0:00

Two young fathers are shot to death

0:02

outside an iconic Utah restaurant. I said,

0:04

your dad has been hurt really bad.

0:06

The grief was disorienting for those left

0:09

behind. Until one choice

0:11

changed everything. I just remember writing

0:13

this letter and it wasn't me

0:15

writing it. Can a personal

0:17

decision shape generations? We're all

0:20

falling for this guy's trick. I'm

0:22

Amy Donaldson. Season 2 of The Letter,

0:24

Ripple Effect, premieres on April 16th. Follow

0:27

us at theletterpodcast.com or wherever you get

0:29

your podcasts. Happy 2024!

0:31

New year, new you, right?

0:33

Let me guess, you're

0:36

thinking about joining a new gym,

0:38

starting a fad diet, buying that

0:41

Theragun everyone's always yammering

0:43

on about. I've

0:45

got a better idea. Listen to

0:47

my podcast. I'm Samantha Bee, writer,

0:49

comedian, and host of Choice Words

0:51

from Lemonada Media. This

0:53

whole month of January, we're going to help you

0:56

make better choices in 2024. We'll

0:58

go beyond superficial hacks and get at

1:01

the truth of how to lead a

1:03

more meaningful life. Just search

1:05

for Choice Words on your podcast player of

1:07

choice and hit follow so you don't miss

1:09

an episode. Now that is a good choice.

1:14

Lemonada. Hi,

1:19

I'd like to tell you about a new

1:21

podcast with an amazing story. It

1:24

starts like your traditional true crime. Two fathers are

1:26

found murdered in a van parked outside an

1:28

upscale Utah restaurant in 1982. The

1:31

killer confessed, but his story about what happened

1:33

and why he murdered Jordan Rasmussen and Buddy

1:36

Booth would create more pain,

1:38

conflict, and impossible questions for the

1:40

families. Questions like, who

1:42

was forgiveness for? Does remorse

1:44

matter? And if you can

1:46

inherit trauma, can you also inherit forgiveness? Host

1:50

Amy Donaldson spent a year and a half peeling

1:52

back the layers of this tragedy. The

1:54

story uncovered in the Letter Season 2

1:57

ripple effect shows that sometimes even the.

2:00

Visions can resonate through generations and change

2:02

the lives of people we've never met.

2:05

Your. About here clip from the first episode of

2:07

The Letter Season Two: Ripple Effect. After

2:09

you've listened, search for the letter wherever you're listening

2:11

right now to hear the rest of the episode.

2:14

You. Can also click on the link in the

2:16

episode notes or had to the letter podcast.com.

2:20

The last Night of Jordan Rasmussen Life.

2:22

Wasn't. Especially remarkable. The

2:25

only reason anyone finds that memorable? It

2:27

because those who love him most say

2:30

it perfectly encapsulates. Who he was, No

2:33

one remembers exactly what time the thirty. Two

2:35

year old account and pulled into the driveway. The single

2:37

storey home the night of. March Fourth. Nineteen

2:39

Eighty Two. But. They do

2:41

remember it was late enough that to this children.

2:43

Were already asleep. During. Was

2:45

working late when he received an unexpected. Phone call.

2:48

That call would change his plans for the

2:50

following morning. And that change of

2:53

plans. Would cost certain. Rasmussen has

2:55

least. We

2:59

walked into the house he sounds familiar scene

3:01

his eight year old son and his five

3:04

year old daughter bad as well as youngest

3:06

sixteen month old chat with a wide awake

3:08

his wife the and was at home she

3:10

was playing indoor tennis with a friend leaving

3:12

the. Children and The Care for babysitter. And

3:15

says he often did. Tad was protesting

3:17

that time. Dn remembers

3:19

it was her husband to unlock the secrets

3:22

of getting had to sleep. Neighbors.

3:25

Remember. Seeing Jordan's almost.

3:27

Every night watching share around

3:30

the block trying to getting

3:32

to sleep. For hims

3:34

I see maybe even a didn't a want to

3:36

go to say so oh it's kind of their.

3:38

Nerve Root School. But

3:44

it was already dark that night, so Jordan offered

3:46

to drive the baby sitter. To her house just

3:48

a couple of blocks away, And

3:50

he brought tattoo on for the right. But.

