Buried Bones – "The Machete Murderer, Part 1" (October 8, 2025)

Podcast Hosts: Kate Winkler Dawson (journalist) & Paul Holes (retired cold case investigator)
Episode Focus: Investigation into a series of 1971 orchard murders in Yuba City, California—multiple victims, transient workers, with modern forensic analysis and historical context.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kate and Paul delve into the startling discovery of mass graves in the orchards of Yuba City, CA, in 1971—an area responsible for 40% of the world’s canned fruit at the time, and populated by transient orchard workers. Together, they reconstruct the crimes, consider forensic methods then and now, draw on Paul's field experience, and examine the vulnerabilities that made these victims targets. Part 1 closes as more bodies are uncovered and investigators home in on a pattern and suspect linked to a violent assault the previous year.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene: Yuba City, 1971

• Location & Context
  • Yuba City: 40 miles north of Sacramento; hot Central Valley, small town, agricultural, surrounded by orchards (peaches, prunes, plums, pears).
  • Large transient population due to seasonal agricultural work; workers often separated from families and vulnerable to predation.
  • Quote, Paul Holes [08:24]: "Anytime you have a transient population...they can be victimized. You see this also with people that ride the trains...several serial killers took advantage of these transients..."

Discovery of the First Grave

• May 19, 1971: Orchard owner Goro Kayiho discovers a shallow, freshly filled grave.

• Police find the body of Kenneth “Kenny” Whiteacre, a transient known to locals.

• Forensic notes:

  • Grave was impressively deep (3.5 ft), indicating substantial effort—unusual in most cases.
  • Quote, Paul Holes [11:26]: "Three and a half feet, this is a— I mean, that's a lot of work...many of them, they don't get past 18 inches."

• Investigation Techniques (1971):

  • Probing for more graves with metal rods (described in relation to a haunting historic photo).
  • Sifting removed dirt through mesh screens for evidence (cigarette butts, bone fragments, teeth, small items).
  • Use of plaster casts for tire and shoe impressions.
  • Quote, Paul Holes [22:34]: "As dirt is being brought up out of the grave, that dirt needs to go through this sifting process...so you can find, say, a cigarette butt."

Victim & Crime Scene Analysis

• Kenny Whiteacre: Middle-aged white male, transient, clothed, found with “homosexual literature” (possibly staged, unclear significance).

• Injuries:

  • Stab wound through chest, severing aorta.
  • Multiple chop/slash wounds to hands (defensive), wrist to the bone, cheek, and major skull wound.
  • Quote, Paul Holes [32:31]: "At least the injuries to his hands, that sounds consistent with defensive wounds..."

• Timeline: Last seen at 9:00 AM heading towards Bay Area; found dead later the same day. Sequence and accessibility of orchard suggest killer may have been trolling for victims or pre-planned the grave and lure.

  • Paul speculates: "We've got an offender that is out there literally trolling for victims...he's a fantasy motivated offender."

Pattern Emerges: More Graves, Similar MO

• Second Body: Discovered 5 days later at Sullivan Ranch (prune orchard), decomposed male, mismatched clothing, cause of death strangulation + stab wounds; identified as Charles Fleming.

  • Death likely occurred before Kenny, based on evidence (Safeway receipts dated May 8).
  • Paul Holes [46:41]: "The mismatched clothing on the victim...this victim is being redressed by the offender, and the offender has access..."

• Third Victim: Melford Sample, found near blood trail, wounds suggest very recent death (within 24 hrs).

• Forensics: Cigarette butts, receipts, other trace evidence at scenes.

Clues of a Serial Offender

• Escalating Discovery: Over a single day, multiple more bodies are found:

  • Some laid foot-to-foot, some in clusters, some buried naked from the waist down.
  • All victims are white, male, transient/agricultural workers; some severely decomposed.
  • Injuries: Stabbing (to chest), deep cleaver-type wounds to head, some signs of strangulation, many with genital exposure suggesting sexual component or postmortem humiliation.
  • Quote, Paul Holes [60:52]: "I think that that kind of answers the question. There's, there's a sexual component to what the offender is doing to these victims. So he's, he's a serial predator."

• Link to Prior Attack (Marysville, 1970):

  • Vicious cleaver attack at local restaurant; the survivor had near-fatal wounds (brain exposed). Assailant escaped.
  • Owner Natividad Corona present but cleared—police focus on other suspects.

