adds heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Welcome Weirdos, I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. Coming up in this episode… In 2007, a 16-year-old boy was tried and convicted as an adult for the assault and murder of a woman in Wisconsin. But is it possible that Brendan Dassey isn't guilty as we were all led to believe? After a night of bar-hopping, Ozzy Condi and girlfriend Kimberly Long got into an argument that ended up with Ozzy laying on the floor, dead. Kimberly was sent to prison. At least that's the story the prosecutors told. But Kimberly fought for years to try and convince people she was not a murderer. But was she? The idea of someone breaking down and confessing to police that they committed a crime when in actuality they did not do it seems ludicrous to us. But it does happen all the time. Why on earth would someone ever do such a thing? We'll look a bit closer at how it happens. If you're new here, welcome to the show. And if you're already a member of this Weirdo family, please take a moment and invite someone else to listen. Recommending Weird Darkness to others helps make it possible for me to keep doing the show. And while you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com where you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Miwi and more, along with the Weird Darkness Weirdos Facebook group. Now, bolt your doors. Lock your windows.  And come with me into the Weird Darkness. Is Brendan Dassy Innocent? This has been the hot question since 2007, when the then 16-year-old Dassy was convicted, along with his uncle Stephen Avery, of the murder and sexual assault of photographer Teresa Hallback. The conviction of Brendan Dassy was based off of an infamously suspicious confession, which many people believe he was coerced into, given the conditions under which it was conducted, along with additional controversy surrounding facts and evidence in the case. It was general knowledge that Dassy had limited mental capabilities, and the sudden confession didn't seem to sit right in the big picture. Tried and convicted as an adult, Dassy was sentenced to life in prison and had been incarcerated for nine years when in July of 2016 his conviction was overturned. Like other people who were wrongfully convicted, Dassy once again became a popular subject in the news, as the world waited to see if he would walk for a crime many believed he did not commit. However, in December 2017, a 7th Circuit Court panel upheld his original conviction and dashed the hopes of any chance of freedom. No crime is easy to solve, especially with the technicalities of the law, but the Dassy case continues to stump juries and create conversation, ultimately leading up to the million dollar question, was Brendan Dassy coerced into giving the confession that cost him his life in prison? The crime the Wisconsin resident Dassy supposedly confessed to involved the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Hallback, encouraged by his uncle Stephen Avery, who was also convicted, Dassy confessed that he partook in the assault, stabbing and eventual dumping and burning of the body on the family's auto salvage lot. Before Dassy's confession, nearly all evidence in the case pointed towards Avery. Avery has his own troubled past with the law, having infamously served 18 years out of a 32-year sentence when he was wrongly convicted of the brutal assault of a jogger, only to be exonerated nearly two decades later by updated DNA technology. Once a free man, he proceeded to file a lawsuit against the county for $36 million. In 2005, after she had been reported missing by her parents, police found Hallback's car on Avery's property, where Dassy also lived, and the following search turned up her charred remains on the land, as well as her personal belongings. A controversial trial ensued, and four months later Brendan Dassy confessed to helping with the crime. The two were convicted separately and sentenced to life in prison. Perhaps the most glaring concern regarding Dassy's confession is the fact that the police interrogated him entirely alone. He had no lawyer or parent present, despite the fact that he was only 16 years old. Overall, the interviews which are videotaped and can be viewed on YouTube come to over eight hours of footage, eight hours of a solitary teenage boy getting grilled aggressively by multiple police officers. In the videos, one sees a young, shy boy who seems nervous and awkward as he hesitantly recounts the events, often replying, I guess. One of his strongest defenders and attorney, Laura Nyreider, commented, The moment I watched that tape, I wanted to jump into that TV screen and get between that child and the officers who were interrogating him. To be interrogated without representation is often bad news for any suspect, but many think this to be the precise situation that enabled law enforcement to coerce Dassy into giving the confession that they wanted to hear. Another key element in the possible coercion of the then teenage Dassy is the fact that he has a below average IQ, placed somewhere between 69 and 73 points on the intelligence quotient scale. In general, a score of 70 is used as the cut-off mark for intellectual disability. All of this was known prior to the confession, as Dassy was placed in special education classes at his local high school. It was with this knowledge that police proceeded in interrogating him alone, despite the fact that he was likely nowhere near mentally equipped to fully grasp the implications and scope of what was being asked of him. Experts in false confessions criticize what is known as the READ technique, the style of interrogation that was used on the 16-year-old Dassy. Stephen Drizzen is the co-founder of Northwestern University's Center of Wrongful Convictions of Youth and said the interrogation tactics used by the detectives violated core principles of the READ technique. The READ technique is an exhaustive nine-step process in which a suspect is interviewed prior to interrogation in order for the authorities to determine whether an interrogation is justified. Allegedly, the technique wears down suspects until eventually confession is often easier than battling accusations. Not only would this be taxing on a mentally limited teenager, but videos of the interview show that the police officers steered away from general READ protocol and fed Dassy specific information, eventually even asking him outright who shot Hal back in the head. This setting of the scene and feeding of facts makes it very easy for suspects to inadvertently agree with a story that has been designed by the authorities and is not necessarily the truth. All of the forensic evidence involved in the case, be it the DNA, the bullets, the car or the fingerprints, was associated entirely with Stephen Avery. Dassy's conviction is based solely on the controversial confession made after a grueling series of interrogations. As Mark Fremden, the lawyer who later represented Dassy, said, all of that was the Stephen Avery case, so Dassy's case was purely a circumstantial evidence case. Dassy's entire life came down to what he said in those rooms, on those tapes. Yet he received the same sentence as his uncle, whose blood and sweat and fingerprints placed him physically at the crime. During trial in 2007, Dassy chose to recant his confession, claiming that he had been pushed into confessing to a crime that he didn't commit. When asked why he'd made up the confession, he continually responded, I don't know, and hardly displayed any emotion. He went on to explain that he'd gotten the idea from a book called Kiss the Girls, which he claimed to have read three or four years ago. In conversations with his mother after the first interrogation session, Dassy remarked that they got to his head. Part of his overturned conviction was due to the fact that during interrogations, investigators said he would not be punished if he admitted participating in the offenses and that he had nothing to worry about. Those who believe in Dassy's culpability often harp on this question. Why would he confess if he wasn't guilty? Why make up such a detailed story? The answer is, it is not unheard of for innocent people to confess to crimes they did not commit. For example, take the case of Juan Rivera, who was convicted of rape and murder three times in 1992 despite DNA evidence excluding him. He served 20 years in prison