Snapped: Women Who Murder - BONUS: The Bones on Party Hill (Buried in the Backyard)

Episode Date: August 17, 2023

A small town is rocked when a popular hostess at the town's favourite tavern disappears; neighbours in the tight-knit community eye each other suspiciously, unaware that the answers may lie beneath the rolling Nebraska Sandhills.Season 04 Episode 02Originally aired: November 25, 2021Watch full episodes of Buried in the Backyard live or OnDemand for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When we think of sports stories, we tend to think of tales of epic on the field glory, or incredible against all odds, comeback stories. But the new podcast Sports Explains the World brings you some of the wildest and most surprising sports stories you've never heard. Listen to Sports Explains the World on the Wondering App or wherever you get your podcasts. Mike Williams set off on a hunting trip in a North Florida lake, where it was thought he met his fate in the jaws of a vicious alligator. Except that's not what happened. And after the uncovering of a secret love affair,

the truth would finally be revealed. Binge all episodes of Over My Dead Body, Gone Hunting, right now, ad-free on One Drey Plus. Hi, stop listeners. We are bringing you a special bonus episode today from Oxygen True Crime's hit series buried in the backyard airing on Oxygen True Crime on Saturdays at 8 7 central. You could also watch full episodes live or on demand on the free Oxygen app by clicking the link in our description. Enjoy

When a night of fun at the local tavern ends in mystery She had left her cigarettes and her keys on the bar. She walked out the back door, but never returned. Rumors fly around a quiet Midwestern farm town. Had overheard them say they had killed someone and cut them up. And send police down an unexpected and dark path. They had abducted three women that they held a sex slave in a cave on the property.

The truth lies hidden for years until a horrifying discovery buried in a rancher's backyard. I found a ribcage. Reveals a small town's deadly secret. There's no way that this could not be connected. The killer was still out on the loose. The tiny farm town of Oard sits on the eastern edge of the Nebraska sand hills, a vast stretch of rolling dunes center of the other state. It is kind of a small town in America's heartland. It's a farming and ranching community.

Very friendly. The ranches around, or are pretty large. Kind of gentle rolling hills, fields of alfalfa, or fields of popcorn. That's safe. There's not a lot of crime. You can let your children run around and not have to worry about them.

On a beautiful spring afternoon, Deanna Patezca and her children are out picking up discarded bottles and cans to recycle for pocket money. And there are plenty on Party Hill, a popular hangout spot for teens hidden in a remote corner of a rancher's backyard. Party Hill was well known back then. Kind of a known drinking spot for underage teenagers. As deep as kept and her children were out,

they walked, they found something in the road. Initially, she thought it was a ball or something that had become deflated. When she looked at it closer, it looked like bones. She made an X where she had found it and then called law enforcement. They determined that it was a piece of a human skull. Police are immediately dispatched to the rancher's secluded

backyard. It was by hand and very, very meticulous. It was comparable to an archaeological dig. I started to walk around a little bit, and I went up to a little indentation on the top of this pasture, and I found a ribcage. As the work stretches on for hours, many of the searchers have their suspicions about who

they've found. Many of the searchers have their suspicions about who they found. I think almost universally I thought there's only been one person disappeared here, and now possibly murdered. Investigators send the bones for DNA testing, hoping it will confirm their suspicion about the victim's identity. We think we know who is buried in the backyard. The someplace else, Tavern, this is where the people go for a meal, a drink or two, socialize. Bar is a pretty busy place back then. It was bar, so it was fuller.

She got your scuffles here once in a while, but usually for everybody, you got along with everybody. The someplace else tavern is like a second living room for much of the tiny community in Ord. On most nights, that's where you'll find Charlene Whitefoot and Kathy Beard. Charlene was the bar manager and Kathy Beard worked as a part-time waitress at the someplace else, Tavarn. Charlene and Kathy were very good friends. I would call you all the best friends. I've known Kathy for a long time.

