Unseen - The Killer With 38 Faces | The Case Of Haylei Jordan | UNSEEN

Episode Date: April 9, 2024

"Could you kill someone with horse tranquilizer?" -- March 23, 1993. Haylei Jordan is 8 when her mom asks her if she wants to leave everything behind. The little girl doesn't realize that her mother has just cut off her ankle monitor and wants to take her daughter on the run. March 18, 2002. Almost a decade later, Haylei is faced with another terrible decision after years of turbulence and uncertainty: she has to protect her mother even if it means calling the cops on her for what she has just confessed to her. External Footage from: "Crime Stories (Trail Of Deceit)", "Crime & Investigation (A&E Networks)", "Heart Communication", "Hell In Heels", "Documentary", "ABC", "Dateline; Poison (S4E7)", "Peacock Productions", "Evil Stepmothers (S2E6)", "Investigation Discovery", "Warner Bros", "Deadly Wives", "LMNO Productions", "Secrets Of The Morgue (S1E11)", "Investigation Discovery", "The Sacramento Bee", "Marked For Death", "Brian J. Karem", "Elliot & Thompson Limited". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It seems like a good idea at the time. Oh, my God. This footage hides the most disturbing secret. The woman being interrogated is called Elisa McNabbney. At first glance, investigators appear to be taking her seriously, giving Elisa their full attention. But something is not what it seems. The truth is, Elisa McNabney doesn't exist. On February 5, 2002, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office receives a call after a man says he's found a dead.

dead body on his property. As police examined the scene, they identify the remains as 53-year-old Larry McNabney, Elisa's husband. When police try to locate Elisa and bring her in for questioning, Elisa is nowhere to be found. For the last 10 years, a woman who calls herself Elisa has outsmarted the cops at every turn, using over 38 different aliases, vanishing into thin air. And still, police have no idea who she really is.

mystery woman might have escaped police forever if it wasn't for the courage of one young girl. Elise's own daughter, Haley. The FBI is asking for help in finding a woman, they say, is a cold-blooded killer. Super intelligent, just amazingly smart. She managed to live her life without ever using her real name. She always had a six sense, knowing that the law by this time is really right on her heels, but she is still one step ahead of them. She said, could you kill somebody with this?

And I said, do you mean a horse? She says, no, a person. Linden, California, February 5th, 2002. A horrible crime shatters the peace of this quiet village, located just one hour outside of Sacramento. The address, a vineyard at the corner of Clements and Frazier. In the early hours of the morning, the sheriff's office answers a call

after a man says he's made a disturbing discovery on his property. As soon as I got out of the car, I could see what appeared to, to be a piece of a human body sticking out of the ground. As we remove dirt off progressively, we can see that it's not just a foot, it's not just a leg, but we have the entirety of a body. The big question is, who was this person?

It flashed on the news on the TV that a male body had been found, body had been found and I called my wife at work and I said I just have this terrible feeling that that's Larry. Larry is Larry McNabbney, the Sacramento lawyer famous for his TV commercials. If you've been hurt in an accident, the smart thing to do is to hire a lawyer who can take care of business. I can do that. If you've been injured, you deserve confident legal health.

You deserve and should demand experience. Why you need an experienced lawyer when you've been injured? Don't you think you should know your legal rights? I've been a trial lawyer so long I can barely remember doing anything else. And I love what I do. If you've been injured in an accident, call me. If you've been injured, call me, call me, call me, call me. Larry McNabbney is the face of legal actions against insurance companies.

His reputation has made him a celebrity. His ability to winning court has made him rich. Larry McNabbney cut a striking figure, six foot tall, about 200 pounds, but very fit. and women loved him. He was handsome, he was charismatic and funny, and had a lot of money, and he threw his money around. I mean, you had a great time with Larry. Larry had a great expression.

You can't put a price on a good time. He was so instantly likable. Larry McNabbney lived in a gated community on the outskirts of Stockton with his wife, Elisa, and her 12-year-old daughter, Haley. At one point, Elisa and Larry had matching corvettes. They had a corporate jet. They have offices in Las Vegas and Reno.

