Sword and Scale Nightmares - Evil Prevails

Episode Date: November 13, 2024

A search for missing Morgan Harrington reveals a connection between her abduction and murder and an unsolved sexual assault from years earlier. Only when Hannah Graham goes missing, years after that, and the most extensive and technologically advanced search in Virginia history is conducted does the truth about who was behind these brutal crimes come to light.

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please contact Connix Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BidMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Hey Torontonians. Recycling is more than a routine. It's a vital responsibility. By recycling properly, you help conserve resources, reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and protect the environment. Toronto's Blue Bin Recycling Program ensures the majority of the right items are recovered and transformed into new products. Recycling right is important and impactful. Let's work together and make a difference

because small actions lead to big change. For more tips on recycling, visit toronto.ca slash recycle right. It's a restless night in Southern California. The telephone rings at the Baker household and Mr. Baker's hand reaches for the receiver, greeted by a gravelly hushed voice on the other end telling him that they have his son, Ron. If Mr. Baker ever wants to see him again, he'd better hand over a hundred grand. Then the caller abruptly hangs up, and Mr. Baker consults his wife, downplaying the call.

He nonchalantly relays what was said and assures her that it was probably just a tasteless prank by one of Ron's friends. He was a popular kid, and they had just spoken with him, confirming his well-being. This demand seems absurd and almost childish. Yet, the next day brings another ominous call. The same unsettling voice. But this time, the caller threatens the entire family's lives. Unless the ransom is met. Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares. True crime for bedtime. Where nightmare begins now. In 1990, the Bakers resided in California's San Fernando Valley, a region still haunted by the notoriety of serial killer Richard Ramirez and his recent reign of terror.

Equally etched in memory were the gruesome Hollywood homicides associated with Charles Manson and his family, if you can call it that, who had resided at the nearby Spahn Ranch. Within this famous and infamous landscape, the Chatsworth train tunnel beckons the curious, especially about what lies in the dark. The tunnel, ordinarily pitch black, is the home for some of the creepiest graffiti in the country. Cryptic symbols, ritualistic scrawlings, and even threatening words cover the tunnel's walls, hinting at an ongoing fascination with the mystical and metaphysical. Ron Baker was one such young man who thought outside the box when it came to religion. Born and raised a Methodist, his open-minded

parents were okay with Ron's spiritual experimentation. I mean, he was a good kid, after all, everyone knew it. So they weren't alarmed that he wore a pentacle around his neck. After all, he also wore a cross, so I guess it balances out. Ron, who was tall and slender, still styled his hair like glam rock bands of the mid-to-late 80s. Big, with lots of hairspray. He was a great student, don't get me wrong, and he had aspirations of becoming an astrophysicist. So when it was time to head off to college, Ron chose the prestigious UCLA. He soon found a mixture of students who were as eager as he was to discover what else was out there, both in their town and the universe. They dubbed themselves the Mystic Circle, or the Bruins for metaphysical inquiry.

The Chatsworth Tunnel was a well-known hangout for locals as well as tourists. All who dared to go in there had one thing in common. They were brave enough and down for a challenge. To get to the historic train tunnel, they had to hike up rocky hills and at the top, the supervised park area gave way to an eerie atmosphere in anticipation of what lay ahead. Inside, a very occasional train still passed through, but this wasn't likely. In the dark of night, it was typically still silent and scary. To add to the fright, the Mystic Circle group of friends would often go to drink, hold seances, and learn about pagan beliefs.

All the fun stuff when you're a kid. Although Ron and his friends were not known to practice black magic or perform sacrificial rituals, other groups did. From time to time, visitors could find slaughtered dogs or cats and other indications of dark beliefs. If the spray-painted words about LSD, hell, and the devil weren't fear-provoking enough, the pentagrams and leftover animal carcasses would, you know, scare the bejesus out of most normal people. Think Blair Witch vibes.