until the state of Illinois finally overturned his conviction. His attorneys eventually accused police of coercing him into falsely confessing. Authorities interrogated him repetitively over the course of four days and allegedly took advantage of his low IQ, his difficulty with English, and a psychological breakdown that he suffered while in custody. Sound familiar? The Innocence Project, founded in 1992, is an organization devoted to exonerating those who are wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. According to their data, out of 225 wrongful conviction cases that were eventually cleared by DNA evidence, 23% were based on false confessions. Comparably in a study of juvenile cases, out of 340 exonerations, 42% involved false confessions. In a study conducted by The Psych Report on false confessions involving minors, they found that teens and children being interrogated are often falling prey to high pressure, manipulative and deceptive interrogation techniques more often because they have less sophisticated reasoning abilities and are more susceptible to social influence. Brendan Dassey fits into these categories as well as the added handicap of his low IQ, making him, according to these studies, a prime candidate for a false confession, a widely held opinion given the fact that there was even an attempt to overturn his conviction. It was no secret that Stephen Avery had a rocky past with the law, having served 18 years for a wrongfully convicted rape assault case. In 2003, Avery filed a $36 million civil law case against Manitowoc County, its former sheriff and former district attorney for the wrongful conviction and imprisonment, the same county in which he was convicted for murdering Hallback. Needless to say, relations between Avery and local authorities were poor at best. In 2015, Netflix's series Making a Murderer helped to cast doubt on the evidence used to convict both Avery and Dassey. They pointed out several incidents in which it appears as though there were slight holes in the investigator's protocol, be it laziness or more glaring offenses, like the suggestion that Manitowoc County planted evidence at the crime scene to incriminate Avery, such as showing off the vial of Avery's blood that had been tampered with from Avery's 1985 wrongful conviction case. But long before the Netflix series, tensions had been building between Avery and the authorities regarding the investigation. That is, until four months in, Dassey made his damning confession, which conveniently confirmed Avery's presence and execution of accused events. It is clear from the videos that the interrogations led against Dassey were aggressive and swift in clinching his confession. But was this all a part of a larger plan, just to ensure Avery's conviction? Coming up, after a night of bar hopping, Ozzy Conde and girlfriend Kimberly Long got into an argument that ended up with Ozzy laying on the floor, dead. At least that's the story the prosecutors told. But Kimberly fought for years after being sent to prison to try and convince people that she was not a murderer. But was she? That story is up next on Weird Darkness. What goes on in the mind of a murderous killer? What is it about some people that lead them to commit murder? Is there something that is different or is it simply a switch that gets turned on? Murderous minds, stories of real-life murderers that escaped the headlines, offers a look into the lives of individuals who didn't just become killers but who managed to avoid the media storm that usually accompanies them. Inside, you will hear about people like Santé Kheims, a 65-year-old mother who was driven by greed and who committed multiple murders with her son. Robert James Akramant, the MBA graduate who murdered three people in order to continue getting lap dances from a stripper that he became infatuated with. Larry Jean Ashbrook, who became deluded into thinking that strangers were accusing him of murder. When he could not take it anymore, he carried out a massacre at the Wedgewood Baptist Church and more. Each story harbors its own distinct narrative and reasoning for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, along with the background to the case, their lives, and the aftermath of their actions. Sometimes, the truth is more appalling than anything fiction can provide, and murderous minds pruse it once again. Murderous Minds, Volume 1, Stories of Real-Life Murderers That Escaped the Headlines, by Ryan Becker, narrated by Weird Darkness host Darren Marlar. Hear a free sample or purchase the title on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com. On the evening of October 5, 2003, California Emergency Room nurse Kimberly Long got into an argument with her boyfriend Oswaldo Ozzy Conde. The two had been drinking throughout the day, and after things got heated, Long left her and Conde's shared home to go cool down. When she returned to her home later in the evening, she found that her door was unlocked, she entered her home, and found Conde slumped over, already deceased. Conflicting evidence and ineffective counsel, landed Kimberly in prison for seven years, prompting the California Innocence Project to take on her case. According to Kimberly Long, she and her boyfriend Ozzy got into an argument late at night on October 5, 2003. The two had been bar hopping with their friend Jeff Dills earlier in the evening. They returned home at around 11 p.m., which is when Long says the argument started. According to Long, Conde was not happy with the way that she was acting in public. I think Ozzy said I was running around at the bar we were at. I wasn't paying attention to him and I was talking to everybody else, and I think that's what the argument started out as. By the time we got home, I was really agitated and just wanted him out of the house.  I think the argument was about me being drunk and a flirt. Friend Jeff Dills spoke to the investigators and told them more about the couple's fight, saying she started hitting him with her helmet. She had her helmet and her purse and she swung at him a couple of times and he just went like this and he covered himself in defense. She hit him on the shoulder and stuff.   Dills then claims he broke up the fight and told the couple to either finish it inside or get some space from one another. He said if they didn't do this he would call the cops. Long then went with Dills to cool off. In order to cool off from their fight, Long decided to go hang out with Jeff Dills. She left the house that she shared with Condé where Dills said the argument was happening and went with Dills. Later, Dills dropped Long back off at her shared home with Condé although the time is not exact.  Unfortunately, Dills perished in a motorcycle accident shortly after Condé's demise, so investigators were not able to confirm the time discrepancy with him. When she returned, something fell off. She recounted the evening to the Coachella Valley Independent saying, I remember walking through the door and it was unlocked when I came in. I saw a light on in the back. I kicked off my shoes and I saw Ozzy on the couch and I called his name. I walked over to the light to turn it on and when I did that, I turned around and I saw a big blood stain on the couch. I saw him and I realized that something went wrong. I thought maybe he had gotten into a fight. I don't remember what I did first, to be honest. I think I ran outside and tried to get Jeff. I ran through the house and I can't really remember. I do remember that I got real close and I looked at him and I realized with what I saw, there was nothing I could do to help him. As authorities started questioning potential subjects, including Kimberly Long, the then emergency room nurse believed she knew who the real culprit was, one of Condé's exes, Shiana Lovejoy. Lovejoy shared a child with Condé and the two dated up until about 2001 or early 2002. Long alleged that Lovejoy sent her a malicious letter meant to intimidate Long. According to Long, the letter alleged that Lovejoy had relations with Condé while Long and he were dating. Long told authorities that neighbors had seen two men sent by Lovejoy outside her house a month before Condé's demise. Friends of Condé told the California Innocence Project that Lovejoy could easily be the offender. You know, we never thought that it would actually go this far, but it has. I mean, it makes sense. I mean, the way she is. It took. I'm sure it was her. I mean, I'm positive. There's nobody else. She was going to end him all the time.  