# 5 Chilling Unsolved Mysteries | True Crime | 173

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 30 Jan 2026, 37 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO4703151371.mp3

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## Transcript

[0:00] Hey friends, it's Jimmy here as usual, welcoming you to another
[0:03] episode in my Unsolved Mysteries series.
[0:06] Before we begin, don't forget to hit the like button, subscribe
[0:09] and ring the notification bell and leave a comment saying where
[0:13] you're watching from. It was a festive December night
[0:17] in 1986 and the crew of a British ship packed the lively
[0:21] bars of Gibraltar while on shore leave.
[0:24] Among them was 18 year old Simon Parks, a radio operator from
[0:28] Bristol. By the next morning, Simon had
[0:32] vanished without a trace and never returned to his ship.
[0:36] His mysterious disappearance that night sparked A decades
[0:39] long international search for answers.
[0:43] Parks was serving aboard the aircraft carrier Illustrious,
[0:47] which docked in Gibraltar on December 12th, 1986.
[0:51] They visited the Horseshoe Bar on Main Street and around
[0:54] midnight Parks told friends he was going to get some food
[0:57] before heading back. One witness later claimed to
[1:01] have seen someone matching Parks's description at another
[1:03] pub not long after appearing unsteady on his feet.
[1:08] Beyond that possible sighting, there were no further clues and
[1:12] he never returned to the ship. When Illustrious sailed home
[1:16] without him a few days later, a massive search by military and
[1:20] local police had failed to find any trace of the missing sailor.
[1:24] Authorities initially treated Simon's disappearance as a
[1:27] possible AWOL case rather than a presumed death.
[1:32] However, evidence soon showed Simon hadn't planned to vanish.
[1:37] He left all his personal belongings behind on the ship,
[1:41] including his passport and Christmas gifts he had bought.
[1:45] He had told his family he'd be home for the holidays and even
[1:48] arranged for his parents to greet Illustrious when it
[1:51] returned to port. These facts made it clear his
[1:54] disappearance was not voluntary. Despite A-250 man search around
[2:00] the area where he was last seen, no clues turned up.
[2:04] With no leads to follow, the trail grew cold as weeks turned
[2:08] into years. For over 15 years, Simon Parks's
[2:13] fate remained a mystery. Then, in 2001, a disturbing lead
[2:18] emerged. Former Royal Navy Petty Officer
[2:22] Alan Grimson was convicted of slaying two young men.
[2:26] Investigators noted in eerie detail both of Grimson's known
[2:30] victims had been killed on December 12th, the same date
[2:34] that Simon had vanished. Grimson had served on
[2:37] Illustrious and was in Gibraltar with Parks back in 1986.
[2:43] This coincidence elevated him to a prime suspect in Simon's case.
[2:47] Some authorities even speculated that given Grimson's December
[2:51] 12th pattern, he might have had other unidentified victims.
[2:57] Reports later surfaced that witnesses placed Grimson and
[3:00] Parks together on the night of the disappearance, intensifying
[3:03] suspicions. With Grimson in mind as a
[3:08] suspect, British authorities renewed the search for Simon in
[3:12] the early 2000s. In 2003, Hampshire police
[3:16] investigators traveled to Gibraltar and conducted fresh
[3:20] searches for any trace of parks. Forensic teams with cadaver dogs
[3:25] scoured multiple sites, even checking sewers for hidden
[3:29] remains. Despite this extensive effort,
[3:33] nothing was found to shed light on Simon's fate.
[3:37] This flurry of intense interest in the case rapidly cooled in
[3:40] light of the lack of any additional findings.
[3:45] In late 2019, a former ship made of parks provided information
[3:49] suggesting Simon's body might be in Trafalgar Cemetery.
[3:54] This is a graveyard in central Gibraltar, not far from the pub
[3:57] where he was last seen. Police spent a week excavating
[4:02] the cemetery grounds in search of evidence.
[4:05] They did uncover some bone fragments in an unusual spot,
[4:09] but after forensic analysis these proved to be non human
[4:12] remains. Once again the trail went cold.
[4:18] Further searches were conducted in the following years.
[4:21] In 2020, authorities explored additional sites in Gibraltar
[4:26] based on ongoing inquiries but found nothing of significance.