But not Ron and his friends. They knew that some practitioners would twist the concepts of paganism or at least the modern day religion. And that wasn't who they were or what they stood for. This weird self-segregation happens in just about every belief system. Ever heard of Protestants by the way? What do you think their name comes from? Anyway, June 21st was a significant day of the year for the pagan studying community because it was summer solstice. Unsurprisingly, Ron planned on getting together with his friends and doing just that. Well, at least the partying part of it. The very next day after the summer solstice was June 22nd, 1990. On that morning, which followed the longest day of the year,

a duo of hikers made their way up the rocky hillside, excited to see the sinister but popular locale. Equipped with backpacks containing flashlights, water bottles, tarot cards, and a jacket just in case it got cold inside the tunnel. You know, like Mom always said, take your jacket. They climb closer and closer to the formidable black hole of an entrance. One turns to the other at this point and with a dubious face asks, are you sure you want to do this? The other answers in a cool fashion. Come on, we've hiked all this way. They trek forward and just as they enter,

they stumble upon something far more frightening and something they absolutely were not prepared for. A dead body is lying on the cool damp stones near the tracks. It's a mangled corpse whose attire features a necklace adorned with a pentagram pendant. Horrified, they become aware that what they're looking at is a cold, rigid body covered in puncture wounds. Old blood, but blood that is nevertheless still reddish is covering his clothing, and his once azure eyes are glazed over and affixed to the dimming blue sky. His mouth is open and blood trickles from its corners, but most shocking is the huge gaping slash encircling his neck,

to such a degree that his head tilts to the side as if it's nearly unattached. The hiker's faces turn gray as they run back down the hill ignoring the stones, rocks, and small shrubs that could trip them into injury. When they reach the bottom of the hill, they breathlessly jog to the nearest Park Ranger station. Now, they are completely out of breath and doubling over while attempting to describe what they just saw. The ranger pleads, slow down. I don't understand what you're trying to tell me.

They both gasp and make out the same words at the same time. It's a dead body up there. Shaking his head in disbelief, the ranger radios for help. shaking his head in disbelief, the ranger radios for help. Initially the LAPD determined that the deceased might have been a transplant traveler who met an unfortunate fate in a collision with a passing train. So much blood. But on closer inspection, it was clear this was no accident. Who was this and

What happened to him? This homicide was starting to look like some kind of twisted ritualistic slaying You In 1990, a body was discovered the day after summer solstice by the Chatsworth Tunnel. Authorities were already concluding that this was an occult killing. It only made sense. The urgency to crack this case as swiftly as possible was palpable, as they were well aware of the looming fear among local Californians. A grim reminder of the Manson family murders. Meanwhile, the bakers now realize that Ron may be missing.

The two ransom demands from a stranger linger in their minds, and they realize they need to call the police, who have a body, and their fears are mounting. On the other end of the line, the officer silently nods in affirmation as the bakers provide an exact description of the deceased, their son. Then comes a heartbreaking question. Does Ronnie wear a pentagram and a cross? The response filled with despair is a somber yes. In stunning disbelief the devastated parents make their way to the morgue where Ron has been registered as John Doe number 135.

There they confirm the chilling reality that the lifeless body before them is their beloved child. Soon after, a barrage of inquiries regarding the Mystic Circle, its beliefs and its practices, inundates Mister and Mrs. Barker. They steadfastly maintain that Ron adhered to the Wicca faith, which vehemently opposes all forms of violence, including rituals that involve harm. They adamantly profess a belief in nonviolence, distancing themselves from any involvement in bloodshed. This stance leaves the detectives pondering whether the murder might have been perpetrated

by another occult group, or possibly by a stranger wandering through. The lack of evidence at the scene also suggested that Ron's murder may not be connected to ritualistic sacrifice. The scene just didn't match up with any other of that nature. The police embark on the usual crime-solving routine that involved talking with the last people who saw Ronnie. That would be his roommates, Duncan and Nathan. The young men said that on the previous evening, Ron told them that he was going to visit some

of his Mystic Circle members, and they may head up to the tunnel. Duncan and Nathan, in turn, were going to grab some beers and go to an abandoned school building to talk about Nathan's girlfriend. The relationship was starting to get serious, but the girl was also starting to get on his nerves. They clearly remembered dropping Ron off at the bus stop that night, the night he went missing. Ron's funeral was exceptionally sad. A young man in his prime mutilated and left for dead

