EP 7 - The Quarterback and the Con Artist

Summary

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EP 7 - The Quarterback and the Con Artist: "A Little Chess Game"

Johnathan Walton Media | October 15, 2025
Host: Johnathan Walton

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Episode Overview

This riveting episode delves deep into the heart of deception, manipulation, and the vulnerabilities of cognitive impairment through the ongoing saga of former NFL quarterback Eric Kramer and the woman who exploited his darkest moments: Courtney Baird. As suspicions crystallize into a fraud investigation and shocking secrets come to light, Jonathan Walton chronicles how a family's efforts to protect their loved one are repeatedly stymied by one woman's cunning—and even by unexpected allies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Courtney's Criminal Past & Manipulation

• Courtney Baird, posing as Eric’s caretaker, is revealed to have a criminal history—including a conviction for forging a prescription for drugs ([02:21] Anna Durgan).
• Detective Dave Lynxheit, who investigates Courtney, is unequivocal: “The evidence suggested that his finances had been compromised.” ([03:02] Detective Dave Lynxheit)
• Courtney’s manipulation extended to her own daughter, bragging that “Eric’s gonna buy me and my mom a house with a pool in it.” ([03:28] Anna Durgan)

2. Secret Marriage to Shield from Prosecution

• As authorities close in, Courtney orchestrates a secret wedding with Eric, hoping marriage will grant her legal immunity from prosecution ([03:56] Robert Espinosa (Espo)).

  “It would give her immunity from any type of criminal prosecution because they’re married. What’s his is hers.” – Robert Espinosa (Espo) [03:56]

• Eric’s son Dylan discovers the marriage on Christmas Eve; he’s shocked to spot a ring on his father’s finger ([06:25] Anna Durgan).

  “My dad was just repeating what Courtney said, and my dad obviously was not with it.” – Dylan (relayed by Anna Durgan) [06:31]

• Espo confronts Courtney, voicing the family’s suspicion:

  “I think we have some ideas that you’ve been taking money from him and now you’ve ran out of ways to take money from him, so you’re going to try to marry him so you can take everything else.” – Robert Espinosa (Espo) [07:23]

3. Eric’s Mental State and Memory Gaps

• Eric’s memories of the wedding are nearly nonexistent. He describes the experience as living “through a blurry and distorted lens” ([10:06] Jonathan Walton).

  “Not a whole bunch, actually... I remember standing outside of the courthouse on a step, and that’s about it. That’s about what I remember.” – Eric Kramer [09:31] “Did you love her?”
  “No. No. She just literally, like she was as much there as this cup is, that’s as much attention as I gave it.” – Eric Kramer [10:41–10:43]

4. Discovery of the Marriage and Heightening Suspicion

• Anna Durgan, monitoring Eric’s finances, detects payments for a marriage license and rings, confirming the secret wedding ([11:23] Anna Durgan).
• The stress of the ongoing criminal investigation motivates Courtney’s secret nuptials; she believes becoming Eric’s wife will halt prosecution ([13:24] Detective Dave Lynxheit).

5. Investigative and Legal Hurdles

• The DA hesitates to prosecute due to the marriage and because Courtney was also acting as Eric’s caretaker.

  “She was also acting as a caretaker… is she reimbursing herself for her services in that capacity, or is this a straight, you know, theft? These kinds of cases are very unique.” – Detective Dave Lynxheit [14:09]

• Detective Lynxheit reiterates his stance: Eric couldn’t consent due to diminished capacity, and the marriage was simply another manipulative move.

  “She was essentially stealing from someone who doesn’t have the capacity to give authorization or permission for the actions that she was doing.” – Detective Dave Lynxheit [16:56]

6. Courtney’s Attempts to Sabotage the Investigation

• At Courtney’s urging, Eric tries to convince the detective to drop the case, a common stumbling block in abuse investigations.

  “If a victim doesn’t want to file charges, there is no case and they let it go.” – Jonathan Walton [19:34]

• Detective Lynxheit presses on regardless, viewing Eric’s call as further evidence of Courtney’s manipulation ([20:42] Detective Dave Lynxheit).

