# 257: Paige Birgfeld

An episode of [Morbidology](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1463979546), 20 May 2024, 56 min.

Audio: https://prefix.up.audio/s/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/s.gum.fm/s-610c47a4222ada0024acb2d8/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/2IMk17EdnEqyRhJTIpIU/claritaspod.com/measure/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/59665260/morbidology_257_paige_birgfeld.mp3

In 2007, in Grand Junction, Colorado, an eight-year-old girl grew increasingly frustrated with her mother one night. Her mother had assured her she'd be home early after numerous late nights at work. However, as darkness fell over the area, her mother still hadn't returned... SPONSORS - Prose: Prose offers custom skincare and haircare, tailored to your specific needs. They are offering 50% off your first order at: https://prose.com/morbidology SmartLabels: Say goodbye to the headache of misplaced items & hello to streamlined organization with SmartLabels. Just search “SmartLabels” on Amazon, buy their QR labels & then download their app! Winona: Winona is a network of OBGYN health professionals that provide physician-prescribed bioidentical HRT. Get 25% off your firsrt order with promo code “MORBIDOLOY” at: https://bywinona.com/morbidology SHOW NOTES - https://morbidology-the-podcast-257-paige-birgfeld PATREON - https://www.patreon.com/morbidology YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/morbidology Audio Credit: Epidemic Sound Evening of Chaos - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Empty Reflections - ErikMMusic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgq4SPKHlyI A Mothers Sacrifice - OurMusicBox - https://ourmusicbox.com/ Dark Tranquility - Anno Domini Beats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6mBav72Ak Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/morbidology--3527306/support.

## Transcript

[0:02] The Troubles is a name generally attributed to the thirty year period of violence in
[0:05] Northern Ireland, which saw multiple sides and organizations waging war against each other.
[0:11] There were bombings, shootings, assassinations, sniper attacks, human bombs ORPG attacks,
[0:17] and many many stories of an informers, spies and double agents. The
[0:23] Troubles Podcast is a multi award winning podcast that explains the events that occurred during
[0:28] this time, devoting one episode to each incident. It's a non partisan,
[0:33] historical true crime podcast that explores the motivations and planning behind the attacks, the
[0:38] fallout, and victims who were caught up in the violence, and then follows
[0:42] the investigation to see if the attackers were ever caught. It's a great entry
[0:47] point for those who want to learn more about this volatile period in history.
[0:51] It also features interviews from some of the people who were directly involved in this
[0:55] period, including the seminal journalist Peter Taylor and the inspirational Richard Moore, who
[1:00] was blinded by a rubber bullet as a child. I've also spoken to ex
[1:03] soldiers and ex paramilitaries. With over sixty episodes, there are plenty to get
[1:08] lost in the Troubles podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks had
[1:49] been trying to get her back on the phone and I just wasn't working,
[1:55] and we weren't really sure what to do. At the time. We were
[1:57] very young and Grand Junction is a city located in the heart of Colorado's western
[2:08] slope. The city es steeped in history, having initially been settled by the
[2:14] Ute people who thrived on the fertile valleys and abundant wildlife. Then in the
[2:19] nineteenth century, the area saw an influx of European settlers who were drawn by
[2:23] the promise of fertile lands for farming and opportunities in mining. The city's name
[2:30] itself reflects its geographical significance as the confluence of the Cunison and Colorado Rivers.
[2:38] Today, the city is a hub of outdoor adventure, with locals and tourists
[2:42] alike being drawn by its natural beauty. The nearby Colorado National Monument offers fantastic
[2:47] vistas of red rock canyons and sandstone formations. There's also the Grand Mesa,
[2:53] which provides opportunities for hiking, fishing, and skiing. As the nights settled
[3:00] over the tranquil streets of Grand Junction. On the twenty eighth of June two
[3:04] thousand and seven, a sense of unease crept into a home nestled within the
[3:07] affluent enclave of Oleister Court. Eight year old Jess Dixon was under the care
[3:14] of her living nanny alongside her siblings, and she was growing increasingly restless and
[3:20] annoyed. Her mother, Paige Bergfeld, a dedicated entrepreneur, had ventured out
[3:25] earlier in the day for a meeting. She told Jess that she would be
[3:30] back home before it was dark, but as darkness blanketed the neighborhood, Page
[3:35] still hadn't come home. Paige Bergfeld was born on the twenty seventh of April
[3:54] nineteen seventy three in Atlanta, Georgia, to parents Suzanne and Frank Bergfeld.
[4:00] As the youngest member of the family, she had an older brother named Craig,
[4:03] born two years before her. Frank, her father, dedicated himself to
[4:09] his work at the National Association of Security Stealers, striving to provide his family
[4:15] with a comfortable life. Throughout her schooling years, Page's vivacious personality endeared her
[4:19] to many, effortlessly making friends with her outgoing and sociable nature. When Frank
[4:27] announced in nineteen eighty one that the family would be relocating to Denver, Colorado
[4:30] for a new job opportunity. While Craig expressed concerns about adjusting and making new
[4:35] friends, Page embraced the change with optimism. Craig recollected, she took it
[4:43] better than I did. She made friends quicker than me. So the Bergfeld
[4:47] family packed up their lives and embarked on a journey over one thousand miles west.
[4:54] Despite being a good student, Paige didn't find much fulfillment in traditional academics,
[5:00] passion la and dance. At the age of eight, she embarked on
[5:02] her dance journey by enrolling in ballet lessons at a small studio in Lyttleton.
