Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - Terry Childs

Episode Date: June 19, 2023

In the so-called murder capital of the world, Terry Childs grew up in the shadows of infamous serial killers. Until he became one himself.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the nature of this episode, listener discretion is advised. This episode contains discussions of substance use, gun violence, murder, suicide, and sexual assault. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. To get help on mental health and substance abuse, visit Spotify.com slash resources. The sun was just peeking over the mountains as 17-year-old Lois Segala stepped out of her car and into the Santa Cruz wilderness. She might have found it beautiful, if not for her friend, Terry, beside her. A few days earlier, Lois had confessed to Terry that she'd been using a fake first name. Terry was a felon and immediately suspected Lois of working with the police.

He spent all night questioning her absolutely furious. There was no use denying it. It didn't matter what she said. Terry was convinced he'd caught her red-handed. Now, days into his latest drug binge, He'd taken Lois to a remote area at the crack of dawn. She took a seat on the ground, completely exhausted. Terry glared.

He took one last look at her, called her a snitch, and pulled out his 9mm. He couldn't let Lois tell the authorities about the robbery. He didn't trust her not to squeal about the drugs, and he refused to be the fall guy. So he raised the gun. Hi, I'm Vanessa Richardson. This is serial killers, a Spotify podcast. Every episode, we dive into the lives and crimes of serial killers. Today, we're jumping into the troubled mind of Terry Childs.

I'm here with my co-host, Greg Paulson. In the first part of this episode, we'll travel to 1970s Santa Cruz, California, the so-called murder capital of the world. There, Terry follows in his family's footsteps and dives into a life of crime. Later, we'll hear how the ghost. of Terry's past came back to haunt him, literally. Then we'll learn how Terry's drug use may have helped turn him from a ritualistic hunter to a delusional, trigger-happy shooter.

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Terry Childs was born in September of 1955 in Aptos, California. The small town is sandwiched right between California's noble redwood forests and the crisp beaches of Santa Cruz. In the 50s, the region served as an upscale getaway for those living in the valleys nearby, but by 1966, the beach town had become a haven for hippies, communes, and anyone looking for an alternative lifestyle. With its beautiful boardwalk and comfortable weather, the bustling beach town seemed like heaven, but with hippies came psychedelic drugs. And then a tidal wave of harder drugs hit the scene. That's probably how Terry's father, Gary, worked steadily as a bail bondsman.

The job wasn't as simple as nine to five. People can post bail at all hours, and bondsmen sometimes partnered with bounty hunters to track down fugitives. So Terry and his siblings probably saw some rough characters over the years. Instead of serving as cautionary tales, though, it's possible Gary's career served as the opposite, because Terry and two of his brothers all developed some criminal tendencies. In 1970, 15-year-old Terry was arrested for unknown reasons. As one of the younger siblings, he probably got the idea for committing the crime from his older brothers.

Vanessa is going to take over in the psychology here and throughout the episode. As a reminder, she is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. The pathway of criminality from older siblings to younger is called the sibling delinquency effect. A 2020 study published in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology studied the phenomenon. It found that lawbreaking often trickles down from one sibling to the next. Instead of fading, the tendency grows with time. For instance, if Terry's oldest brother

misbehaved as a teenager, it might have created a ripple effect where the next oldest sibling would have actually conspired to commit crime. By the time Terry grew up, he may have been primed to become a serious offender. We can see the effect play out in the child's family, because Terry's home life only continued to decline as he aged. Six years after his first arrest, one of his older brothers was sent to state prison for forgery. Terry's difficulties with impulse control manifested in other ways.

In 1974, he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and burglary. Two years later, he was hauled in for robbery. Prison became a revolving door. Each and every time he got out, he inevitably found his way back. These were mostly still petty crimes, but they wouldn't be for long. In the 70s, the sleepy region was caught in the grip of multiple serial killers, including Ed Kemper, John Lindley-Frasher, and Herbert Mullin. As the terror continued, Santa Cruz adopted the dubious honor of Murder Capital of the World.

It wasn't technically true, but the name stuck. The killing sprees made it clear that the cluster of Woodsie villages were no longer a peaceful tourist destination. By the summer of 1979, Terry had surely seen the headlines. Perhaps he was inspired to make a name for himself. With such a long rap sheet, his first victim never stood a chance. On a hot July day in Winamucka, Nevada, 32-year-old Rulin McGill planned to drive to Reno for a dentist appointment, so she dropped off her three-year-old daughter with her mother, Kathy, planning to be back by 7 p.m. Rulin and Kathy were close.

