Sword and Scale - Episode 159

Episode Date: April 20, 2020

The quiet seclusion of rural Maine gives many people a feeling of solace but sometimes the isolation can fracture a person’s psyche. The rural town of Winthrop, Maine had never seen a murder case like the one on Halloween 2016. Andrew Balcer, a minor, accused of murdering his parents… and the reason would surprise everyone even Andrew.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences Listener discretion is advised I was starting to praise it. I thought just to myself Why Then when the knife was fully up I'm just a shabby mother. I thought just The Seseason 7 episode 159 of Sword and Scale showed that reveals that the war monsters are real. Well I'd wish you a happy spring break but that would be really really cruel because we all know what's going on. We all know that the darkness of the great quarantine is upon us. And while we're all sort of going a little star crazy in our homes, after having

already finished Netflix and trying to find something else to do, well at least you have sword and scale and we're back here for weekly shows for plus members and by weekly shows for everyone else. We're glad to have you back. This next story is pretty fucked up. So we know you'll enjoy it because y'all like that sort of thing. In any case, strap in for a hell of a ride and go grab your cold popcorn and enjoy the show. The Northmost State in the Northeast is known for little more than the most delicious

of the bottom feeding crustaceans, otherwise known as lobsters. It's quiet there, especially during the winter. When the thick blankets of snow cover the state, with most of the state consisting of unspoiled forests, Maine is the 13th least densely populated state in the US, and the least densely populated east of the Mississippi River. With barely more than 1.3 million residents statewide and less than 40% living in urban areas, it is mostly rural and slow-paced. The aging population contrasts with the new connected society we all live in. In Maine, things have been done the same way for years, and the outside world has little effect on the way of life for many of its residents.

The rest of the U.S. might have certain ideas about the seemingly secluded state if they ever thought about it at all. People might think that nothing ever happens in Maine, but in the early morning hours of Halloween October 31st, 2016 That preconceived notion would be proven untrue Just west of the state capital of Gusta is the small community of Winthrop, Maine There's really only one road leading west from Augusta, and that is State Route 202. Just east of the city center is a small road that branches off Route 202

for a little ways before it rejoins the highway. Pinello Road only stretches for about 2,000 feet and has about 10 homes nestled into the woods north of the road. In the summer, the road is lined with a canopy of trees providing plenty of separation from the busy Route 202. In the winter, the isolation is so much more. With sound absorbing fresh powder on the ground, the area falls under a deafening silence. It's enough to make anyone feel absolutely alone, detached, even once surrounded by the quiet surroundings of Pine Null Road were shattered. Residents began to call from people in the area to advise that there was somebody sitting around screaming in the neighborhood,

which, be please, knew that somebody was running up the down the road and driving and bringing doorbells and screeching. In the dead of night, people awoke to a woman screaming and frantically ringing the doorbell and knocking. What would you do? Would you help? Would you let the hysterical person inside?

Most people would double check that their doors were locked, not knowing the level of danger that they themselves could be in. The residents of Pinell Road helped the only way they knew how, while still keeping themselves safe. They called 911 but didn't let the screaming woman inside. She's saying I'm in trouble. I, you know, please help. I don't want to die.

She said someone had a gun, and she was afraid for her life. At that time, the lady was very frantic, and she left her doorstep. After the first house was slow to react, the woman ran further down the road to the next house and woke them up too, screaming for help at their front door. She was very, very panicked. Yes, she said, let me in, let me in, let me in, I don't want to die tonight.

And so that kind of troubled me, and I'm like, okay, let's call the police. The odd thing about these reports is that they were wrong. There wasn't a woman screaming through the streets. It was a man. Yeah, those probably his brother watched his parents be murdered. No, this woman said it was a female. She said it was a brother. Yeah, this is a woman.

Did you catch that? Did you hear what the frantic person was running from? Don't worry if you didn't. It'll all become clear soon. While the nearby county of Somerset handled the 911 calls concerning the frantic man in the street, the 911 call center in Kennebett County had another caller on the line, one that shed more light on what was actually happening on Pineal Road. I'm going to put my birthday on there. I'm keeping it, I'm keeping my mother's back. And then I will be here. Just a few, I think.

