Going West: True Crime - Murder at Cartland's Chateau // 498

Episode Date: April 29, 2025

In February of 1985, two teenage girls headed out for an unofficial tour of a historic abandoned mansion outside of San Francisco. But once they arrived, the security officer outside - who had a bad reputation in the area - took the opportunity to prey on the girls, and what followed was a night of horror that only one of the girls would survive. This is the murder at the Carolands Chateau.Sources:“Carolands Foundation.” Carolands Foundation, https://carolands.org/history/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.“David Allen Raley Claims Autism Exempts Him from Death Sentence - UPI.Com.” UPI, UPI, 9 Sept. 2013, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/09/09/Calif-death-row-inmate-claims-autism-exempts-him-from-execution/18281378760170/.“Harriett Pullman Schermerhorn (1869-1956) - Find a Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15732070/harriett-schermerhorn. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.“Living Terror : Stabbing Victim Survives on Sheer Willpower, Small Victories - Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 1988, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-22-mn-4762-story.html.“Trial Set to Start in Torture-Murder Case - UPI Archives.” UPI, UPI, 23 Mar. 1987, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/23/Trial-set-to-start-in-torture-murder-case/9763543474000/.SF Gate, 18 Sept. 2022, https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/california-gilded-age-mansion-carolands-17441886.php.The Peninsula Times Tribune, 5 Feb. 1985.SF Gate, 15 Apr. 2006, https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/san-mateo-county-death-penalty-upheld-in-teen-s-2499469.php.The San Francisco Examiner, 5 Feb. 1985.The Peninsula Times Tribune, 9 Feb. 1985.News-Press, 6 Oct. 2006.The Peninsula Times Tribune, 2 Apr. 1987.

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. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Big shout out to Barbara and Sarah who both recommended this case. This story has some very interesting early 1900s history that will take us directly to the main story we have today that takes place in 1985 which is truly a horror story. I mean so much so that I can't even believe we haven't already covered this one. I feel like we're pretty familiar with California and Oregon cases since obviously those are both of our home states.

But this one is completely new to us and it is shocking. Indeed. So without further ado, let's dive right in. Alright guys, this is episode 498 of Going West, so let's get into it. In February of 1985, two teenage girls headed out for an unofficial tour of a historic abandoned mansion outside of San Francisco. But once they arrived, the security officer outside who had a bad reputation in the area took this opportunity to prey on the girls. And what followed was a night of horror that only one of the teens would survive. is the murderer at the Carolyn Chateau.

The Carolyn Chateau was originally commissioned in 1914 for Harriet Pullman and her husband, Frank Carollan. Harriet Pullman was the daughter of Chicago train magnate George Pullman, who was one of the wealthiest men in the country during his lifetime. George had actually designed a sleeper train car that was so popular that an eponymous town sprang up, so a town named after him, Pullman, located around the manufacturing plant of the sleeper train, which is still a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois today. But back to Harriet.

So she was the second of George's four children and she met her future husband Frank Carlin while on a trip to San Francisco with their family. And the Carlins were also members of the upper echelon at the time because Frank's father, James, was a hardware titan known for founding a company selling goods to miners during the gold rush. So they were both big business guys and they mingled in similar circles. So while at the same party, youngins Harriet and Frank were paired up as dance partners

and the connection was instant. They got married in June of 1892 and even honeymooned on one of her father's famous sleeper trains. After her father gifted them with $400,000 which is over 14 million dollars today. Wow, that's a really nice wedding gift. Yeah, seriously So they use a chunk of that cash to purchase multiple acres of property in Burlingame Cooper T, as well as Hillsboro, which are

suburbs of San Francisco. And then they would also frequent a five-star hotel in the city whenever they wanted to be in the action. 20 years later in 1912, the Carolins then purchased 554 more acres in Hillsboro, which specifically is about 20 miles or 32 kilometers south of San Francisco And began plans to erect their majestic estate upon which they bestowed the clever nickname Carol lands with a D, you know and said there's no D in the surname, but there is a D in Carol lands At the time the grounds made up one sixth of all of the land in Hillsborough.

