Latest / Crime Night / The Butcher of Khamis Mushait: The Sorcerer’s Blood Trail

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The Butcher of Khamis Mushait: The Sorcerer’s Blood Trail · Crime Night

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Kamis Muschet nineteen eighty five were high up in the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: south of Saudi Arabia. Picture a quiet morning, you know,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the kind of stillness that's only broken by the first
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: sounds of the trade markets. For one family, this quiet
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: was just routine. Their mother, an elderly woman but a
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: real power in the local livestock trade. She would have
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  Speaker 1: already been up, already busy.
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  Speaker 2: But on this particular day, her children arrive and the
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  Speaker 2: house is just silent, a really dreadful kind of silence.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Something was very wrong.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, when they went inside, that fear became real. Their
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  Speaker 1: mother was dead, murdered right in the middle of her
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  Speaker 1: own home.
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  Speaker 2: And the motive, I mean it seemed obvious. The wealth
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  Speaker 2: from the sheep trade, the gold, all the cash from
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  Speaker 2: recent sales, it was all gone. Right.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: The here's the thing that immediately chilled the investigators. There
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  Speaker 1: was no fourth entry, none right.
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  Speaker 2: The only way in was with a key or if
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  Speaker 2: she let you in. This wasn't random, it was intimate.
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  Speaker 2: The whole scene just screamed betrayal.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, let's unpack this because the story of the man responsible,
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  Speaker 1: John A La Albasher, the Kami's wishe killer it's not
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  Speaker 1: just one.
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  Speaker 2: Crime, No, it's an epic.
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  Speaker 1: It's an epic. It's got years of planning, a twelve
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  Speaker 1: year vanishing act, and a capture that hinges on something well,
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  Speaker 1: something truly bizarre, a belief in dark magic.
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  Speaker 2: So our mission in this deep dive is to follow
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  Speaker 2: that whole arc. How does a trusted employee pull off
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  Speaker 2: what looks like the perfect murder just disappear and then
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  Speaker 2: how does the supernatural charm meant to keep him free
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  Speaker 2: become the very thing that brings him down.
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  Speaker 1: Let's start with this setup. Joan Albashir was a Sudanese national.
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  Speaker 1: He'd come into Saudi Arabia illegally, so he's poor, he's desperate,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, completely vulnerable because he's undocumented.
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  Speaker 2: He needed a lifeline and he found it with this
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  Speaker 2: elderly woman. Our first victim, the one with the huge sheep.
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  Speaker 1: Business, a multimillion rial operation.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly for him, this wasn't just a job, the livestock
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  Speaker 2: trade back then it was all cash, large untraceable sums
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  Speaker 2: of cash. He saw golden opportunity.
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  Speaker 1: And he played the part perfectly, the ultimate long con
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  Speaker 1: over a fully year. He didn't just earn her trust.
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  Speaker 1: He made himself indispensable.
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  Speaker 2: She saw him as hard working, loyal, almost like a son. Right.
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  Speaker 1: He was soon managing everything, the buying, the selling, and
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  Speaker 1: crucially he was handling the cash. He even became good
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  Speaker 1: friends with her actual children.
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  Speaker 2: But behind that facade, it was horrifyingly calculated. The sources
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  Speaker 2: show he started plotting the murder from his second month
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: on the job. The second month, yeah, he wasn't working,
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  Speaker 2: he was doing surveillance. He memorized everything, her schedule, when
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  Speaker 2: she woke up, when she slept, when family.
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  Speaker 1: Visited, and most importantly, where she kept the money, daily cash,
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  Speaker 1: her personal gold. All of it.
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  Speaker 2: The preparation was just chilling. He systematically made copies of
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  Speaker 2: every single key in.
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  Speaker 1: That house, not just the front door, no.
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  Speaker 2: No, the internal rooms, the safe. He wanted total access silently.
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  Speaker 1: And then came the master stroke. Using that trust he'd
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  Speaker 1: built against them, he quit.
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  Speaker 2: He comes up with the story urgent family business back
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  Speaker 2: in suity. He has to leave immediately, you know, through
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  Speaker 2: illegal channels.
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  Speaker 1: Because they trusted him so completely, they didn't question it.
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  Speaker 1: They were sad to see him go. They gave him
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  Speaker 1: a huge bonus, a tearful farewell.
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  Speaker 2: That's the brilliance of it. They trusted him so much
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  Speaker 2: they rationalized his illegal departure as just you know, desperation.
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  Speaker 2: Poor man, he has no choice right and the.
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  Speaker 1: Lack of official paperwork actually helped him because he wasn't leaving,
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  Speaker 1: not at all.
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  Speaker 2: He just went to a nearby village and he hid.
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  Speaker 1: There for two full months, took another job tending sheep,
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  Speaker 1: all while secretly watching his old employer's house.
