Murder: True Crime Stories - BONUS: Interview with Great-Granddaughters of Black Dahlia Prime Suspect

Episode Date: October 18, 2024

The Black Dahlia murder may be unsolved, but sisters Rasha Pecoraro and Yvette Gentile believe they know who did it: their great-grandfather, George Hodel. Carter Roy, host of Murder: True Crime Stories sits down with Rasha and Yvette to learn more about their story, how they learned about their family's history, and everything that came after. Murder: True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original. For more, follow us on Tiktok and Instagram @crimehouse To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Crime House. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending i'm carter roy and this is murder true crime stories a crime house original show powered by pave studios every tuesday i'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders i'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard With a focus on those who are impacted At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories

Wherever you get your podcasts Your feedback truly matters And for ad-free and early access to Murder True Crime Stories, plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. This is a very special look into the Black Dahlia murder, which we've been covering throughout the last two episodes of Murder True Crime Stories. Today, I am talking with Rasha Picarero and Yvette Gentile. Rasha and Yvette are the hosts of The Root of Evil and Facing Evil podcasts

and currently host the podcast series So Supernatural. They are also the great-granddaughters of George Hodel, a man some believe could have been responsible for the 1947 death of Elizabeth Short. Rasha and Yvette, thank you so much for joining me today. How are you doing? Hey, Carter. Thank you for having us. It's a pleasure to be here. Yes, thank you, Carter. So nice to finally have this conversation. Yes, thank you, Carter. So nice to finally have this conversation. I know, and it's such an incredible conversation to have. I mean, I just want to say, first of all, that Root of Evil is amazing. Not only, of course, going over the Black Dahlia murder and your family, but weaving those tales together, I just think is such a special

way of telling a story and shows that true crime isn't just some sort of sensationalistic genre. It is really a heartfelt thing for all those involved. So in today's special episode, we'll dive into Rasha and Yvette's family secrets, the trauma they've endured, and the shocking revelations unearthed by their uncle, Steve Hodel, who was an LAPD homicide detective for a long time. This is so much more than just a cold case. It's a story of family, darkness, and the search for truth. So stay tuned. You won't want to miss this incredible conversation.

Hey everyone, it's Carter. I have a favor to ask you. If you are enjoying Murder True Crime Stories, I would be honored if you took a moment to rate and review us on Apple and Spotify. Your valuable feedback helps us improve and expand our reach so other true crime fans can find us too. Your support means everything. All right, Rasha and Yvette, I know we're about to

dive into some heavy stuff, but before we do that, tell me, is there anything about you that most people wouldn't expect or might be surprised to learn? I mean, they might associate you with, you know, root of evil or the evil podcast world. So what about you might they not know? It's so funny that you say that, Carter. When they decided to name the podcast Root of Evil, we're like, we're not the root of evil. What are you talking about? But we understood where that was coming from. Because even though we come from evil, our mother was this bright, shining light. So we've always felt that, right? But we are going to get into a really heavy conversation today. So let's start off with something fun and silly. Most people don't know

that in 2006, I was on the reality TV show, The Biggest Loser. So a lot of people don't know that unless you Google me. And if you Google me, don't believe TMZ. I didn't leave my ex-husband for my wife. That's not how I came out. So that's my fun anecdote for something that people might not know about me. How about you, Yvette? So for me, a lot of people don't know this about me. I mean, people know that I model, I run, I do yoga, I do a bunch of different things. But one thing they do not know is my husband is a cobbler, a very famous cobbler, a ciabattino in San Francisco, so a craftsman. So when 2020 hit us all unexpectedly, I started working with him and I started painting shoes

and bags. And it was kind of like I just picked it up without even knowing. And funny fact is, my dad is an auto body painter. He's been doing it his whole life. So I feel like I kind of got that trait. And I never worked with my father when I was younger. So I can honestly say that I am a crafts woman. Well, and of course, you have a lot more going on than being a cobbler or making it out of the biggest loser. You also have an amazing new podcast right now called So Supernatural. So do you want to tell us a little about that? Yes. So Supernatural came to us because we were actually pitching a show to Audiochuck. We wanted to do

