This is Brett with Summit Automotive in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. You're new and used Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Headquarters. We are located conveniently right off Highway 41. Today we are checking out this brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. This is the standard level trailhawk package. It has a 3.6 liter Pentastar V6 motor with electronic start-stop. It uses you 25 miles per gallon on the Highway 21 average and 18 in the city. And today we're going to do a walk around on this. This is the brand new green metallic paint color for 2020. Paint code PFQ. You might remember from the Dodge Chargers F8 green. Very good looking color. So we're going to do a walk around and then we're going to get up close and go into the exact options on this particular Grand Cherokee. Really a good looking color. I hope the sun peeks through a little bit so that we can get a look at that metal flake. Has the painted and polished aluminum rims. You get the little red Jeep logo on there. Goodyear, Wrangler, all-terrain adventure tires. These are 265, 60 R18s and they definitely have an all-terrain tread on them. You get the red trail rated badges on there. This one has the premium lighting group. Also you get the HID headlamps, the LED running lights, and the LED fog lamps. You get the red tow hooks part of the trail-hawk package, the granite crystal and gloss black grill right there. You get the black hood decal. If you didn't like that you could take that off. It's just a sticker. You also have the granite crystal Jeep logo with the red outlines. Same thing with the lettering down the side here. You get that dark, I think that's granite crystal with the red outline too. Then you get a trail rated badge on the passenger side. We're going to take a look at the original buyer's guide here. Feel free to pause it at any second. This is a standard trail-hawk model. The only options on it are the green metallic clear coat paint and the premium lighting group. Comes with the ProTech One package which gives you the backup camera, parking assist and cross-path detection blind spot as a standard package on there. You can see the MSRP's 47440, 25 Highway 18 City for an average 21, and you got the overall score front crash test ratings are at four and five, and five on the side, and four on rollover. Very safe vehicle on these grand Cherokees. Has the all-weather floor mats with a good design on there. The dark wood grain trim on the sides and the red stitching on the doors. We shoot all of our videos in 1080p, so if you have the HD capabilities, turn them on right now because you'll be able to see that metal flake in the paint right there. Get a really good idea of this color. This one has the tow package with the receiver hitched four pin and seven pin wiring, dual rear exhaust with the chrome tips, and the backup parking sensors. This has the power lift gate, so just press the button. It lifts up for you. You can see it has the LED running lights as well. Back storage area, a ton of room back here. Also has your factory subwoofer.  It'll beep at you three times, and then it'll begin its descent.  And down this side, really good looking. This has the capitalist fuel fill, which we'll check out as the keyless enter and go system. The Protek 1 package gives you those blind spot monitors in the mirrors. You get LED side lights, and these mirrors are heated. Inside the Trailhawk package gives you the black leather and suede interior. Both of these seats are heated. Both of these seats are cooled. You get Trailhawk stitched into the backrest, as well as the red stitching on the sides. Third seats on both sides, and that lumbar has auto headlamps, tilt, telescopic steering wheel, power windows, power locks, power mirrors. These mirrors also power fold in and power fold out. And you do get a memory driver's seat as well. And as we hop inside the vehicle here, you got your 7-inch LCD display, digital speedometer, outside temperature, compass display. You can see you got off-road one right there. So this one has off-road mode one, off-road mode two, your normal ride height, and then a lower setting for entry and exit. Comes with the heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise controls on the right, Bluetooth and information center controls on the left. You got your paddle shifters up here for your sport mode. And then there's audio controls on the back of the steering wheel for the radio. You get the Trailhawk badge at the bottom of the steering wheel, really like that. With a nice red stitching on the real leather steering wheel. Speaking of the radio, you get the 8.4 touchscreen radio. This is the 4C model, which means that you get Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capabilities. So you can project your cell phone right to the screen if you wanted to use a different navigation system than what already comes on the radio, such as a Waze or a Google Maps. This one has AM, FM and Series XM capabilities. You also have climate controls here. You can control your heated seats and cooled seats from here, as well as your heated steering wheel. And you can check out the backup camera without even having to put it in reverse. And those are dynamic grid lines, meaning that they turn when you turn the steering wheel. You can just X-off on that. You also get all the other apps and stuff that you can do with this radio, which is a completely different video.  Speaking of the climate controls, if you like to do the more tactile climate controls, or if you're wearing gloves like I am, it's easier to do them down here. You also have your backup parking sensors. You can turn off your start, stop, eco mode, sport mode, and stability control. Has the keyless entry with the factory remote start. Down here, you have your 8-speed automatic mechanical shifter. Your speed control, crawl control down here, four-wheel drive, low snow, sand, auto mud and rock, terrain settings, and your neutral feature for flat towing. You also have your quadrilift system, which comes standard on the Trailhawk package, which you can put into that off-road one, or off-road two mode, and your entry-exit mode. So I'm going to put it in off-road two, just so when we get out, we can take a look at how much higher up that is than when we got in. Has the power sunroof up here. Also, your home link buttons for your garage door security systems, lane systems, map lights, and your power rear gate button. You do get SOS and assist in the mirror, part of that 8.4 radio. Does have the capitalist fuel fill there. And the back seats are suede and leather as well. These are heated on the outboard side, meaning the driver's and passenger's sides are heated. These backrests do recline. You get all-weather floor mats back here. You got your heated seat buttons, your USB buttons, and a 115 volt, 150 watt plug-in. These seats do recline, like so. And they also fold down nice and flat, like so.  And you do get the red stitching and the nice dark wood grain trim back here as well. All safety locks. And remember, we're in off-road mode two right now, so it's actually raised up two inches higher than it normally would be. We're going to take one more quick walk around here. I'd personally like to thank you for checking out the video today. And hopefully you got a good idea for this particular Grand Cherokee. You got a good idea for the color on here. The green metallic clear coat. PFQ is the paint coat, if you wanted to know. And to see more pictures of this Grand Cherokee, or one of our other 450 new and used cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, Wranglers, you name it, we got it, go to our website, www.SummitAuto.com. Full pictures and descriptions of every single vehicle that we have on our lot from two locations all at SummitAuto.com. And if you'd like to check out more HD videos, you can go to www.youtube.com. Remember to like, subscribe, and share on this video and all the videos that you see there. In fact, in a second you will see a link to subscribe to our YouTube channel on your left. You'll be linked to more new inventory videos like this one on your right if you have not been to our website. On the bottom link to this vehicle on our website, click those, check us out. And we really look forward to helping you with this brand new 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk with the premium lighting group and green metallic clear coat pearl. Thanks again.


Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Troopers soon learned that a woman named Celia Beth Van Santin had gone missing on December 23. Just 18 years old, she was on her way to a local convenience store when she disappeared. At the crime scene, they found a woman who seemed to match her description. Young. Fair woman. Long blonde hair. Her wrists were tied behind her back with speaker wire. She had been sexually assaulted and her chest slashed with a knife. Somehow before her death, she had managed to escape her assailant. She literally ran for her life. Her first fall was 50 feet from the presumed location of the murderous car. With her hands bound behind her and in snow 3 feet deep on a dizzying slope, he would have taken a superhuman effort to regain her feet and continue the descent into what must have seemed a black hole. She got within 10 to 15 feet to the waterfall, but somehow turned away at the last minute. In the days since she had gone missing, temperatures ranged from a low of minus 5 to a high of 22. Beth had frozen to death. What kind of monster could have done this? I'm Darren Marlar, and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, Weirdos. 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. Behind his quiet demeanor lurked a brutal killer. He was eventually caught, but perhaps not brought to complete justice. Though Robert Hansen admitted to murdering 17 people, one woman most all are sure he murdered is Beth Van Zanten, but he insists she was not one of them. He's confessed to a staggering 93 murders thus far, and the FBI believes all his confessions are credible.  