Since Long admitted to having an argument with Condé hours before his demise, authorities had no choice but to consider Long a suspect. When Long was brought in for questioning, they administered a polygraph test. Long passed the polygraph test when she claimed innocence. Police apprehended her in the clothes that she claims that she'd been wearing out that night, and there wasn't a drop of blood on them. Still, authorities were suspicious of Long, especially after the couple's friend, Jeff Dills, told them that Long had hit Condé in the shoulder during their heated argument earlier in the evening. After Long and Condé got into an argument at their front door, Long left with Jeff Dills to cool down. Originally, she told police that the two had just hung out, but later she revealed that she and Dills were intimate. The two went back to Dills' residence where they got into the spa. According to Dills, Long continued to complain about Condé and how he was not carrying his share financially. According to the case's statement of facts, Long ended the encounter abruptly and lied, saying that her ex-husband was supposed to swing by and drop off her kids. Dills said that she was preparing to leave. Long mentioned that she could, to clean it up a bit, kick Ozzy's butt. Eric Keane, who acted as Long's public defender in the immediate aftermath of the incident, believes that Long's ex-husband, Joe Bogarski, could be a suspect. During the first trial, Keane pointed out that a stereo went missing from Long and Condé's shared home while Condé was being targeted, suggesting somebody else was present. According to ABC News, Long started dating Condé when she and Bogarski were still married. As their marriage dissolved, Long kicked Bogarski out of their shared home and Condé moved in. Keane, along with other defenders of Long's innocence, believed that this could serve as motive for Bogarski. Kimberly Long's first trial started at the beginning of February 2005 and as the trial came to a close, jurors were split. The prosecution painted Long as a party girl with a temper and questioned why she didn't try to administer first aid when she first found Condé, citing her profession as an emergency room nurse. Public defender Eric Keane reiterated that Long's ex-husband had a history of verbal threats and that he used to live in Long's home, making him a potential suspect. The jury was torn. After three days of deliberation, they were deadlocked. Nine jurors were in favor of acquittal, while three wanted to convict Long. The court was forced to declare a mistrial. Judge Patrick F. Majors put Long on a $100,000 bond and ordered her not to have any contact with any attorneys or witnesses who were part of the case. He even said that he would have found her not guilty had this not been a juried case. To make a perfectly clear record in this matter, if this was a court trial, if the court would have heard the evidence in this case, I would have found the defendant not guilty. I would have found that the evidence was then sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. That is my trial court decision in this case. Obviously, it was not a court trial, it was a jury trial. Ozzy Condé perished after being hit in the head but no weapon or evidence directly linking Long to any such object was found by authorities. Forensic scientists were able to determine that Condé had been hit between three and eight times and he may have been asleep at the time. Prosecutor Gerald Feynman believed Long was responsible for Condé's demise, citing her growing frustration with him despite the fact that no weapon was found and her clothes were clean. She was upset because she wasn't living the dream lifestyle that she wanted to live, Feynman said, suggesting that this was motive enough for her to take her boyfriend's life. In December 2005 Long was tried again and this time the prosecutor was able to convince the jury of her guilt due to timeline discrepancies. Jeff Dills claimed that he dropped Long off at her home around 1.30 am, roughly 40 minutes before Long made the 911 call. He was one of the case's key witnesses and unfortunately he perished in a motorcycle accident before Long's trial took place. Other witnesses, like Long's neighbors, presented conflicting timelines. One said that they heard Dills' loud motorcycle exhaust leave just minutes before Long entered her home and ran out crying. Public defender Eric Keene presented a timeline that placed a different offender such as a jealous ex or a burglar at the scene. She doesn't call the police until 2.09 in the morning and she tells them that she just walked in the door. The point that the jury focused on was that all her statements didn't match the timeline, prosecutor Gerald Feynman explained. Long was convicted. Long started serving her sentence in March 2009. She originally failed to turn herself in after all her appeal processes had been exhausted. She turned herself into police 10 days late. Soon after the California Innocence Projects took on her case in hopes of exonerating her. The organization cited a lack of evidence, saying that Long's case was an example of wrong place, wrong time. Justin Brooks, the director of the California Innocence Project explained, this is one of those classic cases where the person who finds the dead person ends up being a suspect. Her case was paper thin when it went to trial and now when you consider what we know since then, it's absolutely a certainty that she's innocent. Long was released in 2016 and she compared her time in prison to torture since she had to be separated from her children as they grew up.  They understand that one day is too long, but seven years and three months, that's torture and it's wrong. The California Innocence Project enlisted two time-of-death experts to take a closer look at Conde's demise. Dr. Harry James Bonnell, who had worked as chief medical examiner in San Diego, determined that Conde's time of death is more consistent with 11pm. He also said that the state of Conde, when paramedics arrived, suggested early stages of decomposition, meaning he had perished some time before Long returned home. Dr. Zhong Zhuo also testified, saying that Conde passed long before 120am, given the rate of decomposition. In June 2016, Long was released. Judge Patrick F. Majors overturned Long's conviction due to her ineffective counsel argument. Her original defender, Eric Keane, had neglected to prove that she had not changed her clothes during the night, which would have likely had some blood on it if she was responsible, and to provide forensic evidence determining the time of Conde's demise. In February 2018, the California DA announced that it would appeal her release. However, in November 2020, the California Supreme Court upheld her release. The idea of someone breaking down and confessing to police that they committed a crime when in actuality they did not do it seems ludicrous to us, but it happens all the time. Why on earth would someone ever do such a thing? We'll look a bit closer at how it happens when Weird Darkness returns. El Trinon Blackwood's novella The Willows was originally published as part of Blackwood's 1907 collection The Listener and Other Stories. It is one of his best known works and has been influential on a number of later writers. In fact, horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered the story The Willows to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature, and you can hear the story The Willows by Algernon Blackwood absolutely free. Visit the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com to find it. The Willows by Algernon Blackwood at WeirdDarkness.com slash audiobooks. There are more innocent people who pleaded guilty than you might think. It seems mind-boggling that anyone would confess if they haven't actually done anything wrong. So who are these innocent people who confessed to crimes, and why do people confess to crimes they didn't commit? Arrested individuals make false confessions for a variety of reasons, though unfair circumstances and abuse figure into many cases. If you're vulnerable and being treated inhumanely while being questioned, there is a good chance that you'll say anything just to have it all be over. But that's the problem. It's not over. False confessions often lead to years in prison and even the execution of guiltless parties. So why do innocent people confess to crimes? Usually because they're forced to, because they feel like they have no other choice. But once that admission of guilt is out there, it's hard to take it back. One of the biggest arguments against torture, besides the fact that it's inhumane, is that the information and confessions received during torture are often unreliable or untrue. For example, Mohamed Ramadan, a police officer at Bahrain International Airport, was arrested in 2014 under suspicion of attacking other officers. He was innocent, but was tortured until he made a false confession. The torturers even admitted that they knew he was innocent, but they were angry with him for attending pro-democracy rallies. Ramadan was convicted and is sentenced to be executed. Sometimes an innocent individual can become so convinced of their own guilt that they actually believe they committed a crime. Peter Riley discovered this firsthand when he found that his mother was dead in their home in 1973. He was brought in by the police who told him that he had failed a lie detector test. He hadn't.  