like a new talk show because believe it or not, we're not true crime. We're normally like sunshine and rainbows and all these things. And Brittany Bigelow at Audiochuck and Max Cutler at Pave Studios saw something really special in us. And after we had our meeting with AudioChuck, Brittany asked our agent, hey, what do the girls think about supernatural things? And it was like a light bulb that went off. And we're like, we love supernatural. Right, Yvette? Yeah. It was instantaneous that we were like, oh my God, this is it. And as soon as she said that, I told Brittany, I said, the night before I had this dream, like I had this vision of mom coming to us and saying, this is it, this is it. Because our mother on her journey,

like a finding her biological family, she would always get visions or visited by angels and all these mysterious and mystical things would show up in her life. So we were raised in that. We were raised in the mystical and the psychics and faith as well. So I'm like, I completely got goosebumps from head to toe when they said supernatural. We were like, yes, we are in, we are supernatural. That's in our DNA also. And when we found out that Ashley Flowers was going to be hosting with us, we have admired her for years and years. We were even nominated against her and Brit for Crime Junkie in the 2020 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards for Best True Crime Podcast of the Year. We both lost. We have that in common.

Yeah, but we've always admired Ashley because she is a powerhouse of a human being. Yeah. An incredible, incredible storyteller. We are just beyond honored to be on this team. And at the same time, geeking out every day that we get to do something that we truly, truly love. Completely. I mean, that is, yeah, it's such an amazing marriage when you get to be with people that you admire that much doing work that you also love to Completely. I mean, that is, yeah, it's such an amazing marriage when you get to be with people that you admire that much doing work that you also love to do. Well, let's turn to the case that changed everything and has brought you here to today in a lot of ways, the murder of Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia. So how much did you know about this case? You know, when you're

growing up, it's obviously one of the most famous unsolved murders in American history. So a lot of people know about it. Was it something you knew before? And then when did you first find out that your family might be connected to it? For me, I'm the oldest daughter. So I think about this often. And I think it was probably when I was in my early teens that I fully started to grasp, you know, what our great grandfather had done. We had always heard that he was a very powerful, very influential man who did some very sinister things. And I had remembered, I remember my mom and Tamar, you know, always having these conversations, Tamar, my grandmother, my mom's biological mother. But again, the kids weren't sitting around hearing every single detail. So it wasn't until in my teens that I started to learn more and understand the depth of what was part of our DNA.

And it wasn't really until, I have to say, 2003, when our great uncle Steve Hodel wrote the book, The Black Dahlia Avenger, that I thought the whole world now knows our history. It's a very unsettling feeling. I can't actually put it into words, but it does not feel good. Let's just say that. For me, I'm the baby. It's just Yvette and I, and we're 11 years apart. I don't remember a time that I didn't know about the unfortunate murder of Elizabeth Short and the Black Dahlia and George's connection to it because Tamar and our mom always spoke all the time. They spoke on the phone multiple times a day, even though we lived within a few miles of each other in Honolulu, Hawaii. But I always remember knowing

that I came from this evil. And not only was he accused of killing Elizabeth Short, he was also accused of doing horrific things to our grandmother Tamar and to other people. I can't remember if it was Dateline or 48 Hours that our great-uncle Steve was on. And I remember watching it with our mom and turning to her because our mom's name was Fana Hodel. And I was named born Rasha Hodel because my parents weren't married when I was born. But my dad had my name changed to his last name when I was a little bit older, like 11. I remember turning to my mom and being like, I am so happy my last name isn't Hodel anymore. And she gave me this stink eye like, Rasha, I'm still named Fauna Hodel. I'm still associated with that last name. And I'm like,

I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just, wow. Because it's so much to know whether he truly was responsible for the murder of Elizabeth Short or not. He was responsible for heinous things in our family. That is 100% for certain. So you know, regardless of whether he was ever tried in a court, which he wasn't, know, regardless of whether he was ever tried in a court, which he wasn't, he was accused, but he never served a day in jail or in prison or anything like that. That stain is still with the Hodel name and both Yvette and I come from that family. So it is something that is, we always try to balance the darkness with light. And I have to piggyback off of that a little bit too, because, you know, mom had the last name Hodel.

