1: The House of Secrets

Summary

Podcast Summary: Hell in Heaven: A Mysterious Death in Paradise

Episode 1: The House of Secrets
Host: Becky Milligan
Date: October 9, 2025

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Overview

The inaugural episode of "Hell in Heaven" explores the mysterious and tragic story of John and Anne Bender, an American couple who built a vast, fortress-like mansion and wildlife sanctuary in the Costa Rican rainforest. The episode, hosted by award-winning journalist Becky Milligan, sets the stage for a tale of immense wealth, growing paranoia, isolation, and a puzzling death that sparks suspicion, gossip, and multiple murder trials. Through atmospheric storytelling and interviews with friends, neighbors, and family, the first chapter introduces the enigmatic house—Bora Kayan—and the psychological landscape that led to paradise being transformed into a place of fear and secrets.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Night of the Tragedy

• Incident Details:
  • Timestamp 01:35
    Milligan recounts the night of January 7, 2010 when police and ambulance respond to a shooting at the Benders' house.
  • Carlos Mora, the ambulance driver, describes the surreal opulence and tension inside the house, comparing it to a spaceship with reflective black floors and heavy security.
  • The body is found in the open-air bedroom, with a gunshot wound and a semi-automatic on the floor. Initial police assumptions of suicide are quickly upended by inconsistencies: the wound is in the back of the head, the gun appears to have fallen from one hand but the entry wound is on the opposite side.

"He's never experienced anything like it before or since… as Carlos gets closer, he takes in the horror of it all."
(Becky Milligan, 05:10)

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2. Arrival in Costa Rica and Building Bora Kayan

• Motivation and Vision:

  • John Bender, a wealthy Wall Street genius, and his glamorous wife Anne arrive in their 30s with the dream of creating a wildlife refuge and eco-paradise.
  • Their love for each other and devotion to rescued animals are emphasized through home life details—rare orchids, hundreds of Tiffany lamps, a pack of animals.

• Unique Design:

  • The couple's mansion is both architecturally and contextually jarring—a four-story, round, wall-less structure with open spaces, helicopter pad, and screening mechanisms for night-time.

"It's just enormous. It's like a spaceship's landed on the top of a hill in the middle of the jungle in Costa Rica."
(Becky Milligan, 13:15)

• Community Impact:
  • Buying 5,000 acres for their sanctuary, the Benders drastically alter the local economy and geography, bringing jobs, introducing wealth, and inspiring local awe and suspicion.

"As we say, John came to put the town on the map… There was not even electricity when John arrived. He brought life to the place."
(Osvaldo Rojas, 27:45)

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3. Folklore, Isolation, and the Dark Side

• Atmospheric Risks:
  • Neighbors describe the jungle as a beautiful but mentally challenging environment where isolation can amplify inner demons.
  • The area around the Diamante waterfall is rumored to carry a curse or strange energy; nearly all who settle there are said to "lose it" over time.

"A lot of people die off there and a lot of people go kind of crazy. They lose it. They actually lose it. Struggling with anything in the jungle. You're gonna face your inner demons."
(John Corvick, 09:57)

• Early Warnings:
  • The Benders become increasingly isolated, their paradise gradually feeling like a prison. Armed guards, electrified fences, and constant surveillance replace open hospitality.
  • The shift from idyllic to ominous is a core theme, with locals both frightened and suspicious of the Americans’ intentions.

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4. The Benders' Background and Lifestyle

• Who Were John and Anne?
  • John: Physically imposing, gentle with animals, and intellectually gifted.
  • Anne: Petite, elegant, compared to Audrey Hepburn, adored by all, especially John.
  • They present as the perfect couple, but cracks begin to show as they withdraw from society.

"Just handsome, movie-star handsome. She was petite, delicate, moved like a ballerina. She reminded me a lot of Audrey Hepburn."
(Carol Vaughan, 16:58)

• The Vision Behind Bora Kayan:
  • The couple's dream home is designed for uninterrupted communion with nature—thus no walls, and animals living side by side with people.
  • One floor was reserved for John’s orchids; Anne's decorative touch is seen in hundreds of Tiffany lamps.

