Returning from our brief hiatus, my co-host and I found ourselves reflecting on the unexpected liberty a day off can grant, only to be soberly reminded of life's fragility through the recent, harrowing event at a Provo assisted living facility. We share with you a deep dive into the critical need for enhanced safety measures in such facilities, sparked by the loss of a dementia patient who met a tragic fate in a walk-in freezer. The conversation turns personal as we recount similar experiences and the urgent necessity for vigilance in protecting the most vulnerable among us.
The episode then pivots to the poignant story of Nadja Medley, a woman whose life was a stunning mosaic of resilience and sorrow. As we honor her memory, we recount her journey from the depths of grief to the heights of single parenthood and career fulfillment, only to be cut short by incomprehensible violence. Amid these reflections, we also swap tales from a girls' trip to Vegas, painting a vivid picture of the sometimes bizarre world of massage therapy, and the critical importance of personal boundaries.
As the narrative darkens, we unravel the chilling mystery of a family's dream turned nightmare in a small Idaho town. The saga of Nadja, Mike Bollinger, and their blended family unfolds with all the twists of a crime thriller, leaving a community, law enforcement, and us, the storytellers, grappling with the weight of tragedy and the enigmatic figure at its center. Join us for this emotional ride as we piece together a story of deception, a double life, and the indelible scars left on those who survive.
Thanks for all the support!! Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok, or email us, and remember we now have a Patreon!!
patreon.com/sinnersamongsaintspodcast
sinnersamongsaintspodcast@gmail.com
Tik Tok @sinnersamongsaints
Returning from our brief hiatus, my co-host and I found ourselves reflecting on the unexpected liberty a day off can grant, only to be soberly reminded of life's fragility through the recent, harrowing event at a Provo assisted living facility. We share with you a deep dive into the critical need for enhanced safety measures in such facilities, sparked by the loss of a dementia patient who met a tragic fate in a walk-in freezer. The conversation turns personal as we recount similar experiences and the urgent necessity for vigilance in protecting the most vulnerable among us.
The episode then pivots to the poignant story of Nadja Medley, a woman whose life was a stunning mosaic of resilience and sorrow. As we honor her memory, we recount her journey from the depths of grief to the heights of single parenthood and career fulfillment, only to be cut short by incomprehensible violence. Amid these reflections, we also swap tales from a girls' trip to Vegas, painting a vivid picture of the sometimes bizarre world of massage therapy, and the critical importance of personal boundaries.
As the narrative darkens, we unravel the chilling mystery of a family's dream turned nightmare in a small Idaho town. The saga of Nadja, Mike Bollinger, and their blended family unfolds with all the twists of a crime thriller, leaving a community, law enforcement, and us, the storytellers, grappling with the weight of tragedy and the enigmatic figure at its center. Join us for this emotional ride as we piece together a story of deception, a double life, and the indelible scars left on those who survive.
Thanks for all the support!! Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok, or email us, and remember we now have a Patreon!!
patreon.com/sinnersamongsaintspodcast
sinnersamongsaintspodcast@gmail.com
Tik Tok @sinnersamongsaints
Hi guys, I'm Lindsay and I'm Megan, and welcome to another episode of Sinners Among Saints.
Speaker 2:Hey, welcome back, welcome back. We took a week off, so this is a really big welcome back for us. Yeah, it really is. You guys didn't know that we weren't there, you didn't even have to miss us, nope, but we missed each other, yes, so yeah, so it was a weird Friday for me last week just because I was like my kids had a performance when I sent it at school, so their dad picked them up from school.
Speaker 1:Oh, so you didn't have to yeah.
Speaker 2:So I didn't have to like do any of the normal things I do on Fridays. It was like I just took kids to school.
Speaker 1:Like an extra day off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was super weird, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:So yeah, did you hear about this story? I forgot to tell you I because I didn't hear about this. It happened in January. Okay, so I was in a provo at an assisted living facility where the dementia patient got locked in the freezer.
Speaker 2:No, Did you hear about this? No?
Speaker 1:Okay, so it popped up on my feed like I don't know three days ago or something, and I was like what?
Speaker 1:So there was this lady and I'll have to show you pictures when we're finished because she's so cute. She was 75. Oh no, her name was Ricky and she was super like, active and fit and fun, but she got dementia and she had started to wander, uh-huh. And so her son put her in this assisted living because she couldn't take like she, yeah, she couldn't, she can't take care of herself. But he was taking care of her. But then she started wandering, yeah, and so it became like dangerous.
Speaker 1:So two months before this, he puts her in this facility, okay, and they she went missing one day and they couldn't find her. So they were like looking in all the patients rooms, she had wandered off and they ended up going to the kitchen finally, but it had been like over two hours that she had been missing and they found her. One of the patient or one of the workers there didn't even know. They had like a big giant ass freezer, yeah, and she had locked herself in the freezer and couldn't get out, oh no, and by the time they found her, she had like like she was severely hypothermic, yeah, and she had frostbite, oh no. So look at her hands, oh my gosh, she ended up dying. Like several days later. She ended up dying, but look at her Like she doesn't look 75.
Speaker 2:No, she doesn't she was like super spry super active. No, she's like really pretty and looks like super young. It was just like her mind went how sad.
Speaker 1:And so they're like they just got fined. So I didn't hear about it initially, but I guess they just got fined like close to $115,000. That's a big, that's a big thing. And then they're looking into other things. And I'm sure, the sun will be able to sue Like for sure what.
Speaker 2:When I worked in a lab I'm not going to say the name, but we had, or the facility still has a like enormous storage facility.
Speaker 2:That's like it's like tens of feet, like deep, like tall and deep, and it's just like where they store all the hundreds and thousands of samples that they get every year. Okay, because you have to store them for several years before you, depending on like the testing and whatever it is, but you have to store them for up to several years before you can discard them. So there's tracks that are moving and people are constantly pulling things from storage because you need to rerun testing, or they add testing on, or someone else needs more sample, and so they're like it's just the storage facilities that constantly running. And we there's biomedical engineer people that work for the company that also come and, like you know, try and help fix your instruments before you have to call like vendors or whatever, but they also take care of that facility. Well, one of them had gone in there once to work on it and had fallen like down and wasn't found for like hours.
Speaker 1:And it's like a.
Speaker 2:It's like a negative, negative 80 degree freezer because you have to store stuff for so long and so he died, oh my gosh. And it was, like you know, obviously like a huge like thing with the company. I'm sure they paid the family like a ton of money but they had to change it where, like every time the bio guys went in, they had to scan a thing going in and then someone had to someone had to check like every five minutes.
Speaker 2:I think that's terrifying, yeah, and he was older, like he was an older guy but like super nice, like I just you know everyone like kind of knew him, but yeah, it like changed. How you know, they ran that side because it's it's not something that you, you know think about that. And like in a nursing home, like you wouldn't necessarily think but you have.
Speaker 1:If you have a lot of dementia patients, yeah, Like the, the nursing homes that I cause I did rotations with, like, yeah, CNA school and then nursing school and then, you know, all of my schooling has been so like in nursing, you do a lot at nursing homes or long-term facilities and most of the time if there's like a Alzheimer's or dementia unit, it's locked down and they bring like the food and stuff to the unit. Okay, so they don't have all of that stuff in the unit. See, my grandma wasn't locked down, so I don't know.
Speaker 2:My grandma wasn't in her facility. She could just walk around.
Speaker 1:I think that's terrifying because a lot of them are in there, because they wander right. So it's like a locked, like a locked door and then they have more nursing staff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're like in there, like within that unit, yeah, but I don't think even the place that my grandma was at had like a separate unit for like Alzheimer's patients. My grandma was not a wanderer, but they did have like alarms on their doors. I know that. So you had to like come in or out like pretty quickly because it was the alarm off. If you like sat there and held the door open. Yeah.
Speaker 1:But I just can't imagine letting dementia and Alzheimer's patients just wander around the unit like doing whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I don't. Yeah, it's sad, so sad. It's so sad Like I can't even imagine. I mean, no, it's so sad and like terrible way to die Like in a oh for sure Freezer.