You know, she was told never to change her name because supposedly her family was very wealthy. That was what her adopted parents said. But even though mom had the name Hodel, she was the light. Like she didn't fall into the darkness of the George Hodel mysteries and all the things. Legacy. Legacy. She was her own entity of light.

And she took that name. She took Fauna Hodel. And she trailblazed it to a whole nother level of positivity and kindness. And that's difficult, you know, considering everything that she had been through. So that just shows who she was as a human being, you know, in this world. Yeah. And I think we'll, and hope we'll talk about that more later today too, in terms of intergenerational trauma and those things that we're still learning so much about how they happen. And, you know, the Black Dahlia, as I said before, murder is one of the most famous in American history. It's obviously been turned into movies

and books and so much is known about it. Why that one captured the public's mind so much and became this cultural touchstone. And do you think that obviously affects the perception of the case or even how you felt about the case over the years? Yeah, I mean, I think that there's so many different reasons why it captured America the way that it did. For me, it's like when I think about it, you think of Elizabeth Short as this beautiful, young, 22-year-old who had just come to la-la land, as I like to say, to become a star or an actress or whatever she chose to do. And then for this horrific, horrific crime assault to happen to her and the way that it was

publicized in LA at that time, the way that it was graphically photographed and shown on the newspapers, it literally became a movie just in the moment that they showed those photographs. And I think that's what's created this never-ending genre of the Black Dahlia, right? Because it literally started like a movie, but it was real life. And that's what's so hard for me, because we all are not thinking that this is a 22-year-old girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And to be tragically, horribly taken from this world like that, and then to all the way until now, right? We're in 2024. It's still the same frenzy around it. And I think people get lost in that and in the glamour, which it's not glamorous at all. So there's so much to be said about Elizabeth Short and the timeframe that it happened in and all the corruption that

was happening in LA at the time. I mean, we could talk about this for days, you know? Yeah. I'm so thankful in some ways when you talk about your mother and that history, because I think it's just so important. People are constantly like, yeah, how do we both acknowledge the horror of a murder? And something like the Black Dahlia, of course, grabs the imagination because of just how horrific and the staging of the body, et cetera. And yet, how do we pull her story out of that? And pulling her story out and humanizing her, we set the pattern for how we all do that over time to keep coming back to the light of it and not just sucked into the dark.

I love that you say that, Carter, because we always say that. We're like, our mom was the light in the darkness, and that's her legacy, because she was a legacy of kindness and light. So we always want to talk about that. And Elizabeth had her own light. You know, she was so young and it was just so tragic what happened to her. And you're right. She was completely sensationalized and still is to this day.

And she was a real person. A lot of people forget that. They say, oh, the Black Dahlia. And we're like, Elizabeth Short. Elizabeth Short. Yeah. And our mother was huge on that. She always said, no, say her name. Say her name. Her name is Elizabeth Short. We want to keep making sure we remember the human. Exactly. When you became aware, as you said, you kind of always known there was something about your great grandfather, I confess, and probably other people are curious what it's like just at a personal level to try to process that kind of connection. You know, where do you put that?

For me, I remember. So in 2003, when our great uncle Steve's book came out, I was in college and I remember writing a piece. I was in a journalism class and I was writing a piece about basically how I'm so ashamed that George Hodel's blood runs through my veins. And I remember saying all these things as to why I knew I was going to be the light instead of the darkness. And that was because of our mom, Fauna Hodel, and because of my sister, Yvette. I always knew that that darkness didn't mean we were dark. It didn't mean that we were any part of that. And our mom kept us away from him on purpose because he lived until 1999. And so he was still a presence in this world when we were growing up and doing all these things. But for me, I just always was like, nope, I'm not a part of that. And that's why it's so interesting that Yvette and I have fallen into this, you know, beautiful world of podcasting because we can use our voice for

good now. We did that with Facing Evil. We were telling other stories and we always talked about the light. And there's a word in Hawaiian because we were raised there, imua means to move onward and upward. And at the end of every Facing Evil episode, no matter what victim or crime we were talking about, we always had to have that imua. How do you move onward and upward from this? And you can. You can't live in that darkness. You have to always look for the light. Or you have to find the helpers to help you get to the light, you know? Yeah. And surround yourself with those type of people. Everything that Rasha said is so true. For me, when I totally really like absorbed it was actually when Root of Evil came out. And I'm just going to go back a little bit, but

