July 7, 2025
164: Ritual - The Pensacola Massacre Part 01
Listener, the story I am about to tell you is about greed, power and control exerted in the coldest way imaginable. On a normal day in July 2015 in Escambia County, Florida, three members of the same family got up in the morning and set about their daily routine. They didn’t know the brutality that was going to be rained on them, snatching away their lives before the day was done.
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WEBVTT
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[SPEAKER_08]: We are all creatures of habit and routine.
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[SPEAKER_08]: We gravitate towards patterns and decisions that we can rinse and repeat.
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[SPEAKER_08]: We like to keep ourselves within the colorful outlines drawn around our lives.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Boundaries either weave defined for ourselves or someone has defined for us.
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[SPEAKER_08]: What grabs attention?
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[SPEAKER_08]: What makes a stop?
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[SPEAKER_08]: Look around.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Question.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Is that moment when the lines are crossed?
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[SPEAKER_08]: A regular routine is broken or a schedule.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Always adhered to.
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[SPEAKER_08]: This left silent and wanting.
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[SPEAKER_08]: That's when the red flags go up.
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[SPEAKER_08]: And a spotlight swings around highlighting one area.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Suddenly, all eyes are in that same direction.
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[SPEAKER_08]: And they don't always like what they see.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Most of the time, there are innocent and simple answers to unexpected events.
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[SPEAKER_08]: But there are those occasions when the answers aren't straightforward or forthcoming.
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[SPEAKER_08]: When that happens, it's almost always because of human intervention.
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[SPEAKER_08]: And that only means one thing.
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[SPEAKER_08]: It means that when the answers do come, they are covered in blood, in anguish, and in tragedy.
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[SPEAKER_05]: You can see that there's trauma here.
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[SPEAKER_05]: It looks like the tip of her pinky has been dramatically amputated.
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[SPEAKER_05]: In my opinion, it could have been a hammer.
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[SPEAKER_05]: It could have been something that may not be that sharp, maybe a dull knife or a pair of scissors, or even a flathead screwdriver.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And the piece of the pinky that's missing, what is going to happen to it over a period of
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[SPEAKER_00]: several days.
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[SPEAKER_05]: It will, if it's left at room temperature without fluid, it dries up and shrinks.
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[SPEAKER_05]: Just like if you drop a little piece of chicken on your floor, you find it a month later and you can barely recognize it.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Listener, the story I'm about to tell you is about greed, power, and control, exert it in the coldest way imaginable, on a normal day in July, two thousand fifteen, in a Skambia County, Florida, three members of the same family got up in the morning, and set about their daily routine.
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[SPEAKER_08]: They didn't know the brutality that was going to be rained on them.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Snatching away their lives before the day was done.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Their killer crept around them silent and deadly.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Yet, they did so in plain sight, with chilling confidence and indifference.
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[SPEAKER_08]: There were multiple lives ferociously and savagely taken inside the walls of the one place they should have been safe and protected.
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[SPEAKER_08]: The acts of this killer were ruthless and calculated, pre-planned.
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[SPEAKER_08]: It would be, however, his own arrogance, his own schedules and behavior patterns that ultimately would be his downfall.
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[SPEAKER_08]: All right.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Let's get on with it.
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[SPEAKER_07]: Welcome, listener.
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[SPEAKER_07]: I'm glad you're here.
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[SPEAKER_07]: Take a seat.
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[SPEAKER_07]: Next to the fire.
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[SPEAKER_09]: Welcome to Obscura, where we shine a light on the dark.
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[SPEAKER_08]: It was one hundred degrees outside in the Pensacola Sun in Florida, as how McCord arrived at four, six, oh five, deer field drive on Friday.
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[SPEAKER_08]: July, thirty first, two thousand fifteen.
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[SPEAKER_08]: How was a supervisor at the Department of Homeland Security?
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[SPEAKER_08]: One of the most dependable staff members had not turned up for work for the last two days, not the Naval Air Station, where they were based.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Richard Thomas Smith was forty-nine years old, six-foot-five, and a computer specialist in the department.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Known as RT, he was a well-built guy with a personality respected and loved amongst his colleagues.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He should have been in the office on Thursday and Friday, but he hadn't arrived for either shift.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Phone calls went unanswered.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Text messages had no read receipt.
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[SPEAKER_08]: How had never been out to Richard's home before?
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[SPEAKER_08]: But that day, he knew he had to see what was going on.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Richard had lived at Deerfield Drive for twenty-seven years.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He lived with a seventy-eight-year-old mother, Von Seel Smith, and his brother, John Smith.
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[SPEAKER_08]: It was just two years younger than him.
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[SPEAKER_08]: The three were a close-knit family, and Richard was the one who took care of everything.
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[SPEAKER_08]: It made sure that they had what they needed.
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[SPEAKER_08]: The one story modern red brick home with white shutters at the windows sat parallel to the road in a quiet neighborhood.
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[SPEAKER_08]: It was a circular route, with one way in and one way out.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Mind with mature trees decorating the homes, spread out across the land.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Each house had spacious yards, and lots of space in between them.
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[SPEAKER_08]: It looked like a well-capped and pleasant area to live in.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Hal arrived on that Friday morning.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Just after night AM, he parked up next to the two cars parked outside the side door of the house.
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[SPEAKER_08]: The White SUV minivan, he recognizes Richards.
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[SPEAKER_08]: how knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Three miles away, in a small wooden house, on Kondike Road.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Fifty-eight-year-old Donald Harton was in bed asleep.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He lived alone with just his dog, a small boxer called Zina, Donald had a thirty-five-year-old son, Donald Wayne Harton Jr., who lived in Virginia.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He had separated from his wife when Donald Jr.
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[SPEAKER_08]: was a teenager.
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[SPEAKER_08]: The relationship between father and son was strained.
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[SPEAKER_08]: They didn't talk often, and hadn't seen each other in person since Donald Jr.
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[SPEAKER_08]: was around seventeen years old.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Donald Sr.
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[SPEAKER_08]: worked as a security guard at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
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[SPEAKER_08]: About twenty-five minutes away from his home by car, he didn't start his shifts until three p.m.
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[SPEAKER_08]: and used the mornings to catch up on his sleeve.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Donald was Von Seel Smith's eldest son and half brother to Richard and John.
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[SPEAKER_08]: As he slept that morning, he had no idea how was outside his family's home.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Still not able to get an answer from any of his family members.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Back at Deerfield Drive, how went and spoke with the neighbors, trying to establish where his employee might be.
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[SPEAKER_08]: No one knew anything.
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[SPEAKER_08]: How called nine one one and requested deputies attend the address for a welfare check.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Something was very wrong.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Andrew Smith of the Ascambia County Sheriff's Office got notified of the call.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He made his way to the house and arrived at nine, fifty three a.m.
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[SPEAKER_08]: A few minutes later, Deputy Darrell Singleton and Sergeant Neesmith also arrived at the residence.