Okay. What else happened, Andrew? My father. What's up to a screen? I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, I, uh, I, uh, I, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, uh, I, I, uh, I, uh, I Andrew Balser called 911 on himself after he stabbed his parents to death and also stabbed the family's Chihuahua. The man running through the streets was his older brother, Christopher, who Andrew had let escape. The dispatcher tried to assess the situation and keep Andrew talking until police arrived. He had confessed to double murder. There was no telling what he was capable of. In spite of his murder confession, it seemed his episode of rage had passed. Andrew agreed to cooperate. He laid down his father's

gun and left his knife where he had dropped it. Oh, I understand. No one else is down today. Just don't do anything. I want you to stay calm. I'm glad you're working with me and not against me. I don't want you to be overjoyed as much as you do this. Why did you do this? I don't know how to say it. He didn't know why he had murdered his mother and father. But otherwise, he was quite polite, as he waited to be arrested. With his apprehension completed, the usual questions arose. Who is Andrew Balsur? What did he do and why did he do it? The first two questions are easy to answer, but that last question would be significantly more difficult.

Last question would be significantly more difficult. Andrew Balser was born in an Tucket, but grew up in Winthrop. He was a good kid, never skipping school or even trying drugs in his life. He did well in school and took advanced placement classes. Andrew was only a matter of weeks away from his 18th birthday and was expecting to graduate in the spring. He aspired to be a marine biologist studying anything other than marine mammals. He liked the water even though he couldn't sail. He wanted to take a five-year college course in marine biology at marine maritime academy so that he could be Coast Guard certified to be part of a crew on boats up to 155 feet or

2000 tons. Andrew's middle name was Taney, named by his father after the last ship still floating that was in combat during Pearl Harbor. It seemed to predetermine his destiny to be on the water. But then he murdered his parents. Andrew's father Antonio went by the name Tony and was a manly man. Retired from a 20-plus-year career in the Coast Guard. He joined a motorcycle club and began to serve them as Road Captain and as a Chaplain. At 47 years old, he held regular Biker Bible studies, where his fellow bikers referred to him as Rev for short. He was recovering alcoholic and had since replaced his vice with marijuana, even taking a job trimming pot plants for a local grower. In Maine, medical marijuana is legal, and Tony had

his card prescribed for the bad back and PTSD, allowing him to grow his own plants as well. Andrew's mother Alice, who everyone called Allie, was a kindhearted soul. She had two passions in life other than her kids. She loved the run and she loved animals. She worked as a vet tech at the local veterinarian hospital. That was less than two miles west down Route 202 from their house. As such, the family had 17 pets. That's right, 17, including 12 cats, two snakes, two guinea pigs, and one little chihuahua. Well, not anymore. That weekend leading up to Halloween had been a relatively normal one.

On Saturday night, Andrew's parents went to a Halloween costume party and returned home late. Following day, his parents were sleeping off the night before, so the house was quiet, except for his 24-year-old brother Christopher, who langed about playing his Nintendo DS. Andrew woke up later in the morning after lounging a bit himself and used the rest of his time to do some homework for class the next day. Later that evening, when his parents emerged from their after party slumber, they went to town to get dinner. When they returned, they all sat down and ate Wendy's together as a family. Andrew had the Baconator.

During dinner, they enjoyed a movie together and start contrast to what would later transpire. They watched Monty Python's life of Brian, a comedy about a man born the same day as Jesus who was mistaken as the Messiah himself, and of course, misadventures in Sue. Being a school night, Andrew decided to hit the hay around 9 o'clock. His father and mother were already back asleep. Christopher was alone in his basement bedroom on his computer. The house fell into a peaceful quiet, only to erupt in chaos just a few hours later. which is the city of Augusta, and our population might be around 17,000 at this point. It gets higher during the day because the state workers, the state legislature, things like that.

But it's rather rural, and Winthrop is about, oh, maybe seven, eight miles west of here. And that's obviously more rural. We knew something was going on out in Winthrop. The police were all out there. We weren't really sure too early what it was. That morning after Andrew had already been taken into custody, the news of the double murder traveled fast. Betty Adams worked for the Kennebec Journal at the time and reported on this case. Hello, I'm Betty Adams. I recently retired for the Kennebec Journal where I wrote court stories for about 25 years, maybe a little bit

less. Like most murders, the local media reported on the case. In Maine, however, murders get a little bit more attention than in most states because they just don't have as many. There were 18 murders in Maine in 2016 when this took place, so he would have had a counter for two of them. I followed it extremely closely. It was very important to everybody to know what was going on in that case. The murder rate of Hawaii, the next most popular state, in 2016 was nearly double that of

Maine. To give you some kind of reference, the two most popular states, California and Texas, both hovered around 2,000 murders in 2016. This case, however, was more than just rare. This case also involved a minor. First of all, we've got the murder of two people, a mother and father by their younger son. And the son was 17 years and 11 months old

when this murder took place. So he's treated in Maine as a juvenile. I don't think the community was upset in terms of worrying about their own safety at this point because the defendant was arrested at the scene almost immediately after he called police. So it wasn't public safety, but it was sort of why did this happen, what was behind it. The murder of two well-known community members would leave any populace with questions. But then, these two community members were married, and the murderer was their underage son.

