SERIALously - 51: 19 Year Old Andrea Vasquez Murdered, Sarah Boone Update, New BTK Victims, Safari Killer Husband Update, and Bryan Kohberger Waives Speedy Trial?!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey true crime besties, welcome back to an all new episode of Serialistly. Hey everybody, welcome back to this week's episode of Headline Highlights. Happy Thursday. I hope you are all having a fantastic week. I don't know if you can tell by my voice, hopefully it's getting a little bit better, but I am a little under the weather, so I apologize if my voice is raspier than usual, but hopefully it's not too big of a deal and you're able to listen okay without, you know, wanting to pull your ears off of your head. So anyways, welcome to this week's episode of Headline Highlights. We've got a lot to talk about, guys, because in today's episode, we are going to discuss the latest news on everything

Starting point is 00:01:01 that's going on this week in the true crime world and boy is there a lot. This week there have been some very disturbing new cases as well as updates to ongoing cases. This includes a targeted attack and kidnapping of a 19 year old college student in California, an update on the dentist who killed his wife on an African safari trip which I did a deep dive of that over on my YouTube channel not too long ago um Dennis Rader also known as BTK the serial killer we've got updates on him Sarah Boone the nut job who you know zipped her her partner in a suitcase and murdered him and is on trial and of of course, we also have updates in the case against Brian Koberger, the accused quadruple murderer of the Idaho students. So let's just

Starting point is 00:01:53 jump kind of right into everything, guys. Andrea Vasquez is a 19-year-old college student who was kidnapped just after midnight on Sunday in the Penn Park parking area in California. She was with her boyfriend in their vehicle when an armed individual approached them and then fired several shots. The police distributed an urgent missing persons poster as the hunt for Andrea ensued after her abduction. Her family used her phone location to try and track her down, which ultimately led the police to search in Moreno Valley, California. When the armed guy first came to the car, the boyfriend fled, and when he came back to the vehicle, he noticed a trail of blood, and Andrea wasn't there. So

Starting point is 00:02:36 from the jump, it was obviously very alarming and very concerning. So they were able to track everything down over into Moreno Valley. So police there initiated an expansive search operation, deploying drones and police dogs in all of the area. However, late on Monday at approximately 11.50 p.m., Andrea's body was found in an area near where the phone had last signaled, specifically at the cross section of Alessandro Boulevard and Merwin Street in Marino Valley. During the investigation, police linked a 2013 model white Toyota Tacoma and found a gun believed to be connected to the crime, and both the gun and the car, or truck I should say, all belonged to a 20-year-old from Whittier named Gabriel Esparza. He was taken into

Starting point is 00:03:27 custody in Lakewood at his job site in relation to Andrea's kidnapping and shooting. He was charged with murder, kidnapping, attempted murder on her boyfriend who fled, and attempted rape. In court on Wednesday, Gabriel made his initial appearance and entered a plea of not guilty to all of his charges. The Whittier Police Department currently believes that the attack on Andrea was random and not targeted, and there isn't any sort of connection between Gabriel and Andrea or her family members. So nobody knows why this sudden random attack after midnight happened on her and her boyfriend what led to this any sort of history about Gabriel all of the details are still being put together and coming out but right now he is in custody and does not have bail so hopefully some answers soon so that

Starting point is 00:04:19 Andrea's family members and friends can get a little bit more clarity into the situation and hopefully of course get justice and peace as they continue to grieve. Moving over into the safari murder case there is an update to a case that I previously did on YouTube about a dentist who had killed his wife while they were on a hunting trip in Africa. It was all part of a plot with an affair, life insurance scheme. It was very, very convoluted and very interesting actually. So I will link that in the show notes because it is a very bizarre case. You've got like the love triangle, you have the new money after the wife is gone, some really weird stuff. So just this week, Lawrence Rudolph, who is now 68 years old, received a life sentence for the murder of his wife, Bianca.