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[SPEAKER_08]: How gave Deputy Smith the family contact details he had on his work files for Richard.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Aside from his mom and brother, the only other family member locally was Donald Hardton.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Smith went back to his cruiser and used the in-car computer to look up Donald's details and his address.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Before he could enter this property that check inside, he needed permission from a family member.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He also wanted to know if Donald had a key for his family's house, so they could open the door.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Smith drove to Donald's house and welcome up.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Donald told him he had last seen his family on Tuesday of that week.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He always went over on Tuesdays to cook them a dinner.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He said he didn't see Richard that week.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Richard often worked late at the naval base, and Donald had most of the time left before he came home.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He left Richard's dinner in the oven for him.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Donald told the deputy, he didn't understand why there was no answer at the door.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He had never needed a key to the house as his mother was always home.
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[SPEAKER_08]: She should be there.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Donald got dressed and followed the deputy to his mom's house and his own vehicle.
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[SPEAKER_08]: After trying to call his mom at the deputies request and getting no answer, Donald signed the form given written permission for officers to enter the house.
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[SPEAKER_08]: WD Swift called EMS in the fire service to help them gain entry without breaking down the door.
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[SPEAKER_08]: EMS used a credit card to shimmy the walk on the back door to the property.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So as we walk in the back door, I made a little smell of very foul odor similar to a dead body.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We walked in, we ended up going towards the right of the residence, which was through the living room and the kitchen and down the hallway.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I know I saw a small white dog and it was like dog feces on the ground.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And so we went down the hallway.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We still weren't sure if there was maybe
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[SPEAKER_01]: So one actually in the residence and we smelled an overwhelming smell of a dead body, but we wanted to go back and check the other side of the residence first just to make sure there wasn't anyone over there.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Back to where we initially made entrance into the left.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There was a laundry room with a door that was closed.
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[SPEAKER_01]: As I opened the door, I immediately saw blood spatter on some cardboard boxes that were sitting up on a bed.
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[SPEAKER_01]: and then on the floor directly in front of me there was like a large mass of like clothing and blankets so do the blood spatter I put on some gloves and then I started to peel back the clothing and the blankets and as I started to peel it back I saw a large shoe it looked on to be on like a white man's body I touched the ankle it was cold and then there was another large mass to my right
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was like on like a love seat.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I did the same.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I started peeling the clothing back and the blankets.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was a bare white foot.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It also appeared to be a male.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I touched it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was cold and there was a little bit of the present.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Due to the previous smell that we had encountered in the hallway, we went back to the other end of the residence.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Went down the hallway.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There was another bedroom door that was closed.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So we opened up that door.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And there was a huge mound of clothing and blankets on the floor of that bedroom.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I did the same thing.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I started just slowly peeling back a little bit.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I saw a, it appeared to be like an elderly female's hand.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was a white female.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Touched it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was cold.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There were some live editing in the fingers.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And so I had pronounced her out approximately eleven, seventeen.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We back out of the residence.
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[SPEAKER_01]: My supervisor, I believe, had already contacted investigations in crime scene, so they were already on the way, and we just backed out of the residence and waited for them to arrive.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Three bodies had been found inside the house on dear field drive.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Three bodies that were in all probability, vansil, Richard, and John Smith.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Blood spatter was evident, and all three victims had been covered up with numerous items of clothing, blankets, and rugs before the killer left their home.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Inside a bedroom believed to be Richards was a safe with its door left open, multiple envelopes were inside, containing different sums of money, totaling thirteen thousand six hundred and fifty one dollars.
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[SPEAKER_06]: All right, this is a bizarre story out of Florida.
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[SPEAKER_06]: Three people are found brutally murdered in their homes, but here's where it gets strange.
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[SPEAKER_06]: Police say the killing may be connected to witchcraft and has something to do with a rare, blue, moon, forty-eight hours crime cited reporter.
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[SPEAKER_06]: Julia Doll is here with me to talk about this.
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[SPEAKER_06]: Thanks for being here, Julia.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you for having me.
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[SPEAKER_06]: So, fill us in on this case.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
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[SPEAKER_03]: So on Friday, police in Pensacola, Florida, found the bodies of three people, a seventy seven year old woman and her two grown sons inside their home.
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[SPEAKER_03]: All three had suffered blunt force trauma and had their throat slit and one of the sons had been shot in the head.
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[SPEAKER_03]: The Sheriff on Tuesday said that he thinks that one of the murder weapons was a claw hammer.
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[SPEAKER_03]: and that each victim suffered multiple blows.
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[SPEAKER_03]: He also said that he believes the family was actually killed three days earlier on Tuesday and that both sons were tall men who would have been very physically intimidating, but that there was no sign of forced entry.
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[SPEAKER_03]: But what's got everybody talking about this is that yesterday at a press conference, the share of said that they were investigating the possibility that these killings were ritualistic in nature and might have been connected to Fridays blue moon.
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[SPEAKER_10]: initial research has led us to believe that there's a potential that it was a ritualistic killing.
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[SPEAKER_10]: Our person of interest has some ties to a faith and or religion.
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[SPEAKER_10]: that is indicative of that.
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[SPEAKER_10]: It's witchcraft.
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[SPEAKER_10]: I'll say that right now.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Trinkets and clothes hanging on rails.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Bonnie didn't have many clothes as a child.
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[SPEAKER_08]: She had once told Donald.
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[SPEAKER_08]: There was always a steady stream of packages arriving at the house from her QVC purchases.
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[SPEAKER_08]: On sale was a kind and loving woman.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Her niece is called her, their favorite auntie.
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[SPEAKER_08]: As she got older, she had become frailer.
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[SPEAKER_08]: In two thousand twelve, her husband, a forty-seven years, Richard Smith's senior, had died after suffering from Parkinson's.
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[SPEAKER_08]: R.T.
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[SPEAKER_08]: had provided care for his father.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Now he cared for his mother, making sure she was looked after and safe.
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[SPEAKER_08]: She had recently fallen in after standing up from her or a cleaner, and was bruised but otherwise uningered.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Richard installed some security cameras inside the house, so he could check in on her using a cell phone while he was at work.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Richard was a loving son who gave up much of his time to care for his mom, and make sure his younger brother John was okay.
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[SPEAKER_08]: John Smith was forty-seven years old, and he worked at the Walmart Super Center on Mobile Highway at Pensacola.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He had been there almost twenty-five years, getting the post right after the store had first opened.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He collected cards and helped with keeping the shelves stocked.
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[SPEAKER_08]: John was shy and quiet, mad a smile and a friendly word for everyone.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Sometimes described as special needs, John hadn't developed as quickly as his older brother, and both Richard and Von Seel were protective of him.
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[SPEAKER_08]: His colleagues were very fond of him, as were many of his customers.
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[SPEAKER_08]: John didn't drive himself.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Vanceil was worried he might have an accident.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Richard got up extra early to drive John to work, and made sure he was there to pick him up after work too.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Donald Hartun was a son of Vanceil, a given birth to, when she was just eighteen years old.
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[SPEAKER_08]: His father had left only weeks into his life.
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[SPEAKER_08]: and Von Cill had raised him on her own.
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[SPEAKER_08]: And when she met and married Richard and John's father will Donald was still quite young, he came to look at Richard Smith's senior as his father.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Standing outside on the driveway, awaiting news he can only watch as a deputy exited the house, and slowly made his way towards him.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Smith informed him three bodies had been found inside, and the sweltering floor to heat.
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[SPEAKER_08]: The deputy offered to let Donald send the air conditioned cruiser.
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[SPEAKER_08]: His car, a nineteen seventy eight Lincoln town car, didn't have that option.
