Going West: True Crime - Mary Lands // 292

Episode Date: March 31, 2023

In March of 2004, a 39-year-old Michigan woman walked out of her home after getting into an argument with her fiancé, and was never seen again. At least that’s what he told authorities. Years later, he was put on trial for a desperate crime. So is he responsible for his fianceé’s disappearance as well? This is the story of Mary Lands. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Mary's Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/justiceformarydeniselands/ 2. Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/long-missing-michigan-woman-to-get-memorial-stone/ 3. Battle Creek Enquirer: https://www.newspapers.com/image/400496975/?terms=mary%20denise%20lands&match=1 4. Battle Creek Enquirer: https://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/news/local/2016/03/12/family-still-searching-mary-lands/81699020/ 5. Change.org petition: https://www.change.org/p/federal-bureau-of-investigation-corruption-in-the-marshall-police-department?redirect=false 6. Justice for Mary blog: http://justiceformary.blogspot.com/2007/03/ 7. Casetext: https://casetext.com/case/pratt-v-ludwick-1 8. Battle Enquirer: https://www.newspapers.com/image/209382361/?terms=%22jeffrey%20pratt%22&match=1 9. NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/cold-case-spotlight/mary-denise-lands-still-missing-15-years-after-disappearing-michigan-n988891 10. Battle Creek Enquirer: https://www.newspapers.com/image/205792473/?terms=%22christopher%20luke%20pratt%22&match=1 11. Justice for Mary Blog: http://justiceformary.blogspot.com/2009/07/latest-foia-request-on-christopher-luke.html 12. Fox 17: https://www.fox17online.com/2019/06/09/search-conducted-for-mary-lands-after-two-tips-received-about-remains Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on to crime fans? I'm your host Teef. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody, big thanks to Angela for recommending today's case. This one takes place in Michigan. It's a very tragic disappearance case that we're gonna dive into today. So thank you Angela. Yeah, in fair warning, there's probably gonna be a lot of POSs for me today because the main suspect in this case is just gonna drive you guys insane. Oh yeah, play it up, get on it.

Oh, you already know what's happening. Also, I just wanna let you guys know that we just released a brand new bonus episode that you can access on Apple subscriptions or on Patreon. These are just additional bonus episodes on top of our two episodes a week. And yeah, we just came out with this case that takes place in Australia about this young woman named

Phoebe Hansjuk, who was found at the bottom of her apartment building's garbage shoot. And that story is so insane and her grandfather actually conducted all these experiments to try to prove that she did not put herself down that shoot. That case is insane, it's out now, bonus episodes only, check it out. Alright guys, this is episode 292 of Going West, so let's get into it. In March of 2004, a 39-year-old Michigan woman walked out of her home after getting into an argument with her fiance and was never seen again. Or at least that's what he told authorities. Years later, he was put on trial for a separate crime. So is he responsible for his fiancee's disappearance as well?

This is the story of Mary Lans. Mary Denise Marshall was born on September 3rd, 1964, to parents Cliff and Anita Marshall. And ironically, the Marshall family lived in Marshall, Michigan. Interesting. Yeah, which is about an hour southwest of the capital city of Lansing. Anita called her daughter, quote, a good person who had a lot of friends growing up in the Midwest and described their family as close knit. There's been very little press unfortunately about Mary's personal life outside of her case, but at some point, Mary got married and changed her last name, which made her

Mary lands. She had two sons, but the relationship with their father didn't last, and she eventually found herself single again. But Mary kept herself very busy working in a hospital and was close to her siblings and her extended family as well. In 2001, 36-year-old Mary Metaman named Christopher Pratt, no relation to the actor, who was also divorced with children. So after dating for a little while, the two moved in together and eventually they got

engaged. They apparently enjoyed taking trips together and excitedly made plans for their future. However, while their relationship appeared a pretty ideal from the outside, friends and co-workers of Mary's remember, Christopher had a very controlling nature and apparently he even made them move to a different part of the city to isolate her from her friends and family. Yeah, that's never a good sign. Absolutely not.