The community has more than a passing curiosity. They need to know why. After his arrest, Andrew Balser was taken to the local police station for questioning by Winthrop PD and the main state police. Now they know he was responsible for the crime in question. He confessed to it on the 9-1-1 call. Their job at this point was to make him comfortable and try to get a general idea of his mental state and hopefully figure out a motive. It's Andrew.

And you're middle name? Tangy. Tangy? Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy.

Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy. Tangy Well, where does that come from? It's from the US CDC, the US CDC 37. It's the last ship standing on the Perhubber's attack. So, who gave you that name? Your mom or your dad? My father used the Coast Guard for instance, years.

And then Ball Start is that B-A-L-C-E-D-R? And I'm pronouncing that correctly. Andrew was more than willing to talk about anything they wanted. So to get him at ease, that started with a general background. They asked about his school, which he joked that he was a senior, you know, before all this. And what classes did you take this year? I mean, he comes with a chemistry, physics, he comes with an article through him in there, and last and forth. He sounds happy to be discussing himself. They talk about school for a bit more and then they switch to questions about video games

and talk about his favorite role playing game, or RPG. Elder Scrolls Oblivion. It is first person but you can mess with the viewpoint there. Ok, and it's said in the fantasy sword, armor and mystical creatures, whatever, and you play a character who has to save the world essentially. So what do you say on the world front? In a Bolivian it is this cult kills the Emperor

and wants to bring back this mystical deity. Oh, Tiger Realm, so you have to stuff that up there. Is that something you play? Is that an online poem that other people? No, no, it's a single poem. During the discussion, you can almost forget that he's being questioned after a murder. Is demeanor seems strangely calm and collected. I did try and forate your butt got to your back right quick. Did you want to go into track because you were interested in it?

No, I think it was more of a relationship sort of thing. Was there a girl in chief of track? So you decided to go into a track? Yeah. Which is a race my position. So what events did do a new track, which is a race car in the city. So what events did you do on track? Through and going smoothly. Javlyn, Tiscus and...

I don't know, Trump, but just... Okay. But it was all for a check. You didn't care about throwing anything. Okay. I just got to let that being clear. It was for all of us. It was a bit of a mistake on my part, but... Slowly but surely, they delve into Andrew's private thoughts and feelings about school,

friends, relationships, and society as a whole. But socially, he did not enjoy high school as much as that fair to say. I mean, it's not that I didn't enjoy it. It's just that I didn't really have a connection with the rest of the student body. Okay. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? Not much more to tell.

Is there anything bad about your child? So you said you didn't really have a lot of memories. Anything really traumatic in your background? Nothing I can recall. Okay, so you don't have any feelings of ill will in particular? No, really. I mean the reason I don't sure, didn't get along with people at school at least because none of us really wanted to be there. So it was always... Okay. If I wanted to be friends with any place I could be friends with, whatever,

maybe because wherever I want someone wants to be there, or has a reason for being there at least. So, how do you think society has treated you so far? Just in an abstract sort of way that is, how do you feel about being in society? Is it a positive experience for you or is it negative experience? Well, I mean, in recent years, what do you think those societies

are taking a bit of a downturn there, but yeah. So, I need to take a bit of a downturn there, but yeah. But for the most part, I don't mess with it. I don't mess with it. So... Andrew came off as a well-adjusted young man. He was a teen on the verge of adulthood that seemed to have all his ducks in a row. When the conversation changed course

into the topic of his parents and his brother, Andrew's tone changed. They constantly fought there. And they're always seen to be something wrong. What did you not like about their relationship? Was there a lot of violent fighting between them? Thank you for everything. Thank you. Okay. Anywhat kind of verbal is it during your auditory or is it?