Construction lasted for four years and included the commission of multiple renowned architects all the way from France. Harriet even exported three salons directly from France to be adjoined with the home in California. The final property boasted more than 90 rooms and nearly 50,000 square feet and when it was finished in 1916 the Carolins and a full-time team of staff members moved in. But Harriet was a vivacious and worldly woman. I mean, she was fluent in four languages, and she had been educated in both New York

City and Europe. You know, she was, she was, she was known to travel a lot. She wasn't the type to be tied down even when she has her absolute dream home. She was known and frequently admired for her fashion sense. She traveled all the time, actually most times without her husband, to her favorite cities, which were of course New York and Paris. Her husband Frank spent much of his time staying in San Francisco though at the Fairmont Hotel, where he was closer to work.

So naturally based on all this time apart, it wasn't long before they grew estranged. And by 1918, so just two years after they moved into their dream property, they were no longer living at Carol Anne's full time, and really just used the property sparingly to host events. Never bearing any children, Harriet's pride and joy were her books. She was the one and only American member of Les Amis du Livre Modernes, or the Bibliophile Society Friends of Contemporary Books. She had 30,000 volumes in her library,

and set about comprising the most extensive collection of California history books. I love this woman. This is so cool to me. That is definitely you. Well, just five years after growing estranged from his wife in 1923, Frank died of a heart attack in his suite at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. And then less than two years later, Harriet married yet again, this time to Arthur Skimmerhorn, who was an assistant general in the army that she had once hosted at Carolands. But the couple lived primarily across the country in New York City, and Harriet began selling off the vast Carolands property piece by piece to real estate developers, meaning that it passed through a lot of different hands and was divided up many times.

Well years later in 1950, Countess Lillian Remiar Dandini purchased the home and she restored it to its former glory, since it had gone, you know, mostly uninhabited for over two decades. But in 1973, Lillian died inside the mansion, leading many to believe that her spirit haunted the property, though she died of natural causes at the age of 93. With no children to leave the estate to, she willed it to the town of Hillsborough, hoping that it could serve the community that she left behind. Sweet thought, but how so?

Yeah, well, what are're going to talk about here. The town actually saw it more of a nuisance than a gift, because it would have cost them around $500,000 just to restore it, plus a few hundred thousand dollars annually to keep it running. And to give you guys a little bit of a perspective here, the town's entire annual budget was less than a million dollars. So the town manager told a local paper the year that Lillian died, quote,

We did not want to spend a half a million dollars to renovate it. Our town is zoned for single-family homes, and we just don't have much use for a 92-room mansion. Fair. I mean, very fair. So, once again, you know, the mansion fell into disrepair and remained uninhabited for a bit. Carol Anne Chateau saw multiple different owners over the following years, including one who was enduring a legal battle from the brother of a deceased owner who claimed rightful

ownership, and a subsequent owner who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and mail fraud charges. The property went into foreclosure in 1984, and to keep it from being vandalized or occupied, a security detail was hired to patrol the grounds. But the following year, in 1985, a brutal murder would put the mansion back into the headlines. Jeanine Grinsel was born on January 9, 1969 to parents Durrell and Mike, and grew up alongside siblings Reed and Nicole. But her parents later divorced, and Jeanine lived primarily in San Mateo, which is just south of the city along the San Francisco Bay,

with her mother who she was incredibly close with. Janine was studying at Crystal Springs in Uplands, which is a private school right there in Hillsborough, and was described as popular, sensitive, and a very giving person. Actually, two years before today's story takes place, she had even been awarded for her outstanding citizenship, leadership, and service.

