Mitrice Richardson // 534

Summary

Going West: True Crime — Episode 534

Case: Mitrice Richardson
Hosts: Daphne Woolsoncroft & Heath Merryman
Release Date: September 2, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Daphne and Heath examine the haunting, mysterious disappearance and death of 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson, who vanished after being released from a Los Angeles sheriff’s station in September 2009 under highly questionable circumstances. Mitrice’s case remains one of Los Angeles’ most disturbing unsolved mysteries, marked by missed opportunities, police missteps, and lingering suspicions of foul play.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background on Mitrice Richardson

• Born April 30, 1985, in Covina, CA; raised mostly by her mother Latice and stepfather, with a close relationship to her great-grandmother (Mildred).

• Accolades: Competitive cheerleader, honor student, pageant contestant, first in her family to graduate college (Cal State Fullerton, 4.0 GPA).

  “Her mom Latice said proudly, ‘She believed it was important for everyone to get an education.’” — Daphne (06:08)

• Came out as a lesbian in college; family was supportive.

• Juggling three jobs by late summer 2009: go-go dancer, psychologist intern, shipping yard worker — all while living with Mildred in Watts, LA.

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2. Escalating Behavioral Concerns Before Disappearance

• In the days leading up to her disappearance, friends and family observed noticeable mental decline and erratic actions:
  • Posting nonsensical messages on social media, speaking in riddles, leaving bizarre notes.
  • Exhibited behaviors suggesting a manic or psychotic episode, though no formal diagnosis.

    “It definitely seemed deeper than just finding it fun to talk about…she occasionally would refer to herself as Mother Nature.” — Teague (08:02)

  • Example: Left business cards all over her aunt’s home, nonsensical scribbled note with the phrase “black women scorned.” (08:41)

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3. The Night of Her Disappearance (Sept. 16, 2009)

• Mitrice abruptly skips her weekly dinner with Mildred, telling her she’s going to Malibu (09:36).

• At Joffrey’s Restaurant:

  • Odd actions: Sits in valet’s car, tells staff she’s on a mission to avenge Michael Jackson’s death.
  • Orders expensive meal/cocktail, joins a table uninvited, discusses being from Mars and the ocean calling her.

    “She talked at length about astrology and told them she was from Mars, that her mom was Mother Earth, and the ocean was calling her.” — Daphne (13:21)

  • Unable to pay ($89.51 bill), despite having money in her account but refusing to use it (15:03).
  • Offers to have sex with restaurant manager to settle the bill — behavior growing more incoherent.

• Restaurant staff, deeply concerned, call the police, fearing she’s a danger to herself.

• Police arrest Mitrice for “defrauding an innkeeper” (dining and dashing) and minor marijuana possession (less than 1 ounce).

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4. Critical Police Actions & Missed Opportunities

• Mitrice was not given a psychiatric evaluation despite evident distress (19:40).

  “It’s interesting because you could easily be this police officer, find some weed… and just go, ‘Oh, well, they’re just stoned…’ It must not be, you know, a mental illness or something like that.” — Teague (20:09)

• Mother Latice, after learning her daughter was arrested, expresses grave concern to the station:

  “Are you guys gonna book her and then release her tonight? Because it's dark, she doesn't have a car, and I don't want her wandering… I'd hate to wake up to a morning report — girl lost somewhere with her head chopped off.” — Latice via Daphne (22:19)

• Deputy assures Latice not to worry, claims Mitrice would be safely held (22:46).

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5. Release into the Night — and Disappearance

• Contrary to their assurances, Mitrice is released alone, after midnight (~12:15–1:30am), with no phone, purse, or car — these were impounded (23:14).

• The area is described as rural, with no public infrastructure or open businesses at that hour.

  “It’s very quiet… it's not the city… If you're outside that police station at midnight, nothing is open, the streets are empty and spread out.” — Daphne (23:56)

• Deputies claim there was no sign of impairment; later disputed. Information about her behavior at Joffrey’s not relayed to station staff (26:34).

• Mitrice attempts to use the payphone, but investigation later reveals the phone was not working (27:24).

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6. Initial Search and the First Sighting

• Mildred and Latice frantically try to report her missing, but the Sheriff's Department delays, suggesting a 24-hour wait.

• At ~6:30am, local resident Bill Smith reports a woman matching Mitrice’s description in his backyard—she says she’s just “resting,” then runs into the canyon wilderness (36:50–42:38).

• Despite concerns she may have been picked up, hosts reason she likely walked the entire (dangerous, rural) route herself over several hours.

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7. Law Enforcement Response & Investigation Failures

• Family and volunteers begin grassroots search; Sheriff’s Department only brings in scent dogs on September 18, by then likely too late (45:17).
• Scent and footprints found, but trail lost due to contamination by hikers/horses.
• LAPD psychologist, after reviewing her writings, suspects an intense manic break.

Controversial Handling of Surveillance Footage:

• Sheriff's Department initially claims surveillance footage of her release doesn’t exist; later admits it does, but refuses to release it for months (48:05–48:59).

  “In fact, Tom Martin, who was the police captain at the time, claimed that the tape didn’t exist when, in fact, it was in a drawer inside his desk.” — Teague (48:59)

  • Martin later fired for sexual misconduct.

• Family finally views interior footage showing Mitrice agitated in her cell (49:41).

• The community mounts a massive physical search in January 2010, the largest in 20 years, but finds nothing.

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8. Discovery of Remains and Ongoing Questions

• On August 9, 2010 (11 months later), Mitrice’s remains are found in "Dark Canyon" near her last sighting.

  • Body is nude, decomposed, with bizarre evidence: scattered/missing clothing, detached leg and head, missing bones, etc.
  • Sheriff’s Department controversially removes remains before coroner arrives, disturbing the scene (50:28).

• Autopsy results:

  • No clear cause/manner of death, body in condition not allowing clear conclusions; sexual assault not confirmed nor ruled out.
  • Independent forensic examination (2011) concludes clothes were removed before death, making circumstances “suspicious” but undetermined (56:17).

• Theorized causes range from mental health crisis alone to indirect/active foul play, potentially even by law enforcement. No substantiated suspects.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Latice’s Ominous Warning (22:19):

  “Are you guys gonna book her and then release her tonight? Because it's dark, she doesn't have a car, and I don’t want her wandering. 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.”

