl, but how she was killed just a few few feet away from the church's altar, became a prominent case that achieved closure 44 years after.

Well, almost. Hi, I'm Mandevich Gerald, and welcome to this week's episode of Everytown, and we'll bring us over to Stanford, which was home to young bride Arliss Perry for just six weeks before she was found inhumanely killed inside the Stanford Memorial Church on the early morning of October 13, 1974. unexpected, unbelievable, unsolved for four decades. It was one of California's most perplexing crimes for a long time. Although the culprit was rightfully identified and finally got apprehended in 2018, the victim's family will never be able to find the answer to their question.

Why was Arliss murdered? Arles Perry was born Arles K. Dekemma in Bismarck, North Dakota on February 22, 195. She was in Stanford, California at the time of her death, in order to be with her high school sweetheart turned husband Bruce Perry, also born and raised in Bismarck, who was a sophomore pre-med student at Stanford University in 74. This was the youngest of the three children of Marvin and Jean de Kema, raised their kids in the quiet and sleepy town in the American Midwest.

This was described as a devout Christian, known for a very optimistic, compassionate, and compassionate, and kind nature. She had a sheltered upbringing that possibly molded her to become very trusting and naive. At Bismarck High School, she was a cheerleader who also excelled academically. According to her mom, Jean,

the good-natured teen, expressed her kindness by baking cakes for her fellow cheerleaders and the high school's basketball team. She was a petite girl, but with a big heart, which is why Bruce became so enamored with her. The young man was not only, dedicated to his studies as a scholar, but he was also a competitive athlete who set many local records for his prowess and track and field. The pair became high school's sweethearts,

and as Bruce was determined to pursue a medical degree after graduating high school, he headed out to the prestigious Stanford University. Arla is still at one more year of high school, but the young couple continued their romance despite the 1,500 miles that separated them physically. While maintaining a long-distance relationship, Arliss finished school and then studied at Bismarck Junior College, managed to squeeze in time working for the Duncan Perry Clinic in order to save money. In her free time, she worked with several church organizations spreading the Gospel of Christ. Feeling the toll of not spending time with one another for over a year, Bruce and Arliss made a pact not to be apart from each other any longer.

Their solution? Getting married, despite being years away from accomplishing their dreams. At first, her family wasn't too happy about the couple's decision because they felt they weren't old enough yet to get married, and California was pretty far from North Dakota. But others, his loved ones eventually embraced the lover's wish to tie the knot. On August 17th of 1974, the couple had a beautiful and big wedding at the Bismarck Reformed Church. A couple of weeks after their honeymoon, a newlywed couple made the initial step towards beginning their new life together by moving to Stanford, California.

When the brand new, Mr. and Mrs. Perry drove their car to leave their hometown for good, never dawned on the Dekemah family that would be the last time that they'd see Arles again. The two of them settled in an apartment from Quillen Hall, a residence reserved for married couples located in Escondido village. within the vast Stanford University campus. The newly minted, bride from North Dakota found her new surroundings lovely and perfect for an enjoyable stroll.

Time came for Bruce to resume his studies and his pre-med workload kept him busy going to class, studying and preparing for grueling exams. All this while also supporting himself and his wife, mostly left alone in their apartment, Arlis, spent time as a homemaker. Understandably, she felt lonely,

in the unfamiliar territory, as she expressed in her regular letters to her family and friends. Friends are hard to find here, she wrote to her bestie in Bismarck. Many times I've been tempted to go knock on doors asking if anybody needs a friend. I guess we just have to appreciate each other and trust the Lord for new friends too. Before long, Arliss took on a job as a receptionist of the nearby Palo Alto law firm of Spath, Blase, Valentine, and Klein, hoping to alleviate some of the loneliness and possible boredom she may have felt. Getting the job changed the young wife's disposition, and she wrote to friends about how her married life with Bruce was all falling into place. She found the California weather exciting, and her spare time in between working and keeping their home was spent walking and jogging around the university campus.

It was inevitable for a religious individual. like Arles, to be drawn to the huge and grand Stanford Memorial Church, situated just about a half a mile from their apartment. She frequented the church, which had become her sanctuary and a source of comfort and solace. Married life in California had settled in on the peri couple, and they were headed for bliss. Still in a period of adjustment, though, Bruce and Arles had occasional spats. These are normal, even add a little spice to her romantic relationship. No one guessed that a trivial tiff could lead to a major catastrophe, an end abutting marital union even before it could ever fully bloom.