I remember when my mom Charlene bar turned and it seemed like Kathy was always sitting at the end of the bar. Kathy has always had a smile on her face. Kathy was kind of social and really enjoyed her friends. On a warm spring evening, Kathy heads to the someplace else tavern. This happened to be Kathy's night off,

but she went down to the bar to see her friends. She had talked to several people in the bar, including Charlene Whitefoot. This was a safe place to her. She was very familiar with the people there. But at closing time, Charlene, who has been tending bar all night, realizes that Kathy is suddenly nowhere to be found.

Charlie noted that Kathy had left her cigarettes and her keys and some other items on the bar, which she felt was very unusual. Kathy lived with her mother, Vanetta. They were very close. with her mother, Vanetta, they were very close. But Vanetta hasn't seen or heard from Kathy since she left earlier that evening to head for the bar. I'm sure I only became worried about Kathy and called into missing persons in a bar that night. Please don't really get involved until a person has been missing for more than 24 hours.

But because of the unusual nature of Kathy's disappearance, please start looking into the case right away. When somebody leaves their stuff unattended, that is a kind of a sign of maybe something went wrong. That is a kind of a sign of maybe something went wrong. When police interview people who were in the bar that night, several say they saw Kathy talking to a man named John Oldson, a lifelong resident of Oord. John Oldson and Kathy Beard did know each other. I think Kathy considered him somewhat a friend. They were all sitting at a table when John got up from the table

and walked over and started talking to Kathy who was standing at the jukebox. They had some type of a discussion and some point went out the back door into the alley. When the detectives visit John Oldson to ask him what happened in the alley behind the bar, he readily admits that he was trying to hit on Kathy. John wanted to bid with Kathy. He attempted to have a relationship with her,

but she refused. She said, I see it was a friend, but, you know, not the way you're talking. John tells the investigators that while he and Kathy were talking, a pickup truck pulled into the alley. The passenger door opened up and Kathy entered the vehicle and door closed. John claims he didn't recognize the men, and Kathy entered the vehicle and door closed.

John claims he didn't recognize the men, but he did catch part of the truck's license plate as it drove off. He thought it had 88 county plates and he couldn't get the rest of the numbers. An 88 county license, which would be Luke County, and it would be about 31 miles from the ward. John tells the police,

Kathy seemed to willingly go off with the two men. He said he felt rebuffed in a shame, so he got in his pickup and drove home, took a shower. His dad said John was in the shower at the time he got home, and basically back John's store. John Oldson isn't the only one who tells police he saw Kathy get into an unidentified pickup truck behind the bar. Jerome Rolkelviak came forward.

He had seen a pickup in the alley. came forward, he had seen a pickup in the alley. He's a... ...dram... ...dram... Jerome basically stated that through the back door of Window of the bar, he saw Kathy Beard walk away from John and get into this other 88 county pickup. He basically corroborated John's story.

...dram... He basically corroborated John's story. Investigators now have two witnesses who claim to have seen Kathy getting into a pickup truck behind the bar. Kathy left with someone and did not return of her own accord to find Kathy. We need to find the truck. So officers are trying to see if they could locate a pickup that would mask that description. We were asking anyone that may have witnessed anything

to do with this loop county vehicle to come forward. As time went by, it was becoming fairly certain that something serious happened to Kathy. She could be in real trouble. Well, that was quite urgent, who were getting her located. He was pursuing his sexual fantasy. The man who was listening, sex could have killed himself.

He was the last person to see her alive. A day into the search for Kathy Beard, police in Orden, Nebraska are looking for a pickup truck that witnesses reported seeing her get into with two unidentified men. They did a search of Department of Motor Vehicle records for Annie and all 88 county pickups that were licensed that fit that description.

They were able to look at all of the vehicles that were registered and we could not find one that matched the color in description that was provided by both Wokoviaq and John. Police wonder, could John or Jerome have gotten the plate or color of the pickup truck wrong? Alcohol affects the way you think. John and Jerome would have had enough to drink

that they would have probably not seen the things the same way as if they were sober. Since John was the last person to seek Kathy that night, the detectives go back to him to see if his memory has become any clearer. But his story is unchanged. To prove he's not hiding anything from them, he agrees to let the police search his pickup truck.