He even wrote a confession saying, I remember slashing once at my mother's throat with a straight razor I used for model airplanes. Riley was eventually exonerated, but only after he spent time in prison for a crime that he didn't commit. Sometimes confessing is presented by the authorities as the easy way out. Stefan Kizko was accused of the brutal murder of a young girl, Leslie Molesied, in 1975. He was told that there were two options. If he confessed, he would be eligible for parole. If he didn't confess, then he would spend the rest of his life behind bars. So, he confessed, knowing that his confession was false. Kizko assumed that the police would look into his story, find out that it wasn't true, and let him go. Well, they didn't. Despite recanting as soon as he was given a lawyer, Kizko spent 16 years in prison for a crime that he didn't commit. In 1934, three black farmers, Arthur Wellington, Ed Brown and Henry Shields, were accused of murdering white planter Raymond Stewart. They had confessed to police, but only after an extremely violent interrogation that included brutal whippings. They were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, but they appealed. In the resulting landmark case Brown v Mississippi, the Supreme Court ruled that confessions obtained through violence undermined the right to due process. The men's sentences were reversed, though they ended up serving time for manslaughter. After 14 to 30 hours of interrogation, you'd probably confess too. That's exactly what happened to the Central Park Five. Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCrae, Yusef Salom, and Kerry Weiss, they all confessed to the rape of a female jogger in Central Park in 1989. They later recanted their stories, saying that they had only confessed because they were worn down and forced to by the police. In fact, a serial rapist was later found guilty of the crime with the help of DNA. The wrongfully imprisoned men received $41 million settlement because of their treatment. Plee bargains can tempt false confessions. In 1990, Michael Phillips was misidentified in a photo lineup for the rape of a 16-year-old girl. But because he was black and the victim was white, he worried that a jury wouldn't believe his innocence. Rather than risk a longer sentence, he pleaded guilty and received 12 years in prison. Phillips ended up serving 24 years.  Some cases really catch the public eye, and that makes them magnets for false confessions. Maybe people want to become famous for being associated with the crime, or perhaps they're just obsessed. Whatever the reason, crimes like the infamous Black Dahlia murder in 1947 led to multiple false confessions. One of the men who confessed, Daniel S. Voorhees, insisted that he was guilty of the murder. But his story fell flat when he couldn't pick the victim, Elizabeth Short, out of a lineup of photographs. Children are sometimes put in incredibly tense situations and they don't always understand the consequences. When 16-year-old Felix was brought in for the 2005 shooting of Antonio Ramirez and questioned without a lawyer, he slowly went along with interrogators. He picked up pieces of what they said had happened and used those in his confession, even claiming to have left the gun at his grandfathers, though he didn't have a living grandfather. Studies have shown that children are more likely to give false confessions than adults. They are also more likely to think that going along with the interrogators will lead to them getting released, while maintaining innocence and disagreeing will lead to them getting jailed. Some people will go much farther to protect their loved ones than they will to protect themselves. The show trials conducted in the USSR under Stalin included many false confessions. Some were obtained through violence, but others involved threats against the families of those involved. Authorities would say that they were just as guilty as the accused individuals and could also be executed. Many people confessed to save their families from that fate. Floyd Brown spent 14 years paying for a murder he didn't commit. Why? In part because of a lengthy confession he supposedly had written, detailing how he had killed an 80-year-old woman in 1993, but his lawyers maintained that he only had the mental capacity of a 7-year-old and could only speak in two or three word phrases. He was put in a mental hospital to await trial but was left in purgatory for over a decade before he was released.  And finally, here's a reason to cut back on your drinking and drug use. False confessions are more likely to happen when someone is drunk or under the influence of drugs, but in many cases being drunk alone won't get you off the hook or get the confession thrown out. Thanks for listening. If you like the show, please share it with someone you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. You can email me anytime with your questions or comments at darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Darren is D-A-R-R-E-N. And you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and more, including the show's Weirdos Facebook group on the Contact social page at WeirdDarkness.com. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, click on Tell Your Story. All stories in Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find source links or links to the authors in the show notes. All stories in this episode came from Ranker's unspeakable times. His Brendan Dassey innocent was written by Colleen Conroy. Kimberly's long struggle to prove her innocence is by Maggie Clancy. Why do the innocent confess is by Leah Rose Emory. Again, you can find links to all of those stories in the show notes. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Proverbs 10 verse 19, When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. And a final thought, no one can change a person, but someone can be a person's reason to change. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. Starring David Jansen, Barbara Rush and Bradford Dillman. After several locals are viciously murdered, a Louisiana sheriff starts to suspect he might be dealing with a werewolf. Our weirdo watch party is always free to watch online, so grab your popcorn, candy and soda and jump into the fun and even get involved in a live chat as we watch the movie. It's Moon of the Wolf on Saturday, March 2nd, hosted by Hexen Arcane. The show begins at 10pm Eastern, 9pm Central, 8pm Mountain and 7pm Pacific. You can watch a trailer for the film and watch horror hosts and schlocky B movies anytime, day or night on the Weirdo Watch Party page at WeirdDarkness.com. Hope to see you March 2nd. Our brain is a wonderful thing, allowing us to make decisions, work on problems, plan for the future, live for today and remember our past. But that last item, remembering our past, can sometimes be painful if we're stuck going back to those memories again and again, feeling shame for something we did or didn't do. How can we deal with our yesterdays? That's the topic of this week's message over at the Church of the Undead podcast, which you can get to by going to WeirdDarkness.com slash church. Things Strange in Macabre. If you want to listen to the podcast, you can find it at WeirdDarkness.com slash listen.