They were both school teachers, both Mormon, and both mothers. Besides her time away in college, Rulin always stayed close to home. But this day was different. She drove two hours to her Reno dentist and afterwards headed to the Meadowwood Mall for some shopping. It was probably nice to have a day to herself, but unbeknownst to her, she was being watched. Terry Childs loitered in the parking lot. He looked for an easy target, somebody who was a long. and probably noticed Rulin heading for her car.

She was it. He approached her, accosted her, and forced himself into her car at knife point. From there, he made Rulun drive to a quiet industrial area, just nine minutes away. Once hidden from view, Terry took her out of the car and restrained her with rope. He then likely sexually assaulted her and stabbed her repeatedly. As darkness fell over the vast Nevada desert, Rulun blew. led to death, hours away from those she loved. Back at home, her mother Kathy felt uneasy. She believed she shared a psychic bond with her daughter. If Rulin was sick or in trouble,

Kathy always felt it. Now she had a wrenching feeling in her gut. She just knew something was wrong. Then all of a sudden she felt the bond sever. She slowly turned to her husband and said, quote, they've killed her. Rulin's family reported her missing. Three days after her disappearance, Rulin's stepfather and uncle found her body, submerged in an irrigation ditch near her car. Terry left her nude,

with her limbs bound and torso covered in stab wounds. Police had little to go on, but the killing was so brutal that they worried this wasn't the culprit's first murder. They feared it wouldn't be their last either. It's tough to say why Terry's violence escalated so quickly, But after Ruland's murder, he made his way back to Aptos, about an eight-hour drive from Reno. Next time, he would claim his victim closer to home.

Coming up, Terry goes into a killing frenzy. Want to support your gut health? Take Activia's gut health challenge by enjoying two Activio yogurt today for two weeks and see if you feel a difference. With billions of probiotics and 20 years of scientific expertise, Activia is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to start your gut health ritual. Try Activia today. Enjoying Activia twice a day for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating,

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Terry Child spent his early adulthood in the shadow of iconic Santa Cruz serial killers, like Edmund Kemper. In 1979, at the age of 23, he committed his first known murder, killing high school teacher, Rulin McGill in Reno, Nevada. Afterwards, Terry returned to Aptos near Santa Cruz. We don't know exactly what he was up to, but he started to develop a drug habit. He definitely saw his mother and may have even lived with her for a time. But it seems like they had a contentious relationship and were often in fights. On November 7, 1979, four months after Rulin's death, Terry paid his mom a visit. We don't know what happened that evening, but whatever it was, it didn't end well.

Terry stormed out of the house, fuming from an argument, and took a walk to blow off some steam. As he passed the rows of parked cars in front of Mervyn's department store, he spotted 19-year-old Linda Josephich, walking alone through the dim parking lot. Linda was shy, but a popular student at her community college. That night, she'd run out on her meal break to grab some cash from her car and Orange Dotson. Since it was a Wednesday night, there weren't many people around. So Terry took it as an invitation. Perhaps he'd decided that if he couldn't fix the problems he was having with his mother, he'd punish this woman instead.

Linda reached into her car, and just like with Rulin McGill in Nevada, that's likely when he approached. Her guard was completely down. It only took seconds for the predator to assault and subdue her. He forced her into her own car and beat her unconscious. Then he drove towards the Lexington. Reservington Reservoir. A remote nature preserved 25 miles from the city. There, he dragged Linda out of the car, strangled, and stabbed her. It's unlikely Linda had any

time to fight back. Terry knew that out in the open space, surrounded by wilderness, no one would hear her cries for help. He drove the car back north and dumped it behind a medical building in San Jose. Hours later, her family reported her missing. In time, her Orange Dotson was discovered, but no one could find Linda. At some point, Terry returned to the scene of the crime, dragged her corpse further into the woods, and covered it with leaves. That was enough. A few months later, the case went cold.

Linda's family could only wonder what had happened to their teenage daughter. Meanwhile, by the end of his 20s, Terry had already served three California state prison terms for burglary and robbery. In 1980, he also picked up charges for false imprisonment and assault with a deadly weapon. That meant he detained someone against their will and severely injured them. His target was lucky to be alive. Not everybody was so fortunate. Carrie mingled with many offbeat characters and mutual felons, including 28-year-old Joan Leslie Mack.