7. Family and Friends Unite (and Go Undercover)

• Anna Durgan and Eric’s sister mobilize Eric’s circle. A meeting at the sheriff’s office exposes Courtney’s deception to all ([28:55] Anna Durgan).
• Marshawn, Eric’s ex-wife—and once a friend of Courtney—acts as a “double agent,” collecting incriminating text messages.

  “Marshawn was great in doing that… she got a lot of things in text messages that very clearly admitted Courtney admitting that they’re going to arrest her.” – Anna Durgan [32:49]

8. Courtney’s “Chess Game” and Isolation Tactics

• Courtney pits individuals against each other, spreading different stories to keep Anna, Marshawn, and Kelly (Eric’s sister) from comparing notes ([33:32–34:01]).

  “We’re all little pieces on a chessboard.” – Anna Durgan [33:32]

9. Unexpected Legal Obstacles

• Despite overwhelming evidence, the court-appointed attorney for Eric appears to take Courtney’s side, even encouraging Eric to sue Anna for accessing his accounts.

  “Eric actually went to an attorney to sue me… To sue me for what? Accessing his account.” – Anna Durgan [35:14–35:19]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It would give her immunity from any type of criminal prosecution because they’re married. What’s his is hers.” – Espo (Robert Espinosa) [03:56]
• “I can’t tell you what I wore. I can’t tell you what Courtney wore. I can’t tell you what we did beforehand or even afterward.” – Eric Kramer on the wedding [09:31]
• “She was essentially stealing from someone who doesn’t have the capacity to give authorization or permission for the actions that she was doing.” – Detective Dave Lynxheit [16:56]
• “We’re all little pieces on a chessboard.” – Anna Durgan [33:32]

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Important Timestamps

• [02:21] – Anna Durgan introduces Courtney’s criminal history.
• [03:02] – Detective Lynxheit on Eric’s compromised finances.
• [03:56] – Espo explains Courtney’s marriage motive.
• [06:25] – Dylan notices Eric’s wedding ring.
• [09:31] – Eric’s memory of the wedding.
• [11:23] – Anna tracks marriage-related charges.
• [14:09] – Detective Lynxheit on legal ambiguity.
• [16:56] – Diminished capacity and manipulation.
• [20:42] – Detective Lynxheit on Courtney’s manipulation of Eric.
• [28:55] – Family/friend coalition activated.
• [31:35–32:49] – Marshawn collects incriminating texts.
• [33:32] – Anna on Courtney’s “chess game.”
• [35:14] – Anna: Eric’s lawyer turns on her.

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Episode Tone and Presentation

The episode is investigative, urgent, emotional, and laced with both frustration and tenacity—from Anna’s vigilant sleuthing to Detective Lynxheit’s steadfastness. The discussions are open, direct, and often incredulous at the extreme manipulation Eric experiences while impaired. Narration and interviews flow naturally, with a mix of personal reflection (“I can’t even begin to imagine what that must feel like…”) and procedural clarity.

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For listeners new to the story, this episode is a deep dive into the mechanics of trust, vulnerability, and how the criminal justice system sometimes struggles to protect those who need it most. The battle for Eric Kramer’s well-being is far from over—both on the chessboard of family protection and in the courtroom.

Transcript

[Jonathan Walton]

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[Jeff Bridges]

Morning Zoe. Got donuts.

[Suldana]

Jeff Bridges why are you still living above our garage?

[Jeff Bridges]

Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T Mobile commercial like you. Teach me.

[Suldana]

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[Jeff Bridges]

Wow, impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.

[Marshawn]

Nice.

[Suldana]

Jeffrey, you heard them.

[Jeff Bridges]

T Mobile is the best place to.

[Jonathan Walton]

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[Jeff Bridges]

So what are we having for lunch?

[Suldana]

Dude, my work here is done.

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[Jonathan Walton]

Cmintmobile.com this series deals with troubling topics including suicide, drug overdosing and dependent adult abuse. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 right now and speak with a counselor for free. Previously on the Quarterback and the Con Artist.

