47. Legacy of Deception: Montwheeler's Dark Path

In this episode of The Lethal Library, hosts Dani and Stephanie go over the chilling true crime story of Anthony Wayne Montwheeler. From his violent childhood origins to a horrific series of crimes stretching across Idaho and Oregon, Montwheeler manipulates the system with claims of insanity, evading harsh penalties repeatedly. The episode unpacks Montwheeler's life, touching on his manipulation tactics, crimes, and multiple board decisions, while also ensuring the victims' stories are respectfully highlighted. Join the hosts as they critique the failures of the criminal justice system and reflect on this convoluted tale of madness, deceit, and devastating consequences.

Contact The Lethal Library at TheLethalLibrary@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!

Transcript

Dani 0:00

In December, 2016, a state board decided a man who had once kidnapped his wife and child was no longer dangerous,

Stephanie 0:09

of course,'cause people change very quickly.

Dani 0:12

Three weeks later, a woman was taken from the road near her parents' home before sunrise. What followed, unfolded across two states and ended with two people dead. This was not a crime that came outta nowhere. Anthony Wayne, Mont Wheeler's life had violence baked into it before he was old enough to understand what violence meant. Yik. Dun. Yeah, that, that was a lot. Good opener, huh?

Stephanie 0:41

Mm-hmm. Welcome back to The Lethal Library. I'm Stephanie. I'm Dani. And today we've got another true crime tale right out of Idaho for you, Dani, that escalated very quickly. What the fuck's going on here? We're gonna have a hot

Dani 1:29

mess, and I believe there's gonna be people to blame. There usually is at least one. This might be a whole board. Oh yeah. So, I'll be interested to see your feelings at the end.

Stephanie 1:47

Are you telling me this is gonna piss me off again? I don't know how much more Pi pissy offy episodes. I can,

Dani 1:53

I, I actually, yes, I think there's gonna be a few mic shakes.

Stephanie 1:56

Okay.

Dani 1:57

So

Stephanie 1:58

let me just stretch real quick. I

Dani 2:00

don't wanna,

Stephanie 2:01

I don't wanna pull a hammy or anything. Lemme get a good,

Dani 2:05

okay. It's out.

Stephanie 2:06

Alright. I'm, I'm ready. I'm ready to roll.

Dani 2:09

All right. Sources, look, this is across, so across state lines. Oh. We're in Idaho and Oregon today. which it's Ontario, which is basically Idaho. Mm-hmm. Who are we kidding?

Stephanie 2:22

It's Idaho with weed.

Dani 2:24

Yeah, it's exactly what it's so,

Stephanie 2:27

um, am I wrong?

Dani 2:30

Um, so yeah, I feel like Ontario is part of the Treasure Valley. I'm sorry. It's just a Yeah,

Stephanie 2:35

you're right there.

Dani 2:36

You're right there. and then there's nothing. Oregon after that.

Stephanie 2:40

Nothing for a long time.

Dani 2:41

Yeah. On a desert. so, and I don't, there's lag Gran and Pendleton, but really

Stephanie 2:48

Anyone heard a mattress

Dani 2:50

just saying

Stephanie 2:51

smack dab in the middle of Oregon? No one's heard of it. That's where some of my family's from.

Dani 2:56

And it's high desert. There's no beaches.

Stephanie 2:58

Mm-hmm.

Dani 2:58

It's

Stephanie 2:59

no beaches. No, no. It's

Dani 3:00

lava. Rock and sage. Trust.

Stephanie 3:01

There's a reservoir. That's kind of nice.

Dani 3:04

Yeah.

Stephanie 3:06

Yeah.

Dani 3:07

That's what you get. That's what mattress is known for. Yeah. Yeah. And they have, reservations out there. Your mom worked

Stephanie 3:14

out in Madris, right?

Dani 3:15

it was actually, my dad and. Rick's dad.

Stephanie 3:20

Yes. Yes. They were working on the dam.

Dani 3:23

Yeah. They were to

Stephanie 3:24

make

Dani 3:24

the dam,

Stephanie 3:25

the reservoir,

Dani 3:26

the damn dam

Stephanie 3:27

they got. Damn dam had to get damn built.

Dani 3:31

We'll work on the dam when it

Stephanie 3:32

dam built. Shout, shout out mattress. And know it's not mattress, like a bed. It's mattress like your

Dani 3:37

mad in a dress.

Stephanie 3:39

Yeah. Mad address.

Dani 3:40

Mad address. So yeah, there's nothing out there. So, but this takes place, right on the border. There's a lot of border towns here. Mm-hmm. so we have like Weezer and Payette and Fruitland right there. And then it's like you literally just cross the street and then you're in Oregon.

Stephanie 3:56

Boom.

Dani 3:57

Where you have to pay no sales tax. So,

Stephanie 4:00

hell yeah, brother.

Dani 4:04

Those folks in Weezer and Fruitland over there be like,

Stephanie 4:06

oh, they're going,

Dani 4:07

we're going to the Walmart in the Ontario. Yeah. We're gonna go and not pay sales tax.

Stephanie 4:11

Immediate 6% discount,

Dani 4:13

and we're gonna buy some weed and then we're gonna come home.

Stephanie 4:16

Yeah.

Dani 4:16

Because it's just across the street, literally.

Stephanie 4:18

So they're getting our tax money with the weed.

Dani 4:20

Yeah.

Stephanie 4:23

Again, Idaho, you're so fucking dumb. love you girl. But fuck you. Go to any dispensary in Ontario. Look at, look at every plate. What are you gonna see? Famous potatoes. Famous potatoes. The

Dani 4:36

Idi ho

Stephanie 4:36

every single plate. Famous potatoes.

Dani 4:38

Yep.

Stephanie 4:41

But okay, we're, we're just, we're too good. You can't be having the devil's lettuce, not in Tater land.

Dani 4:47

No way.

Stephanie 4:48

Put a Tater in your pipe and smoke it.

Dani 4:52

Maybe. Fuck. All right. You ready to get into it?

Stephanie 4:55

Oh, I'm ready.

Dani 4:58

Uh oh. That's where I was at.

Stephanie 5:00

Oh yes, yes, yes.

Dani 5:01

We're going across state lines. And of course, because we're in Oregon, the Oregonian had to get involved.

Stephanie 5:06

Mm.

Dani 5:07

so sources used in this episode are the Observer, Maller, enterprise Baker City Herald, blue Mountain Eagle, the Idaho Statesman, KTVB, rolling Stone.

Stephanie 5:18

Oh, wow.

Dani 5:19

And the Oregonian. Many, many

Stephanie 5:22

sources.

Dani 5:22

Rolling Stone. It was a pretty, and of course, guess when I ran into that after my newspaper research, you're like, oh, oh, this is a great article. Ariana, what are you doing here? Pretty much I was like, the Rolling Stone picked up. So anyways, we got, we got some good stuff. So

Stephanie 5:43

I'm, I'm, I'm stoked for this story.

Dani 5:48

We're gonna start back in November, 1967. Lenny Laverne Hendricks was 21 years old when she gave birth to Anthony. His father, Wayne Wadsworth, Mont Wheeler was 59. What the Yeah. Rewind that. You heard what I said I, what was her age? 21. Oh. Hmm. Alright. Anyway, go on. The reaction I had had to go do the math. I was like, wait, what? people who knew Wayne later described him as a Wisconsin born brick mason who talked big and talked fast. A big fancy talker, a conman type, and a man who could flip from charm to instability without warning. Family members said he could be physically abusive. He chopped up furniture with an ax and poured paint around the house when he got pissed off.

Stephanie 6:48

Very interesting, emotional outlets.

Dani 6:53

By early 1974, the marriage was collapsing. I wonder if that's

Stephanie 7:00

what they have to have a ton in common.

Dani 7:03

Huge. The divorce paperwork was moving through the courts. The decree to dissolve the marriage would come in Crook County Circuit Court. That's in Oregon. and the family would later be reduced to a line item in the public record. Petitioner, Lenny Laverne, Mont Wheeler, respondent, Wayne Wadsworth, Mont Wheeler. Marriage dissolved, but the dissolution was not clean and it did not end with a two adults separating a moving on.

Stephanie 7:37

Of course,

Dani 7:39

early in the morning hours of March 9th, 1974, crook County Sheriff's officers found Lenny Laverne Mont Wheeler shot to death inside a vehicle. Belonging to a man believed to be her estranged to husband. She had a 22 caliber bullet wound in her chest. Authorities arrested Wayne and put him in jail. The early reporting said the shooting happened around 3:00 AM after an incident at a Bend Nightclub bit Old Bend, got a

Stephanie 8:09

Ben. Bend's become very popular, hasn't it?

Dani 8:11

it's very hipster.

Stephanie 8:13

Very, and basically property values are cut through the roof. Yeah. Just like they are here in the valley.

Dani 8:19

You know, I've been to Ben several times and I don't get it.

Stephanie 8:26

I get it For those in the area, wanting some place to, because when I would go visit in Madris you went to Bend for everything. Yeah. Like,

Dani 8:34

yeah.

Stephanie 8:34

So I can see it becoming kind of like organs, squareish. It's not Colorado Squareish. Mm-hmm. But it's fairly square and it's like you need something. And I feel like that's become their,

Dani 8:49

I just don't think it's as pretty. As everybody. I don't either. No. Okay. That's where I'm getting

Stephanie 8:55

the prettiness. Fa I mean, especially when you look at like Boise and McCall and like,

Dani 9:00

because

Stephanie 9:00

there is Yeah. It's like mountain Hoish almost.

Dani 9:02

It is. It really is. Yeah. But with some extra pine trees,

Stephanie 9:06

mountain home with trees, pine trees.

Dani 9:07

Yeah. Yeah,

Stephanie 9:08

sure.

Dani 9:09

But it's still very,

Stephanie 9:10

eh.

Dani 9:11

Okay. Mid.

Stephanie 9:12

So, love you bend. No, no shade.

Dani 9:14

No.

Stephanie 9:14

Listen, we've, we've got a lot of little ugly spots here. Armpits.

Dani 9:17

Yeah. And we're not even, it's not even close to an armpit. It's just, it's built up,

Stephanie 9:22

especially with the cost is what we're

Dani 9:24

saying.

Stephanie 9:24

Yeah.