[5:09] Throughout her formative years, she remained dedicated to her craft, gracing the stage
[5:14] in numerous recitals and performances. Expressing her aspirations to her parents, Page envisioned
[5:20] herself one day taking over the reigns of the studio, eager to share her
[5:26] knowledge and passion to future generations of dancers. However, she progressed through heritage
[5:31] high school, her interests began to diversify. Intrigued by the field of nursing.
[5:38] Page delved into researching out of state universities that offered nursing programs. After
[5:45] much contemplation, she set her sights on the University of Florida. She was
[5:49] drawn to the state by the allure of studying in a new environment, as
[5:54] well as the proximity to her grandmother, who resided in the area. With
[5:59] her decision and made, Page bid farewell to her hometown, backing her belongings
[6:03] and embarking on a new chapter of her life. As she pursued her dreams
[6:08] of becoming a nurse, Page was accompanied by her boyfriend, Howard Beegler,
[6:13] the lead guitarist of a local rock band. The couple had met during a
[6:17] random encounter when Page was sixteen and Howard was nineteen. He'd spotted her having
[6:24] car trouble in a parking lot, and he offered to jumpstart her car.
[6:29] From that moment dawn, they became inseparable. Recognizing the challenges of a long
[6:33] distance relationship, Howard made the decision to relocate to Gainesville in Florida alongside Page.
[6:42] Determined to support each other's dreams and aspirations, they moved into a flat
[6:46] conveniently located across the street from the University of Florida's football stadium. However,
[6:51] their relationship encountered trouble when Page expressed her intention to seek employment as an exotic
[6:59] dancer. Concerned for her well being and uneasy about the decision, Howard voiced
[7:04] his apprehensions. Reflecting on the situation, he recollected, I just didn't want
[7:11] her to do it, and she never did while we lived there. Despite
[7:15] the strain this disagreement caused, their commitment to each other prevailed, and Page
[7:19] respected Howard's wishes and abandoned the idea. Then, after four years at university,
[7:26] Page decided to drop out. She and Howard returned to Colorado and tied
[7:31] the knot in nineteen ninety five. Settling into a small home in Aurora,
[7:36] the embarked on the journey of married life. Page poured her energy into transforming
[7:43] their small house into a home, reveling in the sense of independence it afforded
[7:47] her despite its modest size. Financial constraints persisted as Howard juggled his musical pursuits
[7:55] with odd jobs to make against met. The couple faced the reality of their
[7:59] tie finances, prompting Paige to broach the topic of exotic dancing once more.
[8:05] Though Howard had his reservations, he respected Paige's decision. He didn't want a
[8:11] telegron woman what she could and couldn't do, so Page made the decision to
[8:16] seek employment at the Mile High Saloon strip club, working a few nights a
[8:20] week under the name Madison. She had her own reasons for exotic dancing,
[8:26] as were called by Howard. She wanted to pay for her breast augmentation.
[8:31] I also don't think she felt very pretty or attractive, and I think stripping
[8:35] made her feel better about herself and more powerful. Eventually, Page and Howard
[8:46] divorced after Page expressed her desire to start a family, but Howard didn't want
[8:50] children. In nineteen ninety eight, Page met Rob Dixon while working at the
[8:56] Mile High Saloon. Rob, a man of considerable wealth serving on the board
[9:01] of the Grand Junction Rural Fire Protection District, entered Page's life as a bacon
[9:05] of stability and prosperity, showering her with lavish gifts and affection. Rob offered
[9:13] Page the promise of a secure future filled with the possibility of children. Her
[9:18] friend, Laura Ayers recollected Page was one of those people who went out and
[9:24] got what she wanted. She was very determined and very resourceful, determined to
[9:30] carve out the life she desired. She swiftly pursued a romantic relationship with Rob
[9:35] Dixon. Within just a matter of months, Page and Rob made the impulsive
[9:39] decision to tie the knot in Las Vegas spontaneous ceremony that had no family members
[9:46] present. The newly weds decided to make their home in Grand Junction, where
[9:50] they purchased an impressive mansion nestled on at Leaster Court, boasting panoramic views of
[9:56] striking cliffs and mestops. The residents exuded opulence, even with a garage housing
[10:03] an array of high end cars. Page's stream of motherhood became a reality as
[10:09] the couple welcomed three children into their lives. Just arrived in ninety ninety nine,
[10:15] followed by Taft in two thousand one, and then Coal in two thousand
[10:20] and four. However, amidst the joy of expanding their family, two thousand
[10:24] and four also marked a tumultuous period for Rob. He became entangled in legal
[10:31] troubles when it was discovered that he and three other members of the Far District
[10:35] Board had invested three point two four million dollars of taxpayer's funds into a New
[10:41] York based internet firm where they held personal stakes. Though the majority of these
[10:48] funds remained unrecovered, a grand jury opted not to indict any individuals involved.
[10:54] Furthermore, Rob managed to evade being named in the lawsuits related to the case
[10:58] by filing for bankrupt Dixon family faced considerable financial strain, grappling with the daunting
[11:05] mortgage payments and the hefty upkeep of their large home. In response, Page
[11:11] took it upon herself to explore various avenues to generate income. She ventured into
[11:18] diverse realms such as marketing baby carriers, leading Brain Dance, her very own
[11:24] dance company, and assuming the role of an independent sales director for Pampered Chef.