I don't really know because I don't always tune out whenever it happens. The more they prod it, the more it seemed that Andrew had a lot of animosity towards his father. What teen boy doesn't really. You don't see him as a dad. You know, it's, is that guy who lives in my house needs all my food. Right. This animosity didn't seem to encompass his mother or brother though, but there were other issues that brought tension

to the household. Andrew's brother Christopher was on his mother's last nerve. She almost seemed to be fed up with my brother because he had dropped out of school twice there. He was in his third door around this time. Or she just seemed to be, uh, in the meantime, putting up with him. So, do you have more affection for your brothers and your mother and your father? I'd say, I have a tendinly but- Right. I'd say, I have a 10-year-old boy. Right, rather than obvious.

I mean, you feel any sort of... People will talk to their brother, but... Then again, I didn't feel any towards mine. The parents, that's just kind of... Have us. I see. Andrew was a good kid, but he was... Kind of lost.

He went to school where he performed well. He was friendly with his fellow students and faculty. He could make friends anywhere he went, but those friends were never that close. Andrew was a bit of a loner and didn't really have any friends outside of school. At such an important transition age from boy to man, feeling alone can really mess with you. Have you ever felt suicidal? Yes. When was the last time you thought suicidal?

A few weeks ago, and it wasn't for any particular reason, it was just kind of a, you know, a, didn't like feeling of being alive, I suppose. Andrew confessed that every couple of weeks he felt like committing suicide, but claimed it was a fleeting feeling. He never planned how he would actually do it. He never had a gun to his head or a blade to his wrist. But every couple of weeks he would have this feeling that being alive just wasn't for him. He was very forthcoming with all the questions produced by detectives, and they picked up on his willingness. So there was no need to gently bring up the murder of his parents.

Andrew happily led the detectives through the events of Sunday evening into Monday morning. longer to hold a 9 o'clock than I go, Lee Allen bed. I don't remember much of what happens when I started feeling empty, I suppose I'd call it. Like, as I had the tone starting up there and I wasn't feeling happy, anxious or depressed or anything, I just felt, you know, nothing. Just remember it being about 130 in the morning time, shaking there, how I have unliked my hands. After that, it's just kind of a lurch. His memory was spotty. It was to be expected after that traumatic event, and the amount of adrenaline that was likely

coursing through his veins. In the early morning, he finds himself shaking and holding a knife. This knife, however, isn't just any kind of knife. I have a lot of stories in my room. This thing I'd like to have. And so I, I could say that my five-hand there was a K-bar like the military center, saying my brother got it for me, a couple of pressmences back.

Turns out that Andrew was a bit of a weapon collector. I got up to grab it and then went back to my room. So it's really all blurry. Just to give you an idea of the kind of knife he used to kill his parents, the K-Bar is a big knife, made famous by the military's adoption as a general issue knife. The typical blade length is 7 inches on the classic military design dating back to 1942. It's that iconic knife that you're likely to have watched in any war movie like ever. The early Rambo films come to mind. Measuring in at a total length of nearly a foot, it's a huge knife developed for survival and combat. Andrew began to hear a 13k frequency tone that drove all thoughts from his head. He figured it would be somewhere around 13 kilohertz, which would

sound something like this. Sorry in advance if it makes your dog or cat freak out. got up, walked to my parents bedroom, both of them were sleeping in there. I reached out my hand to my mother and she hugged me around the neck there and said something over the lines of, are you just having a rough evening, come on let's go to your room, I'll sit with you. And so I walk in with her holding the knife in my hand, I don't think she would slide, go to hug her. And as I do, I pull up the knife and snap there. You know, I pull it out, so I think I continue to stab for a while. Stamp-t-ray, a couple times in the back while we were still hugging. She fell onto my bed and I think it was on her front where she was lying on her back when she was on the bed. I think she might have been finding back after the first stabs there.

Or when she was on the bed there, I was stabbing. What is like fighting back look like to you? From a... It wasn't really... ...coordinated. It was more just... ...flailing. Talk me through why you have the knife

and why you're taking your mother down to your bedroom. I don't know. I can remember most of what I did. I just don't know why. I did it. Okay. So you're in your room and you're hugging her and I did your opportunity Okay, and so what do you do?

