The Night She Was Let Go: The Disappearance of Mitrice Richardson

Summary

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Clues with Morgan Absher and Kaelyn Moore

Episode: The Night She Was Let Go: The Disappearance of Mitrice Richardson

Date: April 8, 2026
Hosts: Morgan Absher & Kaelyn Moore

Episode Overview

In this deeply engaging and unsettling episode, Morgan and Kaelyn cover the baffling disappearance and tragic death of Mitrice Richardson, a case that exposes fundamental failures of law enforcement, mental health crisis response, and the justice system at large. The hosts meticulously break down every botched decision, missing clue, and crucial missed opportunity — raising significant questions about police accountability and the consequences of systemic negligence. The storytelling weaves together Mitrice’s vibrant, complicated life with the timeline of her nightmarish disappearance, leaving listeners with more questions than answers and igniting outrage over the mishandling of her case.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Mitrice Richardson’s Backstory & Mental Health (03:50–12:58)

• Early Life and Ambitions:
  Mitrice grew up in South LA, daughter of Latice Sutton (who endured her own trauma) and Michael Richardson. Raised to break cycles of violence/addiction, Mitrice excelled academically, was involved in dance and pageants, and aimed to be the first in her family to graduate college.
• College and Identity:
  During her time at Cal State Fullerton (4.0 GPA), Mitrice came out as gay, fell in love with Tessa Moon, and found support from family. She aspired to become a child psychologist, motivated by family history in foster care.
• Emerging Mental Health Struggles:
  After graduation in 2008, her mentor noticed “subtle concerning behavior.” By fall 2009, Mitrice’s online posts and messages became erratic and cryptic. Messages included, “Have you ever woke up at 7am crying on a Saturday, cuz now you see the light…” and references to connecting with the Obamas and working in the White House.
  Her mother chalks up these messages to creative expression, but listeners are asked to consider early signs of crisis.
  Quote:
  "I think her mom was just hoping that this was another form of creative self expression." – Kaelyn (09:50)
• Escalation & Day of Disappearance:
  On September 16, 2009, Mitrice leaves work, acts strangely at her aunt’s house, leaves cryptic notes (“who is queen now, Mississippi?”), then drives to Joffrey’s restaurant in Malibu and behaves increasingly erratically.

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2. Joffrey’s Restaurant Incident and Police Involvement (12:58–18:53)

• Odd Behaviors & Police Called:
  *Mitrice enters the valet’s car (“It’s subliminal,” she says), discusses astrology, code-cracking, hearing voices, and later claims to be from Mars. She cannot pay her $89 bill — her 91-year-old great-grandmother offers to pay by phone but the restaurant refuses for procedural reasons.
  Three LA County Sheriff’s deputies respond, perform a sobriety test (she passes), but crucial mental health observations are not properly documented.
• Citizen’s Arrest Setup:
  Staff are pressured to make a “private person’s arrest”; police then cite-and-release is avoided in favor of booking Mitrice for “defrauding an innkeeper” and minor pot possession. Quote:
  "They supposedly replied by saying, 'She's a ding.' And that's something law enforcement says when they're referring to someone with mental illness." – Caelan (17:08) "That's going on the botched board." – Morgan (17:10)

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3. The Botched Booking and Release (18:53–34:59)

• Breakdown of Arrest Protocol:
  Despite obvious signs of a mental health crisis, the arrest paperwork omits any mention of this. On paper, it appears a routine “dine and dash.” Her car is towed 11 miles away. Mitrice’s mother, after learning about the arrest, calls the station and explicitly pleads that her daughter not be released alone at night—especially given her mental state and unfamiliarity with Malibu.
• Critical Call & Foreboding Statement:
  Latisse’s plea: “It's being released that I'm worried about. It's crazy out here... I would hate to wake up to a morning report girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off.” (28:19)
• Failure to Communicate With Family:
  The deputy speaking to Latisse does not pass along her urgent instructions to the night commander. Mitrice unsuccessfully attempts four phone calls from a non-recorded, non-payphone line.* At 12:15am, Mitrice is released into the night with no money, phone, or transportation, still wearing a t-shirt — deputies offer no ride (as had been done famously for Mel Gibson, cited here for its jaw-dropping contrast).
  Quote:
  “Three years ago, you drove Mel Gibson to his car... and she couldn't even — if she wanted to — walk to her car.” – Caelan (33:21)

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4. Immediate Aftermath & Investigation Failures (34:59–48:38)

• Missed Sighting and Slow Response:
  Next morning, Latisse learns her daughter was released five hours earlier; the station discourages prompt missing persons report filing.
  A crucial tip comes from Bill Smith, a retired reporter who spots a woman matching Mitrice’s description at 6:30am—police delay or minimize this search, and do not canvass his property thoroughly.
  Quote:
  “They just stood in their driveway for a quick chat. Missing a huge opportunity to find Mitrice.” – Morgan (37:34)
• Jurisdiction Issues & Mishandling of Evidence:
  Jurisdiction falls to LAPD because Mitrice lived in LA city, splitting responsibilities and slowing action. LAPD’s later search of her car uncovers multiple overlooked items, including journals, ATM card, and a checkbook with over $2,000 — sufficient to cover her bill if recognized.
• Missed Mental Health Intervention:
  Analysis of Mitrice’s journals shows signs of a manic episode and likely sleep deprivation, but deputies maintain, against credible evidence, that no mental illness was observed.
  Quote:
  “Obviously, this email makes it sound like some of these deputies, especially Deputy Lorero, had real concerns about Mitrice’s mental health — and yet he chose to leave those concerns out of his incident report.” – Morgan (46:18)

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5. Fruitless Searches, Footage Cover-Up & Key Clues (48:38–58:39)

• Searches and Delayed Action:
  Massive multi-day searches begin days after her disappearance, with no results. Later, nearly 400 people search for eight hours, to no avail.
• Jail Footage Concealment:
  Initially, the family is told no surveillance exists. Months later, a tape is “found,” allegedly omitted due to technical/privacy issues. The footage shows Mitrice in clear distress, attempting to escape her cell — but parts are potentially edited, and a deputy leaves through the rear door two minutes after Mitrice, his identity still never confirmed. Quote:
  “And so when Captain Martin watched a brief portion of the video that was in his desk drawer, he only saw footage of Mitrice being booked... But the LASD refused to release that deputy’s name, which, again, the family is like, what are you hiding?” – Morgan (52:23–55:03)
• The Mural and Disputed Clues:
  A mural depicting nude Black women near the scene unsettles her mother, but is dismissed by police as unrelated graffiti.

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6. Discovery of Remains & Further Botches (59:32–65:23)

• Grim Discovery:
  Nearly a year after Mitrice was last seen, park rangers discover her skeletal remains by chance, just outside the formal search area in a remote canyon.
• Evidence Mishandling:
  Instead of waiting for the coroner, LA County Sheriff’s detectives prematurely remove the remains, fail to properly photograph or secure the scene, and mistakenly report approval from the coroner—who contradicts this. Clothing is never tested for DNA or animal activity. Additional bones are found months later.
  Quote:
  “They then tried again two weeks after that, on August 25, 2010, and they collected nine more of Mitrice’s bones that detectives had missed at the site.” – Caelan (64:33)
• Cause of Death and Institutional Denial:
  The coroner rules the cause ‘undetermined’; police float unlikely scenarios (allergic reaction to poison oak, snakebite) and dismiss homicide. Later, both parents settle lawsuits ($900,000 split), but LASD never admits wrongdoing, shockingly claiming the investigation was ‘near perfect’.

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7. Theories, Cover-Up Suspicions, and Legacy (69:41–79:41)

• Main Theories Discussed:

  1. No Foul Play: Mental health crisis leads to accidental death or suicide; Mitrice wandered into Dark Canyon alone.
  2. Unsolved Crime: She was victimized by a stranger, possibly coerced or attacked; possible suspects include a local man (Rick Forsberg) with a criminal past and evidence (stash of women’s underwear) found at his hideout, which LAPD declined to test for DNA.
  3. Police Cover-Up: Pattern of botched evidence, withheld tape, missing bones (specifically the hyoid, key in strangulation cases), institutional denial support theories of a cover-up. Coroner’s criticism of the scene handling and ongoing community suspicion remain unresolved.

• The Case’s Human & Systemic Impact:
  The hosts underline the avoidability of tragedy had Mitrice received a mental health intervention instead of punitive detention. They highlight failures at each institutional junction — from initial contact to the final search for remains.
  Quote:
  “My trees might be alive today and practicing clinical psychology if she had gotten treatment that night or had just gone home with her mother.” – Kaelyn (75:55–76:02)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Latisse (Mitrice’s mother) to police:
  "I would hate to wake up to a morning report girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off." – (28:19)

• Morgan (on double standards):
  “Mel Gibson got a ride home… she couldn’t even, if she wanted to, walk to her car.” – (33:21)

• Kaelyn (on institutional avoidance):
  “It’s not a death sentence in this country. Ultimately she lost her life, she was sent to jail. The whole case was mishandled. And that in no way needs to be what happens to people experiencing this.” – (79:22)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:50 — Mitrice’s background, family, & early warning signs
• 12:58 — Timeline of Joffrey’s incident, police arrival, and erratic behavior
• 28:19 — Latisse’s urgent call to police, chilling premonition
• 33:21 — Stark contrast: Mel Gibson vs. Mitrice’s treatment
• 36:26 — Bill Smith’s sighting in Malibu Canyon
• 42:00 — LAPD car search reveals missed evidence
• 52:23–55:03 — Jail video concealment & the mystery deputy
• 59:32 — Remains found by park rangers and evidence mishandling
• 69:41–76:12 — Theories about Mitrice’s death and the possibility of a cover-up
• 75:55 — Hosts' reflection on preventability and advocacy for psychosis support

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Resources & Advocacy Highlighted

• Psychosis Reach (psychosisreach.org):
  Supports family members of people with psychosis, offers training and resources for early intervention.