And actually some even remember her showing up to work injured. So of course they're going to speculate on this and kind of wonder why why that's happening. And he was also very particular about their home for example. Multiple sources remember him having a game room at their house, you know nothing inherently wrong with that, but it was filled with guns hunting and fishing gear and personal items. But we don't know what those personal items are. Right, just weird, it's always weird like personal items in quotations like whatever that means. But the thing is about this game room is that neither Mary nor her guests or his guests were allowed in that room and he used to say if he saw anyone going into the room,

quote, just remember I don't miss when I shoot. OK. Just days before she disappeared, Mary's parents moved across country to California, where much of her extended family already lived, by the way, so they were kind of joining them. And her mom Anita begged her to come with them, but Mary was very firmly rooted in Marshall, Michigan,

with her kids and her own family, so she planned on staying put. The couple's relationships seemed to come to a boiling point on the day that Mary was last seen, which was Friday, March 12, 2004. That evening, before heading to their home at the Walden Pond Town Homes Complex on Marshall's West Side, Mary ran a couple of errands. Around 6.30pm, she stopped at a local party supply store, and she was actually captured on security footage doing so. She then met her fiancé Christopher

at a local tanning salon, and according to a couple of witnesses, the two were arguing in the salon as they were leaving. Mary then stopped at a sit-go gas station around the corner from their home where she can be seen on surveillance footage picking up soda and a bag of chips. According to Christopher, the two were at home together when they got into a heated argument. Christopher remembered that Mary stormed out of the house, leaving her keys, cell phone, and engagement ring behind. Taking only a small purse, yet apparently leaving crucial items behind, she reportedly left

the house between 10 and 10.30pm that Friday evening. So according to Christopher, she stormed out on foot away from their home on the 1200 block of arm street and has never been seen again. Her new car, a Dodge Durango, was still parked out front and she may have actually been intoxicated at the time as Christopher claimed that she had been drinking. Right. How much can we trust him anyway and how can we really know for sure if that was true? It's also just to me, you know, we have to go back to what Heath said about the fact that she apparently

only took a small purse, but she didn't bring her phone, she didn't bring her keys, and she had a new car and she didn't want to drive off in the car. She wants to walk out up the street at night at 10.30 pm. Yeah, seems a little off, but as we're going to get into these details of this case, you're going to realize that I don't think anybody can trust Christopher. Agreed. So Mary was last seen wearing light blue hospital scrubs with a cartoon print of either SpongeBob Squarepants or Teddy bears. And with them, she wore dark blue hospital scrub pants, slip on tennis shoes, and a brown leather jacket.

Remember that. So this is all she was wearing apparently, even though it was hovering around 20 degrees Fahrenheit or negative six degrees Celsius. So it's a very, very cold night to only be out in a leather jacket and scrubs. Right. Right. And Mary was apparently supposed to go out with a friend that evening, but when the friend came by to pick Mary up. We're not sure exactly what time this was at Christopher came outside and told her friend that she could no longer go that Mary could no longer go out

Which is weird in itself that not only is he the one telling the friend this but that his excuse was just that she couldn't He didn't say you know she left or I don't know where she is or she's busy doing this and also why are you answering for her anyway? Yeah, I thought that was really strange too, just the fact that he's like, yeah, no, she just can't go. Like, it's almost like he's saying I'm not allowing her to go, but he's not like saying anything more than that. Like she's literally missing.

I don't know where she is. Exactly. Well, even stranger or strange as well, Christopher waited 44 hours, so nearly two days, and this happened on Sunday, to notify Mary's parents that she had failed to come home after allegedly just walking out the front door. And according to Mary's mom Anita, quote, he called us in California and wanted to know if we had Mary. When no one had seen or heard from her,