I I bring the knife down into her back and then it's a bit hazy but she yells and my father comes rushing in and I run and shat him, I suppose, and stand there. As I was attacking and I didn't start to feel a bit of, I suppose, the right word would be, that it can't happen. It's just kind of the severe annoyance at all Andro caught his mother by surprise, stabbing her nine times in the back and chest. His father Tony was more aware of what was going on and put up a fight, but he was no match for the large fight that Andrew was wielding. Andrew ended up stabbing his father

13 times. After the murders, is when Andrew remembered his brother. As Christopher started up the basement stairs, he caught a gaze of his brother. Andrew was at the top of the stairs, holding a knife and his father's gun. Christopher rose in his tracks. on the table by his chair there because he was in the exiles there. It's a motorcycle product. Yeah. He was the chat one for the exiles there. Okay.

So you know that on a daily basis, you have a sand gun adjacent to a chair. You leave the gun there, locked locked loaded one in the pipe. So I go and grab it and I think at this point I'm just thinking I should finish the job there. So to speak, if the knife hadn't already, both of my parents are dead by this time. So I don't discharge the weapon and my brother comes running towards the stairs. I make my way over to the downstairs. He comes running over with a phone in his hand. He was about to dial.

I say to one of my walk downstairs know, I walk down stairs, he's pouring from me. I tell him to go me through his room. And he, if there was a phone in my room, he's, he's begging you not to yell him. And I say, I don't remember what I specifically said to him, but I told him not to worry I wasn't going to hurt him. Andrew promised his brother that he wasn't going to hurt him, but Christopher was still afraid. Can you imagine having to beg your younger sibling not to murder you like they did your parents. My brother handed him to the comments to a side a few years ago, and you know, on multiple occasions. And so he sent me at one point, I think it was several months ago, that if I ever, you know, I was, something, something one one, to snap and kill everyone, that I would ask him,

or if I had planned to, I would ask him, do you want to die today? And so, that was the conversation we had. I think he was speaking in jest there, but I think, years ago, you yes quite a maybe not he hears about mocks yes so then pop in your head tonight yes open and it's he he hides himself in his room I give a few taps on the door there he opens it you know where I open it and I in. And I say to him, if you want to leave,

you could or something to that effect. And so he leaves a house and takes off another road. He went up to the, at the very end of the street, that's a house, the family is, you know, acquaintances with mine. So he ran to their house, I think it was just a little funny for any of the house, but that's where the police found him. Christopher's account of his interaction with Andrew mirrored that of his

brothers. I figured it would be best if I asked him before I took off because again, when prompted I can run fast. Can't run 1500 meters a second. You know, or whatever bullet velocity is. He said okay, it's not your day. I'm gonna call the police. So he picks up the phone, calls the police, heads upstairs. I don't follow him. I'm not right behind him, but I go upstairs as well. And I, you know, at that point all I can think of is get out of there. You've been given a free pass, get out while you can. So I, I, I'm on the, he has, my dad's a firearm, a 38 semi-automatic handgun. And so I'm like, okay, I can't run faster than that. So I, you know, I ask him, it's like, can I just leave? Can I just like, okay, I can't run faster than that. So I asked him, it's like, can I just leave?

Can I just get just run? And he said, yeah, sure. So I opened the garage door, hit the garage door opener. Didn't actually wait for it to open on a white whale, my head on the door, on the way out. This interview with Christopher was conducted sometime after Andrew was arrested. He wanted to set the record straight as the only other person that survived that night. like this and I just think to myself I should call the police I've if you'll pardon my

friend's eye just not to myself I've fucked up so I dial the phone I still have to go to get my hand I don't know why I wasn't going to use it that night, but I dial the phone you say to the lady there. It's like send somebody over, I just killed both my parents and so she transfers me to the Wikipedia, I think, they send a couple cars over, come out, they hands up, hand over your head. I don't want to ground that,'t know grounds that all something to answer did you feel affection towards them yesterday let's say okay and I also not a facture was my mother when she was hugging me there and I just I do not know why I did what I did. Well I I do realize that I just you know straight up murdered both of my parents there so that's I know I should be having some sort of guilt or remorse but honestly at the moment I just don't feel much of anything.

Andrew claims he felt affection for his mother right before he decided to stab her in the back. It seems unlikely, as we already heard the delirious state he was in during the 911 call. I mean, he announced who he was with a bit too much zeal and even chuckles at one point. After he was cuffed and placed into a patrol car, his emotional state didn't seem to match the situation he was in. Over the police radio, he heard the chatter of other officers doubting the crime, thinking it was all a Halloween hoax. While waiting in the back of the patrol car, Andrew had some time to himself while the officers secured the crime scene. his love on my face. That's a bit of a wrap thing.