• Police Statement (25:57):

  “She exhibited no signs of mental illness or intoxication. She was fine. She’s an adult.” — Sheriff Spokesman Steve Whitmore

• On Law Enforcement’s Handling (55:14):

  “Just ball drop after ball drop.” — Daphne

• On What Mitrice Should Be Remembered For (59:21):

  “‘What I would like people to know and associate with Mitrice is humanity. Just being caring and loving toward one another, being there to step in and help others when they are in need. That’s what Mitrice was about. She was definitely an advocate for others. That was a passion of hers when she was alive.’” — Latice, Mitrice’s mother

• Host’s Summation (62:58):

  “It’s just so hard to know what happened here….the autopsy being inconclusive though suspicious of course, and all the fuckery in the sheriff's department makes it so hard to really land on something concrete.” — Daphne

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Mitrice’s Background & Early Life: 03:42–07:55
• Onset of Behavioral Changes: 07:55–10:29
• Evening at Joffrey’s Restaurant: 10:33–19:32
• Arrest & Family's Concerns: 19:32–23:14
• Mitrice’s Release from Custody: 23:14–27:24
• Sighting at Bill Smith’s House: 36:35–42:43
• Community Searches & Law Enforcement Response: 45:17–46:31
• Sheriff’s Department Surveillance Tape Controversy: 48:05–49:41
• Discovery of Remains & Autopsy Issues: 50:28–57:05
• Civil Suit & Family Reflections: 59:03–61:08
• Call to Action & Legacy: 61:08–62:46

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Investigation & Theories

• Police theorize Mitrice succumbed to the rugged environment, possibly in a mental health episode.
• Family and many community members believe foul play — potentially by opportunistic strangers, or even law enforcement — is more likely, citing the bizarre state of the remains, lack of evidence collection, and the Sheriff’s Department’s troubling actions.
• Civil suit against the Sheriff's Department resulted in a $900,000 payout for wrongful death and negligence.
• Possible suspect: Local man Rick Forsberg (history of violence against women; passed two polygraphs but remains in the pool of possibilities).

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Conclusion & Call to Action

The episode closes by centering Mitrice’s humanity and her family’s ongoing grief and quest for justice, inviting listeners to help keep her story alive and report any information to Los Angeles Crime Stoppers. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the systemic failures that contributed to the tragedy — and to support changes in mental health crisis response and law enforcement accountability.

“Someone in the community knows something about what happened to Mitrice. We need them to come forward… Please help us bring justice to Mitrice.” — Latice (Family Statement, 61:08)

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For further cases from the area, consider listening to Episode 469 about Elaine Park’s mysterious disappearance — also investigated by Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department.

Transcript

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What is going on? True crime fans? I'm your host, Teague.

[Daphne]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[Teague]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello, everybody. Today's case is one that we've been wanting to cover for years before we. We just hit record. Heath was like, are you sure we haven't covered this? And it's because we know it so well.

[Teague]

We do know this one extremely well and especially because it's. It happened right around where you grew up.

[Daphne]

Yeah, exactly. So. And it wasn't that long ago. It's just really bizarre. There's actually like at least three super strange cases that took place in this specific area. Even though it's very safe and affluent and rural. Like, it's not an area you would expect. So much mystery. I'm probably going to share a little story later of something that happened when I was living over here. It's honestly, I think I've told stories about this area before. It's like a spooky corner. Even though it's so nice.

[Teague]

Yeah. It is one of those really like upscale parts of Los Angeles. Like, it feels like Something like this just would not happen there.

[Daphne]

No. Truly. Remember my witch story?

[Teague]

Oh yes. Is that the one you're going to tell today?

[Daphne]

No, but I might retell it. But anyway, this story is devastating, it is mysterious, it is so odd and I can't wait to hear what you guys think. Please share this story, listen closely and without further ado.

[Teague]

Alright guys, this is episode 534 of Going West. So let's get into it.

[Daphne]

In September of 2009, a 24 year old woman was released from a Los Angeles sheriff's station in the middle of the night after being arrested for failing to pay her bill at a Malibu restaurant. In the hours preceding her arrest, she had been acting strangely and speaking in riddles. She had no car with her phone or money, yet she seemed determined to set off into the dark hills of Malibu Canyon and was never seen alive again. This is the story of Of Mitrice Richardson Maitrice Lavon Richardson was born on April 30, 1985 to parents Latice and Michael in Covina, California which is an eastern suburb of Los Angeles. Her parents eventually split up and she spent the majority of her childhood living with her mom Latice and her stepdad Larry Sutton, who then had Mitrice's little sister who was 14 years her junior. Now, growing up, Mitrice was always comfortable in the spotlight. She was a dancer, she was a beauty pageant contestant, and she was a competitive cheerleader. And in high school and college she was an honor student to boot. According to her mom, Mitrice, quote, exuded so much life and energy. After graduating high school, she enrolled in Cal State Fullerton where she maintained a 4.0 and graduated with honors, becoming the first person in her family to graduate college. So not only the first person to graduate, but she did so with honors and a 4.0. Like she was doing very well. She was super smart, she was very motivated and her mom Latice said proudly, quote, she believed it was important for everyone to get an education. Her aunt Lauren added, quote, she always did the right thing. So during college she finally felt comfortable telling her family that she was a lesbian and they were super supportive. So after graduating she started dating a woman named Tessa and things seemed to be going very well in her personal life with this relationship as well as her professional life. But in general, the late summer of 2009, 24 year old Mitrice had her hands full because aside from enjoying her relationship, she was also dividing her time between three jobs. She was working on stage as a Go Go dancer at A gay bar. She was interning under a clinical psychologist, and she was working at a shipping yard in Santa Fe Springs, California, which is like 20 miles or 32 kilometers southwest of her hometown of Covina. So three totally, totally different jobs. But she was committed to supporting herself and just making her dreams come true, which was likely to become a psychologist, because in addition to her work obligations, Mitrice had a fascination with the human psyche and a desire to help people, which I feel like is a. It's kind of ironic that this was her fascination and that she had so much interest in this just due to what is going to happen to her. So she was considering pursuing graduate school as a psychology major. At the time of her disappearance, she was living with her great grandmother, Mildred. We're going to talk about Mildred quite a bit today. And they were living in the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles, which was closer to work for Mitrice, and also kept Mildred company. And that was really nice for them. They. They really enjoyed spending time together. They always set aside at least one evening per week to share dinner, even with Mitrice's crazy work schedule.