Law enforcement collected whatever samples they could find. And everything came back with that. There was no DNA trace that belonged to Kathy. Crime is rare in a tiny town like Ord, but as police search for Kathy, they find themselves in the middle of two big investigations. They find themselves in the middle of two big investigations. On the same night, Kathy Beard becomes a missing person. There was an armed robbery at a motel. There's no way that this could not be connected

because what's the chances of an armed robbery in order to Nebraska, the same night a woman comes up missing. The robbery victim is a businessman visiting from Colorado. He tells police about two men he met in a local bar. He was in town as a popcorn seed salesman. He said they started drinking together, and he had a lot of cash on him.

And he was offering $100 to $200 if they could find him a woman that evening. The traveling salesman claims nothing came of it. But that an hour after he left them, the two men showed up at his motel room. And they forced the door open and had a shotgun and robbed him of his money. From the salesman's description,

police recognized the robbers as two local men. Rex White and Glenn Hall. Glenn Hall and Rex White were, you know, locally for having been involved in some other crimes around the area. Rex and Glenn, who lived locally and were kind of local troublemakers and they kind of pieced together

who these two culprits were. They don't match the description of the men in the alley, but when they bring in the pair for questioning, detectives discover a disturbing connection between them and Kathy on the night she vanished. Glend Hall explained that this salesman was looking for a person he could have sex with. They left the other bar in order and went to someplace else, Tavern. And they walked in and they were asking where Kathy was. They popped into their head that Kathy Beard would be someone

that they would find for him. Kathy Beard at a reputation deserved or not. There was a belief amongst law officers that Glen Hall and Rex White might have taken Kathy to the motel and the man who was soliciting sex was the one that killed her. Detectives can't find any evidence connecting the salesman to Kathy's disappearance, and Rex and Glen claim

they never saw Kathy that night. But as the investigators check out their alibi, what they learn sets off an alarm. The Mr. Hall, Mr. White, worked for a construction crew. And their boss indicated to the investigators at one point that he had overheard Rex White's safe. They had killed someone and cut them up. And indicated that they may be buried somewhere.

One of the concrete crew reported to us that there was a bag of lime that was missing. It's a disturbing discovery. The detectives know Lyme is often used by killers to try to hide evidence of their crime. Lyme is basically used to keep the odor and the decomposition attraction for bugs and to a minimum.

The crew just had had a hold-dub. They poured the concrete the next day. We had to search the job site where they were pouring a concrete pad. Kathy Beard may be buried under a slab of concrete. If her remains were found there, we might be able to figure out what happened to Cassie. A week after Kathy Beard vanishes in Ord Nebraska, police are searching in nearby construction site

where the four men has told them he overheard an employee named Rex White brag about killing her. He had reported that he had overheard Rex White talking about how they had disposed of Kathy Bearer underneath this concrete slab. Rex and his coworker Glen Hall are already suspects and Kathy's disappearance, so the information from their boss is enough for officers to obtain a search warrant and begin breaking down the concrete slab. The Sheriff's Office was able to completely remove all

that concrete, demolish it, and search the area underneath. There was no remains. It's a disappointment, but it doesn't remove suspicion from Rex White and Glenn Hall. Be later, frat out. They had stolen a boat. There was rumors of her being thrown into the lake, and they dredged Eric's lake. But they didn't find anything.

That did not clear Mr. Hall and Mr. Lina suspects. It was always in the back of everybody's mind, hey, what happened to Kathy? I was 12 years old when she disappeared. And like, she's found her to be found alive. And OK. After she disappeared, Kathy's mother became more home bound.

She did think about it a lot. She really needed to know what happened to her daughter. The family was heartbroken. No arrest had been made. Detectives continued to watch their potential suspects, Rex White and Glenn Hall, but can't find any solid evidence connecting them to Kathy's disappearance. And there's no sign of the pickup truck witnesses reported seeing Kathy get into behind the someplace else tavern.