[4:31] Then in August 2023, acting on another tip, police excavated
[4:36] part of a parking lot for four days.
[4:39] Teams dug up concrete and even inspected old water tanks
[4:43] beneath the site. As with previous efforts, this
[4:47] operation ended in disappointment.
[4:50] No trace of Simon was found. With that, investigators were
[4:54] left without answers yet again. Through all these twists and
[5:00] turns, Simon Parks's family has endured a long wait for answers.
[5:05] In late 2025, nearly 40 years after Simon vanished, police
[5:09] officially announced that they had exhausted all reasonable
[5:12] lines of inquiry. As of now, the case has been
[5:16] effectively closed unless new information comes to light.
[5:24] There's a silent high end hotel room in the heart of Bangkok
[5:27] where the only movement is the slow rotation of a ceiling fan.
[5:32] A world famous martial arts icon and actor is found in the dark
[5:36] shadows of a closet. He's bound in a way that defies
[5:39] simple explanation and shatters the peaceful persona he spent a
[5:44] lifetime cultivating. David Carradine's departure from
[5:48] this world on June 4th, 2009 was a morbid puzzle that pitted
[5:53] international forensic experts against local police.
[5:57] He was 72 years old and experiencing a major career
[6:00] resurgence when he was discovered by a cleaner that
[6:03] fateful day. David Carradine was the
[6:07] cornerstone of a massive Hollywood acting dynasty.
[6:10] The eldest son of the legendary John Carradine, his path was
[6:14] almost predestined, though he fought to establish his own
[6:18] identity, even changing his name from John Carradine Junior to
[6:22] David. While he appeared in over 200
[6:26] roles, he was forever cemented in the public consciousness as
[6:30] Kwai Chang Kain from the series Kung Fu.
[6:34] Ironically, he had no martial arts experience when he started
[6:37] that role, yet he became a global symbol of Eastern wisdom
[6:42] and disciplined strength later in life.
[6:45] Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill series gave him a second act as
[6:49] a formidable villain, proving his talent hadn't faded with
[6:52] age. And personally, this is where I
[6:56] know him from. Having never seen anything from
[6:59] any of the iterations of the Kung Fu series, the actor
[7:05] arrived in Thailand in late May 2009 to work on a sports film
[7:09] titled Stretch. By all accounts, he was in high
[7:13] spirits, frequently serenading guests and staff on the hotel's
[7:17] grand piano in the days leading up to his death.
[7:21] He'd even made a reservation for a group dinner on the very night
[7:24] he'd eventually be found. However, when he didn't show up
[7:29] for a meal with the film crew on Wednesday, concern began to
[7:32] mount. The following morning, a maid
[7:36] entered Suite 352 and found him in a sitting position inside a
[7:40] closet. He was naked, wearing a black
[7:44] wig and a gag, with ropes tied around his neck and other body
[7:48] parts. His hands were tied above his
[7:51] head, fastened to the clothing rack.
[7:54] Initial reports from the Thai authorities suggested he'd made
[7:57] a conscious choice to end his own life.
[8:00] This theory was quickly challenged by his family and
[8:02] manager, who insisted he was far too happy and professionally
[8:06] satisfied to take such an action.
[8:09] Further, many publicly questioned why he would have
[8:12] chosen to present himself that way if he knew what he was going
[8:16] to do and that he was going to be found.
[8:20] There was no note and the room showed no signs of a struggle or
[8:24] a break in hallway. Security cameras confirmed that
[8:28] no one else had entered his suite after he returned on
[8:31] Wednesday night, which only deep in the mystery of how such a
[8:34] complex scene came to be. Because of the conflicting
[8:39] accounts, the family hired famed forensic pathologist Doctor
[8:43] Michael Batten to conduct a second autopsy once the body
[8:47] reached Los Angeles. Batten's findings were pivotal.
[8:51] He identified the cause of death as asphyxiation or an inability
[8:56] to breathe, but he specifically dismissed the possibility of a
[9:01] self-inflicted end. He noted that the nature of the
[9:05] ligatures around the body made it extremely unlikely that this
[9:09] was an intentional act. Instead, the evidence pointed
[9:14] toward a tragic accident. The physical mechanics of the
[9:19] event suggested that the pressure on the respiratory
[9:21] system wasn't applied by a traditional drop, but through a
[9:25] gradual restriction of oxygen. Thai forensic experts, including
[9:31] the country's top criminalist, suggested that the scene was
[9:34] consistent with a dangerous form of activity.
