← Going West: True Crime
Going West: True Crime
The Bellevue Killer // 521
00:55:02
In the summer of 1990, a serial killer originally dubbed “The Charmer” began his crusade of committing brutal acts of violence against Seattle-area women, then placing their bodies in crude positions before abandoning them. Locals were terrified of the perverse madman loose on the streets of their city - but, thanks to DNA and a few careless slip ups, a suspect was identified. And quickly, the evidence against him began to stack. These are the gruesome murders of Mary Anne Pohlreich, Carol Beethe, and Randi Levine - committed by the Bellevue Killer.
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- [00:00]
Host 1
Bachelor in paradise is finally back and we're shaking things up. Our young singles are joined by Golden Bachelor and Bachelorette alumni. And it's all taking place in Costa Rica. With new compatibility challenges, even the strongest relationships will be tested. But don't worry, there'll still be plenty of steamy romances and explosive drama, because finding love in the sun always comes with a little shade. Catch new episodes of Bachelor in Paradise, Mondays at 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream next day on Hulu.
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Host 2
The best reviewed film of the year is also the best horror film of the year.
- [00:36]
He Daphne
Something's happening to us.
- [00:37]
Host 3
You got to get out of here now.
- [00:39]
Host 2
Starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie. As you've never seen them before. The thirst in your bones.
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He Daphne
I can't explain it.
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Host 2
Critics are raving that together is the perfect date night horror movie.
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Host 3
Why is this happening?
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Host 2
That will leave you laughing and screaming in equal measure.
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Host 4
It's gonna be okay.
- [00:59]
Host 2
Together. In theaters July 30th.
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He Daphne
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Host 3
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He Daphne
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- [01:30]
Host 3
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He Daphne
Compounded medications are not FDA approved. Consult a healthcare provider to determine if treatment is right for you. What is going on, True crime fans? I'm your host, He Daphne, and you're listening to Going West.
- [02:02]
Host 3
Hello, everybody. Hope you're doing well today. Today's case is a doozy. It is set in the Pacific Northwest, more specifically outside of Seattle. And it was recommended to us by Alex, Franny, Pete and Mary. So thank you guys so much for putting this one on our radar.
- [02:20]
He Daphne
And there is resolution for this sick piece of shit behind it all. So I do want to give a little bit of a disclaimer because I know some of you guys listen with your kids in the car, but some of the positioning of the victims in today's story are not really appropriate for young ears.
- [02:37]
Host 3
Yeah, I would agree. I think you guys, if you are with kids, you should save this one for when you're not with them. Not because really like gore. It's just disturbing.
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He Daphne
Yeah, it's just kind of a.
- [02:48]
Host 3
It's kind of unique of a story in a very disturbing way.
- [02:51]
He Daphne
Yeah, absolutely. So just disclaimer there for you guys, but without further ado, this is episode 521 of Going West. So let's get into it.
- [03:23]
Host 3
SA in the summer of 1990, a serial killer originally dubbed the Charmer began his crusade of committing brutal acts of violence against Seattle area women, then placing their bodies in crude positions before abandoning them. Locals were terrified of the perverse madman loose on the streets of their city. But thanks to DNA and a few careless slip ups, a suspect was identified and quickly the evidence against him began to stack. These are the murders of Marianne Pulick, Harold Be and Randy Levine committed by the Bellevue Killer. Bellevue, Washington is known for being a safe and affluent mid sized city in the Seattle metropolitan area. But starting In June of 1990, a series of grotesque attacks against women had the city gripped in terror. And had he not been apprehended, he likely would have claimed many more victims in the same manner. Like he was definitely on that path. But let's go back to the beginning. On the morning of Saturday, June 23, 1990, you know, picture summer in Washington state, an employee at a McDonald's was taking out the trash to a corral of dumpsters, which they shared with the adjacent Black Angus steakhouse. And there on the asphalt in front of the dumpsters, was the discarded nude body of a young woman. The only items that remained on her body were two pieces of jewelry and the lid of a container of Frito Lay brand dip, which covered her right eye and forehead. But I will say, according to some reports, this was actually the lid of a takeaway coffee cup. But the eeriest detail of this discovery was that it appeared as if her body had been posed. Her arms were folded across her chest, and in one hand she held a pine cone. Her legs were outstretched but crossed at the ankles. Her head was turned to one side and she had been brutally beaten. But she clearly put up a fight. And even more disturbing was the fact that her killer had continued to torture, assault and manipulate her body after her death, like she had been assaulted posthumously. According to her autopsy, her cause of death was likely to be blunt force trauma and manual strangulation. And it was determined that she most likely died between 2:30 and 5:30am that same morning, which is also gonna be kind of a trend in this case. So investigators hoped that the seminal fluid that was found on her corpse, by the way, could be used to identify her killer. But this would be a lengthy and intricate process with DNA profiling because, you know, it was so new at the time. Remember, this is 1990. So in the meantime, detectives set about getting an identity for their murder victim.