Dani 9:24

It's, it's been built up to something that I don't think it quite should.

Stephanie 9:28

Yeah. What's going on there?

Dani 9:29

Yeah. When Wayne was arraigned on March 11th in Deschutes County District Court, the judge did not set set bail on the murder charge during a preliminary hearing. Deputy District Attorney Warren West called Crook County Sheriff Don Hannah, who testified that Wayne was an acquaintance. And had called him around 4:20 AM and blurted out that he had shot Lenny.

Stephanie 9:52

Oh,

Dani 9:53

I love that shit. Name for a girl too, by the way, Lenny. I think it's cute.

Stephanie 9:56

That is very cute.

Dani 9:59

Hannah said he went to Jay's Fine Foods, an all night cafe in Prineville. Look at us traveling

Stephanie 10:05

good old Prineville

Dani 10:06

and found Lenny's body in Wayne's car outside while Wayne sat inside the cafe.

Stephanie 10:12

Oh, weird.

Dani 10:14

It's like, yo, dude, uh, I just shot my estranged wife

Stephanie 10:18

and then you

Dani 10:19

I'm inside.

Stephanie 10:20

I I needed some waffles.

Dani 10:21

Yeah. Hannah testified that Wayne claimed he and Lenny had gone from Prineville to bend the evening of March 8th for dinner and drinks, as one does then drove to a restaurant north of Bend. Wayne claimed Lenny disappeared and that he found her in a car in the parking lot, having sex with an unidentified man.

Stephanie 10:43

Mm. Really?

Dani 10:46

Wayne said he went to his own car, retrieved a 22 Derringer, returned and shot Lenny as she lay on the seat while the man fled.

Stephanie 10:56

And you were just cool with the man fleeing. You had no desire to shoot the man.

Dani 11:05

Dunno. On December 19th, 1974, Wayne pled guilty to manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a firearm. I'm not sure what his previous, who knows what he did, but he killed his ex-wife. Mm-hmm. Uh, manslaughter. I don't know how he got that. Yeah, just maybe the passion, murder, whatever.

Stephanie 11:32

Yeah. Where's the dude? No. Is anyone even able to corroborate this? This is weird.

Dani 11:38

Judge j Campbell sentenced him to 10 years on manslaughter. Added a five year enhancement for being armed with a concealable weapon and imposed a five year sentence on the firearm charge to be served concurrently. Prosecutor Warren West said the murder charge was withdrawn because he believed Wayne was under extreme emotional disturbance, and that manslaughter better fit the statutes, statutes. Does it? I, it sounded like statues. Statues.

Stephanie 12:08

I think we understood.

Dani 12:10

Okay. Wayne himself put his motive into a cold, blunt sentence saying quote, I shot my wife when she told me she wanted to go home with another man. Sir, you were divorced.

Stephanie 12:27

So was it. When was it?

Dani 12:28

Yeah. None of

Stephanie 12:29

this adds up.

Dani 12:31

So we got 10 years for manslaughter, but now you can get more mad here. A year later, Wayne wrote to a newspaper from the Oregon State Penitentiary, calling himself a 67-year-old prisoner asking for help arranging visits with his two young sons. He claimed relatives had told the children he was dead. He wrote that he supported them through a veteran's pension and social security, and had only received one letter and two pictures in more than a year. And it was a pretty pathetic letter. Let me just tell you. It was like looking for someone to help bring my kids to see me.

Stephanie 13:10

Is this a classified? What is this?

Dani 13:12

Yeah. Uh, no. He wrote it to the newspaper.

Stephanie 13:15

Mm-hmm.

Dani 13:16

don't think he got a response. it was just a really weird letter to write to the paper. But the reality was that Wayne served only a few years for killing.

Stephanie 13:29

Yeah.

Dani 13:29

Lenny.

Stephanie 13:30

And we don't even know if the whole like affair thing is true. Most people aren't gonna go and fuck someone in their car when they drove there in the same car with their spouse.

Dani 13:41

Yeah.

Stephanie 13:42

How do you make that work, man or woman? Like

Dani 13:45

it might've been advancing on her. And she's like, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not ready yet. We're still divorce fucker.

Stephanie 13:51

Yeah.

Dani 13:51

Anyway. I

Stephanie 13:53

don't think someone would just be bringing some strange man into the car when they're going. None of it makes sense. Sure. You, you went for the easy manslaughter, whatever,

Dani 14:02

but lame. Wayne died of a heart attack in 1983, so he did get outta jail. He only served a couple of years. But, let's talk about Anthony. Right? It's a rough way to start. Anthony was only six when his mother died after the shooting, he and his younger brother, Monty, went to live with Lenny's older sister Theresa and Theresa's husband, Jimmy Ray Hilderbrand. They already had three children and lived on a dairy farm in halfway Oregon.

Stephanie 14:38

Mm-hmm.

Dani 14:38

A town of about 300 people tucked into the Hills Canyon area in high school, Anthony went by Tony. He was a three sport athlete. He loved to hunt and fish. All the guys up there do people around him talked about his hands, how he could build or weld anything. His cousin, Jim Hildebrand, said Tony once made an ice sculpture of Bart Simpson that wanted the halfway snow festival.

Stephanie 15:04

Let's go.

Dani 15:04

But the same cousin said, Tony always seemed like he had a screw loose. Okay. Family members told a story about a younger Tony the neighbor's dog would bark whenever someone walked from the house to the barn. One night Tony said they wouldn't have to worry about that dog anymore. He drove over it with his pickup. Oh, when Jimmy Ray told him to bury it, Tony grabbed a post hole digger and shoved the dog into a hole. His cousin remembered it as careless and cold. Not a kid making a mistake, but a kid showing what kind of respect he had for life. I feel like that wasn't a, oops. I hit the dog. He was like,

Stephanie 15:48

no. He was like, don't worry. I I actually hit the dog in my fucking truck. So

Dani 15:51

we're good. I, I killed the dog. So we're good. After high school, Tony joined the Marines for three years. He was stationed in Guam, serving in a military police unit responsible for defending a stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Stephanie 16:07

I be, that was wonderful for everyone around.

Dani 16:09

He earned, he earned two ribbons for good conduct and briefly married a young woman from Guam. He later claimed he carried a haunting memory from the Marines telling people a close friend named Michael stepped on a landmine during a patrol and was killed. Whether that story was true or not would later matter because Tony would eventually use the idea of dead voices and dead friends to shape how doctors and the courts saw him.

Stephanie 16:37

Oh, wonderful.

Dani 16:40

He left the service in 1989 and moved to Oceanside, California, and that's where he met 23-year-old Rosa Carrasco. There was a family connection through her stepfather in San Diego, who was a brother of Tony's, aunt Theresa.

Stephanie 16:58

Okay.

Dani 16:58

So I think that's how he ended up down there. knew some people go down there. Rosco later said Tony seemed handsome and charming, an outdoorsy type. And a tireless worker. She said he didn't drink or use drugs, and he would rarely talked about his mother's murder. Quote. Maybe her birthday would come around or Christmas and he would say, you know, I wish my mom was here, and that would be it. She said, after they married the couple briefly moved to Oregon, and Tony worked as a corrections officer. Then came an accusation that followed him into the public record. In September, 1991, a corrections officer at Powder River Correctional Facility was arrested on a charge of taking photographs from inmates mill. Tony Mot Wheeler was 23 and was cited and released on a charge of second degree official misconduct. That doesn't even sound like a real,

Stephanie 17:57

it doesn't,

Dani 17:59

uh, prison Superintendent Dan Johnson said, searching inmate mail for contraband was standard practice, and the photographs were allowed with restrictions. He declined to comment on the nature of the photos. Mont Wheeler remained employed while the case moved forward in August of 1992. The official misconduct charge was dismissed in Baker City Justice Court for lack of proof. His attorney said multiple people had access to the inmate male and there was no proof that Tony actually took anything. So after all that, with the accusations at the prison, and by the way, he worked at the prison that his dad was in jail at.

Stephanie 18:37

Oh, weird.

Dani 18:38

Yeah. so after all that, Tony and Rosa returned to California. He joined a street sweeping business owned by Rosa's father, and they had a son after his birth. Rosas said Tony changed. He became withdrawn. He disappeared for hours at night and missed shifts at work. And remember, he's supposed to be a really, you know, workaholic. Good worker.

Stephanie 19:01

Yeah. What's happening here?

Dani 19:03

She remembered how he never slept much. Quote, he wasn't much of a sleeper, she said for a while I thought maybe he's on something because he's just always up. But he was never the type to do drugs. Eventually Tony moved back to Oregon to work as a truck driver, leaving Rosa behind with the baby. In March of 1996, the couple arranged to meet in a parking lot in Oceanside to talk about divorce.'cause he'd done left her.

Stephanie 19:30

Yeah, sounds like it.

Dani 19:31

Rosa told her family, God. If she doesn't come back in a couple hours, something was really wrong. And this is the days before the cell phone is?

Stephanie 19:41

Mm-hmm.

Dani 19:42

Well, 96 it would be pushing it, but yeah. So she's like, I'm gonna go meet, um, my estranged husband if I don't come back in a couple hours. Something's wrong.

Stephanie 19:53

Yeah.

Dani 19:53

Hello family. Hello family. Yeah. Don't let her go by herself. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. When Rosa got into Tony's Dodge pickup with her son, who was three, Tony pulled onto the freeway and he said, change of plans. And he told her he thought they needed some time together. He drove 15 hours to Baker City in northeast Oregon where his brother Monty lived. I don't know if she was a willing, I don't, I don't know how that went.

Stephanie 20:24

It doesn't sound like it, but if someone's got your kid in the back, like to try to get away, what are you gonna do? Grab, grab the car seat and roll out of the car. Okay,

Dani 20:33

but she also stayed there for two months, so maybe she thought they could reconcile.'cause over the next two months, Rosa said Tony appeared to descend into madness. She found newspaper clippings about men who got away with killing their wives. Red flag much.

Stephanie 20:50

Yeah. That's like, Hey, that's like a search history. When search histories didn't exist, like you could just read a newspaper and throw it away, but you're keeping it

Dani 21:01

cutting out clippings.

Stephanie 21:01

That's strange. That's weird.