[9:38] This practice involves temporarily cutting off oxygen,
[9:42] a gamble that can quickly turn fatal if the practitioner loses
[9:46] consciousness and can't release the pressure.
[9:49] The complex system of ropes found on his body, including
[9:53] those from the hotel curtains, pointed toward a practiced but
[9:57] ultimately disastrous ritual. Despite the forensic leanings
[10:02] toward an accident, several more sinister theories emerged.
[10:07] The family's attorney, Mark Geragos, publicly speculated
[10:11] that his client might have been slain by a secret society.
[10:16] This theory claimed that his deep interest in investigating
[10:19] and disclosing the activities of secret martial arts
[10:22] organizations had put him in the crosshairs of dangerous groups.
[10:28] Supporters of this idea noted that his hands were tied in a
[10:31] way that seemed difficult for a 72 year old man to manage alone.
[10:36] However, investigators countered that there were no signs of
[10:39] another person's presence in the room, nor was there any evidence
[10:43] of a shadowy network of martial artists.
[10:48] Another, more grounded theory suggested that while he wasn't
[10:52] targeted by assassins, he might not have been alone during the
[10:56] act. Some argued that a companion
[10:59] might have been present to assist with the restraints, but
[11:02] panicked when he stopped breathing and fled the hotel to
[11:05] avoid a scandal. However, official reports from
[11:09] the Royal Thai Police maintained that the room was secure and
[11:13] that the actor was the only one involved.
[11:18] Adding weight to the accidental theory were the statements from
[11:21] his former wives. His fourth wife, Marina
[11:24] Anderson, had stated years before in divorce documents that
[11:28] he practiced potentially deadly behaviors.
[11:32] Another ex-wife, GAIL Jensen, mentioned his fascination with
[11:36] ropes, though she described it more as a form of intense
[11:39] meditation. These insights into his private
[11:43] world provided A context that the public hadn't seen,
[11:46] suggesting that the scene in Bangkok was the tragic final
[11:50] iteration of a lifelong secret. The family sought FBI assistance
[11:56] because they were dissatisfied with the transparency of the
[11:59] Thai investigation and the leaking of sensitive crime scene
[12:02] photos to local tabloids. While the FBI observed the
[12:07] process, they didn't have the jurisdiction to take over the
[12:10] case. The Thai authorities eventually
[12:13] closed the case as an accidental death of finding that Doctor
[12:17] Bodden's independent autopsy supported in terms of the
[12:21] medical cause. Norman Prater was 16 years old
[12:27] when he went missing from his East Dallas neighborhood in
[12:30] January 1973. He was last seen around midnight
[12:34] at an all night coffee shop where his mother worked, telling
[12:38] her he was heading home. His mom saw Norman with two
[12:41] friends and an older man she didn't recognize shortly before
[12:45] he left. When Norman never arrived home,
[12:49] his family reported him missing on January 14th, 1973.
[12:55] The disappearance launched a police investigation, but with
[12:58] no solid leads, it soon went cold.
[13:02] Authorities suspected he might have been abducted or met with
[13:06] foul play given the mysterious circumstances.
[13:11] For his loved ones, the sudden disappearance was devastating
[13:15] and left them with decades of uncertainty.
[13:19] Six months later and 350 miles away, a grim discovery was made.
[13:24] On July 9th, 1973, the body of a young white male was found on
[13:29] the side of Hwy. 35 near Rockport, TX.
[13:33] He had apparently been the victim of a hit and run days
[13:36] earlier. The boy was wearing a straw hat,
[13:40] a white T-shirt, white Levi's jeans and a distinctive braided
[13:45] blue and red belt, but nothing about his clothing or
[13:49] description led to an identification.
[13:53] Despite extensive efforts by local authorities and media to
[13:56] identify the teenager, including publishing his description in
[14:00] newspapers, no one came forward to claim him.
[14:04] The unidentified boy was estimated to be 15 to 20 years
[14:07] old, around Norman's age at the time.