[Teague]

But even with her busy lifestyle and everything that she was working toward, and despite her normally cheerful and motivated disposition, Mitrice was struggling. Now, shortly before her disappearance, her friends and family began noticing that her mental health appeared to be declining. Although she had no formal history or diagnosis of bipolar disorder, her friends and family noticed increasingly erratic behavior, as well as constant social media posts on MySpace and Facebook. Again, remember, this is 2009, so that's very prevalent for a lot of people. And specifically, Mitrice seemed fixated on discussing theories about the meaning of life, especially when it came to nature and astrology, which isn't super weird. Obviously, it's not a bad thing to be fascinated by this, but it definitely seemed deeper than just finding it fun to talk about. Like, she occasionally would refer to herself as Mother Nature. Her aunt, Lauren Sutton, claimed that the day before she disappeared, Mitrice stopped by her home, and when there was no answer at the door, she just littered the outside of her home with business cards for her Go Go dancing bar. She also left a nonsensical note under the windshield wiper of her uncle's car, which was basically a series of scribbles that included a smiley face, the imprint of a kiss, and the words black women scorned.

[Daphne]

And it's just kind of weird because she wasn't known to do anything like this. But suddenly, in these few days, all these weird things are happening, right?

[Teague]

Yeah. I mean, it seems like it was kind of increasing fairly quickly.

[Daphne]

Yes.

[Teague]

Well, in the days before this, she had been posting a non stop stream of senseless ramblings on her social media. She was also brain dumping many of her thoughts and constant updates in her journal, which was removed from her car after she went missing. On the evening of her disappearance, Wednesday, September 16, 2009, Mitrice arrived home from her job at the shipping yard earlier than she was expected to. And she told her grandmother Mildred that she would be missing their dinner together to go on this spontaneous trip to Malibu for the evening. Now, Mildred remembers Mitrice offering little explanation as to where she was going or when she would be back, but that it seemed odd that Mitrice was missing their dinner. Now, obviously, like we keep saying, she was busy, but it was just another thing that felt kind of off that week.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And a seemingly large list of things that felt really just weird.

[Teague]

Right.

[Daphne]

So Maitrice headed north on PCH or the Pacific coast highway to Joffrey's, which is a bar and restaurant right on the water. It has been a Malibu institution pretty much since it opened in 1983.

[Teague]

Is that the bar and restauran was burned down in the fires?

[Daphne]

No, Duke's burnt down, but that one did survive. No, it did, yeah. It actually was untouched. It was further up the coast, luckily. But we did think for a second that it was going to go, but it. It didn't. It's still there. So Mitrice, she drove up to Joffrey's, she went to the valet stand, and after being told that the restaurant was valet only, you know, there's not a parking lot to open that she could just park in. She was like, okay, she left their car with them. But instead of entering the restaurant like you would do after dropping your car at valet, Mitrice wandered through the parking lot and hopped into the car belonging to the valet attendant, which was parked nearby, and she began going through his things. Now, I don't know if she. I can't imagine she knew that this was the valet's car.

[Teague]

Yeah, it seems like she wouldn't know that.

[Daphne]

Right. Just maybe that it was just a car that she decided, for whatever reason, to go through. So, naturally, extremely confused by this, the valet asked her what she was doing, and she apparently answered in rambling broken sentences at one point even claiming that she was on a mission to avenge Michael Jackson's death because he died just like two months before this happened. So I'm sure it was very much still news.

[Teague]

Oh, absolutely.

[Daphne]

People talked about his death for a while Especially because a lot of people found it so controversial. So the valet kind of tipped off the hostess that she may be on drugs. He's like, something's going on with this young woman and you guys should probably keep an eye on her. Still. Mitrice entered the restaurant, they didn't stop her from going in. She went in at about 7pm, which was right as the sun was setting. In Malibu, the sun set at 6:55pm that day. Obviously, since it would set behind the water. It's not like you're gonna get darkness early, like if you were in the mountains or something. So we have kind of a prolonged sunset here, which would have been really the perfect frickin time to eat at Joffrey's. And she sat by herself, she ordered a cocktail and a Kobe steak for dinner. And those items along with the valet charge totaled to $89.51. Which is no real shock based on, you know, where she was and what she ordered.

[Teague]

Yeah, this is kind of an upscale so restaurant. So ordering a cocktail and a steak, that's definitely gonna, that's definitely gonna put you out about 90 bucks.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And isn't, isn't Kobe steak like a nice cut?

[Teague]

Yes, it is.

[Daphne]

I don't know about, about meat, but I did look it up and apparently it's a really nice steak. So yeah, 90 bucks, no shock there. But then after she ate and had her cocktail, she got it from her table and she invited herself to join a table of seven other patrons. This was a group of people eating and dining together. And she pulled up a chair and started chatting to them about a few theories she had, as well as making a few kind of alarming statements that caused them to presume that she was not in her right state of mind. She talked at length about astrology and told them that she was from Mars, that her mom was Mother Earth, and that the ocean was calling her. And it doesn't seem like the staff really noticed this because she remained at their table as the group wound down even after they paid their tab and left. So it's not like she was causing so many issues that the staff of this nice restaurant said, hey, we gotta take you out of here.

[Teague]

That and the people that were at that table also didn't kick her, you know, or push her away from the table. They weren't like, oh, this girl's being really crazy, let's get her away from here. They, they just kind of let entertained her being there.

[Daphne]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, none of them said, hey, security, you know, so maybe they were interested in what she was saying or maybe they just felt bad, like, we really don't know.

[Teague]

And she actually got up and left the table after they left. So she stayed even longer than they did.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And she, but she didn't make it out of the restaurant like them because the, the staff did notice, hey, you didn't pay your bill for your cocktail and your Kobe steak. And she seemed confused by this. She said that she thought her table mates would cover it and then that mother nature would take care of it. So I don't know if she went over to this table hoping to befriend them and hoping they would pick up her tab, or if she just decided afterwards that, oh, they can pay for it, you know, or if this was part of these seeming delusions that she was having.

