Going West: True Crime - Christie Wilson // 420

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

In October of 2005, a 27-year-old woman vanished after leaving a California casino. But when police pored over surveillance footage from the property, they saw a man escorting her through the parking lot. In the video, she can be spotted pushing the man away before disappearing from the camera’s view, never to be seen again. But was he responsible? Or was it someone else entirely? This the story of Christie Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host, T. and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to going west. Hello everybody. Hope you're doing very well today. Today we are covering an October case because I need some October in my life. Oh, Daphne always needs some October in her life. I'm not a summer gal and it is too hot in Los Angeles. I saw this TikTok this morning of this girl like baking cookies and it was dark and rainy. She was watching a Halloween movie and that made me so jealous. So let's So let's go to Halloween time a little bit today in this absolutely insane case that we have for you. This case, it has some similarities to a case we just covered last week actually, but it

takes a totally different turn. It's wild and in many ways unlike anything we've ever covered. Yes, we have an absolute piece of shit for you guys today. Not the episode, the person in the episode. Not the episode. Sorry, the perpetrator in this episode is a POS. So without further ado, this is episode 420. Yes it is, 420, I knew you were gonna make that joke.

I thought we were gonna rhyme there. Oh, okay, do you wanna say it together? One, two, three, 420! All right, anyways, enough of this nonsense. This is episode 420 of Going West, so let's get into it. ["Going West"]

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That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash ymx. Benefits vary by card, other conditions apply. In October of 2005, a 27-year-old woman vanished after leaving a California casino. But when police pored over surveillance footage from the property, they saw a man escorting her through the parking lot. In the video, she can be spotted pushing the man away before disappearing from the camera's view, never to be seen again. This is the story of Christy Wilson. Kristi Lynn Wilson was born on January 10th, 1978 in San Jose, California to parents Debbie and Dennis,

later joined by a little sister named Stacy, who was reportedly her very best friend. But their parents eventually divorced, and their mom Debbie remarried Pat Boyd, who worked as a police officer actually in San Jose. And he said that he loved the girls like they were his own. Christie is described glowingly by her friends and family for her kindness and just how outgoing she was. But also growing up, Debbie said her daughter was a high achiever

and very accomplished in school since she was so driven and organized. After graduating from high school, Christie attended Chico State University in of course, Chico, California, graduating with a degree in production operations management in 2000. Now, according to her mom,

Christie's career path was a little bit rocky and she wasn't sure if she had chosen the right field originally. And after college Christie worked for a number of tech industry companies, but since she was let go from a few of these jobs She just felt really confused in her professional direction and kind of wanted to figure out if this was the right field for her If she wanted to do something else, you know, it's just when this story takes place She was kind of in the midst of that type of decision. That's fair everybody goes through transitions like

that. Yeah absolutely, but this was a pretty hard time on Christy because in the summer of 2005, and this this case today takes place in October of 2005, just all the pressure of this unsteady path was really weighing on her and thus Christy was diagnosed with depression. But still, she maintained a hopeful outlook for the future and she was devoted in her search for new work opportunities. Around this time, Christy also started dating someone new. Now, she had taken up gambling a bit when she was in between jobs, someone new. Now, she had taken up gambling a bit when she was in between jobs, just hoping, I think like everybody who gambles at all, that they can hit a stroke of good luck and maybe fill their bank account with some much needed cash, you know?

Yeah, definitely. And it was through gambling that she met her new boyfriend, Danny Berlando. So they first connected over the blackjack table at the Cache Creek Casino in Brooks, California. But even though they had a lot in common and were really enjoying each other's company, their relationship definitely had some issues. In March of 2005, they actually got into a physical altercation where the police had to be called to intervene and both of them were arrested