This is the fifth international conference that we've organized, and so Gita was actually formed at a really early conference in Mexico, and all the other events that we've done have all been sort of focused on discussions that were really important for providers in particular, sharing information about practice, and really crucial things that were being learned, and so now that that network has developed and that information has been encoded and that it's been really interesting, this conference we've been able to expand the discussion to include experts from other fields that are really related. So we've got people here from that practice with Iboga traditionally in Gabon. We've got people here that are experts in addiction and addiction treatment and harm reduction and drug user rights and generally in drug policy. So the importance of this conference is that it's an opportunity for the discussion to be able to grow a lot, and for us to be able to do a lot of education about Ibogaine and what's been happening all these years. This conference has brought in all kinds of folks from many, many disciplines and I think it represents a maturity that Ibogaine is reaching a maturity that Ibogaine came up in the harm reduction movement with Niko Adrian and the Junkie Boon. It came up as during the war on drugs and it has matured into its adulthood, if you will, and that's what it represents, you know, academics, activists, religious people from all over the world coming for this plan. This conference is very important for all of us as community. Well, you see it, you feel it, bringing so many people, so many hearts together, so many minds together with different aspects of this movement. I think some important things that have come up in this conference is around the sustainability of Ibogaine and finding other solutions and respectful communication and collaboration between West and Western science and Western treatment modalities and African traditions and the wisdom and the needs of the traditional practitioners in Govan. My focus is really on Ibogaine, it's kind of its own animal, especially in working with substance use disorder treatment and I'm also one of the people who kind of says Ibogaine is not like mushrooms and LSD and peyote, it's really an onogenic which is like a dream producing drug because what's really happening to people when they take Ibogaine is they're having waking dreams, you know, with classical psychedelics your visual perception is distorted when you open your eyes and in the case of Ibogaine you're still dizzy but the visions go away, that's what you tell people, if the visions get too intense to handle, open your eyes and the visions go away. If you want to be considered a true psychedelic, I sometimes say, it's got to have a 5-HT 2A agonist effect, I mean that's sort of by definition, if it doesn't have that effect, it's not a true psychedelic. Ibogaine is not a psychedelic in that respect, in that very narrow pharmacological way but clearly the experiences that it has that people have are similar to other psychedelics and its pharmacology is much more complex than Ibogaine is serious medicine, it's not recreational and I think one of the best things people could do is get affiliated with organizations like GITA, you know, if you don't just know about it, join if possible, I mean I certainly intend to. Ibogaine works for something called glia-derived neurotrophic factor or GDNF and when this first finding, first came out in 2005, I instantly realized this is the mechanism we have been looking for to explain a persistent effect that you cannot get with an agonist like a methadone or an antagonist like Naloxone or Narcanin because those wear off in a few days and you're back to square one but if you could find something that will cause the nerve cells to resprout, that new growth will persist. Ibogaine is one of the only medications that orally stimulates the production of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor which is GDNF for short and what that is is a hormone that helps to stimulate the growth of new neurons in the brain and so this is really helpful in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurological disorders which are caused by a degeneration of dopamine neurons in certain areas of the brain so Ibogaine is able to go in and be able to do some of that repair. I would not be present at this conference and I would not be interested in Ibogaine if it were not effective in opioid detoxification because that's a very robust biological effect it's not explained by placebo and it's not explained by a main mechanism that we know so that has always been my major interest is explaining that. Ibogaine is the only substance on the planet that will alleviate opiate withdrawal symptoms if you take any other of these psychedelic drugs and you are addicted to heroin or oxycodone you will be deathly sick the next day after Ibogaine there is a blunting almost a 90% blunting of opiate withdrawal symptoms when done properly in a medical model this makes this the only substance we know of on the planet right now that will do that and that is the focus of my attention and the focus of my research so yes I would love to see entheogenic drugs find their way into proper use into the psychotherapeutic model I think we can get much more sustainable results of proper behavior with their proper use but Ibogaine as an addiction interrupter makes it extremely unique from all those other drugs Psychedelics and Iboga I believe show us that which the ego does not want to see the constructs of life have developed around us so that we think we know what we know and psychedelics deconstruct that knowledge to make us question do we know what we know and Ibogaine does that very much oh is that true and inquiry in general cognitive behavioral therapy is this sentence so true is the opposite true it's not just psychedelics that allow us to look at things in another way looking at anything from a different perspective psychedelics are just very powerful and immediate way to do so and to inquire about our solid constructs our solid beliefs that keep us limited and for many of us the majority what is it 25% of women in the United States are on antidepressants can you imagine the people who aren't even reporting that they're not then that's one country and so many many people are unhappy and how can we find our happiness and we're realizing now that if you can take a psychedelic and deal with 6 to 12 to 18 hours of intensity you could actually have many many days and months of inner peace so psychedelics are like a sword that cuts through that which we think protects us these are medicines of the spirit and if you have diseases of the spirit disorders of the spirit depression anxiety PTSD the whole psychiatric spectrum of disorders they are applied the right way they're much more effective than any of the accepted approved psychopharmaceutical medications which largely just put a bandaid over the symptoms they numb you to the symptoms and they don't really let you get to the root of your problems find out why are you depressed why are you traumatized how can you integrate that and really heal from it really recover psychedelics open the possibility of being able to do that so that if they could be accepted into medicine that would completely revolutionize medicine and psychiatry that's why it's going to be very difficult because medicines are very rigid institution and it doesn't like to change and there's a lot of fear that we're a threat to the medical establishment we who advocate psychedelics because they say we don't want to overturn the paradigm we've got too much invested one of the main problems is that the pharmaceutical industry cannot patent ibogaine because it comes from nature and pharmaceutical companies like to own the products that they're spending money to develop and to sell because it is very expensive with all the advertising and the research etc etc they cannot own the molecule they can't make the same kind of money the international climate around Ibogaine is very interesting because it's in a real grey area in the United States it's one of only a few countries where it's completely prohibited and then New Zealand and Sao Paulo have recently created medical regulation system for it in other countries where it's not regulated I think it's important that research is done to evaluate what systems work better than others but I think ultimately there needs to be some form of legal regulation in the US so that I mean many people in the US don't have the resources to travel down to Mexico to go to a clinic here it's interesting because drug policy reform right now is changing so quickly there seems to be a consensus especially in the US but in some other countries as well that harm reduction and decriminalization of drugs is the politically smart thing to do but Ibogaine hasn't come up much in those discussions and I think it's really important for advocates for Ibogaine to connect with the political dialogue