He confessed to the killing of 49, but there could be more. By all observable accounts, Herb Baumeister was an admirable family man, living on a beautiful million-dollar estate and farm with his lovely wife and three children. But they were also sharing that estate with a very dark secret that would eventually be revealed, thanks to one of their children accidentally stumbling upon the grave of one of Herb's numerous murder victims. We begin with that story. If you're new here, welcome to the show. While you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, to visit sponsors you hear about during the show, sign up for my newsletter, and our contests. Connect with me on social media. Plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you're struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.   When she asked where he'd found it, he said that he got it in the woods of their 18-acre estate, Box Hollow Farm, a few miles outside Indianapolis. Julie asked her son to take her back to where he found the skull, and there in the woods she found a half-buried pile of bones, enough to make up an entire human skeleton. Her husband, Herb, was quick to allay Julie's fears, though. His father had been an anesthesiologist and Herb said that the skeleton was nothing more than the remains of a medical school anatomical skeleton. Why they were in the backyard of the $1 million estate that the Baumeisters had bought just a few years before, Herb didn't say. It seems that there was a lot that Herb Baumeister didn't tell his wife. The two had been married since 1971. They had three children together, even though Julie would later confess that they had consummated their marriage only six times in 25 years of marriage. They co-owned a chain of Savalot thrift stores in Indianapolis, which donated some $50,000 a year to programs to help neglected children. According to Julie, Herb was a devoted and even doting father, helping his kids with everything from schoolwork to making their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Herb stayed home during the week to keep an eye on the family business, visiting his wife and children on the weekends. What Julie didn't know was that though Herb was working during the day, he was cruising the gay nightclubs of Indianapolis by night, picking up young men who were never seen again. In May of 1993, Indianapolis police began receiving missing persons reports. Gay men were disappearing in the area, and they had usually last been seen in the city's gay bars and nightclubs. Over the course of two years, 10 or more disappearances were reported, but the police had little to go on, until Tony Harris, a pseudonym used to protect the witness's privacy, came to them with an unusual story. He said he'd met a man who called himself Brian Smart at one of the city's clubs and that the two had gone to Brian's estate in the country. Once there, Brian had insisted that they participate in autoerotic asphyxiation, what Tony called a strangulation fetish thing with the aid of a pool hose, an activity which Tony said had gone too far and almost cost him his life. Tony believed that Brian's smart may have been responsible for the disappearance of one of his friends, and when he saw the man again at an Indianapolis bar, Tony wrote down his license plate number and went to the police. Turned out to be the missing link they needed. The man who called himself Brian Smart was actually Herb Baumeister, and in November of 1995, police approached the couple at Fox Hollow Farm. However, with only one man's story of a sexual encounter gone awry, the police didn't have enough evidence for a search warrant, and Herb rebuffed them at the estate. The police later approached Julie, his wife, at the Savalot Store, where she also refused to let them search her property.  However, Julie's suspicions were growing as Herb became more unstable. The once successful Savalot Stores were nearing bankruptcy now, and the couple was contemplating divorce. She also couldn't forget the human bones that her son had found on their property. On June 24, 1996, while Herb was out of town, Julie allowed the police to search Fox Hollow Farm. She could never have imagined what they would find. In the woods behind the 11,000-square-foot Tudor house, police unearthed more than 5,000 human bones in what one researcher later described as a scene like a bomb went off in a people factory. The remains had been burned and buried, and the search to find them all took two weeks. At the same time, Herb had disappeared. Perhaps aware of his imminent arrest, he had fled to Canada, where his body was found July 3, lying just outside his car in Pineary Provincial Park. He shot himself in the forehead with a 357 magnum, leaving behind a three-page suicide note that described his failing business, his family's financial woes, and his marital troubles, but made no mention of the grisly crimes of which he was now the prime suspect. Police found the remains of at least 11 men at Fox Hollow Farm, eight of which were eventually identified. Each of those eight had disappeared during the time when Julie was out of town with the children and Herb was at home alone. If that was all, it'd be chilling enough, but that wasn't the end of the nightmare. In 1998, a witness identified a photo of Herb Baumeister, saying that he had seen Baumeister leaving an Indianapolis nightclub with Michael Riley in 1983. Riley's body was later found in a stream near I-70. Riley's murder was one of nine killings between 1980 and 1990, which the police believed were committed by the same person, but which remained unsolved. The victims, all of whom hailed from Indianapolis, were found strangled to death, their nude or partially nude bodies dumped into shallow streams along the I-70 corridor. This led authorities to conclude that Herb Baumeister had also been the so-called I-70 strangler, bringing his total body count up to around 20 and making him one of the most prolific serial killers in Indiana history. If somebody has any information, we'd be happy to look at it. Hancock County Sheriff James Bradbury said of the case, but Herb Baumeister is the only suspect we have. Not everyone was as convinced. They just decided to take some stuff out of old files, dust it off and say we solved this. Ted Fleishaker, the publisher of a newspaper serving the Indianapolis gay community, told the Associated Press. It's a neat election year ploy, he said, to get some sheriffs and some people who are incompetent reelected. During the time that the I-70 killings were committed, Herb and Julie Baumeister had been married for a little over 10 years. By 1984, midway through this killing spree, their third child was born. In 1988, Herb borrowed seed money from his mother to start his first Save a Lot thrift store. Their finances were doing well and their marriage was apparently stable. We did everything together, Julie was later quoted as saying, he would push the mower and I would trim the bushes. Yet if the police are correct, and Herb Baumeister is also the I-70 strangler, he had a sinister and deadly secret life that he was hiding from his family, stretching back over a decade. That doesn't mean Herb's dark side was without its own warning signs. When Herb was a young man, his father had secretly taken him in for psychological testing, which reportedly diagnosed Herb with schizophrenia, a condition for which he was never treated. Six months after his marriage to Julie, Herb's father had him committed to a psychiatric hospital where he spent nearly two months. Julie didn't object, saying that Herb was hurting and needed help. In 1985, Herb was accused of committing a hit-and-run while drinking and driving, and in 1986 he was charged with auto theft and conspiracy to commit theft. Before starting the Save a Lot thrift store chain, Herb held a variety of jobs where his strong work ethic clashed with occasional fits of anger and bizarre behavior. While working at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles from 1974 until 1985, Herb Baumeister managed to work his way up to the rank of program director, but his coworkers also noted odd behavior, including one report of him urinating on a letter addressed to the governor, or possibly on the desk of his supervisor. While he owned the Save a Lot stores, employees reported that he would sometimes disappear for long stretches of the day, occasionally returning with alcohol on his breath. He was, in turn, described as a hot-headed boaster, always trying to impress people, a perfectionist given to unprovoked rages, and a gregarious family man who loved old cars. It seemed that those who knew Herb Baumeister saw completely different sides of him. When he was younger, he worked as a copy boy at the Indianapolis Star, during which time he and a friend also co-owned a second-hand hearse. Gary Donna, a former coworker, was later quoted as saying that people often asked, what's the deal with this guy? I just said, well, Herb's just Herb, Donna replied. Of course, in the years that followed, evidence came to light to suggest that Herb's seemingly harmless eccentricities were much more sinister than just Herb. Shortly after the police searched Fox Hollow Farm, Julie and her three children moved back to the house in Indianapolis, where she and Herb had lived shortly after their marriage. Fox Hollow Farm, which the couple had once seen as a utopia where their children could roll her blade without having to worry about cars coming around the corner, was now a grisly crime scene. Happiness, as we knew it, is never going to return, Julie told People Magazine. It wasn't just one family's cherished memories of home that were lost when the dark secrets of Fox Hollow Farm were revealed. In the years since the ballmeisters left the estate, dozens of people have reported that the farm is haunted, with some even claiming that the spirit of Herb Ballmeister himself still walks there. In 2009, Fox Hollow Farm was bought by a couple with the perhaps grimly ironic last name of Graves. They paid $987,000 with the help of a silent partner, though the property had been put on the market for $2.8 