Mary's brother Mike called the police to report her missing. It wasn't even her fiance Christopher who called the police. But when he was questioned by police about his activity that Friday evening, when she went missing, Christopher claimed that he last saw Mary walking away from their home by their car port. He also said that his cousin was over that evening as they engaged in their argument as he

and Mary did, and that his cousin could function as his alibi. And although his fiance was missing and likely in danger, of course, Christopher just didn't seem disturbed and was not interested in aiding the search efforts. Like after his initial line of questioning, he was very quiet, he stayed out of the investigation, and he didn't assist or even speak with her family and get this. He has not shown up to a single, vigil, memorial or search party. I mean, he's already looking like a piece of shit, isn't he? Yeah, and the deputy police chief said of this, he hasn't seemed to be interested in reaching

out. Yet, still, the investigation was underway, but was grasping at straws at this point. Sent dogs were employed and apparently tracked Mary to a nearby motel, but there was no sign that she had ever been there. And also her bank account and credit cards remained untouched. And I mean, this only aided in police's theory that she didn't just run away on her own and leave her kids behind so suddenly. And of course, with her cell phone still being at the house, they couldn't use it to attempt to

track her whereabouts. So a few months passed and while police and her family searched in vain for Mary, Christopher's potential role in Mary's disappearance only became more plausible. About three months after Mary was last seen, Christopher was spotted selling some things at a flea market in Homer, Michigan, which is about a 20 minute drive from where they lived in Marshall. He literally had a booth there, and at this booth, items for sale consisted of Mary's items, including the brown leather jacket that she had apparently been wearing on the night that she walked away from him never to be seen again. How do you explain that, Chris?

Yeah, so Mary's cousin actually showed up to this flea market to question him about this. But when asked what he said, her cousin responded, quote, he didn't say anything. When he was confronted, he just ran off, but not until after writing free on a piece of paper and placing it on the table with the rest of Mary's items. And why else would you go to the trouble of setting up a frickin' booth at a flea market, hoping to sell things,

but then putting everything up for free if not to try to just get rid of things? And sure, I mean, this was three months later, he doesn't seem to care that his wife is missing, sure, I mean, this was three months later. He doesn't seem to care that his wife is missing, so why care about her things? But come on. It kind of seemed like this cousin may have rattled him at that flea market. Well, yeah, the fact that he was trying to sell things, and then she shows up and is like, what's this about? And then he just splits? Yeah. It's a bad look.

And by the way, this wasn't even the most suspicious thing that Christopher had done in the aftermath of Mary's disappearance. His phone records show that after Mary had supposedly vanished, he received a call from an officer in the Marshall Police Department named Tim Bryant, who was sometimes known as TJ. Apparently Christopher and Tim were good friends and the phone call was made a full day after Christopher claims that Mary went missing, but well before Christopher himself told her family that she was gone. And this phone call lasted 11 minutes. One account

claimed that Christopher's cousin was there when Mary left, providing Christopher with an alibi, but this was never substantiated. According to this cousin, they gathered Mary's belongings and turned them over to the Marshall Police Department, but there has also been speculation that police lost or discarded all of the evidence in Mary's case. And these instances are just the first of many stories and inconsistencies that Christopher would tell law enforcement. So let's take a second to dive a little further into Christopher's criminal background.

So after Mary disappeared and Christopher proved absolutely useless to the investigation, he moved in with another woman named Noreen Parker. Now Noreen and her two sons,, kinda weird since Mary also had two sons, moved in very quickly after she and Christopher began dating, which was only about a year after Mary disappeared. But Noreen began to see Red Flag soon after moving in with Christopher.

So she had two cats when she moved in with him, but he didn't care for cats. And get this, within just one week of living with him, but he didn't care for cats. And get this, within just one week of living with Christopher, one of her cats died from antifreeze poisoning. And then, Christopher said he took the other cat to live on his uncle's farm, by the way, against Noreen's will, but she never saw the cat when they visited his uncle. So he just took her cats, or at least took one of her cats and just like gave it away? No, I think he killed both cats.

Well, I do too, but I'm just saying. But yeah, it's like, oh, one of your cats died, so I'm going to take the other one to my uncle's farm. Like, why? Why would you do that? Because I guess he just hates cats. Right, but like this is her cat, you know? So Noreen remembered that Christopher suffered

from mental health issues and was medicated for panic attacks. And she claims he told her that he never knew when he was going to go off. Christopher would also disappear on drinking benches overnight and return with no explanation for where he'd been. One time when she tried to leave the house with her sons during an argument, of her night and return with no explanation for where he'd been.