[Anna Durgan]

She apparently forged a doctor's prescript to get drugs or prescription drugs that she pled down. It was felony that she pled down to a misdemeanor she was arrested in November 2015.

[Jonathan Walton]

And while Eric Kramer is recovering from that gunshot wound to the head, Courtney Baird, the woman who moves into Eric's house posing as a do gooder to take care of him, is not only a recently convicted criminal, but. But according to a veteran fraud detective now investigating the Eric Kramer case, Courtney Baird is unequivocally robbing him blind.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

The evidence suggested that his finances had been compromised.

[Anna Durgan]

That's when I noticed all these ATM transactions, like we're talking every day, sometimes four, five hundred dollars a day.

[Jonathan Walton]

She knew his penny.

[Anna Durgan]

Everything she knew. Wow.

[Jonathan Walton]

And apparently Courtney's got some big time future purchases planned, too, that she discusses with her young daughter.

[Anna Durgan]

We're over for a visit. And then her daughter goes, yeah, Eric's gonna buy my mom, me and my mom a house with. With a pool in it.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, my God. But as soon as authorities start closing in on Courtney Baird, she quickly marries Eric in a top secret ceremony. What do you think she was thinking that this marriage would do for her?

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

It would give her immunity from any type of criminal prosecution because they're married. What's his is hers.

[Jonathan Walton]

What's hers is his. I'm Jonathan Walton, and this is the quarterback and the con artist. Episode 7 A Little Chess Game.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

The.

[Anna Durgan]

Chill in the air and the arrival of Santa Claus made it pretty official. The holiday season has begun.

[Jonathan Walton]

Thousands showed up to experience the celebrity studded holiday Christmas parade in Hollywood. It's December 2016 in Los Angeles. The holidays are well underway, and as families are getting together to celebrate, the Christmas gathering at Eric Kramer's house on December 24, 2016 is about to send shockwaves throughout his entire family when Eric invites his son Dylan over on Christmas Eve. Dylan doesn't want to go alone, so he gets his godfather on the phone.

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

It was close to Christmas, and Dylan.

[Jonathan Walton]

Had called me, Robert Espinosa, who Dylan and everyone else calls Espo because he.

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

Didn'T really care for Courtney, which nobody did. But he said, hey, Espo, my dad invited me to his house for Christmas, but I know Courtney's going to be there. Will you go with me? And I said, sure. I mean, I had people at my house, so my wife wasn't very happy with me. We had guests over, and I said, I gotta go. I'll be back in a couple hours. So I left and I met Dylan there. We walked in the house and we sat down on the couch.

[Jonathan Walton]

Between sips of eggnog. The sounds of the season pervade the air. And as a crackling Fireplace punctuates the pauses in conversation. Espo and Dylan make a troubling discovery. Me and Espo get in there, and we sit down, and we notice that there's a ring on his finger, her finger. Dylan is stunned, so he quickly whips his phone out and texts Anna Durgan about what he sees.

[Anna Durgan]

Dylan texts me, I see a ring on his finger. I go ask him what that ring is for.

[Jonathan Walton]

So Dylan looks his dad square in the eye and asks, is that a ring on your fingers? And Eric answers, and Courtney chimes in, too. Pretty much all they said was like, yep, that's what people do when they elope. That's pretty much what the explanation we got back from your. Your dad said that, or Courtney said that, or. Yeah, my dad said it, and then Courtney said it, and my dad was just repeating what Courtney said, and my dad obviously was not with it.

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

We got married. And he's like, what, dad? You got married? Why would you tell me or Espo.

[Jonathan Walton]

Robert Espinosa, get your best friend and.

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

Your son, and you're going to get married and not tell us? He goes, well, it was, you know, Courtney just wanted to do it right away, so we just did it, you know, last weekend. So Dylan was obviously very pissed off about that, and I went off on her.

[Jonathan Walton]

Really?

