# A Gentle Giant | Episode 44

An episode of [Fatal Attraction](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1655774929), 21 Oct 2025, 43 min.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/78a347aa-3282-4ac5-837c-a72300032082/43de3add-7bdf-4303-b251-af54017e6a05/e4e79679-693f-43e2-8ab8-b37d00046c95/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=a544b1e2-b730-4182-b088-af5500003467

In San Antonio, Texas, a group of friends and coworkers spring into action when one of their own goes missing from work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: Have you ever met someone who lights up the room
[0:04] Speaker 1: like a ray of sunshine? That's how one would describe
[0:07] Speaker 1: a remarkable man in San Antonio, Texas. With his larger
[0:11] Speaker 1: than life personality and fun loving spirit, he is known
[0:15] Speaker 1: for bringing joy.
[0:16] Speaker 2: To everyone around him.
[0:18] Speaker 1: However, when his colleagues and friends notice that their calls
[0:21] Speaker 1: and texts are going unanswered, a sense of concern, urgency,
[0:26] Speaker 1: and overwhelming fear begins.
[0:29] Speaker 2: To envelop them.
[0:31] Speaker 1: They immediately jump into action. What happens when love becomes fatal?
[0:37] Speaker 1: This is a Fatal Attraction podcast with a gentle giant.
[0:47] Speaker 3: August twenty sixth, twenty fifteen. It's Wednesday afternoon in San Antonio, Texas,
[0:54] Speaker 3: one of the fastest growing cities in the US.
[0:57] Speaker 4: Sintis a pretty fun towns become more diverse and just
[1:01] Speaker 4: kind of culturally accepting over the last several years.
[1:04] Speaker 5: We have the Hispanic community, black community, we have the
[1:08] Speaker 5: LGBTQ plus sectors, and yet they still all come together
[1:14] Speaker 5: as one community.
[1:17] Speaker 3: While people all across the city are heading out to
[1:19] Speaker 3: grab lunch, to employees at an assisted living facility are
[1:24] Speaker 3: too worried to eat.
[1:26] Speaker 6: Their friend and colleague, Torrens Cheese hadn't showed up for
[1:29] Speaker 6: work that morning.
[1:31] Speaker 7: All morning, we're texting him, we're calling him, feving m voicemails.
[1:35] Speaker 2: Have you heard anything from torns yet? No?
[1:38] Speaker 8: Nothing, have you. Well, I'm getting really worried.
[1:43] Speaker 9: Parents would never not show up for work and not
[1:47] Speaker 9: letting anyone know what was going on. So it's coworkers.
[1:51] Speaker 9: We're very concerned.
[1:53] Speaker 10: I told my supervisor, Hey, we're going to go to
[1:55] Speaker 10: his house.
[1:59] Speaker 3: When torrens Is. Coworkers arrive. They immediately noticed something is off.
[2:04] Speaker 5: When they got there, they saw that his car is
[2:06] Speaker 5: in the driveway, a window was broken in the front.
[2:11] Speaker 11: Hey, Torrance, they're.
[2:12] Speaker 9: Ringing the doorbell. They call his phone. Nobody is answering.
[2:17] Speaker 9: But the strange thing is they could hear the phone
[2:20] Speaker 9: ringing inside of the house.
[2:22] Speaker 10: I'm going to go try the back.
[2:24] Speaker 12: Door, Okay, be careful.
[2:26] Speaker 7: I went walking around to the other side of the
[2:28] Speaker 7: house when I noticed like his laptop and just a
[2:31] Speaker 7: few little items are on the ground. Immediately just told Larry,
[2:35] Speaker 7: you need to call the cops.
[2:36] Speaker 8: Something is wrong.
[2:38] Speaker 3: At that moment, they decide to call the police.
[2:44] Speaker 13: I have a friend of mine not answer his phone.
[2:46] Speaker 13: He's not entering the door and the windows broken.
[2:49] Speaker 5: They knew something terrible had happened.
[2:52] Speaker 13: We're just really concerned about our friends.
[2:58] Speaker 3: Fifty one year old Torren Chiefs always made a big impression.
[3:03] Speaker 7: Torrence was an awesome person, a huge teddy bear.
[3:08] Speaker 9: He was sixteen, a huge guy.
[3:11] Speaker 14: Torrence was the gentle giant. He was compassionate, he was loving.
[3:17] Speaker 7: He just got along with everybody anywhere we went.
[3:21] Speaker 10: Everybody loved him.
[3:25] Speaker 3: But that hadn't always been the case.
[3:28] Speaker 15: Torrence was from a small CD outside of Waco. It
[3:32] Speaker 15: wasn't a community where he could really live in his troops.
[3:36] Speaker 14: Growing up being a black man, that's one strike against
[3:40] Speaker 14: you in society, and the fact that he was a
[3:42] Speaker 14: gay black man that adds a second strike.
[3:46] Speaker 16: So it was tough for him.
[3:49] Speaker 3: So when he got older, Torrence decided to make a
[3:52] Speaker 3: fresh start in San Antonio.
[3:54] Speaker 15: Torrence was able to find a place there, he was
[3:58] Speaker 15: able to call it home.
[4:00] Speaker 7: He came here, he came out, he blossomed, and everybody
[4:04] Speaker 7: loved him.
[4:07] Speaker 3: Torrence even became the premier drag queen at a club downtown,
[4:11] Speaker 3: performing under the name Miss Hucci.
[4:14] Speaker 8: Miss Ucci was very well known in the dry community
[4:17] Speaker 8: here in San Antonio. Larger than life personality.
[4:22] Speaker 14: He was Torrence in the daytime, and he was Ucci
[4:25] Speaker 14: every other time. I think in life, you people should
[4:28] Speaker 14: always try to seek their outlet.
[4:30] Speaker 16: That's one thing about Hucci. He did that.
[4:33] Speaker 3: But performing wasn't his only passion.
[4:36] Speaker 9: Lawrence was an employee at an assisted living center. Okay,
[4:41] Speaker 9: he really enjoyed what he did.
[4:45] Speaker 2: They were the sweetest family.
[4:47] Speaker 11: Oh my good.
[4:48] Speaker 7: He worked there for twenty something years. He was almost
[4:51] Speaker 7: ready to retire. He stayed there a couple more years
[4:54] Speaker 7: because that's what he loved and that's what he enjoyed doing.