million in 2004. The legal term for such a property is psychologically affected. While laws regarding psychologically affected properties vary from state to state, in Indiana, sellers don't have to volunteer information about a property's sorted history unless they are directly asked. But it's also unlikely that many buyers in the area won't already be aware of the sinister reputation of Fox Hollow Farm, hence the steep discount. If you don't mind its bloody history and possible ghostly occupants, Fox Hollow Farm would certainly seem like a steal at just under a million dollars. The 11,000-square-foot house features an indoor swimming pool, a five-car garage, stained glass windows and two libraries. In spite of the unwholesome reputation of the place, the Graves family says that they love their home, with Vicky Graves describing it as a lifestyle. The Graves and their sons work as housekeepers, groundskeepers and do-it-yourselfers to keep the sprawling property in top shape. They recently sold eight acres of the property to Noah Heron, owner of the Urban Vines winery and brewery, who intends to break the acreage up and sell off three lots while also building a home for his family. I wanted to make a joke at the City Council meeting and say that we hope we don't find any bones while we're building, but I decided to keep it professional, Heron told the Indianapolis Star. If Heron is concerned that the history of the place is going to make it hard to sell, he doesn't show it. We asked neighbors around there if they've ever seen ghosts and they said, no, he told the star, so we're good. He may have been asking the wrong neighbors, though. Even the Graves, who still live on ten acres of the property and who generally shrugged off the suggestions that it's haunted, may not be as skeptical as they once were. According to the Chillicothe Gazette, weird things started happening about a year after the Graves family moved in. Rob Graves said that the psychics who had visited the property shocked the sudden haunting up to the presence of Joe Leblanc, one of his colleagues at the Tom Wood Porsche Audi dealership who recently moved into an apartment above the Holmes 5-car garage. Leblanc was around the same age as many of Balmeister's victims. I'm Catholic, Graves was quoted as saying. I don't even like talking about psychics, but that's what they say. According to the Gazette, the psychics also say that the place is haunted by at least four of Balmeister's victims, not to mention her Balmeister himself. They say he stands at the window in the living room, Rob Graves said. On his iPhone is a recording taken by one of the paranormal investigators who toured the property of what they claim is her Balmeister's voice, saying that he took a pipe to the skulls of his victims. Members of the Graves family are far from the only ones who've reported strange goings on at and around Fox Hollow Farm. The blog, Real Evidence of the Paranormal, records a veritable litany of accounts supposedly drawn from the Graves family and their friends, reports of strange dreams, misbehaving vacuum cleaners, and the figure of a man in a red t-shirt blend with more sinister tales of apparitions walking without legs and the feeling of cold hands trying to choke Leblanc in the pool. The estate has appeared on ghost hunting shows, such as Paranormal Witness in 2012 and Ghost Adventures in 2014, not to mention being the focus of a feature-length 2011 documentary, The Haunting of Fox Hollow Farm, directed by Dan T. Hall. The particularly adventuresome can even take haunted tours of the property hosted by American Haunting's ghost tours. Their website calls Fox Hollow Farm one of the most terrifying locations we have ever investigated. They claim the Graves family found even more human remains on the farm and that they've witnessed apparitions and heard voices, knocks, and footsteps in the house. In 2015, the Graves family agreed to allow the Haunted Attraction Company to bring five annual trips to the house at around $90 per person. According to Troy Taylor, the founder of American Haunting's, Fox Hollow Farm has never disappointed, with groups that visited the farm reporting everything from voices and footsteps to feelings of being punched, pinched, and even choked. Even if you don't believe in ghosts, Taylor told the New York Daily News, there's no denying that a sinister pall hangs over this farm. If for no other reason, then it was a place where evil once lived. Up next, Robert Hansen admitted to murdering 17 individuals, but many believe there's another brutal murder under Hansen's belt that he insists he had nothing to do with. Every October, we take the month and raise funds for organizations that help people who struggle with depression. It's called Overcoming the Darkness. AZ wrote in a few years ago talking about our Overcoming the Darkness campaign, I can tell everyone that no matter what you think, there is a way out of depression, and I'm living proof. I spent 30-plus years in a funk so deep, there are large chunks of my life I simply don't remember. At times, it was just a feeling of sadness at impending doom. I thought of ways out, many times. I finally got tired of barely being alive. I talked to a doctor and began taking antidepressants. Now I rarely get depressed or stressed, and I no longer find myself not dreading tomorrow. This is why our Overcoming the Darkness campaign is so important. It supports organizations that help people who struggle with depression so that they too can start looking forward to tomorrow instead of dreading today. Please donate today, right now if you can. Go to WeirdDarkness.com slash Overcoming. In the 1960s, a man named Robert Hansen decided to make Anchorage, Alaska his home. The seemingly timid man was a reputable business owner who ran a bakery in an Anchorage Minimall and lived quietly with his wife and two children. Hansen quickly became known for his skill at hunting, a hobby he enjoyed on the side. In fact, he set several local records. At the time, nobody knew he also hunted and killed at least 17 women between 1971 and 1983. His particularly brutal exploits coupled with his trade gave him the apt nickname after his crimes were discovered as The Butcher Baker. When Hansen was finally arrested, investigators found a map covered in X marks behind the headboards of his bed. Each X marked a woman's grave. As part of a plea bargain, Hansen later cooperated with authorities to recover the bodies that he'd hidden in the wilderness. He confessed to 17 murders, although some estimates placed that number much higher. He refused to identify all of his burial locations and to date, only 12 of the 17 bodies have been found. Hansen was a cold and calculating killer which explains why he went undetected for so long. Although he first targeted any woman who had the misfortune of striking his fancy, he soon learned that prostitutes and strippers were prime targets. Anchorage was changing quickly in the 70s as the construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline drew in migratory workers with disposable income as well as opportunistic sex workers. Sudden disappearances weren't uncommon in this transient environment, as the seedier areas of Anchorage flourished, Hansen knew that his victims wouldn't be missed. The years passed, but it was business as usual for The Butcher Baker who hadn't yet aroused suspicion. Hansen likely would have continued to kill and escape justice if one of his intended victims hadn't escaped. 17-year-old Cindy Paulsen ran away from Hansen in 1983 as he was trying to load her into his plane and take her out to his cabin, presumably a euphemism for the vacant Alaskan wilderness where he gunned down his victims.   After casually taking a nap on a nearby couch as Paulsen was chained by the neck to a post in the basement, he loaded her back into his car and drove to the airport. While Hansen was getting his light aircraft ready for takeoff, Paulsen made a run for it, leaving her sneakers behind as proof that she had been in his vehicle. She managed to flag down a passing truck driver in spite of the fact that her hands were cuffed in front of her. Disturbed by the disheveled appearance of the barefoot and handcuffed young woman, the driver gave her a ride to a nearby hotel at her request and called the police shortly after he dropped her off. In spite of Paulsen's testimony, however, Hansen wasn't immediately arrested. When questioned by police, he claimed that Paulsen was just a lying prostitute trying to extort money from him. The police didn't doubt that a respectable business owner and family man had more credibility than a teenager performing sexual favors for money. What's more, Hansen's friend, John Henning, provided him with an alibi that, for the moment, cleared him of any suspicion. However, Detective Glenn Floth was, even then, on the trail of a killer. He just didn't yet know that it was Robert Hansen. Floth had been placed on a task force to investigate several bodies which all seemed to have been the work of a single killer. Even though Hansen started killing in the 70s, the first body wasn't discovered until 1980 when construction workers found a body near Eklutna Road. Ultimately dubbed Eklutna Annie, the woman remains unidentified to this day. In his 1984 confession, Hansen claimed that she was his first victim. With no leads to go on, Detective Floth worked with FBI Agent John Douglas, one of his first criminal profilers. He asked Douglas to draw up a psychological profile of the suspect who was targeting young women. After investigating the crime, Douglas suggested that the man anchorage police were looking for was an experienced hunter who would have kept mementos of his human prey. The man might stutter and would have a history of being rejected by women. The description fit Hansen to a T. As a young man, Hansen had been afflicted with particularly severe acne which left his face scarred. He spoke with a stutter and had felt shunned by the girl's school. He had also had several run-ins with the law, although none of his prior crimes pointed to his capacity to kill. In 