These were good people. We enjoyed them. They enjoyed us. Everybody that met them enjoyed them. They were always just a loving couple. But things took a turn for the worst in early September, 2001, when Larry McNabbney mysteriously disappeared. The body was found buried in a shallow grave in eastern San Joaquin County near Linda.

A couple of days later, the body was identified by fingerprints as Larry McNabbney. We can't have justice. I can't let everything go with our dad, but we just ask for your help. Larry McNabbney's body was found five months after he first went missing, but as investigators try to figure out what happened to him, they are left with more questions than answers. As a defense attorney, Larry McNabbney met a lot of unseemly people. He had worked with mob figures in Las Vegas,

which obviously brings to mind gambling and associates of that nature. And you have to wonder whether one of his business contacts could have been, been responsible for what happened. After performing the autopsy, I had no idea what his cause of death was. There was no blunt force injury, no projectiles. There were no bullet holes, there were no knife wounds, no strangulation marks. So why is this man dead? A sample of Larry's blood is screened for all known poisons.

And after a few days of waiting, the results from the toxicology report return. Every single test comes back negative, showing no signs of any poison in his body. Upon further examination, experts notice even more irregularities. Forensic experts determine Larry died only days after he went missing. But strangely, six months later, his body is almost perfectly preserved. The body that's been missing for six months, and here it is in a state of preservation that is totally inconsistent. The body had not decomposed consistent with the time frame that we were looking at,

meaning that it was preserved, kept cold. Where has he been from September until he was found in February? Looking for answers, detectives first turned to the person closest to Larry, his wife Elisa. But they quickly discover she and her young daughter Haley have also been missing for more than a month. It occurred to me that she also could be a victim. Perhaps something larger is going on here. We weren't able to make any contact. Is she okay at this point? We have no idea.

As time passes, investigators are no closer to understanding what happened and start fearing the worst. They look for any possible leads and interview anyone who might have answers on where Elisa and Haley have gone, and they start to get worried about what kind of danger they might be in. After talking with friends and coworkers, detectives learn about a very close friend of Elisa, someone who has been a trusted employee of the McNabbney's law office over the past year, and who might know where the mother and her teenage daughter might be. 21-year-old Sarah Dutra. Your last name?

Dutra. D-U-T-R-A. And your first name is Sarah. During the interview, Sarah, who came with her dog, Ralph, shares details about her close bond with Elisa, recounting their frequent trips together. Detectives quickly realized that Sarah might be one of the last individuals who have seen Elisa and Haley before they disappeared.

When is the last time you saw her talk to Lisa? She was winning to everyone. every summer and I would just fly down the next day. And then you called her cell phone number. And what did you get? Nothing. It's number no longer new. Following Sarah's interview, detectives look more closely at Elisa's past,

uncovering that she met her husband, Larry McNabbney, in June 1995, when he posted an ad in the newspaper for a receptionist job in his law office. Elisa, at the time was 28 years old and made a striking first impression to the 46 six-year-old lawyer. She put her best foot forward and really swept Larry off his feet. And they ended up romantically involved shortly after she became employed. Detective's search for more information about Elisa McNabbney, looking at her files and documentation, but shockingly, she has no social security number, no driver's license,

and there is no paper trail connecting to her identity whatsoever. Looking for any evidence at the McNabbney's home and law office, they discreet. a locked trailer used for transporting horses with dozens of sealed boxes. Inside, detectives find many papers and documents with photo identification that appear to be Elisa's, but they all have many different names. We realized that Elisa has used at least 38 other aliases in the past. She managed to live her life without ever using her real name, without ever producing anything that would positively identify her.

One thing became immediately apparent about her. immediately apparent about Elisa McNabney is that she did not exist. Detectives now realize that Elisa might not be another potential victim, as they once thought, but their prime suspect. And what's even more alarming, cops have no leads on her missing daughter, Haley. It's clear that their witness testimonies from friends and coworkers that during her initial interview, Sarah Dutra downplayed the extent of her relationship with the prime suspect. Elisa and Sarah have much more than just an employee-employer relationship.