Speaker 1:In a walk in freezer by yourself and you literally can't get out. And then she's losing her mind, yeah, you're not. She probably has like no idea what's happening. So scary and it's dark, it's dark and cold.
Speaker 2:Alzheimer's is so hard anyway because, like you're watching your loved one deteriorate and even though you I feel like a lot of people would probably agree with this Like you, you kind of grieve for the loss of them, like as that happens, because you know you they're, they're no longer like that same person and they don't remember you, and so you kind of do that.
Speaker 2:But then, like, even when they do finally pass away, like it's still really hard, and so to have like to think you're doing like the best and it's hard, like it was hard for my mom to put my grandma in the nursing home just cause we tried to have her live with us and it was like we just couldn't. You know, no one was home 24 hours a day and someone needed to be, and so I think it's already hard for people to have to put their loved one in a nursing home and you think you're doing the right thing to be like safe and be like whatever, and then that happens.
Speaker 1:And then that happens. Oh, and I guess they had like called the son at some point and said, hey, like your mom wandered off and we can't find her, we'll keep you posted. And then he gets the call that, hey, we're taking her to the hospital cause she was found in the freezer and had been locked in for two hours. Yeah, no, that's so sad.
Speaker 2:Oh, I would be livid. Xander was sent home from school today because he was had ran away off school grounds twice.
Speaker 2:And I actually ran into one of the girls that works there at the gas station just randomly today and she was just like I didn't recognize her cause she I don't do as many pickups and drop offs with him anymore, so I know like the ones that have been there for a long time, but she must be a little bit. She's like, oh, you probably don't recognize me, like I work as Xander, and I was like, oh, you know, let's call whatever. And then she's like he just was sent home cause he's ran away twice and she's like a more really short staffed and she's like for safety reasons, we just were like you have to go home.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and I was like, oh no, I don't envy teachers because they have a hard enough job.
Speaker 2:anyways, I was like it's, I mean, but then to have like special needs kids who are like and he's not normally like a runner run off, you know she did say she's like Thursday's tend to be like a hard day for him and I was like it actually is like his first day back to his mom, so it's like a transition day. Like he, they just went back Wednesday night and so I'm like it's probably as hard to said Sundays are always our hardest day with him, and it's not always every Sunday, but like, if it is going to be a hard day, it's generally a Sunday because it's our first transition day and so it's just a little bit harder and she's like that makes sense. But she was like, yeah, we felt bad, but we just were like you can't.
Speaker 1:But like, yeah, you also have like all these other kids you're trying to keep safe and you can't stay here because you keep running away. Like what are you supposed to do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was like I'd rather he be sent home anyway and instead of have like have something happen. Yeah, and that's sad. I was like poor kid.
Speaker 1:Little turd. And then, on the happier note, we have a new Patreon. To give a shout out to LB. Oh yeah, and she's been great because she has been. She sent us like a couple of cases and has messaged us on Instagram. I don't know why that sentence is really hard for me to say. But I cannot tell you guys how much it means to us, one when we get a new Patreon, yeah, and two when you guys like send us messages.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it honestly is like so fun for me to like get the messages and to see like just your guys' thoughts and you're like you're always like kind words and it just makes us feel so good.
Speaker 1:We love it and we have been kind of going back through old messages and like getting the cases, now that we are at a point where we can do more cases that we haven't already been working on. Yeah, it's kind of a process You're going to do like well, in advance and I've had like a list, and now that list is kind of dwindling and so I'm trying to add on the new cases and so I have messaged a couple people back. So if you get this and you haven't checked your messages in a while and you messaged us the case we should cover, go back and see if we messaged you, because we had like a question on one of them.
Speaker 2:So yeah, so if you have any recommendations, then shoot us a message, yeah, and jump in and join our Patreon if you would love to support us. We're starting a new like after hours kind of show for the $10 tier patrons. Yes, that'll be like a 30 minute little video of us after hours, yes, so I think it should be fun and we would love for you guys to get like to know us a little bit better. Get that content, get you know.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll be doing lots of different things on there, so jump on and do that and help support us yeah and yeah, and then another shout out, because I don't feel like we have given him a shout out. But Stacy Wolford is like. He messages us on Instagram all the time, too Okay, and tells us how great we are. Yeah, and so thank you, yes, thank you. We really do appreciate the messages and support. Oh for sure, yeah, speaking of that, too.
Speaker 2:I was just telling Lindsay this on our way in, but Mariah, so she's one of our patrons and she had messaged on there too, and it's and also my bonus daughter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, lindsay's bonus daughter. But for some reason when she messaged us I read the name but like did not. I don't even know why it did not click. And then I see like Lindsay messaging back and she's like can't wait for your birthday, like your dirty 30, whatever. And I was like so offended because I'm like what listener is she friends with that they're going to like party for her birthday and I don't know who it is and she wasn't invited, yeah. And I was like clicked in the message, like what is she talking to? And then I was like oh my God, it was Mariah. Like what? Like no, where my brain was, yeah.
Speaker 1:So her birthday is tomorrow, happy birthday. But by the time it'll be passed, by the time this actually comes out. But yeah, happy birthday. Yeah, happy birthday. I love you so much.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we love you guys. We love you, and I won't be offended if Lindsay parties with you for your birthday. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And if anyone else wants to party with us for your birthday, just heck, yeah, send us an invite. Man, more down, okay, okay, alright, do we have any other businessy things? I don't think so. So this case I was kind of telling Megan just that it was a little frustrating. I had heard about this case but I don't feel like it got a ton of coverage and it's local. So I was really surprised actually about how little coverage there was on this, and I'll tell you why. I think there hasn't been a lot that's come out at the end, but I don't want to spoil it for you.
Speaker 1:So we're going to jump in and talk about a lovely lady. Her name is Nadja and I think it's Nadja. It's N-A-D-J-A Nadja, but it's pronounced Nadja Medley. She was born on December 5th 1969 in Germany and there isn't a lot really known about her early life or her family life. But she ended up moving to the United States and it sounds like she moved in her late teens, early 20s, and she ended up meeting a man named Todd Medley and the couple fell madly in love and ended up getting married and they settled down in Ogden, utah and they began talking about starting a family. Nadja was very, very caring, energetic and a very free spirited person, so people described her as kind of a hippie chick. She wasn't really ever worried about material things and was just always happy to be herself. She was very into natural healing and helping people and was really into teas like kombucha tea and things like that.
Speaker 1:Nadja ended up giving birth to a little girl in 2002, and the couple named her Peyton. The couple would end up getting pregnant one more time almost a decade later, in 2011. But that child passed away shortly after birth and I could not find the cause of this. I have no idea what happened, but it sounds like. Nadja had her yeah maybe just SIDS or something and then passed away soon after.
Speaker 1:So the entire family had a deep, deep love for animals, and Todd and Nadja actually worked together at a pet store in Ogden. But then tragedy struck this family again when, in 2014, todd passed away suddenly after having a heart attack oh, 44. My God, that's terrible. It's terrible. He was way too young for that and that left Nadja a widow at just age 44. They were the same age.
Speaker 2:She's lost a baby and a husband within three years.
Speaker 1:I can't even imagine.
Speaker 2:That's terrible, and her daughter's what like 13 at this point. That's a terrible age to.
Speaker 1:She's like 11.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was 2014 and she was born in 2002. So like, yeah, she hadn't turned 12 yet.
Speaker 2:That's just a rough age for like Luzi siblings. I'm sure you're old enough at that point to be, excited for it, and then your dad oh sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then as a mom, if like. Like literally, your family is cut in half in three years. I'm so sad I can't even imagine.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:So during this time, not only was Nadja having to deal with her grief, be a support to Payton and keep things together, but then it also put a big financial strain on her as now a single parent, and so she had to get a second job in order to pay their bills. She was a really hard worker and ended up going back to school and getting her massage therapy license, and so she started working at a local spa doing massage therapy and absolutely loved it, and everyone said it kind of seemed like a perfect fit for her because she was someone that was so into healing, right yeah, and so it was just like this natural transition for her.
Speaker 2:That sounds so miserable to me. I know no.
Speaker 1:No, I would not. I love getting massage.
Speaker 2:I love being the recipient, but I would love to work like in a spa, though, because every time you go in there it's so relaxing.
