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Murder for Revenge: True Crime Cases Driven by Vengeance · The conspiracy

0:01
Speaker 1: Revenge is a fool's game. And for those of you
0:08
Speaker 1: who don't understand that Red Dead Redemption reference, here's a clip.
0:11
Speaker 1: Revenge is a fool's game. But this isn't a video
0:16
Speaker 1: game we're talking about today, and this... Isn't a cowboy hat,
0:20
Speaker 1: it's a pirate hat that I'm wearing. I didn't know
0:22
Speaker 1: where my cowboy hat was. Anyway, we're talking about real life,
0:26
Speaker 1: real life revenge, and revenge is the pinnacle of human emotion.
0:31
Speaker 1: Someone did me wrong, so I must get them back.
0:34
Speaker 1: And I'm not personally one to demand revenge, but in
0:37
Speaker 1: this case of these three stories I'm gonna tell you
0:40
Speaker 1: about today, It almost makes sense why the only option
0:44
Speaker 1: was revenge. So without further ado, let's unbuckle our seatbelts,
0:48
Speaker 1: go Mach 5 down the highway, slam on the brakes,
0:50
Speaker 1: and let's bust... Let's bust through this windshield into these
0:57
Speaker 1: three revenge stories together. Can you make that a whip noise?
1:16
Speaker 1: Before I get into the first story, I just want
1:18
Speaker 1: to say I pronounce things wrong. I pronounce things wrong
1:21
Speaker 1: a lot. You guys love to point it out in
1:23
Speaker 1: the comments. Even though I Google how to pronounce things
1:26
Speaker 1: a lot, apparently Google steers me wrong, let's say. So
1:31
Speaker 1: I'm going to do my best, but also feel free
1:33
Speaker 1: to read me out in the comments for pronouncing things wrong.
1:35
Speaker 1: I appreciate it, but I also apologize for pronouncing things wrong. Anyway.
1:39
Speaker 1: Let's get to it. So the first case we're going
1:41
Speaker 1: to be talking about is the case of Gary Plouchet. Plouchet, Plouchet,
1:46
Speaker 1: however you want to say it. I'm gonna say Plouchet
1:48
Speaker 1: because that's how Google told me to. But anyway, this
1:50
Speaker 1: man is celebrated in many communities for his revenge story
1:54
Speaker 1: and it is still talked about to this day. His
1:56
Speaker 1: story inspires others with a sense of justice and terrifies
2:00
Speaker 1: others with his solution to this problem. But love him
2:03
Speaker 1: or hate him, This is his story. So Leon Gary
2:06
Speaker 1: Ploche was born November 10th, 1945 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2:11
Speaker 1: He served his country in the United States Air Force
2:14
Speaker 1: and became a staff sergeant. And after retiring, he tried
2:17
Speaker 1: his luck at being a heavy equipment salesman back in
2:20
Speaker 1: his hometown. And he lived like everyone else. He attended
2:23
Speaker 1: an Estrama senior school and was even in a frat
2:26
Speaker 1: called Kappa Alpha at Louisiana State University. And in his
2:30
Speaker 1: free time, he liked to fish, he liked to cook,
2:33
Speaker 1: and cheer for his favorite teams, the college team, LSU
2:36
Speaker 1: Tigers and the professional New Orleans State. And he had
2:39
Speaker 1: four children, one daughter and three sons. His daughter, Sissy
2:43
Speaker 1: Jennifer Laurie and his three sons, Jeffrey Joseph Jody and
2:47
Speaker 1: Leon Gary Jr. And he was a devoted father with
2:50
Speaker 1: no prior criminal behavior or violent tendencies and supposedly loved
2:54
Speaker 1: by all. However, one day he would change when he
2:57
Speaker 1: learned what was happening to one of his sons, Jody.
3:01
Speaker 1: And Jody was a normal kid. And as normal kids do,
3:04
Speaker 1: he played sports. Not that you're not normal if you
3:06
Speaker 1: don't play sports, just, you know, he's just one of
3:08
Speaker 1: the kids that played sports. And specifically during 1983 and 1984,
3:11
Speaker 1: Jody was practicing karate lessons at 11 years old. And
3:17
Speaker 1: his karate instructor was 25 year old Jeffrey Doucette. But
3:21
Speaker 1: he wasn't just teaching him karate, he was doing something
3:24
Speaker 1: far more sinister. For over a year, Jeffrey Doucette had
3:28
Speaker 1: been essaying Jody during these lessons. However, everything would soon
3:33
Speaker 1: come to light. And on February 14th, 1984, DeSette would
3:37
Speaker 1: kidnap Jody and take him very far away, all the
3:40
Speaker 1: way to Anaheim, California. And this trip was over 1700
3:43
Speaker 1: miles away from Jody's home. And supposedly he had told
3:46
Speaker 1: his mother June that he would be gone and back
3:49
Speaker 1: within 15 minutes and just wanted to show Jody some
3:52
Speaker 1: carpet he was laying. And this wasn't really suspicious at
3:54
Speaker 1: all due to the fact that Jeff Doucette's job was
3:57
Speaker 1: laying down carpet with his brother. And he was also
3:59
Speaker 1: a very trustworthy figure in Jody's life, which the plushies recognized.
