0:02

Lemonade. When

0:06

23-year-old Carla Booth woke up the morning of March 5,

0:08

1982 and saw fresh snow on the ground,

0:13

the sense of dread she'd been feeling all week

0:16

exploded into full-blown panic.

0:20

The sun hadn't risen yet, but her husband Buddy

0:22

was already dressing in the brown uniform that he

0:24

wore for work. Even

0:26

in good weather, she hated that he had

0:28

to drive a laundry delivery van through Utah's

0:30

canyons. And whatever was nagging

0:33

her that morning felt different.

0:36

I just had a feeling something was

0:38

going to happen. I just had this

0:40

feeling several days before and it

0:43

just kept getting stronger and stronger.

0:46

In the moment, she blamed the overnight snowstorm.

0:49

In retrospect, maybe it was

0:51

the kind of warning that just doesn't make sense until

0:54

it's too late. And

0:56

so in the pre-dawn light, Carla made what

0:59

seemed like an absurd request of her husband.

1:01

I really tried to beg him

1:03

not to go that day or

1:05

to find a different job or

1:08

something like that, where he's not

1:10

going up the canyon and stuff. I

1:13

tried so hard, but he liked his

1:15

job. Delivering

1:18

and picking up linens from local restaurants might

1:20

not sound like the most enjoyable job. But

1:23

he was friendly with the people he met on

1:25

his daily route, and he looked forward to the

1:27

conversations and the scenery. And

1:29

it was a job that paid him enough money that his

1:31

wife didn't have to work and he could help his mom

1:34

with a few things. This was

1:36

a Friday, so his first stop

1:38

was one of Utah's most well-known restaurants,

1:40

Log Haven. It was located in one

1:42

of the valley's canyons, and that

1:44

meant he had a steep, slick climb ahead of

1:46

him. He buttoned his

1:48

shirt with Bud sewn on the chest, ran

1:51

a comb through his thick, unruly curls and

1:53

shrugged off his wife's worry. He

1:56

always did that, but I knew something

1:58

was wrong. They'd

2:01

only been married four years, but already

2:03

she knew if there was one thing

2:05

Buddy Booth was, one thing

2:07

he'd always been. It was the

2:09

kind of person who showed up for work. And

2:11

they did need the money, with two young daughters

2:14

sleeping in the next room. So

2:16

Carla reluctantly pulled on her coat and prepared to

2:18

drive her husband to work. They left

2:20

their children in the care of Buddy's youngest sister and

2:22

headed out into the darkness. It

2:26

was about 7am when Carla dropped Buddy off at

2:28

Peerless Laundry in downtown Salt Lake City where he'd

2:30

pick up the van he drove for work. She

2:33

once worked there too, but Buddy preferred she stay home

2:36

to care for their children. She kissed

2:38

them goodbye and then she drove home, to

2:40

the chaos and joy of two tiny girls, to

2:43

their apartment and modest dreams. It

2:46

had been a tough year for their young family. They'd

2:48

nearly broken up. But they were

2:50

young, just 23 and 24. And

2:53

if there was one thing they thought they had in abundance,

2:56

it was time. After

3:03

his wife drove away, Buddy climbed into

3:05

the Chevrolet delivery van, undaunted

3:07

by the weather, 27 cents in

3:10

his pocket. The sun was

3:12

rising as he turned onto Mill Creek Canyon Road and

3:14

began the slow drive to the first of his

3:17

two stops in the canyon, Log Haven. The

3:20

high end restaurant was nestled on the north side

3:22

of the canyon, in thick trees. Using

3:25

police reports, pictures and media accounts, we've

3:27

pieced together what might have happened as Buddy

3:29

arrived at Log Haven that morning. The

3:32

driveway sloped upward from the narrow tree-lined

3:35

road and he would have been able

3:37

to see the picturesque log cabin, a

3:39

blanket of white adorning its dark wood frame,

3:42

a scene worthy of a postcard. But

3:44

then, just as he prodded the bulky van up

3:47

the incline, he saw something, lying in the snow

3:49

just east of the front door. He

3:51

eased the van to a stop and then

3:54

turned off the engine. He

3:56

stepped out of the van, his boots stinking in

3:58

the unplowed snow. And

4:00

as he got closer, he could

4:02

see it was a person. A

4:05

man, lying face down in the snow. And

4:08

then he saw blood, everywhere

4:10

it seemed. As

4:12

he leaned over the body, someone came rushing out of the

4:15

restaurant. Buddy spun around and

4:17

came face to face with the man about his age.

4:20

Buddy asked, what happened here? And

4:22

the man said something, but Buddy wasn't looking at the

4:24

man anymore. He was looking at

4:26

the gun that the man was pointing at him. But

4:30

he turned to run, just

4:32

as shots rang out. From

4:47

KSL Padcast, I'm Amy Donelson.