Joan was a native of New Jersey who moved to California in the summer of 1984. she left behind most of her family back east, and since she'd arrived in Santa Cruz, she'd been sleeping on the streets. It's likely Terry recognized how vulnerable she was. Joan had no family in the area and no roof to sleep under, and in October of 1984, he used that to his advantage. We don't know everything that happened that night,

but we can speculate that somewhere near downtown Santa Cruz, Terry attacked Joan and abducted her. Considering his earlier crimes, he likely gagged and bound her, so she had no chance of escape. Then he took her to the forested bluffs that overlooked beer-cann beach. As the fog rolled into the bay, Terry stabbed Joan to death for no apparent reason. He left her body just steps away from a popular beach trail, where it was discovered five days later. Police investigated the death, but apparently in the mid-1980s,

law enforcement in Santa Cruz had their hands full with murders. A few days after cops found Joan, they pulled over Fernando Cota in San Jose, California, and found a dead body in his trunk. At first, investigators thought he was the man who slaughtered Joan, because Cota was no ordinary criminal. He, too, was a serial killer. As far as we know, it's a coincidence that Fernando and Terry were both active in the area at the same time. Police desperately wanted to change Santa Cruz's reputation as the murder capital of the world,

but the unsolved deaths were making that difficult. So, for the time being, Terry's violence continued to fly under the radar of the local police. By 1985, his use of cocaine and meth and made him a staple of the Santa Cruz drug scene, which meant he probably made his way to San Lorenzo Park pretty often. The park overlooked the sprawling San Lorenzo River and had a pedestrian bridge which connected the eastern neighborhoods to downtown, welcoming trees surrounded clearings, shading the walkways and the duck pond. Despite the tranquil scenery, however,

the park was also known as a gathering place for drug dealers and their clientele, including 23-year-old Chris Hall. Chris lived in the area and dealt weed to stay afloat. Marijuana was illegal at the time, and acting as a middleman was a fairly dangerous profession, especially with clients like Terry. In February, 1985,

less than a year after Jones' murder, Chris met up with Terry outside his place, for what seemed like a drug deal. Terry was likely looking for a fix. Details are scant, but the deal may have gone bad. Because Terry ended up shooting the 23-year-old in the chest. Afterward, he took off leaving Chris to die at the entryway of an apartment building across the street from San Lorenzo Park. Police briefly questioned Terry later on, but didn't have enough to charge him. The murderer went free. It's worth pointing out that the murder of Chris Hall marked a significant shift in Terry's MO. He moved from a very specific killing pattern to an apparent

loss of control. Before Chris, Terry fit the FBI profile of a sadistic murderer. These killers usually fantasize about their crimes and attack strangers when given the opportunity. They have a predilection for torturing and mutilating their victims. Up until this point, Terry had used rope to tie his victims, strangled them with his bare hands, and stabbed them repeatedly. But this time, he simply shot Chris with a firearm. It's rare for a sadistic murderer to use a gun as it makes the killing less personal. On top of that, the shooting was also impulsive and public. Plus, it seems like Terry knew the victim personally. It marked an interesting shift, though it's impossible to say exactly why it happened. But it seems like as Terry got deeper into using drugs, he may have felt

less able to plot his killings. His murders went from cold and calculated to hasty and reaction. Far from putting Terry in power, Chris's shooting meant he was firmly out of control. It's not surprising that cocaine and meth could have this effect. A study published in the Journal of Criminal Justice and Behavior found that about 90% of murderers that researchers classified as impulsive have a history of drug or alcohol abuse. We don't know if Terry was under the influence during his earlier murders, but this time, given his history, perhaps he was high, or at least looking for a fix. And unlike other drug users, Terry had no qualms with taking a life.

He was used to it. His impulsivity had increased, but he wasn't interested in slowing down. From now on, Terry would be a lot less careful and a lot more sloppy. Coming up, a potential love triangle becomes a death trap. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book-to-screen favorites you've already read twice.

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Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. Now back to the story. In the mid-1980s, Terry Childs haunted the Santa Cruz drug scene, potentially committing up to 100 felonies in total, including butchering Chris Hall and Joan Mack. Despite the 29-year-old's rap sheet,

the police hadn't put two and two together. Terry remained free to lie, steal, and kill, and along the way, he made a few friends. In 1985, Terry met a new girlfriend, 22-year-old Melanie Lee Hereford. They spent most of their days on cocaine and men. But that summer, the couple started spending time with a 17-year-old runaway named Lois Segalah. After Lois's boyfriend was reportedly thrown into jail on narcotics charges, Melanie and Terry offered Lois a place to stay.

The trio drifted between Lois's boyfriend's house and Capitola, a motel room in Santa Cruz, and San Lorenzo Park. Their days were likely split between getting high and thinking of ways to get more money so they could get even higher. and in July, Melanie and Terry put one of their plans into action. Terry and another accomplice robbed a couple of drug dealers at gunpoint, using the man's 9mm pistol. Melanie drove the getaway car and the trio made out with a backpack full of cocaine. In early August, while Melanie and Terry were in the midst of a drug binge, Lois joined them at their house.