The dynamic is very personal, going on vacations and trips, shopping and partying together, and spending a lot of time with each other outside of work. They're laughing together, they're shopping together, they're eating together, just living at her house. They're sleeping in the same bed together. They bought matching underwear together. They were best friends. Their relationship caused problems in Larry and Elisa's marriage, as Elisa would often spend more time with Sarah, sleeping with her instead of her husband, Larry.

There's also clear evidence that Sarah was forging checks, signing Larry McNabbney's name without him knowing, and might be responsible for the over half a million dollars that is missing from the law office. Witness testimony also indicates that Sarah, Elisa and Larry were together on the day he was last seen alive. Now that investigators know Sarah might be linked to the disappearance of Larry, detectives bring her back to the police station, not for an interview, but for an interrogation. I'm sick right now

I think that Larry McNabbany is dead And who would do that Who do you think would do? I don't know who would do that I mean No, Sarah On the Elyson I mean, that's the only person

Now I could think that would do that At this moment, the detectives need to find Elisa And her 17-year-old daughter at all costs The mother has all the missing pieces to the puzzle But she is still nowhere to be found The best thing you can do is tell us where Elisa's at. No, I can't tell it.

I mean, I don't even know how to start looking for her. The search for Elisa and her missing daughter turns into a nationwide manhunt. Elisa's face, as the prime suspect, is posted all across the country. We can't find her. There's not a trace of her. The FBI is asking for help in finding a woman, they say, is a cold-blooded killer. And there's information that she may have gone to Denver. She might have been to Vegas.

Her activities had been tracked through three different states. We kept getting closer and closer to the point to where we were just a few days behind her. The FBI attempts to track Elisa's movements across the country, but so far, they seem to always be one step behind her, as she's constantly changing identities and locations. However, on March 18, 2002, one month after Larry's body was found, police in Destin, Florida, receive an intriguing 911 call from a panicked young girl. She claims that her mom is the one the FBI has been looking for and that she might be in Fort Walton Beach. The young girl is Elisa's daughter, 17-year-old Haley Jordan. After years of being on the run, the teenager finally tells her story and reveals the truth about her mother. 1989, six years prior to meeting McNabbney, Haley is five years old and has a turbulent childhood,

growing up with her unstable single mother in Florida. Elisa loves her daughter and tries to be the best mom she can but struggles with men. mental health, and quickly life at home becomes chaotic. She was in her own way a good mother for Haley, but on the other hand she was a very fragile person who had very little self-confidence, and Haley felt many times that the mother-daughter relationship was reversed. Haley's mom cannot keep a consistent job and always has problems with money and paying bills. Her mother routinely shoplifts and commits petty theft, constantly in and out of trouble

with the law. She frequently changes her identity and regularly moves with Haley to avoid getting caught and sent to prison. This made it extremely difficult for a young child to feel safe, and Haley, at only five years old, already begins worrying about her mom, feeling like she's the one who has to protect her and make sure nothing bad would happen to them. You know, waking up in the middle of the night and saying, hey, we have to leave because rent hadn't been paid or she was being evicted.

I think to her that was normal. This is what mom and I do. We move once a year every six months. For her, it was about fun until it was not. Everything changes when Haley's mom is arrested and charged with burglary of a dwelling, petty theft, and dealing in stolen property. She's taken into custody and sentenced to nine months in prison. Haley is sent to live with her grandparents, but now eight years old.

All Haley wants is to be with her mother. After serving nine months in prison, Haley's mom is released on parole and is finally able to reunite with her young daughter, even if she's now forced to wear an ankle monitor. But once again, instead of abiding by the rules of her probation and the law, Haley's mom cuts off her ankle monitor, assumes the new identity of Elisa, and has a new plan in mind. She said, Haley, I have to go away and I'm not coming back. I can leave you here with Grandma and Grandpa, or you can come with me.

But I want it to be your choice. I was eight. I didn't even hesitate. He just said, I'm going with you. It felt like life or death. I didn't know what was chasing us, but something bad was chasing us. Leaving that very same day, Haley and her mother head for the highway. Elisa drives from Florida, making stops across the country and supporting her daughter by continuing to commit petty crimes.