in one of the most terrifying locations around. All of Ron's friends were shaken and visibly disturbed, including his roommates and especially Duncan. Duncan even presented Ron's eulogy commemorating him as the lovable friend he was and the talented star he would have become. Ron's parents saw that Duncan was so bereaved and now with the roommate situation broken up, they wondered if he wanted to move in with them for a while so they could all help each other through this hard time. He agreed. Remembering the phone calls from the previous week, they can't help but wonder if their decision

not to involve the police earlier was a fatal mistake. With all the tourists and transient traffic in Southern California, the caller and killer could be anyone, maybe even someone here illegally. They inform Duncan, now living in their home, about the harrowing phone calls. In the days that follow, his nerves are palpable and a paranoia creeps in. He makes a call to a close friend. The girl answers her phone at the same time that her answering machine picks up. For you young people, an answering machine is kinda like voicemail but it was actually a physical box. Initially with a cassette tape in it. I could explain what a cassette tape is to you youngins, but I'm not going to. Look it up.

Google it. Or ask chat GPT about it. Anyway, she answers the phone and at the same time her answering machine starts recording. It's Duncan, gasping and stammering. She hears the tension in his voice as he confides that they are after him. Confused, she naturally asks, who is after you? And he responds breathlessly, telling her about his newfound information, the ransom calls. And he thinks he's next, now that he's living in the baker home.

She hears his breathing pick up pace, followed by nefarious clunking noises. Duncan says the word no, but she doesn't know who he's talking to. Then, click. And just like that, Duncan is gone. For two years. The two years passed with no leads, no further information, and no real focus due to the sensationalist news coverage surrounding the occult. Finally, the cops circled back around to Duncan and

Nathan, the last two to have seen Ron alive. Nathan was in jail for petty crimes, but Duncan seemed to have fallen off the radar. Poof, gone, disappeared. If he was kidnapped, there were no leads to follow. That is, until they received a call from an officer in Utah where they were holding him for using a fraudulent passport. Putting the pieces together, they had a dead body with a case gone cold, one of the last people to see that person alive, the one that eventually turned into the body, and he's got a fake passport. I don't know about you, but it's starting to add up. A polygraph was worth a shot, so they brought him in. While Nathan didn't completely fail the test, Duncan, on the other hand, gave answers that just about broke the needle. So he lawyered up and made a deal.

He would talk, but only with total immunity. Duncan admits that he was involved in Ron's killing, but maintains that Nathan was actually the creator of the plan and the one actually responsible for the murder. He says that he and Nathan are sitting in front of the TV one night watching the crime show Dragnet, and the plot is about kidnapping and ransom. Nathan brags that he can do better than the characters on the show. He can get even more money, and it'll be easy, he says.

The pair convince Ron to go with them to the tunnels where they're going to drink and meet up with girls, even though Ron doesn't drink. As the trio walks gingerly down the eerie tracks, their flashlights casting elongated shadows in the dank darkness, a sudden misstep sends Nathan tumbling. Duncan remembers that his light-hearted friend Ron takes a chance to lift the mood and interjects by chiding Nathan about his fall. But the reaction he triggers is a bit shocking. Nathan's demeanor abruptly transforms into that of fury, and in a chilling turn of events, he reveals a gleaming knife.