4:49

And this is The Letter, season

4:52

two, Ripple Effect. Episode

4:55

two, Dead Men Speak No

4:57

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choice words on your podcast layer of choice

6:09

and hit follow so you don't miss an

6:11

episode. Now that is a good choice. Carla

6:15

was only 17 when she met Buddy,

6:17

but she was already living on her own. She

6:20

was the 12th of 13 children in a blended

6:22

family. Her parents divorced when she

6:25

was so young, she has no memories of

6:27

their marriage. She had almost no

6:29

relationship with her biological father until she went to

6:31

live with him at age 12. I

6:34

was kind of

6:36

a rat and didn't want to live

6:38

home at my mom and stepdad's

6:40

house anymore and so they

6:43

sent me to my dad's and

6:45

I was thinking it would be better there,

6:48

but it was worse. Her

6:51

parents attempts to discipline or care for her

6:54

felt like a cage that she had to escape. She

6:57

skipped school, ran away from home, often times

6:59

with boys until eventually it landed

7:01

her in juvenile lockup. They

7:04

call it ungovernable. I didn't want

7:06

to listen. I wanted

7:08

to basically be on my own. I

7:11

didn't want to feel like my

7:13

parents owned me and it

7:15

continued until I was 16 and

7:19

then I was emancipated from my parents.

7:23

Childhood held no allure for her.

7:26

She dropped out of high school, moved in with

7:28

a friend and started to live life on her

7:30

terms, but that turned out to

7:32

be a lot tougher than she'd anticipated. So

7:35

when Buddy and his cousin walked into the all night

7:37

diner where she was eking out a living, she

7:39

felt drawn to him. They

7:43

chose to sit at the calendar and

7:46

I was waiting on him and

7:49

Buddy was talking to me. I just

7:52

felt flattered because not

7:55

too many people, you know, guys said

7:58

a word to me. didn't

8:00

even notice me a lot of

8:02

them. And so I

8:04

got to talking to Buddy. He was

8:06

really sweet and everything. And what,

8:10

two weeks later, we moved

8:12

in together. Carlos

8:14

had fallen for Buddy, it was easy. She

8:17

said he was handsome, but not in the

8:19

traditional sense. Buddy had red

8:21

curly hair, really thick red

8:23

curly hair. And

8:28

he had freckles. And he was a

8:30

little bit taller than me. I'm

8:33

five one, he was

8:35

about five three. When

8:37

I met him, he had, all

8:40

his front teeth were gone. Because

8:43

he had been, years earlier, he

8:46

had been hit in the

8:48

mouth by brass knuckles. Like

8:51

I said, it didn't matter to me. It didn't bother me

8:53

a bit. She

8:56

liked his unconventional looks. But

8:59

more than that, she liked who he was. I

9:02

don't fall for someone who's perfect

9:05

and glamorous and all that stuff. You

9:08

know, I fell for the

9:10

kindness, the caring. Buddy

9:14

and Carla had a lot in common. He

9:16

also grew up in a blended family. He was the

9:18

fifth of eight children, 14, if

9:21

you counted half siblings. And

9:23

he offered Carla the same thing he'd given his

9:25

mom and siblings growing up. Someone

9:27

they could rely on. Buddy's

9:29

younger sister, Tammy Pipes, is one

9:31

of the few remaining relatives willing or able to talk

9:34

with us. She lives in Reno, so

9:36

I talked to her on the phone. She was

9:38

happy to share some memories of her brother, who

9:40

was, at times, more of a parent than

9:42

a sibling. He was just

9:44

a worker and helped my

9:46

mom out. Cause my mom had open heart surgery. She

9:49

had a pacemaker. And then, you

9:51

know, he made sure all of us other kids were

9:54

doing what we were supposed to do to help mom out. Tammy

9:57

said Buddy, while still a child himself, took

10:00

on the role of caretaker, especially

10:02

when their parents divorced and their mother

10:04

remarried a man whose demons became Buddy's

10:06

to battle. Her second husband

10:09

was an alcoholic. When

10:11

he'd drink, he'd beat on her and stuff.

10:13

So Buddy took charge, he'd take care of

10:15

that. So he always helped mom. Buddy

10:18

had to grow up fast because that's what his

10:20

family needed. He chose a full-time job

10:22

over a high school diploma. And

10:24

while Buddy may not have had the luxury of a

10:26

carefree childhood, he held onto

10:28

a playfulness that Tammy still cherishes.

10:31

He'd play cards with you, he

10:33

loved to watch westerns, and he

10:35

loved me. Mostly Elvis

10:37

Presley, Tom Jones, Marty

10:40

Robbins. Money

10:42

was a limited resource, but thanks to Buddy,

10:45

fun times were not. She

10:47

said he always found ways to have fun, tubing

10:50

in the canyons, or just taking his

10:52

siblings camping. Oh, and those

10:54

missing teeth? Tammy says her brother didn't lose

10:56

them in a fight. He lost them

10:58

to an infection. But in

11:00

his defense, the brass knuckle story did feel

11:02

like a better way to impress women. In

11:05

any case, Buddy never seemed to care that

11:07

they were gone, or that other people's choices

11:10

robbed him of a childhood. He

11:13

seemed content just being able to take care of

11:15

the people he loved. Tammy said

11:17

she thought Buddy was happy with Carla. She

11:20

remembers arguments, but she also remembers the

11:22

times they turned their living room into a

11:24

dance floor. When

11:29

Carla moved in with Buddy, he was living with his

11:31

mom and siblings, but that arrangement

11:33

was short-lived. Carla said she

11:35

and his mother clashed because his mom

11:37

got involved in their arguments. But

11:39

when they decided to get their own place, they

11:41

chose an apartment nearby. Buddy

11:44

tried to stay close because

11:46

he would go

11:48

over and count out the money that

11:50

she needed to pay her bills. Buddy

11:54

could count money, and

11:56

his mother couldn't. Other

11:59

than that, Buddy could. read or write

12:01

Carla She grew to love Buddy. Same

12:03

way. And their relationship improved after

12:05

the young couple moved into an apartment of

12:07

their own. But. It seemed someone

12:09

and buddies life always needed a place to

12:11

stay. And. Buddy was more than

12:14

happy to help. So. Hard

12:17

that it was good to hear

12:19

know sometimes we'd. New.