1960, Hansen had finished school but continued to hold on to the rage of his boyhood experiences. His hatred led him to burn down the school bus garage in his hometown in Iowa after which he was jailed and served divorce papers by his first wife. After remarrying and making a fresh start, Hansen managed to buy his bakery in Anchorage with the money he received from committing insurance fraud. Armed with the killer's psychological profile, along with Paulson's testimony and the knowledge that Hansen owned a plane that could access the remote areas where victims' bodies were disposed, Floth was finally able to obtain a search warrant. After combing through Hansen's home, plane and cars, police found trophies of his victims, not unlike the souvenirs he kept of the animals he hunted. In addition to jewelry that Hansen had saved from the women he killed, police found a rifle that matched the victim's gunshot wounds and a map of the burial sites. Hansen initially denied his crimes but the evidence was overwhelming. He was charged with murder. The fate of the missing women who crossed paths with the butcher baker was finally solved. Hansen eventually confessed that he abducted women, raped and tortured them, much as he did Cindy Paulson, then brought them to remote forest locations and hunted them down with a rifle. He also admitted to raping more than 30 women during the same decade. He confessed to 17 murders, although that number could be much higher. The grizzly exploits of the butcher baker proved fertile ground for books and even a film. Walter Gilmore and Leland E. Hall wrote one of the definitive books on the subject, Butcher Baker, the true account of an Alaskan serial killer. The 2013 film, The Frozen Ground, was also based on Robert Hansen's killings, with John Cusack playing the murderous baker opposite Nicholas Cage as an Alaskan state trooper and Vanessa Hudgens as Cindy Paulson. The arrest of real life Robert Hansen caused ripples of shock in his community as no one suspected their local baker and a father of two children to be capable of such repugnant crimes. His name was scrubbed from the record books of the Pope and Young Club, a leading hunting organization which initially insisted his hunting prowess was connected to his crimes but later sought to distance themselves from the hunter of animals and humans alike. After the long hunt for the butcher baker, justice was swift and harsh. Robert Hansen was charged with the four murders which were easiest to prove. He was found guilty and sentenced to 461 years in prison in addition to life sentences without the possibility of parole. He died in prison in 2014 at the age of 75. Unfortunately, there is another dark path in the murder spree of Robert Hansen. At least most people believe so. But Hansen denied it. Christmas Day 1971 in Anchorage, Alaska broke at a balmy 40 degrees above zero, a welcome relief from the Arctic cold front that gripped the city only days before.  But now, with the promise of blue skies, folks in Anchorage were propelled out of their houses and into the light. Among those driven into the sun were Gary Lawler and his brother Dennis. They traveled south on the Seward Highway along a strip of water called Turnigan Arm to take photos of the wilderness that lay at their feet. Armed with Dennis' ancient camera, they decided to stop at Bird Point, one of their favorite spots, and then work their way north again, taking photos along the way. Almost by chance, they stopped at McHugh Creek State Park, 12 miles north of Bird Point. Built between two intersecting ridges on either side of its namesake creek, there was a waterfall that Dennis wanted to capture. On a small edge, about 20 feet below a picnic area, he found the perfect spot, a steep overlook that cast the gnarled creek bank in a perfect cone of sunlight. Dennis struggled to focus the camera from this awkward perch, pushing it deep into its ribcage to maintain his balance.  He craned his neck forward to get a better look. It was a body, a young woman nude from the waist down, a soft cover of downy snowflakes across her exposed thighs. Back in the parking lot, Dennis told his brother about his gruesome find. Are you sure, his brother asked, because if it's a body, we'll have to report it to somebody, Dennis said. In 1971, boomers were taking over the streets of downtown Anchorage, lured by the promise of the get-rich oil discovered on the North Slope. Along Fourth Avenue, which comedian Bob Hope once called the longest bar in the world, they packed the bars and saloons, looking for drugs and drinks in places with names like the Silver Dollar and the Nevada Club. But that's not all they were looking for. There were nights when the Cadillacs were parked three deep so the prostitutes could ply their holiday trade. Three miles south in Spenard, massage parlors were springing up like mushrooms. The parlors were barely disguised fronts for prostitution, run by men who kept a pistol close at hand. No place seemed safe. No one seemed safe. Already that year, an 18-year-old real estate secretary had been confronted at her apartment by a man who wanted to force her into sex at gunpoint. She screamed, the assailant ran, and her roommates called the police. Anchorage was turning into a cop's nightmare. For Sergeant Walter Gilmore of the Alaska State Troopers, that Christmas day would be the worst. He didn't realize it yet, but he was about to experience his first brush with future serial killer, Robert Hanson. The sergeant was just finishing the last knot in his tie when the phone rang. He was fresh from the shower after a day of cross-country skiing with his family and on his way to his in-laws' house for a Christmas dinner. Sergeant Gilmore, this is dispatch, the female voice said, detached and professional. We have been advised that a woman has been found dead in McEw Creek Campground. Patrol is on the way, sir, but we wanted to alert you. Christmas dinner would have to wait. Troopers soon learned that a woman named Celia Beth Vanzanton had gone missing on December 23rd. Just 18 years old, she was on her way to a local convenience store when she disappeared. At the crime scene, they found a woman who seemed to match the description. Young, fair complexion, long blonde hair. Her wrists were tied behind her back with speaker wire. She had been sexually assaulted and her chest slashed with a knife. Somehow before her death, she had managed to escape her assailant. She literally ran for her life. Her first fall was 50 feet from the presumed location of the murderer's car. With her hands bound behind her and in snow three feet deep on a dizzying slope, it would have taken a superhuman effort to regain her feet and continue the descent into what must have seemed a black hole. She got within 10 to 15 feet of the waterfall, but somehow turned away at the last minute. In the days since she had gone missing, temperatures ranged from a low of minus 5 to a high of 22. She had frozen to death. In the parking lot, investigators found a collage of tire prints spinning in lazy concentric circles indicating that the woman's abductor had been looking for her. With the rain starting to drizzle, Gilmore watched dismally as the evidence melted before his eyes. The police ended up taking photographs instead. They are seeing search of the surrounding area meanwhile turned up a silver belt buckle and later a black leather belt. In the snow, near the body, investigators also found tufts of yellow tissue paper. That was all they ever found. Their next move was to canvas Beth's neighborhood and interview family members. Everyone they spoke to offered statements that were soon contradicted. Her brothers seemed to be stoners who barely noticed Beth's comings and goings. Gilmore's best suspect was Greg, her Alaska native foster cousin who lived with the family and was said to have a fractious relationship with the victim. Out clubbing and drinking the night Beth disappeared, Greg had allegedly arranged for her to babysit for one of his friends. His accounts of his whereabouts the night of December 23rd ranged from vague to imprecise, though he was rarely alone during a long night of carousing. Worse yet, although Greg claimed to have talked to Beth at the house on the night of her disappearance to ask about babysitting, her brothers said they never saw him. The most anyone could say with certainty about Beth's foster cousin was that he was drunk that night, so drunk that Anchorage police eventually stopped him and his friends and made them take a cab home. Neighborhood witnesses meanwhile report seeing Beth as late as 11 o'clock the night she disappeared. She was hitchhiking. Some of Gilmore's investigators thought that's precisely what this was, a hitchhike type case where a stranger picks up a woman and brutalizes her, confident his identity will never be learned. Sergeant Gilmore worked the case for 24 hours straight before he got his first break. He was at his makeshift office in a trailer, the schoolroom clock nearing 2100 hours. The place was silent, nearly empty. Suddenly the intercom came on. Sergeant Gilmore, line two. On the other end of the line was a senior officer in the troopers. J.P. was one of the first Alaska natives to join the troopers. A man whose exploits in rural Alaska were legendary. When he called, you listened. Hey, look, he said. I've been hearing about that dead girl down to Bacue Creek. I think I got an informant that may be able to help you. J.P. told Gilmore that the informant might have been working the street. Gilmore said he'd talked to anyone. Only later did he learn that the informant was J.P.'s daughter. Sandra Patterson was 18 and working the streets to pay for her heroin habit. She told Sergeant Gilmore that on the night of December 19th she was in the parking lot of the Nevada club where she was kidnapped at gunpoint by a man who said that he'd kill her if she didn't do what he wanted. She described him in detail. Between 23 and 28 years old, probably 5'8 or 5'9", slender, wearing horn-rimmed glasses. After binding her hands with leather shoelaces, he drove herself on the Seward Highway. Along the way he kept pulling off the road telling her he wanted to make love to her.  