"The house has no walls… during the day, it was wide open. Designed by John with Anne's decorating touch. The house is magnificent."
(Carol Vaughan, 26:49)

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5. Rumors, Security, and Growing Suspicion

• Why the Guns?
  • Officially, the Benders cite protection from poachers for their heavily armed security.
  • However, locals gossip about possible drug connections and the true source of the couple’s fortune.
  • The couple's withdrawal spawns conspiracy theories as they are rarely seen except by helicopter.

"There's guys with assault rifles, you know, at the gate. Like you would imagine if it was a drug cartel. The armed people he had working for them would do these patrols… round the clock."
(Jack Schwager, 37:40)

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6. Personal Anecdotes and Character Portraits

• Neighbors and Friends' Impressions:
  • Former guests and friends—the Schwagers—recount the overwhelming sense of paradise, but also the jarring presence of armed guards and uncertainty about the Benders’ real circumstances.
  • John is remembered for his intellect and unique approach to conversation, even discussing quantum mechanics with guests.

“I was opened up to this whole world of reality or not reality. And Jonathan had kind of brought me into this place of where for the first time, like, I questioned, like, what's real and what's not real. And nobody had ever done that before.”
(Zack Schwager, 35:33)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Night of the Death:
  "The gun seems to have dropped from the victim's left hand. Yet the entry wound is on the right side of the head. Not only that, the bullet was fired from behind."
  (Becky Milligan, 06:45)

• Describing the Mansion:
  "It's like an enormous spaceship… everything else in this house, this is no ordinary elevator... reflective like pools of water. There's a lot of money here. Who could own such a house? He asks himself. A drug trafficker?"
  (Becky Milligan, 04:00 - 05:00)

• Community Impact:
  "John came to put the town on the map… the economy began to move after being practically abandoned."
  (Osvaldo Rojas, 27:45)

• Mental Toll of Isolation:
  "It's a strange thing. Sounds morbid, but a lot of people die off there and a lot of people go kind of crazy. They lose it. They actually lose it."
  (John Corvick, 09:57)

• On Animal Sanctuary:
  "They wanted to turn back the clock, restoring the land to its wild state… He was feeding it."
  (Carol Vaughan, 32:12)

• Growing Paranoia:
  "If this was just about poaching, John and Anne went to extreme lengths. They put up a barbed wire perimeter fence… had guards wearing fatigues patrolling 24/7."
  (Becky Milligan, 38:11)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:35 – Arrival at the crime scene; Carlos Mora’s account
• 09:38 – Neighbor John Corvick’s warning about isolation and local folklore
• 13:15 – First approach to Bora Kayan, the “spaceship” house
• 16:58 – Carol Vaughan’s description of Anne as “petite, delicate… like Audrey Hepburn”
• 20:22 – John and Anne’s $600M fortune; land deals with local farmers and expats
• 26:49 – “The house has no walls” and its significance
• 27:45 – Osvaldo Rojas on the economic boom brought by the Benders
• 35:33 – Zack Schwager recounts John’s philosophical conversations
• 37:40 – First mention of armed guards, neighbors’ suspicions

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Conclusion

"The House of Secrets" paints a vivid portrait of the Benders' dream-turned-nightmare. The episode uses immersive firsthand accounts, local folklore, and evocative descriptions to foreshadow the psychological unraveling and growing danger inside Bora Kayan. The mansion, once a sanctuary for people and animals alike, becomes a symbol of both immense possibility and profound threat. As friends, neighbors, and family recount their stories, questions of motive, mental health, and truth swirl around the central tragedy—a puzzle that will unravel over the coming episodes.

End of Episode 1.

Transcript

[Becky Milligan]

This is exactly right. The detective said missing kids usually come home. What happens when they don't?

[Narrator/Host]

Based on a true story Police looking for John Gacy.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

We discovered bodies. By the looks of it, they're younger men.

[Narrator/Host]

The things he did to those kids.

[Becky Milligan]

He's sick. The system failed these families.

[Narrator/Host]

Devil in disguise.

[Ryan Seacrest]

John Wayne Gacy. Streaming now only on Peacock.