I was always a very strong, very grounded. I'm a Leo, but my mom raised two very strong women. She was a single mom. She held it down and she really instilled that strength and that light and always let us know that this may be in our bloodline, but that does not define who you are and what you stand for in this world. So we always had that, right? But when Root of Evil came out and obviously losing our mother and that was life-changing for both of us, was the first time that it felt so, so real. As Rasha said, they named it Root of Evil and we were like, but no, we're not the Root of Evil. Fauna Hodel was the brightest light on the planet. So when Root of Evil came out and it was such a huge success and Root of Evil was a story of a

family, family secrets, trauma. It's a three-dimensional story that touched everybody in such a different way. But that was the first time that it was like, this is a lot for me. 2003, but now podcasting is this huge entity and people are listening to your family secrets, up close and personal. It was a lot. It was a lot to intake and it was a lot to take on because our mother wasn't with us. And she was always, and still is to this day, but she is the core of our strength. But then, you know, again, I had to find my footing. It took me a while. And I had to say, you know, remember who you are. Remember who you are. You are Fauna Hodel's daughter. Remember who you are. And that carried us through. Remember who you are. And that carried us through. That's the beauty of storytelling, right? When we share stories, you don't feel so alone. Like not everyone's going to have skeletons in their closet like our family does. But like you said, if they feel that we can get through it and rise above and move onward and upward, they can too.

Yeah. Yeah. they can too. Yeah. Yeah. And that was the beauty of our mother because even though she had this crazy story from beginning, middle, and end, she was always wanting to listen to your story. And that was the beauty because you know what? That is what connects us all. I always like to say we have two to six degrees of separation between all of us, and there is a connection that we all share if we truly just listen to one another. I might shift a little now and sort of drill into a little bit of what we're talking about in terms of how the story unfolds in your family. And if we go to your great uncle, Steve Hodel,

who again, if listeners don't know, was a longtime LAPD homicide detective, which I think is, he is such a diligent professional that it's not just that he's the son of George Hodel, who sort of is wandering into this. This is like, sort of feels like the guy who's best suited to pursue the investigation anyway. And then it sort of happens that that congruence occurs. I think we've kind of touched on it some, but how does that start to influence how your internal story about it changes and what else changes as you watch his journey? For me, I've met Steve a couple times, our great uncle Steve, a couple times in my life. And he has always been dedicated to finding the truth, telling the truth about his father, George Hodel.

And that happened, like you said earlier, in 1999, when his father passed away, and he started to go through some of his things. When we did Root of Evil, and we actually went on tour and we did the Today Show. We did Dr. Oz. We did Dr. Phil. To actually be in the room with Steve and hear him talk about all of this was like a whole nother level. And I have to give him his respect because he was an LA homicide detective for 24 years. So he knows what he's talking about. So to hear him elaborate on all of the details and the evidence just gave me confirmation that what I already believe to be true, like even more so. His father definitely, you know what I mean? Yeah, I know. It's always so hard to have it come out of my mouth, but yes.

Yeah. I mean, again, mad respect for our Uncle Steve. I didn't meet him until five minutes before we went on the Dr. Phil show. And you have to remember, I mean, I was born and raised in Honolulu and he was in LA. And one thing I will say, I was always sad that our mom and our great uncle Steve never really got to work together because they were all, you know, they were both on this journey of finding out the truth. And our mom had a relationship with him and, you know, met him several times, but they never really melded together. Yeah, they never really collaborated together. Collaborated. And it felt good to be with him on all those shows and to hear his side of the story. own healing journey going through all of that because I had a very volatile relationship with

our biological grandmother, Tamar. And I realized, you know, I said some things publicly that I probably shouldn't have. And I realized, I'm like, you know, there's other people involved in this story. I don't need to perpetuate, you know, the things that I went through, especially because Tamar had passed away a couple of years before our mom had passed away. So for me, it was more about just healing and listening. That's something that my sister Yvette teaches me daily, listen more and talk less, which is hard to say to a podcast host. But I listened to Steve and he did the work. He did the research. I think he originally, actually, I know originally he set out to disprove that his father, George, killed Elizabeth Short. And on his journey, he found out that he could have been responsible for multiple other murders. And that is heartbreaking. And