One time, when she tried to leave the house with her sons during an argument, you know, to get them away from the fighting, Christopher slammed her arm in a door repeatedly and in front of her kids. And this is just one of dozens of horrific accounts that she gave of his abuse. So Noreen also remembered that he would call and text her dozens of times a day, like any time she left the house just to track her whereabouts. He would also allegedly force her to have sexual relations

with him even after she said no. And at one point, tried to force her to do so on their front porch in broad daylight when she didn't want to do that. When his mental health was suffering, he would go days or even weeks without interacting with her and would take long breaks from employment, leaving Noreen to care for their responsibilities on her own. On one occasion, she remembers Christopher lying on the couch for a week straight, just

refusing to get up even to eat or to go to the bathroom, and she had to tend to him while he was on the couch. So he was basically just sitting there shitting his pants. Probably. He was erratic and volatile, and even when he was pretending to be affectionate, would often squeeze her so hard that he gave her cuts and bruises. And another time he went in for a kiss and then bit her nose, but not in like a joking light way, like he bit her nose.

What the hell? Noreen expressed wanting to leave many times, but was threatened when she would do so. And once after she brought up separating, he said, quote, you see how far you can get to that car before your spine is all over that backyard. On June 24th, 2007, one of Noreen's sons came home from a bike ride and watched through a window as Christopher threw a chair at his mother.

As she tried to run from Christopher, he screamed profanities and insults at her while destroying the home and pelting her with household items. Noreen begged her son to get help and he fled to a neighbor's house to call the police. She remembers grabbing the keys and trying to run to the car, but Christopher apprehended her, took the keys and trapped her in the house while laughing and growling at her. As her son called the police, Christopher finally backed down, ran to his car and just

sped off. Now two state troopers did arrive shortly after this and found Noreen crying and bleeding with cuts on her arms, hands and sh, and she was walking with a limp. They surveyed the home after this, and as you guys can probably imagine, it was in complete disarray. And among other things, Christopher had thrown the microwave from the kitchen counter and ripped the phone from the wall. According to the court records of this incident, the state troopers quote, took photographs

of the scene, which showed significant property damage and scattered debris, and secured three shotguns, three knives, and a bag of zip ties from the home. Noreen also said that she had met up with Christopher's ex-wife, the woman that he was with before Mary, and that she had had a similar experience with Christopher. So later that year, he was sentenced to 15 to 48 months in prison for what he did to Noreen, and he was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault and battery, unlawful imprisonment, and interfering with electronic communications causing injury. Unication's Causing Injury. Before that quick break, we explain the horrors of what Noreen experienced at the hands

of Christopher Pratt, and as disturbing as it was, we just wanted to paint the picture of what this guy, the guy who claims he had nothing to do with Mary's disappearance, is really like. So three years after he was charged in 2010, Christopher's own son Jeffrey also found himself in trouble with the law. At just 16 years old, he assaulted a woman and left her seriously injured before fleeing the scene. And thankfully she did survive and Jeffrey was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison

for the heinous acts that he committed against her. Eight years after this in 2018, Christopher himself was back in the spotlight when he was arrested yet again for assault, but this time his victim was just 16 years old while Christopher was 50. So the teen was living at a residential behavioral treatment center called Star Common Wealth in Albion, Michigan at the time, which is actually where Christopher was living, not at the behavioral treatment center, but in Albion. And by the way, that's only about 20 minutes away from where he'd been living previously

in Marshall. And for confidentiality purposes, the issues that this teen was struggling with, you know, the reasons why she was at this Behavioral Treatment Center have not been released and neither has her name, but I really don't think that it's very relevant anyway. So in September of 2018, this teen ran away from the Treatment Center just wanting to live on her own. And she made her way from Albion just attempting to reach her boyfriend in Holly Michigan, which is an hour and a half away. And at some point in her travels, she met Christopher Pratt,

who offered to let her call her boyfriend and also bought her some things that she needed. But instead of contacting her family, or taking her back to the treatment center, which obviously was looking for her at this point, Christopher brought the girl to his house, which is just Ick. And when she was unable to get in contact with anyone who could take her to Holly that evening,