[Becky Milligan]

Do you know how many there are? Up to you to find out.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Becky Milligan]

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[Becky Milligan]

See Mint mobile.com January 7, 2010. We're outside the house of John and Anne Bender, a young American couple who've built an extravagant home and wildlife refuge in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest. John made a multi million dollar fortune on Wall Street. Ann, bright and glamorous wife. It's now one in the morning. The emergency call came in an hour ago. A shooting and a casualty. That's the voice of Carlos Mora. He was the ambulance driver who was on the scene that night. I've tracked him down. Now, he's attended hundreds of violent incidents over the years, but this one stands out. He's never experienced anything like it before or since. And he's not alone. All the people I've found while reporting on this story remember it in vivid detail. I'm Becky Milligan. I broke stories for the BBC for for almost 30 years. And I've reported on some pretty strange events. But this one is the strangest of all. So back to that night. Carlos enters the Bender's house and he gets in the elevator. And just like everything else in this house, this is no ordinary elevator. It's a round, open, open platform that rises up through the building. Carlos grips onto the handrail. He sees each floor as it passes. The house is incredible, he says. He's never seen a place like it. It's like an enormous spaceship. Inside, it's all steep stainless steel and shiny black floors, reflective, like pools of water. There's a lot of money here. Who could own such a house? He asks himself a drug trafficker. Carlos is anxious. Guards and security are everywhere, armed with heavy caliber weapons. They're speaking to each other in hushed voices. He's been told he has to go up to the fourth floor, the master bedroom. He passes the first floor, the second floor, a vast kitchen. The third floor, the fourth floor, the bedroom. And on the bed, a body, curled up as if asleep. But as Carlos gets closer, he takes in the horror of it all. The gunshot wound at the back of the head. The victim's left arm dangling off the bed, blood dripping from it, forming a pool on the highly polished marble floor. And near it, on the floor, the gun, a semi automatic. At first the police will assume this is a suicide. But not for long. And here's why. The gun seems to have dropped from the victim's left hand. Yet the entry wound is on the right side of the head. Not only that, the bullet was fired from behind. From exactly right. Media and IHEART Podcasts Produced by Blanchard House this is hell in Heaven. I'm Becky Milligan. Chapter One the House of Secrets Our story begins and ends with a house built and owned by Anne and John Bender. This building, this place, is their dream home. When they first move here, they're both in their 30s. He's made his millions and now he wants to put them to good use. To enjoy them by creating a wildlife sanctuary. So our couple are young and they're in love. Completely in love. Devoted, it seems they live only for each other and all the beloved animals they've rescued. John also has his rare orchids and Anne has her collection of Tiffany lamps. Hundreds of them. So Anne and John have everything they need right here in their house in the middle of the jungle. A house unlike any other and which will in time be the scene of a terrible tragedy and a mystery. So I land in Costa Rica to investigate this story and by coincidence, my 18 year old daughter is already here working on a conservation project elsewhere in the country. She's been messaging me, telling me all about protecting turtle eggs on pristine beaches, relaxing in camp as monkeys play in the trees. And about how she showers in the open air as hummingbirds hover close by. Paradise. But as I arrive in the country and discover more about this story about the dark side of life in Costa Rica, the more I start to worry about my daughter and worry about myself turning into some sort of Internet meme. A hysterical, overprotective mother convinced her daughter is about to die. Not only that, I'm not coping too well with the climate either. Gosh, it's quite tiring, isn't it, in this heat? Scotland in autumn is more my thing and that's a lot cooler than it is here. My producer Poppy and I have driven four hours from the capital, San Jose. A hair raising drive around hairpin bends with sheer drops on either side. But we're now deep in the rainforest, searching for John and Anne Bender's house first. Through a slight clearing, we come upon the Diamante waterfall, which gives this valley its name. Oh wow. That's it. Oh my goodness. Is that it? It's so high up. My goodness, I've seen the cliff face. Water tumbles from a high ridge down the cliff face and is swallowed up by the flower forest below. Blue, green and yellow birds flutter above our heads and the noise is intense and strange roars echo in the distance like dinosaurs. Sounds enchanting. But the truth is we're already on edge. We've been spooked by a phone call we made just before we set out.

[John Corvick]

It's like warm in the daytime, kind of cool at night. Crystal clear spring water blowing out of the mountains. Fruits and vegetables grow real easily. Nice vegetables, tomatoes, bananas. We never thought we were coming back.

[Becky Milligan]

That's John Corvick, who knows the area and used to be the Bender's neighbor. And John had a warning.