12:21

Disagree on things and with. Course

12:24

we'd have says cousin living

12:26

with his or his sister

12:28

living with says. The. Before

12:30

the couple really had time to build any

12:32

kind of stability for themselves. They.

12:34

Found out. They were going to be

12:37

parents. I

12:39

get pregnant with my daughter and

12:41

my oldest daughter at eighteen and

12:43

when he first found out I

12:45

was pregnant with her he wanted

12:47

to get married. I totally know

12:50

and when I turned nineteen and

12:52

had my daughter and looked at

12:54

him and told him okay I'm

12:56

ready to get married New. They

13:00

named their little girl Norma after Bodies

13:02

Mother. Lives Awesome. Oh.

13:05

Yes, we were just thrilled.

13:09

But. Even the joy of norm his birth

13:11

team with terrifying challenges. Normal

13:13

was born with a congenital heart defects and

13:15

spent the first few weeks of her life

13:17

and hospital incubator. We. Were

13:19

both worried because here we

13:21

were young parents with a

13:24

child and see had a

13:26

heart condition Elite didn't know

13:28

how to handle. This. it

13:30

was really scary. But

13:32

he couldn't take time off work. And he

13:34

was torn between being with his daughter in

13:36

making sure they could pay their bills. For.

13:39

Was tough on him because he's always

13:41

worried about her. She became his every

13:43

say. Their. Fear and worry.

13:46

Me: Those first few weeks? Excruciatingly

13:48

Difficult. But buddy embrace

13:50

fatherhood. When. You come home

13:53

from work. He'd play with some on the

13:55

floor. They would just have fun with each

13:57

other's I Love Sin. The two of them.

14:00

Interact with. Each other and stiffly A

14:02

was beautiful. It

14:05

in the family that he was building with Carla. He

14:07

tried to do what he always done,

14:09

work hard to provide stability for them.

14:12

But even their best days were also struggle.

14:15

Norma had multiple open heart surgeries

14:17

each time providing the fear they

14:19

switch was born on top, mounting

14:22

expenses, The stress took

14:24

a toll. They fought a lot. Ordinary

14:27

disagreements were exacerbated by their

14:29

fears and her daughter. He

14:32

only had one commercial crew little buddy to work every

14:34

day and then headed. To premade children's hospital

14:36

where normally spend months realize. They

14:39

relied on Medicare to help pay for the surgery

14:41

she needed. Carla. Had lost two

14:43

sisters and a nephew to. The scene decent

14:45

life that like one long series

14:48

of challenges. And Carla responded

14:50

that way she always had. A

14:52

setting. That

14:54

essentially their constant argument strangled any a

14:56

section they had for each other. And

14:59

when normal was about two and a half. A

15:01

separate it. I

15:06

left him and took Norma and

15:08

he was not happy to sell

15:10

his. Yeah. That's.

15:12

He wanted his sam when he wanted. Nor

15:14

mine yet. Most

15:17

of their fight for about how much time but he could

15:19

spend with Norma. But. Carla also

15:21

started dating someone else. And.

15:23

That added to the animosity. One

15:26

night everything can do ahead. In a grocery

15:28

store parking lot. Where. Buddy and

15:30

Carla sitting in her new boyfriend. Struck with

15:32

known. But he demanded that

15:34

curly. Give him time with his daughter. He.

15:36

Tried to pull the three year old out

15:38

of the truck and Carla tried to pull

15:41

her back inside as a struggles someone's other

15:43

fight and called the police. But.

15:45

Before officers arrived. But.

15:47

He managed to take Norma and drive away. Carly

15:50

didn't know what to do. She

15:52

eventually called the police and that's

15:54

when she learned the seen body

15:56

were now accused child endangerment. Authorities

15:59

at all the take a normal from him and

16:01

place or in. Next

16:05

thing I know we had to

16:08

go to court and so we

16:10

went to court and they ordered

16:12

as to go to a parenting

16:15

class and so normal was taken

16:17

from us for probably about eight.

16:19

Eight months, Eight nine. Months.

16:21

It was very terrifying. During

16:27

those eight months to things happened that rekindle

16:29

their hope for a future together. In

16:31

parenting classes and family counseling, they

16:33

learn better communication. Skills. And.

16:36

They. So now they were expecting a second

16:38

child. Despite. The turmoil

16:41

and uncertainty of this time. Carlos

16:43

A. Discovering. She was pregnant again. Pet.

16:45

Like a plus. You know,

16:47

I was thrilled. I was happy about it.

16:51

They walk on their second daughter, Tina

16:53

and about a month later Norma. Return

16:55

home. With the family

16:57

for only had three months together before

16:59

that snowy Marks morning and Nineteen Eighty

17:01

Two. Their problems were not

17:03

solved. A decent the new sense

17:05

of commitment not just to each other but

17:07

to their two little girls. And

17:10

so the day Carla dropped by the Us

17:12

at work, that sense of foreboding, seated quickly.