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

And I said, you guys got married? Oh, yeah, well, you know, I love him. And I was like, I don't know. I think we have some ideas that you've been taking money from him and now you've ran out of ways to take money from him, so you're going to try to marry him so you can take everything else.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

I would never do that.

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

And she was crying, but we. I knew that's what she was doing. She'd already withdrew everything that she could. Now she wanted to marry him so she could take everything else.

[Jonathan Walton]

You said that out loud to her face? Yes.

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

Yep.

[Jonathan Walton]

That heated confrontation pretty much puts an end to the evening. And Espo and Dylan storm out. It's the crescendo of months of suspicions and concerns racing, culminating in a bonafide fraud investigation by the Los Angeles Sheriff's office. And as soon as Courtney realizes the walls are closing in on her, that's when, under a shroud of secrecy, two days before Christmas Eve, she drives Eric to the Santa Barbara courthouse.

[Suldana]

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today.

[Jonathan Walton]

And marries him in a civil ceremony that not a single solitary friend or family member of Eric's was invited to attend.

[Suldana]

Eric Kramer, do you take Courtney Baird as your lawfully wedded wife.

[Anna Durgan]

So just think about this. Two days after this blissful marriage. Supposed to be Anna Durgan, what you say to your son. First off, you had invited your son, but would you say, oh, by the way, I got married?

[Jonathan Walton]

No.

[Anna Durgan]

He was just sitting on the couch. So it was so easy for Courtney to steal from him because Eric would be sitting on the couch. He wouldn't get up to do anything.

[Jonathan Walton]

The actual memory of being married to Courtney is really hazy for Eric now. For him, it's like looking back at his life through a blurry and distorted lens. What do you remember about that wedding day?

[Eric Kramer]

Not a whole bunch, actually. I remember it took place in Santa Barbara. And I think we went up the day before, the day of. I remember standing outside of the courthouse on a step, and that's about it. That's about what I remember. I can't tell you what I wore. I can't tell you what Courtney wore. I can't tell you what we did beforehand or even afterward.

[Jonathan Walton]

Do you remember saying, I do?

[Eric Kramer]

No.

[Jonathan Walton]

I can't even begin to imagine what that must feel like to be looking back at what should be a momentous event in your life and not really remember it at all. At one point, Eric told me it almost felt like it was happening to someone else.

[Eric Kramer]

At that time, when Courtney was living in my house, married or not married, she was just a person that was there. That was it.

[Jonathan Walton]

Did you love her?

[Eric Kramer]

No. No. She just literally, like she was as much there as this cup is, that's as much attention as I gave it.

[Jonathan Walton]

But before that clandestine wedding event takes place, Anna Durgan is keeping tabs on all of Eric's bank accounts and sending the evidence she's finding of Courtney's theft to that Los Angeles sheriff's fraud detective, Dave Linksheit, who's investigating the case. And based on what she's finding on Eric's bank and credit card statements, Anna is actually the first person in Eric's life to figure out something's up. Something huge.

[Anna Durgan]

As I'm monitoring the account, I saw a charge for $204 to the SB recorder. So I remember seeing SB recorder about a week and a half earlier. And I went back back and researched that charge, Googled the phone number that came up on the credit card statement, and then bingo, it showed it was a Santa Barbara Courthouse. So those two charges, one was $23, which was done on December 13, 2016. That was for the marriage ceremony reservation. And then on the day of the fraudulent wedding, December 22, I see a charge for $204, which was the marriage license and the marriage ceremony. The day before the wedding, there was a charge at a jewelry store for $2,289, which was for two wedding rings.

[Jonathan Walton]

One for Eric and one for Courtney. Those same wedding rings that Dylan and Espo see with their own eyes. On Christmas Eve, we walked in the.

[Robert Espinosa (Espo)]

House and we sat down on the couch, and we can see a ring on Eric's finger.