And sadly, that was the tragic fate that awaited Bruce and Arliss, just eight weeks after they exchanged idios. The soothing breeze of the early fall season on the night of October 12th, a Saturday, was enticing enough for some of the college students to go out and party, although the campus was still relatively quiet. Arliss wanted to take a breather, decided to go for a walk to the mailbox as she had a new bundle of letters

to send to her family and friends back in North Dakota. Bruce opted to join his wife instead of pouring over his med books. As the two were strolling around the campus grounds, their conversations segued into a discussion about who between them was responsible for checking the tire pressure on their vehicle.

It may have seemed like a silly, minor squabble, but Arliss became upset and requested her husband to give her some alone time. Bruce also wanted to cool down, so hit it back to their apartment a half mile away. Left on her own, Arliss went inside the nearby memorial church to pray. It was around 11 p.m. and the church was practically empty, except for Arles and two other people sitting in the back. They noticed that she sat at the front pew of the church on the left side.

Moments later, while the two worshippers were about to leave at around 1135 p.m., they noticed a man in a blue short-sleeved shirt entering the church. I described him as around 25 years old, the medium-billed and parted sandy blonde hair. At roughly 11.50 p.m., night duty security guard Stephen Crawford went inside to inform them the church would be closed shortly. He came back 20 minutes later, took a quick look around, and when he found it empty, Stephen locked the church doors. Meanwhile, Bruce was anxiously waiting for Arlis to come home. His fear lingered in the back of his mind.

He decided ahead to the church by 12.30 a.m., knowing that was really the only place his wife could be. He found the doors locked and all the lights turned off. He checked the side doors and the back part of the church but didn't find any open door, and then wandered around campus hoping to bump into Arles, or God willing, she'd already gotten back to their cozy apartment while he was out. But Bruce found their love nest empty when he got home. Back in the church, security guard Stephen checked it at 2 a.m. as part of his duty was to make a security pass every two hours. He saw and heard nothing unusual.

And there was still no signs of Arliss by 3.30 a.m., Bruce decided to call and report the incident to the Stanford security officers. and they checked the church haphazardly and believed that no one was left inside as all the doors were locked. And then, a couple hours later, the man who secured the Stanford Memorial Church, a few minutes past midnight, would find Arles inside. And Crawford's discovery was the worst anyone could possibly imagine to happen inside a venerated place of worship. At 5.45 a.m. on October 13th, Stephen made another security check of the church. church, and found one of the west side doors already unlocked. With a bit of apprehension he headed inside, the altar was intact and there was no sign of a theft. But the sight that greeted him on the east transit was so revolting that it could numb the senses. Yours included, and so this is a precaution.

Stephen found Arles, among the front row of the pews lying spread eagle on her back, half-naked from the waist down. Her pants were draped across her lower half, almost in a ritualistic fashion, and they had been neatly placed. There were multiple bruises on her body, which indicated that she suffered from a beating. The mark on her neck showed she had been strangled. What was worse, an ice pick was protruding from her head, just behind her left ear. The handle of the pointed object had been broken off and was missing. Her blouse was ripped open, her cold arm. position across her chest while holding close an altar candle pushed up between her breasts.

Another 24-inch candle was forced to inside her below that. It was the final brutal act that desecrated the body of Arles. Stephen immediately called his superiors who got in touch with the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department, which had criminal jurisdiction over Stanford University. Shortly after, an investigation was underway, they determined that the unlocked west side door had been forced open from the inside, as in that was an escape. They also found a man's DNA sprayed onto an altered pillow placed near the body of Arles.

Moreover, a latent palm print was found on the surface of one of the candles. Some accounts claim that from a bird's eye view, Alice's body was set in a certain manner so that the position of her legs appeared like a diamond shape, resembling a pentagram. Thus, speculations that Arliss's death was some type of satanic ritual, or, a few years later, believed to have been perpetrated by the son of Sam. But those all remained assumptions, depending on who you talk to.

On October 15th, the memorial service for Arles was held in the very church where she was found. Bruce was joined by his father and other family members, as well as the co-workers of Arles who were from the law office. Interestingly, one of her male office mates was surprised to see the quote-unquote real Bruce at the service. See, he thought Bruce was a man

he had seen visit Arles at the office. The same man he saw having what looked like a serious talk with her the day before she died. This male visitor was described to be in his early 20s, about five foot, ten inches tall with regular length blonde hair. This description resembled the man seen entering the church shortly after Arliss had gone inside too.

Was he a potential suspect? He certainly should have been, but for some reason, investigators didn't dig deeper into this angle. October 18th, Arliss was laid in her final resting place back in Bismar. It was attended by the grieving and outrage to Kemma and Perry families kept the details of the murder from the public for a while. In tragedy, the family members were more united by their earnest desire to seek justice for the tragic demise of Arles.