[4:57] Speaker 3: Torrence was thriving in his community, but still something was missing.
[5:03] Speaker 8: Hey, how'd the date go last weekend?
[5:04] Speaker 15: Well, let me talk about For a long time, he
[5:09] Speaker 15: was okay with playing the field and dating, but over time,
[5:13] Speaker 15: Lawrence wanted somebody to settle down, with somebody he could
[5:17] Speaker 15: make a life with.
[5:19] Speaker 3: Well, my search continues, but he wouldn't be searching for long.
[5:24] Speaker 3: One night at a club, Torrence met a man named Wayne.
[5:28] Speaker 2: Then Torrence, Yes, my name is Wayne. I saw your
[5:33] Speaker 2: performance last weekend.
[5:35] Speaker 17: You killed it.
[5:36] Speaker 2: I thought to thank you.
[5:38] Speaker 9: Can I buy your next drink?
[5:41] Speaker 13: Sure?
[5:41] Speaker 2: I like that.
[5:44] Speaker 18: He was charming and Torrence was immediately drawn to him.
[5:47] Speaker 2: Hey, you know enough about me, tell me about you.
[5:50] Speaker 6: As they gotten to know each other, Torrence had learned
[5:52] Speaker 6: that Wayne had just gotten out of jail for drug
[5:54] Speaker 6: charges and he couldn't find a job or a place
[5:56] Speaker 6: to stay.
[5:57] Speaker 2: Yeah, man, it's been tough.
[6:00] Speaker 18: They made this connection, and Torrance had such a big
[6:02] Speaker 18: heart he'd offered to help Wayne out.
[6:05] Speaker 1: This is gonna sound crazy, but what's I just happened
[6:08] Speaker 1: to have an empty guest bedrooms.
[6:11] Speaker 2: What that's right?
[6:12] Speaker 12: Are you serious?
[6:17] Speaker 15: Torrence saw the good in him and was willing to
[6:20] Speaker 15: do whatever it hates to help him get back on
[6:22] Speaker 15: his feet.
[6:23] Speaker 6: Wayne moved in and Torrence was helping him get a
[6:26] Speaker 6: ju justice, even going as far as writing references for
[6:28] Speaker 6: his job applications.
[6:31] Speaker 11: They got serious really quickly.
[6:33] Speaker 15: As far as Torrence was concerned, there was nobody he
[6:36] Speaker 15: would rather spend his life with.
[6:41] Speaker 7: Torrence.
[6:42] Speaker 12: But no.
[6:43] Speaker 3: Torrence's coworkers have found what look to be signs of
[6:46] Speaker 3: a struggle outside of his home.
[6:49] Speaker 5: They're calling him, they're ringing the doorbell, they're knocking, They're
[6:52] Speaker 5: not getting any response.
[6:54] Speaker 7: I kind of went walking around to the other side
[6:56] Speaker 7: of the house when I noticed his nap tap on
[6:59] Speaker 7: the ground. That's when I just knew something wasn't right,
[7:03] Speaker 7: and I said, you know what, We're not going to
[7:05] Speaker 7: go in, So we called nine one one.
[7:08] Speaker 13: Something is wrong.
[7:10] Speaker 2: That's what's going on tonight.
[7:12] Speaker 3: Hip An officer quickly arrives at the home and enters
[7:17] Speaker 3: through the unlocked back door.
[7:20] Speaker 5: When the officer on the scene went in, the first
[7:23] Speaker 5: thing that caught his eye was that there was blood
[7:25] Speaker 5: spatter all over the walls.
[7:29] Speaker 11: The house was totally ransact.
[7:31] Speaker 18: Jewors had been pulled out and dumped on the floor,
[7:34] Speaker 18: Furniture was knocked over.
[7:36] Speaker 3: And lying on the floor of the living room is
[7:39] Speaker 3: Torrance Jeeves.
[7:41] Speaker 5: He saw him lying there with the coffee table turned
[7:45] Speaker 5: over on him, when a big pool of blood around him.
[7:49] Speaker 10: He had one stab wound to the neck.
[7:52] Speaker 5: He knew immediately that he had a homicide scene.
[7:59] Speaker 1: Stay two at the plot thickens with a tangled web
[8:02] Speaker 1: of treachery and intrigue on the horizon.
[8:06] Speaker 2: This is the Fatal Attraction podcast.
[8:13] Speaker 3: Fifty one year old Torrance Chiefs had become a local
[8:16] Speaker 3: celebrity in San Antonio's vibrant drag scene.
[8:21] Speaker 14: Everybody in the community absolutely loved him.
[8:24] Speaker 11: Under the stage name Miss Hucci.
[8:25] Speaker 18: He was a drag performer who did a lot to
[8:27] Speaker 18: raise money for local charities.
[8:30] Speaker 3: And off stage, Torrence had a new man in his life,
[8:34] Speaker 3: Wayne Pittman.
[8:36] Speaker 15: Torrence met Wayne Pittman and it was an instant connection.
[8:40] Speaker 18: Torrence was helping him get back on his feet and
[8:42] Speaker 18: they fell in love.
[8:46] Speaker 3: But now, after a nine to one one call from
[8:49] Speaker 3: his concerned coworkers, Torrence has been founded a pool of
[8:52] Speaker 3: blood on his living room floor.
[8:55] Speaker 17: The officer coultill he had been dead for hours despite
[8:59] Speaker 17: your donned major grooms God.
[9:03] Speaker 3: When homicide detectives arrived to examine the scene, it's quickly
[9:08] Speaker 3: clear how Torrence was killed.
[9:10] Speaker 8: It appeared that he had suffered one large knife stab
[9:14] Speaker 8: in the back of the net, but.
[9:16] Speaker 3: That isn't his only injury.
[9:18] Speaker 5: He had several defensive wounds. He had cuts on his fingers,
[9:23] Speaker 5: but he also had slashes on his forearm.
[9:27] Speaker 8: There was a struggle prior to that fatal blow that
[9:29] Speaker 8: he sustained in the back of his.
[9:30] Speaker 3: Neck, and in the kitchen, detectives find what they believe
[9:37] Speaker 3: to be the murder weapon.
[9:39] Speaker 6: A four and a half in serrated knife was in
[9:41] Speaker 6: the scene with a bottle of bleach nearby.