part of that, listening to him and reading his books and going on this journey through Root of Evil and everything, you have to realize that you have to break that generational trauma. You have to know that you are not that evil that you come from and you can always break it. And our, our mother broke it. Our mother did that. And, you know, unfortunately Tamar wasn't able to, but towards the end she kind of did. She, you know, she had good relationships with, with her family. And I just want people out there to know that no matter what the darkness is that lies in your past, you can always come out above and see the light always. I mean, it's crazy to think that whatever we might feel about someone being capable of murder, that it could get worse because you're sort of,

there is no such thing worse. And then it's like, well, crazy enough, there's something more. And then somehow that becomes another layer to grapple with. And the Sodin house where George lived and some of these murders probably took place and learning that he may have been a serial killer. What was that like as far as further layers to go through. We call it the Franklin House. But that house, the first time mom and I went there, this was, I'm terrible with numbers, but the first time that mom and I went there, she didn't know who lived there. She just knocked on the door and she said, hi, I am the granddaughter of George Hodel. And of course, they knew who George Hodel was because he was, I believe he was the second owner of that house. So she let us in and we sat down, had a conversation. And it was this incredible, Frank Lloyd Wright home.

She took us out. At the time, there was a pool there in the center and all the doors opened out to the pool. She brought us some iced tea and we sat there and talked. And she started telling us all these stories about these different encounters with ghosts that her and her family had gone through. And it was lovely. It was nice, you know, but there was this, there's this energy in that house. The second time that I went there, I was with, I think it was with my uncle, uh, Peace and our uncle Kelly and my mom again, and they took us into the basement. And I remember as soon as we went down the stairs,

And I remember as soon as we went down the stairs, my heart just started palpitating. I felt like I was, I knew I was having an anxiety attack. And my mom all of a sudden started praying. Like, I don't even know what she was saying, but she started praying. The energy that was in that basement was like none other I've experienced in my life. Like, you know, when you walk into a place and something God awful has happened there, you can just, if you're an intuitive and sensitive person such as myself, you feel that. And I felt that. And we, we got up out of there and I was like, I never want to come back to this house again. But then I made her come back.

Even though we did go back again. But it's an eerie, eerie feeling. And you know, I believe that that is absolutely where Elizabeth Short or someone else, I don't know, but God awful things happened down there. And in fact, not a lot of people know this, but the year before our mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, 2015, she was on the TV show Ghost Adventures and she went to the home. And so, I mean, she's again, been there multiple times. She took me separately from Yvette. And then Yvette and I, it ended up on the cutting room floor of Root of Evil, but we recorded an episode inside, you know, the Franklin Stoughton house. And the same thing happened to me again in the basement.

She had a full-blown panic attack in the basement. And I had to, like, hold on to her. And you feel it. It's almost like you feel something on your chest. In Hawaii, we talk about like a sitting ghost, like sitting on your chest. That's what I felt as soon as I walked into the property. And it's scary. It's very scary.

So the Soden House, originally named because that's what they first called it, is on Franklin Street, so became known as the Franklin House and was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's son. So it has some infamy in the architecture world as well. And it is fascinating to hear about how spaces like that and the events in them can shape the energy. I've been to a couple of places, not inside, but outside right after some horrible things. And it must be an overwhelming experience when you're in the middle of it, like in the basement like that. Yeah, it's something that you don't want to feel. Let's just put it that way.

I thought one of the pieces of evidence that for me was haunting, I mean, it gives me goosebumps when I talk about it, that the police were making these recordings and then potentially not taking action is real hard to swallow. But the LAPD did get into Franklin House and plant some bugs to listen to George Hodel because he was a suspect and have these recordings, which quite possibly in this very basement and certainly other parts of the house as well, may have recorded murders or talking about murders. As we know, the tapes, not so much lost, is probably, my guess it would seem, is destroyed or tried to take out of context. And thankfully, someone was wise enough to take the transcripts and hide them away from any kind of corruption. The transcripts still exist. The transcripts. So we have the recordings, essentially. And what was it like for you to experience those recordings? So I have an interesting story. My mom was working at- Thomas Kinkade Gallery in Northridge.