[John Corvick]

It was my wife and I and that was about it. So you're alone on this giant farm in the deep jungle most of the time. It's a strange thing. Sounds morbid, but a lot of people die off there and a lot of people go kind of crazy. They lose it. They actually lose it. Struggling with anything in the jungle. You're gonna face your inner demons.

[Becky Milligan]

John's words really unsettle us.

[John Corvick]

There's folklore about the Diamante waterfall. I'd be damned if all the people that move in and out of there don't go that, you know, the hippies have some theory. The vortex of energy that spins off the waterfall. Indians say it's a curse because they were run off. Their land, any way you cut it. The families go nuts. They fall apart, people die. I don't know anyone who's lived facing that waterfall that just set up shop and enjoyed this majestic view and just soaked it in long term. I really don't. Sometimes I think it's from isolation, you know, cabin fever. They go nuts. You could have cabin fever. My wife asked me, she says, are you ever gonna put clothes on again? I would go three or four days in my rubber boots, you know, I didn't see anyone.

[Becky Milligan]

It sounds like an exaggeration that people go mad and lose it, but by the end of our story, you won't think so.

[Carol Vaughan]

Shit.

[John Corvick]

That place is the darkest jungle you ever seen in your life. You have no clue.

[Becky Milligan]

We leave the waterfall behind and walk even deeper into the jungle in search of John and Anne Bender's house, which they called Bora Kayan. Okay, I'm seeing some barbed wire fence, so I think we're getting close. That even looks like cut lawn. It does. Right up the slope there, we see the slopes of the gardens first, and then through the trees and foliage. Oh, my God. That's really it. It's just enormous. It's like a spaceship's landed on the top of a hill in the middle of the jungle in Costa Rica. It's like four stories with this dome at the top. It's constructed from huge concrete slabs and columns and 50,000 square feet, around the same size as a soccer pitch. And it's round. Imagine that on a jungle hilltop rising way above the tops of the trees, and you get an idea of what it looks like and how out of place it is. The views are incredible. In the evening, John and Ann would sit and look out across the jungle, enjoying the glorious sunsets, enjoying each other's company. In the daytime, they'd zoom around on their 5,000 acres of land on a quad bike, busying themselves with their wildlife refuge, caring for all the animals they'd saved. A great black hawk, a jaguarundi, which is a wild cat on the verge of extinction. And Anne also had her dog, a German shepherd called Millie. It really is an astonishing place. But being here now, there's a sinister edge to it all. I can see why they loved it. It's completely isolated, but there are gates here, a couple of guards, and there's no entry. There's just no way we can get in. And even at the top, I can see a guard sort of walking the perimeter. I think he is filming. In fact, he was filming us. They're getting a Bit tense, all the guards. Okay, good to know. We'd asked permission to go inside weeks before and hadn't received a response. But just as we're leaving, a man turns up in fatigues. Orlando. Oh, no. Oh, you're Orlando. We're making a documentary about Anne and John. But it's not possible to go inside, is it?

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

No.

[Becky Milligan]

He puts his hand up and shakes his head. Well, thanks so much for your time. Have a good day. Bye. That's the way you go. The house is up for sale. Empty. And there's a sadness about it. Almost like the structure holds memories of what took place here 20 years ago. Osvaldo Rojas had been preparing to meet his new boss. He knew nothing about him, apart from his name, John Bender, and that he'd bought up some land in Diamante Valley. He ended up working for the benders for 10 years. Osvaldo was grateful for the job and grateful too to his former boss, also an American. Jim had sold his farm to the new arrivals, John and Anne, but made sure his young maintenance man wouldn't lose his well paid job, which were pretty hard to come by in Perez.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

I understand there was a clause in the contract with Jim. The previous owner specified that I had to continue working on the property when the sale was made. I stayed to take care of the property until John Bender arrived.

[Becky Milligan]

Back then, everyone in town was gossiping about the new gringos moving to the valley. Gringos is what Costa Ricans call Americans. Most foreigners are gringos. The locals are called ticos. What was clear was that they were rich gringos. Nobody knew how rich. But then nobody really knew who this couple were at all. Least of all Osvaldo. He remembers the day they arrived very clearly because he was a bit nervous and wasn't sure what to expect. Before the house was built, the new couple was staying at a place in town.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

I remember being surprised when they show up in the little car. They were mostly reserved people, especially Jun. He didn't like to interact much with others. He would prefer the mountains. And he said something like, I hate this property. I've been deceived. He never realized that the house was so close to the center of town. Until they arrived, we didn't realize how young they were. We expected to see an older couple. He was a big man. She was thin and pretty.