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Missing Person of the Week

Brianna Maitland (80:20) — Disappeared at 17 in Vermont, 2004. Details and tip lines provided.

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Tone, Style, and Takeaways

This episode is marked by empathetic storytelling, sharp forensic breakdown, and candid outrage. Morgan and Kaelyn blend meticulous research with relatable, impassioned commentary — inviting listeners to examine not just the facts, but the broader failures that turned a preventable crisis into a tragedy. Their “botched board” motif calls out each misstep, while their discussion of mental health and institutional negligence broadens the lesson far beyond a single case. The unresolved, haunting nature of Mitrice’s death, and the chilling indifference with which it was initially handled, form the core of the episode’s impact.

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For Listeners

• If you know anything about Mitrice Richardson’s case, call Crime Stoppers (1-800-222-TIPS or lacrimestoppers.org).
• Consider learning more about crisis intervention and psychosis at psychosisreach.org.

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For further participation:

• Join the conversation and share theories or keep your own “botchboard” on @CluesPodcast Instagram or on Reddit r/CluesPodcast.

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Transcript

[Caelan Moore]

Hi Crime House community. It's Kaylyn from clues and I've got some really exciting news for you all. CLUES has been nominated for a Webby Award for best crime and justice podcast episode. Now we really, really need your help to bring home the People's Voice award. Head to vote.webbyawards.com and cast your vote for clues. Voting is open now through April 16th. That's vote.webbyawards.Com thanks everyone.

[Morgan Absher]

Foreign. This is Crime House.

[Caelan Moore]

One night in 2009, a mother gets a call. Her 24 year old daughter has been arrested. But what started as an arrest soon turned into one of the strangest missing persons cases I've ever read about.

[Morgan Absher]

Mitrice Richardson was released from police custody just before 1am not no wallet, no phone, no ride. And after that, no one ever heard from Mitrice again. Hi guys. Welcome back to clues where we sneak past the crime scene tape to explore the key evidence behind some of the most gripping true crime cases.

[Caelan Moore]

I'm Caelan Moore and I'm going to be the one digging deeper into the timelines, the backstories and the court files released on these cases.

[Morgan Absher]

And I'm your Internet detective, Morgan Absher. I'm the one who's diving into anything I can find online and looking at those lesser known details and trying to figure out what is or isn't adding up. And don't forget to share your thoughts on social want ad free listening and early access. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts and make sure to go back and listen to our previous episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Now let's get into my Treece Richardson's case and the clues that defined it. This one is going to be a doozy of a case today.

[Caelan Moore]

It's a big one.

[Morgan Absher]

It is a big one. And I'm doing the research and you hear everything back and it is, it's mind boggling how such incompetence could even occur. You know, this is kind of a recent one. It's, it's still 2009.

[Caelan Moore]

I know you say it's mind boggling that such incompetence can occur, but I do feel as though that is a thread.

[Morgan Absher]

I mean, we cover it every week.

[Caelan Moore]

Recent cases we've covered.

[Morgan Absher]

We got the botched board for a reason.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, we, we start, we're starting with a clean slate. We'll see how many botches we get on this one. And as always, I'm very curious what you guys get for botches. Definitely keep tally along with us.

[Morgan Absher]

I know we need to start comparing at the end and like, really calling to it. But I think we're going to talk about botched board and some other cases that we don't actually like cover on the show but maybe want to highlight over on our new Clues podcast subreddit.

[Caelan Moore]

Yes.

[Morgan Absher]

So we will be sure to put the link in the description for you guys to go over to Reddit and check out the Clues podcast sub. We want to, like, let that be a place where you guys can highlight cases local to your area and, you know, maybe highlight other missing people. Because the power of Reddit, like, if, if any of those posts went viral, I mean, there's just so much power and community behind Reddit. So we wanted to offer another place for everyone to share, share stories and share cases.

[Caelan Moore]

Definitely. And that's R, slash Clues podcast. Check it out. We'll also have the link in our description.

[Morgan Absher]

But without further ado, let's get into this case because there's a lot to unpack.

[Caelan Moore]

Yes. And if you're watching on YouTube, you're going to see some pictures, images, videos that will help you visualize the case. And if you're listening, you can see those same pictures videos on our Instagram. That's at Clues podcast. And again, you should just follow us over anyways because we post a lot of extra stuff about the episodes on there.

[Morgan Absher]

And just a warning before we begin, this episode does include discussions of suicide and mental health struggles. So please listen with care.

[Caelan Moore]

I'm going to start this case on September 16, 2009. That day, a bartender at a restaurant called Joffrey's in Malibu, California, calls 911 because someone is inside of the restaurant behaving very strangely. We're going to play a little bit of that 911 call here for you guys.

[Restaurant Staff / Dispatcher]

I can help you.

[Morgan Absher]

Hi, I'm calling from Joffrey's restaurant in Malibu. We have a guest here who is refusing to pay her bill and we think she may.

[Restaurant Staff / Dispatcher]

She sounds really crazy. She may be on drugs or something. We are wondering if someone can come by and pick her up.

[Caelan Moore]

That bartender describes someone who's potentially having some sort of episode inside of the restaurant, and they want the police to come over and check it out. So when the bartender makes this call, she really believes that she's doing something to help this patron, Mitrice Richardson. But what she doesn't realize is this actually starts a chain of events that ends in the disappearance of that exact woman, Mitrice Richardson. So let's take it all the way back and talk a little bit about who Mitrice was. So Mitrice was born in South LA on April 30, 1985, to Latice Sutton and Michael Richardson. Latisse herself had a pretty rough upbringing, so Letiz's mother suffered from alcohol addiction and her father was pretty absent. When latisse was just 12 years old, she watched her grandfather shoot her grandmother Mildred three times. And afterwards he turned the gun on himself and he died by suicide. Miraculously though, even after being shot three times, Mildred did survive the whole event. But that did go on to shape Latisse's life and the years that followed. During her senior year of high school, Lateese got pregnant and gave birth to Mitrice just five months before she turned 18 years old. And once Mitrice came along, Latice knew she had to break her family's cycle of violence and addiction for her daughter's sake. When Michael, Mitrice's father, took a wrong turn in life and ended up serving time in prison, Latice did not wait for him. She decided she was going to move on with her life and she married her next boyfriend. And after that, they left South LA for a safer neighborhood of San Gabriel Valley, which is just outside of Los Angeles. Young Mitrice thrived there from elementary school, throughout high school. She was kind of a natural born entertainer. She did everything from cheerleading to dancing. She even did beauty pageants. And Latisse really encouraged all of these interests that her daughter had. And she told her, you can be anything you want to be, even Miss America, you just have to work hard enough. What Mitrice really wanted though, was to be the first person in her family to go to college. And not only did she get into Cal State Fullerton, she had a 4.0 GPA. She definitely took her mother's advice, which was very good advice. But when she was in college, this also marked a really big change in her personal life. And this is the time where she came out as gay. Mitrice's parents accepted her. They embraced her identity, including her biological father, who was out of prison at that point. And in 2007, 22 year old Mitrice, who was still studying at Cal State Fullerton, fell in love with a 23 year old woman named Tessa Moon. She was an aspiring boxer. And Tessa helped Mitrice get a job as an assistant at a shipping company, which Tessa's father owned. But six months into this relationship, Tessa moved to the Bay Area for work. The two spent the next year and a half doing long distance. Some reports did say that they broke up sometime in 2009. But Tessa did say that they were still together and they were making plans for the future when my Tresse disappeared. With her girlfriend now a six hour drive away, Maitrice searched for other ways to stay connected to the LGBTQ community. She marched in Pride parades. She took a part time job as a go Go dancer at a lesbian bar in Long beach under the name Hazel. Eventually, Mitrice decided that she was gonna go to grad school after she got her bachelor's degree. She had always thought about being a child psychologist. She liked the idea of helping kids in foster care.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, she really wanted to make a difference.

[Caelan Moore]

Yes, yes. And that really tracks because Latisse had seven siblings and most of them grew up in the foster care system. Plus, Maitrice had been working during her senior year as an intern for a clinical psychologist named Dr. Rhonda Hampton. But a year after graduating with her bachelor's degree in psychology In May of 2008, Maitrice appeared to be really struggling emotionally. And Dr. Hampton, her mentor, noticed that there was some concerning but pretty subtle behavior coming from Mitrice. Though she didn't say exactly what that behavior was, and it doesn't seem like she really intervened in this. However, by the fall of 2009, people close to Mitrice realized that something was seriously wrong with her. She started posting really cryptic messages to MySpace, often in the middle of the night. One of them read, quote, have you ever woke up at 7am crying on a Saturday? Cuz now that you see the light, you see all the people lost in the dark. Welcome to my reality. That September, Maitrice started sending erratic text messages to her mother as well. One of them said that she planned to, quote, find my way to Michelle Obama to see if she will talk to Mr. Obama about creating my position within the White House. But when Latisse confronted her daughter about these texts because she was very confused as to what her daughter was talking about, Mitrice explained them in a way that actually convinced her mom that everything was okay, that she was all right. Mitrice was the type of person that really always marched to the beat of her own drum. She was a creative person. You know, I think her mom was just hoping that this was another form of creative self expression.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, I mean, some of the MySpace posts that I saw I could chalk up as like, oh, that's just normal for the time. Like I remember being on Facebook and posting like, Morgan is sad, of course. So some of them are kind of like, oh, it's just a sign of the times. It's normal. Yeah, but then you get some of them and you're like, oh no, clearly something's kind of up here.