Her grandmother said, quote, she never thought of herself. She had no vanity. She was always helping, helping. Similarly, a neighbor of hers praised, quote, she was bright and very outgoing and sensitive. She was a wonderful girl. There isn't one negative thing that comes to mind about her. Janine's uncle remembered that she was so close with so many friends, family members and neighbors that her time in the summer was basically quickly booked up

by other families asking her to travel with them and watch their kids. Now 16 year old Janine had recently befriended a fellow high schooler named Lori McKenna, a 17 year old senior at Burlingame High. And on Saturday, February 2nd, 1985, the new friends planned to have lunch together. You know, it was the weekend. It was still winter outside But Janine had just gotten her license So the two decided to cruise to Carol Anne's to scope out the abandoned property cuz you know, it's it's a relic in the community

It's so chic and grand. They just wanted to have a look. Yeah, absolutely I mean, there's probably a lot of people that want to go see this place because it's massive. Totally. But it was there that they met 23 year old David Allen Railey, a security guard for Carolands with a reputation for giving unauthorized tours in exchange for unethical kickbacks. Yeah we're gonna talk about how this guy is a massive piece of shit. Well, actually, ironically, on the very day that the murder occurred, that we're gonna talk about today, mere hours before he began his attacks on his target,

these two young teen girls, David was interviewed for a local publication about his position at Carolands. Local university journalism student Gail Passareti, who went to the mansion to speak with him midday on that Saturday, described him as quote, amiable enough. But there were certain clues in their conversation

that led her to believe that he was abusing his position of power. Even before he committed the horrific acts that he would later that day. Giving himself away, he told Gail with a smirk, quote, You wouldn't believe the things girls offer me. Food, money, sex, anything to get inside. I mean, God, this is the exact type of guy that should not have this type of position Yeah I mean

he's the type of guy that he just wants to be in some sort of position of power some sort of authoritarian position and He's definitely the type of guy that that can't that can't be in those positions because he will abuse them well I feel like anybody who's like goal is power should not be in power, because if you're in power, your motivation should be the good that you're going to do, not just wanting to be on top for the sake of having authority. I completely agree.

Well, David added that the allure of the mansion was due to the death that occurred inside, as well as the promise of $300,000 hidden somewhere by the last resident, who again was a Lillian Dandini. So it's like there's a lore surrounding the property. Yeah, there's a lot of mystery when it comes to this mansion, and people are just fascinated by it. Well, he told Gale that he was not permitted to allow people inside the chateau, of course, it's private property, but off the record, he admitted that he would tell the girls that he was attracted

to that if they parked their car down the road and approached between noon and 1pm, which was the lunch hour for the local police, that he could get away with giving them an unauthorized tour. So Gale left the mansion around noon that day and watched as he approached a teenage girl eating a picnic on the grounds and likely waiting for a tour. And I just want to say before we move on that there is no evidence that David was ever violent with any of these people that came to take these unauthorized tours, but for whatever reason this time he decided to take advantage

of the opportunity to murder someone. However, I will say that some of his female guests recall his behavior as odd and off-putting, and remembered that he would occasionally make inappropriate comments towards them. One girl who visited the estate in December of 1984 claims that he made them play hide-and-seek with him inside the house house and that after a while it kind of started to make them feel uncomfortable so they just left. That's so creepy. Yeah like what a weird fucking thing to do. While described as a wannabe cop, 23 year old David still lived at home with his parents in South San Jose, California which is about an hour away from Carolans. So it kind of almost feels like he felt like Carolans were his grounds in some ways, since

he didn't have that at home, like, this is my town, you know? Yeah, he wants to be the sheriff of Carolans. What a dork. Anyway, at this time, David didn't yet possess a criminal record, but he did have a reputation. And a pretty bad one at that. His 15-year-old neighbor, Roddy Schreber, described him as, quote, weird, and said that he had appointed himself the unofficial neighborhood watchman. He even went so far as to blast a siren and put on lights on the roof of his car, regularly pulling over drivers in town

for speeding. Okay, Officer Doofy. Weird is right. Well, David even- sorry. It's okay. And it's not even a weird thing that he's doing. It's like you shouldn't be doing this stuff. You're pretend- I mean you're literally pretending to be a cop. Like that's against the law.