3:52

When they return home, jordan. Realize

3:54

the doors were locked and he didn't have

3:57

his cake. I. had no idea he

3:59

has locked stuff out of the house and

4:02

he was just

4:04

on his own with Chad. In

4:07

the early 80s, cell phones were not an

4:09

option, so Jordan had no way to communicate

4:11

with his wife. He

4:13

went next door to the

4:15

neighbors and across the street to see

4:17

if they, by chance, had a key to

4:20

our house, which they didn't. They

4:22

invited him in so

4:25

he could wait for me to get

4:27

home and he

4:29

said, no, I just want to

4:31

spend some time with Chad. Even

4:34

before sunset that night, the temperature

4:36

kept below freezing and that

4:38

made Jordan's decision to decline an invitation to wait

4:41

in the warmth of a friend's house a

4:43

bit surprising, but he

4:45

had his reasons. They said there

4:48

was no way we were going to get Jordan to come in

4:50

the house. He was determined he

4:52

wanted to spend just a

4:54

long time with Chad. So

4:57

Jordan carried Chad back into their garage and

5:00

they took refuge from the cold in the family

5:02

sedan. Exactly what happened

5:04

between father and son that night will forever

5:06

remain a mystery, but it's

5:08

easy for DeAnn to imagine it because

5:10

she'd seen similar scenes hundreds of times

5:13

since they'd become parents eight years earlier. I

5:17

could just picture him being in the car just

5:20

hugging and laughing and giggling and

5:23

talking to him. That's

5:26

the way he was. But

5:31

at some point, maybe the chills started

5:33

to seep in. Maybe his weight was never that

5:35

he expected. Maybe

5:37

fatigue wore them both down. Whatever

5:40

the reason, Jordan finally decided they couldn't

5:42

stay outside any longer. He

5:45

broke a window in our French

5:47

door, just a little pain

5:50

and reached in and let himself in

5:54

because I remember we had to get

5:57

somebody here to fix the windows the

5:59

next day. after the awful

6:01

event happened. That

6:05

awful event was Jordan's murder.

6:09

And it would happen less than 12 hours later.

6:20

From KSL Podcasts, I'm Amy

6:22

Donaldson. And this is the letter

6:24

season two, ripple effect. In

6:27

the first season of the letter, we shared a

6:29

transformative story of forgiveness and healing.

6:32

We had no plans for another season,

6:34

because frankly, we knew what

6:36

happened in season one was unique. But

6:39

all of that changed when I got an email from

6:42

a former prosecutor that I hadn't seen in more than

6:44

20 years. He'd been listening

6:46

to season one, and he was compelled to reach out.

6:49

He said he'd been part of a story that sounded

6:51

similar. It involved families

6:53

shattered by tragedy, a reckoning

6:55

with remorse, a complicated struggle

6:58

with forgiveness. And yes, there

7:00

was even a letter. But once

7:02

I started looking into it, I discovered

7:04

just how different these stories were. And

7:07

that led me to question what I thought I

7:09

understood about forgiveness. Who it is for?

7:12

Who deserves it? And why people

7:14

do it? This new

7:16

season explores how a very personal decision

7:19

can stretch across time and impact

7:21

generations. Sometimes even reaching

7:23

strangers in ways we could never

7:25

imagine. This

7:28

is episode one. He didn't

7:30

deserve to live. When

7:41

DeAnn Rasmussen came home from playing tennis and found

7:43

out that her husband and her toddler had been stuck out

7:45

in the cold, she was overwhelmed

7:47

with guilt. But Jordan assured

7:49

her it was no big deal. In

7:51

fact, he'd treasured the solitary

7:54

snuggle time Chad was

7:56

a gift at the end of a long,

7:58

difficult day. Jordan

8:00

was the best dad. He

8:04

adored his children. He

8:07

would do anything in the world for them. When

8:11

DeAnn and Jordan first met as teenagers working together

8:13

at a dairy in Salt Lake City, she had

8:15

no idea they would have three children together.