Christopher offered to let her stay the night at his house, to which she agreed. And of course, we have to let her stay the night at his house to which she agreed. And of course, we have to remember the vulnerable position that this young teen is in right now, and how potentially manipulative Christopher was being, you know, likely not showing any of his true colors at that point. Yeah, I mean, he's convincing her to stay at a complete stranger's house and she has no idea what type of character he has. And I feel like this is an easy thing to be like, oh well I was trying to help her. It's like if you were trying to help her you would

have tried to contact her family or where she came from. You're not gonna let a teenager sleep in your house man. Yeah and I mean I don't know i mean maybe you would but uh... just knowing what we know now uh... yeah it just it seems very bad do you think that's not weird uh... for fifty-year-old man who lives alone to say hey six-year-old comes down my house well no i do of course yet i mean i think it's kind of off and odd but uh... but i mean if he did have good intentions then maybe i could could understand it, but we obviously know who Christopher is, so we know that he doesn't. And this is basically what the teen said. She said, after falling asleep on his couch,

she awoke later that night to him and her words fondling her. When she awoke, he proceeded to rape her. And when she was able to leave, the girl then returned to star commonwealth, but eventually decided to run away again, and this time, with nowhere to go, she went back to stay with Christopher. After returning to star commonwealth yet again, the girl divulged her assault to a staff member there and on Friday, November 23rd, 2018, Christopher was arrested in order to have no contact with any minors under the age of 16. In the subsequent trial for this case, sadly, many criticized the team for returning to

stay with him, including Christopher's defense attorney, which obviously we kind of knew was coming. So they claimed that she had changed her story multiple times and then chosen to go back to her alleged abuser. The victim acknowledged that she had misremembered some details as she had been trying to forget the night altogether. She claimed that she went back to Christopher's house because she genuinely didn't have anywhere else to go.

Now, James Henry, who's an expert in child trauma and sexual abuse, stepped in to testify as to why this may have happened. He said in his testimony quote, they feel shame, they feel that they're responsible and that there's something wrong with them, and they believe police won't believe them. They have self-blame, and their world

when something bad happens to them, it must be believe them. They have self-blame, and their world when something bad happens to them, it must be about them. If I was good, this wouldn't happen to me. It doesn't fit our perception as an adult. He concluded that her actions, both the misremembering and going back to her abuser, were consistent with sexual assault survivors. But unfortunately, even after hearing testimony from the victim herself, the jury elected to a quick Christopher of his charges, and then he was subsequently released. Well, adding to his laundry list of criminal charges and accusations, many have speculated that Chris was involved in illegal drug activity, specifically the cooking, selling, and moving of methamphetamine,

and that his friend in the Marshall Police Department, remember, got all Tim, covered for him, or was even involved himself. But let's get back to Mary. So in 2019, two separate tips came in claiming that Mary's remains were placed into Consha Michigan, which is just 20 minutes south of Marshall. Law enforcement with the assistance of a domestic violence foundation and the K9 Human Remains Detection Division conducted a ground search of Tcha'Kansha, but unfortunately, although we wish she instead was alive, of course, there was no trace of Mary.

But by the request of her family, Mary was officially declared dead in 2011, so seven years after she disappeared. In addition to the annual memorials held for her, a celebration of her life was organized the following year in 2012, and a tombstone was placed at the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Marshall just to give her family a place to mourn her. Because you know, even though they don't have her body, they know that something happened that night.

And her mother Anita said that the vigils used to be elaborate affairs, but over the years, they've become more subdued. And she said, quote, we used to have people come, music, and a bunch of stuff. And you just can't do it anymore. Just move on. All we can do. If it wasn't for my grandkids, I don't know where I'd be today. It was so devastating to the whole family. From the beginning of the investigation, Mary's family has been working with a private investigator named Jim Carlin, who still posts updates about the case all these years later.