[Caelan Moore]

But some of them started seeming a little bizarre. But of course, her mom just thought the world of her and so was assuming like the best intentions with all of these messages. But what she didn't realize is that the truth of what was happening was a lot more concerning. And that brings us back to September 16, 2009. So that afternoon, 24 year old Mitrice leaves her job at the shipping company that she worked at. She's taking her lunch break, but after this lunch break, she decides that she's not going to go back to the office. Instead, she drives to her Aunt Lauren's house in Inglewood. But when she gets there, she realizes that Lauren's not home. And in response, Maitrice scatters a bunch of business cards which are advertising her dancing name, Hazel on the porch. And then she leaves a note on her uncle's van. And this is just more cryptic messaging coming from her. Some of these notes say things like, quote, who is queen now, Mississippi? And quote, black women scorned. Then Mitrice heads north on the Pacific coast highway in her white Honda Civic. And then later that evening, she spots a cliffside restaurant overlooking the ocean called Joffrey's in Malibu. Really, really, really nice, Lovely restaurant. Around 6.30pm, she pulls up to the valet stand and she steps out of her Honda. But instead of waiting for the valet to return from parking another car, Mitrice actually gets into the valet's personal vehicle. It's parked on the side nearby with the door open. And when he gets back, he sees that Matrice is inside looking through his CD collection. And so he actually just asks if she's okay. And Matrice replies, quote, it's subliminal. Then she says that she's there to avenge the death of Michael Jackson, and she asks if Vanessa is inside. And she describes her as being a girl with tattooed arms. Vanessa was actually the name of a regular at the club where Mitrice dance. Mitrice had apparently fallen pretty hard for her and only wanted her more when she learned that she had a girlfriend. But her behavior was described as being obsessive by some. She even drove all the way out to Las Vegas by herself once to celebrate her birthday. But eventually Vanessa had to tell her to back off because the behavior did start to scare her. And it's not clear if Vanessa actually worked at that restaurant or was there that night or really what was going on and why Matrice was asking for her there. When the valet gets into Mitrice's Honda, he notices that it's pretty messy inside. He describes there being stuff everywhere. It almost looked like someone had broken into her car and scattered everything all about. So the valet actually goes and gives the hostess a heads up that Mitrice is acting a little bit off. But she still gets a table at the restaurant nonetheless. And at 7.40pm, she orders a steak and a cocktail. Meanwhile, there's a table of seven people nearby, co workers at a local mortgage company, and they're all just having a conversation with each other. And Mitrice brings her drink over. She's not really invited, but still sits down with a group anyways. And she starts talking to them about astrology. And then she gets into cracking codes. And then she also mentions to them things about hearing voices.

[Morgan Absher]

So clearly she's coming off as going through something not in the right headspace. She's unwell.

[Caelan Moore]

Everyone that she talks to that night kind of flags her behavior and the stuff that she's talking about because it just seems a little bit divorced from the reality everyone else is living. Yeah. When her steak finally arrives, she returns to her own table, but not before telling them that she'll contact them all when she gets to Hawaii. They're not really sure what that means, but that's what she says before she goes back to her table. At 8:21pm, the waiter prints Mitrice's check. It's about 90 bucks that she owes for the whole dinner. And she starts walking away without paying. So the manager intercepts her and Mitrice tells them that the other table was actually going to cover her bill. And then the manager replies that they're not going to cover that bill. Mitrice says, quote, I am busted. What are we going to do? They end up suggesting that Mitrice call someone and maybe ask for help paying for the meal. And they end up calling her 91 year old great grandmother Mildred, the same one we talked about earlier, because Mitrice is currently living with her. And Mildred offers to give her own credit card number over the phone, but they say that she is going to have to come in and sign for the charge.

[Morgan Absher]

They actually, in one source I saw, they were like, we can't accept your credit card over the phone actually for fraud prevention, but you can fax us the numbers. 91 year old, 2009 great grandma trying to just save the day, get her granddaughter out of this predicament. Let me pay the bill. Let me pay. Here's my credit card numbers. No, ma' Am. You must fax. You must fax it.

[Caelan Moore]

I know. I do love Joffrey, so I'm hesitant to say that they didn't do the right thing in this situation. But it is, it's tricky. And I do think overall they were trying to help her because, like, even for having such odd behavior, they still gave her a table. Like, but, like, it is frustrating that they wouldn't just let her pay over the phone so that everyone could be square and, like, this whole situation could just be done. Let's just get it sett old. And obviously Mildred can't do that. She also just can't drive into the restaurant. She's just too old to drive that far.

[Morgan Absher]

It's also probably at this point, maybe an hour drive. Like, I know where she lives. Like, it's not close.

[Caelan Moore]

This is LA we're talking about.

[Morgan Absher]

It's extremely spread out.

[Caelan Moore]

Everything is so far.

[Morgan Absher]

Getting up the Pacific coast highway, if there's any traffic, you don't know how long it's going to be.

[Caelan Moore]

And Mildred doesn't know this at the time, but things at the restaurant are starting to get worse for my trees.

[Morgan Absher]

She.

[Caelan Moore]

This is when Morgan, she starts telling the manager now that she's from Mars. And at one point, someone described her as speaking in complete gibberish. Shortly after 8:30pm on September 16, 2009, three deputies with the LA County Sheriff's Department arrive at Joffrey's Malibu. They performed a field sobriety test on my tre, which she does end up passing. And at the same time, Mitrice's mother, Latisse calls the restaurant, presumably after hearing about the situation from Mildred. We can assume Latisse spoke with the manager. And, you know, I will say here that the most information we have about this whole altercation that happened at Joffrey's comes from this report by the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review. And what they write in their report is very different from how the family describes what happened at the restaurant. So in this report, I mean, they say that Mitrice's mom suggests that she spend a night in jail because that could teach her a lesson. But, I mean, in some of the reading that you did, Morgan, that's not really how it went down.

[Morgan Absher]

No.

[Caelan Moore]

So it's, I mean, one of those cases too, where you just have to take it with a grain of salt based on, like, what you're reading, on whose side that you're. You're seeing this whole event through. They say that they got permission from Latice to take her to jail. They also got Mitrice's permission to search her car for her wallet. They didn't find one inside, but they did find some other stuff. They found alcohol containers, empty prescription bottles, and a small amount of marijuana. However, when the valet asked one of the deputies what was wrong with Mitrice, they supposedly replied by saying, quote, she's a ding. And that's something law enforcement says when they're referring to someone with mental illness.

[Morgan Absher]

She's a ding.

[Caelan Moore]

She's a ding.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, that's going on the botched board. Let's treat people with respect.

[Restaurant Staff / Dispatcher]

It's.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, like basic. Basic civility, not derogatory terms.

[Caelan Moore]

Even if someone has mental illness, like, come on, we need to be. There's services for that.

[Morgan Absher]

Oh, it's gonna get worse from here, friends.

[Caelan Moore]

This is just like the tip of the iceberg.

[Morgan Absher]

Buckle up. So according to the restaurant owner, deputies said the only way to get my trees some help was for the employees there to make a private person's arrest, AKA a citizen's arrest. Which brings us to our first clue. The two different stories about Mitrice's arrest. One from the staff at Joffrey's and one from the LASDS paperwork, as you mentioned. Yeah, we've got a lot of sides to this story.

[Caelan Moore]

Totally different stories based on whose side

[Morgan Absher]

you're reading now, Everyone agrees on one major thing. The restaurant manager did make a private person's arrest of Mitrice, and they charged her with defrauding an innkeeper. Now, I looked this up. This is not a term I'd come across. It's essentially failure to pay a bill for hotel or, like, motel services, restaurant, things like that. It's kind of an old timey term, but dine and dash essentially falls under this. And there's two different classes for it, actually. So if it's under $950, it's a misdemeanor, but can still result in up to six months in jail. If it's over 950, then it goes to a different level, and it's. It's crazy. But this was only. It was like an $89 bill, so.

[Caelan Moore]

And you can get six months in jail for that?

[Morgan Absher]

Yes.

[Caelan Moore]

Wild.

[Morgan Absher]

Yes.

[Caelan Moore]

And the issue of a private person's arrest versus law enforcement arrest can be confusing. So I wanted to take a second to kind of get into the weeds on that. So under California law, a private person can arrest another person for any crime committed in their presence.

[Morgan Absher]

That.

[Caelan Moore]

Which is so wild to me, I'm just flabber.

[Morgan Absher]

I'm speechless, truly.

[Caelan Moore]

I'm glad that more people don't know you can do that, because I do fear that there would be citizens arrest all over the place.

[Morgan Absher]

The amount of people I actually want to arrest for running stop signs in my neighborhood now you should just jump

[Caelan Moore]

out of your car and scream, citizens arrest.

[Morgan Absher]

I'm gonna walk around with. No, I'm just walk around with a camera and send pictures of their license plate.

[Caelan Moore]

There is a kind of a reason that this doesn't happen very often. Like, if you improperly arrest someone, you could face charges yourself for, for false imprisonment and assault, as well as a civil lawsuit.

[Morgan Absher]

This is just crazy, though. Can you imagine, like, physically arresting someone on your own?

[Caelan Moore]

I can't. But I have heard of times where someone will break into a house and the. The homeowner, like, do you remember there was a guy that trapped the burglar under a chair and like, citizens arrested him until the police got there. Wow. Yeah, you. You can, I guess, like, hold people.

[Morgan Absher]

The more you know, guys, the more

[Caelan Moore]

you know, the more you know when a law enforcement officer responds to a private person's valid arrest. So if you citizens arrest someone in a valid way, they legally must take that suspect into custody, quote, without delay, without questions. This also means that law enforcement cannot be held liable for the arrest in most cases, though. So it does get really hairy real fast. So basically, by asking the restaurant to make a private person's arrest, the police were granted protection, and they were given a legal reason to take Mitrice into custody swiftly and at least for a short amount of time.

[Morgan Absher]

So after the restaurant manager did this private person's arrest on Mitrice, the deputies added a charge for the marijuana possession based on the small amount found in her car. California is legal now, but Again, this was 2009. Recreational use, I don't think became legal in this state until 2016. Somewhere in there.