[14:12] Investigators didn't connect this incident to Norman's case.
[14:16] The Rockport John Doe remained nameless for decades, his true
[14:20] identity a mystery in parallel with Norman.
[14:24] Norman's disappearance eventually became the oldest
[14:27] unsolved missing person case in Dallas police records.
[14:31] His family spent years hoping for answers, never knowing
[14:35] whether he was alive or dead. In the absence of evidence,
[14:39] various theories emerged. One theory even claimed that
[14:43] Norman had fallen prey to Dean Coral, the infamous Candyman
[14:47] serial predator who targeted teenage boys in Texas, but no
[14:52] proof ever supported that idea. Meanwhile, the unidentified
[14:56] Rockport case also lingered without anything in the way of
[15:00] meaningful development. Authorities would occasionally
[15:04] revisit the John Doe file, hoping some new clue or missing
[15:08] person report might finally give the young man a name.
[15:12] Yet for more than 5 decades, both Norman Prater's fate and
[15:16] the Rockport boy's identity remained unknown.
[15:21] A crucial breakthrough came at the end of 2025, and
[15:24] surprisingly, this wasn't due to genetic genealogy.
[15:28] The Aransas County Medical Examiner, while reviewing old
[15:32] evidence, discovered a clear post mortem photograph of the
[15:35] 1973 Rockport crash victim in the file.
[15:40] This was an image that had never been widely circulated outside
[15:43] of the local police. That photo was forwarded to the
[15:46] Dallas Police Department's Missing Persons Unit along with
[15:50] a number of other police departments.
[15:53] Detective Ryan Dalby in Dallas reviewed the image and was
[15:57] struck by how much the unidentified teen resembled the
[16:00] long missing Norman Prater. Dalby sought a second opinion
[16:04] from a Texas Rangers forensic analyst, who agreed the likeness
[16:08] was strong. Notably, no genetic evidence had
[16:12] ever been logged, meaning that it would have to be old
[16:15] fashioned detective work that broke the case.
[16:20] Armed with this, lead detective Dalby located Norman's older
[16:23] brother, Isaac Prater. When Dalby first contacted Isaac
[16:28] about the possible match, the brother said he had been waiting
[16:32] 52 years for a call like this. In late 2025, Dalby met with
[16:37] Isaac in person and showed him the unearthed photo of the
[16:40] unknown victim. Isaac immediately recognized his
[16:44] brother, pointing out familiar facial scars, including one from
[16:49] a dog bite on Norman's lip, and confirmed the match.
[16:54] After 52 years of uncertainty, the pieces finally fell into
[16:58] place and Dallas Police officially concluded that the
[17:01] unidentified teen was prater solving 2 cases at once.
[17:08] Norman's identification has also reopened the 1973 hit and run
[17:12] investigation in Aransas County. The driver who struck him was
[17:16] never found, so that aspect of the case remains unsolved to
[17:20] this day. It also remains a mystery how a
[17:24] teenager from Dallas ended up nearly 400 miles from home.
[17:29] Investigators suspect he may have hitchhiked S during those
[17:32] missing months, as many young people did in that era.
[17:36] Unfortunately, the exact circumstances of his journey and
[17:39] death may never be fully known, though the investigation remains
[17:45] ongoing. Hey everyone, just a quick
[17:51] reminder to check out the YouTube membership or the
[17:53] Patreon if you want to take your support to the next level.
[17:57] Now with that said, let's get down to business since there's a
[18:01] lot more mysteries to cover. On a chilly Christmas night in
[18:08] 2007, the area outside of Phoenix, AZ Mall played host to
[18:13] an unfathomable act of cruelty. A man was seen engulfed in
[18:18] flames outside a Subway restaurant as horrified
[18:20] bystanders rushed to call 911. That man was 36 year old Aaron
[18:26] Taylor, a familiar homeless figure in the area who had just
[18:30] become the victim of a gruesome and senseless crime.
[18:34] Investigators are convinced they know who's responsible, but a
[18:38] lack of hard evidence in the silence of witnesses have kept
[18:41] the perpetrators out of the reach of justice.
[18:46] Aaron Taylor wasn't an anonymous drifter to those who worked near
[18:50] Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix. Employees at the malls, eateries
[18:54] and shops knew him as a polite, friendly presence who often
[18:57] camped near the Subway restaurant on E Cactus Rd.