Based on the information that he's heard and collected, Jim believes that she's buried within 10 miles or 16 kilometers of the Brooks Memorial fountain in the center of Marshall. Which is so frustrating because it's like that is so close to where they are, and they just have no idea where she is or what exactly happened to her. And I'm kind of curious what makes him believe. Obviously he probably has a lot more information than we do, but I'm curious as to know

what information he has that leads him to believe that. Well, that is the thing because this is an unsolved disappearance. There's even less information for us to go off of. And so many things that the police have that we don't have to share in this episode. Definitely. So in an article printed in the local paper, imploring the Marshall community for information, Jim wrote, quote, on March 12, 2004,

Mary Denise Lans disappeared under suspicious circumstances from her home in Marshall. Cliff and Anita Marshall have endured this horrific tragedy for over a decade, and it has now been 14 years since anyone has seen or heard from Mary. Both are ailing with medical issues obviously exacerbated by Mary's disappearance. However, Cliff says, quote, we ain't going nowhere till Mary's found. Then, if we

want to go someplace, we'll leave then. Jim has vowed not to give up on this case, but with no evidence and a likely perpetrator, his frustration only grows with time. He said in an interview, quote, I'm saying to myself, why does not someone go to a phone and say anonymously, this is where she can be found. This whole thing would go away. These parents could have some peace. They could visit their daughter.

A representative for the Marshall Police said recently that, quote, we still firmly believe that there are some individuals that have some information that would break this case wide open. And if they would search in their hearts to do the right thing, particularly for Cliff and Anita, it would bring closure to those folks. The Marshall family, not having known that their beloved Mary was a victim of domestic violence, has become outspoken activist since her disappearance.

The family said at her memorial, quote, "...Mary was a victim of severe emotional and physical domestic violence, and we hope victims today will seek support to escape from their perpetrators. Which isn't always easy or possible, but their sentiment is genuine and it's understandable. Yeah, we do realize just how hard that is for people to do. While Christopher Pratt is the only person of interest in Mary's disappearance, he has never been announced as a suspect and a lack of any evidence tying him to his fiance's disappearance has kept him from being considered as such.

However, the court of public opinion ruled against him long ago. Like locals, internet sleuths, and those who knew and loved Mary have firmly rooted opinions about what happened to her and are convinced of Christopher's involvement. In the Justice for Mary Denise Lans Facebook group, one admin posted quote, known on tv and in michigan to they are current slash former law enforcement and i know without a doubt once they start digging they will be able to put everything together and those who knew and were responsible for marries disappearance and murder will finally be held accountable

and it will say as this is an interesting comment to read it they should have sent that to the police. But, yeah, I think so too. I will say obviously if they're saying they are current former law enforcement, that also like muddies things up a ton, and we can only wonder if they're talking about TJ. And speaking of, private investigator Jim Carlin has led many to believe that Christopher had help in covering his tracks after he took

Mary's life by unknown means. Mary's cousin, the one who spotted Christopher at the flea market, selling Mary's belongings, posted this on Reddit, quote, looking for any sleuths looking to solve an unknown small town disappearance slash murder of my cousin, Mary Denise Lands, and find what is needed to bring those involved to justice. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This isn't a case of who done it, we always knew who did it. The whole town knows who did it. The town is Marshall, Michigan, and the victim is Mary Lans.

Suspect is her live-in boyfriend, Christopher Luke Pratt. Pratt's buddy was chief of police of the Marshall Police Department, Tim TJ Bryant. A year's worth of evidence in Mary's case went missing. Incoming call to Pratt's phone from Officer Brian's phone. The call came in 24 hours after she reportedly went missing, but before she was reported missing. The call lasted 11 minutes. What could they have been talking about? A comment in that forum, red quote,

I was dating a girl in 2011 who told me she was working at a bar years earlier, serving his friends, and one of them was drunk, and she overheard him talking about how Chris was building a new home, and he buried Mary under the driveway. And of course, these claims are unsubstantiated, but Christopher continues to remain the most likely source of Mary's disappearance. According to the Facebook group that's operated for Mary by her friends and family, there are regular updates. The Marshall Police Department are still actively working on the investigation, and it is not

considered a cold case. One recent post actually said, quote, hey, wanted to let everyone know, Mary's case is still being worked on. Can't give any specific updates, but if anyone has any info, do not hesitate to contact us on this page. Another urged quote, Now is your time to come forward with what you know. An outside agency is currently on this case,

and if you don't come forward now, they won't be able to help you later. Seriously, it's crunch time, and the clock is ticking fast. And actually, a petition began circulating on Change.org, urging the FBI to open an investigation into the Marshall Police Department's handling of this case. The petition reads, quote, this petition is specifically intended for all Marshall Police Department who worked in 2004. We would like the FBI to investigate the Marshall Police Department's handling of the Mary

Denise Lands case. We are asking that they look into certain officers, uh, hint, TJ, and those officers' involvement with the main suspect in this case. We also need to know why a significant amount of evidence in this case was lost on more than one occasion. Where did it disappear to? Many items were turned over to the Marshall Police Department to investigate or for testing and these items were either lost or not investigated.