4:03
Speaker 1: But after not returning for a very long time and
4:06
Speaker 1: going on a full-blown trip, June realized something was very
4:10
Speaker 1: wrong and she would tell her husband. It wasn't until
4:13
Speaker 1: February 29th, days after his disappearance, that a collection call
4:17
Speaker 1: was sent to their home. And they would track the
4:19
Speaker 1: origin of the message back to Anaheim, California at a
4:22
Speaker 1: certain motel. And the Washington Post states that June waited
4:26
Speaker 1: four days before she told her husband that Jodi was
4:29
Speaker 1: still not home. And it also states that Doucette actually
4:32
Speaker 1: called June, ordering her to bring the other children and
4:36
Speaker 1: their school transcripts. And she told Jeff that Gary would
4:38
Speaker 1: use this to get full custody of the children if
4:41
Speaker 1: he didn't bring them back. And there are a lot
4:42
Speaker 1: of strange, differing evidence in the story here. Some saying
4:46
Speaker 1: June knew that he would be gone while others say
4:49
Speaker 1: that she immediately called the FBI. But there's not enough
4:52
Speaker 1: sources to verify which is the true story. So I'm just,
4:55
Speaker 1: I just have to go off what I know. But anyway,
4:57
Speaker 1: the FBI finally raided the motel and arrested Doucette on
5:01
Speaker 1: February 29th, 1984. And Jody was reunited with his family
5:05
Speaker 1: and his father was overjoyed to see his son return home.
5:08
Speaker 1: So the whole family celebrated after he got home because
5:11
Speaker 1: they were just anxiously waiting for their son to come home.
5:13
Speaker 1: I mean, he was across the country basically at that point.
5:16
Speaker 1: So it was great that Jody was finally home. But
5:18
Speaker 1: this wasn't the end of the story by any means.
5:21
Speaker 1: The man who had caused all this pain was still
5:24
Speaker 1: in custody back in California. And Jeff Doucette would later
5:27
Speaker 1: fly in March 16th, 1984 to face trial for his crimes.
5:32
Speaker 1: And Gary was obviously still not happy that his son's
5:35
Speaker 1: abuser was just walking around just as still not being
5:39
Speaker 1: served several days after the incident. So the plane would
5:42
Speaker 1: land in Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, where Jeff would be
5:45
Speaker 1: led in handcuffs by officers around 9.30 p.m. However, someone
5:50
Speaker 1: was waiting at the airport for Jeff. Gary Plauche would
5:54
Speaker 1: get a tip from an ABC affiliate that Jeff had
5:57
Speaker 1: just landed. And Gary would make his way to the
6:00
Speaker 1: airport very quickly. And a news crew had set up
6:02
Speaker 1: cameras for Jeff's arrival. Opposite to the cameras were pay
6:05
Speaker 1: phones set up and Gary was waiting to strike. And
6:09
Speaker 1: all recorded on live television, once Jeff Doucette walked past
6:13
Speaker 1: the pay phones, Gary turned around with his revolver and
6:18
Speaker 1: shot Jeff perfectly in the head, all while donning a
6:23
Speaker 1: baseball cap, wearing sunglasses, and shooting a moving target. And again,
6:28
Speaker 1: this was all recorded on live TV with the shot
6:32
Speaker 1: obviously showing the trickling blood from Jeff Doucette's head, just
6:36
Speaker 1: absolutely brutal. I've seen the whole video. If you're very
6:42
Speaker 1: sensitive to that kind of stuff, I wouldn't watch it personally,
6:45
Speaker 1: but it's like, brutal. And this incident would obviously lead
6:48
Speaker 1: officers to tackle Gary to the ground. And the officers
6:52
Speaker 1: obviously knew exactly who had committed the incident, because they
6:55
Speaker 1: knew Gary at this point, because they had been dealing
6:58
Speaker 1: with his son being kidnapped, so. But since the officers
7:02
Speaker 1: knew who he was, one of the officers would actually
7:04
Speaker 1: call out, why Gary, why? And during this whole incident,
7:11
Speaker 1: the camera crew is still filming everything. They even zoom
7:14
Speaker 1: in where you can see blood pouring out of Doucette's head.
7:18
Speaker 1: It is just, it is just absolutely vile. But anyway,
7:21
Speaker 1: they would obviously put Gary into handcuffs as he had
7:24
Speaker 1: just committed a murder on live television, one of which
7:27
Speaker 1: was against a criminal about to be tried for his
7:30
Speaker 1: own son's and kidnapping. And unsurprising was his mental state
7:35
Speaker 1: during his son's disappearance. When he had found out that
7:37
Speaker 1: his son was stolen by his karate instructor, he obviously
7:41
Speaker 1: was angry and it took a psychological toll. Some reports
7:45
Speaker 1: stated he had a full mental breakdown and who wouldn't
7:47
Speaker 1: knowing that their son was kidnapped, especially by someone who
7:51
Speaker 1: had been abusing your child, like it's just a horrible,
7:54
Speaker 1: horrible circumstance. But anyway, Gary was obviously in trouble and
7:58
Speaker 1: was going to face legal consequences for his actions. So
8:01
Speaker 1: he would be charged for second degree murder and pleaded
8:04
Speaker 1: no contest to manslaughter. However, his punishment wouldn't be as
8:07
Speaker 1: severe as you might think. The judge would rule that
8:09
Speaker 1: he would, instead of being put behind bars, be sentenced
8:13
Speaker 1: to five years of probation and 300 hours of community service.
8:17
Speaker 1: Definitely a step down from what you would expect for
8:21
Speaker 1: a cold-blooded planned murder. But the media portrayed him as
8:25
Speaker 1: what he was, a grieving father angered by the criminal
8:28
Speaker 1: who had abused his son. A broken man with anger
8:31
Speaker 1: he couldn't control and his mental state clearly unstable and unforgiving.