She kept telling him no, I don't want to do that in the car. He finally got a motel deep into the Canine Peninsula at Cooper Landing, 98 miles south of Anchorage. They tried to have sex but he failed to orgasm. Sandra didn't want him to snap again. He'd already slapped her hard across the face and her passivity seemed to thwart his pleasure. He expected her to fight, just like other girls he'd had. From the way he acted, she was sure that he had killed them. On the way back to Anchorage, he threatened to kill her if she ratted him out. Once he drove her deep into the wilderness and she had to tug him back.  Sandra scanned it page by page and column by column. That's it, she finally said, that's him. Him was Robert C. Hanson, later known as The Butcher Baker. Gilmore learned that he'd been arrested barely a month before on the assault with a deadly weapon charge involving the real estate secretary. When he kidnapped Sandra, he was out on his own recognizance, awaiting trial for the November incident. This man had no shame. Sandra, meanwhile, was ready to speak her peace. You know, she said, I may be doing something that some people don't think is totally acceptable and it may not be, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because that Robert Hanson guy is probably a premeditated cold-blooded killer who's killed before. Sandra stubbed out her cigarette with force before continuing. He said he killed before and everything he said was absolutely true. Everything he said he would do to me came true. Everything he said he would do, he did. Every threat he made, I believed. And if he says he's killed people, I believe he's killed people. And if you've got a young girl who's been killed around the same time and in the same area, then I believe it was Hanson who killed her.  When the Anchorage police interviewed Robert Hanson on December 29, 1971, he claimed to have only vague memories of the Patterson incident, at one point claiming, I can't remember going down there to the Nevada Club, just doesn't seem like I would just before Christmas. Then he abruptly called off the interview, saying he wanted to talk to his attorney and his doctor. He was already moving toward a psychiatric defense in the case involving the real estate secretary. He'd use the same explanation for the rape and kidnapping of Sandra Patterson. By the time of his sentencing in March of 1972, Hanson had convinced the judge that he wasn't so dangerous after all. He was married and had a child after all. His church friends testified to their high regard for him. His employer told the court that he was a capable and willing worker. His psychiatrist persuaded the court that these offenses were related to Hanson's manic depression. As the judge put it at Hanson sentencing, I believe that this offense was committed, as the doctor tells us, during a period of disassociation, which he states is a condition which arises from your mental condition. Robert Hanson would perfect the upstanding citizen defense, drawing upon it each time he had a suspicious run-in with the women of Anchorage. It worked. The Patterson case was dismissed in exchange for a no-contest plea in the assault of the real estate secretary. Robert Hanson was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment on the condition that he continued to receive psychotherapy because, the judge noted, your condition is one that may be treatable. He was paroled November 1, 1973, less than two years later. Robert Hanson steadfastly denied his involvement in the death of Celia Beth Van Zanton. During his 1984 confession, he was asked about taking a girl to McHugh Creek in 1971. Hanson blurted out, Van Zanton case, then said, no, I didn't have nothing to do with that. They asked me about the Van Zanton case when I was in trouble with the Patterson's girl back in 1971, but no, I didn't have nothing to do with that. The murder of Beth Van Zanton has never been solved, but the similarities between her abduction and Sandra's are worth noting. They were taken to the same area. They're hands bound. They were stripped to prevent escape. Their bras slashed or threatened to be. They were sexually assaulted. It should also be said that Beth Van Zanton's house was within a mile of the real estate secretary's apartment. Hanson had cruised that area before. Indeed, Hanson admitted to stalking women throughout his criminal career, starting with the real estate secretary, whom he spotted in downtown Anchorage and then followed home and continuing through Sandra Patterson and many others. Sandra Patterson's words were prophetic.  The tragedy was that for a brief moment in 1971, there had been the opportunity to stop him. Instead, he became the worst serial killer in Alaska history. When Weird Darkness returns, he's confessed to a staggering 93 murders thus far, and there could be many, many more. We'll look at one of America's most prolific serial killers, Samuel Little.  But did Robert Pickden actually kill 49 women on his farm? Or could there be even more? He has been spotted all over the world, but photographic evidence is lacking, as is any scientific proof. But he still exists and is still seen. And now you can search for Bigfoot every month in the Find Bigfoot calendar by Timothy Wayne Williams. Each month, you'll be captivated by an original Timothy Wayne Williams painting, beautiful and captivating. But within each painting hides a monster Bigfoot is hiding somewhere in each painting. Search for Bigfoot and invite others to do so as well with the new Find Bigfoot calendar available now at WeirdDarkness.com slash Bigfoot. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Bigfoot. His name may not be as well known as some of America's most famous serial murderers, but the FBI believes Samuel Little is the most prolific serial killer in the history of the United States. Little has confessed to a staggering 93 murders. The FBI has verified 50 of the killings thus far and believes all of Little's confessions are credible. If Little's confessions are true, he will have claimed far more lives than Gary Ridgway, better known as the Green River Killer. Ridgway was convicted of 49 murders in Washington State, which represents the highest number of murder convictions for an American serial killer. When Samuel Little was arrested in 2012 at a homeless shelter in Louisville, Kentucky and charged with the murders of three women, he maintained his innocence, even up through his sentencing in September of 2014. Soon enough, however, Little would confess to a stunning litany of murders. Little's 2012 arrest wasn't his first run-in with the law. A drifter, he had been arrested more than two dozen times in 11 states by the time he was 35 for crimes ranging from assault and attempted rape to fraud and attacks on government officials. That was in 1975. By then, authorities now suspect his decades-long string of murders had already begun. Samuel Little was born June 7, 1940 in Reynolds, Georgia.  Little grew up in Ohio and served time in a juvenile detention center after breaking and entering in Omaha. Much of what we know of Little's early life comes from his own accounts. He claims to have worked as a cemetery caretaker and ambulance attendant, and to have taken up boxing during his various stints in prison. He even says that he was a prize fighter for a time. What authorities now know is that beginning in 1970 and stretching into the early 2000s, Little was murdering women across the United States. It was a Texas ranger named James Holland who got Samuel Little to confess. Over the course of more than 700 hours of jailhouse interviews, Little confessed to some 93 murders. The FBI has verified at least 50 of these slayings and believes that all of them are accurate. During the interviews, Little drew dozens of detailed portraits of his victims in chalk pastels, portraits that the FBI has since sought help from the public in identifying. Thanks to Little's confessions, prosecutors have been able to close homicide investigations dating back decades and bring closure to the families of dozens of victims. Over the course of those hours of interviews and drawings, a chilling picture emerged. From 1970 until his arrest in 2012, Little crisscrossed the country, picking up vulnerable women and strangling them to death, one after the other, in states all over the United States, from Ohio to Arizona, Florida to California. Where did you kill the most, Texas ranger James Holland asked him. Oh, that's easy, Little replied, Florida and California. When Holland asked how many he killed in Los Angeles alone, Little replied, approximately 20. Little has thus far been convicted of eight murders. While this is less than the Gary Ridgeways confirmed 49 murders, Little has admitted to killing as many as 93 people and there is strong evidence to believe he is telling the truth. Nothing he has ever said has been proven to be wrong or false, Holland said of Little's numerous confessions. We have been able to prove up almost everything he said. Discussing Little, Holland points out the man's lucidity, his near-photographic memory. Indeed, this is perhaps how he is able to keep the details of so many victims straight after all these years. He basically takes a photograph in his mind of exactly what he sees as he leaves them, Holland said of Litney's uncanny recall. Right now, Little remains in prison in Lancaster, California where he is serving consecutive life sentences. During his incarceration, he has been convicted of five additional murders, with who knows how many more in the works. Investigators and prosecutors are taking full advantage of Little's cooperation, working day and night to identify as many of his victims as possible. At 79 years old, Little's failing health underscores the need for decisive action on the part of investigators. Even though he is already in prison, Christie Palozo of the FBI said, the FBI believes it is important to seek justice for each victim, to close every case possible. As Little's health and memory begin to slip, the possibility of closing all the cases that he might be linked to dwindles. Yet prosecutors and investigators continue to work with the convict, pushing him to produce more sketches and reveal the details of his crimes, in the hopes that they can close additional cases that have remained open for years. Through all of his confessions, Little has treated his crimes lightly, and events Little in the way of motive. God put me on earth to do what I did, one detective recalled him saying, he made me. I don't think there was another person that did what I like to do, Little said of his crimes. I think I'm the only one in the world. That's not an honor, that's a curse.  