[Jonathan Walton]

And keep in mind that night on December 24, 2016, Courtney is actually breathing a sigh of relief because she's been dealing with the stress and turmoil of a criminal investigation into her theft for months. And for the first time, she feels like she finally might be getting away with everything scot free. After all, she's now Eric's wife. So her getting charged with stealing from him by the Los Angeles District Attorney's office is suddenly very unlikely.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

They were basically going to put the case on hold and see how the other part of this was going to play out, like the marriage and things like that.

[Jonathan Walton]

Detective Dave Linkscheidt is investigating Courtney for a couple months at this point, and criminal charges seem imminent. But these surprise nuptials throw a big bucket of cold water on the case, and the deputy district attorney assigned seems somewhat reluctant to charge Courtney with a crime. I guess in that DA's mind, charging a wife with stealing from her husband is a stretch from a legal standpoint. The marriage had an impact on how they viewed things, it seems like.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

Well, yeah. And then also the fact of you got to take into consideration too, even though she was stealing his money, she was also acting as a caretaker. That was an issue of is she reimbursing herself for her services in that capacity, or is this a straight, you know, theft? These kinds of cases are very. They're very unique. And anytime a deputy DA or prosecutor is reviewing these kinds of cases, they're immediately thinking of, well, what are the defenses to this? What's defense counsel going to bring up that we're going to be able to.

[Jonathan Walton]

Counteract if this goes to trial? They want to win.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

Absolutely.

[Jonathan Walton]

What's the jury going to think of what the defense says the reason is behind this money changing hands?

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

Sure. And that's a big consideration in their decision making process of whether they're going to file or not. Is, can. Can we convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that she violated these criminal codes? And when you take into consideration the fact of, you know, she's living in a house, she's providing some kind of care, you know, those are Issues.

[Jonathan Walton]

Sadly, that's just how the criminal justice system works. Every district attorney's office only wants to charge criminals based on a prosecutor's confidence and certainty that they can get a conviction at trial, that they can convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has taken place. But Detective Lynxite has no doubt a crime has taken place. Surprise wedding or not.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

The whole issue with the marriage really didn't play into my case. As far as a criminal investigation, you're dealing with an individual that has diminished capacity, so anything that person does doesn't have a lot of weight. It didn't surprise me, based on his condition, that he fell for this. And when I say fell for this, I mean getting married because of his lack of ability, basically to protect himself, he couldn't take care of himself. He wasn't. Couldn't make good, sound decisions. She was essentially stealing from someone who doesn't have the capacity to give authorization or permission for the actions that she was doing.

[Jonathan Walton]

When Detective Linkscheid starts his investigation into Courtney Baird in October of 2016, it.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

Was going to be a dependent adult fiduciary abuse case.

[Jonathan Walton]

And very soon after digging in, Detective Linkscheidt meets with Eric to get a handle on exactly what he's dealing with.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

The best way I can describe Eric when I initially met him was he looked perfectly normal and sounded perfectly normal in talking to him. There was no problems with his speech or anything like that. The only thing that I became very apparent early on in the interview is that he displayed no emotions about anything. Normally when I conduct an interview like that, and I start showing a victim of how they've been victimized and things like that and loss of money, you get some kind of a response, whether it be anger or frustration or sadness or depression or. I mean, there is. There's a whole gamut of. Of emotions that victims go through. And with Eric, there was none of that.

[Jonathan Walton]

And you were. You were pointing out to him, hey, you're missing all this money, and he was. Had no reaction.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

That's correct. I mean, first 10 minutes of my interview was like, oh, boy, you know, this guy. I mean, I basically felt that I could have put a check in front of him and he would have signed it if I told him to do it. So it became very apparent to me very quickly in this investigation that he was easily manipulated.

[Jonathan Walton]

And just so, you know, most con artists are brash and ballsy, headstrong and manipulative and, oh, so confident. And Courtney Baird is no different. As she's about to demonstrate so October.

[Anna Durgan]

21St is when Lynxite went and interviewed Eric Anna Durgan. That was a Friday night. And then Eric had have told Courtney at that.

[Jonathan Walton]

That time a detective came to talk to me, right? She must have been freaking out.