In the very beginning, the FBI were assisting the Marshall Police Department, but after a few weeks, the FBI were told that their assistance was no longer needed, so they left. It has been 15 years, and the case has never moved forward. If this case is unsolvable because of the actions of the Marshall Police Department, then those responsible need to be held accountable. The Marshall Police Department has to be investigated by the FBI. I agree. And another thing that I think about is, let's say that Christopher did ask for TJ's help, right? Let's say that's what that 11-minute phone call was about. And then I wonder if at that time, TJ maybe was like, oh, this is my buddy, even though I have

a lot of ethical reasons not to help him, I'm gonna do it for whatever reason. And then I wonder if eventually, maybe he had heard about the charges against Christopher and about everything that came after and I wonder because if T.J.'s complicit too, then at any point if he comes forward, he can get in trouble as well. So that muddies it up even more, is that he or the rest of the people at the Marshall Police Department that might know things have no reason to bring justice to this because they can go down as well.

Right. Like they don't they don't want to bring Christopher in because but I will say that there were probably very different officers working for the Marshall Police Department back in 2004. So if there are new officers they they wouldn't care about that. But another thing to note here is that it is entirely possible because Christopher and TJ were friends that this 11-minute phone call didn't mean anything. But when we're considering that with the fact that evidence was either lost or not tested, that makes you really start to question things. I fully agree. So at the time of her disappearance, Mary Lanz was 39 years old. She stood at 5 feet

6 inches tall and weighed 160 pounds. She had brown hair and brown eyes. Her ears and belly button were pierced and she occasionally wore reading glasses. Her family notes that she has a small scar on her left arm from a vaccination, and her right earlobe is torn, and she also has a brown birthmark on her lower back. As I mentioned earlier, she was last seen wearing blue hospital scrubs, tennis shoes, and a brown leather jacket, although I don't even believe that, at least the jacket portion of that is true considering that was being sold at a flea market by Christopher. Despite all these psychics, search parties, visuals, reward funds, and a private investigator

in the 19 years since Mary was last seen, nothing has proven to be enough to bring her justice. A plaque was erected in her honor in her hometown that reads, Mary was taken from us on March 12, 2004. She was a silent victim and witness to a pattern of domestic violence at the hands of her fiance. We never knew that our Mary, a battered woman, suffered in silence. Our hope is that her legacy will inspire others on the national tragedy of domestic violence.

If one victim can be safe from injury or death, our daughter Mary will not have died in vain. We will never give up our efforts to bring Mary home and ask for justice in our daughter's case. If you have any information about the disappearance or whereabouts of Marylands, please contact the Marshall Police Department at 269-781-2596 or contact the family's private investigator, Jim Carlin at Jim Carlin, that's Carlin with a C, 344 at gmail.com. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode, and on Tuesday we'll have

an all new case for you guys to dive into. This case seriously has the potential to be solved if certain people would come forward, especially considering so much of the evidence was quote unquote lost, it just makes it so much more difficult so please make sure you share this story. Absolutely, thank you guys so much again for listening to this episode, the best thing you can do is share it because it still is an ongoing case, and the Marshall Police Department is still working on it, and so is Mary's family, and also Jim Carlin,

so please help out if you can. Also, if you're looking for more episodes, we do have two bonus episodes a month, but right now we have 86 episodes in our back catalog that you will have access to if you subscribe to Apple subscriptions or go to patreon.com slash going west podcast and check them out we just released the intense investigation into the mysterious death of Phoebe Hansjuck in Australia and just remember guys we're still doing our two

episodes a week these are just bonus episodes that we've been doing for almost four years now. Yeah, nothing has changed. You're still going to get your two free episodes a week, every single week, on our main feed. So thank you guys again, and for everybody out there in the world. Don't be a stranger. 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

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