0:00

You're listening to Crooked City, The Emerald

0:02

Triangle. Before you dive in, if you

0:04

wanna listen to the whole story uninterrupted, you

0:06

can. Unlock the entire season

0:09

ad free right now with a subscription

0:11

to the binge. That's all episodes all

0:13

at once. Visit crooked city the Emerald

0:15

Triangle on Apple Podcasts, and hit

0:17

subscribe at the top of the page to get started.

0:20

Or visit get the binge dot com to

0:22

get access wherever you get your podcasts.

0:24

Otherwise, you can catch new episodes every

0:26

week. Enjoy the show, and thanks for listening.

0:36

You can put in the call. It was confirmed as sixteen

0:38

forty is obvious. We

0:40

are sending medical back now. Is

0:44

that dispatch? Where's the family

0:46

at? It's a cold day in November two

0:48

thousand sixteen. Okay.

0:50

Police in the small Northern California town

0:52

of Laytonville have just gotten a call

0:54

about a possible homicide. Do you do you

0:56

have any identification with you by? In body

0:59

cam footage, you can see a cop talking

1:01

to a man in parking lot of a rundown

1:04

roadside motel. What's your first name?

1:06

James and New Orleans. James

1:08

is wearing scruffy blue overalls with

1:10

long blond dreadlocks sticking out from

1:12

any of the baseball cap. He tells

1:14

the cops he's been up in the mountains. for the

1:16

last couple weeks. That's the time I

1:17

walked all the way down here from there. It took me

1:20

about three hours.

1:21

Did you And the reason he says he walked

1:23

eight hours through the woods, is because he discovered

1:26

a body. The body of someone

1:28

he knows. How do you know the person

1:30

that's out there right now that that you said

1:32

is deceased? I I was they're

1:34

working for him. Would

1:36

you be available to jump in with one of us and lead us

1:38

to where he's at? I don't want to.

1:41

Okay. Well, we need somebody, obviously, I

1:43

had to run through the woods. I'll go with you.

1:45

It's my property. It's your property. An old man

1:47

steps forward. I'll go with you.

1:50

His long, straggly gray hair. and

1:52

walks with a cane. Okay. What's your name?

1:54

My name is Louis Staglier. I'm

1:57

a disabled combat vet.

1:58

I knew when

1:59

they called. Lubeck Leer owns the

2:02

land where the body was found. He

2:04

says he drove up to see the body himself.

2:06

BEFORE COMING BACK DOWN TO CALL THE POLICE.

2:08

SO YOU'RE COMING -- HERE? Okay.

2:11

I WERE. Just

2:14

go ahead and get in. We're gonna go up there. Okay?

2:16

Watch your leg. Okay.

2:20

our

2:26

What was the new CMO? out there.

2:29

I can't provide it for me from the kitchen

2:31

because I didn't have time to go in.

2:33

Okay. Okay. Alright. I

2:36

gotta talk on the right radio. Okay. Go

2:38

ahead. You guys stand

2:40

by ten fourteen with e

2:42

mail RFP and about eight eight location,

2:45

he's gonna lead us into where this happened.

2:52

they

2:52

drive north out of ladenville on

2:54

the one on one freeway.

2:56

how to my mother

3:02

The cops turn onto a dirt road

3:04

that leads across a wooden bridge over a

3:06

small creek. How

3:08

much further up is it from here? Oh, like

3:10

two miles. Two more miles? Yeah.

3:12

Okay.

3:15

The dirt road narrows. twisting

3:18

up into the mountains. Tall

3:20

pine trees block out the light.

3:23

Then

3:25

the cops noticed something curious

3:27

Oh, there's pot plants hanging from the

3:29

tree limbs. Yeah. There you go. Pot plants

3:31

hanging from tree limbs might seem strange.

3:34

but not here because

3:37

this part of California is known

3:39

as the Emerald Triangle.

3:45

It's a remote forest region where

3:48

people live off the grid. deep among towering

3:50

Redwoods, rushing rivers, and rugged

3:52

mountains.

3:54

For centuries, it's attracted fortune seekers

3:57

who dream of striking a rip

3:59

In the

3:59

beginning, they came to these mountains for

4:02

gold, but now they

4:04

grow wheat.