Andru was handcuffed to the back of a patrol car after brutally stabbing his parents to death, and he started to sing opera to pass the time. Not just any song, but one that talks about the fickleness of women. The translation of Luciano Pavarotti's Ladonna et Mobile is as follows. Woman is fickle, like a feather in the wind. She changes her voice and her mind. Always sweet, pretty face, and tears or in laughter. She is always lying, always miserable. As he who trusts her, he who confides in her is unawarely heart,

yet one never feels fully happy. Who on that bosom does not drink love? Woman is fickle, like a feather in the wind. She changes her voice and her mind and her mind and her mind. So as the blue lights periodically bathe to surroundings, he sang an operatic breakup song. I'm not sure if this is even relevant, but it's a strange thing to do, and a strange song to pick, while sitting in the back of that patrol car

after killing your parents. After his interview, Andrew was charged with murder and transported to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland to await the next steps of justice. During the trip, Andrew and detectives joked about Andrew not knowing who the comedian Chris Farley was, or how the detective kind of looked like Agent Smith from the Matrix, or how TV and movies make cops seem so much worse than he had experienced. He complimented them on how nice they were to him. It was a long drive to Long Creek, and it would be a long road to trial, while the courts

tried to decide if the acts that Andrew committed warranted him to be tried as an adult. It's a two-part hearing. First, you have to have the basic evidence and the finding of probable cause by the court that there's evidence enough to go forward. And the second part of the hearing, which I think is a more important part, is the determination about whether it's appropriate to have him basically tried as an adult and treated as an adult in the adult system.

We're seeking to have him not put into the adult system because even though he was close to 18, he was not 18 at the time. He was 17 at the time, it's appropriate to have him dealt with as a juvenile. What do you say that? I think he's 17 years old and I think people at that age do all kinds of things and obviously this was a very horrible tragic event. That doesn't mean that automatically he has to go into the full bone adult system, it's just not appropriate. And he sounds very mature and where he was small again, articulate, sounds like an adult.

Yeah, that's interesting that you mentioned that. That's an important piece that people can sound like an adult, and talk like an adult. That doesn't mean that they're an adult in terms of how they think, how they react, and how they're brain develops. And I think that's what we're going to hear about. Of course, state attorneys had the opposite viewpoint. An incredibly brutal murder of two people. So particularly giving the age and all the factors involved our feeling is that quite clearly

should be an adult prosecution, not a juvenile prosecution. After some time incarcerated, Andrew came to find himself, or I should say, herself. You see, while in Juvie, for the murder of his parents, Andrew Balser came to the realization that he wanted to be a she. He wanted to live out the rest of his life as Andrea Balser. This is something that his grandfather supported, who took time to announce his granddaughter's preference to the court. may be over a female or transgender or seeking, it makes no better to be the worst real woman.

This shocking announcement seemed real. It seemed legitimate and not just deployed to be tried as a juvenile or perhaps be deemed unfit to stand trial. Andrew Balser's grandfather, Alice Balser's father, supported Andrea all along and in fact I believe probably is the person who arranged for the defense attorney. A minute the judge was told that the defendant preferred female pronouns would be called Andrea, the judge switched to using them and everybody in the courtroom tried to. Maine's been pretty accepting of the individuals undergoing gender identity, crises, issues or simply having a different gender identity than they had a birth. Andrea was coming clean, perhaps after she talked about her feelings with the state chiefs

forensic psychologist. He indicated some confusion about it but basically said that he wasn't sure he outwardly was who he was inwardly. And counselors at Long Creek. It was becoming a different boy to me than the boy that came in and said yes, ma'am, thank you ma'am. No thank you ma'am. Andrea had changed a lot. During her reign, she looked completely different than she did later in court. She had shoulder-length hair and a scruffy beard. After her decision and announcements of the court, she was always clean shaven and adopted a new hairstyle. A more feminine one, with short hair except

for a long strip that gently swoop down over her left eye. A judge has ruled the teenager from Winthrop accused of killing his parents a year ago will be tried as an adult. Andrew Bolster was accused of murdering his parents in their home last year he was 17 at the time. If convicted of two counts, Bolster faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for each murder count. It took nearly a year for the court to decide if she should be treated as an adult or not. In spite of how much Andrea had changed, the court decided that due to the severity of the crime, she would indeed be treated and tried as an adult. By this time she was almost 19 years old and still waiting for her trial.