Nathan's eyes widen and turn into black pools of nothingness. There's nothing behind that blackness. There's no soul there. Not anymore. Duncan, in fact, describes him as having the appearance of someone who doesn't have a soul. Nathan begins furiously puncturing Ron with sharp thrusts into his stomach, into his back, arms and legs. Duncan's voice quivers as he remembers being so afraid of Nathan that he goes along with

whatever he wants, which is to make the ransom call to the Bakers. This information was all revealed in what is known as a King for the Day deal, given to him by the detectives desperately trying to solve the case. Duncan would be allowed to say as much as he wanted and nothing could be used against him. It's a pretty sweet deal. And nothing good ever comes without a hitch. Duncan must never ever talk about this case to anyone after telling his story or he would

risk going to trial for murder. So Duncan talks, but not really about himself. He lays it all on Nathan. He adds details to fill in some of the gaps, saying that after he made the call, went home, and cleaned up, he and Nathan went to a party. The day after Ron's murder, Duncan phoned the bakers again. Sadly, they had no idea that their son was already dead, and that no amount of ransom money would ever bring him back. According to Duncan, he and Nathan were only joking about the ransom plan, and he was shocked when Nathan went for Ron with the knife. What no one knew yet was that he was the one who directed Nathan to finish him off, cut his throat, don't leave him alive.

During the brutal stabbing, the cops already knew Ron had someone else's blood under his fingernails. He put up a hell of a fight. Sophisticated DNA analysis wasn't yet in full swing in the early 90s, but they could identify the blood type and hope for the best. Unbelievably, the blood discovered on Ron was the rarest kind, belonging to only 4% of the population. AP positive. It wasn't Duncan's, so was it Nathan's? They needed two things, a confession from Nathan and a matching blood type.

All the detectives could do was let Duncan go, and they didn't have anything else to arrest either one on, given that everything Duncan laid out was second-hand. If Duncan wasn't going to admit more involvement, they'd have to use him as bait for trapping Nathan. Duncan complied. After all, this would work out well for him, if he could pin everything on Nathan. With Nathan behind bars for a bank robbery,

he was easy to track down. With the discovery of AB-positive blood found on Ron and matching Nathan, they add fuel to their determination. But their strategy takes a turn as they engineer a phone call between Duncan and Nathan, the two former accomplices who maintain a chilling silence for two years. In this high-stakes conversation, Duncan masterfully broaches the subject of that fateful night, specifically addressing Nathan's suspicious scratches. His words flow with persuasive eloquence, almost like a performance by a seasoned Hollywood actor, skillfully coaxing Nathan to peel back the layers of secrecy and confess to being present at the tunnel

on the night of the murder. As the phone time expires, the call concludes, but it doesn't end there. Nathan's swayed by Duncan's charisma and the emotional weight of their shared past extends an invitation for a face-to-face visit at the jail, setting the stage for a potentially explosive encounter. What Nathan didn't know was that Duncan was wired. During the visit, Duncan came tantalizingly close, so close to coaxing Nathan into an incriminating revelation.

But this still wasn't enough. In the aftermath of that pivotal conversation, Duncan carried on with his life while Ron's aspirations in astrophysics lay in the grave with his dead body. He returned to college, this time embarking on a journey into the realm of film studies, showcasing a flair for the dramatic arts. How appropriate. On campus, he effortlessly won over the admiration of his peers, securing an unsuspecting girlfriend who was captivated by his charm, enthusiasm, and sharp intellect. It was bad enough that Duncan was living large. Still, the fact that he was the very friend to deliver a heartfelt eulogy and ingratiate himself into the grieving family's life added a layer of boldness, sort of grossness,

I guess you would say, to the whole situation. The authorities just couldn't overlook that. It's psychopathic. The pursuit of justice was far from over and the persistent detectives refused to relent. They urged Duncan to make yet another call to Nathan and they record the call. Nathan, I just need to get on with my life. You know you left blood in that tunnel, and they're on my case. This is something you did to me, and I'm not going to go down for it. I don't know what I'm going to say, Nathan.