4:06

From hidden camps in the forest,

4:08

hot growers cultivate hundreds of thousands

4:11

of pounds of marijuana. And

4:12

before this plant was legalized, these

4:15

mountains were controlled by outlaws.

4:17

This is a story about

4:20

two outlaws who searched for freedom,

4:22

led to unspeakable violence.

4:24

I'm Sam Anderson. and

4:27

this season on Crooked City, we're going

4:29

to the Emerald Triangle. Chapter

4:32

one, the death of Jesus Jeff.

4:52

How

4:58

much marijuana wanna was out here. Not game

5:01

boy. How much is not that much? I

5:03

am working out with Lou. Lou

5:05

Baglier is leading the cops to a body

5:07

on his land. deep in the mountains,

5:10

navigating tight switchback turns

5:12

and potholes washed out by the rain.

5:15

As they approach the top of the mountain, they

5:17

enter a clearing. Okay. Three San five one. Which where

5:19

do we go? We don't have to go any further.

5:22

Okay. They

5:25

stop the police cruiser in the center of

5:27

a makeshift camp. The

5:29

ground is worn down to bare earth

5:31

and it's covered with trash. A

5:33

child stroller some rusty car parts,

5:35

and a refrigerator flipped on its side.

5:39

The officer driving the vehicle turns

5:41

around to face bagley air in the back seat.

5:43

bottom line is I need to get some information from

5:45

you so we can get this

5:47

investigation underway. Okay? Okay.

5:50

You know Jeff's last name? Yeah.

5:54

Settler. Settler? Okay. Jeff

5:56

Settler had been renting this land from Bagley

5:58

Air for two thousand dollars a month. According

6:00

to Bagli Air, it was settlers

6:02

body laying up there in the mountains.

6:04

And and he's been growing weed as

6:06

far as you know up here. I don't I

6:08

can't really say that. Oh, two thousand dollars

6:10

a month to live in a shed. Yeah. I know. You

6:12

guys are you guys are you okay. I would assume

6:15

Okay. Yeah. I make the same assumption. And I'm not

6:17

worried about that. I'm I'm more worried about somebody

6:19

that's not alive anymore. Okay.

6:21

Finally,

6:22

Eglia raises a shaky hand

6:25

and points at a small shack just

6:27

a few yards in front of the cruiser. He's

6:29

inside there. He's inside there.

6:31

Yeah.

6:35

Did you look in that building? I

6:37

looked from the outside. I never went in.

6:39

Okay. Then I was here maybe twenty,

6:41

thirty minutes. Okay. I would

6:43

re I rebooked down. cried.

6:46

Okay. After you saw Jeff.

6:49

Okay. the

6:53

day before we celebrate my

6:55

seven minute birthday. No.

6:57

Okay. Okay. Just hang tight for me.

7:01

Another squad car pulls up. They

7:04

fan out across the camp.

7:08

Sheriff's Office.

7:10

Sheriff's Office. Announce yourself and come out.

7:12

Sheriff's Office.

7:15

Announce yourself.

7:17

Clear. In

7:19

their body cam footage, you can see

7:21

several structures. A garage like

7:23

building, covered in ripped plastic, a

7:25

broken down RV painted with graffiti.

7:27

There's apparently tents up there too. And

7:30

then the small wooden shack that

7:32

Begley Air pointed out. Here a

7:34

Harris office, and announce yourself and come outside.

7:37

There's a footprint or something right there. Yeah.

7:39

She she was a

7:40

drip munch here. I got to happen right here.

7:42

Yeah.

7:45

Wow. Wow. See,

7:47

flipping or anything here. Okay.

7:50

Let's just secure that. Fakop

7:52

approaches the shack and steadies himself

7:55

before placing a hand on the door

7:57

and pushing it open.

8:07

In the

8:08

latest season of Cold, host David Culley

8:11

digs into the story of a young mother looking

8:13

for a fresh start. Her name

8:15

is Sherry Warren. She was recently

8:17

divorced, starting a new job, and excited

8:19

about her new boyfriend. But when Sherry

8:21

said goodbye to her coworkers at the end of an

8:23

otherwise normal work day, They had no way

8:25

of knowing it would be the last time they saw

8:27

her alive. Could it be her ex husband?

8:29

This guy had previously lured another woman

8:31

into the woods and beat her severely.