17:15

She had a busy day at full

17:17

of motherly duties cooking. Cleaning and caring

17:19

for their little girls, Carla

17:22

at everything about that day. So

17:24

ordinary. About three pm,

17:26

she left her babies with her sister and my

17:28

Tammy again and drove down town to pick up

17:30

her husband. She. Pulled up

17:32

in front of the peerless laundry building and turned off

17:34

her car to wait. The

17:36

when she looked up, it wasn't Buddy walking. Toward

17:38

her car. There. Was buddies boss Carla

17:40

knew him. So. She prepared for

17:42

some cheesy. I used to

17:45

work for Peerless so I thought he was just

17:47

coming out. Give me a hard time. But.

17:50

There was something odd about his demeanor. That

17:53

he come over. And his head as

17:56

he knows series space. And

17:59

I. No

18:01

No. Name is what do you want? That's

18:04

when he told me, but he had been

18:07

shot. In

18:09

like watched. Without

18:11

thinking since her to hanging from the

18:14

ignition she needed to get a buddy.

18:17

In I tried to start the

18:19

course is as gonna go up

18:21

where he was that guy was

18:23

at that point I was quite

18:25

hysterical. And

18:27

his boss reached in and grab my hand

18:29

to the keys and says. Toilet won't do

18:32

you any good. Next

18:37

scene, I knew that his

18:40

family came in a different

18:42

car to get me. To

18:45

where they open the door. For

18:48

me to get out and a cunt? Whoop! A

18:52

I could folks could feel my

18:54

legs. since they just

18:56

like he was still my here my

18:58

arms that i couldn't move till they

19:00

had to help me out of the

19:02

car because i was just knives know

19:05

i was just totally new. She

19:10

was twenty three. And. Now a

19:12

widow. Less to pick up

19:15

the pieces of a license already self fragile.

19:17

Left to care for an instant in a four

19:20

year old girl alone. After

19:27

the break. Attack as try to

19:29

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21:53

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21:55

the morning of March 5th, 1982. Before

21:58

Wilkinson could react. The paramedic added,

22:01

looks like murder. They are shot. The

22:05

rescue crew stood near a laundry van that was

22:07

parked on the side of the canyon road in

22:09

front of the restaurant. The back

22:11

doors of the van were open, and

22:13

Deputy Wilkinson could see two bodies lying face

22:15

down. One dressed in

22:17

black suit pants, a gray jacket, and

22:19

black Oxford shoes. The

22:21

other wore brown pants, brown hunting

22:23

boots, and a blue jacket with

22:25

a blue comb stuck out of his left

22:27

rear pocket. Standing

22:30

with the paramedics was the man who said he found the

22:32

bodies, the restaurant's manager, Michael

22:34

Moore. Wilkinson looked him

22:36

over. He was young, thin,

22:39

his curly dark haircut short, and

22:41

he wore a plaid shirt tucked neatly into his jeans.

22:45

Mr. Moore appeared quite shaken, and

22:47

I had him sit in my patrol car. This

22:50

is a voice actor reading the police report Deputy Wilkinson

22:52

wrote in 1982. I

22:54

asked him if he knew the victims. He said

22:57

he thought one was Jordan Rasmussen, the

22:59

auditor for the owners of the log haven. He

23:02

said Jordan's auto was parked at the mouth of

23:04

the canyon that he had passed it

23:06

coming up. He also said he

23:08

had a meeting scheduled with Jordan at 0800. He

23:11

then stated he needed a drink of water, could he

23:14

go up to the restaurant? He

23:16

exited the car and walked up to the driveway

23:18

going up to the restaurant. Deputy

23:20

Wilkinson got out of his patrol car, and

23:23

one of the firefighters pointed out something that

23:25

he found strange. One of

23:27

the firemen asked me if I had noticed the

23:29

blood on that guy's face. Wilkinson

23:33

had not seen the blood. He

23:35

walked up the driveway, and as he got close

23:37

to the front door, he passed tire

23:39

tracks, shell casings, and

23:42

a single cigarette butt. About

23:44

20 feet away, the only spot where asphalt

23:46

was visible, something melted the snow,

23:49

and as he got closer, he could see

23:51

a massive amount of coagulated, thick, heavy

23:54

blood. A couple of feet from

23:56

the blood smashed into the freshly

23:58

formed snow, the broken glass. When

24:02

he walked into the restaurant, he noticed it was

24:04

extremely warm. The thermostat read more than

24:06

80 degrees. In

24:08

an office adjacent to the kitchen, there

24:10

was an empty shoulder holster, an ammunition

24:12

for a .45 caliber gun. The

24:15

same caliber casing in the

24:17

snow-covered driveway. Michael

24:19

Moore emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water and

24:21

a napkin in his hand. There

24:24

was no blood on his face. He

24:27

was talking about business problems. It's all crazy.

24:29

They set up people. They're going to fire

24:31

us all. Michael

24:33

asked if he could make some coffee. But

24:35

Wilkinson, thinking that he was acting strangely,

24:38

asked him to stay seated and wait

24:40

for investigators to arrive. From

24:45

those first moments at Log Haven, police couldn't

24:47

make sense of Michael Moore's story. So

24:50

once homicide detectives arrived, they

24:52

took him downtown to the main offices of

24:54

the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department. That's

24:57

where they'd continue their conversation. In

24:59

a windowless room on the ninth floor, Michael

25:01

Moore told detectives Jordan Rasmussen was a co-worker,

25:04

that they were scheduled to meet at the restaurant that

25:07

morning to talk through some bookkeeping issues. But

25:09

when he arrived at the restaurant, he saw the

25:11

van, the blood, the bodies. And

25:14

then he called for help. Things

25:18

were not adding up. This

25:20

is T.J. Saclos. He was a

25:22

Salt Lake County prosecutor at the time and was assigned

25:24

to the case almost immediately. The

25:27

Salt Lake County detectives, the homicide

25:29

unit back then, they were incredibly

25:31

sharp. That was the A-Team. They

25:34

were really, really sharp guys. T.J.