8:35
Speaker 1: And he became some sort of hero overnight, a vigilante
8:38
Speaker 1: who took matters into his own hands against someone who
8:42
Speaker 1: he found disgusting, which I'm not gonna say. Listen, okay,
8:48
Speaker 1: I don't give my opinion a lot. especially on something
8:50
Speaker 1: like this, but if hypothetically I had a child that
8:53
Speaker 1: hypothetically got kidnapped by someone who hypothetically did stuff to
8:56
Speaker 1: my kid, I wouldn't, I'm not saying I would do
8:58
Speaker 1: what he did, but if for any reason that person,
9:02
Speaker 1: somebody else did it, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be
9:05
Speaker 1: shedding tears over the death. I'm just saying that, let's
9:07
Speaker 1: just say that. And interviews with his son later on
9:10
Speaker 1: showed that Jody did not actually want his father to
9:13
Speaker 1: kill him, because he had this attachment To Doucette, even
9:17
Speaker 1: though all the essay was happening, he was kind of another,
9:21
Speaker 1: not necessarily father figure, but he was somebody he looked
9:24
Speaker 1: up to because this man had groomed him over a
9:27
Speaker 1: certain amount of time. And he would actually grow to
9:30
Speaker 1: be able to forgive his father, understanding why he did
9:34
Speaker 1: it in taking matters into his own hands after he
9:37
Speaker 1: found out what had happened to his son. I understand
9:39
Speaker 1: exactly what my father did. He got lucky. because he
9:41
Speaker 1: didn't go to jail. But there are still varying viewpoints. Obviously,
9:45
Speaker 1: he committed a crime and murdered someone. But on the
9:47
Speaker 1: other hand, he got cold and hard revenge for his
9:51
Speaker 1: son's abuser. Like... Again, I'm not going to say it's
9:56
Speaker 1: right because it's not. Murder's wrong. But again... I'm not
10:01
Speaker 1: crying about it. But I would love to know what
10:02
Speaker 1: you think down in the comments below about this one
10:04
Speaker 1: because it's a lot of this. It's a lot of this.
10:07
Speaker 1: I don't think people should do stuff to kids like that.
10:10
Speaker 1: I think it's very wrong and I think they deserve
10:12
Speaker 1: to burn in the fiery depths of hell. But I
10:14
Speaker 1: also don't agree with murder in any way shape or form.
10:17
Speaker 1: So it's hard to say. But he is still seen
10:20
Speaker 1: as a hero to many, and I can't tell you
10:23
Speaker 1: the amount of t-shirts and media I have seen praising
10:27
Speaker 1: Gary Ploschet, who is a vigilante hero to a lot
10:30
Speaker 1: of people. But unfortunately, Gary would die of a stroke
10:33
Speaker 1: at 68 years old on October 21st, 2014. That is
10:36
Speaker 1: the story of Gary and Jodi Ploschet. And now we
10:42
Speaker 1: move on to Lisa McVeigh. So in 1984, a 17
10:46
Speaker 1: year old girl named Lisa McVeigh suffered unimaginable horrors at
10:50
Speaker 1: the hands of a serial killer, Bobby Joe Long. But
10:54
Speaker 1: this isn't just a story of survival, it is a
10:56
Speaker 1: sweet tale of revenge. From leaving crucial DNA evidence to
11:01
Speaker 1: memorizing every detail of her captor, Lisa outsmarted Long at
11:05
Speaker 1: every turn. Very similar to the Kara Chamberlain story, which
11:09
Speaker 1: you could watch here. Very similar in a lot of aspects.
11:12
Speaker 1: Kara actually talked to me about her whole story. It
11:14
Speaker 1: was very, very compelling. And Lisa's is equally as harrowing
11:20
Speaker 1: and incredible. So let's get into it. So on November 3rd, 1984,
11:23
Speaker 1: Lisa McVeigh's life took a harrowing turn. The 17-year-old had
11:28
Speaker 1: just finished her shift at a donut shop. and was
11:31
Speaker 1: cycling home in the dark. And unbeknownst to her, serial
11:34
Speaker 1: killer Bobby Joe Long was prowling the streets seeking his
11:38
Speaker 1: next victim. And Lisa's background had already been marred by trauma.
11:42
Speaker 1: For three years, she had to endure sexual abuse at
11:46
Speaker 1: the hands of her grandmother's boyfriend. And this horrific experience
11:49
Speaker 1: had conditioned her to endure violence, a factor that would
11:53
Speaker 1: prove crucial in the events to come. And before the
11:56
Speaker 1: night of the abduction, she actually had planned to end
11:59
Speaker 1: her own life.
12:00
Speaker 2: One bad situation got me to another bad situation is
12:03
Speaker 2: what saved my life because the night before I'm doing
12:04
Speaker 2: my note and the next night I'm fighting for my life.
12:07
Speaker 1: So as Lisa peddled through the night, Bobby Joe Long
12:10
Speaker 1: would suddenly emerge from the shadows and he would forcibly
12:14
Speaker 1: drag her off her bicycle and into his car, pressing
12:17
Speaker 1: the gun against her temple. I'm disappointed.
12:19
Speaker 2: Plucked off my back by God knows who and I
12:23
Speaker 2: felt the cold steel barrel to the left side of
12:26
Speaker 2: my temple.
12:27
Speaker 1: And in that terrifying moment, Lisa's survival instincts would start
12:30
Speaker 1: to kick in. This determination would become her driving force
12:33
Speaker 1: throughout the whole ordeal. And Long's modus operandi, or MO,
12:37
Speaker 1: was already well established by this point, so he knew
12:40
Speaker 1: exactly what he was going to do to her. He
12:42
Speaker 1: targeted young women, subjecting them to extreme violence before murdering them.
12:47
Speaker 1: And Lisa would later learn through news reports during her
12:51
Speaker 1: captivity that she was not the first victim. but rather
12:54
Speaker 1: the latest in a string of brutal attacks. And as
12:57
Speaker 1: a car sped through the night, Lisa's mind would start
13:00
Speaker 1: to race. Fear would grip her, and alongside it grew
13:03
Speaker 1: a steely resolve to survive. She began reciting the Lord's
13:07
Speaker 1: Prayer silently, drawing strength from her faith. Our Father who
13:11
Speaker 1: art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come,
13:13
Speaker 1: thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
13:15
Speaker 1: Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our
13:16
Speaker 1: trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead
13:18
Speaker 1: us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For
13:20
Speaker 1: thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever and ever. Amen.