Starting point is 00:05:08 And that murder had taken place back in October of 2016. And it was the final day of their hunting trip, too. The details were like she was apparently like breaking down one of the shotguns and cleaning it. And then it fired. And that's what the story he was trying to tell again very very odd very crazy detail so i will link it in the show notes but anyways the prosecution believes that lawrence intentionally did shoot his wife bianca directly in her heart using that 12 gauge shotgun encased in a soft cover staging it as the accident as though she was cleaning it

Starting point is 00:05:42 lawrence's version was that the shotgun accidentally went off when she was trying to store it after cleaning it, packing for them to leave the trip. But the prosecution also believed that Lawrence's girlfriend, Lori Milleron, who was employed in Lawrence's office, had pressured Lawrence to separate from his wife. Like I said, a shady love triangle. On August 21st, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado revealed Lawrence's sentencing details. Apart from life imprisonment for murder, he's serving a simultaneous 20-year term for insurance fraud. Judge William decreed Lawrence to remit nearly $4.9 million as restitution, a fine of $2 million, and an additional $200. The U.S. Attorney's Office also said, and I quote, regardless of wealth,

Starting point is 00:06:34 status, or influence, accountability for one's offenses is inevitable. Lawrence and his girlfriend Lori were found guilty in August of 2022. However, Lori faced convictions for being an accessory to murder, obstructing justice, and two perjury counts. So she received a 17-year sentence back in June of this year. Lawrence's attorney said that they do intend to appeal the verdict in his case, so TBD on that, but it's not looking good for old buddy boy Lawrence. So TBD on that, but it's not looking good for old buddy boy Lawrence. All right, guys, you know that I've been pretty open with you guys about my sleeping patterns or lack thereof because I've never been a solid sleeper and I've tried everything from Ambien to Valerian root to melatonin. Nothing works for me. And even when I'm able to fall asleep, I can never seem to stay asleep because if I toss once, I'm up.

Starting point is 00:07:23 My mind is racing. I'm not going back to sleep. But that all changed for me about seven months ago thanks to my husband and thanks to my husband for introducing me to Beam's Dream Powder. I was a personal consumer already for the last seven months, so you know that when they asked me if I was interested in partnering with them, it was a no-brainer because I can't say enough good things about it. It's a healthy hot cocoa for sleep with no added sugar and it tastes like hot chocolate so it's like a little treat right before bed plus the added bonus of helping you sleep. A recent clinical study revealed that Dream helped 93% of users wake up feeling more refreshed and 93% reported that Dream helped them get a more restful night's sleep.

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Starting point is 00:08:44 wear an aura ring that tracks my sleep and on the nights that I don't drink the tea, my sleep scores are in like the 30s and 40s versus the nights when I do drink it and they're in the high 90s. So it's totally proven. Just drink it 30 minutes before you want to be asleep and it's lights out and you don't wake up feeling foggy or groggy or with a headache. It is the best. Find out why Forbes and New York Times are all talking about Beam and why it's trusted by the world's top athletes and business professionals. If you want to try Beam's best-selling dream powder, subscribe and save 20% plus get an additional 20% off and a free frother with my code 10 to life when you go to shopbeam.com slash Annie Elise. That's shopbeam.com slash Annie Elise

Starting point is 00:09:28 and use my code 10 to life for up to 40% off guys. Go snag this deal while you can and email me with how it changed your sleep. I will also include the direct link in the show notes below, but trust me, go try it. You are going to be obsessed with it. I have been drinking it religiously for like seven months and you will be obsessed be obsessed with it I have been drinking it religiously for like seven months and you will be obsessed I guarantee it now I want to move over into BTK also known as

Starting point is 00:09:53 the horrific serial killer um Dennis Rader all there's been of course comparisons with Brian Koberger and him but anyways yesterday Brian Enten from News Nation tweeted out, and I'm going to read this verbatim for you so that I don't mess this up. Investigators are at Dennis Rader's, BTK's, old property and they are digging. We are told Oklahoma authorities are in Kansas looking into what ties Rader may have to missing persons and murders in Oklahoma. I'm on the phone with Carrie Rawson, who is BTK's daughter, and he was on the phone with her while he was tweeting. He continues to say, she tells me she was flown to Oklahoma in June to help investigators in the county. Carrie also visited her dad in prison for a total of three hours in June and July to try to get information from him.

Starting point is 00:10:46 Carrie tells me her dad was not cooperative with her and is not cooperating with the investigation, but she is having ongoing conversations with her father. So after the digging started, investigators said that items of interest were recovered at the former residence of Dennis Rader. At this stage, investigators say BTK is a suspect in unsolved cases, including the Cynthia Dawn Kinney case from Pawhuska. So the items found that were of interest turned out to be pantyhose, among other things that weren't disclosed. Investigators believe those items could link him to other murders. We've got Sheriff Eddie Verdin. He actually oversaw the dig. Sheriff, thank you so much for being with us. I know your office has described what was found as items of interest.