Yeah, also I just want to say like impersonating a police officer is one of the most cringy things you could do on the planet and this guy just wants to be in some sort of authority position that he's willing to literally break the law to look like a doofus. And it's such a predatory telltale sign, you know. It really is. Well David even altered his vehicle to resemble an undercover police car and also mounted a police scanner Inside his car. Yeah, it's just like developing. Bro, chill out. Well, this creep would also patrol the haunts of local teens in an attempt to report them for truancy and Send them back to school. This is really kind of reminiscent of like the Zodiac killer, like going to lovers lanes and you know what I mean?

But like he's just doing it as like a police officer to like catch them. So true. I mean, which is why it's not shocking where this story is gonna go when this is how he's been acting. So he actually also did this to his neighbor Roddy who remembered quote,

he handcuffed me once and he wouldn't let me go until I told him I'd call the police. Wow. He's like, I'm going to bring the real police here and they're going to see that what you're doing is unjust. How did Roddy even let him handcuff him? You know, he probably overpowered him somehow. This guy's again, he's a creep. Well, David was often seen sporting his security outfit around the neighborhood in order to fool people into believing that he was a real police officer

and even bragged about being able to help people relieve their parking tickets, which obviously he didn't have the ability to do. But instead of actually training for the police academy like a normal person with his interests David was working for young patrol service which had been contracted to keep vandals and vagrants off the property Which is also fine. You know, this could be a starter position But I also don't believe somebody like him like we said earlier should be a cop

I also don't think he was ever going to get in to the police academy, right? or should be a cop. I also don't think he was ever going to get into the police academy. Right, totally. But despite their best efforts, roving teenagers would use the Carolans' property to drink or party, and would sometimes even try to break into the house, given that it was roped off with only a single chain surrounding the perimeter and attended by only one security guard at a time, who was usually David. One neighbor of the mansion claimed

that he had to call the police multiple times to report to the estate and chase off partying teens. He said in an interview, quote, "'They come up here for beer parties. The police try to keep them away because of the noise.'" The man described the estate as quote, a big empty haunted house, just like the kind you see in the movies. I guess kids just can't resist it.

That's exactly what I was thinking when you read that sentence. It feels, it really feels like this is something straight out of like a ghost movie. It's like the house in IT. Yeah, exactly. Or Pennywise is. Right. So the allure of the mysterious defunct mansion with assorted history and potential ghosts was apparently too strong for area teenagers to resist.

And being the gatekeeper of such a landmark was enticing to David, who clearly had loftier ambitions for himself than working solo, patrolling the ground of an abandoned chateau. Police Lieutenant Don Trujillo said quote, There's the haunted house on the hill, and he's in charge. All the teenagers come around because they want to get a peek at the place. Having heard the rumors that interested parties could bribe David for a private tour, Janine and Lori approached the property and they made their request. And of course, David obliged, but he quickly lost control of the situation as you guys are gonna see.

While strolling the interior of the mansion, the girls gaped at the French classical architecture, the grand split staircase, the soaring ceilings, the seemingly infinite amount of rooms, and just the amazing beauty of this mansion. But after some time wandering, David told them in faux apprehension that he heard police dogs patrolling the property and warned them to hide so that all three of them didn't get in trouble with the law. So Janine and Lori, who were both responsible young women and strong students who wanted them to hide so that all three of them didn't get in trouble with the law. So Janine and Lori, who were both responsible young women and strong students who wanted

to stay out of trouble, they complied and were led into the basement with David, which at one time were used as service spaces. No photos of the basement are currently available, so we can't be sure exactly what it looks like down there, but it's described that there was a safe inside this basement. It must have been at least fairly large, because David told the girls to hide inside of it. Lori later said that her biggest regret from the day was that they should have left when they sensed anything was amiss, but they just didn't really know any better. Lori remembered with frustration, quote,