8:33

And what's up with the new boyfriend? A former

8:35

reserve police officer rumor has it, he

8:37

has a dark past of sexual violence.

8:40

These two men both swore to

8:42

love and protect shuri. is one of

8:44

them behind her murder? Find out.

8:46

In season three of the hit True

8:48

Crime podcast, Cold. Hey,

8:50

Prime members. listen to the Amazon

8:52

Music exclusive podcast, Cold.

8:54

In the Amazon Music app, download

8:56

the app today. There's

8:59

nothing worse than losing a loved one,

9:01

a

9:01

partner, a child, a friend.

9:03

Oftentimes, in missing persons cases,

9:06

there's not a lot of closure. for the friends

9:08

and family left behind.

9:09

But host, Marissa Jones, is trying

9:11

to change that. From wondering, The

9:13

vanished is a podcast that tells the

9:15

stories of those who have gone missing. Every

9:18

week, Marissa dives into a new case, conducting

9:20

in-depth interviews and surfacing

9:22

new stories and information.

9:24

that sometimes result in long

9:26

overdue arrests. These stories

9:28

are gripping, emotional and

9:31

deeply empathetic. Join Marissa in

9:33

her search for the humans behind the headlines on

9:35

the vanished from wonderry. Follow

9:37

the vanished on Amazon

9:39

Music Apple Podcasts or

9:41

listen early and add free by joining

9:43

Wonderry Plus in Apple Podcasts

9:45

or the Wonderry

9:46

app.

9:49

361 Thank

9:52

you. Keith,

9:52

brother. I'll be I'll just I'll get there. I wanna

9:54

hear your story. Okay? Yes,

9:56

sir.

9:57

This is James. He's

9:59

the young man who was

9:59

up the mountain when the murder took place.

10:02

Back at the cottage's motel, he's being

10:04

interviewed. detective Matt Croskey from the

10:06

Mendocino County Sheriff's Department.

10:09

Let me, like, build up to it. Okay?

10:11

Okay. So I can, like, give you a great

10:13

meeting. I want the whole picture. had

10:15

a couple beers once I got down because it's

10:17

I'm still shaking, like, when

10:19

I saw that. I

10:22

saw just look at his eye.

10:26

James tells detective Crozky that he was a

10:28

seasonal worker on Jeff Sellers

10:30

podfar. he joined a crew who'd been

10:32

living in the woods for months. James

10:35

says that not long after he arrived, Jeff

10:37

kicked a group of those workers off his

10:39

farm. It was about four

10:41

or five people who didn't want coming back up

10:43

and working. So we paid them, like,

10:45

five hundred bucks each or something.

10:47

They called in stay. And they're like, oh,

10:49

yeah. We're ready to come back. It's like, oh,

10:51

don't

10:52

don't come back.

11:06

According to James, the night of the murder,

11:08

he was sitting around a campfire with

11:10

Jeff trimming weed. Another

11:12

worker went to town on a food run. Her

11:15

name was Amanda. She had a

11:17

four year old son who went with her.

11:19

She comes back with the we're

11:21

all hanging out. It was a good old time.

11:23

drink them in a twelve pack,

11:25

trimming up the last weed. When

11:27

they finish working for the night, they placed

11:29

the trimmed weed into black and yellow

11:32

plastic bins. and stack them up in the

11:34

small shack.

11:41

James heads to the nearby garage, the

11:43

structure covered in ripped plastic, and

11:45

he

11:45

goes to sleep. Jeff,

11:47

Amanda, and her son go to sleep in

11:49

the small shack with the weed. locking the

11:51

door behind them.

11:54

In the

11:57

middle of

11:59

the night, James

12:01

wakes up. He

12:06

hears a wrestling sound

12:08

coming from the forest. and can just make

12:10

out the murmuring of voices.

12:14

Someone

12:15

has opened the door to the

12:17

garage.

12:18

Outlined in the moonlight,

12:20

James can make out a man. He

12:22

has curly hair and glasses.

12:24

It was Gary, when we

12:26

called giggles, walks in the

12:28

store.

12:30

giggles was one of the workers Jeff had kicked

12:32

off the property. And I

12:34

was like, what the fuck's going on? He was like,

12:36

nothing don't wanna go outside. I'm like,

12:38

what the fuck's going like, what

12:40

the fuck's really going on,

12:42

man?