But before the trial could take place, Andrea would do something virtually unheard of and change the course of the entire media circus. Just before trial was to commence, Andrea decided to change her plea to guilty, but she also did one more thing. Andrea Palser called me. She wanted to share more of what had been going on in her life and the opportunity was slipping away. I've done interviews with defendants in the jail before, but when he reached out, I said I would be over there shortly. There is a protocol to follow.

It dealt with a sheriff who operates the jail and Andrea would have had to sign off on it. Andrea had been relocated to the county jail rather than Long Creek Youth Development Center, seeing as it had been nearly two years since the crime and she was now almost 20 years old. She talked about the mental abuse at the hands of her father, specifically on her 16th birthday. And I was just sitting on the couch.

My father was in his workliner, and he leaned over and he picked up his gun. I didn't think nothing of it because he usually messes with the zoons or puts them away, takes them out, whatever, but he stands up and walks over to me. I think that's a little weird. I then look at him and he he points the gun to my chest, pulls back the hammer and pulled the trigger. The gun was unloaded, but I did not know that at that time. So the gun goes clack and then he just laughs and says, happy birthday.

She also talked about the reaction of her parents when she first knew she didn't want to grow up to be a man. Part of it was yes, he said he felt that his father in particular would not have supported him and his sexual identity. He said that I have a gender identity of yours. Right, and then you were afraid to share with your parents in particular your father. The thing is I uh, I did share it with that when I was about to for your four years of work and it was uh,

kind of quickly beaten out of this you know. I told them what I wanted to be. of this, you know, I told them what I wanted to be. It's, well, you know, I say I question my identity. That's, it's more of a recent thing than I question it when I was younger. I knew exactly who I wanted to be. I wanted to grow up in VA woman there. When I told my mother that she told my father and then both of them kind of, well, sat me down, told me no and kind of physically forced into me. That was not something that was acceptable. I have her told my brother about it because of fear of what he would do as well because that's the way parents have reacted so. Later on he said that his mother had been

molesting him from age 14 and that he thought it was gonna take place again that evening or that night. She was kind of overly affectionate to put it when I was about 14 years old herself. She just started with a hug and a kiss. It was often and it continued until I was about 16 herself. Andrea goes on to describe her alleged molestation as her mother taking her overt displays of affection too far. Maybe she went into more detail about what her mother did, but the Kennebick Journal only published excerpts from the Jail House interview.

An interesting side note is that this interview was done before sentencing and without the permission of the court. The prosecutor's office tried to get the full uncut interview with the Kennebec journal, but they denied their request citing their rights as a free press. The prosecutor's office even tried to subpoena the newspaper, but the court cited with the journal. As such, when we requested the interview, they denied our access as well. They did, however, give us the right to use anything they had already published online. Special thank you to the Kennebec Journal and the managing editor, Scott, for allowing us to use the jailhouse interview. and the managing editor, Scott, for allowing us to use the jailhouse interview. Andreia went on to reveal one more detail about that night that she had kept to herself for nearly two years,

something shocking about her mother the night she killed her. I had not told anyone what she had actually said to me. She hugged me and she whispered into my ear, do you want me to make everything better?" Andrew now claimed that right before he killed his mother, she whispered in his ear an offer to make everything better. An offer he feared meant she was going to molest him again that night. He's brother of course says none of this happened. I had sent a letter to my brother telling him I was sorry for everything.

I love him very much. I prayed for him and I would change everything if I could. And my brother wrote me back, and he pretty much said, Andrew, as you are a remorseless monster, I do not know what the point of this letter was. And I know you have no feelings of any kind, and it's he also said that a no living God, whatever it's at my first, what you do feel on this. I do. It was expressed to me at some point that he wanted to send me a letter that he was thinking about me and I basically, I wasn't very diplomatic about it. I just basically said choke on it. Not not interested which I'm not

and the slightest no interest in a relationship of any kind anymore. As far as I'm concerned he died that night too. While Andrea now claimed that her mother's molestation was a trigger for the murders, it didn't really have any effect on the case according to the defense attorney. It was too little and way too late. He claims his mother sexually abused him. Why not fight for a mental insanity plea, something along those lines? That's true. That actually doesn't apply in a case like this, so though that abuse occurred as indicated, that wouldn't affect the person intentionally

or knowingly committed to crime. It's a factor for sentencing, so we're going to hear a lot about that as well. So you do believe that that happened to your client? That's what she has said to me. Yes. Her mother sexually abused her, and that was a trigger in this event. What do you make of that claim? Well, we address that in length at sentencing.