But they did manage to work through these issues and by the fall of 2005 they had moved in together to a home in Sacramento So at the time 27 year old Christy was working toward the life that she wanted with the aid of self-help and an improvement course Recommended for her anxiety She had been interviewing with Zoom Eye Works, which is an eyewear company in Berkeley, California, and she was feeling pretty positive about her prospects. By early October, she had been through two interviews with this company and she was feeling really optimistic about how it was gonna go. Also, that first weekend of October, Danny took her

over to Lake Tahoe to celebrate their first anniversary together, so first weekend of October, Danny took her over to Lake Tahoe to celebrate their first anniversary together, so it kind of seemed like things were going really well here. Now, on Monday, October 3rd, 2005, Christy emailed the vice president of the company about her continued interest in this job, and a final interview was scheduled for October 7th, so just a few days later. But her family last heard from her on Tuesday, October 4th, when just a few days later. But her family last heard from her on Tuesday, October 4th, when she sent them

an email of her cat dressed up in a Halloween costume. So this is the day after she is emailing that vice president. Exactly, about this interview. So that evening, Danny headed to a family get-together and planned to see Christy when she got home later that night.

Now that same night, Christy headed out to gamble and wound up at Thunder Valley casino in Lincoln, California Which is a community of about 50,000 people just northeast of Sacramento again where she lived So when Danny returned home to their apartment at 10 30 p.m Christy still was not home So he called her and she did answer saying that she was finishing up and that she'd be home soon. But a few more hours passed and Danny went to bed around 2am, still with Christie not home.

When he woke up very early the next morning, he realized that she never made it home and hadn't called to let him know that she'd be staying somewhere else. So this is really weird, you know, he knows right away that something is off. So Danny continued to call and text her all day getting increasingly panicked as time went on because she wasn't answering his phone calls. As evening came and it was going on 24 hours since he had last spoken to her, he called their friends and family as well as local jails hospitals, just hoping to find some kind of sign of her. He then drove 30 miles, or 48 kilometers from Sacramento out to the Thunder Valley Casino to check the area for himself. And eerily, right there in the parking lot, Danny found her car, parked,

locked, and untouched. So on Thursday, October 6th, nearly 48 hours after Danny had last heard from his girlfriend, he finally reported her missing to the police. Of course, investigators initially wondered if she could have taken off on her own because, well, one, she was an adult. Right. And then two, the reason that we highlighted her depression earlier is because it was kind of used as fuel in the idea that she had gone off on her own, but it's also why we highlighted all the positive things going on around her at the time of her disappearance because her mom Debbie knew that she didn't just leave her life behind, saying, quote,

that's one thing she wouldn't do. Check out, never call her family again, never retrieve cell phone messages, never access her bank account and leave her BMW, which was her little baby. Leave her little BMW in a casino and just take off and never speak to anybody again. She was so close to her family. She would never. Yeah and I gotta agree I think it's one thing to go off you know decide to ditch your family and ditch your life but you need to have access to money you need to have access

to resources so to just and also the car is a big thing you know because if you're gonna run away you need a mode of transportation. Absolutely, and she absolutely loved this car. I don't see her leaving it behind. If anything, I could see somebody, if they're going to take off and leave their life behind, taking their valuable car with them. Right, well, unfortunately, her phone had not been with her

when she left the casino that night because there is footage of her leaving. We're going to talk about that here shortly. Because weirdly, her phone was later discovered underneath a blackjack table inside. So even though it was only 2005, they couldn't utilize this to find her since they would have been able to at least connect to a cell phone tower back then. Yeah, so this is interesting because nowadays when we talk about cases that involve cell phones, we're usually using like the GPS from the cell phone to kind of track where a person is and we're not able to do that in this particular case. And as for why it was under the table, investigators believe that she likely

attempted to drop it into her purse and missed it without realizing Because one thing that is great about the location of her disappearance is the fact that casinos have so many security cameras Oh, yeah, I mean they're literally everywhere And I'm sure there's a lot more now than there used to be but there are multiple angles of footage in this case alone So so that was at least on our side, that they could actually track her movements while she was still inside and partially outside, again, as I'm gonna get into here in a second.

But without her phone's location data to work off of, detectives began interviewing Christy's friends and family members and tracking the activity on her phone and bank account anyway. But there had been no updates or changes since October 4th, which is the evening that she had last been seen. But thankfully, again, they had the security camera footage, and in this footage, they are able to see that Christy left with a mysterious older man that night,

who she appeared to push away as he walked her through the parking lot and then they disappeared off-screen. Now we are gonna post the video clips for you guys to see but basically here's how the night unfolded. So Christie's night began just before 7 p.m. when she headed to the blackjack tables. At one of them she can be seen talking to this man that she would later be seen leaving with. He was taller and broad with dark hair and a loose white button-down shirt. Around 9 30 p.m.