[Teague]

Yeah, I think at this point it's very clear that Mitrice is very confused about what's going on.

[Daphne]

Well, probably because of her confidence, the manager of the restaurant didn't know really how to proceed with Mitrice. Overall. This was a very strange situation from before she even entered the restaurant. 24 year old Mitrice then casually wondered if she left her credit cards in her car, but they weren't recovered. Her debit card, however, was found in her belongings with a balance of over $2,000. She reportedly also had cash in her purse which she continued to decline to use to pay her $89 bill. So this wasn't even a matter of, oh shit, I don't have the money, why did I come here? She has money. Whether or not she could afford the dinner is another conversation. But she, she could pay her bill.

[Teague]

Yeah, she's in her mind, she's thinking that somebody else already did pay her bill.

[Daphne]

Well, according to the manager, she even offered to have sex with him to settle the matter instead.

[Teague]

Well, that was definitely a no go. So when asked if there was anyone they could contact to resolve the matter, Mitrice suggested that they call Mildred, her 91 year old great grandmother. And they actually did contact her, with Mildred offering to pay the balance. But they wouldn't take her credit card over the phone because she would need to sign for it in person. Now, by this point, it was after 8pm and almost completely dark outside. And with watts being over an hour away, this was not an option for Mildred at the time. She's not going to drive all the way up to Malibu, you know, to pay this tab in person. So they offered to let her fax her signature. But Mildred didn't have access to a fax Machine.

[Daphne]

This poor woman, she probably wants to help her great granddaughter so bad and is just trying to help her figure it out.

[Teague]

Yeah, and she just doesn't know how to make it work.

[Daphne]

Yeah.

[Teague]

Well. Sensing trouble, a few of the employees offered to pay for the bill themselves so that Mitrice could be released. But the manager, who seemed genuinely concerned about her well being and state of mind, as well as the risk that she posed as a driver, wanted to call the police instead. Because this wasn't just a case of her having left her card at home or something, her behavior as a whole was deeply worrisome. Upon mention of the police, Mitrice became jumpy and very nervous, seeming to sense what would become her impending arrest. But still, a hostess @ Joffrey's called 911, saying, hi, I'm calling from Joffrey's restaurant in Malibu. We have a guest here who is refusing to pay her bill. We think she may. She sounds really crazy. She may be on drugs or something. We were wondering if you could come by and pick her up. Now, Mitrice was not known to use drugs, recreationally or otherwise, but when police arrived, they gave her a field sobriety test just in case, which she did pass, meaning that she wasn't under the influence. And the disturbing things she was saying had to be due to something else, like possibly an undiagnosed mental health condition. Mitrice even told the responding officer that she had not been diagnosed with a mental illness, nor was she on drugs, which naturally just confused them. While inside her car was less than 1 ounce of marijuana, which, when combined with her behavior and her failure to pay her balance, was cause for detainment, since recreational marijuana was not legalized in California until 2016, so still illegal at this point. And because she was arrested and her car was left with valet and then she went missing, Mitrice's car was impounded with her wallet and her cell phone still inside the car.

[Daphne]

In his report, the arresting officer wrote simply that she was acting ditzy and that he and the employees of Joffre's were worried about her. So she was a fan. Officially arrested for defrauding an innkeeper and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.

[Teague]

So, defrauding an innkeeper? What?

[Daphne]

Yeah, that's basically the official term for dining and dashing. I had never heard of it either.

[Teague]

Very interesting.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So Mitrice was brought into the nearby police station. It's not that close. It's probably like 15, 20 minutes away to be held for the time being. Though why she wasn't brought in for a psychiatric evaluation is unknown, but considering the reporting officer just said she was ditzy, you know, maybe he thought that she just smoked weed or something. I don't know. Maybe he had never been around someone who was stoned before and thought somehow this is what that was.

[Teague]

Yeah, and that's probably just the police jumping to conclusions. Not really. You know, it's interesting because you could easily be this police officer, find some weed in somebody's car and just go, oh, well, they're just, they're just stoned. That's why they're acting so weird. It must not be, you know, a mental illness or something like that.

[Daphne]

But like, when was the last time you're around somebody who was stoned?

[Teague]

Me.

[Daphne]

And like they've had delusions like this isn't, this isn't somebody who's high on marijuana. This is like, this is something else. And maybe they didn't care to figure that out. Maybe they just said, oh, this nutty lady needs to be arrested and then we'll let her go and I'll move on with my life. Like maybe they just didn't care.

[Teague]

But that's kind of what I'm, that's kind of what I'm saying, or what I'm thinking is that there's, there's a bit of negligence going Right here, 100%.

[Daphne]

From literally the jump. And it's going to get so much worse. Well, meanwhile, her great grandmother Mildred called Latice to tell her what was going on over at Joffrey's. And confused, Lettice called the restaurant. But by then her daughter had already been arrested. So then Latice called the Malibu Lost Hills Sheriff's Department. It's not in Malibu. I don't think there's enough crime in Malibu for there to be one.

[Teague]

Yeah, it's a pretty sleepy town and.

[Daphne]

This area is like really all connected. Like Agora and Malibu really bleed into each other. So Agora is where the Malibu Lost Hill Sheriff's Department is located. That's where I grew up. This is in northern Los Angeles county. And like I said, it's just about 20ish, maybe a little bit less minutes inland from Joffrey's restaurant. So Letiz asked if her daughter could be released or bailed out immediately and told them that she would be on her way, if that was the case, to come pick her up. I mean, she wanted to pick Mitrice up, but she was also in kind of a tough spot because she was home alone with her 10 year old daughter. Mitrice's younger half sister. So she asked the officer if she could come immediately anyway, or if perhaps Mitrice would maybe have to face an arraignment in the morning, in which case she would just come in the morning. Then came one of the most chilling details of Mitrice's disappearance. Latee said to the officer who took her call, are you guys gonna book her and then release her tonight? Because it's dark, she doesn't have a car, and I don't want her wandering. 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.

[Teague]

That is horrifyingly eerie, truly.

[Daphne]

But the deputy assured her, saying, you don't have to worry about her safety. To which Lateice replied, oh, yeah, no, I feel safe with her being in custody. It's her being released that I'm worried about. It's crazy out here based on what we'll be getting into in this episode. Latese said later that those words now haunt her and felt like an omen for what was to come.