[9:45] Speaker 3: But detectives believe the attack started in Torrence's bedroom.
[9:50] Speaker 6: There was a lot of blood spatter on the walls
[9:52] Speaker 6: and the floor of the bedroom.
[9:54] Speaker 3: The condition of the house also points to an obvious
[9:57] Speaker 3: motive robbery.
[10:00] Speaker 8: There were missing items from the house.
[10:03] Speaker 11: You could see all the tops of the dressers.
[10:04] Speaker 18: There were gaps in the dust where a TV was missing,
[10:07] Speaker 18: and his laptop was laying outside.
[10:09] Speaker 11: Someone was trying to grab things in a hurry.
[10:13] Speaker 3: But other evidence points to a different possibility.
[10:17] Speaker 8: There weren't any signs of forced entry.
[10:20] Speaker 6: The broken window at the front of a home looked
[10:22] Speaker 6: like the casualty of a ransack and not an attempt
[10:25] Speaker 6: to gain entry.
[10:26] Speaker 18: The back door was unlocked when police arrived. However, it
[10:29] Speaker 18: appeared the killer had exited that way, so they had
[10:32] Speaker 18: no way of knowing if that door was unlocked prior
[10:35] Speaker 18: to Torrents being attacked.
[10:37] Speaker 3: Could the killer be somebody Torrents led into the house,
[10:41] Speaker 3: somebody he knew and trusted.
[10:43] Speaker 8: Knife wounds they're intimate. They require you to be very close.
[10:48] Speaker 3: To the victim, especially with a victim like Torrence.
[10:53] Speaker 8: Lorrence is not small by any means, and so for
[10:56] Speaker 8: this person to be able to launch a knife and
[11:00] Speaker 8: the back of his neck. It had to have been
[11:01] Speaker 8: somebody that Torrence trusted or known or been intimate with.
[11:08] Speaker 12: You.
[11:08] Speaker 3: To learn more about their victim, detectives first turned to
[11:12] Speaker 3: his coworkers Larry and Amanda.
[11:15] Speaker 16: This morning when he don't show up to work as
[11:18] Speaker 16: I called him.
[11:19] Speaker 10: He went on to a text Mlekak that wasn't like
[11:24] Speaker 10: him at all.
[11:25] Speaker 3: On the hunch that the attack against Torrance was personal,
[11:28] Speaker 3: detectives ask about those closest to the victim.
[11:32] Speaker 7: Did you have any significant other girlfriend, boyfriend of your
[11:36] Speaker 7: relationship with data?
[11:38] Speaker 10: Tommy put off, some guy promised, all.
[11:41] Speaker 9: Right, well, thank you for your time.
[11:45] Speaker 3: Moving on to his neighbors, detectives hope they can provide
[11:49] Speaker 3: additional details about the knight Torrance was killed.
[11:53] Speaker 8: Investigators canvass the area and off on doors.
[11:57] Speaker 15: A woman living right next door to Holwrence did say
[12:00] Speaker 15: she saw something strange that night.
[12:02] Speaker 3: She tells investigators that around eleven o'clock, her dog started
[12:06] Speaker 3: barking at the back door.
[12:09] Speaker 13: My dog started black curiously up.
[12:15] Speaker 15: When she looked to see what was going on, she
[12:17] Speaker 15: saw someone get her backyard.
[12:20] Speaker 5: The neighbor said she knew that that's not right.
[12:24] Speaker 13: I have her light back to I ticked it off.
[12:27] Speaker 3: The light startled the man, but he just kept walking.
[12:32] Speaker 15: Police believed that this could be Torrence's killer. Although she
[12:39] Speaker 15: didn't get a good look at the person's face, she
[12:41] Speaker 15: did say that it was a young black male in
[12:44] Speaker 15: his twenties, dressed in all black.
[12:47] Speaker 13: And I've seen this the car on the side of
[12:49] Speaker 13: my house.
[12:50] Speaker 2: Okay, what about the car.
[12:52] Speaker 13: Nil, Everything happened in one minute, but it looked like
[12:56] Speaker 13: the took break cart.
[12:59] Speaker 3: It isn't to go on. But then the detectives catch
[13:03] Speaker 3: a lucky break.
[13:06] Speaker 12: Detective.
[13:06] Speaker 18: Yes, they were approached by a man who said he
[13:09] Speaker 18: was a security guard at a church on the street.
[13:12] Speaker 5: He'd said, Hey, I don't know what you guys are working,
[13:15] Speaker 5: but our church has security cameras on all four corners
[13:19] Speaker 5: of our parking lot.
[13:21] Speaker 8: And I went in and loaded, like the last two
[13:23] Speaker 8: weeks on here for you guys.
[13:24] Speaker 12: Okay, but if you guys need some more, just just
[13:26] Speaker 12: let me know.
[13:26] Speaker 2: Okay, thanks, math appreciate it.
[13:29] Speaker 8: Thank you.
[13:31] Speaker 3: Back at the station, detectives immediately review the footage.
[13:36] Speaker 5: That proved to be quite the treasure trove of information.
[13:42] Speaker 15: They do see a car pulls up since Fraence's neighbor's
[13:45] Speaker 15: house a little after eleven PM, just like the neighbor describes.
[13:50] Speaker 3: But the cameras show something the neighbor didn't see.
[13:54] Speaker 15: At the same time, to individuals arrive on foot.
[13:59] Speaker 16: Not just one person was in.
[14:01] Speaker 12: On this.
[14:06] Speaker 2: Now stay tuned.
[14:08] Speaker 1: That's the chilling story of what happened that night continues
[14:11] Speaker 1: to unfold.
[14:13] Speaker 2: This is a Fatal Attraction podcast.
[14:20] Speaker 3: Detectives investigating the brutal stabbing of fifty one year old
[14:24] Speaker 3: Torrren's chiefs have been handed surveillance footage they hope will
[14:28] Speaker 3: give them their first lead.
[14:30] Speaker 15: A little after eleven PM. The footage shows that a
[14:34] Speaker 15: vehicle pulls up right outside of Torrence's house.
[14:37] Speaker 3: However, switching camera angles shows not just one suspect, but three.