13:24
Speaker 1: I just thought I'd do a little subtle brag that
13:26
Speaker 1: my parents made me say that every night before I
13:27
Speaker 1: went to bed. And this is the only time I've
13:29
Speaker 1: ever been able to say it on the internet. Anyway,
13:31
Speaker 1: Lisa McVeigh would be in the trunk praying and trying
13:33
Speaker 1: to think of what she could do to get out
13:36
Speaker 1: of this. And she started to actually negotiate with Long,
13:39
Speaker 1: employing psychological tactics to avoid being killed. And she's only
13:43
Speaker 1: 17 at this time. Like, I know we don't know
13:45
Speaker 1: what we would do in these circumstances, but at 17,
13:48
Speaker 1: I was, I was immoral. dude. I don't, I have no,
13:52
Speaker 1: I have no idea what I would do at this point,
13:54
Speaker 1: but I feel like it's almost a, a womanly instinct
13:58
Speaker 1: to just give in and try to, um, and Kara
14:02
Speaker 1: actually said this in the interview I did with her,
14:04
Speaker 1: appease the, the person to maybe get out that way
14:09
Speaker 1: rather than fighting because you know you're going to lose
14:11
Speaker 1: that fight. Lisa's quick thinking and ability to remain calm
14:14
Speaker 1: under extreme duress set her apart from Long's previous victims.
14:18
Speaker 1: She began to formulate a plan, recognizing that her survival
14:21
Speaker 1: depended on her ability to outsmart her captor. Lisa decided
14:25
Speaker 1: to fight, not just for her life, but to gather
14:27
Speaker 1: evidence that could potentially lead to Long's capture. So as
14:31
Speaker 1: they approached Long's apartment, Lisa made a crucial decision. She
14:35
Speaker 1: would not merely endure this whole ordeal, she would actively
14:39
Speaker 1: work to ensure her survival and Long's eventual capture. And
14:42
Speaker 1: this resolution marked the beginning of Lisa's transformation from victim
14:46
Speaker 1: to strategist. So they would get inside Long's apartment and
14:50
Speaker 1: Lisa's true ordeal would begin. For the next 26 hours,
14:55
Speaker 1: she would endure severe torture and multiple grapes, but also
15:00
Speaker 1: engage in a silent battle of wits against her captor.
15:03
Speaker 1: As long blindfolded Lisa, she remained acutely aware of her surroundings.
15:08
Speaker 1: Despite the terror coursing through her veins, Lisa focused on
15:11
Speaker 1: gathering crucial evidence throughout those 26 hours. She intentionally touched
15:16
Speaker 1: various surfaces in the apartment, leaving behind fingerprints and other
15:21
Speaker 1: traces of evidence that could later aid in the investigation.
15:24
Speaker 1: And Lisa also made mental notes of every sound, smell,
15:27
Speaker 1: and texture she encountered, building a very detailed mental map
15:31
Speaker 1: of her surroundings. And throughout her captivity, Lisa would employ
15:34
Speaker 1: these psychological tactics to kind of humanize herself to Long.
15:38
Speaker 1: Not only did she engage in conversation with him, sharing
15:41
Speaker 1: personal stories and attempting to establish a connection, but she
15:44
Speaker 1: listened to his every word and did whatever he asked
15:47
Speaker 1: her to do. And this approach just aimed to make
15:49
Speaker 1: it more difficult for Long to view her as just
15:52
Speaker 1: a victim and to view her as an actual person.
15:54
Speaker 1: And Lisa also feigned empathy, telling Long she understood why
15:58
Speaker 1: he was committing these crimes and even offering to be
16:01
Speaker 1: his girlfriend. And she would also count steps from room
16:05
Speaker 1: to room noted the sounds of nearby traffic and also
16:08
Speaker 1: attempted to discern any distinctive features of the apartment. And
16:11
Speaker 1: at one point, she even managed to peek under her blindfold,
16:14
Speaker 1: catching a glimpse of Long's car and memorizing the details
16:18
Speaker 1: of its appearance. Like she just, like full badass mode,
16:21
Speaker 1: just like fully investigator detective mode. And I just, it's
16:27
Speaker 1: so commendable and amazing. But the psychological tension really peaked
16:31
Speaker 1: when Lisa overheard a news report on television stating that
16:35
Speaker 1: a 17 year old girl named Lisa McVeigh had been missing.
16:38
Speaker 1: And this moment just kind of crystallized the gravity of
16:41
Speaker 1: her situation. And it also reinforced her determination to survive
16:44
Speaker 1: and bring her captor to justice. So as the hours passed,
16:48
Speaker 1: Lisa's tactics began to have an effect on Long. Her
16:51
Speaker 1: apparent empathy and willingness to understand him seemed to create
16:55
Speaker 1: a cognitive dissonance in his mind. And Long's behavior towards
16:59
Speaker 1: Lisa began to kind of shift at this point, becoming
17:02
Speaker 1: less aggressive and more conflicted. And eventually, Long made a
17:06
Speaker 1: decision to release Lisa after she concocted a story also
17:10
Speaker 1: about how she had a sick family member and she
17:12
Speaker 1: was the only one that could take care of him,
17:15
Speaker 1: he really started to sympathize and empathize with her. So
17:18
Speaker 1: he decided to actually let her go. So he would
17:20
Speaker 1: drive her to a location near her home and he
17:23
Speaker 1: would keep her blindfolded. And before letting her go, Long
17:26
Speaker 1: told Lisa not to contact the police and also to
17:29
Speaker 1: wait five minutes before taking off her blindfold after he left.