[Caelan Moore]

So it was like, just super.

[Morgan Absher]

They're nab her on anything they can. And they did get permission to search her car, so they took advantage of that. And now these charges typically wouldn't be enough to land someone in jail. Our best guess as to why they continued with this private person's arrest is the following. Police in California typically cite and release people for most nonviolent misdemeanors like petty theft or minor drug charges, instead of actually arresting and booking them again, a lot more paperwork that they want to avoid. And since Mitrice had no criminal record, they probably didn't feel like they could arrest and detain her for such a minor offense. But this is again where the stories really start to differ. According to LASD's version of events, the restaurant manager, quote, demanded that the deputies take Ms. Richardson into custody. LASD also said that letting Mitrice leave on her own wasn't an option. She hadn't paid the valet fee, so the restaurant wasn't going to release her car. Without her vehicle, she had no other form of transportation. How's she gonna leave Joffrey's and get out of here? And I will say on her restaurant bill, you do see a valet charge on there. $5 could have been solved by accepting grandma's credit card information over the phone.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, but.

[Morgan Absher]

Okay, here we are again. The restaurant employees claimed the payment wasn't the issue they were claiming. They were just worried about my trees's safety.

[Caelan Moore]

And, I mean, the cops did say that the only way that she could get services, like not be arrested, but actually get services, was if they performed a citizen's arrest. So I. I do fear they were backed into a corner on this one.

[Morgan Absher]

So, according to the staff, they told LASD personnel that they believed Mitrice was mentally ill and couldn't drive. And they even said that the deputies observed her symptoms firsthand, hence the. The ding comment from before.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

If that's true, the deputies had the grounds to detain Mitrice themselves. If a person's mental illness makes them, quote, a danger to others or to themselves or gravely disabled, law enforcement can have them evaluated by a mental health professional or for an involuntary 72 hour hold. It's sometimes referred to a 5150. I saw this constantly when I was working in mental health facilities. People often brought in by officers placed in a locked psychiatric unit for their safety. Very common thing here in la. And where Joffrey's is located, there are multiple hospitals and facilities easily accessible that they could have brought my trice to at this point in time. But Mitrice's arrest paperwork does not make any mention of mental illness, erratic behavior, or intoxication. So it's another one four on the bunch.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

Like, very clearly, you have the staff of the restaurant concerned, saying, hey, we have someone who might be under the influence or is unwell, and you're gonna pretend like you're not observing that you're not gonna document it? You don't want to do a little more paperwork or complicate your. Your evening? Come on.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, it's. I mean, all of this was so preventable the entire time.

[Morgan Absher]

The report does talk about Mitrice joining this other table of people, but it leaves out any mention of the voices in her head saying she's from Mars to the manager. There's no mention of any of this or any other potential symptoms that she was exhibiting. So whichever version of the story is true, we do know what happened next. My Tre was taken to the Malibu Lost Hills LASD Station. It's about 20 miles from Joffre's. Her car was taken to the Malibu Tow Co. Which is 11 miles from the station.

[Caelan Moore]

So at 9:50pm on September 16, 2009, that same night, 24 year old Mitrice Richardson found herself in the back of a squad car. She was now heading to jail during that time. That's when her mom called the station to find out if my trees would be released that night. And essentially Latisse didn't know she should wake up her 10 year old daughter to drive across town in the middle of the night. And she didn't want to drive 50 miles with her just to sit in the station of a lobby all night waiting for a morning 50 mile drive

[Morgan Absher]

like it Again, this is Malibu is very outside of la.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, it's, it's a far, far drive. So Latisse made it clear that she would come get my trees if she was going to be released before morning. But that didn't sound like the case.

[Morgan Absher]

She never got a psych evaluation, she was never offered any mental health services, and deputies were reassuring her family members that Mitrice was gonna be safe with them. But in reality, this is not the case. Today's episode is brought to you by alma. It can be challenging to find the right therapist. So someone that gets you teaches you strategies that are actually going to work for you and your needs. And it can sometimes be costly. Well, ALMA is on a mission to change all that. They want to simplify access to high quality, affordable mental health care. And they have over 20,000 diverse therapists and an easy to use platform. One thing I love about ALMA is that you can do consultations with a therapist. It's almost like an interview. And you can make sure you guys match each other's vibes before you really jump in and get started. Their directory helps you find a therapist that takes your insurance and meets your specific needs with filters like gender, race, therapeutic approach and more. And you're going to know exactly how much you're paying upfront with their free insurance, cost, estimator, calculator. We're entering a new year, so now is the perfect time to start addressing things you might want to work on. A year from today isn't that far away. Get started [e-mail] clues. That's hello a l m a.com clues.

[Caelan Moore]

So one of the deputies told her, quote, the only thing is, at least in this station here, she will be separated. So nobody's going to be with her, you know, so at least that's the plus thing. You don't have to worry about her safety. And Latisse clarified saying, quote, oh yeah, no, I feel safe with her being in custody. It's being released that I'm worried about. It's crazy out here, end quote. So Latisse is obviously saying, I'm not worried about her being in the jail with you guys, even though I think a lot of people would be worried about that still. But the thing she was mostly worried about was her daughter exiting that building and being just left on her own after she was clearly having like a big mental health event.

[Morgan Absher]

Absolutely. We're gonna play a clip here for you guys just to kind of show you how calm her mother is, how worried she is though, and just very clearly communicating to this officer, this employee on the phone, hey, let me know, I will come get her. That is not a question, that is not a problem. Let me know when she'll be released. I'm worried. And there's a bone chilling statement you guys are going to hear, but she essentially says, I don't want her out there wandering. She has nothing. I don't want her to get her head chopped off.

[Restaurant Staff / Dispatcher]

Okay, okay, I'm, I'm her mother and are you guys going to book her and then release her on her own recognizance tonight? Because it's dark, she doesn't have a car and I don't want her wandering out. I'm totally just taken aback because it is so out of character for her. And you'll see when she comes in, she's well spoken. I think the only way I will come and get her tonight is if you guys are going to release her tonight. It's going to be held in custody for some type of arraignment tomorrow. Then I will wait until tomorrow. She definitely has no place, you know, I mean, she's not from that area and I would hate to wake up to a morning report girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off. I guess I would have to come and get her. Oh my God. Yeah, we're in a great hills. The only thing is, at least in

[Morgan Absher]

the station here she will be separated.

[Restaurant Staff / Dispatcher]

So nobody's going to be with her. So at least that's, you know, the plus thing. So you don't have to worry about her safety. Oh, yeah, no, I feel safe. Safe with her being in custody, it's being released, but I'm worried about it. It's crazy out here. All right, well, then I will more than likely call and touch bases with you guys a little bit later.

[Morgan Absher]

She'll call you as soon as she comes in, too.

[Caelan Moore]

So at the end of that conversation, Letiz at least feels like her daughter's going to be safe enough overnight. So she sets her alarm for the next morning, planning to wake up before sunrise to go get her daughter. Meanwhile, Mitrice was booked at 10:20pm and placed in this holding cell. But that Deputy Lattice spoke to, he was leaving for the night. He wasn't going to be there overnight. He left the station without telling his watch commander about the conversation that he had with Latice. Specifically, a mother basically pleading that her daughter not just be released out into the world, and also that she was going to come get Mitrice early if she was released that night. So they could just call her. Like, if they did have to release her, they could call her. She'd come get. But he did not relay that conversation at all.

[Morgan Absher]

Talk to her mom. Here's a phone number. Call her. Botched.

[Caelan Moore]

She just went home.

[Morgan Absher]

Botched. It's number three for us right now.

[Caelan Moore]

While Matrice was there overnight, she used the station phone four times, but it wasn't able to record phone calls. So we don't know if she got through to anyone or if she left any messages. What we do know, though, is that the only number Mitrice claimed to remember was her great grandmother's. But Mildred insisted that her phone did not ring that night.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, and also, this is another bit of a botch for us here, actually. So there was a payphone that did record conversations in this facility.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

However, it was broken. So the phone that they were allowing Mitrice to call from was just one of their normal desk phones that didn't record.

[Caelan Moore]

Yes, yes. Huge oversight that night. Then around 11:45 that night, the jailer got word that my trees had cleared. The wants and warrants checked. That's a computerized search that makes sure someone doesn't have any outstanding warrants before you release them. And because she cleared that she was free to leave, she could stay voluntarily in a private cell overnight if she had nowhere to go. And the jailer warned her that it was pretty cold and dark that night, and her car was 11 miles away at the Malibu tow company. And still my tree didn't want to stay she said that she didn't want to stay in a holding cell privately overnight at the like jail.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, I know. It's really interesting the way that I've heard this described too, where it's like, well, you're released after we, you know, took you from all of your belongings in your car. And you know, you can sleep on this nice jail bunk if you want. Yeah, you can stay here with all

[Caelan Moore]

the lights on and noises happening. So she says, no, I would like to get my car and go home. And at 12:15am on September 17, 2009, she was released. She had nothing on her but the clothes on her back and her driver's

[Morgan Absher]

license, which also is a T shirt. It gets cold at night this time of year. No cell phone, no wallet, no money, nothing. Nothing. And you guys, 2009, Uber did not even start until the following year. You at this point in time to get anywhere had to phone attacks, phone a taxi and pre plan it. And again by this point, it's midnight, almost 1am by the time she's fully processed and leaving. What did they expect her to do?

[Caelan Moore]

You guys, this part actually made our blood boil when we read this next part.

[Morgan Absher]

Like how many botches you're gonna.

[Caelan Moore]

This guy, you're gonna break the botchboard in half when I tell you this. So my tre was not offered any help to get back to her car again. It's 11 miles away. She's gonna walk there on foot? I don't think so. But they don't offer to help drive her there.