Speaker 1:It is so relaxing.
Speaker 2:And to have your whole day be just kind of dark and like that, the calming music and the calming sense.
Speaker 1:And nobody really talks to you during a massage right All day. I mean you're doing your work, but it's like in peace a little bit.
Speaker 2:It's like very meditative all day, but I feel like my hands would really start to hurt. Well, my hands would be terrible yeah.
Speaker 1:Because you know.
Speaker 2:I'm sure you learn how to do it to where it doesn't. It's not as hard on your hands, right? Well, I think that's the way they switch and do their elbows sometimes Right and I just like I don't even know.
Speaker 1:I don't want to touch people's bodies. I don't want to touch people's bodies in Vegas Me and Lindsay you guys, you guys, oh my God.
Speaker 2:We went to Vegas. It was after I'd had my son, and so it was like March, because it was during St Patrick's Day, because I remember we had a hard time getting us a hotel room because it was St Patrick's Day weekend, but it was when Lindsay had like a break in school. So me and Har went to Vegas and just like on a girls trip and I like got on Groupon, I got us tickets to a drag show and then like these massage tickets, and so we go and we get this massage and it's like this Well, first of all, we're trying to find the massage place because we drove, so we had Megan's car and we're driving around and it's like like little China town.
Speaker 2:It was, it was not.
Speaker 1:And it's just like the further we go it's getting more and more ghetto, so bad, and it's like I don't know. I don't think it was this bad, but in my mind I was like seeing chicken heads cut off and the street.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was just like super ghetto, very far from the strip, like what that very far, what that atmosphere is like. It was definitely like you're getting into like. Vegas, the back, the back streets of Vegas, yeah, but it was like this big. I remember it was like one big room with like these little tents.
Speaker 1:You walk in and it's like this big, open, almost like industrial building with like the like the open pipes at the ceiling, and so, instead of leaving you, like leading you back like a normal spot, into like a private room, there's like sheets, like curtains set up and they lead us back to this place. And we're walking by and you can see into the curtain and you're seeing people getting their massages and you're like we're just looking at each other like, what Like are they going to ask me for a happy ending.
Speaker 1:I don't know what's happening here. Like, what do we say if that does happen? It was the weirdest thing, right? So we're getting massaged together. So they take us into one like tent area and there's two beds and there's two different massage therapists. So they start doing our massage and it's the weirdest damn massage I have ever had in my entire life.
Speaker 2:I don't even remember what your lady looked like, but my lady was so old and she had these strongest hands that I will ever come across. It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced.
Speaker 1:Like she does construction on the side.
Speaker 2:So bad, and I feel like now that I'm a little bit older and on-rear, I would have said something, but back then I don't even know why I was just like I just took the pain.
Speaker 1:So even back then I was like a pretty vocal person, but I was terrified. I was like I don't know what sketchy shit is going to happen right now. No, I'm so bad. And so then it gets towards the end of our massage, right, and all of a sudden these girls jump on our back and straddle us right Like they're sitting on your butt and they take your head and just like they're like moving it back, like extending your neck. And then they were like grabbing our legs and pulling them up and me and Megan are just looking at each other and we're like what is happening? So bad, what?
Speaker 2:is happening. Well, I kept thinking in my head you know, people get those deep tissue massages and they're like it hurts in the moment, but y'all feel so amazing the next day, like no. I literally felt like someone had beat the shit out of me. I never got the good feeling. I just was in pain for days and then it went away.
Speaker 1:It was never like, and I just remember the massage oils kind of smelled funky and then at the end. So if you haven't ever had a massage, usually it's not like that at all. It's usually great and relaxing and quiet and you don't hear people screaming in the next curtain.
Speaker 2:And like it was like out of a wharf, like it really was it reminded me of like hostile in a way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know why, but anyways. And so normally they like lead you up to the cashier and then you pay and they leave you alone right, so you can tip them or do whatever you want.
Speaker 1:No, no, no. These girls like literally grabbed, like through our clothes at us and was, like get dressed. And then they like like literally stood by the curtain and waited for you and then they grabbed your arm and pulled you up to pay and told you how much to tip them. Yeah, it was bad, it was the it was the weirdest weirdest weirdest massage I've ever had in my life. Yeah, yeah, I have a story to tell now, but literally when it was happening, I was like no, I was, it was.
Speaker 2:I was in so much pain, it was like so terrible.
Speaker 1:It was and they were terrifying, so I just left them, whatever tip they told me to leave them and they just they scare you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, even though it was scary, even though my massage lady was like 90. Like she could have killed me, she could have snapped me with just her one hand, for real it was scary, it was. It was real weird. I did have a massage here too, and Salt Lake that was given by a guy, which I don't normally mind like if it's a male or female. But yeah, I went and I went to him twice because I gave him a second chance. I thought maybe the first time was just a fluke, that it was so weird and I saw I went back again. But he starts at least one my massage with the, with the butt.
Speaker 1:OK, so I had one. I've had just a couple guys do massages, but I actually liked it because I it was. So if you haven't had a massage where they've included your butt, they like basically bear one side of your ass and thigh and leg and they like tuck the sheet in the at least minded tuck the sheet into my crack and then like give you a deep tissue massage.
Speaker 1:But they're like it's like. I kept thinking like oh God, I hope I don't fart, because they kept like like push, you know, when you spread your butt cheeks sometimes like a little air, yeah yeah. And he kept doing that and I was like, oh my God, this is going to be mortifying. And I was so like because I had never, ever, had that once happen. And then this guy did it.
Speaker 2:And then, but like after about three strokes I was totally into it and I was like it's amazing and I've had it, but usually they start like at the top of my body and like move down and it just comes naturally with, like the areas that they're doing. But this guy, like that was his first. Oh, he just went straight to the butt.
Speaker 2:And I was like oh, OK, like that was weird and no, but he was like super touchy, Like at the whole time we were walking up he was like very, very touchy and I was like I don't know, maybe just a massage therapist, and I just kind of like how he is.
Speaker 2:But after the second time I was like OK, I can't do it. I'm feeling uncomfortable, and maybe it's just me, because I'm just not like a super open person that way. That's weird, though. So I yeah I didn't go back after that, but it was weird because I just went to the butt at first, which I just was like why are we starting there?
Speaker 1:That's weird, Like different people do different massage techniques. But I love it when they include the button and I've only had that twice. No, it is.
Speaker 2:It's a place you don't think about, but then they start massaging it and you're like, oh my God.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're like oh yeah, Get in there, amazing so good.
Speaker 2:Just like if you scratch your dog's butt like the top of their butt.
Speaker 1:They will look at you. Oh yeah, they look at you like oh my God, yeah, it's literally the same. No one ever does it. Yes, it really is, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe dogs feel just as uncomfortable about it too, though afterwards- they're like, was that? Normal? No, they don't care. Can I get a new owner?
Speaker 1:They don't give a shit, ok, anyway. Tangent Anyway so that was a great tangent. Sorry about that, but we had to tell you that lovely story.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So one day in 2015, a man in his late 50s named Mike Bollinger came into the spa to get a massage and he and Nadia hit it off immediately. They were super, super connected. Mike told her that he had been divorced for about 10 years. He was very well groomed, super nice. He was living in Utah but he was originally from Montana and he had grown up in an LDS family, and he told her that he was still a practicing Mormon.
Speaker 1:He had a really good job. He worked two different things a private pilot and then also a hunting tour guide, so he would go. He was gone quite a bit, but he made really good money. Sounds like kind of fun jobs yeah, really fun. He was super outdoorsy, which is exactly her type, and he just made her feel so special and beautiful and just loved again, which was a relief to many people in her life. Oh, I'm sure Now some were pretty surprised at how well the couple hit it off, because Nadia was a very outspoken atheist and her Facebook and stuff is still active and you can go and look at all of her posts and she posts a lot of things about being an atheist. Okay, yeah, and Mike was LDS. But the couple made it work and it didn't seem to really cause many issues in their relationship.
Speaker 2:I mean, if this is like a normal kind of thing, I love to see people that have different beliefs be able to just allow someone to be, to be themselves. Yeah, without like being super judgy about it or and not like fighting about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I agree, and the two loved spending time together, and even her old in-laws, which didn't live in Utah.