The Challenge of Search, Evidence, and Forensics

• Vast Scale: Searching 400-600 acre orchards, grid patterns possible but laborious.
  • Use of scent dogs discussed.
  • Quote, Paul Holes [50:45]: "[If] we’re going to restrict ourselves to just this orchard…that would take a very, very long time to search."
• Careful Evidence Recovery: Importance of stopping excavations at night/rain.
  • Quote, Paul Holes [66:43]: "Nothing is going to change between now and in the morning. And all we're going to do is screw things up if we keep doing this in the middle of the night."

The Suspect & Next Steps

• Pattern and links point investigators to a suspect tied to the earlier meat cleaver assault.
• Clues: distinctive yellow Chevy panel van, the survivor's memory, and recurring forensic details.
• Promise to continue next week with the identification of the main perpetrator and full body count.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On vulnerability of victims:
  Kate [08:11]: “We talk about stories...of victims who are forgotten...killers...find the people who in their minds, nobody loves or nobody will miss. And so they prey on those people.”
• On the effort of grave digging:
  Paul [11:26]: “Three and a half feet, this is a, I mean, that's a lot of work...many of them, they don't get past 18 inches.”
• On possible staging of evidence:
  Paul [34:37]: “There’s a possibility that this is staged. That the offender planted this homosexual literature in a way to...disparage who the victim was, to throw law enforcement off...”
• On consistent MO and fantasy motivation:
  Paul [58:49]: “We do have a serial predator that's either...sexually motivated, fantasy induced, or...a mission. He has maybe a personal philosophy...these men are representative of being opposed to what this offender's philosophy is.”
• On cluster burial sites:
  Paul [63:27]: “This is interesting...you go to the Green River Killer case...he would put women's bodies in clusters...so he could remember where he had put them and he would go back and visit these women's bodies...”
• On halting an overnight dig:
  Paul [66:43]: “Nothing is going to change between now and in the morning. And all we're going to do is screw things up if we keep doing this in the middle of the night.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:38 – Setting the scene: Yuba City and Central Valley context
• 05:17 – Discussion of California's agricultural landscape and transient workers
• 09:27 – The scale and significance of the orchard industry
• 10:40 – Discovery of the first grave; police involvement
• 11:26 – Forensic challenges of grave digging/depth
• 13:35 – Crime scene methodology and documenting evidence
• 22:34 – Sifting and searching for evidence in soil
• 27:39 – Identification of victim Kenny Whiteacre
• 32:31 – Analysis of wounds and implications for the attack
• 37:38 – Victim timeline and forensic implications
• 43:21 – Discovery of the second victim on a separate orchard
• 46:41 – Clothing analysis and possible staging
• 50:45 – The challenge of grid searching a vast orchard
• 53:24 – Third grave; evidence of a fresh murder
• 56:28 – Autopsy report and crime scene consistency
• 60:52 – Discovery of clusters; sexual signatures in MO
• 61:04 – Victim backgrounds and offender familiarity with orchards
• 63:27 – Noting body clusters and suspect behavioral patterns
• 65:45 – Decision to halt overnight dig due to rain and darkness
• 67:42 – Confirmation of a viable suspect and setup for Part 2

Episode Tone and Style

• Conversational with rich historical and procedural detail.
• Kate brings empathy, context, and a journalist’s curiosity.
• Paul grounds the discussion in lived forensic experience, frequently offering insight into what would happen then, versus now.
• Distinct blend of respect for victims, dark humor ("I think you’ll find this is an interesting one"), and fascination with criminal methodology.

Summary Table: Discovered Victims (as of Episode End)

| Victim Name | Description | Injuries | Clothing/Notes | Time Found | |---------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------| | Kenny Whiteacre | White male, transient | Stabbed chest/aorta, head, defensive | Fully clothed, literature | May 19, 1971 | | Charles Fleming | White male, transient | Stabbed chest/rib/lung, strangulation | Mismatched, layered | May 25, 1971 | | Melford Sample | White male, transient | Deep head cut, skull fracture, stabbed | N/A, 9 fingers | May 25, 1971 | | Donald Smith | White male, orchard worker| Stabbed, bludgeoned, partial nudity | Shirt/sweatshirt pulled up | Cluster group | | John Haluka | White male, orchard worker| Similar, details N/S | N/A | Cluster group | | John Doe #1 | White male | Bludgeoned, exposed genitals/nudity | Dragged to grave | Cluster group | | John Doe #2 | White male | Decomposed | Naked waist down | Cluster group |

Additional unnamed victims and partial information omitted for brevity.

To Be Continued...

The episode ends with the promise of more discoveries and the unveiling of a main suspect (“the Machete Murderer”) in Part 2—along with further forensic evaluation and historical analysis.

For case photos, diagrams, and additional evidence, listeners are directed to the podcast’s Instagram @buriedbonespod.