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[SPEAKER_08]: As crime scene technicians and detectives began arriving on the scene at not long after eleven thirty a.m.
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[SPEAKER_08]: One thing was very clear.
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[SPEAKER_08]: These deaths were not natural.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Dead bodies can't cover up themselves.
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[SPEAKER_08]: What had happened inside that quiet home was vicious, multiple murder.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Now the hunt was on to find their killer.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Within an hour of the body's being found, robbery homicide investigator, Matt and Finger, for this Gambia County Sheriff's Office, had asked to speak with Donald.
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[SPEAKER_08]: He was the only family member in the local area and detectives were keen to gain any information that they could about his family.
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[SPEAKER_08]: There last moments, and who might want to kill them.
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[SPEAKER_08]: This was a loving family, lived as simple and honest life.
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[SPEAKER_08]: Why anyone would enter their home and take their lives was a question.
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[SPEAKER_08]: that investigators were struggling with.
17:01.764 --> 17:09.151
[SPEAKER_08]: As he interviewed Donald, he started to get an uneasy feeling about him, a curious man with a serious gaze.
17:09.951 --> 17:13.895
[SPEAKER_08]: There was something about him in that interview room that didn't quite add up.
17:27.798 --> 17:53.612
[SPEAKER_02]: And now we're going to the London Shah Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London
17:55.581 --> 17:58.983
[SPEAKER_02]: There's a language, but it's called the language.
17:59.083 --> 18:00.904
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:02.205 --> 18:04.326
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:06.107 --> 18:07.548
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:07.668 --> 18:09.229
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:09.730 --> 18:13.552
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:13.572 --> 18:14.753
[UNKNOWN]: It's called the language.
18:16.273 --> 18:17.714
[UNKNOWN]: It's called the language.
18:17.854 --> 18:20.196
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:20.316 --> 18:21.477
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:24.323 --> 18:29.586
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:30.026 --> 18:33.447
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:33.908 --> 18:37.489
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:37.589 --> 18:40.411
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:40.491 --> 18:48.294
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:50.159 --> 19:00.246
[SPEAKER_02]: We're no longer in your mental health, because I don't want to see mental health, and for us all, we don't necessarily have to make sense to make it.
19:01.127 --> 19:12.936
[SPEAKER_02]: For that, all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us out here, we're just sitting and watching TV.
19:12.976 --> 19:18.600
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm going to show you how I'm sitting in this chair.
19:20.996 --> 19:23.337
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure.
19:23.437 --> 19:24.037
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure.
19:24.057 --> 19:30.400
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:32.020 --> 19:33.521
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about all of that.
19:33.541 --> 19:37.282
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:39.483 --> 19:40.924
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:42.665 --> 19:45.966
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:46.126 --> 19:48.687
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:49.825 --> 19:51.947
[SPEAKER_02]: And we shot in the map and we heard a drop in Washington.
19:51.967 --> 19:53.969
[SPEAKER_02]: And I didn't know if I'd be on the town.
19:53.989 --> 19:57.071
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
19:57.552 --> 19:58.612
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
19:58.632 --> 20:01.615
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:01.635 --> 20:03.777
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:03.797 --> 20:05.138
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:05.158 --> 20:07.200
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:07.220 --> 20:08.140
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:08.160 --> 20:09.121
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:09.141 --> 20:10.102
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:10.122 --> 20:11.603
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:11.623 --> 20:13.185
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:13.205 --> 20:15.447
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:15.467 --> 20:17.989
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:20.623 --> 20:23.704
[SPEAKER_02]: Your mother's friend was all in pain with you all.
20:24.865 --> 20:28.747
[SPEAKER_02]: And you should have done a lot of things in the old times of being here.
20:30.268 --> 20:31.568
[SPEAKER_02]: And you've done a very good thing.
20:31.588 --> 20:35.350
[SPEAKER_02]: You can find your mother's prepared yourself in this event.
20:35.390 --> 20:37.391
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:37.431 --> 20:40.052
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:40.652 --> 20:43.474
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:43.494 --> 20:45.635
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:46.692 --> 20:49.995
[SPEAKER_02]: You need to write down a little more time when you have three people that are out of space.
20:50.015 --> 20:51.417
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:51.437 --> 20:52.257
[SPEAKER_02]: You're the last one to see them.
20:52.277 --> 20:53.178
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:53.198 --> 20:54.059
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:54.079 --> 20:54.980
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:55.000 --> 20:55.921
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:55.941 --> 20:56.741
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:56.761 --> 20:57.542
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:57.582 --> 20:58.803
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:58.863 --> 20:59.884
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:59.964 --> 21:01.025
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:01.045 --> 21:02.026
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:02.126 --> 21:03.087
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:03.107 --> 21:03.988
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:04.008 --> 21:05.169
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:05.189 --> 21:06.731
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:06.771 --> 21:08.452
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:08.472 --> 21:09.453
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:11.879 --> 21:15.142
[SPEAKER_02]: And certainly speaking, all of you, John, your man, are alive.
21:15.522 --> 21:18.284
[UNKNOWN]: I think I'm going to shoot it.
21:18.304 --> 21:25.750
[SPEAKER_02]: I think you sit there and have another boss that I was having.
21:25.770 --> 21:27.752
[SPEAKER_02]: I said, I think I'm going to shoot right now.
21:27.772 --> 21:30.434
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not going to tell you why I'm going to change this on there.
21:30.774 --> 21:32.796
[SPEAKER_02]: I never use anyone that I think you do.
21:32.836 --> 21:36.339
[SPEAKER_02]: I think I'm going to tell you why they don't sit by you anymore.
21:36.959 --> 21:41.183
[SPEAKER_02]: And somebody's talking a little saying to you, children, you're involved in your brothers.
21:42.606 --> 21:45.088
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:45.128 --> 21:46.169
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:46.189 --> 21:47.410
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:47.430 --> 21:50.612
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:50.632 --> 21:52.273
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:52.293 --> 21:54.014
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:54.034 --> 21:57.277
[SPEAKER_08]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:57.357 --> 21:59.058
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
22:01.633 --> 22:07.976
[SPEAKER_08]: The response a person has when they discovered their family has been murdered does not fit a standard template.
22:08.556 --> 22:16.921
[SPEAKER_08]: We all handle tragedy differently, but a season detective has a nose for reaction and is out of place.
22:17.781 --> 22:20.683
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald Harton was setting off alarm bells.
22:21.523 --> 22:22.784
[SPEAKER_08]: He was setting them ringing.
22:23.505 --> 22:31.591
[SPEAKER_08]: After the interview ended, Donald returned to his home on Kondike Avenue, while investigations into his family's murder continued.
22:32.192 --> 22:38.837
[SPEAKER_08]: Whether he knew it or not, police were taking a much closer look at who he was and what he did with his life.
22:39.940 --> 22:43.541
[SPEAKER_08]: They applied for a search warrant for his home in his car.
22:44.381 --> 22:50.623
[SPEAKER_04]: Authorities in Pensacola, Florida, are investigating the brutal killings of three people found dead in a home.
22:51.484 --> 22:58.746
[SPEAKER_04]: The bodies of seventy-seven-year-old Von Sealsmith and her two adult sons, Richard and John Smith were discovered on Friday.