Speaker 1:They weren't like super close, but Todd the, her husband that had passed away, was her only family in the US because everyone else was in Germany and so they kind of took to her and they really wanted to see her happy and they were excited when Mike came into her life because he just made her very happy. So Peyton was also just this amazing kind of spitfire girl. Despite everything that she had faced in her life. She struggled a lot with like her weight and was bullied in school for this, but she was so similar to her mom in that she just didn't really care like what people thought about her. She seemed to be carefree and spirited, just like Nadia, and she was herself and not apologetic about it, and she didn't really let a lot of what people said get her down, which I thought was a real good quality for someone of her age.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely so. Nadia and Peyton were extremely close and pretty much like best friends, and the death of her father had brought them even closer. And at age 11, Peyton was thrilled when Mike came into their lives which I feel like a lot of 11 year olds wouldn't be right. It's a tough age to have somebody new come into your life and kind of pretty soon after your dad, especially when you lost your dad.
Speaker 2:Like your parents just aren't just like divorced. Yeah, it's like you don't. You know your dad's gone and I can see that being hard.
Speaker 1:You don't want someone to take their place but I'm sure there's a lot that goes into that. I love that.
Speaker 1:she was like all for it yeah she just because she really truly just wanted her mom to be happy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so cute. And then, when Mike came into their lives, she also developed a really strong relationship pretty quickly with him and he was just very, very easygoing and fun and he loved to spend time with Peyton as well. So he like really took to her and soon he she even started calling him dad oh, cute, which I thought was really cute, yeah. So he seemed to take on this role with great enthusiasm and was a very strong father figure to her and Peyton had a YouTube channel and posted videos of her and her mom all the time. And soon Peyton would start to post a lot of videos on her Facebook with her and Mike hanging out together, and you can still find some of these videos too, and the two always seem to be laughing and joking with one another. There was one where they were bothling down. Do you remember, like the foot leg challenge where you like put your feet up and then you kind of like wrestle each other down.
Speaker 1:There was one of them doing that. And they're just every video. They're just like laughing, giggling, Like it's just a fun relationship. Nadia also posted all over Facebook about all the things the family did together and it seemed like they were always doing something Like literally, they're these people that they don't just sit around and do nothing.
Speaker 1:But they love to go ride horses and they owned horses, so they would go up and ride their horses in the mountains. They would go camping four-wheeling. Mike taught Peyton how to shoot guns, so then they would start shooting guns. They attended concerts and even the local baseball games, and they were always just on some sort of adventure. Mike would take them all over the place, like to Yellowstone and they just like to go experience the outdoors.
Speaker 1:That was their big thing, and Mike was really present in Peyton's life and taught her a lot of things. He genuinely cared about her happiness and was everything you could ask for in a father figure. On Father's Day of 2016, nadia even posted a picture of Mike leading Peyton on a horse and the caption read quote Happy Father's Day to all the real dads out there, those who inspire their kids, who are there for their families, who take time to make a difference. Oh cute, yeah, really cute. So Nadia's family and friends thought that this was like a perfect fit for Peyton and Nadia. Everyone seemed genuinely happy in the relationship and about three years into their relationship, nadia started having some financial issues and went to her partner for help and she confided in Mike that she was struggling to pay rent and asked to borrow some money. Okay, and Mike seemed really weird about this. He told her that it was too soon for her to be asking for money.
Speaker 2:It's been almost three years.
Speaker 1:Okay, and he essentially kind of blames it on his previous relationship and divorce. Kind of saying that his ex-wife was like very irresponsible with money and he was just like had to be the breadwinner and one of the things that attracted him to her was that she was so like independent and anyway, so it caused some issues in their relationship after this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would feel like if you go to your partner for like help, yeah, and they're just like, uh, yeah, no, no, don't want to do that, especially after three years. Yeah, like it's one thing. If it's like six months in, you're like I don't, like I don't know if this is like a long term thing, you know Right, but three years and Nadia really wanted like a family, like she wanted to get married and was bringing up marriage and like all these things.
Speaker 1:And he was like, like I'm kind of good with where we're at, yeah. And so she was kind of like I don't, I don't know Like it. And then he started being weird after she asked for money. And so the couple ended up breaking up, Okay, and it's unclear who broke up with whom. But soon after, like it doesn't sound like they were broken up for a very long when Mike was like, well, shit, I made a huge mistake. I can't live without you guys. I need you in my life. So he went back and like groveled and begged for forgiveness and begged her to take him back.
Speaker 2:And he didn't have kids right.
Speaker 1:So this is a little bit unclear. I found one source that said because he was previously married, that said that because they were married for about 10 years, that they had two kids. But that's the only source I could ever find this in.
Speaker 2:Because you don't find you don't really find very many LDS, like you know, couples that don't have kids, yeah, Unless there was an issue, obviously, with someone being able to conceive Right.
Speaker 1:And especially when you're married for 10 years Right yeah. So I think he probably had two kids, but I could only find one source that said that, and so I don't know how old they are. I don't know. It didn't sound like he really saw them very much if he did have them.
Speaker 1:Okay. So he then surprised Nadia by asking her if she wanted to move in together. Oh, okay, which he knew would help take some of the financial burden off. So he was like okay, essentially, like I screwed up, I'm going to make this up to you, let's get back together, we'll move in together, we'll take the next step, because I know that that's what you want and it'll help you financially.
Speaker 2:Why do you have to break up before you're like okay.
Speaker 1:Like just realize what you have before it's gone.
Speaker 2:I have to go like that way before you're like this is what you want, so I'm willing to like do it. Yeah, some people are pains in the asses.
Speaker 1:So Mike had been offered a pilot job working out of Boise, idaho, which is about 30 minutes from this super rural cute town called Caldwell, idaho, and so he decided that he wanted to purchase like a farmhouse there. So he purchases this farmhouse with tons of land and that's where he proposes that the family move, and Caldwell is about 400 miles southeast of their current home in Ogden, utah. Okay, so Peyton at this time was about 14. And her mom was worried about moving her because of her age and that's like a hard you know a hard age to move.
Speaker 1:Sure, yeah, but Peyton was all about it, she was excited. She's like nope, let's go, cause they had so many animals and she was just excited to have a big piece of property because they had horses, but they were stored somewhere else. She didn't get to see them all the time and. I love that, and so she just wanted a place where they could all be there together and roam around, and she was also excited to be even closer to like outdoor experiences, with new hiking trails and camping places and just like a new adventure.
Speaker 2:I kind of love that Like. That's where her thought processes at 14. I know Cause my kid's a great kid, but her friends are definitely like her, her first and foremost, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's what I thought to when I was like, wow, and that's what her mom was worried about. And they talked to Peyton about it and she's like, nope, let's go Like I am all about it. Oh, that's so. And just how she was one of these people that like to live life to the fullest. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Kind of like her mom yeah.
Speaker 1:And she's like, I mean it's, you can always make friends, you can always, you know have things, but I just want to go experience life. So, fun, yeah, um, they had a ton of animals too, so they had dogs, cats, bunnies, chickens, fish, a bird, a snake, horses and goats. Okay, so they literally had like a mini farm without much farmland.
Speaker 1:Yeah so this was like a good fit for them. Yeah, nadia's good friend, rebecca Lorenz, even stated in an interview as long as they had each other, they could get through anything. He was a breath of fresh air, a new start, and that's what this move was a new start. Oh, so on May 3rd 2017, the family moved together and to start their new life, and Nadia ended up posting these videos, and I will try and post these. I don't know if I'll be able to share them, but I will try.
Speaker 1:And it's a video of her showing their land, and so she's like narrating it, and this land is gorgeous. It's like covered in wildflowers and it's stunning. I love that. And on the property is a big chicken coop, and then in the back of the chicken coop is like a large shed and it looks like they have no neighbors that are really close by. And this is a dream come true. And the family is planning on getting even more animals once they get the farm ready. So some of their friends back in Utah had agreed to keep their horses and goats until they could get fences and pens put up, because it's just this big open property and there's like a couple of gates, but it's not anywhere near where you would be able to keep an animal.