- [07:34]
He Daphne
Well, no missing persons reports matched the young victim, so for four days, she remained at Jane Doe. But when the Bellevue Police Department posted pictures of her jewelry, her roommate recognized the necklace she had been wearing when her body was discovered. Dental records were secured from the family, which confirmed the match to be 27 year old Mary Ann Polreich. So, tragically, Mary Ann had found herself being the unsuspecting first victim of a newly minted serial killer in Washington, which was obviously, you know, very devastating for her friends and family because Mary Ann was known to be this incredible person. They just had so many questions. So Marianne was one of eight children and is remembered as a wonderful sister and an outgoing and compassionate friend. She made a point of visiting her parents every weekend after moving out, as they were all super close. Now, for fun, Marianne and her friends enjoyed the bar and nightclub scene in Bellevue. And Papagayo's Cantina was her favorite spot, which actually ties into what happened to her. But while they loved the atmosphere inside, they couldn't always swing the cost of a night out. So she and her friends had taken to stashing drinks in their cars in order to save money. So, like, they would, you know, mingle and socialize inside and then head out to the parking lot when they wanted a quick drink. And this is where investigators found her car parked after she was murdered. Marianne had driven herself and two friends there, but her friends left the bar around 9:30pm While Mary Ann was still having fun. And so she just stayed behind. Her purse with her identification and wallet inside was also found at the bar. And the McDonald's in Black Angus steakhouse was just 10 minutes down the road.
- [09:30]
Host 3
So though these discoveries seem like the beginning of a break in the case, detectives spoke diligently with each employee of Papagayo's, as well as, of course, Marianne's friends and just anybody else that they can get in contact with who was present at the bar that night. Because it really did seem like whatever happened to her had at least started at Papagayo's, whether she met somebody at Papagayo's and went back with her or they went back, or, sorry, she went back to their place, or they followed her. Like, it seemed like that was at least the starting point.
- [10:03]
He Daphne
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and investigators know this, so that is where they have to kind of begin their investigation.
- [10:10]
Host 3
But, you know, there's obviously so many people to talk to, and they really don't know anything. All they know Is, is that she was there that night and then she ended up in the dumpster outside of a McDonald's and a Black Angus steakhouse 10 minutes away. So they're missing so many pieces to this puzzle. So they're really struggling to come up with any leads. And sadly, almost as quickly as their momentum was gained, it was depleted. And this would give the killer an opportunity to strike again because less than two months later, the ex husband of a 35 year old woman frantically called the police to state that his daughter had found her mother. So his ex wife brutally murdered in the bedroom of her own home. Carol Yonart was born and raised in Butte, Montana, where she lived until after she married her husband, the guy I'm just talking about, Paul Beath, in 1976. But they eventually relocated to Bellevue, Washington after their wedding and together they had two daughters, Kelly and Jamie. Now, like Marianne, Carol came from a large family. She was one of six siblings, remember Marianne was one of eight. And in Bellevue, Carol worked as a bartender at a few different bars. You know, she, she loved going out and having fun, but she also loved to spend time outdoors. She really enjoyed the lush landscape that Washington State had to offer, as many do who live there because the Pacific Northwest is so beautiful.
- [11:44]
He Daphne
Yes, it is.
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Host 3
Now, after she and Paul divorced, she and her daughters, who were at this point 9 and 13 years old, moved into an apartment while Paul lived in a house nearby. And they did share custody amicably. You know, there was no bad blood between them and it was really handy that they lived close to each other so that they could swap the girls whenever they needed to. And by the way, at this time, Carol was bartending at an Italian restaurant called Cucina Cucina. So she was often there.
- [12:17]
He Daphne
On the morning of Thursday, August 9, 1990, Carol Beith's 13 year old daughter Kelly noticed that her mom was sleeping in a little bit later than usual. Kelly woke up at 8:30am that morning and to her surprise, Carol wasn't up yet. And strangely, the door to her bedroom was closed and it was locked. And Kelly was so concerned that she walked around the side of the house to the sliding glass door that led into her mom's bedroom to see if she could take a look inside. And there, right there in the bedroom, through the paned glass, Kelly saw her mother bloodied and still lying on the bed. So rattled she called her dad, Paul right away, who raced to their home and discovered that Carol had been brutally murdered.
- [13:06]
Host 3
And this is just especially horrific because her daughter is frickin 13 years old, and especially with the state of her body, like this is something that I'm sure Kelly has never forgotten.
- [13:18]
He Daphne
Oh my God. Yeah, I can't even imagine. Well, let's get a little bit into the night leading up to that next morning. So the night prior to this gruesome discovery, Paul and Carol spoke on the phone around 9:30pm Then an hour later, around 10:30pm, Carol spoke with a man that she was dating named Mike Sewell, who was a fellow divorcee and single parent, about an upcoming vacation that they were planning together. Now, about an hour and a half after the start of their call, around midnight, 35 year old Carol headed out to the bar where a male friend of hers named John was bartending. And although Carol was dating Mike, it was still kind of casual. So she was also seeing John the bartender, just casually. And that night that she visited him at the bar, they actually left at some point to be intimate in her car in the parking lot. Then she headed home around 2:15am about two hours later, around 4:30am, her daughter, 13 year old Kelly, heard somebody shuffling through the hallway in the family's condo. Brandishing a flashlight, this person swept the light across Kelly's room, her sister's room and the bathroom before just walking away. So obviously this is very creepy. There's an intruder in their home. And although her eyes were closed, Kelly later claimed that she could feel the penetrating light of the flashlight cross her eyelids, like whoever was holding it had spotted her and focused on her briefly.
- [14:54]
Host 3
That is so scary. Like she's sleeping and she's not necessarily thinking this is an intruder. She thinks it's somebody. I mean, you're about to say this. Sorry.
- [15:03]
He Daphne
No, it's okay. But yeah, like, no, it is like a horror.
- [15:05]
Host 3
Yes, that is like a horror movie, honestly.
- [15:08]
He Daphne
Well, she assumed that the person holding it was Mike, who was, you know, dating her mom because he would occasionally spend nights at their house, which is.