[Becky Milligan]

Bonita, that was the word everyone used to describe Anne And John, at 6 foot 5, was built like an American footballer. A guy who clearly worked out.

[Carol Vaughan]

Hugely muscular, gorgeous blue eyes, dark hair.

[Becky Milligan]

Carol Vaughan, an ex pattern author who moved to the town a few years later, was taken by how glamorous the couple were.

[Carol Vaughan]

Just handsome movie star handsome. She was petite, delicate, moved like a ballerina. She reminded me a lot of Audrey Hepburn.

[Becky Milligan]

Despite his physique, John was a gentle soul. He was kind to all animals, even the tiniest insect. Back home in the US he'd taken in dozens of stray cats. And he was incredibly smart, good with numbers. Anne, meanwhile, had been the most popular kid at school. No doubt they were a striking couple. There's a photo of them taken on their new property. John is standing behind Anne in shorts and a T shirt, one arm wrapped around her chest, the other around her waist in a protective way. He towers above her and Anne, in jeans, is holding onto his arms and leaning back slightly against him. Their dream is taking shape around them. They look happy and relaxed, the perfect couple. It's hard to look at that photo now, knowing everything that would happen. What kind of man would let this happen to his family?

[Narrator/Host]

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[Narrator/Host]

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[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

It's only cheating if you get caught.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Becky Milligan]

John and Ann arrived in Costa Rica with a reported $600 million. An eye watering fortune which would in time be bitterly fought over. But that comes later in our story. All anyone knew at this time was that they wanted land and they had the money to pay for it. Author Carol Vaughan.

[Carol Vaughan]

And when the word got out, people were desperate to make a killing off Americans because it happens a lot. And the Benders found their mailbox just stuffed with people's deeds, saying, here it is. Pay me.

[Becky Milligan]

Is that right? Yeah, just. They were so desperate, they just wanted the money.

[Carol Vaughan]

They wanted the money? Yep.

[Narrator/Host]

And.

[Carol Vaughan]

And they didn't want to be the only one in the neighborhood who didn't make a fortune off the gringos. I mean, if Raul is making $100,000, I should make $100,000. I've got a deed here. Pay me.

[Becky Milligan]

In total, the benders bought up 5,000 acres from expats like Jim, locals and small farmers, some of whom had grown coffee on their land for generations. It was in a perfect position. From the top of their hill, they had great views of the jungle, the diamante waterfall and the sea beyond. A romantic setting to watch the famous Costa Rican sunsets turn the sun sky to a burning red, orange and yellow. This was where they would build their enormous house, which they would christen Bora Kayan. You're probably wondering what that means. We wondered too. Apparently it's the name of a local plant. Construction work began. John Bender had a vision for his new property. To create a new way of living, unconstrained by normal rules. Building a house on this scale in the middle of the jungle, well, it was a huge undertaking and massively ambitious. But then John was like that.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

Hi there.

[Becky Milligan]

Hello.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

I was wondering when we were here for you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Good morning.

[Becky Milligan]

Thank you so much. I met John's parents in Phoenix, Arizona. We'd already talked quite a bit online before I met them in person. You know what's amazing is seeing you on Zoom and now being here. John's mum is a teacher. John's dad is an eminent law professor and worked in the Clinton administration. This was the first Time they'd invited journalists to their home to talk about their son. Their love for John is plain to see. They hold hands under the table as they talk about him. But they couldn't really relate to John's life. Making millions on Wall Street. Money isn't important to them and they worried about the path he'd chosen. So when John decided to set up the wildlife sanctuary, I get the feeling they were relieved he was leaving the world of high finance behind, though. When John told his dad about the plans for their enormous house, Paul was pretty surprised.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

Well, he was going to build this high tech thing in the middle of the jungle, basically, and it seemed to me impossible to do that. And the way he did it was to decide where he wanted to put it and then have the people come there and build it. So he had like an army of people building this thing. And what you've seen, what turned out has nothing to do with the jungle, but it was exactly what they wanted. I have a lot of pictures that we took down there.