Thomas Kinkade in Northridge. And my mom always had these, like I said, my mom always had these supernatural experiences throughout her lifetime. And she was working in the gallery and this man and this woman came in. They started chatting. My mom was an incredible salesperson. She sold them some art. But in the midst, of course, she told her story. And then he started to tell his. His name was Walter Morgan.

And he was one of the officers that put the bug in the Franklin house. Can you imagine? My mom was just like, like, what, what, what? So of course my mom called Steve and she let Steve know. And that's how this all transpired. But that was, again, one of those so supernatural moments that of all places that this man, you know, who by now he must have been like in his 80s, walked into Thomas Kinkade Gallery and told this story to my mother about her grandfather. I mean, is that craziness or is that fate?

That is craziness. I mean, you think of this sort of like, well, a thousand monkeys are typing forever. Eventually, you know, they'll type the canon or whatever. And yet it's like, yeah, but would he bring up that story in the Kinkade Gallery at that date? Like, I don't know, maybe not even all the infinite probabilities could account for that. He recognized her last name. So, and because she was telling her story, he was like, Hodel? I was like, oh, I got a story for you. Yeah. Amazing. The confluence of that is just astounding. I mean, just that he'd be there that day,

that they'd meet, that they would get enough story to get a name out. And then, of course, he remembers that. But to know that that in so many ways would trigger so much because of course, Steve then being like, oh, I have more to look at. And then as a detective and getting these recordings and seeing more really opens the door to be like, okay, I think we can kind of wash away the doubt. Totally for us as well. You know, he's, he is the prime suspect. Yes. Well with that, let's take a little break. And then after we're going to dive deeper into more mysteries about the Hodel family and a little more about who George Hodel really was. So stay tuned for more after this brief pause. To be continued... psychology of the world's most notorious serial killers. Names like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, the Night Stalker, featuring expert psychological analysis from licensed clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels. Mind of a Serial Killer will take you into their stories like never

before. So get ready to uncover what drives someone to commit the unimaginable. Mind of a Serial Killer is a Crime House original. New episodes drop every Monday. Just search Mind of a Serial Killer and follow wherever you listen to podcasts. If you're fascinated by the darker sides of humanity, join us every week on our podcast, Serial Killers, where we go deep into notorious true crime cases. With significant research and careful analysis, we examine the psyche of a killer, their motives and targets, and law enforcement's pursuit to stop their spree. Follow Serial Killers wherever you get your podcasts and get new episodes every Monday.

Welcome back, everyone. I'm here with Rasha Picarero and Yvette Gentile discussing how their great-grandfather, George Hodel, might have been responsible for the infamous Black Dahlia murder in 1947. So if we go back to your uncle, Steve Hodel, he suggested that George was responsible for a number of unsolved murders beyond Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia. What's your opinion on this broader theory that George Hodel could have been a serial killer? I definitely think he could have been a serial killer. I don't know if I believe he was the Zodiac Killer or other things that our great

uncle Steve has said. And it's no disrespect to Steve. It's just, I don't want to believe that. But I definitely think he was capable of murdering multiple people, especially with the things that he did to Tamar. And I just really think he was capable of it. And his secretary. I just feel that in my gut. And his secretary. Secretary Ruth Spalding. Yes, for sure.

So there's definitely more than one. I agree with what Rasha said. Like, I feel like the Zodiac is a little bit far-fetched, you know? And again, going back to we're not really true crime people. So it's not like we spend a whole lot of time or have throughout our lives, you know, researching all these other cases, but definitely Elizabeth Short, you know,

as well as Ruth Spalding and all obviously the horrendous things that he did, you know, to his child. That in itself is just, you is just an evil human being. He fled the US not long after the Black Dahlia case was starting to get media attention. Do you think that's part of why he left the country was to try to get away from scrutiny and suspicion about connection to the murder? I mean, I think that's kind of obvious, I think, for most of us. Like when you read all the transcripts, when he says what he says on the tape, and now all of a sudden he's going to the Philippines, he's getting out of the country. So it absolutely makes sense. And back then, we talk about LA like we have earlier. LA was very corrupt. George was a very influential person