[Teague]

So, having been told that 24 year old Mitrice was not going to be released that night, Latice slept for a few hours and called back again around 5.30am, though some reports claim that this was as early as 4:30am and police told her simply that Mitrice had been released around 12. Though this time also varies between 12:15 to 1:30am so like Daphne said, Mitrice's car with her phone inside was at the impound lot, 15 miles or 24 kilometers away, meaning exactly as her mom had been worried about, Mitrice didn't have her car and she had no way of getting home at this point.

[Daphne]

And just to kind of give you guys an idea of what this exact area is like, because I grew up in Agora and Calabasas, and this police station is cradled at the border of both towns. Some would say it's technically in Calabasas, others would say it's in Agora, but both like this entire area, it's very quiet, it's very suburban, I would say very safe usually, but it's also rural. This area bleeds right into Malibu and the mountains and the canyon surrounding it. Even though this particular police station is right off the freeway. But you can't really walk anywhere. Like if you're outside that police station at midnight, nothing is open, the streets are empty and spread out. And especially without her phone and car and wallet. Like, I don't know how police expected her to get anywhere.

[Teague]

Yeah, it's. It's like you said, it's very, very spread out. And, yeah, it's so funny to think about just how safe this area generally is. But, yeah, I would hate to be stranded out there in the middle of the night, because even, like, in the city, if you come a little bit more into the city, there are businesses that are still open. There are places where you can go out there. It is dead past, like, 10:00pm yeah.

[Daphne]

Like, you know where the Calabasas Erewhon is? Like, this is literally around the corner and just up the road from that. But that Erewhon and that parking lot with all those businesses in it that's there now was just a really old house at this time. That was not. There weren't businesses until you go down and down that road. Like, it's not. This is houses and suburbs and canyons and mountains.

[Teague]

Yeah. It was not as developed as it is today. But even if this did happen today, you'd still be in the same kind of predicament where there's not really any place to go.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Because it's not. This isn't the city.

[Teague]

And that's exactly why Latice was shocked and appalled at this news that she had been released. But deputies told her that they had no legal reason to hold her daughter any longer and that by the time they reached the station, she was showing no signs of mental incapacity. So they didn't think that there was anything really wrong with her at this point. Sheriff spokesman Steve Whitmore later said to the press, quote, she exhibited no signs of mental illness or intoxication. She was fine. She's an adult, which.

[Daphne]

Fair. But even for her safety or as a courtesy. Cause I know those guys weren't busy that night.

[Teague]

Yeah, there's nothing going on in that area.

[Daphne]

Nothing going on. Very little goes bad here. They certainly could have given Latice a call or offered Mitrice a ride, like, she's a young woman and it's one in the morning.

[Teague]

Oh, 100%. But something, you know, really disappointing here is that her behavior at Joffrey's was apparently not detailed in the police report and therefore was not made known to the deputies at the station. So according to them, they just thought that she was completely fine because they didn't know about anything that had happened previously. But still, fine or not, they definitely should have done the right thing here and make sure that she was headed home or headed in the right direction. But on the flip side, journalists later disputed this claim, alleging that the deputy at the Loss Hill station knew that Mitrice was not in her right state of mind, but simply did not exhibit enough care towards the situation and were backpedaling after her disappearance to kind of COVID for themselves. The deputy who spoke with Latice on the phone also failed to alert his coworkers to the call he had with Latice, claiming that she would come to get her daughter as soon as she was released. According to the correctional officer working the front of the station, her name was Sharon Cummings. Mitrice was led to the lobby and allowed to use the payphone, but a subsequent investigation revealed that the payphone was not working at the time of Mitrice's arrest. In the report written up by Sharon Cummings, Mitrice reportedly tried to call her great grandmother Mildred four times. But Mildred says that she didn't receive a single call after she spoke to the manager at Joffrey's earlier that night.

[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Teague]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

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[Daphne]

Before being released. 24 year old Mitrice agreed to appear in court on November 16 regarding this arrest, which was two months later. She was told that for her safety she should remain at the station until someone could retrieve her. But she apparently declined their requests, telling officers that she was meeting up with friends, which again, as an adult, she was allowed to do. But, you know, it's interesting that the police are saying we told her that she should wait for somebody to pick her up for her safety, but they also didn't call anybody. And they say she used the payphone, but then it turns out the payphone wasn't working. So, like, did you tell her to wait? It's really hard in this case to know if we could trust what they're saying.

[Teague]

I think that they weren't expecting her to go missing. And then when she did, they were like, oh, shit, we've got to cover our asses. We, we saw her use the payphone and it's like, oh, when you checked the payphone, it wasn't working. So you're clearly lying here.

[Daphne]

Totally. So she set off on foot with only her driver's license and keys in hand. Learning of this hours later and still over an hour away in Covina, Latice was frantic. She made a series of panic calls to anyone who may have known her whereabouts or heard from Mitrice, hoping that she maybe somehow had met up with a friend. But no one had heard from her. So Letice called the Lost Hills Sheriff's Department back to report her daughter missing. In a panic, she told the dispatcher, I believe that she is highly depressed. When Latice was asked if she had taken any medication, if Mitrice had taken any, Latice said, no, I believe it's a state that she's in right now because of the weird activity that's been going on these past couple days. She then implored the detectives to file a missing persons report, but they pushed back and encouraged a 24 hour hold, clearly not deeming Mitrice's case an urgent one. At 6:30am so about an hour or so after Letice received the news that her daughter had been released earlier that morning, like way earlier, a local resident named Bill Smith called in to say that he had seen someone he described as a prowler in his backyard. Now, Bill lived on Cold Canyon Road in Monteno, which is a quiet community tucked in the Santa Monica mountains between Calabasas and Malibu. Actually, when the police were taking her from Joffrey's restaurant to the Lost Hill Sheriff's Department, they would have passed the road he lives on because they had to have gone through Malibu Canyon. So this, when I say between, I mean it's on that exact route, right?

[Teague]

So it seems like she's Headed back on this same road. Back towards Joffrey's.