After over a year being on the road, they finally stop and settle down in Las Vegas, Nevada. Elisa decides to get a job, responding to an ad in the paper for Larry McNabbney's Lepney's Lepard. office. She had been there maybe a month before the lawyer that she worked for, wanted to take her to dinner. When Larry meets Elisa, he is immediately drawn to her. The relationship quickly advances from being coworkers at his business to romantically involved, moving in together within two months.

And when Haley arrives at his house for the first time and meets Larry, she can immediately feel something is wrong. I met him and he's trying to hug me and I could tell he was drunk. I could smell it. I was very uncomfortable. Larry struggles with alcoholism, drinking ever since he was a teenager and has a history of being abusive to women.

He has been married and divorced four times, and two of his ex-wives have restraining orders against him. It's now 1996, less than two years after first meeting, and without telling her daughter, Elisa gets married to Larry behind closed doors. When Haley finds out, she's in a state of shock. Larry never cares to show love for Haley,

failing to provide a safe environment, often verbally abusing the young girl. Elisa knows Larry is not a perfect person, but has become used to the way things are and values the financial security he brings after years of uncertainty. Two years go by. It's now 1998 in Sacramento, California.

Larry opens a new law office in the area, moving in with Elisa and Haley and hires all new staff, including a young college student by the name of Sarah Dutra. Sarah was very, very competent and very capable. I kept thinking, this girl's only 21 years old,

she's going to go far. At the same time, Larry's alcohol use is increasing to an all-time high. His drinking and drug use had reached a different stage. He often never shows up to work and disappears for weeks. When he returns home, drunk,

unable to walk properly, his violent, drug-induced outbursts have become out of control. He was going off the rails. He was losing control of himself. One night I heard Larry tell her, I'm going to kill Haley in front of you, and then I'm going to tell the police that you do. It's now 2001. After years of living under threats and fear of Larry's alcoholism, one day it hits a breaking point.

It's late at night, and Elisa is at home with Haley when Larry opens the front door, more drunk than ever before. There's anger in his eyes as a 200-pound man towers over his teenage stepdaughter and suddenly grabs hold of her neck, choking her. He grabbed me like this. He just kept squeezing. I had never had anyone tried to hurt me before. Larry is too strong, and there's no way young Haley can push him off her to free herself. He keeps holding on to Haley until Elisa, in a state of panic, rushes to protect her young daughter, pleading with him to stop. After a moment, he releases Haley's neck.

In the past, Larry has been verbally abusive and threatening, but never physically violent towards a teenager. Now, Elisa knows something needs to change. That day, the mother runs to a motel with Haley, away from Larry. As time passes, Haley seems to believe they are finally safe from Larry, not seeing him for weeks, but then, one day, Haley's mom rushes to her in a panic. I said, Mom, are you okay? What's going on? Where's Larry? She said, we need to go. We're going to get divorced. And me, I was just happy he was gone.

After six years of living with Larry, Elisa tells her daughter that once again, they need to go on the run for their own safety. Haley is used to suddenly leaving and driving from place to place, but this time, something feels different. Growing up, Haley has always felt the pressure that something bad was going to happen, but now it only seemed like a matter of time. They drive through many different states, always trying to blend in, avoiding law enforcement at all costs. We were from Colorado, I think, to Kansas, and from Kansas down through the state. southern states into Alabama and Mississippi. On the road, Elisa gets odd jobs and resorts again to committing petty crimes to provide for her daughter.

Although Haley is used to the instability of their living conditions, she has never felt her mom's stress more than this. The teenager wants to stay strong for her. Despite being only 17, Haley feels responsible for her mom's well-being, but doesn't know how to protect her. Months past, the duo still lives on the run. The weight on the teenager's shoulders is becoming heavier and heavier. Haley sees her mom go back to her habits of conning people to survive, but still, she avoids answering what they're really running away from this time.