If we had just not believed his dogs are coming thing, that was ridiculous. So David waited a few minutes before calling Laurie's name in what was described as a mocking tone. With the girls now contained exactly how he wanted them, David told them that he would only release them if they took their clothes off, because of course David would say that. Reluctantly, they stripped down to their underwear and David finally opened the safe, but

handcuffed them at knife point. He locked Lori to a bench so that she couldn't flee and walked Janine into another room. Lori recalled harrowingly, quote, I had no clue what was going on. I was so clueless, even after hearing Janine screaming. I really thought we were getting out. After assaulting Janine, with Lori able to do nothing but hear her screams and protests from the neighboring room, David swapped the girls out, then handcuffed Janine to the bench and forced Lori to fondle him as well. When he reunited the teens, he told them that they would be released, having complied with his request thus far, but instead, he descended

upon them with the knife that he had used to threaten them and stabbed them each over 30 times. Lori was stabbed around 35 times and Janine about 40. When Lori attempted to fight back, he hit her in the head with a claw hammer. Both girls sustained severe bruising and defensive wounds, and Lori later remembered the grave reality of her impending mortality settling in, later saying, quote, When you get stabbed, you just think I'm dead. All I could think about was my poor mother.

I just waited for the lights to go out. All I could think about was my poor mother. I just waited for the lights to go out. But somehow, both girls actually survived this brutal attack. After stabbing them so violently, David bound their hands with rope and tossed them into the trunk of his car, shrouded inside a rug. They waited there in agony, bleeding, as David finished out the rest of his shift. So he does not care at all. He's like, I'm just gonna finish out the day.

Well, yeah, he just thinks they're gonna die back there and he's just going back to work. Because they were, of course, too weak to escape. While they were in prison by the carpet in the trunk of his 1973 Plymouth satellite, he left Carolans around 6 p.m., headed for his parents' house in San Jose, which again is about an hour's drive away. When he arrived, finding them still alive, he actually allowed the girls out of the car

and brought them blankets because naturally their extensive injuries and the February chill were making them cold. So he, like, he assaulted both of them, sexually assaulted both of them, while locking and handcuffing the other one to a bench and also inside of a safe. Then he stabbed them both upwards of 40 times, put them in a carpet in the trunk of his car for hours, drove them another hour, and now he's giving them blankets. This is a really interesting insight into his mind, because it almost seems like there's like a little bit of slight remorse in the fact that he's, you know, giving them blankets.

But as we're gonna get into, it doesn't really seem like he had all that much remorse in the fact that he's, you know, giving them blankets. But as we're going to get into, it doesn't really seem like he had all that much remorse. No, and even when you think about the fact that after he sexually assaulted both of them, he said, okay, I'm going to let you go. And maybe he thought, oh, shoot, well, they're going to report me and ruin my life for what I did to them. But stabbing them almost 40 times each is so violent, it just felt like overkill, you know? So that somebody who doesn't want to kill somebody doesn't stab them 40 times. And I think this is kind of the mindset or was the mindset all along is that I sexually assaulted these girls, they're gonna tell on me, I'm gonna lose my job,

I'm gonna go to jail, I have to kill them. I think it just really shows though how violent his nature is anyway to stab them that many times. Oh, of course, we know this guy's an asshole. But of course, because they had so many wounds to their bodies, they were so incredibly weak. Honestly, it is a shock that they were both still alive at this point. Well, later when she was asked why she didn't try to escape, Lori explained sadly, quote, You can't understand how the whole world truly turns upside down. So David retired inside after telling the girls that, if they made any noise or tried to escape,

he would bring over his good friend named Bob who would then kill them. Sure, Bob, as if Bob is real first of all. Second of all, what the fuck is the other option? Die anyway? Yeah, exactly. While inside his sister Cathy remembered that David declined to have dinner, just explaining that he wasn't really feeling well. But afterward, David, Cathy, and Cathy's fiance played a game of Monopoly that lasted for two hours, during which David was just munching on popcorn.