The mystery stretches into its third heart-wrenching year, and the case grows cold. I would stop frequently and visit with Kathy Beard's mother. I told her I was not going to forget about her daughter. Then, a woman walking with her children makes a horrifying discovery, in a secluded corner of a rancher's backyard. Deepetske found the skull on the Hardy Hill where the kids would go out in a desolate area and have their beer parties. It's located about five miles from the bar

where Kathy was last seen. She called the police department to report that. Crime tax, combed the isolated backyard, collecting pieces of the remains. The body parts had been somewhat scattered. Based on the evidence, damage to the skeletal remains, we knew that it was homicide. The anthropologist determined that it

was a white Caucasian female in her 30s. And the more evidence they find buried in the backyard, the more investigators are convinced they know the identity of the victim. I started to brush the dirt away, and I found the sweater that Kathy Baird was reported wearing when she disappeared. There was a large hole in the abdominal area of the sweater.

A blood sample was drawn from Kathy Baird's mother's arm, so we could use the blood for a man of control DNA. DNA testing confirms the family's worst fears. The body found on Party Hill is Kathy Beard. I think it was an emotional, careful event. They knew that it was her. And the search for Kathy Beard was over. My mom come home and she was crying.

She told me that they had found Kathy. I was saddened that she wasn't still alive, but I'm happy that maybe they did find her was saddened that she wasn't still alive, but I'm happy that maybe they did find her now. Some questions could be answered. Kathy Beard's death was a homicide, and she suffered both blunt force trauma and sharp force trauma.

a homicide, and she suffered both blunt force trauma and sharp force trauma. The killer was still out. Whoever was responsible for this was still out on the loose. He was going to have sex with her that night regardless. A lot of times criminals will brag when they're incarcerated sex with her that night in regards. A lot of times criminals will brag when they're incarcerated and say, oh yeah, I did this, but I never got caught. Three years after she vanished from a bar in Ord Nebraska,

Kathy Beard's remains have been found buried in a rancher's backyard and a homicide investigation is underway. The ranch owners cooperated fully with law enforcement in this investigation. There was no connection to Kathy Beard. In Ord, it's quite possible that a body could be buried in this backyard for quite a long time and nobody noticed it because the land is so vast. Detectives quickly turned their focus back to the two men

who were strong early suspects, Glen Hall and Rex White. Mr. Hall, Mr. White, it actually been to the someplace else, Tavern, looking for Kathy Beard. People at the bar overheard and questioning where is Kathy. And the next thing that was reported was Kathy's disappearance. And their employer had reported that he had overheard Rex White talking about how they had disposed of Kathy Beer. But the new investigation can't turn up any evidence connecting them to Kathy's murder.

Mr. Hall and Mr. White had taken a polygraph, and turned out to polygraph came up negative. Basically, we feel that Rex White is trying to sound tough and intimidate people. As far as being suspects, they were discredited and disproved. Investigators are also unable to find any new evidence connecting Kathy's murder to the popcorn scene salesman who claimed that Glen and Rex Rodtim, a crime for which they were never convicted. In the end, there was no connection between the robbery and Kathy Beard's disappearance.

With their strongest potential suspects ruled out, the detectives go back to the witnesses who were in the bar the night Kathy vanished. That includes John Olson, the last person to report seeing Kathy. They're stunned to discover that John is in jail awaiting a rainment on sexual assault charges. John been arrested for sexually assaulting a clerk at a gas station in Burwell. When she left work, John had grabbed her and forced her to the ground, left her shirt, rubbed her stomach, and she

had tried to fight him off. And once he did that, he turned him well. The sexual assault charge raises red flags. But when detectives interview John and Jail about what happened the night Kathy disappeared three years ago, his story doesn't change. Donaldson's version of the events in the alley was the first time he was in the city of New York. The first time he was in the alley was that he approached Kathy Beard for sexual

relations. She refused him. She and then went to a pickup with two other guys and left with them. Jerome or Kovia, the man from the bar who also saw Kathy get into the truck corroborated with John Olson's version was what happened in that alley. We had no evidence to dispute what he was telling us. It was extremely frustrating for not only myself, but the local enforcement in Valley County and in order and the family members that this was ongoing and unsolved. In 2004, five years after Kathy vanished, her mother, Venita, passes away, never knowing