[Morgan Absher]

Does she have a map persons? How does she even know where to go?

[Caelan Moore]

This is the exact place where Mel Gibson was arrested in 2006 for a DUI. I'm pretty sure it was the one where he goes on that really anti Semitic tirade. He spent some time in a booking cell at the same sheriff's station. After he was released for his dui, he received a private ride to his car by an officer.

[Morgan Absher]

It's laughable. It's laughable.

[Caelan Moore]

And she couldn't even if she wanted to walk to her car, she couldn't because it's all Malibu Canyon. It's just like impossible walk there at all.

[Morgan Absher]

It's remote. I mean like I can't, I can't describe that enough. If you're watching, we will put some aerial shots of just like kind of the location and you can see like a zoomed out map of like what this looks like. Like it, there's not much there. And this is a young 24 year

[Caelan Moore]

old woman who's having a mental health crisis. And three years ago you drove Mel Gibson to his car. Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

How many do we get for Mel Gibson ride home? But not Mitrice.

[Caelan Moore]

It's horrible.

[Morgan Absher]

Not a ride anywhere. Not a ride anywhere. And not even a call to her mom who would have came and got her.

[Caelan Moore]

I know. Mitrice was left to find her own way. The jailer told my tre that she could spend the night in the station lobby where she could use a pay phone to make collect calls. But again, she's in the middle of this big mental health crisis. Her decisions are not necessarily rational. And so she decides that she doesn't want to do that either. So instead she walks out the rear station door and she vanishes. Around 5:30 in the morning, Latisse called the station expecting to hear that Matrice was ready to be picked up. She was going to drive 50 miles to go get her daughter to make sure she was safe. And she was horrified to learn that her daughter had been released. But it was five hours earlier and the deputies had no idea where she went and no way to figure it out. Like Lettice immediately knew that something was wrong after she hears this. She said that she was going to drive the 50 miles to go file a missing persons report. And guess what's not included in the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review that we read is how they told her not to. They told her that she would, she would turn up.

[Morgan Absher]

She'll turn up.

[Caelan Moore]

Don't. Don't make the 50 mile drive to come check on your daughter. Don't file this missing person's report.

[Morgan Absher]

All good.

[Caelan Moore]

Shut there somewhere turn up.

[Morgan Absher]

Botched.

[Caelan Moore]

Botched.

[Morgan Absher]

We are now up to seven. And if you're at home and you're adding extra for Mel Gibson, please let me know how many you did. But yeah, we're at seven at this point in time. Now we do have a potential sighting of Mitrice after her release. Six hours after at around 6.30am on September 17, the Malibu lost Hills Sheriff's Station got a call from someone named Bill Smith. Bill Smith is a retired reporter and he lives in a remote neighborhood called Montenido and that's about six miles away from the station. Bill basically describes this person as a prowler. He is very confused how this person could have gotten past his roundabout driveway gate on his large expansive property. And he's just concerned. He, he's just kind of like confused by the situation. And he does note that there's horse trails and hiking trails that go through his property. But it's odd that a woman would be on his property sitting on his steps at 6:30 in the morning. And now Bill does, as we hear, ask if she needed help. The woman replied that she was just resting. But the person he describes does sound a lot like it could have been Mitrice.

[Caelan Moore]

And we had a note here too that this area was in Malibu Canyon. So it's not unrealistic to think that she was walking back to her car. This was kind of on the path back. So it makes sense that it would have been her.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, very easily. But according to Bill's wife, Karen, deputies didn't arrive after this phone call for another one to two hours. However, LA SD records say that they showed up after just 20 minutes from receiving that call.

[Caelan Moore]

Botched.

[Morgan Absher]

Botched. Feels like a little bit of a discrepancy there.

[Caelan Moore]

I do feel like we have to include probably 3, 600 botches, one for each sentence that's written in this report because nothing is. Nothing matches what the family says. Nothing matches what any of the witnesses say. Anyone at the restaurant?

[Morgan Absher]

No. And. And the Smiths, at this point, they're watching this deputy now come and take a look around to try to find this woman matching Bill's description. And the Smiths say that they didn't really see them looking very hard. They just stood in their driveway for a quick chat.

[Caelan Moore]

And the Smiths not involved in this case really at all, don't know anyone involved. They have no reason to lie about any of this. They're not incentivized at.

[Morgan Absher]

No. And so they said they stood in the driveway, quick chat, and then left. Missing. A huge opportunity to find my trees.

[Caelan Moore]

At the time of Bill's call, deputies hadn't received a BOLO or a beyond the lookout order for my Tre just yet.

[Morgan Absher]

Probably because they told the mom not to report her as missing.

[Caelan Moore]

Do you want to write another botchboard? We're just going to cover this whole botchboard. There's going to be too many to count. According to LASD, the first Bolo went out at 1pm that day, along with photos of Mitrice. Latisse arrived at the Malibu Lost hill station at 6:15pm that night to file her missing persons report. And based on interviews she gave, it seemed like she believed that deputies would start searching for Mitrice right after her initial phone call instead of waiting for an official report because they again, they told her to not come looking for her. But even after Latice filed, deputies did not go out searching for Mitrice right away. There was no Official search the following day either give a botch for every single hour that they don't go looking for this woman. It took until September 19, which was two days after Mitrice's disappearance, for LASD to act.

[Morgan Absher]

Two days after the phone call from Bill Smith, potentially seeing her sitting on his porch steps. Come on. You have a. Literally a last known location. Potentially, yeah. Two days.

[Caelan Moore]

Two days. Two whole days. The first search on September 19 was pretty substantial. It lasted eight hours, again, according to LASD, and it involved about 20 LASD personnel and LAPD Missing Persons Unit detectives. Plus, there were cadaver dogs that were sent tracking dogs, helicopters, a team from Malibu Search and Rescue, and all volunteer organization with specialized training. And they focused mostly on the Montenido area where Mitrice was last seen. Deputies knocked on doors to see if anyone else noticed a woman matching Mitrice's description. Meanwhile, another group called taxi companies to see if anyone had driven Mitrice from the Lost Hills area to Montenito. But the local cab companies denied seeing her, as did any other neighbor in the area. Finally, the search team showed Bill Smith a photo of Mitrice, and he did confirm that she was the woman in his yard. Two days later.

[Morgan Absher]

I'm like, is that another one? I'm like, that feels like you could have gotten a photo of her that morning when you went out to respond to his call. Like, how did it take two days to get this guy to corroborate that that was her?

[Caelan Moore]

And it was basically confirmed right afterwards by dogs because they picked up my trees's scent at Bill's house, but then they lost it about a quarter mile away.

[Morgan Absher]

Botched, botched, botched, botched.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah. Really, really upsetting.

[Morgan Absher]

But they didn't feel that the day was a total loss because a volunteer with Malibu Search and Rescue spotted our third clue. They ended up finding footprints in Bill's backyard. And they matched the tread on the van's sneakers that Mitrice was wearing. Based on the pattern, it showed that Mitrice was running, not walking, when she left those footprints. And investigators note that this is kind of interesting that she appeared to be running instead of walking, because she had already walked six miles in the dark to get there. We don't know, but she likely didn't get any sleep or food that night. Also, something to note here. According to her family, Mitrice was terrified of the dark. Terrified of the dark. They find it interesting that she would still have the energy and the stamina to. To run and do this.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

Volunteers did do their best to follow Mitrice's Tracks. But as soon as they got past Bill's house and onto the shared paths, those horse and hiking trails, there were way too many other footprints. And they couldn't determine if Mitrice's footprints led somewhere else on the morning that Bill called. And at this point, any evidence that they might have had is gone.

[Caelan Moore]

Now, because Mitrice was living with her great grandmother in LA city limits, the ongoing investigation had to be led by the Los Angeles Police Department, although the sheriff's department would remain involved, meaning that LASD could participate in searches, but LAPD would call all the shots.

[Morgan Absher]

Keep that in mind. It's going to be very important for later.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, jurisdiction is really important in this one.

[Morgan Absher]

It also meant that the LAPD now had jurisdiction over key evidence, like Mitrice's towed car, which they decided to search again, leading us to our fourth clue. The contents of her Honda. And they found multiple things that the LASD overlooked when they had arrested her. They spotted Mitrice's journals, her ATM card, her checkbook. She had over $2,000 in her bank account that was actually linked to that debit card and checkbook. She could have paid her bill at Joffrey's right then and there.

[Caelan Moore]

It could have just gotten her to settle it. They did not have to take her.

[Morgan Absher]

And it would seem that obviously Mitrice wasn't thinking clearly enough to. To react and participate in this situation and say, oh, you know, my wallet, my checkbook, it's in my car. And they knew she was acting erratically again, like, you guys. Like, it's just so, so upsetting. And she passed that field sobriety test, like, indicating she probably would have been fine to drive. Like, it's insane to me. When an LAPD psychologist analyzed her journals, investigators learned why Mitrice might have been disoriented. According to the LAPD analysis, Mitrice's journals contained writings consistent with a manic episode potentially due to bipolar disorder. The psychologist also believed Mitrice was sleep deprived and might have been mostly awake for up to five days leading up to the incident at Joffrey's, assuming she didn't sleep in the six hours between her release from the station and her appearance in Bill's backyard. Mitrice could have been on her sixth sleepless night by the time she left those footprints.

[Caelan Moore]

Now, sleeplessness can be a symptom of bipolar disorder. It can also cause a lot of other complications, sometimes psychosis, hallucinations, things like that. And people with bipolar disorder and sleeplessness may become more impulsive and experience grandiose thinking. But sleep deprivation has effects on physical health, too. It can cause cardiovascular stress. It can cause an increased risk of death. And according to training materials for therapists, a patient that has bipolar disorder who exhibits signs of psychosis like hallucinations, paranoia, and disorganized thinking should be hospitalized until they are stable enough to be treated outside of a hospital. A jail cell isn't necessarily, like, the most conducive place to someone experiencing these symptoms. The restaurant staff did say that they saw Mitrice display similar behaviors the night of her arrest, but not everyone agreed with that.