[Anna Durgan]

And Eric called the detective at Courtney's urging and told the detective that it was Courtney, that Courtney admitted to taking the money from Eric and that she was going to be paying him back and just not to pursue any charges against her.

[Jonathan Walton]

Because normally, for any criminal case to proceed, the victim in this case, it would be Eric has to want to file charges. If a victim doesn't want to file charges, there is no case and they let it go. And the most glaring example of this process is something we all witnessed when Will Smith slaps Chris Rock at the oscars back in 2022. Even though millions of people see this assault happen on live television, Will Smith is not never charged with a crime because Chris Rock doesn't want to press charges. Police need a willing victim to pursue a criminal case. So when Eric calls Detective Lynxite that day, can you stop investigating Courtney and tells him, Courtney did nothing wrong, she was just borrowing money and she's going to pay it back in full. Normally, that would be the end of it. The criminal case against Courtney Baird would get dropped. But in this particular case, it's not.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

Going to have any effect on my investigation.

[Jonathan Walton]

I mean, this ain't Detective Lynxite's first rascal roundup. And these types of shenanigans are just par for the con artist course.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

I'm sure she cried on his shoulder and did her best song and dance and convinced him. Here again, manipulating him to make that phone call, which is consistent with my read on the whole case. He's cognitively impaired, so it's not unusual that something like that would happen. Essentially, the gist of the call was, is that he had spoken to Courtney. She admitted to doing everything and that he just. He understood and wanted the criminal investigations to stop.

[Jonathan Walton]

And immediately you hear that and you're.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

Thinking, what I mean, I'm still going to move forward with the investigation. It doesn't surprise me that this call happened. She's obviously manipulating him. It's evidence that she's manipulating him. And this is more information that strengthens my case. There was strong evidence to suggest that he, in fact, had been victimized, that money had been stolen, and that Courtney was responsible for doing it.

[Jonathan Walton]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with auto quote explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.

[Jeff Bridges]

Morning Zoe. Got donuts.

[Suldana]

Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage?

[Jeff Bridges]

Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a TV T Mobile commercial like you teach me. So Dana.

[Suldana]

Oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.

[Jeff Bridges]

Wow, impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.

[Marshawn]

Nice.

[Suldana]

Jeffrey, you heard them.

[Jeff Bridges]

T Mobile is the best place place.

[Jonathan Walton]

To get the new iPhone 17 Pro on us with eligible traded in any condition.

[Jeff Bridges]

So what are we having for launch?

[Suldana]

Dude, my work here is done.

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[Anna Durgan]

So Linkshy calls me right after Anna Durgan because.

[Jonathan Walton]

Lingsheit told me it was obvious to him that he's being.

[Anna Durgan]

It's obvious to anybody. It's obvious to anybody. That's what I'm saying.

[Jonathan Walton]

So he never took him seriously. But at that point, Courtney thinks, oh, it's over. I got Eric to cancel the investigation. I'm free. But Courtney is unaware that Detective Lynnscheid is still full steam ahead with his investigation, a fact that is about to become as obvious to her as a paper cut when she walks out to Eric's mailbox one morning a few weeks later and steals an official looking letter addressed to Eric.

[Anna Durgan]

On November 14, 2016, Wells Fargo sends a letter to Eric's house to which she, you know, circumvents and gets it and opens it and says the Wells Fargo letter says we are still we received a search warrant from the Los Angeles county detectives. This is the name of the detective, blah blah blah blah blah. That there we have to turn over all the records.

[Jonathan Walton]

That letter hits Courtney like a ton of bricks. She's now acutely aware she's being investigated for theft and fraud and a host of other Felonies. Any normal person at that point would stop stealing and start calling lawyers. But Courtney just continues her theft. And when Detective Linkscheid actually calls her up on the phone.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

I had reached out to her to schedule a meeting and gave her a date and a time. And.