12:44

Giggles, steps back outside, and

12:47

closes the door behind him.

12:50

When I go to, like, open

12:52

the door giggles, standing right in front of the

12:54

door.

12:55

I heard a

12:58

woman scream. Pretty sure it was Amanda

13:00

because she's the little girl there.

13:02

manner of her son. James

13:05

tries to push his way out of the garage,

13:07

but someone is still holding the door

13:09

shut. And I'm

13:11

lying. let me the fuck out that door. He's like,

13:13

you really don't wanna go out there and I'm

13:15

like, what the fuck's going on?

13:17

And I ain't like put my

13:19

foot in and they're like, almost like like,

13:21

smashed my foot, so I pulled it back. I'm like,

13:23

well, fuck it. I can just go out the fucking

13:25

garage door.

13:34

James

13:34

steps out into the darkness. Everything

13:36

got really quiet. Really

13:39

quiet.

13:40

And

13:44

I just heard, like, shuffling around.

13:47

I've moved

13:48

me.

13:52

voices

13:52

I heard were distinct

13:54

as that because I was just trimming them

13:56

with him. The voices I heard was

13:59

giggles,

13:59

who Jeff knew. And

14:02

I guess he also knew cricket,

14:04

and then there was Zach.

14:06

First,

14:07

there was giggles who held the door

14:09

of the garage shut, so James couldn't get

14:11

out.

14:12

Then there was a guy nicknamed cricket.

14:14

And

14:14

finally, another guy named

14:17

Sack. These

14:17

were the workers that had been kicked off the

14:20

farm a few days ago. Who

14:22

would have had the biggest issue with Jeff? I

14:25

personally think, Zach, back.

14:27

So, Zach, he did receive a nickel?

14:30

He just went by Zach.

14:36

James tells Kraske that he moved away from

14:38

the garage.

14:39

It's dark. He can barely

14:41

see. Then a

14:43

figure emerges from shadows and

14:45

comes towards him.

14:48

It's Amanda. And

14:50

that's when I was like, this

14:53

going on and I kinda whispered and just,

14:55

like, get the fuck out of you. The

14:58

terror in her eyes, like, me and

15:00

me, like so I went, like, around

15:02

this way and then up the hill, back

15:04

over to my tent.

15:06

James sneaks back to his tent.

15:11

He gets in, zips it closed,

15:13

and waits.

15:19

I think they all came up in that one

15:21

car, and then

15:24

they filled half of it with toads.

15:27

Toads are those plastic, yellow, and

15:29

black bins, the ones they were using to

15:31

store the trimmed weed. It

15:33

was Jeff's entire stash.

15:36

a mother load of marijuana with

15:38

a street value of more than a hundred thousand

15:40

dollars. It happened

15:43

so fucking bad.

15:48

us. When

15:53

he's absolutely sure he's alone,

15:57

James steps out of his tent into the pitch

15:59

black forest,

16:03

He turns

16:03

on his flashlight and approaches the shack

16:06

where you heard the screams and commotion

16:08

turn to silence.

16:10

After taking

16:12

one last look around to make sure he's

16:15

completely alone, he opens

16:16

the door. And

16:20

then

16:23

I saw Jeff with

16:26

everything fucked up. And

16:28

then I shine the light on him

16:30

and he just had that

16:32

that that that

16:34

stare They only seen

16:36

him fucking movies. I've only ever fucking seen

16:38

him movies and, like,

16:41

fucking

16:43

out about it. Yeah.

16:45

I get it. What did

16:47

you next? I didn't say I didn't

16:49

even get the fuck out of here.

17:02

This

17:03

is an American story. When I opened

17:06

the box, I could feel the heat to the

17:08

memo coming out eighty years

17:10

later. About politics going over

17:12

the edge. He actually says, outright, I

17:14

intend to overthrow the US government.

17:16

He's open about these objectives. His his

17:18

supporters are armed and You have probably not heard

17:20

this story before, but there is

17:22

good reason to know it now.

17:24

Rachel Mato presents Ultra a

17:26

new podcast series from

17:28

MSNBC. Search for Rachel Maddow

17:30

presents Altra wherever you're listening

17:32

and follow.