22:59.526 --> 23:05.788
[SPEAKER_04]: Sheriff David Morgan says a person of interest has been identified and authorities believe they've pinpointed the motive
23:06.328 --> 23:12.993
[SPEAKER_10]: initial research has led us to believe that there's a potential that it was a ritualistic killing.
23:14.033 --> 23:33.187
[SPEAKER_10]: The method of the murder, blunt force trauma, slit throats, positions of bodies, and then our person of interest has some ties to a faith and or religion
23:34.692 --> 23:35.693
[SPEAKER_10]: that is indicative of that.
23:35.773 --> 23:38.436
[SPEAKER_04]: Morgan points out there was no sign of robbery.
23:39.017 --> 23:42.301
[SPEAKER_04]: Investigators believe the three were killed on July twenty eight.
23:43.022 --> 23:47.767
[SPEAKER_04]: Morgan says if it was a ritualistic killing, timing appears to be a factor.
23:47.787 --> 23:53.374
[SPEAKER_10]: The time of death we believe on Tuesday also coincides with what's referred to as a blue moon.
23:54.139 --> 23:55.400
[SPEAKER_10]: which occurs every three years.
23:55.720 --> 23:57.220
[SPEAKER_10]: It's witchcraft.
23:57.501 --> 23:58.681
[SPEAKER_10]: I'll say that right now.
23:58.881 --> 24:02.063
[SPEAKER_04]: One of the victims was employed by the Department of Homeland Security.
24:02.503 --> 24:05.104
[SPEAKER_04]: He worked at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.
24:05.605 --> 24:10.407
[SPEAKER_04]: However, investigators have determined that the killings have no connection to national security.
24:12.418 --> 24:14.039
[SPEAKER_08]: And that's it for this episode.
24:14.059 --> 24:16.720
[SPEAKER_08]: This is the first part, please.
24:17.200 --> 24:20.202
[SPEAKER_08]: As always, don't look up spoilers for this episode.
24:20.742 --> 24:28.526
[SPEAKER_08]: This one is for all the listeners that don't particularly love the heavy source audio episodes and they want some stronger scripts.
24:29.286 --> 24:30.087
[SPEAKER_08]: This is for you.
24:31.127 --> 24:33.488
[SPEAKER_08]: Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
24:33.508 --> 24:36.970
[SPEAKER_08]: I thank you for listening and keep the fire burning.
00:02.673 --> 00:05.034
[SPEAKER_08]: We are all creatures of habit and routine.
00:05.775 --> 00:10.057
[SPEAKER_08]: We gravitate towards patterns and decisions that we can rinse and repeat.
00:10.737 --> 00:14.880
[SPEAKER_08]: We like to keep ourselves within the colorful outlines drawn around our lives.
00:15.800 --> 00:20.643
[SPEAKER_08]: Boundaries either weave defined for ourselves or someone has defined for us.
00:21.404 --> 00:22.565
[SPEAKER_08]: What grabs attention?
00:23.085 --> 00:24.166
[SPEAKER_08]: What makes a stop?
00:24.506 --> 00:25.167
[SPEAKER_08]: Look around.
00:25.667 --> 00:26.187
[SPEAKER_08]: Question.
00:26.768 --> 00:28.849
[SPEAKER_08]: Is that moment when the lines are crossed?
00:29.770 --> 00:32.252
[SPEAKER_08]: A regular routine is broken or a schedule.
00:32.752 --> 00:33.713
[SPEAKER_08]: Always adhered to.
00:33.733 --> 00:35.894
[SPEAKER_08]: This left silent and wanting.
00:36.955 --> 00:38.696
[SPEAKER_08]: That's when the red flags go up.
00:39.237 --> 00:42.499
[SPEAKER_08]: And a spotlight swings around highlighting one area.
00:43.479 --> 00:46.742
[SPEAKER_08]: Suddenly, all eyes are in that same direction.
00:47.462 --> 00:49.284
[SPEAKER_08]: And they don't always like what they see.
00:50.438 --> 00:55.119
[SPEAKER_08]: Most of the time, there are innocent and simple answers to unexpected events.
00:55.920 --> 01:01.161
[SPEAKER_08]: But there are those occasions when the answers aren't straightforward or forthcoming.
01:02.141 --> 01:06.102
[SPEAKER_08]: When that happens, it's almost always because of human intervention.
01:06.903 --> 01:08.323
[SPEAKER_08]: And that only means one thing.
01:09.123 --> 01:15.185
[SPEAKER_08]: It means that when the answers do come, they are covered in blood, in anguish, and in tragedy.
01:15.927 --> 01:18.049
[SPEAKER_05]: You can see that there's trauma here.
01:18.129 --> 01:22.212
[SPEAKER_05]: It looks like the tip of her pinky has been dramatically amputated.
01:23.653 --> 01:26.516
[SPEAKER_05]: In my opinion, it could have been a hammer.
01:27.076 --> 01:35.803
[SPEAKER_05]: It could have been something that may not be that sharp, maybe a dull knife or a pair of scissors, or even a flathead screwdriver.
01:38.025 --> 01:44.290
[SPEAKER_00]: And the piece of the pinky that's missing, what is going to happen to it over a period of
01:44.888 --> 01:45.429
[SPEAKER_00]: several days.
01:45.869 --> 01:50.815
[SPEAKER_05]: It will, if it's left at room temperature without fluid, it dries up and shrinks.
01:50.975 --> 01:58.684
[SPEAKER_05]: Just like if you drop a little piece of chicken on your floor, you find it a month later and you can barely recognize it.
02:00.582 --> 02:21.375
[SPEAKER_08]: Listener, the story I'm about to tell you is about greed, power, and control, exert it in the coldest way imaginable, on a normal day in July, two thousand fifteen, in a Skambia County, Florida, three members of the same family got up in the morning, and set about their daily routine.
02:22.155 --> 02:26.078
[SPEAKER_08]: They didn't know the brutality that was going to be rained on them.
02:27.058 --> 02:29.860
[SPEAKER_08]: Snatching away their lives before the day was done.
02:30.700 --> 02:34.081
[SPEAKER_08]: Their killer crept around them silent and deadly.
02:34.842 --> 02:39.744
[SPEAKER_08]: Yet, they did so in plain sight, with chilling confidence and indifference.
02:40.604 --> 02:48.968
[SPEAKER_08]: There were multiple lives ferociously and savagely taken inside the walls of the one place they should have been safe and protected.
02:50.070 --> 02:54.631
[SPEAKER_08]: The acts of this killer were ruthless and calculated, pre-planned.
02:55.251 --> 03:03.892
[SPEAKER_08]: It would be, however, his own arrogance, his own schedules and behavior patterns that ultimately would be his downfall.
03:04.913 --> 03:05.353
[SPEAKER_08]: All right.
03:06.293 --> 03:07.273
[SPEAKER_08]: Let's get on with it.
03:12.094 --> 03:12.854
[SPEAKER_07]: Welcome, listener.
03:13.754 --> 03:14.674
[SPEAKER_07]: I'm glad you're here.
03:15.695 --> 03:16.195
[SPEAKER_07]: Take a seat.
03:16.995 --> 03:17.755
[SPEAKER_07]: Next to the fire.