- [15:16]
Host 3
Probably why she didn't like say something or get up or run to her mom's room or something. But knowing now that that was somebody who meant harm is so terrifying.
- [15:27]
He Daphne
Well, after her murder, Carol had been left on her back and like Marianne before her, she had also been posed. Her rumpled bedspread was pulled all the way down to the foot of the bed and she had been left naked except for a pair of red high heels which were pulled together so that the soles were touching while her legs were spread and bent at the knees. So not that we really want to picture this, but if you kind of think of like a diamond with her knees kind of out, right? Yeah. It's very disturbing. So detectives reported that blood had been smeared along her legs as if the person who had done it had been finger painting. Ugh.
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Host 3
God.
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He Daphne
Sickening.
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Host 3
And I. You know, I just want to warn you, this is the most shocking detail leading from what Heath just said. There was a shotgun found at the scene, which had been left at the foot of the bed, because, remember, she's kind of at the foot of her own bed with the covers pulled down. And the butt of the gun was inserted inside Carol, which was such a disturbing find. And it really gave investigators a peek into the killer's sick mind. You know, somebody would do that.
- [16:41]
He Daphne
I mean, it's. It's one thing to be a serial killer. Obviously, that's horrible enough, but to leave your victims this way, it's like you're. You're enjoying this.
- [16:52]
Host 3
Yes, absolutely. Because it's like, to do something so depraved like that. And this is why we're saying, like, kids should not listen to this, because the positioning of these women are. It's very depraved. So it's like, for somebody to be able to do that after somebody's dead, it's just like, you are fucked up.
- [17:12]
He Daphne
Yeah. And he's trying to make a point here. I don't know if it's, you know, some sort of, like, moniker of his or MO that, like, he wants to kind of coin himself as a different kind of serial killer.
- [17:26]
Host 3
We're going to get into a little bit about that later once we identify this person. But I think. I think it does kind of make sense later. I mean, it doesn't make sense at all. But there will be, like, a slight answer to this. But, I mean, this whole scene is so confusing because not only this, but there was also, like, a plastic dry cleaning bag over her head, and then her head was also covered with a pillow. So, like, imagine coming upon the scene again. Her poor daughter Kelly had to see this. I don't know to what degree Kelly saw this, but, like, what is this? This whole scene is so bizarre.
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He Daphne
Well, she. She clearly saw through, like, the paned windows.
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Host 3
At least enough.
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He Daphne
At least enough. Yeah.
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Host 3
So her ultimate cause of death was actually head trauma because the left side of her skull had been brutally beaten. It was struck 13 times, which left behind this Y shape after every single blow. She had also been struck in her torso, actually, so hard that she had broken ribs and liver damage. Now, Carol always wore rings. Jewelry is going to be a really big part of this story. But the rings on her left hand, oddly enough, were missing. She also had two sets of wedding rings that she wouldn't have been wearing. One of them was her mother's, and then the other one was from her marriage to Paul. But, of course, you know, she kept these in a. In a little sack, so. But these were taken by the person who killed her. But it almost seemed like this wasn't the motive. It was kind of an afterthought, like, oh, I might as well take these precious rings and make some money.
- [19:05]
He Daphne
Well, we also know how important trophies are for serial killers, so it could be. It could be a couple different reasons there.
- [19:11]
Host 3
Yeah, so true. And just like in Marianne's case, the police published photos of these rings in the local newspaper in hopes that somebody would recognize them. Like I'm saying, if they were gifted or sold off or something, this could help lead to our killer. Because it was clear that these items were taken by the person who took Carol's life. But I do want to add that Paul also noticed because he went into the room. He was married to Carol. You know, they knew each other very well. So the police were trying to utilize him and say, do you know what kind of jewelry she had? Do you know if anything is missing? He's kind of looking around her room, in her house to see if there's anything that is like the engagement ring and the wedding ring that he had given her, if he notices any of those things are missing. And he noticed that a few bags of coins and valuables from Carol's dresser were missing, because Carol made this habit of stashing silver dollars and cash tips, you know, that she would get at the bar in small velvet crown royal bags, which she was known to keep in the top drawer of her dresser. And I just want to say this for those wondering. Paul was ruled out as a suspect almost immediately, really, just based on his genuine shock and devastation at the loss of the mother of his children and this woman that he cared about and was married to for years. So he was also very, very helpful at every step of the investigation. He was super committed to finding the person responsible, and not in a way that felt phony. Like, it was clear to police that he did not do this.
- [20:45]
He Daphne
Right. It seems like he really just did care for Carol.
- [20:48]
Host 3
And then, of course, we have this other murder. So now they're wondering this, you know, is this not some type of domestic dispute or some type of lovers quarrel, if you will? And is there a serial killer out There.
- [21:02]
He Daphne
Well, as far as Paul goes, that really was not the case. However, the detective's experience with Mike Sewell was not very positive. Initially, Mike consented to a police interview and informed police that he had not seen Carol in a few days. But when asked about his whereabouts over the last few weeks and where his frequent haunts were, he admitted that he was known to hang out at Papagayo's, which, as we can recall, is where Mary Ann was taken from on the night she was killed. Mike also drove a blue Corvette, which a few of Carol's neighbors reported seeing in the area that night. And, of course, detectives also spoke with John, who Carol had slept with mere hours before she was killed. But he was able to prove that he had returned home immediately after he and Carol were together and was freed from suspicion pretty quickly, which is kind.
- [21:59]
Host 3
Of telling about Mike, that John's like, yeah, I'll answer your questions. I didn't do it. And Mike is, like, giving them trouble.