With Larry being out of the picture for months, Haley knows it must be somehow linked to this, but she has no idea how terrible the truth really is. Then, one day, the teenager dares to confront her mom. I said I can't do this anymore. I cannot continue running like this. She was visibly shaken. She was starting to get more anxious than I had ever seen her. Her mom stays quiet. She then proceeds to get off the highway and parks the car on the side of the road,

putting her head down, not looking at her daughter. After a long moment, Elisa lifts her head off the steering wheel and turns to face her daughter. And she said, all right, but before I take you back, I need to tell you everything because you need to be prepared. She said, I need to tell you this, but I need you to not freak out. I said, okay. And she said we killed him. It kind of felt like everything just white noise. Haley is in a state of shock and can't believe what her mom just revealed to her.

After over 37 different fake identities, fraud, stealing, and a life on the run, everything she's been through with her mom starts to make sense. And the 17-year-old girl slowly realizes that the confession is true. Her mother killed Larry. That night, Haley's mom takes them to a hotel nearby. Haley doesn't know it yet, but it will be the last moment they'll spend just the two of them. The next morning, Elisa wakes up Haley and says they are going for a drive. As they drive down the interstate, in a long car ride, tension fills the air.

And Haley grows more and more concern for her mother's well-being. They eventually arrive in Destin, Florida, and Elisa slows the car to a stop near the beach. She looks at her daughter, as if this is the last time she will ever see her. In this moment, Haley doesn't want to exit the car. Her mom insists. The teenager reluctantly steps out, and as she turns around, she watches the car slowly drive away. 17-year-old Haley, on the side of the road, is left alone near a friend's place in Fort Walton Beach. Despite having been raised on the run, Haley still has a strong knowledge of right and wrong and struggles with her sense of responsibility. On one hand, she's always wanted to take care of her mom.

On the other hand, the man has been killed. But above all, she wonders if her mom is is strong enough to keep going with the weight of this secret. Time has run out, guided by her will to protect her, she walks to a nearby public telephone and calls 911. On March 18, 2002, 41 days after the discovery of Larry's body, Elisa was found walking along Fort Walton Beach in Florida. I was both incredibly relieved that she was okay and horrified that I had. had contributed to her worst nightmare happening. Elisa is arrested and brought to the police station for an interrogation. The mother doesn't resist, as if this time she was waiting for them to come find her and ready

to finally stop running, ready for the truth to come out. We were really kind of surprised because she just opened up. She wanted to talk. What I'm going to start out with is just getting back her information to confirm who you are. My whole name is blurring L-A-R-E-N. Elisa tells investigators about her marriage with Larry and his increasing levels of drug and alcohol use. He was stuck in my head for choking me. It was the drug on him. I was creeped out and scared. I knew that something needed to happen either I needed to put a bullet in my head or I needed to deal with it.

Elisa had confided in her close friend Sarah about the abuse she was facing and the concerns for her daughter, and that's when they come up with the idea to end the problems with Larry forever. How many did you guys decide to do with them? We said we could kill him. Were you going to do it like that day or were you going to do it another time of the future or when were you guys planning on doing it? Right then. Right then and there. Yeah. While Haley was sent away for a few days, Larry, Elisa, and Sarah traveled to a horse show near Los Angeles, California.

Larry loved animals and traveled with many of his horses, tons of equipment, and personal trainers. A fellow enthusiast and friend of McNabbneys recalls that Elisa asked him a strange question. Could you kill somebody with horse train gliser? And I said, you mean a horse? And she said, no, a person. We went down to my trainer's truck, and I got the medicine bag out. And I got the trinklyzer out of it and I got a syringe and I said, I don't know how we're in cute to him and starts to put in the vibrating bottles, so squirted all the vibrating

out of the vibrating bottle and stuck the syringe in there and filled it up. Late at night, after the horse show competition, Larry goes back to the hotel room. At least it takes the syringe filled with horse tranquilizer, puts the deadly liquid into two glasses of red wine and brings them to him. He drank those two glasses of red wine. There was enough horse tranquilizer in there that it incapacitated him. The six-foot-tall man quickly passed out in the room. According to Elisa, Sarah decided to give him even more tranquilizer by putting drops

directly into his mouth while he was unconscious. The next morning, by coincidence, is September 11, 2001. Everyone in the hotel is distracted by the news. As the chaos of 9-11 unfolds on live television, Elisa, and Sarah used this opportunity to rent a wheelchair and sneak Larry McNabbney out of the hotel room right out of the front door without anyone noticing. Elisa and Sarah drive back to Sacramento with Larry in the back seat. As they arrive at the McNabbney's home, they grab a bed sheet to bring him inside. And we wrapped it around him and took that plate and wrapped it around him and he would work in a