that's going on around heroin addiction around overdose overdose deaths have quadrupled in the United States over the past 20 years and that's become a big political issue so I hope that Ibogaine becomes thought of as one of the solutions to the overdose crisis and to the addiction crisis in the US and in other countries we're moving towards a medical model for Ibogaine and I think that's a very good idea and very important I understand detoxification of drugs is a medical intervention there's a risk and even without Ibogaine it's a very complex thing so I think that's where we have to go to the possibility of having Ibogaine become a prescription medication in New Zealand and for people to have access to it in a non-private way, in a public way but that doesn't mean that the side of that Ibogaine also should be available to those who wanted in other contexts so first of all we need decriminalization of course in the countries where Ibogaine is illegal but also for other types of uses it's important to establish certain ethical and safety boundaries and kind of come to a place where services can be offered within the framework more maybe of personal development or these workshops where people go and have a burnout or they're stuck in life and do certain techniques where Ibogaine can be integrated as one tool in these type of programs as well I think it's something you have to be very careful with in terms of people ordering it online people mixing root bark with pure Ibogaine because as hopefully your audience knows Ibogaine is a risky drug physiologically that's another difference between Ibogaine and classical psychedelics is that David Nutt and other people have done studies of toxicity of psychedelics and it's at the bottom of the charts it's even below cannabis in terms of physical toxicity that's not true for Ibogaine. Ibogaine has serious cardiac effects and really needs to be worked with with responsible practitioners who have experience with the medicine and the safety protocols that are needed to keep people safe The main risks are cardiac I think as we discussed extensively in this meeting we had an ACLS course the C in ACLS stands for cardiac you know so that is seems to be the vulnerable point the vulnerability you know the chances of a undesirable or catastrophic outcome I think the risks for that are coexisting medical illnesses I think that it's possible for lay people to be able to do safe treatments but I do think that there's a certain amount of knowledge that people need to have to be able to ensure the safety of somebody that's going through the treatment I also think that just beyond making sure that there's not going to be any adverse reactions there's a whole lot of training and preparation that is really crucial for somebody to be able to have and I think that's something that really will come with time like how to develop those kinds of programs I think that's something that gets developed by a whole community and by culture that knowledge really will come out of like this sort of mass use and this kind of sharing of information that we're doing here Me, I want to build a place in Gabon where we'll be a meeting between traditionalists and researchers because you know all the research done for me are fake the research done on Iboga, you know why? they don't know what plants they use if you use Tabernante Mani, it's not the same if you use Tabernante Iboga Bayon or Tabernante Montana, it's different spaces the proportion of Hakeloid is not the same so you know, they make tests and sometimes all the dogs died, it happens it's, was it really Iboga? or Wakanga Africana? or why did you know? because there is cousin they also Iboga on internet oh it's Iboga there's a lot of Apocinaceae same taste, same look, same leaves but not the same Hakeloids they mix it so we can help the researchers research to make properly clinic tests using the same spaces sustainable, fair, sanitary certificate, traceability so there is a lot of you know, unethical and unsustainable Iboga out there for sure and so the you know, the challenge is to work in a way to prevent that to come with other solutions that you know, respond to the demand of Iboga and make sure that people who want to use Iboga have access to it and on the other hand you know, protect the traditional cultures make sure they can practice Buiti without any problems of you know, having access to Iboga so that's the challenge that needs to be addressed and it's one of the pillars of this conference The sacred wood it's not just the sacred wood all the sacred plants they are sick they are mistreated as I said, by modernization that's why I'm talking about respect if we respect the sacred plants the sacred plants will agree why do they use them? they are here for us we are here for them they are sick that's why the world is sick Ibogaine saves lives Ibogaine is unlike anything I think we have out there right now with regard to addiction and healing addiction people need to have access to this we need to strive towards making this available also, Ibogaine is dwindling there's this global explosion of Ibogaine use and need for Ibogaine the Ibogaine supplies in Gabon where the people who are the caretakers of it who brought us this beautiful medicine is dwindling we need to protect Ibogaine we need to find solutions we need to find a way to protect Ibogaine we need to find a way to protect the force that Ibogaine comes from we need to find a way to protect the traditions that brought us Ibogaine psychedelics can be a catalyst for a far, far bigger change this could be either a reform movement meaning that it'll just be sort of sucked up into the wider culture which by anyone who's awake we're in some trouble or it could be an evolutionary revolutionary movement and so when I first did Ibogaine and I came out and I was clean I thought we have a bomb and I want to drop this bomb in society then when I got started working I saw that it was just a fucking detox in many people's eyes and I still see Ibogaine as a bomb a bomb, a love bomb a love bomb that is coming at the right time but we need to act with it and think far outside of these boxes


I'll go ask him after this. Thank you sir. I hope he's still boxing. I'll be back. He won't probably cry when we shoot.


Wenjun, a quick draw against Emil. Was this part of the strategy from the very beginning today? Yeah, actually, I think he's a strong grandmaster and I prepared this line and Well, if he want to fight he will choose another line for this line. Yeah, I suppose a draw is satisfied for me So this was a result that you were kind of going for from the very start. Yes Actually today is Chinese New Year, so I think a rest is good for me Yeah, I wish you a very happy Chinese New Year. Now, you've been very much in form from yesterday Yesterday you were up against Sam Shanklin and he blundered with rook into e4 a great result You're at four and a half out of five kind of a dream start here Yeah, yeah, I didn't realize I didn't expect to play this good, Ben I was very lucky that yesterday game. Yeah, actually I was the whole game I think he's keep pressing to me Now Wenjun, you know in the chess world a lot of people complain about early draws and quick draws and it there's a lot of Criticism on it. What is your viewpoint on it? Or what would you like to say to the fans who are watching your game today and it was an early draw? well If to fans and I think maybe I disappoint and to disappoint women to them and Well, actually, I Think a quick draw sometimes. Well, I'm tired. I just want me some drops So would you say that this you needed a rest right now because yesterday's game was very long as well and very exhausting Yeah, yeah, I need a rest And what about the battle of the sexes is that something that you will be a part of tonight well No one told me yet. So Okay, it should be interesting and Looking forward to it. Well, we're looking forward to having you in the women's team at the battle of the sexes and get some rest Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you