[14:43] Speaker 18: In addition to the driver of the car, there were
[14:45] Speaker 18: two black males who arrived on foot, one dressed in
[14:47] Speaker 18: black and the.
[14:48] Speaker 11: Other in white.
[14:49] Speaker 15: While the driver remains in the car, the individual in
[14:53] Speaker 15: black starts making trips back and forth to Torrence's house
[14:57] Speaker 15: into the car.
[15:00] Speaker 3: The man dressed in black carries valuables out of Torrence's
[15:03] Speaker 3: home while the other man loads them into the car.
[15:07] Speaker 15: At some point, Torrence's neighbors hires her life.
[15:13] Speaker 6: She turned on her exterior floodlights and when she did,
[15:16] Speaker 6: the man took.
[15:17] Speaker 3: Off and the car sped away.
[15:20] Speaker 6: Two men clearly fleed the scene in a car. In
[15:23] Speaker 6: a third individual took off off foot.
[15:28] Speaker 3: The video is remarkable but also frustrating.
[15:34] Speaker 5: The video was from over half a block away. It
[15:37] Speaker 5: wasn't close enough that they were able to get a
[15:40] Speaker 5: license plate.
[15:42] Speaker 15: They do see them making the model of the car
[15:44] Speaker 15: and notice a dent on the right side.
[15:48] Speaker 3: Hoping to track down the vehicle, investigators reach out to
[15:52] Speaker 3: the Texas Department of Public Safety.
[15:55] Speaker 18: They filed a request for listing vehicles registered in the
[15:58] Speaker 18: San Antonio area. They were the same making model as
[16:01] Speaker 18: the car in the video.
[16:05] Speaker 3: Then detectives contact Torrence's family to deliver the tragic news.
[16:10] Speaker 14: I was at work and I received a phone call
[16:13] Speaker 14: that something had happened to Torrence, and at that moment
[16:16] Speaker 14: I realized it was something serious.
[16:19] Speaker 3: His family isn't able to provide any leads, but they
[16:23] Speaker 3: do know someone who might.
[16:25] Speaker 15: They said that his best friend, Willis could probably give
[16:28] Speaker 15: them more answers.
[16:31] Speaker 5: You want to start at the center of your victim
[16:34] Speaker 5: and work your way out as far as who could
[16:37] Speaker 5: have done this to him?
[16:42] Speaker 3: To answer that question, detectives reach out to Willis.
[16:46] Speaker 5: Taunton's family suggested I call you.
[16:49] Speaker 18: They started by asking Willis if he could shed any
[16:52] Speaker 18: light on Torrence's relationships.
[16:57] Speaker 2: There.
[16:58] Speaker 17: He immediately named Wayne Pitt.
[17:02] Speaker 15: He also Sells believes that they had somewhat of a
[17:05] Speaker 15: turbulent relationship.
[17:08] Speaker 3: Willis explains that Wayne was an avid user of synthetic marijuana.
[17:13] Speaker 17: Torrence didn't like that.
[17:14] Speaker 6: He thought it was bad for Wayne's health, and also
[17:17] Speaker 6: he was worried about the second hand smoke.
[17:20] Speaker 13: What you told him you could not broken that. I
[17:24] Speaker 13: looked at the space.
[17:26] Speaker 3: At first, Torrence tried to look past Wayne's bad habit.
[17:30] Speaker 4: Early on a relationship, people do accept certain behaviors because
[17:34] Speaker 4: they think if we're in love, then that'll probably change.
[17:38] Speaker 3: But after a few months of living together, Torrence realized
[17:42] Speaker 3: Wayne wasn't going to change.
[17:45] Speaker 13: Kept with that synthetic Wayne.
[17:49] Speaker 3: But Willis tells detectives that their breakup didn't last May
[17:53] Speaker 3: together ago, but he.
[17:56] Speaker 15: Kept Torence and Waynee started arguing all over again.
[18:03] Speaker 3: And recently, Willis says the situation had come to a head.
[18:08] Speaker 15: Wayne decided that he wanted to drive by Torrence's house. Unfortunately,
[18:13] Speaker 15: there was another man there and Wayne was not happy.
[18:17] Speaker 12: What's he doing here?
[18:18] Speaker 2: We're just catching up man.
[18:20] Speaker 15: Torrence tells him that nothing was going on and that
[18:23] Speaker 15: they were just visiting, but Wayne didn't believe him.
[18:26] Speaker 3: Wayne was skeptical because Torrence and his friend Shorty had
[18:30] Speaker 3: dated in the past.
[18:34] Speaker 12: Said yeah, just catch it up or you thinking stupor?
[18:40] Speaker 15: Wayne jumps to the conclusion that they're back together and
[18:43] Speaker 15: starts a huge fights.
[18:48] Speaker 2: When did all this happen? The altercation.
[18:52] Speaker 13: A week.
[18:57] Speaker 3: Did Torrence's alleged betrayal drum Wayne to kill him?
[19:02] Speaker 5: There were elements of jealousy and accusations of cheating. That
[19:06] Speaker 5: sounds like the suspect that you're looking for.
[19:12] Speaker 3: When detectives bring Wayne in for questioning, he doesn't seem
[19:16] Speaker 3: like a cold blooded killer.
[19:18] Speaker 15: Wayne strikes his hexes as janiely upset and says he
[19:22] Speaker 15: would never do anything to hurt Flawrence.
[19:25] Speaker 11: We had our problems, I mean every couple does.
[19:29] Speaker 18: Wayne told investigators that he still loved Torrence and hoped
[19:32] Speaker 18: to get back together with him, but Torrents didn't feel
[19:34] Speaker 18: the same way.
[19:36] Speaker 12: Tell us about shorty.
[19:37] Speaker 6: What's his real nan, I have no clue, man, okay,
[19:42] Speaker 6: And you weren't jealous.
[19:44] Speaker 12: Of course I was, but that's my problem.
[19:47] Speaker 11: He said.
[19:48] Speaker 18: Yes, they'd argued about him, but at the end of
[19:50] Speaker 18: the day, he just wanted Torrence to be happy.
[19:53] Speaker 3: Wayne also tells investigators he has an alibi for the
[19:56] Speaker 3: night of the twenty fifth.
[19:58] Speaker 10: I was at work. Y'all could check it out.
[20:01] Speaker 3: With nothing to hold him on, Wayne is released while
[20:05] Speaker 3: detectives look into his alibi.