Perhaps he was in my garage, he had his wine refrigerator. Larry's body was in really good condition. The reason was because Elisa put him in a refrigerator. Elisa eventually decided she needed to find a place to bury his body and drove him to a wine vineyard just outside of Sacramento. Did I kill my husband? Yes, I killed my husband. Well, I know I'm just in my breath in my life in prison or go to the electric chair,

whatever they do with people. I mean, I know that. I know that I've been and I know that I'm guilty and I'm prepared to deal with that repercussions. With Elise's full confession, Sarah Dutra, her accomplice, is also arrested and charged with homicide. We've received a written confession from release and I'm sorry, but as at this minute, you are no longer free to leave. Both women are charged with first-degree murder. and remain in prison awaiting trial. Haley is sent back to her hometown in Brooksville, Florida,

staying with her family while her mother is in custody. I came home to the town that I was born and raised in, but I hadn't seen my family in almost a decade, and I didn't know what to do, because the only thing I had ever done was to make sure that my mom was okay. But on March 31st, 2002, Easter Sunday, a tragic turn of events will change Haley's life forever.

Twelve days after confessing to her husband's murder, Elisa, while in Florida State Prison, takes a pen and paper and writes a final letter to her daughter, before ending her own life inside her prison cell. My world ended with her. I didn't know what to do. What do you do when your whole life has revolved around protecting this person and you can't protect them anymore and you couldn't even protect them from themselves? She has just lost the person closest to her, one of the only people,

by her side for her whole life is now gone. After the death of Elisa, Sarah Dutra is now the only one on trial for the murder of Larry McNabney. Even though Haley is heartbroken about the loss of her mom, at only 18 years old, she finds the strength to testify against Sarah and tell her story again in court. Although there is a lot of incriminating evidence, fingerprints, and records of Sarah's involvement in the planning and murder, she is only convicted of voluntary manslaughter and accomplice to murder with a maximum of 11 years in state prison. As the years go by, Haley struggles to build a normal life for herself, grieving the loss of her mother and dealing with the traumatic events of her life. But one thing

that keeps Haley going and gives her the courage to move forward are the words of her mother in the letter she left her. Elisa writes, Dear Haley, I am so sorry for dragging you through the life I took you through. You can open your heart now and not be afraid. you will have to run. The running is over. I am so proud of you. You are so smart and so beautiful and your heart is so good. In the years that come, if you feel like you can't handle your life, get help. Keep asking. Go to a hospital, go to social services, ask my parents, just get the help you need. You must promise to tell the truth no matter what someone asks you. If you can try to hang on to my love for you, you will always have it. Don't be ashamed

of your past. You can be ashamed of me. I deserve that. I hope one day you can forgive me. You will be a fabulous mother. Your children will be so lucky. You have made my life worth living. Go to your new life with my blessing and my deepest hope for health and happiness. I will always be in your heart. Love mom.

Haley Jordan has been on a long journey of healing with the help of her mother's final words. Over the years, she was able to better her life, going to school and becoming a critical care nurse, helping those in need, and even starting a family of her own. I didn't want them to grow up with the kind of fear and anxiety that I had. I think that I came out on the other side and everything I thought I would never have a career and education, kids, I have. While holding on to some of her memories of her mom, Haley refuses to let her pass define her, and now provides a supporting and loving home to her children.

She's living proof that even through tragedy and loss, you can come out stronger. You have the power to redefine your legacy. You never have to stay in a situation that you don't feel safe or in a situation that you question. You have a right to feel safe. And you have a right to whatever future you're willing to make.