[11:30] Despite the challenges, Page's relentless drive and innovation propelled her forward, allowing
[11:35] her to navigate the complexities of financial instability. However, despite her efforts,
[11:41] the marital bond between herself and Rob gradually deteriorated, leading to their divorce in
[11:46] two thousand and six. Following their divorce, Rob embarked on a new career
[11:52] path as an emt in Philadelphia, while Page assumed the role of a single
[11:58] mother, despite the trials and tribulation she faced pache poine solid in fulfillment in
[12:03] her role as a mother. Her friend Jammie silver Neil said of her,
[12:09] a very busy woman, but she managed to stay home and make the kids
[12:13] a priority. Page's daughter, Jazz recollected, my mom always made sure that
[12:20] my brothers and I had everything that we needed. She always took us out
[12:24] to do things on the weekends. She drove us to our soccer games.
[12:28] We went out to dinner a lot, We swam in our pool. We
[12:35] always spent holidays together. We even we all slept in her bed in her
[12:39] bedroom because we just all loved to be around her, and she always did
[12:46] everything that she could for us. Page's commitment to motherhood extended beyond her own
[12:52] family. She became an active member of the Grand Junction Mom's Offering Mom support
[12:56] group. Andrea Lung, the group's president, describe Page as probably the most
[13:03] patient and loving mother among their ranks. Not only was Page known for her
[13:07] bondless generosity as a donor, but she also exhibited a remarkable capacity for sacrifice
[13:13] and hard work. Despite her jam packed schedule which often left her sleep deprived,
[13:20] Page remained undeterred in her mission to balance her various responsibilities. In her
[13:26] pursuit of maintaining a harmonious household, She resorted to tackling housework during the quiet
[13:31] hours of the night when everyone else was asleep. As Thursday, the twenty
[13:43] eighth of July two thousand and seven rolled on Jess's frustration with her mother,
[13:48] Paige, mounted Page had promised she would be home from work early, but
[13:54] nightfall had descended upon a leaster court without her arrival, leaving Jess becoming increasingly
[14:01] agitated. While the living Nanni understood Paige's demanding schedule from her entrepreneurial endeavors,
[14:09] Jess wasn't so understanding. She called her mother up, but it went straight
[14:13] to voicemail. Hy Ma, I will you one name one? You are
[14:22] really really mean? Knew that it would be bad. Back By the following
[14:30] morning, Page still hadn't returned, and her absence raised alarm bells among her
[14:33] loved ones. Her father, Frank, attempted to reach her on her cell
[14:39] phone, and so did her two ex husbands, Howard and Rob. However,
[14:43] their calls went unanswered, with Paige's phone inexplicably going straight to voicemail.
[14:50] As the weekend dawned, worry intensified. On Saturday morning, Jess, who
[14:56] was accompanied by her Spanish speaking the vin Nanni, must the courage to visit
[15:01] the Mesa County Sheriff's office. Jess explained, had been trying to get her
[15:07] back on the phone and I just wasn't working, and we weren't really sure
[15:11] what to do. At the time, we were very young in our au
[15:15] pair didn't really know the situation, so we weren't really sure what to do.
[15:20] Jess, who was visibly anxious and shaken, took on the role of
[15:24] spokesperson, conveying her concerns to Sergeant Todd Sorensen with a tremble in her voice.
[15:31] She recounted her last conversation with her mother Page on Thursday evening, where
[15:35] Page had assured her that she was on her way home. However, Page
[15:41] hadn't returned as promised, prompting Jess to fear the worse. Around the same
[15:46] time, Howard was calling police to report Page missing as well. Meanwhile,
[15:50] Page's father, Frank, found himself on his daily commute to Denver when he
[15:56] received an unexpected phone call from the Mesa County Sheriff's off In that moment,
[16:02] Frank's worst fears were realized as he was informed that his daughter was indeed missing.
[16:07] He knew instinctively that something bad had occurred, expressing his distress to the
[16:12] medius, stating, if Page was ten miles from here with two broken legs,
[16:18] she'd crawl on her elbows to get home for her children. The investigation
[16:26] into Page's disappearance centered on establishing the timeline of her last known whereabouts. According
[16:33] to Frank, the last conversation he had with his daughter occurred on Thursday,
[16:37] June twenty eighth, at around nine pm. Pagett informed her father that she
[16:42] was driving home after visiting her ex husband Howard in Denver. When detectives interviewed
[16:48] Howard, he corroborated Frank's account. Howard stated that he and Paige had reconnected
[16:56] and that he had met her in Eagle, Colorado at Iran one pm on
[17:00] Thursday. They had a picnic and sat together until about seven pm, reminiscing
[17:06] about the old times. Howard then drove back to Denver while Page headed back
[17:11] to Grand Junction. He said that He called her at run nine pm and
[17:17] that she told him she was back in Grand Junction, close to her home,
[17:21] but Page said she was held up in road works and needed to make
[17:23] a detour. She reassured Howard that she would call him as soon as she
[17:29] arrived back home. That phone call never came. Shortly before ten pm on
[17:40] the first of July, flames were noticed flickering from the parking lot owned by
[17:44] Walker Prodocs SMS. It was at seven two seven twenty three Road and was
[17:49] about two miles southwest of pages home. A woman followed the flames and billowing
[17:56] smoke and found that a car in the otherwise desolate parking lot was a blaze.
[18:03] She immediately called police here emergency. KI, I am at the corner
[18:07] of twenty three and Logos and there is a car on fire in the parking
[18:11] lot. TC planes are small. Yeah, there's a lot of planes,
[18:15] but there's nobody around that I could see. Firefighters got the fire under control
[18:19] in a matter of minutes. They led out a sigh of relief to find
[18:25] that there wasn't anybody inside the vehicle, but it quickly became apparent that the
[18:29] fire had been set on purpose. The fire had originated on the inside of
[18:33] the vehicle, as if somebody had been trying to destroy the contents of the
[18:38] car. Even more suspicious, the license plates had been removed, but detectives
[18:45] were able to run the car's identification number through the database. The car with
[18:51] Page berg Felts two thousand and five board focus. Despite the blaze originating from
[18:56] inside, several items were discovered, including women's clothing and a pampered chef booklet.