- [22:06]
He Daphne
Yeah, exactly. He was exhibiting exhibition extremely concerning behavior to investigators. Like, during his line of questioning, he became super outraged and started yelling at detectives and banging on the table as they told him that Carol had been seeing somebody else. He was also very, very defensive and didn't want to speak further without an attorney. So, to the dismay of investigators, the investigation into Carol's murder stalled, just as Mary Ann's had, and they still couldn't even be sure whether the pair were connected. And then, just three weeks later, this depraved murderer stalking the Seattle metropolitan area would strike yet again.
- [23:02]
Host 4
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- [23:32]
He Daphne
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- [23:40]
Host 3
And when we do that, we want to save as much money as we can.
- [23:44]
He Daphne
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- [23:58]
Host 3
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- [24:08]
He Daphne
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Host 3
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He Daphne
Get the Rakuten app now and join the 17 million members who are already saving.
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Host 3
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- [24:26]
He Daphne
That's R a K u T E N Your cash back really adds up.
- [24:32]
Host 3
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- [24:56]
He Daphne
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Host 3
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- [25:18]
He Daphne
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- [25:28]
Host 3
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He Daphne
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Host 3
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He Daphne
First month@betterhelp.com goingwest that's betterhelp.com goingwest in.
- [26:51]
Host 5
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- [27:22]
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- [27:59]
Host 3
Foreign Lavigne, who went by Randy, so we're going to call her Randy Levine today, was born in West Point, New York and later moved to Florida before settling in the Pacific Northwest the same year that she was murdered. This is going to come back again later. So remember, she was new or fairly new to Washington as of that year. So 24 year old Randy was working there as a secretary and renting the basement apartment of a couple in Kirkland, Washington, which is just about 20 minutes north of Bellevue.
- [28:34]
He Daphne
Anybody know Kirkland at all? That's like the, that's like the Costco Main brand. That's where, that's where Kirkland, that brand is from.
- [28:45]
Host 3
After Washington.
- [28:45]
He Daphne
Yeah. Yeah.
- [28:46]
Host 3
Oh, interesting.
- [28:47]
He Daphne
Well, fun little fact. Kind of stupid, but whatever.
- [28:50]
Host 3
I also want to mention that I'm going to be saying, or we're going to be saying apartment. So remember, this is the basement apartment of a house, but it is technically like her apartment, like her guest apartment.
- [29:00]
He Daphne
Right, Right.
- [29:01]
Host 3
So on the evening of August 30, 1990, remember three weeks after Carol's murder, Robert Hayes, who was the owner of the house, ran into Randy as she arrived home from work. You know, naturally he lives there too. So they ran into each other and that would be the last time that he would see her again. Randy then went down into her basement apartment and got ready to head back out to meet her boyfriend in Kirkland, you know, so the same area that she lived in because the two were planning their upcoming trip to the San Juan Islands, which are just south of Vancouver. So this is like a really nice kind of local vacation that's gonna give them like a change of scenery and be very beautiful and fun, I'm sure.
- [29:42]
He Daphne
Yeah, the San Juan islands are absolutely gorgeous. You can see like orcas and stuff. It's like.
- [29:47]
Host 3
Yeah.
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He Daphne
When you think about like the islands surrounding Seattle, it is, it is truly stunning.
- [29:54]
Host 3
Yeah, because it's like so Pacific Northwest and the trees are so beautiful and the water is really like dark and beautiful, you know, not like a. Don't picture like a tropical island.
- [30:02]
He Daphne
Yeah, it's definitely not like that, like a northern island.
- [30:05]
Host 3
So Randy returned home around 1:30am she was out for the night. And a few Hours later, around 5am Robert, remember the owner of the house that she rented that little guest basement apartment at, woke up to let their dog out to go to the bathroom. But when he opened the back door of the home, the dog shot across the yard barking savagely at something. So Robert's kind of looking around like, why is my dog freaking out? And he spotted somebody hovering across the yard about 30ft away from him. Like somebody is crouched in his backyard. Because it was still dark outside. He could not distinguish any particular features of this person, but Robert obviously was startled. So this person's on his property, he's yelling at them and he actually took off running after this person. But the intruder evaded him. He and his wife reported this to the police who examined the backyard, but they couldn't find any sign of a break in. And sadly they declined to check Randy's guest apartment. Three days later, on Monday, September 3, 1990, Robert's wife went to feed and tend to Randy's two cats because she hears them begging and assumes that they're hungry. And you know, they had a good relationship with Randy. So this woman is just thinking that she's going to help her tenant and friend out. Right. But as she entered Randy's apartment, she was hit with what she described as the metallic smell of dried blood.
- [31:43]
He Daphne
Yeah, that blood has that very distinct smell.
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Host 3
Yeah. So obviously this is so concerning. She smells this or she smells this immediately. And this is a smaller apartment, so she is able to see Randy's bed as well. And right there in her bed is 24 year old Randy's body, which had been posed in perhaps the most shocking position yet.