17:33
Speaker 1: And this was a command that she had no intention
17:36
Speaker 1: of following. So as Lisa heard Longstreet to drive away,
17:39
Speaker 1: she knew her ordeal was far from over. But she
17:42
Speaker 1: would go home and upon her arrival, she would actually
17:46
Speaker 1: be beaten by her guardian's boyfriend and interrogated for five
17:51
Speaker 1: hours because her family didn't believe that this actually happened.
17:54
Speaker 1: I mean, she came from a family that had no
17:56
Speaker 1: empathy towards her and in fact, essayed her on multiple occasions.
18:00
Speaker 1: So she literally had to prove that she had been
18:04
Speaker 1: kidnapped and as aid and had escaped also. But her
18:07
Speaker 1: accounts would remain consistent and they would finally call the
18:11
Speaker 1: police and she would be questioned. But luckily, as I
18:13
Speaker 1: mentioned before, Lisa had committed to memories several details about
18:17
Speaker 1: her abduction and intentionally left fingerprints on several surfaces in
18:21
Speaker 1: Long's apartment. And she did that just in case she
18:23
Speaker 1: actually died there, they would have evidence that she was
18:26
Speaker 1: in the apartment. She didn't even know she would escape
18:29
Speaker 1: at this point, but she thought ahead that much. And
18:31
Speaker 1: through her description of her captor, his vehicle, and the
18:35
Speaker 1: route they took, and other details, police were actually able
18:38
Speaker 1: to track down Long and connect him to hers and
18:42
Speaker 1: other crimes. So officers began a surveillance operation and arrested
18:45
Speaker 1: Long on November 16th, 1984 for essay and kidnapping of
18:49
Speaker 1: Lisa McVeigh. And while Long was arrested and put on trial,
18:53
Speaker 1: he showed no sense of care or empathy for what
18:56
Speaker 1: he did to Lisa or the other victims, nearly bragging
19:00
Speaker 1: about all the deaths that he had caused. A lot
19:03
Speaker 1: of lives just gone right down the tubes because of me.
19:05
Speaker 1: And he was also seen in court spitting on the
19:08
Speaker 1: camera showing his lack of care and just clear anger
19:12
Speaker 1: towards being caught. And on September 23rd, 1985, Long would
19:16
Speaker 1: plead guilty to his crimes against Lisa McVeigh and an
19:19
Speaker 1: additional eight counts of first degree murder and eight counts
19:22
Speaker 1: of kidnapping and seven counts of sejual battery. And he
19:26
Speaker 1: received a life sentence on every count in Hillsborough County.
19:30
Speaker 1: And additionally, he received two death sentences for the murders
19:33
Speaker 1: of Michelle Denise Sims and Virginia Johnson. And following Long's conviction,
19:38
Speaker 1: McVeigh channeled her trauma into a career dedicated to protecting others.
19:43
Speaker 1: She joined the Hillsbury County Sheriff's Office, rising through the
19:46
Speaker 1: ranks to become a master deputy. And in this role,
19:49
Speaker 1: McVeigh has worked tirelessly to advocate for victims of SA
19:53
Speaker 1: and human trafficking. And her unique perspective as both a
19:57
Speaker 1: survivor and law enforcement officer has just made her an
20:00
Speaker 1: invaluable asset in victim support and crime prevention initiatives. And
20:05
Speaker 1: a documentary was even released called Believe Me, The Abduction
20:08
Speaker 1: of Lisa McVeigh, which I highly recommend watching. And it
20:11
Speaker 1: just recounts her whole experience of everything that had happened.
20:14
Speaker 1: And at the end of it all, she actually forgave
20:16
Speaker 1: her captor, stating that what he did changed who she
20:20
Speaker 1: was and the horrors she endured, but forgives him despite it.
20:24
Speaker 2: Bobby DeLong, people ask me, What would I say to
20:26
Speaker 2: you if you were standing in front of me?
20:28
Speaker 1: And here's my answer.
20:28
Speaker 2: Bobby Geelong, thank you. Thank you for choosing me instead
20:31
Speaker 2: of another 17-year-old little girl. The reason why I say
20:33
Speaker 2: thank you now is because I have forgiven you for
20:35
Speaker 2: what you have done to me. Had I not forgiven you,
20:37
Speaker 2: I might as well be in my own prison without walls.
20:39
Speaker 2: God has shown me the only way to really be
20:40
Speaker 2: free when someone bestows injustice against you is complete forgiveness.
20:46
Speaker 2: My life changed forever and for the better. I chose
20:48
Speaker 2: not to remain a victim. I chose to live.
20:50
Speaker 1: So not only did she escape her captor, but she
20:53
Speaker 1: helped bring him to justice like a badass bitch. And
20:56
Speaker 1: she also got to see his execution, which is, you know,
21:00
Speaker 1: I don't know if you agree with that or not,
21:01
Speaker 1: but this guy's like next level piece of shit. And
21:04
Speaker 1: for her to watch him fearful of death is the
21:09
Speaker 1: cherry on the cake for me.
21:10
Speaker 2: He was a monster. He's still a monster until the
21:13
Speaker 2: day he takes his last breath.
21:14
Speaker 1: You've said in the past that you'd like to witness
21:18
Speaker 1: his execution.
21:19
Speaker 2: Do you still want to do that? I will be
21:21
Speaker 2: there on May 23rd at 6 p.m.
21:24
Speaker 1: I will be witnessing his execution.
21:26
Speaker 2: It's something I need to do for myself.
21:27
Speaker 1: But it is a shocking tale of not just revenge,
21:31
Speaker 1: but overcoming all to still forgive the horrors he had
21:34
Speaker 1: did to her. And I think she is just so
21:37
Speaker 1: amazing and like, absolutely, absolutely. I'm just gonna keep doing this.
21:45
Speaker 1: But that brings us to our next story, which is
21:48
Speaker 1: about Ken Rex McElroy. But this story is a little different.