[19:03] There was also a day planner business cards in a picnic blanket. Upon
[19:07] examination of the day planner, it was uncovered that several pages had been torn
[19:12] out, notably June twenty sixth through June twenty ninth. Further examination of the
[19:19] scene revealed intriguing details. The driver's seat was notably pushed back, suggesting the
[19:26] presence of an individual substantially taller than Page, whose heights stood at five feet
[19:32] four inches. It became increasingly apparent that somebody other than Page had been at
[19:37] the wheel of her vehicle. In response to these findings, Sheriff Lieutenant Jim
[19:42] Fogg mobilized the majority of the task force to work on the investigation. Addressing
[19:48] the media, he remarked at this point, it's a missing person case with
[19:52] unusual circumstances. In a bid to garner leeds, detective shared a photograph and
[19:59] detailed description of Page, intensifying efforts to trace her whereabouts. The last time
[20:06] that she was seen, she was wearing a blue flowered tube top and blue
[20:10] jean shorts. She stood at about five feet four inches tall and weighed around
[20:15] one hundred and ten pounds with sandy blonde hair. The detectives asked that if
[20:19] anybody had seen Page to get in contact right away, but nobody had seen
[20:26] Page, at least not anybody who was willing to come forward. As detectives
[20:36] intensified their search efforts for Page, the local community rallied behind the cause.
[20:41] Spurred by a sense of solidarity and concern, Mandy Mercer, a resident with
[20:48] ties to the community, took proactive measures by initiating the production of missing person
[20:53] flyers. Mandy, alongside her partner, owned the Carls Junior's Restaurants in Grand
[21:00] Junction. Leveraging their business platform to share the flyers, they place them in
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[22:17] Meanwhile, Page's father, Frank, actively handed out flyers, hoping to elicit
[22:22] any potential leads. Frank engaged with locals inquiring about sightings of his daughter or
[22:29] her vehicle before its mysterious incineration, expressing the importance of maintaining momentum in the
[22:36] search, Frank commented, what you're trying to do is not let the attention
[22:41] on this case die. You're trying to keep it alive. After the discovery
[22:45] of Pages burning car, it was only natural for series to begin to formulate.
[22:52] Page's friends and family knew that she and Rob had gone through something of
[22:56] a tumultuous divorce, so speculation within the community arose regarding his potential involvement in
[23:04] her disappearance. However, detectives emphasized that he wasn't under suspicion and had co
[23:11] operated fully with their investigation. Seeking legal counsel, Robin listed the services of
[23:17] attorney Scott Robinson. He publicly stated that Rob had been in Philadelphia from Thursday
[23:22] until Sunday. He also refuted any notion of Rob's involvement, and instead suggested
[23:30] that Page had orchestrated her own disappearance to implicate Rob, or that faul Play
[23:36] was involved. This was a statement that caught pages loved ones off guard.
[23:41] They asserted that she would never fabricate her own disappearance and would prioritize returning to
[23:48] her children if she could indeed do so. Rob soon found himself unable to
[23:52] shake off the cloud of suspicion that was hovering over him. Page had confided
[23:59] in her friends multiple times about her fear of Rob, a sentiment that was
[24:03] echoed in her social media activity. In a post, she expressed the chilling
[24:08] reality of her situation, revealing her children's concerns about their father potentially killing her.
[24:18] She wrote, my children would ask me if dad was going to kill
[24:22] me. I can't imagine what they were thinking life would be like after he
[24:26] killed me. I would gladily sacrifice every penny of child support if he would
[24:30] stay away. Additionally, Paige had recently disclosed to friends that she had rekindled
[24:36] her relationship with her first husband, Howard, and she was worried about what
[24:40] Rob would think. That's why Paige had been with Howard the day she disappeared.
[24:45] They had been growing closer and closer for a number of months with the
[24:48] prospect of starting a new relationship. Page candidly shared online, my first husband
[24:56] and I didn't have any kids. They're all from my second husband, who
[25:00] won't like hearing about me having anything to do with my first husband. Again,
[25:06] the media delve deeper into Rob's passed an earthing court documents detailing some disturbing
[25:11] incidents. In October of two thousand and four, Paige had called police to
[25:15] the family's home. Where's your emergency. My husband and I were in a
[25:21] fight. If he was supposed to watch my children, well, get to
[25:23] work, and he said that I would come home and find them all murdered.
[25:27] Nevertheless, police determined that Rob wasn't a threat to himself or anybody else.
[25:33] But then on the twelfth of October two thousand and five, the police
[25:37] were called once more. That day, Rob had physically assaulted Page, striking
[25:44] her and even punching her in the throat while she held their daughter. The
[25:48] altercation had erupted after Rob discovered provocative dresses in their bedroom, and he knew
[25:55] exactly what these were for. To people on the outside, Page appeared to
[26:03] be an ordinary woman juggling multiple jobs to support her family. However, beneath
[26:08] this facade lay a Clandesteine existence. When Rob found those provocative dresses, he
[26:15] knew that Page had been giving topless massages, again operating under the guise of
[26:22] her Grand River Accupuncture business. Since March of two thousand and six. Page
[26:26] covertly engaged in this illicit activity using her office building as affront. Some residents
[26:33] of the building couldn't shake the feeling that something strange was afoot whenever Page arrived
[26:37] accompanied by unfamiliar men. Her clothing, which always consisted of short skirts and
[26:44] high heels, raised eyebrows, leading some to speculate that her activities extended beyond
[26:49] mere massage therapy. Interestingly, Paige had mentioned on a Pampered Chef forum that
[26:56] her main source of income stemmed from modeling gigs. Little did they know her
[27:02] true profession lay in a more lucrative realm escorting, or she could talk at
[27:07] nearly three thousand dollars in a single evening. Perhaps Page harbored apprehensions about societal
[27:14] judgment, yet her unconventional career choice provided handsomely for her and her children.