Speaker 2:It's not like a dog, we're like. I'll just put them on a leash until we get the fence. Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:So, as soon as they move, the family gets to work on the farm and starts readying the land so they could all, so they could get all of their animals up there as soon as they could. And even when Mike was off working which happens quite a bit because he's gone for work a lot Peyton and Nadia were working really hard on building fences and pens and just getting everything ready. So on June 9th 2017, nadia was supposed to be heading back to Ogden to pick up the horses, but she ended up not showing up. So Peyton and Nadia have these good friends and they become worried when nobody heard from Nadia. And they are trying to reach Nadia, peyton and Mike and nobody is answering. So they try to reach them continually and at first they're like OK, well, maybe they just got caught up on the farm or went camping, because that's not unlike them to just take. Like you know, mike gets home and he's like, hey, let's go do this, so maybe they were somewhere they didn't have service. It's not like an abnormal thing for them to do.
Speaker 1:But a couple more days go by and still no response, and so everyone's getting even more worried. So they end up calling the Caldwell Police Department and ask to go do a welfare check up the house. So on June 19th, when police arrive at the home, there's no answer. So the officer starts kind of walking the perimeter and he notices a very foul smell coming from the shed in the backyard, the very shed that Nadia had recently recorded while giving her tour of their new home. There are flies everywhere and the officer enters the shed and there's a blue tarp. So he kind of lifts up the tarp and under the tarp the officer finds three dead human bodies and three dead dogs all piled up.
Speaker 1:And this shed is not very big. Now it's also the middle of the summer and nobody has heard from the family in about 10 days. Plus, they're in an enclosed shed covered in a tarp. So decomposition, decomposition has been sped up significantly. Oh, I bet yeah and the officer said that the bodies at this point were Unrecognizable and he couldn't even tell if they were male or female.
Speaker 2:With how decomposed they were. Can you imagine, because I've heard? I don't know, and I'm sure you probably know a little bit more than I would, but like Death has like a certain smell to it, like there's a very distinct smell like a dead body. So I'm sure he knew, like going into it, like what it was on it yeah like you see this tarp and it's like I have to lift this up, like I don't. I quit right here and right now. I'm not doing this. No, I don't want to do like.
Speaker 1:Well, and I have experience with death, but not definitely very different like that. You know, when I've seen people who have died, it's very fresh and it's in the hospital right yeah, so I feel like they don't have that no smell that you hear about?
Speaker 1:No, yeah, and so, like police officers and yeah, like that, that have to go and find this and then Clean it up, because in my mind, if they're that decomposed, where they're like moving, that body is like, yeah, and they're in the shed all piled up like I'm sure it's just a big Ball of slick sludgy right like it gets like kind of and then skeletons. Yeah right gross and Then fur from the dogs yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't even know. I remember Shane found a body or didn't find one, but like I got called to a house where like a guy had been under the house like in a crawl space For like two weeks and it was in the summer, no, and he like yeah, he was like that smell was like stuck in my nose for weeks.
Speaker 1:I can't even imagine. Yeah, I can't even imagine. No, nope. This is why so many police officers like drink and oh yeah, are depressed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's Lot. You know, like for sure there's people that are dicks. But the range of emotions they go through on kind of like a daily basis is not a healthy range of emotions that you should go through every day. No, not even a little bit.
Speaker 1:No so, once the autopsy is occur, though, it's clear that all that all three people and all three dogs were shot Execution style in the head. They all have one bullet hole in the skull.
Speaker 2:I have to shoot the dogs?
Speaker 1:Maybe the dogs are protecting the people. I know what is happening. So Payton and Nadia's friends and family are told about the discovery and everyone was Devastated. The bodies weren't identified quite yet, but everyone just knew that it was the family, right, who else would it be? So Inside the home, the animals because remember they have a shit ton of animals are all dead, except for the snake, but it appeared they had all died of starvation and dehydration. Yeah, only the dogs were shot.
Speaker 1:So they estimated that they had been alone between 10 and 14 days. Yeah, in the heat. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't a good good situation. So, as the police start their investigation, the bodies are finally identified, which does it take some time. Yeah, because they're trying to Get a DNA matches from Peyton and Nadia, because they don't have any, they can't find any dental records or anything for them and so that it's confirmed to be 14 year old Peyton and 48 year old Nadia. But, to everyone's shock, the third body is not Mike's. Who is it? It's another female, 56 year old Cheryl Baker of Ogden, utah. Okay, so the police are like what the hell? So they're reaching out to everyone in Peyton and Nadia's life, yeah, and they're like we have no clue who Cheryl is. We have no idea who the Cheryl Baker is.
Speaker 1:But the puzzle pieces quickly come together when a press release announced. A press release announced that Cheryl Baker was Michael Bollinger's wife. Oh, what? What wife? Current life of ten years. So he wasn't divorced. He was not divorced. So Nadia's friend actually heard this and said oh, I, I thought that they were mistaken. And so she actually called the police station and was like no, no, no, no, no, you got this wrong. Like. This is not correct. He was married, but he's divorced. Yeah, no, he was married.
Speaker 2:Was he living yep?
Speaker 1:we'll get to this. So Mike was indeed married and had been living a double life for the past three years.
Speaker 2:How was he gonna move to Idaho?
Speaker 1:Don't know, just wait, it gets even worse. That's. That's what causes I did not plan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what causes to happen, because he was just like, yeah, that sounds amazing. Yeah, he did not plan this, but, oh my god, so how do people do this? I don't know and I feel like and maybe I'm just completely wrong but I feel like in like the true crime world, like I hear more about men leading these like complete Double lives yeah, more than you see, like women doing that.
Speaker 1:I honestly think women would be better at it, because we're better multi-tasker, for sure, yeah and Probably better liars on some level on some level.
Speaker 2:But like these guys, I mean they at least get you for for several, you know, for a while before shit comes out. But like yeah, can you imagine how busy your one life is? No Family into like your, your day-to-day life. Nope.
Speaker 1:Like how do you know, I can't even find ten minutes a day to have like just me time, right, let alone a whole another life, a Whole another family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I don't even. I mean, you know how it is like as a parent it's not just moms, but like as a parent like you get to a point where you're like I don't want to look at anybody or talk to anybody, like don't touch me. If you say, hey, mom, one more time I'm going to throw up. Yeah, like, how do you find the capacity to like I don't know, do that with two sets of people day to day, because you can't just be like, hey, this week I'm gonna be with this family and this week I'll pay attention to this family. Like no, oh, shit doesn't work. You're gonna do it every day, and well that's kind of what he does.
Speaker 1:He kind of goes back and forth because he blames his job being gone.
Speaker 2:Oh, I didn't think about that kind of it. See, I wouldn't be good at this stuff because I don't have that mind to be like tricky, we'll get to a little bit more.
Speaker 1:I think he pulled it off, okay, but so Cheryl Baker is another just Absolutely amazing individual, because, of course, of course, get these amazing people. She had just retired. When I say just like, like a few days before and that's an early retirement, early retirement man. That's amazing. She had just retired from the Utah school for the deaf and the blind, where she worked as a teacher for 32 years.
Speaker 2:Shane's- dad works there. He's the head of their like maintenance. Well, he's worked there for like ever since I've known Shane, so 20, at least 24 years, so he probably 20 years. He probably did Cheryl Baker. I'm gonna have to ask him. Yeah, yeah, I've been there to their school dances before. Maybe you even saw Cheryl right cuz Shane's parents band played there for like their picture over.
Speaker 1:She looks just like one of my kids teachers now. Really, yeah, that's crazy. So she had met Mike on a flight to Alaska and he was not the pilot like they were actually flying and sat next to each Other on a flight to Alaska and they just hit it off immediately, and they also had what seems like a fairy tale relationship. They ended up getting married and in 2000 well, some say he was. They were married for seven years and some for ten. Okay, so what I could find was they were married in 2010, which would have been seven years. Okay, a lot of sources said they'd been married for ten years. Okay, so I'm not really sure. But Mike and Cheryl also really loved the outdoors and spent a lot of time camping and riding horses, and they were also opposite in many ways, just like the other relationships. So we're Cheryl absolutely hated guns like hated them, oh yeah, and Mike owned a ton of guns and loved to go shooting. Yeah, he did hunting expedition, like where he was a tour guide.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so he was an avid hunter, and An article that I read on this said that she couldn't even be in the same room when he'd get the guns out to clean them. That's how much she despised guns. Interesting, cheryl and the version of Mike that she was with Mike was not LDS, but they both were Practicing Hinduism. What, yeah, so he tells people he so he was raised LDS. Okay, then I think he just sort of Fits into wherever he needs to, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, these women. Well, I mean, I was gonna say like in my.