21:53
Speaker 1: Instead of the main character being the hero, he was
21:56
Speaker 1: known as the town bully, and this one, just has community,
22:01
Speaker 1: community service written all over it. A community really coming together.
22:06
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna like this one a lot. But
22:08
Speaker 1: Ken Rex McElroy or McElroy, whatever you wanna pronounce it,
22:12
Speaker 1: was born June 1st, 1934 to a family of over
22:16
Speaker 1: 16 children. Why were they doing that back then? I
22:19
Speaker 1: guess they had time and farms and they needed help,
22:21
Speaker 1: I guess, I don't know. Seems like a lot. One
22:23
Speaker 1: seems like a lot to me. Anyway, but they were
22:25
Speaker 1: a migrant family that tenant farmed which meant they lived
22:29
Speaker 1: on land that was owned by a landlord, therefore contributed
22:32
Speaker 1: to work to live there, basically. Hence the 16 children,
22:36
Speaker 1: a lot of help. But from what I gather, it's
22:38
Speaker 1: pretty much an indentured servitude. But anyway, he was known
22:42
Speaker 1: as being a very rambunctious child. He didn't care about
22:46
Speaker 1: school at all. He dropped out at the age of
22:48
Speaker 1: 15 and was known to cattle rustle, which is pretty
22:51
Speaker 1: much just stealing cows and livestock. However, he was known
22:55
Speaker 1: for much, much worse, such as being a womanizer and
22:59
Speaker 1: a small-time thief, you know. as you do at the
23:02
Speaker 1: age of 15. But this reputation would carry on where
23:05
Speaker 1: he would, for the next decade, be known as a thief.
23:09
Speaker 1: And he would stand at six foot two and weigh
23:11
Speaker 1: about 270 pounds and intimidating the townsfolk of Skidmore, Missouri.
23:17
Speaker 1: That's a big guy. That's a big scary guy. And
23:19
Speaker 1: he was so intimidating that no one actually wanted to
23:23
Speaker 1: press charges against him despite him stealing gasoline, alcohol, antiques, livestock,
23:29
Speaker 1: and plenty of other crimes. And apparently with the 21 charges,
23:33
Speaker 1: no one testified when he was brought into the legal
23:36
Speaker 1: system because they were too scared that he would eventually
23:39
Speaker 1: come for them after he got out. And this womanizer
23:43
Speaker 1: would continue his antics and would apparently father over 10
23:47
Speaker 1: children in his lifetime, all with different women. Quite literally
23:51
Speaker 1: the definition of a womanizer. But I doubt fathered is
23:54
Speaker 1: a good term. I'm going to safely assume that he
23:58
Speaker 1: wasn't much of a father figure at all. But his
24:00
Speaker 1: last wife was named Trina McLeod, who was 12 years
24:04
Speaker 1: old and in the eighth grade when he was 35.
24:07
Speaker 1: 12 and 35. Just let that marinate. That's a crime.
24:13
Speaker 1: This wasn't the only disgusting thing about the relationship though,
24:16
Speaker 1: as he would repeatedly grape and abuse her, which is
24:20
Speaker 1: just terrible. Like, I don't even know how I mean,
24:24
Speaker 1: I know age gaps, but 35 and 12, oh, it's
24:27
Speaker 1: a baby. That is literally a baby. Like he's a monster.
24:31
Speaker 1: And the parents obviously didn't agree with their relationship. However,
24:35
Speaker 1: they were immediately swindled by the fact that he was
24:38
Speaker 1: threatening them as well, because he's a bully. And by threats,
24:41
Speaker 1: I mean going through with the threats. saying he'd burn
24:45
Speaker 1: their house down, and he just did that. And to
24:47
Speaker 1: add insult to injury, he also shot their dog. I mean,
24:51
Speaker 1: this guy was genuinely a spawn of Satan. Burning, stealing,
24:56
Speaker 1: and of course, the S.A. and grape. I mean, he
24:59
Speaker 1: is the devil personified. A modern day barbarian, if you will.
25:03
Speaker 1: So he was just a pillaging, stalking, pedo, abuser, and more,
25:08
Speaker 1: and the descriptions of him would continue to add up.
25:11
Speaker 1: And eventually, his 14-year-old wife, Trina McLeod, would become pregnant,
25:16
Speaker 1: which involved her having to drop out of the ninth grade, obviously.
25:20
Speaker 1: And she would then move in with McElroy and his
25:23
Speaker 1: second wife, because he just, you know, decided to have
25:25
Speaker 1: multiple wives, not just because, you know. And his second
25:28
Speaker 1: wife would be Alice. And there was another woman already
25:31
Speaker 1: there named Marcia, but she was kicked out to make
25:34
Speaker 1: room for Trina. And he had divorced his second wife, Alice,
25:38
Speaker 1: to avoid... the statutory grape charges since she was the
25:43
Speaker 1: only witness. Just giant piece of shit. And Alice was
25:46
Speaker 1: obviously not happy about this and supposedly had run away
25:50
Speaker 1: along with Trina and her new child from McElroy. and
25:53
Speaker 1: went to Trina's parents' home to escape him. However, McElroy
25:56
Speaker 1: would hunt her down and bring Alice back. And a
25:59
Speaker 1: few days later, when Trina's parents were gone, he would
26:01
Speaker 1: burn down their house and shoot their new dog, as
26:05
Speaker 1: I had mentioned. That is why he did that. And
26:07
Speaker 1: Trina would later get her freedom when she would take
26:10
Speaker 1: her son to get a checkup at the doctor. She
26:12
Speaker 1: told the doctors what had happened and the doctor would
26:15
Speaker 1: notify the authorities and social welfare would show up. And
26:19
Speaker 1: the baby was not only put into foster care, but
26:21
Speaker 1: Trina was tranquilized and hospitalized, primarily to protect her from McElroy.