25:37

said detectives immediately suspected Michael Moore

25:39

was more than an unfortunate bystander.

25:42

They started seeing the jacket, the blood on him and

25:44

the blood on his pants. How

25:47

do you get two bodies in the van and then just discover

25:49

them? After

25:52

about a half hour of trying to convince detectives that

25:54

he was just a witness, he

25:56

realized he was a suspect. One

25:59

of them read him as a suspect. Miranda rights. He

26:01

called his father and asked for help hiring an

26:03

attorney, but his father said that

26:06

because Michael was an adult, he had

26:08

to find legal help on his own. But

26:11

Michael didn't do that. Instead,

26:13

he confessed. Around

26:18

4 p.m., Michael was taken to the same

26:20

room where he met with the same homicide

26:22

investigator. The recordings of

26:24

this conversation have been lost to time.

26:27

But we have the transcript, which you'll hear read by

26:29

voice actors for both Michael Moore and

26:32

the detective questioning him, Garth Beckstead.

26:35

Michael admitted he'd lied to them in the

26:37

first interview. He had planned to

26:39

meet Jordan Rasmussen at the restaurant, but

26:42

he wasn't sure Jordan's car would make it up the canyon

26:44

because of the new snow. So

26:46

I went down to the bottom of the

26:49

canyon and I just sat and had a

26:51

few cigarettes and waited. And

26:54

when he came, I said, you're

26:56

not going to make it. And

26:58

I said, Park there, I'll give you a ride up and

27:00

we can discuss it. I'll

27:03

shoot you back down. I think I'll save you

27:05

time if you get stuck or something. Michael

27:08

said he'd given other employees rides from the same

27:10

spot. And he said that he

27:12

told Jordan it would give them extra time to

27:14

discuss the bookkeeping issues. Jordan

27:16

was apparently persuaded because as you heard in

27:18

episode one, he got into that Jeep.

27:22

Michael told police they discussed ongoing financial

27:24

issues and a check that needed to

27:26

be deposited. But we can't be

27:28

sure that this is what the two men talked about. Moore

27:31

painted a picture of Jordan Rasmussen that

27:33

no one in Jordan's life would recognize.

27:37

I mean, it's not a guy I want to mess with. And

27:40

I didn't realize his devious

27:42

side until just recently. I mean,

27:44

I was scared

27:46

for my life with this guy. He

27:50

said Jordan Rasmussen had been stealing from the

27:52

restaurant in his capacity as their accountant. And

27:55

recently he said he'd been pressuring Michael to do

27:57

the same. me

28:00

off today due

28:05

to the fact that Jordan has been

28:07

forcing me to embezzle

28:10

funds for my company. He's

28:12

been forcing you to do that? I

28:15

could show you that through to

28:17

sign over American Express checks to him. How's

28:20

he been forcing you to do so? By

28:24

threat of violence. How

28:27

did he threaten you? Bodily

28:29

forced, he said it'll be in your

28:31

best interest. I can't remember

28:33

his exact words. And

28:36

this has been going on for about a month. Michael

28:39

told the detective that he'd asked Jordan to meet

28:41

him that morning to discuss all of this. He

28:44

said he wore a .45 in a shoulder holster under

28:46

his leather coat because he'd been

28:48

threatened. I was carrying

28:50

the piece for personal protection. If

28:53

somebody actually did, like if he tried to

28:55

run me over or tried to pull a

28:57

weapon on me or something, I'd

29:00

have some recourse at the fence. I

29:03

was mad as hell at the guy. I thought he

29:05

was a jerk. So

29:07

by the time Jordan and Michael arrived at

29:09

the restaurant, Michael's fear

29:11

exploded into rage. Jordan

29:14

asked me for the American Express check in Jeep this

29:16

morning. I just lost my

29:19

total cool. Michael

29:21

pulled the Jeep to a stop just east of the front

29:23

door. And when Jordan Rasmussen climbed

29:25

out, Michael Moore did the same. He

29:28

immediately pulled the gun from its holster and pointed

29:30

it at Jordan. It's an

29:33

automatic .45, cocked

29:35

it, reached over the hood.

29:39

Jordan saw the gun. And he

29:41

said, no, Mike. Michael

29:44

held the gun with both hands and he pulled

29:46

the trigger. A bullet hit

29:48

Jordan in the right side of the head, spinning

29:51

his six foot three frame around. Moore

29:54

fired again. The second

29:56

shot hit him in the back, knocking

29:58

him forward. into the snow. It

30:09

was not a personal satisfaction. It

30:12

was the fact that this guy's such a jerk that

30:14

he no longer deserves to live. I

30:17

mean that the rage was that

30:19

intense. But

30:21

almost immediately Michael said

30:24

his rage was replaced with something else. The

30:27

gravity of killing someone. I

30:31

was horrified. I just started

30:33

shaking. I

30:36

lost any semblance of control that I

30:38

had. I ran

30:40

back and forth. You know, what am

30:42

I going to do with this body? But

30:45

all of a sudden the realization of what

30:47

had transpired hit me. The

30:50

only thing I thought of was I could

30:53

sink him in the sewer. Moore

30:55

ran around the yard leaving confused footsteps

30:58

in the snow. Until he had

31:00

an idea. He thought there might be

31:02

a chain in the restaurant. Maybe he could

31:04

use it to lower Jordan's body into the

31:06

restaurant sump where they dumped raw sewage and

31:08

grease from the kitchen. I

31:10

thought there might be something in the restaurant.