- [32:10]
He Daphne
So Randy's face was turned toward her left shoulder and her legs were pulled with her knees straight upright. Her right arm was stretched above her shoulder with her left arm alongside her side and under her left wrist. Was the book more joy of sex, which is the sequel to the book joy of sex, which marketed itself as a gourmet guide to lovemaking. And with this, a phallic sex toy was positioned in Randy's mouth. Randy had died from severe head wounds after several blows to her head With a weighted object, Much like the other two victims that had been beaten, because randy had been struck about 15 times and received a fractured skull from the damage. Also dotting her body Were stab wounds that she received after her death. Oddly. But we have some more DNA here. Because pubic hairs, believed to be from the murderer, Were left behind at the scene, Though somehow he managed to scrub the crime scene of any fingerprints. The medical examiner determined that randy had been deceased between two or three days by that time. So detectives zeroed in on the strange run in with the backyard prowler, Assuming that he was most likely the suspect, but whether or not her murder was connected to the other two that had occurred, you, know, nearby In a similar fashion, they declined to confirm and any of the three murders. Interestingly, Mike sewell remained their only suspect. And although initially resistant Alongside the attorney that he had obtained, Mike finally agreed to offer up a DNA sample, which was tested against the DNA found on mary ann's body. But the two were found to not be a match. So either there were multiple killers at play, Or Mike was just simply innocent. Investigators then zeroed in on a piece of jewelry that had been taken from randy, the removal of which had been so rough that it had left a bruise on her finger. I mean, this guy was really a ring thief. Now, a good friend of randy's Determined that the ring that was most precious to her Was a vintage yellow gold setting with an amethyst stone. And they found out that it was gone, Just like the two women before her. The jewelry that had been taken and left behind Held the possibility of solving these murders. So police begged the community to be on the lookout for the ring. Well, thankfully, they wouldn't have to wait very long at all, because the murderer would make another attempt at a break in, and less than two weeks later, and this time, he wouldn't make it inside. On September 12, 1990, a woman named Robin Oldenburg called 911 to report a prowler in her yard whom she believed was attempting to break in. Robin was up late packing for a weekend getaway when she heard a knock at her window, which was likely an attempt to see if anybody was home or awake.
- [35:20]
Host 3
So scary. Like you're just packing and somebody freaking knocks on your Window horrifying.
- [35:25]
He Daphne
I mean, this, this whole case really is such a horror movie.
- [35:28]
Host 3
No, it really is.
- [35:30]
He Daphne
Well, when Robin screamed and ran to the phone, the man was spooked and he just ran away. And as deputies reported to her home to scope out the situation, Officer Tom Baker was patrolling the apartment complex and pulled over a Volvo to ask if he had seen anything. And it turned out, well, they knew each other.
- [35:53]
Host 3
Here's where things really come to a head, because the driver was 32 year old George Russell. And he of course, greeted Tom jovially by name. When Tom asked if he knew anything about the close call. With the break in up the street, George feigned ignorance and said that he didn't. But as he held George in his car to question him, Tom ran a cursory check on George and found that he had an active warrant for his arrest for impersonating a police officer.
- [36:24]
He Daphne
Ah, the old impersonating a police officer bit.
- [36:28]
Host 3
Classic. And Tom was really doing his job. Like, you gotta hand it to him, he knew him like he knew George. And he's still like, I'm gonna look into you. I'm gonna, you know, type in, I'm going to write you up. Because if he didn't do this, he wouldn't have found that there was a warrant out for George's arrest. So once he found this out, he actually arrested George right there on the spot. And it gets more interesting because when Robin learned that George was arrested, she was shocked because she actually knew him personally too. She described him as fun and happy, go lucky, but also said that he had a mean streak and a dark side. So let's talk about him. George Walter Field Russell Jr. Was born in Florida in April of 1958 to Joyce and George Waterfield Russell Senior, making him 32 years old when all this is going down. In 1990, after his parents divorced his mother, Joyce remarried. This is of course, when George was a kid and she, you know, she found a dentist named Wonzell Mobley, they dated, they got married, and then the two of them plus George settled in Mercer Island, Washington, which is just southwest of Bellevue. And it's surrounded by Lake Washington. Very beautiful place to live.
- [37:47]
He Daphne
Yeah, you just take the quick little bridge from Mercer island into Seattle. You're right there.
- [37:52]
Host 3
Yeah. So when we see the island again, don't picture like a tropical island. This is a Washington island and it's like a residential island. Like he's saying you can drive to it over a bridge.
- [38:01]
He Daphne
Yeah, there's a bunch of different houses on the island. So not like some deserted island people actually do live there.
- [38:08]
Host 3
Right. So Joyce and Wonzel then had another child. This was a daughter they named Erica. And though George was very social and attempted to make friends as a kid, his mom and stepdad were really strange. Like, they were kind of known as pariahs, who were also described as cold and withdrawn. Like, this is not a friendly family. They're actually described as unfriendly, very quiet, and they very much kept to themselves. Actually, a childhood friend of George's once told George that his mom's presence was ominous.
- [38:43]
He Daphne
Okay. Freaky, freaky ass fucking family.
- [38:46]
Host 3
Oh, yeah. But on the contrary, even as a kid, George was known to be charming, friendly, and he got along with anybody and everybody. But this didn't really last into adulthood because when he was a teenager, he started becoming a bit of a poor student. And his teachers remember him as immature. But I do want to say, like we just said, Robin said that he was happy. Go lucky. So some people did know him as this nice, charming guy. And it does almost feel like that was the manipulative side. And really his dark side started emerging from a young age.
- [39:24]
He Daphne
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you can be a charming guy and also be a complete fuck.
- [39:28]
Host 3
Up, which he was.
- [39:30]
He Daphne
Yeah. Because by the age of 15, George had started to run away from home. He was always smaller in stature and weight than the other boys his age, which may have contributed to his feelings of isolation. Now, on top of all of this, you know, he was feeling very insecure because he was one of just a few black teenagers within his community. And at that. At that point, you know, at that age, he really did not want. Want to be black.