Dani 21:05

He took her and their son on PreOn trips to a payphone and at least once he seemed to believe he was speaking to his old Marine buddy Michael, who had been dead for years. Rosa said, this is when Tony became abusive. During one argument, he threatened her with a 22 caliber rifle. He kept in the backseat. Another time she said he held me down and he started choking me. There's something going on here.

Stephanie 21:28

Good.

Dani 21:30

So Rosa planned an escape with her brother Javier. The plan was for Javier to drive from San Diego to Monty's house to retrieve Rosa and her son. The hope was that Monty not included in the plan, could call, keep Tony calm. So they're gonna go up there and they're like, well, we know that Monty is not gonna let Tony get cray cray. Like he's gonna try to keep him in check, and then that'll be our chance to get away if he has, if that's, that's scary. If you have to arrange something like that in secret.

Stephanie 22:06

Yeah. Not good.

Dani 22:08

The plan detonated instead. Hmm. Rosa said that after Javier called to confirm they were in place, Tony grew suspicious. He sped off with Rosa and their son in the front seat on the highway. He abruptly pulled over. As if to collect his thoughts. Rosa remembered him talking to himself, saying strange things, and she saw an opening. She jumped out of the truck and screamed for help on the shoulder of the highway. Tony responded by pointing the 22 caliber rifle at their son's head. He ordered Rosa back into the truck. He tied both of their wrists to the seatbelt. Rosa remembered him saying, quote, if you're gonna leave me, I'm going out in a blaze of glory.

Stephanie 22:57

Oh my God.

Dani 22:59

I, Tony drove back to Monty's house. Javier was outside when they arrived. A confrontation unfolded on the lawn with Monty trying to calm his brother. This is how the plan was supposed to be inside the truck. Rosa worked her wrists free. She turned her, her son, but he would not move. He was afraid of what his father might do.

Stephanie 23:21

Oh my

Dani 23:21

God. At three. Rosa said she panicked and had to make a decision she ran leaving her child in the car because she believed she could not save them both in that second. What a hard decision.

Stephanie 23:33

Oh, impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Dani 23:39

The situation escalated into a chaotic standoff. Here we go. At one point, Anthony deliberately rammed his pickup into Javier's car as Javier tried to escape with Rosa, forcing him to crash through a neighbor's fence. Mont wheel, then grabbed his rifle, seized the the kid, and ran inside the house, turning the scene into an armed hostage situation.

Stephanie 24:04

Not good for anyone.

Dani 24:06

As police arrived and took up positions across the lawn, Mont Wheeler fired a series of warning shots and then he set his pickup on fire.

Stephanie 24:15

Ask one, does

Dani 24:17

No

Stephanie 24:17

cops are here. He let, well,

Dani 24:18

please stand up.

Stephanie 24:19

Lemme light your way for you.

Dani 24:22

His cousin, Jim Hildebrand, who was a sheriff's deputy, arrived to help talk him down. Rosa later remembered the standoff stretching on and on. It lasted roughly 10 fucking hours.

Stephanie 24:37

Unbelievable.

Dani 24:38

When Tony surrendered, Hildebrand remembered the, the kid had wet himself. Poor baby was so scared. He said Tony was totally out of it, staring into space and repeating, they can't take my boy. They can't take my boy. Later reporting laid out the official version of what happened in April of 1996. What began as a child custody dispute escalated into a hostage situation involving gunfire and a torched vehicle in South Baker City. Baker City Police got involved around 5:30 PM The incident ended out. 1:17 AM when Tony Mont Wheeler surrendered and released his three-year-old son, Chief Doug Humphreys, credited skills and exercising, patience and reserve, and said they had averted tragedy. I believe they did.

Stephanie 25:34

Mm-hmm.

Dani 25:35

Assisting agencies included Oregon State Police, the Baker County Sheriff's Department and the district Attorney's office.'cause this is a small town. Baker's a small town, they had to call in for backup call in the calvary.

Stephanie 25:49

Everyone

Dani 25:51

Humphrey said Tony was arrested on 18 charges. Those included

Stephanie 25:57

BA

Dani 25:58

kidnapping, his wife Rosa, unlawful use of a weapon, pointing a firearm at another menacing failure to perform the duties of a driver involved in an accident, reckless burning, reckless endangering his son, coercion and criminal mischief.

Stephanie 26:14

Throw the fucking book at him. I guess

Dani 26:15

they did.

Stephanie 26:16

Yeah.

Dani 26:16

Police said Tony repeatedly attempted to hang himself after being booked in jail and was transported to St. Elizabeth Health Services for evaluation. You know, these guys that do this when they're just raging, it's a very common thing. We, we've even had stories on, you know where

Stephanie 26:35

mm-hmm.

Dani 26:38

Police said the incident began when Tony learned his wife was planning to take the baby and leave for Texas with her brother, and that she was pursuing assault charges related to a domestic violence incident weeks earlier. Get him girl.

Stephanie 26:52

She's like, absolutely not.

Dani 26:55

Rosa told police Tony loaded her and the child into the pickup and then tied them to the seatbelt. She said Tony planned to find her brother and kill him. Police Chief Humper said Rosa was leave released from the truck around 6:45 PM But Tony kept the child and returned to the Virginia Street home in Baker City where he threatened to kill himself and the child Humper said he had negotiated by phone and Tony demanded Rosa be brought to the scene. This is never a good idea. David Blakely of Mountain Valley Mental Health and Tony's attorney Lies. Look at that name, VOI. Where? Right here, this Y lies. Voi.

Stephanie 27:38

I think that's the best. Yeah.

Dani 27:39

Well, that's a name. Worked with police to calm Tony and persuade him to surrender. At one point, Humper said Tony left the house and threw something believed to have been the boy into the back of the pickup. Okay? And then the truck flared into flames. So this was the big thing they thought, you know, he went out and he started that truck on fire, but they were worried that that kid, he threw the kid and then started it on fire. Officer Kirk McCormick placed himself in jeopardy, checking to make sure the child was not in the burning pickup. As McCormick was checking, Tony allegedly fired two shots and a he damn straight. He did. Allegedly my ass. Humper said the fire department was dispatched, but he turned the truck back because the situation was uncertain. We don't need no water. Let the motherfucker burn. Tony surrendered to Officer Kent. Dres a Manny grew up with in the halfway area, which I think helps.

Stephanie 28:31

Mm-hmm.

Dani 28:32

Residents were told to remain inside their homes. During the standoff. Humphreys noted that the weapon was a 22 caliber rifle, which he said minimize the threat to others. Really?'cause that's how his dad killed his mom.

Stephanie 28:43

Yeah. still kill you.

Dani 28:49

in September, 1997. Baker County Circuit Judge Milo Pope. That's an unfortunate, I just. Unfortunate name ruled that Tony Mot Muer was guilty except for insanity for the 1996 kidnapping and arm standoff involving his wife and young son

Stephanie 29:09

Pope.

Dani 29:11

Instead of sending him to prison, Pope committed the 29-year-old to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, where he would fall under the authority of the Psychiatric Security Review board for a period that could last as long as 70 years. And I would just like to,

Stephanie 29:28

I'm confused because he said he was guilty except for insanity, but then he went

Dani 29:33

that, that's an insanity plea. That's the technical term for pleading insanity.

Stephanie 29:38

Oh, okay.'cause it

Dani 29:39

all sounds like guilty except for insanity. So he's guilty.

Stephanie 29:43

Okay. I didn't

Dani 29:44

understand except for he

Stephanie 29:44

is,

Dani 29:45

he's insane.

Stephanie 29:46

I. I thought it meant you're guilty and insanity is not a thing. I

Dani 29:50

know. It's a weird,

Stephanie 29:51

it's a weird wording. Legal speak. Okay.

Dani 29:54

Yeah. It's legal speak.

Stephanie 29:55

So it is a insanity. Guilty. Yeah. Okay. Makes sense. Thank you. His

Dani 29:59

guilty except for insanity. Mm-hmm. So he is guilty except he's

Stephanie 30:04

you were a little cuckoo.

Dani 30:05

Yeah. Um, but I wanna talk about the 70 years that the psychiatric Security review board gave him. That was very rare. Mm-hmm. They don't normally give somebody 70 years. I mean, he is 29. Yeah. 70 years is, was a long time. I mean, he is 29.

Stephanie 30:25

Mm-hmm.

Dani 30:25

So that's still, he's a hundred.

Stephanie 30:26

Yeah. You're dead.

Dani 30:27

That they're, the psychiatric board is over them. I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this board. A psychiatric security review board known as the PSRB. I'm probably gonna fuck that up when I say it again. is a five member board appointed by the governor. It exists solely to supervise people who have been found guilty of crimes, but legally insane at the time they committed them. The board decides whether those individuals remain confined in a state hospital, are released under strict conditions, or returned to, to custody if they violate the terms of release.

Stephanie 31:01

Okay.

Dani 31:02

Once Mont Wheeler was found guilty, except for insanity, the PSRB, not the court controlled every decision about his future. So I don't know. That gets a little wonky. For me, because this is why I don't like the insanity plea and you're not gonna like it either.

Stephanie 31:22

Okay.

Dani 31:24

District Attorney Judge Baxter told the court that the board technically had the authority to release Mont Wheeler in as little as three weeks if it determined he was no longer a danger. Baxter said that reality concerned him deeply. Monte Wheeler's attorney, Kathleen Bergland, attempted to reassure the court telling Judge Pope that such a rapid release was highly unlikely, and she did not expect him to be freed for at least two years. Two years.

Stephanie 31:54

She's like, guys, it's at least two years.

Dani 31:57

Like,

Stephanie 31:58

and everyone's like, yeah, that's also bad.

Dani 32:05

Baxter described the case as unusual because the insanity finding did not come from a defense hired expert. Instead, the diagnosis that sent Mont Wheeler to the state hospital came from the State's own forensic psychologist. Oh, so

Stephanie 32:18

you're fucked

Dani 32:18

Dr. John Cochran. Yeah. The prosecution's like, yeah, he's, he is insane. Cochran diagnosed Mont Wheeler with depression and schizophrenia and concluded that he was suffering from mental illness at the time of the kidnapping. And standoff Baxter explained that in most cases, prosecutors and defense attorneys wage, what he call a war of psychiatrist. Mm-hmm. Which East side presenting dueling experts who disagree over whether a defendant was mentally ill and want Wheeler's case Cochran's diagnosis, eliminated that battle. He's like, yeah, bro, we don't even have to hire anybody because the prosecution said, you're, you're good.