31:12

So I ran back into the restaurant, looked

31:14

around, searched

31:17

the basement area between the bakery,

31:19

the office, on the downstairs flight,

31:22

through the freezer room, in the

31:24

furnace room and whatnot. I

31:26

just running wildly. Couldn't

31:30

find anything. He ran back

31:32

outside into the cold to figure out what to do

31:35

next. Only to realize he was

31:37

no longer alone. And

31:40

there's the peerless linen laundry truck.

31:43

Buddy Booth had pulled into the driveway while

31:45

Moore was inside. And

31:49

he's standing there looking at this dead body and

31:51

I froze. I

31:54

didn't know what to do. I

31:56

said I've called the sheriff. He

31:58

said, what happened? I

32:01

said somebody shot him. I don't

32:04

know Michael says almost

32:06

without knowing he changed course and

32:08

stopped pretending he didn't know what had happened And

32:12

at that point unconsciously I reached

32:15

in grabbed the gun Talked

32:19

it again jammed Loaded

32:24

it again and He

32:31

shot buddy twice as he turned to

32:33

brother The bullets hit the

32:35

back of buddy's right elbow and his neck just

32:37

below his right ear He

32:40

fell like Jordan face down

32:42

in the snow Detective

32:57

Beckstead asked him why kill

32:59

a man he didn't even know? Why

33:02

did you shoot the guy from peerless? fear

33:06

fear of what? being put you

33:08

know, I just shot a

33:10

man And I

33:12

was afraid of getting

33:15

arrested right the

33:17

arrested And

33:19

you know dead men

33:22

speak no lies. Well

33:24

put it that way After

33:27

shooting buddy Michael walked to where Jordan

33:29

was crumpled in the snow and shot him one more

33:31

time in the head and Then

33:34

he walked over to buddy and

33:36

fired a bullet into his head Michael

33:43

Moore seemed remarkably candid eerily

33:46

clinical as he walked

33:48

detectives through every graphic detail Ending

33:51

of how he tried to clean up the crime

33:53

scene before he called police just after 8 a.m

33:57

He said he dragged Jordans and buddies bodies across

34:00

the snow and shoved them into the back of

34:02

the van. Michael

34:04

moved the van to the road and he took

34:06

a white towel off Buddy's dashboard and

34:08

used it to wipe the blood off the van and off his

34:11

hands. He changed his shirt and

34:13

hid the bloody one in a restaurant closet.

34:16

He spent time shoveling some of the blood-covered snow

34:18

into a trash can and dumped

34:20

it in the sump, that sewer hole, the one where

34:22

he had wanted to dump Jordan's body. And

34:25

that's where he tossed the gun. After

34:28

that, he called the owners, a

34:30

co-worker, a cop, and

34:33

then he waited. It

34:35

would take two interviews and eight hours, but

34:38

Michael finally told police what he'd done. No

34:41

one could say whether Michael confessed out of remorse or

34:43

if he thought it was his best strategic option.

34:47

But he did it before securing a lawyer. He

34:50

told detectives that he thought about Jordan

34:52

Rasmussen's family, his children. He

34:54

said he didn't know the linen driver, Buddy Booth, or

34:57

who he left behind. I

35:00

shot two people today, he finally told the detective.

35:04

I've done a very bad thing. More

35:07

after the break. He

35:11

would lie his way into their

35:13

dreams. He was looking for James

35:15

Bond girls. How fun would that be

35:17

to be a Bond girl? Then twist

35:19

them into a nightmare. This guy has

35:21

done this before, he'll do it again.

35:24

Until a group of women banded together

35:26

to put him behind bars and keep

35:28

him there. You have to participate fiercely,

35:31

fiercely in what happens next.

35:33

I'm Keith Morrison and this is

35:35

Murder in the Hollywood Hills, an

35:37

all new podcast from Dateline. Listen

35:40

to Murder in the Hollywood

35:42

Hills for free each week,

35:44

or subscribe to Dateline Premium

35:46

on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or

35:48

datelinepremium.com to unlock new episodes

35:50

one week early. Hi

35:55

there, it's Julia Louis-Dreyfus. You may know

35:57

me from my podcast called Wiser Than

35:59

Me. The where I toss the women

36:01

and get go with them from the

36:03

frontlines of life. After season one, Air

36:05

Out was a play by how many

36:07

people. Told me our so made him look.

36:10

Forward to getting older, which is why

36:12

I'm here to talk about season two

36:14

of the show: Sally Field, Billie Jean

36:16

King every chance her find a carton

36:18

Barney registered in the field and of

36:20

course my nine year old man's you

36:23

to get all hail Old Women wiser

36:25

than. Isn't she was as know some

36:27

women are media. It

36:35

was Saturday morning when Donte Nielsen got

36:37

a call from his office as the

36:39

Chief Deputy of the Salt Lake County

36:41

Attorney's Office. It wasn't unusual. For police to

36:44

let him know that major crimes even on a

36:46

weekend, They. Said we

36:48

have a really bad homicide double homicide

36:50

or we need talk to you and

36:53

get on a prosecutor assigned as soon

36:55

as we possibly can. We have a

36:57

suspect in custody and we need to

37:00

move forward. John Key

37:02

is everyone calls him is now a

37:04

silver haired, universally beloved figure in Utah's

37:06

criminal justice. And he's

37:08

the one who originally contacted me about

37:11

the story, but we first got a

37:13

call at home or a cold Saturday

37:15

March. He had. No idea this case

37:17

would eventually change. His views on

37:19

criminal justice and profound ways. Back.