[19:02] Aaron had come to Arizona from Oregon years earlier and by all
[19:05] accounts was a gentle, considerate person who had a
[19:08] rough lot in life. Tragically, Aaron's final months
[19:14] were marked by torment. He had become the target of a
[19:17] group of local young men who took pleasure in bullying him as
[19:21] he tried to go about his life. Witnesses later told police that
[19:25] a trio of teens and young adults had been harassing Aaron for
[19:29] weeks before his death. These individuals lived in a
[19:32] nearby apartment complex, and they treated Aaron as a source
[19:36] of cruel entertainment. In the latter half of 2007,
[19:43] people saw Aaron being subjected to degrading quote UN quote
[19:46] pranks. In one instance, the criminals
[19:50] reportedly duct taped Aaron to a bench in the mall courtyard,
[19:54] leaving him restrained and humiliated.
[19:57] On another occasion, they dragged him and threw him into a
[20:01] fountain for their amusement. A mall security guard even
[20:05] recalled seeing these men pouring liquids on Aaron and
[20:08] pushing him around in the months before the slaying.
[20:12] It was a pattern that grew increasingly violent over time,
[20:16] escalating with little intervention from bystanders or
[20:19] authorities. In Aaron's case, this pattern
[20:22] was a dire warning sign of the horror to come.
[20:27] While the harassment was known and widely witnessed, there was
[20:30] no sustained effort that successfully stopped the
[20:32] assaults. On the evening of December 25th,
[20:38] 2007, while many families celebrated in warmth, Aaron
[20:42] Taylor settled in to sleep on his usual bench.
[20:46] It was a holiday evening like many others for him, cold and
[20:50] quiet, with a few passers by and the glow of neon from nearby
[20:54] shops. Sometime that night, the same
[20:57] group who had been tormenting him decided to pay Aaron a
[21:00] visit. According to witness accounts
[21:03] pieced together later, 3 males approached Aaron in the
[21:06] courtyard as he rested. They brought drinks and snacks,
[21:11] perhaps trying to pretend they were in the Christmas spirit, or
[21:15] perhaps simply to toy with him. Several people saw the group
[21:20] chatting and sharing drinks with Aaron, almost as if they were
[21:23] hanging out casually. In fact, police would later find
[21:27] an assortment of items left behind. 1/2 empty bottle of
[21:31] whiskey, an unopened can of beer, and even a bag of Cheetos.
[21:37] It seemed the men were socializing with Aaron at first,
[21:40] perhaps lulling him into a sense of security.
[21:43] It turned out that this was just the setup for something
[21:46] unthinkably cruel. As darkness fell, what had
[21:52] appeared to be a quote UN quote friendly encounter turned into
[21:55] one of the most disturbing acts I've ever covered on this
[21:58] channel. Witnesses reported a horrifying
[22:01] sight. The young men began flicking lit
[22:04] matches at Aaron's long beard. When this sick game stopped
[22:08] being entertaining, they took things one step further.
[22:12] They doused Aaron in some sort of flammable liquid around 7
[22:17] that night, a bystander saw flames erupting from the bench
[22:21] area and called 911 an alarm. In a matter of moments, Aaron
[22:27] was completely engulfed in fire. The attackers scattered,
[22:31] reportedly running off back toward their apartment, leaving
[22:34] Aaron to his horrific fate. The scene was nothing short of a
[22:40] nightmare. Mall security and a nearby
[22:43] convenience store clerk sprinted over and desperately tried to
[22:46] save Aaron, using their jackets to smother the flames that were
[22:49] consuming him. These good Samaritans fought
[22:53] frantically for several minutes, but the fire was too intense due
[22:57] to the flammable liquid Aaron had been doused with.
[23:00] When Phoenix Fire Department paramedics arrived, they found a
[23:04] harrowing sight. Aaron's body straddling the
[23:07] bench, still on fire. First responders extinguished
[23:13] the flames and rushed to perform CPR.
[23:16] They raced Aaron to the Maricopa County Burn Unit, but the
[23:19] injuries were catastrophic. He was officially pronounced
[23:23] dead shortly after arrival at the hospital.