[20:07] Speaker 15: As tom clock shows that he was in fact at
[20:10] Speaker 15: work the time of the murder.
[20:14] Speaker 3: With Wayne alibied out, detectives focus shifts again when they
[20:18] Speaker 3: hear back from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
[20:22] Speaker 6: Based on their records, there was only eight cars in
[20:25] Speaker 6: San Antonio that match the description of the one caught
[20:28] Speaker 6: on video fleeing the scene of Torrance's murder.
[20:32] Speaker 9: One by one, they start tracking down these vehicles.
[20:37] Speaker 3: But none of the vehicles is an exact match until
[20:43] Speaker 3: they arrive at the home of a man named Gabriel
[20:47] Speaker 3: vell Den.
[20:49] Speaker 5: They drove out to his house and there's the vehicle.
[20:53] Speaker 17: It looked just like the getaway car in the video.
[20:57] Speaker 5: There is a dent.
[20:58] Speaker 9: In the door is the car that they've been looking for.
[21:06] Speaker 1: Stay with us for more of the Fatal Attraction podcast.
[21:15] Speaker 3: Detectives in San Antonio, Texas have just eliminated Torrence Chief's
[21:19] Speaker 3: boyfriend Wayne Pittman as a suspect in his murder.
[21:24] Speaker 5: The victim's latest love interest was very forthcoming with the good,
[21:28] Speaker 5: the bad, and the ugly of their relationship, and he
[21:32] Speaker 5: had an ironclad alibi.
[21:36] Speaker 3: But now detectives have used vehicle registration records to locate
[21:40] Speaker 3: a new potential suspect, a man named Gabriel Beldenz.
[21:46] Speaker 18: While looking for a car matching the one they had
[21:48] Speaker 18: seen leaving Torrence's house, they came across Gabriel. Not only
[21:52] Speaker 18: was his car the exact same make and model, but
[21:55] Speaker 18: it had a dent in the same place as the
[21:57] Speaker 18: car in the security video.
[22:03] Speaker 3: Brought in for questioning. Gabriel clearly isn't one of the
[22:07] Speaker 3: men seen taking items from Torrence's house.
[22:10] Speaker 9: He's a middle aged Hispanic man and the two men
[22:14] Speaker 9: in the video were black men.
[22:16] Speaker 13: Okay, we're currently working in a murder investigation and we
[22:19] Speaker 13: had a couple questions about your vehicle.
[22:22] Speaker 12: Does anybody else have access to it? Would you have
[22:24] Speaker 12: lint it out to anybody.
[22:26] Speaker 9: No, Gabriel confirms that he never let anyone else borrow
[22:31] Speaker 9: the vehicle.
[22:32] Speaker 12: How about grass Tuesday? Did anybody use it besides yourself?
[22:37] Speaker 9: Gabriel says he doesn't know anything about a murder. He
[22:42] Speaker 9: doesn't know anything that's going on.
[22:44] Speaker 17: He said he didn't know anyone named Torrence Chiefs.
[22:48] Speaker 3: But he also doesn't have a solid alibi.
[22:52] Speaker 6: He said he went straight home from work every day,
[22:55] Speaker 6: but didn't really have anyone who could back that up.
[22:58] Speaker 3: So detectives just have one more question.
[23:02] Speaker 13: I want to ask for your permission to under the
[23:04] Speaker 13: vehicles since you're the registered owner.
[23:09] Speaker 3: However, searching his car fails to turn up any evidence.
[23:14] Speaker 9: They don't find anything that would connect him to the murder.
[23:19] Speaker 3: So detectives take a closer look at the dent in
[23:21] Speaker 3: the side of Gabriel's vehicle.
[23:24] Speaker 5: They took a still shot of the dent that was
[23:27] Speaker 5: seen in the church video and compared it to the
[23:31] Speaker 5: dent that was in the vehicle owner's store. And even
[23:36] Speaker 5: though the dents were in almost the exact same location,
[23:41] Speaker 5: the outline of the dents were completely different.
[23:46] Speaker 3: It's not the same car.
[23:49] Speaker 5: The vehicle owner had nothing to do with the victim whatsoever,
[23:55] Speaker 5: You're free to go.
[23:56] Speaker 9: This was just a crazy coincidence. So now the actives
[24:00] Speaker 9: realized that they did make a mistake.
[24:05] Speaker 3: Now two weeks into the investigation, detectives have hit a wall.
[24:11] Speaker 9: They're all out of suspects, all out of people to
[24:14] Speaker 9: look for.
[24:15] Speaker 3: Until finally they received Torrance's phone records from his cell
[24:20] Speaker 3: phone provider.
[24:21] Speaker 9: It shows that Torrance receives a text from an unidentified number,
[24:26] Speaker 9: many messages between that phone and Torrance's showing that they
[24:32] Speaker 9: had a sexual relationship.
[24:35] Speaker 3: And it was more than just physical.
[24:38] Speaker 8: It was apparent the Torns did care for this individual.
[24:42] Speaker 3: But it seems his feelings weren't reciprocated.
[24:46] Speaker 8: This was transactional for the other person.
[24:49] Speaker 9: The sender is constantly texting Torrence asking him for money.
[24:55] Speaker 3: But it's the less text from the unidentified number that
[24:59] Speaker 3: raises a red flag for detectives.
[25:03] Speaker 5: The last text message that the victim received said I'm here,
[25:09] Speaker 5: I'm outside.
[25:11] Speaker 9: Every text received after that goes unanswered, So this could
[25:17] Speaker 9: be the killer.
[25:21] Speaker 3: Now all detectives need is a name.
[25:25] Speaker 5: The obvious question is who is associated with that cell
[25:30] Speaker 5: phone number.
[25:31] Speaker 6: They did a quick search in their database for basic
[25:34] Speaker 6: information and saw that the phone was registered to a
[25:37] Speaker 6: woman named Susan Fields.
[25:40] Speaker 3: But when investigators attempt to locate her, they discover that
[25:44] Speaker 3: the name is fake.
[25:46] Speaker 9: The phone was just a burner that was registered under
[25:49] Speaker 9: a fake name, and so it's just another dead end.
[25:54] Speaker 5: You have this lead, you hurry up, you send the
[25:56] Speaker 5: subpoena off, and now you just got to calmly wait
[26:00] Speaker 5: for the information to come back.