8:18

She didn't give much thought to what he might be like

8:20

as a father, or even a boyfriend for that matter. She

8:23

was just 17 and he was the

8:25

lanky 19-year-old manager already in college. I

8:28

had no romantic interest in him,

8:31

but he was so nice. On

8:34

nights like this, she couldn't imagine a

8:36

life without his patience and love. She

8:38

was grateful that his kindness convinced her to go on a date

8:41

with him back in 1969, and

8:43

even more grateful that they made the commitment

8:45

to stay together through life challenges. The

8:48

first test of their commitment came in the summer of 1969

8:50

during the Vietnam War. Jordan

8:53

enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and basic

8:55

training kept them apart for six months. Even

8:58

daily letters and weekly calls couldn't ease

9:00

their longing to be together. We

9:03

were quite serious by then. Oh,

9:06

it was really hard. Then,

9:08

even before he finished basic training, Jordan

9:10

faced a monumental decision. A

9:12

choice between serving a two-year mission for the Church

9:15

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or

9:17

staying with DeAnn in Salt Lake City. Serving

9:20

a mission was almost expected of Latter-day Saint men. It

9:22

was a rite of passage, and Jordan

9:24

had looked forward to it his whole life,

9:27

a chance to proselytize for his faith. But

9:29

that also meant two more years of

9:31

loving each other through letters. My

9:34

heart was very keen in

9:36

his words, too. We had

9:39

the discussion and decided that

9:41

it would just be too hard, that

9:43

we needed to be together and

9:45

get married. And

9:48

within a decade, they were a family of five.

9:51

They never regretted their choice, and through

9:53

all their challenges and changes, DeAnn said

9:55

there was one constant for Jordan. The

9:58

most important thing was family. family, his

10:00

children, and me, his wife.

10:05

So it was no surprise to DeAnn that her

10:07

husband turned the inconvenience of being locked out of

10:09

the house with a toddler into a play date.

10:13

Because even though life had been tough for them in

10:15

the months leading up to this night, Jordan

10:17

always seemed to find a way to make his

10:19

family feel loved. We

10:22

were struggling. A

10:24

new family. We

10:26

were behind mortgage payments. It

10:29

was a hard

10:32

time financially for

10:34

us. It's one of the

10:36

reasons he kept a job that had grown

10:38

complicated and stressful. Jordan worked

10:40

as the accountant for the iconic Log Haven restaurant.

10:44

Since its conversion from a wealthy family's mountain

10:46

retreat to a high-end restaurant, it had become

10:48

the place for weddings and receptions in the

10:50

80s. And while

10:52

balancing the books with Jordan's job, the

10:54

restaurant was also a special place for his

10:57

family. Two of his sisters

10:59

celebrated their weddings at the massive log

11:01

cabin nestled in the scenic canyon. But

11:03

in recent months, Log Haven had become a

11:06

source of tension. And when

11:08

its rain surfaced, trouble was

11:10

brewing. That

11:15

night after Jordan put Chad to bed, he told

11:17

his wife that he'd be in an unexpected phone

11:19

call. It had to do with the restaurant. Though

11:23

Log Haven was still very popular, it

11:25

had been struggling financially. The relationship

11:27

between the two partners who owned it

11:29

had soured and grown increasingly contentious.

11:33

One partner planned to buy the other out,

11:35

and the restaurant staff worried about what might

11:37

happen to their jobs, including

11:39

Log Haven's 25-year-old manager, Michael

11:42

Moore. It was Michael who

11:44

had called Jordan and asked for that early morning

11:46

meeting at Log Haven. He'd said

11:48

something about Sunday's receipts being asked. DeAnn

11:51

had met Michael several times, including a recent

11:53

lunch date. It was only a couple

11:55

of weeks before where

11:57

Jordan went up to Log Haven. and

12:01

he had me come with him and

12:03

so we actually had lunch with Mike

12:05

Moore. So

12:08

when Michael proposed the early meeting, Jordan

12:10

agreed, but he was not looking forward

12:12

to it. DeAnn was aware of some

12:14

of the issues. Just

12:16

a few months earlier, Jordan had pointed

12:18

out a $30,000 shortfall to one of the partners. She

12:21

was deep into their books, noticed

12:25

that there was some

12:28

shady deals going on up

12:30

along Haven, suspected

12:32

that there was some embezzling of

12:34

money. Rumors

12:37

of facts and layoffs created distrust between

12:39

owners and the staff. One

12:42

of the partners had asked Jordan to take over

12:44

Michael's job as manager as soon as the buyout

12:46

was finalized. But this hadn't

12:48

been officially shared with the staff. Speculation

12:51

was rampant and Jordan was caught in the middle.