A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty high old silver, the Lone Ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, from out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of a great horse silver, the Lone Ranger rides again. Lone Silver, I'm going home. I'm going home. The blade had a grim expression on his cruel face when he came from his ranch house. He slammed the door in anger. There was purpose in his steps as he walked through the moonlight across the hard packed earth between the house and the bunk house. His mouth was compressed to a hard line and his hands were clenched into fists. The cowhands saw the expression on Hawke Slade's face and lost interest in their poker game. They grew silent, waiting for the boss to speak. Slade's icy gaze centered on a youthful cowhand who had not been in the poker game. You. You mean me, Mr. Slade? I mean you. Come here. Yes, sir. You heard that to me a month ago. That's right. You said your name was Jack Burton. I, uh... Well... You lied. Well, look, Mr. Slade... Your name is Brad Whitman. Oh, I don't... Come here to spy on us. I'll wait, Mr. Slade. Go to that Whitman's grandson. He planted you here to find out her plans.  If you don't like being slapped, go for your gun. Here, your crew to back you play. No, Slade. You aim to shoot me, you'll have to do it without my slapping with it. Yeller. I'm not giving you the chance to call itself defense. How long do you think you'd get away with it? How'd you find out about me? The man from up north recognized you and told the barkeep in town. The barkeep told me. Oh. That's because he wasn't raised on these parts. Nobody would know you, eh? Now that you know who I am, I reckon you won't want to be paying me wages. Get my duffel and clear out... You were... You think you'll leave him this outfit? Well...  Slade, what I think of you is worse than that. You come here and hire out under a thick name. You work for me for a month. You get a chance to poke around and find out things. And now you got the notion after all of that, I'm just going to let you right out of here to tell Jeff what you learned, eh? Well, I guess again. Are you saying I can't leave? That's just what I'm saying. What you've learned won't help Jeff one bit. You're keeping me prisoner? Grab him, boys. Time up. Now, wait. Let me go, wait. He's hard to handle. Get him on the handle. Yeah, that got him. Now, put ropes on him. The Grand Tunnel guided their horses at a slow walk through the moonlight toward another ranch. There's Whitman Place Tunnel. Ah. You can't see much of it in the moonlight. It looks as if it's quite run down. That's right. Look at ridge of barn. Yes. The site much more would fall in. Notice the corral. That needs a lot of repairing, too. What matter with Whitman Ranch? The answer to that tunnel can be told in just two words. Hulk Slade. What him do? The last time I came through here, Whitman's Ranch was one of the finest outfits in the county. You were with me, Totto. Oh, you remember. Fine, fat cattle, good grazing, good building. Oh, plenty different now. We've been told the truth. Things are going to be much worse for Jeff Whitman. What happened to old fellow? Jeff was the first rancher to enter this valley. For years, his cattle had the entire valley to themselves. And like so many others of his type, Jeff didn't recognize the signs of changing times. What happened? Homestead laws were passed. Jeff didn't think they affected him until Hulk Slade arrived. What him do? Ladies men filed claims on the best parts of the valley. And these family? Jeff tried to fight. They found that the law was against him. He might have gotten along with other men, but not with Slade. So he came here determined to get the valley for himself. You nearly done it. Well, that's plenty bad. I have an idea that Slade's been too greedy. I'd like to find out if he stayed within the law. You think and crook? Yes, I do, Totto. You know, I'd hate to see Jeff go under. He's the kind of man the West needs. The West would be better off without Hulk Slade's kind. Right up, Totto. We'll stop here. Hold this. Leave our horses here among the trees, so the rest of the way to the house on foot. Ah. Look in the window. Oh, you see your old farmer? Yes. Old Jeff Whitman. The man is dismounting near the house. Huh? I heard a horse stop. Do you think it's Brad? Maybe he rode over from Slade's ranch. Who shakes a life? No, it can be Brad. He wouldn't wrap on the door. Well, I'll see who it is. Mr. Whitman, that's your name, isn't it? Yes. You don't know me, but I got to... I know you. Your name's Randy Simpson, and you work for Hulk Slade. That's right. I want to speak to you. Well, step right in. This is my wife. How do you do it, Mrs. Whitman?  What the... What's the idea, Whitman? I came here to tell you something. Because Hulk sent you, probably. Well, talk fast, then I'll ask questions. I did work for Hulk Slade, but I don't anymore. When I went to work for him, I didn't know what kind of a coyote he was. I needed a job, so I went to Slade's ranch and got one. I didn't know what was going on there. Let me explain. Come on, explain. I came here because I found out what kind of a pole cat Hulk Slade is. That sounds convincing. He wants to get rid of you so he can control this whole region. We know he does, and he'll try some underhanded way to do it. Your, uh, Granson got a job at his place to spy on him, didn't he? You know? Brad might have learned what Slade is scheming if his luck hadn't gone sour. Gone sour? Yes, they found out who he was. That's why I came here. I thought you ought to know about it. I came here to find out. To the ranch? No. I took him to a shanty just this side of Bullhide Creek. They're going to keep him there until just before sun up. And what? And they're going to take him to Echo Canyon. They're going to make it look like his horse slipped and went over the side. They're going to murder him. Jeff, you've got to do something. But how'd they find out that Brad was my grandson? He hasn't been in this part of the country for years. Never mind how they found out. What are we going to do about it? Go to your side from the second you say the word. I'd be down right glad to fight against that ornery scheming Theven Hawks Slade. I want to work for you when money don't count. All right. You're working for me from now on. Check your guns and be sure they're ready for action. Jeff, Jeff, what are you going to do? Do? Well, there's only one thing to do, mother. We're going over to Bullhide Creek and get Brad out of that shanty before daybreak. We'll do it. The lone ranger and the tonto had paused on their way to Jeff Whitman's house when they saw Randy ride up and go inside. They had heard the conversation through a slightly open window and then taken all the top speed. Yes, sir. Quick over that way, beyond the woods. That's the worst of it all. Be savvy. The masked man and his faithful Indian companion traveled on through the moonlight until they came to Bullhide Creek. They followed the creek downstream, raining up when they came within full view of a small cabin. Hello. Hello. Hello. Through the trees. Ah, we see a cabin. That's the one. There may be guns near by. We'll take it back behind the places guarded. You mind if I get them circled to the right to draw their attention to the guards? He bought a pistol ring but opened fire into the air. Ah, be savvy. The guards go to see about the shooting. I'll have a chance to get through to Brad. When we talk to him, we'll learn more about Hulk Slade. That's right. All right, get going. Hey, there. Hey, boy, easy. Make it easy. Briar, thank you. We'll wait until Tonto starts shooting. Hold some of that. Tonto's gunfire brought no response. No guards around the shack leaked to attention. There were no shouts of surprise. Those are the words back this week. When the masked man rained up in front of the shack, he realized for the first time that the dark place was apparently unguarded. But in this, he was mistaken. Bok and several of his men crouching low in the shadows, ignored the shooting, and concentrated all of their attention on the tall masked figure who stood in the moonlight. Say, Jake, there's something strange me funny about this. What do you mean, Hulk? Take a look at that pretty. He's big. Yeah. That horse he rode, the way he rode it. Looks to me like something's going wrong. Say, Jake, he's wearing a mask. What do you mean by that, boss? I don't know. He's examined in the muck on that door. Stand ready, Jake, and pass away to the other side. Pass the word along, boys. Stand ready. Brad Whitman. Are you in there? Right on the lock, this machine. That fix thing's just right, don't it, Hulk? Come on. We'll move up slow. Dark is the inside of a pocket. You're in here. Let me know where.  You kicked the floor. There was silver. Silver, what's wrong, boy? There's something going out there, and silver knows it. You got to go. Come on out of your hands, sir. Slade. Well, I'm in that door. I won't take it. Both can go both ways through this door. Well, this is to be a bit of a decision. We've got to finish up the surround that way. We can't get out without the reason. Where's Brad Whitman? That's something you'll never know. Curtin falls on the first act of our Lone Ranger story. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Ranger had reached the shack on Bullhide Creek ahead of Jeff Whitman and Randy Simpson. He was not greatly concerned about his safety when Hawke Slade's men trapped him in the cabin. He knew that Tonto was nearby and that Jeff Whitman and Randy were on their way. Hawke Slade and his men outside the cabin made hasty plans. Say, Hawk, we can get him out in a hurry if we set fire to the cabin.  