Because, aside from refusing dinner, Cathy stated later that her brother was acting completely normal, though she did notice that he had a cut on his finger, which he explained away by just saying that he cut it on a railing at the mansion. But other than being a little lower in energy than usual, he seemed his regular chipper self. After his dad arrived home from work later that evening, David decided that it was time to dispose of the bodies. So around midnight, he slunk out of his parents' house on Deboer Lane in South San Jose and back into his car

He drove to a ravine alongside Silver Creek Road Which was about six minutes away and dumped them down the muddy hillside where they slid until coming to a rest on a creekbed down below But still little did he know both of these girls were still alive Little did he know, both of these girls were still alive. Meanwhile, both of the girls' families had filed missing persons reports around 11 p.m. the night prior, after they had left their respective homes

around 11.30 a.m. on Saturday, telling their families that they would only be gone for a few hours. Janine and Lori spent the early morning hours of Sunday, February 3, 1985 drifting in and out of consciousness as they lay bleeding in the mud. Lori remembered being afraid that David was watching them from the road above to make sure they weren't alive.

And after being injured and bleeding for hours, they were so feeble that they could barely move or call for help. But later that morning, as the sun began to rise and it began to drizzle rain, Lori awoke so miserable, scared, and in pain that she finally began to cry for the first time that night. But despite her extremely extensive injuries, Laurie unwound herself from the ties that David had bound her in. And even though she had defensive wounds to her hands and her wrists that left them painful

and bloodied, she scrambled up the hill to the edge of the road, fighting for her life as well as for Janine's, just trying to flag someone down who could save them. And miraculously, Janine, still in the ravine below, was also alive and was even able to scream for help. Finally, two men in a pickup truck passed by and pulled over to assist Lori and call for help. And with that, an ambulance arrived

and rushed both girls to nearby Santa Teresa Hospital. But 16-year-old Janine was so weak when she got there and she had just lost so much blood that she had no detectable blood pressure. So she was rushed into surgery, but sadly by 11.35 a.m. she would be pronounced dead. But before she was, she was actually able to offer the name and description of their attacker.

Now, 17-year-old Lori was in similarly bad shape, still floating in and out of consciousness, but remained aware enough to offer their attacker's name as well before she passed out too. With the same name from both girls, police sped to the residence of David's parents and arrested him on the spot. His home was searched for evidence, but even then, they couldn't locate a murder weapon. That morning, he had awoken and had coffee with his father like they normally did, you know of course after dumping the girls down the hillside, and then he went to watch a friend ride his motorcycle, again acting

totally normally and going on with his life as if he would have otherwise. But when he returned home that afternoon, police were waiting for him. Upon his arrest, 23-year-old David confessed his crimes immediately to police, telling detectives that, quote, something in his mind went crazy. Something was talking to him. Perhaps the spirit of Countess Lillian Remiard Dandini. Like no, you're just an evil son of a bitch who had been getting away with predatory behavior until you took it further and more violent.

And this is exactly what David is going to use as his defense. Oh, I'm crazy. I've been hearing voices. I'm possessed by the ghost of the castle. Yeah, no, it's not true. The injuries to Lori's hands and wrists required surgery, and she would remain in the hospital for three days. But she was still alive, whereas Janine had sadly passed away.

The doctor who operated on Janine believed a puncture wound to her neck may have been what ultimately caused her death. But her cause of death was a combination of shock, blood loss, and hypothermia. And if only she had been able to get help sooner, I'm sure she would have lived. Yeah, it's most likely she would have lived through all of this. A memorial was held for Janine a few days later which drew so many supporters that police stepped in to direct traffic. Her school also held a private memorial just for her peers, which the entire student body attended.

Her headmaster eulogized her saying, quote, Janine was a wonderful friend, so sincere and forthright and honest. She was so reliable and honest and her friendship grew and grew In the aftermath Janine's uncle said that he believed that her kindness had unfortunately been her downfall Saying sadly quote she was very innocent. She wasn't very worldly She was really trusting and I don't think she was suspicious of people Detectives also announced that they were investigating possible links that David may have to other murders, but he has never been on the hook for any other crimes.