[Daphne]

Yeah, essentially, yeah. Going back the same way. Totally. And Bill offered up a description, weirdly, that matched that of my trees. And he said that he awoke for the day to find a young woman in his backyard. Obviously he was very puzzled because his area is pretty remote. It's not accustomed to foot traffic at all. And when I say remote, obviously you're only minutes from the freeway, you're minutes from PCH and other businesses. But it's remote in the sense that it's in the canyon. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, he basically asked if she was okay, and Mitrice apparently said that she was just resting, but when he attempted to go out to talk to her, she vanished, running off into the wilderness. So, yeah, this is very strange, this community. Again, it's in Malibu Canyon. It's only about a 10 minute drive from the police station, but it's about a two hour walk that is partially through a winding canyon road with no sidewalk, like it's definitely possible to do. And there's not a lot of car traffic in the middle of the night either in this area. But it would have been so dark.

[Teague]

Oh, yeah. Because there are no lights when you start going through that canyon. It is dark. Dark out there.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Actually, this is really quick, I want to say, like the neighborhood right next to where Bill lived I used to live in and is a really, really small community because it's nestled in these mountains. So there's not that many houses right here. But there. A few years ago, I was staying at my mom's house. I think actually you and I were dating, Heath. This was when I went back to visit my mom for like a few weeks.

[Teague]

Right.

[Daphne]

And like, we woke up one morning to a group chat from the community. There was only like 10 houses in this neighborhood my mom lived in. And because at the bottom of the long driveway right off Malibu Canyon, literally like around the corner from where this happened, where Bill Smith lives, there was like a body dumped into a ditch. Oh, I remember.

[Teague]

Yes, I do remember that.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And this was also around the time. This is like a really weird time for this area because this was around the time that the Malibu Creek State park shooter was around.

[Teague]

Yeah. And I want to say that Daphne is talking about like around like 2018. So she didn't. She's not talking about like 2009.

[Daphne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Teague]

Like way back then.

[Daphne]

Yeah, I guess around this time. I mean, like that decade. I've told this story on going west before, but in Paramount Ranch, which is right next to this area. It's like part of the Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu Creek State Park. That's where, like, a lot of old westerns are filmed. And. But it burned down and they're rebuilding it, which is amazing. But in that area, like, literally every full moon. This is when I was in high school. So around the time that my trees went missing, because I was in high school in 2009, there would be these, like, me and my mom called them the witches. But these people wearing cloaks would park their cars along the canyon and they.

[Teague]

Would walk into, like, the pasture area, I want to say.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And they would go up the canyon to get to this platform and they would leave offerings like flowers and frankincense with twine wrapped around it and all this weird stuff. They were like, this is kind of a kooky area in some ways.

[Teague]

It is. Yeah.

[Daphne]

But this is that exact area around that very time that she went missing. So, like, again, the reason it was so weird to see those witches is I call them the witches, but is because there's really nobody out at night. You know, it's really, really quiet. So I'm just picturing my Treece walking down this canyon road alone. Why?

[Teague]

And again, it would take about two hours to get to that area. So if she was released around 12:30. Between 12:30 and 1:30, and Bill sees her around like 4:30 ish. Like she had been probably walking for a long time.

[Daphne]

Or Bill actually saw her at 6:30, 6:30.

[Teague]

Right.

[Daphne]

But even to your point, then that's even later. So she definitely had the time to make that walk.

[Teague]

Of course she did. But damn, that's a long walk.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And again, why? And where are you going? And then the fact that she's in his backyard and she says she's just resting, which could make sense if she was tired from that walk. But it's all just so mysterious. Well, no missing persons report was ever filed for Mitrice, so there was no way of connecting this sighting to her officially, though it does seem like it was likely her. Like, really? Who the hell else would this be?

[Teague]

Yeah, exactly.

[Daphne]

So as Lettice raced to the Lost Hill Sheriff's station to find her daughter, it's very likely that she was still alive, potentially walking around disoriented in the rugged terrain of the Santa Monica Mountains after calling in to report her daughter missing. You know, the. The missing person's report that was not taken. She was tipped off by an officer about this sighting. So that's why at this point, she raced to the Montenido neighborhood to search for Mitrice there. Now, because of the distance between the sheriff's station and Bill smith's house, about six and a half miles or ten and a half kilometers, maybe a 10ish minute drive. Latisse felt strongly that Mitrice had been picked up by a vehicle and driven there. Though again, since about five to six hours had passed between her release and her sighting, it's definitely possible that she could have walked as unsafe and far as it would have been.

[Teague]

Yeah, because it's definitely, you have to go uphill at certain points because it's a windy canyon. I mean, just picture having to walk up that. And then also the fact that when she encountered Bill Smith, she said, oh, I just need to rest. So that makes me believe that she probably had been walking that whole way.

[Daphne]

We'll post like a Google street view of this area. It intersects Mulholland. So I don't, I'm trying to think if there's street lamps. I feel like there is, they're probably.

[Teague]

In some areas, but definitely not throughout the entire canyon.

[Daphne]

And again, it's like you're out there at that point. You're, you are in the canyon, you're surrounded by mountains.

[Teague]

Right. There is basically nobody that's going to come save you. Unless perhaps somebody might be driving that canyon road, which does happen. But it's, you know, again, it's very quiet. So it could also be very unlikely.

[Daphne]

And also kind of feels unlikely then that anybody would have picked her up, in my opinion, to then drop her off at the Montenido neighborhood. Like, why would they be like, somebody pick her up and take her there instead of somewhere else?

[Teague]

Right. I don't think that would have been the case.

[Daphne]

I honestly do think that she walked. Now, with the sheriff's station apparently unwilling to help, Mitrice's family and friends, as well as some concerned volunteers, took matters into their own hands. They were passing out flyers, posting on social media and leading a grassroots campaign. But by the following day, Friday, September 18, 2009, Mitrice was still missing. So this was finally enough evidence, you know, for her disappearance to elicit some support from within the sheriff's department. And a scent dog was brought out into the wilderness that surrounded the sheriff's station. This scent dog was brought to the vicinity of Bill Smith's home as well. And the dog did briefly pick up her scent, but eventually lost it at a neighboring home. Investigators also managed to locate footprints from the shoes that Mitrice is believed to have been wearing. And appeared to show that she had been running. But they were later trampled by horse hooves and other shoe prints. When Mitrice's steps were met with a popular hiking trail.