who is responsible for her daughter's murder. She's laid to rest next to Kathy. I know it was very difficult for the family. I talked to some of them over the years. The whole thing was very devastating, but I think they all had hope. The investigation stays cold for another six agonizing years. Then, in 2010, the Nebraska State Patrol decides to try a new tactic

to solve some of its cold cases. I was contacted by a Nebraska State Patrol, and about a set of cold case playing cards. And each card had a cold case on it, the vanunceolved murder, and they would have details of the case, and they would distribute it into the vanunceolved murder, and they would have details of the case. And they would distribute it into the state prison. A lot of times criminals will brag when they're incarcerated

and say, oh, yeah, I did this, but I never got caught. Kathy's case was on the two of spades. And a few months later, we did get a hit. It found the plane and got the investigation rolling again. 21 years after Cathy Beard disappeared from a bar in Nebraska, there's a new lead. It comes after police distributed playing cards, featuring unsolved cases to prison inmates.

It was August of 2010. I got assigned to follow a play lead that had come in as a result of an inmate at the Land Caster County corrections. to follow a play lead that had come in as a result of an inmate at the Land Caster County corrections, who viewed a playing card, and he had heard about Kathy Beard from Oord. The cellmate was incarcerated in Valley County with John Olson. John Olson had made an admission to him regarding being

involved with the death of Kathy Bird. To the detective's frustration, the jailhouse informant refuses to testify in court. But the tip refocuses their attention on John Olson and the deeper detective's delve, the more alarming John's story becomes. We found out that John Olson went to prison in 2003 for staking hyperdramac needles in his stepdaughter's midsection area.

John Olson got out of prison in 2005. This was just so egregious and so abusive. So they knew he was dangerous. Investigators see a connection between John's stomach fetish and the evidence found with Kathy's remains two decades earlier. The recovery of the sweater with the hole in the abdominal area made it suspicion that John Olson was directly involved with this because of his two arrests where he assaulted women in the abdominal area.

We believed that the Kathy Beard having her sweater cut and the marks on her bones would indicate that he was pursuing his sexual fantasy. We had evidence the whole time. The tip that we got from the confidential informant was the teeth. But there's a problem with the investigator's new theory of the murder. John's claim to have seen Kathy get into a truck with two men was confirmed by another eyewitness at the bar that night. Dromacovic was the only person that corroborated what happened in that alley.

Investigators take another look at Jerome's story and make a key discovery. We had taken pictures of the bar inside and out and we compared them with photographs of it in 1989. I explained to him there was no way he could see out the back window. And at that point, he come clean and said he did not see that. It never happened. He heard John talking about Nick pickup

and the bar a couple of days later. Then it had repeated it during the investigation. I suspect that he was just trying to get attention. John Oldson's alibi has just evaporated, but the case against him is more than 21 years old, and the evidence is purely circumstantial. We never found anything during the investigation. DNA-wise, or or fiber or any otherwise

that would leak John Olson to the murder of Kathy Beard. There simply wasn't anything. DNA, unless it's protected, it ain't gonna stay there forever. It's gonna wash away. Seeking more information about their suspect, It's gonna wash away. Seeking more information about their suspect, police tracked down John's family. His father died several years earlier.

But his sister, who wasn't previously interviewed, has surprising new information for them. She describes the lengths John went to clean his pickup truck the day after Kathy disappeared. John had basically cleaned that whole pickup from stem to stern including removing the seeds and cleaning everything within the pickup. It's very possible that John was cleaning up to hide any type of evidence of blood

or injury. Then the investigation gets a jolt when a new witness comes forward. Suzanne Pelster, a former resident of Ward, has a bone-chilling story to tell the police. She forwarded a conversation between John Olson and his first wife. Had an argument in the bar and he told her to shut up or I'll do to you what I did to Kathy. We brought it to circumstantial evidence that we had accumulated over the years to the county attorney.

over the years to the county attorney. There was a concern we didn't have enough evidence and maybe forced into a trial and lose it and therefore never be able to prosecute him again. But prosecutors conclude that the weight of the circumstantial evidence is enough. As far as we know, there was really nobody else out in that alley. John was the last person to see her alive. The rest warrant was issued.