Starting point is 00:11:37 Sheriff, can you give us any more detail on exactly what you dug up out there at BTK's former house? Well, yesterday was our actual second time that we'd been to that location and done a dig. So originally there was a building in that location that had been removed back when they removed the house and the other items, and then a sidewalk was constructed right over the top of the site. So basically through our investigation, we developed some information Dennis had sent to another person describing where items that he basically claimed as trophies and maybe driver's license from other victims had been placed and had not been found.

Starting point is 00:12:23 from other victims had been placed and had not been found. On the first trip up under the edge of the concrete, we found a set of pantyhose that appeared to have been possibly tied around someone. And from that information, we went back to Park City and visited with KBI. And yesterday they removed the concrete for us to actually look where the information said those items were buried. And in those locations, we found several items that we feel like could possibly relate back to victims or maybe to bindings used with victims.

Starting point is 00:13:00 So you found pantyhose. Are you able to link those pantyhose at this point to any specific case? Well, at this point, they're collected and they're in and they'll be evaluated at a later time to see if there's any DNA or any type of evidence that could be related. Any other items that you can share that were located? Sheriff, I saw we had the video. You can see where the sidewalk was split. I assume that's where the shed was at one point. Any other specifics on the items that you found? Well, you know, I can tell you the items were all probably 14 to 16 inches below ground. One of them appeared to be a manufactured, constructed hole that had been lined with composition shingles to possibly protect the brick at the bottom as kind of a base for that. And then items have been placed in there. We did not find driver's license,

Starting point is 00:13:55 but we did find items that would be personal type items that obviously were significant for somebody to go through that effort to place those items there. And again, the information that we were working on was originally created by Dennis back in 2008, sent to non-law enforcement. So we have no idea whether someone else had removed items from that location prior to that sidewalk being put there or not. Wow, this is a big development, though. The fact that you found items that could be significant, including the pantyhose. I'm curious, Sheriff, you've actually went and talked with BTK Dennis Rader several times yourself as part of this investigation.

Starting point is 00:14:37 What was that like? Has he been forthcoming with any information related to these cases that you're looking into? been forthcoming with any information related to these cases that you're looking into? We've had long conversations, interviews. Information has come out that we feel is very relevant to our case. And then going through items that we've discovered and been shared with other law enforcement on the search originally done back in 05. Those items have tied in. And from those documents, we believe he's tied in with our case and our prime suspect and possibly on several other cases in Kansas and one in Missouri. Yeah, it's my understanding that this is almost a game to him that he calls this whole investigation that you're working on something about like following the Yellow Brook Road and that he's even nicknamed you the cowboy. I mean, do you get the sense that he's taking any

Starting point is 00:15:34 of this seriously? Oh, I think he's absolutely taking it seriously. But again, he's had a history of cat and mouse with police since the 70s. I'm up until this capture, and I don't expect a change now. Carrie Rawson, BTK's daughter, also spoke to Ashley Banfield, where she says that BTK is in a wheelchair and rotting to his core. You volunteered to do something that I can't imagine was very easy for you. After 18 years of not seeing your father, you sat face to face with him. Tell me about it. Well, starting in January, my dad was releasing news to another outlet about Cynthia Kinney after Osage investigators were going and

Starting point is 00:16:17 visiting him. What was happening was that Osage was going in pretty cold, not with much information. And then my father was turning around making phone calls to people after they left, like basically building a case like for why he could be involved in the kidnapping and disappearance of Cynthia Kinney. So this information then was coming out through another outlet. And so I had been on record for months saying, no, it was just the 10, you know, just like all experts would have told you until maybe yesterday that it was just the 10. And then in June, you know, we found out about Shauna Garber. She was found murdered in southwest Missouri in 1990. Southwest Missouri in 1990. And that one actually really more fits his MO with the bondage, the way her body was found and the way she was dubbed. So then I really was just wondering what was going on. And I reached out to McDonald County, Missouri, and they quickly got me over to Osage County, Oklahoma, and flew me in within

Starting point is 00:17:26 days. And then, like, I literally met with my Osage team, and then the next morning, I was meeting my dad in prison. I can't imagine that first moment when you were face-to-face. I guess a two-pronged question. What was it like for you? And did he say anything to you of value? Oh, goodness, Ashley. First, like we just had a reunion. I mean, I hadn't seen him in 18 years. He hadn't seen me. We had been cut off for two years. It had been letters all that time before that. So it took him a minute to process who I was. He's lost like seven inches and he's in a wheelchair. He's pretty much rotting like to his core.