Speaker 1:Once he got with Nadia it was like religion didn't matter, and so he sort of started having more of the atheist views with her.
Speaker 2:Yeah, then, when he's with Cheryl relationship chameleon yeah but it's almost like because if you were just like a normal person trying to have like a legitimate relationship, like Certain things you need from someone right to like be happy and to like you know you need, you want them to have like some similar interests or beliefs or whatever, but if you're like Kind of not, that person like you don't, you don't really want like that deep connection with one person like it. So it's easier, I think, to be surface level or to allow someone to like have a different belief in you, because you'll just feed, feed into whatever they do or need. Yeah, I agree, and so you're not. It's so weird, it is so weird, it is so weird.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, so when they're together they go to temple often, and and they also live in Ogden, utah, so their house is 15 minutes away from where Naja, nadia and Peyton live. 15 minutes.
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, I'm gonna not big, but Did it, did they?
Speaker 1:never go out. Oh, they went out all the time. How do?
Speaker 2:they not run into each other?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I don't know, oh my god. So literally I have like Written just below this Ogden is not that big of an area, oh it's not. And, and just like with Nadia, so he goes out all the time. They go to restaurants, they go to baseball games, they're camping and doing stuff, so a lot of it's outdoors right, yeah. I wouldn't run into people, but like just around the small area of Ogden. Yeah, you're gonna go to the same restaurants.
Speaker 2:I'm saying like there's like, there's like only one little area where there's restaurants in Ogden or like Riverdale and even the baseball games Like you run into people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all the time that you know there. Yeah, right, I have no idea how For that many years, for that many years.
Speaker 2:Oh my god. Yeah, I mean you have to. He has to really understand and know when people are gonna be at mm-hmm and how he can do things.
Speaker 1:Yeah so he would basically tell each woman that he had to go on his pilot job and he would say like, hey, I'm gonna be gone for two weeks, when really he would only be gone for like a week, and then he would split his time. Oh my god, okay, so they didn't even question it. Yeah, because they just thought he was working. Because why would you cuz? Why, yeah?
Speaker 2:exactly why would you? I would you. You're just gonna automatically be like, oh, you're deceitful, yeah.
Speaker 1:Even Cheryl's family and friends Said that they had no clue like they were. Everybody was shocked, oh yeah, by this. Mike appeared to be a loving and supportive husband, spending holidays with his in-laws continuing to sweep Cheryl off her feet. They would often go do like river and camping trips because they like to go like river rafting. Mm-hmm and she was truly happy and just loved her life.
Speaker 1:So she had never mentioned to anyone that they were having problems, never spoke badly about them, never talked about fighting and Never had any any clue that he was having an affair. So sad. Mike seemed to know exactly the type of woman to pick. He chose these woman women very carefully and and he sort of went for women that were pretty independent, uh-huh, but were also lonely and vulnerable. So each of these women had hobbies and a life outside of Mike right, so that when he was gone they were fine to kind of do their own thing, mm-hmm. But he also had a lot of practice. From what I could find, he was like a serial Philanderer where he would like. When he was with his first wife, uh-huh, he met Cheryl.
Speaker 1:Oh, cheryl's second wife, mm-hmm, cheryl didn't know about the first wife, okay, and then he ended up leaving his wife and getting with Cheryl. So it's like this pattern where he sort of Cheats on his significant other and then eventually moves on with his new love interest and and I think that this might have been his plan I think he probably Used Cheryl to get the property which I'll get into a little bit later and then planned on divorcing her.
Speaker 1:Cheryl to get the property, divorcing her and moving on with Nadia and Peyton and then staying in that house.
Speaker 2:Can you imagine? No, if you help your husband get property Till he can leave you to be with someone else.
Speaker 1:Nope, just wait, we're almost in it. Oh my god. Okay. In an interview with the standard Cheryl's, cheryl's old superintendent stated she impacted many, many students. She was especially devoted to her students and she went above and beyond. She gave away school supplies and clothes to kids in need. No, she was always looking for grants and she got several for her classroom over the years. She loved helping people. She was said to have such a be like, such a kindhearted, patient and gentle person. She was an avid reader and quilter and people said that she would bring her stuff to crochet things in their meetings, and that's how they knew how long a meeting was was by how many scarves or hats she had made that day. Like she would just sit and then she would make these scarves and hats and then, of course, she would donate all of them.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, okay.
Speaker 1:Like she's just like this great person.
Speaker 2:Well, and she's being a teacher in the school for the Deaf and Blind and that is like a little bit hard because you have kids with special needs, yeah, you know, and so it's like a.
Speaker 1:And people who don't know that the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind is like world renowned, almost where people come from all over.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, and it's not just like there are kids in there that have other special needs, that just happen to also be Deaf and or Blind, so it's not just like you know, a completely neurotypical child who just was born blind and like they don't need a lot of extra help, like there's kids in there that are also autistic or a Down syndrome or like other special needs as well as being Deaf and Blind, and so you know, like it's a it takes a very special person to be able to like do that work?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it does. It really does.
Speaker 2:I know, I know it's terrible why are these people the ones that are preyed on? I know, I don't understand, I can't just find some shit stick woman.
Speaker 1:And Cheryl had never been married. Okay, so she was sort of like this independent person. But then when Mike came along it was like, oh, I am missing this. So she really loved having a partner and she was just looking forward to retirement. And so with retirement, mike had kind of been talking to her and convinced her to purchase a farmhouse in Caldwell, idaho, in her name, so borrowed money from her house he didn't have a house, borrowed money from her house that she had already owned and owned when they got married To put the down payment on the Caldwell home and she was like she went and saw it and was like it was just beautiful and peaceful place where they could be in the serenity of nature and grow old together.
Speaker 1:She had planned to create an art studio because she was going to be retired. So she was like I want to be able to focus on my creative side and so this will give me something to do while Mike goes and does his Boise job, which is going to be so close, and so it's going to be so great, I'm going to see him so much more. I'm going to create an art studio in this cute little house that we're buying and I'm just going to paint and just be happy and blissful retirement. So not only was he living this double life, but he actually tried to finance the Caldwell house in him and Nadia's name and couldn't get financing. So that's when he convinced Cheryl to buy the house, and it was only in her name. He wasn't even on the house. And then he moves his mistress and her daughter into the house.
Speaker 2:And then thinking that, like this is purchased for them by him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and he's like oh, it's going to be so great, we're going to be this family together. You know we won't have it'll be like this financial stress off it's going to be perfect, everybody wins.
Speaker 2:Do you think because do you think there's any part of him like throughout this where like it's just gone too far right and now he can't stop, and that he ever feels bad, that like Cheryl has this dream but he's doing this other part of it?
Speaker 1:I don't think he ever gave two shits about anybody but himself. I just, I just.
Speaker 2:I don't understand yeah.
Speaker 1:So I really truly think this is and this is completely my opinion. I didn't see it on anything. Yeah, I have no clue what his plan was, but reading his history, my thought is that he convinced Cheryl to buy this house yeah and then moved Nadia and Payton in and then was planning on divorcing Cheryl and she would keep the house in Ogden and he would get the house in Idaho.
Speaker 2:That I'm hoping she would give it up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is what I think his plan was, if he even thought that far ahead. Maybe he was just a big dumb dumb and didn't even think about this?
Speaker 2:Well, because, too, I wonder. So once the house was like purchased, he could have his name put on the title without having to be like the finance, financial part of it, yeah, and then get his name put on there and then get divorced and be like, well, like, yep, I'm going to keep this Yep House because I'm on the title too.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then in a divorce it's like, yeah, well, instead of selling both properties and splitting the money or whatever, why don't you just keep this house and I'll keep this house, mm? Hmm, done.