03:21.379 --> 03:25.269
[SPEAKER_09]: Welcome to Obscura, where we shine a light on the dark.
03:51.542 --> 04:00.870
[SPEAKER_08]: It was one hundred degrees outside in the Pensacola Sun in Florida, as how McCord arrived at four, six, oh five, deer field drive on Friday.
04:01.311 --> 04:03.993
[SPEAKER_08]: July, thirty first, two thousand fifteen.
04:04.874 --> 04:08.137
[SPEAKER_08]: How was a supervisor at the Department of Homeland Security?
04:08.937 --> 04:17.044
[SPEAKER_08]: One of the most dependable staff members had not turned up for work for the last two days, not the Naval Air Station, where they were based.
04:17.825 --> 04:24.748
[SPEAKER_08]: Richard Thomas Smith was forty-nine years old, six-foot-five, and a computer specialist in the department.
04:25.489 --> 04:31.852
[SPEAKER_08]: Known as RT, he was a well-built guy with a personality respected and loved amongst his colleagues.
04:32.412 --> 04:38.295
[SPEAKER_08]: He should have been in the office on Thursday and Friday, but he hadn't arrived for either shift.
04:38.795 --> 04:40.435
[SPEAKER_08]: Phone calls went unanswered.
04:40.996 --> 04:43.077
[SPEAKER_08]: Text messages had no read receipt.
04:43.797 --> 04:46.600
[SPEAKER_08]: How had never been out to Richard's home before?
04:47.240 --> 04:50.463
[SPEAKER_08]: But that day, he knew he had to see what was going on.
04:51.124 --> 04:53.987
[SPEAKER_08]: Richard had lived at Deerfield Drive for twenty-seven years.
04:54.667 --> 05:00.092
[SPEAKER_08]: He lived with a seventy-eight-year-old mother, Von Seel Smith, and his brother, John Smith.
05:00.793 --> 05:02.615
[SPEAKER_08]: It was just two years younger than him.
05:03.316 --> 05:07.942
[SPEAKER_08]: The three were a close-knit family, and Richard was the one who took care of everything.
05:07.962 --> 05:10.845
[SPEAKER_08]: It made sure that they had what they needed.
05:11.326 --> 05:18.334
[SPEAKER_08]: The one story modern red brick home with white shutters at the windows sat parallel to the road in a quiet neighborhood.
05:19.240 --> 05:22.783
[SPEAKER_08]: It was a circular route, with one way in and one way out.
05:23.343 --> 05:27.927
[SPEAKER_08]: Mind with mature trees decorating the homes, spread out across the land.
05:28.587 --> 05:32.770
[SPEAKER_08]: Each house had spacious yards, and lots of space in between them.
05:33.291 --> 05:35.893
[SPEAKER_08]: It looked like a well-capped and pleasant area to live in.
05:36.433 --> 05:38.576
[SPEAKER_08]: Hal arrived on that Friday morning.
05:38.957 --> 05:45.326
[SPEAKER_08]: Just after night AM, he parked up next to the two cars parked outside the side door of the house.
05:46.208 --> 05:49.192
[SPEAKER_08]: The White SUV minivan, he recognizes Richards.
05:50.005 --> 05:53.366
[SPEAKER_08]: how knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.
05:54.046 --> 05:58.627
[SPEAKER_08]: Three miles away, in a small wooden house, on Kondike Road.
05:59.288 --> 06:02.869
[SPEAKER_08]: Fifty-eight-year-old Donald Harton was in bed asleep.
06:03.829 --> 06:14.452
[SPEAKER_08]: He lived alone with just his dog, a small boxer called Zina, Donald had a thirty-five-year-old son, Donald Wayne Harton Jr., who lived in Virginia.
06:15.232 --> 06:18.074
[SPEAKER_08]: He had separated from his wife when Donald Jr.
06:18.114 --> 06:18.934
[SPEAKER_08]: was a teenager.
06:19.855 --> 06:22.877
[SPEAKER_08]: The relationship between father and son was strained.
06:23.738 --> 06:28.419
[SPEAKER_08]: They didn't talk often, and hadn't seen each other in person since Donald Jr.
06:28.459 --> 06:30.099
[SPEAKER_08]: was around seventeen years old.
06:30.679 --> 06:31.459
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald Sr.
06:31.499 --> 06:35.760
[SPEAKER_08]: worked as a security guard at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
06:36.540 --> 06:42.401
[SPEAKER_08]: About twenty-five minutes away from his home by car, he didn't start his shifts until three p.m.
06:42.421 --> 06:45.162
[SPEAKER_08]: and used the mornings to catch up on his sleeve.
06:45.922 --> 06:50.583
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald was Von Seel Smith's eldest son and half brother to Richard and John.
06:51.623 --> 06:56.009
[SPEAKER_08]: As he slept that morning, he had no idea how was outside his family's home.
06:56.610 --> 07:00.074
[SPEAKER_08]: Still not able to get an answer from any of his family members.
07:00.575 --> 07:07.123
[SPEAKER_08]: Back at Deerfield Drive, how went and spoke with the neighbors, trying to establish where his employee might be.
07:07.143 --> 07:08.925
[SPEAKER_08]: No one knew anything.
07:09.566 --> 07:14.632
[SPEAKER_08]: How called nine one one and requested deputies attend the address for a welfare check.
07:15.513 --> 07:16.914
[SPEAKER_08]: Something was very wrong.
07:17.775 --> 07:22.420
[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Andrew Smith of the Ascambia County Sheriff's Office got notified of the call.
07:23.279 --> 07:26.684
[SPEAKER_08]: He made his way to the house and arrived at nine, fifty three a.m.
07:26.704 --> 07:33.834
[SPEAKER_08]: A few minutes later, Deputy Darrell Singleton and Sergeant Neesmith also arrived at the residence.
07:34.775 --> 07:39.762
[SPEAKER_08]: How gave Deputy Smith the family contact details he had on his work files for Richard.
07:40.783 --> 07:45.944
[SPEAKER_08]: Aside from his mom and brother, the only other family member locally was Donald Hardton.
07:46.705 --> 07:53.026
[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Smith went back to his cruiser and used the in-car computer to look up Donald's details and his address.
07:53.646 --> 07:58.507
[SPEAKER_08]: Before he could enter this property that check inside, he needed permission from a family member.
07:59.148 --> 08:04.209
[SPEAKER_08]: He also wanted to know if Donald had a key for his family's house, so they could open the door.
08:05.149 --> 08:07.892
[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Smith drove to Donald's house and welcome up.
08:08.512 --> 08:12.096
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald told him he had last seen his family on Tuesday of that week.
08:12.896 --> 08:15.599
[SPEAKER_08]: He always went over on Tuesdays to cook them a dinner.
08:16.360 --> 08:18.281
[SPEAKER_08]: He said he didn't see Richard that week.
08:18.982 --> 08:25.528
[SPEAKER_08]: Richard often worked late at the naval base, and Donald had most of the time left before he came home.
08:26.069 --> 08:28.030
[SPEAKER_08]: He left Richard's dinner in the oven for him.
08:28.791 --> 08:32.774
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald told the deputy, he didn't understand why there was no answer at the door.
08:33.355 --> 08:36.597
[SPEAKER_08]: He had never needed a key to the house as his mother was always home.