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  Speaker 2: He was just waiting, waiting for them to hire a replacement,
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  Speaker 2: waiting for his name to become just a fond memory.
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  Speaker 1: Once he was sure he was forgotten, he came back
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  Speaker 1: at night, armed with a heavy blade, an axe, or
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  Speaker 1: a machete.
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  Speaker 2: He used those copied keys slipped inside, completely silent.
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  Speaker 1: He went straight for the cash. He knew was the
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  Speaker 1: time of the month when the house would be full
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  Speaker 1: of sales money. But the noise it woke her up.
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  Speaker 2: She came out of her room, saw him, and she
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  Speaker 2: would have recognized him instantly. The man she treated like
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  Speaker 2: a son.
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  Speaker 1: Jaw didn't hesitate. He struck her with the blade, killed
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  Speaker 1: her on the spot. Then he finished gathering the cash
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  Speaker 1: and gold locked the door behind him and just vanished.
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  Speaker 2: He goes back to his temporary job, uses the same
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  Speaker 2: story about having to return to Sudan, and this time
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  Speaker 2: he actually does it. He gets across the border and
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  Speaker 2: starts living on his stolen fortune.
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  Speaker 1: So when the police find the body, they're stumped. No
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  Speaker 1: forced entry, and the family swears their loyal employee left
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  Speaker 1: the country two months ago.
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  Speaker 2: He's not even a suspect exactly. The case went completely cold.
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  Speaker 2: For all intents and purposes, he had committed the perfect crime,
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  Speaker 2: and for twelve years he was free.
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  Speaker 1: Twelve years is a long time. By nineteen ninety seven,
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  Speaker 1: that fortune is running low and the thought of going
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  Speaker 1: back to being poor, that wasn't an option for him.
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  Speaker 2: And that's when things take a turn. He shifts from
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  Speaker 2: being this meticulous planner to something else, someone relying on
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  Speaker 2: forces beyond logic.
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  Speaker 1: He seeks out a major sorcerer in Sudan. He's not
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  Speaker 1: looking for money, he's looking for invincibility.
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  Speaker 2: He gets this what's described as a powerful magical charm
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  Speaker 2: and amulet. In that context, it was believed to make
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  Speaker 2: the wearer totally invisible to law enforcement. You couldn't be caught.
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  Speaker 1: And here's where it gets really interesting. This wasn't a
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  Speaker 1: necklace he wore. The sorcerer surgically placed this charm under
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  Speaker 1: his skin.
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  Speaker 2: Wow, so it's part of him now, a physical token
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  Speaker 2: of his protection.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. And with this new confidence, this belief in his
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  Speaker 1: own magic, he decides to go back to Saudi Arabia
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  Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety seven and do the exact same crime
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  Speaker 1: all over again.
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  Speaker 2: But he's not the same patient man he was his
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  Speaker 2: first attempt. His second target is another elderly woman in
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  Speaker 2: the same business. He only lasts six months there.
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  Speaker 1: Why the rush? This time?
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  Speaker 2: The situation was different. This woman was more cautious, harder
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  Speaker 2: to fool, and more importantly, her grandson was a big deal,
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  Speaker 2: a major trader with connections to high level officials.
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  Speaker 1: Ah. So the risk was too high too.
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  Speaker 2: He was worried they might start digging and maybe uncover
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  Speaker 2: that twelve year old cold case. His magic was being
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  Speaker 2: tested by you know, basic risk assessment.
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  Speaker 1: So he bails on that plan and moves on to
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  Speaker 1: attempt three. A family, this time a father, mother, a son,
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  Speaker 1: three daughters.
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  Speaker 2: But again it falls apart after just three months. The
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  Speaker 2: father sees that his work is terrible. He's not focused
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  Speaker 2: on the sheep. He's focused on scouting the house.
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  Speaker 1: He was a careless criminal now not a loyal employee.
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  Speaker 2: Right, and that carelessness leads to a confrontation. The father
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  Speaker 2: calls him out on his bad work. A huge fight
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  Speaker 2: breaks out and he fires him, tells him to get
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  Speaker 2: off the property now, and for John Law.
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  Speaker 1: This is a massive insult, a blow to his pride.
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  Speaker 2: He grabs his things, including that weapon, and starts to
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  Speaker 2: walk away, but he just can't let it go. He
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  Speaker 2: turns back, knocks on the door.
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  Speaker 1: The father opens it and Jalla strikes him instantly with
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  Speaker 1: the blade. Yeah kills him.
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  Speaker 2: The mother hears the scream, she runs out, and he
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  Speaker 2: kills her in the exact same way. The children, terrified,
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  Speaker 2: managed to hide this time. There's no mystery.
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  Speaker 1: No, he's the disgruntled employee who has just fired. The
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  Speaker 1: kids alert the neighbors, and within minutes the police know
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  Speaker 1: exactly who they're looking for.