The investigation eventually focused on the two people who had last seen the girl. Her husband, Bruce, and security guard Stephen Crawford, who discovered the body. Bruce readily submitted blood samples and took a polygraph test, which he effortlessly passed. from being the initial suspect, he was eventually ruled out as the possible killer of his wife. The stains on the pillow found near Arliss's dead body and the palm print from the candle didn't match up with either Bruce or Stephen. As forensic testing in the mid-70s was still in its primitive stage, DNA recovered from the crime scene didn't help much in the progress of the investigation at the time.

Police felt like had Stephen done all his rounds at those two-hour intervals, and more than likely he would have stumbled into the killer or the crime as it was happening, perhaps at least caught a glimpse of the killer. So they felt like he had lied possibly about making his round at 2 a.m. So did he lie and who really was Stephen Crawford in the first place? Well, he was a United States Air Force veteran who started working as an armed police officer of the Stanford Police Department of Public Safety in 1971. When a new police chief completely revamped the department,

75% of the officers, including Stephen, were forced out of their positions. For compensation, they were offered jobs as security guards, and that's how Stephen became one. By the end of 1974, the Arles case had become cold. Two years later, Stephen left his Stanford job, but he also remained on the outskirts as a person of interest in the murder, even if it wasn't his DNA on that pillow, perhaps there was more than one perpetrator and Stephen was one of them. While there was no progress in the case for a while after that,

Stephen got into some legal trouble in 1992 when he was arrested and charged with stealing hundreds of valuable items from Stanford collections, including Western-style bronze statues and rare books. He spent a short amount of time in jail, was released shortly thereafter. In 1993, he moved to San Jose, California, in an area just off Highway 85 at the 5,200 block of Camden Avenue. He moved into the first floor of the Del Coronado apartment complex, where he lived in apartment 185 ever since. Stephen's neighbors found him normal, although he mostly kept to himself. His landlord said that the ex-security guard hadn't worked for some time and depended on either Social Security or his retirement. But for Santa Clara County Sheriff, Lori Smith, who was obsessed in solving Arles Perry's case,

Stephen Crawford wasn't a retired suspect just yet. In fact, he'd been on top of the list since 1974. Nothing ever cleared him. There just wasn't enough evidence to charge him with a crime. Through the decades, the murder of Arles had been in danger of being closed, but thanks to the advancements and DNA testing methods, investigating. investigators believed they could figure out who her killer was. As they reviewed old components of the case,

they zeroed in on their number one suspect, security guard Stephen Crawford. In 2018, a new DNA sample had come in from Arles' clothing, one that could be examined in more detail and compared to what was found on that altar pillow. In calling the crime callous and cold, Sheriff Smith said detectives were able to break the case through the new DNA evidence that now linked the 72-year-old Stephen to the crime.

It enabled the investigators to secure a search warrant for the suspect's apartment. Finally, Justice for Arliss was within reach. At 9.4 a.m. on Thursday, June 28 of 2018, the detectives arrived at Stephen's apartment with a search warrant and a certainty to arrest him. As authorities knocked on the door, Stephen asked for a few minutes to get dressed. but it was taking him long so the detectives decided to enter using a spare key from Stephen's landlord. Detectives immediately saw Stephen sitting on his bed with a gun in his hand. As the detectives retreated, the old man then pulled the trigger.

One of the things found by the detectives in Stephen's apartment was a rambling note from 2016. Sheriff Smith said the date coincided with the start of an intense interrogation of Stephen again about Arliss's murder. Perhaps this was Stevens' only way of eluding arrest and conviction, knowing all along that time would eventually catch up with him. But wasn't enough compensation for the life of Arles that he had taken away and the promising girl was just barely 20 years old. Arles' family considered a closure, but sadly her father, who passed away just three months earlier, didn't get a chance to witness it.

The DeKemma family, however, and their patriarch is now celebrated. in the afterlife of his daughter. The piece of the puzzle is still lost. Why exactly did Stephen murder Arlis almost 50 years ago? Until the answer is known, her murder isn't completely solved. And is it possible? This man committed more heinous crimes that to this day remain unsolved out there. That's going to do it for this week's episode of Everytown.

Hope you guys enjoyed it. Go check out this episode in video form over on our YouTube channel called Scary Mysteries. And if you want more podcasts from us, check out the Scary Mysteries podcast. You also have an exclusive channel that you can check out down in the description below. Thanks for tuning in today.

Remember to come back next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.