Stephanie 32:52

You're, yeah. That's wild.

Dani 32:55

Not wild.

Stephanie 32:56

I don't know if I've ever heard of that.

Dani 32:57

That's what, yeah. It's just really

Stephanie 32:59

the prosecution's psychiatrist is like, yeah, this dude's crazy.

Dani 33:04

And that's not typically what happened. She gets somebody this like, no, he's fine. And then the defense. Brings in, somebody says, no he's not okay. Mm-hmm. So, Baxter told the court that without the guilty, except for insanity finding Mont Wheeler could have been sentenced to as much as 40 years in prison for those crimes. Instead, the insanity ruling diverted him out of the criminal justice system and into Oregon's mental health system, placing him under the Ps B's control rather than the Department of Corrections.

Stephanie 33:33

Alright.

Dani 33:35

Judge Pope ordered that Mot Wheeler's ex-wife Rosa be notified if he was ever released, if he escaped custody or if any hearing was scheduled that could result in his release back into the community.

Stephanie 33:48

Okay.

Dani 33:49

Wheeler didn't address the court and made no statement following the ruling'cause he is winning.

Stephanie 33:53

Um, yeah.

Dani 33:57

Wheeler went to the Oregon State Hospital, a facility with a reputation and a history. The place had been used as a filming location for one flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Stephanie 34:08

Oh,

Dani 34:08

fun fact. by the time Tony was there, it was described as infested with mold and rats and packed with neglected storage, including shelves lined with thousands of unclaimed cremains. It was over 5,000 cremains.

Stephanie 34:27

Why?

Dani 34:29

People just, they didn't come get their,

Stephanie 34:34

there's not like an official storage facility for that. You think they have to have very strict, like temperature and whatever guidelines.

Dani 34:43

No.

Stephanie 34:43

Yikes. Y

Dani 34:46

medical records said Tony experienced auditory hallucinations and paranoia early in hospitalization, but he eventually settled into the rhythm of institutional life in a way that made staff wary. He loan sharked, he sold horn to other patients. pornographic CDs, to other patients.

Stephanie 35:07

How he has a, he is a CD burner, A DVD burner. What's happening? How did he get that?

Dani 35:14

A psych, a psychologist noted that staff struggled to keep up with his latest attempts at engaging in commerce and getting away with it.

Stephanie 35:21

Commerce in the mentor?

Dani 35:24

Yeah, he's a hustler.

Stephanie 35:27

He's like, we're making Wall Street in the insane asylum.

Dani 35:31

It's like, how could I make some money in here?

Stephanie 35:33

Stocks and bonds. You can get him here, baby.

Dani 35:36

Two years into his stay, he incited a riot on his award. And I don't know more details about that, but he wild. He, I think he was a menace to these guys.

Stephanie 35:47

They seem exhausted already.

Dani 35:50

Like, why are you selling? You keep doing commerce. Quit selling.

Stephanie 35:54

Tony, we told you. Stop doing. Is it Tony?

Dani 35:57

Yeah,

Stephanie 35:58

Tony. No more commerce. He's like. What? That's who I am.

Dani 36:04

Everybody needs to masturbate him. Just providing,

Stephanie 36:08

when there's a demand, someone has to supply.

Dani 36:11

He's your guy.

Stephanie 36:13

Commerce. This is wild.

Dani 36:15

No, and he did a bunch of other shit like this too. Like, you know, he would like sell candy for like five times as much as it was worth. Like just all kinds. And

36:24

you

Stephanie 36:25

can't, I mean, that happens in prison too.

Dani 36:27

It says same D, that's what he was doing. He,

Stephanie 36:30

but I'm sure they get, I'm sure they get more access to stuff not being in an actual jail. So

Dani 36:36

in October of 2002, after more than five years, the PSRB granted Tony conditional release.

Stephanie 36:45

Pause. Wait, how much time had he spent here?

Dani 36:48

Five years.

Stephanie 36:50

So PSRB, five years.

Dani 36:53

Yeah, good job. He went into an adult foster care home in Ontario.

Stephanie 36:59

What the fuck is that?

Dani 37:00

let's just put him, yeah. Okay. The woman running it. Mary Lee Burgess later said he was very likable, but he had a way of working people and doing crooked things.

Stephanie 37:14

No, not him.

Dani 37:17

During conditional release, Tony was tied to multiple property fires

Stephanie 37:23

and a pyro.

Dani 37:25

One involved an apartment that led to a$24,000 insurance payout. Another involved a friend's camper, and that resulted in a reckless burning booking. Not arson,

Stephanie 37:41

like this is not burning something in a barrel. That's probably someone's home.

Dani 37:47

Yeah. And, I believe that this, this friend's camper that was burnt, it could have been the apartment, but I think it was the friend's camper. she said that Tony had told her to lie and say she had more stuff. Mm-hmm. Then she had, so then

Stephanie 38:04

she, I'm trying to help you with an insurance payout mama.

Dani 38:07

And so she ended up getting nothing'cause they found out she was lying. So that's why I think it was the camper. I can't remember. Do you know what I'm saying? Like,

Stephanie 38:14

she's like, I did have the, necklace from Titanic in there. I, I know I, the

Dani 38:20

heart of the ocean was in the drawer underneath my microwave, bro.

Stephanie 38:23

It was, and I know I, I should have kept it in my safety deposit box, but I wanted to wear it for my gala.

Dani 38:30

I'd like to put it on at night while I have a cup of coffee or a cocktail.

Stephanie 38:33

Paint me like one of your fridge. Girls, what the fuck's happening here? He's like, tell them that you had,

Dani 38:41

yeah. And so that's why I,

38:43

the

Stephanie 38:43

Mona Lisa in there,

Dani 38:44

because the apartment fire led to 24,000 insurance payout. That,

Stephanie 38:49

which doesn't seem like a lot.'cause I mean, when I'm thinking of how much damage a fire could do,

Dani 38:55

well it's just their stuff.

Stephanie 38:57

Yeah.

Dani 38:57

So,

Stephanie 38:58

oh, okay. Okay. Okay.

Dani 38:59

And then it's actual cash value. Do you want me to go down this road? You don't.

Stephanie 39:02

No, I don't.

Dani 39:03

Okay. Okay. so the PSRB could revoke condition release at any time and send someone back to the hospital.

Stephanie 39:11

Okay. Passe.

Dani 39:15

Tony was revoked in 2003 after buying a truck at auction and never paying. And it was later impounded with stolen plates fucking minutes. He was back on unconditional release within a month. You've

Stephanie 39:32

rehabilitated. You've rehabilitated. 30 days rehabilitated,

Dani 39:37

guided in part by recommendations from his caseworker. Alice Mills, who worked at Lifeways, Alice, Alice was on it, who worked at Lifeways, a nonprofit contracted to provide mental health services in Maller County.

Stephanie 39:50

What kind of services are you providing? Alice?

Dani 39:53

Not good. If he is, thinks he,

Stephanie 39:55

she's like, commerce is good. Everyone knows that this is America Free market. You're being an American Tony. Oh, my fucking

Dani 40:05

mills wrote that a month back at the hospital, quote. Should be a wake up call for Tony.

Stephanie 40:10

Oh, I'm sure. He, after being a kingpin in there for two years, immediately and a menace, I'm sure that that really woke him up. He's like, oh gosh, this is terrible. No, he's probably like back in my old stomping grounds. I know how to run shit around this bitch.

Dani 40:26

Hey, could you buy me some porn CDs and a CD burner? Thank you. Who

Stephanie 40:30

wants,

Dani 40:31

who wants a, uh, Tootsie Roll for$17?

Stephanie 40:34

Anyone?

Dani 40:35

Anyone?

Stephanie 40:36

I, I'm the only one. Only one with Tootsie Rolls on the block. So

Dani 40:40

Bueller

Stephanie 40:42

fucking, yeah. That 30 days. I'm sure he was scared straight.

Dani 40:49

she said that this would, a wake up call for Tony to monitor his behavior because loss of freedom and respect was a big price to pay a month, four weeks.

Stephanie 40:59

It sounds like he got a lot of respect in there. They're probably like donate.

Dani 41:04

Yeah.

Stephanie 41:04

Got my pour and candy. Yeah. I love pouring candy, bro.

Dani 41:08

He's probably like, fuck yeah. Like walking in, like he had a walk-in song. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Stephanie 41:13

He's like all my friends, he's pointing

Dani 41:15

back again. Got you, bro.

Stephanie 41:18

Hey, Joe. I'll get, I'll get you some of those jolly ranchers you like. How's that?

Dani 41:23

You still, you still owe me$15 fucker.

Stephanie 41:25

Yeah. Yeah.

Dani 41:27

she also, Alice also described him as bright and capable. A good problem solver, savvy and communication. Hardworking and goal oriented. Can I just, all I'm hearing is a mobster, like, right,

Stephanie 41:43

Alice, sweetie, are you okay?

Dani 41:47

Yeah. I feel like, uh, manipulated much. Thank you.

Stephanie 41:50

Are you going, were you going through something of his time? What's, what's really,

Dani 41:54

did he tell you he was, you were cute and Yeah. She's

Stephanie 41:57

like, oh my God. Thank you.

Dani 42:00

So just, just four days for to, or four weeks for Tony.

Stephanie 42:05

And I'm sure it's

Dani 42:05

a good lesson.

Stephanie 42:06

And you guys, he did learn his lesson and that's the end of our episode. So thank you for listening. He's reformed. Dani, what a great success story we've had,

Dani 42:17

but

Stephanie 42:18

oh wait, that wasn't err, that wasn't how it went.

Dani 42:22

Tony kept committing crimes anyway,

Stephanie 42:26

what?

Dani 42:27

In 2005, he served 90 days in jail for stealing about$3,000 worth of scrap metal from a sawmill. Alice confronted him, Tony told her he could avoid issues by being like peers who do quote anything but take pills, sleep, and watch tv. That's what your bros, that's what he thought of his bros. He's like, I'm, yeah.

Stephanie 42:53

Okay.

Dani 42:54

It was a revealing sentence because it framed the system discipline like a performance, which it was.

Stephanie 43:00

Wait, what you're telling me. This guy's faking

Dani 43:07

also in 2005, Tony met Katie Gill in a welding class at Treasure Valley Community College.