[Becky Milligan]

Oh, how fun. Paul fired up his computer and scrolled through, showing us photos of the house being built. In the photos, the structure was up, but not much else. It was an empty concrete shell.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

Okay, there is it. That's the house.

[Becky Milligan]

Oh, gosh, we haven't seen. Is that under construction?

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

Yeah.

[Becky Milligan]

Oh, my goodness. Paul showed us more photos when the new floors had been put in. That granite is. It is like almost like a mirror, isn't it? It's so shiny.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

He really liked that.

[Becky Milligan]

It's obvious that Margie and Paul are so proud of what John achieved. He had a dream and he made it real.

[Carol Vaughan]

I don't think John ever thought there were limitations to things. If he wanted it to be round, it could be round.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

What they really wanted to do was what they did was find a place that was away from most of the world, in a beautiful place which had a lot of animals and a lot of greenery, that they really wanted to be away from the world. They did.

[Becky Milligan]

The house took a total of four years to build. The Benders moved in before it was finished. Osvaldo, the head staffer, stayed at the couple's house in town and watched the jungle retreat take shape.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

We were there from the beginning. It was a huge building site. We could see the workers on the street, like 150 workers spread all over. We saw the house going up little by little.

[Becky Milligan]

One of his jobs was to clean the house and so he can tell us precisely what it was like inside.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

The fourth floor was all the bedroom with the bed in the middle and some rustic furniture made to order. He didn't like anything lavish.

[Becky Milligan]

The third floor was empty. John had planned to put in a greenhouse for. For his orchids, but never got round to it.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

On the second floor was the kitchen which was enormous. Four kitchens could fit inside.

[Becky Milligan]

Was like no other house in the whole valley. Standing on top of the hill. A four story round home. It came with huge pools of water. Road gutters to prevent flooding. And there was one feature in particular that said this couple had serious money. Because when John and Anne came here, they didn't make that four hour car journey. They would fly in and out, landing on a helipad below the main entrance. Locals came to call the house the dome because of the shape of the roof which could be seen for miles around.

[Carol Vaughan]

And you could not make this shit up.

[Becky Milligan]

There's one other detail about the house which people never fail to mention. Including expat Carol Vaughan.

[Carol Vaughan]

The house has no walls.

[Becky Milligan]

Yes, the house has no walls.

[Carol Vaughan]

There's screens that are pulled down from the ceiling at night that keep bugs and animals out. But during the day it was wide open. Designed by John with Anne's decorating touch. The house is magnificent.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

It was open on all sides and you felt that you were really in. In the jungle. The bathrooms had walls. I think that was a. A concession that he made to the inside was just open space. What are you going to do with all this space? I never got the answer to that. I don't think he ever did anything with all that space.

[Becky Milligan]

Some describe it as looking like an anniversary clock, a shopping mall or a car park. Not very flattering. But whether you like the design or not, it was an amazing feeling. Hundreds of people were employed to build it and paid well. And it changed Oswaldo's hometown for good.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

As we say, John came to put the town on the map. This was an abandoned place in 2000. There was not even electricity when John arrived. He brought life to the place. He brought jobs and foreigners became interested in buying land. So the economy began to move after being practically abandoned. Like many other places here in Costa Rica.

[Becky Milligan]

When the house was complete, John and Anne threw a party for all the workers and their families. But as Valdo says, it was the only party the Benders ever had. The house would never see so much life and light again. As John and Anne retreated from the world and their lives became shrouded in darkness. What kind of man would let this happen to his family?

[Narrator/Host]

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[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

It's only cheating if you get caught.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Becky Milligan]

The house wasn't just a sanctuary for John and Anne, but for animals too, of course.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

We had two large parrots and a parrot with a broken wing, some monkeys, the sloth of course, and a baby.

[Becky Milligan]

Tolumoku, a black creature from the weasel family, which John loved and called Leo. He lived alongside two injured Persian cats which John had adopted. There was the duck and the falcons and the snakes. That's only the beginning. And Anne had Peter the sloth. Was it friendly?

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

Oh yeah. But he slept all the time. I mean. So three toed sloth.

[Becky Milligan]

A sloth after all.

[Carol Vaughan]

The name has come from his proclivity to sleep all the time.