[Teague]

A police psychologist analyzed her rambling social media posts and journal entries from the day leading up to her disappearance and believed that Mitrice was suffering from a bout of intense mania, characterized by delusions of grandeur or a byproduct of a manic break, in which Mitrice likely believed that she was particularly important, such as when she said that she was planning on avenging the death of Michael Jackson, or perhaps even that she was holy or magical. In the days prior to her disappearance, Mitrice had written and posted so much that Latice mused that it was likely that she had not slept in days. But sadly, even the best efforts of her family were not enough to find her. Three weeks after her disappearance, Los Angeles Police Department detective Chuck Knowles announced in the press that the search was still ongoing, saying, she's out there. We don't believe she's a victim of foul play. Her family pushed for the release of the surveillance footage from outside the police station, but their requests were denied, citing that the activity was not recorded, merely monitored. Mitrice's aunt Lauren was particularly irate at this statement, accusing them of protecting their own interests and alleging that they were lying to her family. When pressed, the sheriff's department admitted that they did in fact, have recorded footage, but that it was not able to be released.

[Daphne]

So sketchy. Like, why'd you say that you didn't have it and then you do?

[Teague]

I mean, yeah, seriously, like, what are you trying to protect here? I mean, it seems like they're just trying to protect themselves by proclaiming that the family had only requested exterior footage, which they did not have. So instead, they admitted that they had footage from inside the station which would potentially shed light on Mitrice's movements and state of mind while in custody. Steve Whitmore conceded, should they have been more forthcoming and said, well, but there is this, perhaps. And you have to ask yourself, was this done because we were scared of covering up, of misbehavior and missteps? I don't think so. And in fact, Tom Martin, who was the police captain at the time, claimed that the tape didn't exist when, in fact, it was in a drawer inside his desk.

[Daphne]

In his desk?

[Teague]

Yeah, in his desk. And by the way, it's worth noting that Captain Tom Martin was later fired for sexual misconduct after a rape allegation, because two months before Mitrice went missing, a woman Claims that he pulled her over, asked her to get out of the car and go into the backseat, where he raped her, and then threatened her that no one would believe her because she was in recovery at the time for drug use.

[Daphne]

Insane.

[Teague]

That is so crazy to me.

[Daphne]

Sick, sick, sick, sick. And she didn't come forward before Mitrice went missing. So he was just continuing to work.

[Teague]

Yep.

[Daphne]

Well, Mitrice's parents were finally shown the footage on March 29, 2010. So six months after she went missing, which showed her pacing the cell and appearing, by her mom's description, agitated. Toward the end of the footage, her family noticed a male deputy exiting the station around the same time that Mitrice was released and wondered if he was pursuing her or ultimately had anything to do with her disappearance. Naturally. So this deputy was at the station with his partner to drop off someone who had just been arrested. Then an hour later, the pair made a routine traffic stop in the area about six miles from the station. But they said that they were told that there were no deputies at the station at the time. But still, the LAPD and Lost Hills Sheriff Station stood by their decisions. So Mitrice's parents secured an attorney in order to mount a better search. And finally, her case garnered enough attention in the community to warrant an intensive search following public outcry on January 9, 2010. So before they were shown that footage, the Los Angeles Police Department mounted the largest and most extensive search in the county in over 20 years. The efforts included 300 volunteers combing the brush on both ATV and horseback. Helicopters and drones circled overhead, and more dogs were marched through the brush. But still no evidence was found that would point towards Mitrice's whereabouts. And remember this, that all of this searching was happening in this vicinity of Bill's house as well. And they found Nothing. More than 70 tips came in with eyewitness sightings, including from somebody Mitrice personally knew and her own father. I mean, people believed that she was out there across La Vegas, specifically by her father and beyond, just wandering around. But on April 9, 2010, only a couple weeks after her parents saw that footage of her in the station, these suspicions proved false, because Mitrice's body was found in the aptly named Dark Canyon, which is a remote area of Malibu Canyon not far from Montenido, where she had last been spotted in the yard of Bill Smith's house. While searching for a defunct marijuana farm located off of Pyuma Road, a pair of park rangers happened upon human remains. But the next move made by the Lost Hills Sheriff's Department has Been one of its most controversial throughout the course of the years long investigation, claiming concerns about the sanctity of the scene of her discovery and apparently not wanting to leave it vulnerable. Vulnerable to another chilly canyon night rife with animal activity. Mitrice's remains were removed without the supervision of the county coroner, disturbing what could be the scene of a crime. The sheriff's office later alleged that they had the express permission from the county coroner's office to do this, but this claim was later brought under scrutiny.

[Teague]

On August 12, 2010, the Sheriff's Department announced to the public that the remains were confirmed to belong to Mitrice. Again, assuring the public, we have no indication of a homicide at this point. According to the preliminary exam and the condition, it was determined that it could have been there six months to over.

[Daphne]

A year, which obviously she went missing seven months earlier.

[Teague]

So, yeah, that does kind of line up.

[Daphne]

It does line up.

[Teague]

So obviously the scene of the discovery left her family with more questions than they had when she went missing. Because Mitrice was found nude, with several items of her clothing scattered in the vicinity and some that were confirmed to be missing. Though the autopsy could not determine how long she had been left out in the elements. Her body was of part partially mummified. Her right leg was detached from her body and her femur was missing. Her left arm was bent over her chest. Five of the bones in her neck were missing, and her head was detached from her body as well. Now, one possibility is that in the midst of her mental health episode, she removed her clothes, which is not unheard of for someone in the state in which Mitrice was believed to be in. But her socks, shoes, shirt and underwear are still missing. Investigators blame the scattered and missing clothing on potential water corrosion or possible animal activity at the scene, which is possible. But another misstep occurred when Lost Hill's deputies failed to take pictures of the scene. And sadly, because of the timeline, there was no way for the medical examiner to determine how much of this was due to animal activity and what, if anything, could be attributed to another person leaving her body there after they potentially murdered her.

[Daphne]

Just ball drop after ball drop.

[Teague]

Yeah, they really sucked on this case.