[27:21] Upon learning of Page's alternative profession, her father, Frank expressed his discomfort,
[27:26] stating, I did not know what this is As a dad, I don't
[27:30] know that I liked the sound of it. It's an area that is ribed
[27:34] for speculation. Her mother, Susanna, echoed this sentiment, steering, we
[27:40] didn't know any of this. Page's journey into escorting began when she and Rob
[27:45] were going through a difficult time financially, then after the divorce, she made
[27:49] it her main business model. The divorce had cost her substantially and the income
[27:55] she was making from her other endeavors wasn't nearly enough. Worked under the name
[28:00] of Carrie and had been selling her services on the website Naughty Nightlife dot Com.
[28:06] There she posted that she offered escorting services along with erotic massage, private
[28:11] dancing groups and parties. She also posted that she was willing to travel within
[28:15] Colorado and neighboring states, but only by chartered jet. In addition to that
[28:22] website, Page set up her own escort business, Models, Inc. Where
[28:26] she advertised her services. This discovery of Page's secret life veared the investigation into
[28:33] a brand new trajectory, added a whole new layer of complexity as detective scrambled
[28:40] to try and figure out who Page's clients were and if she had been meeting
[28:44] one of them the night she disappeared. The search for Page continued, with
[28:52] hundreds of volunteers braving the one hundred degree hate over the weekend. Griiff Hickley
[28:59] asked the Abbey and Jennifer Recovery Center, which was formed in two thousand and
[29:03] one, to conduct a community wide search. The Salvation Army provided the volunteer
[29:10] searchers with food, water, and set up missing tents to try and keep
[29:12] people cool while the volunteers were searching. On the second of July, a
[29:18] man named Michael Young was driving to Grand Junction on Highway fifty from Montrouse.
[29:26] He was pulling a trailer and pulled off to the side of the road to
[29:29] check on the tires of his trailer. Once he got out of his vehicle,
[29:33] he spotted some checks and deposit slips on the ground. They belonged to
[29:38] Page and Michael immediately called police. At the side of the road, detectives
[29:44] found another twenty personal checks which had been torn out from her check book.
[29:51] The detectives continued searching along Highway fifty and they came across some more items of
[29:56] interest. These included eighty nine Models Inc. Business cards and thirty three Pampered
[30:02] Chef business cards. They also found various gift cards, a green LAYATEX glove,
[30:08] a dollar bill, and a twenty dollars bill. This discovery gave Frank
[30:12] hope, as he commented, as a dad, I love the breadcomb theory.
[30:19] He was hopeful, but he still knew that the outcome could be bad,
[30:23] as he added, I'm no fool as to what the odds look like.
[30:27] If this were a horse race, my odds would be long, but
[30:30] my horse can still come in. The search for Page dragged on, but
[30:34] on the first of August some of the detectives were pulled off the case.
[30:40] A spokesperson for the Sheriff's office commented, we have to balance that with moving
[30:45] forward with the current case load that is unrelated to the Bergfeld investigation. She
[30:51] said that the search for Page was still their number one focus, but there
[30:55] were other cases that needed detectives assigned to them. The detect still on the
[31:00] case knew that they needed something to keep the momentum up, maybe a witness
[31:04] who saw Page with a man, or saw somebody driving her car. By
[31:10] Now, they had ruled both Howard and Rob out of the investigation, as
[31:14] phone records and witnesses placed them at their homes during the period Page had vanished.
[31:18] To try and identify a person of interest, detectives continued at analyzing Page's
[31:23] activity as an escort. They wanted to identify and track down as many of
[31:30] her clients as possible, but it wouldn't be long before a person of interest
[31:34] finally emerged. Detective speculated the Page had arranged to meet a client after her
[31:44] visit to Howard, a theory that was supported by Howard himself. During their
[31:49] picnic, Page's cell phone had been ringing all day. Before parting ways,
[31:55] Page informed Howard of her intention to meet a client and said she had left
[31:59] him waiting all day. People are sometimes surprised to learn that a lot of
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[33:21] dot com slash Morbidology. Despite Howard's concerns about Page's line of work, she
[33:30] remained steadfast in her independence and said that she could handle herself. While Howard
[33:36] suggested she consider hiring an escort for added security, Page dismissed the notion.
[33:43] She said she had been in the profession long enough and that her clients were
[33:45] all harmless. That wasn't actually the case. On the twenty third of July,
[33:52] detectives announced that they had a person of interest in the case. Lester
[33:57] Ralph Jones, was a fifty six year old client of age, and he
[34:00] had been in contact with her the day she vanished. While that alone wasn't
[34:06] suspicious, detectives had learned that Jones had an alarming criminal history in nineteen ninety
[34:12] nine, he had received a five year prison term for two kidnapping cases.