[Becky Milligan]

Anne and John loved all animals ever since they were children. As adults, they both said they got on better with animals than with people.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

John also had a good feeling about animals, just a magician with animals. So we always had a lot of animals and I think both kids really enjoyed them.

[Becky Milligan]

It was a menagerie. One reason for the absence of wolves was to be at one with the jungle. The animals could come and go as they pleased. Sometimes when Anne and John had a bath, parrots would perch beside them and keep them company. They wanted to turn back the clock, restoring the land to its wild state. Before it was farmed, he was feeding it.

[Carol Vaughan]

He was bringing back the food that the land had had when it was natural and grew it its own weeds, if you want to call them that, and other things. He was trying to get that back into the soil.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

Then after three or four years, we did start to see more animals around.

[Becky Milligan]

As the years went by, John and Ann would become increasingly isolated, holed up alone in their house with no walls. They had few visitors. But early on, before their home was completed, they made an exception for Zach Schwager and his dad Jack, who John had invited to come and see the house. Jack and John were friends.

[Jack Schwager]

He said, hey, you know, you should come down sometime. So when my son graduated high school and he wanted to take a father son trip, I said that sounded like a little bit of an adventure. I said, hey, you want to go to, you know, Costa Rica, to John and Ann Bender's compound.

[Becky Milligan]

Zack schrager was just 19.

[Narrator/Host]

My first time, kind of like out of the country, people speaking different languages.

[Becky Milligan]

They were picked up by a Land.

[Narrator/Host]

Cruiser and we're driving for what I remember was hours. It's hard to describe this part of what it was like to get there because it was like truly out of a video game or a movie. You can't really see much because you pull in. It's a dirt road, but it kind of leads up and up and up the roads.

[Jack Schwager]

You could lose a jeep in the potholes.

[Narrator/Host]

And then everything around you is rainforest, just like large, thick, lush trees. I had no idea, like this is what it was like. I, like my dad had undersold this by a million percent. Like we were, we were in a movie set.

[Becky Milligan]

Then he met their host, who'd taken up the traditional way to cut through the jungle.

[Narrator/Host]

There's just like this big brute of a guy, kind of like had a good, good healthy beard and a machete on his waist straight off.

[Becky Milligan]

He loved John, who took them On a tour of his property, he almost.

[Narrator/Host]

Had, like, a skip, but a stomp to his step, you know what I mean? Like, he walks like that jungle very confidently.

[Jack Schwager]

He was proud of what he was doing. He loved the rainforest, you know, So I think a good deal of self satisfaction that he was protecting this land.

[Becky Milligan]

And John and Anne seemed uniquely matched.

[Narrator/Host]

A couple that doesn't need to ask twice for things. A couple like where John sits down like she knows he's thirsty type of thing, but, like, she willingly wants to make sure Jonathan is not a thirsty person. There was a lot of just, like, warmth and care. They came from Anne. So we're special. And I'm like, man, this person is just such a sweetheart.

[Jack Schwager]

He and Anne were very much in love, as far as I could tell.

[Becky Milligan]

Zach remembers the trip vividly, and one conversation in particular illustrated John's fierce intellect.

[Narrator/Host]

One evening, it's just three dudes kind of, like, hanging out, shooting the shit. And this is maybe, like, where I felt a little out of my elevant. But Jonathan super intelligent and my father, super intelligent.

[Becky Milligan]

And then John turned to Zach and.

[Narrator/Host]

Said, I don't mean to ask, like, such a random question, but are you familiar with quantum superposition?

[Becky Milligan]

Yes, Quantum superposition.

[Narrator/Host]

So John, like, took my dad deeply through quantum superposition, Basically this idea that, based on, you know, waveforms, that electrons can exist in two places at once. He was walking through several experiments, like, one where, like, electrons were shot at like, a gold leaf. But that, like, kind of changed my life in the sense that I was opened up to this whole world of, like, reality or not reality. And, like, Jonathan had kind of brought me into this place of where for the first time, like, I questioned, like, what's real and what's not real. And nobody had ever done that before.

[Becky Milligan]

For Zach, still in his teens, who'd never been to a foreign country, meeting John on his jungle reserve made a lifelong impression on him.