Starting point is 00:18:12 And so he didn't even necessarily recognize me. So we had to have a family reunion. And then I just basically laid it out that I was there with Osage investigators. And at that time with the Donald County, that my team literally was in a holding room and that we were there to talk about serious things and it was the first time he ever dropped his mask and became BTK in front of me. So did he tell you anything of value or did he stonewall you like he's been stonewalling investigators? Oh, he was running me down rabbit holes. And then when I went back about a month later, he was running me down about 500 rabbit holes where you can't get him to focus. Or, you know,

Starting point is 00:18:55 I, I, I asked him like, do you, if, if use your intellect here and tell us what you think happened to Shauna Garber, you know, apply that. It's say, put yourself in somebody's shoes. And he came up with these theories and things. But then he gave me an alibi. And I'm literally believing him, even though I know he's a pathological liar. And then I go meet up with my team and they're like, he just lied to you. And I was like, prove it to me. And they pulled up a calendar and proved it to me.

Starting point is 00:19:22 And then I was like, okay, he's yours taking like frying because he's literally sitting there lying to his daughter that he hadn't seen in 18 years. They have given him this immunity deal that pertains to this tri-state area where they believe at least these two women and maybe more could be. is there anything that can actually entice your father to give up any goods? Would an immunity deal do anything given he's in prison for for life anyway? Well, the idea is that if he would take immunity like it would spare my family from having to go through possible grand juries and trials as like witnesses, his extended family. It would spare the community. My dad basically said maybe he would like to go out like a Roman candle. It's important to understand, though, that it's not my dad pushing

Starting point is 00:20:19 these. He's very unhappy with what's going on. It's the investigators doing the hard everyday work of investigating or pushing these cases. We're coming up against a man that's playing lots of games. My father does not want to be put in a van and woken up in Oklahoma in a holding cell for, you know, the kidnapping of Cynthia Kinney. He wants to live his life out at the prison that he's at. So that's one pressing point that if he's not going to cooperate, then we're going to do this the legit hard way and he's going to wake up some morning somewhere he doesn't want to be. So while staying on the BTK train, let's move over into Brian Koberger,

Starting point is 00:21:00 the accused murderer in Idaho. Brian was in court yesterday for a status conference after he had just had one last Friday. It was suspected his defense may have told him that he needed to waive his right to a speedy trial and that's exactly what happened. The state accepted Brian's waiver request saying while they would prefer to resolve this case sooner rather than later, they want the prosecution and the defense to be properly prepared. So now his trial will no longer start on October 2nd, 2023, and it could potentially take years. Now, although this was expected, and everybody isn't surprised really that he did waive his right to a speedy trial,

Starting point is 00:21:43 it is a devastating blow to the victim's families because now they have to continue to suffer and await justice to be had. The Gonsalves family issued a statement that they were worried about this outcome happening, saying that, you know, they just want it to be over. They just want this to end. His defense also filed a motion to remove cameras from the courtroom. According to KLXY News, the Death Penalty Information Center says in Idaho, capital cases with trials took 20.5 months to reach a conclusion, which is seven months longer than non-capital cases. A status hearing will be held on September 1st, where a new trial start date could possibly be set.

Starting point is 00:22:26 So stay tuned for that. Now moving into nut job Sarah Boone, and sorry, but this lady is a complete nut job in my opinion. The accused suitcase killer who stuffed her boyfriend in a suitcase while he was alive might now be representing herself in court after the attorney representing her has asked to withdraw from her case and also recommended that his client represent herself. This came after Sarah wrote yet another letter to the judge in her case complaining about the lack of communication with her lawyer. According to reports from Court TV, Sarah has gone through a number of attorneys in her case. Her initial attorney, Mauricio Padilla, withdrew from the case in May 2022 and was followed by a series of public defenders who each left the case citing conflicts of interest. Frank Bankowitz was formally named Sarah's attorney on July 11, 2022.

Starting point is 00:23:24 Her attorney now has filed a motion to withdraw on August 22nd, and he cited irreconcilable differences, saying that the defendant will not be satisfied with any attorney unless said attorney does not have a caseload and can dedicate his or her time solely to Ms. Boone's case. Also wrote in the motion that was submitted to the court that the best possible avenue is to have the defendant represent herself as no attorney can satisfy her. So going back to those letters sent to the judge,

Starting point is 00:23:55 in a number of letters sent to Judge Wayne Wooten, who is overseeing the case, Sarah has complained about access to her attorney. She had said in one, I, as Mr. Bankowitz's clients, cannot communicate with him via phone due to him still not activating one of two numbers he's given that do not work, and he keeps giving me different reasons why each time I ask and says to keep trying. So she wrote that in a letter dated August 2nd