in Los Angeles. And he had a lot of people, I'm sure, that were in his pockets that would take care of this and that and knew that it was time for him to get out of town, especially with him being the prime suspect. And I do have to say too, when he went to the Philippines, he ended up starting a whole new family there. And we have special relationships with our family from the Philippines. And just to be devil's advocate, a lot of them don't believe that he was a murderer of any kind. So it's very, very nuanced. And I guess all families are, right? But it's just so interesting. Like if he could have moved to the Philippines and then never done an evil thing again, I don't know. I mean, and we have to, we have to remember that, you know, George was brilliant as well. Like he

had an IQ, like he was a genius, you know? So, and he had that personality, that Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde type of personality. So, yeah, he could turn it off and turn it on, you know, when he chose. Do you think there's any chance that law enforcement would ever be able to publicly sort of definitively hold him responsible? Or do you feel like that ship has sort of sailed? like that ship has sort of sailed. Well, I can tell you what the LAPD said when we did the Today Show. They said that it is still an open investigation. And if I remember correctly, correct me if I'm wrong, Yvette, they didn't say anything about George, right? No, no.

I mean, if anyone is going to prove it, it's going to be Steve. And Steve does say, like he has said, Steve has said that he does have some type of DNA on some envelope or letter or something, I don't know. So I think he's the one who's going to diligently stay with this for the rest of his life until something happens, we would hope. Both for his sake and all of our sakes, I'm like, yeah, I'm certainly rooting for the possibility that that DNA one day might lead to a payoff because as we're talking about story and healing, it's like, oh, that might be a chapter yet to be written. And you don't know what kind of healing and transformation can take place, even though

it's so long ago in some ways, because it ripples through our histories, as you know, from the personal side of the family, like, oh, that can really make a difference sometimes. So I'm certainly hoping one day that it comes to. Well, and you know, it's funny that you say that, Carter. One of the episodes that we did for Root of Evil that also made it on the cutting room floor. Yvette and I met with one of the sisters at the place where our mom was born. It was an unwed mother's home. And I remember her telling us, you may not get the answers and you have to basically be okay with that. Yeah. And it's like, we still have to heal. We still have to become whole again.

I think Yvette and I have made peace with the fact that we may never find out the truth because everyone who was involved is no longer with us. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I say that, you know, and when I say that about Steve, like I wish that for him too. Yes, he's, I'm sure he's going to continue his journey of trying to prove, you know, solve the case. But at the same time, I hope that he takes care of his own spirit, you know, solve the case. But at the same time, I hope that he takes care of his own spirit, you know, and heals himself as well. Because at the end of the day, that's the most important thing for all of us.

Yeah. At the same time, I'm such a lover of dogged journalists and investigators and stuff. And so, I find myself just like, come on, let's get there. Give that, give that man what he deserves as far as the knowledge goes. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, up next, we'll get Rosh and Yvette's takes on where things go from here and the legacy of their family's connection to the crime. Stay tuned after this short break. Welcome back. Let's dive into Rasha Picarero and Yvette Gentile's dark family history, but I really want to hear about the effect it's had on your family overall. With the release of your podcast, Root of Evil, the world has learned about your family's connection to one of the most famous unsolved murders. So how has sharing your family's story on such a public platform changed the way you view the past? And I know we've talked about this some,

what else there is about being in the position, not just of someone who's experienced it, but then shared it so publicly, what that's like? shared it so publicly what that's like? For me, I think that it's been a release. It's something that's always followed us from the time I was a little girl, just because I always knew. And when the world found out, I was like, okay, it's all out there. It's all out there. And all we can do, especially having just lost our mom when Root of Evil came out. Yvette and I choose every day to follow the light. We choose every day to lead with kindness and aloha. And I'm not perfect by any means, but I do my best to be her legacy.