[Narrator/Host]

It was like this very weird time where everything was perfect. Like, the wind was perfect, the temperature was perfect. Like, the seats weren't uncomfortable, the beer was still cold, and the sky was just this, like, perfect orange. And, you know, everything was super green. John was, like, somehow on center stage without, like, detracting from, like, this perfection. It was like just one of those moments where, like, the second that it was happening, you're like, please, God, like, do not let this end. Like, don't, whatever you do, just, like, do not have this moment stop.

[Becky Milligan]

But everything would change, and the benders would find themselves becoming further and further, further Divorced from reality. Even then, the signs were there. This might have been a piece of paradise. But in this paradise, Zach noticed one thing that seemed strange. A puncture on the otherwise perfect scene.

[Narrator/Host]

And all of a sudden, there's guys with guns. And definitely something my father never said to me is, like, there's going to be men with guns. Like, and lots of men with guns.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

They weren't friendly.

[Narrator/Host]

They didn't say hi. They weren't like, hey, like, I know I'm a random dude with a gun that doesn't speak the same language as you. Don't be frightened. They were just kind of. They were kind of there.

[Jack Schwager]

There's guys with assault rifles, you know, the gate. And, like, you would imagine if it was a drug cartel, right? The armed people he had working for them would do these patrols, you know, like round the clock and stuff.

[Becky Milligan]

Why did they have guns?

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah, that was my very first question, and it was quickly answered with, we're concerned about poachers.

[Becky Milligan]

Poaching might explain all those guns up to a point. Remember John Corvick from earlier who used to live in the valley? He told us about the poachers and their dogs who would come at night and cause havoc.

[John Corvick]

Oh, there's poachers everywhere. I used to hunt the poachers. Those poachers are sons of bitches. You can never find them, but you'll find their dogs. And I used to go out with my bulldogs. At first, we try to find them. The poachers would drive me nuts. My dogs would start barking. I could hear them barking up in the hills.

[Becky Milligan]

If this was just about poaching, John and Anne went to extreme lengths. They put up a barbed wire perimeter fence around their property and had guards wearing fatigues patrolling 24 7. Signs reading Keep out private property were erected everywhere. To the people in the valley, Costa Ricans, expats, hippies in search of a piece of heaven. The message was clear, and the couple were rarely seen. Occasionally, people would look up and see their helicopter leaving and returning to the hilltop reserve. So rumors and conspiracies germinated and began to grow, carried swiftly along the grapevine. Whispers about those wealthy Americans who flew in by helicopter and bought up all the land. And were all those guards really there to scare off poachers? Jesse, their neighbor, asked all those questions.

[John Corvick]

We don't know.

[Narrator/Host]

We could imagine, but we don't know.

[Becky Milligan]

What do you imagine?

[Narrator/Host]

Well, I personally thought he was probably.

[Osvaldo Rojas]

Somebody very big in.

[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

In the drugs, personally, you know, obviously.

[Becky Milligan]

They were doing something secret. Bora Kayan was the perfect place to live in splendid isolation. And that, in the end, was at the root of everything that was to follow. And Jesse is right, the house with no walls was full of secrets. Where did they get their fortune? Why were they so hell bent on protecting their privacy? Why all those gums? And why would one of them end up dead? You've been listening to Hell in Heaven from Exactly Right Media and I Heart Podcasts Produced by Blanchard House Hosted, written and produced by me, Becky Milligan. The Princess producer and co writer is Poppy Damon. Music is by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis Nankmanel and Toby Matamol. The sound recordist and head of sound and music is Daniel Lloyd Evans. The lead sound designer is Volkan Kiziltug. The artwork is by Vanessa Lilac for Exactly Right Media. The executive producers are Karen Kilgarraff, Georgia Hardstock and Danielle Kramer with consulting producer Lily ladawig and Associate producer Jay Elias. The creative director of Blanchard House is Rosie Pye. The executive producer and head of content at Blanchard House is Lawrence Grisel. Listen to Helen Heaven on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[John Bender's Family Member or Interviewee]

This is Alec Murdoch. I need police and an ambulance immediately.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Murdoch Death in the Family Official podcast is here. I'm joining Patricia Arquette, Jason Clark and the cast to uncover all things Murdoch Family first. To unravel the story piece by piece was really surprising because you don't want to believe it. Murdoch Death in the Family Official Podcast Wednesdays and stream Murdoch Death in the Family on Hulu and Hulu on Disney for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Osvaldo Rojas]

Com.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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