They sat down at Blackjack table 36 together where they stayed for over three hours. They appear cordial and friendly. They're in constant conversation. So so far. It's looking normal It looks like they're just you know, two strangers who are hitting it off They're they're playing the same game and this is a pretty normal thing to occur at a blackjack table Like when you sit down, you're usually sitting next to a stranger You guys kind of you know make conversation over the game that you're playing. And three hours is normal? Yeah, definitely.

I think that certain people will spend many hours playing Blackjack. Well, that's what they did. Again, looking totally normal. They were very friendly and then they walk out together later in the same stride, still talking, still looking totally normal and talkative. And at 1.13 a.m., they make their way outside and into the parking lot. And the man could be seen on the footage reaching for her,

but Christie pulled her arm away from him to distance herself. And to explain this a little better, he tried to link his arm with her arm, and she kind of shrugs it away and pulls her arm out of his as they continue walking into the parking lot together. And then after she does this, he goes ahead and puts his hand on her lower back, like as if she wants it there, you know?

Yeah. So basically he's trying to like usher her in the direction that he wants her to go. Yeah. And keep touching her, which tells us a little bit more usher her in the direction that he wants her to go. Yeah. And keep touching her, which tells us a little bit more about his motives in the situation. So they continue to walk side by side towards their cars until they disappear from the view of the security cameras. And a few minutes later, the man can be seen leaving seemingly alone in his white Toyota Camry.

seemingly alone in his white Toyota Camry. But Christie never got into her car and drove away. And this is interesting because we know just after about 10.30 PM is when Christie's boyfriend Danny called and she said, "'Oh, I'm just wrapping up.'" But now we know that she didn't actually walk out until 1.13 AM, which is almost three hours later.

So there's a few reasons why we think that might have happened, as we will get into as well, but this is interesting to note. It absolutely is. Well based on accounts from employees who knew the man as a regular, as well as the timing from his player's card, the Placer County Sheriff's Office were able to identify him as 53 yearyear-old Mario Garcia. Which is awesome that they're able to verify his identity so fast. Absolutely, and awesome that he had a player's card specifically for this casino because that's very easy to, you know, confirm that he was a regular there.

And it was also great that they were able to question him immediately. And during their conversation, Mario admitted that he and Christie had met that evening, because they were both seated at the same table. He added that they had moved to other tables together, keeping each other company throughout the night, and that they had walked out together, which was all true. You know, it's all matching up with what police saw on that surveillance footage. So after finishing up for the night, he says that he walked her out to her car and said goodbye,

and that he hadn't seen or heard from her since. Though we have to remember again, the final images of them together, which is him trying to touch her and make contact with her, with her, you you know rejecting him so is it possible that he accepted this rejection as he should have and moved on sure right but he's finally caught in a little bit of a lie here because he claims that he hugged Christy goodbye and that she realized that she had forgotten her cell phone inside so he got into his car to leave the premises while she headed back inside to retrieve her cell phone. And interesting that he knew, by the way, sorry, that she didn't have her phone.

Right, but there's no reappearance of Christie on any of the cameras after she's seen leaving Thunder Valley Casino with Mario. When asked what he himself believed happened to Christy, Mario said that he thought it was likely, you know, either a chance encounter in the parking lot or perhaps her boyfriend had come to pick her up and they had gotten into an argument. So he's kind of automatically going to, oh yeah, I'm sure something else happened to her but it wasn't by my hand. Of course, yeah, he's trying to point the finger in another direction. But interesting that he's not saying, oh, I'm sure she's fine, and she's out there, and she just wanted some alone time, like he's automatically going to something happened