her legacy. And so that's why we do the work that we do, why we went on to do Facing Evil and So Supernatural, so that we can have a voice for the voiceless and do good in the world. So for me, it's been very healing and very beautiful. And for me, I talked about Root of Evil in the beginning of how it made me feel, but there was also The Light, which was that cathartic feeling of when the family came together and, you know, we had this conversation, which was really beautiful. And I hope that helped other families speak to one another because everybody has, you know, a different view or a different story, but if you could all get into one room or get on a phone or just listen, not judge, right? But just listen to what each other has to say, whether you believe

it or not, but just giving each other the ability to share what they feel is so powerful and so healing in itself. And my mom raised us to be strong women and to carry on her legacy because she came from secrets and lies and trauma. But even though she came from all that, I like to say she was truly rooted in love and she perpetuated that love to every single person that she encountered, whether it be on a plane, in a car, in a gallery. That kindness that she illuminated continued to gravitate to her so that darkness never stayed with her. And that is how we were raised. And that is how we are able to carry on, to tell stories, to be blessed to, like Rasha said, to have this platform to share stories so people don't feel alone. And it's okay that if you don't feel alone, you know, and it's okay that if you don't want to tell your story, that's okay too. But if you do, you know that it's okay. You can share it because there's always someone who has had a similar experience. And if you can be a light in the darkness for someone else, I mean, what better feeling in the world is that? Yeah, there is none. That is amazing and truly incredible that her story in the soil of such

darkness, that her choosing, creating, becoming a source of light is such an incredible story. So along those lines, I mean, that's obviously an incredible lesson for all of us. Are there other lessons or values that you want to pass on to future generations, either of your family or just for all of us, please, considering all that you've learned from this? I think the most important thing, and I think we've said it all through this podcast, is always choosing kindness. Kindness goes a long way in this world. And that was the beauty of mom and what she gave to us and what she gave to everybody that she encountered. And paying that forward is so important. And especially in everything that we have gone through, what we're going through in

the world and finding that community, right? Because community will always hold you up and help you out and raise you up, lift you up, I should say. So yeah, kindness, joy, finding the light. Of course, I agree with everything my sister said, as I always do. But I am a mom. I have a 13-year-old daughter, Leilani, and she was a part of all of this. I accidentally played the trailer for Root of Evil for her when she was six. Oh, boy. And I shouldn't have played it for her. But I was excited. I'm like, oh, and I didn't realize how heavy it was going to be. So she knows all about our family, but something I always perpetuate with her and, you know, with everyone I meet and come into contact

with, I always, always, always want to lead with the light and with kindness. And especially with everything that's going on in our world right now with different, you know different opposing political views and everything, if each of us led with kindness and met each other in the middle, I think it'd be a much happier world. And our mom would always say she'd want the whole world to live happily ever after and have world peace. I mean, she was literally a walking billboard for it. But I truly think that there is a common ground. And she would also say there's so much more good than there is evil in the world. And from everything she came from and what we've come from, I just want to perpetuate love and light and aloha. And just to know that you can overcome that darkness.

And it doesn't mean that there aren't days that we need to be held up. I mean, I just spent the last six months going through breast cancer myself. And I had to rely on my wife and my sister and my community. And I felt very close to mom during that time because she died from the same disease. And I know that I'm here because of all of that light that everyone held me up. And I just want to hold up others as much as I possibly can so that they don't feel so alone. And it takes a village, you know, Carter, it takes a village. And our mother was always surrounded with incredible people in her lives. She always had a village. And for those that are listening, it's like, find your village, find your people, find your helpers, people that will lift you up. Yeah. For those fans of both So Supernatural and Root of Evil and Murder, True Crime Stories, and if you haven't listened to Root of Evil,

I really, I really recommend it, that this is also part of listening to stories about true crime into podcasts that have some darkness, is that it's not meant just to weigh you down or scare you, that it can also be a reminder that amidst all these pillars of darkness, you get to keep navigating toward the light. So I'm really so thankful to both of you for sharing your time and your story today, and these incredible lessons that we can all take and apply to our life. So thank you so much for being here. Thank you, Carter. Mahalo, Carter. Thank you. Thank you for having us. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for another episode. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios.

Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House on Instagram and TikTok. And don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original, is executive produced by Max Cutler. This episode of Murder True Crime Stories was sound designed by Ron Shapiro Produced by Kristen Acevedo. And included production assistance from Sarah Carroll.

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