For many years, Samuel Little believed he would not be caught because he thought no one was accounting for his victims, Palozo Lo said. Ranger James Holland, who elicited from Little his many confessions, had a more chilling explanation. He was so good at what he did, Holland said. You know, how'd you get away with it, Sammy? Did the crime left town? To extract the confessions that have helped to close so many cases, Holland turned to some unusual tactics. He convinced Texas prosecutors to waive the possibility of the death penalty, and in the interview room he supplied Little with pizza and Dr. Pepper. When asked why he would treat a serial killer so well, Holland replied that there was greater good at work. I can say that we have one case solved or we can have 93 cases, Holland said. As to why Little ultimately confessed to him after having maintained his innocence for so long, however, Holland sighed and offered a simpler explanation. Maybe Sammy just liked me. For now, Little remains in prison and continues to cooperate with investigators, proffering new drawings of potential victims for as long as his failing memory and health will allow. While the FBI considers him the most prolific serial killer in American history, they still need your help in identifying as many victims. If you have any information linked to Little's confessions, you can contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. And if you would like to see some of Samuel Little's drawings or maps of the crime scenes, I have a link to that page from the FBI in the show notes. In 2007, Robert William Willey Picton was convicted of murdering six women and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years, the longest sentence that he could possibly receive at the time. He was charged with the death of many more and while behind bars admitted to an undercover officer that he had killed 49 women and that he wanted to bring that number up to an even 50. The details of Robert Picton's crimes, which included the discovery of human remains in trash cans, beating bodies to his pigs, and possibly even selling human flesh mixed with pork for public consumption, shocked the country and the world, and were uncovered by one of the largest serial killer investigations in Canadian history. Before he became known as one of Canada's most prolific serial killers, Robert Picton was described as a pretty quiet guy who, along with his brother, owned a pig farm in British Columbia. A worker on the farm later called it a creepy looking place, and in 1998, the brothers were sued by the local government over zoning ordinance violations for neglecting the property and turning one of their slaughterhouses into an event venue. In 1996, the two brothers had registered a non-profit organization called the Piggy Palace Good Time Society, a disturbing name in hindsight. Its stated aims were to organize, coordinate, manage and operate special events, functions, dances, shows and exhibitions on behalf of service organizations, sports organizations and other worthy groups. In practice, the farm played host to a variety of raves and wild parties which were held in a converted slaughterhouse. Among those known to frequent the parties held at the Picton's farm were sex workers from Vancouver and members of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. In 1998, the Pictons were served with an injunction banning any future events on the premises, and their non-profit status was revoked the following year. Five years before he was arrested and charged with murder, Robert Picton was faced with another charge. The 1997 attempted murder of sex worker Wendy Lynn Eistetter, who informed police that Picton had solicited her services and brought her to the farm. There, he handcuffed her left hand and stabbed her in the abdomen.  At the hospital where both were treated, hospital staff used a key found in Picton's pocket to unlock the handcuff on Eistetter's wrist. The attempted murder charge was eventually dropped reportedly because prosecutors believed that Eistetter's ongoing drug use made her an unreliable witness. Picton's clothes and rubber boots were seized by police during the initial arrest and kept in a storage locker for more than seven years. They weren't tested for evidence until 2004 when they were swabbed for DNA and found to be a match for two missing women. From 1983 to 2002, more than 60 women disappeared from Vancouver's downtown Eastside, an impoverished community. It was an ongoing crisis that seemed to have no end in sight, although Picton had been on the police's radar for quite a while. On February 6, 2002, police finally searched the Picton farm in an unrelated search for illegal weapons. Both Robert Picton and his brother were arrested, and the police obtained enough evidence for a second warrant in relation to the ongoing investigation into Vancouver's missing women. While the two brothers were ultimately released, Robert Picton was kept under surveillance. On February 22, Picton was arrested again and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. During their initial search, police had found personal items belonging to some of the missing women. Once Picton was behind bars, the charges began to stack up. First, three more charges were added, then four, then more and more until Picton had accrued a total of 27 first-degree murder charges. The details of Robert Picton's heinous crimes were under a publication ban for nearly a decade, and so it wasn't until the ban was lifted in 2010 that the extent of Picton's depredations became public knowledge. When they did, a grim and terrifying picture came into focus. Picton was linked to murders stretching as far back as 1991, long before his arrest for the attempted murder of Wendy Lynn Eistetter and continuing for many years after the altercation. Police had found a variety of human remains on the farm, many of which were difficult to identify because they'd been left to rot or fed to hogs. Among the grisly effects described in Picton's eventual trial were human skulls that had been cut in half with hands and feet stuffed inside, night vision goggles, human remains stored in garbage bags, Spanish fly aphrodisiac, and a loaded revolver with a dildo attached to the barrel, which Picton later claimed was used as a makeshift silencer. Investigators also found more than 80 unidentified DNA profiles on the property. Robert Picton was ultimately tried and found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder. The other 21 charges were stayed for a later date, but never tried, as Picton had already received the maximum possible sentence. The trial brought to public attention a number of missed opportunities for the police to investigate Picton sooner and put an end to his killing spree. Besides his arrest for the attack on Wendy Lynn Eistetter, there had been several other attempts to bring Picton's activities to the attention of the authorities. According to Vancouver Police Detective Constable Laura Merchenner, the police had received a call to an anonymous tip line in 1998, indicating that Picton should be investigated in relation to missing women in the area.  Picton was interviewed following the 1999 tip and police obtained his consent to search the farm, but the search was never conducted. In 2004, before Picton's trial had ever begun, the government issued a warning that Picton may have ground up human flesh and mixed it with pork that he sold to the public. To bring a press conference in 2010, Deputy Chief Constable Doug LaParde issued an apology to the families of the victims. I wish that all the mistakes that were made we could undo, he said, and I wish that more lives would have been saved. So, on my behalf and behalf of the Vancouver Police Department and all the men and women who worked on this investigation, I would say to the families how sorry we all are for your losses and because we did not catch this monster sooner. In 2016, a book called Picton, in his own words, went up for sale on Amazon. While the 144-page book's author was listed as Michael Childress, it was actually a handwritten manuscript that Picton had smuggled out of prison. Childress had simply typed it up and added his byline. Picton maintained his innocence in the book, which was eventually pulled down by both the publisher and Amazon after a public outcry. It's his kind of shenanigans, the father of one of his victims said, the guy never goes away. Com is also where you can find information on any of the sponsors you heard about during the show. Find all of my social media, listen to audiobooks I've narrated, sign up for the email newsletter, find other podcasts that I host, including Church of the Undead, visit the store for Weird Darkness merchandise and more. WeirdDarkness.com is also where you can find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Also on the website, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell, you can click on Tell Your Story. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com. All stories on Weird Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and you can find links to the stories or the authors in the show notes. And all articles used in this episode were written by Oren Gray for the lineup. WeirdDarkness is a registered trademark. Copyright Weird Darkness. And now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave you with a little light. Matthew 7, verse 12, So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets. And a final thought. Strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others. Chris Gardner, I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness. Detention Center. After breaking your break-ering? They say you are what you eat. And if that's true, I'm soon going to be looking like Pumpkin Head from that horror movie, because I just received my limited release box of Pumpkin Cookie Chunk from Bilt Bar. This is a seasonal flavor, so I have to stock up on it when it comes out. Bilt bars are not candy bars, they're protein bars. The Pumpkin Cookie Chunk Bar has 19 grams of protein, plus it's low sugar, low carbs, and low calories, but you'd never know it's a protein bar if you just taste it. Bilt bars have become my go-to guilt-free solution for dessert, late afternoon, or even late-night snacks, and often I just grab a Bilt Bar as a full meal because they're pretty filling.  Visit WeirdDarkness.com slash Bilt and look in the limited release section for Pumpkin Cookie Chunk. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash Bilt and use the promo code WeirdDarkness all one word to get 10% off your entire purchase. Hey Weirdos, be sure to click the like button and subscribe to this channel, and click the notification bell so you don't miss future videos. I post videos 7 days a week, and while you're at it, spread the darkness by sharing this video with someone you know who loves all things strange and macabre. If you want to listen to the podcast, you can find it at WeirdDarkness.com slash listen.


suspense and the producer of radios outstanding theater of thrills the master of mystery and adventure William M. Robeson it is now 50 years since the first motion picture was made amidst the orange groves of a sleepy little California village called Hollywood and a latter-day gold rush began Hollywood quickly became a sprawling brawling boomtown true to the tradition of the western frontier a tradition it helped to create and has fondly fostered Hollywood lived violently and not a few of its citizens died violently with and sometimes without their boots on the stakes were high worldwide fame and undreamed of fortune and the passions that poured onto the silver screen sometimes spilled over into private lives with lethal results of such passions and such results you were about to hear and who better to tell this story than a man who was there a man who was starred in more motion pictures than any other actor living or dead Francis X Bushman listen listen then as mr. Bushman tells about the city that was in exactly one minute memo on medals interesting information about our military awards and decorations campaign medals were authorized by Congress in 1905 for all officers and men engaged in specified wars and military action including such widely divergent battles as the Civil War in the United States and the Voxer rebellion in China the Navy and Marine Corps have a special Manila Bay Medal for members of the United States Asiatic Squadron under command of Commodore George Dewey in May of 1898 the Haitian campaign of 1915 is commemorated with a medal as is the Santo Domingo expedition which suppressed a revolt in that country and preserved order during elections in 1916 the Army has its Mexican service medal for those involved in any of several expeditions or engagements from April 12th 1911 through June 16th 1919 there is also the Army of Cuban pacification medal for United States troops who from October of 1906 to April of 1909 helped establish a stable government in that island nation the victory medal was initially awarded to all United States service personnel in World War one expeditionary forces including for the first time women serving in the military units there is a story behind every American medal a proud story of devotion to country and unselfish service to keep it strong and free and now Francis X Bushman starring in the city that was a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense remember yes I remember the 35 years ago there was a town for you it flamed with color it bubbled with intrigue and it frequently simmered with sin gods and goddesses stole the boulevard in those days and rode to the studio their $20,000 custom-built rolls rices it was the era of Valentino and Mabel Norman and Wallace Reed a Barbara Lamar and William Desmond Taylor and William S. Hart and the great Vance Neaton all the Pullen Agri and Cedar Barra it was the era to a Vance and he Kendall matinee idol turned movie king and his leading lady greener shelf on to used to be called the golden flame of the silver screen you must remember them and how they were tied up with that Corsac off killing well all the facts of that cause the lever were not told at the time but they can be told now and this is what really happened that rainy night in November 35 years ago Tony and Rena had finished long day shooting it was nearly seven o'clock when Tony tooled his big white Cunningham Roadster into the driveway of his Whitley Heights estate he stopped the car under the heart of the entrance gate it was reaching for the electric control button when a mass figure with a gun stepped out from the dark all right hold it right there what is this has he ended the line for you big shot no oh yes is where your boyfriend gets what's coming to him Tony it's Bart Malloy wasn't very smart to recognize me Rena now you go with him all right Bart cut the melodrama you're drunk go on home and sleep it off I'll see you at the studio tomorrow there isn't gonna be any tomorrow for you too I'm gonna blast you out behind you Tony, be careful let go of that gun Bart, let go of it let go of it there that's better I'll just unload it so nobody can get hurt here you can have it back now now go home and get some shut-eye I'll see you in the morning so you can fire me in front of the whole crew and how did you know that we oh not we you I heard all about it an hour ago Alec Benson didn't want to let me out you're the one who cut my throat well why don't you call the cops and do a complete job on me I have no intention of calling the cops why not that'll make your day perfect Bart look now I suppose we forget all about this all three of us right Rena? of course yeah that's big of you both of you maybe someday I can pay you back now go on home Bart you need sleep sure sure that's all I need just a little sleep thanks Tony thanks for everything Tony yes Tony would you mind driving me straight on home well what about dinner I don't feel much like eating now I just want to go home all right honey why did you ever put Bart on the picture in the first place well he was on the skids there wasn't a casting director in time that would hide oh you and your big heart don't you know the surest way to make a man hate you is to do him a kindness perhaps but he promised me he'd go on the wagon so the first day he showed up pink eyed as a rabbit and chewing cloves to camouflage the smell of whiskey he's always chewed cloves as long as I'd known him well sure he has it's the trademark of an alcoholic Tony he scares me well now don't be silly honey Bart maybe a lush but he is not a murderer we continue with the second act of another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsythe ooh ouch ooh what's wrong Joe Daphne have you been using my razor again just a little I was peeling peaches oh fine why didn't you change the blade it feels like you've been sharpening pencils with this thing now just a minute buddy it was you who said we could use more economy around here and I've been saving wherever I can and by shaving the skin off the peaches but look at my face think how the Red Cross could have used all his blood it's your own fault you and your economy well being penny conscious isn't such a bad idea not if you use common sense take savings bonds for instance uh-uh here it comes go right ahead and scoff but I got 8 million Americans who agree with me we all buy savings bonds on a payroll saving plan because we know that investing in bonds is the best way to use our money we could use some of that money around here well maybe or maybe we just think we can when we buy bonds we guarantee we'll have the money in the future when we'll certainly need it more stop waving that razor you're splattering me with soap well I don't mean to get excited but who wouldn't where else can a man make an investment that's guaranteed to pay off $4 for every 3 and guaranteed by the credit of the whole US of A so there bravo bravo alright alright now let me change the blade and get back to shaving I think I'll stay and watch god you're so cute when you cut yourself oh fine and now back to love the city that was starring Francis X Bushman a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense of course Bart Malloy didn't take Tony's advice and go home the evening was still young and in his misery he needed company so he headed for Henry's on Hollywood Boulevard everybody went to Henry's in those days it was packed every night with actors, directors, writers, producers come to see and be seen and to partake of Henry's wonderful turkey sandwiches his fabulous German pancakes and his fragrant coffee Malloy is downing cup after cup of it now each one generously laced with whiskey from his hip flask also is airing his grievances to Fritz the friendly waiter who knows him well so I'll take a drink one measly drink and he tosses me off a picture ah he's a louse that's why he's his star-spangled louse I'm Mr. Malloy, darkness though Mr. Kendall is a fine gentleman a real fine gentleman I'll tell you something Fritz I'm gonna fix your fine gentleman's wagon for him if it's the last thing I ever do you shouldn't say such things Mr. Malloy especially at such a time as this now just as soon as he's finished his picture he and Mr. Alphonse will be married yeah yeah I know say maybe I ought to figure out a nice present for him oh that sounds better Mr. Malloy you know something always I think that Mr. Alphonse would marry that Russian director what was his name? Kosikov yeah sure crazy about each other until Tony come along Fritz you may not know it but you have just