Stephanie 43:14

Good old CBCC,

Dani 43:16

they would marry and have two children. Yikes. But their domestic life wasn't stable. That's weird. Gil lived with her parents while Tony stayed and subsidized housing for the mentally ill adults in Ontario. at some point they, they didn't last long. they ended up getting divorced. No, I don't know if that's in here somewhere, but they did. So we're into 2009. After more than a decade. Under PSRB jurisdiction, Tony asked for a full discharge.

Stephanie 43:49

Oh.'cause obviously

Dani 43:51

Alice wrote she was fine with it and told the board that Tony had a mental illness with well-managed symptoms, but if he got to got into trouble in the future, it would more likely be due to an antisocial criminal trait rather than mental illness.

Stephanie 44:09

What does that even mean?

Dani 44:10

Yeah. The PSRB denied his request within a year. Tony and Gil divorced. Yeah, there we go. I knew it wasn't, yeah. then Tony was engaged again. He'd be having those bitches.

Stephanie 44:26

He's a true con man. Oh

Dani 44:28

fuck. Yeah, he is. Right. When he met his new fiance, Anita Harmon, in the checkout line at Walmart where she worked as a cashier.

Stephanie 44:36

What a meet. Cute

Dani 44:38

Tony. She told her family was the man of her dreams.

Stephanie 44:42

Ugh.

Dani 44:46

Tony and Anita got into the scrap metal business together.

Stephanie 44:50

Oh, yikes.

Dani 44:51

Because you know, he liked to steal that scrappy scrap.

Stephanie 44:54

He's out here taking catalytic converters and copper out of AC units and

Dani 44:59

much bigger scale. In September of 2012, a Grant county jury convicted Tony Mont Wheeler and Anita Mont Wheeler, also known as Anita Harmon. A first degree aggravated theft in dealings with an elderly couple. Robert and Violet hypo, I hope I said that right.

Stephanie 45:16

Not Robert and Violet.

Dani 45:18

I love Violet as a name, by the way. Me too. Like retro, like old. I guess that'd be vintage. We're talking vintage names. Violet.

Stephanie 45:26

We're talking vintage, classic. Yeah.

Dani 45:30

they lived east of John Day, Oregon.

Stephanie 45:33

That old John Day

Dani 45:34

Desert, prosecutor, Ryan Jocelyn said the couple ran a business that collected metal through verbal agreements, hauled it off, sold it, and then paid customers less than promised. The indictment said they stole metal and or money valued more at more than$10,000. Investigators said they hauled roughly 250 tons of metals from the high hypo property. So what happens just if people don't know on these old farms, they end up collecting a bunch of old farm equipment. Just, they just have. And it's like a cleanup, but it's worth money. the agreement was supposed to pay a hundred dollars per ton of furious material and split proceeds 50 50 for non various items like copper and brass. So more expensive metals, not just your mm-hmm. The state said the Mont wheelers received about$50,000 for the metals. So we're not talking chump change here when they're out collecting this stuff. Yeah. Like, it's a lot of money. So they received$50,000 for the medals, but only paid hebels,$12,500, shortening the hebels by over$13,000. Wow. And this is the big thing. The victim's ages mattered. The heel were in their nineties can be scamming. The elderly, you can't be fucking with the elderly. They gotta be protected. Authorities said the law provided stiffer penalties when the victim was older than 65.

Stephanie 47:04

Mm-hmm.

Dani 47:05

Tony was sentenced to two years in prison. Anita was sentenced to 16 months.

Stephanie 47:10

Isn't this funny that he was sentenced to two years in prison for ripping off an older couple, and his dad basically got two years in prison? Mm-hmm. For murdering his mom. Mm-hmm. What? Pardon the fuck

Dani 47:28

of also urged other potential victims to come forward saying there could be more and there probably was.

Stephanie 47:34

Oh, if he said this many ladies, imagine how many like little small dealings that he was able to rip

Dani 47:41

off. Yeah. I imagine the hypes kids were like, what the fuck happened? The you what happened? And then they got involved.

Stephanie 47:49

Mm-hmm.

Dani 47:50

Yeah. But their convictions were later dismissed in October of 2016 on appeal, but only after Tony fulfilled his sentence. So Tony did do his time.

Stephanie 48:03

Wow.

Dani 48:03

My understanding is that Anita never did time. She was fully on a pill, but

Stephanie 48:07

I'm sure he thrived on his two years.

Dani 48:10

Oh, he is probably in there hustling.

Stephanie 48:12

Big man on the block.

Dani 48:16

By late 2016, the state's attention shifted back to the thing that has shaped Tony's adult life since Baker City, whether he was truly mentally ill because now he's getting out. Like is he getting out out right? So whether he was truly mentally ill or whether he had used the insanity system as a shield.

Stephanie 48:35

Never.

Dani 48:36

In Tony's case, doctors had been treating him for years, and yet questions about malingering had bubbled up in records long before the 2016 discharge hearing. malingering,

Stephanie 48:49

Dani. Thank you. I was just gonna be like,'cause I think some of us have heard that term.

Dani 48:54

It's when you fake it. That's just the simple, you're you can, you can malinger a headache for work. How about that? You're faking. You're faking, you're faking. You're faking. Mm-hmm. You're big fat mouth,

Stephanie 49:08

big old fat mouth out here.

Dani 49:09

That's malingering in fancy terms. So Yeah.

Stephanie 49:14

I can't You're mimicking the symptoms of something real.

Dani 49:18

Yeah. Oh, boss got a headache. I able to make it in today. Migraine. He took it to a whole nother fucking level.

Stephanie 49:27

Oh yeah.

Dani 49:30

In 1997, a state psychiatrist, Dr. Charles folk wrote that there was a reasonable medical probability Tony simulated symptoms to avoid prison. And that there was no symptoms of mental illness making treatment difficult to define

Stephanie 49:48

because he's like, I'm looking for symptoms. I'm trying to diagnose and treat, and where are the symptoms?

Dani 49:56

Years later, a psychiatrist wrote Tony's unusual course, did not rule out malingering. Still, the system kept rolling. Diagnosis carried forward from provider to provider, and the narrative repeated, and Tony learned how to perform it.

Stephanie 50:13

cause you're just, and listen, I feel like, and this isn't always men, this is just toxic people in general. Like if you ask a toxic person who has some of these narcissistic traits. To go to therapy. They just learn how to manipulate better within the con. They're like, oh, this is the rule book. Oh, I love a rule book. Now if I just say it this way, then now, now you're, you're not accommodating my needs. Or you know, people start to learn therapy speak and things like that and use it against you. It sounds a lot like that.

Dani 50:56

In December, 2016, the PSRB convened to consider releasing Tony from the Oregon State Hospital

Stephanie 51:03

because he is a standup guy.

Dani 51:05

board chair, Kate Lieber and board members listen to testimony. Tony described his own deception.

Stephanie 51:14

Mm-hmm.

Dani 51:15

He later told the board he had chosen the insanity route after the Baker City kidnapping case, because Prism was dangerous for him as an ex corrections officer. He testified in words that landed like a confession and a boast, and all I gotta do is make myself sound like I'm crazy. And that's the route I took.

Stephanie 51:37

I can't believe after all this time, and it's worked for you, why fucking

Dani 51:42

20 years

51:43

if

Stephanie 51:43

it's worked for you for 20 years?

Dani 51:46

I, I'm gonna

Stephanie 51:47

tell you, no one could prove it, really. I mean, even the psychiatrists are like, I'm trying to find symptoms, but I can't. But I mean, he's displaying activities, you know, like,

Dani 51:57

so this was the thing he was getting outta jail on that conviction. Mm-hmm. Even though it was dismissed later. But at that point they could make him go stay back in the hospital. They can make him because,

Stephanie 52:10

so he's like, yeah, it was a, it was a fake though. I'm not

Dani 52:13

actually

Stephanie 52:13

crazy.

Dani 52:14

cause he wants, he, he liked living in the independent, you know, adult, the foster

Stephanie 52:18

home.

Dani 52:18

Yeah. He liked that because he could come and go and he is as he pleased,

Stephanie 52:22

and fake it to be a normal person and go out and do shenanigans.

Dani 52:25

Yeah. Have a, he had a whole fucking business and a wife and still was living

Stephanie 52:32

like, and like a, like a part-time wife. Like a, she lives with her parents. I live in my foster home mm-hmm. For adults.

Dani 52:42

So after 20 years he's like, I've had enough of this, this.

Stephanie 52:45

He's like, yeah guys. I did,

Dani 52:47

I, I'm faking it. He said he put on an act for his first doctor reporting. He was hearing his murdered mother and people who died in the Marines. He later claimed none of that was true. He told the board he didn't want to do seven years in prison because he didn't wanna get shanked. Nobody wants to get shanked, motherfucker. Lieber told him she was aghast at what she heard. I love that word, aghast, but that he was getting a second chance. Tony apologized and the board just charged him, how is that not a crime? What

Stephanie 53:28

they

Dani 53:29

said,

Stephanie 53:29

wow. I'm aghast. That's the most terrible thing I've ever heard.

Dani 53:33

You're free to go.

Stephanie 53:34

Go ahead and go, you know what? We don't even need to watch you anymore. That, that was awful and diabolical. go ahead and do whatever the fuck you want for the rest of your life.

Dani 53:46

Yeah. A psychologist, Brian Hartman warn the board what might happen.

Stephanie 53:55

Oh, no. Really a warning.

Dani 53:57

Hartman.

Stephanie 53:57

I'm sure they're gonna heat it. They're like, oh, a professional's here. Thank God, because we don't know what the fuck we're doing. Thank God. Someone can tell us what, what the possible consequences of this would be. My ears are open, Brian. That's what they said.

Dani 54:12

Yeah. And Hartman testified that if Tony returned to the community without supervision, his risk of violence would be high and most likely directed at an intimate partner or family member.

Stephanie 54:24

I mean, but what does he know? He, I, I, people go to school for stuff, whatever. Mm-hmm. Like, uh, the vibes are good. The whole board thinks the vibes are good.

Dani 54:35

And you know who loves him to death? Alice. Fuck Alice has been rides for him. Fucking Alice, Alice. Now are you ready for the mic shake?

Stephanie 54:49

Yep. Yep.