I'll destroy all the evidence I set up. Where's that critter anyway? How do I know? What about his horse? Never mind his horse. You've always spread out and find the critter that came here with him. He's over there somewhere among the trees. You stay here with me, Jackie. All right. I'll deal with that gent inside. I can throw some shots at him. Stop it, Jake. Save your cottages. There's no use throwing lead through that door unless you can see what you're aiming at. Fire was heard by Jeff Whitman and Randy Simpson as they rolled through the woods approaching the shack. Rain up, Randy! Something going on up ahead there. Yeah. Seems like it. Randy, see those fellas in the moonlight? See that one with the broad shoulders? That's Hawke, isn't it? Maybe so. It is, I know it is. And they've been firing on Brad. They've been firing on my grandson. Dad, rat it out, show him. Hold it. Huh?  I'll let you have it right here and now. What? Okay, Randy. What's the idea? I went to your place because Slade sent me there. He... he sent you? He was supposed to go and bust into that shack and give Slade course to shoot you. The law backs a man that shoots someone breaking into his property. Shoot me? You mean that Brad isn't in that cabinet at all? Of course not. He's hid away back near the ranch house. We'll need the unit or anyone else can find him. Why? Keep him up, Jeff. Keep him up. I've got to see what's going on down there. Seems like someone else busted into that shack ahead of you. You drop guns. What? Me take them. You will not. Oh!  You got him in the arm. This is flying. A me friend. Other friend in cabinet. Slade. Slade over here.  Me fix him. Me stop him. The lone ranger heard the voice of Taunta in the distance. When he heard Hawk move away, he dashed in the cabinet and Leap described the great horse, Silver. Won't Silver? Hawk Slade's men were confused and so was Hawk Slade. Before anyone was aware of the masked man's sudden move, the lone ranger had reached Taunta among the trees. What's the matter, Matt? He's in there. Now let me get away from here. But who are you? David, Jeff. Now let him follow us. Sorry. Come on, Silver. Let's go.  Safely away from Hawk Slade and the ambush he had planned, the lone ranger identified himself as a friend and declared his intention to try to find Brad Whitman. He outlined a plan while the old man nodded. Anything you say, Mr. I made a mistake in trusting Randy, but I reckon I'm not making no mistake in trusting you. Then we go to your house right away. Randy Simpson had recovered from Taunta's blow. His wounded arm was bandaged and then Hawk Slade asked questions. I'll tell you, I don't know nothing about it, Hawk. Who is that masked man? How do I know? Who is the Indian? Tell me that. We should get figured out. Your boy's got any ideas?  My plan fell through. What about Brad? What do you plan to do with him? He won't be found. Not where I've got him hidden. If I get your horses, boys, we'll get back to the ranch house. There's no use hanging around here. Meanwhile, at Jeff Whitman's home, the old man and his wife brought clothing from a chest and spread it out for the inspection of the lone ranger. Eh, that's all the clothing brought with him when he'd come from the North Country. Except, of course, what he took to the Slade range. Boots and britches, shirt bandana. You wear the same color shirt? Yes. All right, then this outfit will do. What are you going to do? We need a man to wear these clothes. How many men have you on the ranch, Jeff? About seven. That's a long way from the 25 men I used to have. Yes, it is. No seven wouldn't be with us for the ones that are gone loyal. We haven't had pay for three months. I see. Which one of those men is the size of your grandson, Jeff? Well, I... You mean so as he can wear these clothes? Yes, they're much too small for me. Is there anyone else who could wear them? I reckon Sam could. That's right. Sam's just about Bradley's size. But how will that help us locate Brad? I'll tell you all about it later, Jeff. All right, now we've got to find Sam. I want to get to Hawk Slade's ranch house by daybreak. It was just before dawn when the lone ranger and tanto accompanied by old Jeff and the cowboy called Sam wore Brad's clothing, reigned up not far from Hawk Slade's ranch house. The home's already breaking over in the east. Sam, you keep an eye on that ranch house. When it's light, you'll be able to see tanto and me. When you wave your hand, it's my move. That's right. Hold on, tanto. And I'm up to scouting. What's more, a coffee or an beer? I don't mind if I do. I hope you don't hold it against me. You mean about that mask man showing up last night to sport our plans? Since last night, Randy, I've got another idea. Yeah? What's that? Maybe he'd like to swap his ranch for the kid. You mean... I mean, give him a boy alive if he has a sign over the man. About Thunderhawk it would. I know it would. One thing. What's that? Brad is turned free. He can go to the law with what he knows about you. You don't savvy all my plan. What I'll do is this. I promise to let Brad go if Whitman makes over his property to me. But once he's signed it over, he can go and whistle. You... him to kill, Brad? We've got to. He knows too much about me. You sure he does? Yeah. Yeah, he can prove that we stole considerable cattle from old Jeff. He can prove we forged a few names to build a sail and me. That's not all. Seems like that's enough. Hey, listen to this. He knows that me and four of my boys are wanted for that train stick up in Kansas. He does. Yeah. I had a handbill about that, describing us somehow or other. He found that handbill. It was in his gear. You'll have a time disposing of a dead man, won't you? Hey, man. We'll dig a hole in the root cellar where we've been holding them prisoner. Glad you're mad. What do you have there? I'll go. Well, hi, Randy. What do you want? Just came to bring this cash to you. Old Jeff was downright pleased. What are you talking about? You know what I'm talking about, Randy? Brad was downright grateful too. These are his clothes. They're given to me just for bringing this cash to you. What's that? Look here, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't see Slade over there. Let me see that cash. I'll see you here. Wait, hold on. A hundred bucks. Oh, there. Oh, there, Mr. Slade. Well, that's just a gambling debt. Yeah. Well, that's a lie. Old Jeff's grateful, huh? You got Brad's clothes. Boss, wait. Give them both of it. You two. Well, now, wait. Hold on a minute. I thought you double-crossed me last night when that masked man showed up, Randy. Then you got me thinking different. But now, by some time... I didn't double-cross you, boss. I swear I didn't. Give me that gun. I'll take yours. Now, see here. Let me explain. You already explained, and I heard it. Need any help, boss? No, I can take care of these two. You lead the way, Simpson. Over to the root cellar. If you think I'll let Brad out, Jeff... There's his clothes. What more do you want? I'll get walking. Give me a gun out of the root cellar. He got out himself. I didn't let him out. No one else could. No one else was down there. No one else knew where he was hid. Root cellar won't be empty long. They spoke of digging a grave there. If the place is empty right now, you two can start digging. When you're through digging, you can start occupying. That's far enough than we are. Gersh, you made a fool play this time. You got to listen to me, boss. It's a trick, I tell you. They're just trying to frame me. Open that door. Go on, open it. Open it wide and get down the stairs. Hurry up. I'm opening it. Go on. Get down, man. Pull this leg. It's a mask, man. You! It's a trick. I got him. Look over there. Jeff, I already see him come now. Well, there, Brad. I don't know how this happened, but that's never taken our sure aim to accept problems. You were down there. I told you it was. Put the clothes. Extras. Brad, your grandpa said I could have this outfit. Whatever grandpa said is all right with me, Sam. Did you get what you came here for, Brad? If you're talking about evidence about this pack of crooks, I sure did. There's a horse for you, Brad. We've got a high tail at fast. Slade's men are on the way. We'll get away. That's more than you'll do, Slade. He's wanted for train robbery and murder and so are some of his men. The law will close in before he can get far. Come on, Brad. Hit the saddle, Slade. Slade, we've got to get away somehow. Yeah. How far do you think we'll get? Look over there. Come on, Brad. There come Slade's ranch hands. Ranch hands? I wish they were. Don't worry, Jeff. Those horsemen are with the United States Marshal. I'll deliver the message to him during the night. Where are the ranch hands? Where are the boys? By this time, I think the Marshal has them all in custody. Well, there you are, Marshal. There's a couple of prize crooks for you to take. That makes it complete. Wait till you hear what I can tell you about the armories around this place. You can tell us while we're putting ropes on Slade and Randy Simpson. And at the same time, tell us who's under that mask man is. That's good. Hello. Hey, wait. Come back here. I'll tell you who he is, Marshal. He's the Lone Ranger. There it is, a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.