given me a terrific idea Bart Malloy lost no time in putting his terrific idea into action firstly he telephoned the director, Sergey Kosikov made a date to drop by his apartment later that evening he called me Mr. Alphonse and employed his not inconsiderable talent as a mimic this is Hollywood 2749 yes it is may I speak please with Mr. Alphonse I am Dr. Von Kesselring Dr. Friedrich Von Kesselring this is Mr. Alphonse doctor oh I am Mr. Kosikov's physician Mr. Alphonse I have I'll get to say some unhappy news for you something the matter with Sergey he has suffered a coronary occlusion oh no yes Mr. Alphonse there is Mr. Kosikov wished to see you before he goes to the hospital I think it would make him very happy of course I'll come right over Malloy counted on the rainy streets and the fact that Rena had to come all the way in from Beverly Hills to give him the time he needed with Kosikov five minutes later he pulled up in front of the Russian director's house high in the Hollywood Hills well not exactly in front of the house where it perched 60 feet above the street and was reached by a private elevator which opened on the side wall very futuristic a Hollywood show place of the time this hideaway of the mad Russian Malloy pushed the bell the elevator door clicked open and a moment later he stepped out of the cage into Sergey Kosikov's living room hello Sergey how are you my friend it's good to see you good to see you for me it's perfect I sit before fire and try to solve chess problems you'll have tea over there some of our tea also brandy whiskey vodka choose for yourself well maybe just a little one you know just cut the fog good now sit down and tell me why you call me well I need some advice and I'll be glad to give you any kind of advice it's like this see I'm gonna come out of this picture with a great deal of dough and you told me you've been buying real estate remember? I have bought quite a bit of property in Santa Monica Santa Monica that's too far out like the San Fernando Valley now you can't tell me people are ever going all the way out there I thought you said you were gonna be alone tonight I expect no one maybe a luck's changing that boy no don't get up I'll send the elevator back down and then I'll slip out the servants entrance but I assure you that I know I know it's probably a maiden air just in from Vladivostok just the same I'll go out the back way so it's not to embarrass the lady you have dirty mind my friend I would suggest that you Bert what does it mean the gun I guess you might say it means goodbye sir game the law moved fast now he wiped his fingerprints from the smoking gun and from the whiskey glass then he'd drop the gun to the floor and headed for the service entrance he was gone when the elevator stopped and Rita walked into the living room to discover Sergei's little brittle body sprawled on the floor when the police arrived summoned by a neighbor who heard the shooting they pounded their gun in hand kneeling over the body sobbing over and over who did Sergei who did in just a moment we continue with the third act of suspense we have together ample capacity and freedom to defend freedom this is NATO the North Atlantic Treaty Organization while the Soviets seek to weaken and disrupt the free world through worldwide military political and economic activities the free world has organized its resources, moral, military political and economic and is ready to deploy them wherever the situation demands this is the basic reasoning behind the North Atlantic Treaty Organization the United States of America is a part of NATO, you should be aware of and alert to the objectives and programs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and now at three of the city that was starring Francis X Bushman a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense they allowed Reno Chalfont one phone call naturally she called Tony Kendall but there wasn't much here his attorney could do for her since there's no bail on a murder charge so Tony went to the scene of the crime and there he found that an old friend of his was in charge of the investigation Sergeant Kay of Homicide I'm sorry Tony but it just don't look good for your girlfriend but Reno's no killer that's not for me to say I can only go by the evidence I find and it all points to her but where's the motive Reno had no motive she might have what do you mean this is just a theory of course well let's have it you may not like it Tony I told you go ahead well she and Korskow were we're pretty good friends before you came along right yes so maybe he's still in love with her maybe he doesn't want her to marry you maybe he threatens to do something to stop the wedding and maybe she shoots him right wrong Reno is not a killer Marty maybe but it looks like she did it you've been all over the place I suppose stem to stem everything strictly copacetic except for a whiskey glass with no fingerprint so what this one right here somebody had a shot of bourbon out of it then wiped off the Prince Sergei and drink no and maybe your girlfriend was here we go with that maybe routine again no for your information Marty Reno isn't a drinker either that's some of our over there is more in her line so that's what you call that thing what's it for making tea Russian style what's all this stuff in these little saucers lemon peel cinnamon rose petals clothes they put it in the tea all at once no no one at a time in Korskow must have been a clove boy we found a lot of them on the floor clothes eh and a whiskey glass you got a theory maybe I have what is it I'll let you know when I've proved it Tony Kendall was in makeup and on the set the day to clock the next morning the cameras were in place and the lights were all set up for the climax scene of passion lost the big fight scene Alec Benson the director agreed to Tony with the long face usually the reserve of funeral Tony I just heard about greener what a terrible save your sympathy she's innocent of course but what's it going to do to our shooting schedule you're just chock full of compassion aren't you well I mean how's a great man this morning good morning Bart who's going to lower the boom you were around well but you see I told you last night we'd forget all about it but I thought you meant you're still on the picture but Tony I've already hired me Alec Tony I don't know what to say and save it and let's get on with this fight now this has got to top any fight scene that's ever been photographed Sam I can't hear myself think now we've got to make the brawl in the spoilers look like a chorus boys picnic I want will you please knock it off Sam you make more noise in the hammers sorry Mr. Benson now let's get the suspense of the fight in tolerable David the brutality of norberry in the sea wolf the cruel look Alec why don't you let Barton me sort of work it out by ourselves then we'll tell you how we see it and then if it's okay with you we'll try a take well alright just call me when you're ready alright come on Bart let's block out the action let's see we begin here on the balcony when I find you coming out of Helena's room you go for your gun but before you can get it Tony I I want to thank you for keeping me on the picture well that's all right Bart now as I was saying and I want you to know how sorry I am about Rena are you really are you really sorry oh I sure am Rena is one of them but then you'll be happy to know that she didn't kill Korsakov no well then who did you Maloy what you killed him well you must be out of your mind what I want to do a thing like that for him and then you framed Rena you did it for revenge to get back at me you're talking like a maniac am I what about the clothes that dropped out of your pocket under the floor what Korsakov had clothes too they were right there by that you were there Maloy and you killed him well you try and prove it I won't have to prove it you're going to admit it oh yeah man that's right I'm gonna beat the truth out of you right away from the kettle well I'm gonna fix that pretty face of yours wait a minute Tony hold it boys until we can it ain't holding Mr. Benson wow what a water oh that sure look real didn't huh what are we standing there for let's get it on film lights Larry Paul start playing those cameras all right you guys you're having dementia come on lights that's fine that's fine Bob slam his head against the pillar good now bring it up Tony bring it up from your heels that's the idea real hay maker you killed him you killed him you're playing through right now you tell me the truth Maloy you give it to me straight or I'll kill you here and now go at least you have that strangle Tony come on Maloy this is your last yes yes I did it I did it I did it all right now look Tony I realize I'm only the director around here but even so would you mind letting me in now you tell him Maloy you tell him I killed Kosikov call Marty K will you tell him we've got his killer for him and you you better have a couple of the boys keep an eye on Maloy until he gets it what are you going to do me I'm going over and get my girl out of the jailhouse and there you have it ladies and gentlemen a story out of the Hollywood of the 20s the city that was as you know Rena and Tony Kendall are still one of the film capitals happiest couples as a matter of fact I had tea with them last week Rena served from a great brass samobar I had my choice of sugar and cream and rum of course and then there were small china bowls filled with slivers of lemon peel and dried rose petals and sticks of cinnamon but you know something strange that weren't any clothes suspense in which Francis X Bushman starred in William and Robeson's production of The City That Was by Richard Weill supporting Mr. Bushman in The City That Was were Norma Eberhardt Chester Stratton Ben Wright, Jack Krushen, Joe DeSantis and Norm Alden listen again next week when we return with the star of Thessaly starring Ray Noble another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense suspense has been brought to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States armed forces radio and television service