- [39:58]
Host 3
Yeah. Like, he felt almost ostracized for being black, which is really devastating. But a lot of his friends remember that he felt that way.
- [40:06]
He Daphne
Well, as his behavioral problems worsened, he started selling pills that he had stolen from his stepfather's dental practice. He grew increasingly apathetic about his studies, and his grades really suffered. By his junior year, he was known for his truancy as well as his drinking, smoking pot, pill popping and theft, making him a regular in juvenile court. His stepfather had finally had enough and sent him away to live with a colleague of his in hopes of kind of just like straightening him out.
- [40:38]
Host 3
It just. It didn't seem like he had a great backbone in his home, like we're saying. His parents were known to be very strange. So it didn't seem like, for whatever reason, he was very supportive, deported as a kid.
- [40:50]
He Daphne
Yeah, very true. But after about six months of being away with his stepfather's colleague, George arrived back on the island with his behavior continually declining, becoming known as the town bully. And actually, around the same time that George was shipped off to the mainland, his mom received a job across the country in Maryland, and she took it. Along with filing for divorce from Wonzel, they agreed that Erica would move east with Joyce and spend the holidays back on Mercer island with her dad. But as far as George went, neither parent really knew what to do with him.
- [41:30]
Host 3
Yeah, it's almost like maybe there was also a sense of abandonment from his mother. Like the two female figures of his family, his sister and his mom, are now just like gone. And obviously Washington and Maryland are far away from each other also.
- [41:43]
He Daphne
On top of that, you know, this is not his real dad that he's staying with. This is his stepdad. So even though he knew his stepdad pretty well, it's like, you know, Yeah.
- [41:53]
Host 3
I, I'm actually glad you're the perfect time to bring that up because there is an anonymous acquaintance who knew George from his childhood, later divulged in the book Charmer, which detailed George's crimes and legacy. Quote, they both wanted out. Wonzel was seeing a white businesswoman. And Joyce hated the idea of being in the same town with the two of them, maybe running into them socially. When it came to George, it was, you take him. No, you take him. No, you take him. Wonzel ended up with a 16 year old kid who was already stealing him blind. You gotta give the man credit. He tried to do the right thing. Think about it, they weren't even blood. So, yeah, he's even saying that. It's like his stepdad is trying. Like you do kind of gotta hand it to him, because he's taking this child. Which, yeah, they weren't blood, but of course this is his child still. You know, they spent many years together living under the same roof, treating him like his son.
- [42:51]
He Daphne
Each parent is kind of saying like, God, this, this kid is a mess. Like, you're gonna have to be the one.
- [42:56]
Host 3
Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm sure his stepdad was like, like Wanzel was like, fuck. Like neither of them wanted to deal with him because as you can tell.
- [43:03]
He Daphne
He was a piece of shit.
- [43:05]
Host 3
He was very, very troubled. So in 1974, George stayed behind with his stepfather and Wonzel's new wife. But something happened that caused Wonzel to kick George out for good. Like, basically, it's kind of like a rumor. It's conjecture. But there's also no proof that this isn't True. But the word at the time was that teenage George made lurid advances at Wonzel's new wife. And Wonzell is like, hell, no.
- [43:36]
He Daphne
Yeah, you gotta get out.
- [43:37]
Host 3
And that was like, the final straw. So after that, you know, he's only 16 years old at this time. Ish. Almost 17. So he went to stay with a friend and eventually became homeless, doing what he could to find food and shelter around Mercer Island. But he did drop out of high school and was going in and out of jail at this point. Eventually, he trekked into more dangerous territory when he began impersonating police officers. You know, obviously after being kicked out of his home as a teen, not finishing school, already having a bad way about him, things are not gonna start getting better for this guy.
- [44:13]
He Daphne
Yeah. So he's kind of doing this in order to, like, earn back respect, but in a fake way, I guess.
- [44:19]
Host 3
Yeah. It's actually really interesting because he. It actually started out as, like, a surface project. Like, he started volunteering with the police department and occasionally working as an informed informant. This was probably after he was arrested so many times. He's trying. He's, like, trying some things. But George, of course, naturally, quickly took advantage of the situation and started sporting a cap and badge in public, which he would flash to unsuspecting individuals, especially women, to gain their trust, which is very, very dangerous. You know, this is a criminal, a young criminal, and he's got a bad head on his shoulders, and now he's like, ooh, I can do this and kind of get some power out of it.
- [45:05]
He Daphne
Well, yeah, he probably sees that police officers do have a certain amount of power, and he really, really wants that power. Well, after his arrest in the parking lot of Robin Oldenburg's apartment building, police ran the serial numbers of the gun found in the Volvo that George had been driving and found that it was registered to a neighbor of Randy Levine's and that it had been reported stolen. They asked him about Randy during his line of questioning, and George even admitted to knowing her, also admitting to frequenting the same bars as all three victims, including Papagayo's, the Black Angus Steakhouse, and the bar that Carol Beith worked at. He admitted to knowing both Mary Ann and Randy, but claimed that he did not know Carol. And then he just stopped answering questions and refused to give DNA samples, demanding an attorney.
- [46:01]
Host 3
Yeah. Cause now he's like, ah, shit. I've kinda put myself in a box here.