[23:26] Later, the medical examiner's report confirmed the most
[23:30] chilling detail. Aaron had been alive throughout
[23:33] most of the ordeal, evidenced by soot and his Airways from
[23:37] breathing in the smoke and flames.
[23:40] Aaron had been lit on fire and been forced to endure
[23:44] unimaginable horrors while fully conscious for the amusement of
[23:49] three disturbed individuals who remain free in the immediate
[23:56] aftermath. Phoenix police launched a full
[23:58] investigation, but they faced serious challenges from the
[24:02] start. The very act of attempting to
[24:04] save Aaron's life unfortunately destroyed much of the physical
[24:08] evidence at the scene. Firefighters had no choice but
[24:12] to douse the flames with water and foam, which inadvertently
[24:16] washed away potential forensic clues.
[24:19] Any traces like accelerant residue, blood, or fingerprints
[24:24] that might have been on Aaron's clothing or the bench were
[24:27] largely obliterated in the process of extinguishing the
[24:30] fire. Notably, while they recovered
[24:33] evidence, most of these items had been compromised by a
[24:37] mixture of heat, water and foam. For instance, matchsticks that
[24:42] may have been used to ignite Aaron were too fire damage to
[24:46] yield any DNA or fingerprints. Investigators scoured the area
[24:51] for surveillance footage, but frustratingly, none of the
[24:54] nearby shops. Security cameras captured the
[24:57] secluded spot where it happened. The crime had effectively
[25:00] occurred in a blind spot with little forensic evidence.
[25:05] Eyewitness testimony became the crucial pillar of the
[25:08] investigation since the physical evidence was lacking and indeed,
[25:13] multiple people had seen parts of the incident or the events
[25:17] leading up to it. Several witnesses told police
[25:20] about the group of young men seen hanging around Aaron that
[25:23] night, providing descriptions of their actions.
[25:27] One witness specifically reported seeing the men laughing
[25:30] and flicking matches at Aaron shortly before the fire erupted.
[25:35] In the aftermath, someone came forward saying that one of the
[25:38] young men actually bragged afterward about the incident.
[25:43] All of these accounts painted a consistent and damning picture,
[25:47] pointing to the same perpetrators.
[25:49] Crucially, people also noted that these were the same
[25:53] individuals who had been harassing Aaron for weeks prior.
[25:57] In the eyes of the Phoenix police, there was little mystery
[25:59] about who committed this sick act.
[26:02] The pattern of escalating attacks and eyewitness
[26:05] placements all pointed to those three young men as the culprits.
[26:11] While the police may have identified the likely
[26:13] perpetrators early on, turning that suspicion into an arrest
[26:17] proved daunting. A huge obstacle was the lack of
[26:21] cooperative witnesses willing to testify in court.
[26:24] Some bystanders who initially spoke to police grew hesitant to
[26:28] get further involved. It's been speculated that there
[26:31] may have been witness intimidation involved.
[26:36] When detectives brought in the three suspects for questioning,
[26:39] they hit a wall of silence. All three denied involvement and
[26:44] as soon as police started pressing them with the witness
[26:46] accounts, the suspects lawyered up.
[26:49] According to the cops, the suspects parents moved quickly
[26:53] to hire attorneys for their sons and advised them not to
[26:57] cooperate with investigators. With no confessions, no
[27:01] surveillance footage, no DNA and only reluctant witnesses, the
[27:07] case stalled out. Prosecutors determined there
[27:10] just wasn't enough admissible evidence to confidently charge
[27:14] the suspects, even though the detectives strongly believed
[27:17] they had the right people. The prosecution only has one
[27:21] chance to pursue the case, so the idea that they would have
[27:25] taken it to trial without cooperative witnesses made the
[27:28] chances of success minimal. Also, of course, the lack of any
[27:32] usable forensic evidence posed a huge problem, especially since
[27:37] the witnesses stopped cooperating.
[27:41] The biggest mystery here isn't who did it, but rather how to
[27:44] finally hold the culprits accountable.
[27:47] Over the years, Phoenix detectives have revisited the
[27:50] case multiple times, hoping new evidence might surface, but as
[27:55] yet, nothing has. In the end, it appears that the
[27:59] best chance for justice for Aaron Taylor will be if one of
[28:02] the men involved in the attack turns on the other two.