[26:03] Speaker 3: While they wait, the investigation grinds to a hold.
[26:08] Speaker 6: And detectives followed up with anyone they can find that
[26:11] Speaker 6: new tourents, but it couldn't develop any.
[26:13] Speaker 2: New leads.
[26:16] Speaker 3: Until at a stop sign one evening, everything changes.
[26:21] Speaker 5: The detective is driving home from work, mulling this case over.
[26:27] Speaker 17: Heene happened to notice the car right.
[26:29] Speaker 3: Besides, it's not just any car.
[26:34] Speaker 8: There was the four Taurus.
[26:37] Speaker 5: There's a dent in the right passenger door.
[26:42] Speaker 9: Then matches the exact description of the one on the
[26:45] Speaker 9: surveillance video.
[26:53] Speaker 2: Now stay tuned.
[26:55] Speaker 1: That's the chilling story of what happened that night continues
[26:58] Speaker 1: to unfold.
[27:00] Speaker 2: Is a Fatal Attraction podcast.
[27:07] Speaker 3: The investigation into the murder of Torrance Chiefs had hit
[27:11] Speaker 3: a wall, but now an extraordinary coincidence may break the
[27:17] Speaker 3: case wide open.
[27:19] Speaker 8: The main investigator on this case is driving home and
[27:22] Speaker 8: he happened to glance to the side of him. There
[27:26] Speaker 8: was a car that matched the exact description with the
[27:30] Speaker 8: dent in the side.
[27:32] Speaker 6: He knew this had to be the car that fled
[27:34] Speaker 6: the scene in a surveillance video.
[27:37] Speaker 3: The detective follows the car to a business just a
[27:40] Speaker 3: couple of blocks from where Torrence was murdered.
[27:44] Speaker 5: He watched a female get out of the driver's side
[27:48] Speaker 5: and saw that there was a young black male in
[27:50] Speaker 5: the front passenger seat.
[27:52] Speaker 13: SA forty two, I need back up on ten sixty
[27:54] Speaker 13: ten sixty Main Street, please right away.
[27:58] Speaker 3: Backup arrives with it.
[28:00] Speaker 5: Minutes patrol officers show up. They able to get the
[28:04] Speaker 5: passenger out and the driver came back outside.
[28:07] Speaker 3: Of Police take both into custody, but to the detective,
[28:13] Speaker 3: the passenger looks eerily familiar.
[28:16] Speaker 5: He was able to notice that when they first got
[28:19] Speaker 5: the young man out that he looked very similar to
[28:23] Speaker 5: the person he saw in that surveillance video.
[28:27] Speaker 3: While the driver waits with officers to impound the car,
[28:32] Speaker 3: detectives transport the passenger back to the station for an interview.
[28:38] Speaker 9: At the station. The passenger tells the detectives that his
[28:42] Speaker 9: name is John Henderson Houston.
[28:45] Speaker 1: You've heard about the murder of toy Chiefs about a
[28:48] Speaker 1: three weeks ago.
[28:49] Speaker 12: Nope, Well, a car.
[28:51] Speaker 6: What the one you were in, was seen leaving the
[28:53] Speaker 6: scene around the time of the murder.
[28:56] Speaker 3: When detectives show him a picture of the car from
[28:59] Speaker 3: the security video, there's no denying it's the same car.
[29:04] Speaker 13: So where were you that night?
[29:06] Speaker 2: I don't know, I remember.
[29:10] Speaker 3: Unconvinced, detectives pull out a photo of Torrence Cheeves.
[29:15] Speaker 12: You recognize this man, Never seen him before in my life.
[29:21] Speaker 5: He denied having any knowledge whatsoever about the murder.
[29:25] Speaker 9: He even suggests that he would take the polygraph tests.
[29:29] Speaker 3: The offer is a big mistake.
[29:33] Speaker 5: I don't think he realized that the detective was the
[29:36] Speaker 5: certified polygraph examiner. A lot of time, suspects will bluff
[29:41] Speaker 5: their way and say I'll take a lie detector test,
[29:43] Speaker 5: and when you try to schedule one for them, they
[29:45] Speaker 5: don't come in.
[29:47] Speaker 3: Detectives administer the test immediately.
[29:51] Speaker 5: The young man showed deception on the polygraph results.
[29:56] Speaker 3: When detectives confront John with their results, he's stuck being cooperative.
[30:02] Speaker 9: He's done talking to the police. At this point, they
[30:06] Speaker 9: have nothing to hold him on, so they have to
[30:09] Speaker 9: let him.
[30:09] Speaker 3: Go despite not making an arrest. The investigators believe they're
[30:19] Speaker 3: on the right track.
[30:21] Speaker 5: If you have the vehicle that you positively identified as
[30:24] Speaker 5: being the one that was in the surveillance video and
[30:28] Speaker 5: the lady driving it, her boyfriend matches the general description
[30:33] Speaker 5: of the suspects seen in the videos, and he has
[30:38] Speaker 5: not passed his polygraph.
[30:40] Speaker 9: Police are convinced that they have found their killer.
[30:45] Speaker 3: But so far the evidence is all circumstantial.
[30:49] Speaker 5: It's frustrating because you want to be able to share
[30:52] Speaker 5: with the family. You want to be able to tell them, hey,
[30:55] Speaker 5: we're almost there. But if you don't have all the
[30:58] Speaker 5: evidence you need.
[31:00] Speaker 3: Until a breakthrough comes, that sends detectives in a slightly
[31:04] Speaker 3: different direction.
[31:07] Speaker 5: The cell phone data that had to be subpoena came
[31:10] Speaker 5: back on this unknown person's cell phone who had texted
[31:14] Speaker 5: the victim saying, Hey, I'm outside, I'm here.
[31:18] Speaker 9: There's a voicemail on the phone from a parole officer.
[31:25] Speaker 3: Detectives immediately contact the probation officer.
[31:30] Speaker 15: Yeah, I'm calling from a Sanatotio homicide unit.
[31:34] Speaker 17: I'm trying to track down one of your paroles. The
[31:37] Speaker 17: name they got wasn't what they expected.
[31:40] Speaker 3: What the probation officer tells them the phone doesn't belong
[31:44] Speaker 3: to their suspect, John Henderson Houston. It belonged to his brother.