17:33

A mysterious death happened

17:35

in April twenty twenty two in Lynchburg, Virginia.

17:38

Johnny Cashman's mother who lived far

17:40

away in Maine hadn't heard from her son

17:42

in a few days and started to

17:44

worry. who wasn't like him. She asked

17:46

the police to go to his house for a welfare

17:48

check where they found Johnny on his

17:50

back with pools of blood around him.

17:52

His death was quickly ruled a

17:54

medical issue and the case was closed. But

17:56

the family was suspicious and demanded

17:58

an autopsy. They were

17:59

denied being told to trust

18:02

the system. But

18:02

when Johnny's ex girlfriend entered his apartment a few

18:04

days after he was cremated, it

18:06

was obvious his death was not a medical

18:09

issue. There was blood everywhere. The

18:11

bathroom looked like a murder scene.

18:13

The generation y podcast has

18:15

spent the past ten years breaking down

18:17

cases like Johnny Cashman's. diving

18:19

deep into the details and combing through all

18:21

the evidence to find out what really happened.

18:23

To hear the story of Johnny Cashman

18:25

and other incredible cases like

18:28

it, listen to the y podcast on Amazon

18:30

music or wherever you get your podcasts.

18:35

After finishing

18:40

up his interview with James, detective

18:42

Crozky heads up the mountain to check out crime scene

18:44

for himself. The property

18:47

itself is tucked back in multiple

18:49

gates to get through, and then

18:52

the final approach to the property is a

18:54

fairly steep hill. We

18:57

start to examine

19:00

the scene Croskey

19:02

approaches the small shack where Jeff

19:04

was killed.

19:05

It's

19:09

dark inside. It

19:10

appeared to be the most secure

19:13

facility on the property and and where they would have

19:15

kept their most prized possessions.

19:17

There were black shades that were

19:19

cut down. You know, the kinda

19:22

destruction as the struggle occurred.

19:24

The room is only about

19:27

six feet by twelve feet. The

19:29

walls are made of rough plywood.

19:32

There's a green plastic chair at the far end and a dirty

19:34

mattress on the floor, but no other

19:36

furniture. Pretty

19:38

gruesome scene, things

19:40

turned over, or things blocking

19:43

doors that didn't look normal. It looked

19:45

like there was a struggle. Next

19:47

to a pile of empty totes,

19:49

wrapped in a bloody sleeping bag is Jeff

19:51

Shutler.

19:58

Settler had

19:59

hitler

19:59

defensive wounds across

20:02

both forearms, his hands

20:05

as he's trying to push off and fight off his

20:08

attackers. You know, he had glancing

20:10

blows. There was blood. everywhere

20:13

around him and on him. So

20:15

settlers, defensive wounds were

20:17

extensive and prolonged.

20:21

Seller's throat had been

20:24

slashed. The damage

20:26

to his neck was severe. I

20:28

mean, it wasn't you know, decapitation

20:30

severe, but it was severe.

20:32

You know, it

20:33

it looked personal

20:36

and like there was some

20:38

retribution there.

20:41

Crosby

20:42

thought back to his interview with James,

20:44

at the motel. Who would have

20:47

had the biggest issue with Jeff?

20:49

I personally think Zach

20:52

He was telling

20:53

people, oh, what do this needs

20:55

to be done? Do that. Do this. Get

20:57

that. Click. Now that.

21:00

Zach orchestrating it. It's

21:02

that's what it seemed like to me. Yes.

21:04

Zach seemed like he had

21:06

a fucking temper. Detective

21:09

Croskey had his first suspect. A

21:12

man was found murdered

21:14

in a rural property off Highway 101

21:18

The

21:18

police say their main suspect is twenty

21:20

four year old Zachary Worcester.

21:27

That

21:29

name, Zachary Worcester,

21:32

is the reason I'm telling this

21:34

story. Because Zach and

21:36

I, we know each other. In

21:38

fact, we grew up together in a small

21:40

town in New Jersey. We went

21:43

to the same high school and used to be on the

21:45

wrestling team together.

21:47

Zack was a popular guy. He was friends

21:49

with everyone. So when it came

21:51

out that this kid from our hometown was

21:53

accused of a horrific murder on the other

21:55

side of the country, People didn't

21:58

know what to believe. I would say

22:00

about seven or eight headlines, exactly

22:02

who's your wanted for murder. Like,

22:04

Zachary Booster, fugitive from New Jersey, wanted

22:06

for fucking manslaughter. All these articles

22:08

said the same thing as Zachary Booster was

22:10

accused of killing Jeffrey Sadler.