37:23

In Nineteen Eighty Two, he was the

37:25

man responsible for assigning prosecutors to criminal

37:28

cases. And. Was a weekend call at

37:30

home wasn't out of place. The. Time.

37:33

Was. Definitely out. Of the Ordinary. It.

37:35

Sounded unusual to me because

37:37

it was a double homicide

37:39

had a fairly famous place

37:42

in their town. he was

37:44

largely even restaurant and I

37:46

knew it was going to

37:48

be very prominently covered case

37:50

in the news and that

37:52

we needed to do everything

37:54

right. Because. Of the nature of

37:56

the case. Course. i told me

37:58

who the victim was with time it didn't

38:00

mean anything. It wasn't until

38:02

Monday when John T. learned more details about

38:05

the murders that he realized he

38:07

had a personal connection to the case. He

38:10

knew Jordan Rasmussen's parents. And

38:12

when I found out who his parents were, I was

38:15

particularly incensed because his father,

38:18

Eldon Rasmussen, was a high

38:20

school biology teacher of

38:22

mine and a person that I had

38:25

become a friend with. And

38:28

when I found out that it was Eldon's

38:30

son that had been killed, when

38:32

I found out who the family was,

38:35

it just made me sick. It just

38:37

really hit me right in the gut. Because

38:41

of his relationship with Eldon Rasmussen, he

38:43

did something unusual. He went

38:45

to Blanche and Eldon's home, sat in their

38:47

living room, and offered his condolences.

38:50

And then he made them a commitment. My

38:54

recollection is, as I went over and talked

38:56

to the Rasmussen family, told them that we

38:58

were going to pursue this case,

39:00

how we were going to pursue it. We

39:03

were going to assign good prosecutors to it, and we were

39:05

going to pursue the death penalty. It

39:08

was a commitment John T. felt

39:10

confident his office could deliver. This

39:14

was a slam dunk,

39:16

it seemed to me. And

39:18

I thought an obvious case that

39:21

merited the death penalty. While

39:32

John T. and his team worked to build a case that

39:34

would send Michael Moore to death row, two

39:36

young widows were trying to bury their husbands, comfort

39:39

their children, and just come

39:41

to terms with their new reality. I

39:50

distinctly remember walking up the

39:52

stairs to Russin Mortuary, and

39:55

the bishop greeted me, and

39:58

he said, Deanna, You

40:01

need to see the body. You

40:03

need to see Jordan. The

40:07

suggestion that she look at the body of her

40:09

dead husband came from someone

40:11

DeAnn Rasmus entrusted, but she

40:14

hesitated. Because in the

40:16

days after her husband was killed, she'd

40:19

only been sure of a few things. One

40:22

of them was that she didn't want to see Jordan's

40:24

corpse. She didn't want anyone

40:26

to see it. At

40:28

the mortuary, I told

40:30

them that I wanted a cloak casket.

40:34

DeAnn never liked the tradition of viewing the body

40:36

of a loved one at a memorial service.

40:39

Even before she entered this disorienting

40:41

new reality, she thought it was

40:44

strange to gather and then gawk at a corpse. But

40:47

in her situation, Jordan had been shot in the

40:49

head. So until her bishop suggested

40:51

that she needed to see him, she

40:53

had no plans to view the body of

40:56

her 32-year-old husband. You

40:59

said you needed for closure. This

41:03

is the same religious leader who delivered

41:06

the news of Jordan's death a few days

41:08

earlier, accompanied her, as she told

41:10

Jordan's family, and gone to great lengths

41:13

to ease her pain. So

41:15

she listened. And as

41:17

the family gathered in a room lined with flowers

41:19

at the mortuary in downtown Salt Lake City, she

41:22

agreed to open the casket. So

41:25

I remember walking in the room,

41:27

and they asked me if I

41:30

was okay to do that. And I told

41:32

them yes, I was. And

41:39

I am so glad I did. DeAnn

41:43

let her children into the room where the rest

41:45

of the family was already saying their goodbyes. Only

41:48

8-year-old David accompanied her. Their

41:51

5-year-old daughter refused to go near her

41:53

father's coffin. Lisa

41:56

didn't want to see him, because she

41:58

had a cold. And

42:00

she didn't want to give her death cold. The

42:06

next day, Lisa had a change of heart. So

42:09

when they arrived at the church, where they

42:11

would memorialize Jordan Rasmussen's short life, DeAnn

42:14

asked the family for a favor before

42:16

they gathered to pray. Could

42:18

they open the casket one more time? And

42:21

then someone lifted the little girl into their arms.