[Daphne]

Well, according to the autopsy, there was no evidence of sexual assault or trauma. But because of all the missing bones and the amount of decomposition, which was very severe, it was extremely hard, if not impossible, to tell. And her clothing was not tested for seminal fluid, and they did not test other hair found at the scene either. Her body was found 1.3 miles or 2 kilometers from Bill Smith's. House, despite the sheriff's department's assurance that they searched within a three mile radius of the home. Officially, her autopsy ruled her cause and manner of death as undetermined. But unconvinced, her mom sought an independent autopsy. So, over a year after the discovery In July of 2011, Mitrice's body was exhumed. Respected forensic anthropologist and author Clea Koff performed that second autopsy. And because there was no decomposition fluid on her clothes that proves that they were removed before her death, Clea classified the death as suspicious, but could not determine a cause or manner without a shadow of a doubt. So naturally, many wonder if Mitrice had been sexually assaulted by somebody prior to her death, perhaps an officer, and that that's why her clothes were scattered around the scene. Or like we said, it happened during a mental health episode. But for anybody wondering as well about, like, hypothermia, the high was 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the area that day. It stays really hot over here for a while, like into fall. Like, what's going to be 85 on Halloween this year?

[Teague]

Yeah, pretty much.

[Daphne]

But it got to a low of about 65 degrees in the night. So very even tempered. It was not cold, especially if she was walking. She probably would have been, honestly, kind of hot.

[Teague]

Yeah, definitely.

[Daphne]

Well, obviously if police involvement is to blame, it would explain the inaction and suspicious choices. But this may just have been a case of severe mishandling by multiple people because she was wandering the roads by herself in the night. It's also possible that she accepted a ride from the wrong person, or that someone living in the area recognized her state of mind at the time and saw her as an easy target, then used the remote canyon to dispose of her body.

[Teague]

I mean, yeah, it's not very often that somebody is randomly walking, you know, through this canyon. So if somebody was an opportunist, it would be very easy to take advantage.

[Daphne]

And a beautiful young woman at that. Well, though her family and many in the community feel strongly that foul play is to blame for Mitrice's disappearance and death, the Sheriff's department has leaned toward the conclusion that Mitrice spent the early morning of September 17, 2009, wandering the back roads and wilderness of Malibu and wound up falling prey to an accident or the elements bolstered by her mental health episode, which was likely making her more energetic and invincible than she would normally feel. I think a second ago I said September 17th, by the way.

[Teague]

Yeah, 17th is when she was at Joffrey's, but because it was the Next day. So it wasn't 18th.

[Daphne]

Yeah, sorry. So the 8 the morning of the 18th is what I meant. But sadly for now, her family is still waiting for answers. In 2010, Mitrice's parents filed a lawsuit against the Lost Hill Sheriff's Department for wrongful death and negligence and were eventually paid out. $900,000. They won this lawsuit.

[Teague]

Yeah, so they admitted the Lost Hill Sheriff's Department at essentially admitted that they, they did screw this up.

[Daphne]

Well, at least they were found guilty of it. Like it.

[Teague]

Sure.

[Daphne]

This just proves that they messed up. And we all know that there's, there's no.

[Teague]

Now we know justice was slightly served in that case.

[Daphne]

No friggin doubt about it. But ultimately, instead of all the headlines and speculation, what Lettice wants people to remember about her daughter is not the fervent search and her chaotic final hours. Latice told the Malibu Times, quote, what I would like people to know and associate with Mitrice is humanity. Just being caring and loving toward one another, being there to step in and help others when they are in need. That's what Mitrice was about. She was definitely an advocate for others. That was a passion of hers when she was alive.

[Teague]

Journalist Dana Goodyear produced season four of the Lost Hills podcast, which actually focused on Mitrice's disappearance and death and had help from Malibu based writer Cece woods, who also helped raise awareness for another famed Malibu disappearance, which is that of Elaine Park. And we did cover that episode in. Sorry, cover that case in episode 469 of Going West.

[Daphne]

Yeah, that was earlier this year. That is another really weird case that happened in this area. You should definitely go listen if you.

[Teague]

Haven'T absolutely go check it out. But for those of you guys who did listen, you will remember that Elaine disappeared from the same stretch of highway on which Mitrice was arrested and her disappearance was investigated by the same sheriff's department. Lost Hills offers up a possible person of interest who was actually questioned in Mitrice's disappearance. A local man with a history of violence towards women named Rick Forsberg. And Rick was actually given two lie detector tests, both of which he passed, but his name is still considered in the breadth of possibilities. In Mitrice's strange death, Latece funneled her.

[Daphne]

Grief into writing a book about her experience titled A Mother's Journey from Despair to Desire. Speaking candidly, Letice shared quote, losing a child is never, never something that anyone can ever prepare for. To get through that process, I believe that it is important to have a spiritual foundation to hold on to. She claimed that her faith allowed her to come to terms with what happened to her beloved daughter, adding I was able to then focus on my trees life and the joy I had for the time that I had her. Of course, Latese still hopes for answers and continues to spread awareness about her daughter's death, saying, someone in the community knows something about what happened to Mitrice. We need them to come forward. We need to bring those involved with Mitrice's murder to justice. We're not going to be able to do that without the help of the individual or individuals who know what happened to Mitrice. Please help us bring justice to Mitrice. If you have any information about the death of 24 year old Mitrice Richardson, please call Los Angeles Crime Stoppers at 800222 TIPS. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Teague]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. Please share my Tresse's story. Her family is still looking for the right answers because so far they have not got the answers that they deserve.

[Daphne]

It's just so hard to know what happened here. And I think the autism topsy being inconclusive though suspicious of course. And all the fuckery in the sheriff's department makes it so hard to really land on something concrete. Like I can't say, oh she was definitely murdered. But I also feel I have a hard time saying, you know, I think this was just a weird accident. Like I just don't know.

[Teague]

Yeah. And that's one. That's the thing about this case is really nobody knows. Yeah, that's why we're still.

[Daphne]

Unless maybe one person knows.

[Teague]

It's possible. It's very possible. But thank you guys again for listening to this episode. Let us know what your thoughts are on this case and we will see you guys on Friday.

[Daphne]

Yes, please go follow us on socials. We're on Instagram @goingwest podcast and we are also on TikTok at Going west podcast and on Facebook.

[Teague]

All right guys. So for everybody out there in the.

[Daphne]

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