[Morgan Absher]

There's an LASD deputy named Armando Lorero who filed the initial arrest report, and he consistently maintains that he never saw signs of mental illness at the time. In fact, the LASD claimed no one in the whole department observed symptoms that would meet the legal criteria to hold Mitrice for a mental health evaluation. Again, we have that she's a ding comment, so it's on the botchboard already.

[Caelan Moore]

Like, okay, they've verbally acknowledged that she's having some sort of mental health issue. And then the report says, actually, no, there was no signs we could. Who could have known?

[Morgan Absher]

No. But our fifth clue comes from an email, and it calls this whole narrative into question. On September 20, 2009, three days after Mitrice disappeared, Lieutenant Scott Chu with the LASD sent an email to the Malibu Lost Hills station captain recapping a conversation with Deputy Lorero. According to Lieutenant Chu's email, Deputy Lorero said he took Mitrice to jail that night because she was, quote, acting a little ditzy. The email goes on to say that Lorero felt, quote, uneasy about just letting her go. Lt. Chu later said that he didn't remember sending this email or talking to Deputy Lorero about why he took Mitrice to jail. No recollection.

[Caelan Moore]

Oh, I don't remember sending that email.

[Morgan Absher]

I do not recall.

[Caelan Moore]

But we have the email. That's what I don't get. But it was sent from you at this time. It doesn't matter if you don't remember. Whatever.

[Morgan Absher]

Obviously, this email makes it sound like some of these deputies, especially Deputy Lorero, had real concerns about Mitrice's mental health, and yet he chose to leave those concerns out of his incident report. If he had documented those concerns, he likely would have been obligated to take Mitrice to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. But that wasn't the case. And instead, by the end of September 2009, Mitrice was a missing person.

[Caelan Moore]

So a second search happens on September 26th with more personnel, and they cover a larger radius it turned up no new leads. On January 9, 2010 months later, an even bigger search kicked off. Teams came in from all over California. There were scuba divers now more helicopters, dogs, horses, even ATVs, bicyclists, you name it. Lots of resources were now being put into this case. Nearly 400 people participated, along with about 80 horses. And this time they focused on places like drainage pools and areas beneath points where someone could have jumped or maybe fallen from. The search was one of the biggest in the area's history. And yet it led nowhere. Not to a new piece of evidence. If you're so like, these are our tax dollars, like, this is we are paying. There's literally like it could have been 20 minutes of you talking to Bill and looking around and finding her, and instead it's like hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars that are now being put into helicopters and cadaver horses. Like, oh my God, it makes me so mad.

[Morgan Absher]

I appreciate that they're doing this now. However, why couldn't you have brought two ponies out on this initial search a couple days after you know that Bill Smith had horse trails in his backyard. Ride the trails, even that if you

[Caelan Moore]

just told the officer, don't let her go until her mom gets here, none of this would have happened. And even with all of this, with all these resources being thrown at it, there's not a single piece of evidence that's being released. Like, nothing is being found. And so the family really begins to feel like the best evidence that's going to be found in this case was actually hidden inside of the sheriff's station.

[Morgan Absher]

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[Caelan Moore]

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[Morgan Absher]

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[Caelan Moore]

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[Morgan Absher]

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[Katie Ring]

Think about some of the cases that defined true crime in America. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer. The kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. The Karen retrial. Some crime cases are so shocking, they don't just make headlines, they forever change a country. I'm Katie Ring, host of America's Most Infamous Crime Crimes. Each week, I take on one of the most notorious criminal cases, whether it's unfolding now or etched into American history, revealing not just what happened, but how it forever changed our society. Serial killers who terrorized cities. Unsolved mysteries that kept detectives up at night. And investigations that changed the way we think about justice. Each case unfolds across multiple episodes released every Tuesday through Thursday, from the first sign that something was wrong to the moment the truth came out or didn't. These are the stories behind the headlines. Listen to and follow America's most infamous crimes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[Morgan Absher]

So back in 2009, before this massive search, Mitrice's family had actually asked the LASD if they could see the video footage from the jail that night she disappeared. At the time, they were told that the sheriff's station did not have video surveillance. Did not have it. No cameras in there.

[Caelan Moore]

At a sheriff's station.

[Morgan Absher]

At a sheriff station. They found this extremely hard to believe, and it turns out, rightfully so. Their instincts were correct because a tape from that station is actually clue number six for us. It had been sitting in a desk drawer ever since Mitrice disappeared. Thomas Martin was the captain of the Malibu Lost Hills Department when Mitrice was in police custody. And finally, in January 2010, he admits to Mitrice's family that there was a video, but they couldn't see it.

[Caelan Moore]

Botched, botched.

[Morgan Absher]

That was due, allegedly, to a technical difficulty and the privacy rights of other people in the footage. Captain Martin says that he never intended to lie about the video, and he claims that the family had specifically asked for video of my trees leaving the station, not video of her in the jail cell.

[Caelan Moore]

Well, you didn't specify, like, that's ridiculous. No, they just didn't want to show it.

[Morgan Absher]

You didn't want to show it. Also, what happened to Blurring people's faces.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah. Privacy concerns. This is an active investigation.

[Morgan Absher]

There's a person.

[Caelan Moore]

A lot of privacy concerns right now.

[Morgan Absher]

No. And so when Captain Martin watched a brief portion of the video that was in his desk drawer, he only saw footage of Mitrice being booked. Mitrice's family is like, this is absolute nonsense. They say LASD repeatedly told them that there was no video evidence of Mitrice at all from the whole night of her disappearance. So obviously now, like, they're super anxious to see what is on this tape. What are you trying to hide? So at this point, Mitrice's family hires a civil rights lawyer. They're not messing around anymore. And it takes months. But in April 2010, seven months after Mitrice disappeared, they finally hand this tape over. Now, I will say there's been a lot of things called into question about this tape. Various sources question whether it was doctored or not, but this is what they see. There is one part of the tape where Mitrice grabbed onto the mesh screen in her cell and started shaking it like she was trying to break out. According to Latice, her mother, all of the characteristics that she's exhibiting in this tape is so totally out of character for her. She is very clearly able to tell that she appears unwell, and she thought this was a clear sign of a mental health episode, one that should have required an evaluation. But again, a lot of people call into question whether this tape was doctored, and Latisse does think so. There's a part on this tape that appears to have been edited, and it's a part where in one frame, Mitrice is holding a piece of paper, and in the next frame, that paper is just on the ground. And that's not even what the family's finding to be the most troubling part of this video. During one screening, Mitrice's cousin kept watching after Mitrice walked out of the sheriff station's rear door. And that's when he saw a deputy leave through another rear door just two minutes after Mitrice departed. And now, at first, the family's hopeful. They're like, maybe someone saw her. Maybe. Maybe she actually did get a ride. Maybe we have some answers. But the LASD refused to release that deputy's name, which, again, the family is like, what are you hiding?

[Caelan Moore]

It could be someone we could talk to. Maybe they saw her.

[Morgan Absher]

According to them, LASD did speak to the mystery deputy internally and eventually cleared him of any wrongdoing.

[Caelan Moore]

Heavy on the.

[Morgan Absher]

According to them, according to their records, he was with his partner most of the night they even spent the evening dealing with a DUI suspect after Mitrice vanished. To this day, LASD has never released the deputy's name or what his partner said about the night. Because you have another person. Did they interview that other person? Like, is this alibi corroborated? How verified is the story? And, yeah, based on all of their internal reports and what they're putting in their documentation, yeah. Can they even be trusted? Well, what we did learn, however, ABC's Eyewitness News tracked down the deputy who said no one ever asked him about my trees.

[Caelan Moore]

I made that on the botch extra long.

[Morgan Absher]

So which is it? You interviewed this deputy, you cleared him of any wrongdoing, or. The deputy was never asked about my trees?

[Caelan Moore]

No, he was never asked. The fact that even he came out and said that he was never asked. He wasn't even part of the conspiracy. They, like, left him out of telling him exactly what the conspiracy was going to be. So he just let ABC know that he wasn't talked to.

[Morgan Absher]

And so this is coming from an ABC Eyewitness News 12 years later. this point, he doesn't even remember what happened that night. He wasn't even sure if he worked that night at this point in time. But apparently he never saw her if he did. So between concealing the tape and refusing to identify the mystery deputy, LASD had lost all trust with Mitrice's family. Meanwhile, the search for Mitrice does continue, but it just keeps hitting wall after wall after wall. Investigators from the LAPD and LASD checked on reported sightings after sightings of Matrice as far as Las Vegas. One of those reports did come from her father, who said he saw her, yelled her name, and she ran. There was another report seeing her in Vegas from a friend says they saw her, yelled her name, she ran, they went to Vegas. No signs of Mitrice. They actually couldn't confirm anything later than Bill Smith's encounter with Mitrice the morning she was released. That is, until June 2010, nine months into the investigation, when another lead turns up. Our seventh clue. There's a new graffiti mural on a concrete retaining wall in Malibu Canyon, not far from where Mitrice was last seen. This graffiti depicts the images of nude bodies of black women with natural hairstyles. The mural was done in crude, cartoonish style. The figures were exaggerated and unrealistic. There was also a face painted on the mural with big eyes. And upon seeing this, Latisse, Matrice's mother, is convinced that this mural has something to do with her daughter. Something in it that she sees resonates with her.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, she feels like it looks a little bit like her daughter.

[Morgan Absher]

But investigators disagreed. They found the artist allegedly and determined that he had often painted similar figures. And from their perspective, it was just his style. A coincidence.