to her. Well, Christie's boyfriend Danny was considered a person of interest, naturally, but he wasn't found to be anywhere near the casino on the night of Christie's disappearance, so he was out. But due to their checkered past, he was kind of an easy scapegoat for Mario, and a viable suspect for the police for the time being. According to later court documents, Christie had been complaining about him to Mario that very evening, even alleging that he was still being physical with her. And she even raised her arm to show him a bruise that she had apparently gotten from Danny and claimed that he had pulled her hair so you know they're sitting together she's kind of

complaining about Danny and how he's abusive and Mario is using this as a scapegoat but Danny was cooperative with the investigation and actually allowed authorities to search his phone records, car, computer, and bank statements, as well as he and Christie's apartment. So, you know, it just didn't really feel like he had anything to hide here. But Christie's stepfather, Pat, wanted to be sure that Danny was not involved. So he searched the area around their apartment on foot himself, looking for clues. Now initially Pat was worried that Christie had possibly been met with foul play via Danny,

because he said that he could smell decay in the air, but this just turned out to be a dead raccoon. And though Danny was not present in any of the many area searches for his girlfriend, and was questioned multiple times by police, the deputy district attorney announced, quote, "'Mr. Berlando has been very cooperative and is not a suspect.'" Doesn't mean he's a good guy, though. Yeah, doesn't really seem like it.

Kind of seems like he's a pisagy. Well, although Mario's car can be seen leaving the casino with only one person in it, investigators began to believe that Mario had incapacitated Christy, placed her in the trunk or possibly the back seat, and driven the car away from the casino himself. It just seemed like the most plausible conclusion with the information that they had.

Exactly. They don't see her going back into the casino. They don't see her car leaving. They don't see her at all after they casino. They don't see her car leaving. They don't see her at all after They leave and but they do see his car leaving so and that's the hard thing there There is no footage by the way if that was a little confusing earlier There's no footage of him getting into his car. It's just they're both walking through the parking lot They both go off camera because the cameras are not throughout the entire parking lot. Sure.

And then he is seen driving away. So and she's not seen again after that. She's not seen walking back. She's not seen in a different part of the property. So that's why it's so believed that, well, they were last seen together on the camera footage. So something must have happened. All you got to do is put two and two together here. So, something must have happened. All you gotta do is put two and two together here. Exactly, especially when other patrons of the casino that evening began filling in the blanks. When Christy arrived, she was in a good mood,

she had some drinks, and then she met Mario. And like we had said, she had told him about Danny, her boyfriend, and she even told him about the fact that she had lost her first job in tech due to the decline in the industry. So she was just venting about work, she was venting about her life. She met this seemingly nice guy and they just started hitting it off. Of course, again, they were talking for hours. They spent so much of this evening together.

So Christy apparently explained that she dreamed of having a job with the freedom and salary to allow her to travel. So Mario offered to get her a job at the company he worked for. And this is an important piece to me because I wondered if this is part of the reason why she kept talking to him that night. Like maybe she thought, oh, if I become friends with this guy, then maybe he'll help me get a new job. So I wonder if that was any kind of motive. But anyway, at one point in the evening, Christy excused herself to go to the bathroom, saying that she had a stomach ache. And this led investigators and her family members to believe that it's possible that Mario had drugged or roofied her that night. Yeah, this definitely seems like this is his angle.

You know, he's a predator, he's buying her drinks, he's loaning her money. Yeah, well, I'm glad you brought up the drinks because Mario was physically bringing her drinks all evening. So he had plenty of time between the bar and her to tamper with them. And also more on the loaning money thing, he is doing that so that she could gamble at the blackjack tables a little bit more. So it definitely felt possible that he's doing these little things to keep her around, right? He's like, oh, I'll buy you drinks. I'll get you a job at my company. Here's some money so we can keep gambling and the night doesn't have to end, right? Yeah.

So after getting this money from Mario and actually another man at the table and losing multiple games, Christie became upset and picked a fight with the dealer and even threw chips at him. Now, according to witnesses, Mario calmed her down and then the two left together just after 1 a.m. Remember,

she may be drugged or roofied. Same thing. And she also has had many drinks that evening. So now Mario is saying, oh, don't worry. I got you. Let's get out of here. And so, of course, to him, her leaving seems like an invitation. You know, let's get out of here together. But her family, who were later shown the security footage, were horrified at that sight of Christy recoiling from Mario's touch. And his insistence to continue walking alongside her despite clearly making her uncomfortable. Shop with Rakuten and you'll get it.