[34:17] In the first incident, he had rammed into a car carrying his ex wife,
[34:21] Linda Jones, and another man on Adel to County Road and then fired
[34:25] two shots at the fleeing man. Jones had then forced Lisa into his car
[34:30] and drove her around and threatened to kill her Rond a month later, he
[34:35] was arrested again for second degree kidnapping to commit sexual assault. In that incident,
[34:39] he had kidnapped Lisa again and drove her to Grand Mesa, where he
[34:44] threatened her. He was ultimately convicted of first degree assault in the heat of
[34:49] passion, attempted second degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon, and violating conditions of
[34:54] his bond. Jones served his sentence in the community corrections in junction and completed
[35:00] his parole in December of two thousand and five. Before this, he had
[35:06] a nineteen ninety six citation for violating restraining order put out by his ex wife.
[35:12] Over the preceding weeks, detectives had painstakingly traced every individual who had interacted
[35:16] with Page or expressed a desire to do so. On the night of the
[35:21] twenty eighth of June. Page's discreat use of a separate cell phone for her
[35:27] escorting endeavors facilitated this process, allowing detectives to pinpoint those in communication with her.
[35:35] While most of these individuals had cooperated fully and were swiftly cleared of suspicion,
[35:40] one name lingered unresolved, Lester Ralph Jones. Despite inquiries, Jones adamantly
[35:47] denied that he had ever met Page, a claim that was contradicted by phone
[35:52] records. When presented with the phone records, Jones claimed that he didn't have
[35:58] the money to pay for an ASA scort anyway, someone else right you could.
[36:01] I'm trying to figure out why you would call. If you don't have
[36:04] to catch anyone intending to call you out, what would be the drive behind
[36:08] that call? Just curiosity, that's all. And I guess what were you
[36:15] curious about to see if they were still in business? Just when you called?
[36:22] What asked him? Or did you just hang up right away? I
[36:25] just asked if I just tell him I called about the ad in the paper
[36:30] to me to do their spill, And that set the further comments from a
[36:35] fellow escort named Carol. She had some light on their association. According to
[36:40] Carl, Page had received a service request from Jones on the twenty seventh of
[36:45] June two thousand and seven, cementing his connection to the investigation. But Page
[36:52] had already had a meeting with Jones before, and it was awkward because he
[36:55] knew her ex husband Rob from working at the local department. Paige had asked
[37:01] Carol if she could go over to Jones's place instead, and Carol agreed,
[37:07] but Carol wasn't the type of escort to have sex with the client. Instead,
[37:13] she offered topless massages and other services, but when she arrived at Jones's
[37:17] place, he asked for sex. Carol told him that she didn't do that
[37:22] and she gave him a massage instead. At the time of Page's disappearance,
[37:28] Jones lived with his wife, Elaine, whom he had met following his release
[37:31] from prison. The couple lived in Hill Avenue in Grand Junction, and he
[37:37] worked as a mechanic at Bob Scott's r V's, just a few freight away
[37:40] from where Page's burning car was discovered. Detectives obtained a search warrant for his
[37:46] home, and during their search they came across some interesting items in his toebox.
[37:52] They found handwritten phone numbers of other escorts, along with their brassizes,
[37:58] a condom, viagra, and a pair of men's wigs. They also found
[38:02] a food scale that was made by the pambered chef whose products Page sold.
[38:08] So on the third of October, detectives announced that Jones was the source suspect
[38:13] in the case. The comment gave way to a heartbreaking revelation among Page's loved
[38:19] ones that she was most likely dead and they were now searching for a body.
[38:30] Despite Jones being named as the soul's suspect in Page's disappearance, detectives didn't
[38:35] have enough evidence against him for an arrest warrant. Frank put forward a fifteen
[38:39] thousand dollars cash reward for any information and said during a press conference, obviously
[38:46] I'd like someone who would lead me right to her. If someone knows where
[38:50] she is. It would have been in the public's spirit to do this before,
[38:53] but if that action is lubricated by some sort of financial reward, I'm
[38:59] willing. Frank also spoke about the impact the past three months had on him
[39:02] and his family, steering some days you get what I've started to think about
[39:07] as black holes where you feel like you're full of defeat and despair. Other
[39:13] days you get busy. The whole thing is so discouraging. No lucrative tips
[39:17] came in, and detectives continued to focus on Jones as a suspect while Frank
[39:22] continued to search for his daughter. In May of two thousand and eight,
[39:27] a renewed search began and they searched through all the places they had searched the
[39:31] previous year. In December, Bridge inspectors with the Colorado Department of Transportation found
[39:37] pages driver's license along Highway fifty. The area had been searched before, but
[39:44] not this specific area, which was close to the northbound guardrail. Despite the
[39:50] finding, in the fact that there was a lead suspect, the case gradually
[39:53] went cold. The months transformed into years. Before Page's family knew it was
[40:00] two thousand and twelve and she had been missing for five years. Frank commented,
[40:07] I think of my daughter at least three or four times a day every
[40:09] day. But that year grim discovery would be made that would finally blow the
[40:15] case wide open. Nestled among the ruggedtrain of Delta County lies the picturesque expanse
[40:27] of wells sculpture. Its landscape, which is adorned with steep cliffs, rocky
[40:32] outcroppings, and lush forests, serves as an inviting haven for outdoor enthusiasts,
[40:38] boasting a network of winding trails that lures hikers. On the sixth of March
[40:45] twenty and twelve, two hikers were traversing a dry creek bed near the mes
[40:49] A Delta County border when they spotted something just ahead of them. It was
[40:54] a white mound amidst the ruggedtrain, and as they drew closer, it's soon
[41:00] became clear what it was, a human skeleton. The hikers promptly alerted authorities,
[41:06] initiating a response from detectives and crime scene investigators. It appeared as though
[41:12] the body had been buried and derosion had eventually exposed it, but it was
[41:17] also possible that the body had been dumped nearby and then washed into the gully
[41:23] Naturally, the assumption was that the body belonged to Page. Although the specific
[41:29] area had been searched previously, the remains weren't discovered. Then, following documentation
[41:35] of the scene, the remains were transported to the medical Examiner's office, where
[41:39] DNA and dental records confirmed the identity as Page. After five long years,
[41:45] she had finally been found. However, due to the skeletal's state of the
[41:51] remains, the pathologists couldn't determine the cause of Paige's death. Nevertheless, it
[41:55] was apparent that she was the victim of homicide. Head had been found wrapped
[42:00] in duct tape. Despite their grave, Pages family had mentally prepared themselves for
[42:06] this moment. Frank expressed, it's really been hard. It's really beat us
[42:13] right now. I'm filled with feelings. I'll use words that don't exactly match
[42:16] them despair, sorrow, sadness, frustration, anger, and they'll boil up
[42:23] every now and then in combinations. But the family's struggle was far from over.