[Caelan Moore]

So the next month, July 2010, the LASD Office of Independent Review published a 58 page report. And that's what we've been referencing. They had been investigating the deputy's action in my trees's case. And they ultimately concluded that LASD did nothing wrong. Zero things wrong in how they handled this case, which obviously came as a huge disrespect for her family. I mean it, we have like a market as botched, but like everything that we have bought. No, no, no.

[Morgan Absher]

That's why I'm like, I'm like zero. Here's, here's.

[Restaurant Staff / Dispatcher]

Oh, yes.

[Morgan Absher]

The evidence that we're, we're not at zero.

[Caelan Moore]

There's at least. What's this? 14 things that they did wrong.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, this one's extra long though, so I don't know how many you want.

[Caelan Moore]

That one counts as three. So, yeah, a lot of things that they did wrong. But no, this report came forward and said, nope, zero. Zero things wrong. And honestly, maybe the OIR should have waited a little bit longer to publish that report because the biggest news in the case was right around the corner.

[Morgan Absher]

Around 1pm on Aug. 9, 2010, a little less than 11 months after Mitrice disappeared, park rangers trudged into a remote area near Montenido called Dark Canyon. They had nothing to do with Mitrice's case. Instead, they were working to stop the growth of illegal cannabis in the Santa Monica Mountains. But as they hiked towards a former grow site, they found our eighth clue. A red leather strap and then a black bra and a blue pair of jeans. They then found a human skull, a pelvic bone and a leg bone. According to my trees's father, Michael, the site was just half a mile outside of the radius of that 400 person search in January. Problem was that it was super hard to get there. I mean, it was steep. This was an overgrown canyon, a lot of vegetation. No one thought to check it. And really, there was no simple explanation for how Mitrice ended up there either. The hike was so difficult that LASD sent detectives in by helicopter. And this is where, again, things get a little wonky. So according to department policy, skeletal remains can't be moved without the coroner's approval. So they planned to send the helicopter to pick up the coroner's team. But due to a series of mishaps. They were unable to make it out there that day. Which is then why one of the detectives at the site decided to take the bones with him and leave by helicopter.

[Caelan Moore]

So not allowed.

[Morgan Absher]

Not allowed. And not only did they do that, they did not photograph the scene as they should have. So when a coroner's team comes in, they photograph the scene as it is found. They do extensive searches of the scene, try to evaluate are there any other bones, are there any other pieces of evidence like this was not done. They couldn't get the coroner's team in there to even take pictures. They started taking pictures on a phone.

[Caelan Moore]

And this is 2009, 2009 or 2010 at this point. But like not the same quality of phone that we have today for phone cameras.

[Morgan Absher]

No. Based on the detectives report, the coroner was supposedly okay with that initially since they had only found three bones at the site, the skull, leg bone and pelvic bone. But when the search and rescue team removed them, they got another unexpected surprise, which was the rest of Mitrice's skeleton. It had been hiding underneath a pile of leaves. And so without contacting the coroner again to be like, hey, actually we found a lot more than just three bones, the detective decided to remove all the bones they found all again, disturbing the scene, not documenting how it was found. And because of that, neither a forensics team nor the coroner's team could investigate the site around it undisturbed. No soil samples were taken, there's nothing to test for trace DNA. Now, various items of trash discarded nearby were never collected for testing either. The detectives actually missed additional bones nearby. It was such a botched operation and didn't go the way anyone planned. In some reports I've seen, the assistant coroner at the time was like, I would have told them no, no one asked me. So again, we're getting such conflicting reports from lasd. Oh, we got permission versus like the actual office of the coroner saying no.

[Caelan Moore]

A common theme in this whole investigation.

[Morgan Absher]

And the detectives, you know, everyone that was there points to God. We're so worried about these, you know, these remains. We don't want animals to disturb them. It's been almost a year. If things were going to get disturbed, don't you think also, I don't know, camp out, have someone hike in with a tent, drop a tent down from a little helicopter.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

Camp out, stake off the site.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

Cordon it off, do your diligence like, okay.

[Caelan Moore]

There's a million other ways to have handled it.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah. DNA did later confirm that these remains did in Fact belong to Mitrice Richardson.

[Caelan Moore]

So months after her remains were found, the coroner ruled Mitrice's cause of death as undetermined. Her family, however, believed that she did die by homicide. Moving Mitrice's bones prematurely definitely complicated matters. The coroner's team did try to visit the site the next day, but they left their GPS on the helicopter, so they weren't able to find the correct location.

[Morgan Absher]

Oh, can't even go back. Can't even go back.

[Caelan Moore]

They then tried again two weeks after that, on August 25, 2010, and they collected nine more of Mitrice's bones that detectives had missed at the site. Another bone was found in November of 2010 by a forensic anthropologist who was working with Mitrice's family. And the coroner's team found even more of Mitrice's remains in February 2011, almost a year later, on a return visit to the site.

[Morgan Absher]

I'm just adding three for all of this. Gps missing pieces of evidence.

[Caelan Moore]

The family's forensic anthropologists discovered that Mitrice's clothing was never sent to the crime lab for testing as well. I'm like, you're not gonna have.

[Morgan Absher]

Don't put the box down for the

[Caelan Moore]

rest of the episode. It just gets so much worse. So basically, it means that if this was a murder, the forensic evidence had been tampered with and mishandled so much that the case would likely never be prosecuted.

[Morgan Absher]

I know. And something a lot of people bring up in this case at this point, too, is the fact that Mitrice's body did not appear to have been touched by animals. This is Malibu Canyon. There's cougars, coyotes, abundance of animals that are scavengers and, you know, would have scavenged. But they do note that, oh, her clothes must have been taken off by animals somehow, and that's why everything was so strewn about. And to not test any of it to just like, oh, well, let's find out. Is there coyote DNA on this shirt?

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah. You can test for hairs of animals to get a better.

[Morgan Absher]

No testing. Come on.

[Caelan Moore]

Well, when asked, law enforcement seemed to think that murder was not on the table, that it wasn't a possibility that she was murdered, and instead, they actually wondered if Mitrice died of a fake fatal allergic reaction to poison oak, which is common in the area, but it's almost unheard of as a cause of death, and they just immediately go to that explanation. Plus, there's nothing in Mitrice's medical history that suggests she had an allergy to oak. Lase also suggested that a rattlesnake might have Killed Mitrice. Southern Pacific rattlesnakes are common in some areas throughout Los Angeles County. However, there are only about five deaths from venomous snake bites per year in the entire United States, compared to the almost 17,000 homicides in 2009, the year that my trees vanished. And again, there was no forensic evidence of either a snake bite or an allergic reaction. But there also wasn't clear evidence of a murder either. I don't know that there's much evidence of anything. At least now, the family could lay my trees to rest. There was a little bit of closure, at least that the family could get. In 2010, she was buried in the Inglewood park cemetery. And in 2011, more bones were added to her exhumed coffin. And that seems to be where the investigation stopped. Police did not share any new leads publicly after that. Now, my trees's parents both settled lawsuits that they had with the LASD in 2011 for a total of $900,000 that was divided equally between them. But still, LASD did not admit to any wrongdoing. They said that they ran a near perfect investigation into this. No wrongdoing, sadly, on September 12, 2025, that was just last year, Lettice Sutton died just shy of her 50th birthday. It was four days before the 16th anniversary of Mitrice's disappearance. She unfortunately did not get to see her daughter's case solved. Michael Latisse's father is still, to this day searching for answers. He continues to believe that LASD covered up key facts related to this case. And a journalist named Jasmine Cannock, who supported Mitrice's parents throughout the investigation, does also believe that there was a cover up. She thinks that one person who knew the truth is the Los Angeles sheriff at the time, Lee Baca. Former Sheriff Baca, who will turn 84 in 2026, went to prison in 2020. Why? Because he obstructed a federal investigation of inmate abuse within the Los Angeles Men's Central Jail. Let that sink in for just a moment. He was released in January of 2022 after serving most of his three year sentence. But if he knows anything about Mitrice, he might not be able to share it now because he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2014. And on July 14, 2024, he wandered away from home long enough to be reported as missing himself. The former Sheriff, who was 82 at the time, was found sitting in a restaurant later that day. And he was returned to his family because, get this, they searched for him immediately. And over the years, too, there's been other theories as to what happened. It seems like to this day, L A S D largely believes that Mitrice died either accidentally or by suicide, but they have not officially closed her case yet. There's still an active $20,000 reward. And if you know anything that could help close this case once and for all, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, which is also 1-800-222-8477, or you can visit lacrimestoppers.org now, we do have

[Morgan Absher]

a few loose ends and theories in this case. There's obviously no firm answers, but these are three main theories about what people think happened to Mitrice. First theory, no foul play. Mitrice died during a mental health crisis, either accidentally or by suicide after wandering into dark canyon on her own, and she herself took off her clothes. People argue that this is the most likely, given the behaviors she exhibited. And it was pretty apparent that she was indeed in a mental health crisis.

[Caelan Moore]

But we covered a case on this show. Esmeralda Gonzalez, who was also in the middle of a very active mental health crisis and was taken advantage of by her neighbor, killed and then left in the desert. It does happen. Even though, you know, I know a lot of people assumed that she wandered off and died accidentally, it's still easy to take advantage of a person like that.