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Join for free at rakuten.ca or get the Rakuten app. That's R-A-K-U-T-E-N. Though Mario continued to deny any involvement, investigators kept pushing toward their only solid lead. So the Placer County Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant for both his car and his home, which was a sprawling 5-acre property in Auburn, California, just about a 30-minute drive from the Thunder Valley Casino. In the meantime, they questioned those who knew him, including his wife and his sons, to see if they could dig anything suspicious up. But Mario came off as this family man who was married with two children. He wasn't your typical murder suspect.

He was also an esteemed member of his small community and coached his son's soccer team as if murderers can't do that. I think it's just like, it just seems so endearing, but this is the very same situation as the last case we covered on same situation as the last case we covered on Renette Riella Bergner because he also coached a Children's League, didn't he? I don't remember exactly what it was already. I think he did, but like these things don't matter in a murder investigation. But it's definitely weird, you know, it's like you would think that murderers are loners and you know, whatever, but the fact

that he has two kids, he's involved with their lives, people in the community like him, you know whatever but the fact that he has two kids he's involved with their lives people in the community like him You know he was also a pretty successful guy. He was this project manager for a local health organization He took care of his ranch property. He was very close with his sons Yeah, and according to one of his two sons who was 19 at the time So just a few years younger than Christy, Mario was a very present and loving father. His wife Jean was similarly dumbfounded that her husband could be accused of something

like this, maintaining that she was sure that he was incapable of what they were suggesting. However, a background check called all of this into question, when it was discovered that a former girlfriend had accused him of abduction and rape. So in January of 1979, a woman named Wendy filed a police report alleging that Mario had abducted her, raped her multiple times, and threatened her with a loaded gun. When investigators located her name and tracked her down, she was stunned to hear the name that had been haunting her for more than 20 years.

Investigators found Wendy in a nearby city and asked her to tell her side of the story. So here's that story. She met Mario when they were neighbors in the Bay Area, and after having a little fling, Wendy recalls that he had quickly pressured her Mario when they were neighbors in the Bay Area, and after having a little fling, Wendy recalls that he had quickly pressured her to move in with him, to which she said no. She explained that at his best, he could be witty and charming, but that at his worst,

quote, he suddenly became a different person. It was a Jekyll and Hyde situation. So fed up with his temper and his flip-flop attitude, Wendy ended things but often found that he was following her and she received frequent threats from him. Now he did agree to leave her alone in exchange for a dinner date for closure purposes. Oh, that's always such a bad sign. You know what I mean? But it's so manipulative, like, okay, I'll stop stalking you if you go to dinner with me.

Right, yeah. So on that night in December of 1978, he loaded her into his car and took her to the mountains of Santa Cruz against her will. Now, I'm gonna get into a little bit what happened that night. If this might be disturbing to you, you can go ahead and skip forward. It's not super detailed, but I just wanted to give you a little warning. So there in these mountains, he beat and assaulted her and then he later let her go.

But unfortunately and disgustingly, Mario came back because the following month, in January of 1979, Mario lurked near Wendy's mailbox one evening and sprung out at her from the shadows where he choked her before again, putting her in his black windowless van. He drove off with her, assaulted her numerous times, threatened her with a gun,

and demanded that she not report him this time. But bravely, Wendy reported the assault a second time, and this time was taken more seriously, because Maria was arrested for kidnapping, rape, and assault with a deadly weapon. But frustratingly, the court case against him stalled and he was offered a deal, plead guilty to the weapons charge, and the other charges would be dropped. That's such a shitty injustice.

That's also like the least of the charges. Like he should be You know registering as a sex offender if anything he should be charged for the assault or the kidnapping not the deadly weapon Yeah, it's just so annoying. It's just so stupid Well, he agreed to this and the other charges were dropped and on January 12th 1982 he was sentenced to just one year of probation for this plea deal. Injustice.