12:54

Things had been so tense, he even made an offhand

12:56

comment to his wife as they got ready for bed,

12:58

but if his car slid off the road in the

13:00

canyon the next morning, it might not

13:02

be an accident. DeAnn

13:05

dismissed it as a bit of dark humor. Do

13:07

you ever worry about him or did you think? No,

13:10

nothing to worry about. While

13:13

Jordan went to bed, DeAnn stayed up and finished some

13:15

typing work she'd taken on to help them pay their

13:17

bills. I had

13:20

a big project and I finished that project

13:22

so I didn't get to bed till 2

13:24

o'clock. So DeAnn

13:26

was still huddled under the covers when Jordan left

13:28

the next morning. Jordan

13:33

gave me my kiss goodbye

13:36

and he took all use and

13:38

as my meeting with Mike is over,

13:42

I knew it was going to be kind of

13:44

a, you know,

13:46

uncomfortable meeting. Jordan

13:49

left his silent house just as the sun was

13:51

rising. An overnight snowstorm had

13:53

transformed the Salt Lake Valley into a

13:55

winter wonderland. Everything was covered

13:58

in the kind of snow. Need

14:00

you to Our world famous among skiers

14:02

that wreaked havoc on the roads. Like

14:05

Even is located in Mill Creek Canyon which

14:08

is about a twenty minute drive from Jordan

14:10

Indians home in St. Youtube. Maybe

14:13

As he drove, Jordan speculated about what he

14:15

planned to say to Michael. Moore and maybe

14:17

thought about what is going to happen between the

14:19

two owners who are. Deciding the fate of the

14:21

restaurant, After months of uncertainty

14:23

to split of their business assets were

14:26

supposed to be finalised leader that very

14:28

day. In fact after stuff like even

14:30

Jordan and to go directly to the

14:33

attorneys office where the deal with being

14:35

finalized. But. He would

14:37

never make it to that meeting. Jordan

14:41

turned on to Mill Creek Canyon Road

14:43

and almost immediately he pulled over. Fresh

14:45

snow blanketed the narrow roadway and hung in

14:47

the branches of the dense trees that mind

14:49

the route. He wasn't or his

14:52

car could make three mile drive to Lock Haven in

14:54

these conditions. Many.

14:56

Saw familiar deep. Idling on

14:58

the other side of the road. He.

15:00

Watched as the driver swung around and pulled off the

15:02

road in front of him. Jordan.out

15:04

and talk to the man whose you

15:07

a half smoke cigarette out the window

15:09

is exchanged a few words. Than

15:12

Jordan water under the passenger side.

15:14

Open the door and climbed in.

15:17

Media's in a hurry and just didn't

15:19

notice the bullet holes. that Murray decided

15:22

to just. One on

15:24

the hood and one just and both.

15:26

A different type. Jordan

15:29

was prepared for a tense conversation,

15:31

but you know, leave knowing. That

15:33

he was driving. A

15:45

jerk as hit with a currency memory of

15:47

your certain year old self out of nowhere

15:50

and somewhere panic, sweating and laughing at the

15:52

same time. Don't don't worry, don't worry. We

15:54

all get that it's because being an adolescent

15:56

is one of most visceral shared experiences we

15:58

have as people and we to talk about

16:00

it. Join. Me and Dad you

16:02

in my two friends, Nevins, Sophie on

16:04

Pod Christ as we interview celebrity guests

16:06

about the joys and horrors. Of.

16:09

Being a teenager and how those moments

16:11

made them who they are today. New

16:13

episodes of Progress Around on April Twenty Fourth.

16:15

Wherever you get your podcasts, Ah,

16:19

Emily smiles and. It's hunting crater and

16:21

comedian. You might know me since he thought why

16:23

am I in your years are no grandpa today

16:26

person I would love to tell you. Have

16:29

any part of funny is it so

16:31

I'm also or the intervening comedians pop

16:33

culture icons and also just keep or

16:35

I signed a really funny. Will

16:37

be talking about the awkward moments to keep

16:39

you awake at night since you don't laugh,

16:41

cry, right? Footed so

16:43

outlaw all that the whole post.