Dani 54:51

Was 20 years. You know what that fucker did? He lived in free housing. He got all state, paid, everything, medical, everything.

Stephanie 55:04

Mm-hmm.

Dani 55:05

Hmm. Around 4:00 AM on January 9th, 2017, Mont Wheeler told his girlfriend he was leaving to go to the gym. Instead, Anthony drove into a rural area outside of Weezer, Idaho and parked his pickup a short distance from the Harman family home. He did not pull into the driveway or park in front of the house. Instead, he positioned himself down the road on a side street, close enough to watch, but far enough away to avoid being noticed.

Stephanie 55:42

Hmm.

Dani 55:47

So I'd just like to remind you, he was released in December of 2016. Mm-hmm. And we are on January 9th, 2017 by about 5:30 AM a neighbor noticed his pickup sitting on the side street near the Harman home. Stationary.

Stephanie 56:07

Mm-hmm.

Dani 56:08

And really outta place at that hour.

Stephanie 56:10

Strange, strange vehicle.

Dani 56:12

They they know and neighbors be watching neighbors out there.

Stephanie 56:15

Yeah.

Dani 56:15

Sometime after that. Anita Harmon left for work. Her Toyota four runner was later found, abandoned, a short distance away, sitting in the middle of the road with the headlights still on, and the keys left in the ignition.

Stephanie 56:28

Suspicion not good.

Dani 56:32

How Tony got Anita out of her vehicle and into his truck was not fully laid out publicly in every report, but investigators believed he kidnapped her near her home. Her father, bud. Oh Bud said, bud later described the tear as unbearable saying he got her right up the road here. The terror she must have gone through. I can't hardly handle that.

Stephanie 56:59

Yeah. and you wonder, was it like, got her out to help? She thought she was, there's a number of different things that could have happened and it's, none of them were good.

Dani 57:12

None of them are good.

Stephanie 57:13

No.

Dani 57:14

Tony then drove Anita across the border into good old Oregon. Look Weezer's right on the border. Mm-hmm. It's

Stephanie 57:22

right there.

Dani 57:23

And I'm gonna tell you he liked the Oregon rules. I believe that's why he Mm. Yeah. You believe that's why he drove? I believe that's why he drove over the border.

Stephanie 57:36

No, it's. And listen, Idaho has had many consequences for not following rules and being too much on the, we're gonna do what we want. And, but it's, it's much stricter here. And in general, even, even putting aside the Idaho passing out the death penalty for every person that came across their thing, Idaho is much more strict on things. Any, any type of conviction, whether it's drug violence, you know, I will say traffic less here than there. Like do you speed in a construction zone in Oregon?$500 ticket?

Dani 58:15

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie 58:16

Here, not so much, but No, I totally get it.

Dani 58:20

I'm gonna tell you why I think he drove to Oregon. Guess what? Idaho does not have. The insanity defense.

Stephanie 58:30

No. You, they're basically like, oh, you're insane. Well, we'll make you competent in some, we'll, we'll get someone to say, you're competent.

Dani 58:39

Yeah. You're

Stephanie 58:39

going, you could be the most insane person. They're like, we'll find a way.

Dani 58:45

Yeah. insanity plea is not a thing here.

Stephanie 58:48

Mm-hmm.

Dani 58:49

so he had to drive to the Oregon, you know, and he's a professional at doing it for 20 years.

Stephanie 58:56

He knows.

Dani 58:57

He know.

Stephanie 58:58

They said didn't. Didn't Alice say he was very bright?

Dani 59:01

Yeah. And capable. He knows. At a Sinclair gas station in Ontario, Tony prepaid for$40 of diesel, bought two bottles of water and wished the clerk a nice day.

Stephanie 59:16

Mm.

Dani 59:17

Outside the fuel attendant. Fun fact. Lemme just tell you, in Oregon you cannot pump your own gas.

Stephanie 59:23

I know, and that was so weird for me. Like,

Dani 59:25

you cannot pump,

Stephanie 59:26

you try to, they, they act like you're, you're trying to rob a bank.

Dani 59:30

Yeah. You cannot pump your own gas in Oregon.

Stephanie 59:32

No.

Dani 59:33

Mm-hmm. None.

Stephanie 59:35

No. There's an attendant

Dani 59:38

outside the fuel attendant, Michael McIntyre was waiting to fill the tank when he heard a sound from inside the cab. Anita was in the passenger seat with her wrists bound to the seat belt.

Stephanie 59:50

What the fuck?

Dani 59:50

Using plastic zip ties

Stephanie 59:53

bound to the seat belt. Wasn't this what his dad did?

Dani 59:56

That's what he did to his wife.

Stephanie 59:59

Oh, you're right. That's what he did to

Dani 1:00:00

his

Stephanie 1:00:01

wife

Dani 1:00:01

with the kid.

Stephanie 1:00:01

Yeah.

Dani 1:00:03

Oh my God. Anita lifted her arms and screamed. Help me. McIntyre, a Vietnam War veteran in his seventies, but still wiry. Told the store clerk to call the police and said There's a lady tied up in that truck and then rushed back outside. Tony acted like nothing was wrong. He sat. He sat with one leg hanging out of the open door,

Stephanie 1:00:31

casual cash vibing

Dani 1:00:35

when the pump clicked to$40. Tony prepared to leave McIntyre told him to wait. The police were coming. McIntyre said Tony. Started him for a moment and then reached under the driver's seat. Trigger Warning, Tony pulled out an outdoor angler filet knife and plunged it into Anita's neck. McIntyre yelled. He just cut her throat.

Stephanie 1:01:05

Oh my fucking God.

Dani 1:01:08

Yeah,

Stephanie 1:01:08

like

Dani 1:01:10

that. He was so casually just sitting there

Stephanie 1:01:13

leg up, and then he is like, what the F? This is just like I, I will never understand people that do shit like this. Like what was the reason? You could have just very, if, if they said the police are coming, just drive away.

Dani 1:01:34

He had other intentions

Stephanie 1:01:36

clearly,

Dani 1:01:37

and so with his, he what he felt with his back against the wall of completing what, whatever he was planning on completing that day. A customer ran outside to help when he reached the pickup. He later told police he could see the area around Anita's. Jugular was all gone. The customer at McIntyre tried to intervene, but Tony fended them off with his left hand and repeatedly stabbed Anita in the chest. With his right, he slammed the door shut and drove away plowing his truck through a snowbank, separating the station from the the street. Which is very common, like they make these big hills. Mm-hmm. You know, police spotted the pickup in Ontario near Rusty's Pancake and steakhouse moving at what was described as a normal rate of speed. This is what scare, like he's this, but when he saw the police, Tony accelerated onto a two-lane highway speeding up to 90 miles per hour through the snow covered fields. I mean, this is early January out there. It's, yeah. But he, they said through the field, so I don't know if he was cutting off of the highway. it sounds like he was, and that's where David and Jessica Bates entered the story. David Bates was a radiology manager. Jessica Bates was an ultrasound technician. They were parents of five children and worked at St. Alfal Medical Center in Ontario. They usually drove separately, but because of the snow, David decided to drive Jessica so that he could make sure she arrived safely.

Stephanie 1:03:23

Hmm.

Dani 1:03:24

As Tony crossed into their lane, David veered right, but the snow banks clogged the shoulder. Jessica later recalled, the last thing she remembered was the sound of something in the car smashing into the dash, and then she blacked out. Tony's pickup collided head on with the Bates vehicle on Oregon 2 0 1. David Bates 38 died at the scene. Jessica Bates was seriously injured but survived. Tony was also seriously injured. Who cares And transported for medical care. Exactly. Sorry, not sorry. Yeah,

Stephanie 1:04:00

fuck off.

Dani 1:04:02

Investigators found an empty package of latex gloves, heavy duty zip ties, duct tape, a hundred feet of rope, binoculars, and the bloody knife. In Tony's pickup.

Stephanie 1:04:14

Oh, I bet. Yeah.

Dani 1:04:14

Murder kit. The aftermath unfolded across multiple courts, multiple agencies, and years of delay. On January 12th, 2017, Tony was indicted by AM Mallor County Grand Jury. prosecutor David Goldthorpe, said Tony could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder. I'm surprised Oregon still had the death penalty. Yeah,

Stephanie 1:04:39

that's okay.

Dani 1:04:41

Yeah. Who know?

Stephanie 1:04:42

Oh, you. You guys do the death penalty. You do it. Yeah. Talk to Idaho about that and listen, I. It's just, I'm just being a silly, we

Dani 1:04:53

don't have an opinion

Stephanie 1:04:54

either way. I'm being a silly goose.

Dani 1:04:56

Yeah,

Stephanie 1:04:57

but it's like,

Dani 1:04:58

really? Or

Stephanie 1:04:59

next to Idaho, you guys do the death penalty. We do the death penalty when it's against federal regulations here.

Dani 1:05:07

Don't give a fuck.

Stephanie 1:05:08

Literally, we just surpass all laws to do it. Like, not proud of it, but it's like, oh yeah, you guys okay.

Dani 1:05:19

the indictment included aggravated murder and murder charges for both deaths, allowing a jury later to decide which fit.

Stephanie 1:05:26

Okay.

Dani 1:05:27

I like, I I like that.

Stephanie 1:05:29

Mm-hmm. And that's how it should be. And that's why Idaho got in trouble.

Dani 1:05:33

Like, no, you just lay it. All these murderers convictions are available for you to choose what you feel. Mm-hmm. Appropriate. Tony Faye charges of aggravated murder, first degree kidnapping, and first degree assault. Goldthorpe told reporters there had been multiple holdups involving state hospital evaluations and treatment related to Tony's ability to aid and assist in his own defense. Aw,

Stephanie 1:06:02

poor guy

Dani 1:06:03

because we're a year in. I mean, meanwhile, the families tried to make sense of the man. Anita had married and divorced her sister Stacy described Anita as surprising fun with a goo laugh and a reader who could disappear into a book. Love that for you, sis.

Stephanie 1:06:22

And she was just probably trying to just mind her own business. And how sad is that?

Dani 1:06:28

Anita loved animals and believed troubled men could be healed. Her sister said Anita was a rescuer. Even with Tony believing she could fix him, the family set alarm bells went off early. They described Tony as controlling, secretive, unwilling to engage with her close-knit family, and as a man who inspired fear,

Stephanie 1:06:51

Steve. Oh, wonderful. Nothing says, protect and provide like a man who inspires fear with everyone who knows them.