Totally. Then six years later, his felony conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor and by then he was already married with kids. Wendy also informed investigators that Mario's first wife had fled the country just to get away from him, so she claims that she wasn't the first woman that he abused. But that wasn't all Mario had done.

Yeah, because later the same year as the incident with Wendy in 1979, 26-year-old Mario started dating a young woman named Lynette Smith. Well that year, Lynette became unexpectedly pregnant, and she chose to terminate the pregnancy against Mario's wishes. But they chose to stay together, just not with the child. Then on Christmas Day of that year, after enjoying Christmas dinner at a nearby restaurant, Mario's car plunged into the bay with Lynette, Lynette's mother, and himself inside. Lynette's mother, Violet Davis, was visiting from Florida and the three shared a festive Christmas dinner.

Now by Mario's account, Lynette had been the one driving. He was in the front passenger seat and Violet was in the back of the car. So Mario claims that he nodded off on the way home from dinner heading back from Jack London Square, which is a marina in popular waterfront area in Oakland, California, just across the bay from San Francisco. Now according to witnesses, the car, which was a 1979 AMC Concord had been coasting on Doolittle Drive and then sped up rapidly plunging into the Oakland estuary in the San Leandro Bay where the ocean meets the river. Well unfortunately no one at the

scene was able to confirm who had been driving that night but when authorities arrived Mario was found floating alone in the water. Interesting. Very interesting. Only one out of the car, huh? Exactly. So investigator John Cave, who was on the scene at the time, remembered, quote, We had a suspicion who the driver was, but we could never prove it. And who was that? Mario. Mario. So the police records read that quote, Mario Garcia staggered and was incoherent on exiting the water. After coaxing and questioning Garcia, officers finally learned from him that there were other people in the vehicle.

So Mario basically alleged that he attempted to help the women but in the confusion and chaos found himself unable to do so, saying, quote, This is so Peter Birkna. I know, it's insane. So the car was pulled from the chilly water that night, with 66-year-old Violet Davis still in the back seat. Search teams scoured the black water for Lynette late into the winter night, but were not able to find her. Meanwhile, Mario was brought to the hospital and treated for his minor injuries, informed

by police that he would need to speak with them before he was released. Yet instead, he left on his own accord the next morning without conducting any interviews, and immediately obtained legal counsel, refusing to speak with the press about this incident. And then, a few weeks later, 33-year-old Lynette's body surfaced in the bay. All of this was sounding eerily similar to what happened after Christie went missing. And on top of that, his co-workers claimed that Mario had noticeable scratches on his face and chest in the days following her disappearance. He even visited the eye doctor for a scratch across his eye. When they asked him what happened, Mario claimed that he had been driving his tractor on his

property and that a branch had become caught on the cage of the tractor and hit him in the face. But at another time, he apparently claimed that he believed it was poison oak that was affecting these injuries. That he had scratched himself on poison oak and it had caused him to get this irritated eye. So, obviously a very different story, but there's more. Because on Thursday, October 6th, 2005, just over 24 hours after Christie was last seen, Mario reported to the UC Davis Ambulatory Care Center complaining of pain in his left

eye, reportedly telling his doctor that he fell from a 15-foot tree when the branch broke. But the nurse didn't think this made sense at all. She didn't think his injuries were consistent with falling out of a tree. He said he was in pain and that he was suffering from blurred vision, and he also had scratches on the rest of his face, his arms and torso, and his lower lip was swollen. Now, when the results of the forensic search

of Mario's Toyota Camry came in, police were even more convinced that he had done something to Christy Wilson. Because get this, in the backseat of Mario's sedan, investigators located trace amounts of Christy Wilson's blood and hair. Investigator Don Merchison reported, At the time, to arrest a suspect without a physical body was extremely unusual. It's still unusual, but it's occurring more and more frequently.

There are a lot of no-body homicide cases out there. They are difficult to prosecute. I think that a lot of investigators in district attorney's offices are afraid to take that challenge on, even if they know they have the right guy. If you can't prove it and you lose the case, then that's the last time you can try. So a lot of agencies are not willing to take that risk. But technology today is extremely valuable in these cases, especially the DNA testing side of it.