26:25
Speaker 1: And after being interviewed by the authorities in June 1973,
26:28
Speaker 1: McElroy was arrested, booked, arraigned, and then released on a $ 2, 500 bail. However,
26:36
Speaker 1: McElroy would finally push the justice system too far. In 1980,
26:40
Speaker 1: one of the McElroy children stopped by to buy some candy.
26:43
Speaker 1: And due to the mild confusion at the register, the
26:46
Speaker 1: child walked out of the grocery store without paying. And
26:48
Speaker 1: when the clerk ran after them, then the oldest of
26:51
Speaker 1: the children grabbed the candy and put it back in
26:53
Speaker 1: the store, angry and yelling at how they could accuse
26:55
Speaker 1: her of stealing. And the owners of the shop, Bo
26:58
Speaker 1: and Lois Boenkamp, tried to solve the issue just through discussion.
27:01
Speaker 1: And the children, still upset, continued to argue that Lois
27:04
Speaker 1: would ban them from the store forever. And McElroy would
27:07
Speaker 1: later learn about this and only a few minutes later
27:09
Speaker 1: arrive at the store, threatening Lois Boenkamp with a pocket
27:13
Speaker 1: knife and he would whip her ass. So the Boenkamps
27:16
Speaker 1: being the fucking afraid of this monster coming into their
27:20
Speaker 1: store and threatening them, would just try to explain everything
27:23
Speaker 1: and he would eventually calm down and just ask for
27:26
Speaker 1: a pack of camels. However, despite the issue seemingly being solved,
27:30
Speaker 1: they denied his business and told him to leave. McElroy
27:33
Speaker 1: then sat in his truck and watched the store until
27:35
Speaker 1: they left. And when they returned home, McElroy continued to
27:38
Speaker 1: drive past their home at the edge of town. And
27:40
Speaker 1: the Bowen camps would live in fear, many telling them
27:43
Speaker 1: that Ken McElroy never backed down from a fight and
27:47
Speaker 1: would solve it eventually. And a month later, Ken would
27:49
Speaker 1: actually drive past the store firing warning shots near their business,
27:54
Speaker 1: doing this a few times during the day. And Lois
27:57
Speaker 1: being petrified that somebody's shooting warning shots at her business
28:01
Speaker 1: would file a complaint towards him at the Noah Day
28:03
Speaker 1: County Sheriff's office where Sheriff Roger Kronk told her that
28:07
Speaker 1: he would settle it and file the complaint. But this
28:11
Speaker 1: was a lie and nothing was done about the issue.
28:14
Speaker 1: And on the evening of July 8th, 1980, Beau Boenkamp
28:18
Speaker 1: would drive to his store to converse with the repairman
28:21
Speaker 1: near the rear entrance. And Beau would be there cutting
28:24
Speaker 1: boxes with a knife. And Ken would later arrive and
28:27
Speaker 1: threaten him, pointing a double barrel shotgun at Beau's back
28:31
Speaker 1: before pulling the trigger and firing it into his neck, head,
28:36
Speaker 1: and torso. And Beau would survive, but Ken would later
28:40
Speaker 1: be charged with attempted murder. And although convicted at trial,
28:44
Speaker 1: he was freed on bail and waited for his appeal.
28:46
Speaker 1: And then Ken just headed to the bar after this
28:50
Speaker 1: and he would exclaim to everybody in there that he
28:53
Speaker 1: was just acting in self-defense and that Beau rushed him
28:56
Speaker 1: with a knife, which we all know didn't happen based
28:59
Speaker 1: on his track record. And he was seen carrying an
29:01
Speaker 1: M1 Garand rifle with a bayonet attached, continually making threats
29:06
Speaker 1: stating he would shoot the old man in the head
29:08
Speaker 1: and carve him up like a turkey. Who walks around
29:12
Speaker 1: with a bayonet on their gun? Who walks around with
29:14
Speaker 1: a gun like that anyway? But my god, a bayonet?
29:16
Speaker 1: So patrons gathered wondering what they could do. Knowing his
29:20
Speaker 1: appeal hearing had been delayed, people were worried that he
29:23
Speaker 1: would continue to cause trouble in town. And the town
29:26
Speaker 1: folk naturally f * * * ing despised this guy.
29:29
Speaker 1: He was a menace to society and everyone had to
29:31
Speaker 1: deal with this pedo attempted murdering f * * * er.
29:35
Speaker 1: asshole in their town. So the town of Skidmore had enough.
29:39
Speaker 1: Collectively agreeing that the law was seemingly on his side
29:42
Speaker 1: and the legal system was not protecting them. So on
29:44
Speaker 1: the morning of July 10th, 1981, all of the townspeople
29:49
Speaker 1: met up at the Legion Hall in the center of
29:51
Speaker 1: town and they talked about many different ideas and their worries,
29:55
Speaker 1: such as I stated earlier about the law not helping them.
29:58
Speaker 1: And Sheriff Estes told them to not approach him and
30:02
Speaker 1: instead form a neighborhood watch. That's gonna work real well.
30:05
Speaker 1: And after the meeting, the sheriff would drive out of
30:07
Speaker 1: town and the citizens would just be left pissed the
30:10
Speaker 1: hell off. And despite warnings, they decided to solve the
30:13
Speaker 1: issue themselves. So they would head to the tavern where
30:16
Speaker 1: Ken was in mass. And Ken, finishing his drink and
30:20
Speaker 1: finishing his last cigarette, would start to leave the bar.
30:23
Speaker 1: And he would hop into his pickup truck. And while
30:26
Speaker 1: in his truck, some of the folks in the neighborhood
30:29
Speaker 1: would lift their guns and start blasting him in his truck,
30:34
Speaker 1: with only two bullets hitting him. And Trina, who was
30:36
Speaker 1: very close to him during this event, would come out unscathed, luckily,
30:40
Speaker 1: and no one would call an ambulance. And when witnesses
30:43
Speaker 1: were asked what they saw and who the potential gunman was,
30:47
Speaker 1: The multiple witnesses couldn't state who had shot him or
30:50
Speaker 1: deliberately just wouldn't give a straight answer. They'd be like, man,
30:54
Speaker 1: I heard it. I saw it, but I don't know.