It sounds like you got this all tucked away and don't even think about it. That's when Nathan inadvertently releases the damning words that would help and snare him. It was a mistake, he says. Those four words are the crucial puzzle piece that investigators have been looking for to apprehend the killer. But due to their prior arrangement, they have to drop off Duncan at the school and let him go on with his life. Just as he exits the car, he unexpectedly

extends an olive branch to detectives, remarking something along the lines of how under different circumstances they could have been friends, because they're really cool. Two years have eclipsed since Ron's life was tragically taken, and now the holiday season has arrived. It's always kind of a dark time for those that have lost loved ones around the holidays. I don't think I have to explain why. Duncan makes a serious misstep by attempting to rob a sporting goods store, an endeavor that proves unsuccessful. He's swiftly arrested by the Salt Lake City police who are taken aback by his, you know, nice demeanor and his willingness to confess his role in the burglary openly. But what surprises them even more is the unusual request he makes

en route to the jail. As they pause at Duncan's residence to get his ID, he asks them to take care of his pet rat while he's gone, almost like he feared he'd be gone for a long time. And then Duncan does something that will level the scales of justice. He says he only did the burglary because someone was forcing him. He says they would rat him out about his involvement in the Ron Baker case. He just broke the agreement. The one keeping him out of jail like forever. Finally, the pair would be tried in open court for murder. Due to the ransom calls, the crime was most definitely premeditated.

In 1996, Nathan's trial and verdict came fast, but Duncan, the bright and cunning young man he was, turned down a plea deal hoping to be acquitted. The defense insisted he was not the killer, he was coerced, and his information was valuable in closing the case. But the jury, of mostly rational people I would say, couldn't get over the fact that Duncan had told Nathan to finish him off. That little detail just stuck in their minds and affected their decision. Three young college men with potentially bright futures ahead.

One murdered mercilessly in a faux kidnapping gone wrong, and two would be sitting in prison serving out life sentences without parole. But one of them would make it out. In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom took the seat as California's governor. Remember him? The one responsible for the state of California today? The one that keeps getting elected somehow? One of his first actions involved the forgiveness of convicts, of course. He loves convicts. Just fucking loves them. Except he wouldn't really want him over for lunch or anything. He just wants them out freely, walking around California all the time. Anyway, one of Gavin or Govind's first actions involved the forgiveness of convicts. While in office, Newsom handed out a total of 144 pardons, 123 commutations, and 36 reprieves.

One of these occurred in 2020 for a once clean-cut young man named Duncan Martinez. Fair-haired blue-eyed Duncan was to serve the same sentence as Nathan Blaylock. But because he was a model prisoner, he was released at the age of 52. After being given a deal that would have kept him out of prison altogether, Duncan just couldn't keep his smart mouth shut. When he was arrested for burglary a few years after killing Ron Baker, Duncan blabbed to an officer in Utah some details about the incident. All along, Duncan claimed that Nathan was the planner, executor, and general leader of the two. He professed to be afraid of Nathan. But few people knew that Nathan also accused Duncan

of the same thing. According to Nathan, it was all Duncan's idea, while he admitted there was some truth to Duncan's version. He maintained that he stabbed Ron maybe twice? No big deal. Now, thanks to Governor Gavin Newsom's pardon, Duncan would live out his remaining years as a free man, while Ron Baker's corpse lay dead in a tunnel, his promising life cut short. Nathan continues to serve out his sentence for openly admitting his role, at least in part, and well, because he missed his deadline to appeal. It may be a blessing that Ron's parents were deceased at the time of Duncan's release, otherwise they may have made a little bit of noise and affected the governor's poll

ratings a bit. But his sister and her family are alive and well. And they're not happy, of course. Duncan touted as an ideal prisoner who followed all the rules, was obviously far more cunning, magnetic and charming than Nathan. It's obvious to many that he was the mastermind. Besides that he was the first to snitch on his accomplice, Nathan. In a recent interview, Duncan talks about earning a fine arts degree in film. An A student, no doubt. It turns out that Duncan was part of a drama therapy program in prison and was able to fulfill his lifelong dream. Acting, the shadows of that fateful night refuse to dissipate, casting a long and mournful veil over the Baker family's

existence. At least one of Ron's murderers has re-emerged into society, walking among us almost as if he struck a deal with the devil himself and traded places with Ron. Soon, his minion, Nathan, may also join him thanks to, you know, the devil, proving that we all live in a world where, sometimes, evil prevails. If you enjoyed the show, please consider joining PLUS at swordandscale.com slash plus. But if you can't, consider leaving us a positive review on your preferred listening platform. Sweet dreams and good night.