08:37.278 --> 08:38.198
[SPEAKER_08]: She should be there.
08:38.879 --> 08:42.922
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald got dressed and followed the deputy to his mom's house and his own vehicle.
08:43.602 --> 08:51.629
[SPEAKER_08]: After trying to call his mom at the deputies request and getting no answer, Donald signed the form given written permission for officers to enter the house.
08:52.370 --> 08:57.459
[SPEAKER_08]: WD Swift called EMS in the fire service to help them gain entry without breaking down the door.
08:58.040 --> 09:02.047
[SPEAKER_08]: EMS used a credit card to shimmy the walk on the back door to the property.
09:03.596 --> 09:09.241
[SPEAKER_01]: So as we walk in the back door, I made a little smell of very foul odor similar to a dead body.
09:10.362 --> 09:17.168
[SPEAKER_01]: We walked in, we ended up going towards the right of the residence, which was through the living room and the kitchen and down the hallway.
09:17.188 --> 09:22.813
[SPEAKER_01]: I know I saw a small white dog and it was like dog feces on the ground.
09:22.834 --> 09:24.355
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we went down the hallway.
09:24.375 --> 09:26.837
[SPEAKER_01]: We still weren't sure if there was maybe
09:27.738 --> 09:37.346
[SPEAKER_01]: So one actually in the residence and we smelled an overwhelming smell of a dead body, but we wanted to go back and check the other side of the residence first just to make sure there wasn't anyone over there.
09:37.927 --> 09:41.330
[SPEAKER_01]: Back to where we initially made entrance into the left.
09:41.750 --> 09:44.212
[SPEAKER_01]: There was a laundry room with a door that was closed.
09:45.073 --> 09:50.137
[SPEAKER_01]: As I opened the door, I immediately saw blood spatter on some cardboard boxes that were sitting up on a bed.
09:51.598 --> 10:14.273
[SPEAKER_01]: and then on the floor directly in front of me there was like a large mass of like clothing and blankets so do the blood spatter I put on some gloves and then I started to peel back the clothing and the blankets and as I started to peel it back I saw a large shoe it looked on to be on like a white man's body I touched the ankle it was cold and then there was another large mass to my right
10:15.414 --> 10:16.735
[SPEAKER_01]: It was like on like a love seat.
10:17.235 --> 10:18.096
[SPEAKER_01]: So I did the same.
10:18.576 --> 10:21.157
[SPEAKER_01]: I started peeling the clothing back and the blankets.
10:21.677 --> 10:23.238
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a bare white foot.
10:23.378 --> 10:24.979
[SPEAKER_01]: It also appeared to be a male.
10:25.699 --> 10:26.220
[SPEAKER_01]: I touched it.
10:26.340 --> 10:28.221
[SPEAKER_01]: It was cold and there was a little bit of the present.
10:29.081 --> 10:34.264
[SPEAKER_01]: Due to the previous smell that we had encountered in the hallway, we went back to the other end of the residence.
10:35.324 --> 10:36.204
[SPEAKER_01]: Went down the hallway.
10:36.425 --> 10:38.165
[SPEAKER_01]: There was another bedroom door that was closed.
10:39.046 --> 10:40.467
[SPEAKER_01]: So we opened up that door.
10:41.685 --> 10:48.150
[SPEAKER_01]: And there was a huge mound of clothing and blankets on the floor of that bedroom.
10:48.971 --> 10:49.732
[SPEAKER_01]: I did the same thing.
10:49.752 --> 10:52.014
[SPEAKER_01]: I started just slowly peeling back a little bit.
10:53.155 --> 10:57.678
[SPEAKER_01]: I saw a, it appeared to be like an elderly female's hand.
10:57.698 --> 10:58.659
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a white female.
10:59.680 --> 11:00.100
[SPEAKER_01]: Touched it.
11:00.160 --> 11:00.741
[SPEAKER_01]: It was cold.
11:00.861 --> 11:02.382
[SPEAKER_01]: There were some live editing in the fingers.
11:02.863 --> 11:05.085
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I had pronounced her out approximately eleven, seventeen.
11:05.905 --> 11:07.625
[SPEAKER_01]: We back out of the residence.
11:08.206 --> 11:16.968
[SPEAKER_01]: My supervisor, I believe, had already contacted investigations in crime scene, so they were already on the way, and we just backed out of the residence and waited for them to arrive.
11:17.648 --> 11:21.489
[SPEAKER_08]: Three bodies had been found inside the house on dear field drive.
11:22.029 --> 11:26.410
[SPEAKER_08]: Three bodies that were in all probability, vansil, Richard, and John Smith.
11:27.235 --> 11:36.742
[SPEAKER_08]: Blood spatter was evident, and all three victims had been covered up with numerous items of clothing, blankets, and rugs before the killer left their home.
11:37.603 --> 11:50.553
[SPEAKER_08]: Inside a bedroom believed to be Richards was a safe with its door left open, multiple envelopes were inside, containing different sums of money, totaling thirteen thousand six hundred and fifty one dollars.
11:50.964 --> 11:53.647
[SPEAKER_06]: All right, this is a bizarre story out of Florida.
11:54.067 --> 11:58.431
[SPEAKER_06]: Three people are found brutally murdered in their homes, but here's where it gets strange.
11:58.812 --> 12:06.359
[SPEAKER_06]: Police say the killing may be connected to witchcraft and has something to do with a rare, blue, moon, forty-eight hours crime cited reporter.
12:06.439 --> 12:08.441
[SPEAKER_06]: Julia Doll is here with me to talk about this.
12:08.822 --> 12:09.643
[SPEAKER_06]: Thanks for being here, Julia.
12:09.663 --> 12:10.724
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you for having me.
12:10.824 --> 12:11.765
[SPEAKER_06]: So, fill us in on this case.
12:12.205 --> 12:12.405
[SPEAKER_03]: Right.
12:12.465 --> 12:19.867
[SPEAKER_03]: So on Friday, police in Pensacola, Florida, found the bodies of three people, a seventy seven year old woman and her two grown sons inside their home.
12:20.307 --> 12:26.069
[SPEAKER_03]: All three had suffered blunt force trauma and had their throat slit and one of the sons had been shot in the head.
12:27.189 --> 12:30.870
[SPEAKER_03]: The Sheriff on Tuesday said that he thinks that one of the murder weapons was a claw hammer.
12:31.483 --> 12:33.644
[SPEAKER_03]: and that each victim suffered multiple blows.
12:33.684 --> 12:45.148
[SPEAKER_03]: He also said that he believes the family was actually killed three days earlier on Tuesday and that both sons were tall men who would have been very physically intimidating, but that there was no sign of forced entry.
12:45.448 --> 12:57.013
[SPEAKER_03]: But what's got everybody talking about this is that yesterday at a press conference, the share of said that they were investigating the possibility that these killings were ritualistic in nature and might have been connected to Fridays blue moon.
12:57.832 --> 13:01.858
[SPEAKER_10]: initial research has led us to believe that there's a potential that it was a ritualistic killing.
13:02.198 --> 13:09.268
[SPEAKER_10]: Our person of interest has some ties to a faith and or religion.
13:10.766 --> 13:11.786
[SPEAKER_10]: that is indicative of that.
13:12.127 --> 13:13.607
[SPEAKER_10]: It's witchcraft.