[28:07] Another potential possibility is if some very significantly
[28:10] degraded DNA can be reanalyzed to form adna profile.
[28:15] Even if only one individual can be tied to the crime, that's
[28:19] likely all that's needed. Using this method, the
[28:23] authorities may be able to put the full weight of the state on
[28:25] one individual and fully crack the case.
[28:29] Making a deal with one of the men may simply be the only way
[28:32] to realistically bring the other two to justice.
[28:37] Anyway, this case makes me absolutely sick.
[28:41] Hopefully these guys are caught and Aaron gets the justice he
[28:44] deserves. For Karen and Michael Laspizza,
[28:49] the morning of August 30th, 2013 began with a knock at the door
[28:54] and devastating news. Instead of welcoming their 19
[28:59] year old son Bryce home from college, they faced a California
[29:03] Highway Patrol officer who informed them that Bryce's SUV
[29:07] had been found crashed. It was near Castaic Lake with
[29:11] his phone, laptop, and wallet inside, but there was no sign of
[29:16] Bryce himself. Bryce was a sophomore at Sierra
[29:19] College in Northern California. In the two weeks before his
[29:23] disappearance, those close to him noticed alarming changes in
[29:27] his behavior. Normally outgoing and friendly,
[29:31] he became withdrawn, erratic, and depressed.
[29:36] Bryce's roommate, Sean Dixon, observed that Bryce had started
[29:40] drinking heavily and taking the stimulant medication Vivance
[29:43] without a prescription. He even gave away some of his
[29:47] prized possessions, including his Xbox console and a pair of
[29:51] sentimental diamond earrings. These uncharacteristic actions
[29:56] set off massive alarm bells among his friends and family.
[30:01] On August 27th, 2013, Bryce's behavior took another strange
[30:06] turn. He abruptly broke up with his
[30:08] long time girlfriend, Kim Sly, telling her she would be better
[30:12] off without him. That same day, he sent an
[30:16] emotional text to Sean thanking him for being a great friend and
[30:20] implying that Sean had saved his soul.
[30:23] This dramatic farewell like message was entirely out of
[30:27] character and left his friends concerned.
[30:31] Despite these red flags, Bryce insisted he was fine and planned
[30:35] to drive home to his parents. On the night of August 28th, he
[30:40] visited Kim at her apartment in Chico one last time.
[30:44] Kim grew so worried about Bryce's state that she took away
[30:48] his car keys to stop him from driving.
[30:52] Bryce called his mother for help.
[30:54] Karen offered to fly up to Northern California the next day
[30:57] if Bryce needed support. He told her not to worry and
[31:01] said he had quote a lot to talk about with her, but that he
[31:05] would do it later and not over the phone.
[31:09] Relieved that Bryce seemed calm, Karen then instructed Kim to
[31:12] return Bryce's keys, a decision that would prove fateful.
[31:17] Around 11:30 PM, Bryce left Kim's apartment and began the
[31:21] long drive South toward his family's home in Laguna Niguel.
[31:27] By the morning of August 29th, Bryce had barely made any
[31:30] progress toward home. At 11:00 that morning, his
[31:34] parents learned that he had used their roadside assistance
[31:37] service after running out of gas near a town called Buttonwillow.
[31:41] This was roughly halfway between Chico and Laguna Niguel.
[31:45] A mechanic named Christian delivered fuel to Bryce's
[31:48] stranded Toyota Highlander. Before he got the assistance
[31:52] call, he had noticed that Bryce had been sitting in the same
[31:55] spot for several hours without moving on.
[32:00] Even then, Bryce didn't arrive as expected.
[32:03] As evening fell with no sign of their son, the family filed a
[32:07] missing person report. Police tracked Bryce's cell
[32:11] phone signal and discovered he was still in the Buttonwillow
[32:14] area. Late that night, officers found
[32:17] Bryce in his car by the roadside, not far from where he
[32:21] had gotten gas. He was awake and showed no signs
[32:24] of intoxication. When asked why he was still
[32:28] there, Bryce said he was just taking some time after some
[32:31] heavy personal events. Since he seemed fine and was
[32:35] doing nothing illegal, the officers let him go after he
[32:38] promised to head straight home and call his parents.