[Jonathan Walton]

Shockingly, she walks right into the sheriff's office without a lawyer and sits down and sings like a canary.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

I was kind of surprised she showed up, but it's not unusual for people like her or people that are involved in these kinds of crimes to essentially try to talk themselves out of it. She showed up. So in that. That was a lengthy interview, as with most of my interviews, because I. I have a tendency to go over everything and we did, you know, onto every transaction to, you know, every transfer to talking about how she met Eric and the time that they were dating and, and her description and, and of what Eric was like and the end of their relationship and what caused that, and then rekindling their relationship after what she had reached out to him. And it was, you know, basically their whole history of their interaction, which was important because it showed her knowledge of what going back again before the incident and then after the incident and the contrast between the two. So she was very aware of the fact of how easily he was manipulated and admitted to that. She dug herself a deeper hole and ultimately she wound up admitting everything that. That we were alleging.

[Jonathan Walton]

And why do you think she did that? That seems crazy to me.

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

Well, she was obviously her. Financially, she was not good, to say the least. I think she had just lost her job, if I remember right. You know, obviously she was in financial distress. The money was there. You know, she's with her. She's living in the house with Eric. She knows, you know, passwords and passcodes and things like that for accounts. She has access to credit cards and debit cards. So she took advantage of it all, knowing here again, his diminished capacity.

[Jonathan Walton]

And what were your parting words to her at the end of that interview? How did you leave things?

[Detective Dave Lynxheit]

I will prepare all my reports and evidence and all this information will be submitted to the LA County DA's office. And then ultimately, it's going to be up to the LA County DA's office to decide whether they're going to either file a criminal complaint or reject the case.

[Anna Durgan]

Detective Linksheit told her, move out, Ana Durgan. Let the family worry about, you know, the caregiving services and go back to your job.

[Jonathan Walton]

But as Courtney is walking out of the sheriff's office that day, Detective Lynxite has no idea the checkmate move she's got up her sleeve that top secret wedding the very next month.

[Anna Durgan]

It was insane.

[Jonathan Walton]

But weeks before that secret wedding, Anna Durgin, along with Eric's sister Kelly, managed to build a powerful coalition of Eric's friends and family.

[Anna Durgan]

This was on November 7, 2016. We met up at the Lost Hill Sheriff's Department. Kelly and I both gathered everybody, Eric's closest friends, because I didn't want them to think it was just coming from me or from Kelly.

[Jonathan Walton]

Because you have a vendetta against Courtney.

[Anna Durgan]

Courtney. I wanted them to hear from Linksheit. There was about 15, 20 of us and he just laid it out to everybody and everybody was so pissed. He was telling us she, she. That's how I knew that she was on probation and that she he was stealing for all these months. And he basically.

[Jonathan Walton]

Because up until that point, they all think she's an angel helping Eric. And from what I read, she would have these dinners at his house and invite everyone, even Marshawn and Dylan came over. Eric's ex wife and son. And she pretends like, oh, I'm taking good care of Eric. And see, I just want, you know. So she's painting this picture like she's a caretaker and she loves him. And now they find out from Lingsheit. No, no, no. She's stealing from him.

[Anna Durgan]

Correct.

[Jonathan Walton]

For months. And get this, Eric's ex wife Marshawn is actually friends with Courtney. Like they hang out and do stuff. But when Marshawn finds out that Courtney is stealing from Eric, she's livid. She wants to end the friendship immediately. She wants to go off on Courtney and give her a piece of her mind. She wants Courtney arrested. But. But Ana has a heart to heart with Marshawn and implores her to play along as if everything's fine.

[Anna Durgan]

I go, Marchawn, whatever you do, try to get remains friends with her. I know it's going to be hard, but try to get her to put things in writing. Yeah, right. And get it on text message and stuff. And I got to say, Marshawn was great in doing that.

[Jonathan Walton]

So Marshawn became like a double agent.

[Anna Durgan]

Absolutely.

[Jonathan Walton]

And from that point on, Eric's ex wife Marshawn starts sharing with Ana every text exchange she has with Courtney. And Ana then shares all those exchanges with Detective Lynxite. And some of those texts are really, really incriminating, proving Courtney knew exactly what she was doing and she knew Eric was not in his right mind and could easily be manipulated. On November 8, 2016, Marchon texts Courtney asking how she's doing. And Courtney confesses her frustration with Eric not being able to comprehend things.