Dani 1:06:59

sister Stacy said she remembered thinking she'd get a call from Idaho, that Tony went into the house and killed everybody. And you know what's, she had been away from him for a little bit. She had just started dating.

Stephanie 1:07:14

She's trying to

Dani 1:07:15

somebody new. And I think that might've been a trigger, but she was, oh of

Stephanie 1:07:18

course,

Dani 1:07:18

dating somebody new and she was really excited about it. Uh, I think she met him at work.

Stephanie 1:07:24

It's the worst time.

Dani 1:07:25

And you know, they

Stephanie 1:07:26

lost control.

Dani 1:07:27

New love is fun, love.

Stephanie 1:07:30

Mm-hmm.

Dani 1:07:30

How excited she was. And she had just recently got a promotion at work and she was kicking ass and he couldn't fucking stand to eat. Weasel dick, motherfucker.

Stephanie 1:07:42

Thank you.

Dani 1:07:43

Okay. Oh, that felt so good.

Stephanie 1:07:47

I could tell you needed to say that

Dani 1:07:50

they were also stunned. The family was also stunned to learn what Tony had done decades earlier in Baker City.

Stephanie 1:07:55

Oh.

Dani 1:07:56

Stacey said they had no idea about the 1996 kidnapping and standoff. She insisted Anita likely didn't know either, and she believed Anita would never be with someone who, who would harm a child.

Stephanie 1:08:08

Yeah. You, you couldn't internet like you could now. No internet.

Dani 1:08:13

We can internet.

Stephanie 1:08:13

Yeah. You couldn't ask Jevs

Dani 1:08:15

No.

Stephanie 1:08:16

Of someone's name.

Dani 1:08:17

No. Uh, memory.

Stephanie 1:08:20

Yeah.

Dani 1:08:21

I'm very songy tonight. I apologize. Um, but the story got even bigger because Tony's release became a public records battle ro the people were alike and I think I wanna give good credit. I think it was the maller. It was the Mallu enterprise that did all of this. And I don't know if I wrote this down, but they were like, that makes closing. Yeah. They're like, what the fuck is knock, knock? Why'd you let this guy go? they were on it and it was fantastic. and I should have wrote down the,

Stephanie 1:08:57

and it's the Prb, right? The PSRB,

Dani 1:09:00

the Prb. Yeah. They're like, uh,

Stephanie 1:09:04

what the fuck is this board even for?

Dani 1:09:06

Yeah.

Stephanie 1:09:06

Appointed by the governor. And they're like, the vibes were good. Let him out.

Dani 1:09:12

Right. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosen Bloom's office ordered the pb,

Stephanie 1:09:20

the prb,

Dani 1:09:21

the prb to release records requested by the MALLOR Enterprise. I don't even have to go look. I have it written down. Finding public interest required disclosure. Fuck yeah.

Stephanie 1:09:31

Hello.

Dani 1:09:32

This guy malingering for 20 goddamn years

Stephanie 1:09:35

and admitting being like, yeah, that was all fake. And

Dani 1:09:38

then he gets released and three weeks later he. Fucking stabbing his ex-wife.

Stephanie 1:09:43

It was easier for me to just do it that way.

Dani 1:09:46

Oh, the board refused and sued the newspaper.

Stephanie 1:09:50

Oh, okay.

Dani 1:09:52

Oregon Governor Kate Brown intervened calling the law plain wrong and saying, Oregonians deserve transparent government. Thank you, Kate. The board dropped his lawsuit and Rele released the records saying it had withheld documents to ensure compliance with medical privacy laws.

Stephanie 1:10:09

Oh, is that the reason?

Dani 1:10:11

That's why they wanted to No, this board was scared.

Stephanie 1:10:14

Oh, you care about hipaa? You do.

Dani 1:10:17

You're scared.

Stephanie 1:10:18

Oh, you scared. Fuck off.

Dani 1:10:22

Those records showed state doctors suspected nearly 20 years earlier that Tony was feigning mental illness to avoid prison. Yet it did not appear officials acted on those suspicions.

Stephanie 1:10:35

My eyes just rolled back a century. Just so for those of you listening only audibly,

Dani 1:10:44

they showed the system struggled to treat a man as mentally ill while he exhibited no symptoms. They showed he was given medication and dosages that did not match proper treatment. they showed staff describing him as dangerous, especially in interpersonal conflict and warning that if released into the community, he would need close monitoring, close supervision, and a structured environment.

Stephanie 1:11:09

No, put him in a foster care where he can go and come as he pleases.

Dani 1:11:13

And and that's really what it was like. Look, it was a paid apart. It was like a dorm like. You have, what's the dorm? What's the

Stephanie 1:11:24

halfway house?

Dani 1:11:25

No, what's the dorm person called in college that, uh, is in charge?

Stephanie 1:11:29

Fraternity house. Mom, house. Dad.

Dani 1:11:33

There's not an r

Stephanie 1:11:34

RA resident.

Dani 1:11:36

Residential

Stephanie 1:11:37

advisor. Yeah, it's an ra. What the fuck is a ra?

Dani 1:11:42

So it's that. But he has his own fucking room, his own little probably studio apartment. He still well, and

Stephanie 1:11:53

he had a wife living with her parents. Jesus F word.

Dani 1:12:01

In court, the case dragged in April of 2017. Family sat in the courtroom as Tony appeared in a wheelchair with his head down. While hearings were pushed back, of course,'cause you were mentally ill. Now again,

Stephanie 1:12:14

everyone knows if you're mentally ill, you need a wheelchair.

Dani 1:12:17

You faked it for 20 years, but now you're mentally ill

Stephanie 1:12:21

and it requires a wheelchair

Dani 1:12:22

Of course. Defense attorney William D Falls raised recusal issues for Mallard County judges due to past connections to Tony.'cause he had been in trouble a lot. They had to find a, well, Mallard County is a large county, but it's

Stephanie 1:12:39

teensy and population. Yeah.

Dani 1:12:41

Compared to like, yeah, like

Stephanie 1:12:43

lots of land. Few folks.

Dani 1:12:44

Yeah. Judge Aaron Landis rescheduled a plea hearing, to June 20th. For a visiting judge, they had to bring in a judge from another county. Falls raised the possibility of a guilty except for insanity. Plea in the new case. Mm-hmm.

Stephanie 1:13:03

Oh, how refreshing?

Dani 1:13:06

in 2018, state hospital evaluators concluded Tony was mentally unfit to stand trial, creating uncertainty about whether prosecution could proceed.

Stephanie 1:13:18

You fucking, I'm sure he is not malingering this time.

Dani 1:13:20

No, it's real. I will tell you, lemme just tell you I can't, I didn't write down the book before he. While he was awaiting all of his bullshit on the first wife that he kidnapped and all that bullshit. Mm-hmm. He was reading a book about mental illness just after

Stephanie 1:13:37

he's like, I just, I like to read the dsm. Maybe I, I like to read the DSM five just for fun. You guys don't read that for fun. I wanna know all the symptoms.

Dani 1:13:47

All of them. The report took months when typical evaluations were described as being completed in dates because it's easy'cause you can find some symptoms. Later in September of 2018, molt, no Circuit Judge Thomas Ryan ruled Tony would return to the Oregon State Hospital for treatment after finding he was too impaired to make rational decisions about his defense.

Stephanie 1:14:21

So we have someone who knew how to do this for 20 years and now they're saying, oh, we don't, we don't know what to do. He might be mentally ill. Could, could it maybe be that it's someone who's experienced in pretending to be mentally ill for 20 years? I don't know that. Maybe that's a possibility. I mean, I'm just a little old me, but

Dani 1:14:47

little You just thinking, having thoughts,

Stephanie 1:14:49

just having a thought or two. Is anyone having a fucking thought or two anywhere?

Dani 1:14:56

I will say, let me just say, in the judge's defense, I will say it's better to be cautious about this because we know about the appeals. Appeals. Appeals. Sure. So look. If he needs to go stay as a judge, I'm like, all right, he's a fucking fat mouth, but you know what, I'm gonna go send him back there for, you know, six months. 12 months. See what we

Stephanie 1:15:18

can do.

Dani 1:15:19

Let's see what we can dig up on this motherfucker. Alright. That would be my judge brain thinking like, let's see what we can dig up on. And

Stephanie 1:15:24

I hope that was

Dani 1:15:25

the intense, you're not gonna get off on a technicality and you're not gonna appeal my court to death. Dr. Octavia Choi, director of Forensic evaluation services diagnosed Tony with adjustment disorder, more commonly known as mild to moderate depression

Stephanie 1:15:45

adjustment.

Dani 1:15:45

Same. Same.

Stephanie 1:15:47

I think that change adjustment disorder change is hard for anyone anywhere. Yeah, anytime.

Dani 1:15:55

Yeah. So he's depressed. Mild to moderate depression, which, look, I get

Stephanie 1:16:02

it, you can murder a few people if you have mild depression. Everyone knows that. Ugh, leave him alone. Scram. Fuck my life.

Dani 1:16:14

Uh, Choi said three to six months of treatment could restore competency.

Stephanie 1:16:20

Excuse me. Mr. Octavia Choi. I think that this has been maybe attempted with this individual a few times. Could you maybe let me know how that worked? I am respecting Troy because he is not, he's like, look. All right. You want

Dani 1:16:41

mild

Stephanie 1:16:42

to? Sure, sure. Little depressing. Okay. Yeah. Let me gimme three, three to

Dani 1:16:45

six

Stephanie 1:16:45

months

Dani 1:16:45

rehabilitation. Give me three to six months of this motherfucker

Stephanie 1:16:50

in a ring. Maybe I just see some gloves. P

Dani 1:16:54

like a duall.

Stephanie 1:16:55

Yeah,

Dani 1:16:56

you will straighten up. Motherfucker

Stephanie 1:16:59

Maybe, but fuck.

Dani 1:17:01

But Choi wrote that Tony should be considered highly dangerous. And inappropriate for community-based restoration.

Stephanie 1:17:08

Okay. That's

Dani 1:17:09

at least,

Stephanie 1:17:10

at least something.