13:14.188 --> 13:15.008
[SPEAKER_10]: I'll say that right now.
13:30.735 --> 13:33.277
[SPEAKER_08]: Trinkets and clothes hanging on rails.
13:33.737 --> 13:36.019
[SPEAKER_08]: Bonnie didn't have many clothes as a child.
13:36.279 --> 13:37.500
[SPEAKER_08]: She had once told Donald.
13:37.801 --> 13:42.805
[SPEAKER_08]: There was always a steady stream of packages arriving at the house from her QVC purchases.
13:43.465 --> 13:45.307
[SPEAKER_08]: On sale was a kind and loving woman.
13:45.907 --> 13:48.469
[SPEAKER_08]: Her niece is called her, their favorite auntie.
13:48.949 --> 13:51.151
[SPEAKER_08]: As she got older, she had become frailer.
13:51.812 --> 13:59.278
[SPEAKER_08]: In two thousand twelve, her husband, a forty-seven years, Richard Smith's senior, had died after suffering from Parkinson's.
14:00.380 --> 14:00.820
[SPEAKER_08]: R.T.
14:01.021 --> 14:02.642
[SPEAKER_08]: had provided care for his father.
14:03.322 --> 14:07.626
[SPEAKER_08]: Now he cared for his mother, making sure she was looked after and safe.
14:08.326 --> 14:13.811
[SPEAKER_08]: She had recently fallen in after standing up from her or a cleaner, and was bruised but otherwise uningered.
14:14.577 --> 14:22.324
[SPEAKER_08]: Richard installed some security cameras inside the house, so he could check in on her using a cell phone while he was at work.
14:22.804 --> 14:29.770
[SPEAKER_08]: Richard was a loving son who gave up much of his time to care for his mom, and make sure his younger brother John was okay.
14:30.211 --> 14:37.057
[SPEAKER_08]: John Smith was forty-seven years old, and he worked at the Walmart Super Center on Mobile Highway at Pensacola.
14:37.617 --> 14:42.581
[SPEAKER_08]: He had been there almost twenty-five years, getting the post right after the store had first opened.
14:43.101 --> 14:46.164
[SPEAKER_08]: He collected cards and helped with keeping the shelves stocked.
14:46.644 --> 14:51.508
[SPEAKER_08]: John was shy and quiet, mad a smile and a friendly word for everyone.
14:52.429 --> 15:01.316
[SPEAKER_08]: Sometimes described as special needs, John hadn't developed as quickly as his older brother, and both Richard and Von Seel were protective of him.
15:01.816 --> 15:05.879
[SPEAKER_08]: His colleagues were very fond of him, as were many of his customers.
15:06.699 --> 15:08.240
[SPEAKER_08]: John didn't drive himself.
15:08.941 --> 15:11.482
[SPEAKER_08]: Vanceil was worried he might have an accident.
15:12.183 --> 15:18.227
[SPEAKER_08]: Richard got up extra early to drive John to work, and made sure he was there to pick him up after work too.
15:18.627 --> 15:24.531
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald Hartun was a son of Vanceil, a given birth to, when she was just eighteen years old.
15:24.891 --> 15:27.413
[SPEAKER_08]: His father had left only weeks into his life.
15:28.073 --> 15:30.077
[SPEAKER_08]: and Von Cill had raised him on her own.
15:30.097 --> 15:38.734
[SPEAKER_08]: And when she met and married Richard and John's father will Donald was still quite young, he came to look at Richard Smith's senior as his father.
15:39.893 --> 15:48.303
[SPEAKER_08]: Standing outside on the driveway, awaiting news he can only watch as a deputy exited the house, and slowly made his way towards him.
15:48.864 --> 15:54.310
[SPEAKER_08]: Deputy Smith informed him three bodies had been found inside, and the sweltering floor to heat.
15:54.791 --> 15:58.255
[SPEAKER_08]: The deputy offered to let Donald send the air conditioned cruiser.
15:59.036 --> 16:04.020
[SPEAKER_08]: His car, a nineteen seventy eight Lincoln town car, didn't have that option.
16:04.661 --> 16:10.365
[SPEAKER_08]: As crime scene technicians and detectives began arriving on the scene at not long after eleven thirty a.m.
16:11.146 --> 16:12.487
[SPEAKER_08]: One thing was very clear.
16:13.467 --> 16:15.529
[SPEAKER_08]: These deaths were not natural.
16:16.390 --> 16:18.752
[SPEAKER_08]: Dead bodies can't cover up themselves.
16:19.512 --> 16:23.736
[SPEAKER_08]: What had happened inside that quiet home was vicious, multiple murder.
16:24.895 --> 16:28.279
[SPEAKER_08]: Now the hunt was on to find their killer.
16:29.152 --> 16:39.135
[SPEAKER_08]: Within an hour of the body's being found, robbery homicide investigator, Matt and Finger, for this Gambia County Sheriff's Office, had asked to speak with Donald.
16:39.696 --> 16:46.898
[SPEAKER_08]: He was the only family member in the local area and detectives were keen to gain any information that they could about his family.
16:47.378 --> 16:50.119
[SPEAKER_08]: There last moments, and who might want to kill them.
16:50.639 --> 16:54.280
[SPEAKER_08]: This was a loving family, lived as simple and honest life.
16:54.801 --> 16:58.242
[SPEAKER_08]: Why anyone would enter their home and take their lives was a question.
16:58.922 --> 17:01.204
[SPEAKER_08]: that investigators were struggling with.
17:01.764 --> 17:09.151
[SPEAKER_08]: As he interviewed Donald, he started to get an uneasy feeling about him, a curious man with a serious gaze.
17:09.951 --> 17:13.895
[SPEAKER_08]: There was something about him in that interview room that didn't quite add up.
17:27.798 --> 17:53.612
[SPEAKER_02]: And now we're going to the London Shah Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, the London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London Shah, London
17:55.581 --> 17:58.983
[SPEAKER_02]: There's a language, but it's called the language.
17:59.083 --> 18:00.904
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:02.205 --> 18:04.326
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:06.107 --> 18:07.548
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:07.668 --> 18:09.229
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:09.730 --> 18:13.552
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:13.572 --> 18:14.753
[UNKNOWN]: It's called the language.
18:16.273 --> 18:17.714
[UNKNOWN]: It's called the language.
18:17.854 --> 18:20.196
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:20.316 --> 18:21.477
[SPEAKER_02]: It's called the language.
18:24.323 --> 18:29.586
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:30.026 --> 18:33.447
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:33.908 --> 18:37.489
[UNKNOWN]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:37.589 --> 18:40.411
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:40.491 --> 18:48.294
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to follow that piece of paper.
18:50.159 --> 19:00.246
[SPEAKER_02]: We're no longer in your mental health, because I don't want to see mental health, and for us all, we don't necessarily have to make sense to make it.
19:01.127 --> 19:12.936
[SPEAKER_02]: For that, all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us, all of us out here, we're just sitting and watching TV.
19:12.976 --> 19:18.600
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm going to show you how I'm sitting in this chair.
19:20.996 --> 19:23.337
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure.
19:23.437 --> 19:24.037
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure.
19:24.057 --> 19:30.400
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:32.020 --> 19:33.521
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about all of that.