[31:51] Speaker 11: Wait did you say Jonathan?
[31:55] Speaker 9: He reveals to police that John Henderson Houston has a
[32:00] Speaker 9: brother by the name of Jonathan.
[32:04] Speaker 8: His brother had a very similar name.
[32:08] Speaker 5: It's crazy. It blew this case wide open.
[32:17] Speaker 1: Now stay tune after plot thickens with a tangled web
[32:21] Speaker 1: of treachery and intrigue on the horizon. This is the
[32:25] Speaker 1: Fatal Attraction podcast.
[32:31] Speaker 3: San Antonio detectives have just discovered that the burner phone
[32:35] Speaker 3: used by the last person to speak to Torren's chiefs
[32:38] Speaker 3: doesn't belong to their prime suspect, John Henderson Houston.
[32:43] Speaker 18: Detective spoke to a probation officer who'd left a message
[32:46] Speaker 18: on the burner phone, and he told them the phone
[32:49] Speaker 18: belonged to his younger brother, Jonathan.
[32:51] Speaker 12: Did you see Jonathan?
[32:53] Speaker 5: They were four years apart in age, but their names
[32:57] Speaker 5: were extremely similar.
[32:59] Speaker 3: Did you lie about having knowledge of the murder? Because
[33:03] Speaker 3: he knew his brother Jonathan was the killer.
[33:07] Speaker 9: Police go looking for Jonathan and when they sit him
[33:12] Speaker 9: down for questioning, he looks exactly like his brother.
[33:17] Speaker 3: And like his brother, Jonathan claims he doesn't know anything
[33:21] Speaker 3: about the murderer.
[33:22] Speaker 16: Or my mama grave from God in front of his
[33:23] Speaker 16: stat I don't know nothing about this.
[33:25] Speaker 1: Then, when you understand that everybody comes in here that
[33:29] Speaker 1: when you think is involved, how they.
[33:30] Speaker 5: Say that, you know, how poker players have tells to
[33:34] Speaker 5: swear to God on my mother's grave is a huge
[33:38] Speaker 5: tell for murder suspects.
[33:41] Speaker 3: Jonathan tells the detective he doesn't know Torrance Chiefs.
[33:45] Speaker 5: When he kept denying that he'd even been in Torrence's
[33:48] Speaker 5: house and didn't know Torrance, the detective confronted him with
[33:52] Speaker 5: the text messages back and forth.
[33:55] Speaker 9: When they start to lay out the evidence, Jonathan starts
[33:58] Speaker 9: to talk, I have to.
[34:01] Speaker 13: Tell you something by that I have none to do
[34:04] Speaker 13: with this.
[34:05] Speaker 17: Well, then tell me the trump.
[34:07] Speaker 8: It took some time to break that wall down to
[34:09] Speaker 8: get him to really talk about how he intimately knew
[34:13] Speaker 8: mister Chiefs and what their relationship was like.
[34:17] Speaker 11: On your Good from mister.
[34:20] Speaker 8: Henderson first denied being sexually involved with Torrance. But the
[34:24] Speaker 8: more that we broke it down and the more proof
[34:26] Speaker 8: that he was shown the text messages talking about intimate
[34:30] Speaker 8: things and actions. The more he was like.
[34:33] Speaker 5: Okay, Jonathan finally admitted to a relationship between himself and
[34:38] Speaker 5: Torrance where he was paid money for performing sex X.
[34:42] Speaker 12: I'm telling you I need money? Do I need a job?
[34:45] Speaker 8: I'm telling y'all is mister Chiefs really cared for mister Henderson.
[34:51] Speaker 8: But he took advantage of that. He used mister Chiefs
[34:55] Speaker 8: for money.
[34:57] Speaker 3: But how had it ended with Torrance Chiefs Dead detectives
[35:01] Speaker 3: suggest an explanation.
[35:03] Speaker 5: What you're going for in interrogations is a full confession.
[35:08] Speaker 5: In order to get those, you have to try to
[35:10] Speaker 5: give people some reason for them to tell on themselves.
[35:15] Speaker 5: So the obvious alternative to that was self defense.
[35:20] Speaker 12: Hu Tully, that man is sixty fifty pounds.
[35:25] Speaker 13: How could that not be self defense if he did something?
[35:29] Speaker 13: You need to tell me.
[35:30] Speaker 12: That, Jonathan.
[35:32] Speaker 5: He took the bait for the self defense.
[35:37] Speaker 3: Jonathan admits that on the night of August twenty fifth,
[35:41] Speaker 3: he'd gotten into an argument with Torrence.
[35:43] Speaker 5: He was expecting money and Torrence told him he didn't
[35:46] Speaker 5: have any money.
[35:48] Speaker 2: I just wanted to let you know that I'm a
[35:50] Speaker 2: little short today.
[35:51] Speaker 12: Okay, no, I need my money. Get down.
[35:54] Speaker 8: When he wasn't going to give him any money, that's
[35:56] Speaker 8: when the argument started.
[35:58] Speaker 2: Hey, I know you know me.
[36:00] Speaker 12: I'm good for it.
[36:00] Speaker 2: Okay, get you next time.
[36:02] Speaker 12: Nah, you're gonna give me this son man.
[36:07] Speaker 18: Jonathan said he was just going to leave when Torrance
[36:09] Speaker 18: refused to pay him it, but he started getting pushy.
[36:13] Speaker 9: The argument escalates. He is scared for his life.
[36:19] Speaker 5: He's in the kitchen and Torrence came at him, so
[36:24] Speaker 5: he just grabbed a knife and stabbed him once in
[36:27] Speaker 5: the neck.
[36:29] Speaker 8: I just wanted the knife and blood was like old
[36:32] Speaker 8: flying Oh what made you pick up the knife?
[36:34] Speaker 12: Ain't for him?
[36:38] Speaker 3: He insists he wasn't trying to kill Torrence.
[36:42] Speaker 9: He says the blade must have hit like a major
[36:45] Speaker 9: artery because he immediately starts.
[36:48] Speaker 11: To gush out blood.
[36:51] Speaker 4: Jonathan tried to make it seem like he was defending himself,
[36:54] Speaker 4: but there was really no proof of that or anything
[36:55] Speaker 4: like that.