Speaker 2:He is a terrible, terrible, terrible person.
Speaker 1:He's a terrible person, a terrible person. I can't so Cheryl and Mike close on the property. He goes to the closing because you know it's their house.
Speaker 2:Right, she's the only one that closed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, dickhead, but they close on the property on May 3rd. Okay, so the very same day Nadia and Payton move in while Cheryl heads back to Utah, so they literally probably passed each other on the interstate.
Speaker 2:I just can't, I can't even.
Speaker 1:So then they're all working on the farmhouse, right? Cheryl's back in Ogden, yeah, and Mike's back and forth. On June 5th Cheryl and Mike head to a wedding for one of Mike's relatives where everyone says things are great between the couple. No red flags, everything was fabulous. June 7th Cheryl has her last day at work and officially retires. And now so she, her and Mike had agreed that Mike would stay and work on the property because it needed quite a bit of renovation, okay, and he had also convinced her to get animals. So he was like listen, I'm going to get everything ready for you, everything ready for the animals. You stay and take care of the house in Ogden until it sells. So we'll put it up for sale and then you stay there until it sells and then you can move up here, and in the meantime I'll just drive back and forth to Ogden, like everything's fine.
Speaker 2:What is he going to do with? The house sells Exactly, then she doesn't have a house Exactly.
Speaker 1:Now you don't have a house, because she was the only one that has a house, yep. So police go and start talking to Cheryl's friends and Cheryl, one of her friends, says that Cheryl told her so she retires on June 7th. She's like tomorrow, june 8th. I'm going to head up to surprise Mike, oh no.
Speaker 2:Can you?
Speaker 1:watch my dogs. I'm going to just go help him work on the house and it'll be a total surprise. He won't know I'm coming, I'm going to be so happy. Then she sends a message to her friend later that day, on June 8th, saying please take care of my dogs. I don't know if I'm coming back. And that was the last anyone heard from Cheryl. That was it? No other explanation? Why aren't you coming back? Like then, it was just radio silence. So nobody knows if she sent that or if he sent that from her phone. Yeah, based on the autopsies, the murders occurred between June 8th and June 9th. So the police theorize that Cheryl showed up to surprise her husband at their house.
Speaker 2:They saw Naja and Pina the whole ass family there.
Speaker 1:Yep, the whole ass family is living there, and Mike was finally caught and was filling, trapped and so he killed all three women, placed them in the shed. And here's where I am, like, so confused and it's tricky because this case is still open. Oh, okay, so they have not released a lot of information about if the murders took place on the property, in the house, in the shed. I can't imagine that they took place in the shed. I think that that was probably where he just dumped the bodies.
Speaker 1:But I don't know how exactly he accomplished this, because all three women were shot execution style. So in my mind, the three women had to have been separated at some point and he killed one of them, because if you're all standing there together and he shoots one of them, the other two are going to freak out and either run away, unless he had them like bound somehow, or just terrified.
Speaker 2:If he just lost his shit and had guns, they may have just knelt down and sat there and he just boom, boom, boom. And I honestly wonder if the dogs were freaking out and trying to protect the women Well and I just don't know exactly.
Speaker 1:That's probably what had to have happened, because why else would he kill the dogs and not any of the other animals? It just doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2:No, I think they were probably trying to protect the house with. So he shot them and the women, and the women. So he obviously hasn't said a lot then. Well, let's get to that so now, where is Mike?
Speaker 1:So the police name him as a person of interest and officially charge him with failure to report the bodies. So the search begins, but he has a 10 day head start at this point. Oh yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1:Because they don't go to the house till the 19th. So he has a 10 day head start, which is a decent amount of time. Yeah, you could be the other side of the world, especially as a pilot Yep, a lot of places. So the police start combing the area for leads and they try, and they get some hits on surveillance videos in the area so they're able to figure out that Mike stayed in Caldwell for at least one night, maybe even sleeping in the Caldwell home, because he was seen on video having a nice leisurely breakfast on June 10th in the next town over of Nampa, idaho.
Speaker 1:So, he gets up on the 10th, Probably sleeps where he just murdered everybody. He heads over to Nampa, has a nice breakfast and on the camera it says he seems very composed, not in a rush. Yeah, no issues. Doesn't look guilty, doesn't look like he's freaking out nothing?
Speaker 2:I'm sure not because who would really be looking for any of them at that point.
Speaker 1:Those girls like no one Right, but you would think if you just killed like I would be freaking out. That's because we're not murderers. It's true. It's true.
Speaker 2:I don't understand how this works.
Speaker 1:I don't either, so police were able to pick him up later that day in Ogden on camera at a Utah car dealership where Cheryl's car was being serviced. So I don't know what car Cheryl drove to Idaho.
Speaker 2:Unless he took her car back right, but her car was in a dealership getting serviced in Utah.
Speaker 1:Like she dropped the car off before she left and drove something else and drove something else. So he drove his truck, went and picked up Cheryl's car and then dropped his truck off and just left it there. He then drives over 200 miles to Moran.
Speaker 2:Wyoming.
Speaker 1:Okay, which is 29 miles northeast of Jackson Hole Okay, and is seen in Cheryl's car entering the Bridger Teton National Forest on June 11th. Now they're able to locate Cheryl's car abandoned at a campsite, but there is no sign of Mike. He has completely vanished. Bridger Teton National Forest is humongous. I looked up and it's 3.4 million acres, okay, 3.4 million acres, okay.
Speaker 1:And it also abuts the Grand Teton National Park on one side and then the National Elk Refuge on the other side, so it's just this huge, vast wilderness. Yeah, okay, a few weeks after they find the abandoned car. So they like put out an APB on the sky, like they're trying to find.
Speaker 1:Everywhere in the local area, all the police stations are working together. He's gone. So a few weeks after they find the car, a ranger is like oh, I think I see him and he's in this white Toyota. So the ranger follows him and calls it in and the police show up and pull over the vehicle and then they surround the car and order the people out of the car at gunpoint. Oh, and it's a man who looks very similar to Mike. Okay, so the lady about the same age and a child. And they pull the adults each into separate cars and they check for identification and this ends up not being Mike, but it's a married couple named Brent and Jeneline, henry and their daughter, who were just on a camping trip. Oh, geez, and this couple later. They were so distraught at being held at gunpoint that they later sued the police department for false arrest, false imprisonment and excessive force.
Speaker 2:Did they win?
Speaker 1:No, I didn't say like the police feel like, yeah, they did not win at all. Like the judge is like, no, they had just caused Reason yeah, to stop you. And as soon as they checked their IDs, they sent them on their way.
Speaker 2:Right, they held them for an insane amount of time?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and arrested them and took them to jail. Yeah, and based on who they thought it was, it was very appropriate for them to hold them at gunpoint.
Speaker 2:Yeah, can't you be thankful the police are trying to find a murderer, right, and just so happens that this murderer looks like your husband, right? So it's not their fault, yeah.
Speaker 1:So the police feel like this is a very open and shut case. The Canyon County Sheriff, kiernan Donahue, about a year later, because they still haven't found him even said that he is 99% convinced that Mike is deceased and he said, quote I think the case is solved, 100% solved. With the forensic evidence we have and the facts of the case, we have solved the crime.
Speaker 2:They don't know where he is.
Speaker 1:They have no clue, oh my God. So they pretty much know that he committed these murders, but they can't officially close the case until they find either Mike or his remains.
Speaker 2:Piece of shit. You can't just like face the music after being just a shit stick for years.
Speaker 1:Nope, because he has no conscious and he is a narcissist and yeah. I just so the police believe that he either went somewhere in the woods and shot himself, okay, or died due to exposure. Right, yeah, but this is hard because the case is still open and they're not releasing any evidence of what they have and it seems like, from what we know, it's open and shut right, like he obviously got caught up in this and did it, but who knows Like I feel like they didn't really focus on any other options.
Speaker 2:I mean no, so I don't know. I mean I'm still empty, mike, but I just hate that, like he just ran away, like instead of yeah.