Starting point is 00:24:22 and said that this has been ongoing for 13 months and counting. In the letter, Sarah asked the judge to communicate with her attorney on her behalf. Her message included a letter sent to her from a private investigator who said that he could not proceed with her case unless her attorney contacted the jail on her behalf, saying in the letter continuing, what else can I do, your your honor it seems my only hope is for a court date which i am included in where my attorney's attendance is mandatory and i can vie for his attention during the minutes beforehand while in the courtroom i'm sure all of the allowed live cameras could provide footage of me doing so every time so in his motion to withdraw her

Starting point is 00:25:04 attorney said that he has been in murder trials for the last 60 days and is currently the attorney representing a defendant charged with capital murder, which absorbs all of his time, including weekends. Sarah's trial is currently scheduled for October 2nd, and she's being held without bond and faces life in prison if she's convicted. Now look, she is a nut job in my opinion, don't get me wrong, but I do understand the frustration if this is true. If her trial is set to start on October 2nd in like a month and a half and she's not able to get in touch with her attorney and this private investigator doesn't have access to Sarah in jail because her attorney

Starting point is 00:25:43 has to allow that access. I get why that's frustrating. While I also certainly can understand a heavy workload being involved in capital murder cases, which involves so much heavy lifting on the attorney's end, it still would be worrisome to anybody that you can't get in touch with your attorney. But I think a lot of what's happening now here is because so many attorneys have withdrawn from her case it's kind of not like the boy who cried wolf so to say but like kind of like are you the problem are you the common denominator or in this situation is the attorney really the issue so it's going to be interesting to see what happens and if she gets another attorney or

Starting point is 00:26:21 if she does represent herself which if she herself, that kind of I think it'll be scary for her legally. But I think it could be entertaining for all of us as spectators. So more to come on that, guys. What else is happening this week in the headlines? There hasn't really been much else movement besides the big things that I just told you guys about. much else movement besides the big things that I just told you guys about. I think the Brian Koberger one was what everybody was kind of waiting for even though again it didn't really surprise a ton of people out there. So I will keep you guys posted with what happens in these. Again if there is a big enough update in any of these cases that we've been talking about I will do a

Starting point is 00:27:01 dedicated episode but I feel like having these headline highlights episodes as many recaps on Thursdays is just a good way to get all the bite-sized information to keep current with the cases here of the new cases coming down the pike so that you know you stay in the know of everything going on in the true crime world but again for bigger cases I will of course always upload those over on my YouTube as sole episodes and you know every Monday here over on serialistly we do a single dedicated episode to a deep dive on a case so we have a new one coming up this Monday which is crazy I've covered it on my YouTube channel in the past too it's about the Microsoft murder Jared Bright again new information has come out in that this

Starting point is 00:27:42 week it's a wild one so I will link that video for you from my past episode coverage in the show notes but we also are going to be doing all of the updates in that case this Monday so you can get fully caught up with all of the new information on Monday also so beyond excited to finally officially announce that merch will be live September 5th. Now we have very very very limited quantities available for this first go around so the pre-order will open on the 5th. If you go to shop10tolife.com right now you can put your email in there so you get notified as soon as the pre-orders open so that you don't miss out before it sells out but I'm really excited for you guys to see this merch because it's not just like logos or my channel name.

Starting point is 00:28:27 It's actual like cool true crime merch for anybody who is into true crime. Whether you listen to this podcast, other podcasts, whether you have a friend who is into true crime and you want to gift them something. It's a lot of cool stuff and we've been working really hard on it. It's taken almost a year. So I'm really excited we have it finally going. Anyway, so that's September 5th.

Starting point is 00:28:44 And other than that, I will be seeing you guys fresh and early next Monday a year so I'm really excited we have it finally going anyway so that's um September 5th and other than that I will be seeing you guys fresh and early next Monday for an all new case deep dive sorry again about my voice I hope it's better by the time we talk on Monday but hopefully it goes away soon because this voice is just not the business all right guys thanks again for tuning in to an all new episode of headline highlights Please take a second to rate and review this podcast. Tell me what you like. Tell me what you want to hear more of so that I can always pivot and deliver you guys the content you want to hear. So let me know in the review section what you want to hear more about. All right, guys, thanks again. I will talk with you very soon. Signing off and I'm going to go drink

Starting point is 00:29:20 some honey tea. Bye.

SERIALously - 51: 19 Year Old Andrea Vasquez Murdered, Sarah Boone Update, New BTK Victims, Safari Killer Husband Update, and Bryan Kohberger Waives Speedy Trial?!

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