What she saw might have been troubling. Terry seemed tense, worried that someone would connect him to the robbery. It's no wonder he was on edge. By this point, he'd been high on cocaine and crystal meth for days. And Melanie wasn't much better. She'd been up for three nights straight. Blowis had some catching up to do. She sat down to talk with her friends,

steps from the picturesque beach and boardwalk that promised a carefree life. Around midnight, she offhandedly mentioned that Janine, the name she'd been going by, wasn't her real name. Melanie didn't think anything of it, but for Terry, everything changed in that. that moment, he just couldn't let it go. He was convinced that Lois was out to get him. Why else would she lie?

He accused her of being a snitch and working for the police. He assumed Lois knew about the cocaine robbery a few weeks earlier and was going to tell the authorities, if she hadn't already. According to the DSM-5, stimulant-induced psychosis can occur when high doses of cocaine or amphetamines are ingested. Symptoms include paranoid ideation and psychotic episodes. which can even resemble schizophrenia. Dr. David Gorellick, an expert in psychopharmacology, believed Terry was in the midst of a drug-induced psychosis around this time.

Because of the amount of stimulants in his system, even a teenager like Lois became a threat, and there was little hope of convincing him otherwise. Dr. Gorellick said, quote, something trivial like the backfire from a car could be taken to be a gunshot, it could lead to the belief in a conspiracy. Terry spent the entire night threatening Lois, trying to get her to admit she was working with the police. She had no idea what he was talking about. Lois told him she loved him and Melanie, and she'd never do anything to hurt them. But Terry still wasn't convinced.

As the night dragged on, Terry told Melanie he wanted to kill Lois. Melanie brushed him off. He was tired, strung out, and moody. It was no reason to believe him. But Terry had already made up his mind. At daybreak, he ordered them both into his Mustang and told Melanie to drive into the wilderness. She steered the car towards Scott's Valley, a small city in the nearby mountains, and pulled over at a turnout. It was time for a hike. Terry led them onto a trail and out of sight of the road.

After a while, the group took a break. Lois and Melanie sat under a redwood tree. Terry glared at both of them. Then he told Lois his plan, he was going to move. murder her. She begged him not to kill her, but her cries didn't do much to penetrate his drug-fueled paranoia. He whipped out a 9-millimeter automatic pistol. Terrified, Melanie asked him to put the gun away.

This time, Terry obliged, sticking the 9-millimeter back in his pants. Both women breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe for now. An eerie silence fell over the group. Terry pulled out a dagger and crouched to the ground without saying a word. Like a movie villain, he cleaned his nails with the knife. Both women waited, probably too afraid of antagonizing Terry to say anything. They prayed his aggression would pass so they could head down the mountain back to their lives.

Melanie lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, then tossed it to the ground. Terry looked at her and told her to pick it back up. That's when she knew, quote, something was wrong. We're speculating what Melanie meant here, but it's possible she learned from Terry's robberies to never leave behind evidence at a crime scene. If he wanted her to pick up the cigarette butt, that meant he was about to do something bad.

As soon as Melanie bent to pick it up, Terry drew his gun again and shot Lois in her arms and legs. Melanie made a move to run, but Terry threatened to kill her if she escaped. She froze and watched as her boyfriend turned his attention back to Lois. It was too much. Melanie dropped her knees, shut her eyes, and covered her ears,

trying to block out the sound of her friend screaming. Lois crawled 22 feet across the dirt, trying to get away. All the while, Terry continued firing bullets into her. Eventually, Melanie couldn't take it anymore. She panicked and fled towards the car, still hearing her friend's screams on the way down. Finally, Terry aimed his pistol at Lois' head, and ended her cries.

He met Melanie at the car and warned her not to say anything about what happened. With that, they drove back towards the Santa Cruz Wharf, where Terry tossed the gun into the bay. Though this was a shooting, which we mentioned earlier is a less personal method of homicide, Lois' death was particularly heinous. Even in a drug-fueled panic, Terry couldn't help himself. He still found a way to torture his victim. He'd now killed at least two people, likely while under the influence. His two vices, drugs and violence, were at full tilt.