And though Lori was obviously thankful that she had survived, she was devastated by the news of her friend's death. She maintained that she was shocked to have been the one who made it out, and not Janine, who put up what Laurie calls the fight of her life. She described Janine as a fighter, saying, quote, Well, obviously, David was a shoo-in for the death penalty. He was charged with both attempted murder and murder, with special circumstances for kidnapping, rape, and torture. David's defense team mulled over an insanity plea, but ultimately they decided against

it, having gotten mixed reviews about his psychiatric well-being from mental health professionals. His family claimed that they were shocked at this development, with his dad Daniel saying, quote, If my son did this, it wasn't my David. He was good for 23 years. I don't know what could make him snap. Something caused him to snap that day. He and I were close. I know that whatever happens, I raised him to be a good kid. And he was. All the way up to the time this happened. He had a real good hold on himself. It was completely out of character. He was always a good kid. A down to earth kid. He was no

sex offender. It's not true what they're saying in the papers. All they have to do is talk to his friends. He wasn't malicious. All those girls who did mud wrestling down at Sam's nightclub, they were his friends. He was friends with people there at Sam's. I can't get friends to come in and talk to him. I know whatever is gonna happen to him, it's going to be bad. I don't want him to get the death penalty, and I don't want him to get life without parole." Okay, this really fucking pisses me off. First of all, your shithead son was never a good

kid. He's arresting other kids around the fucking neighborhood for no reason. He's a dumbass. First of all, that's just number one. Number two, this is the type of kid that thinks that the stripper likes him. Like, you know what I'm saying? It's like, oh, all the, all the girls that were mud wrestling down at Sam's, they're his friends. No, they weren't. It's weird that he said that thinking that would make his son look good as well.

Yeah. It makes you look terrible. But also other people in the neighborhood said he didn't have a good reputation, that he was weird. He would literally, he literally told a girl who interviewed him that very day, you wouldn't believe the things that girls trade me

for a tour, like including sex. Like no good man would say that. And obviously I understand this is David's dad. Of course he's going to stand up for his son. We see this all the time in true crime cases. But at some point you have to be willing to say, my son is a piece of shit. But as you can tell also in this, he says,

I raised him to be a good kid. I you know, he was always a good kid. This isn't my David. It's like he's taking this personally. And I understand. Like, I can't imagine Being a parent who has a piece of shit kid that hurts other people and murders a girl and then assaults and almost murders another girl You must be horrified. Yeah, but

How disrespectful to the victims of your son to say what you said? Yeah, it's he can't take any he doesn't want to take any blame, like, this is not on me, this is definitely not on me, I raised him to be a good boy. That's not the point, this isn't about you, this is about the girls that your son harmed. Yeah, maybe have a little empathy, maybe talk about the victims. Yeah, well, he added that he was attempting to get his son committed to a mental hospital instead of being forced to serve prison time But this campaign was unsuccessful Despite confessing to the crime David reneged and wound up entering an innocent plea because he really is a piece of shit

How can you enter an innocent plea when these girls literally pointed out that you were the one that attacked them and tried to kill them? And one of them is alive to confirm and reaffirm that fact. A lot of murderers do this. They will take it back and say, oh well, I was put into a corner and the police made me confess, you know, so this isn't this isn't new, but it does reaffirm our beliefs that he's a horrible dude. Well, his first trial began in March of 1987 and David was pronounced guilty, but the jury was deadlocked seven to five on whether or not to inflict the death penalty.

On Monday, May 9th, 1988, a second jury sentenced him to death for his crimes. And amazingly, I don't even know how she was able to do this, but Lori found sympathy for David throughout this entire ordeal, even when she had to face him again in order to testify against him. She said in an interview, quote, I feel. David has appealed his case multiple times, but to no avail. His team cited his mother's alcoholism as the root of his wrongdoing, of course. Robert Bacon, his appellate lawyer, stated, quote, The jury that sentenced David Rayleigh to death didn't really have a good sense of his background,

didn't know who he was or what led to the terrible events involving these two young women. Since when does your background have any relevance in a crime that you commit anyway? I just think it's also so stupid that they're like, they're finding, they're grasping at straws, like, oh, his mom was an alcoholic and that's why he tried to murder two young girls. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter at all. Well, despite lacking a formal diagnosis, Robert maintains that his client has autism, and that that is the reason he str that people with autism, you know,

cause violent criminal acts. And even if he only means in David's case, it just, it still feels like such an excuse, like you said. And to say he's significantly developmentally disabled without a diagnosis also feels sloppy and vague. I mean, he's literally saying that his client has autism and that that is why he attacked and tried to murder these girls. But he hasn't been diagnosed with autism and autism doesn't make you kill people. Again, completely grasping at straws.