30:56
Speaker 1: I was just kind of daydreaming. I don't really remember.
30:59
Speaker 1: Let me think. Tom, was it you? No? And this
31:02
Speaker 1: was over 35 people, by the way, all of which
31:06
Speaker 1: didn't say a word. No snitches got stitches. And a
31:10
Speaker 1: large task force of police officers were sent to the
31:12
Speaker 1: scene of the crime to compile a list of who
31:14
Speaker 1: could have done it. But with so many witnesses and
31:17
Speaker 1: people there, no one knew for sure who it could
31:19
Speaker 1: have been. And Trina was the only one to give
31:21
Speaker 1: a name. Del Clement. She claimed after she hopped out
31:24
Speaker 1: of the truck after the shots were fired, she saw
31:27
Speaker 1: him carrying a rifle. And this, however, was only her testimony,
31:30
Speaker 1: and no one else could corroborate the claim. Therefore, it
31:33
Speaker 1: was just not enough to bring an indictment against the shooter.
31:37
Speaker 1: And the grand jury questioned people like Beau Bauenkamp and
31:40
Speaker 1: Romaine Henry, two people who had been harassed by Ken,
31:43
Speaker 1: and therefore didn't offer any help at all, as they should.
31:47
Speaker 1: So the grand jury just couldn't do anything, and the
31:49
Speaker 1: judge couldn't do anything, therefore nothing became of it. But
31:52
Speaker 1: this got so bad that the US Justice Department called
31:56
Speaker 1: the FBI to investigate with agents interviewing the same witnesses
32:01
Speaker 1: and getting the exact same responses as they gave the
32:04
Speaker 1: initial police. And the prosecutor Bard received evidence from the feds, however,
32:09
Speaker 1: All he had to say was quote unquote, after careful
32:12
Speaker 1: consideration and evaluation, I have determined that there is not
32:16
Speaker 1: current sufficient evidence with which to establish guilt beyond a
32:20
Speaker 1: reasonable doubt. And the media just continually talked about the
32:23
Speaker 1: dilemma of how an entire town that hated a man
32:26
Speaker 1: was so intense that no one would speak up about
32:29
Speaker 1: his murder. And this just really showed the hate for Ken.
32:33
Speaker 1: Everyone wanted this bully just dead and gone with and
32:36
Speaker 1: no one wanted to snitch. Which is kind of based,
32:38
Speaker 1: if you ask me. I'm not really upset about it.
32:40
Speaker 1: This guy sounds like a giant waste of air and oxygen.
32:44
Speaker 1: Pretty similar to the first story. So, I guess I
32:49
Speaker 1: do stand. I guess I do have an opinion on that.
32:51
Speaker 1: And in 1884, an attorney named Richard McDan filed a
32:56
Speaker 1: 5 million wrongful death civil lawsuit on behalf of Trina
33:00
Speaker 1: against Sheriff Estes, the mayor, and Del Clement. And it
33:03
Speaker 1: was settled out of court and she was awarded around $ 18, 000.
33:06
Speaker 1: So to a degree, the law had failed this family,
33:10
Speaker 1: but so did the entire town. The law couldn't protect them,
33:13
Speaker 1: so when they got their hands dirty, it's no shock
33:15
Speaker 1: that on the other side of the coin, the law
33:17
Speaker 1: didn't work for the McElroys. The legacy of Skidmore continues
33:21
Speaker 1: on with the anniversaries of his death being talked about
33:24
Speaker 1: continually and people remembering the awful legacy of Ken Rex McElroy,
33:28
Speaker 1: the man who was murdered and hated by an entire town.
33:32
Speaker 1: And the town kind of hates being linked to the
33:34
Speaker 1: entire situation where it went from 1,000 to a now
33:38
Speaker 1: close to 300 people today. And it continually comes up
33:41
Speaker 1: through different medias with a ton of documentaries on the
33:44
Speaker 1: whole situation floating about, one specifically called No One Saw
33:48
Speaker 1: a Thing. And in the documentary, you can just feel
33:51
Speaker 1: the hatred everyone had for this guy. But anyway, I think,
33:54
Speaker 1: you know, an entire town coming together, you know, really
33:57
Speaker 1: working together. Again, I don't agree with murder. Let me
34:01
Speaker 1: just get that straight. I don't agree with murder. And
34:02
Speaker 1: I think no one should ever do that. But it
34:05
Speaker 1: is very unfortunate that the law let these people down,
34:08
Speaker 1: you know? And a child, a 12-year-old kid who's pregnant
34:11
Speaker 1: at 14. I mean, there's just so many bad things
34:13
Speaker 1: about it. I'm gonna just sit in the gray area,
34:16
Speaker 1: not saying much, but letting you guys say stuff down
34:18
Speaker 1: in the comments because... You guys can do that, you know.
34:21
Speaker 1: And I love to read it. Let me know what
34:22
Speaker 1: you want to see down below, what you want me
34:24
Speaker 1: to deep dive in. Also, you can listen on Spotify
34:27
Speaker 1: and Apple Music now. Crime, Conspiracy, Cults, and Murder is
34:31
Speaker 1: my podcast. You guys are so kind on there. I
34:34
Speaker 1: really appreciate all the five-star reviews. I'm like, I was
34:38
Speaker 1: number 12 podcast in America. How the frick did that happen?
34:41
Speaker 1: Because you guys, I love you. I appreciate you. And also,
34:46
Speaker 1: stay safe out there. And don't hitchhike. Bye.