[42:30] It was only just beginning. Following the discovery of Page's body, the
[42:38] months continued to pass slowly. Despite the passage of time, no arrests were
[42:44] made, and detectives withheld pages body from burial. Frank, who was frustrated
[42:50] by the lack of progress, sought to transfer the case from the Mesa County
[42:52] Sheriff's office, alleging police corruption. He claimed that during the search of Pages
[42:59] home as as fbstantial sum of money was found, only to vanish mysteriously afterwards.
[43:06] An informant claimed that the cash had been removed from the home, yet
[43:08] when Frank questioned detectives, they denied recovering any money. Drawing from his experience
[43:15] leading a stockbroker regulatory agency, Frank highlighted Page's involvement with significant sums of money
[43:23] evident from her regular large mortgage payments. He remarked, I knew little about
[43:30] this adult business world she was in, but I don't think it's a check
[43:34] or credit card type of enterprise. Frank suggested the financial gain might have been
[43:38] a motive behind his daughter's murder. In September of that year, detectives in
[43:44] West Mesa presented the details of their stalled investigation to a special team of prosecutors,
[43:50] investigators, forensic scientists, and coroners from around Colorado. The team had
[43:57] been brought together by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, but it would take another
[44:01] year before the case made any progress, and nobody would be surprised by the
[44:07] arrest. On the twenty first of November twenty fourteen, Lester Ralph Jones,
[44:15] who was now sixty three years old, was arrested on suspicion of murder,
[44:21] kidnapping an arson. During detective's investigation into him, Stifford Doggs had picked up
[44:28] his scent in Page's burned vehicle. They also picked up his scent on a
[44:32] gas can near his desk at the RV dealership where he worked. This was
[44:37] just a stone throw away from where pages burning vehicle was found. The arrest
[44:44] hadn't come because of any new evidence in the case. Instead, prosecutors decided
[44:50] that there was enough circumstantial evidence against Jones to finally make an arrest. Jriiff
[44:55] Matt Lewis commented, we believe at this point we've crossed off the list all
[45:00] the things we needed to make an arrest. There's not a significant event as
[45:05] much as this is an exhaustive process we've been going through. Jones was ordered
[45:09] to be held on two million dollars bond after prosecutor Dan Rubinstein argued that he
[45:15] was a flight risk. After Jones was arrested, his defense team suggested that
[45:20] detectives working on the case had tampered with evidence, including Page's boons. They
[45:27] pointed out how initial reports from the Morgue included a doctor note that found no
[45:30] obvious trauma to her skull. However, three weeks later, another report noticed
[45:37] fractures on the skull. They also accused detectives of losing recorded interviews with other
[45:43] suspects. District Attorney Rubinstein responded to the comments and said he found it offensive.
[45:52] He further added that the pathologist found that the trauma to Page's skull happened
[45:57] at or very near her time of death. The defense then requested that the
[46:00] judge dismiss the case entirely and said it was based only on circumstantial evidence,
[46:07] but the judge refused. The first degree murder trial began on July twenty ninth,
[46:13] two thousand and sixteen, and during the opening statemens, prosecutor day of
[46:17] Weight disclosed a crucial detail. Page's skull was discovered wrapped in duc tip.
[46:24] He informed the jury that the pathologist couldn't ascertain an exact cause of death,
[46:30] stating the defendant had done his job, he put that body out there long
[46:35] enough. Prosecutor Wade also revealed that Jones had attempted suicide less than three weeks
[46:42] after Page vanished, and a day after and enduring a five hour interrogation,
[46:47] Jones had tried to overdose on tylanol, leaving behind a suicide note with the
[46:52] words tell the copse to get fucked. In the note, he wrote that
[46:58] he loved his wife and asked for her her forgiveness, but he made no
[47:01] mention of Page. Defense countered by asserting that eight other men had been investigated
[47:07] and cleared by detectives. However, the implied that any of them, including
[47:14] one who died in twenty and eleven, could have been responsible for Page's murder.