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  Speaker 2: He's on the run, and he knows he needs a
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  Speaker 2: big score to get back to Sudan, so he decides
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  Speaker 2: to go after his last target, the cautious woman with
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  Speaker 2: the powerful grandson.
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  Speaker 1: The man hunt kicks off immediately. They bring in their
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  Speaker 1: best assets, the specialized trackers known as Questa's ala far.
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  Speaker 2: These guys are legendary. They can read tracks on almost
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  Speaker 2: any surface. They started following his.
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  Speaker 1: Trail, but then the trail just vanished completely. It just stopped.
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  Speaker 2: The trackers were baffled. The police were incredibly frustrated. They
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  Speaker 2: were hunting a killer who had seemingly evaporated, but he.
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  Speaker 1: Was just hiding nearby, waiting. After two days, while the
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  Speaker 1: search was still going on, he broke into the cautious woman's.
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  Speaker 2: Home and killed her the same brutal method. He took
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  Speaker 2: her gold and money and fled.
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  Speaker 1: Now the whole region is in a state of panic.
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  Speaker 1: Three murders, five victims, same mo all in just a
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  Speaker 1: few days. The media names him the Camese Muschite killer.
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  Speaker 2: The pressure was immense. The influential grandson of that third
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  Speaker 2: victim offers a massive reward one hundred thousand Saudi riles
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  Speaker 2: for any information.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what breaks the case. A civilian walking your
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  Speaker 1: graveyard sees a strange man just sitting there.
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  Speaker 2: Locals mentioned that this guy is rumored to be practicing
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  Speaker 2: sorcery dark magic.
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  Speaker 1: But it all clicks into place for the civilian. The
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  Speaker 1: police description the weird location, the rumors and sorcery. He
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  Speaker 1: makes the call.
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  Speaker 2: So this leads us to the wildest part of the
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  Speaker 2: whole story.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: The police move in to arrest him, and according to
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  Speaker 2: their reports, he resists with this extraordinary speed and agility.
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  Speaker 1: They described him leaping between rooftops like something out of
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  Speaker 1: a movie in a way they just couldn't explain.
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  Speaker 2: They finally get him subdued, but the weirdness continues at
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  Speaker 2: the station. During the interrogation, the investigating officer's pen just
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  Speaker 2: keeps falling from his hand over and over.
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  Speaker 1: He literally cannot write down jah Allah's statement.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. The officers there, they become convinced the rumors about
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  Speaker 2: magic are real, that he's protected.
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  Speaker 1: And then they see it, this strange raised lump under
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  Speaker 1: the skin on his body. They call a doctor right
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  Speaker 1: away to check it out.
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  Speaker 2: He knows the game is up. He grabs a letter
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  Speaker 2: opener from the desk tries to kill himself right there,
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  Speaker 2: but they overpower him.
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  Speaker 1: The doctor comes in and cuts into the lump, and
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  Speaker 1: what they pull out is the source of all of it.
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  Speaker 2: The magical amulet, exactly as described, a small pouch with
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  Speaker 2: talisman's strange writings. The thing that had been placed under
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  Speaker 2: his skin twelve years.
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  Speaker 1: Before, and this is the psychological breaking point. The moment
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  Speaker 1: that charm is physically removed from his body, his entire
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  Speaker 1: composure just shatters.
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  Speaker 2: The spell is broken, his defiance, his confidence, it all collapses.
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  Speaker 2: He confesses to everything, the nineteen ninety seven murders and
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  Speaker 2: the unsolved twelve year old murder of the woman who
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: first gave him a chance.
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  Speaker 1: Jah Alobashir was sentenced to death and executed by beheading
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  Speaker 1: in a public square. The case was finally closed.
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  Speaker 2: If we connect this to the bigger picture, it's really
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  Speaker 2: a story about deception. He starts as this cold, calculating
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  Speaker 2: planner who uses trust as his primary weapon.
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  Speaker 1: But his return isn't about calculation. It's driven by pure
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  Speaker 1: hubris and this absolute belief that he was protected and.
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  Speaker 2: The irony is just inescapable. Isn't it the amulet, the
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: thing that gave him the confidence to kill again, was
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  Speaker 2: the physical object that caught the officer's attention and led
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  Speaker 2: directly to his breakdown and confession.
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  Speaker 1: It really makes you wonder what was it that actually
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  Speaker 1: protect him. Was it the flawless, calculated alibi he built
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  Speaker 1: back in nineteen eighty five, or was it his total
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: belief in that term's power. They gave him the psychological
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  Speaker 1: nerve to become a serial killer in nineteen ninety seven.
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  Speaker 1: What role does a bizarre mystical belief play in the
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: mind of a killer? Something to mull over until our
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: next deep dive.