[Morgan Absher]

It is. I mean, we clearly saw it in that case. And the fact that that case was even solved, when looking at the evidence and the clues, it's a miracle. Like, it is a miracle. And something very easily could have happened like that to Mitrice. And let's get into the second theory then. It's the unsolved crime of it all. An unknown person either killed Mitrice or coerced her into a dangerous area of the park where she then died accidentally.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, because this area of the park, too, I mean, even in this, we talk about how hard it was for the investigators to get there. It would have been difficult for her to have wandered into that area on her own.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, it's really interesting, especially given she was so afraid of the dark. And, like, when the Smiths saw her, she was in a backyard. So, like, it's, you know, at least in the backyard of a house, it's plausible and walkable to get to. And there's hiking trails and horse trails. So it's interesting that she was then found so deep within a canyon.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

And so a lot of people point to someone being involved. The Lost Hills podcast mentions someone named Rick Forsberg as a person of interest. Rick Forsberg was a Montenido resident with a history of substance use disorders and a criminal record. He was known to police and interviewed about the case prior to his death in 2019. He did allegedly pass two polygraph tests regarding Mitrice's case. In a video taken by a friend named Raven prior to Rick's death, he actually claims he saw Mitrice the same day Bill Smith did, September 17, but he saw her afterwards, which, if true, would make him the last person to have seen mitrice alive. In 2024, journalist Dana Goodyear found a stash of women's underwear at a location Rick was known to use as a hideout. Let that sink in. Yeah, this is just coming. 2024.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

What?

[Caelan Moore]

That he had a stash.

[Morgan Absher]

And remember, Mitrice's underwear were not found

[Caelan Moore]

with her remains, but other items of clothing were. How they didn't think that was suspect at all. Just blows my mind.

[Morgan Absher]

Dana offered the items to law enforcement for DNA testing. They did decline. I'm slow blinking.

[Caelan Moore]

It just hurts to hear. Just. It just hurts.

[Morgan Absher]

I mean, at this point, how hard is it? How hard is it? How hard is it? Why? Where's my marker? It's.

[Caelan Moore]

I know.

[Morgan Absher]

Just X black it out. It's fine. Just black it out. Like, how hard?

[Caelan Moore]

And they. Their excuse was that they already knew about the underwear stash, and so they didn't think it was related or they just didn't think. Think that it was nefarious.

[Morgan Absher]

If you knew about it, why isn't it in your arsenal of evidence? Like, hey, we know that this person has a history. Maybe there's other unsolved cases, even regarding things like SA in relation to this person, where there might be DNA evidence, but we're not going to catalog it.

[Caelan Moore]

And there were also other weird things happening at the time. Just even if it wasn't this guy with the underwear stash, like, where Matrice was found also, I mean, they were looking into marijuana. Yeah, illegal marijuana, which tends to be part of big criminal networks. People who are already comfortable with breaking the law. They didn't really look into that angle at all because, you know, maybe she saw something she wasn't supposed to. That has happened in California before with, like, illegal marijuana farms before it was legalized. And also there's the fact that her skull and her spinal cord were detached from the rest of her skeleton. Now, this could have been due to animal activity, but there weren't any animal fibers or clear tooth marks that were found on her remains. At least that we know of.

[Morgan Absher]

No, in a lot of sources. They say there were no signs of animal activity.

[Caelan Moore]

Now, there's arguments against this as well that, like, no clear forensic evidence that another person was at the scene. There's not a lot of clear forensic evidence of anything, though, because we know how mishandled the scene was.

[Morgan Absher]

They didn't collect trash nearby. What if someone discarded their beef jerky wrapper?

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, exactly. Like you.

[Morgan Absher]

You didn't.

[Caelan Moore]

What if there was a knife at. Like, they just never.

[Morgan Absher]

You never looked into the cage.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah, exactly. So, again, not a lot of evidence that it was another person, but just not a lot of evidence, period.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah.

[Caelan Moore]

And then the third theory is really what the friends and the family and also what activists believe, and that is murder with a police cover up. I mean, we could just recount the entire case for you in this moment, but I. All of that kind of leads to evidence that there was some sort of

[Morgan Absher]

police cover up for whatever reason, especially the coroner's office. They have heavily criticized LASD for moving the remains, saying it was without the coroner's permission. Again, like, he got asked and he's like, I never said that. Who, me? You didn't talk to me. Something that a lot of sources point out, too, is again, the way in which her body was found. Head detached, but the missing bones, notably the missing hyoid bone. That bone can often prove strangulation in an autopsy. So the fact that that bone and additional neck bones were missing, maybe not. Maybe just not found. We don't know.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah. But could have evidence that something bad happened.

[Morgan Absher]

A lot of sources point to that being like the telltale sign, like, no, this is a cover up.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

And who would know to take those bones? Someone trying to cover something up.

[Caelan Moore]

Exactly, exactly.

[Morgan Absher]

So there's a lot. A lot of theories. I will say there's, you know, a lot of rumors out there as well when you're going through research and even news articles of some sources hearing screaming in the woods.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

I was never able to corroborate that.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah.

[Morgan Absher]

If you come across a source that's credible, please drop it in the comments. But, you know, kind of similar to the Idaho murders, like the family said, like, there's so much misinformation out there that we want to correct, and that's kind of the case here. But given how botched it is, it's so difficult to decipher what's.

[Caelan Moore]

I just.

[Morgan Absher]

What's accurate.

[Caelan Moore]

My trees might be alive today and practicing clinical psychology. If she had gotten treatment that night or had just gone home with her mother. That's why the organization that we wanted to highlight is psychosis reach.org Reach stands for recovery by Enabling Adult Carers at Home Psychosis. Reach is a project of the University of Washington supporting families that have a member who is experiencing or who experiences psychosis. They offer zoom based training on how to care for loved ones with psychosis. There's also a resource library with information on how to identify signs of psychosis and how to conduct a family intervention. Psychosis can be really scary both for the person experiencing it and for those who love them. But early intervention is key to prevent further harm. So please take time to learn the signs of psychosis and if you or a loved one ever experience these symptoms, get help right away. I know like I'm postpartum right now. I'm still in that window where really scary mental health stuff can start popping up. So like, I've asked my loved ones just to keep an eye on me. I think it's really important to just always be checking in and to know the signs and symptoms. Symptoms, because absolutely. It can sometimes feel like a pot of water boiling and you're a frog in it where you just don't notice it till it's too late.

[Morgan Absher]

I know. I've read a lot of firsthand accounts from people in the comments of my trees's case and they themselves have different disorders and they describe what an episode of psychosis feels like and it is very scary and they, you know, describe it as like being pulled underwater and it's just like, I. I don't even know I'm in it. Like the frog in the pot analogy is a good one. So this is keeping an eye on your loved ones, having that sense of community, the village, like bring back the village.

[Caelan Moore]

Yeah. I saw one comment that actually someone wrote. This one really stuck with me. I've experienced psychosis full blown hallucinating from a bad reaction to medication. So again, something you wouldn't expect. It's absolutely terrifying and you have no idea until it happens to you. I was out of my mind. I remember a lot of it, but most of it I was completely blacked out. There were some moments of lucidity where I'd be like, wait, what the hell am I doing? And then I would get sucked back in. It feels like you're possessed in your own body. Yeah, really, really scary stuff. Really.

[Morgan Absher]

I mean, UTIs in seniors can cause psychosis like delirium. It's just like it takes all of us and it takes our agencies also responding accordingly when people do come across their Past.

[Caelan Moore]

So yeah, and yeah, it's just, it's so sad having this type of mental health issue too. It's not a death sentence in this country. Ultimately she lost her life, she was sent to jail. She like the whole case was mishandled. And that in no way needs to be what happens to people experiencing this. So it's just so sad.

[Morgan Absher]

In some departments across the United States at least, there are mental health professionals joining officers on responding to calls like this. And I would love to see that become a standard, a gold standard, you know, of their practice. I mean, these officers are not trained to handle mental health crises.

[Caelan Moore]

No, they're not psychologists.

[Morgan Absher]

So every officer responding to calls where someone's acting erratically should have a mental health professional or someone trained in addressing these situations with them. So hopefully we can see that continue to expand.

[Caelan Moore]

Absolutely.

[Morgan Absher]

On that note, let's highlight our missing person of the week.

[Caelan Moore]

Today we wanted to highlight the case of Brianna Maitland. This was submitted by one of you guys on Spotify. Brianna was born on October 8, 1986. She was age 17 when she disappeared on March 19, 2004. She is described as having brown hair, hazel eyes. She's 5 foot 4 and was 105 pounds at the time of disappearance. She also has a scar on her forehead near her left eyebrow. The left nostril of her nose is pierced and at the time of her disappearance she usually wore a nose stud in it.

[Morgan Absher]

Brianna was last seen completing her shift at a restaurant in Montgomery, Vermont, a small town near the Canadian border. She left the restaurant in a green 1985 Oldsmobile 88, which was later located, backed into the side of an abandoned barn about a mile away from the restaurant. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to the recovery of Brianna. If you have any information concerning this case, Please contact the FBI's toll free tip line at 1-800- call FBI or the Vermont State Police tip line at 1-84-484-V TIPS.

[Caelan Moore]

And that is all we have for this week's episode. Now we turn it over to you guys. Your thoughts, your theories, your frustrations, your anger, your resentments, your botchboard counts. We want to hear all of it. It's stuff like that that makes this community so special.

[Morgan Absher]

Yeah, we're kind of at like 20 slash. It's just scribbled out because I, I

[Caelan Moore]

know this is so mad on par with the Robert Pickton one I think that we did.

[Morgan Absher]

It's pretty cool. I'm sorry for being so heated and angsty throughout this episode. I I don't know this one just really the injustice of it all and just the unavoidability, it really stuck with me. So let me know how you feel in the comments at Crime House. We really value your support. So again, share those thoughts on social and remember to rate, review and follow and subscribe and subscribe to Clues to help others discover our show.

[Caelan Moore]

Thanks guys. By.

[Katie Ring]

Some crimes are so shocking, they don't just make headlines, they forever change our society. I'm Katie Ring, host of America's Most Infamous Crimes. Each week I take on one of the most notorious criminal cases, whether it's unfolding now or etched into American history. Serial killers who terrorize cities, unsolved mysteries that kept detectives up at night, and investigations that change the way we think about about justice. Each case unfolds across multiple episodes released every Tuesday through Thursday, from the first sign that something was wrong to the moment the truth came out or didn't. Listen to and follow America's Most Infamous Crimes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.