19:33.541 --> 19:37.282
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:39.483 --> 19:40.924
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:42.665 --> 19:45.966
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:46.126 --> 19:48.687
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not sure about what you mean.
19:49.825 --> 19:51.947
[SPEAKER_02]: And we shot in the map and we heard a drop in Washington.
19:51.967 --> 19:53.969
[SPEAKER_02]: And I didn't know if I'd be on the town.
19:53.989 --> 19:57.071
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
19:57.552 --> 19:58.612
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
19:58.632 --> 20:01.615
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:01.635 --> 20:03.777
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:03.797 --> 20:05.138
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:05.158 --> 20:07.200
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:07.220 --> 20:08.140
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:08.160 --> 20:09.121
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:09.141 --> 20:10.102
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:10.122 --> 20:11.603
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:11.623 --> 20:13.185
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:13.205 --> 20:15.447
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:15.467 --> 20:17.989
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how to dance.
20:20.623 --> 20:23.704
[SPEAKER_02]: Your mother's friend was all in pain with you all.
20:24.865 --> 20:28.747
[SPEAKER_02]: And you should have done a lot of things in the old times of being here.
20:30.268 --> 20:31.568
[SPEAKER_02]: And you've done a very good thing.
20:31.588 --> 20:35.350
[SPEAKER_02]: You can find your mother's prepared yourself in this event.
20:35.390 --> 20:37.391
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:37.431 --> 20:40.052
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:40.652 --> 20:43.474
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:43.494 --> 20:45.635
[SPEAKER_02]: They should have prepared yourself in this event.
20:46.692 --> 20:49.995
[SPEAKER_02]: You need to write down a little more time when you have three people that are out of space.
20:50.015 --> 20:51.417
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:51.437 --> 20:52.257
[SPEAKER_02]: You're the last one to see them.
20:52.277 --> 20:53.178
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:53.198 --> 20:54.059
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:54.079 --> 20:54.980
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:55.000 --> 20:55.921
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:55.941 --> 20:56.741
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:56.761 --> 20:57.542
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:57.582 --> 20:58.803
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:58.863 --> 20:59.884
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
20:59.964 --> 21:01.025
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:01.045 --> 21:02.026
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:02.126 --> 21:03.087
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:03.107 --> 21:03.988
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:04.008 --> 21:05.169
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:05.189 --> 21:06.731
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:06.771 --> 21:08.452
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:08.472 --> 21:09.453
[SPEAKER_02]: You're going to throw them anywhere.
21:11.879 --> 21:15.142
[SPEAKER_02]: And certainly speaking, all of you, John, your man, are alive.
21:15.522 --> 21:18.284
[UNKNOWN]: I think I'm going to shoot it.
21:18.304 --> 21:25.750
[SPEAKER_02]: I think you sit there and have another boss that I was having.
21:25.770 --> 21:27.752
[SPEAKER_02]: I said, I think I'm going to shoot right now.
21:27.772 --> 21:30.434
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not going to tell you why I'm going to change this on there.
21:30.774 --> 21:32.796
[SPEAKER_02]: I never use anyone that I think you do.
21:32.836 --> 21:36.339
[SPEAKER_02]: I think I'm going to tell you why they don't sit by you anymore.
21:36.959 --> 21:41.183
[SPEAKER_02]: And somebody's talking a little saying to you, children, you're involved in your brothers.
21:42.606 --> 21:45.088
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:45.128 --> 21:46.169
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:46.189 --> 21:47.410
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:47.430 --> 21:50.612
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:50.632 --> 21:52.273
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:52.293 --> 21:54.014
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:54.034 --> 21:57.277
[SPEAKER_08]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
21:57.357 --> 21:59.058
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'll be mad as far as I can.
22:01.633 --> 22:07.976
[SPEAKER_08]: The response a person has when they discovered their family has been murdered does not fit a standard template.
22:08.556 --> 22:16.921
[SPEAKER_08]: We all handle tragedy differently, but a season detective has a nose for reaction and is out of place.
22:17.781 --> 22:20.683
[SPEAKER_08]: Donald Harton was setting off alarm bells.
22:21.523 --> 22:22.784
[SPEAKER_08]: He was setting them ringing.
22:23.505 --> 22:31.591
[SPEAKER_08]: After the interview ended, Donald returned to his home on Kondike Avenue, while investigations into his family's murder continued.
22:32.192 --> 22:38.837
[SPEAKER_08]: Whether he knew it or not, police were taking a much closer look at who he was and what he did with his life.
22:39.940 --> 22:43.541
[SPEAKER_08]: They applied for a search warrant for his home in his car.
22:44.381 --> 22:50.623
[SPEAKER_04]: Authorities in Pensacola, Florida, are investigating the brutal killings of three people found dead in a home.
22:51.484 --> 22:58.746
[SPEAKER_04]: The bodies of seventy-seven-year-old Von Sealsmith and her two adult sons, Richard and John Smith were discovered on Friday.
22:59.526 --> 23:05.788
[SPEAKER_04]: Sheriff David Morgan says a person of interest has been identified and authorities believe they've pinpointed the motive
23:06.328 --> 23:12.993
[SPEAKER_10]: initial research has led us to believe that there's a potential that it was a ritualistic killing.
23:14.033 --> 23:33.187
[SPEAKER_10]: The method of the murder, blunt force trauma, slit throats, positions of bodies, and then our person of interest has some ties to a faith and or religion
23:34.692 --> 23:35.693
[SPEAKER_10]: that is indicative of that.
23:35.773 --> 23:38.436
[SPEAKER_04]: Morgan points out there was no sign of robbery.
23:39.017 --> 23:42.301
[SPEAKER_04]: Investigators believe the three were killed on July twenty eight.
23:43.022 --> 23:47.767
[SPEAKER_04]: Morgan says if it was a ritualistic killing, timing appears to be a factor.
23:47.787 --> 23:53.374
[SPEAKER_10]: The time of death we believe on Tuesday also coincides with what's referred to as a blue moon.
23:54.139 --> 23:55.400
[SPEAKER_10]: which occurs every three years.
23:55.720 --> 23:57.220
[SPEAKER_10]: It's witchcraft.
23:57.501 --> 23:58.681
[SPEAKER_10]: I'll say that right now.
23:58.881 --> 24:02.063
[SPEAKER_04]: One of the victims was employed by the Department of Homeland Security.
24:02.503 --> 24:05.104
[SPEAKER_04]: He worked at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.
24:05.605 --> 24:10.407
[SPEAKER_04]: However, investigators have determined that the killings have no connection to national security.
24:12.418 --> 24:14.039
[SPEAKER_08]: And that's it for this episode.
24:14.059 --> 24:16.720
[SPEAKER_08]: This is the first part, please.
24:17.200 --> 24:20.202
[SPEAKER_08]: As always, don't look up spoilers for this episode.
24:20.742 --> 24:28.526
[SPEAKER_08]: This one is for all the listeners that don't particularly love the heavy source audio episodes and they want some stronger scripts.
24:29.286 --> 24:30.087
[SPEAKER_08]: This is for you.
24:31.127 --> 24:33.488
[SPEAKER_08]: Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's episode.
24:33.508 --> 24:36.970
[SPEAKER_08]: I thank you for listening and keep the fire burning.