42:27

She said she wanted to see her death. So

42:32

we opened the casket again so

42:34

she could see. And

42:37

it was heartbreaking. This

42:43

was her life now, living every

42:45

moment with broken hearts. DeAnn

42:57

wasn't the only young widow trying to navigate

42:59

grief and motherhood. Just

43:02

23, Carla Booth had been banished

43:04

to this agonizing new place too. Buddy's

43:07

family picked her up after Buddy's boss delivered the

43:09

news of his death. But

43:11

they didn't take her home. They

43:14

took me to my mother-in-law's house. And

43:18

I kept saying, I need to go to my house. I need to

43:20

go to my house. And they go, no, you don't. You don't

43:22

want to go there yet. When

43:24

she finally went to their apartment, it was to pick up

43:26

mail and a few items for her and the

43:28

girls. And that's when it happened.

43:32

Something she still struggles to explain. They

43:36

never did go back to living in the apartment they'd

43:38

shared. The publicity surrounding

43:40

the killings meant Carla consumed painful

43:42

details about her husband's death the

43:45

same way strangers did. Carla

43:47

remembers one night in particular shortly after the

43:49

murder. She was sitting on

43:51

the living room floor playing with her four-year-old daughter

43:53

Norma, baby Dana lying next to

43:55

her, the TV on in the background. She

43:59

was oblivious. to what was on until she heard Buddy's name.

44:03

The victims have been identified as

44:05

Jordan Rasmussen, an accountant for Log

44:07

Haven, and Buddy Booth, driver of

44:09

the Linen van. She

44:12

looked up, and there on the TV screen, her

44:14

husband, Body, lay face down in

44:17

the back of the van. He drove for work. Investigators

44:19

believe Booth, the other victim, just happened on

44:22

the shooting and was killed to keep him

44:24

quiet. Both of them appear to be shot

44:26

in the head with a fairly large

44:28

caliber weapon. I

44:31

watched the news. It was devastating

44:33

to me. I just, I

44:35

cried through it and everything. It

44:37

was hard, it's so hard for me. As

44:41

days turned into weeks and eventually months,

44:44

Carla's heartbreak hardened into

44:46

something else. I

44:49

was furious, and I'm

44:51

like, he took my husband, he should

44:53

be taken. Next

45:00

time on The Letter, as lawyers prepare for trial, no

45:06

one can understand why Michael Moore resorted to

45:08

murder. This is a pretty

45:10

average normal guy with a decent job and

45:12

not much of a criminal

45:14

history of any kind. And all of a sudden,

45:16

he's involved with killing two people. And

45:20

in the courtroom, the families of Buddy and

45:22

Jordan hear Michael's version of the story for

45:24

the first time. He's a very, very, very

45:26

good lawyer. For

45:29

the first time. I was

45:31

crying. And I

45:33

think it was at that point that they

45:36

stopped the trial. Oh,

45:49

and one more thing, I find out I

45:51

have a personal connection to this case. I want to find out

45:57

about Amy's connection to the case. pace,

46:00

you can get a sneak peek right now.

46:03

This is producer Andrea Smarten and I'm here

46:05

to tell you all you have to

46:07

do is click on the button to

46:09

subscribe to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts

46:12

and you'll get access to the inside scoop.

46:15

Bonus episodes are a great way to get

46:17

a deeper dive into the letter. You

46:20

can also follow us on social

46:22

media at the Letter Podcast or

46:24

check out our website, theletterpodcast.com. If

46:27

you like the letter, please take a few minutes

46:29

and give us a rating and write a review. It helps

46:32

our show get discovered. The

46:35

Letter Season 2 is written by me, Amy

46:37

Donaldson and Andrea Smarten, who is

46:39

also lead on production and sound

46:41

design with additional help from Nina

46:43

Earnest and Erin Mason. Mixing by

46:46

Trent Sowell. Main musical score composed

46:48

by Alison Leighton-Brun. Special thanks to

46:50

Becky Bruce, Kellyanne Halverson, Ryan

46:52

Meeks, Ben Kiebrick, Felix Benel,

46:55

Josh Hilton and Dave Collie.

46:57

With Lemonada Media, Executive Producers

46:59

Jessica Cordova-Cramer and Stephanie Whittlesnacks.

47:02

For Workhouse Media, Executive Producer

47:04

Paul Anderson. And for

47:06

KSL Podcasts, Executive Producer Cheryl

47:09

Borsley. The Letter is

47:11

a production of KSL Podcasts and

47:13

Lemonada Media in association with Workhouse

47:15

Media. Did

47:22

you ever get hit with a cringy memory of your 13

47:25

year old self out of nowhere and suddenly your

47:27

panic sweating and laughing at the same time? Don't

47:29

worry, don't worry. We all get that. It's

47:31

because being an adolescent is one of the

47:33

most visceral shared experiences we have as people.

47:36

And we want to talk about it. Join me,

47:38

Penn Badgley and my two friends, Maven,

47:40

Sophie on Podcrust as we interview celebrity

47:43

guests about the joys and horrors of

47:45

being a teenager and how those moments made

47:48

them who they are today. New

47:50

episodes of Podcrust are out on April 24th wherever

47:52

you get your podcasts. Hola

47:55

amigos, it's Jeff Jose

47:57

Andres. I am a cook.

48:00

as someone that passionately

48:02

believes complex problems

48:04

often have very

48:06

simple solutions, like

48:09

sitting down together and sharing

48:11

our stories. Now, guess

48:14

what? I have a podcast,

48:17

Longer Tables, where

48:19

I do just that. Each

48:22

episode features brilliant people like

48:24

Stacey Abrams, Ron Howard and

48:26

Jane Goodall, talking

48:29

about food, life and everything in

48:31

between. Listen to

48:33

Longer Tables, whatever you get

48:35

podcasts.