Luckily, it wasn't long before Lois was discovered by a hiker. And this time, the police had a pretty good lead on who was behind the carnage. A witness saw Lois get into Terry's Mustang. Because of his reputation, they knew exactly who it belonged to. It didn't take long for police to find the car and impound it. Inside the trunk, they found an artillery. simulator, a deadly explosive normally used to train military and law enforcement. Terry likely acquired it through some kind of trade. About two weeks after Lois's homicide, he and Melanie

were arrested and charged with suspicion of possessing explosives. Confident they wouldn't meet bail, attorneys took their time gathering evidence for the murder case. After asking around, the cops discovered Terry bought a nine millimeter from the accomplice who'd helped him score the backpack full of cocaine. Lois had been killed. with bullets from the same type of 9mm gun. On September 10th, both suspects, Terry and Melanie were charged with first-degree murder. In hindsight, it's unfair to lump Melanie in with Terry, who'd murdered and assaulted several others before even meeting Lois.

But the police didn't know that, and it would take a while for the truth about Terry Childs to be revealed. In the meantime, Melanie told officers everything she'd seen the night of Lois's death. was able to obtain a plea deal, she would serve five years probation on an accessory to murder charge in exchange for her testimony against Terry. The prosecution believed it was only a matter of time before someone like Terry committed murder, since he had such a violent criminal record. They had no way of knowing that Terry had already transitioned from a petty criminal

to a serial murderer. On February 5, 1987, a jury found Terry Childs guilty of first-degree murder. At the sentencing hearing, Terry didn't do himself any favors. The Chief Deputy District Attorney played a jailhouse recording of him speaking with a friend. On the tape, Terry asked the woman to bring a submachine gun to his hearing so he could mow down the judge, the DA, and even the audience. He dreamt of going out in a blaze of glory. He said, quote, let him plug me.

T.C. got a run. It's been fun. He was sentenced to three years for being a film. and in possession of a firearm, 11 more for his prior convictions, and 27 years to life for first-degree murder. After the sentence, Lois' mother mourned the loss of her daughter to the press. She felt the system had failed to recognize a violent killer who'd been there all along. She said, quote, a pattern developed over 20 years, a pattern that was visible to our justice

system. Terry disappeared into the prison system. With him went the truth about Rulin, Linda, Joan, and Christopher. For 10 years, there was every reason to believe the world would never hear from him again, but Terry realized his secrets gave him power. In 1997, he made a bombshell disclosure. He teased authorities that he was responsible for the deaths of not one, not five, but 12 people. It was a salacious claim.

The supposed murders occurred in states, ranging from Nevada to Washington well beyond Santa Cruz, and one of them included a woman his father had been engaged to, who everyone knew had died by suicide when Terry was 18. Understandably, detectives took his words with a grain of salt, since there are several reasons to give a false confession. If Terry was suffering from mental illness, it may been an indication of his inability to distinguish fantasy from reality. Terry's former lawyer believed he was looking for fame. And finally, for a full confession, Terry wanted something in return to avoid the death penalty. So he could have been lying to get what he wanted. Either way,

the Santa Cruz DA started trying to verify his claims. But they were only able to close Rulin's case, which Terry pled guilty to. And for a while, that was it. But as the years passed, the killer became more and more tormented, because inside the four walls of his cell, Terry had company. He claimed he started seeing the ghost of one of his victims. Linda Ann Josephich, who had been dead for nearly 30 years, wordlessly stared at him from the corner of a cell. According to Terry, the phantom was eating up his brain.

He decided that to free himself from his demons, he had to make amends with her family. This time, he fully confessed. In 2007, 28 years after her murder, the 52-year-old admitted to killing 19-year-old Linda. A decade later, he pled guilty to the murders of Christopher Hall and Joan Mack. As of this recording, Terry has officially been charged with committing five murders. It's hard to tell if he was telling the truth when he claimed to be responsible for more.

After all, he'd been a ruthless criminal for most of his life, willing to do anything to get what he wanted. There's little reason to believe he changed behind bars. On the other hand, maybe the ghost said, of his past truly were haunting him. In some cases, substance misuse can mean a person is trying to push away negative experiences, feelings, or thoughts. Now that Terry didn't have the same access to drugs as he did on the outside,

perhaps he was forced to confront his demons. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with a new episode. You can find more episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals for free on spot. We'll see you next time. Stay safe out there. Cereal Killers is a Spotify podcast. Our head of programming is Julian Borrow.

Our supervising sound designer is Russell Nash, with Nick Johnson as our head of production and Spencer Howard as our post-production supervisor. Stacey Nemek is our supervising editor, and Derek Jennings is our writing lead. This episode of Serial Killers was written by Maria Felix, edited by Ben Carrow and Terrell Wells. Back-checked by Claire Cronin, researched by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood, produced by Bruce Kitovich and sound design by Juan Borda. Our hosts are Greg Polson and me, Vanessa Richardson. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop.

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A beloved 75-year-old man washing up, getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not Crime Beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.