- [46:05]
He Daphne
Yep, you are screwed, buddy. But investigators were kinda stonewalled here, but they really wanted to use the Time they had him in custody to try and catch him for one of these murders. Now, coincidentally, Bellevue police officer Tom Baker had met George when he was working security at Papagayo's, where Mary Ann had disappeared from. Now, Tom was moonlighting as a security guard for extra cash. And he recalls having seen George with a woman on the night Marianne was killed, but couldn't be sure that the woman with George had actually been Marianne, despite claiming that they looked alike. And Tom even recalled George boasting that he was going to take the girl back to her place and noticed that the girl seemed pretty drunk. When police went back to Papagayo's to ask employees about George specifically, one of them also remembered seeing George leave the bar with a woman on the night that Marianne was killed.
- [47:01]
Host 3
Well, this employee added another name into the mix. George's friend Smith McLean, or Smitty, who George was at Papa Guiles with that same night. So they tracked Smitty down and discovered that he had already been wary of George based on what happened afterwards. Because get this, that night after eating dinner with Smitty at Papagayo's, remember, this is the night that Marianne was murdered. The very first victim of this case, George asked to borrow his car, to borrow Smitty's car, because he didn't own a car himself, which is why when he was found, he was driving that stolen Volvo. And suspiciously, he had a couple different explanations for why he asked to borrow Smitty's car. One, that he wanted to change into a collared shirt to wear on the dance floor at Papagaya's. Like he wanted to leave and go get a shirt. Two, that he had left a duffel bag filled with clothes in Smitty's truck that he wanted to grab. But whatever the reason, Smitty didn't see his car again until the next morning. So Smitty waited behind a Papagayo's for George to return the car. Because both of those excuses would be very quick, even if he's running home to get a shirt. He lived in the area. He should have been right back. But he didn't come back. So once the bar closed down for the night, Smitty headed to a nearby 24 hour Denny's just waiting for George, which he did for hours. But when 5:30am rolled around, Smitty found another ride home and went to bed. Only about 30 minutes later, around 6am, Smitty's sister ran into George bringing the car back. And George basically said that he had been out all night looking For Smitty explaining that they had simply gotten separated. Which I guess if Smitty went to Denny's, that would make sense. But why would George be driving around looking for him? He would just drop it off. Right? So either way, it's just, like, very strange. But even stranger and more disturbing. When Smitty went out to his car later that morning, he was shocked to find the state in which George had left it, because the interior of his vehicle was streaked with dark red liquid and a putrid smell lingered, which Smitty later said was like a rotting dead animal. When he spoke with George later that day, asking what the hell happened, George claimed that he had just had some bad clam chowder and that he had thrown up in the vehicle at some point that night. But Schmitty did not believe this, though he also didn't press the matter and simply remove the floor mats to be clean, because obviously he's not necessarily thinking that his friend murdered somebody. But he was like, something's off. Like, that's. This isn't just vomit. Like, what is this? What are these red smears?
- [50:00]
He Daphne
Yeah, I mean, you have clam chowder that's literally, like, white, and then you have blood that's red. So I don't know how you get those two confused, but whatever.
- [50:10]
Host 3
Which is why he was so wary when police approached him. He was like, I knew something was up. So George also explained to Smitty that he had left the parking lot of Papagayo's in order to drive a woman home. Whereas, as we know, he previously told Smitty that he was trying to change his shirt. So his story is faltering. So this woman that he says he drove home, Tamara Francis, was interviewed by police and said that she did know George in passing, but that she had not left with him that evening nor any other evening. So we've got another lie.
- [50:46]
He Daphne
Well, in addition to Papagayo's, George was also a regular at the Black Angus Steakhouse where Marianne Polreich's body was discovered. That is, until March of 1990, when he was banned from the restaurant for poor behavior, which apparently he was very bitter about. And you know how he said that he didn't know Carol? Well, she apparently also frequented the Black Angus. And get this. Part of why it seemed he was banned was because of a bad situation between Carol and George, which Carol told her friend who actually worked there about this while George was within earshot at the bar. And he was visibly angered by this. Multiple acquaintances of George's recall him mentioning that he knew Carol despite the fact that he told police that he did not, and that he also knew that she was a bartender at Cucina. Cucina.
- [51:43]
Host 3
And like, for those who don't know Bellevue, this isn't like a tiny town where everybody knows everybody. Their population is like almost 150,000. So it's.
- [51:53]
He Daphne
It's a mid sized city.
- [51:54]
Host 3
Yeah, it's a mid sized city. The chances that he knows all of these women are really slim, but he does.
- [52:00]
He Daphne
Yeah.
- [52:00]
Host 3
So you're connected here.
- [52:03]
He Daphne
Yeah, there's definitely a lot of different connections with George. Well, one witness later even recalled that Georgia tried to sell Carol's stolen wedding rings to him after her murder. So he's trying to hock these. This jewelry after he killed her.
- [52:17]
Host 3
Yeah, there's way too many people coming forward with suspicious shit.
- [52:21]
He Daphne
So, of course, with all this, detectives continued to attempt to track down Randy's missing amethyst ring, hoping that they could prove that George had stolen it after killing her. And as they attempted to trace its whereabouts, a woman came forward saying that she was supposed to go on a date with George Russell in August, but that he had stood her up. So to make up for it, he gifted her a gold ring with an amethyst stone. And then instead of like, accepting this very strange gift, the woman passed it on to a friend who took it with him on a trip to Florida.
- [52:58]
Host 3
Which is kind of weird, but, you know, now they gotta track this guy down. And when detectives were able to make contact with this man, it seems like he actually took it with him. He was like on a hitchhiking trip, and because he wanted to pawn it off, and he did so, along with his guitar at a pawn shop in Key west called Uncle Sam's.