22:13

I just couldn't believe my eyes. Never

22:16

in a billion fucking

22:20

years never would I

22:22

ever think this kid is capable

22:24

of ever doing something like

22:26

this. He would

22:26

never he would never

22:29

do this. don't think there's any

22:31

chance that he committed this murder? No.

22:33

Absolutely not.

22:43

Jeffrey Shutler was brutally beaten,

22:46

stabbed, and left to die in a shack

22:48

on the side of a mountain.

22:49

Could Zach Worcester really be the

22:51

one behind this terrible act of

22:54

violence? The truth was

22:56

hidden in those mountains.

23:01

Who knows what the fuck

23:04

happened on that mountain?

23:06

No

23:07

one's gonna tell the

23:09

truth. I didn't

23:12

do

23:13

this officer. I'm innocent. I

23:15

did

23:15

not kill anybody. I have not murdered anybody.

23:18

It

23:18

gets crazy at harvest time. Everybody's

23:21

looking over their shoulder and no one trusts

23:23

each other.

23:25

Exxon who's fed, a lot of acid,

23:27

like, three hundred hit SUI. He

23:29

was pouring gasoline on

23:32

himself right next to the fire.

23:36

He's pretty much holding

23:36

everybody up there hostage. I don't think that

23:39

anybody deserves stive,

23:41

but Jeff was not a good person.

23:43

Did you stop Jeff? No.

23:45

But I confessed to

23:47

it. had his knife

23:48

and put all over it in my

23:50

truck. Was he

23:52

slowly dropping the knife into his

23:54

truck, or is it rapid one

23:56

when he slowly did it.

23:58

I don't know

23:59

what happened.

24:04

And

24:05

I was

24:06

like, well, what am I supposed

24:08

to tell the guy? Do I throw in

24:10

the fucking brutal truth? The brutal

24:13

truth was stuck find out the

24:16

truth this

24:16

season on the Emerald Triangle.

24:27

Unlock all episodes of Crooked City, the

24:30

Emerald Triangle, ad free right

24:32

now by subscribing to the binge. our

24:34

new podcast channel. Not only

24:36

will you unlock all episodes of this

24:38

show, but you'll get binge access to an

24:40

entire network, of other great true crime

24:42

and investigative podcasts, all

24:44

ad free. Plus, every

24:46

month, subscribers get a binge drop

24:48

of a brand new series. That's all episodes all

24:50

at once. Visit Crooked City, The

24:52

Emerald Triangle on Apple Podcasts,

24:54

and hit subscribe at the top of the page

24:56

to get started. or

24:58

visit get the binge dot com to get access

25:00

wherever you get

25:02

your podcasts.

25:07

Crooked City, the Emerald Triangle,

25:10

is a production of truth media in

25:12

partnership with novel and Sony

25:14

Music Entertainment. The series is

25:16

written and reported by me, Sam Anderson.

25:18

Our senior producer is

25:20

Joe Wheeler. Our producers are Alexa

25:23

Burke Lee Meyer and Zach St. Louis. Story editing

25:25

by Mark Smurling and Austin Mitchell.

25:27

Our assistant producer, Esasha Baker.

25:29

With additional research by

25:31

Ivan Davon. Scott Curtis and Sherry Houston are our

25:34

production managers. In fact checking

25:36

by Donia Sewleman, mixing

25:38

and sound design by Nicholas Alexander and Daniel

25:41

Kempsen. Our title track and additional

25:43

tracks are composed and produced by

25:45

Robert Kehoeffer and Christopher for

25:47

roads with additional production by Nicholas Alexander.

25:50

It was engineered by Peter Oviatt and

25:52

recorded at Moonflower Sound

25:54

Studio in Taos, New Mexico up.

25:56

Additional music from Marmoset and

25:58

Epidemic Sound. Development by

26:00

Willard Foxtin with special thanks to Endeer

26:02

Bernie Max O'Brien Sean Glynn in

26:05

MatOMera. Also, special thanks to all the

26:07

studio musicians at Moonflower