Speaker 1:So Mike's first wife. Her name is Jackie Garcia and she tells a totally different version of Mike than anybody else has said. She says that they got married in the Salt Lake City Temple and soon after their wedding he became very abusive. She did an interview with the Idaho Statesmen and stated that she does not think that Wyoming was his last stop. She and several others who knew Bollinger within their marriage said that the pilot had a history of infidelity, lying, manipulation and violence. She claimed that he had even threatened to kill her and that his behavior was described as selfish and even sociopathic. So he's an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He worked as a hunting guide, so he knew these remote areas very, very well and was used to living on this tight type of land for an extended period. So she's like no, he could absolutely survive on this land for a long time and wait until.
Speaker 2:And it was in the summer, so he had a while to prepare a shelter to do whatever, well, and then just wait it out until it wasn't like the hot topic anymore and then maybe he's scoot out of the country or something.
Speaker 1:And many who knew Mike said that he would never kill himself because he's a narcissist, and they think that he either hitchhiked out of the woods or was able to get to a plane and has left the country. So they're like, oh no, this guy is not dead, he's still out there and we need to be looking for him. We need people, we need this out there so that it doesn't get forgotten. So I will, of course, post pictures, but you guys, everyone, has to keep their eye out, because who knows where this guy is? His appearance may have drastically changed since the murders, but at the time he just looks like an average. I was going to pull up this picture. He just looks like this average kind of gray haired, nice grandpa looking guy.
Speaker 2:I think I did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so he is 6'1". He was 240 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes, and you guys, he actually reminds me a lot of Michael Harney, who plays Sam Healy. The counselor guy in Orange is the New Black. Oh yeah, like doesn't he kind of look like him. He does. Yeah, that too he reminds me of. He looks like this round faced gray haired, little bit pudgy guy. So if anyone has any information about him or his location, they are urged to call Canyon County Sheriff's Office at 208-454-7531.
Speaker 2:I can't even. Yeah, I think Okay. So do you think so? His first wife knew the real him right? Yeah, Do you think? After that marriage he was like oh, I need to like, Because if he's violent he's violent. It's interesting that, like these other two women didn't experience that and Sheryl was married to him for 10 years. 7 to 10 years yeah, Like a long time for him to like eventually become violent. So it's interesting that he didn't.
Speaker 1:Well, and to me it just makes me wonder, because I don't know what he did when he was married, like the first time for a job, but maybe he was just around her too much, yeah, and so like maybe getting away and yeah, I don't know, maybe he kind of didn't feel the need for violence, right Like he mellowed out a little bit or just learned.
Speaker 2:Plus he's a lot older. Yeah, and maybe just like learned how to be a little Like what things are going to get him what he wants, yeah, and he's kind of able to live his life. You know, maybe in his first marriage like all that kind of stuff made us like he it was harder to play the roles he wanted to play. Yeah, that's crazy. I'm so annoyed that he has never been violent.
Speaker 1:I know, I know I hate it. It's really sad.
Speaker 2:It's so sad. I mean like he killed, it's like his daughter, his stepdaughter. Yeah, I'm interested to see if he had kids. I like if him and Cheryl had older kids, but I don't want to talk about it anywhere.
Speaker 1:So Well, him and Cheryl didn't have kids, because Cheryl didn't. By the time they got married, she was old enough that she didn't want to have kids Okay, so his kids might be with his first wife, okay. So from that one source I found said him and Jackie had two kids.
Speaker 2:Okay, but they'd probably still be older Interesting, yeah, and maybe they just didn't have contact with him because she was like he's a violent asshole. So my kids are not going to be around him.
Speaker 1:Well because he had two other families, so he doesn't have time for a third, right?
Speaker 2:No, yeah, there's really no time.
Speaker 1:There is a limit. Eventually he was spread a little bit thin, Megan I just, I can't even.
Speaker 2:Isn't that a?
Speaker 1:crazy case. It's so crazy. And I just I've never We've never covered one that I could think of. That was like it's essentially a closed case, like they've sort of stopped it is. They've been investigating this Right Right. Like it's closed in everyone's mind but it's not closed because they don't have Mike or a body.
Speaker 2:I wonder if, after some, do you know like how, if someone's murdered or whatever, like after so many years, you can finally like get a death certificate or whatever. Yeah, even if you don't have a body, like I wonder if they can do that. But it has to be like you know a shit ton of time before they're like, okay, we'll just close this one, but they probably want to leave it open, just in case, in case they find him, just in case you find him, in case you don't want to, you don't want to close it and then be like oh, we pronounced him dead.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I hate him so much. No, I don't think he's dead.
Speaker 2:I think he's out there. I do too, actually, once you I kind of forgot about like the hunting and like his knowledge of the wilderness. I think he found a plane. I think he, I really do.
Speaker 1:I think he like, yeah, I think he lived off the land for a while, yep, and I think he was opportunistic and smart enough that there's probably cabins and stuff in that area. Yeah for sure. He just like made it to the winter and then when everyone closed up shop, he went and stayed in their cabins and like lived off whatever, and then eventually made it to some Somewhere where he convinced either to rent a plane or yeah, that's so crazy, and he knew a lot of people, right, so he could have had help getting out of the country. Yeah, it's insane. Well, so everyone, keep your eyes out. Well, I'll do that. And then let's get to our soul cleanse. Okay, soul cleanse, okay.
Speaker 1:So I found this soul cleanse. It's from Louisville, kentucky, and it just reminded me of Cheryl. It was like very Cheryl S Okay. And then I thought it was like an adorable story. So there's a school bus driver named Larry Farish and he is known in his community for going above and beyond, and now he's touching the hearts of strangers after an act of kindness went viral. So he goes to pick up all of his kids and he said, normally, when I pull up. So there's this little boy named Levi and he says, normally, when I pull up. Levi's standing there waiting for me with a big smile, but on this day he was sitting on the ground with a jacket over his head. So Farish asks him hey, buddy, what's going on? What's wrong? And that's when Levi, who's a first grader, explained through tears that he didn't have any pajamas.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, I saw the headline for this. I didn't read the story, though he didn't have any pajamas for pajama day at school.
Speaker 1:And so Farish closed the doors and watched Levi slid into his seat, away from his friends, like he didn't even want to say by his friends, he's so sad. And so Farish says, knowingly, that Levi wanted to participate but couldn't. Knowing that Levi wanted to participate but couldn't filled him with sadness and he says quote I thought I got to fix this. Farish Jr says, and after Farish finished up his morning routes, he went and bought two pairs of pajamas and then took them back to the school for Levi.
Speaker 1:And he said it says, quote I said you were hurting this morning, you were crying, so I got you these pajamas. Farish recalls he was so excited. You should have seen how his face lit up. And then Levi just gave him a big hug and then hugged the pajamas to his chest and then he went into the bathroom and changed and it said it turned his whole day around. I can tell Mr Larry is so nice and his heart is filled with joy. Levi said in a news release when he got me the pajamas I did a happy cry. I did a happy cry. Oh my gosh. But you have to see this kid.
Speaker 2:He's so freaking cute, yeah. I saw a thing that was like oh my God, he's so cute, okay. And then look, I got to show you the picture of him in the end, Larry, because Larry is so cute too, yeah, and he's like something about like a kid forgets pajama day or something and bus driver oh my gosh, that's so cute.
Speaker 1:I love it. So everyone, that small kind act.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Especially because I'm sure his mom or whatever, like maybe they just are struggling financially and she just can't afford to buy. You know, maybe he just wears like a long t-shirt to bed or something like, and so they just can't wear like my kids. Yeah, like she can't afford to buy like a pajama outfit or whatever you know. I'm sure she felt terrible. Yeah, I'm sure. And for him to like do that is just so amazing.
Speaker 1:It's so nice, oh, so nice. So, everybody, I challenge you to just go do like a small act of kindness for people, because it really does like brighten our entire world.
Speaker 2:Oh, for sure, yeah, that's so cute. So well done Larry, well done Larry, larry, larry, okay, well, that was good, good case, good times.
Speaker 1:All right. So everybody go like, like and subscribe. Oh, my word, like and subscribe.
Speaker 2:Like and subscribe Like and subscribe.
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