And in this case, her DNA was found in his car. It was clear that her presence was inside that vehicle. But a search of his property yielded less than promising results. The cadaver dogs brought in to walk the property didn't hint to anything, though inside the house they recovered a handgun as well as a billy club. And a billy club is one of those clubs that police often carry. I'm sure you guys can picture it. And interestingly, analysis of Mario's computer revealed that a week after Christie's disappearance, he made

searches wondering how authorities test for Rohypnol, aka the date rape drug, and what did police think Mario had done to her? Drugged or roofied her, obviously based on her wooziness and stomachache that night exactly so This is really putting it into perspective for us that he is searching such a thing a week after she goes missing Like he's probably sitting there wondering. Oh can police find out that I drugged her. Yeah. Yeah, and it's yeah It's very very telling very sketchy So the Placer County Sheriff's Office hoped that the forensic evidence in the car, you know, her blood and her hair was enough for a conviction.

So on Friday, October 14th, 2005, nine days after Christie was last seen in public, 53 year old Mario Garcia was arrested for her murder. Now, Mario continued to proclaim his innocence, alleging that the evidence was planted. He cited the fact that police were unable to find the DNA without his wife or son's help because he said that he had cleaned the car thoroughly by coincidence in the days following Christie's disappearance. Oh yeah. I'm sure that it was just a coincidence.

Yeah, just deep cleaning your car after you know that she was in there. Well later, when asked on camera if he killed her, he said through closed eyes, no. Well, the following year, Mario's trial began in Sacramento on September 11th, 2006. Wendy Ward came to meet Debbie and show her support for the family. Lynette and Violet's family also came to show their support. He was offered a plea deal for a lesser sentence in exchange for revealing where he had hidden Christie's body, but he refused to do so, again, proclaiming his innocence. When able to read a statement, Mario said, quote,

For the last 23 years, I've been a good father, husband, and coach. Gotta put the coach thing in there. Of course he does, right? And he lamented the loss of everything good in his life because of this. His family, his home, his job, before continuing, quote, I suppose that, at this hearing, I'm supposed to ask for mercy, for forgiveness and show remorse. However, I will not be doing such a thing. I did not kill Christie Wilson. I am innocent. However, he was found guilty of the crime and Mario was sentenced

on January 11th of 2007, receiving 59 years to life, which at Mario's age was basically a life sentence, even if he were able to skew his sentence towards the lower end. As Christie's family read their victim impact statements, Mario sat stoically staring straight ahead. Christie's father, stepfather, sister, and mother all made statements. Her stepfather Pat described Mario as, quote, sick and, quote, an animal and added, quote, I don't believe he will ever tell us where our daughter is. I have no doubt that you'd kill again.

Lynette's sister Marilyn said, quote, Mario, only you and God know for sure what happened the night of December 25th, 1979. I don't know if there's a life hereafter, but I know that if there is, my mom and Lynn met Christie as she arrived, and the three of them helped me write this statement. She urged the court to never permit Mario to be released from prison, regardless of the circumstances, and later told reporters that she felt relief and closure after nearly 30 years. Jean Garcia, again Mario's wife, who could be seen silently weeping in the courtroom, divorced Mario after the trial, having become convinced that he had actually been responsible

for Christie's death. With Mario put away, Christie's family were forced to move on, knowing that they may never know what really happened to her that night. Debbie claims that, though this was obviously a very difficult feat, she and her husband Pat refused to let him ruin their lives. She said, quote, We made a commitment that he is not going to take our marriage. He is not going to take the marriages of our children, he is not going to disrupt our jobs, we are not giving him any more." Obviously, Mario filed multiple appeals, but none were successful.

And get this, 12 years after Christy went missing, Debbie received a letter from Mario offering to share the location of her body in exchange for an early release. So this asshole basically said that he, you know, was innocent, that he didn't kill Christy, and now 12 years later, he's like, well, I'll tell you where her body is if you can just get me out of prison. But he was literally offered that before the before he even went to prison. He was. Yeah. They gave him the option. They said, well, we'll reduce your sentence. You know, take a plea deal if you tell us where her body is.