Today, David is 63 years old and is currently incarcerated at California State Prison in Sacramento, California, after spending years at the famed Sand Quinton Prison, which is in the Bay Area. He's still waiting for his sentence to be carried out. In 1998, Carolans was purchased by the billionaire owner of the San Francisco Giants, which is Charles B. Johnson, and he and his wife moved in and poured millions of dollars into the Chateau's restoration. But then, in 2012, they turned it over to charity, where guided tours are now granted

via a lottery system. After her return home, Lori really struggled to adjust back to everyday life. She won a $1.5 million lawsuit against David Railey, paid out by the security company who hired him actually, but the money did little to comfort her. She claimed that she was scared to leave the house and was paralyzed with survivor's guilt, her heart aching for her lost friend

whose fate she had somehow been spared. Reflecting on this time later, she said, quote, I never thought I was going to be happy again. She thought that leaving the area might help, but her dark memories of that night followed her. Because a few months after the murder, she traveled to Hawaii with friends in an attempt to celebrate their graduation from high school

and put the ordeal behind her. But she was plagued with dizzy spells, which doctors told her were anxiety attacks. In September, she moved to Santa Barbara, California for college and began seeking counseling just to try to mentally cope with the events that she endured. Lori said bittersweetly, quote, Two weeks would go by and I'd suddenly realize I was happy. I think, wow, I'm really proud of myself. In 1988, so three years after the attacks, for the first time, she managed to forget

the anniversary until later in the day. And she later reflected on this by saying, quote, I was so proud of myself. I couldn't believe it. But despite the small victories, she was faced with constant reminders of that evening. She was even forced to undergo multiple surgeries in the years after the incident, including a gallbladder removal to correct the damage that the stabbing had done to her. But somehow, Lori managed to move forward and within a couple years, she would even be able to joke about the situation on occasion.

Lori said, quote, I don't dwell on things. I haven't exactly had a fairy tale life, but I'm a happy person. Against all odds, Lori managed to reclaim the life that David almost took from her. She married a retired Giants player and moved to a small town in the South where she and her husband remodeled a stately home and had two kids. Years after Janine's murder, Laurie said she still thinks about her friend every year on her birthday, saying, quote, I will always be sad on that day. I remember her last birthday.

She had just gotten her car and she was so happy. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Just don't be a David. You don't have to be a David. You can still be in positions of power and authority and not abuse those situations. And he really wasn't even in a position of authority.

He was a fucking security guard outside of an abandoned house. It's true, yeah, it's true. Like, he was just a loser and an asshole. And these poor girls just wanted to look at a beautiful landmark for the day and spend some time together after having lunch. Like they were doing nothing wrong and he completely manipulated the situation and made it so horrific. Well, I actually truly believe that, you know, Lori's surviving was for a

reason, it was for a purpose, so that David could go down because, unfortunately, had she not survived, it could have taken years or even decades to figure out who had done this. I mean, if she did pass, like, it was amazing that they were both able to give his name because that even we don't get. But the fact that we had that on top of her surviving and being able to explain the situation from her perspective because David would have never admitted to bringing them to the basement and locking them in a safe, etc. So we have that version of the story because Lori lived. So it's just, I mean, truly a wild and horrific tale. Thank you guys so much for tuning into this episode.

A big thank you again to Barbara and Sarah for recommending it. All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the world, don't be a man, I'm gonna a little bit of a wimp I'm just a little bit of a wimp I'm just a little bit of a wimp I'm just a little bit of a wimp I'm just a little bit of a wimp I'm just a little bit of a wimp

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