[32:42] Around 10 that evening, Bryce finally resumed his journey S on
[32:46] Interstate 5. A few hours later, in the early
[32:51] morning darkness of August 30th, Bryce made one final phone call
[32:56] at two O 8. He spoke to his mom and said he
[32:58] was too tired to continue driving and would pull off to
[33:02] sleep in his car for a while. That was the last time anyone
[33:05] heard from him. Surveillance footage later
[33:08] showed that instead of stopping to rest, Bryce's SUV exited I5
[33:14] near Castaic Lake at around 2:15.
[33:17] Another camera sighting around 4:30 suggested he was still in
[33:21] that area more than two hours later.
[33:23] What happened over the next couple of hours remains unknown.
[33:28] Sometime before dawn, California Highway Patrol officers found
[33:32] Bryce's Toyota Highlander crashed down a 15 foot
[33:35] embankment off an Access Rd. by the lake.
[33:39] The SUV was on its side with a shattered back window.
[33:42] Inside the wreck, officers found Bryce's phone, laptop, wallet
[33:47] and clothes, but no Bryce. There was no blood or any sign
[33:51] of injury at the scene. It appeared Bryce had escaped
[33:55] the crash unharmed and then disappeared into the night.
[34:00] The discovery of Bryce's abandoned car prompted an
[34:03] extensive search around Castaic Lake.
[34:06] Divers scoured the lake but found no trace of him on land.
[34:11] Bloodhounds picked up Bryce's scent and followed it from the
[34:14] crash site to a truck stop on the other side of the dam where
[34:18] the trail abruptly ended. This suggested that Bryce left
[34:22] the area on foot and possibly caught a ride from that truck
[34:25] stop, essentially vanishing without a trace.
[34:30] Days later, on September 4th, firefighters responding to a
[34:34] brush fire near Castaic Lake discovered a burned body close
[34:39] to where Bryce's vehicle had been found, raising fears that
[34:42] it was him. However, the coroner confirmed
[34:46] that the body belonged to an unrelated individual and not to
[34:50] Bryce. Despite exhaustive searches by
[34:53] authorities and volunteers, to this day, no sign of Bryce Las
[34:57] Pisa has ever been found. Over the years, numerous
[35:02] theories have been proposed to explain Bryce's baffling
[35:05] disappearance. One possibility is that Bryce
[35:09] intended to end himself. His erratic behavior, sudden
[35:13] breakup, and cryptic goodbyes could indicate this intent.
[35:18] Yet the complete lack of a body makes this theory inconclusive,
[35:22] especially since he was on foot. And there's also the matter of
[35:26] the Bloodhound evidence. Another theory is that Bryce
[35:31] survived the crash but suffered a head injury or psychological
[35:36] break that left him disoriented. In that state, he might have
[35:41] wandered away and succumbed to the elements or gotten lost.
[35:46] Still, if he had stayed nearby, search teams likely would have
[35:50] found him. The fact that bloodhounds
[35:53] tracked his scent to a truck stop suggests an alternate
[35:56] scenario. Bryce may have intentionally
[35:59] walked away to start a new life. If he caught a ride from that
[36:03] truck stop, he could be anywhere, potentially living
[36:07] under a different identity. His decision to leave behind his
[36:11] phone and wallet might indicate he didn't want to be tracked, or
[36:15] it could simply mean he wasn't thinking clearly.
[36:19] Personally, though, I have to speculate that he may have met
[36:22] with foul play at that truck stop.
[36:25] He may have gotten in the wrong truck and met up with a driver
[36:29] who had some pretty serious ill intentions.
[36:32] But The thing is, this hypothesis doesn't require the
[36:35] initial driver who picked him up to have been a bad guy.
[36:39] That driver could have simply taken him to a different truck
[36:42] stop far away where he may have run into trouble.
[36:46] This is made doubly more difficult because he could have
[36:49] run into numerous Good Samaritan drivers in multiple states
[36:53] before running into a predator. More than a decade has passed
[36:58] since Bryce vanished, and his fate is still a complete mystery
[37:03] given the lack of evidence. As it currently stands, his
[37:06] parents continue to hold on to hope that Bryce may still be out
[37:10] there somewhere.

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