Our position is basically, we do not accept that as reality. Hope we will be addressing various factors at sentencing that included. André knew that this recent confession would not likely be the key to her freedom. But she did hope. What I would like is I go in the courtroom, leave guilty, I go to the sentencing, they hand me a cookie in the glass of milk and they say, you're free to go. What I think is going to happen is I'm going to go to the sentencing, tell my story like I'm telling you now,

and they're going to just look at me and go, both of a shit sentence made a 55 years in prison. Later, she would officially change her plea to guilty. During the sentencing, Andrea's family expressed their feelings. It was horrible for the family because they lost everybody. They lost Antonio, they lost Alice, and they lost everybody. They lost Antonio, they lost Alice, and they lost Andrea. The family was torn apart, and that's usually what happens.

There's a family trying to be supportive of Andrea. There's part of the family, it's brother in particular, who wants nothing to do with Andrea. And there's two people that are dead. It's just Harbothers. Nobody, there's nobody that's gonna win. I am horrified by the knowledge that Alice's last conscious thought was of her being murdered by her own son.

To justify these killings because of sexual identity or gender dysphoria, believes it's truly a powerfully act. And Andrea should be ashamed of herself for it. I would have had with him, husband stolen from me and my family, and our lives will never be the same. My entire existence, operated in a single violence stroke.

Two loving parents were taken from me, and the brother and best friend that I thought I had, ceased to exist, or perhaps it never existed hidden in the personal. My entire support system was destroyed. What was left was an extended family that did their best to make sure I was safe and healthy, but couldn't replace what I lost. Today, I come to you, your honor, to tell you that even after so much time has passed,

very little has changed from me. I still self from this. I still ponder whether or not it was actually slang that day, and I haven't just been tolerant and some bizarre, had-lever since. I still struggle with the brutality of it all, too beautiful, and accomplished people can be erased from the world. For what am I sinned no reason at all? Justice cannot be certain in this case.

No parchment will ever even out the paper to magnitude of these crimes. But you hold in your hands the ability to keep society just a little bit safer, or a little bit longer by showing the leniency in sentencing, by looking past the clumsy excuses and non-existent justification and seeing that there is no remorse here and so no reason to reduce this sentence. Andrea tried to express remorse, but it fell on deaf ears. So no one can fully believe me. I am truly sorry for what I have done. I have built my parents.

I know that no one else of quarantine will ever bring the truth forgiveness for that. Only a monster would not feel worse at that kind of thing. It's, you know, I'm not happy that all of this happened. It just traded one health for another, you know? I just, if I could take it all back, I would not hurry. Andreal literally snapped under the normal pressures of adolescence combined with the undue stress of an absent and demeaning father.

And if it is to be believed, molestation at the hands of her potentially sick and certainly lonely mother, is that explain or justify what she did? Well, that's up to you to decide, isn't it? Andreo was sentenced to over 40 years in prison for each count of murder and five years for one count of aggravated cruelty to animals to be served concurrently She will be 60 years old When released if she serves the entire sentence Christopher Ballsur left the state of Maine and now lives in Ohio

Ali Ballsur's pets were taken by the veterinary hospital where she worked. They helped find homes for the homeless pets. All 16 of them. Andrea is at the Maine State Prison. An all-male prison for inmates deemed to have special needs. Or the ones that could be in danger if placed anywhere else. Tony Balser's bike group were part of the funeral processions shortly after the murders

in 2016, when tragedy struck yet again. A member of the funeral procession laid his bike down and crashed into a pickup truck, dying instantly. The ripples of Andreas Actions continued. That's our show. We hope you've enjoyed it. We'll see you back here next week for Plus 66 to get it signed up starting at just $5 comm slash plus. Hello, Sword and Scale crew and Mr. Bude. I'm just leaving a message because I was encouraged to do so after I listened to one of your last episodes and I heard in the comment section just people calling me and encouraging you guys and I just wanted to add that I've

been listening to you guys for several years now and a couple a while back when all of a sudden Mr. Bude was no longer the voice of Jordan scale. It was really upsetting to me. I'm a lot of setting brother, it was just disturbing because I didn't enjoy the new podcast, you know, the way it was, the way it found it, it just wasn't as appealing. And so I just wanted to say that, you know, thank you for what you guys do. I'm really happy that you got to be back, Mr. Mike Bude, and it makes such a difference when you enjoy not only the quality and the content of the podcast,

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