[Marshawn]

I'm not in a good place with him right now. He doesn't know it, and even if I told him, it wouldn't make a difference. He is so one dimensional.

[Jonathan Walton]

Then Marshawn asks what she means by that. And Courtney responds, just hit one of.

[Marshawn]

Those plateaus where everything is frustrating to me and I don't have an able being in him to actually hear me. So it's like arguing with myself.

[Jonathan Walton]

Then on November 16, 2016, the day Courtney rips open that letter from Eric's bank, alerting him that they've been subpoenaed to turn over records to the sheriff's office, Courtney texts Marshawn in a panic.

[Marshawn]

I really need someone to talk to. I'm freaking out. And Eric just doesn't get it. I'm going to jail.

[Jonathan Walton]

When Marshawn asks what Courtney means by.

[Marshawn]

That, she responds for free, fraudulently using his card, and for writing the check without his knowledge. Even though Eric has called them again and told them that what I did without his knowledge was okay with him, they are continuing with their investigation. So I'm fucked, Marshawn. I gave up my job to care for him. How am I supposed to survive?

[Anna Durgan]

Marshawn was great. She got a lot of things in text messages that very clearly admitted Courtney admitting that they're going to arrest her. And then she said in the same text message, please bail me out. I promise I'll pay you back every penny and pick up my daughter when they arrest me.

[Jonathan Walton]

The other interesting thing that happens is after Ana and Marshawn start comparing stories they were told by Courtney, they realize she's been playing them both against each other for the past six months, exhibiting another major red flag that all con artists like to wave. Isolation.

[Anna Durgan]

It's a little chess game. So we're. We're all little pieces on a chessboard.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah.

[Anna Durgan]

So she's telling us negative things about Marshawn. At the same time, she's telling Marshawn negative things about me and Kelly, Eric's sister. So doesn't want us to mar and Anna and Marshawn and Kelly to talk at all.

[Jonathan Walton]

Because she's telling different stories to different people.

[Anna Durgan]

Stories to make us not like each other.

[Jonathan Walton]

And I'm glad you brought that up, because that is, you know, and this is in my book. I write a whole chapter on this. It's the red flag of isolation.

[Anna Durgan]

Yep.

[Jonathan Walton]

My con artist did it to me. This is what they do. They turn you against someone and. And they're scamming that person and that person, or they're telling two different stories and you're never going to compare notes, so you're never going to know at this point, Detective Lingshite recommends, and everyone in Eric's life is in agreement that regardless of the criminal investigation into Courtney Baird, what Eric needs now more than anything is a legal conservatorship to protect him and to get Courtney evicted from his home. But what no one sees, and to be completely honest, it shocked the living hell out of me too, is that the lawyer appointed by the court to protect Eric from further financial theft from Courtney seems to end up getting taken in by her too, and appears to be siding with her. Yeah, this lawyer appears to be making the case that Ana and Eric's entire family are the ones trying to take take advantage of him, not Courtney. And remember, Eric is still very highly suggestible, doing exactly what anyone around him tells him to do.

[Anna Durgan]

Eric actually went to an attorney to sue me.

[Jonathan Walton]

To sue you?

[Anna Durgan]

To sue me for what? Accessing his account.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, so making you look like the criminal. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call or text 988-right- now and speak with a counselor for free. If you're enjoying the Quarterback and the Con Artist, click that share button right now and text it to your friends and family. And if you can, leave us a five star review. The Quarterback and the Con Artist is produced, written and hosted by me, Jonathan Walter for Jonathan Walton Media. Executive producers Eric Kramer and Anna Durgan. Audio engineering by Justin Longer, beam editing and sound design by Hansdale She. Legal counsel provided by Ken Sterling from Sterling Media Law. We've got a lot of incredible stories in the works at Jonathan Walton Media, so make sure you subscribe and keep an ear out.

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