[36:56] Speaker 18: If anyone was defending themselves that night, it was Torrence
[37:00] Speaker 18: had multiple self defense wounds on.
[37:01] Speaker 11: His hands and arms.
[37:05] Speaker 3: Detectives believed that Jonathan's real motive that night wasn't fear,
[37:10] Speaker 3: but anger.
[37:11] Speaker 18: Jonathan flew into a rage when he found out that
[37:14] Speaker 18: Torrance wasn't going to pay him.
[37:15] Speaker 12: You're gonna give me this son.
[37:17] Speaker 8: That's when he took the knife and did what he did.
[37:20] Speaker 2: I'm gonna get some drincks. Okay, you're right back.
[37:23] Speaker 12: I'm gonna keep my money.
[37:38] Speaker 3: After the murder, Jonathan didn't behave like a man who'd
[37:42] Speaker 3: acted in self defense.
[37:44] Speaker 9: If Jonathan was only trying to protect himself, he could
[37:47] Speaker 9: have called the police. He could have called for medical assistance.
[37:52] Speaker 3: Instead, he took advantage of the fact that Torrence was dead.
[37:57] Speaker 6: After the murder, Jonathan left the scene and started formulating
[38:01] Speaker 6: a plan.
[38:03] Speaker 9: Once he realizes that Torrence is dead, he leaves, but
[38:08] Speaker 9: then he comes back later with two accomplices to get
[38:11] Speaker 9: the things from the house.
[38:14] Speaker 8: He ransacked the homes, stole jewelry, took belongings, try to
[38:19] Speaker 8: clean up the crime scene a little bit by using.
[38:21] Speaker 3: Bleach for detectives. The important thing is that, regardless of
[38:27] Speaker 3: the motive, Jonathan has admitted to killing Torrance Chiefs. But
[38:33] Speaker 3: Jonathan refuses to identify the men who helped him steal
[38:37] Speaker 3: from Torrence.
[38:39] Speaker 9: Even though the police suspect that his brother was one
[38:42] Speaker 9: of the accomplices. Jonathan insists that he had nothing to
[38:46] Speaker 9: do with it.
[38:48] Speaker 18: He said he took his brother's girlfriend's car without their
[38:51] Speaker 18: knowledge and recruited a few guys from the neighborhood to
[38:53] Speaker 18: help him rob the house.
[38:56] Speaker 3: At the end of the interview, Jonathan Henderson Houston is
[39:00] Speaker 3: charged with murder.
[39:03] Speaker 14: When the detectives called me and said we think we
[39:08] Speaker 14: have the person that did this to Torrence, I was
[39:11] Speaker 14: absolutely relieved.
[39:14] Speaker 3: But the full truth of what happened to Torrence Chiefs
[39:17] Speaker 3: will never come out in court.
[39:19] Speaker 9: Jonathan Henderson Houston decides to plead guilty to first degree murder.
[39:26] Speaker 8: A plea agreement was in the best interest of justice
[39:29] Speaker 8: in this case, as opposed to rolling the dice at
[39:32] Speaker 8: a trial, in him walking away from taking someone's life.
[39:38] Speaker 9: He only receives fifteen years in prison.
[39:43] Speaker 3: For Torrence's family and friends, the sentence is a bitter disappointment.
[39:49] Speaker 7: A lot of other people weren't happy about you took
[39:52] Speaker 7: Torrence's life and you basically got away with fifteen years.
[39:57] Speaker 4: I think this is going to be something as for
[39:59] Speaker 4: everyone been so whether his punishment is while he's in
[40:02] Speaker 4: prison or you know, once he gets out and trying
[40:04] Speaker 4: to live through this.
[40:06] Speaker 11: He's definitely gonna go through it.
[40:08] Speaker 3: Still, Torrence's community has lost someone who can never be replaced.
[40:14] Speaker 14: He loved his job, he loved his friends, he loved
[40:18] Speaker 14: his family, and he loved to dress up.
[40:22] Speaker 16: He loved putting on a show.
[40:24] Speaker 7: Torrence would want people to be yourself, live your best life,
[40:28] Speaker 7: do what's right, and just to be kind.
[40:36] Speaker 1: Love and its purest form, should uplift us and bring
[40:40] Speaker 1: happiness rather than be overshadowed by betrayal. Torrence was deeply
[40:46] Speaker 1: connected to his community. He was not only a beloved figure,
[40:50] Speaker 1: but also known for his countless acts of kindness. He
[40:55] Speaker 1: embraced his identity with pride and joy. A beautiful and
[40:59] Speaker 1: spirited man. What happened to Torrance chief serves as a
[41:04] Speaker 1: stark reminder that life is precious. Torrance was taken from
[41:09] Speaker 1: us far too soon, leaving behind a legacy filled with
[41:13] Speaker 1: love and enduring joy. Coming up on the next episode
[41:18] Speaker 1: of the Fatal Attraction podcast.
[41:25] Speaker 3: She was a mother figure to everyone she met.
[41:28] Speaker 11: She was that type of woman that takes care of people.
[41:32] Speaker 17: Her life mission was to help people.
[41:36] Speaker 15: She cared about others more than she cared about herself, and.
[41:42] Speaker 3: She finally met someone who could give her love in return.
[41:47] Speaker 11: It was lovable, a big old teddy bear. Their relationship
[41:51] Speaker 11: was whirlwind. She found the one.
[41:57] Speaker 3: Until a horrific crime took her away.
[42:00] Speaker 12: I'll play money shut.
[42:04] Speaker 2: In the tranquil community of Brandon.
[42:07] Speaker 1: Florida, a warm hearted caretaker and teacher's aide, thrives as
[42:12] Speaker 1: a devoted mother and grandmother. She serves as a beacon
[42:15] Speaker 1: of comfort, always ready to lend a helping hand.
[42:19] Speaker 2: With an open heart. She finally welcomes new love into
[42:23] Speaker 2: her life.
[42:24] Speaker 1: And for a while, everything seems to be unfolding beautifully.
[42:28] Speaker 2: However, just when it appears that life is on.
[42:31] Speaker 1: A positive path, she faces a tragic turn of events.
[42:36] Speaker 1: Tune in to the next episode of the Fatal Attraction podcast.
[42:40] Speaker 1: We will see you in the next episode.

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