Dani 1:17:11

Troy also documented concerns about malingering and inconsistent reporting. Choi has got your fucking number. Tony, including when Tony was becoming angry, when pressed about claims of hearing voices and describing. Disorganized rant and paranoid beliefs, including the claim that a jail lieutenant could read his mind.

Stephanie 1:17:35

And I just, I wish we had tapes of his, like pretending and stuff. Oh, I fucking, oh, I'd eat that

Dani 1:17:42

up. He read the book. He read the book. He's

Stephanie 1:17:44

like, he read the book. But I

Dani 1:17:46

would, people reading my mind there are, I have,

Stephanie 1:17:49

oh, I'm crazy. Oh, I'm hearing voices. So many voices like. Oh, I'm passing out so many voices

Dani 1:17:58

and I'm

Stephanie 1:18:00

mildly depressed. Mildly depressed. I'm mildly depressed. How am I supposed to not kill people? Oh, chat mildly depressed. Chat. You're, we're not killing people on the rig. Right?

Dani 1:18:18

I'm, I'm not, no. Depression is a thing.

Stephanie 1:18:21

It is.

Dani 1:18:22

But that typically depressed people do not murder people. N no. They will either. Like

Stephanie 1:18:28

they're just keep it to themselves. Yeah. They're writing their business

Dani 1:18:32

and possibly, you know, self harm, which is horrible. They are not. Stalking their, they don't have fucking energy. Ex-wife. No, you're trying,

Stephanie 1:18:41

they do not have the energy. No.

Dani 1:18:43

What'd you do? Take a fucking B12 shot and decide to go fucking K Whoop. All better. Gonna go kill people about it. My fucking goodness. Kelly. We,

Stephanie 1:18:55

that's our CoStar Harry. He's very worked up'cause we're worked up. Love you, bro. He thinks we are. We're about

Dani 1:19:01

to fight. He's like, where are they? Are, are we okay? Do I bite? At that hearing, the courtroom held grief on both sides of the aisle. Susan Harmon sat in the back with her granddaughter. Members of the Bates family were nearby. Susan described Troy's technical description of Tony's inconsistent mental health story as quote, fancy talk for lies. Fuck yeah.

Stephanie 1:19:27

Thank you, hun.

Dani 1:19:28

She said she believed he lied to the state to get out of the hospital, was now lying again to get outta murder

Stephanie 1:19:37

as would be expected with this motherfucker

Dani 1:19:41

because we still have the Bates family involved. Yeah,

Stephanie 1:19:43

you're right.

Dani 1:19:45

in December, 2018, two families filed wrongful dust suits, faulting the state for releasing Tony despite warnings. Thank you. Hello, prosecutor. Pe

Stephanie 1:19:57

Serb

Dani 1:19:58

prosecutors said the state hospital had determined Tony was mentally fit to be prosecuted.

Stephanie 1:20:04

Oh,

Dani 1:20:05

in the same month. But yeah, here's our wrongful death suits and oh, his mild depression is fixed. He just needed a little vitamin D, some sunshine, and maybe a little, you know,

Stephanie 1:20:17

you know. And as most mildly depressed people will say, that's what kept them from being a serial killer. No one's out here doing that, bro. Mild depression.

Dani 1:20:29

In January, 2019, judge Ryan ruled Tony competent to aid and assist in his defense. The evaluation, supporting that ruling was sealed from public view at the request of the defense attorneys. We get it, but bullshit. This happened early 2017,

Stephanie 1:20:49

which in my mind was two years ago.

Dani 1:20:53

Me too. I

Stephanie 1:20:54

know. I

Dani 1:20:54

know. It's not same. Same. But my heart feels like it is. Finally, on February 26th, 2021. It was fucking four years ago. Okay. Almost five. Tony pled guilty to second degree murder. First degree manslaughter and third degree assault. The plea agreement called for life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years on the murder charge, the manslaughter sentence was 20 years. The assault sentence was three years to be served concurrently. If parole is granted, he would still face additional years tied to the bat's death

Stephanie 1:21:32

as he should.

Dani 1:21:35

And I'm gonna tell you, Mrs. Bates forgave him. They're very spiritual family, very religious. she forgave him.

Stephanie 1:21:48

And I don't

Dani 1:21:49

judge folks for

Stephanie 1:21:49

that.

Dani 1:21:50

No, it takes a strong, you're a better person than me.

Stephanie 1:21:53

You really

Dani 1:21:53

are.'cause I would be like, go fuck yourself. so, and she talked about. The forgiveness, helping her move on. Right. And,

Stephanie 1:22:04

and, and that is so helpful for a lot of people.

Dani 1:22:06

and she just, she talked about, I mean, she has five kids.

Stephanie 1:22:09

Yeah.

Dani 1:22:10

and supporting those kids. And she talked about one son wanting to play, soccer, I believe it was soccer, a sport. And, she was like, I don't know if I can do this, because she's a single mom. Yeah. Working, managing a household of five children. You know what it takes to do the extracurriculars. It's a commitment. And you know what family and friends are come together like, we're gonna make this happen.

Stephanie 1:22:33

Yeah.

Dani 1:22:33

So you don't worry about getting him to practice. We're gonna do this. Like, and they were from Vail, Oregon, which is a very small farming community out there. And you know, she was just very grateful for all the support she got through her church, and through family members. Because it does take a village at that point, you know. Two people raising five kids is hard. One person,

Stephanie 1:22:57

five people raising five kids would be hard.

Dani 1:23:00

Thank you. So, she was very, she was, she's a well put together woman who has her faith.

Stephanie 1:23:08

Good for her.

Dani 1:23:08

and she's a strong woman.

Stephanie 1:23:10

Mm-hmm.

Dani 1:23:11

cause I'd be ready to fucking choke. Like

Stephanie 1:23:14

windmill a bitch. Yeah.

Dani 1:23:15

Oh fuck. So. At sentencing families filled the Mallor County courthouse. Tony appeared in clean street clothes with a fresh haircut. What happened to the wheelchair?

Stephanie 1:23:27

No. He is got a fresh cut from the barber. He has to look fly.

Dani 1:23:32

More than a dozen people delivered statements. There was anger in the room, but there was also something else, a threat of forgiveness that made the room feel even heavier. Lucas fau. Anita Harmon's son, said quote, all I can do is pray for your tormented soul. Stacey. Anita's sister told Tony she had no words of anger toward him. God loves Tony as much as he loves me. She said,

Stephanie 1:24:02

oh damn.

Dani 1:24:02

And then she broke down saying she wondered what her sister's body felt when he stabbed her. Yeah. And that she hated, she wasn't there to protect her. Right.

Stephanie 1:24:12

No, it's a,

Dani 1:24:14

just

Stephanie 1:24:14

that whole, that whole thing is just a sickening thing to imagine.

Dani 1:24:18

Yeah.

Stephanie 1:24:19

Like, and that the gas station per attendant tried to be like, something is not right here, and then you don't expect it to escalate. Like, that's just a,

Dani 1:24:29

would you ever

Stephanie 1:24:30

expect Never, no.

Dani 1:24:31

To see a, a woman holding her saying, help me, and she's bound

Stephanie 1:24:35

and then being.

Dani 1:24:37

Stabbed. It was just, ugh. Jessica Bates wept as she spoke to telling Tony. He had caused a huge amount of hurt and loss saying it felt surreal, and then telling him she forgave him and hope she, he would seek God After the family spoke, district attorney David Goldthorpe told the court there was no punishment under the Oregon law harsh enough for what Tony did. He called Tony Evil and said, no amount of time in prison can make the families whole. Fair.

Stephanie 1:25:10

Sounds like he wanted to be an Idaho judge because that's how like, they're like, what is the ma? 10,000 years? Do it death penalty 75,000 times even though it's not legal how I'm doing it. Let's go.

Dani 1:25:27

Let's find Buck Doug. Get some drugs,

Stephanie 1:25:31

get black, Doug on the phone. Let's get the drugs we need for the injection, and if that doesn't work, we're gonna make a firing squad and it's under construction. We're gonna build a building. All right, now you have nothing to say. You build it and they will come.

Dani 1:25:45

Anthony Mont Wheeler is currently 58 years old. He's incarcerated at the Oregon State Correctional Institution where he's serving a life sentence. No cush cush. Uh, not

Stephanie 1:25:57

the, not the mental hospital

Dani 1:25:58

No. Or

Stephanie 1:25:59

the foster home.

Dani 1:26:01

They're not dealing in, uh,

Stephanie 1:26:04

I, I'm a, I'm a murderer foster child.

Dani 1:26:06

Yeah.

1:26:07

Just

Stephanie 1:26:07

here to be an adult and

Dani 1:26:09

No. Like, what the fuck even

Stephanie 1:26:11

is that?

Dani 1:26:14

What an escalation though, eh? Like,

Stephanie 1:26:17

yeah.

Dani 1:26:19

You just see this is what happens. You just DSRB.

Stephanie 1:26:23

Are y'all outta your fucking mind? You're appointed by the governor. How for what? And then,

Dani 1:26:29

oh, this guy lied to us for 20 years and now he, he's obviously telling us the truth. Now he faked this the whole time. That

Stephanie 1:26:37

makes

Dani 1:26:38

God bad

Stephanie 1:26:39

on us. He convinced us for 20 years, but now he's telling the truth. So now I'm like, I gotta give him some props for that. Who would say that? Now I trust this guy.

Dani 1:26:49

Our bad.

Stephanie 1:26:50

What the fuck is wrong with you?

Dani 1:26:55

Three weeks later, Baer, go fuck yourself, Baer. Hey, hey, Tony. Well listen, it's not Tony. Go fuck yourself.

Stephanie 1:27:08

I think I've, I think I've, I've said all, I've all I feel about this, but, um, any, any last thoughts?

Dani 1:27:18

No.

Stephanie 1:27:19

So anyway, Tony, as, as Dani previously stated, if you could expeditiously go fuck yourself, we would, we would really appreciate it.

Dani 1:27:29

Thank you

Stephanie 1:27:29

for that.

Dani 1:27:30

Yeah.

Stephanie 1:27:31

Quickly, please, please follow us, TikTok, Facebook, ig, whatever, however you want, and share that word of mouth is the biggest way. Share, comment like. We love your comments. You guys are fucking hilarious. Um, and ten four, Barbara Ducky. Fuck. Yeah.