[47:20] They argue to the jury that the case rested solely on circumstantial evidence,
[47:24] lacking any physical proof linking Jones to the crime. Defense attorney cars Smith reiterated
[47:31] accusations of poor organization in the investigation, highlighting that other persons of interest were
[47:38] not scrutinized with the same intensity as Jones. She said that the reason that
[47:44] Jones had lied about knowing Paige and using escorts was simply because he was trying
[47:49] to prevent his wife from finding out. The first witness of the trial was
[47:53] Howard, who said that in the ours before Page had vanished, she told
[47:58] him she would quit the escort business if he wanted her to. They had
[48:01] been rekindling their relationship, and he had worried about her safety. Page's nice
[48:07] seventeen year old daughter, Jess, took to the witness stand and described her
[48:12] call to her mother. She was followed by Page's father, Frank, who
[48:17] emotionally recalled the moment he learned his daughter was missing. Jones's wife, Elene,
[48:23] also testified that at the time of Page's disappearance, she was out of
[48:28] state. She said that she spoke to her husband by phone twice a day,
[48:32] including the twenty eighth of June. When she returned on the thirtieth,
[48:38] everything seemed normal, she said. However, the next night, at around
[48:43] nine pm, Jones left home, saying he thought he left the lights on
[48:46] in the RV dealership. He returned about an hour later, and according to
[48:52] prosecutors, this our time for him was when Jones was burning Page's car.
[48:57] O Line said that he didn't smell of smoke or any kind of accelerant when
[49:00] he returned. Jury then heard Jones's interrogation with detectives, during which he denied
[49:07] calling Page the day she disappeared. He also said to detectives he didn't see
[49:14] her car on fire, although he was at the RV dealership the same time
[49:17] that it was set on fire. The day after the interrogation, after Jones
[49:23] and his wife's cars had been processed, he received a phone call from detectives
[49:30] saying that he could pick them up, but he made a very strange comment
[49:34] during the phone call, mester Jones, Yes, this is Artsmith with the
[49:39] Sheriff's Office, just going to let you know that we have both of your
[49:43] cars ready for you and your wife. I can come and pick him up.
[49:46] Yeah, you been high love pay so mister Jones, I'm not following
[49:55] you. Yes, I'm and very body. I'm sorry you asked me where
[50:05] I should bury a body? When did I ask you that? Mister Jones?
[50:09] Are you there? The jury then heard about the various circumstantial evidence,
[50:15] including the sniffer doggs finding Jones's scent and pages burned out vehicle. They also
[50:21] picked up his scent on the gas can found in his place of employment,
[50:24] even though he claimed he had never seen it before. Additionally, they picked
[50:29] up pages sent in front of Jones's workplace, but couldn't find an exit sent
[50:35] out of the area. Sarah Platts testified when he can't locate that that person
[50:40] didn't leave from that area. Several escorts who Jones had hired testified during the
[50:46] trial, including one who said she left the appointment early after he became angry
[50:52] when he wasn't happy with her services. There were several winnerses who testified about
[50:57] the discovery of Page's body, including forensic experts who said that no trace of
[51:01] Jones was found at the crime scene. The defense then pointed at another suspect,
[51:08] another client of Page, who had called her twenty times the day she
[51:13] disappeared. He had then left home suddenly two days later and had told work
[51:19] friends Alie that his brother's family had been killed in a car accident. This
[51:23] man was George Carluzo, and the defense said that in the months leading up
[51:29] to Page's disappearance, he had begun acting strange. The time of the trial,
[51:34] however, George Carluzo was deceased. The prosecution fought back at this and
[51:40] said that the calls he made to Page were never returned by Page, and
[51:45] that he was in another state the day her car was burnt. The trial
[51:50] ultimately ended in a hung jury, meaning that the jury couldn't reach a unanimous
[51:53] decision. However, it was reported that nobody in the jury thought that Jones
[51:58] was innocent of wrong doing. They just didn't believe the prosecution's case had proved
[52:02] it beyond a reasonable doubt. As a legal matter, circumstantial evidence is just
[52:08] as meaningful as direct evidence, but to a jury it's sometimes not as convincing.
[52:15] But that didn't mean that another jury would be able to reach a unanimous
[52:20] decision. Jones was ordered to stand trial once more, and that began in
[52:28] December of two thousand and six. The evidence was very much the same,
[52:32] but the prosecution aimed to show exactly Jones's movements in the lead up and aftermath
[52:37] of Page's disappearance. Using phone records, video surveillance, and computer use.
[52:44] They showed that Jones had been desperate to get in contact with Page the week
[52:47] before she disappeared. He had even purchased a second cell phone, which he
[52:52] used exclusively to call Page. His cell phone records showed that he spent some
[52:59] time in the area of Wells Gulch, where Paige's body was formed, two
[53:04] days before she disappeared. Once more, the defense suggested that detectives had made
[53:09] a mistake and that there was a lack of evidence against Jones. This time,
[53:15] however, the jury reached a unanimous decision finding Lester Ralph Jones guilty of
[53:21] the murder of Paige Burgfelt. It was then sentenced to life in prison without
[53:27] parole. Paige burg Felt faced numerous challenges and hardships in her life. However,
[53:32] she was determined to ensure that her children never lacked anything they needed.
[53:38] Unfortunately, the nature of her work as an escort exposed her to considerable risk,
[53:44] frequently bringing her into contact with dangerous individuals. Tragically, this reality caught
[53:50] up with Page and although justice was slow, it finally prevailed. Well,
[54:15] bestie, is that is it for this episode of Morbidology. As always,
[54:19] thank you so much for listening, and I'd like to say a massive thank
[54:22] you to my newest supporter up on Patreon, Courtney. You can join Morbidology
[54:27] on Patreon for as little as one dollar a month, and in exchange fore
[54:30] or support, I upload ad free in early release episodes, bonus episodes of
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[54:51] head on over there and hit that subscribe button. The episodes are presented in
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[55:01] head on over to YouTube and search for more biology. Remember the Jack is
[55:07] out at morebidology dot com for more information about this episode and to read some
[55:10] true crime articles. Until next time, take care of yourselves, stay safe,
[55:15] and have an amazing week.

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