They had a squad team of 15 to 20 members, swarmed in, and arrested John as he was driving down the street from his house. from his house. He acted like he had been expecting it for some time. I called Mary Kirby. Kathy's sister and I told her, hey, we got John and custody. She just said thank you. My mom, she's a lady that he finally got caught. And she was glad it was finally coming to an end

that they would bring justice for Kathy. A trial date is set for March 2012. But as prosecutors get ready, John Oldson's mother makes a stunning announcement. She claims the post office has delivered an envelope to her with no return address, containing proof that her son did not kill Kathy Beard.

What come out of the envelope was this long diary stating that these people that lived north of Ericsson, Nebraska had this sex slave ranch and they kept women incarcerated there. And Kathy Beard was one of the victims of this ranch. This mysterious envelope showed up and we'd have to determine if this was a true diary. It's severely interfered with our prosecution. You just got to really wonder that that diary, that's true. This leads to a whole nother investigation.

On the eve of John Olson's murder trial, an anonymous letter containing diary pages threatens to upend the prosecution's case. Its author claims Kathy Beard was held captive on a ranch 22 miles north of her hometown of Ordenbrasca. This so-called diary indicates that this rancher, Mr. Bacus and his wife, had abducted three women that they held as sex slaves and eventually killed them, one of which was allegedly Kathy Beard. These women were supposedly kept in a cave on the property.

Police rushed to search the ranch property and learn Wetzelbachis died several years earlier. But detectives interview his widow, Gene, who's now in her 80s. They took her deposition. She would frail, old lady. And you're looking at her, San. And I don't think so.

Not even in her youth. The pages of the diary were handwritten, and the handwriting was not that of Jean Bacchus. Yet the details of ranch life are specific. The pages of the diary describe the neighbors, the terrain, and so on in relationship to where the Bacchus has lived. Pretty accurate description. Whoever wrote the diary had day-to-day knowledge of life on the ranch.

Investigators asked Jean who might have a grudge against her. Jean threw out Doug Olson's name. Doug Olson worked for Jean Boccas, at the Boccas ranch. Jean tells the investigators that Doug believed she cheated him out of part of the ranch. He thought he would inherit after Wetzelbakis' death. That envelope is taken to the state patrol crime lab, and they find Doug Olson's DNA on the flap of the envelope and or the stamp. Doug Olson admits trying to ruin the B of his reputation by tying them to the murder.

He's charged with evidence tampering, as the case against John moves forward. We proved that IRE had nothing to do with Kathy Berg. Bottom line is, Kathy walked out the back door with John Olson and never returned. In January 2013, the trial of John Olson is finally set to begin. My mom wanted to be us for Kathy. She was glad it was finally coming to an end.

coming to an end. The investigation could not determine whether Kathy Beard was sexually assaulted because of the condition of her remains. But the prosecutors paint a picture for the jury of what they believe happened on May 31, 1989. John Olson said he was getting a little bit aroused. When John Olson and Kathy Beard were in that bar, he was going to have sex with her that night regardless. There was a struggle.

He hit her in the head. He threw her in the pickup. John Olson said, she said, no, no, John, please, no, no. Well, I believe those were her last words. After murdering her, he then took her to the dump site. He disposed of Kathy's body. He felt safe that she would never be found, because Party Hill was a remote area.

And law enforcement was not typically driving by that location. After a week and a half of testimony, the jury leaves to deliberate. It takes then just six hours to decide John Oldson's fate. The jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. He is sentenced to life in prison. You could just tell on the community that it was a break off everybody's shoulders. Um, and to get justice for Kathy was what everybody wanted. And that was our goal, and that's what we got. This woman should still be alive today.

I'm confident that the family and the community felt justice was served. Everybody's much better with John and prison, like the world's better with John and prison. Kathy was always one to help my mom. They did about everything together. My mom would not be happy to be remembered as a good kind person. you