Like obviously Mario is a moron. Yeah. And now he's like, oh shit. You know, I've been sitting behind bars for a while. I'm sick of this. Let me try now. But Debbie obviously was so upset by this. Let me try now, but Debbie Obviously was so upset by this. She's like F you So she refused his offer and it turns out that they wouldn't even need it because shockingly Mario's own family were the key to finding Christie's body in 2017 one of Mario's sons contacted authorities. This is actually around the same time that Mario is offering to share the location.

So one of Mario's sons contacted the authorities saying that he remembered something about early October of 2005, back when he was a teenager. Mario's sons recall that in the days following Christy's disappearance, Mario had skipped an important soccer game of theirs, which was something he rarely did, remember coach Mario over here, because he apparently needed to work on their property. Mario spent the entire day working outside, as if he was on some kind of time crunch, and he had taken the tractor out to multiple locations on their property.

So when his son is making this call to the authorities, the Garcia's didn't even own that property anymore. But investigators were able to obtain a search warrant anyway, and walked the entire property with ground penetrating radar, especially focusing on areas where his sons recall that he had been digging that week. Which is amazing as well that this is happening in 2017 when they have the technology, because we know back in the day the cadaver dogs didn't hit to anything on the property, but now they have, you know, one better.

Exactly. So there were eight locations on the property which had been dug up and loosely refilled. And when they were searched, each hole spanning about 20 feet, one particular area yielded a bone. In August of 2020, located just 100 yards from the Garcia's former home, investigators located nearly a full skeleton. And tests confirmed that the remains belonged to Christy Wilson. Investigators flew to Scottsdale to notify her mother Debbie and the family

who were so happy to finally have closure. Well because it had been 15 years since Christy's disappearance the medical examiner could not determine a cause of death though it was discovered that Christy fought back hard, just as her family knew that she had, because her hand and her nose had been broken in the struggle. And this is obviously proven further by what we know happened to Mario's face and his body. I mean, she gave him a blood blister and an eye infection. Yeah, she essentially whooped his ass. Yeah. So so but then they're able to confirm that based on, sadly, what they

found on her body. So it seems most likely, I would say, that the police's belief that Mario had roofied her, wrangled her into his car, tried to or successfully assaulted her and then killed her was probably exactly what happened that night. Christy's remains were cremated in October of 2020, again 15 years after her death. But even after Christy's body was found on his former property, Mario Garcia refused to admit his guilt. And this is even after he said, oh, let me out early and I'll let you know where her body is.

And now he's saying, oh, I didn't do that. Now that you found it, I didn't do that. Now that I can't gain. He's just a sick and evil and twisted person. And I am willing to bet that he purposefully drove that car, you know, into the Bay in 1979. Oh, of course. You know what I mean?

He's that type of guy. Well, on Christmas Eve 2020, Mario Garcia died in prison at the age of 68 due to complications from COVID, leaving Christie Wilson's family at, quote, tremendous peace following the news of his death. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. I'm so glad that there was some resolution in this case, and also that after all of that searching, her remains were finally found, you know, in 2017. Yeah, truly, but it's so disappointing just looking back at everything else that this fucker did, you know, like, the- against Wendy, against Lynette, her mother Violet, like,

it's so unfair that he got away with so many things before and, you know, possibly with his first wife, whatever happened there, there might be other women, like, this guy is awful. Yeah, he was truly a wolf in sheep's skin. I mean, he was pretending to be this family man, this good guy. You know, oh, I coached my son's soccer team. Who gives a shit, man? You're a horrible guy. Yeah. You were a horrible guy. You were a horrible guy. Yeah, true. I it's just so horrible I'm really glad that they were able to find Christie's body and get some type of closure But the fact that like he died right after they found her remains and he still didn't say Okay, this is what happened. Like I just hate that you're gonna die. Anyway, just give her family a little bit more peace

Yeah, absolutely agree. But of course he wasn't gonna do that. Yeah, of course. Well, piece of shit. Thank you guys so much for tuning into this episode and we will see you on Friday. Yeah. Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger Thanks for watching!