- [53:20]
He Daphne
Can you imagine tracking a piece of jewelry that far, like a. Across the entire country?
- [53:26]
Host 3
This is how important it was to the investigation. Like, a detective from Bellevue literally flew all the way down to the Keys to retrieve the ring himself, and he didn't even know it was there. You know, it's not like it's on an online. It's not like it's in the online shop. Like, he has to go figure out if this random ring is in the store. And it's not like he has a picture of this ring. He just has a description of it. And then he has to somehow make sure that that concretely connects back to Randy. It's just so much work. Well, interestingly, Randy's family actually still lived in Florida. Remember, she had moved from Florida that same year to Washington, and They were able to meet the investigator at a police station to identify the ring. Well, meanwhile, on October 11, 1990, detectives took possession of Smitty's truck and dismantled it piece by piece to test if it contained a match to Marianne's DNA. And horrifically, the stains were confirmed to be her blood. So then you kind of have to wonder if he murdered Marianne and then disposed of her by the dumpster, because, as we know, Carol and Randy were found in their own beds. And then we have Marianne, who was found in a public dumpster. So it perhaps he murdered her in the car, disposed of her body, and then just gave the car back, as is, essentially, to his friend, which is insane.
- [54:54]
He Daphne
I mean, it's very idiotic.
- [54:56]
Host 3
I mean, very idiotic. So there were also fibers found on her body that matched the carpet fibers from Smitty's truck, proving that she was in the truck, as well as a hair of George's. And then police also discovered that Randy and George knew each other through Randy's boyfriend. Like, they were mutual friends. Now, in the weeks before Randy's murder, they were all hanging out, like Randy, her boyfriend, and George, and Randy and her boyfriend asked George to drive her boyfriend's car so that she and her boyfriend could drive together. So, like, they knew each other well enough for him to drive her boyfriend's vehicle, you know? And then another time, sorry, I wish I had the boyfriend's name. So it's kind of confusing to keep saying her boyfriend. But another time, George and some of their friends, since they had joint friends, actually helped replace the battery in her car. So they were very much connected. And on top of all of this, after Randy's murder, multiple people reported that George had said that Randy was known to sleep around, use men, and act like a whore. So he seemed to maybe have something against Randy. Maybe he didn't like that she had a boyfriend because he wanted her for himself.
- [56:15]
He Daphne
Like, yeah, it could have been something as simple as, like, a rejection where, you know, she should be all mine. And, like, the fact that she has a boyfriend, that makes her a whore to me, you know?
- [56:24]
Host 3
Yeah.
- [56:25]
He Daphne
It's like, this guy is so pathetic. Well, on the weekend that Randy was murdered, George and some friends were heading to Canada for a quick getaway weekend and stayed in a hotel the night before they drove across the border, which happened to be the night that Randy was killed. So that evening, George dressed in dark clothing and told his friends that he had a work obligation to tend to. He left on foot because, as we know, he didn't have a car and he didn't return until about 6am he's.
- [56:54]
Host 3
Always coming back at 6am yeah.
- [56:56]
He Daphne
So weird. What are you doing all night? It's very clear that he was murdering women. Well, Randy lived less than a mile or about one kilometer away from that motel. So investigators believe that he showed up to her house and that she told him to leave, which angered him and caused him to seek retaliation. And at this point, it kinda seems like George's motive, as I just kinda hinted to, was likely rejection based revenge against each of his victims. So, still in custody on charges of impersonating a police officer, George was officially arrested and charged with three murders to which he pleaded not guilty. George's trial began in September of 1991, so the following year. And his defense really clung to the fact that the murder weapon in each case was completely different. So instead they blamed Mike Sewell for Carol's murder and two individual mystery killers for the deaths of Randy and Mary Ann. George maintained his innocence throughout the trial, but the jury thankfully saw through all of this and he was eventually found guilty on October 18, 1991.
- [58:08]
Host 3
Now, although the prosecution considered seeking the death penalty, 33 year old George was instead handed two life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 29 years. Now 67 years old, George remains imprisoned at the Stafford Creek Corrections center in Aberdeen, Washington, which is about two and a half hours away from Seattle for the horrific deeds he committed against Marianne Pike, Carol Be and Randy Levine. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.
- [58:56]
He Daphne
Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. It's crazy, honestly, how many serial killers come from the Pacific Northwest? And this guy, this piece of shit was just another one of them. And thank God he's exactly where he needs to be. In prison.
- [59:12]
Host 3
Yeah. This is such a horrific story. Thank you again to everybody who recommended it. Like just some truly haunting details. Remember, there will be some photos on our socials if you guys want to go look at those. Follow us. If you're not following us, you can find us on Instagram at Going west podcast. And we're also on Facebook. We have like a private discussion group and then we also have a regular public group.
- [59:33]
He Daphne
And real quick, before I let you guys go, Going west is going on tour in September. We're going to be in Denver, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. Chicago. It is going to be so much fun. Get your tickets now. Go to goingwestpod.com tour.
- [59:51]
Host 3
Oh yeah, it's going to be so fun. All right, guys, we will See you on Tuesday. All right. God damn. I always.
- [59:57]
He Daphne
You did it again. She's taking my line.
- [60:00]
Host 3
Sorry.
- [60:01]
He Daphne
I'm going to say. I'm going to start saying, don't be a stranger.
- [60:04]
Host 3
You're allowed to. Honestly, I deserve it.
- [60:06]
He Daphne
All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the.
- [60:09]
Host 3
World, don't be a stranger. I like you guys staying with me. Sam.
- [61:27]
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